Wednesday, December 01, 2010
SCHWEIZER FERNSEHEN: Wikileaks-Gründer Julian Assange hat sich nach den Enthüllungen tausender Diplomaten-Berichte an die Öffentlichkeit gewandt. An einem geheimen Ort prangerte er die US-Regierung an. Der Polit-Aktivist versteckt sich offenbar vor der Polizei in London. Diese soll ihm dicht auf den Fersen sein.
SCHWEIZER FERNSEHEN: Julian Assange ist der Gründer von Wikileaks. Die US-amerikanische Regierung bezeichnet Assange als Kriminellen. Für andere ist er ein Held der Pressefreiheit. Doch auch hierzulande kritisieren Medienrechtler und Diplomaten den Transparenzdrang des Wikileaksgründers, wie der «10vor10»-Bericht zeigt.
*Zum Teil in Schwyzertüütsch
MAIL ONLINE: Britain has become ashamed of Christmas, former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey declared yesterday.
He said Christmas cards are censored, school nativity plays stripped of Christian content and Christmas decorations banned in the campaign to block the festival out of the calendar.
Lord Carey said the trend was part of a broader attack on the Christian faith which underpins tolerance and democracy in this country.
He made his remarks in support of the launch today of a move to persuade Christians to show their faith in public and challenge employers who stop staff expressing their Christianity.
The ‘Not Ashamed’ campaign, organised by the pressure group Christian Concern, will encourage millions to wear a cross to work or a badge with a slogan saying they are ‘not ashamed’ of their religion.
Pope Benedict also criticised the marginalisation of Christianity in Britain and the accompanying push to discourage the celebration of Christmas during his recent state visit.
Lord Carey said: ‘The attempt to air-brush the Christian faith out of the picture is especially obvious as Christmas approaches.
‘The cards that used to carry Christmas wishes now bear “Season’s greetings”. The local school nativity play is watered down or disappears altogether.
‘The local council switches on “winter lights” in place of Christmas decorations. Even Christmas has become something of which some are ashamed.’ He added that ‘a new climate hostile to our country’s tradition and history is developing’. >>> Steve Doughty | Wednesday, December 01, 2010
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Read on >>>
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: WikiLeaks: guilty parties 'should face death penalty' – Leading US political figures have called for the death penalty to be imposed on the person who leaked sensitive documents to whistle-blower website WikiLeaks as anger intensified against those responsible for the international relations crisis. >>> Nick Collins | Wednesday, December 01, 2010
SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: A group of former members of WikiLeaks is planning to launch its own whistleblowing platform in mid-December, according to a German newspaper. The activists criticize WikiLeaks for concentrating too much on the US and want to take a broader approach.
Julian Assange is the public face of the whistleblowing organization WikiLeaks, and Sunday's publication of the leaked US diplomatic cables will have raised his profile even higher. In fact, the former hacker is now a leading candidate for Time magazine's "2010 Person of the Year."
But former members of the organization have criticized his supposedly autocratic leadership style. "I am the heart and soul of this organization, its founder, philosopher, original coder, organizer, financier and all the rest. If you have a problem with me, piss off," Assange famously wrote to one internal critic.
Now a group of former WikiLeaks activists are planning to launch a whistleblowing platform of their own in mid-December, according to a report in the Wednesday edition of the German newspaper Die Tageszeitung. The group stresses that the as-yet-unnamed platform should not be seen as a competitor to WikiLeaks but as a different approach, the newspaper wrote. >>> dgs - with wire reports | Wednesday, December 01, 2010
THE GUARDIAN: Diplomatic memos reveal Bank governor thought top Conservatives lacked experience to deal with deficit
The head of the Bank of England privately criticised David Cameron and George Osborne for their lack of experience, the lack of depth in their inner circle and their tendency to think about issues only in terms of their electoral impact, according to leaked US embassy cables.
Mervyn King told the US ambassador, Louis Susman, he had held private meetings with the two Conservative politicians before the election to urge them to draw up a detailed plan to reduce the deficit.
He said the pair operated too much within a narrow circle and "had a tendency to think about issues only in terms of politics, and how they might affect Tory electorability". He also predicted that economic recovery would be "a long drawn-out process", since Britain had not been through an economic restructuring.
His apparent pressure on the Tories, a few months before the election, gives further credence to the claim that King was central in persuading leading coalition figures to back a far more dramatic deficit-reduction programme than any politician advocated during the election campaign. He has recently been criticised by members of the Bank's monetary policy committee for straying into politics. Read on and comment >>> David Leigh and Patrick Wintour | Tuesday, November 30, 2010
THE GUARDIAN: Leaked US cables show governor of Bank of England's 'thirst for power has clouded his judgment', former colleague says
David Blanchflower, a leading economist and former member of the Bank of England's monetary policy committee, has called on Mervyn King to quit as governor of the Bank of England following leaked US cables that he claims show King's "thirst for power and influence ... has clouded his judgment one too many times".
In his toughest attack on his former colleague to date, Blanchflower seized on revelations that suggest King may have been central in persuading leading coalition figures to back a far more dramatic deficit-reduction programme than any politician advocated during the election campaign.
Blanchflower, who stepped down from the policy committee last year and who has warned the coalition government's deficit reduction programme could lead to a recession, seized on the information revealed in the latest tranche of leaked US embassy cables released by WikiLeaks to say King's position was now untenable. >>> Hélène Mulholland, political reporter | Wednesday, November 01, 2010
THE GUARDIAN: In showing his true party political colours, Mervyn King has compromised the Bank of England's independence
Mervyn King is one smart guy and that has always been abundantly clear. Unfortunately, it is his thirst for power and influence that has clouded his judgment one too many times. He has now committed the unforgivable sin of compromising the independence of the Bank of England by involving himself in the economic policy of the coalition. He is expected to be politically neutral but has shown himself to be politically biased and as a result is now in an untenable position. King must go. >>> David Blanchflower | Wednesday, November 01, 2010
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Muammar Gaddafi has demanded that the European Union give him more than £4 billion to fight illegal immigration or else Europe will turn "black" and be swamped by Muslims.
During an EU-Africa summit, that ended on Tuesday in Tripoli, the Libyan leader described European's economic relationship with the African continent as a "failure".
Unless "Christian, white" countries gave him extra funding, Colonel Gaddafi predicted that Europe would be flooded with illegal immigrants leaving impoverished Africa.
"We should stop this illegal immigration. If we don't, Europe will become black, it will be overcome by people with different religions, it will change," he said. >>> Bruno Waterfield, Brussels | Tuesday, November 30, 2010
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Dmitry Medvedev has warned the world will be plunged into a new Cold War-style arms race within a decade unless Moscow and the West can strike a deal on a new missile defence system.Mr Medvedev, the Russian president, who was giving his annual state-of-the-nation speech in the Kremlin, issued the stark warning in an apparent attempt to strong-arm Nato into caving in on the sensitive issue.
He is reported to have presented his own blueprint for a joint Nato-Russia missile defence shield at the Nato summit in Lisbon earlier this month but to have got only a lukewarm response.
Analysts said his blunt message to the West on Tuesday appeared to be: embrace us as a fully-fledged partner or have us as a potential foe.
"In the coming 10 years, we are facing the following alternative," he told an audience of Russia's top decision makers including Vladimir Putin, the prime minister.
"Either we agree on anti-missile defence and opt for fully-fledged joint co-operation, or – if we fail to get constructive co-operation – (we will face) a new round of the arms race." >>> Andrew Osborn in Moscow | Tuesday, November 30, 2010
THE NEW YORK TIMES: MOSCOW — Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin responded sharply on Wednesday to criticism of Russia revealed in United States diplomatic cables published by the whistle-blowing Web site WikiLeaks, warning Washington not to interfere in Russian domestic affairs.
His comments, made in an interview to be aired on CNN’s Larry King Live, referred to a cable that said “Russian democracy has disappeared” and described the government as “an oligarchy run by the security services,” a statement attributed to the American defense secretary, Robert M. Gates.
Mr. Putin said Mr. Gates was “deeply misled,” and said Washington does not welcome critiques of its own political system.
In the interview, Mr. Putin also warned that Russia would develop and deploy new nuclear weapons if the United States does not accept its proposals on integrating Russian and European missile defense forces — amplifying on a comment made by President Dmitri A. Medvedev in his annual state of the nation address on Tuesday. >>> Ellen Barry | Wednesday, November 01, 2010
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Eating fresh fruit and vegetables will not protect you from cancer as they have little effect compared with alcohol and obesity, a study finds.Official guidelines recommend at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day in order to be healthy but new research has found that this may not have a substantial effect on cancer.
The science suggests that people should be told that cancer risk is much more related to how much you eat and drink rather than what you eat.
The review, published in the British Journal of Cancer, looks at a decade of evidence on the links between fruit and vegetables and the development of cancer, but it concludes that the evidence is still not convincing.
The only diet-related factors that definitely affect cancer risk are obesity and alcohol, they discovered.
Tobacco is still the single biggest cause of cancer.
While smoking increases the risk of cancer by as much as 50 fold, even large consumptions of fruit and veg will only reduce the risk by a maximum of 10 per cent. Read on and comment >>> Richard Alleyne, Science Correspondent | Wednesday, December 01, 2010
THE GUARDIAN: TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran on Wednesday hanged a former soccer player's mistress — known as a "temporary wife — who was convicted of murdering her love rival, the player's wife, the official IRNA news agency reported.
Shahla Jahed was hanged at dawn, after spending more than eight years in jail, IRNA said, in a case that has captivated the Iranian public for several years.
Jahed had become what is known as a "temporary wife" of former soccer star Nasser Mohammad Khani. She was charged in 2002 with stabbing to death Laleh Saharkhizan, the player's wife, and convicted of murder in 2004 and again in 2009, after her appeal was denied.
Contracts with "temporary wives" are a legal way for Iranian men to have mistresses outside marriage, with the agreements lasting from between several hours to a few years.
Wednesday's death sentence was based on the Islamic law of "qisas" — or eye for an eye retribution.
International human rights groups, including Amnesty International, had campaigned for Jahed's punishment to be halted.
The IRNA report said that just before the hanging at Tehran's Evin prison, the 40-year-old Jahed prayed peacefully, then burst into tears and cries, shouting for her life to be spared. >>> Ali Akbar Dareini, Associated Press | Wednesday, December 01, 2010
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
MAIL ONLINE: U.S. launches criminal investigation into Assange / Australia looks into whether he has broken local laws / 39-year-old is already facing rape inquiries in Sweden
Sarah Palin has demanded that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is hunted down like Osama bin Laden.
In an extraordinary outburst on Facebook, the former Alaska governor attacked the White House for 'incompetent handling of this whole fiasco.'
'First and foremost, what steps were taken to stop Wikileaks director Julian Assange from distributing this highly sensitive classified material especially after he had already published material not once but twice in the previous months?.' she wrote.
'Assange is not a "journalist," any more than the "editor" of al Qaeda's new English-language magazine Inspire is a "journalist."
'He is an anti-American operative with blood on his hands.
'His past posting of classified documents revealed the identity of more than 100 Afghan sources to the Taliban.
'Why was he not pursued with the same urgency we pursue al Qaeda and Taliban leaders?'
Palin claimed that the administration's inability to hunt down Assange showed a lack of effort. Read on and comment >>> Daily Mail Reporter | Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Julian Assange has done us all a big favour by publishing this information, more especially by exposing the hypocrisy of those at the top. If those at the top had behaved properly, and with integrity, then they'd have nothing to fear. The so-called élite seem to think that they can keep information from the "little people". Well, they can't anymore! The internet has changed all that. Now we can look forward to more open journalism. I applaud Julian Assange for this. Sarah Palin, as usual, doesn't know what on earth she's talking about. In actual fact, Julian Assange has done the USA a great favour too. By showing us that China favours a re-unified Korea, and Iran weakened by the Ayatollah's cancer, we might well be able to avert two wars. Now wouldn't that be a good thing? Hats off to Julian! – © Mark
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Moo! >>>
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Julian Assange, founder of the whistle-blowing website Wikileaks, is leading the race to become Time magazine's Person of the Year in 2010.Mr Assange, the Australian-born former hacker and computer programmer, currently tops a list which includes Barack Obama, Sarah Palin, Steve Jobs, the Chilean miners, Lady Gaga and "The Unemployed American" in its top 10.
David Cameron, is in 13th place, one spot behind Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.
Last month Wikileaks published nearly 400,000 field reports by American soldiers in Iraq, That followed the publication in July of 77,000 secret US documents on the war in Afghanistan.
The website, which styles itself "the first intelligence agency of the people," was founded in Dec 2006. >>> Nick Allen in Los Angeles | Friday, November 12, 2010
GATES OF VIENNA: The Western Australian health authorities have decided to make an exception for burqa-like swimwear in public swimming pools, on the basis of religious beliefs. Past complaints have cost them dearly in civil lawsuit payouts, so an adjustment to the official policy became necessary.
If non-Muslims were to wear similar clothing, it would be considered unhygienic, and they would not be allowed in the pool. But the magic of Islam can perform many wonders, and one of them seems to be to reverse bad hygiene. Say the shahada, and presto! The bacteria flee from the scene. Read on and comment >>> Baron Bodissey | Tuesday, November 30, 2010
LE TEMPS: Après les révélations de WikiLeaks, les Etats-Unis vont devoir offrir des garanties de confidentialité à leurs interlocuteurs à travers le monde pour regagner la confiance
Y a-t-il une vie pour les diplomates après les mégarévélations de WikiLeaks? Alors que le site continue de déballer, au goutte à goutte, les 251 287 câbles diplomatiques plus ou moins secrets originaires des ambassades américaines, voilà la diplomatie mondiale convertie en un immense territoire de ragots. Aux quatre coins du monde, les premières réactions sont plutôt à tenter de minimiser l’importance de ces fuites, parfois à en rire (le rire jaune de Silvio Berlusconi qualifié de «macho») ou à les mettre, comme en Iran, sur le compte d’une vaste «machination» américaine. Mais à Washington même, ce déballage intime n’a pas fini de laisser des traces.
«Un rêve pour les historiens, un cauchemar pour les diplomates», résumait le Britannique Timothy Garton Ash, qui fait partie des heureux historiens voyant défiler aujourd’hui devant leurs yeux des wagons entiers de matériel brut dont ils ne pouvaient jusqu’ici que rêver. >>> Luis Lema | Mardi 30 Novembre 2010
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Duke of York has been warned to avoid commenting on policy issues after his candid views on anti-corruption investigations were made public by WikiLeaks.
Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, said that corruption investigations were "not a matter" for the Duke, adding that it would be "helpful" if he steered clear of policy issues in future.
Mr Cable was speaking after leaked documents showed that the Duke, Britain's trade envoy, described the British government as "stupid" during a business brunch at which he surprised an American ambassador with his foul language.
The Duke also railed against the “idiocy” of a Serious Fraud Office investigation into allegations of bribery surrounding BAE Systems and spoke “cockily” in a discussion that “verged on the rude”, according to the ambassador. >>> Gordon Rayner, Robert Winnett and Toby Harnden in Washington | Tuesday, November 30, 2010
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Die von WikiLeaks veröffentlichten US-Botschaftsdepeschen rütteln die Welt auf - schon kündigt die Internetplattform neue Enthüllungen an. Als nächstes will Gründer Julian Assange Zehntausende interne Dokumente aus einer großen US-Bank ins Netz stellen.
Washington - Berlin, Washington, London, Rom, Paris, Moskau - weltweit sorgt die Veröffentlichung Hunderttausender US-Diplomatendepeschen für Aufregung. Prompt kündigt WikiLeaks den nächsten Coup an: Seine Internetplattform werde Zehntausende interne Dokumente aus einer großen US-Bank veröffentlichen, "die ein oder zwei Banken in die Tiefe reißen" könnten, sagte WikiLeaks-Gründer Julian Assange dem US-Magazin "Forbes". Die Dokumente sollten "Anfang kommenden Jahres" im Internet veröffentlicht werden. Sie würden unter anderem zeigen, wie auf Führungsetagen der Banken gegen die Ethik verstoßen werde.
Die Offenlegung des Materials eröffne "wahre und repräsentative Einsichten, wie sich Banken auf der Management-Ebene verhalten", sagte Assange. "Man kann es das Ökosystem der Korruption nennen." Die Folge der Veröffentlichung dürften "vermutlich Untersuchungen und Reformen sein". Die Dokumente enthüllten "ungeheuerliche Übertretungen" und "unethische Praktiken". Gegenstand des Materials seien aber auch "die unterstützenden Entscheidungsstrukturen und die interne Ethik des Managements". Assange betonte jedoch, dass noch unklar sei, ob es sich hier um kriminelle Vorgänge handele. "Ich kann nur sagen, dass es klar um unethische Praktiken geht." Man sei sehr vorsichtig damit, Leute als kriminell zu etikettieren, bis man sehr sicher sei.
Der Australier verglich in dem Interview die anstehende Veröffentlichung mit den E-Mails, die im Zusammenhang mit dem Enron-Unternehmensskandal ans Licht kamen. Der einst zehntgrößte US-Konzern hatte 2001 nach einem Bilanzbetrug einen Insolvenzantrag gestellt - Auftakt einer ganzen Reihe von Betrugsfällen, die die US-Wirtschaft in den folgenden beiden Jahren erschütterten. Ecuador bietet Assange Asyl an >>> anr/dpa/AFP/dapd | Dienstag, 30. November 2010
THE NEW YORK TIMES: LONDON (Reuters) — The British police have warned students not to use violence in demonstrations on Tuesday against a planned increase in tuition fees, after clashes during two previous days of protests.
Organizers are calling for university and secondary school students to take to the streets in what they are calling a “national day of action” against plans by the Conservative-led coalition government to almost triple tuition, up to $14,500 a year.
“November 30 will see even more students come out on protest across the country,” the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts said in a statement. The organizers said that about 24,000 had promised to participate.
Protesters smashed windows and started fires at the building housing the Conservative Party’s headquarters in London during a march this month, and scuffles and vandalism took place in London during protests last week. >>> Reuters | Monday, November 29, 2010
THE NEW YORK TIMES: WASHINGTON — Last year, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia proposed an unorthodox way to return Guantánamo Bay prisoners to a chaotic country like Yemen without fear that they would disappear and join a terrorist group.
The king told a top White House aide, John O. Brennan, that the United States should implant an electronic chip in each detainee to track his movements, as is sometimes done with horses and falcons.
“Horses don’t have good lawyers,” Mr. Brennan replied.
That unusual discussion in March 2009 was one of hundreds recounted in a cache of secret State Department cables obtained by WikiLeaks and made available to a number of news organizations that reveal the painstaking efforts by the United States to safely reduce the population of the Guantánamo Bay prison in Cuba so that it could eventually be closed.
American diplomats went looking for countries that were not only willing to take in former prisoners but also could be trusted to keep them under close watch. In a global bazaar of sorts, the American officials sweet-talked and haggled with their foreign counterparts in an effort to resettle the detainees who had been cleared for release but could not be repatriated for fear of mistreatment, the cables show. >>> Charlie Savage and Andrew W. Lehren | Monday, November 29, 2010
SKY NEWS: Read on and comment >>> Carole Erskine, Sky News Online | Tuesday, November 30, 2010
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Iran's Supreme Leader has terminal cancer and could die within months US officials were told by a well-placed Iranian informant, diplomatic cables show.
Ayatollah Khamenei, the chief religious leader of Iran, who holds the final word in state affairs is a hardliner well-known to be hostile to America. Details of the health and lifestyle of the 71-year old are shrouded in secrecy.
Any credible information that he was dying would fundamentally change the diplomatic stakes in negotiations between Tehran and its Western adversaries.
The US consulate in Istanbul reported in August, 2009 that a businessman close to Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani, a former Iranian president, that the Supreme Leader had been diagnosed with a fatal form of Leukaemia. The source said Ayatollah Rafsanjani believed his great rival would be dead in a "matter of months". >>> Damien McElroy, Foreign Affairs Correspondent | Monday, November 29, 2010
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, accused President Barack Obama of trying to stifle press freedom.He said the Obama administration had a record of arresting whistle-blowers and had become “a regime that doesn’t believe in the freedom of the press and doesn’t act like it believes it”.
Mr Assange, 39, made the comments in a short mobile phone video which he filmed from a secret location in London. He stayed out of the spotlight, in contrast to his high-profile press conferences accompanying earlier releases on his website, after being made the subject of an international arrest warrant over allegations of rape. >>> Gordon Rayner, Chief Reporter | Tuesday, November 30, 2010
THE GUARDIAN: Nuggets of diplomatic 'news' about Prince Charles, Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew found in leaked dispatches
THE GUARDIAN – EXTRACTS: The web is changing the way in which people relate to power, and politics will have no choice but to adapt too
Diplomacy has always involved dinners with ruling elites, backroom deals and clandestine meetings. Now, in the digital age, the reports of all those parties and patrician chats can be collected in one enormous database. And once collected in digital form, it becomes very easy for them to be shared.
…
Leaks are not the problem; they are the symptom. They reveal a disconnect between what people want and need to know and what they actually do know. The greater the secrecy, the more likely a leak. The way to move beyond leaks is to ensure a robust regime for the public to access important information.
Thanks to the internet, we have come to expect a greater level of knowledge and participation in most areas of our lives. Politics, however, has remained resolutely unreconstructed. Politicians, see themselves as parents to a public they view as children – a public that cannot be trusted with the truth, nor with the real power that knowledge brings.
…
This is a revolution, and all revolutions create fear and uncertainty. Will we move to a New Information Enlightenment or will the backlash from those who seek to maintain control no matter the cost lead us to a new totalitarianism? What happens in the next five years will define the future of democracy for the next century, so it would be well if our leaders responded to the current challenge with an eye on the future. >>> Heather Brooks | Monday, November 29, 2010
THE GUARDIAN: Secret cable sent to US embassy in Argentina asks diplomats to find out how president handles stress
Hillary Clinton has questioned the mental health of Cristina Kirchner and asked US diplomats to investigate whether the Argentinian president is taking medication to help her "calm down".
The US secretary of state painted Kirchner as a volatile and emotional leader who suffered from "nerves and anxiety", according to a secret cable sent to the US embassy in Buenos Aires.
Clinton asked diplomats a series of questions in December last year which could infuriate Kirchner and sabotage a recent rapprochement between Argentina and America.
In a section headed "mental state and health" she asked how the first lady-turned president was managing "her nerves and anxiety" in a blunt tone which suggested US concerns.
"How does stress affect her behaviour toward advisers and/or her decision-making? What steps does Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner or her advisers/handlers take in helping her deal with stress? Is she taking any medications?
"Under what circumstances is she best able to handle stresses? How do Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner's emotions affect her decision-making and how does she calm down when distressed?"
The cable appeared to have been prompted by diplomatic spats which, according to the US embassy, showed Kirchner's government "to be extremely thin-skinned and intolerant of perceived criticism". >>> Rory Carroll, Latin America correspondent | Monday, November 29, 2010
Monday, November 29, 2010
THE GUARDIAN: Duke railed against France, British anti-corruption investigations into BAE and American ignorance, leaked dispatches reveal
Prince Andrew launched a scathing attack on British anti-corruption investigators, journalists and the French during an "astonishingly candid" performance at an official engagement that shocked a US diplomat.
Tatiana Gfoeller, Washington's ambassador to Kyrgyzstan, recorded in a secret cable that Andrew spoke "cockily" at the brunch with British and Canadian business people, leading a discussion that "verged on the rude".
During the two-hour engagement in 2008 at a hotel in the capital, Bishkek, Andrew, who travels the globe as a special UK trade representative, attacked Britain's corruption investigators in the Serious Fraud Office for what he called "idiocy".
He went on to denounce Guardian reporters investigating bribery as "those [expletive] journalists … who poke their noses everywhere".
In the cable from the US embassy to Washington in October 2008, Gfoeller wrote: "Rude language a la British … [Andrew] turned to the general issue of promoting British economic interests abroad. He railed at British anti-corruption investigators, who had had the 'idiocy' of almost scuttling the Al-Yamama deal with Saudi Arabia."
The prince, she explained, "was referencing an investigation, subsequently closed, into alleged kickbacks a senior Saudi royal had received in exchange for the multi-year, lucrative BAE Systems contract to provide equipment and training to Saudi security forces."
The dispatch continued: "His mother's subjects seated around the table roared their approval. He then went on to 'these (expletive) journalists, especially from the National [sic] Guardian, who poke their noses everywhere' and (presumably) make it harder for British businessmen to do business. The crowd practically clapped." Read on and comment >>> David Leigh, Heather Brooke and Rob Evans | Monday, November 29, 2010
TELEGRAPH BLOGS – ALEX SINGLETON: The Swiss know how to stand up for themselves. In a referendum yesterday, they voted in favour of the automatic deportation of foreigners who commit serious crimes. Needless to say, the latte liberals at Amnesty International are appalled and – revealing their utter contempt for democracy – are calling on Swiss politicians to ignore the will of the people.
Amnesty’s reasoning is that deportations could cause convicts to be sent back to countries where they could face persecution. But this is a ridiculous argument: no one is forcing visitors to Switzerland to commit offences. If people don’t want to be sent back home, why don’t they just desist from rape, robbery, murder and fraud? The new Swiss policy is so obviously a sensible idea that we ought to copy it here. >>> Alex Singleton | Monday, November 29, 2010
Mr. Singleton suggests that we should follow the lead of the Swiss, and also deport foreign criminals. I agree with him: We should. But there’s one big problem: The British are bereft of organizational skills. In fact, they couldn’t organize a sex orgy in a brothel! – © Mark
LE MONDE: Les Etats-Unis ayant rompu leurs relations diplomatiques avec l'Iran en 1980, après la prise d'otages à l'ambassade américaine de Téhéran, la diplomatie de Washington doit s'appuyer, pour observer le régime, sur des contacts et des informations obtenus par ses ambassades ailleurs dans la région. Un réseau de "Iran Watchers", chargés de surveiller les événements en Iran, est ainsi révélé par la masse des télégrammes diplomatiques.
Il ressort des documents du département d'Etat obtenus par WikiLeaks et révélés par Le Monde que la complexité et l'opacité du régime iranien sont, pour les Américains, une énigme. Ils guettent le moindre indice. Par exemple, ces informations livrées en août 2009, par un contact dans une république d'Asie centrale. A l'époque, les remous politiques en Iran semblent à leur apogée, après la réélection contestée, en juin, du président Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. >>> Le Monde | Dimanche 28 Novembre 2010
LE MONDE: Le Conseil central islamique suisse a annoncé, lundi, le lancement d'une initiative populaire visant à abolir l'interdiction des minarets. La votation sur l'interdiction des minarets est intervenue il y a un an à l'initiative de l'UDC (droite nationaliste populiste), qui a remporté dimanche une nouvelle victoire en faisant approuver le durcissement du renvoi des étrangers criminels.
"Si on veut abolir l'interdiction des minarets en Suisse, il faut le faire en empruntant la même voie utilisée pour introduire cette interdiction", expliquent dans un communiqué les représentants du CCIS. Un comité d'initiative "le plus large possible" doit être créé d'ici à la fin décembre 2010 au plus tard. Des contacts ont été pris avec différents acteurs des milieux politiques, culturels et scientifiques. >>> LEMONDE.FR avec AFP | Lundi 29 Novembre 2010
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Die ganze Welt kann nachlesen, wie Amerikas Außenpolitik funktioniert - die Enthüllung der Geheimdepeschen schockiert US-Diplomaten: Sie müssen nun wütende Kollegen in vielen Ländern besänftigen. Experten sehen die Beziehungen zwischen Botschaftern und ihren Gastländern schwer beschädigt.
Die Veröffentlichung von mehr als 250.000 vertraulichen Dokumenten des US-Außenministeriums durch die Internetplattform WikiLeaks hat Amerikas Hauptstadt in helle Aufregung versetzt. Die Enthüllung, die auch die Schlagzeilen von Medien in aller Welt bestimmt, schockiert vor allem Diplomaten.
"Diese Datenpanne ist ein schwerer Schlag für die US-Diplomatie", sagte Charles Kupchan, früher im Nationalen Sicherheitsrat des Weißen Hauses für Europa zuständig, SPIEGEL ONLINE. Die Enthüllung blamiere Washington. Nun würden Informanten wohl kaum noch mit amerikanischen Diplomaten sprechen wollen - aus Angst, die Unterredungen könne bald jeder nachlesen. >>> Von Gregor Peter Schmitz, Washington | Montag, 29. November 2010
WELT ONLINE: Die veröffentlichten Dokumente offenbaren knallharte Positionen der Regierenden aus den arabischen Staaten gegen den Iran.
Die arabischen Regime sind nach dem jüngsten Wikileaks-Coup in eine Art Schockstarre gefallen. Denn die von der Internet-Plattform Wikileaks publizierten Dokumente der Diplomaten ohne Maulkorb sind für sie nicht nur peinlich, sondern zum Teil auch politisch brandgefährlich.
Geheime Depeschen über die dralle ukrainische Krankenschwester des libyschen Revolutionsführers Muammar al-Gaddafi mögen vielleicht einen Wutanfall in Tripolis nach sich ziehen. Wirklich brisant sind sie nicht.
Doch der Dauerkonflikt zwischen sunnitischen und schiitischen Muslimen im Irak, im Jemen, im Libanon, in Saudi-Arabien und Bahrain könnte durch die nun bekanntgewordenen Berichte aus den arabischen Hauptstädten weiter eskalieren. Das ohnehin schon große Misstrauen der Araber untereinander dürfte wieder zunehmen, was die Beilegung der vielen Krisen in der Region weiter erschweren dürfte – von der Palästina-Frage bis hin zum Krieg der Houthi-Rebellen gegen die jemenitische Regierung. >>> dpa/ab | Montag, 29. November 2010
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The leak of thousands of confidential diplomatic cables by WikiLeaks is damaging to national security, Downing Street said today.
David Cameron’s officials have been briefed personally by the United States ambassador to London as No10 braces for further embarrassing revelations from WikiLeaks throughout this week.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: "Clearly we condemn the unauthorised release of classified information. The leaks and their publication are damaging to national security in the United States and in Britain, and elsewhere.
“It's important that governments are able to operate on the basis of confidentiality of information.”
Asked what it was that was “damaging” the spokesman added: "It has the potential to be damaging (to national security) but the very fact that this is inhibiting the conduct of governments ... governments need to be able to operate on a confidential basis when dealing with this kind of information, and the very fact that it is being leaked is damaging."
However, No10 stopped short of backing calls from US politicians to declare WikiLeaks a terrorist organisation. >>> Andrew Porter, Political Editor | Monday, November 29, 2010
THE GUARDIAN: WikiLeaks US embassy cables: live updates >>>
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