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.
Wednesday, August 04, 2010
Thirty US Billionaires Pledge to Give Away Half Their Fortunes to Charity
THE GUARDIAN: Bill Gates's and Warren Buffett's campaign draws in top names including George Lucas and Michael Bloomberg
Bill and Melinda Gates with Warren Buffett (right), who has decided to give away most of his fortune. Photograph: The Guardian
The world of philanthropy got a huge financial boost today as more than 30 American billionaires pledged to give away at least half of their fortunes to charitable causes, signing up to a campaign launched by Warren Buffett and Bill Gates.
In an unprecedented mass commitment, top figures including New York's mayor Michael Bloomberg, the hotel heir Barron Hilton, CNN media mogul Ted Turner, and the Star Wars director George Lucas lent their names to the "giving pledge", an initiative founded last month to encourage America's richest families to commit money to "society's most pressing problems".
The pledge is not a legally binding contract but is described as a moral commitment. Buffett, the legendary Nebraska-based financier known as the "sage of Omaha", welcomed the influx of support: "At its core, the giving pledge is about asking wealthy families to have important conversations about their wealth and how it will be used. We're delighted that so many people are doing that." >>> Andrew Clark in New York | Wednesday, August 04, 2010
CANADA FREE PRESS: Words are tricky things. Virtually every tyrant, no matter how bloody, has talked about his plans for conquest in terms of “peace”. For example in 1939, Nazi Germany and the USSR signed a declaration in which they described their conquest of Poland as creating “a sure foundation for a lasting peace in Eastern Europe”. The same year that Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, he delivered a speech at the Amman Summit in which he insisted that; “the Arabs seek peace and justice throughout the world”. And how can one argue with peace?
The Romans had the Pax Romana, which meant peace under Roman dominion. The “peace” that Hitler, Stalin and Saddam had in mind, was of that same nature. Dictators and tyrannies, national or ideological, frame the world as chaotic and requiring order. Only under their leadership and only their way will the world finally experience peace.
When Lenin stated that; “without overthrowing capital it is impossible to end the war by a truly democratic peace”, he was laying out the same basic thesis of every tyrant, and of Islam as well. That there can be no “true peace”, without the creation of a society that follows his ideology. For Lenin, everyone had to submit to Communism. For Hitler, to Nazism. For Mohammed, to Islam. Each spoke about peace, but they defined peace only in terms of their own ideology and rule.
When apologists insist that Islam is a religion of peace, they are correct. Insofar as it believes in peace through conquest, and its intended state of peace is to reduce non-Muslims to second class status. But since Islam is global and it recognizes no limit to its borders—its form of “peace” is to engage in constant wars to conquer the territory of non-Muslims and Muslims whose legitimacy they do not recognize in order to achieve “peace”.
Islam’s peace has as much in common with what most people think of as peace, as Hitler and Stalin’s assurance that they had laid a foundation for a lasting peace, by conquering Poland does with reality. Islam’s peace, like Hitler’s peace, was and is an expression of a Will to Power, a belief that the world would not be right without Mohammed or Adolf, or their followers running it. >>>Daniel Greenfield | Wednesday, August 04, 2010
Nihad Awad Doesn’t CAIR! – Ground Zero Mosque Sensitivities
No Words Can Ease the Heartache of Ground Zero “Mega Mosque”
CANADA FREE PRESS: There’s a pox on your house, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf and your Mrs.[,] Daisy Khan. And it’s a pox that will long outlast the in-your-face insult of the intent to celebrate the groundbreaking of your mosque at Ground Zero on Sept. 11, 2011.
Rauf and Khan mimic the dialectic of the cunning Marxists now running America. But then again radical Islam and Marxism go hand in hand.
Mealy mouthed politicians like Mayor Michael Bloomberg never own up to cowardice, filthy lucre or political power by allowing a “mega mosque” to arise from the ashes of Ground Zero. Instead they describe 9-0 votes from their Landmarks Preservation Commission as being “an important test of the separation of church and state”.
Your honeyed, hackneyed words of “peace”, Imam Rauf are about as meaningful as President Barack Obama’s, who told those who had lost loved ones on September 11, 2001 at last year’s eighth anniversary, “No words can ease the ache of your hearts.” In any faith, interfaith or otherwise, actions always speak louder than words.
Obama was nowhere around to ease the hearts of the walking wounded yesterday. Instead he was preparing to go to Chicago where he will celebrate his 49th birthday, making some of us who still dare to think wonder whether America’s most pro-Islamist Mayor was giving America’s most pro-Islamist President a birthday present by green-lighting your ABC News-described “Islamic community center, including a prayer room”.
ABC and the mainstream media have been ever so snide in their reportage on the mosque that could not possibly be built anywhere in the entire Big Apple but in a place that would tower over terrorism’s killing field of 2,752 innocents.
But the courageous Pamela Geller of AtlasShrugs had already pointed out that Imam Rauf is no ordinary Imam, but the one who has refused to classify Hamas as a terrorist group and the one who has said that U.S. foreign policy was an “accessory” to the Sept. 11 attacks. >>> Judi McLeod | Wednesday, August 04, 2010
Landmark Commission Votes on Status of 45-47 Park Place
Ground Zero Mosque: The Lethal Letter of the Law
GATES OF VIENNA: Fox News has reported that the New York City Landmarks and Preservation Commission has voted against granting “landmark status” to the building near Ground Zero which Muslims have chosen to plant their so-called Cordoba Mosque Initiative.
The news didn’t come as a surprise, but it is deeply wounding nonetheless. In fact, even after all these months it's hard to grasp the idea that this nightmare could become a reality.
If they actually were what they claim - i.e., “moderates”, they’d be sensitive enough to know that putting a mosque in that spot makes a mockery of the very notion of “moderation”. There is nothing moderate about building a triumphal edifice to Islam on the graveyard of three thousand people who were brutally slaughtered solely by Muslims.
These innocent souls were incinerated, or asphyxiated, or jumped to their deaths on September 11th, 2001. They all died horribly and Ground Zero is their cemetery. No amount of Kumbayah and toxic tolerance can make those ashes disappear or bring back all those mothers and fathers and sons and daughters.
How dare the blunted human beings pushing for their “initiative” be permitted to erect this sacrilege? They can proclaim their innocence all they want to the Western press (who will eat it up), but Muslims in other countries read their message loud and clear: the killers of 9/11 have triumphed. Continue reading and comment >>> Dymphna | Wednesday, August 04, 2010
From The Koran. Image: Google Images
Islamic Police Smash 80,000 Beer Bottles in Nigeria
YAHOO! NEWS: KANO, Nigeria – Islamic police smashed 80,000 bottles of beer in the Nigerian city of Kano on Tuesday to enforce a sharia law ban on consumption of alcohol that exists in much of the country's north.
Over a dozen veiled female sharia police, called Hisbah, destroyed the beer bottles with sticks amid shouts of "Allahu Akbar" (God is Great) on the outskirts of the northern city in a ceremony.
The ceremony was attended by government officials as part of "efforts to rid the state of immorality," said Kano state Hisbah chief Saidu Dukawa. Kano city is the capital of the state by the same name.
"The sale and consumption of alcohol, like all forms of drugs and intoxicants, is illegal in Kano state, which practices sharia law and by this event we are enforcing that ban," Dukawa told AFP. >>> AFP | Tuesday, August 03, 2010
Levi Johnston and Bristol Palin. Photos: People.com
Bristol Palin to Levi Johnston: 'It's Over'
PEOPLE.COM: And just like that, they were off again. "It's over. I broke up with him," Bristol Palin tells PEOPLE exclusively of her second try at an engagement to Levi Johnston, father of her 19-month-old son Tripp.
Palin, 19, says the relationship soured on July 14, the very same day they announced their marriage intentions to the world. Palin says he told her that evening he might have fathered a baby with another teenage girl. (Palin did not name the young woman, but a pregnant former girlfriend of Johnston's has since publicly denied his paternity.)
In an emotional phone interview with PEOPLE, Palin spoke through tears about feeling heartbroken, humiliated and trapped – while Johnston acted cool. "There's been no remorse," she says, adding that she's seen him only once in the past three weeks.
"The final straw was him flying to Hollywood for what he told me was to see some hunting show but come to find out it was that music video mocking my family," she says. "He's just obsessed with the limelight and I got played." Continue reading and comment >>> Sandra Sobieraj Westfall | Tuesday, August 03, 2010
The plague outbreak is close to Chicama beach, a popular draw for tourists to Peru. Photo: The Telegraph
Peru Suffers Deadly Outbreak of Bubonic and Pneumonic Plague
THE TELEGRAPH: An outbreak of bubonic and pneumonic plague in Peru has killed a 14-year-old boy and infected at least 31 people in a northern coastal province.
Oscar Ugarte, the health minister, said authorities were screening sugar and fish meal exports from Ascope province, located about 325 miles north-west of Lima.
Chicama beach, a popular draw for tourists to Peru, is not far away.
Mr Ugarte said the boy, who had Down syndrome, died of bubonic plague on July 26.
He said on Monday that most of the infections were bubonic plague, with four cases of pneumonic plague. >>> | Tuesday, August 03, 2010
Video Shows French Police Dragging Pregnant Women and Children Along Ground
THE TELEGRAPH: A video showing an immigrant pregnant women and children being dragged along the ground by police has provoked outrage across France.
The footage – which shows the officers trying to get rid of African squatters from a Paris housing estate – shows at least one woman fainting and young children screaming.
All were being targeted by officers from the elite CRS riot squad, who were armed and wearing body armour.
No female police were involved, and there was no medical assistance on hand.
The emergence of the video, filmed on July 21st, comes at the worst possible time for French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
He is currently trying to get rid of thousands of unwanted immigrants to his country, including gipsies and foreign criminals.
Mr Sarkozy has always been a firm believer in tough policing. >>> Peter Allen in Paris | Monday, August 02, 2010
Customers queue good-naturedly at a branch of the Trustee Savings Bank in 1956. Photo: The Telegraph
British No Longer Willing to Queue
THE TELEGRAPH: Queuing, along with warm beer and afternoon tea, was once a quintessential British trait. But it would seem we are no longer prepared to wait in line.
Two minutes is the longest many British consumers are prepared to queue, down from five minutes just six years ago.
Two-thirds of us have walked away from buying something in a shop because we were so fed up with queuing, the survey also found.
Queuing patiently was once considered a typically British trait, fostered during the era of rationing. It was deemed a sign of civility that consumers were prepared to wait a long time, sometimes only to discover the shop had run out of butter or meat.
British buses, with only one place to hop on, are also believed to be a key reason why we have been more prepared to queue than our European cousins – where the predominant form of public transport was the tram, with multiple doors, which discouraged the single, disciplined line. >>> Harry Wallop, Consumer Affairs Editor | Wednesday, August 04, 2010
Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Survives 'Assassination Attempt'
THE TELEGRAPH: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, has survived a bomb attack on his convoy, according to reports.
Al Arabiya television said an attacker threw a bomb at Mr Ahmadinejad's convoy before being detained.
A home-made bomb exploded near the convoy, a source from the president's office told Reuters, but Mr Ahmadinejad, who was travelling from an airport in the western city of Hamadan to give a speech in a sports arena, was unharmed. >>> | Wednesday, August 04, 2010
SCHWEIZER FERNSEHEN: An der libanesisch-israelischen Grenze kam es zu einem Feuergefecht, bei dem vier Menschen getötet wurden. Einschätzungen von Bernhard Lichte, ZDF-Korrespondent, in Tel Aviv
Helmut Schmidt vergleicht Obama mit Hitler
Indonesien: Sex-Schock im Parlaments-TV
BILD: Porno statt Politik! Indonesische Abgeordneten und Journalisten bekamen am Montag in Jakarta so richtig eingeheizt. Grund: Das Parlaments-TV zeigte nicht die angekündigte Politik-Debatte, sondern einen Sex-Film!
UND DAS AUSGERECHNET IM MUSLIMISCHEN INDONESIEN!
Üblicherweise sind auf den Monitoren die Tagesordnung des Parlaments und andere politische Informationen für Besucher zu sehen. Doch am Montag offensichtlich nicht! >>> | Dienstag, 03. August 2010
Fox News: The Islamification of Europe
Mark Steyn: The End of the World as We Know It
Pat Condell: Freedom Is My Religion
Mosque Near 9/11 Site Likely to Go Ahead Despite Rightwing Fury*
The proposed site of the Islamic community centre to be operated by a group called the Cordoba Initiative. Photograph: The Guardian
THE GUARDIAN: A plan to build a mosque and a Muslim community centre within two blocks of Ground Zero cleared a major hurdle today amid an intensifying groundswell of opposition from rightwing pundits and politicians.
The $100m project would see a 13-storey centre, replete with prayer space, swimming pool and restaurant, rise in Park Place, just north of the World Trade Centre where al-Qaida terrorists struck on 11 September 2001.
Opponents turned to the Landmarks Commission of New York City, that has the power to order the preservation of historic buildings, in the hope that it would put a stop to the plans by blocking the demolition of the existing building on the site.
Today the commission unanimously declined to preserve the building, an 1850s Italianate structure that was damaged on 9/11 and has been disused ever since. It said there was nothing sufficiently distinguished about its design that earned it landmark status.
The decision removes an important possible barrier to the plans going ahead, though critics have vowed to continue their fight. A group of protesters were present at the commission vote, including one man carrying a banner that said: "No 9/11 victory mosque". >>> Ed Pilkington in New York | Tuesday, August 03, 2010
Sharif El-Gamal, chief executive of SoHo Properties, the developer of the project, center, praised the commission’s decision. Photograph: The New York Times
THE NEW YORK TIMES: After a protracted battle that set off a national debate over freedom of religion, a Muslim center and mosque to be built two blocks from ground zero surmounted a final hurdle on Tuesday.
The city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission voted 9 to 0 against granting historic protection to the building at 45-47 Park Place in Lower Manhattan, where the $100 million center would be built.
That decision clears the way for the construction of Park51, a tower of as many as 15 stories that will house a mosque, a 500-seat auditorium, and a pool. Its leaders say it will be modeled on the Y.M.C.A. and Jewish Community Center in Manhattan.
The vote on Tuesday was free of much of the vitriol that had been part of previous hearings. One by one, members of the commission debated the aesthetic significance of the building, designed in the Italian Renaissance Palazzo style by an unknown architect.
Later in the day, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg*, who has forcefully defended the planned mosque, praised the landmarks commission’s vote. >>> Javier C. Hernandez | Tuesday, August 03, 2010
Music Fails to Chime with Islamic Values, Says Iran's Supreme Leader
THE GUARDIAN: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei claims the promotion and teaching of the artform is not compatible with country's sacred regime
Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said today that music is "not compatible" with the values of the Islamic republic, and should not be practised or taught in the country.
In some of the most extreme comments by a senior regime figure since the 1979 revolution, Khamenei said: "Although music is halal, promoting and teaching it is not compatible with the highest values of the sacred regime of the Islamic Republic."
Khamenei's comments came in response to a request for a ruling by a 21-year-old follower of his, who was thinking of starting music lessons, but wanted to know if they were acceptable according to Islam, the semi-official Fars news agency reported. "It's better that our dear youth spend their valuable time in learning science and essential and useful skills and fill their time with sport and healthy recreations instead of music," he said.
Unlike other clerics in Iran, whose religious rulings are practised by their own followers, Khamenei's views are interpreted as administrative orders for the whole country, which must be obeyed by the government. Last month Khamenei issued a controversial fatwa in which he likened his leadership to that of the Prophet Muhammad and obliged all Iranians to obey his orders. >>> Saeed Kamali Dehghan | Monday, August 02, 2010
Canadians Back Burka Ban, Says QMI Poll
TORONTO SUN: OTTAWA - Canada should ban burkas in public, according to more than half of the people polled exclusively for QMI Agency.
The Leger Marketing online poll found 54% of people surveyed said the government should follow France's lead and not allow women to wear burkas in public for safety and transparency reasons.
Only 20% of respondents said Canada shouldn't consider a ban because it's an issue of freedom of religion and freedom of expression, and 15% said it didn't affect them either way.
Older Canadians were more likely to agree with a ban, with 71% of those 65 years and older choosing that option. Only 40% of Canadians 18-34 years old said burkas should be banned.
Leger Marketing vice-president Dave Scholz said the poll surprised staff at the research firm.
"This is Canada -- we don't ban anything," * he said. >>> Laura Payton, QMI Agency Parliamentary Bureau | Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Yes, you do, Sir! You ban smoking for a start! Check this out!
Radical Islam Is Growing Rapidly
London im Weihnachtsbummel
SCHWEIZER FERNSEHEN: In London hat der Weihnachtseinkauf bereits begonnen. Das Nobel-Kaufhaus Selfridges verzeichnet einen grossen Andrang.
Benedict Brogan: The Foreign Office Should Relax, Pakistan Knows David Cameron Is Right
THE TELEGRAPH – BLOGS – BENEDICT BROGAN: Pakistan’s anger at David Cameron and his remarks about terrorism are getting great play ahead of president Asif Ali Zardari’s visit. The Telegraph details today the real purpose of his appearance in Britain, namely to promote the political interests of his Pakistan People’s Party and his son Bilawal, who is being lined up to succeed him. There’s a big rally in Birmingham on Saturday (sorry, no cameras apparently). Which helps to explain why the visit wasn’t cancelled as some demanded: the dinner at Chequers on Friday was always incidental. Continue reading and comment >>> Benedict Brogan | Tuesday, August 03, 2010
Of Mosques and Men: Reflections on the Ground Zero Mosque
Barack Hussein Obama's Connection to Radical Islam
U.S.-born Cleric Is New Al-Qaeda Star
CNN: CNN's Deb Feyerick reports on Anwar al-Awlaki, who is accused of recruiting an army of lone-wolf insurgents.
Nicolas Sarkozy Given Clean Bill of Health a Year After Collapsing
THE TELEGRAPH: Doctors for Nicolas Sarkozy have given the 55-year-old leader a clean bill of health a year after he collapsed while jogging.
A battery of exams, including bloodwork and cardiovascular tests, all proved normal, the French President’s medical service said. It added that the president had requested to undergo the tests.
His collapse a year ago was seen as a wake-up call over the president’s intense, high-octane lifestyle. >>> | Monday, August 02, 2010
Iran Snubs Brazilian Asylum Offer for Stoning Woman
THE GUARDIAN: Official says 'humane and emotional' Brazilian president may not have all facts in Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani case
Iran signalled today that it was likely to reject the Brazilian president's offer to give refuge to an Iranian woman convicted of adultery and sentenced to death by stoning.
The case of 43-year-old Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani triggered an international outcry that prompted Iran to at least temporarily withdraw the stoning sentence. Ashtiani, who has two children, could still be hanged.
Ramin Mehmanparast, a foreign ministry spokesman, said: "A far as we know, [the Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula] Da Silva is a very humane and emotional person who probably has not received enough information about the case."
Further information would be provided to the president to clarify the situation about "an individual who is a convicted offender", he added. Iran says Ashtiani has also been convicted of murder. >>> Associated Press | Tuesday, August 03, 2010
Paris : Pour le président pakistanais, la coalition perd la guerre en Afghanistan
LE TEMPS: PARIS, Le président pakistanais Asif Ali Zardari a averti mardi que la coalition était "en train de perdre la guerre" en Afghanistan et rejeté les critiques du Premier ministre britannique David Cameron sur un double jeu d'Islamabad avec les talibans.
"La communauté internationale, à laquelle appartient le Pakistan, est en train de perdre la guerre contre les talibans. Et ce, avant tout, parce que nous avons perdu la bataille de la conquête des coeurs et des esprits", a déclaré au quotidien Le Monde M. Zardari qui achève mardi une visite en France avant de se rendre à Londres.
Estimant cependant que "la communauté internationale n'acceptera jamais de voir les talibans diriger à nouveau" l'Afghanistan, le chef de l'Etat pakistanais juge que les rebelles "n'ont aucune chance de reprendre le pouvoir" même si "leur emprise progresse".
Alors que des documents confidentiels de l'armée américaine, diffusés par le site internet Wikileaks, font état de liens entre le Pakistan et les talibans, M. Zardari juge "absurde" l'idée d'un double jeu de son pays.
"Le Pakistan et sa population sont victimes des terroristes. Nous ne faisons pas que défendre nos frontières, nous luttons contre la terreur et ceux qui la propagent", a-t-il affirmé.
Les zones tribales du Nord-Ouest, frontalières avec l'Afghanistan et bastion des talibans pakistanais, sont le sanctuaire d'Al-Qaïda et la base arrière des talibans afghans.
"Il n'y a pas de bons talibans avec qui on pourrait parler et d'autres, mauvais, qu'il faudrait combattre", ajoute-t-il, même s'il "respecte le choix" du président afghan Hamid Karzaï "d'engager son pays dans un processus de réconciliation avec les insurgés disposés à accepter le dialogue". >>> AFP | Mardi 03 Août 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: Michael Reagan, the son of former American president Ronald Reagan, is launching “the very first conservative email provider”.
Conservatives can show their support for Reagan with an email account. Photo: The Telegraph
Mr Reagan says that popular email providers such as Hotmail, Google, Yahoo! and Apple support leftwing causes and are “hurting” America. In a message on his website he said: “People who believe in true Reagan Conservative Values are unwittingly supporting the Obama, Pelosi and Reid liberal agenda!”
Those who sign up for the Reagan email service, which costs $34.95 per year, will receive an email address that ends with @reagan.com and early subscribers will also get a DVD of Ronald Reagan’s 1987 “tear down this wall speech”[.] >>> Shane Richmond, Head of Technology (Editorial) | Tuesday, August 03, 2010
Warnung vor Seuchen und Hunger in Pakistan: Überschwemmmungen dehnen sich aus – Lage unübersichtlich
Bild: NZZ Online
NZZ ONLINE: Der Monsunregen in Pakistan dauert an, und die sich talwärts wälzenden Wassermassen überfluten tiefer liegende Regionen. Im Überschwemmungsgebiet mangelt es an Trinkwasser und Nahrungsmitteln. Zehntausende sind obdachlos, Seuchen drohen.
Die Hochwasserkatastrophe in Pakistan weitet sich aus. Der Monsunregen dauert an, und die Wassermassen aus den nordwestlichen Bergregionen erreichen die tiefer liegenden Gebiete. Sie überfluten immer neue Dörfer entlang der Flussufer; nach einem Bericht des Fernsehsenders Geo News sind es schon über 200. Nördlich von Peshawar haben die Behörden die Evakuation der Bevölkerung angeordnet. Betroffen ist auch bereits die Provinz Punjab mit ihren landwirtschaftlichen Grossbetrieben. Auch für die Millionenstadt Hyderabad wurde vorsorglich schon eine offizielle Hochwasserwarnung ausgegeben.
Immerhin, in den von den Überschwemmungen bisher am meisten betroffenen Gebieten geht das Wasser nach offiziellen Angaben nun zurück. Die Behörden führen Erkundungsflüge durch. «Ganze Dörfer sind weggeschwemmt, Tiere sind ertrunken und Kornspeicher weggeschwemmt. Die Zerstörung ist massiv und vernichtend», lautet die Bilanz von Latifur Rehman, einem Pressesprecher der Provincial Disaster Management Authority in Peshawar laut «Regional Times». >>> Andres Wysling | Dienstag, 03. August 2010
Obama: 7 Lies In Under 2 Minutes
Monday, August 02, 2010
Medvedev déclare l’Etat d’urgence dans sept régions
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: CANICULE EN RUSSIE | Le président russe élargit aussi la possibilité de recourir aux forces armées pour lutter contre les flammes.
Le président russe Dmitri Medvedev a décrété lundi l’état d’urgence dans sept régions de Russie en raison des incendies de forêt et de tourbe qui y font rage, ont rapporté les agences russes. Ce texte permet de limiter l’accès aux zones où l’activité humaine pourrait provoquer de nouveaux départs de feu. >>> ATS/AFP | Lundi 02 Août 2010
Barack Obama Offers to Stay Away from Mid-term Campaign Trail
THE TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama has offered to stay away from the campaign trail for the US mid-term elections amid a growing realisation that he may be a liability for the Democrats.
President Barack Obama speaks about Iraq and Afghanistan, Monday, Aug. 2, 2010, at the Disabled American Veterans national convention in Atlanta. Photo: The Telegraph
The president is understood to have told senior Democrats during a private meeting at the White House that they “may not want me” to campaign in their areas during the next three months.
During a visit by Mr Obama to Atlanta, Georgia, on Monday, the Democrat candidate for governor was “not available” to meet the president and campaigned elsewhere in the state. The situation highlights the dramatic slump in Mr Obama’s fortunes.
For the past two elections, he has been the Democrat’s main asset with other candidates desperate for him to campaign in their areas.
However, his approval ratings are now below 50 per cent and a growing number of Americans are dissatisfied with his handling of the economy.
The Republican party - expected to win a majority in the US Congress this year - are attempting to turn the mid-term election in to a referendum on Mr Obama.
Over the weekend, Mr Obama addressed his declining popularity in an interview, saying that his fortunes would not improve until unemployment began to fall. He said that an assessment of his success was currently “incomplete”. >>> Robert Winnett in Washington | Monday, August 02, 2010
Two Found Guilty of JFK Airport Bomb Plot
THE TELEGRAPH: Two Islamist militants have been found guilty of plotting to bomb New York’s John F Kennedy International Airport.
Left, courtroom sketch of Russell Defreitas. Right, Abdul Kadir. Both men have been found guilty of plotting to bomb John F Kennedy International Airport in New York. Photo: The Telegraph
Russell Defreitas, 67, a US citizen born in Guyana, and Abdul Kadir, 58, of Guyana conspired to blow up buildings, fuel tanks and pipelines at the airport in the New York City borough of Queens. The men, who were arrested in June 2007, face up to life in prison.
Defreitas, who had worked at the airport, provided knowledge of its facilities and layout, US prosecutors said, while Kadir, an engineer, helped with technical aspects such as how to blow up the buried fuel pipelines.
Defense attorneys for the men portrayed them as all bluster and no substance. Prosecutors said Defreitas and Kadir did more than just talk and “took concrete steps to make this plan a reality.”
Officials have said the plot was nowhere near being operational when the men were arrested.
This was the first case involving a plot against New York to go before a local jury since 2006. >>> | Monday, August 02, 2010
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Sieben Wochen nach den Wahlen in den Niederlanden zeichnet sich eine rechte Minderheitsregierung unter Tolerierung der Partei des Rechtspopulisten Geert Wilders ab.
In den Niederlanden wird der Islamkritiker Geert Wilders einer rechten Minderheitsregierung die Mehrheit im Parlament sichern. Sieben Wochen nach den Wahlen teilten die liberale VVD und die Christdemokraten CDA am Freitagabend in einer gemeinsamen Erklärung in Den Haag mit, es sei vereinbart worden, dass Wilders Partei für Freiheit (PVV) eine Regierung der beiden Parteien unterstützen und ihr bei Abstimmungen die nötige Mehrheit verschaffen werde. Die PVV soll kein Ministeramt erhalten, berichtete die niederländische Nachrichtenagentur ANP.
Zuvor waren Verhandlungen zur Bildung einer Koalition aus Liberalen, Christdemokraten und der antiislamischen Partei Wilders gescheitert. Eine Mitte-Rechtskoalition von VVD und der CDA käme mit Wilders PVV auf 76 Mandate und hätte damit nur eine hauchdünne Mehrheit. Es gebe zwar Meinungsunterschiede, zum Beispiel über den „Charakter des Islam“, aber die drei Parteien hätten das Ziel, die Niederlande „stärker, sicher und wohlhabender“ zu machen, heißt es in der Erklärung. „Es gibt vieles, was die Parteien verbindet.“ >>> dpa | Samstag, 31. Juli 2010
Après les inondations, le Pakistan menacé par une épidémie de choléra
LIBÉRATION.fr: L'aide commence à affluer dans le nord-ouest du pays, principale région touchée par les pluies diluviennes. Alors que certains villages inondés restent toujours inaccessibles, le dernier bilan des autorités fait état de 1200 morts.
Selon la Croix-Rouge, les crues ont affecté 2,5 millions de personnes et de nombreuses localités restent coupées du monde. Sur la photo, prise à Nowshera, un homme essaie de traverser un pont de fortune pour échapper à la montée des eaux. Photo : Libération.fr
Le président pakistanais : "La France considère le Pakistan comme un partenaire responsable"
Nicolas Sarkozy serre la main à son homologue pakistanais sur le perron de l'Élysée. Photo: Le Point
LE POINT: Le président pakistanais Asif Ali Zardari a estimé lundi que la France considérait le Pakistan comme "un partenaire responsable", à l'issue d'un entretien avec son homologue Nicolas Sarkozy. "La France considère le Pakistan comme un partenaire responsable", a assuré Asif Ali Zardari, s'exprimant devant des journalistes au palais de l'Élysée. >>> AFP | Lundi 02 Août 2010
Mongolian neo-Nazi group the Tsagaan Khas ('White Swastika') salute on the streets of the capital Ulan Bator. Photograph: The Guardian
Mongolian Neo-Nazis: Anti-Chinese Sentiment Fuels Rise of Ultra-nationalism
THE GUARDIAN: Alarm sounds over rise of extreme groups such as Tsagaan Khass who respect Hitler and reject foreign influence
Their right hands rise to black-clad chests and flash out in salute to their nation: "Sieg heil!" They praise Hitler's devotion to ethnic purity.
But with their high cheekbones, dark eyes and brown skin, they are hardly the Third Reich's Aryan ideal. A new strain of Nazism has found an unlikely home: Mongolia.
Once again, ultra-nationalists have emerged from an impoverished economy and turned upon outsiders. This time the main targets come from China, the rising power to the south.
Groups such as Tsagaan Khass, or White Swastika, portray themselves as patriots standing up for ordinary citizens in the face of foreign crime, rampant inequality, political indifference and corruption.
But critics say they scapegoat and attack the innocent. The US state department has warned travellers of increased assaults on inter-racial couples in recent years – including organised violence by ultra-nationalist groups.
Dayar Mongol threatened to shave the heads of women who sleep with Chinese men. Three years ago, the leader of Blue Mongol was convicted of murdering his daughter's boyfriend, reportedly because the young man had studied in China.
Though Tsagaan Khass leaders say they do not support violence, they are self-proclaimed Nazis. "Adolf Hitler was someone we respect. He taught us how to preserve national identity," said the 41-year-old co-founder, who calls himself Big Brother.
"We don't agree with his extremism and starting the second world war. We are against all those killings, but we support his ideology. We support nationalism rather than fascism." >>> Tania Branigan in Ulan Bator | Monday, August 02, 2010
Baroness Warsi Is Just Plain WRONG!
MAIL ONLINE: Wearing a burka does not prevent Muslim women ‘engaging in everyday life’ in Britain, the Conservative Party chairman Sayeeda Warsi claimed today.
In comments that will reignite the row about the full face veil, Baroness Warsi defended the right of Muslim women to ‘choose’ to wear the burka.
Backbench Tory MPs have launched a bid to ban the wearing of the burka in public.
Critics claim the burka is a symbol of oppression, with some Muslim women ordered to wear the full face veil by their husbands.
But Lady Warsi, the first Muslim woman to serve in the Cabinet, yesterday launched a passionate defence of the burka. She suggested that many Muslim women choose to wear the veil of their own free will.
Lady Warsi, who was named last year as Britain’s most powerful Muslim woman, said: ‘Just because a woman wears the burka, it doesn’t mean she can’t engage in everyday life.
‘Why should we tell women what to wear? What it boils down to is choice. If women don’t have a choice over what to wear then they are oppressed.
‘But if a woman has a choice, and she chooses to wear whatever she chooses to wear then she’s not oppressed is she? She’s choosing what she wants.’
Critics claim that the burka alienates Muslim women from the rest of society. But Lady Warsi said the burka did not act as a barrier in itself.
She added: ‘There are women who wear the burka who run extremely successful businesses – internet businesses, which don’t actually require you to be there face to face.’
Österreich: Gadhafi-Clan soll Haiders geheime Konten gefüllt haben
ZEIT ONLINE: Neue Enthüllungen um den verstorbenen Rechtspopulisten Haider: Er soll über Geheimkonten in Liechtenstein Millionen verschoben haben. Geld kam angeblich auch aus Libyen.
46 Geheimkonten, 45 Millionen Euro: Jörg Haider soll ein Netzwerk von Briefkastenfirmen in Liechtenstein betrieben haben. Bild: Zeit Online
"Das dreckige Dutzend": So fasst das österreichische Nachrichtenmagazin profil die neuen Enthüllungen über den verstorbenen Rechtspopulisten und früheren Kärntner Landeshauptmann Jörg Haider zusammen. Es geht um Geld "aus dunklen Kanälen", um ein "dichtes Netz aus Treuhandkonstruktionen", das Staatsanwälte in drei Ländern beschäftigt. Haider soll in Liechtenstein mehr als ein Dutzend Briefkastenfirmen unterhalten und über diese Geheimkonten rund 45 Millionen Euro am Fiskus vorbei geschleust haben.
Wie das Magazin berichtet, stießen Sonderermittler aus Österreich, Deutschland und der Schweiz auf die Konten, als sie in zwei anderen Fällen gegen Haider ermittelt hatten: den Kauf der Hypo Group Alpe Adria Bank (HGAA) durch die deutsche BayernLB im Jahr 2007 sowie die Privatisierung der österreichischen Wohnungsbaugesellschaft Buwog im Jahr 2004. Insgesamt seien 46 von Treuhändern eingerichtete Briefkastengesellschaften gefunden worden, von denen ein Dutzend Haider zugerechnet werden.
Von den einst 45 Millionen seien inzwischen aber nur noch rund fünf Millionen Euro übrig. Der Rest wurde dem Magazin zufolge bereits vor Jahren verspekuliert. Vieles deute darauf hin, dass die Mittel weder der Freiheitlichen Partei (FPÖ) noch dem Bündnis Zukunft Österreich (BZÖ), sondern ausschließlich Haider zur Verfügung gestanden hätten. Schon als der Politiker im Jahr 2000 die Führung der FPÖ abgab, sei die vermeintlich prall gefüllte Parteikasse bis auf die staatliche Parteienfinanzierung leer gewesen. >>> Zeit online, dpa, Reuters, AFP | Montag, 02. August 2010
Verbunden: Das dreckige Dutzend >>> Von Michael Nikbakhsh und Ulla Schmid | Samstag, 31. Juli 2010
Reality Show Concludes Hunt for 'Ultimate Young Imam'
THE INDEPENDENT: An Islamic reality TV show that made its contestants counsel promiscuous teenagers and bury corpses has named a mosque prayer leader as Malaysia's top role model for young Muslims.
Producers voiced hopes yesterday of launching similar versions of Imam Muda, or "Young Leader", in other Muslim-majority countries after the Malaysian show's first season became the most-watched programme to ever air on the Islamic channel of the Astro pay-TV network.
Muhammad Asyraf Ridzuan, 26, beat Hizbur Rahman Omar Zuhdi, an Islamic schoolteacher, to win the competition late on Friday in an event broadcast nationwide from an auditorium packed with spectators who had secured the highly coveted tickets. It was the culmination of a 10-episode run to find a man whose religious devotion could inspire other Malaysian Muslims of his generation.
Ridzuan's victory earned him prizes that mixed the spiritual – a new job as prayer leader at a prestigious Kuala Lumpur mosque and an all-expenses paid pilgrimage to Mecca – with the secular, including a car, iPhone, laptop and 20,000 ringgit (£4,000) in cash. >>> Sean Yoong in Kuala Lumpur, AP | Monday, August 02, 2010
Islamic Bank of Britain Gets Cash Boost for Sharia-compliant Loans
THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY: A fortnight after it was revealed by The Independent on Sunday that Lloyds banking group had abandoned its landmark Islamic mortgage offer, one of its rivals has outlined plans to expand the number of home loans offered which comply with sharia law.
The Islamic Bank of Britain has secured an extra £20m of investment from Qatar International Islamic Bank so that it can increase the number of sharia-compliant home loans and savings products. Under sharia, the payment and receipt of interest is banned, as is investment in areas such as arms manufacturing, alcohol and tobacco. >>> | Sunday, August 01, 2010
Hobart's Smoking Ban Begins
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: A controversial ban on smoking in Hobart's outdoor malls has been well received, the city's council says.
Hobart City Council in May passed a ban on smoking at three outdoor malls in central Hobart, which took effect on Sunday. Smoking in Hobart's alfresco dining areas will be illegal from August next year.
The ban caused controversy when first announced, with retailers expressing concern it could affect business.
But the council said at the time it was proud to have some of the nation's most stringent anti-smoking laws. >>> AAP | Monday, August 02, 2010
