Giant Mecca Clock Seeks to Call Time on Greenwich
THE TELEGRAPH: For more than a century, a point on the top of a hill in south-east London has been recognised as the centre of world time and the official starting point of each new day.

Big Ben (L) and the Mecca Clock Tower (R) are now in competition to be recognised as the centre of time. Photo: The Telegraph
But now the supremacy of Greenwich Mean Time is being challenged by a gargantuan new clock being built in Mecca, by which the world’s 1.5 billion Muslims could soon be setting their watches.

Due to start ticking on Thursday as the faithful begin fasting during the month of Ramadan, the timepiece sits atop the Royal Mecca Clock Tower which dominates Islam’s holiest city.

It is at the heart of a vast complex funded by the Saudi government that will also house hotels, shopping malls and conference halls.

Bearing a striking resemblance to both St Stephen’s Tower, which houses the bell of Big Ben, and the Empire State Building, the Saudi upstart aims to outdo its revered British rival in every way.

The clock’s four faces are 151ft in diameter and will be illuminated by 2million LED lights along with huge Arabic script reading: “In the name of Allah”. The clock will run on Arabia Standard Time which is three hours ahead of GMT.

When a glittering spire is added, topped with a crescent to symbolise Islam, the edifice will stand at nearly 2,000 ft, making it the world's second tallest building.

The clock of Big Ben, by comparison, is just 23ft in diameter, while its tower stands at a mere 316ft.

Residents of Mecca will also be reminded that it is time to pray when 21,000 green and white lights, visible at a distance of 18 miles, flash five times a day.

But Islamic scholars hope the clock’s influence will stretch far further than the sands of Saudi Arabia, as part of a plan for Mecca to eclipse the Greenwich Observatory as the “true centre of the earth”. >>> Adrian Blomfield, Middle East Correspondent, and Martin Beckford | Wednesday, August 11, 2010

THE TELEGRAPH: Mecca clock: Greenwich Mean Time only recently synchronised world’s watches – Throughout the vast majority of human history, the time was calculated locally according to the rising and setting of the sun. >>> Martin Beckford | Wednesday, August 11, 2010


MAIL ONLINE asks whether we’ll soon be setting our clocks to Mecca Mean Time! >>>

Related articles here and here

Senators Demand Lockerbie Bomber's Medical Records
THE TELEGRAPH: US senators have called on the Scottish government to disclose the Lockerbie bomber's full medical records in an attempt to understand why he was released early.

Abdel Baset al-Megrahi in hospital in Tripoli shortly after his release. Photo: The Telegraph
In a letter to First Minister Alex Salmond they asked for the release of all medical documentation for Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi both while under Scottish care and after.

They also asked the Scottish government to issue the names, medical training and specialisations of the doctors who examined Megrahi.

The Libyan, who has cancer, was diagnosed with three months to live and was freed on August 20 last year.

The medical report which led to Megrahi being released on compassionate grounds went to Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill on August 10 last year.

Andrew Fraser, the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) director of health and care, said in the report no specialist ''would be willing to say'' if a three-month prognosis was reasonable.

The four senators said that examining the Libyan's full medical records would help clarify the circumstances surrounding his release. >>> | Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Drogenpolitik: Mexikos Ex-Präsident fordert Legalisierung von Drogen
ZEIT ONLINE: Vicente Fox will der Rauschgiftmafia das Handwerk legen. Die Lösung: Den Drogenkrieg beenden und den Konsum legalisieren. Der Haken: Die USA müssten mitziehen. M. Schmidt

Will Drogen in Mexiko legalisieren: Der ehemalige Präsident des Landes, Vicente Fox. Photo: Welt Online
Bestialische Morde, schrecklich zugerichtete Leichen, mehr als 28.000 Tote in dreieinhalb Jahren: Der Drogenkrieg in Mexiko hat ein hierzulande kaum vorstellbares Maß an Gewalt und Grausamkeit erreicht. Die Kriminalität schwächt den Staat, die geschwächte Regierung stärkt die Killer. Deshalb fordert der frühere Präsident Vicente Fox jetzt eine Legalisierung von Rauschgift. Sein Argument: Nur so lasse sich die wirtschaftliche Macht der Drogenkartelle brechen. "Wir sollten überlegen, die Produktion, den Vertrieb und den Verkauf von Drogen zu legalisieren", schrieb Fox in seinem Blog – und unterläuft damit die regierungsamtliche Strategie seines Nachfolgers und christdemokratischen Parteifreundes, Präsident Felipe Calderon. >>> Von Michael Schmidt | Dienstag, 10. August 2010

Will man zum Frühstück Brötchen essen? Kein Problem!
Brötchen in einem Korb. Bild: Google Images
Man kann sie kommen lassen – fliegend! Genau wie der Bundespräsident Deutschlands! >>>

THE TELEGRAPH: German president criticised for importing bread 180 miles from home to Berlin: Christian Wulff, the new German president, has been accused of wasting taxpayers’ money after importing bread and baked goods 180 miles from his home state to Berlin. >>> | Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Levi Johnston Grabs for Sarah Palin's Old Job in Wasilla Mayoral Run
THE TELEGRAPH: Levi Johnston, the former fiance of Bristol Palin, will follow in Sarah Palin footsteps by running in the mayoral election of the Alaskan town of Wasilla.

The 20-year-old father of the grandson of Sarah Palin, the Republican vice-presidential candidate in the 2008 US election, will run for mayor in his hometown as part of a reality TV show, his manager, Tank Jones, said.

Wasilla, population 10,250, is where Mrs Palin, who is widely touted as a potential candidate for the Republican presidential ticket in 2012, got her start in politics, moving up from city council to mayor before winning election as Alaska's governor in 2006.

Mr Jones said Mr Johnston, whose career thus far has included stints in the Alaskan oil fields and posing nude in Playgirl, is serious about politics. >>> | Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Levi Johnston, the 20 year-old high-school “drop-out” for mayor of Wasilla? Give me a break! If the voters of Wasilla vote for this guy, they’ll need their heads read – they’ll need a phrenologist!

Don’t the Americans have any standards in politics anymore? Doesn’t one need a certain level of education, doesn’t one need to have a modicum of experience of life, doesn’t one need a mature intellect to enter into the political arena? This is really depressing! Before long, they’ll be telling us that Levi is running for president! – © Mark

Bounty Hunters to Cut Benefit Fraud by £1bn
THE TELEGRAPH: Private agencies are to be paid by the Government to reduce benefit fraud by £1billion, David Cameron is to announce.



Finance experts will identify welfare cheats by trawling through their records, household bills and credit card applications.

The agencies will get a “bounty” payment for each fraudster they identify under government plans to cut the £5.2billion annual fraud bill.

By having access to the Government’s database of incapacity and housing benefit claimants, the companies believe they can shave at least £1billion from the welfare bill, earning as much as £50million.

The Prime Minister will say today that the level of fraud is “absolutely outrageous” and an “uncompromising” strategy is needed.

Mr Cameron will also call on members of the public to report suspected cheats and promise tougher punishments for offenders. >>> Holly Watt, Rosa Prince and Robert Winnett | Tuesday, August 10, 2010

This is so 'old Tory'. Whilst I am not in favour of people cheating the system for benefits, I feel that Cameron should have the balls to target the fat cat bankers who are stealing far more from the system with their multi-million pound bonuses than the paltry sums of money that Jo Average is getting in the form of welfare. Why doesn't Cameron come up with something new and original like jailing bankers who milk the system, and thereby endanger capitalism's very existence? – © Mark | Comment also posted here

U.S. Footing Bill for Imam's Trip? : Imam from 'Ground Zero mosque' going to Mideast on government's tab


Related >>>

Bankers Party Like Recession Never Happened
SKY NEWS: Over 1000 bankers have been quaffing champagne like the recession never happened at the largest City party since the economic crash of 2007.

UK Couple Murdered In 'Honour Killing'
SKY NEWS: A couple from Birmingham have been murdered in Pakistan in a suspected "honour killing". They have been named locally as Gul Wazir, who was in his mid-50s, and his wife Begum. Kitty Logan reports.

Duchess Of York Close To Bankruptcy
SKY NEWS: The Duchess of York is reported to be close to bankruptcy.

Dennis Miller Locked & Loaded: Funnyman fired up about Ground Zero mosque, Lady Gaga madness

ARD TV: Deutscher Konvertiert zum Islam 2010

Deutscher Wissenschaftler konvertiert zum Islam


RTL: Immer mehr Deutsche konvertieren zum Islam

Razzia in Hamburger Taiba Moschee - Treffpunkt von Terroristen?


WELT ONLINE: Terror-Moschee – Muslime fürchten Kontrollverlust über Islamisten: Erschwert das Verbot der Taiba-Moschee die Überwachung der Islamisten? Die Angst, sie könnten sich auf andere Gemeinden verteilen, ist groß. >>> Von Florian Hanauer | Dienstag, 10. August 2010

WELT ONLINE: Moschee hätte viel früher geschlossen werden müssen: Wenn Behörden fast neun Jahre brauchen, eine terroristische Keimzelle zu schließen, ist unser Rechtsstaat zu schwach. >>> Von Jörn Lauterbach | Montag, 09. August 2010

WELT ONLINE: Hamburg – Muslimverband findet Moscheeschließung unpassend: Dass die Hamburger Taiba-Moschee ausgerechnet kurz vor dem Fastenmonat Ramadan geschlossen wurde, missfällt dem Zentralrat der Muslime. >>> KNA/dpa/cn | Dienstag, 10. August 2010

Iran's Revolutionary Guard 'Digging Mass Graves for US Soldiers'
THE TELEGRAPH: The Iranian Revolutionary Guard is digging mass graves for American soldiers in preparation for a war over its nuclear programme, according to a former senior commander.

The scene in the south of Iran where hundreds of mass graves have been dug. Photo: The Telegraph
General Hossein Moghadam, the Guard's former deputy chief, was speaking after film footage showed strings of freshly dug graves in the south of the country.

They were close to the site of war graves for the dead of the long war between Iran and Saddam Hussein's Iraq, which devastated the region in the 1980s.

"The mass graves that used to be for burying Saddam's soldiers have now been prepared again for US soldiers, and this is the reason for digging this big number of graves," Gen Moghadam told the Associated Press, which obtained the footage. >>> Richard Spencer | Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Steuerbetrug und Bankenboni – und wo bleibt die Ethik?
SCHWEIZER FERNSEHEN – STERNSTUNDE: Auf die Finanz- und Bankenkrise folgte die Eurokrise. 750 Milliarden Euro haben die Europäische Union und der Internationale Währungsfonds hochverschuldeten Euro-Ländern zur Verfügung gestellt. Das Unbehagen vieler Menschen gegenüber dem Kapitalismus hat zugenommen. Wie sicher ist das Finanzsystem? Sollen Bankenboni auch in Krisenzeiten in gewohnter Höhe ausbezahlt werden? Der deutsche Wirtschaftsethiker Ulrich Thielemann kritisiert die weitverbreitete Marktgläubigkeit und fordert einen Wandel von der «Hofierung zur Moderierung des Kapitals».

Video hier abspielen | Samstag, 08. August 2010

Feds Funding Ground Zero Imam's Mideast Trip
NEW YORK POST: The imam behind a plan to build a mosque near Ground Zero is set to depart on a multi-country jaunt to the Middle East funded by the State Department -- raising concerns that taxpayers may be helping him with the controversial project's $100 million fund-raising goal.

Feisal Abdul Rauf is taking the publicly funded trip to foster "greater understanding" about Islam and Muslim communities in the United States, the State Department confirmed yesterday.

"He is a distinguished Muslim cleric," said State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley, when asked about the journey, reportedly to include stops in Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and Qatar.

"I think we are in the process of arranging for him to travel as part of this program, and it is to foster a greater understanding about the region around the world among Muslim-majority communities," he added.

Crowley said no fund-raising for the mosque and cultural center during the trip would be permitted. "That would not be something he could do as part of our program," he said.

Abdul Rauf said funds for the center will come from Muslims and members of his congregation.

But a London-based Arabic-language newspaper that interviewed Abdul Rauf reported that he says he also will collect money from Muslim and Arab nations around the world -- raising the possibility his goodwill mission could help him build contacts in oil-rich states. >>> Geoff Earle in DC and Brendan Scott in Albany | Tuesday, August 10, 2010

HT: Atlas Shrugs >>>

La mosquée de Ground Zero, le projet qui embarrasse Obama
Le projet d'ouverture d'une mosquée aux abords de Ground Zero pourrait empoisonner la campagne des démocrates à quelques mois d'élections cruciales pour Barack Obama. Photo : Le Point
LE POINT: Dans l'État de New York, l'élection du prochain gouverneur se jouera, à l'automne, autour de l'ouverture controversée d'une mosquée près de Ground Zero. Le projet, initié par un imam pourtant réputé pour sa grande modération et défendu par le maire de la "Grosse Pomme" Michael Bloomberg, déchire la classe politique. L'édile sans étiquette y voit un symbole de paix et de tolérance, mais les conservateurs ne l'entendent pas de cette oreille.

Au mieux, ils jugent le projet indélicat pour les familles de victimes des attentats du 11 septembre 2001. Au pire, ils y voient une véritable insulte à la mémoire des morts. Le républicain Rick Lazio a donc mis au défi son adversaire démocrate Andrew Cuomo de participer à un débat exclusivement centré sur cette question. Quant au candidat des ultra-conservateurs du Tea Party, Carl Paladino, il a déjà fait savoir que, s'il était élu, il pèserait de tout son poids pour empêcher la création de cette mosquée. >>> Par Chloé Durand-Parenti | Mardi 10 Août 2010

Shut Up, He ExplainedMayor Michael Bloomberg to New Yorkers
THE WEEKLY STANDARD – EDITORIAL: Last Tuesday, standing in front of the Statue of Liberty, New York mayor Michael Bloomberg spoke on the subject of the proposed mosque at Ground Zero. His remarks will be read with curiosity by future generations of Americans, who will look back in astonishment at the self-deluding pieties and self-destructive dogmas that are held onto, at once smugly and desperately, by today’s liberal elites. Our liberation from those dogmas, and from those elites, is underway across the nation. But it’s worth taking a look at Bloomberg’s speech, if only to remind us of what we need to ascend from so our descendants can look back with curiosity at the ethos to which we did not succumb.

As is the way of contemporary liberals, Bloomberg spoke at a very high level of abstraction. He appealed to the principle of religious toleration, while never mentioning the actual imam who is responsible for and would control the planned Ground Zero mosque. To name Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf might invite a consideration of his background, funding, and intentions. Do Rauf and his backers believe in the principles underlying the “inspiring symbol of liberty” that greets immigrants to the United States and before which Bloomberg stood? Bloomberg didn’t say. It apparently doesn’t matter. Toleration means asking nothing, criticizing nothing, saying nothing, about whom or what one is tolerating. This is the Sergeant Schultz standard of toleration: I know nothing.

Knowing nothing, or wishing to know nothing, about the mosque, Bloomberg took it upon himself to lecture his fellow New Yorkers on their obligation to be true to “the best part of ourselves.” That part is apparently the part of us that allows at once for intellectual obfuscation and moral preening. Bloomberg never acknowledged that sane and tolerant people might object to a 15-story Islamic community center and mosque right next to Ground Zero. He could not be bothered to take seriously the reservations and objections of a clear majority of his constituents. “In fact, to cave to popular sentiment would be to hand a victory to the terrorists—and we should not stand for that.” So public sentiment be damned. There’s nothing to be learned from the ignorant and bigoted residents of New York.

Instead, Bloomberg lectured: “On September 11, 2001, thousands of first responders heroically rushed to the scene and saved tens of thousands of lives. More than 400 of those first responders did not make it out alive. In rushing into those burning buildings, not one of them asked ‘What God do you pray to?’ ‘What beliefs do you hold?’ ” True, certainly true. But Bloomberg did not permit himself to ask what vision of god, what set of beliefs, inspired those who set those buildings aflame. Bloomberg said that it was our “spirit of openness and acceptance that was attacked on 9/11.” But attacked by whom? Bloomberg wouldn’t say. >>> William Kristol | Monday, August 16, 2010

How Does Obama Measure Up? Some nonpartisan benchmarks
THE WEEKLY STANDARD: President Obama is under water in public opinion polls, judged more unfavorably than favorably. He now pops up in Republican campaign ads that link Democratic candidates to his unpopular administration. And a growing list of Democrats would rather he stay away while they are running for office this year.

He’s a political liability to his party. But that may not be the best way to rate Obama’s 19-month tenure in the White House. There’s a nonpartisan, nonideological measure that’s a bit subjective but still renders a valid verdict. Created by Fred Greenstein, professor of politics emeritus at Princeton, it uses six criteria to evaluate the performance of a president.

Greenstein has applied it to presidents from Franklin Roosevelt to Bill Clinton—that is, presidents no longer in office. But it’s also fair to use the six criteria to test how a sitting president is doing. Here are the criteria as applied to Obama.

PUBLIC COMMUNICATION. This was Obama’s strength as a candidate, but it’s been a glaring weakness as president. He’s a good explainer but a poor persuader. He doesn’t inspire. He devoted dozens of speeches in 2009 to touting his health care plan, including a nationally televised address to Congress last September. Public support dwindled. The program passed only because of large Democratic majorities in Congress elected in 2008 and likely to disappear in the midterm election in November.

Because presidents can always command an audience, they’re tempted to appear in public too often. Ubiquity undermines the office. The public loses interest, and the effectiveness of the bully pulpit dissolves. Every president since Ronald Reagan has succumbed to this temptation, Obama especially. The worst example: He was interviewed on TV during the halftime of the Duke-Georgetown basketball game last winter. >>> Fred Barnes | Monday, August 16, 2010

Listen to This Bloody Idiot!

Pat Condell: Ban the Burqah!

Muslim Group Holds 'Anti-terrorism' Summer Camp
THE GUARDIAN: Hundreds attend three-day al-Hidayah event at University of Warwick campus to learn how to fight arguments of extremists

Young Muslims arrive at al-Hidayah 2010 at the University of Warwick campus. Photograph: The Guardian
After a modest breakfast came the first choice of the day: to take part in sporting activities ranging from five-a-side football to archery, or to join the Sunday morning nature stroll around the campus. Then it was down to the serious business: a series of lectures, workshops and presentations, punctuated by prayers and countless impromptu street-corner debates.

This is al-Hidayah 2010, a three-day event that kicked off on Saturday and attended by 1,300 Muslims – mainly young men and women – that has been billed as the UK's first anti-terror camp.

Devotees of Muslim scholar Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri have gathered at the University of Warwick's campus to be taught practical ways of countering extremist views in their schools, universities and communities. They have been learning how to engage with people expressing extremist views and are being directed to passages in the Qur'an and other Islamic texts to allow them to argue against them.

The camp follows the publication by Qadri, founder of the moderate Minhaj-ul-Quran International (MQI) movement, of a headline-grabbing "fatwa on terrorism", a 600-page volume claiming to "remove decisively" any theological justification for Islamist terror.

"People have long asked where are the moderate Muslim organisations? What are they doing to combat extremism," said MQI spokesman Shahid Mursaleen. "We are trying to train young people here to counter the arguments they hear from the radicals, to give them the knowledge so they can question the extremists and contradict their ideology." >>> Stephen Morris | Sunday, August 08, 2010

Other articles on Tahir ul-Qadri >>>

Richard Dawkins Sparks Outcry After Likening the Burka to a Bin Liner
THE TELEGRAPH: Richard Dawkins, the outspoken atheist, has courted fresh controversy by likening the burka to a bin liner.

The 69-year-old author and Oxford academic said he is filled with “visceral revulsion” when he sees women wearing the traditional Islamic covering.

But he held back from advocating a ban on the all-enveloping cloak, insisting that such legislation would fly in the face of Britain’s liberal tradition.

Professor Dawkins referred to the burka as a “full bin-liner thing” in an interview with the Radio Times in which he discussed his forthcoming documentary on the dangers of faith schools.

He has sparked fury among Muslim groups, who have accused him of being “ignorant” and “Islamophobic”.

But he stood by his remarks last night, telling the Daily Mail: “I do feel visceral revulsion at the burka because for me it is a symbol of the oppression of women.” >>> Heidi Blake | Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Pat Condell: Stop the Mosque from Being Built at Ground Zero

This Disgusting Individual – Michael Bloomberg – Talks Crap!

Make Makkah the Most Beautiful City: Prince Khaled
Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal receives Pakistani Consul General Abdul Salik Khan at his office in Jeddah on Sunday. Photograph: Arab News
ARAB NEWS: JEDDAH: Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal has emphasized the need for preparing a well thought out and comprehensive development plan for Makkah to make it one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

“We’ll be responsible before God and coming generations if we do not work to make Makkah one of the most beautiful and modern cities in the world,” the governor told a meeting of top executives.

He said Saudi Arabia has the potentials to achieve this goal. “We have a strong and determined leadership that provides all-out support to this direction. We have also enough funds and good people who are capable of achieving this objective.” >>> Galal Fakkar | Sunday, August 08, 2010

Iranian Lawyer – Mohammad Mostafaei – “I Am Crazy About Human Rights” (Exclusive Interview)

Oman Says No Plans to Ban BlackBerry Services
ARAB NEWS: MUSCAT: Oman has no plans to block BlackBerry services, the small Gulf state said on Monday, as regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia worked with the device's maker on a solution that could avert a ban of some services.

Offering the services was part of its "philosophy of free market in the sector," Oman's Telecommunications Regulatory Authority said in a statement reported by state news agency ONA. >>> Reuters | Monday, August 09, 2010

The Obama Presidency Increasingly Resembles a Modern-day Ancien Régime: Extravagant and Out of Touch with the American People
THE TELEGRAPH – BLOGS – NILE GARDINER: What the great French historian Alexis de Tocqueville would make of today’s Obama administration were he alive today is anyone’s guess. But I would wager that the author of L’Ancien Régime and Democracy in America would be less than impressed with the extravagance and arrogance on display among the White House elites that rule America as though they had been handed some divine right to govern with impunity.

It is the kind of impunity that has been highlighted on the world stage this week by Michelle Obama’s hugely costly trip to Spain, which has prompted a New York Post columnist Andrea Tantaros to dub the First Lady a contemporary Marie Antoinette. As The Telegraph reports, while the Obamas are covering their own vacation expenses such as accommodation, the trip may cost US taxpayers as much as $375,000 in terms of secret service security and flight costs on Air Force Two.

The timing of this lavish European vacation could not have come at a worse moment, when unemployment in America stands at 10 percent, and large numbers of Americans are fighting to survive financially in the wake of the global economic downturn. It sends a message of indifference, even contempt, for the millions of Americans who are struggling just to feed their families on a daily basis and pay the mortgage, while the size of the national debt balloons to Greek-style proportions. >>> Nile Gardiner | Saturday, August 07, 2010

Michelle Obama’s super-glitzy holiday with Sasha in Marbella is probably costing the American taxpayer at least one million dollars. Any estimates which are less than this are risible.

To any person with sound judgement, this is an incredible sum to spend on a holiday in these austere times, especially for someone in public office. The average American is hurting, and hurting badly. How sensible is it, then, for the Prez, or his wife, to go on such an extravagant trip abroad? The fact that it can be done doesn’t mean that it should be done.

Excuse me for asking, but what was the purpose of the trip? Was it to take Sasha on a nice short break? If it was, then Obama and Michelle are guilty of giving their children false values. As the leader of a nation which is broke, and in deep depression, neither he nor his wife should spend taxpayers’ money as though there’s no tomorrow; because at this rate, there really will be no tomorrow!

In times of severe economic hardship, people in public office should show solidarity with the people that put them into office: They need to suffer a little too. That way, they gain in support and respect. The way that the Obamas are doing things, all they do is lose in popularity and increase people’s contempt for them. Obama will surely pay a heavy price at the next election. – © Mark

Related >>>

U.S. and EU Fail to Isolate Iran
LOS ANGELES TIMES: China, Russia, India and Turkey move into the lucrative void left by U.S. and EU sanctions that aim to halt Iran's nuclear program.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaks at a 2007 ceremony celebrating nuclear technology at the nuclear plant in Natanz. Photograph: Los Angeles Times
Reporting from Washington — Efforts by the United States and its European allies to build a united front to halt Iran's nuclear program are facing increasingly bold resistance from China, Russia, India and Turkey, which are rushing to boost their economies by seizing investment opportunities in defiance of sanctions imposed by the West.

The Obama administration and the European Union opted to try to toughen United Nations sanctions against Iran with their own unilateral restrictions on foreign companies that do business with Tehran's energy sector, hoping that squeezing the country's most lucrative industry can force the Islamist government to bend on its nuclear program.

But the four countries condemned the additional sanctions, and in recent weeks went further: Since the new U.S. sanctions took effect July 1, all four have moved ahead with trade and investment deals that violate the sanctions or threaten to do so in the future.

The countries say they will honor the weaker set of sanctions imposed on Iran in June by the U.N. Security Council, but are under no obligation to follow the more stringent rules that the United States and European Union tacked on in July.

The U.S. sanctions prohibit petroleum-related sales to Iran, yet China and Turkey have sold huge cargoes of gasoline to Tehran, and Russian officials say they will begin shipping gasoline as well later this month, according to industry officials. The four countries also have signed deals or opened talks on investments worth billions of dollars in Iran's oil and gas fields, petrochemical plants and pipelines.

The countries "are making it very clear they are not going to go along with the new American and European efforts to ratchet up pressure on Iran," said Ben Rhode, an analyst with the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. Continue reading and comment >>> Paul Richter, Los Angeles Times | Sunday, August 08, 2010

Britain Begins to Feel the Pain of Austerity Cuts
THE NEW YORK TIMES: LONDON — Last month, the British government abolished the U.K. Film Council, the Health Protection Agency and dozens of other groups that regulate, advise and distribute money in the arts, health care, industry and other areas.

It seemed shockingly abrupt, a mass execution without appeal. But it was just a tiny taste of what is to come.

Like a shipwrecked sailor on a starvation diet, the new British coalition government is preparing to shrink down to its bare bones as it cuts expenditures by $130 billion over the next five years and drastically scales back its responsibilities. The result, said the Institute for Fiscal Studies, a research group, will be “the longest, deepest sustained period of cuts to public services spending” since World War II.

Until recently, the cuts were just election talking points, inchoate warnings of a new age of austerity. But now the pain has begun. And as the government begins its abrupt retrenchment, the implications, complications and confusions in the process are beginning to emerge. >>> Sarah Lyall | Monday, August 09, 2010

Ground Zero Mosque Defies Logic
THE AUSTRALIAN: NOW that Tom Friedman in The New York Times has endorsed the construction of an Islamic centre at Ground Zero, no one can be against it.

But since he has not even made a real argument for it, aside from recounting his experience at a Broadway jamboree in the White House, where the only Muslim name was the President's middle one, which is nothing more than a non sequitur, the column stands alone with neither evidence nor logic.

Still, everybody is for it . . . except Abe Foxman and his Anti-Defamation League who are correct but had better keep quiet lest they bare the stigma of prejudice that comes from being against something whose only justification is that it has no reason.
So what is the real positive excuse for a mosque at Ground Zero? Perhaps to demonstrate that we don't hold anything against the men who did it.

Or to show that we have nothing against the culture from which they came. And nothing against the societies across all Islam that cheered the news of the 3000 dead.

But, of course, these are not accurate assertions of our emotions, then or now. Even as we try to understand them, we despise them. No mosque built on the ground where mothers and fathers, children and grandparents, relatives and friends and lovers were sacrificed will ever console or conciliate.

At best, it will remind of the cool brutality and fierce passion that animated these ghoulish people of faith to murder on a scale so huge almost to daunt the imagination. Ironically it will backfire because it will (rightly) remind visitors of the religious identity of the perpetrators. >>> Marty Peretz, The Australian | Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Pat Condell: The Faith of Idiots

Orthodox Attitudes to Gay People Shift
THE GUARDIAN: A statement on homosexuality that has garnered more than 100 rabbinic signatures is a watershed for Orthodox Judaism

If you think the Christian world has a problem with gay people, you should try orthodox Judaism. For centuries homosexuality has been taboo; it's not what nice Jewish boys or girls do. The biblical proscription against "men lying with men as though with a woman" (Leviticus 20:13) is considered the very bedrock of Jewish morality. For traditional Judaism marriage is the highest state of social bonding – a true union of body and soul. Despite some odd exceptions in biblical and rabbinical literature, (Jeremiah is told by God to stay single, Ben Azzai, one of the greatest of the Mishnaic teachers, remains a bachelor by choice), even celibacy was frowned upon. Part of this opposition was no doubt based on a response to the cultural environment – pagan in the biblical era, Christian in the rabbinic one. But despite major shifts in sociological contexts, the ban against homosexuality was rigidly enforced throughout the centuries. Whilst in other areas the rabbis often showed great flexibility and understanding, this particular area remained off-limits.

In recent years, however, homosexuality, among even the most Orthodox sectors of Judaism, has become a growing feature of contemporary Jewish life. In both America and Israel – the world's two largest Jewish communities – it has not been uncommon for rabbis and others to "come out", often suffering the consequences that such a confession entails. Moreover, reports of homosexual relations between rabbi-teachers and their students have been a regular feature of news items in both communities. In Israel and the US these behaviours have been the subject of a number of feature and documentary films. Continue reading and comment >>> Mordechai Beck | Monday, August 09, 2010

Jewish Hardliners Crack Down on Fun in Israel
THE INDEPENDENT: It is the time of the year when school is out for Israel's ultraorthodox students. But this year, a Jewish morality police is patrolling in force to make sure they do not have too much fun.

Leading rabbis and heads of religious colleges, or the yeshivas, have warned students to continue their studies of the Torah, dress appropriately and avoid "the great danger, spiritually and concretely, of hitchhiking". The ultraorthodox, who make up roughly 10 per cent of all Israelis, live a closeted life. They voluntarily choose not to own a television or radio, and are barred from using the internet.

But Rabbi Mordechai Blau, leader of the group, Guardians of Sanctity and Education, feared that some temptations would simply prove too much, and deployed an army of snoopers to photograph members of the ultra-orthodox community, also known as Haredi, at a mixed-sex pop concert.

Revellers who ignored warnings to shun ultra-orthodox popstars from Brooklyn, New York, now face being slung out of their yeshivas, or having their children barred from attending the religious schools of their choice. >>> Catrina Stewat in Jerusalem | Monday, August 09, 2010

If You Want to Listen to Nonsense, Listen to This: Simmons On Ground Zero Mosque

Lies Hebbadj mis en examen pour viols aggravés
LE FIGARO: Ce commerçant polygame, compagnon de la femme verbalisée en avril pour conduite avec un niqab à Nantes est accusé de viols et violences par une ancienne maîtresse.

Connu pour avoir contesté la contravention de sa compagne pour conduite avec un niqab, Lies Hebbadj a été mis en examen dimanche pour viols aggravés. L'épicier nantais, déjà inculpé de fraudes aux aides sociales, se trouvait en garde à vue depuis vendredi soir à la suite d'une plainte déposée contre lui par une ancienne compagne. >>> Par lefigaro.fr | Lundi 09 Août 2010

Liens en relation avec l'article >>>

Une mosquée liée au 11 Septembre ferme ses portes à Hambourg
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: ALLEMAGNE | Hambourg a annoncé lundi la fermeture d'une mosquée. Selon les services de sécurité, elle avait été utilisée par des participants aux attentats du 11 septembre 2001 aux États-Unis. >>> ATS | Lundi 09 Août 2010

Egocentric Tony Bliar Money Grubbing Again
MAIL ONLINE: Tony Blair will cash in on his experience as Prime Minister by flogging a special edition of his memoirs at a wallet-busting £150.

The red cloth-bound, slip-cased publication of A Journey resembles a Bible or hymn book and bears the signature of the former PM, who was often compared to a vicar for his preachy tone.

Mr Blair – who became increasingly evangelical during his premiership – has already been forced to change the name of his memoirs from ‘The Journey’ to make the book sound less messianic.

The globe-trotting politician has now decided to charge an inflated price for the tome, despite reaping a £4.6 million advance from his publishers Random House.

The ‘deluxe’ edition was already discounted by a modest £15 on the publisher’s website this week. Mr Blair said the book had been a 'fascinating and enjoyable' experience but so far at least it has also been a financially rewarding one.

Political insiders expressed astonishment that Mr Blair – who has raked in at least £20 million since quitting Downing Street in 2007 – was daring to charge so much for the book in the midst of a recession. Signed Blair Bible? Greedy Tony Wants £150 for a Limited Edition Copy of His Memoirs >>> Gerri Peev | Monday, August 09, 2010

Israel Inquiry Hears Netanyahu Acted Against Threat to Israel's Existence
THE TELEGRAPH: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told an inquiry into the Israeli naval raid on a Gaza aid flotilla that he could not "afford to ignore a threat to Israel's existence".

Netanyahu was the first witness to testify to the state-appointed inquiry into the lethal clash at sea on May 31 in which Israeli commandos killed nine Turkish activists, after boarding their vessel from a helicopter at night.

The May 31 raid took place in international waters off the coast of Israel after the aid flotilla ignored several Israeli warnings not to continue its course to Gaza, which is ruled by the Hamas Islamist movement and sealed off by an Israeli naval blockade.

Netanyahu took his seat before the seven-man panel and listened to a brief introductory address by its chairman before cameras were switched off.

"The state of Israel and the (Israel Defence Forces) operated according to international law," he said. "As prime minister I can't ignore Hamas as a threat to Israel's existence." >>> Telegraph’s Foreign Staff | Monday, August 09, 2010

Radical Cleric Abu Bakar Bashir Arrested in Indonesia
THE TELEGRAPH: Radical Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, once imprisoned for his links to the terror group behind the Bali bombings, has been arrested for alleged involvement with a new militant network.

His lawyer, Muhammad Ali, said the arrest took place on Monday morning in West Java's Ciamis district.

Bashir is best known as the founder and spiritual leader of Jemaah Islamiyah, the al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group responsible for the 2002 bombings on Indonesia's resort island of Bali that killed 202 people, many of them foreign tourists.

He spent several years in prison for his involvement with the group, but was released in 2006.

He was re-arrested for alleged involvement with a new terror cell in Indonesia's westernmost province of Aceh, the lawyer said.

Authorities discovered the new group in February and said it was allegedly planning to assassinate the president and carry out Mumbai-style attacks targeting foreigners. >>> | Monday, August 09, 2010

The Post-American Presidency on C-Span
C-SPAN: Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer argue that the Obama administration is interested in destroying free market, placing limits on free speech, and putting international over domesticinterests. The authors present their thoughts on President Obama's planned and recently passed legislation and how conservatives can counter what they deem are attacks on American freedoms. Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer discussed their book at Book Revue bookstore in Huntington, New York.

Watch C-SPAN video here

Michael Bublé: Home
Watch and listen here

Curse of the Kinnocks Strikes Danish Daughter-in-law
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: The career of Denmark's left-wing opposition leader is on the line after most Danes did not believe her claims that Stephen Kinnock, her husband, had not deliberately evaded the country's high taxes.

Candidate Helle Thorning-Schmidt and her husband Stephen Kinnock. Photograph: The Telegraph
Helle Thorning-Schmidt, leader of Denmark's Social Democrats has seen her position as favourite to become the country's prime minister in elections next year take a hit after a scandal over misleading tax returns.

The daughter-in-law of Lord Kinnock, the former Labour leader, cut short her summer holidays last week after it emerged the couple gave differing accounts to the authorities over how much time he spent in the country.

Mrs Thorning-Schmidt, who is nicknamed "Gucci" for her love of expensive clothes, made a property conveyance declaration to the justice ministry that Mr Kinnock spent all his weekends in Denmark in order for him to become the joint owner of their home but in a separate declaration, the tax authorities were told that Mr Kinnock did not spend any more than 33 weekends a year in the country[.] >>> Bruno Waterfield | Sunday, August 08, 2010

Related >>>

France's Interior Minister Targets Immigrants Who Practise Polygamy
THE TELEGRAPH: France's lurch to the right * continued after Brice Hortefeux, the country's interior minister, called for immigrants who practise polygamy or female genital mutilation to have their citizenship withdrawn.

French Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux. Photo: The Telegraph
Mr Hortefeux said there were "possibilities to have nationality withdrawn in the case of polygamy, genital mutilation and serious wrongdoing." In all cases the radical punishment would not just apply to immigrants, but also to those who have a foreign background, even if they were born in France.

It follows President Nicolas Sarkozy calling for all foreigners who attack police in the kind of riots which blighted Muslim housing estates earlier this month to also lose their nationality. >>> Peter Allen in Paris | Sunday, August 08, 2010

* What on earth is "right wing" about this? To me, it just seems like common sense. What IS 'The Telegraph' talking about? More of this is what we need. The UK should follow suit. Is 'The Telegraph' implying that standing up for one's own values is a "lurch to the right". If so, it is talking total bloody nonsense! – © Mark

Michelle Obama Meets Spain’s King
First Lady Michelle Obama and her daughter Sasha were greeted by Spain’s King Juan Carlos on Sunday on the resort island of Mallorca. Photograph: The New York Times
THE NEW YORK TIMES: PALMA DE MALLORCA, Spain (AP) -- U.S. first lady Michelle Obama and daughter Sasha had lunch with Spain's king and queen on Sunday at the royal family's holiday retreat on the resort island of Mallorca in the Mediterranean.

Mrs. Obama and her daughter arrived at Marivent palace shortly before 1 p.m. and were greeted at the front door of the residence by King Juan Carlos, Queen Sofia and Princess Letizia.

The king, a keen yachtsman, has for decades spent August vacations at the palace with its dramatic cliff-top views of the sea on the Balearic island's southwestern coast near Palma de Mallorca.

Lunch was Andalusian-style chilled gazpacho soup, chargrilled turbot, veal escalopes with mustard, Oriental rice with sauteed mushrooms, a Mallorca-style vegetable ratatouille and sliced fruit with ice cream, accompanied by wines from the northern regions of Rueda and Rioja, the palace said. >>> The Associated Press | Sunday, August 08, 2010