Tide Turns against Occupy Wall Street

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Occupy Wall Street protesters in several US cities faced mounting pressure from police to abandon their encampments, as the tide appeared to be turning against the movement.

The Occupy protests are now nearly two months old, having begun in New York's financial district on Sept 17 as a demonstration against income inequality and corporate greed.

This weekend however officials across the country urged an end to gatherings and camps were cleared in Salt Lake City, Utah and Denver, Colorado.

In Portland, Oregon thousands of people gathered in two adjacent city parks in an overnight stand off with police. The city's mayor Sam Adams had ordered a camp there to be shut down by midnight Saturday, citing unhealthy conditions and the camp's attraction of drug users and thieves. There had been four non-fatal drug overdoses in recent weeks.

But early on Sunday 3,000 people converged on the area and protest organisers said that would make it difficult for police to carry out an eviction.

Occupy Portland spokesman Jordan LeDoux said: "We're going to sit-in and force them to arrest us." » | Nick Allen, Los Angeles | Sunday, November 13, 2011

Norway Mass Killer Anders Behring Breivik Makes First Open Court Appearance

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Anders Behring Breivik, the Norwegian right-wing extremist who confessed to a bombing and shooting massacre that killed 77 people tried to give a speech describing himself as a resistance leader at his first public court hearing on Monday but was cut off by the judge.

Wearing a dark suit, Breivik was escorted by guards into an Oslo court room packed with dozens of reporters and members of the public, including survivors of his shooting at a youth camp outside the capital who were seeing him in person for the first time since the bloody rampage.

Breivik began portraying himself as the "commander" of a Norwegian resistance movement before the judge interrupted him and told him to stick to the issue at hand. The hearing was to decide whether to extend Breivik's custody pending his trial on terror charges.

He also attempted to address to victims' families before being quickly interrupted by the judge.

Prosecutors asked for a court order to keep him jailed for 12 more weeks, with restrictions on media access, visitors and mail. » | Monday, November 14, 2011

Republican Hopefuls Would Go to War with Iran

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Republican presidential hopefuls have promised to go to war to stop Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon, painting Barack Obama's handling of Tehran as the most serious of a string of overseas failures.

Mitt Romney, the favourite to clinch the party's candidacy, said that he would direct US forces to pre-emptively strike Iran's nuclear facilities if "crippling sanctions" failed to block their ambitions.

"If all else fails, if after all of the work we've done, there's nothing else we could do besides take military action," Mr Romney said at a debate on foreign policy in South Carolina on Saturday night.

The former Massachusetts governor's pledge was echoed by Newt Gingrich, the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, who over the weekend rose to second place in some national opinion polls.

"You have to take whatever steps are necessary to break its capacity to have a nuclear weapon," said Mr Gingrich, who also proposed covert actions such as "taking out their scientists," to applause. Rick Santorum, a former Senator for Pennsylvania, said the US should support an Israeli intervention.

Their remarks came at the end of a week of heightened tensions following the UN nuclear watchdog's confirmation that Iran had acquired the expertise and material required to build its first nuclear weapon. » | Jon Swaine, Washington | Sunday, November 13, 2011

Silvio Berlusconi Hints at Comeback as Italy Tries to Form New Government
THE GUARDIAN: Italy's president begins consultations while Berlusconi tells supporters: 'I hope to resume the path of government'

As Italy's president, Giorgio Napolitano, began hurried consultations on the formation of a new government, Silvio Berlusconi sent a clear message that he intends to return to power.

The first politician summoned by the head of state arrived at the presidential palace at 9am sharp on the morning after Berlusconi was jeered and booed from office there by an exultant crowd of more than 1,000 people.

In a final humiliation, the 75-year-old billionaire, whose government has led Italy to the very brink of financial catastrophe, dodged out of the palace by a side door after submitting his resignation.

But in a message sent to a meeting of a party of neofascist diehards, La Destra, the TV magnate said: "I share your spirit and I hope to resume with you the path of government." » | John Hooper in Rome | Sunday, November 13, 2011

Related here and here

Tel-Aviv: 20’000 Israéliens dénoncent la montée de l’extrémisme de droite
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: MANIFESTATION | Quelque 20'000 manifestants ont exprimé leur crainte lors du 16e anniversaire de l’assassinat du premier ministre travailliste israélien Yitzhak Rabin par un ultranationaliste.

Quelque 20’000 Israéliens se sont réunis samedi à Tel Aviv pour dénoncer la montée de l’extrémisme de droite en Israël. Ils ont manifesté leur crainte lors du 16e anniversaire de l’assassinat du Premier ministre travailliste israélien Yitzhak Rabin par un ultranationaliste.

Les manifestants, dont de nombreux jeunes, brandissaient des pancartes avec l’inscription «Oui à la paix, non à la violence» et «le prix à payer ruine la démocratie israélienne» en allusion aux exactions anti-arabes de l’extrême droite. » | ATS / AFP | samedi 10 novembre 2011

Tony Blair Says Eurozone Breakup Would Be 'Catastrophic'

THE GUARDIAN: Former prime minister calls for 'whole weight of Europe' to stand behind single currency and resolve eurozone debt crisis

Tony Blair has warned Europe's leaders of the "catastrophic" consequences of the breakup of the eurozone, saying the current crisis was the most serious the European political project had ever faced.

The day after his former political ally Silvio Berlusconi resigned as Italy's prime minister, Blair told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show there had "never been a tougher time to be a leader" but said Europe's current cohort risked being "behind the curve".

The former prime minister continued to hold out the possibility that in the "very long term", Britain might still join the euro, should the single currency survive and stabilise.

He told Marr: "You've got to be careful of always being in a situation where you are just behind the curve of decision-making.

"What we could have done to stabilise this situation a few months back, you now have to do even more to stabilise it today."

Blair said he had always believed Europe's monetary union would require a fiscal union, and on Sunday he called for a "long-term framework of credibility", which included strong fiscal co-ordination.

"Right now for the single currency it's essential it's preserved, that the whole weight of Europe, of its institutions stand behind it."

He added: "If the single currency broke up, it would be catastrophic." » | Allegra Stratton, politics correspondent | Sunday, November 13, 2011

BBC: Tony Blair: Euro collapse would be catastrophic » | Sunday, November 13, 2011

Play BBC Video: »Tony Blair: Eurozone break-up would be ‘catastrophic’: Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has said that the break-up of the eurozone would be "catastrophic" for all of Europe, including the UK. ¶ Speaking to the BBC's Andrew Marr, Mr Blair said the crisis was the biggest faced by the eurozone countries since the creation of the single currency. ¶ He added the choices to be made are "very difficult and very painful". » | Sunday, November 13, 2011

Berlusconi plant bereits sein Comeback

TAGES ANZEIGER: Staatspräsident Napolitano könnte den ehemaligen EU-Kommissar Mario Monti noch heute mit der Regierungsbildung beauftragen. Und auch der zurückgetretene Berlusconi schmiedet offenbar neue Pläne.

Einen Tag nach seinem Rücktritt hat der bisherige italienische Ministerpräsident Silvio Berlusconi seine Absicht kundgetan, erneut an die Regierung zurückkehren zu wollen. Dies nährt Spekulationen, dass Berlusconi in der Politik bleiben und bei den nächsten Parlamentswahlen wieder kandidieren könnte.

In einem Schreiben an die Rechtspartei «La Destra» («Die Rechte») aus Anlass von deren Parteitag in Turin äusserte sich Berlusconi «stolz» über das, was seine Regierung in den zurückliegenden dreieinhalb Jahren inmitten einer «beispiellosen internationalen Krise» geleistet habe.

«Ich teile Ihre Überzeugungen und hoffe, dass wir erneut gemeinsam den Weg zur Regierung beschreiten werden», heisst es in dem Brief an die kleine Rechtspartei. Berlusconi betonte, er hoffe, dass die errungenen Resultate zur Modernisierung Italiens nicht verloren gehen würden. «Jemand sorgte dafür, dass die italienische Politik einen Sprung zurück macht, als der Wille der Wähler von Parteioligarchien ignoriert wurde, die die Macht verwalteten, ohne sich bei den Bürgern verantworten zu müssen», warnte Berlusconi. » | miw/sda/dapd | Sonntag 13. November 2011

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Why the world has not heard the last of Silvio Berlusconi: Departure from office will not end Mr Berlusconi's presence as a "Papi" to his nation - loved or otherwise, says Nick Squires in Rome » | Nick Squires, Rome | Saturday, November 12, 2011

Court Begins Hearing Islamic Bank Dispute
CBC NEWS: The financial dispute between an Islamic bank and about 200 families whose mortgages are in limbo, moved to a Toronto courtroom on Thursday.

The homeowners had interest-free mortgages with United Muslim Financial totalling about $32 million.

Since 2005, UM Financial has offered loans and mortgages to people who want to adhere strictly to Islamic (Shariah) law, under which no interest can be charged on a loan.

The court will now decide what to do with those mortgages.

UM Financial was ordered into receivership on Oct. 7. » | CBC News | Friday, November 11, 2011

HT: Always On Watch »

L'extrême droite dans le nouveau gouvernement grec
leJDD: Le nouveau Premier ministre Lucas Papademos et son gouvernement ont prêté serment ce vendredi. Au sein de cette nouvelle équipe d'union nationale chargée de mettre en oeuvre le plan de soutien européen, figure un ministre d'extrême droite, ce qui n'était pas arrivé depuis la fin de la dictature en 1974. Éclairage.

Nouveau gouvernement en Grèce. Le nouveau Premier ministre Lucas Papademos et les 47 membres de son gouvernement ont prêté serment vendredi après-midi dans la résidence présidentielle en présence du chef de l'Etat Carolos Papoulias, lors d'une cérémonie religieuse orthodoxe présidée par le chef de l'Eglise grecque Mgr Iéronymos (l'Eglise et l'Etat ne sont pas séparés en Grèce), retransmise en direct par la télévision publique grecque. Le ministère grec des Finances reste dans les mains d'Evangélos Vénizélos (54 ans), un poids lourd socialiste, tandis que les Affaires étrangères échoient à un libéral, l'ex-commissaire européen Stavros Dimas (70 ans), dans le nouveau gouvernement de coalition grec formé vendredi.

Mais ce nouveau gouvernement est surtout marqué par l'arrivée de l'extrême droite, avec un ministre, deux secrétaires d'Etat et un ministre adjoint. Une première depuis le retour de la démocratie en Grèce en 1974 après la chute de la dictature des colonels. Meneur de cette tendance, un avocat de 47 ans, Makis Voridis, est nommé aux Transports, où il devra jongler entre taxis et syndicalistes des autobus et du métro. Son parti, le Laos, occupe 5% des sièges au parlement, avec 16 sièges sur 300. En dix ans d'existence, sa formation est devenue un acteur important de la scène politique grecque en mettant progressivement en sourdine son discours xénophobe pour gagner en respectabilité. » | V.V. (avec AFP) - leJDD.fr | vendredi 11 novembre 2011

Tory MP in Row over 'Taped Attack' on David Cameron

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: A Conservative MP is at the centre of a row amid claims he was secretly taped making an extraordinary attack on David Cameron.

Patrick Mercer, a former shadow home affairs minister, was alleged to have branded the Prime Minister “an ----” during a conversation at a party given by a magazine and to have added: “I loathe him.”

Mr Mercer was also claimed in a tape recording, allegedly obtained by The People newspaper, to have said of Mr Cameron: “He’s a most despicable creature without any redeeming features. If I can think of one... he’s very rich.” Asked where the Prime Minister went wrong the MP was said to have replied: “He was born.”

Mr Mercer, MP for Newark, denied making the comments about Mr Cameron when questioned by The Sunday Telegraph last night - although he admitted being present at the party in question, where he had given a speech.

The pair have “history” - Mr Cameron sacked Mr Mercer in 2007 after the former army officer said that being called a “black bastard” was part and parcel of life in the armed forces. Mr Cameron, then the leader of the opposition, said the remarks at the time by the MP were “totally unacceptable”.

Mr Mercer is alleged, during the taped conversation, to have claimed Mr Cameron would be removed from 10 Downing Street in the spring and to have added: “I would take a beggar off the streets and put him in that position rather than have Cameron. Cameron is the worst politician in British history since William Gladstone.”

The 55-year-old MP, who supported David Davis, the former shadow home secretary, in the 2005 Conservative leadership contest won by Mr Cameron, was said by the newspaper to have criticised the Prime Minister’s “faux support” for Theresa May, the Home Secretary, who has been embroiled in an immigration row.

On the tape he is alleged to have said: “If the Prime Minister expresses his utmost confidence in you that means pack your bags. It always has done, especially with Cameron. What a creature.” » | Patrick Hennessy, and Ben Leach | Sunday, November 13, 2011

THE PEOPLE: ...And Patrick Mercer’s defence yesterday? ‘I’d had a drink but not so much I couldn’t drive’ » | Nigel Nelson | Sunday, November 13, 2011

Remembrance Sunday: Britain Falls Silent to Honour War Dead

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: The Queen led tributes to members of Britain's Armed Forces as thousands fell silent at Remembrance Sunday services to honour those who have lost their lives fighting for their country.

The Queen laid the first wreath at the Cenotaph at Whitehall, central London, to commemorate members of the Armed Forces who have died in all conflicts since the First World War.

She was joined by the Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke of York, the Countess of Wessex and other senior royals.

At 11am there was a two-minute silence as thousands paid their respects to those killed in conflicts past and present.

The Queen stood motionless with her head bowed, at the head of her family who stood in a line behind her.

The Duchess of Cambridge, dressed in black and wearing two red poppies and a bowler style hat, watched the sombre events from a balcony at the Foreign and Commonwealth building with other royal women.

This is the first time she has attended a Remembrance Sunday service as a member of the monarchy.

Also paying their respects were David Cameron, the Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, Labour leader Ed Miliband, High Commissioners from Commonwealth countries and defence chiefs.

The ceremony was attended by thousands of ex-servicemen and women who staged a veterans' march past the Cenotaph. » | Sarah Rainey | Sunday, November 13, 2011

In Memory of the Fallen: Remembrance Sunday 2011

Remembering those who perished for our liberty; in gratitude for their sacrifice.

José Manuel Barroso: 'The Speed of the European Union Can No Longer Be the Speed of the Most Reluctant Member'

THE OBSERVER: Britain and Europe face a choice: to come closer, share a common destiny and count in the world, or face disunity and decline, writes the president of the European commission

Today, on Remembrance Sunday, the United Kingdom commemorates the end of the first world war, which brought four years of intolerable carnage to an end. The second week in November is also the week of the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989, when freedom prevailed over totalitarian rule.

Both events symbolise the fact that our actions have implications. That political decisions have consequences. That history is shaped not by fatality, but by what we do.

The second week of November 2011 has seen turbulence of a different kind. The political and economic turmoil in Greece and Italy have affected us all. Today, markets trigger within seconds chain reactions to events that spill all around the globe. Economics is changing fundamentally but so too is politics. The bipolar system of the world before 1989 has been replaced by a multipolar, more unstable and more unpredictable world.

The first conclusion I draw is that as we witness fundamental changes to the economic and geopolitical order, Europe needs to advance together or risk fragmentation. The dynamic of globalisation in financial and economic terms, but also in geopolitical terms, confronts Europeans with a stark choice: live together, share a common destiny and count in the world; or face the prospect of disunity and decline. In this defining moment, we either unite or face irrelevance. Our goal must not be to maintain the status quo, but to move on to something new and better. » | José Manuel Barroso | Sunday, November 13, 2011

Related »

Barroso Tells Europe: We Must Advance Together or Face Decline

THE OBSERVER: President of European commission issues strongly worded plea to UK to embrace European integration

José Manuel Barroso, the president of the European commission, today issues a sharp rebuke to Eurosceptics, including those in the British government, who want to use the current crisis to disengage from the European Union.

Writing in the Observer, Barroso makes a rare intervention in the UK political debate by warning that all members of the EU need to unite and "advance together".


Citing Remembrance Sunday, he warns that "actions have consequences" and claims that peace and prosperity will best be furthered by Europeans supporting and trusting EU institutions, rather than allowing the continent to fragment politically and economically. He writes: "In this defining moment, we either unite or face irrelevance. Our goal must not be to maintain the status quo, but to move on to something new and better," adding: "I hope when historians look back on these unprecedented times, they will understand that we stepped back from the brink of fragmentation. I hope they will see how the UK fully engaged with fellow member states and institutional partners to ensure the stability of the EU."

After a tumultuous week in Europe that saw Italy pushed to the brink of meltdown, Barroso's strongly worded intervention underlines the depth of anxiety in Brussels about the future of the single currency and the EU.

Reports emerged, after a brutal sell-off in bond markets sent Italy's borrowing costs soaring, that France and Germany had discussed the idea of a smaller eurozone, with weaker states such as Greece encouraged to leave, and the inevitable creation of a two-tier EU.

There have also been renewed calls from the Eurosceptic wing of the Conservative party for the UK to partly or totally withdraw from the EU, culminating last month in 81 Conservative MPs defying a three-line whip to vote against the government and in favour of a referendum on membership.

But Barroso, in comments likely to generate a furious backlash from some on the right of British politics, firmly dismisses any idea that this is a time for Europe to fragment. Rather than regarding the crisis as an opportunity for states to redraw their relationships with the EU, he says that the progress of European integration must no longer be limited by "the speed of the slowest or most reluctant member". » | Daniel Boffey and Heather Stewart | Sunday, November 13, 2011

Israel Refuses to Tell US Its Iran Intentions
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Israel has refused to reassure President Barack Obama that it would warn him in advance of any pre-emptive strike on Iran's nuclear capabilities, raising fears that it may be planning a go-it-alone attack as early as next summer.

The US leader was rebuffed last month when he demanded private guarantees that no strike would go ahead without White House notification, suggesting Israel no longer plans to "seek Washington's permission", sources said. The disclosure, made by insiders briefed on a top-secret meeting between America's most senior defence chief and Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's hawkish prime minister, comes amid concerns that Iran's continuing progress towards nuclear weapons capability means the Jewish state has all but lost hope for a diplomatic solution. » | Adrian Blomfield in Jerusalem | Saturday, November 12, 2011

Silvio Berlusconi Finally Resigns as Italy's Prime Minister, to Cheers from Supporters and Jeers from Foes
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Silvio Berlusconi has resigned as Italy's longest-serving post-war prime minister, bringing to an end a tumultuous, 17-year political career which was marred by sex scandals, corruption allegations and gaffes on the international stage.


His departure came hours after the country's lower house of parliament approved, by a margin of 380 votes to 26, an urgently-needed package of economic reforms designed to tackle the country's €1.9 trillion debt, revive its sluggish economy and prevent it from going the way of Greece.

After the vote, the 75-year-old billionaire media baron held a final meeting with his cabinet, and was then driven home to his official residence. There he consulted with party advisers, the final step before going to the presidential palace, on Rome's Quirinale Hill, where he gave his resignation to Italy's 86-year-old president, Giorgio Napolitano, a former Communist.

The president released a statement saying that consultations on forming a new government would start on Sunday.

Mr Berlusconi’s conservative PDL party said it was willing to accept an emergency government run by Mario Monti, an economist and former European Commissioner, so long as it kept to a tight remit of implementing economic reforms.

The party also said it wanted the emergency government to be limited to a fixed term and demanded that it be consulted over the formation of a new cabinet. It was not immediately clear whether Mr Monti would be willing to accept such stringent conditions.

Earlier a crowd of about 5,000 people erupted into jeers and boos when Mr Berlusconi arrived at the palace in a cavalcade of cars with a police motorcycle escort shortly before 8pm GMT.

They shouted "mafioso" and "buffoon" as the prime minister swept into the main entrance of the building.

Some protesters shouted, "You should die" and "Silvio, **** off."

At one point a small crowd of choral singers sang "Hallelujah" in the cobbled piazza outside the palace. » | Nick Squires, Rome | Saturday, November 12, 2011

LE POINT: Italie: Silvio Berlusconi sort par la petite porte – L'ex-président du Conseil s'est éclipsé du pouvoir par une issue dérobée, samedi soir, afin d'éviter les milliers de personnes réunies pour saluer son départ. » | Le Point.fr | samedi 12 / dimanche 13 novembre 2011


Regardez la vidéo du Point ici

Un mariage gay pour relancer le débat

leJDD: Un couple homosexuel a été symboliquement marié samedi midi à Cabestany, près de Perpignan.

Patrick et Guillaume se sont dit oui, même si leur union n'a rien d'officielle. Le maire communiste de Cabestany, dans les Pyrénées-Orientales, a marié samedi midi ce couple gay afin de relancer le débat sur le mariage homosexuel. Ce mariage n'a cependant pas d'existence légale car il ne sera pas inscrit sur le registre de l'état-civil, a précisé le maire.

Sous une pluie de pétales de roses et devant de nombreuses caméras, les deux hommes ont été acclamés par une foule de proches, d'invités et de responsables associatifs. Le maire Jean Vila a célébré le mariage en bonne et due forme, mais l'acte de mariage et un livret de famille portent la mention "ce document n'a malheureusement pas de caractère officiel, la loi interdisant aujourd'hui le mariage entre personnes de même sexe, mais marque la volonté de la municipalité de voir la loi évoluer". » | Par Tugdual de Dieuleveult avec Benjamin Peter | Publié jeudi 10 novembre 2011 / Mis à jour samedi 12 novembre 2011

Vladimir Putin Says He Is among Rare Breed Of Capable World Leaders - That's Why Russia Needs Him Again

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Vladimir Putin has defended his decision to return to the Russian presidency for a third time, saying there aren't enough talented world leaders to fill his generation's shoes.

Forcefully rebuffing suggestions that Russia's de facto one party political system had outlived its usefulness, he said he accepted there had to be changes but made it clear they would be evolutionary not revolutionary.

"Listen, take any country," he told a group of international academics and journalists who had flown into Moscow to meet him in the restaurant of an upmarket horse-riding club.

"(Silvio) Berlusconi is stepping down in Italy for example. (But) are there many politicians in Italy of his stature? Name me one," he demanded, after delivering a eulogy to his "great friend."

The outgoing Italian prime minister's image as a womaniser was a deliberate ploy to attract attention, he suggested, praising him for having brought years of political stability to Italy.

Arguing it would be hard for Italy to fill Mr Berlusconi's shoes, he said the dearth of talented leaders extended to America too.

"Or take the United States, there will be elections there soon. But the Republicans are winning, well they could win, but they have not got a leader! Where are they? The whole American system needs changing." Read on and comment » | Andrew Osborn, Moscow | Saturday, November 12, 2011

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Dmitry Medvedev' social networking page bombarded by offensive 'presents': Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has been forced to hide part of his profile on Russia's biggest social networking site after he was inundated with hundreds of insulting virtual 'presents.' ¶ Mr Medvedev, who has announced he will stand down from the presidency next year in favour of Vladimir Putin, opened an account on VKontakte, Russia's equivalent to Facebook, earlier this month. ¶ An active blogger and iPad owner, the aim was to reinforce his self-styled image as a tech-savvy political moderniser and to restore his credibility which was damaged by his decision to hand the Kremlin keys back to Mr Putin, his long-time mentor. » | Andrew Osborn, Moscow | Friday, November 11, 2011

Iran: l'explosion a fait au moins 27 morts
LE FIGARO: L'ouest de Téhéran a été secoué aujourd'hui par une violente explosion qui s'est produite dans une base militaire et qui a fait au moins vingt-sept morts, selon un responsable iranien cité par les médias locaux.

L'explosion, initialement présentée comme celle d'une station de distribution de gaz pour véhicules, s'est en fait produite "dans une base militaire" de l'ouest de la capitale, selon Alireza Janeh, responsable des questions de sécurité auprès du gouverneur de Téhéran, cité par l'agence ISNA. » | Le Figaro.fr avec agencies | samedi 12 novembre 2011

HAARETZ: 27 dead after explosion rocks Revolutionary Guards base outside Iranian capital: Explosion occurs in the village of Bidganeh where the Fifth Raad Missile Brigade, responsible for launching Shahab 3 and 4 missiles, is stationed; satellite images of the site reveal two large military bases near the village. » | Yossi Melman, Jack Khoury, Reuters, The Associated Press and Avi Scharf | Saturday, November 12, 2011

Islam in Deutschland (Bülent Ucar und Ridwan Bauknecht)
Kopftuchmädchen, radikale Imame und Ehrenmorde. Muslimisches Leben in Deutschland wird häufig auf sehr vereinfachte Bilder reduziert. Aber warum war unser Nationaldichter Johann Wolfgang von Goethe vom Islam so fasziniert? Seit wann gibt es in Deutschland Moscheen und welche Stile werden heute gebaut? Und wie wird islamisches Leben bei uns heute gelebt? Wer sich mit der Geschichte und den Facetten des Islams in Deutschland befasst, findet Überraschendes.

Gäste: Bernd Ridwan Bauknecht, Prof. dr. Bülent Ucar

Britische Euro-Kritiker: Euer Empire und wir

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Faule Menschen, kaputte Sozialsysteme und maulige Deutsche, die keine Lust mehr auf ihre historische Schuld haben - so beschrieb Niall Ferguson im SPIEGEL die drohende Auflösung Europas. Seltsame Thesen, findet Matthias Matussek. Will der britische Euro-Kritiker gar Geld aus Germany?

Seit Angela Merkel die Eiserne Lady Europas ist und die Wirtschaftswunder-Deutschen die Führung in Europa übernommen haben, stehen die britischen Leitartikler Kopf. Die Euro-Krise befeuert die Leidenschaften auf der rezessionsgeplagten Insel, wie es sonst nur der Fußball tut. Es geht wie immer um Sieg und Niederlage und sowieso um offene historische Rechnungen.

Erst mal sind sie vernehmlich erleichtert, die Insulaner, dass sie ja eigentlich nicht zu Europa gehören. Sie sitzen auf dem Zaun. Der Euro - ein "brennendes Haus ohne Türen, ein Wahnsystem", wie ihn Außenminister William Hague nannte. Eine Reihe von Tory-Abgeordneten würde lieber heute als morgen aus der EU austreten.

Sie verstehen sich nach wie vor als Weltreich, unsere britischen Nachbarn, auch wenn ihnen die Welt abhanden gekommen ist. Aber das kompensieren sie dadurch, dass sie gerne in Kriege ziehen, an der Seite ihres amerikanischen Cousins.

Es gibt, soweit ich es erkennen kann, zwei Lager auf der Insel. Die einen sagen: Gott sei Dank haben wir das Pfund. Die anderen sagen: geschieht dem Kontinent recht. Alle zusammen sagen: Irgendwie ist Deutschland schuld.

Noch sind die Ratschläge, die von jenseits des Kanals kommen, recht disparat. Die einen fordern von den Deutschen, dass sie den Euro retten (in der stillen Hoffnung darauf, dass sich die Krauts die Finger verbrennen).

Doch im wesentlichen gibt der "Telegraph" die Richtung vor: Nicht Griechenland, sondern Deutschland ist das Problem und gehört ausgeschlossen aus der Euro-Zone. Im Ernst. Warum? Darum: Die Deutschen haben die Euro-Zone destabilisiert mit ihrer Lohndisziplin, ihrer rücksichtslosen Produktivität, die die sattsam bekannte Panzermentalität verrät. Der "Spectator" argumentiert ähnlich ("Schimpft nicht auf die Griechen"). Und die "Financial Times" stöhnt über die Deutschen, die "nicht wissen, was sie wollen". » | Matthias Matussek | Samstag 12. November 2011

Arab League Suspends Syria
CNN: Cairo -- The Arab League announced Saturday that it is suspending Syria's membership after its failure to stop the violence against its people.
The move takes effect Wednesday.

In an emergency session at its headquarters in Cairo, the league also called for sanctions against President Bashar al-Assad's regime but did not specify what those may be.

It called on member states to withdraw their ambassadors from Damascus, but that decision will be left up to each nation.

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim read the league's decisions at a news conference after the meeting of the foreign ministers.

He said the league is urging the Syrian army to stop attacks on civilians and will hold a meeting with opposition groups in the next three days to discuss a transitional phase in Syria's future. » | CNN Wire Staff | Saturday, November 12, 2011

Geert Wilders will Rückkehr des Guldens prüfen

WELT ONLINE: Der niederländische Rechtspopulist Geert Wilders will mit einer Studie prüfen lassen, ob sich eine Rückkehr zum Gulden lohnt. Danach soll das Volk entscheiden.

Die rechtspopulistische niederländische Freiheitspartei (PVV) will einen Ausstieg des Landes aus dem Euro untersuchen lassen.

„Die Regierung macht uns Angst, indem sie uns sagt, das Licht werde im Fall eines Austritts aus dem Euro erlöschen. Natürlich kostet das Geld, aber ich will wissen, ob eine Rückkehr zum Gulden uns am Ende nicht mehr bringt“, sagte der PVV-Chef Geert Wilders der Zeitung „Telegraaf“.

Sollte die Studie „einer großen internationalen Firma“ belegen, dass eine Rückkehr zum Gulden von Vorteil sei, werde die PVV eine Volksabstimmung dazu beantragen. » | AFP/sara | Freitag 11. November 2011

DUTCHNEWS.nl: PVV investigates return of guilder, may call for referendum: The anti-Islam PVV is paying a 'renowned international bureau' to investigate whether bringing back the guilder would benefit the Dutch economy. ¶ If the report is positive, the party will press for a referendum on leaving the euro, party leader Geert Wilders says in Friday's Telegraaf. ¶ 'The cabinet is frightening us by telling us the lights will go out if we leave the euro. Of course it will cost money, but I want to know if going back to the guilder will deliver more in the long term,' Wilders told the paper. » | © DutchNews.nl | Friday, November 11, 2011

Forced Marriages in Germany More Prevalent than Thought

SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: A new study has revealed that thousands of young women and girls in forced marriages seek help every year in Germany. The vast majority of victims come from Muslim families, and many have been threatened with violence or even death. The numbers involved are much higher than previously suspected.

More women and girls living in Germany are being forced into marriage under the threat of violence than previously thought, according to a new study released by the German government on Wednesday.

In 2008, the most recent year for which statistics are available, 3,443 people sought help at counseling and information centers because they had already been, or were being, forced into marriage. The vast majority of those victims were women or girls, but 6 percent were young men, who, like many of the women, sought help because they were threatened with violence if they did not go through with the marriage.

The new study was presented Wednesday in Berlin by Family Minister Kristina Schröder and the federal integration commissioner, Maria Böhmer, both members of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative Christian Democratic Union. "Those who force their children against their will to marry someone they don't love, or who is a complete stranger, are committing brutal violence against them," Schröder said in a statement.

The German human rights organization Terre des Femmes had previously estimated that in Germany more than a thousand women and girls from immigrant families seek help from counseling centers each year. Schröder has called for the issue of forced marriage to be discussed more in German schools. » | mbw -- with wires | Friday, November 11, 2011

Get a Grip Or I’m Out too, Says Obama

DAILY EXPRESS: BARACK Obama urged Germany and France to get a grip on the eurozone crisis yesterday amid fears it could wreck his re-election to the White House.

The US president urged Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy to act swiftly to halt the financial wrecking-ball that has hit Italy and Greece.

Already the latest joke in Washington is: “Who’s the only person who could defeat Obama next year? Angela Merkel.” » | Martyn Brown | Saturday, November 12, 2011

Kate Backs Wills Despite Argentine Death Threats
DAILY EXPRESS: THE Duchess of Cambridge was last night fully backing her husband William’s deployment to the Falkland Islands despite sick death threats.

As Argentina accused Britain of acting “aggressively and provocatively” by sending the Prince to the islands, websites in the South American country were inundated with threats to William.

Some vile posts even called for the Duke to be killed in revenge for Argentinian deaths during the Falklands conflict nearly 30 years ago. » | Mark Reynolds | Saturday, November 12, 2011

The Folk Memory that Makes Germany Reluctant to Act over the Euro

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A fear that inflation leads to nationalist extremism lingers in Berlin – but European unity will not die if the Germans allow the euro to fail, argues Daniel Johnson.

A spectre is haunting Europe – the spectre of German domination. As the Heath Robinson structures of the European Union buckle under the weight of their own contradictions, the question on everybody’s lips concerns the Germans. What will they do about the eurozone crisis? Will they try to save the dream of a federal Europe – or let it go up in a puff of smoke?

In the old days, what gave European statesmen nightmares was known as “the German Question”: once it was united by Bismarck, Germany was too big and powerful to be balanced by the other Continental powers. After starting two world wars, the division of Germany was seen as the price of peace in Europe. At the time, the French writer François Mauriac observed with heavy-handed irony: “I love Germany so much that I am glad there are two of them.”

Today the German Question has returned in a new form. Silvio Berlusconi, like other fallen European leaders from Bertie Ahern to George Papandreou, could be forgiven for blaming the Germans for his defenestration. These days it is the call from the Berlin Chancellery, rather than the White House or the Kremlin, that Europe’s weaker brethren dread.

I recall vividly an occasion in 1991, soon after the putsch against Margaret Thatcher, when she presided over a small dinner of sympathetic young intellectuals. I congratulated the former prime minister on her resolute stand in the Cold War, alongside Ronald Reagan, which had done so much to bring down the Berlin Wall. The Iron Lady’s face darkened. In her most imperious tone, she expostulated: “Are you saying that I am responsible for that?”

German reunification was – and is – her deepest regret. She welcomed the liberation of Eastern Europe from communism, but she feared European monetary union, or what her lieutenant Nicholas Ridley called “a German racket designed to take over the whole of Europe”.

Ironically, the Germans themselves have played to the gallery by suggesting that the alternative to the single currency may be war. “If the euro fails, Europe fails,” Chancellor Merkel told the Bundestag last week. “We have an historical obligation to protect by all means Europe’s unification process, begun by our forefathers after centuries of hatred and bloodshed.”

Angela Merkel is by no means alone in resorting to such hyperbole. Astonishingly, the doctrine that only European unification can prevent an atavistic return to the horrors of “nationalism” (for which read Nazism) has long been and remains the received wisdom in German political circles. » | Daniel Johnson | Thursday, November 10, 2011

It's not the Germans that worry me, it's the British with their xenophobic, anti-European, anti-EU, anti-euro rhetoric! From the articles and the comments on this newspaper, anyone would be forgiven for thinking that the Germans were our enemies! – © Mark

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Niger Grants Asylum to Saadi Gaddafi

THE GUARDIAN: Son of Muammar Gaddafi is being treated as refugee in Niger, confirms President Mahamadou Issoufou

Muammar Gaddafi's son Saadi has been granted asylum in Niger on humanitarian grounds, the country's president confirmed on Friday.

Mahamadou Issoufou insisted he knew nothing of the whereabouts of another of the slain Libyan leader's sons, Saif al-Islam, who is wanted by the international criminal court (ICC).

"We have agreed on granting asylum to Saadi Gaddafi for humanitarian reasons," Issoufou said during a visit to Pretoria in South Africa.

Saadi, 38, and other Libyans who fled with him into Niger were being treated as refugees, he added. "But we have told them very clearly they cannot engage in political or subversive activities." » | David Smith in Pretoria | Friday, November 11, 2011

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Niger grants asylum to Saadi Gaddafi: Niger has risked the wrath of the new authorities in neighbouring Libya by granting asylum to Col Muammar Gaddafi's third son in defiance of an Interpol request for his extradition. ¶ Saadi Gaddafi, a bisexual playboy, was granted asylum on "humanitarian" grounds, the Niger president said, adding it was unlikely he would ever be extradited back to his home country. ¶ Saadi, who crossed into Niger in the last weeks of his father's regime, has been under house arrest in a state guest house in the capital, Niamey. » | Aislinn Lang, Pretoria | Friday, November 11, 2011

Human Rights Watch Calls for Syria to Face War Crimes

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Syrian security forces fired on anti-government protests on Friday, killing at least five people as Human Rights Watch accused the regime of crimes against humanity.

Mass protests after Friday afternoon prayers, followed by swift and deadly crackdowns by security forces, have become a weekly cycle throughout Syria's eight-month-old uprising. The U.N. estimates some 3,500 people have been killed in the crackdown since mid-March, when the uprising began.

But in recent weeks, the violence has spiked dramatically amid increasing signs that some protesters are taking up arms to protect themselves. There also have been reports of intense battles between soldiers and army defectors, setting the stage for even more bloodshed.

The unrest in Syria could balloon into a regional disaster. Damascus' web of allegiances extends to Lebanon's powerful Hizbollah movement and Iran's Shiite theocracy. And although Syria sees Israel as the enemy, the countries have held up a fragile truce for years.

On Friday, Human Rights Watch said Syrian forces have tortured and killed civilians in the rebellious province of Homs in an assault that indicates crimes against humanity. The group urged the Arab League to suspend Syria's membership during an emergency meeting on Saturday. » | Friday, November 11, 2011

170 Members of English Defence League Arrested Near Cenotaph in London
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: More than 170 members of the right-wing English Defence League (EDL) have been arrested near an Armistice Day ceremony in central London amid fears they were trying to target anti-capitalists camped in the city.


Scotland Yard said the group were detained "to prevent a breach of the peace" at a pub near the Cenotaph in Whitehall.

A police source said it was believed the group were heading towards the anti-capitalist "Occupy" protest camp outside St Paul's Cathedral, set up last month after being inspired by the "Occupy Wall Street" movement.

"170+ supporters of EDL were arrested this p.m. to prevent a breach of the peace," the Met Police said on its Twitter website. "No reported disorder between opposing groups at this stage."

Last year, members of the EDL, which stages protests against violent Islamism, clashed with police during a fracas at a Remembrance Day ceremony.

The trouble erupted then when members of the radical Muslims Against Crusades (MAC) group burned two large poppies outside the Royal Albert Hall in London during a two-minute silence. » | Friday, November 11, 2011

Bahrain Opposition Says Leader's House Tear-gassed
THE INDEPENDENT: Bahrain's largest opposition group says security forces have fired rubber bullets and tear gas at the house of its top leader during attempts to disperse anti-government protesters.

Al Wefaq said in a statement today that riot troops fired on the house of the group's leader, Ali Salman, during security sweeps last night in mostly Shiite villages around the capital, Manama. » | AP | Friday, November 11, 2011

France Plots Eurozone 'Breakaway Group’
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: France is drawing up plans to create a breakaway organisation of eurozone countries with its own treaty, parliament and headquarters – a move that could significantly undermine the existing European Union.

The proposal would see a formal "union within a union" created, but would lead to a significant deterioration in Britain's influence in Europe.

David Cameron is drawing up urgent plans to stop Britain being "railroaded" into agreeing to decisions taken by the new eurozone bloc.

France and Germany are understood to want to strengthen the union between eurozone countries with new taxes and legal measures to stop nations borrowing and spending too much in future.

Weaker countries such as Greece could even be barred from the new eurozone, under radical suggestions from some of those involved in discussions over the plan.

It comes amid growing concerns that France could be the next nation to become embroiled in the single currency crisis. » | Bruno Waterfield, Brussels | Thursday, November 10, 2011

Britain Falls Silent to Remember War Dead
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Millions of Britons have held a two-minute silence to remember the nation's war dead.


The tribute started at 11am, the time the guns on the Western Front fell silent at the end of the First World War in 1918.

Ceremonies nationwide commemorated fallen servicemen and women from both World Wars and later conflicts, including the 385 British personnel who have died since operations began in Afghanistan in 2001.

The silence was particularly poignant for those at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan, who are mourning the loss of the latest soldier to die on active service. » | Friday, November 11, 2011 (11. 11.11.11)

Yémen: 5 morts et des dizaines de blessés par des tirs d’artillerie
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: GUERRE CIVILE | Les forces fidèles au président Ali Abdallah Saleh ont tué cinq personnes et blessé une dizaines d’autres vendredi matin à l’artillerie sur la ville de Taëz.

Les forces fidèles au président Ali Abdallah Saleh ont tiré vendredi matin à l’artillerie sur la ville de Taëz (sud-est), deuxième ville du Yémen, tuant cinq personnes et en blessant des dizaines d’autres, a-t-on appris de source médicale.

"Les bombardements ont fait cinq morts ce matin (vendredi), tous des civils, et des dizaines de blessés qui ont été transportés à l’hôpital", a précisé cette source. » | AFP | vendredi 11 novembre 2011

Angela Merkel veut plus de fédéralisme au sein de l'UE

LE FIGARO: Le parti de la chancelière planche sur une modification des règles de fonctionnement de l'Union européenne.

La crise de la dette dans la zone euro a propulsé l'avenir des institutions européennes au cœur du débat politique outre-Rhin. À l'approche de son congrès annuel, où sont fixées les grandes orientations, la CDU, le parti conservateur de la chancelière allemande, se recompose autour des questions européennes. Alors qu'Angela Merkel affiche de plus en plus ouvertement sa volonté de prendre en main le destin de l'Union, les différents courants du parti se déchirent autour d'un projet de résolution pour le congrès prévu les 14 et 15 novembre à Leipzig.

La chancelière a abandonné son habituelle prudence depuis quelques semaines et rode son discours sur ¬l'Europe. Mercredi, Angela Merkel a ainsi affirmé qu'il était grand temps que l'Union européenne modifie ses règles de fonctionnement. Adoptant l'un de ses tons les plus dramatiques en deux ans de crise de la zone euro, elle a jugé «mauvaise» la situation actuelle en Europe et estimé que l'UE ne survivrait pas si elle ne prouvait pas au monde qu'elle pouvait surmonter la crise de la dette souveraine. » | Par Patrick Saint-Paul, correspondant du Figaro à Berlin | Le Figaro | jeudi 10 novembre 2011

Europe’s Hit Squad
THE SPECTATOR: If you thought the EU couldn’t get any less democratic, meet the Frankfurt Group

The Old Opera House in Frankfurt — once Germany’s most beautiful postwar ruin and now its most stunning recreation — has become a symbol of European rebirth. And it was here, last month, that Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy met the EU’s bureaucratic elite in what would, in another era, be described as a putsch. They had grown tired of eurozone summits, with leaders flying here and there but getting nowhere. A smaller group needed to be formed, who would wield power firmly but informally. That evening, as they gathered to hear Claudio Abbado conduct the Mozart Orchestra of Bologna, a new EU hit squad was born.

As Silvio Berlusconi has now found out, this so-called Frankfurt Group means business. Only a few months ago, it would have been unthinkable that the head of one European government would try to destabilise or depose another. Now, two EU leaders have fallen in a week. As Sarkozy knows from recent experience, to enforce regime change one need only give a helping hand to the rebels.
The group cannot be accused of being secretive. At the G20 summit in Cannes, its officials walked around with lapel badges saying ‘Groupe de Francfort (GdF)’ and met four times. Britain was not included but the Foreign Office’s officials spoke as if they were in on the act. As one official put it: ‘We’re on our way to moving out Berlusconi.’

Such a statement may once have been seen as outrageous, but by last weekend it was undeniable that an operation to remove Berlusconi had begun. When Merkel and Sarkozy were asked if they had confidence in him, they rolled their eyes and gave each other wry smiles. The European Central Bank, which is also part of the Frankfurt Group, gave only minimal support to Italy — leaving the bond markets to do their worst to Berlusconi. The International Monetary Fund, whose new leader was also at the Opera house that night, made it clear that it would be sending its auditors to Rome on a regular basis to inspect the books. All this combined to send an unmistakable Old Europe message: we have ways of making you quit.

When that night in Frankfurt’s Alte Oper on 19 October was booked, no one was intending to form a new hit squad. The plan was to have just an ordinary taxpayer-funded extravaganza, a shindig to mark Jean-Claude Trichet’s retirement from the European Central Bank. Helmut Schmidt, the 92-year-old former chancellor of Germany who is now seen as a godfather of the European project, told the assembled dignitaries that ‘a crisis in the ability to act of the EU’s political bodies’ was ‘a much bigger danger for the future of Europe than over-indebtedness’. It was time to get tough. Read on and comment » | Fraser Nelson | Saturday, November 12, 2011

THE SPECTATOR: The new German Question: The Eurocrisis has put Germany in a twofold position that it abhors. » | Daniel Korski | Thursday, November 10, 2011

Fidel Castro's Niece in Twitter Row with Cuban Dissident Yoani Sánchez

THE GUARDIAN: Mariela Castro – daughter of president Raúl – calls dissidents 'despicable parasites' hours after joining Twitter

Within hours of signing up to Twitter, the daughter of the Cuban president, Raúl Castro, has got into the online equivalent of a shouting match with a prominent dissident blogger, Yoani Sánchez.

Mariela Castro called Sánchez and her supporters "despicable parasites" in a brief exchange that may have been the first direct confrontation, verbal or otherwise, between dissidents and a member of the Castro family after years of mutual animosity.

Sánchez, who regularly criticises the lack of freedoms in communist Cuba in her Generation Y blog, touched off the dispute by sending tweets that welcomed Mariela Castro to the "plurality of Twitter" where "no one can shut me up, deny me permission to travel or block entrance".

"When will we Cubans be able to come out of other closets?" she asked, alluding to Mariela Castro's championing of gay rights as head of Cuba's national centre for sex education.
"Tolerance is total or is it not?" Sánchez tweeted.

Castro, 49, replied coolly: "Your focus of tolerance reproduces the old mechanisms of power. To improve your 'services' you need to study." » | Reuters in Havana | Wednesday, November 09, 2011

Undercover Kingdom - Bahrain
Tensions rise sharply amid systemic torture accusations
Watch Journeyman Pictures video here | Friday, November 04, 2011

Revolution Hijacked - Egypt
Promised Egypt elections may not take place until 2013
Watch Journeyman Pictures video here | Monday, November 07, 2011

Muslims Against Crusades to Be Banned from Midnight

THE GUARDIAN: Home secretary announces ban on group, which burned poppies last November and was planning Armistice Day protest this year

The home secretary, Theresa May, has ordered Muslims Against Crusades, an Islamist group which is planning to disrupt Friday's Armistice Day ceremonies, be banned from midnight.

The organisation, which burned two large poppies near the Royal Albert Hall in London on Remembrance Day during the minute's silence last year, is a renamed successor to the already banned Islam4UK and other proscribed organisations. Anjem Choudary is a leading figure in both groups.

The immediate ban is part of the government's new drive to proscribe organisations that glorify terrorism in addition to those having direct links to terrorist groups.

The ban will make membership of Muslims Against Crusades a criminal offence.

May said: "I am satisfied Muslims Against Crusades is simply another name for an organisation already proscribed under a number of names including Al Ghurabaa, The Saved Sect, Al-Muhajiroun and Islam4UK. The organisation was proscribed in 2006 for glorifying terrorism and we are clear it should not be able to continue these activities by simply changing its name."

A parliamentary order was laid at Westminster on Thursday morning implementing the ban. » | Alan Travis, home affairs editor | Thursday, November 10, 2011

NEWS.COM.AU: Remembrance Day protest called off: AN EXTREMIST Muslim group is canceling plans to demonstrate against Britain's Remembrance Day for fear of arrest. » | NewsCore | Friday, November 11, 2011

Italian Job: Can Europe Save Rome from Sinking?

USA: Kampf um die Wählergunst
Heute Abend liefern sich die republikanischen Präsidentschaftskandidaten die 11. Fernsehdebatte. Bis heute ist es keinem gelungen, einen entscheidenden Vorsprung zu gewinnen. Als qualifiziertester Kandidat gilt unbestritten Mitt Romney.

SUEDDEUTSCHE: Mit “Oops” ins Abseits: Gescheitert in 53 Sekunden: Rick Perry, Gouverneur von Texas und Hoffnung der rechten Republikaner, hat sich wohl selbst um jede Chance im Rennen um die Präsidentschaftskandidatur gebracht. Bei einer TV-Debatte leistete er sich einen peinlichen Patzer. » | Von Wolfgang Jaschensky | Donnerstag 10. November 2011

Oops! Rick Perry 'Agencies' Gaffe at GOP Debate

Australia Passes Plain-packaging Cigarette Law
THE GUARDIAN: Tobacco companies vow to challenge legislation in the high court after senate approves ban on brand logos on packets

Australia is to become the first country to enforce the plain packaging of cigarettes but tobacco companies have vowed to fight the new legislation in court.

From December next year, all cigarettes will be sold in olive green packs, which research has shown is least appealing to smokers.

Under the new laws, approved by the upper house of parliament, no trademark brand logos will be permitted on any packaging of tobacco products, although companies will be able to print their name and the cigarette brand in small, prescribed font on the packets.

The boxes will continue to carry stark health warning messages and pictures, which will cover 75% of the front of the pack and 90% of the back.

"If this legislation stops one young Australian from picking up a shiny, coloured packet and prevents them becoming addicted to cigarettes then in my view it will have been worthwhile," said John Faulkner, a Labor senator, during the parliamentary debate.

The debate in Australia has been keenly watched around the world, including in Britain, Canada and New Zealand where similar plans to curtail branding are being considered.

Cigarette giant British American Tobacco, which owns 46% of the Australian market, plans to challenge the legislation in the high court on constitutional grounds.

"The government can't take away valuable property from a legal company without compensation," said Scott McIntyre, spokesman for British American Tobacco Australia. » | Alison Rourke | Thursday, November 10, 2011

"Once the packs all look the same they will be very easy to copy," – Scott McIntyre

The Secret of Silvio Berlusconi's Success
BBC: Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi has signalled that his days in power are coming to an end. Despite repeated gaffes and scandals, he won three elections and set a postwar record for the length of his premiership. The BBC's David Willey, who has covered Italian politics for four decades, asks how he did it.

Over the past century Italy has had no lack of troublesome leaders.

Silvio Berlusconi, who has been the dominant figure in Italian politics for the past 17 years, is the latest on the list.

He has been the object of at least 23 judicial investigations, mostly for corruption.

He has been heard speaking on YouTube, giving sex advice to a prostitute, Patrizia Addario, who had a hidden tape recorder under her breakfast napkin after a night of group sex.

Prosecutors accuse him of having sex with minors.

And his offensive and vulgar off-the-cuff wisecracks at international meetings, such as saying that German Chancellor Angela Merkel's behind is not worth penetrating, do little to endear him at home or abroad.

Conflicts within his fractious cabinet over how to deal with the economic crisis have meanwhile brought his government to a standstill, with the result that for months he has been hounded by the opposition, and even by some of his friends, to resign as premier.

He has infuriated businessmen and industrialists, as well the opposition by steadfastly refusing to go, until now, on grounds that he would be doing a disservice to those who voted for him and for his Freedom Party (PdL) in national general elections in 2008.

Pollsters say that his popularity with voters has sunk to 20%.

Despite all this, many Italians still defend and love him with quasi-religious fervour. He has been Italy's most prominent politician for almost two decades. He is still the single richest man in Italy and, according to Forbes magazine, the 118th wealthiest in the world in 2011. » | Wednesday, November 09, 2011

World Is Peaceful Without Islam

HT: FFI Editor@ FaithFreedom.org »

Richard Dawkins: "Islam Is One of the Great Evils in the World"

HT: Jonathan Harrell @ FaithFreedom.org »

Islamic Scholar, Hamza Abu Fas, to Guide Sharia Law in New Libya

THE AUSTRALIAN: HAMZA Abu Fas is remarkably relaxed about his new role as Libya's Minister for Religious Affairs - responsible for returning to traditional sharia law after 42 years of erratic and self-interested interpretation of Islam by slain dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

Sitting on the floor of his lounge room in Khoms, an hour's drive from the capital, Tripoli, Professor Fas - a leading scholar on Islam and a professor in the Faculty of Law in Tripoli - talks with ease about the new Libya. "Libya was Islamic before Gaddafi, during Gaddafi and after Gaddafi," he tells The Australian.

"Gaddafi said he supported sharia law as set out in the Koran but he was a liar. He did things that were not part of sharia."

The new Libyan leader, Mustafa Abdel Jalil, has announced that a return to sharia law will be one of his priorities. Mr Jalil said: "As an Islamic country, we adopt sharia as the principal law. Any law that violates sharia is null and void legally."

Professor Fas says the new government will abandon the veto Gaddafi granted a first wife over her husband having additional spouses. "Sharia says we do not need the approval of the first wife," Professor Fas says.

What do you say to the fact that under sharia law a woman is not equal? "The woman is not equal to the man in the body. The man cannot have children. They are not equal." » | JOHN LYONS | The Australian | Monday, November 07, 2011