Saturday, August 14, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: President Barack Obama has offered strong support for plans to build a mosque and Muslim community centre near the Ground Zero site in New York where Islamic terrorists destroyed the World Trade Centre.
Mr Obama made his first public remarks on the proposals on Friday night after weeks avoiding comment on a controversial issue that has dominated headlines.
At a dinner celebrating the holy month of Ramadan, he declared "as a citizen, and as president, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as anyone else in this country".
In remarks prepared for the annual White House sunset meal breaking the fast, he said: "I understand the emotions that this issue engenders. Ground Zero is, indeed, hallowed ground."
But, he continued, "this is America, and our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakable. The principle that people of all faiths are welcome in this country, and will not be treated differently by their government, is essential to who we are."
Robert Gibbs, his press secretary, said last week that the president did not want to "get involved in local decision-making" as controversy grew when New York city authorities removed the last planning hurdle to the project. >>> Philip Sherwell in New York | Saturday, August 14, 2010
NOTHING and NO-ONE will EVER convince me that this man isn't a MUSLIM. He got to the White House by deceiving the people, isn't qualified for the high, prestigious office he now holds, and he thereby endangers not only the existence of Judeo-Christian America, but also the existence of the West as well.
The sooner that Americans rid themselves of this loser, the better it will be for us all. He is a traitor to the cause. He should be upholding Western values, not Islamic ones. Shouldn't this be an impeachable offence? – © Mark [This comment can also be viewed on The DailyTelegraph’s website]
ATLAS SHRUGS: Pamela Geller >>>
I observe from afar, from across the Pond, how this Muslim president is unmaking America. My heart weeps. How Americans could have been gulled by this phoney upstart, I'll never know. I guess it is testimony to the good nature of Americans – their desire to think only the best of others.
Alas, they have been deceived. Their president has had a hidden agenda; but the truth is coming out with each passing day.
It is unimaginable to me that Americans will be fooled a second time. So, as you say, Pamela, B. Hussein Obama has sealed his fate.
The sooner that Americans rid themselves of this loser, the better it will be for all concerned, Europeans too. Western values need to be upheld. Islam doesn't need someone like this foolish president to fight its corner for it; they - and history - have shown pretty clearly that Muslims are quite capable of fighting their own. But the West does need someone to bat for it. It is, and has been since 9/11, under attack. This president is helping the process of the Islamization of your wonderful country. Surely this should be an impeachable offence. – © Mark
This comment also appears on Atlas Shrugs.
LE POINT: NEW YORK - Obama favorable à la mosquée de Ground Zero: Il a finalement tranché. Dans un plaidoyer passionné pour la liberté de culte, le président américain Barack Obama a défendu vendredi le droit d'installer une mosquée près du site des attentats du 11-Septembre à New York, intervenant pour la première fois dans ce dossier potentiellement explosif. >>> AFP | Samedi 14 Août 2010
WELT ONLINE: Brasiliens Präsident Lula da Silva hatte der wegen angeblichen Ehebruchs zur Steinigung verurteilten Iranerin Sakine Ashtiani Asyl angeboten.
Der Iran will die zum Tod durch Steinigung verurteilte Sakine Mohammadi Ashtiani nicht nach Brasilien ausreisen lassen. Der Iran habe keine offizielle schriftliche Anfrage aus Brasilien erhalten, sagte der iranische Botschafter in dem südamerikanischen Land, Moschen Schatersadeh, der Nachrichtenagentur Agencia Brasil. „Der Prozess betrifft Iraner, warum sollten andere Länder daran beteiligt sein?“
Das Steinigungsurteil wegen Ehebruchs gegen die 43-jährige Mohammadi Aschtiani hatte weltweit Proteste ausgelöst. Brasiliens Präsident Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva hatte Ende Juli angeboten, die Frau in seinem Land aufzunehmen. >>> AFP/ks | Freitag, 13. August 2010
Um Himmels willen, kann niemand diese arme Frau helfen? Sicherlich könnte etwas gemacht werden, um diese Frau aus der Gefahr zu bringen. Für die verurteilte Frau und ihre Kinder muß doch etwas gemacht werden. – © Mark
THE WHITE HOUSE: On behalf of the American people, Michelle and I want to extend our best wishes to Muslims in America and around the world. Ramadan Kareem.
Ramadan is a time when Muslims around the world reflect upon the wisdom and guidance that comes with faith, and the responsibility that human beings have to one another, and to God. This is a time when families gather, friends host iftars, and meals are shared. But Ramadan is also a time of intense devotion and reflection – a time when Muslims fast during the day and pray during the night; when Muslims provide support to others to advance opportunity and prosperity for people everywhere. For all of us must remember that the world we want to build – and the changes that we want to make – must begin in our own hearts, and our own communities.
These rituals remind us of the principles that we hold in common, and Islam’s role in advancing justice, progress, tolerance, and the dignity of all human beings. Ramadan is a celebration of a faith known for great diversity and racial equality. And here in the United States, Ramadan is a reminder that Islam has always been part of America and that American Muslims have made extraordinary contributions to our country. And today, I want to extend my best wishes to the 1.5 billion Muslims around the world – and your families and friends – as you welcome the beginning of Ramadan.
I look forward to hosting an Iftar dinner celebrating Ramadan here at the White House later this week, and wish you a blessed month.
May God’s peace be upon you. [Source: The White House] Wednesday, August 11, 2010
This Ramadan message from Barack Hussein Obama is enough to make any decent Westerner want to vomit! The sooner that Americans decide to rid themselves of this president, the better it will be for America and for the free world. This man is a danger to its very existence. – © Mark
We shall await Obama’s message for 2010. I dread to think of the nonsense, the snivelling drivel, he will come out with! – © Mark
Friday, August 13, 2010
LE MONDE: “Ne glorifiez pas les meurtriers de 3 000 personnes. Non à la mosquée de la victoire du 11-Septembre." Sur la pancarte brandie devant la Commission de préservation du paysage, qui arbitrait sur le statut du terrain prévu pour accueillir un centre culturel islamique près du site des attentats de 2001, le message est révélateur de la violence du débat qui secoue les Etats-Unis. Manifestations publiques, batailles dans la presse par chroniqueurs interposés, engagement personnel du maire de New York : les tensions autour du projet de construction ont pris de l'ampleur.
L'implantation d'une mosquée tout près de Ground Zero a provoqué chez certains un malaise immédiat. Comme le montre cette infographie du New York Times, le centre se situerait dans une rue très proche de l'emplacement des tours détruites par les attentats. Certains parlent de "terre sacrée" pour ce carré désert du sud de Manhattan, qui a vu périr près de 3 000 personnes en quelques heures.
Dans une tribune intitulée "Sacrilège à Ground Zero" publiée par le Washington Post, le chroniqueur politique Charles Krauthammer explique ainsi : "[Par sacré], on entend ici que ce lieu appartient à ceux qui ont souffert et sont morts ici, et que cette appartenance nous oblige, nous les vivants, à préserver la dignité et la mémoire de ce lieu." "Personne n'a rien contre les centres culturels japonais, ajoute le chroniqueur, mais en construire un à Pearl Harbor serait une offense." En bref, "le lieu choisi a son importance". >>> Marion Solletty | Vendredi 13 Août 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: Savings accounts will become “totally obsolete” if inflation rises next week, experts have warned.
Latest figures suggested that not a single saver in Briton would make a real return on their cash if the cost of living continues to rise.
Historically low interest rates and the government’s preferred measure of inflation, the Consumer Prices Index, at 3.2 per cent means savers are already struggling to get an income.
There are currently no accounts available to higher rate taxpayers that provide a real rate of return after tax and inflation, and just a handful available to basic rate taxpayers. But even these could be nudged off the savings landscape, financial experts warned.
They suggested that if CPI rises to above 3.8 per cent, there will be no point any taxpayer using a savings account to produce an income.
In this situation, savers would actually end up losing money and could end up being more than £300 out of pocket in a year on a £10,000 investment.
Darren Cook, of personal finance website Moneyfacts, said: “If inflation rises to 3.8 per cent, all savings accounts will effectively be totally obsolete. >>> Myra Butterworth, Personal Finance Correspondent | Friday, August 13, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: Cairo is to synchronise the call to prayer across the city's 4,500 mosques using computers to put an end to out of tune and out of time muezzin.
For more than a millennium, the competing calls to prayer intoned from Cairo's thousands of minarets have been one of the city's most distinctive features.
The government this weekend begins a long-heralded project to synchronise the five daily calls to prayer across the city.
Neighbourhood by neighbourhood, the ministry of religious endowments is linking all of the mosques in the city, the largest in the Arab world, to a central computerised feed.
"Egyptians have a problem with timing," said Sheikh Salem Abdel-Galil, the ministry official behind the proposal. >>> Richard Spencer | Friday, August 13, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: Emma Thompson has upset residents of the Isle of Wight by claiming that they stone and flog homosexuals.
The Oscar-winning actress also told US television viewers that Irish and Scottish visitors to the island are tortured and shot.
Appearing on The Late Late Show, Thompson engaged in a conversation about holiday destinations. Craig Ferguson, the presenter, said he was visiting Catalina, an island off the California coast.
"It's kind of like the Isle of Wight," Ferguson explained, to which Thompson replied: "Oh, so they stone homosexuals there? Nice."
To roars of laughter from the audience, she went on: "I think they are still allowed to flog them, which of course some of them enjoy. I think they are allowed to shoot Irish or Scottish people if they arrive on the island - it is still in the rules. They are allowed to torture people. It's lovely, you should go." >>> Anita Singh, Showbusiness editor | Friday, August 13, 2010
HT: Always On Watch >>>
Andrew Sullivan's website is Blue Collar Corner >>>
KLEINE ZEITUNG: Die Möglichkeit, in einem Lokal rauchen zu können, ist für die Österreicher nach wie vor ein Anziehungspunkt. Das ergab eine Umfrage des Meinungsforschungsinstitutes "market". Noch wichtiger waren den Befragten nur die Freundlichkeit der Bedienung, dass es sich um heimisches Servicepersonal handelt und die Speisen frisch gekocht sind.
Für die Umfrage wurden Online-Interviews mit 500 repräsentativ für die Gesamtbevölkerung ab 15 Jahren ausgewählten Personen geführt. Dabei nannten zwei Drittel - konkret: 67 Prozent - dass sie Wert auf die Möglichkeit legen, rauchen oder in einem Raucherbereich sitzen zu können. Allerdings ist auch für 44 Prozent wichtig, dass das besuchte Lokal rauchfrei beziehungsweise kein Zigarettenrauch zu bemerken ist. >>> APA | Freitag, 13. August 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: What’s so wrong with being topless on the beach, asks Bryony Gordon.
Readers of a nervous disposition should look away now. Right. Have you turned the page, moved on to the obituaries, or perhaps the weather? Then I shall begin. When I go on holiday, I like to sunbathe topless. The beach towel goes down, the book comes out, and the bikini top flies off, often in the direction of a startled looking friend who has clearly never seen a pair of breasts before. Seeing as I won’t be using the top to cover my chest, I suggest that instead they use it cover their prudish eyes.
Topless sunbathing is a wonderful thing, a holiday in itself from underwired bras. But people are turning their backs on bare bosoms. In France, where the whole thing kicked off in the sixties thanks to Brigitte Bardot, a poll revealed that the majority of women would never go topless on the beach.
It gets worse: Riviera resident Joan Collins, cementing her position as feminist icon, announced that only Wags, chavs and hookers took their tops off on the beach. A group of Australian politicians tried to ban it in 2008, with one Labour MP, Paul Gibson posing the searching question: “if you’re on the beach, do you want somebody with big knockers next to you when you’re there with the kids?” Well I don’t know Paul - if you positioned yourself right, they might just keep the wind off.
And now - mamma mia! - we learn that they’ve gone all funny about it in Italy. It was reported this week that a 26-year-old topless sunbather was being investigated for “committing an obscene act”: applying suntan lotion in a manner that “troubled” two boys aged 12 and 14. Their mother complained, the lady refused to put her top back on, and police were called to the beach, just south of Rome. The sunbather’s lawyer argued that “my client... has an ample breast and is therefore naturally going to be sensuous when she applies cream to her chest.” >>> Bryony Gordon | Friday, August 13, 2010
THE GUARDIAN: Germany's 2.2% growth helps eurozone to outpace US / Every eurozone country except Greece now out of recession / Euro strengthens, with potential threat to Europe's competitiveness
The German economy grew at its fastest pace in the second quarter since the country was reunified two decades ago, fuelling the strongest growth in the eurozone in more than two years.
Europe's largest economy powered ahead between April and June, growing by 2.2%, thanks to a recovery in construction and strong foreign demand for German goods, the federal statistical office, Destatis, reported today. This was well above market expectations of 1.4% growth. Growth in the first quarter was revised higher to 0.5% from 0.2%.
Germany's stellar performance helped the 16-member eurozone grow by 1% in the second quarter, the strongest growth rate since the first quarter of 2008 and a strong improvement on the 0.2% recorded for the first three months of this year. No detail is available yet, but exports, investments and a backlog of work in the construction sector after a harsh winter are expected to have been the main factors driving growth.
"After three difficult months of eurozone battering, today's numbers will help to heal the eurozone's wounds. For the first time since the second quarter of 2009, the eurozone outpaced the US economy," said Carsten Brzeski at ING.
America grew by around 0.6% in the second quarter of 2010, slower than earlier in the year.
Every eurozone country except Greece has now come out of recession. Only Greece experienced a sharp drop of 1.5%. The best performers were led by Germany, the Netherlands (0.9%), Austria (0.9%), Belgium (0.7%) and France (0.6%), while Spain (0.2%) and Portugal (0.2%) are still lagging behind. >>> Julia Kollewe | Friday, August 13, 2010
THE GUARDIAN: Germany reported an impressive 2.2% growth in the second quarter today, the strongest since the country was reunified two decades ago. This helped fuel growth in the 16-member eurozone, which expanded by 1%, compared with just 0.2% in the first three months of the year. France expanded by 0.6% while Spain recorded lacklustre growth of 0.2%. Here is what economists made of today's figures. >>> | Friday, August 13, 2010
THE GUARDIAN: Religious leaders warn of Islamophobia surge with hate speech and opposition to new Islamic centres across America
The battle over plans to build a mosque near the site of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York is fuelling a surge in anti-Muslim protests across the US, including opposition to new Islamic centres from California to Georgia.
Religious leaders and civil rights activists warn that a tide of Islamophobia that has swept the country since the destruction of the twin towers is being heightened by political exploitation of the New York dispute before nationwide elections and is increasingly bound up with hostility to immigrants and other forms of racism.
They say the outpouring of condemnation at the "outrage" of a mosque close to the "hallowed ground" of the World Trade Centre site also goes hand in hand with the increasing acceptability of what they describe as hate speech.
A Florida church, Dove World Outreach Centre, is planning a "burn the Qur'an" day on September 11 and has already outraged Muslims by planting a sign on its front lawn that reads: Islam is the Devil.
The church's senior pastor, Terry Jones, has said he is "exposing Islam for what it is".
"It is a violent and oppressive religion that is trying to masquerade itself as a religion of peace, seeking to deceive our society," the church said. "Islam is a lie based upon lies and deceptions and fear. In Muslim countries, if you preach the gospel or convert to Christianity – you will be killed. That is the type of religion it is."
A leading Muslim educational institution, al-Azhar's Supreme Council in Egypt, has accused the Florida church of "stirring up hate and discrimination" and called on other American churches to condemn it. >>> Chris McGreal in Washington | Thursday, August 12, 2010
THE GUARDIAN: Tehran carries out series of judicial reviews but lawyer fears women who have not attracted media attention will be executed
Iran appears to be quietly changing the sentences of Iranians awaiting death by stoning to hanging after international outcry following the case of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, a 43-year-old mother of two.
Mariam Ghorbanzadeh, 25, who was six months' pregnant and miscarried after being beaten up in Tabriz prison this week, was initially sentenced to death by stoning for adultery but her sentence has been commuted to hanging in a rapid judicial review. The decision is thought to have been driven by the Iranian authorities' desire to avoid further international condemnation over the barbaric punishment.
According to Iranian law, officials could not carry out her sentence while she was pregnant. Speaking to the Guardian, her lawyer, Houtan Kian, who represents Mohammadi Ashtiani and two other women kept in Tabriz prison convicted of adultery, said: "My fear is that Iran executes Mariam and those others whose cases have not attracted media attention."
Another of Kian's clients, Azar Bagheri, 19, was imprisoned at the age of 15 after her husband accused her of having an extramarital relationship. Bagheri was on death row for adultery but her sentence was commuted to 100 lashes after Mohammadi Ashtiani's story came to light. Although Bagheri's death penalty was handed down four years ago, the sentence could not be carried out until she was 18 years of old.
"All these women are convicted for adultery but Iran is trying to change their sentences after Sakineh's case has embarrassed them," Kian said. (+ video) >>> Saeed Kamali Dehghan | Thursday, August 12, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH – BLOGS – TOBY YOUNG: The fate of the 43-year-old Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning took a sinister turn yesterday when she appeared on Iranian state television to confess to her “crimes”. Her lawyer fears she will now be executed imminently, probably hung by the neck until she is dead.
Many human rights groups have criticised the Iranian authorities for their brutal treatment of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, including Amnesty International and the International Committee Against Stoning. The mother of two has already received 99 lashes for committing adultery and according to her lawyer, who has fled the country after a warrant was issued for his arrest, she has been beaten and tortured in jail. Yet the response of feminists in the West has been strangely muted.
Hillary Clinton lost no opportunity to brandish her feminist credentials during her campaign to become the Democratic Party’s Presidential nominee in 2008 and even went so far as to blame her failure to beat Barack Obama on the “glass ceiling”. Unfortunately, the concrete ceiling of Ashtiani’s jail cell hasn’t inspired any comparable rhetoric. All she has said is that she’s “troubled” by Ashtiani’s case.
At least Hillary Clinton was able to bring herself to mutter this mild rebuke. No other prominent feminist has spoken out about Ashtiani’s case, unless you include Yoko Ono who has signed the petition calling for her to be freed. We’ve heard nothing from Germaine Greer, nothing from Gloria Steinem, nothing from Jane Fonda, nothing from Naomi Wolf, nothing from Clare Short, nothing from Harriet Harmen.
We know why, of course. Almost no one on the left, with the honourable exception of Christopher Hitchens, dares to breath a word against any Islamic country for fear of being branded “Islamophobic”. Thus, a brutal dictatorship is able to torture and murder thousands of innocent women, safe in the knowledge that the self-styled keepers of the West’s conscience will remain silent. Continue reading and comment >>> Toby Young | Friday, August 13, 2010
Related >>>
THE TELEGRAPH: Same-sex marriages can go ahead in California from next week, a judge has ruled.
Judge Vaughn Walker in San Francisco said that gay and lesbian couples can wed in the state from 5pm on Aug 18, unless opponents can convince the Court of Appeal to intervene by then.
The move followed a landmark decision by the same judge last week that the state’s ban on gay matrimony violated the US Constitution.
After that ruling California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger filed a motion demanding same-sex marriages be allowed to take place immediately. >>> Nick Allen, Los Angeles | Thursday, August 12, 2010
Thursday, August 12, 2010
SCHWEIZER FERNSEHEN – STERNSTUNDE: Im Zusammenhang mit der Abstimmung über den Minarettbau in der Schweiz wurde und wird immer wieder die «christliche Leitkultur» beschworen, die auf christlichen Werten basiere. Nur: Gibt es überhaupt so etwas wie eine christliche Leitkultur? Und wenn ja, was wäre das?
Wikipedia: Friedrich Wilhelm Graf >>>
Prof. Dr. Friedrich Wilhelm Graf >>>
THE TELEGRAPH – BLOGS – NILE GARDINER – An Extract: Growing disillusionment with the Obama administration’s handling of the economy as well as health care and immigration has gone hand in hand with mounting unhappiness with the President’s aloof and imperial style of leadership, and a growing perception that he is out of touch with ordinary Americans, especially at a time of significant economic pain. Barack Obama’s striking absence of natural leadership ability (and blatant lack of experience) has played a big part in undermining his credibility with the US public, with his lacklustre handling of the Gulf oil spill coming under particularly intense fire.
On the national security and foreign policy front, President Obama has not fared any better. His leadership on the war in Afghanistan has been confused and at times lacking in conviction, and seemingly dictated by domestic political priorities rather than military and strategic goals. His overall foreign policy has been an appalling mess, with his flawed strategy of engagement of hostile regimes spectacularly backfiring. And as for the War on Terror, his administration has not even acknowledged it is fighting one. Read it all and comment >>>
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: IRAN | Une Iranienne, dont la condamnation à mort par lapidation pour adultère a suscité l'indignation mondiale, a reconnu avoir été complice de l'assassinat de son mari.
Elle a admis avoir commis un adultère.
Dans une interview diffusée mercredi soir lors d'une émission politique dénonçant la "propagande des médias occidentaux", une femme présentée comme Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani reconnaît qu'un homme avec lequel elle était en relation lui avait proposé de tuer son mari, et qu'elle a laissé cet homme commettre le meurtre lors duquel elle était présente.
Cette femme, qui parle en azéri (turc) et dont les propos sont traduits en persan, est enveloppée d'un tchador noir qui ne laisse apparaître que son nez et un oeil. Le responsable de la justice de la province d'Azerbaidjan oriental où l'affaire s'est déroulée en 2006, affirme lors de l'émission que Mme Mohammadi-Ashtiani a également endormi son mari en lui faisant une piqûre avant que le meurtrier ne l'électrocute. >>> ATS | Jeudi 12 Août 2010
Liens en relation avec l’article >>>
THE GUARDIAN: Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani 'confesses' to murder on Iran state TV: Lawyer says Ashtiani was tortured before interview recorded in Tabiz prison, and fears execution imminent >>> Saeed Kamali Dehghan | Thursday, August 12, 2010
NZZ ONLINE: Die undurchsichtige Affäre um Jörg Haiders schwarze Konten in Liechtenstein ist um eine Facette reicher. In einem irakischen Dokument ist die Rede von Zahlungen des Diktators Saddam Hussein an Haider und einen Parteigenossen in Millionenhöhe.
Unbeirrt von den Dementis der Staatsanwaltschaft Vaduz und des deutschen Bundeskriminalamts zu den angeblichen schwarzen Konten des früheren Kärntner Landeshauptmanns Jörg Haider in Liechtenstein, setzt das österreichische Nachrichtenmagazin «Profil» seine seine Recherchen fort. Kleine Zuwendungen >>> Charles E. Ritterband, Wien | Mittwoch, 11. August 2010
NZZ ONLINE: Die Islamisten in Pakistan versuchen, das Leid der Bevölkerung im Hochwassergebiet für ihre Zwecke zu nutzen. Als schnelle Helfer haben sie bereits Sympatien gewonnen. Die USA verstärken unterdessen ihren Einsatz.
Die USA erhöhen ihre Anstrengungen für die Flutopfer in Pakistan. Das Trägerschiff USS Peleliu mit etwa 19 Helikoptern an Bord ging bereits in den Gewässern vor der grössten pakistanischen Stadt Karachi vor Anker. Bisher stellten die USA sechs Helikopter bereit, um die Hilfseinsätze der Regierung in Islamabad und des pakistanischen Militärs zu unterstützen.
Der amerikanische Verteidigungsminister Robert Gates benannte unumwunden auch ein weiteres Ziel der erhöhten Anstrengungen: Es solle verhindert werden, dass Islamisten die Lage ausnutzten, um ihren Einfluss bei der notleidenden Bevölkerung auszudehnen, sagte Gates nach Angaben der Nachrichtenagentur Reuters.
Pakistan ist für die USA ein wichtiger Verbündeter in der Region im Kampf gegen die Taliban in Afghanistan. In einigen Gebieten Pakistans haben sich die Aufständischen oder mit ihnen verbundene Hilfsorganisationen als Hochwasserhelfer betätigt und damit bei der Bevölkerung Sympathien gewonnen. >>> srs. | Donnerstag, 12. August 2010
THE RIGHT SCOOP: Raza says the building of this mosque is confrontational, in bad faith, and doesn’t help the cause of tolerance. She goes on to slam the ‘bleeding heart white liberals’ like Bloomberg for their PC attitude about this controversial mosque and surprises O’Reilly with her articulate understanding of this issue. He was almost speechless:
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: During a press conference at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills the actor Jennifer Aniston defended her character's leap into single motherhood by using a sperm donor. Bill O'Reilly and a Fox News panel discuss the comments. Video courtesy of Fox News.
WELT ONLINE: Die Regierungsbeteiligung des Islamgegners Wilders könnte international für Unruhe sorgen. Dagegen sollen Diplomaten jetzt gezielt vorgehen.
In den Niederlanden wächst die Sorge vor einem außenpolitischen Imageverlust durch den Machtzuwachs des Rechtspopulisten Geert Wilders. Diplomaten des Königreichs seien beauftragt worden, „internationale Beunruhigung über die Rolle der (Wilders-Partei) PVV bei der Regierungsbildung zu beschwichtigen“, berichtete die Zeitungen „de Volkskrant“ am Mittwoch.
Hintergrund sind die Koalitionsverhandlungen über ein Minderheitskabinett aus Rechtsliberalen und Christdemokraten mit dem erklärten Islamgegner Wilders als Dulder und Mehrheitsbeschaffer im Parlament. Sie waren am Montag offiziell eröffnet worden. >>> dpa/ks | Mittwoch, 11. August 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: The Vatican has rejected the resignations of two Catholic bishops in Ireland who offered to quit in the wake of a child sex abuse scandal, the Archbishop of Dublin said.
Archbishop Diarmuid Martin said in a letter to priests in his archdiocese that Auxiliary Bishops Eamonn Walsh and Raymond Field will remain in their jobs but will be given "revised responsibilities".
The bishops presented their resignations to Pope Benedict XVI in December following a judge's damning report on the Dublin archdiocese that found the Catholic Church concealed the abuse of children by priests for three decades. >>> | Thursday, August 12, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: Germany's Deutsche Bank and US investment bank Morgan Stanley are facing a $5m lawsuit led by a group of Irish nuns.
No banker is likely to risk describing what they do as "God's work", but they might hope at least not to get on the wrong side of His earthly followers.
Unlucky then for Germany's Deutsche Bank and US investment bank Morgan Stanley, who are facing a $5m (£3.2m) lawsuit led by a group of Irish nuns.
The Sisters of Charity of Jesus and Mary, the Holy Faith Sisters and the Irish Veterinary Benevolent Fund are among a group of 88 Irish individuals suing the two banks.
The nuns allege the two banks profited at their expense by failing to redeem an investment linked to the debt of German financial group Dresdner Bank and in so doing cost them millions of pounds. >>> Harry Wilson, Financial Services Correspondent | Wednesday, August 11, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: Over a billion Muslims around the world began observing the holy month of Ramadan on Wednesday. The start of Ramadan changes every year, based on the sighting of the new moon at the start of the lunar month. The calculation can be a show of regional clout, with senior clerics across the conflicted Mideast and the two main sects of Islam often disagreeing. This year, most Sunni Muslims began fasting on Wednesday, while Shiite Muslims in Iran, Iraq and Oman are to begin observances on Thursday
MAIL ONLINE: The number of foreign workers has increased by 114,000 in the last year – while people born in Britain continued to lose their jobs.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics show workers born overseas were the beneficiaries of the early stages of the economic recovery.
There are now 3.85million workers who were born abroad. At the same time, the UK-born workforce fell by 15,000, to 25.08million. Foreign workers surge by 114,000... but the number of Britons with jobs falls >>> James Slack, Home Affairs Editor | Thursday, August 12, 2010
MAIL ONLINE: The British people and David Cameron have been labelled ‘thick’ by a senior member of Iran’s government.
In a blistering diatribe against Britain, Mohammad-Reza Rahimi said: ‘They have plundered the world in the last 500 years and the young lad in charge now is even more stupid than his predecessor. It’s as if God has made this nation servants of America and Zionists.’
Iran’s First Vice President added: ‘England has nothing. Its inhabitants are not human, its officials are not responsible, and it doesn’t even have any natural resources. (They are) a bunch of thick people ruled by a mafia.’ British are bunch of thick people ruled by a mafia, says Iran's vice president... and sparks row with our ambassador >>> Mail Foreign Service | Thursday, August 12, 2010
THE INDEPENDENT: Displaying his trademark directness and wit, Christopher Hitchens has opened up about his battle with cancer, reports David Usborne
Cancer may have robbed Christopher Hitchens of much of his hair. But no one could think it had taken any of his legendary knack for getting straight to the point.
"How am I? I am dying," he says as an opener to a conversation with The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg, recorded at his own home in Washington DC with his "dearest friend" Martin Amis, the novelist, more or less ambling into view midway through it, a bottle of beer in hand. "Everybody is, but the process has suddenly accelerated on me."
And in spite of the position he finds himself in, Hitchens sounds no less intellectually rigorous. To the question that each interviewer was bound to ask an orthodox atheist such as himself – is this the time to reconsider your views on God? – he offers a categorical reply: no.
It has been only a few short weeks since the English-American journalist, author, professional controversialist and curmudgeon was diagnosed with an especially fierce form of cancer. And even those whom Hitchens has infuriated – and they are legion – will surely find it hard not to be moved by his plight today. He is 61 years old, has three young children, whom he had hoped to see married one day. In video interviews recorded in the last several days with CNN and The Atlantic he looks worn out and quite altered. >>> David Usborne | Thursday, August 12, 2010
THE ATLANTIC: "As a Jewish hypochondriac, I have access to a lot of medical minds," Jeffrey Goldberg tells Hitch. Among the questions: does Hitchens mind those who pray for him? Special guest appearance by Martin Amis. – Friday, August 6, 2010
THE ATLANTIC: Join the discussion >>>
THE ATLANTIC: For the Obama administration, the prospect of a nuclearized Iran is dismal to contemplate— it would create major new national-security challenges and crush the president’s dream of ending nuclear proliferation. But the view from Jerusalem is still more dire: a nuclearized Iran represents, among other things, a threat to Israel’s very existence. In the gap between Washington’s and Jerusalem’s views of Iran lies the question: who, if anyone, will stop Iran before it goes nuclear, and how? As Washington and Jerusalem study each other intensely, here’s an inside look at the strategic calculations on both sides—and at how, if things remain on the current course, an Israeli air strike will unfold.
IT IS POSSIBLE that at some point in the next 12 months, the imposition of devastating economic sanctions on the Islamic Republic of Iran will persuade its leaders to cease their pursuit of nuclear weapons. It is also possible that Iran’s reform-minded Green Movement will somehow replace the mullah-led regime, or at least discover the means to temper the regime’s ideological extremism. It is possible, as well, that “foiling operations” conducted by the intelligence agencies of Israel, the United States, Great Britain, and other Western powers—programs designed to subvert the Iranian nuclear effort through sabotage and, on occasion, the carefully engineered disappearances of nuclear scientists—will have hindered Iran’s progress in some significant way. It is also possible that President Obama, who has said on more than a few occasions that he finds the prospect of a nuclear Iran “unacceptable,” will order a military strike against the country’s main weapons and uranium-enrichment facilities. >>> Jeffrey Goldberg | September 2010
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
THE GUARDIAN: Exclusive: Former presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi tells Guardian US and British policy is a gift to Ahmadinejad regime
Punitive international sanctions imposed on Iran have strengthened the government of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and assisted its post-election crackdown on the opposition Green movement, the leading reformist politician and former presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi has told the Guardian.
In his first interview with a British newspaper since widespread unrest erupted after Ahmadinejad's disputed re-election as president last June, Karroubi blamed the US and Britain for adopting counterproductive policies to combat Iran's suspect nuclear programme, describing sanctions as a gift to the Iranian regime.
"These sanctions have given an excuse to the Iranian government to suppress the opposition by blaming them for the unstable situation of the country," Karroubi said in emailed responses to the Guardian's questions.
Karroubi, 73, a former speaker of the Majlis (Iranian parliament) under the reformist president Mohammad Khatami, and a candidate in last year's election, said that isolating Iran would not bring democracy to the people.
"Look at Cuba and North Korea," he said. "Have sanctions brought democracy to their people? They have just made them more isolated and given them the opportunity to crack down on their opposition without bothering themselves about the international attention." >>> Saeed Kamali Dehghan | Wednesday, August 11, 2010
WORLD TRIBUNE: America is surrendering in the war against radical Islam. This is the real meaning behind the decision to build a 13-story mosque and Muslim cultural center 600 feet from the site of ground zero. A New York City panel gave the green light Tuesday for the project — despite intense resistance from many families of the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Most New Yorkers and Americans do not want this mosque erected: It will be a symbolic monument to the triumph of Islamism in the United States.
Ground zero is more than where the World Trade Center came crashing down. It is not simply where an immense crime took place. Rather, it is the site of an act of war, hallowed ground that contains the blood of 3,000 human beings, mostly Americans, murdered on that fateful day. Like Pearl Harbor, it is a national shrine that should be dedicated to honor the memory of the victims — an eternal reminder of the atrocity perpetrated by Islamic fascism on U.S. soil.
The Sept. 11 attacks were committed by Muslim extremists in the name of holy war against the West. They used the Koran and Islamic principles to justify their actions. Their goal was to bring jihad to America, unleashing a clash of civilizations. Across the world, Islamists seek to impose a world Muslim empire based on Shariah law. Ground zero is where the war came home to America.
Hence, the building of this mosque is a sacrilegious act — a deliberate slap in the face to the victims, their families and all Americans. It also is why the sponsors of this project refuse to back down. They realize what is at stake: The mosque will cast a giant, dark shadow over ground zero, serving as a testament to the Islamist conquest of America. If Islamism can impose its will near the site of Sept. 11, then it can impose its will anywhere. >>> Jeffrey T. Kuhner* | Wednesday, August 11, 2010
*Jeffrey T. Kuhner is a radio talk show host (570 am WTNT, 5 to 7 pm daily) and a columnist at The Washington Times and WorldTribune.com.
WORLD TRIBUNE: Liberals can't seem to leave anything alone, and they soil everything they touch. In another world, you might think that liberals would celebrate a woman from a middle-class background who rose in politics through sheer talent and willpower to become the first female Prime Minister of the history of Great Britain; and who then, in that position, led a renaissance that resurrected her country as an economic and military power for a generation.
Of course, that isn't the world we live in. In this world, liberals hate that sort of achievement; even more so if the hero of the story is a woman. So they are making a movie that trashes Margaret Thatcher.
The cameras have not even started rolling on a new film being made about Margaret Thatcher's life in which she is expected to be played by Meryl Streep, but already the project has been tainted by controversy over the negative way it intends to portray the former Prime Minister.
On first hearing about the production last month, a member of Lady Thatcher's family, who wishes to remain anonymous, said they were 'appalled' to learn that she will be depicted as a dementia sufferer looking back on her career with regret. >>> | Wednesday, August 11, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: Muslims began the fasting month of Ramadan on Wednesday during an especially gruelling time of the year, with sweltering heat and extremely long daylight hours across the Middle East.
Religious authorities in Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, announced the siting of the crescent moon on Tuesday evening, fixing the start of the ninth month of the lunar Islamic calendar on the following day.
Officials in Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, the Palestinian territories, Qatar, Syria, Libya, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Algeria and Tunisia also announced a Wednesday start to the month.
The same was true for Sunni Muslims in Iraq, but the larger Shia community will not begin Ramadan until Thursday, as is the case with Oman.
Muslims observe Ramadan by abstaining from food, drink and sexual intercourse from dawn until sunset.
Pregnant and menstruating women, the sick, travellers and prepubescent children are exempt from the fast, which is one of the five pillars of Islam. >>> | Wednesday, August 13, 2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)