Life. Leben. Vie.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Al hamdu lillah! French MPs Vote in Favour of Banning Burka
THE TELEGRAPH: French MPs have passed a law banning Islamic face veils from public areas amid warnings it poses constitutional problems and risks being overturned in the courts.

On the eve of Bastille Day, marking the birth of France's staunchly secular republic, the vast majority of MPs in the country's National Assembly voted in favour of outlawing the burka and the niqab from French streets, making it the second European country after Belgium to clamp down.

The new law, passed by 335 votes to one, is expected to sail through the Senate in September and be in force by early next year after a six-month explanatory period.

However, it could yet be deemed unconstitutional by France's highest legal body, the Constitutional Council, which President Nicolas Sarkozy's UMP party has asked to rule on the matter, while it could also fall foul of European human rights legislation.

Under the new law, women who wear face-covering veils in all public places in France, including the street, face being fined 150-euro (£125) or ordered to follow citizenship classes, or both.

Husbands and fathers who force such veils on women and girls risk a year of prison and a 30,000-euro (£25,000) fine, with both penalties doubled if the victim is a minor. >>> Henry Samuel in Paris | Tuesday, July 13, 2010

La loi antiburqa adoptée sans opposition à l'Assemblée

Le premier ministre François Fillon, lors des questions au gouvernement, mardi à l'Assemblée nationale. Photo : Le Figaro
LE FIGARO: Un seul élu a voté contre le texte et vingt élus de gauche l'ont approuvé.

La loi antiburqa a franchi le cap de l'Assemblée nationale. Vingt députés de gauche (dont 14 socialistes, 4 radicaux de gauche, le communiste André Gerin et le chevènementiste Jacques Desallangre) ont voté mardi le projet de loi visant à interdire le port du voile intégral dans l'espace public. Michèle Alliot-Marie n'y est pas étrangère. La garde des sceaux a adressé de nombreux signes aux dirigeants socialistes.

Le texte a été adopté à une écrasante majorité (335 voix), seul un député non inscrit, Daniel Garrigue (villepiniste, ex-UMP), votant contre. Les villepinistes Marc Bernier, François Goulard, Jean-Pierre Grand et Marie-Anne Montchamp, eux, n'ont pas participé au vote.

Ce résultat est une victoire pour Jean-François Copé, le patron des députés UMP, ardent partisan de ce texte. La quasi-totalité de la droite (UMP et Nouveau Centre) a voté pour, de même que le président du MoDem François Bayrou, le souverainiste Nicolas Dupont-Aignan et les villiéristes Véronique Besse et Dominique Souchet. >>> Par Sophie Huet | Mardi 13 Juillet 2010

Frankreich: Burka-Verbot rückt näher
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Die französische Nationalversammlung hat ein landesweites Verbot der Burka verabschiedet, der Senat muss aber noch zustimmen. Mit dem Gesetz will die Regierung das Tragen von Vollschleiern in der Öffentlichkeit komplett untersagen.

Die französische Nationalversammlung hat am Dienstag ein landesweites Verbot der Burka verabschiedet. Die Abgeordneten stimmten mit 336 zu einer Stimme für das Gesetz, das die Gesichtsverschleierung in der Öffentlichkeit verbietet.

Das Gesetz sieht ein Verbot jeglicher Art von Vermummung vor, etwa auch Gesichtsmasken bei Demonstrationen und nicht nur von muslimischen Frauen getragene Schleier wie die Burka oder den Nikab. Im September stimmt der Senat über das Gesetz ab, das kommendes Jahr in Kraft treten soll; auch der Verfassungsrat soll noch Stellung dazu beziehen. >>> Text: AFP, Bildmaterial: Archiv, dpa | Dienstag, 13. Juli 2010

Vom Kopftuch bis zum Ganzkörperschleier

French Minister at Centre of Funding Scandal Resigns
THE TELEGRAPH: Eric Woerth, the minister at the heart of the French political funding scandal announced he would step down as treasurer of Nicolas Sarkozy's UMP party to quell suggestions of a conflict of interest.

Mr Woerth had been under pressure to drop the treasurer and party fund-raiser post following allegations over campaign donations from L'Oréal heiress Liliane Bettencourt.

He was accused of a conflict of interest as Mrs Bettencourt, 87, employed his wife to help manage her fortune and had failed to declare Swiss bank accounts while Mr Woerth was budget minister and on a mission to fight tax fraud.

A finance ministry report released on Sunday cleared Mr Woerth of having intervened to protect Mrs Bettencourt from tax scrutiny while he was budget minister.

However, question marks remain over allegations by Mrs Bettencourt's former accountant that Mr Woerth accepted 150,000 euros (£125,000) in illegal cash donations from France's richest woman. >>> Henry Samuel in Paris | Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Technicalities Underlie Swiss Decision on the Film Director
LOS ANGELES TIMES: Justice ministry says it won't extradite the film director because allegations of judicial misconduct have yet to be disproved and because prosecutors didn't immediately seek the fugitive's arrest.

In the end, the move by Swiss authorities to free Roman Polanski did not come down to whether he drugged and raped a 13-year-old girl.

Instead, the Swiss government's refusal Monday to extradite the director centered in part on a controversial 1977 backroom meeting that a Los Angeles judge held with the prosecutor and defense attorney on the case.

Polanski's lawyers say the judge made it clear at the meeting that he intended to send the director to prison for a 90-day psychiatric test as his full sentence behind bars. They say that Polanski completed his punishment when prison authorities released him after 42 days and that the filmmaker fled the country when the judge indicated he would send him back to prison.

The Swiss justice ministry cited the meeting in a statement explaining its decision, saying that a U.S. court's ruling that kept some records about the meeting secret created "persisting doubts concerning the presentation of the facts of the case."

"In these circumstances, it is not possible to exclude with the necessary certainty that Roman Polanski has already served the sentence he was condemned to at the time," the statement said.

Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley said he was "genuinely surprised and disappointed" by the legal reasoning behind the decision.

He described the failure to return Polanski as a "disservice to justice."

Experts said the latest development in the long-running legal saga was a blow to Cooley's office. Continue reading and comment >>>

2-Min Bio: Fugitive Filmmaker Roman Polanski
TIME: Fugitive filmmaker Roman Polanski's onscreen dramas are rivaled only by his private ones. The latest plot twist came Sept. 26, when the director of Chinatown, Rosemary's Baby and The Pianist touched down at Zurich airport to find police waiting to arrest him in connection with charges of a 1977 sexual assault on a 13-year-old girl. Polanski, 76, was arriving in Switzerland to collect a lifetime-achievement award at the Zurich Film Festival. Fast Facts: >>> Laura Fitzpatrick | Monday, September 28, 2009

TIME: Polanski's Arrest: Why the French Are Outraged – Although the cultural divide between Europe and the U.S. has narrowed over the years, the legal fate of director Roman Polanski shows there are still major differences. Polanski's arrest in Switzerland on Sept. 26 [2009] was greeted with satisfaction in the U.S., where authorities hope he will face sentencing for having sex with a 13-year-old girl in 1977. Europeans, meanwhile, are shocked and dismayed that an internationally acclaimed artist could be jailed for such an old offense. >>> Bruce Crumley, Paris | Monday, September 28, 2009

Polanski is Set Free

Monday, July 12, 2010

Sudan: Bashir nun auch wegen Völkermord gesucht
DIE PRESSE: Der Internationale Strafgerichtshof in den Haag stellte am Montag einen weiteren Haftbefehl gegen Sudans Präsidenten Omar al-Bashir aus. In diesem ist auch das gravierendste Verbrechen aufgeführt: Genozid.

Den Haag. Nun also auch Völkermord: Der Internationale Strafgerichtshof in den Haag stellte am Montag einen weiteren Haftbefehl gegen Sudans Präsidenten Omar al-Bashir aus. In diesem ist auch das gravierendste Verbrechen aufgeführt, über das der Gerichtshof Jurisdiktion hat: Genozid. Verübt von Milizen in Verbindung mit regulären Einheiten der Armee in der Bürgerkriegsprovinz Darfur im Westen des Landes.

Man habe ausreichende Gründe zu glauben, dass al-Bashir persönlich für das Verbrechen des Genozids an den Ethnien der Fur, Masalit und Zaghawa verantwortlich sei, hieß es seitens des Gerichtshof am Montag. >>> ag. | Montag, 12. Juli 2010

Erasing the George W. Bush Administration Online
DANIEL PIPES: Here's a pet peeve: Through eight years of the two George W. Bush administrations, I linked hundreds of times to White House and Department of State documents, plus less frequently to other U.S. government departments and agencies. I made efforts to link to original documents (and not news articles, much less blogs) because, having earned a Ph.D. in history, I value primary sources.

I assumed during those years that the documents, being part of the U.S. government's permanent record, would remain available so long as the government and the internet were functioning – in other words, a long time.

I assumed wrong. On coming to office, the Obama administration in an instant removed thousands (millions?) of pages, abruptly making dead and useless all those links to the prior administration's work. Latterly I learned that the Bush administration pulled this same trick against its Clinton predecessor. Finish reading and comment >>> Daniel Pipes | Friday, June 25, 2010

Roman Polanski a quitté son chalet de Gstaad
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: AFFAIRE POLANSKI | Le cinéaste «a quitté son chalet de Gstaad» (BE) où il était assigné à résidence, a assuré une employée du cinéaste à des journalistes sur place. Son bracelet électronique lui a été retiré à la mi-journée.

Une employée de Roman Polanski, qui a demandé à ne pas être identifiée, a ouvert la porte du chalet «Milky Way» (Voie Lactée) du cinéaste lorsqu'une journaliste de l'AFP a sonné et a assuré que Roman Polanski avait quitté les lieux. «Il n'est plus là», a-t-elle encore insisté. >>> AFP / ATS | Lundi 12 Juillet 2010

Liens en relations avec l’article >>>

Radical Islam's Target? Kampala To Kyrgystan
SKY NEWS: Those who follow the pattern of the Islamist bombing campaign know that to label it 'anti Western' is to misinform. This misinformed narrative argues that because of various historical injustices perpetrated by ' The West' , radical Islam has begun to hit back, and if only 'we' stopped meddling in the affairs of Muslim countries the violence would stop.

Sunday night's bombings in Uganda give lie to that narrative, as do numerous examples over the last decade. Yes, anti- western sentiment is ever present in the bombing campaign, but the aims of the jihadists are more than that, and, without that context, Islamism cannot be seen for what is; A global revolutionary movement with fascistic tendencies However, the narrative appears stuck in the tram lines and even mass murders such those in Kampala cannot jolt it onto a more wide ranging analysis.

The Ugandan police chief believes the Kampala bombings to be the work of Al-Shabab, an ultra radical Islamist group based in Somalia. If the gang is responsible then the targeting of black Africans makes sense. The victims were mostly Ugandan, and the location of one attack was an Ethiopian themed bar. Uganda has troops in in Somalia as part of the African Union force trying to stabilise the country, and Ethiopian soldiers ousted Al-Shabab from Mogadishu four years ago. Both countries are majority Christian, but can hardly be described as 'Western'. There is a connection to the West insofar as the African Union helps to prop up a government which is supported by the USA and others, but that doesn't explain why Al-Shabab calls Uganda 'An infidel country'.

Al- Shabab has strong links to Al Queda and some of its gang members were trained in AQ camps in Afghanistan. The group has carried out punishment including the stoning of women accused of adultery, and recently said anyone watching the World Cup should be targeted as football was un Islamic. Most Muslims around the world think these beliefs are crazy, but the Islamists continue to believe they speak for all of Islam. Continue reading and comment >>> Tim Marshall | Monday, July 12, 2010

Shaping the Religious Right: Drs. Tim and Beverly LaHaye are leading Christian voices

Senior Judge Who Had Fling With Male Prostitute Resigns
THE TELEGRAPH: A senior circuit judge who hit the headlines over claims he had a passionate fling with a male prostitute has resigned.

Judge Gerald Price QC, 61, was suspended last summer when an official investigation was launched into his conduct.

Christopher Williams, 26, the male prostitute, claimed that he was allowed to sit on the bench during trials and was even present during sentencing.

The investigation recommended the judge should be sacked as a result of his conduct but he resigned after a failed appeal, before he could be dismissed.

The investigation was launched after disclosures in the News of the World in June last year claiming he had a nine month affair with Williams, a £250-a-night rent boy.

Mr Price, who is married, sat as a senior circuit judge in Swansea, Cardiff and Carmarthen, south Wales.

Williams was widely reported claiming that Mr Price had set him up in a flat and paid him an allowance.

Mr Price is believed to have made initial contact with Mr Williams through an escort website in September 2008.

Mr Williams claimed at the time that he initially met Mr Price in a hotel and later at his second home near Carmarthen, west Wales.

News of his resignation came in the form of a statement issued by the Office for Judicial Complaints. >>> | Monday, July 12, 2010

Polanskis Anwalt erleichtert
SCHWEIZER FERNSEHEN: Hervé Temime, Anwalt des Regisseurs Polanskis ist erleichtert über den Entscheid der Schweiz. Für ihn ist die Entscheidung die einzig richtige. Einschätzungen von den SF-Korrespondenten Fritz Reiman in Bern, Adrian Arnold in Paris und Tilman Lingner in Washington.

Verbunden >>>

Nicolas Sarkozy ce soir sur France 2
FRANCE 2: Le président s'exprimera pendant une heure sur "toutes les questions d'actualité" notamment l'affaire Woerth-Bettencourt

Le président est l'invité d'une émission spéciale, de 20h15 à 21h15 sur France 2.

Après plusieurs semaines de crise et au plus bas dans les sondages, Nicolas Sarkozy tentera de reprendre la main en traitant des questions de fond notamment la réforme des retraites, les orientations budgétaires, la relance et l'emploi. >>> Par Catherine Rougerie | Lundi 12 Juillet 2010

Regardez l’émission spéciale ici
THE TELEGRAPH: Nicolas Sarkozy brands cash donations allegations a 'disgrace': French President Nicolas Sarkozy came out fighting last night [sic] claiming allegations he had received illegal cash donations from the country’s richest woman were a “disgrace”. >>> Henry Samuel in Paris | Monday, July 12, 2010

NZZ ONLINE: «Üble Verleumdungen», sagt der Präsident: Vorbehaltlose Verteidigung von Eric Woerth – Frankreichs Präsident Sarkozy stellt sich resolut hinter Arbeitsminister Eric Woerth. In einem TV-Interview wies er Anschuldigungen, wonach er selber Gelder von der L'Oréal-Erbin erhalten habe, als Lüge zurück. >>> Manfred Rist, Paris | Montag, 12. Juli 2010

"Nicolas Sarkozy a parlé avec force et conviction"

Mel's Early Day Antigay Meltdown
ADVOCATE.COM: Long before Mel Gibson's anti-Semitic, racist and violent rants, the actor made headlines — and enemies — with his antigay remarks to a Spanish newspaper in 1991.

The latest shocking comments from Mel Gibson, in which he hurls racist, misogynistic, and anti-immigrant slurs at his ex-girlfriend, cap a career of tirades that includes a highly publicized homophobic rant and an anti-Semitic outburst.   

According to PopEater, long before Gibson could be heard on tape last week threatening Oksana Grigorieva, with whom he had a baby, he made homophobic remarks in 1991. Back then, American columnist Liz Smith reported on what the actor said to the Spanish newspaper El Pais: >>> Advocate.com Editors | Sunday, July 11, 2010

Gesetzesnebel beim Rauchverbot
WELT ONLINE: Die meisten Länder haben schwachen Nichtraucherschutz - Bayerns Verschärfung könnten aber andere folgen

Das erfolgreiche Volksbegehren für ein striktes Rauchverbot hat in Bayern für Klarheit gesorgt: Künftig dürfen die Gastwirte des Bundeslandes das Qualmen in ihren Räumen nicht mehr erlauben. In Deutschland aber könnte diese Entscheidung zu einem Flickenteppich unterschiedlicher Vorschriften führen. Denn ein einheitliches Bundesgesetz ist nicht in Sicht. Einzelne Bundesländer planen, dem Vorbild Bayerns zu folgen. Andere wiegelten bereits ab. So könnte es bald sein, dass einige Länder den Qualm aus ihren Gaststätten komplett verbannen und andere nicht. >>> von Markus Scheele | Montag, 12. Juli 2010

Qualmen auf Reisen: Wo darf ich im Ausland noch rauchen?

Auch im Land der Gauloises und Gitanes gilt in Cafés, Bars und Restaurant: Geraucht wird draußen. Seit Januar 2008 gilt in Frankreich ein striktes Rauchverbot. Foto: Bild
BILD: Bilder von rauchenden Menschen in der Öffentlichkeit werden immer seltener – Nichtrauchen scheint zeitgemäß zu sein. Erst recht nach dem strengen Rauchverbot in Bayern. Schließlich ist der Tabakgenuss schädlich für die Gesundheit.

Doch nicht nur in Deutschland, auch im Ausland wird die Luft für Raucher dünner. Denn die Europäische Union kämpft entschieden für ein „100 Prozent rauchfreies Europa“, wie es in einem aktuellen Dossier der EU heißt.

Das bekam kürzlich auch Österreich zu spüren. Seit dem 1. Juli 2010 darf in Österreichs Lokalen nur noch in abgetrennten Raucher-zimmern gequalmt werden. Bei Verstoß drohen dem Raucher Strafen bis zu 1000 Euro und dem Gastwirt ein Bußgeld bis zu 10 000 Euro.

Bisher hatte Österreich eine recht liberale Einstellung zum Qualmen in der Öffentlichkeit. In einem Raucherparadies-Ranking der „Los Angeles Times“ vom Januar kam Österreich sogar auf Platz vier. Angeführt wurde dies übrigens von Griechenland.

Den ersten Schritt zum Rauchverbot in Lokalen, öffentlichen Einrichtungen und Verkehrsmitteln machte am 1. März 2004 Irland. Auch in Frankreich und Italien gelten Rauchverbote für sämtliche öffentlich zugängliche Gebäude, inklusive Bars und Diskotheken. In Kalifornien sind sogar die Strände „smokefree“. Wer dagegen verstößt und erwischt wird, muss bis zu 100 Dollar Strafe zahlen.

Wie es mit dem Rauchverbot in den europäischen Urlaubsländern steht, welche Strafen bei Missachtung drohen und wo es die letzten Raucherparadiese gibt, lesen Sie gleich hier: Die letzten Raucherparadiese >>> Donnerstag, 08. Juli 2010

Tabac : Bloomberg plus fort que Schwarzenegger
JIM.fr: New York – C’était au début du mois de mai. Arnold Schwarzenegger, gouverneur de Californie, un état où certaines municipalités n’hésitent pas à interdire de fumer dans tous les lieux publics, y compris dans certaines rues, avait estimé que la prohibition du tabac dans les parcs et sur les plages était une disposition trop extrême.

Il avait en effet considéré qu’il s’agissait d’une « intrusion inappropriée du gouvernement dans la vie des gens ». L’argument avait été considéré comme difficilement recevable par les partisans de la mesure, poussés par de nombreux exemples nationaux et étrangers dans leur démarche. En effet, un nombre croissant de municipalités dans le monde a banni les cigarettes des parcs et plages : les plus illustres étant Chicago qui punit d’une amende de 500 dollars tout contrevenant ou encore Vancouver qui a adopté un règlement municipal dans ce sens qui devrait entrer en vigueur le 1er septembre. New York pourrait prochainement rejoindre les deux illustres cités. >>> Martine Pichet | Lundi 12 Juillet 2010

University Fires Catholic Professor Who Said Homosexual Acts Violate Natural Law
CATHOLIC CULTURE: Following a student complaint, the University of Illinois refused to renew the contract of Dr. Kenneth Howell, an adjunct religion professor, who wrote in an e-mail that “Natural Moral Law says that Morality must be a response to REALITY” and that “sexual acts are only appropriate for people who are complementary, not the same.” Dr. Howell, who taught courses on Catholicism at the university and was recognized for excellence in teaching in 2008 and 2009, wrote the e-mail to his students to help them prepare for their final exam; in the e-mail, he compared utilitarianism and the natural moral law.

“Teaching a student about the tenets of a religion is one thing. Declaring that homosexual acts violate the natural laws of man is another,” the offended student complained to the head of the religion department; he also sent complaints to the director of the university's LGBT Resource Center and the professor who founded the university’s queer studies major. “The courses at this institution should be geared to contribute to the public discourse and promote independent thought; not limit one's worldview and ostracize people of a certain sexual orientation.” Read on and comment >>> | Monday, July 12, 2010

FOX NEWS: University of Illinois Instructor Fired Over Catholic Beliefs: URBANA, Ill. -- The University of Illinois has fired an adjunct professor who taught courses on Catholicism after a student accused the instructor of engaging in hate speech by saying he agrees with the church's teaching that homosexual sex is immoral.

The professor, Ken Howell of Champaign, said his firing violates his academic freedom. He also lost his job at an on-campus Catholic center. >>> Associated Press | Friday, July 09, 2010

Fox Exclusive Interview with Netanyahu

Terror Experts Blast Obama for Dropping References to Islamic Extremism
FOX NEWS: WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration's recent move to drop rhetorical references to Islamic radicalism is drawing fire in a new report warning the decision ignores the role religion can play in motivating terrorists.

Several prominent counterterror experts are challenging the administration's shift in its recently unveiled National Security Strategy, saying the terror threat should be defined in order to fight it.

The question of how to frame the conflict against Al Qaeda and other terrorists poses a knotty problem. The U.S. is trying to mend fences with Muslim communities while toughening its strikes against militant groups.

In the report, scheduled to be released this week, counterterrorism experts from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy argue that the U.S. could clearly articulate the threat from radical Islamic extremists "without denigrating the Islamic religion in any way."

President Obama has argued that words matter, and administration officials have said that the use of inflammatory descriptions linking Islam to the terror threat feed the enemy's propaganda and may alienate moderate Muslims in the U.S. Continue reading and comment >>> Associated Press | Monday, July 12, 2010

Polanski Extradition to U.S. Is Blocked by Switzerland
THE NEW YORK TIMES: BERN, Switzerland (AP) -- The Swiss government has rejected a U.S. extradition request for Roman Polanski on a charge of having sex in 1977 with a 13-year-old girl.

The Justice Ministry said Monday in a statement that national interests were taken into consideration in the decision, and that Polanski was now a free man. [Source: The New York Times] | The Associated Press | Monday, 12, 2010

Roman Polanski Free After Swiss Reject US Extradition Request
THE TELEGRAPH: Roman Polanski is free after the Swiss government rejected a US extradition request on a charge that the film director had sexual intercourse in 1977 with a 13-year-old girl.

The Justice Ministry said in a statement that national interests were taken into consideration in the decision, and that Polanski was now a free man.

"The reason for the decision lies in the fact that it was not possible to exclude with the necessary certainty a fault in the US extraditionary request," the Swiss Justice Ministry said in a statement.

Polanski had suggested the case against him was unjust and riddled with discrepancies.

Polish-born Polanski, 76, won a best director Oscar for his portrait of life in the Warsaw Jewish ghetto of the Second World War in "The Pianist".

The announcement follows months of uncertainty over whether Polanski would have to return to the United States after having been arrested in September 2009 upon arrival in Zurich to receive a lifetime achievement award at a film festival.

His arrest prompted an outcry in the global film industry and in some political circles in France, where he has been a long-time resident, with directors from Woody Allen to Martin Scorsese to Jean-Luc Godard showing public support for the director.

After a short jail stint, Polanski, who holds dual French and Polish citizenship, was put under house arrest in December 2009 at his chalet in luxury ski resort Gstaad while Swiss officials awaited the outcome of US legal proceedings.

Polanski pleaded guilty to having sexual intercourse with the girl but fled the United States on the eve of his 1978 sentencing because he believed a judge might overrule his plea and put him in jail for 50 years. >>> | Monday, July 12, 2010

Polanski est libre de ses mouvements
LE FIGARO: La Suisse a annoncé lundi son refus d'extrader le cinéaste franco-polonais, assigné depuis le 4 décembre dans son chalet de Gstaad.

Il aura fallu presque un an à la justice suisse pour trancher. Roman Polanski «ne sera pas extradé vers les Etats-Unis et les mesures de restriction de sa liberté sont levées», a annoncé lundi la ministre suisse de la Justice. «Les clarifications approfondies qui ont été menées à bien n'ont pas permis d'exclure avec toute la certitude voulue que la demande d'extradition américaine présentait un vice», a fait valoir Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf au cours d'une conférence de presse. >>> Par Flore Galaud | Lundi 12 Juillet 2010

Roman Polanski est libre!
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: BERNE | Le cinéaste franco-polonais ne sera pas extradé vers les Etats-Unis, vient d'annocer la conseillère fédérale Evelyn Widmer-Schlumpf. Roman Polanski est libre.

La demande d'extradition américaine de Roman Polanski pouvait présenter un vice. Les clarifications approfondies n'ont pas permis d'exclure une telle éventualité avec toute la certitude voulue, a expliqué lundi la conseillère fédérale Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf.

L'Office fédéral de la justice (OFJ) a demandé le 3 mars 2010 aux autorités américaines de lui faire parvenir, à titre de complément à la demande, le procès-verbal d'une audition du procureur Roger Gunson, alors chargé du dossier, menée le 26 janvier 2010. >>> ATS | Lundi 12 Juillet 2010

Die Schweiz liefert Polanski nicht aus: Der Regisseur ist wieder ein freier Mann
NZZ ONLINE: Die Schweiz liefert Starregisseur Roman Polanski nicht aus. Justizministerin Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf begründete den Entscheid mit einer mangelnden Kooperation der USA. Seit Freitag, 11 Uhr 30, ist Polanski ein freier Mann.

Die Schweiz liefert den vor knapp 10 Monaten verhafteten Regisseur Roman Polanski doch nicht an die USA aus. Justizministerin Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf begründete den Entscheid mit einer mangelnden Kooperation der USA.

Polanski hatte argumentiert, er habe die Strafe schon abgesessen. Er sei für den sexuellen Missbrauch einer 13-Jährigen im Jahre 1977 bereits verurteilt worden und habe damals nach einem Schuldbekenntnis für eine diagnostische Untersuchung 42 Tage in einem kalifornischen Gefängnis verbracht. Der damalige Richter, der inzwischen verstorben ist, habe zugesichert, dass Polanski keine weitere Haftstrafe absitzen müsse, erklärte der Regisseur.

Die USA sind offenbar nicht bereit, hierüber Klarheit zu schaffen. Wie die Justizministerin vor den Medien erklärte, hat sich die Schweiz vergeblich um das entsprechende Protokoll bemüht. In dieser Situation könne die Schweiz den Regisseur nicht ausliefern. Denn ein Mangel im Auslieferungsgesuch der USA sei damit nicht auszuschliessen.

Polanski stehe nicht länger unter Hausarrest, erklärte Widmer-Schlumpf. «Er ist seit 11 Uhr 30 ein freier Mann», betonte sie. Weiter lesen und einen Kommentar schreiben >>> tsf | Montag, 12. Juli 2010

Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf über eine mögliche Entschädigung für Polanski
SCHWEIZER FERNSEHEN: Der Regisseur wird nicht an die USA ausgeliefert. Zur Begründung wies das Schweizer Justizministerium darauf hin, dass ein Mangel im Auslieferungsgesuch der USA nicht ausgeschlossen werden könne.

THE GUARDIAN: The prurient hounding of Roman Polanski is over at last: The Swiss decision not to extradite the director is just – it was a vengeful demand and his victim wanted the case closed >>> Agnès Poirier | Monday, July 12, 2010

Al-Shabaab Islamists Suspected in Deadly Ugandan World Cup Bombings
THE TELEGRAPH: Somali Islamists carried out two bomb attacks in Kampala, killing at least 64 people as they watched the World Cup final, Ugandan authorities said on Monday.

Suspicion fell on the al-Shabaab rebel group, which claims links with al-Qaeda, after the severed head of a suspected Somali suicide bomber was found at one of the blast sites.

If those suspicions prove true, it would be the first time that al-Shabab has carried out an attack outside of Somalia.

The explosions ripped through two bars packed with football fans watching the final moments of World Cup in an Ethiopian-themed restaurant and at a gathering in a Kampala rugby club on Sunday.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni toured the blast sites on Monday and vowed to bring the attackers to justice: “We shall go for them wherever they are coming from."

Al-Qaeda-inspired al-Shabaab militants in Somalia have threatened to attack Uganda for sending peacekeeping troops to the anarchic country to prop up the Western-backed government. >>> | Monday, July 12, 2010

Fury: Police arrest a protester on the streets of Oakland last night as riots broke out over the killing of 22-year-old Oscar Grant by a white officer last year. Photo: Mail Online
Riots in California After Police Officer Who Shot Dead Unarmed Black Man Is Cleared Of Murder
MAIL ONLINE: 53 arrests as protesters furious at verdict storm the streets

Violent protests erupted in the city of Oakland in California today after a Los Angeles jury convicted a white former transit officer of involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man.

Police in riot gear watched over a crowd of protesters as emotions ran high with 500 people marching in the street and 83 people arrested.

Prosecutors had wanted Johannes Mehserle, 22, to be convicted of murdering Oscar Grant. Justice Department officials have announced they will look into whether the case warrants federal prosecution.

Mr Grant was shot as he lay face down on a train platform on New Year's Day in 2009 on an Oakland train platform in an incident that was compared to the 1992 beating of Rodney King.

During protests last night, at least a dozen businesses were damaged, bank windows were smashed, fires were started and a small bomb exploded near a police station but caused no damage.

'This city is not the wild, wild west,' said Oakland Police Chief Anthony Batts. 'This city will not tolerate this sort of activity.' >>> Daily Mail Reporter | Monday, July 12, 2010

Reckless by Name, Reckless by Nature!
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: A Tory MP was so drunk during a late night debate about the Budget in the Commons that he was unable to vote, it has emerged.

Mark Reckless was one of a number of MPs accused of being “well-refreshed” and “convivial” during the late night sitting which finished at 2.48am on Wednesday.

The 39-year-old new MP for Rochester and Strood had been drinking alongside scores of MPs on the Commons Terrace and was not the only one said to be worse for wear.

John Randall, the deputy chief whip, was accused by Angela Eagle – the shadow Treasury minister – of having indulged in “rather a liquid evening”.

Stephen Pound, the Labour MP, said Miss Eagle could not be heard in the Commons “because of the well-refreshed ejaculations from the benches opposite”.

Mr Reckless, who became an MP at the general election in May, was understood to have had difficulty standing and has scant recollection of the night. Tory MP 'too drunk to vote in Commons debate' >>> Caroline Gammell | Sunday, July 11, 2010

Hundreds of Traditionalist Clergy Poised to Leave Church of England
THE TELEGRAPH: Hundreds of traditionalist clergy are set to leave the Church of England over plans to introduce women bishops.

Leading Anglo-Catholic clergy warned that the failure to provide concessions to opponents of the historic reform would force many of them to defect to Rome.

In a highly-charged debate at the General Synod, the Church’s parliament, members rejected a compromise deal put forward by the archbishops of Canterbury and York which would have averted a schism.

The archbishops’ plans would have seen the creation of a new class of male-only bishops to look after conservative evangelical and Anglo-Catholic parishes opposed to female leadership in the Church.

Canon David Houlding, a prebendary at St Paul’s cathedral, estimated that as many as 200 traditionalist clergy could leave the Church, taking thousands of worshippers with them.

“People’s patience is running out and many will now be asking whether they should try and practice their Catholic faith in the Church of England,” he said.

“The vote was a severe blow to the archbishop [of Canterbury] and it has pushed us closer to the door.” >>> Jonathan Wynne-Jones, Religious Affairs Correspondent | Monday, July 12, 2010

A Divided Church Faces Its Darkest Hour
THE TELEGRAPH: By rejecting a compromise over women bishops, the General Synod has plunged the Anglican Church into crisis. Jonathan Wynne-Jones reports.

Humiliated: the authority of Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, has been wounded by his defeat in the Synod Photo: The Telegraph
On Saturday night, the Archbishop of Canterbury suffered the most humiliating defeat of his time in office when the Church rejected his compromise deal over women bishops. It followed a week in which Rowan Williams had found himself at the centre of a storm over the blocked appointment of Jeffrey John, the homosexual Dean of St Albans, to be Bishop of Southwark.

Castigated by liberals who accused him of betraying his old friend by not securing his promotion, the Archbishop arrived at the General Synod in York also facing a mutiny over his plans to avert an exodus of traditionalists opposed to women's ordination.

On the eve of one of the most pivotal debates in the Church's recent history, liberal bishops had met to discuss how they would derail proposals put forward by Dr Williams and Dr John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York.

They were well aware of the impact that their rebellion would have on Dr Williams's authority. But they were still prepared to take drastic action because of their despair at his suggestion that a new tier of male-only bishops should be created to minister to traditionalists. This would undermine the role of women bishops, they believed. >>> Jonathan Wynne-Jones | Monday, July 12, 2010

World Ruled by Women Would Be a Better Place, Says Martin Amis
THE TELEGRAPH: Martin Amis has declared himself a feminist and claimed that the world would be a better place if every country was ruled by a woman like Angela Merkel.

The author singled out the German chancellor for particular praise as he called for a new era of female-dominated politics.

“I have a dream. I see a day when politics is feminised, where female values move into the public sphere in a way they haven't quite done yet,” he told the audience at the Telegraph Ways With Words literary festival.

“I think there have been 20 female heads of state since the Second World War – some by inheritance, some by widowhood.

"But they have all had to pretend they are tougher than men. That’s why Hillary Clinton said if Iran tries anything she will wipe them off the map. Margaret Thatcher was quite devoid of feminine qualities.

“In an imaginable future, the values of women will rise. I met Angela Merkel and I sensed with her that she did bring certain feminine qualities to bear on the political situation in Germany. I want every country to be ruled by an Angela Merkel.” >>> Anita Singh, Showbusiness Editor | Monday, July 12, 2010

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Republicans Could Win Control of Congress, White House Admits for First Time
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: The White House has admitted for the first time that Republicans could win control of the House of Representatives in crucial elections in November.

Robert Gibbs, the White House Press Secretary. Photo: The Sunday Telegraph
Robert Gibbs, the president's spokesman, acknowledged that deep frustration with the economy could see the Democrats' 75-seat majority in the lower chamber wiped out.

"There is no doubt there are enough seats at play that could cause Republicans to gain control, there is no doubt about that," Mr Gibbs told NBC's "Meet the Press".

All 435 seats in the House are up for grabs in the Nov 2 election as well as 36 of the 100 seats in the Senate, which the Democrats expect to hold.

The party is considered particularly vulnerable in southern and midwestern states, districts that turned Democratic in the latter years of the Bush administration. A consensus has emerged among Washington observers that the House would be lost or the ruling party's majority reduced to a handful of seats.

Such outcomes would make it difficult for President Barack Obama to push through his agenda, which is likely to include major reform of energy and immigration. It would not augur well for his re-election bid in 2012. >>> Alex Spillius in Washington | Sunday, July 11, 2010

Bloody Dhimmitude! The Stupid, Weak, Fawning Brits!
MAIL ON SUNDAY: Schools are being urged to rearrange tests, cancel swimming lessons and stop sex education to avoid offending Muslims during Ramadan.

Head teachers in Stoke-on-Trent have been issued with the guidance for treatment of Muslim pupils who may still be fasting when the new term starts in September.

But critics dismissed the advice as ‘over-zealous’ bureaucracy and said all pupils would be forced to miss out on activities as a result.

During Ramadan, all Muslims who have reached puberty avoid eating or drinking between sunrise and sunset to encourage discipline and self-restraint.

To help them with this, Stoke council advises schools not to schedule exams or hold parents’ meetings and social events after school.

They should also avoid swimming lessons because some parents and pupils consider the risk of swallowing water too great.

It even advises schools to cancel sex education because Muslims are expected to avoid sexual thoughts while fasting.

Although the guidance was specifically drawn up to help Muslims, it will affect every pupil in the 89 schools in the Potteries. Council forces schools to rearrange exams and cancel lessons to avoid offending Muslims during Ramadan >>> Claire Ellicott | Sunday, July 11, 2010

Iran Halts Woman's Stoning 'For Now'
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Iran's judiciary chief has halted "for the moment" the execution by stoning of a woman accused of adultery, according to the state news agency.

Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani, a 43-year-old mother of two, was sentenced to death by stoning after being found guilty of adultery by an Iranian court, a ruling that sparked outcry in Western countries. >>> | Sunday, July 11, 2010

Related articles here

Clintons Close In On $11m Estate
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Bill and Hillary Clinton are reportedly closing in on an $11 million (£7.3 million), 20-acre estate near New York as they prepare for the daughter Chelsea’s wedding at the end of the month.

Hillary, Bill and Chelsea Clinton. Photo: The Sunday Telegraph
The former president and the current Secretary of State are set to become neighbours to the likes of Richard Gere, Martha Stewart and Glenn Close in Bedford Hills, 40 miles north of New York.

Clover Hill Farm has high fences, two guesthouses and six bathrooms in the main 7,000 sq ft mansion, ample room for future grandchildren and the Secret Service agents.

The home, which features a wine cellar, a heated pool, artist studio and stable, has been put up for sale by Paul Wallace, whose Manhattan property firm the Broadstone Group was declared bankrupt in May. >>> Alex Spillius in Washington | Sunday, July 11, 2010

Late-blooming Lesbians: Women Can Switch Sexualities as They Mature
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Women are embracing lesbianism in their thirties, according to research indicating that shifts in sexual orientation may be more widespread than previously thought.

Ellen DeGeneres and her wife Portia de Rossi, who nine years before their wedding was married to a man. Photo: The Sunday Telegraph
While “late-blooming lesbians” are not uncommon in history – the married writer Virginia Woolf had an affair with the poet Vita Sackville-West – the phenomenon of mature women switching sexualities is now attracting academic scrutiny.

One study even indicates that as many as two-thirds of women who feel lesbian attractions may have changed their sexual orientation over time.

The findings appear to pose a challenge to the scientific consensus that a person's sexuality is determined more by their genes than environment.

Christan Moran, a researcher at Southern Connecticut State University in the US, said that many women who develop lesbian feelings in later life refuse to “come out” for fear of society’s reaction.

Women in long-term heterosexual relationships, especially those with children, face even greater problems reconciling themselves to their new identities, she said. >>> Matthew Moore | Sunday, July 11, 2010

Anne Frank Graphic Novel Published
NEWSOXY: Anne Frank biography and graphic novel.

Anne Frank graphic novel and biography will be published this month. Frank's graphic novel will detail Anne's life during Jewish wartime. Anne Frank is one of the most talked about Jewish victims and the novel is supposed to be graphic in detail.

The Anne Frank House in Amsterdam is a museum committed to the Jewish wartime diarist Anne Frank, who hid from Nazi persecution with her family and four other people in hidden rooms at the rear of the building. As well as the preservation of the hiding place and an exhibition on the life and times of Anne Frank, the museum acts as an exhibition space to highlight all forms of persecution and discrimination. The Anne Frank House has decided to publish a graphic biography to make the young writer's story easily accessible to a wider audience. >>> John Lester, Staff Writer | Sunday, July 11, 2010

Sarkozy gerät zunehmend unter Druck
SCHWEIZER FERNSEHEN: Frankreichs Präsident muss sich und seine Regierung gegen schwerwiegende Korruptionsvorwürfe verteidigen. Angeblich soll die Loreal Erbin Liliane Bettencourt 2007 Sarkozys Wahlkampf illegal unterstützt haben.

Verbunden: hier klicken

Huit islamistes présumés arrêtés au Yémen
leJDD.fr: Les autorités yéménites ont arrêté huit membres présumés d'Al-Qaïda, dont un Saoudien en fuite, soupçonnés de planifier des attentats dans le pays, a rapporté le ministère de la Défense dimanche. Lundi dernier, deux membres d'Al-Qaïda avaient été arrêtés à la suite de l'assaut de la maison dans laquelle ils s'étaient retranchés dans la province orientale d'Hadramout. Trois soldats yéménites avaient été tués lors d'affrontements. [Source: leJDD.fr] | Dimanche 11 Juillet 2010

Leading Doctors Call for Urgent Crackdown on Junk Food
THE OBSERVER: Presidents of two royal colleges of medicine urge government to restrict advertising and sponsorship by makers of unhealthy foods and introduce diet health warnings

McDonald's currently sponsors the youth coaching scheme run by the Football Association. Photograph: The Observer
Leading doctors today weigh in on the debate over the government's role in promoting public health by demanding that ministers impose "fat taxes" on unhealthy food and introduce cigarette-style warnings to children about the dangers of a poor diet.

The demands follow comments last week by the health secretary, Andrew Lansley, who insisted the government could not force people to make healthy choices and promised to free businesses from public health regulations.

But senior medical figures want to stop fast-food outlets opening near schools, restrict advertising of products high in fat, salt or sugar, and limit sponsorship of sports events by fast-food producers such as McDonald's.

They argue that government action is necessary to curb Britain's addiction to unhealthy food and help halt spiralling rates of obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Professor Terence Stephenson, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said that the consumption of unhealthy food should be seen to be just as damaging as smoking or binge drinking. >>> Denis Campbell, Health correspondent | Sunday, July 11, 2010

Kill the Ground Zero Mosque TV Ad

HT: Always On Watch >>>

Nicolas Sarkozy Scandal Goes Back to Hungarian Roots
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: The case of L'Oréal heiress, Liliane Bettencourt, has enraptured France and forced Nicolas Sarkozy into the spotlight.

One secret cash payment to Mr Sarkozy's presidential election campaign was said to be worth as much as €150,000, or £125,000
Before becoming a scandal about money, politics, art, history, café society and power, the Affaire Bettencourt, now threatening the Sarkozy presidency, is the story of two ferociously ambitious young Hungarian outsiders and their success at storming the citadels of the French establishment.

One, Nicolas Sarkozy, the son of a womanising émigré aristocrat and a doctor's daughter, used to be told by his (twice) remarried father on visiting Sundays that he would never amount to anything much in France, because of his foreign name, small stature and below-average school grades.

The other, François-Marie Banier, né Banyiaï, was regularly beaten by his Renault migrant worker turned ad-man father for being a dilettante, an aesthete, and a high-school drop-out. (By coincidence Pál Sarkozy, Nicolas's father, also dabbled in advertising for a while).

Mr Sarkozy has mentioned the slights he suffered as the least well-off boy of his chic school in Neuilly, Paris's richest suburb. Mr Banier neglected even to complete his baccalauréat, haunting luxury hotel lobbies from his teens on, becoming in rapid succession the favourite of such luminaries as the painter Salvador Dali, the Nobel-prize playwright Samuel Beckett, and the couturiers Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Cardin. The Communist poet Louis Aragon enthused about the first novel Mr Banier published, aged 22.

Mr Sarkozy came to the attention of Charles Pasqua, the Gaullist party stalwart and key power-breaker [sic] who was to help shape most of his career, with his first public speech at a national rally: he was just 20 at the time.

Today Nicolas Sarkozy is president of the French Republic, while François-Marie Banier, a polymath photographer, painter and novelist, has recently been ranked 917th richest individual in the world, having accepted fabulous gifts from a string of wealthy old ladies, ranging from the viscountess Marie-Laure de Noailles to the actress Silvana Mangano - and especially from his latest patron, Liliane Bettencourt, the 87-year-old L'Oréal heiress.

The two men, no longer so young (Mr Banier is 63, Mr Sarkozy 55) nor as pretty as they both once were, stand at each end of a glittering chain of achievements, events, relationships, networks and rivalries now threatening to engulf France in the kind of political meltdown not seen here since the 1930s. >>> Anne-Elisabeth Moutet in Paris | Sunday, July 11, 2010

Les personnes clés de L’affaire Bettencourt >>>

Related articles here and here

An Ugly Fight Over L'Oreal [sic] Heiress' Fortune
LOS ANGELES TIMES: The daughter of France's richest woman says a charmer swindled her frail mother out of $1.25 billion in gifts. The family squabble has grown to include the courts and President Sarkozy.

Reporting from Paris — In a chic Paris suburb, inside the luxury villa of France's richest woman, nobody much cared what the butler saw.

When L'Oreal [sic] heiress Liliane Bettencourt met her advisors or lawyers to discuss secret Swiss bank accounts or lavish gifts to a male friend, the butler would simply bring in refreshments, then leave.

But what the butler heard, thanks to a cheap tape recorder smuggled in with the bone china teacups and silver spoons, has proved an explosive twist to a high-profile battle for the Bettencourt billions.

This month, celebrity photographer Francois-Marie Banier, a 63-year-old socialite dandy, went on trial, accused of tricking Bettencourt, 87, out of art masterpieces, cash and insurance policies worth $1.25 billion.

FOR THE RECORD: This article states that the Bettencourt fortune is $28 billion. The heiress' fortune is listed at $18 billion.

Bettencourt's estranged daughter, Francoise Meyers-Bettencourt, is alleging in a civil lawsuit that he exploited her aging mother's frailty.

The case started out as a run-of-the-mill family dispute among Bettencourt, her only child and Banier over who gets what. It has become a political scandal embroiling government ministers and even President Nicolas Sarkozy. >>> Kim Willsher, Los Angeles Times | Sunday, July 11, 2010

WE CAN DO BETTER / WIR KÖNNEN ES BESSER MACHEN / NOUS POUVONS FAIRE MIEUX

The world is full of unnecessary suffering and deaths. Let us at least try to understand each other better and minimise the suffering and tragic deaths. One death is one death too many! Can’t we do better than this? / Die Welt ist voller unnötigem Leid und Tod. Versuchen wir wenigstens, einander besser zu verstehen und das Leid und die tragischen Todesfälle zu minimieren. Ein Tod ist ein Tod zu viel! Können wir es nicht besser machen? / Le monde est rempli de souffrances et de morts inutiles. Essayons au moins de mieux nous comprendre et de minimiser les souffrances et les morts tragiques. Un décès est un décès de trop ! Ne pouvons-nous pas faire mieux que cela ? – © Mark Alexander

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I am placing this link here because Trump and his cronies are trying hard to take gays’ rights away from them. Moreover, Islam is growing in the West too, and if it gets too strong here, it will certainly take gays’ hard-fought-for, hard-won rights away from them. So here, you can enjoy two gay men kissing each other. What could possibly be offensive about that? If you are so narrow-minded that it upsets you, just click over. Remember: This website is dedicated to furthering the rights of ALL honest, law-abiding citizens. — Mark

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