The EU should be stronger and more united. Great Britain should belong to the Union.
Die EU sollte stärker und geeinter sein. Großbritannien sollte der Union angehören.
L'UE devrait être plus forte et plus unie. La Grande-Bretagne devrait appartenir à l'Union.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Barack Obama Warns that BP Oil Disaster Is Not Over
THE TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama has warned that the BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico is not over.
Although oil has stopped leaking into the ocean, the US President has urged Americans not to "get too far ahead of ourselves".
BP announced on Thursday evening that it had successfully capped the Deepwater Horizon oil well for the first time since April.
Underwater video footage showing no oil gushing from the well has led to widespread relief across America.
Speaking outside the White House, Mr Obama said that although the worst of the crisis was probably now in the past it would be several more weeks before it was finally over. Tests will continue for the next 24 hours to establish whether the cap will hold. >>> Robert Winnett in Washington | Friday, July 16, 2010
Symbol der europäischen Islamisierungsangst: Frau mit afghanischer Burka. Bild: FAZ
Burka-Verbot in Europa: Prävention ist das Gebot der Stunde
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: In Belgien gibt es kaum vollverschleierte Frauen. Also hat man sich mit dem Verbotsgesetz besonders beeilt. Die Burkadebatten überall in Europa enthüllen die Angst in der Öffentlichkeit.
Frauen, die einen Ganzkörperschleier tragen, wirken auf die meisten von uns befremdlich, mehr noch: Sie lösen ein aggressives Unverständnis aus. Denn Frauen, die sich mit der Verhüllung von Körper und Gesicht der Identifizierung ihrer Individualität und dem Kontakt entziehen, wecken den Verdacht, dass sie den Wert der Freiheit weder akzeptieren noch respektieren. Sie bleiben uns fremd.
Auch, weil sie uns so gut wie nie auf der Straße begegnen. Frauen nämlich, die den iranischen Tschador – sein Tuch lässt das Gesicht frei, kann aber jederzeit darüber gezogen werden –, die afghanische Burka mit ihrem Gitterfenster oder den saudi-arabischen Nikab tragen, der den Augen einen Sehschlitz zugesteht, gibt es in Europa so gut wie nicht. In Frankreich, wo mit mehr als fünf Millionen Menschen die größte muslimische Gemeinde Europas lebt, sollen es zweitausend sein. Dänemark zählt zweihundert. Für Deutschland und alle anderen Staaten gibt es nur Schätzungen, selten liegen sie im dreistelligen Bereich. Auch deshalb lehnt die Bundesregierung eine Debatte über ein Vollverschleierungsverbot ab.
In anderen Teilen der Welt jedoch schreitet die Totalverschleierung tatsächlich voran: Saudi-arabische Stiftungen etwa sollen Frauen Geld bezahlen, damit sie den Nikab anlegen. Das ist beängstigend. Aber es darf keine Legitimation dafür sein, dass derzeit in vielen europäischen Ländern eine hart geführte Debatte mit teilweise absurden Zügen um die Ganzkörperverschleierung tobt. >>> Von Karen Krüger | Freitag, 16. Juli 2010
Iran Scientist: CIA Offered Me $50m to Lie About Nuclear Secrets
THE INDEPENDENT: An Iranian scientist who says he was abducted and taken to the United States by the CIA returned to Tehran yesterday to a hero's welcome and claimed that he had been pressured into lying about his country's nuclear programme.
Shahram Amiri said that he was on the hajj pilgrimage when he was seized at gunpoint in the city of Medina, drugged and taken to the US, where he says Israel was involved in his interrogation. In the US, officials were reported to have admitted that Mr Amiri was paid more than $5m (£3.2m) by the CIA for information about Iran's nuclear ambitions.
The US claims to have received useful information from him in return for the money, but is clearly embarrassed by his very public return to Iran. The offer of a large bribe is reportedly part of a special US programme to get Iranian nuclear scientists to defect.
Flashing a victory sign, Mr Amiri returned to Tehran International Airport to be greeted by senior officials and by his tearful wife and seven-year-old son, whom he had not seen since he disappeared in Saudi Arabia during a visit 14 months ago. Iran said it was demanding information about what had happened to him.
The US says that he entered the US of his own free will and had relocated to Tucson, Arizona. The US is claiming that Mr Amiri, who had worked for Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation, re-defected because pressure was placed on his family back in Iran, something he denied yesterday. Officials suggested that Iran had used his family to get him to leave the US. >>> Patrick Cockburn | Friday, July 16, 2010
Matrimonio Para Todos! Argentina Legalizes Gay Marriage
THE HUFFINGTON POST: BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Argentina became the first Latin American nation to legalize gay marriage Thursday, granting same-sex couples all the legal rights, responsibilities and protections that marriage brings to heterosexuals.
The law's passage – a priority for President Cristina Fernandez's government – has inspired activists to push for similar laws in other countries, and a wave of gay weddings are expected in Buenos Aires. Some gay business leaders are predicting an economic ripple effect from an increase in tourism among gays and lesbians who will see Argentina as an even more attractive destination.
But it also carries political risks for Fernandez and her husband, former President Nestor Kirchner. The vote divided their governing coalition, and while gay rights have strong support in the capital, anti-gay feelings still run strong in much of Argentine society, where the vast majority of people are Roman Catholic.
"From today onward, Argentina is a more just and democratic country," said Maria Rachid, president of the Argentine Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender federation. The law "not only recognizes the rights of our families, but also the possibility of having access to health care, to leave a pension, to leave our assets to the people with whom we have shared many years of life, including our children," she said.
The 33-27 Senate vote was tallied shortly before dawn, after a marathon debate that touched on religion, ethics, the legacy of Argentina's dictatorship and the challenges of raising children. There were three abstentions. Since the lower house already approved it, the law takes effect within days.
Gays and lesbians who have already found Buenos Aires to be a welcoming place to live will likely rush to the altar, but same-sex couples from other countries will need to live in Argentina before becoming eligible, and the necessary residency documents can take months to obtain. Argentina Gay Marriage Law: First Country In Latin America To Approve Same Sex Marriage >>> Michael Warren | Thursday, July 15, 2010
Néstor Kirchner Asks Catholic Church to 'Become More Modern'
BUENOS AIRES HERALD: Former president Néstor Kirchner considered that "Argentina took a transcendental step forward" by passing the same-sex marriage law and asked the Catholic Church to "become more modern."
"I speak from my religious formation, Catholic, but we aspire with all our strength for the Church to become more modern," Kirchner assured during a rally in the Buenos Aires province locality of Ezeiza.
For the UNASUR Secretary General, with "same-sex marriage" the country "is growing democratically." [Source: Buenos Aires Herald] | Friday, July 16, 2010
Ordination of Women? It’s a ‘Grave Crime’, Says Vatican
MAIL ONLINE: Making a woman a priest is as sinful as abusing a child, the Roman Catholic Church declared yesterday.
New religious rules published by the Vatican set both sins at the same level of gravity and recommended the same punishment for guilty priests.
Church officials in Rome insisted that the new version of Canon Law showed it was 'very, very serious in its commitment to promote safe environments'.
But it had the appearance of an own goal by Pope Benedict XVI in his attempt to cool the scandal over Catholic cover-ups of child abuse by paedophile priests.
Victims' groups protested that criminal offences against children should be given far greater weight than doctrinal arguments over whether women can be ordained.
The Vatican move also appeared badly-timed as it followed the debate in the Church of England over appointing women bishops that won worldwide publicity at the weekend.
The new rules mean that priests can be defrocked or excommunicated for paedophile offences, sexual abuse of mentally handicapped adults or attempting to ordain women.
Acquiring, possessing or distributing child pornography will be regarded as an offence on the same level as physical abuse of children.
More Than 2.5m Muslims Threaten to Leave Facebook After Four Islamic Pages Are Taken Down
MAIL ONLINE: More than 2.5million users will leave Facebook unless certain Islamic pages are reinstated, it has been claimed.
A template letter that has been pasted into numerous Facebook pages accuses founder Mark Zuckerberg and other senior members of Facebook of 'ignoring the feelings of more than 2.5million Muslims'.
The Muslim community is angry that four extremely popular Islamic pages were removed from the site and the letter warns that unless its demands are met Facebook's Muslim users will move to an Islamic alternative.
The letter demands not only that the pages are reinstated but that new rules are introduced which make it a violation of Facebook’s terms to post anti-Islamic comments.
And Facebook is given notice that unless the changes are introduced then 2.5 million Muslim users will leave to join madina.com, a social networking site for Muslims.
The letter reads: ‘Although you have attended the world’s best communication skills courses you have been most successful in growing great hatred and hostility between you and Muslims around the world, but seriously this time you have caused an almost unrepairable [sic] damage.’
It also accuses Facebook of ‘irresponsible behaviour’ for allowing to host ‘Everybody Draw Mohammed Day’ pages which sparked controversy for encouraging users to draw portraits of the Prophet. Continue reading and comment >>> Niall Firth | Friday, July 16, 2010
Is Apple Losing Its Touch?
THE INDEPENDENT: Crunch time for technology giant as public love affair with brand turns sour
Apple, the £150bn technology giant, is this morning preparing to confront the biggest public relations crisis in its history, amid technical problems afflicting its latest iPhone and a warning that "an emerging pattern of hubris" could wreck the public's love affair with the company.
It emerged yesterday that senior engineers warned early in the development of the new iPhone 4 that its choice of aerial could lead to dropped calls and poor reception. But the company ignored their concerns and when customers first complained about the fault wrongly blamed the problem on a software glitch.
Today the company will hold an emergency press conference in an attempt to reassure customers – and Wall Street – that it has the problem under control.
On Wall Street, where Apple has been the darling of investors for almost a decade since it unleashed the iPod music player on the world, its shares have tumbled, while the company faces a future of increased scrutiny by competition watchdogs and intense competition from newly-emboldened rivals.
Apple has summoned media and industry players to its headquarters in Cupertino, California, in a mood that is a far cry from the launch event with founder Steve Jobs last month. Then, with typical hyperbole, he declared it “the biggest leap forward” since the launch of the original iPhone in 2007, and 1.7 million people snapped up the new device in just the first two days, making it the company’s most successful product launch ever.
But users immediately started complaining of dropped calls and independent consumer tests laid the blame at the door of the phone’s aerial, which is built into the case of the phone. Continue reading and comment >>> Stephen Foley in New York | Friday, July 16, 2010
Release of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi a Mistake*, Government Says
THE GUARDIAN: Announcement comes as Hillary Clinton says she will investigate claims BP lobbied UK government to release Lockerbie bomber
Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi was released by Scotland on compassionate grounds. Photograph: The Guardian
The new coalition government regards the release of the man convicted of the Lockerbie plane bombing as a "mistake", Britain's ambassador to the US has said.
Sir Nigel Sheinwald made the statement as the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, said she would look into claims by a group of Democrat senators that BP lobbied the British government to release Abdelbaset al-Megrahi to help it secure an oil deal with Libya.
The US Senate's foreign relations committee is holding a hearing into the release of Megrahi on Thursday 29 July, and BP officials have been asked to give evidence.
Last year, the decision to release Megrahi on compassionate grounds was taken by the Scottish government. At the time, Gordon Brown insisted he was not responsible for what happened, but he did say he "respected" the right of Scottish ministers to take the decision, a phrase that was taken as an endorsement of Megrahi's early release.
But last night, Sheinwald issued a statement that made it clear that the coalition government takes a different view. "The new British government is clear that Megrahi's release was a mistake," Sheinwald said.
He went on: "The British government deeply regrets the continuing anguish that his release on compassionate grounds has caused the families of Megrahi's victims in the UK, as well as in the US. >>> Andrew Sparrow and agencies | Friday, July 16, 2010
Geert Wilders to Spread Anti-Muslim Movement to UK
THE TELEGRAPH: Geert Wilders, the controversial anti-Muslim Dutch MP, has said he is forming an international alliance to spread his message to Britain and across the West in a bid to ban immigration from Islamic countries.
Mr Wilders will launch the movement late this year, initially in five countries: the US, Canada, Britain, France and Germany.
"The message, 'stop Islam, defend freedom,' is a message that's not only important for the Netherlands but for the whole free Western world," Mr Wilders said at the Dutch parliament.
Among the group's aims will be outlawing immigration from Islamic countries to the West and a ban on Islamic law.
Starting as a grass-roots movement, he hopes it eventually will produce its own lawmakers or influence other legislators.
Ayhan Tonca, a prominent spokesman for Dutch Muslims, said he feared Mr Wilders' message would fall on fertile ground in much of Europe, where anti-Islam sentiment has been swelling for years.
"So long as things are going badly with the economy, a lot of people always need a scapegoat," Mr Tonca said. "At the moment, that is the Muslims in Western Europe." >>> | Friday, July 16, 2010
David Cameron, Don't Follow Barack Obama
THE TELEGRAPH: When David Cameron visits America next week he will learn a lot – about how not to run a country, says Peggy Noonan.
Dear Mr Cameron, welcome young friend. Welcome to America. Bring your bright, dashing self to our shores. Speak your piece with affection and modesty and go home a wiser man.
As for your own leadership, here is some advice. Do not imitate Mr Obama. He has been a disappointment; learn from his mistakes. America is not Britain and Britain is not America, but the culture of our politics – the polls, the imagery, the fixation on sound bites, the nonsense, the essential shallowness of presentation and of thinking, the inability of political figures to think long term – has grown similar. To your detriment, by the way.
Shall I tell you what Americans think? We think you used to have fusty, occasionally dishevelled, pipe-smoking, brandy-taking, hopelessly avuncular figures as your leaders: no one cared what they looked like, though they were interesting to listen to, or at least to watch moving through murky waters – like Harold Macmillan. Mrs Thatcher, too, was this sort, though never dishevelled. Now you have leaders who are young, sleek, slick, who believe always and almost only in what used to be called public relations and is now called the brand. I name no names. And, actually, I don't mean to be harsh.
You can today go to any office of any great leader in America and Britain – business leader, church leader, political leader – and you will find the great topic of conversation, the great focus of attention, the object of daily obsession, is not the mission (making money, spreading faith, leading an anxious citizenry in the right direction) but how the mission is playing in the media. It's all they talk about. This is very sad but it is not my point, to which I return. (Actually, let me end this section with some political advice. Grow older quicker. Here is a secret of the voters of the Western democracies: we all miss old.)
In Mr Obama's poll numbers this week, CBS News reports 13 per cent of the people think his economic leadership has bettered their lives. That means 87 per cent do not – that is rather a lot. The Rasmussen Reports' daily tracking poll yesterday showed 43 per cent strongly disapprove of his leadership and 26 strongly approve. This is low. These are only two examples of the general slide you discern as people talk about Obama.
Here are the things he got wrong. In the middle of an economic crash, and in the middle of record-breaking federal budgets and budget deficits, Mr Obama started a new entitlement. This struck people, by which I mean almost everyone, as off-point. We are in a crisis, part of the crisis involves spending money we don't have, and our answer is to spend more? It wasn't a policy, it was a non sequitur. Continue reading and comment >>> Peggy Noonan | Friday, July 16, 2010
Peggy Noonan is a columnist for the 'Wall Street Journal' and was a speechwriter for President Ronald Reagan
Talk-show Host Tackles Afghan Taboos
Missing Iranian Scientist Arrives Home: A missing Iranian scientist who claims he was kidnapped by the United States returns to Iran, as U.S official says he provided "useful" information
THE TELEGRAPH: Argentina has become the first Latin American country to legalise same-sex marriage.
President Cristina Fernandez is a strong supporter and the new law is expected to bring a wave of marriages. Photo: The Telegraph
The move grants homosexual couples all the legal rights, responsibilities and protections that marriage gives heterosexual couples.
President Cristina Fernandez is a strong supporter and the new law is expected to bring a wave of marriages.
The approval came despite a concerted campaign by the Roman Catholic Church and evangelical groups, which drew 60,000 people to march on Congress and urged parents in churches and schools to work against passage.
Nine homosexual couples have already married in Argentina after persuading judges that Argentina's constitutional mandate of equality supports their marriage rights, but some of these marriages were later declared invalid.
Trotz Protest der Kirche: Argentinien erlaubt die Homo-Ehe
Lesbisches Paar vor dem argentinischen Kongress: Homo-Ehe ist Novum in Lateinamerika. Foto: Spiegel Online
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Der Widerstand der Katholischen Kirche war vergeblich, Demonstranten vor dem Parlament jubelten: Als erstes Land in Lateinamerika hat Argentinien die Einführung der Homo-Ehe beschlossen.
Buenos Aires - Nach einer 14-stündigen Debatte stimmte der Senat endlich zu. Mit einer Mehrheit von 33:27 Stimmen bei drei Enthaltungen beschloss Argentinien ein Gesetz, dass die gleichgeschlechtliche Ehe erlaubt. Das Abgeordnetenhaus hatte schon im Mai zugestimmt. Präsidentin Cristina Kirchner hatte sich für das Gesetz stark gemacht und bereits angekündigt, dass sie kein Veto einlegen werde.
Demonstranten für das Gesetz, die trotz winterlicher Kälte stundenlang vor dem Parlamentsgebäude in Buenos Aires ausgehalten hatten, jubelten. Denn das Gesetz ist ein Novum in Lateinamerika. Bisher hatte nur das lokale Parlament von Mexiko-Stadt im Dezember die Homo-Ehe in der mexikanischen Hauptstadt gebilligt. Buenos Aires gilt als eine der tolerantesten Metropolen Lateinamerikas gegenüber Homosexuellen.
Die Reform erlaubt gleichgeschlechtlichen Paaren die Ehe und räumt ihnen damit dieselben Rechte ein wie heterosexuellen Paaren, etwa bei der Sozialversicherung oder der Elternzeit. Schwule und lesbische Ehepaare dürfen zudem Kinder adoptieren. Um die Reform durchzusetzen, soll das Bürgerliche Gesetzbuch geändert werden und die Bezeichnung "Mann und Frau" durch "die Vertragspartner" ersetzt werden. Weiter lesen und einen Kommentar schreiben >>> als/dpa/AFP | Donnerstag, 15. Juli 2010
L'Argentine légalise le mariage homosexuel
Manifestation de soutien au projet de loi devant le Congrès à Buenos Aires. Photo : Le Figaro
LE FIGARO: Le vote du Sénat argentin fait de ce pays à très forte majorité catholique, le premier d'Amérique latine à autoriser le mariage homosexuel.
«Un jour historique». C'est ainsi que Miguel Pichetto, chef de groupe du parti au pouvoir le parti justicialiste (péroniste)-, a qualifié le vote du Sénat. Le texte, déjà voté par l'Assemblée le 5 mai dernier, a été adopté par 33 voix contre 27 et trois abstentions, après 14 heures de débat. il ne lui manque plus que la signature de la présidente Cristina Fernández, qui le soutient.
La loi modifie le Code civil argentin. La mention «mari et femme» est désormais remplacée par «les contractants». Les mariés de même sexe pourront également adopter. Ils obtiennent les mêmes droits que les couples hétérosexuels concernant la sécurité sociale, les allocations et les jours de congés liés à la vie familiale.
La partie était loin d'être gagnée. Mardi soir, des milliers de personnes étaient rassemblées en face du Congrès à l'appel de l'Eglise catholique pour manifester contre le projet de loi. «Nous voulons un papa et une maman», «Vive la famille», pouvait-on lire sur certaines banderoles. Un message de l'archevêque de Buenos Aires, Jorge Bergloglio, a été lu pendant le rassemblement : «L'union entre un homme et une femme est la voie naturelle pour la procréation : l'adoption d'une telle loi marquerait un grave revers». Au Sénat, les discussions ont été houleuses, et le vote serré. >>> Par Margaux Bergey | Jeudi 15 Juillet 2010
Argentina's Gay Community Celebrates Equality in Tango
Sarah Palin Attacks NAACP Over 'Racist' Tea Party Motion
THE TELEGRAPH: Sarah Palin has attacked a prominent civil-rights organisation which has officially branded the American tea party movement as racist, a day after Michelle Obama delivered the keynote speech at the organisation
The former US vice-presidential candidate urged President Obama and his wife Michelle, to "repudiate" the allegation and "set the record straight".
The National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP) has passed a motion condemning the tea party movement – which is closely linked to the right wing of the Republican Party – for being racist.
In its motion, the NAACP says the movement has engaged in "explicitly racist behaviour" and calls for people to "stand in opposition to [the tea party's] drive to push our country back to the pre-civil rights era." However, Mrs Palin has hit back at the allegation.
"The charge that Tea Party Americans judge people by the colour of their skin is false, appalling, and is a regressive and diversionary tactic to change the subject at hand.," she said. >>> Robert Winnett in Washington | Wednesday, July 14, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: The financial adviser to Liliane Bettencourt, the heiress to the L'Oreal cosmetics fortune, has been detained for questioning along with three others, amid a scandal that has embroiled the French government.
Patrice de Maistre, financial adviser to the 87-year-old, was being questioned by investigators, according to an official in the prosecutor's office in the Paris suburb of Nanterre.
The others held include the celebrity photographer Francois-Marie Banier, accused by Mrs Bettencourt's daughter of milking the heiress out of €1 billion in gifts.
Mrs Bettencourt's former tax lawyer, Fabrice Goguel, and the manager of an island in the Seychelles that she owns, Carles Vejarano, were also being held for questioning, the official said. The official was not authorised to be publicly named because of judicial policy. >>> | Thursday, July 15, 2010
BP Admits 'Lobbying UK Over Libya Prisoner Transfer Scheme But Not Lockerbie Bomber'
THE TELEGRAPH: BP is facing fresh scrutiny into whether it was involved in the release of the Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi, after the oil giant admitted lobbying the British government over a prisoner agreement with Libya.
Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet Al Megrahi, left, after his release, with Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi's son Seif al-Islam. Photo: The Telegraph
BP said it pressed for a deal over the controversial prisoner transfer agreement (PTA) amid fears any delays to negotiations would damage its “commercial interests” and disrupt its £900 million offshore drilling operations in the region.
But it denied claims that it had been involved in negotiations concerning the release of Megrahi, the Lockerbie bomber freed by Scottish authorities last year.
It followed a letter from four US senators who had accused the company of having a hand in the release of Megrahi, who was released last year by the Scottish government on "health grounds" and compassionate grounds.
Mrs Clinton’s intervention came after the American Democratic senators called for an investigation into BP’s interests in Libya, as they tried to connect the oil group with a deal to free the convicted terrorist.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the company admitted it had lobbied the British Government over the controversial prisoner deal but denied any involvement in Megrahi’s release.
“It is matter of public record that in late 2007 BP told the UK Government that we were concerned about the slow progress that was being made in concluding a prisoner transfer agreement with Libya,” the company said in a statement.
“We were aware that this could have a negative impact on UK commercial interests, including the ratification by the Libyan Government of BP's exploration agreement.”
But a spokesman added: “The decision to release Mr al-Megrahi in August 2009 was taken by the Scottish Government. >>> Andrew Hough | Thursday, July 15, 2010
Liliane Bettencourt, France's richest woman. Photograph: The Telegraph
L'Oréal Heiress 'Pained and Vexed' by Daughter's Behaviour
THE TELEGRAPH: Liliane Bettencourt, the L'Oréal heiress, has said she is "pained and vexed" at her daughter's behaviour amid a legal battle that has set off a financial investigation drawing in the highest levels of French government.
Mrs Bettencourt, France's richest woman, was attacking a renewed bid by her daughter, Françoise Bettencourt-Meyers, to have a judge declare her incompetent to manage her own affairs.
Her daughter has alleged that her 87-year-old mother is subject to the undue influence of photographer Francois-Marie Banier, to whom she has given gifts worth nearly a billion euros.
"I am at once pained and vexed for I say to myself how, after so many years, someone who has lived close to me has such petty reactions at that," Mrs Bettencourt told France 3 television.
Her daughter first tried to have her declared incompetent in December 2009. The judge refused in the absence of a medical expertise, something to which Bettencourt has so refused to submit. >>> | Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Alejandro Freyre (left) and Jose Maria Di Bello had their marriage blocked in Buenos Aires in December. Photograph: The Guardian
Thousands Demonstrate Against Argentina Plans to Legalise Same-sex Marriage
THE GUARDIAN: Supporters of measure also take to streets to stage rallies in Buenos Aires and other cities
Thousands of demonstrators today gathered outside Argentina's congress in the capital, Buenos Aires, to protest against a proposal to legalise same-sex marriage.
Supporters of the measure also took to the streets in loud rallies in the city and across the country.
The House of Deputies has approved same-sex marriage and sent the legislation to the senate for consideration today.
The legislation – which would open the way to adoptions by same-sex couples – has been challenged by the Roman Catholic church and other religious groups.
The main slogan for the anti-legislation protest was: "Children have a right to a mother and a father".
The Argentine president, Cristina Fernández, has promised not to veto the measure if it reaches her desk.
Argentina remains mainly Catholic, but hostility to homosexuals has waned in the past decade – a trend mirrored across Latin America. >>> Associated Press | Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Gay Marriage Bill Splits Argentina
THE TIMES OF INDIA: BUENOS AIRES: Already known for having one of the most gay-friendly capitals in the world, Argentina is in the throes of a debate this week over granting the broadest marital protections to gay people in Latin America.
In what is expected to be a fierce discussion, Argentina's senate is scheduled to vote on Wednesday on a bill allowing gay people to wed. The proposed law has increased frictions between the Roman Catholic Church and the government of President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, which is pushing the bill. >>> Alexei Barrionuevo, NYT News Service | Thursday, July 15, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: The US has warned India to honour UN sanctions against Iran after its foreign secretary criticised "unilateral" measures against Tehran over suspicions it is developing a nuclear weapons programme.
Phillip J. Crowley, a spokesman for the US State Department, said it was for India to decide what individual measures it would take, but warned its security would be threatened if Iran became a nuclear power.
Mr Crowley said India had a responsibility to persuade Iran to abandon its nuclear ambitions. "This is about the danger of a nuclear arms race in the Middle East, which will affect countries outside of the region, including India. So everyone has a responsibility to do what each country can to convince Iran to change its present course."
India has long-standing ties with Iran and has made a number of substantial investments in its oil and gas sectors. Its Congress-led government has said while it will honour UN sanctions against Iran, it favours dialogue and remains opposed to "unilateral" additional sanctions announced by the US and the European Union. >>> Dean Nelson, South Asia Editor | Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Tariq Aziz Fears for His Life in Iraqi Jail
THE TELEGRAPH: Saddam Hussein's former deputy prime minister Tariq Aziz has been handed over to the Iraqi authorities by the US in move his lawyer claims has put his life in danger.
He was among 55 members of the former regime's inner circle who were transferred along with control of Camp Cropper, the last American-run detention facility.
Iraqi security officials will take control of the camp from today as the US hands over roughly 1,600 Iraqi prisoners.
The move is part of American plans to cut troop numbers to 50,000 by the end of August in anticipation of all forces leaving by the end of next year.
Yesterday, Aziz's lawyer confirmed he had been transferred along with the other detainees on Tuesday night.
"Aziz called me and said he was being held in the Kazemieh prison in Baghdad," said Badie Aref. "He should have been released. What the Americans did violates the Red Cross code because they handed him over to his enemies. His life is in danger now." >>> | Wednesday, July 14, 2010
New Yorkers Can't Flee City's Bed Bugs – Even in the Hamptons
THE INDEPENDENT: It used to be the exploding population of rats in New York City that gave everyone the creeps, but today it's a different urban infestation that is gripping the imaginations – not to say sucking the blood – of its residents. The city does sleep occasionally, which is when the bed bugs come out to play – lots and lots of them.
Not so long ago, bed bugs barely registered on the radars of the pest control specialists in Manhattan. Across America, in fact, the squishy critters had all but disappeared thanks to the pesticide DDT. But since that chemical cocktail was banned the bugs have been making a spectacular comeback.
It is raining bed bugs in New York – they can fall kamikaze–style from ceilings on to sleeping victims. This week, part of an emergency room was briefly shut down in Brooklyn after one bug was discovered by nurses. The week before, the preppy clothing chain Abercrombie & Fitch was forced to temporarily shutter two of its Manhattan outlets to combat infestations.
Exploded suddenly then is the myth that bed bugs reside only in seedy hotels and crummier postcodes. No, they are "equal opportunity" bugs, according to New York magazine which reported this week that the infestation had reached The Hamptons. The filmmaker Joel Roodman and his wife, Jill Taft, were "shocked and horrified" to discover their $18,000 (£12,000) holiday rental in East Hampton, was "crawling". Ms Taft (a former model) sought treatment in hospital such was the extent of the bites on her face.
Exterminators report being called more and more frequently to commercial spaces. "We've had them in banks, grocery stores, movie theatres, judges' chambers, schools, dentists' offices – everywhere," said Jeff Eisenberg of PestAway, an exterminating company in the city. And we haven't mentioned hotels. Continue reading and comment >>> David Usborne in New York | Wednesday, July 14, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: Shahram Amiri, the Iranian nuclear scientist, has described the moment he claims to have been abducted at gunpoint by the CIA while on a pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.
Mr Amiri, 32, said he was seized and spirited from the country after being offered a lift while walking towards a mosque.
He gave his account before flying home to Iran on Wednesday after taking refuge at the Iranian Interests Section of the Pakistani embassy in Washington earlier this week.
The US state department has insisted he was in the US of his own free will but Mr Amiri said he was kidnapped by secret agents in Medina, Islam's second holiest city, in May last year.
"A white van stopped in front of me... They told me in Farsi that they were part of another group of pilgrims and said 'We are going towards a mosque and we will be happy to take you as well'," he said.
"When I opened the door to get in and sit down, the person at the back put a gun to my side and said 'Please be quiet, don't make any noise'.
"As I opened the door, one of the passengers pulled out a gun and told me to be quiet. They gave me an injection and when I came around I was in a big plane. I was blindfolded. It was probably a military plane."
He said he was taken to "American territory" and put under intense psychological pressure to accept $10 million to make a video saying he had defected from Iran.
He was then allowed to settle in Tucson, Arizona, and live relatively freely on condition he did not talk about his abduction. >>> Richard Spencer, Middle East Correspondent | Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Democratic Divide Deepening? : House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in dust-up with White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs
New Threats to Freedom? : John Stossel on the latest challenges to our inalienable rights
U.S. Cartoonist on Terror Leader's Hit List: Radical cleric targeting Seattle woman for Muhammad cartoons
President Obama speaks to members of the media during his meeting with South Africa's President Jacob Zuma, in advance of the Nuclear Security Summit, at Blair House in Washington, Sunday, April 11, 2010. Photograph: Fox News
Obama Departs from Revised Policy, Links 'Radical Islam' to Terror Groups
FOX NEWS: In a rare divergence from administration policy, President Obama used the term "radical Islam" to describe the African-based terror group that took credit Monday for killing 74 people in Uganda during an interview Tuesday with the South African Broadcasting Corporation.
The interview came just three months after the administration removed such religious terms from its national security playbook and two months after Attorney General Eric Holder hesitated to link "radical Islam" to recent terror attacks and plots in the U.S. during questioning at a House Judiciary Committee hearing.
When asked about opinions attributing radical Islam's impact on the development and stability on the African continent, Obama called Islam "a great religion," but added that the radical version views as anti-Islam "any efforts to modernize, any efforts to provide basic human rights, any efforts to democratize."
"And I think that is absolutely wrong," he said. "I think the vast majority of people of the Islamic faith reject that. I think the people of Africa reject it."
Obama also accused terror groups such as Al Qaeda an Al Shabab of being racist. Continue reading and comment >>> FoxNews.com | Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Enchantée ma chérie ! Tu es mon trésor !
The Sarkozys lead celebrations for France's national holiday. Photo: The Telegraph
L'économie réalisée avec la suppression de la Garden-party est de 750.000 euros. Photo : Le Figaro
LE FIGARO: Cette réception avait été inventée par Valéry Giscard d'Estaing en 1979.
Rigueur oblige, le 14 Juillet de Nicolas Sarkozy sera d'une sobriété exemplaire. Régalien et discret. Le président de la République commencera le défilé à 10 heures pour le terminer à 12h15 exactement. Avant d'aller se reposer, probablement au cap Nègre, dans la propriété varoise de la famille de son épouse, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, jusqu'au week-end.
Mais le symbole de cette nouvelle sobriété est la suppression de la garden-party de l'Élysée. L'économie réalisée est de 750.000 euros. Cette réception d'été dans le vaste parc de l'Élysée avait été inventée par l'anglophile Valéry Giscard d'Estaing en 1979, qui l'avait baptisée «garden-party». La «garden» résiste à l'alternance Mitterrand. Et finalement, la «rupture» sera assumée par Sarkozy, au nom du train de vie exemplaire de l'État. >>> Par Charles Jaigu | Mercredi 14 Juillet 2010
SCHWEIZER FERNSEHEN: Erste Reaktionen auf die Freilassung von Roman Polanski fielen milde aus. Nach dem Auftritt des Sprechers des amerikanischen Aussenministeriums zeigt sich, dass die USA durchaus verärgert sind.
Iranian Nuclear Scientist Shahram Amiri Heads Home
THE GUARDIAN: Iran had accused US and Saudi Arabia of his abduction, but US says he was always free to come and go
An Iranian nuclear scientist who disappeared more than a year ago and mysteriously turned up in Washington is on his way back to Iran via a third country, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman has said.
"With the efforts of the Islamic Republic of Iran and effective co-operation of Pakistan's embassy in Washington, a few minutes ago Shahram Amiri left American soil and is heading back to Iran via a third country," the semi-official news agency ISNA quoted him as saying. He did not name the country.
Another Iranian official on Tuesday said Tehran could enlist Turkey's help to return Amiri to Iran. Ramin Mehmanparast said the foreign ministry would pursue the case through legal and diplomatic channels regarding the part the US government played in what Iran says was Amiri's abduction.
Iran had accused Saudi Arabia of handing Shahram Amiri to the US after he disappeared during the hajj pilgrimage a year ago. Amiri subsequently appeared in a series of internet videos, some of which said he was in hiding from US agents.
The US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, said: "Mr Amiri has been in the United States of his own free will and he is free to go. In fact he was scheduled to travel to Iran yesterday but was unable to make all of the necessary arrangements to reach Iran through a transit country."
Clinton called on Tehran to release three American hikers being held in Iran and to provide more information on the former FBI agent Robert Levinson who disappeared during a business trip to Iran.
Referring to Amiri, Clinton said: "He's free to go, he was free to come, these decisions are his alone to make." >>> Ian Black, Middle East editor, Saeed Shah in Islamabad and agencies | Wednesday, July 14, 2010
THE GUARDIAN: BSkyB in talks to start free-to-air competitor to al-Jazeera, run as 50/50 joint venture with investor from Abu Dhabi
BSkyB is in talks about launching a Sky News-branded 24-hour Arabic language service in conjunction with an Abu Dhabi-based private investor.
It would compete with the Qatar-based al-Jazeera and other Arabic language news services in the Middle East and North Africa. Sky said that the channel will launch within the next two years if the discussions are successful.
The new channel, which would be a 50/50 joint venture between the two parties, will be based in Abu Dhabi and have bureaux "in most major regional and international news centres". >>> Mark Sweney | Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Mandelson's Memoirs: Blair Thought Brown Was 'Mad, Bad and Dangerous'
THE GUARDIAN: Tony Blair branded Gordon Brown 'beyond redemption' and reneged on deal to stand down after his second term
Gordon Brown behaved 'like a mafioso' according to Tony Blair. Photograph: The Guardian
The relationship between Tony Blair and Gordon Brown became so hostile that Blair described his chancellor as "mad, bad, dangerous and beyond redemption" and likened Brown's behaviour to that of a "mafioso" in his dealings with him, Lord Mandelson has revealed.
The breakdown in the two men's relationship is detailed in the third instalment of Mandelson's memoirs, The Third Man, in which he describes how he and other No 10 aides drew up plans – codenamed Operation Teddy Bear – to split the Treasury into two in an attempt to weaken Brown's challenge to Blair after the prime minister agreed in 2003 not to fight the next general election, only to renege on his promise.
But plans to remove Brown from the Treasury and put him in the Foreign Office were twice considered and rejected by Blair because he feared Brown would resign and become an even greater threat.
Blair's broken promise led to an almost complete breakdown in relations between the two men, and while Mandelson's memoirs lack genuine revelation in many areas they confirm some intriguing details.
Mandelson said at a meeting with John Prescott, then deputy prime minister, Blair agreed to the deal in which he would step aside in favour of Brown. Blair is quoted as saying that even Prescott was "scared" by Brown. "He knows there's something wrong with him," Blair is reported as saying. Mandelson said Blair described Brown as "flawed, lacking perspective and having a paranoia about him". >>> Allegra Stratton, political correspondent | Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Rage Unmosqued
NEW YORK POST: Rivals clash at hearing on Ground Zero project
A city hearing yesterday on the historical significance of the downtown Manhattan site of a proposed mosque quickly turned into a raucous -- and at times ugly -- debate about whether an Islamic center should be located so close to Ground Zero.
About 150 people crowded into the Hunter College Auditorium in Manhattan for the Landmarks Preservation Commission hearing, held to see if the 152-year-old building at 45-47 Park Place in lower Manhattan had the cultural or architectural consequence worthy of being landmarked.
Those who opposed the construction of the 13-story mosque and community center, called the Cordoba House, accused their opponents of being unpatriotic and insensitive to the thousands who died on 9/11.
But attendees who want to see the $100 million project completed accused their challengers of being racist and encouraging conflict with Muslims.
One protester, shouting, "Down with this McCarthyistic witch hunt against Muslims," was escorted out after interrupting speakers against the mosque.
Sally Regenhard, mother of an FDNY firefighter who died on 9/11, begged the commission to landmark the spot, which could end or complicate plans for the new mosque.
"I'm here to represent my son, probationary firefighter Christian Regenhard, a beautiful person who loved all people," she said.
"Follow the guidelines to making this a landmark. Please do not fold to political forces."
Joseph Reichling of Ridgewood, Queens, said, "Our forefathers are turning in their graves. Have we forgotten what happened on 9/11? We must never forget 9/11."
Andrea Quinn echoed his sentiments.
"The plan to build a 13-story mosque on that site is ludicrous," said Quinn of Queens. "Not to preserve this building is to allow for a citadel of Islamic supremacy to be built in its place." Continue reading and comment >>> Tom Topousis | Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Outrage Over Ground Zero Mosque Plan
Barack Obama Compared to Hitler and Lenin in Tea Party Billboard
THE TELEGRAPH: A roadside billboard created by a branch of the Tea Party in Iowa comparing President Barack Obama to Adolf Hitler and Vladimir Lenin has been condemned by other groups in the movement.
North Iowa Tea Party co-founder Bob Johnson said the sign highlighted what the group argues is Mr Obama's support for socialism. Photograph: The Telegraph
The North Iowa Tea Party began displaying the sign in Mason City last week. It shows photographs of Mr Obama, the German Nazi leader and Russian communist with the statement: "Radical leaders prey on the fearful & naive."
The words "Democratic Socialism" are featured over Mr Obama's picture, over Hitler's photo is "National Socialism" and over Lenin's head is "Marxist Socialism." The word "Change" – Mr Obama's campaign slogan – is included on each photo.
North Iowa Tea Party co-founder Bob Johnson said the sign highlighted what the group argues is Mr Obama's support for socialism. >>> Alex Spillius in Washington | Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Roman Polanski Victim Calls for End of Sex Case Pursuit
THE TELEGRAPH: Roman Polanksi's victim has called for the sex case against him to be dismissed "once and for all" after Swiss authorities rejected an attempt by prosecutors to have him extradited to the United States.
Samantha Geimer said she hoped the Los Angeles district attorney's office would finally cease its pursuit of the film director over the crime he committed against her 33 years ago.
The victim, who is now a mother of three in her 40s, said: "I am satisfied with this decision and I hope that the district attorney will now close the case and get it over once and for all." However, Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley said the case was not closed and he would continue to pursue Polanski if he is arrested again in another country from where he can be extradited. A US arrest warrant remains active. >>> Nick Allen in Los Angeles | Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Michelle Obama Controversy as Tea Party Is Labelled 'Racist' by NAACP
THE TELEGRAPH: Michelle Obama has provoked controversy by giving the keynote speech for a civil rights organisation which has formally accused the American Tea Party movement of being 'racist'.
Michelle Obama lavished praise on the NAACP. Photograph: The Telegraph
The First Lady said that her husband's presidency had been made possible by the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP) and urged the group to "increase its intensity".
The organisation later issued a motion condemning the Tea Party movement – which is closely linked to the right wing of the Republican Party – as racist.
The motion threatens to turn race into an important issue in this autumn's midterm elections as several members of the movement are standing for the Republican Party.
Mrs Obama's appearance at the organisations's annual conference in Kansas City, was primarily focused on warning African-Americans about the dangers of childhood obesity.
However, she also lavished praise on the NAACP. Mrs Obama said: "I know that I stand here today, and I know that my husband stands where he is today, because of this organisation – and because of the struggles and the sacrifices of all those who came before us.
"When African American communities are still hit harder than just about anywhere by this economic downturn, and so many families are just barely scraping by, I think the founders would tell us that now is not the time to rest on our laurels.
"When stubborn inequalities still persist – in education and health, in income and wealth – I think those founders would urge us to increase our intensity, and to increase our discipline and our focus and keep fighting for a better future for our children and our grandchildren."
In its motion, the NAACP said the Tea Party movement engaged in "explicitly racist behaviour" and called for people to "stand in opposition to the drive to push our country back to the pre-civil rights era."
The increasingly influential Tea Party movement has been embraced by a series of senior Republicans including Sarah Palin, the former vice-presidential nominee. >>> Robert Winnett in Washington | Tuesday, July 13, 2010
No. 1 Nation in Sexy Web Searches? Call it Pornistan
FOX NEWS: They may call it the "Land of the Pure," but Pakistan turns out to be anything but.
The Muslim country, which has banned content on at least 17 websites to block offensive and blasphemous material, is the world's leader in online searches for pornographic material, FoxNews.com has learned.
“You won’t find strip clubs in Islamic countries. Most Islamic countries have certain dress codes,” said Gabriel Said Reynolds, professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Notre Dame. “It would be an irony if they haven’t shown the same vigilance to pornography.”
So here's the irony: Google ranks Pakistan No. 1 in the world in searches for pornographic terms, outranking every other country in the world in searches per person for certain sex-related content. >>> Kelli Morgan | Tuesday, July 13, 2010
This should come as no surprise. Anyone who has ever worked in the Islamic world, and who has kept his eyes open, will have experienced prurience as he will never have experienced it before in the West. The seclusion of women – purdah – is one of the main causes of this preoccupation with matters sexual in the Muslim world.
Homosexuality, too, is a huge problem in the Islamic world. Why? Because young men, when they reach puberty and become frisky, have no outlet for their sexual urges. So, what they do is look for pretty young men to fit the bill! If the young man is clean-shaven and handsome, look out!
This is one reason why the French and Belgians are so much wiser than the Brits and the Americans. The burqah should be banned. The Belgians have banned it already; the French will have banned it very soon. Britain should follow suit. But our politicians lack the balls to take such a bold step.
