Danielle Mitterrand Obituary

THE GUARDIAN: Former first lady of France and human rights campaigner

In the last interview Danielle Mitterrand gave before her death at the age of 87, the former French first lady recalled berating her friend Fidel Castro for the torturing and killing of Cuban political prisoners. Surprised he did not tell her to shut up or throw her out, she asked why he put up with her nagging. "Because I like you a lot," replied the Cuban president.

Mitterrand was liked and admired by many, as much for her ability to take world leaders to task as for her unwavering support for minority and humanitarian issues, from the death penalty and discrimination to the lack of water or education in impoverished African villages. She was also respected for breaking the first-lady mould and refusing to be defined by either her husband's role as head of state or the humiliation he heaped on her through his infidelity.

She was born Danielle Gouze in Verdun, the daughter of two leftwing academics. During the second world war, her father, by then a secondary school headteacher, was sacked by the Vichy administration after refusing to hand over a list of names of Jewish pupils and teachers in his school to the Nazis.

While her family harboured men being hunted by the Gestapo, Danielle joined the French Resistance at the age of 17, with her elder sister Christine, and was later awarded the prestigious Resistance Medal. In 1941, she helped François Mitterrand, a fellow member codenamed Captain Morland on the run from the Gestapo, by pretending to be his girlfriend, and the pair promptly fell in love. They married in 1944. The couple had three sons: Pascal, who died aged two months, Jean-Christophe and Gilbert. » | Kim Willsher | Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Lien en relation avec la nécrologie »

Angela Merkel: Europe's Saviour – Or Biggest Problem?

THE GUARDIAN: The German chancellor holds Europe's economic fate in her hands. But critics say she is not up to the job

On 22 December 1999, a letter appeared on the front page of Germany's leading conservative daily, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung [*]. It contained a searing attack on the country's most highly regarded statesman, Helmut Kohl, recently retired chancellor and much-feted architect of reunification. Kohl, then mired in an ugly party funding scandal, had to be cut loose, the letter urged, as teenagers must jettison their parents to grow into adults. The only way forward for his Christian Democrats was a complete break with their past.

It was a remarkable letter, a clinical and very public coup-de-grace delivered to an eminent, mortally wounded elder. What made it more remarkable was that the person who signed it was not one of the obviously thrusting young pretenders to Kohl's CDU throne, but a moon-faced and oddly unmemorable protege [sic] whom he used to refer to, dismissively, as das Mädchen: the girl.

Some like to see in this episode – which duly launched Angela Merkel on the stratospheric trajectory that would see her elected head of the centre-right CDU the following year and Germany's first woman chancellor barely five years after that – proof positive that she is a sharp, maybe even a ruthless opportunist, eminently capable of bold, decisive and, if necessary, dirty deeds to achieve her ends.

Others construe it more as an uncharacteristic moment of madness from a politician who otherwise has constructed an entire career on caution and consensus; a public figure so superficially unremarkable, so singularly lacking in passion or charisma that in nearly 25 years in politics she has (as her biographer puts it) "not made a single speech that stayed in the memory". A moderator, not a leader; a tactician, not a strategist.

She could, of course, be both. But what's becoming increasingly clear, as the euro teeters on the precipice and economic disaster beckons, is that if she is, a great many people – most of them, it has to be said, outside Germany – would actually quite like to see a bit more of the former, and rather less of the latter. A touch more of the bold and decisive, somewhat less of the calm and methodical. If possible.

Merkel is, after all, about the most important person in the world right now. As leader of the eurozone's undisputed economic powerhouse, she in effect holds the future financial wellbeing of all of us in her hands. And the worry is she's not up to the job. For all her undoubted qualities and undimmed domestic popularity (the pollsters, certainly, see no hint of a rival who could threaten her re-election in 2013, for a third successive term), Merkel – a pale, irredeemably frumpy, maddeningly hard-to-pin-down shadow of an Adenauer, a Brandt, a Kohl – is totally not what's needed, say her critics. Read on and comment » | Jon Henley | Tuesday, November 22, 2011

* FOCUS ONLINE: Der Bruch des „Mädchens“ mit Ziehvater Kohl: Inmitten der Spendenaffäre empfahl Angela Merkel vor zehn Jahren der CDU die Abnabelung von Kanzler Helmut Kohl. Durch ihren Gastbeitrag für die „FAZ“ wurde der Alt- und Ehrenvorsitzende zum Geächteten der eigenen Partei. ¶ Angela Merkel hätte die Kernbotschaft ihres kühlen Artikels vom 22. Dezember 1999 für die „Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung“ auch in zwei Worte fassen können: „Tschüß, Kohl“. Stattdessen schmiedete sie aus Vokabeln schlichter Laien-Pädagogik Sätze von ungeheurer Sprengkraft: „Die Partei muss also laufen lernen, muss sich zutrauen, in Zukunft auch ohne ihr altes Schlachtross, wie Helmut Kohl sich selbst gerne genannt hat, den Kampf mit dem politischen Gegner aufzunehmen. Sie muss sich wie jemand in der Pubertät von zu Hause lösen, eigene Wege gehen.“ » | Von FOCUS-Korrespondentin Margarete van Ackeren, Berlin | Dienstag 22. Dezember 2009

Libyan PM Snubs Islamists with Cabinet to Please Western Backers

THE GUARDIAN: Abdurrahim el-Keib sent Libya on a bumpy road towards democracy by naming a cabinet of secularists

Prime minister Abdurrahim el-Keib has sent Libya on a bumpy road towards democracy by naming a cabinet of secularists and thereby snubbing prominent Islamists.

The biggest surprise on the list was Osama al-Juwali, chief of the Zintan military council, who was appointed defence minister at the expense of Islamist Hakim Bilhaj.

Juwali is an accomplished commander whose forces were originally a militia from the small city of Zintan that went on to play a central role in storming Tripoli in August, but until now he had no national political profile. Sources in the city in west Libya told the Guardian at the weekend its leadership demanded a cabinet post in return for handing over Saif al-Islam, Muammar Gaddafi's son and heir, captured in the south on Saturday. He is now held at a secret location in Zintan.

In Tripoli, the international criminal court's chief prosecutor, Luis Moreno Ocampo, confirmed the ICC had accepted Saif al-Islam would be tried in Libya, but said it would take part and "help" the authorities guarantee him a fair trial. The court would ensure its judges had a role, Ocampo said. » | Chris Stephen in Tripoli and Luke Harding | Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Australian MP Refers to US Policy as 'Naive and Destructive'

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Australia’s Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has been criticised for using an ill-considered literary reference in an address to Barack Obama which implied US foreign policy was naive and destructive.

During an address in Parliament to honour Mr Obama’s visit last week, Mr Abbott, a staunch supporter of the US, cited Graham Greene’s The Quiet American in a manner which suggested that America’s approach to the world mirrored that of Greene’s boyishly ideological character, Alden Pyle. Mr Abbott told the President: “Not for nothing did Graham Greene say of his Quiet American that he had never met a man with such good intentions for all the trouble he caused”.

The reference, in a book widely regarded as anti-American, came as Mr Abbott, a former Rhodes Scholar who heads the conservative Coalition, described the US as the nation that has shouldered the “heaviest lifting” in fending off the threat of totalitarianism and terrorism. » | Jonathan Pearlman, Sydney | Tuesday, November 22, 2011

US Election 2012: Newt Gingrich Risks Angering Republican Voters with Immigration Plan

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Newt Gingrich, the Republican presidential hopeful who has surged into the lead of national opinion polls, risked alienating the party's core voters on Tuesday night by proposing that millions of illegal immigrants should be allowed to stay in the US.

The former Speaker of the House of Representatives said “community boards” should be set up across America to judge which of the estimated 11 million people living there without permission should be deported, and which given the right to remain.

“If you've been here 25 years and you have got three kids and two grandkids, you've been paying taxes and obeying the law, you belong to a local church, I don't think we're going to separate you from your family, uproot you forcefully and kick you out,” he said during a debate on national security in Washington, DC.

Mr Gingrich's proposal was attacked by his rivals and risked enraging the conservative Tea Party movement, which was unforgiving when Governor Rick Perry of Texas said in a previous debate that anyone opposing subsidised education for the children of illegal immigrants was “heartless”.

Insisting he was “prepared to take the heat” for the plan, Mr Gingrich was criticised by Michelle Bachmann, a Minnesota congresswoman, who said: “We need to move away from magnets, not offer more”.

Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who remains the favourite to win the nomination, said the policy would “only encourage more people to do the same thing”, adding: “People respond to incentives”. » | Jon Swaine, Washington | Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Libya: Saif Gaddafi Warns Captors about Islamist Leaders in New Video
Shot on the day of his capture, a new video shows Saif al-Islam Gaddafi smiling with his captors before issuing them a strong warning about Libya's new radical leaders and the risk of internal divisions.

Read article here | Tuesday, November 22, 2011

The Queen Welcomes Turkish President with Guard of Honour
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh give President Gül a ceremonial welcome before reviewing a Guard of Honour on Horse Guards Parade.

Read article here | Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Related »

Michael Bloomberg Fuels Presidential Talk with Attack on Barack Obama

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Michael Bloomberg has launched an attack on Barack Obama for an absence of leadership as Washington failed to hammer out a deficit deal, renewing suggestions he could mount an independent bid for the White House.

In a stinging rebuke of Mr Obama, who remained on the sidelines as the deal collapsed, and a rare intervention into Washington politics, Mr Bloomberg, the mayor of New York, said: "It's the chief executive's job to bring people together and to provide leadership. I don't see that happening."

He accused members of Congress of "political cowardice" for helping bring about a "disaster for the country" but the former Democrat and Republican who is now an Independent reserved his strongest words for Mr Obama.

"The executive branch must do more than submit a plan to a committee – and then step aside and hope the committee members take action. That's not how any CEO would run a business.

He added: "It's not how landmark pieces of legislation have gotten through Congress. Tough problems require determined, forceful and bold leadership – and real action."

Mr Bloomberg's words could fuel speculation about whether he could mount a third-party bid for the White House. The New York mayor has made no preliminary moves indicating he might take such a step and has repeatedly said that a "short, divorced, Jewish billionaire" would have no chance.

But some centrists disillusioned with Mr Obama and dismayed by what they see as a paucity of talent in the Republican field still hold out hope. » | Toby Harnden, Washington | Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Vicar 'Sues God' over Campaign of Hate

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A vicar who moved to an “idyllic” rural parish claims that locals subjected him and his family to a four-year-reign of intimidation and terror.

Reverend Mark Sharpe, 44, claims parishioners slashed his tyres, smeared excrement over the family car, strewed broken glass over his drive and even poisoned his pet dog.

Rev Sharpe said he and his wife Sara, 43, were forced to install CCTV cameras at the rectory to protect themselves and their four children after their post was tampered with and internet and phone connections were cut.

Eventually they moved away and yesterday Rev Sharpe began a claim of constructive dismissal against the Church of England.

The vicar, who was ordained in 2001, initially moved to the rural Teme Valley South Ministry in Worcestershire in January 2005, after resigning his previous job as a Navy chaplain.

He had left that post after claiming he was ''continually'' exposed to violent hardcore pornography and won an employment tribunal against the Ministry of Defence for sexual harassment in 2006. » | Nick Britten | Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Minister Attacks Barack Obama for Failing to Show Climate Change 'Leadership'

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama was attacked on Tuesday by a Government minister for failing to show “real leadership” to address climate change.

Greg Barker, the Climate Change minister, said that the American President had failed to fulfil the “huge degree of hope invested in the pledges that he made”.

Mr Barker said that Mr Obama now needs to “put his money where his mouth is”.

It is extremely unusual for a British government minister to launch such an outspoken attack on an American President. The intervention comes amid growing anger over the failure of world leaders to agree a new deal to reduce greenhouse gases.

Speaking at a conference, Mr Barker said: “We need Obama not just to make speeches, but he needs to put his money where his mouth is and invest political capital domestically.

“Unless the US joins with the rest of the world and shows real leadership on this green agenda, we are not going to get a global agreement.” » | Robert Winnett, Political Editor | Tuesday, November 22, 2011

'Hero' Tribesman Who Helped Capture Saif Gaddafi Reveals: 'He Offered Me a Million Euros to Get Him Out of Libya, Instead I Drove Him to an Ambush'

MAIL ONLINE: Military commander whose troops captured Saif is rewarded with role as nation's new defence minister / Libya can try ousted leader's son at home, but International Criminal Court insists its judges must be involved

Muammar Gaddafi's son Saif, on the run in Libya as rebel forces closed in on him, offered a village tribesman one million euros to drive him safely over the border into Niger, it was claimed today.

The so-called playboy son of the deposed leader promised to pay the £860,000-odd sum for safe passage, so that he could one day return to reclaim control of Libya.

But the tribesman, Yussef Saleh al-Hotmani, instead drove Saif to a part of the desert where rebel gunmen were lying in wait.

Mr Hotmani said he had been offered the money - the equivalent of more than 1.6 million Lybian dinar - so Saif and four companions could escape capture and possible execution at the hands of troops loyal to the National Transitional Council.

But he said: 'I was offered millions but all the money they had would not buy a pebble of our sand or one drop of our martyrs' blood.'

It might have also been because Mr Hotmani had feared he would be killed after holding up his end of the bargain.

Mr Hotmani was speaking to reporters in Zintan, where Saif is being held at a secret location before the details of his prosecution are finalised. » | Daily Mail Reporter | Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi Betrayed by His Desert Guide
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi was betrayed to his captors by Yusef Saleh al-Hotmani, a Libyan nomad who says he was hired to help Muammar Gaddafi's son escape to neighbouring Niger on the promise he would be paid one million euros.

Read article here | Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Aliaa Magda Elmahdy, Egypt's Nude Blogger, Defiant: 'I Stand By Everything'

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TIMES: Aliaa Magda Elmahdy, the Egyptian blogger who shocked the Arab world with her nude pictures posted on Twitter, has broken cover to issue a defiant rebuttal on Facebook to accusations of insulting Islam, saying she does not "acknowledge any discriminatory law".

In a status update on Facebook, the 20-year-old activist reiterated her commitment to defend freedom of expression and civil rights, asserting it was her undeniable personal choice to publish naked pictures of herself on Twitter.

"I stand by every letter I wrote and every photo I published and will say that I don't acknowledge any laws that limit freedoms or are discriminatory if I was called for investigation," she wrote.
The Egyptian Coalition of Islamic Law Graduates filed a suit against Aliaa Elmahdy and her boyfriend, the blogger Kareem Amer, under charges of "violating morals, inciting indecency and insulting Islam."

The coalition's Facebook page called for Elmahdy and Amer to be punished according to Islamic law.
"The old constitution and the new declarations of the new one says Islamic law is the source of governing, therefore we asked for Islamic law penalties to be executed on the two bloggers," Ahmed Yehia, coordinator of the coalition, told Bikyamasr.com.

"It is an insult to the revolution as these two persons who pretend to be one of the revolutionists and asking for sexual freedoms. They are giving the uprising a bad name," he continued.

"It is our duty to fight corruption and this is a corruption case, people who are trying to corrupt society with foreign and unacceptable customs like the sexual freedom they ask for," continued Yehia. » | Gianluca Mezzofiore | Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Related here and here

Brussels: The New Capital of Eurabia
HUDSON NEW YORK: Muslims now make up one-quarter of the population of Brussels, according to a new book published by the Catholic University of Leuven, the top French-language university in Belgium.

In real terms, the number of Muslims in Brussels -- where half of the number of Muslims in Belgium currently live --- has reached 300,000, which means that the self-styled "Capital of Europe" is now the most Islamic city in Europe.

In practical terms, Islam mobilizes more people in Brussels than do the Roman Catholic Church, political parties or even trade unions, according to "The Iris and the Crescent," a book that is the product of more than one year of field research and was released to the public on November 18.

The book's author, the sociologist Felice Dassetto, predicts that Muslims will comprise the majority of the population of Brussels by 2030.

In Belgium as a whole, Muslims comprise roughly 6% of the total population, one of the highest rates in Europe. This number is expected to rise to more than 10% by 2020.

According to Dassetto, Islam is becoming increasingly visible in Brussels: there are more and more mosques and minarets, more veiled women and more Muslim organizations.

The book also warns that ultraconservative elements within Islam are increasingly gaining ground in Brussels.

Of the many strands of Islam represented in Brussels, Salafism is apparently far and away the most popular. Salafism, the highly conservative pan-Islamic movement, seeks, among other objectives, to unite the Muslim world under the leadership of a single Caliph, or ruler, who would govern based on Islamic Sharia law.

The book also reveals that most Muslims in Brussels have an "us" versus "them" mindset, which hinders their integration into Belgian society. » | Soeren Kern | Tuesday, November 22, 2011

The Queen Welcomes President of Turkey, Abdullah Gül, to Britain on a State Visit

To the picture gallery » | Tuesday, November 22, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Queen welcomes Turkish president in three-day state visit to Britain: Turkish President Abdullah Gul was welcomed to Britain by the Queen today at the start of a three-day state visit aimed at forging closer links with Turkey’s emerging economy. » | Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Bundestag zu Neonazi-Morden
"Wir sind zutiefst beschämt"
BERLINER ZEITUNG: Die Abgeordneten im Bundestag sind sich einig: Nicht nur die Morde der Neonazis, auch die Fehler der Behörden müssen restlos aufgeklärt werden. Am Mittag verabschiedete das Plenum eine entsprechende Resolution. Die Forderung nach einem NPD-Verbotsverfahren fehlt in dem Papier allerdings.

Der Bundestag hat am Dienstag einstimmig eine Resolution zur Mordserie des Neonazi-Trios aus Zwickau beschlossen. Darin heißt es unter anderem: „Wir sind zutiefst beschämt, dass nach den ungeheuren Verbrechen des nationalsozialistischen Regimes rechtsextremistische Ideologie in unserem Land eine blutige Spur unvorstellbarer Mordtaten hervorbringt.“ Alle fünf Fraktionen sprechen den Angehörigen der Opfer der mutmaßlichen rechtsextremistischen Terrorgruppe ihr Mitgefühl aus. Der Bundestag erwarte, dass die Morde mit aller Konsequenz zügig aufgeklärt werden. „Das sind wir den Opfern, ihren Familien und Freunden schuldig.“

Die Abgeordneten verlangen in der Erklärung zudem, dass „die Strukturen der Sicherheitsbehörden auf Bundes- und Länderebene dringend überprüft werden“. » | dapd | Dienstag 22. November 2011

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: German parliament expresses shame for neo-Nazi murders: The German parliament, in a rare sign of cross-party unity, has condemned a wave of neo-Nazi killings and the failure of police agencies to stop the murder spree in which nine immigrant shopkeepers were shot dead at close range. » | Tuesday, November 22, 2011

SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: German Parliament Condemns Neo-Nazi Terror: "We are deeply ashamed," the German parliament declared in a joint statement issued on Tuesday condemning the crimes committed by a neo-Nazi terror cell. Bundestag President Norbert Lammert apologized to the families of the victims, who may now receive compensation from the German government. » | dgs -- with wire reports | Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Ägyptisches Staats-TV führt drei Amerikaner vor

TAGES ANZEIGER: Für heute ist in Kairo ein Millionen-Marsch angekündigt. Bereits sind Polizisten und Demonstranten aneinandergeraten. Es gab viele Verletzte. Beim Tahrir-Platz sollen auch drei Amerikaner verhaftet worden sein.

Drei Amerikaner wurden gestern offenbar in Kairo verhaftet. Ihnen wird vorgeworfen, in der Nähe des Tahrir-Platzes Molotowcocktails auf Sicherheitskräfte geworfen zu haben, berichtet CNN. Das ägyptische Staatsfernsehen hat heute Bilder der Verhafteten gezeigt (siehe Video links). Angeblich seien einige der jungen Männer in der Universität von Kairo eingeschrieben.

Adel Saeed, Sprecher der ägyptischen Staatsanwaltschaft, sagte gegenüber «CNN»: «Als wir die drei jungen Männer festnahmen, waren sie dabei Molotow-Cocktails zu werfen. Sie trugen zudem keine Pässe auf sich.» Bisher seien sie von Polizei in Kairo vernommen worden. Ihr Fall werde noch heute von der Staatsanwaltschaft untersucht, so Saeed weiter. » | kpn, miw/sda | Dienstag 22. November 2011


Egyptian Protesters Pull Together to Treat Wounded

3 Americans Arrested in Egypt as Clashes Continue

Égypte : le gouvernement plie devant la nouvelle révolution

LE FIGARO: Après trois jours d'émeutes et de violences meurtrières, le gouvernement intérimaire a présenté sa démission au Conseil suprême des forces armées (Scaf), a annoncé lundi soir la télévision publique égyptienne. C'est le premier signe des tensions que la nouvelle vague de révolte est en train de susciter au sommet de l'État égyptien, à quelques jours des élections prévues le 28 novembre.

Le Scaf a réservé sa réponse lundi soir. Le cabinet avait déjà proposé de démissionner il y a quelques mois, après des violences entre musulmans et chrétiens qui avaient fait plusieurs morts dans la communauté copte. Le Conseil suprême avait alors rejeté cette démission. Cette fois, la foule amassée place Tahrir au Caire exige que la junte militaire fixe un calendrier rapide de transfert du pouvoir aux civils. » | Par Tangi Salaün | mardi 22 novembre 2011

LE FIGARO: La colère est de retour sur la place Tahrir : REPORTAGE - Les jeunes Égyptiens veulent le départ de la junte qui a succédé à Moubarak. » | Par Adrien Jaulmes | lundi 21 novembre 2011

Scènes de guerre lors d'une nouvelle journée de violences au Caire

LE FIGARO: Égypte : l'armée ouvre le dialogue, la rue gronde » | Par lefigaro.fr | mardi 22 novembre 2011

Egypte : la place Tharir s'embrase de nouveau

Sex-obsessed Saif Beat Me and Took Drugs, Says Gaddafi's Son's Stripper Ex-wife

MAIL ONLINE: • Nadia hoped for family but he wanted 'lovers and orgies' • She embraced Islam but wasn't treated as mistress of house • Claims he put her in a coma by throwing her from window during row

A woman claiming to be the ex-wife of Colonel Gaddafi's captured son Saif al-Islam has emerged in Ukraine with extraordinary stories alleging domestic violence and womanising.

Nadia, a blue-eyed brunette claims to have met him when she worked as a stripper in a top Moscow nightclub, and says she is currently in hiding, fearing for her life.

She claimed that as she prepared for marriage to Saif, she had to fly to Paris to have an operation to 'restore' her virginity.'

'The doctor proved my innocence in the presence of Saif's aunt. Then I embraced Islam,' she added.

'I tried to have a normal family, but Saif wanted to live as a single man with lovers and orgies,' she said in a Ukrainian newspaper interview.

While there is no proof of her claim of have married and divorced Saif after two years, her claim appears to be taken seriously in Russia and Ukraine.

If she is who she says, she could be a key witness at his trial whether it is in Libya or under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.

One aspect of his trial is likely to be his alleged friendship with a number of prominent British figures, including Prince Andrew, Tony Blair and Lord Mandelson. Read on and comment » | Will Stewart | Tuesday, November 22, 2011

From Tottenham to Tennessee, Capitalism Is Destroying Politics
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Democracy is at stake unless the huge and growing pay gulf between the very rich and ordinary workers can be narrowed.

Tottenham Jobcentre Plus is shut. Boards mask its charred frontage, and a notice screwed to the door announces that the building “has closed due to fire damage and will remain closed until further notice”. Clients are directed to a government website or to a “Temporary Service Arrangements fact sheet”. There is no guidance on how that document might be procured.

In a country with more than a million unemployed 16- to 24-year-olds, this centre, just down the road from where the riots of 2011 began, stands as a monument to dole-queue Britain. A young man with a toddler in his arms hovers outside. He has just arrived from Ghana with an HND in marketing, he says, and he needs a National Insurance number in order to find a job. Someone told him he should start here. They were wrong.

In the borough of Haringey, which includes Tottenham, the percentage of citizens claiming Jobseekers’ Allowance is 6.7, against a national average of 3.8. A contrasting portrait of a Britain whose Midas touch eludes sinking communities is revealed today as the independent High Pay Commission publishes the results of a year-long inquiry into corporate excess.

It reports that, in the past three decades, top executives have awarded themselves increases of more than 4,000 per cent, with the chief executive of Barclays earning £4,365,636, or 169 times more than the average worker. The chief executive of Lloyds, one of the banks bailed out by the taxpayer, gets £2,572,000, which represents a 3,141 per cent hike over the same period.

The top 0.1 per cent of British earners are not only as rich as Croesus, the Lydian king synonymous with great wealth. Most are, by virtue of that fortune, citizens of another country. This realm, dubbed “Richistan” by the American writer Robert Frank, is home to a global elite whose US branch earned more by 2004 than the entire take-home pay of Canada. » | Mary Riddell | Monday, November 21, 2011

My comment:

This is all going to end in communism if nothing serious and meaningful is done about it. Ordinary folk will NOT tolerate this forever more. History shows this to be so. The riots in London which shocked us all will look like a picnic in the park if things go on as they are. This is NOT capitalism! This is a malignant deviation from it. Capitalism isn't working; and nor is democracy. The end of all this will not be a pretty sight. It's five to midnight. The end is nigh. – © Mark

This comment also appears here.

High Pay Commission: Most People Believe Executive Pay 'Out of Control'

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Most people believe pay and bonuses for top executives are ''out of control'', according to a new study to coincide with a report which describes excessive high pay as ''corrosive'' to the economy.

A year-long inquiry by the High Pay Commission finds the pay of some top executives has soared by more than 4,000 per cent in the last 30 years, undermining productivity and ''damaging'' trust in British business.

The report criticised ''stratospheric'' pay increases which have seen wealth flow upwards to the top 0.1 per cent of people in the UK.

Average wages in the UK today are a ''modest'' £25,900 - up from £6,474 in 1980 - a three-fold increase.

The commission called for a number of reforms, including a ''radical simplification'' of executive pay, putting employees on remuneration committees, publishing the top 10 executive pay packages more widely, forcing companies to publish a pay ratio between the highest paid executive and the company median, and making firms reveal the total pay figure earned by executives.

The commission also said a new national body to monitor high pay should be established.

The report, Cheques With Balances: Why Tackling High Pay Is In The National Interest, showed that decisions to award huge pay packages are set by a ''closed shop'', shrouded in highly complex detail, effectively hidden from shareholders, staff and the public.

''Stratospheric increases in pay are damaging the UK economy - distorting markets, draining talent from key sectors and rewarding failure. Read on and comment » | Tuesday, November 22, 2011

My comment:

This is NOT capitalism! Capitalism rewards risk-takers. What risks do these executives take? They are in secure positions, and are rewarded with monopoly-figure salaries and bonuses even if they achieve little or nothing. This is unfair, corrosive, and a disincentive for others to take any risks or make any effort to better themselves. Faced with this scenario, why should anyone bother to make the effort to pull himself up by the bootstraps? This is a total disincentive to effort. And that's a very destructive situation for a capitalist economy to be in.

Further, it cannot be overemphasised that societies with such inequalities of wealth are a breeding ground for socialism, and even for communism. If you think that socialist/communist revolutions cannot happen in this day and age, and in this country, think again! Now do we really want to continue with this breeding ground for such a scenario? I think not. It is therefore high time to turn the screws on these obscene, vulgar fat cats. Tax them, until the pips squeak if necessary. The alternative scenario might well not be a pretty sight. – © Mark

This comment also appears here.

'It Doesn't Matter If You're Jewish, Arab Straight or Lesbian': Israeli Women Strip In Support of Nude Egyptian Blogger

MAIL ONLINE: When an Egyptian activist posted a nude picture of herself online in protest at the lack of freedom of expression, it sparked outrage in her country.

Now, a group of women in Israel have also stripped off in a show of solidarity.

Inspired by 20-year-old Aliaa Elmahdy's bold move, the 40 Israelis posed naked for a 'copycat' shot - holding a banner to cover their modesty.

The sign read 'Homage to Aliaa El Mahdi. Sisters in Israel' with the slogan 'Love without Limits', written in Arabic and Hebrew.

Led by 28-year-old Or Templar, who set up a group on a social networking website inviting women to join her, the girls put their political differences aside to express their support.

On the Facebook group, Templar wrote: 'Girls, let's give the world a good reason to see the unique beauty of Israeli women.

'Regardless of whether they are Jewish, Arab, straight or lesbian – because here, as of now, it doesn't matter.

'Let us show the doubters that our international discourse doesn't depend on governments.'

Templar's plan came as a response to Elmahdy, who posted the image of herself wearing only stockings and red flat shoes on her blog last week. Read on and comment » | Maysa Rawi | Monday, November 21, 2011

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Bradley Manning Hearing Date Set as Court Martial Process Finally Begins

THE GUARDIAN: Manning, accused of leaking secrets to WikiLeaks, to go to pre-trial – known as Article 32 hearing – in Maryland next month

Bradley Manning, the US soldier who has been held in confinement for the past 18 months on suspicion of having leaked a huge trove of state secrets to WikiLeaks, is to go before a military panel on 16 December at the start of the most high-profile prosecution of a whistleblower in a generation.

The proceedings, at Fort Meade in Maryland, are expected to last five days, and will be the first opportunity for prosecuting officers and Manning's defence team to present their cases. It is known as an Article 32 hearing, and although it is preliminary, both sides will be able to call and cross-examine witnesses.

Since he was arrested in Iraq in May 2010, Manning has become a cause célèbre for anti-war and free information advocates in America and around the world. His support network will be calling a rally outside the Article 32 hearing when it opens next month. » | Ed Pilkington in New York | Monday, November 21, 2011

Bahrain Admits 'Excessive Force' Against Protests
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Bahrain has admitted that "excessive force" was used during a crackdown on pro-democracy protesters earlier this year that left 24 people dead, a government statement said.

"Regrettably, there have been instances of excessive force and mistreatment of detainees," said the statement, issued two days ahead of a report by an inquiry panel commissioned by King Hamad to probe alleged government misconduct during the February-March crackdown on Shiite-led protests.

Authorities say 24 people, including four policemen, were killed in a month of unrest, while the Shiite-led opposition puts the death toll at 30. Hundreds more were injured.

The statement said authorities have begun prosecuting 20 officers involved in the crackdown, adding that more steps will be taken.

"We cannot condone mistreatment and abuses by our officials. There will be no impunity. All those responsible for abuses will be held accountable," the Bahraini government statement said. » | Monday, November 21, 2011

Turkey Warns Syria's Bashar al-Assad His Days Are Numbered

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish Prime Minister, has warned President Bashar al-Assad that his days as Syrian leader were numbered and he cannot remain in power indefinitely through military force.

"You can remain in power with tanks and cannons only up to a certain point. The day will come when you'll also leave," Mr Erdogan told a meeting in Istanbul.

Meanwhile reports said two buses carrying Turkish pilgrims came under attack near the Syrian city of Homs as at least four more people were killed on Monday in a regime crackdown in the same flashpoint region.

Russia for its part accused the West of provocative behaviour in the Syrian crisis, saying Western countries were telling the opposition to forget dialogue with the embattled president. » | Monday, November 21, 2011

Lone Wolf 'Al-Qaeda Sympathiser' Jose Pimentel Accused of New York Bomb Plots
Jose Pimentel, a lone wolf "al-Qaeda sympathiser" accused of plotting to bomb police and post offices in New York City as well as US troops returning home, has been arrested on numerous terrorism-related charges.

Read article here | Monday, November 21, 2011
JIHAD WATCH: New York Jihad bomb plotter’s website: “True Islam: The Way of all the Prophets” » | Posted by Robert | Monday, November 21, 2011

Libya: Relaxed Saif al-Islam Gaddafi Tells of Injury by 'Nato Infidels'
Following his capture by Libyan forces Saif al-Islam, son of the former dictator Muammar Gaddafi, gives a short interview telling how he was injured in a Nato - "infidel" - airstrike.

Read article here | Monday, November 21, 2011

Delia Smith Wants to Do for Catholicism What She Has Done for Cooking

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Delia Smith, a devout Catholic, has said she would like to switch the nation on to spirituality in the same way she has done with cooking.

The television cook attends Mass every day and has written cookery books with religious themes including A Feast for Lent and A Feast for Advent as well as a book on prayer called Journey into God.

Once named one of the UK’s top ten most influential Catholics, she has now hinted that she might turn her handing [sic] to promoting the religion in some way.

She told a Sunday newspaper: “I can reach people who would like to cook but are finding it difficult. It’s the same with the spiritual. If people want it, I would like to be able to point them in the right direction.”

Smith converted to Catholicism at the age of 22 having been influenced by a friend who later became a priest, but has rarely spoken about her beliefs in public.

She regularly joins worshippers at the Cathedral of St John the Baptist in Norwich after watching her beloved Norwich City, of which she is the joint majority shareholder with her husband of 40 years, Michael Wynn-Jones, and dedicates an hour a day to silent contemplation. » | Victoria Ward | Monday, November 21, 2011

Nackter Protest in Ägypten: Nur mit einer roten Schleife im Haar
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE: 20.11.2011 · Eine ägyptische Studentin fordert die sexuelle Revolution. Mit ihren Nacktbildern im Internet protestiert Alia Magda al Mahdi kurz vor der Wahl gegen die Unterdrückung der Frauen in Ägypten.

Mit roten Lackschuhen, einer roten Schleife im Haar, Nylonstrümpfen und sonst nichts: So präsentiert sich die zwanzig Jahre alte Studentin der Kunst und Medienwissenschaften Alia Magda al Mahdi in ihrem Internetblog, per Twitter und auf Facebook. Das heizt die Stimmung in Ägypten, eine Woche vor der Parlamentswahl, zusätzlich an. Wie nicht anders zu erwarten, reagieren konservative Kräfte auf die Aktion der Studentin mit Drohungen. Liberale distanzieren sich von der Aktion, um nicht in den Ruch zu kommen, Nacktheit zu propagieren. Die Jugendbewegung 6. April, die zum Sturz des Mubarak-Regimes beigetragen hat, teilte mit, dass Alia al Mahdi der Gruppe nicht angehöre, wie es etwa der Sender Al Arabija berichtet hatte. » | Von Michael Hanfeld | Sonntag 20. November 2011

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Danielle Mitterrand dans le coma

leJDD: A 87 ans, la veuve de François Mitterrand a été conduite dans un hôpital parisien et placée en coma artificiel samedi. Danielle Mitterrand avait déjà subi une intervention en septembre. Son fils, Gilbert Mitterrand, est à ses côtés.

Hospitalisée vendredi, Danielle Mitterrand a été placée en coma artificiel samedi. Après une intervention médicale pour insuffisance respiratoire en septembre, l'épouse de l'ancien président de la République François Mitterrand, ne s'était semble-t-il pas totalement remise, son entourage confiant qu'elle était fatiguée ces derniers jours. Son fils, Gilbert Mitterrand, l'a rapidement rejointe après son entrée dans un établissement parisien. » | A.G. (avec AFP) - leJDD.fr | vendredi 18 novembre 2011

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi 'Pretended to Be a Camel Herder' When Captured

THE GUARDIAN: Captor says dictator's son, who was caught trying to flee to Niger, tried to disguise himself to evade arrest

The man who led the fighters that captured Saif al-Islam has said that the late dictator's son tried to escape arrest by pretending to be a camel herder.

"When we caught him, he said, 'My name is Abdul Salem, a camel keeper,'" said commander Ahmed Amur on Sunday. "It was crazy."

His unit, from Zintan's Abu Bakar al-Sadiq brigade, had been patrolling the vast southern desert of Libya for more than a month when it was given a tip-off late last week that Saif al-Islam was close to the town of Obari.

"We knew it was a VIP target, we did not know who," said Amur, who worked as a professor of marine biology in Tripoli before the war. » | Chris Stephen in Zintan | Sunday, November 20, 2011

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Saif Gaddafi's Fear of His Fate Exposed in Recording‎

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: In the final act of the Libyan drama, the country's former intelligence chief was arrested on Sunday, as a recording of Saif Gaddafi revealed the favoured son's fear of meeting the same end as his father.

Libya's former intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi was captured on Sunday in the same southern region as the slain Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's heir was found a day earlier, an official in the National Transitional Council confirmed.

Saif spent Sunday secreted in the militia stronghold of Zintan, as Libya's interim rulers ignored world pressure and insisted that he be tried inside the country rather than at the International Criminal Court.

Reports have surfaced that he was discovered in the deep south of the country heading to Niger, wearing Tuareg robes and turban and pretending to be a camel herder named "Abdul Salem".

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi flitted between fear of being lynched and bravado at the prospect of being executed like his father when his Libyan captors flew him to their mountain stronghold.

And as a mob outside bayed for his blood, he even found time to worry about the dangers of passive smoking. » | Sunday, November 20, 2011

'Chilling' Footage of Protesters at UC Davis Being Pepper Sprayed Prompts Outrage
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Footage of protesters being blasted with pepper spray by a police officer while demonstrating on the UC Davis campus, has prompted international outrage and calls for the chancellor's resignation.


The video shows a member of the university police force, displaying a bottle before spraying its contents on the seated protesters in a sweeping motion while walking back and forth. Most of the protesters have their heads down, but several were hit directly in the face.

Some members of a crowd gathered at the scene scream and cry out. The crowd then chants, "Shame on You," as the protesters on the ground are led away. The officers retreat minutes later with helmets on and batons drawn.

Nine students hit by pepper spray were treated at the scene, two were taken to hospitals and later released, university officials said.

The protest was held in support of the Occupy Wall Street movement and in solidarity with protesters at the University of California, Berkeley who were jabbed by police with batons on November 9.

As the video images circulated on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter over the weekend, the university's faculty association called on University's Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi to resign, saying in a letter there had been a "gross failure of leadership."

"The Chancellor's role is to enable open and free enquiry, not to suppress it," the faculty association said in its letter.

It called Ms Katehi's authorisation of police force a "gross failure of leadership." Read on and comment » | Josie Ensor | Sunday, November 20, 2011

Egypt Police Move to Evict Cairo Protesters
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Egypt's cabinet was forced to hold crisis talks on Sunday as military police battled with protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square, demanding an end to army rule.


Hundreds of soldiers and police, backed by armored personnel carriers, used tear gas, rubber bullets and batons to evict several thousand protesters, presenting Egypt's ruling generals with their biggest security challenge yet, a week before parliamentary elections.

Demonstrators in Cairo chanted: "The people want to topple the regime" as they rushed at police, who fired rubber bullets and teargas. Protesters clashed with police in two other cities.

Two people were killed and hundreds wounded in clashes on Saturday night reminiscent of some of the worst violence during the 18-day uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak in February. » | Sunday, November 20, 2011

Britain Will Have to Join the Euro, Says Tory Grandee Lord Heseltine

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Britain will soon have no choice but to join the euro, Tory grandee Lord Heseltine has claimed, as tensions grow over the eurozone's slow-moving efforts to get a grip on the spreading debt crisis.

The former deputy prime minister, a long-time supporter of the single currency, said the public had "no idea" about the potential impact its collapse would have on the UK.

But he believes Franco-German determination will secure the euro's future and pave the way for Britain to sign up.

Both the Coalition and the Labour Party have ruled out adopting the euro in the foreseeable future.

Last month Prime Minister David Cameron suffered the biggest ever Conservative revolt over Europe as more than 80 Conservative MPs defied his orders and backed a referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union.

Lord Heseltine, the peer in charge of the Government's £1.4 billion regional growth fund, acknowledged that the Eurozone was in crisis, but said he was confident they would pull through to create a stronger economy.

He told BBC1's Politics Show: "I think we will join the euro. » | Josie Ensor | Sunday, November 20, 2011

BBC: UK will ultimately join euro says Lord Heseltine: Former deputy prime minister Lord Heseltine has said he still expects the UK to eventually join the euro. » | Sunday, November 20, 2011

Eurozone Crisis: European Union Prepares for the 'Great Leap Forward'

THE OBSERVER: As EU politicians desperately try to save euro, plans emerge to deepen the union, widening Brussels regulatory powers

As the skies over euroland darken, at least the jokes in Brussels are getting better. At a recent gathering to discuss the crisis that threatens to unravel the euro, one former member of the European parliament observed acidly: "They ought to give this year's Charlemagne prize [for services to European unity] to the bond markets. Who has done more for the cause?"

The black humour was a way of stating a bald truth: in the de facto capital of the European Union, the ongoing near-death experience of the European single currency is concentrating minds in unprecedented fashion. As governments across southern Europe buckle under the pressure of paying back their debts at ever-higher rates of interest, and even formerly "respectable" economies such as France and the Netherlands feel the chill wind of market scrutiny, the custodians of Europe's future have belatedly found their voice.

Last week the normally dour and pragmatic German chancellor, Angela Merkel, announced that the EU faces "perhaps the toughest hour since the second world war. If the euro fails, then Europe fails, and we want to prevent and we will prevent this. This is what we are working for, because it is such a huge historic project."

As the stakes rise higher than anyone thought they could, the British are increasingly seen as an irritation and even an irrelevance. On Friday David Cameron rushed between overseas meetings with three key players in this monetary psychodrama: Angela Merkel, leader of the only country with the economic heft to sort the mess out; José Manuel Barroso, the Portuguese president of the European commission which is charged with giving Brussels a plan for salvation; and Herman Van Rompuy, the hitherto invisible president of the European council of ministers, the inter-governmental body that will adopt that plan.

Cameron hoped to extract a promise that the City will not be targeted by a future financial transactions tax and a pledge that countries such as Britain that are outside the eurozone will retain their influence in the turbulent times ahead. The prime minister will have discovered that, as the European dream of integration via monetary union teeters on the brink of catastrophe, the concerns of the semi-detached are at the top of no one's agenda. The UK's decision not to directly assist bailout funds for Greece and Portugal went down badly; the subsequent exhortations from Downing Street to sort the euro mess out were greeted with exasperation. » | Julian Coman | Sunday, November 20, 2011

Erdogan's Moment

TIME: Red carpets, honor guards and gun salutes are for garden-variety visiting politicians and monarchs: for Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Cairo put on the kind of reception usually reserved for rock stars. Turkey's Prime Minister was greeted at the airport by thousands of cheering fans, many holding aloft posters of their hero. Fusillades of flashbulbs turned night into day. Journalists eager for a quote thrust microphones into Erdogan's face, but he was drowned out by the chanting throngs. "Erdogan! Erdogan! A real Muslim and not a coward," went one incantation. Another: "Turkey and Egypt are a single fist."

Totalitarian regimes routinely orchestrate massive, faux-spontaneous welcomes for visiting dignitaries, but the beleaguered interim administration in Cairo didn't need to rent a crowd for Erdogan: the Turkish leader is genuinely popular across the Arab world. He was ranked the most admired world leader in a 2010 poll of Arabs by the University of Maryland in conjunction with Zogby International. His stock has soared higher still since the Arab Spring. In countries where young people have risen against old tyrannies, many cite Erdogan as the kind of leader they would like to have instead.

A good politician knows how to milk his moment: the Cairo visit was the first leg of Erdogan's triumphant mid-September sweep through the newly liberated North African states. There were tumultuous welcomes, too, in Tunis and Tripoli. Then it was time for Erdogan to take a bow on the biggest stage. The trip culminated at the U.N. General Assembly in New York City, where President Obama, ignoring Erdogan's recent criticism of U.S. policy in the Middle East and his flaming diplomatic row with Israel, lauded him for showing "great leadership" in the region. » | Bobby Ghosh, Istanbul | Monday, November 28, 2011

Saif al-Islam Goes from Fugitive to Facing the Libyan People

THE GUARDIAN: Wherever Muammar Gaddafi's son stands trial, he will be defending not just himself but his whole family

Even on the run, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the 39-year-old son of ColonelMuammar Gaddafi, continued to insist on his innocence of crimes against humanity for which he has been indicted, contacting the international criminal court late last month through an intermediary.

It was suspected then that Saif was in Libya's vast desert areas close to the border with Niger, perhaps travelling in a convoy. In reality, it appears, Saif was travelling with only a handful of bodyguards when he was caught by National Transitional Council forces near the southern town of Obari. Now it seems likely that he will have to prove his innocence not in The Hague but in Tripoli, the capital he fled, in what is certain to become a show trial. Saif will be answering not only for himself but for his whole family.

The ICC had sought Saif on an international warrant as an "indirect co-perpetrator of murder and persecution as crimes against humanity", accusing him of "assuming essential tasks" to enact a plan, between 15 and 28 February this year, to launch attacks on Libyan civilians.

Saif was flown by pro-government forces to Zintan, where an angry crowd attempted to storm the plane. Dressed in a Tuareg scarf, heavily bearded and with a bandaged hand, he refused, however, to confirm his identity to a Reuters correspondent who saw him and described the prisoner as looking like Saif.

A commander in Zintan and the country's interim justice minister confirmed his capture. The ICC said that it was in discussions to ensure he was treated appropriately.

If Saif makes it safely to trial – not a certainty, given the deaths of his father and his brother Mutassim after their capture in Sirte – that court appearance will be the culmination of a long and extraordinary journey for the man many once believed was the reformer in the Gaddafi clan.

It was a journey that took Saif, a handsome and plausible figure with an excellent command of English, German and French, from the London School of Economics, where he studied, to meetings with high-ranking international figures. » | Peter Beaumont | Saturday, November 19, 2011

Egyptian Blogger Aliaa Elmahdy: Why I Posed Naked

CNN: Cairo, Egypt -- Egyptian blogger Aliaa Magda Elmahdy has become a household name in the Middle East and sparked a global uproar after a friend posted a photo of her naked on Twitter.

The photo, which the 20-year-old former student first posted on her blog, shows her naked apart from a pair of thigh-high stockings and some red patent leather shoes.

It was later posted on Twitter with the hashtag #nudephotorevolutionary. The tweet was viewed over a million times, while Elmahdy's followers jumped from a few hundred to more than 14,000.

Her actions have received global media coverage and provoked outrage in Egypt, a conservative Muslim country where most women wear the veil. Many liberals fear that Elmahdy's actions will hurt their prospects in the parliamentary election next week.

Elmahdy describes herself as an atheist. She has been living for the past five months with her boyfriend, blogger Kareem Amer, who, in 2006 was sentenced to four years in a maximum security prison for criticizing Islam and defaming former president Hosni Mubarak.

Here she talks exclusively to CNN in Cairo about why she posed nude.

CNN: Why did you post a photo of yourself nude photo on Twitter, and why the red high heels and black stockings?

Elmahdy: After my photo was removed from Facebook, a male friend of mine asked me if he may post it on Twitter. I accepted because I am not shy of being a woman in a society where women are nothing but sex objects harassed on a daily basis by men who know nothing about sex or the importance of a woman.

The photo is an expression of my being and I see the human body as the best artistic representation of that. I took the photo myself using a timer on my personal camera. The powerful colors black and red inspire me. » | Mohamed Fadel Fahmy for CNN | Sunday, November 20, 2011

Boris Johnson Warns That David Cameron's 'Bazooka' Plan Will Wreck Democracy In EU

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Boris Johnson today sparks a fresh clash with David Cameron by declaring that the Prime Minister's preferred solution to the eurozone crisis would end up wrecking democracy and creating a German-dominated Europe.

In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph the London Mayor hit out at Mr Cameron's call for the European Central Bank to deploy a "big bazooka" - effectively printing money - to help bail out the stricken economies in the south of the continent.

Mr Johnson also attacked plans, backed by the British government, for the 17 eurozone countries to share closer fiscal links, making them more unified on tax and spending.

"What I don't think you can do, is just pretend that you can create an economic government of Europe, effectively run by Germany," the Mayor added.

He described the replacement of elected leaders in Greece and Italy with governments led by technocrats as "completely mad" and warned that if the rest of the EU went ahead with a plan to impose a "Tobin" tax on financial transaction, even without British participation, it would be seen as a "hostile act" because it would still hit so many deals in the City of London.

Mr Johnson also outlined his own "orderly" solution to the crisis - which was miles away from anything suggested by any member of the British government. » | Patrick Hennessy, Political Editor | Saturday, November 19, 2011