The EU should be stronger and more united. Great Britain should belong to the Union.
Die EU sollte stärker und geeinter sein. Großbritannien sollte der Union angehören.
L'UE devrait être plus forte et plus unie. La Grande-Bretagne devrait appartenir à l'Union.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Stockholm Bomber: Banned Extremists Recruit Near Taimur Abdulwahab al-Abdaly's Luton Home
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: The outlawed Islamist group al-Muhajiroun is openly recruiting near the home of the suicide bomber who blew himself up on a Stockholm street last week, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal.
MI5 and anti-terrorist police are attempting to unravel what transformed the father of three into an extremist.
But moderate Muslims in Luton, where Iraqi-born Taimour Abdulwahab lived for almost 10 years, claim the authorities are to blame for turning a blind eye to the activities of hard-core jihadi sympathisers.
Unimpeded by the police, the group, now calling itself The Reflect Project, is accused of mounting a campaign of intimidation and violence against those who disagree with it.
The group's members are followers of the radical cleric Omar Bakri Muhammad, who is being held in jail in Lebanon on terrorism charges, and are led locally by Ishtiaq Alamgir or Sword of Islam – a former inland revenue accountant. >>> Jason Lewis, Investigations Editor | Sunday, December 19, 2010
Sarkozy Bows to Rival Le Pen over Muslim Prayers in the Street
THE SUNDAY TIMES: Stung by the rise of the right’s new star, the president is taking his cue from her on the highly volatile issue of Muslim prayers on the streets Read on and comment (£) >>> Matthew Campbell | Sunday, December 19, 2010
Snow Chaos: Heathrow Airport To Stay Shut
SKY NEWS: Heathrow will remain closed and will not reopen until checks this morning confirm it is safe, as heavy snow continues to cause chaos across Britain's transport networks.
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The US Senate has lifted the controversial ban on gays serving openly in the US military.
The bill will be signed into law this week by President Barack Obama, who made lifting the ban a key campaign pledge.
The repeal of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy is a major victory for Mr Obama and congressional Democrat leaders and a historic breakthrough for gay rights advocates.
It will also mark a striking cultural shift for the US armed forces as gays are allowed to serve for the first time without fear of dismissal.
“It is time to close this chapter in our history,” said Mr Obama who has remained in Washington to complete political duties while his family begins their annual Christmas holiday in Hawaii.
“It is time to recognise that sacrifice, valour and integrity are no more defined by sexual orientation than they are by race or gender, religion or creed.” He added that as commander-in-chief, he believed the measure would strengthen the country’s military. >>> | Saturday, December 18, 2010
US Senate Votes to Allow Openly Gay Soldiers in Military
THE OBSERVER: 'Don't ask, don't tell' overturned by 65-31 majority in Senate, paving way for Obama to sign a law ending the policy this week
Campaigners celebrate the repeal of 'don't ask, don't tell'. Photograph: The Observer
The US Senate voted yesterday to repeal the ban on gay people serving openly in the military, paving the way for President Obama to sign a law ending the policy this week.
However, the defence secretary, Robert Gates, who had pushed for the change, warned gay men and women in the military that the current "don't ask, don't tell" policy will remain in effect for some time while the new rules are put in place.
Obama said in a statement: "By ending 'don't ask, don't tell' no longer will our nation be denied the service of thousands of patriotic Americans forced to leave the military, despite years of exemplary performance, because they happen to be gay. And no longer will many thousands more be asked to live a lie in order to serve the country they love." Read on and comment >>> Ben Quinn | Sunday, December 19, 2010
None too soon either. Gays in the US military have been downtrodden for far too long.
I'm glad that the US military has decided, at last, to embrace the twenty-first century. Denying people their rights simply because they were born different is, and always has been, unconscionable.
Senate votes to overturn military's 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Oskar Freysinger ovationné à un colloque anti-islam à Paris
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: UDC | Le Valaisan avait été invité par l’organisation «Riposte laïque», un mouvement militant laïque français.
Quelque 200 opposants à la tenue d’un colloque baptisé «Assises contre l’islamisation de l’Europe», avec notamment la participation remarquée du conseiller national UDC Oskar Freysinger, ont manifesté samedi à Paris, près de la salle où se tient l’événement. La manifestation s’est dispersée dans le calme en milieu de journée.
Sur un périmètre de plusieurs centaines de mètres autour de l’Espace Charenton (XIIe), où se tenait le colloque organisé par le mouvement d’extrême droite «Bloc Identitaire», des forces de l’ordre déployées en nombre filtraient l’accès au bâtiment, selon l’AFP.
Derrière une banderole rouge portant le slogan: «Pas de fachos dans nos quartiers», les manifestants se sont rassemblés sur une place non loin de là, à l’appel de plusieurs associations et partis de gauche.
«Ne nous laissons pas voler l’idée même de République (...) La laïcité, ce n’est pas la haine, pas la persécution de la majorité sur la minorité», a déclaré la députée PS de Paris Sandrine Mazetier, lors d’une série de prises de parole. Freysinger ovationné >>> ATS/AFP | Samedi 18 Décembre 2010
Charles and Camilla: Obsessively convinced of his own rightness, Charles views his critics with the weary resignation of an early Christian martyr. Photograph: Mail Online
MAIL ONLINE: The engagement of Prince William and Kate Middleton has given the British people a welcome fillip in a chilly season. Next April’s wedding will be a big success — even if we make a mess of some things, we’re jolly good at royal ceremonies.
The hard part comes afterwards: as the Queen gets older, growing attention and speculation is focusing on the monarchy’s future. Opinion polls show that most British people would like William to become heir to the throne, bypassing his father, the Prince of Wales.
But courtiers vigorously declare that’s not going to happen. When the Queen dies — as, like all of us, she eventually must — her son is determined to succeed her.
The Prince and his wife Camilla earned warm public sympathy last week when their car was assaulted by rioting student demonstrators in London. But many thoughtful people are alarmed by the prospect of a figure of such assertive eccentricity acceding to the British throne.
I heard one of the cleverest men in Britain, master of an Oxbridge college, quite calmly say the other night: ‘The best hope for the monarchy is that Prince Charles dies before the Queen.’
This seemed a brutal observation from a kindly and temperate man, but he went on to justify it: ‘We spend our lives here educating a new generation to understand that rational behaviour requires us to reach conclusions and make decisions by examining evidence.
HRH, The Prince of Wales 'Harmony': A New Way of Looking at Our World
WikiLeaks Cables: Sudanese President 'Stashed $9bn in UK Banks'
THE GUARDIAN: Speculation that Omar al-Bashir siphoned $9bn in oil money and deposited it in foreign accounts could fuel calls for his arrest
Omar al-Bashir, the Sudanese president, has siphoned as much as $9bn out of his impoverished country, and much of it may be stashed in London banks, according to secret US diplomatic cables that recount conversations with the chief prosecutor of the international criminal court.
Some of the funds may be held by the part-nationalised Lloyds Banking Group, according to prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, who told US officials it was time to go public with the scale of Bashir's theft in order to turn Sudanese public opinion against him. >>> Afua Hirsch, legal affairs correspondent | Friday, December 17, 2010
Winona Ryder: Mel Gibson Called Me an 'Oven Dodger'
THE GUARDIAN: Actor claims Gibson made antisemitic and homophobic remarks to her at a party more than 15 years ago
The actor Winona Ryder has claimed that Mel Gibson called her an "oven-dodger" in an apparent reference to her Jewish heritage at a party more than 15 years ago.
Ryder, 39, makes the accusation in an interview with GQ magazine. Gibson, who allegedly also made homophobic remarks about one of her friends on the same evening, was referencing the gas chambers used by Nazis to kill millions of Jews during the Holocaust, she believes. >>> Ben Child | Friday, December 17, 2010
Steven Spielberg Was Target of Arab League Boycott, WikiLeaks Cable Shows
THE GUARDIAN: Leaked dispatch reveals diplomats from 14 Arab states voted to ban the director's films in response to his donation to Israel
A WikiLeaks cable reveals that Steven Spielberg and his Righteous Persons Foundation were the target of an Arab League boycott. Photograph: The Guardian
Steven Spielberg was blacklisted by the Arab League's Central Boycott Office after making a $1m (£645m) donation to Isreal during the 2006 conflict in Lebanon.
A US embassy memo released by WikiLeaks reveals that during a meeting of the group in April 2007, diplomats or representatives from 14 Arab states voted to ban all films and other products related to Spielberg or his Righteous Persons Foundation.
At the confidential US briefing, the head of the Syrian regional office for the boycott of Israel, Muhammad al-Ajami, said that Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, Kuwait, Libya, Morocco, the Palestinian Authority, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen had agreed to ban all Spielberg's works. >>> Amelia Hill | Friday, December 17, 2010
Thousands of Christians Flee Central Iraq after Attacks
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Thousands of Iraqi Christians have fled their homes to semi-autonomous Kurdish areas and neighbouring countries since a Catholic church in Baghdad was attacked six weeks ago, the U.N. refugee agency said on Friday.
Iraqi Christians gather at the Sayidat al-Nejat Catholic Cathedral to mark the 40th day since the bloody attack. Photo: The Daily Telegraph
Some 1,000 Christian families, roughly 6,000 people, have arrived in the northern Kurdish areas from Baghdad, Mosul and Nineveh, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said. Several thousand have crossed into Syria, Jordan and Lebanon.
Many spoke of receiving threats or leaving out of fear. Fifty-two hostages and police were killed when Iraqi forces tried to free more than 100 Catholics taken hostage during Sunday mass on Oct. 31. >>> | Friday, December 17, 2010
En route vers le yuan
Image : Le Temps
LE TEMPS: Prudemment plutôt que délibérément, la Chine est en train d’internationaliser son renminbi. Un processus qui pourrait avoir un gros impact sur le commerce, ainsi que sur le système financier mondial. Et même sur la politique internationale
Le marché des emprunts obligataires émis dans la devise chinoise est tellement neuf qu’il doit encore se trouver un nom. A défaut d’autre chose, il est surnommé marché «dimsum», une allusion à la cuisine de Hongkong, où il est basé. En dépit de sa jeunesse, ce marché fait l’objet d’un intérêt grandissant. Le mois dernier, Caterpillar, le fabricant américain d’équipements de chantier, a lancé une émission d’obligations pour 1 milliard de renminbis [145 millions de francs]. C’est la deuxième multinationale à exploiter ce marché, après la chaîne de fast-food McDonald’s en août.
Ces émissions d’obligations sont importantes, car le marché des emprunts obligataires en renminbis par des entreprises étrangères représente bien plus qu’une nouvelle voie pour financer de la dette, c’est un atout majeur dans un plan visant à internationaliser la monnaie chinoise. Le processus sera lent, à pas de bébé bien plus qu’à pas de géant, et il n’est en aucun cas garanti que le renminbi – connu aussi sous le nom de yuan – jouera un rôle décisif au niveau mondial. Mais il pourrait avoir un énorme impact sur le commerce, sur le système financier global et même sur la politique internationale. >>> Robert Cookson et Geoff Dyer | Jeudi 16 Décembre 2010
Friday, December 17, 2010
Lieber fett und fit, als schlank und schlapp
SCHWEIZER FERNSEHEN: Menschen mit Übergewicht leben ungesund – und Schlanke gesund. Irrtum, sagt der ETH-Wissenschaftler Paolo Colombani. Wer sein Gewicht und damit sein Krankheits-Risiko lediglich gemäss Body-Mass-Index beurteilt, liegt falsch.
Zum Teil in Schwyzertüütsch übertragen.
Islamische Republik Deutschland
Eric Holder Refuses To Say "Radical Islam"
BNP Leader Defeats Contempt Bid
SKY NEWS: BNP leader Nick Griffin fights off a bid to have him declared guilty of contempt of court.
SKY NEWS: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says extradition to the US seems increasingly likely. He's been speaking to Sky's Emma Birchley in Suffolk where he's under house arrest.
Prince William and Kate Middleton. Photograph: Google Images
Snub for Obamas as Royal Sources Reveal They Will Not Be Invited to Prince William's Wedding
MAIL ONLINE: American President left off the guest list as it is not a 'state occasion' / Royal couple eager to ask ordinary citizens to attend rather than VIPs / Heads of State who may attend include Nicolas Sarkozy and wife Carla Bruni
President Obama and his wife Michelle will not be invited to Prince William's wedding next year.
Because Prince William is not yet heir to the throne, his wedding to Kate Middleton is not classed as a ‘state occasion’ – and the couple feel under no pressure to fill the 2,000-strong guest list with heads of state, the Mail understands.
They are more eager to ask ordinary citizens and charity workers than foreign dignitaries and VIPs to what will be the first royal ‘people’s wedding’, courtiers suggested.
A handful of heads of state are likely to be invited in line with previous royal weddings, possibly including France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni.
But the decision to exclude the American premier and his wife Michelle from the celebrations marks a break from tradition. Read on and comment >>> Fay Schlesinger | Friday, December 17, 2010
Armistead Maupin: 'We're Winning' Gay Culture War
BBC: Stephen Sackur talks to Armistead Maupin, an American author whose bestselling Tales of the City series chronicled the beginning of gay liberation in 1970s San Francisco. Has it really got any better for America's gay community since then? Watch BBC video >>> | Friday, December 17, 2010
Julian Assange's Bail Host Had 'No Hesitation'
BBC: The owner of the hall where Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has been ordered to spend his bail has told BBC Look East he has no qualms about housing the Australian.
Mr Assange has been ordered to spend his bail at Ellingham Hall in Bungay, Suffolk.
Vaughan Smith has only known Mr Assange for five months, but claims he is sure they will get on fine. Watch BBC video >>> | Friday, December 17, 2010
Ancient Mystery of Beheaded French King
BBC: A 400-year-old mystery has finally been solved in France.
Forensic experts have identified an embalmed head passed between private collectors for centuries as belonging to King Henri IV of France, assassinated in 1610.
Hugh Schofield reports from Paris. Watch BBC video >>> | Friday, December 17, 2010
Duc d'Anjou : «La tête d'Henri IV est un patrimoine national»
«Avec la confirmation de la découverte, en tant que chef de la maison des Bourbon, je dois établir une relation avec le gouvernement», déclare le Duc d'Ajou, descendant d'Henri IV.
«On ne prie pas dans la rue par gaieté de cœur»
LE FIGARO: REPORTAGE VIDÉO - Après une semaine de polémique sur les prières de rue, lefigaro.fr est allé à la rencontre des fidèles de la rue Myrah, dans le XVIIIe arrondissement de Paris. D'ici à la fin 2012, ils devraient être accueillis dans une nouvelle mosquée.
WikiLeaks: les pirates lanceront samedi une campagne d’affichage
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: OPÉRATION PAPERSTORM | Le groupe "Anonymous", à l’origine d’attaques contre Visa et Mastercard, ont promis de lancer samedi une campagne d’affichage en soutien au fondateur de WikiLeaks, Julian Assange.
Des pirates informatiques du groupe "Anonymous", déjà à l’origine d’attaques contre Visa et Mastercard, ont promis de lancer samedi une campagne d’affichage en soutien au fondateur de WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, menacé de poursuites en Suède.
"Operation Paperstorm" (Opération tempête de papiers) appelle les partisans de WikiLeaks à "imprimer un logo, un manifeste ou tout ce qui est visible ou fort" puis à l’afficher samedi dans les stations-service, les métros ou tout autre lieu public, explique un message diffusé sur le site twitter "AnonOps communications", utilisé par des pirates d’Anonymous. >>> AFP | Friday, 17 Décembre 2010
WikiLeaks: Julian Assange Fears He Is Subject of an 'Illegal Investigation'
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has claimed that there could be an "illegal investigation" being carried out into him.
Speaking on his first day under house arrest, the 39-year-old Australian said he had not been provided with any evidence relating to claims he sexually assaulted two women.
He was let out of prison on Thursday after a judge ruled he should be released ahead of Swedish extradition proceedings in the new year.
Bail conditions require Mr Assange to remain in the country until the extradition hearing next year and he is now staying at Ellingham Hall, a country retreat on the Norfolk/Suffolk border owned by Vaughan Smith, the founder of London's Frontline club.
Speaking from the grounds of the mansion, he claimed certain institutions were "engaged in what appears to be, certainly a secret investigation, but appears also to be an illegal investigation.
"We can see that by how certain people who are allegedly affiliated with us were contained at the US border and had their computers seized, and so on." >>> | Friday, December 17, 2010
THE AUSTRALIAN: Nasrin Sotoudeh has spent 105 days in solitary confinement and is so weak from her hunger strike that she can barely finish sentences.
The leading Iranian human rights lawyer has nonetheless issued a declaration of defiance from her prison cell.
"If you are going to hell, then go like a man," she told The Times in a message sent from Tehran's infamous Evin prison via her husband, Reza Khandan. "Let them give me a harsh sentence because that brings a person honour."
Mr Khandan, who risked reprisals for speaking to a foreign journalist, said that he was proud of his wife and supported her stand, whatever the price.
"I very much fear for her life, but I don't know what I can do to save her," he said.
Ms Sotoudeh, 47, the mother of two young children, is becoming the latest symbol of the regime's barbarity. >>> Martin Fletcher | The Times | Saturday, December 18, 2010
Accommodating Sarkozy Allows National Front to Set France's Agenda
THE AUSTRALIAN: The President's divisive policies on immigration and race could derail the next election.
IF Nicolas Sarkozy's presidency is consumed by the hydra-headed monster that is France's National Front, reinvigorated under Marine Le Pen, he has only himself to blame.
When Sarkozy was elected president in 2007, there was rejoicing that despite his dangerous campaign embrace of far Right rhetoric and policies, Sarkozy had at least vanquished veteran culture warrior Jean-Marie Le Pen's extremist political movement as an electoral force.
But Sarkozy's long-term strategy of battling the racist Right on its own territory, with strident anti-immigrant and law and order policies and polemics, has manifestly failed. As the political establishment gears up for an early start to the 2012 presidential poll, Le Pen's daughter and heir apparent is now attracting 27 per cent of the vote in some popularity surveys and she hasn't even been officially crowned successor to her father.
Throughout his career Sarkozy has made it his practice to "steal" the policies of the extreme Right, and slightly repackage them for majority consumption. >>> Emma-Kate Symons | The Australian | December 18, 2010
Shi'ite Muslims Mark Ashura Festival
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Shi'ite Muslims commemorate the festival of Ashura - one of the religion's most important holy days. Video courtesy of Reuters.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Hundreds of people are detained in Moscow and St Petersburg in what authorities say is a move to prevent new outbreaks of ethnic violence. Video courtesy of Reuters.
UBS Tells Staff To Look Sharp
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Swiss bank UBS released a detailed employee dress code with suggestions on perfume and eating habits that is raising eyebrows across the internet. WSJ's Elva Ramirez discusses the controversy.
Change You Can Believe In! Barack Obama to Sign Package Extending Tax Breaks for the Rich
THE GUARDIAN: Passage of bill reflects weakness of both the presidency and the Democratic party after Republican wins in November elections
Barack Obama was forced to sign the bill despite admitting that he opposed some of its provisions. Photograph: The Guardian
The US president, Barack Obama, will today sign into law measures approved by Congress extending tax cuts introduced by George Bush amid Democratic complaints that the breaks favour the rich.
Despite objections from many of Obama's fellow Democrats, the House of Representatives passed the $858bn (£548bn) package of renewed tax cuts last night. The package, which also extended benefits for the long-term unemployed for 13 months, was passed by 277 votes to 148. On Wednesday the Senate passed it by an overwhelming 83-15 margin.
Passage of the bill reflects the relative weakness of both the presidency and the Democratic party after the Republican sweep in November's congressional elections, giving them a majority in the House and big inroads into the Democratic majority in the Senate.
Obama has been forced to bend to the resurgent Republicans, his current position on taxes contrasting sharply with his stance earlier this year when he and his fellow Democrats fought against renewing tax reductions for the wealthiest Americans – those with household incomes above $250,000 – while supporting continued cuts for middle-class taxpayers. >>> Mark Tran | Friday, December 17, 2010
Assange gegen Kaution frei
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Der inhaftierte Wikileaks-Chef Julian Assange ist wieder auf freiem Fuß: Am Abend wurde er gegen Zahlung einer Kaution aus dem Gefängnis entlassen. Das höchste britische Zivilgericht hatte die Freilassung zuvor angeordnet.
Der Wikileaks-Gründer Julian Assange ist aus der Haft entlassen worden. Das berichtete die britische Nachrichtenagentur PA am Donnerstag. Er muss sich in den kommenden Wochen auf einem Landsitz in England aufhalten, den er als ständige Adresse angegeben hat, und unter anderem eine elektronische Fußfessel tragen, hatte ein Gericht zuvor entschieden. >>> FAZ | Donnerstag, 10. Dezember 2010
Céline Dion: The Prayer (Duet with Josh Groban)
Bradley Manning's Health Deteriorating in Jail, Supporters Say
THE GUARDIAN: The intelligence analyst suspected of leaking US diplomatic cables is being held in solitary confinement
As Julian Assange emerged from his nine-day imprisonment, there were renewed concerns about the physical and psychological health of Bradley Manning, the former US intelligence analyst suspected of leaking the diplomatic cables at the centre of the storm.
Manning, who was arrested seven months ago, is being held at a military base in Virginia and faces a court martial and up to 52 years in prison for his alleged role in copying the cables.
His friends and supporters also claim they have been the target of extra-judicial harassment, intimidation and outright bribery by US government agents.
According to David House, a computer researcher from Boston who visits Manning twice a month, he is starting to deteriorate. "Over the last few weeks I have noticed a steady decline in his mental and physical wellbeing," he said. "His prolonged confinement in a solitary holding cell is unquestionably taking its toll on his intellect; his inability to exercise due to [prison] regulations has affected his physical appearance in a manner that suggests physical weakness."
Manning, House added, was no longer the characteristically brilliant man he had been, despite efforts to keep him intellectually engaged. He also disputed the authorities' claims that Manning was being kept in solitary for his own good. >>> Heather Brooke | Thursday, December 16, 2010
Austrian Man Convicted for Yodelling While Muslim Neighbours Prayed
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: An Austrian man has been fined for yodelling while mowing his lawn because it caused offence to his Muslim neighbours.
Helmut Griese, 63, was found guilty of "ridiculing" their religious beliefs and fined nearly £700 by a court in Graz. Rather than face a protracted court case, with all its attendant legal costs, Mr Griese agreed to pay.
The court heard how the Muslim family regarded Mr Griese as a "grumpy old man" whose open-air Alpine chanting was intended as a taunt aimed at their religion. The retiree was accused trying to "mock and imitate" the call of the Muezzin, who calls the faithful for prayer in mosques. They alleged that he always began his yodelling just as they knelt down to pray. >>> Alex Hall in Berlin | Thursday, December 16, 2010
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Daughter of Former British Nuclear Scientist Could Face Death Penalty for Drugs Charges
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The daughter of a former British nuclear scientist could face the death penalty in Malaysia after being arrested on suspicion of drugs trafficking.
Mother-of-two Shivaun Orton, 41, from Bangor, Wales, whose father Mike Orton worked at the Atmoic Weapons Research Establishment at Aldermaston, was arrested after a drugs raid on a holiday resort which she and her husband run.
Police seized 225g of heroin, as well as cannabis, amphetamines and ecstasy during the raid on the resort on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia.
Orton, 41, was arrested along with her Malaysian husband Abdul Harris Fadilah, 46, following a raid by Malaysian narcotics police at the Ranting Resort which the couple run in Cherating. >>> Andrew Drummond in Bangkok | Thursday, December 16, 2010
Menaces d'Al-Qaeda aux États-Unis et en Europe
LE POINT: Interpol fait état de signes inquiétants en provenance de la nébuleuse al-Qaeda.
Interpol a annoncé jeudi à l'AFP avoir reçu de son bureau à Bagdad des informations sur de "possibles menaces" d'attentats d'Al-Qaeda aux États-Unis et en Europe. "Nous avons reçu hier du bureau d'Interpol à Bagdad des informations sur de possibles menaces, particulièrement aux États-Unis et en Europe, en raison d'ordres donnés à des cellules d'Al-Qaeda par des commandants" du groupe terroriste, a déclaré une porte-parole de l'organisation policière internationale, dont le siège est à Lyon. >>> Source AFP | Jeudi 16 Décembre 2010
Nigeria 'Drops Corruption Charge Against Dick Cheney'
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Corruption charges against Dick Cheney, the former US Vice-President, have been dropped after Halliburton, the oil firm he used to run, agreed to pay $250 million in fines, according to reports.
Mr Cheney, who was chief executive of Halliburton between 1995 and 2000, and three other bosses were last week charged with bribery by Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The company itself and four related businesses were also charged. It is alleged that bribes were paid to Nigerian officials to secure contracts for the construction of a liquefied natural gas plant in the Niger delta.
Nigerian newspapers reported on Wednesday that the charges had been dropped after a deal was struck with help from George H.W. Bush, the former US President. >>> Jon Swaine, New York | Thursday, December 16, 2010
UAE Hotel Boasts 'Most Expensive Christmas Tree Ever'
The tree is the latest in a series of publicity seeking efforts by the hotel. Photograph: BBC
BBC: A glitzy hotel in Abu Dhabi has put on show a jewel-encrusted Christmas tree which it says is worth over $11m (£7m).
Items of jewellery studded with scores of precious stones are draped on the tree's branches, along with more traditional baubles and lights.
While the tree alone is worth a mere $10,000, the jewellery adds more than $11m to the value, said the hotel's general manager Hans Olbertz.
He admitted the idea for the tree was hatched by the hotel's marketing team.
The hotel has a tree every year, Mr Olbertz said.
But this year, "we said we have to do something different", AFP news agency quoted him as saying.
The vast majority of the population of the oil-rich UAE are Muslim.
But Mr Olbertz said he did not think the tree would offend local sensibilities.
"It's a very liberal country," he said, according to AFP. >>> | Thursday, December 16, 2010
WikiLeaks Founder Ordered Freed as Court Rejects Appeal
THE NEW YORK TIMES: LONDON — A London court ordered on Thursday that Julian Assange, the founder of the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks be released on bail while he fights extradition to Sweden on alleged sex offenses.
The High Court decision reversed a ruling two days ago to deny bail. The terms Thursday included strict conditions on where he may live until another hearing on Jan. 11.
The hearing was formally separate from Mr. Assange’s role in the publication of some 250,000 American diplomatic documents and came as federal prosecutors in Washington looked for evidence that would enable them to charge him with helping with an Army intelligence analyst suspected of leaking the information.
The American prosecutors believe that if he did so, they could charge him as a conspirator rather than a passive recipient of the documents.
Mr. Assange’s court appearance in London, however, is related to allegations of sexual misconduct on three occasions with two young Swedish women in Stockholm last August, something he denies. Swedish prosecutors say they want him to be returned to their country to question him in connection with accusations that he broke Swedish rape and other laws.
Mr. Assange has said the encounters were consensual but his accusers say they ceased to be consensual when a condom was not being used. >>> Ravi Somaiya in London and Alan Cowell in Paris | Thursday, December 16, 2010
Europe Threatens to Recognise Palestinian State
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Europe's foreign ministers have threatened to recognise an independent Palestinian state to punish Israeli refusal to halt "illegal" Jewish settlements.
A text, seen by The Daily Telegraph, warned of EU "readiness, when appropriate, to recognize a Palestinian state" increasing the international pressure on Israel following the effective collapse of direct Middle East peace talks last week.
Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, on Monday called "on the EU to take a step towards recognition of the state of Palestine based on the 1967 borders".
"We hope that the EU will take this step to maintain the requirements for the success of the peace process, which was thwarted by Israel," said Saeb Erakat, the chief Palestinian negotiator.
There has been a week of intense EU diplomacy after an initiative by the so-called "quint" of Britain, France, Germany, Italy and the US, to push Israel into negotiations.
"There is growing frustration with Israel after its refusal to commit to a new settlements freeze and patience is running out," said a European diplomat. >>> Adrian Blomfield in Jerusalem and Bruno Waterfield in Brussels | Monday, December 13, 2010
German Man Castrates Teenage Daughter's 57-year-old Boyfriend
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: An enraged father who disapproved of his daughter's older boyfriend went to his home and castrated him with a bread knife.
Helmut Seifert, 47, an ethnic German originally from Russia, was enraged when he heard his 17-year-old daughter was having a relationship with Phillip Genscher, 57.
He went to police in the town of Bielefeld where he lives but officers said they were powerless to intervene.
"The man then recruited two work colleagues at his factory and then went to the house of the victim," said police. >>> Allan Hall, Berlin | Sunday, December 12, 2010
Swiss Bank UBS Bans Tight Skirts and Fake Nails
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Swiss banking giant UBS has issued a strict dress code for employees, calling on them to wear "skin-coloured" lingerie and to ditch "fancy and coloured" artificial fingernails.
In a document stretching to more than 40 pages, UBS described a head to toe company dress code, including permissible hairstyles, what cut of skirt and which type of socks to wear.
Women should not wear "flashy" jewellery or skirts that are "too tight behind."
Underwear must not be "visible against clothing or spilling out of clothing." Rather, they should be "skin-coloured under white shirts."
Employees should also ensure that natural roots are not showing if they have coloured their hair, the document dictated.
Men should wear a "straight-cut two button jacket and pants that make up part of a classic professional suit." >>> | Thursday, December 16, 2010
Helmut Schmidt bei Maischberger
House Approves DADT Repeal
ADVOCATE: The U.S. House of Representatives approved a stand-alone bill Wednesday to repeal the 17-year-old law barring lesbian and gay service members from serving openly in the military by a vote of 250-175.
Rep. Patrick Murphy, who championed the repeal effort, said those who oppose repeal had exhausted “every excuse under the sun.”
“Enough!” Murphy said from the House floor. “Our troops are the best of the best and they deserve a Congress that puts their safety and their collective national security over rigid partisan interests and a closed-minded ideology.”
The bill, introduced Tuesday afternoon by Rep. Murphy and House majority leader Steny Hoyer, will now be sent over to the Senate for consideration. Its language is identical to that of the legislation introduced Friday by Sens. Joe Lieberman and Susan Collins, and its “privileged” status will allow it to bypass several procedural hurdles and move directly to a vote that would take 60 senators for passage. >>> Kerry Eleveld | Wednesday, December 15, 2010
I must say it would be so refreshing if the US military were to resolve this issue once and for all, and abolish DADT and give gays full rights in the military. There really isn't any excuse for not allowing them to serve in the military any longer. It's all bigotry.
If gays are allowed to serve, they should be held to the highest standards, and will have to comply with norms of behaviour that everyone else has to comply with. That goes without saying, actually.
But to throw gays out of the military simply because they have a different sexual orientation, and even when they have behaved impeccably, is simply not acceptable in this day and age.
Gays perform perfectly well in the militaries of other countries, notably Israel's military, Germany's, the UKs, Australia's, Switzerland's, Holland's, etc. So what makes the US military folk think that the US military is very different, even extraordinary?
Within a short period of time, the whole matter will die down, and those serving will come to accept the gays they serve with. Young people today are not like the bigots of earlier generations. They are far more open-minded.
Senior US General Says Gays on Battlefield Are a 'Distraction'
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The head of the United States Marines Corps has said that allowing homosexuals to serve openly in the American armed forces could result in deaths on the battlefield.
General James Amos, said he oppoosed the campaign pledge by President Barack Obama to repeal the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" ban on openly homosexual service members.
He said: "Mistakes and inattention or distractions cost Marines lives. That's the currency of this fight. I don't want to lose any Marines to the distraction.
"I don't want to have any Marines that I'm visiting at Bethesda [National Naval Medical Centre near Washington] with no legs be the result of any type of distraction."
Democrats in Congress are attempting to lift the ban but have thus far not attracted enough Republican support.
Robert Gates, the US Defence Secretary, has said that if Congress does not repeal the law, the courts will probably overturn it instead, giving the military much less flexibility in terms of implementation and management. Read on and comment >>> Toby Harnden, Washington | Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Les mots durs de Richard Nixon sur les Juifs, les Irlandais et les Noirs
LE POINT: Des propos péjoratifs tenus par le président américain Richard Nixon sur les Juifs, les Noirs, les Irlandais et les Italiens figurent dans des enregistrements audio de la Maison-Blanche qui viennent d'être rendus publics. "Les Juifs ont certaines caractéristiques", déclare Richard Nixon, qui fut président de 1968 à 1974, au cours d'une conversation avec un conseiller en 1973 qui figure dans les 265 heures d'enregistrements sur des bandes publiées par la Bibliothèque présidentielle Richard Nixon en Californie. "Les Juifs ont une personnalité très agressive, mordante et odieuse", déclare le président, tout en faisant une distinction entre les Juifs israéliens - qu'il admirait - et les Juifs américains. Les enregistrements ont été mis en ligne et le New York Times en a publié des extraits samedi. >>> Par Source AFP | Dimanche 12 Décembre 2010
Colonies juives: les Arabes veulent saisir le Conseil de sécurité de l'ONU
LE POINT: La Ligue arabe va saisir le Conseil de sécurité de l'ONU pour tenter d'obtenir une résolution contre la colonisation israélienne, selon le communiqué final d'une réunion de l'organisation mercredi à laquelle a participé le président palestinien Mahmoud Abbas. >>> AFP | Mercredi 15 Décembre 2010
Rückschlag für Obama: „Gesundheitsreform verfassungswidrig“
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Ein Bundesrichter in Virginia hat ein Kernstück von Präsident Obamas Gesundheitsreform für verfassungswidrig erklärt: Die Regierung habe kein Recht, die Amerikaner zum Abschluss einerrankenversicherung zu zwingen. Letztlich wird der Supreme Court entscheiden müssen.
Der schwelende Streit über die im März beschlossene Gesundheitsreform in den Vereinigten Staaten erhält neuen Zündstoff. Der Bundesrichter Hudson an einem Bezirksgericht in Virginia entschied am Montag, dass eine Kernpassage des Gesetzes nicht verfassungsgemäß sei.
Der Kongress in Washington dürfe die Amerikaner nicht zwingen, eine Krankenversicherung zu kaufen, und ihnen bei Nichtbeachtung eine Strafzahlung auferlegen. Eine solche Verpflichtung „lade zu einer ungehemmten Ausdehnung der föderalen Macht ein“, heißt es in dem Urteil. Für Präsident Barack Obama und die Demokraten, die ihre Gesundheitsreform im März als historischen Erfolg gefeiert hatten, ist der Urteilsspruch eine Niederlage. Die Regierung wird wahrscheinlich Berufung einlegen. Weiter lesen und einen Kommentar schreiben >>> Von Patrick Welter, Washington | Mittwoch, 15. Dezember 2010
Sternstunde Philosophie: Kleines Land, grosser Europäer. EU-Vordenker Jean-Claude Juncker über Europa und die Schweiz
SCHWEIZER FERNSEHEN: Jean-Claude Juncker, Ministerpräsident und Finanzminister von Luxemburg, hat viel Einfluss in der EU. Immer wieder setzt er eigene Vorstellungen durch. So zählte er zu den Schöpfern der starken Währung Euro. Mit Härte und Humor vertritt er die Interessen des Bankenplatzes Luxemburg. Im Bedarfsfall zögert er nicht, den mächtigen Franzosen Nicolas Sarkozy zur Ordnung zu rufen. Aber der 53jährige Christlichsoziale ist nicht nur ein mit allen Wassern gewaschener Macher, der als Präsident der Euro-Länder derzeit die internationale Finanzkrise managt. Er ist auch europäischer Nachdenker und Vordenker - und wahrscheinlich der beste, schlagfertigste Redner unter Europas Politikern. Viele sehen in Juncker den künftigen Präsidenten der Europäischen Union; er scheint wie geschaffen für dieses Amt, das der neue EU-Vertrag vorsieht. Roger de Weck befragt Jean-Claude Juncker zu Europa, aber auch zur Schweiz, die in ihrer Europapolitik oft auf den luxemburgischen Partner baut.
