Christopher Hitchens: 'I Wish I'd Done More of Everything'

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The controversial author was a brilliant but challenging conversationalist, as Telegraph writer Mick Brown discovered earlier this year.

When I interviewed Christopher Hitchens at his home in Washington in February, the discussion – sadly, inevitably – turned to the subject of mortality. He and a friend, he said, contemplating their demise, had mused that there would come a day when the newspapers would come out and they wouldn’t be there to read them. “And on that day, I’ve realised recently,” he went on, “I’ll probably be in the newspapers, or quite a lot of them. And etiquette being what it is, generally speaking, rather nice things being said about me.” He shrugged. “Just typical that will be the edition I miss.”

As a journalist, polemicist, author and indefatigable man of letters, Hitchens devoured the written word as much as he exulted in it, and he would be enjoying the obituaries and tributes in today’s newspapers, dwelling on his fiercely brilliant intellect, the grace and elegance of his language, his combative nature and his raffish charm. Hitchens took a characteristically robust approach to eulogy and remembrance. He could be generous in his praise – he once lionised Professor Freddy Ayer as “a tireless and justly celebrated fornicator”; but brutal in his condemnation: within hours of the televangelist Jerry Falwell’s passing, Hitchens was fixing him as an “ugly little charlatan”, adding that “if you give Falwell an enema, you could bury him in a matchbox”.

In a career spanning more than 40 years, Hitchens had a view on pretty much every subject under the sun, from the war in Iraq to the pleasures of oral sex. And it is odd to reflect that he should have achieved his greatest recognition and notoriety in the last years of his life for his contempt for religious belief and, more melancholically, for the courageous manner in which he faced up to his illness and impending death. Until the publication in 2007 of his book God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, Hitchens had been, in the words of a late friend, the author Susan Sontag, “a sovereign figure in the small world of those who tilled the field of ideas” – but largely unknown outside it.

God Is Not Great changed all, making him a champion of the New Atheism, alongside such celebrated non-believers as Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris, the American neuroscientist. His growing public status as God’s fiercest critic would lend a particular poignancy to his struggle with the cancer of the oesophagus that would take his life. » | Mick Brown | Friday, December 16, 2011

Revealed: How City Fees Are Eating Into Our Pensions

THE GUARDIAN: Traders' hidden charges leaving pensioners and savers worse off, Treasury warned

Highly paid City traders are depriving pensioners and savers of thousands of pounds through high management fees that are often hidden, according to leaked advice provided by consultants to the Treasury. The charges are spreading and are so steep that savers may find they get less back in retirement than they invested in savingsaccounts and pensions over their lifetimes.

If the size of the charges were to become widely known, the UK's "fragile savings culture may be permanently damaged", according to the warning presented to the Treasury last month.

The damning findings come at a time of growing anxiety that millions of Britons will not have enough money for their old age. They will also raise new questions about the prime minister's decision to veto a new EU treaty over his demands for greater protection for the City.

David Cameron has insisted that the financial sector is a vital national interest, yet the consultants brought into the Treasury claimed that the often unnecessary charges built up by traders are damaging potential economic growth.

A source who has seen the presentation told the Observer that the conclusion was fund managers had "lost sight" of their customers and that the government needed to act. The presentation suggested that the country's pensions black hole – unfunded public and private pension commitments – could be wiped out over time if costs could be reduced, a source said.

"They are so high that the industry is actually destroying value for the UK investor at least as fast as the stock market can create it," the source said. "The government's message is that you have to save for your retirement, but with the amount you will make it hardly makes it worthwhile if these costs are being taken out. And the highest cost of all are personnel costs, wages and bonuses." » | Daniel Boffey, policy editor | Saturday, December 17, 2011

Smokers Hope Bhutan's Young King Will Give Them a Break

THE INDEPENDENT: Activists in Bhutan are hoping their young king – a man known for his fondness for the occasional cigarette – will enter a controversy that has gripped the country and use royal powers to free a number of people sent to jail after being convicted under tough anti-smoking legislation.

Earlier this year, the authorities in the Himalayan kingdom famed for both its natural beauty and its adoption of the principle of gross national happiness (GNH), found themselves in the middle of a row after a Buddhist monk was jailed for three years after being convicted of failing to pay duty on £2 worth of chewing tobacco. 23-year-old Sonam Tshering, who was carrying sachets of the tobacco in his pocket, was jailed even though he said he was unaware of the anti-smuggling law.

Since then, dozens more have been arrested and up to ten people imprisoned, triggering a campaign against the law that has forced the government to reconsider. Yet, even if the legislation is changed it is unclear what will happen to those people already behind bars[.]

Campaigners say a pardon from King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, who was crowned in 2008, is their only hope. “We are hopeful that he will [give a pardon]", said Kinley Tshering, one of the campaigners. » | Andrew Buncombe | Friday, December 16, 2011

Druck auf Wulff wegen Haus-Kredit wächst
REUTERS DEUTSCHLAND: Berlin - Bundespräsident Christian Wulff gerät wegen des Darlehens für sein Haus immer stärker unter Druck.

Staatsrechtler warfen ihm am Samstag vor, er habe als niedersächsischer Ministerpräsident durch die Annahme eines zinsverbilligten Kredits gesetzeswidrig gehandelt. Die niedersächsischen Grünen erklärten zudem, Wulff habe ihnen offenbar auf ihre Fragen 2010 im Landtag nicht wahrheitsgemäß geantwortet. Denn dem "Spiegel" zufolge war der 500.000-Euro-Kredit von dem Unternehmer Egon Geerkens vermittelt und ausgehandelt worden. Wulff hatte aber eine Geschäftsbeziehung zu ihm verneint. Die SPD kritisierte das Verhalten Wulffs als einen Beitrag zur Politikverdrossenheit und verlangte wie die Grünen rasche und umfassende Aufklärung. Wulff selbst wollte sich am Samstag nicht weiter dazu äußern. » | Samstag 17. Dezember 2011

Recep Tayyip Erdogan invite la France à revisiter son histoire
REUTERS FRANCE: ISTANBUL - Recep Tayyip Erdogan a de nouveau pris pour cible la France en invitant samedi Paris à revisiter son histoire coloniale plutôt que le passé ottoman de la Turquie.

Cette attaque du Premier ministre turc intervient à cinq jours de l'examen par les députés français d'un texte de l'UMP rendant illégale la négation du génocide arménien de 1915.

"Ceux qui veulent étudier un génocide feraient mieux de se retourner sur leur passé et de se pencher sur leur propre histoire, sale et sanglante", a-t-il dit à l'issue d'un entretien avec le président du Conseil national de transition libyen (CNT), Mustapha Abdeljalil.

"Si l'Assemblée nationale française veut s'intéresser à l'Histoire, qu'elle prenne la peine de s'enquérir sur les événements en Afrique, au Rwanda et en Algérie.

"Qu'elle fasse des recherches pour savoir combien de personnes les soldats français ont tuées, comment ils les ont tuées et avec quelles méthodes inhumaines", a ajouté le chef du gouvernement turc, dont c'est la première déclaration depuis son opération chirurgicale.

Vendredi, Ankara a prévenu la France que les relations entre les deux pays risquaient de subir de graves conséquences si le Parlement français votait la loi rendant illégale la négation du génocide arménien de 1915.

Le président Nicolas Sarkozy avait froissé la Turquie début octobre en lui donnant quelques mois pour reconnaître le génocide arménien de 1915, faute de quoi la France pourrait légiférer pour sanctionner pénalement le négationnisme turc.

La proposition de loi, soumise par l'UMP, le parti majoritaire, doit être examinée jeudi à l'Assemblée nationale.

La commission des Lois de l'Assemblée a adopté le 7 décembre à l'unanimité moins deux voix ce texte, qui prévoit une peine d'un an de prison et une amende de 45.000 euros en cas de contestation du génocide. » | Daren Butler, Grégory Schwartz et Jean-Loup Fiévet pour le service français | samedi 17 décembre 2011

Der Aufstieg der Islamisten entzweit Ägyptens Frauen

TAGESANZEIGER: Die einen freuen sich auf die Scharia, die andern sprechen von einem Rückschlag – zwei Stimmen aus dem Ägypten nach Mubarak.

Beide waren auf dem Tahrir-Platz, haben für die Revolution geschrien, gezittert, gelitten. Als Frauen, als Ägypterinnen. «Auf dem Platz wurden wir respektiert; wir waren gleichberechtigt. Es war, als wäre in der Geschlechterfrage eine neue Ära angebrochen», erinnert sich die Frauenrechtlerin Fatma Khafagi nostalgisch. Die Islamistin Manal Abul Hassan hingegen hebt die Hand und zeigt ihren schweren Ring. Damit hat sie im Januar einen Soldaten geschlagen: «Wir Frauen haben uns zum Platz durchgekämpft, weil die Sicherheitskräfte uns ja nicht angegriffen haben. Wir haben den Männern den Weg freigemacht. Und dann haben wir auf dem Tahrir gebetet.» » | Tagesanzeiger.ch/Newsnet | Samstag 17. Dezember 2011

Richard Dawkins Destroys Muslim on Morality

Richard Dawkins Versus Homophobic Christians

French Seek to Heal Rift with Britain as Suddenly They Are the Isolated Ones

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Nicolas Sarkozy was looking increasingly isolated last night as France faced losing its AAA credit rating and David Cameron held "positive" discussions with the German chancellor.

Angela Merkel telephoned the Prime Minister yesterday morning and the German foreign minister will visit London on Monday, amid growing European disquiet over the behaviour of senior French figures in recent days.

François Fillon, the French prime minister, rang Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, from Brazil in an attempt to stem the growing rift between France and Britain, which he himself helped trigger earlier this week.

It came as Fitch, the American ratings agency, concluded that a "comprehensive solution" to the eurozone crisis was "technically and politically beyond reach" and warned that France could lose its AAA rating next year. Earlier, the French finance minister, François Baroin, stepped up the apparently coordinated attacks on the British economy. He said in a radio interview: "The economic situation in Britain today is very worrying, and you'd rather be French than British in economic terms."

His comments followed those of Christian Noyer, the head of the Bank of France, who said that Britain's credit rating should be cut before that of France as this country had "as much debt, more inflation, less growth than us".

On Thursday, Mr Fillon said: "When I look at our British friends, who are even more indebted than us and carrying a bigger deficit, what I see is that the ratings agencies so far don't seem to have noticed." Jean–Pierre Jouyet, the head of the French financial regulator, said that the Right–wing of British politics was "the world's stupidest".

The remarks broke a long–standing diplomatic precedent that allies did not publicly criticise one another's economic situation. Read on and comment » | Robert Winnett, Political Editor | Friday, December 16, 2011

'Hitler Wasn't All Bad': One in Ten Austrian Teens Think Nazi Leader Did 'Good Things', Shock Survey Reveals

MAIL ONLINE: • One in four of those polled believe there are 'too many Turks' in Austria, the predominant immigrant group • 18.2 per cent declared 'Jews have now, like before, too much influence over the world economy'

Austrians are shocked by a new survey which shows that one in ten young people think Adolf Hitler was not all bad and that he did some 'good things'.

Many are also anti-immigrant and anti-foreigner despite years of multi-cultural teaching in schools.

The country's Kurier newspaper called the findings by the Youth Culture Research Institute 'frightening' - particularly as it is coupled with the general mistrust and dislike of non-Austrians.

Austria has struggled with its relationship to Nazis in general and Hitler in particular ever since 1945.

The country was taken over by Hitler - himself an Austrian by birth - in 1938.

Welcomed by euphoric crowds at the time, post-war Austrian retreated to a psychological comfort zone whereby they classified themselves as the 'first victims' of the regime.

The new survey asked youngsters aged between 16 and 19 what they thought of the dictator.

Pollsters were astonished when 11.2 per cent of them said that Hitler 'did many good things for the people'.

And one in four of them believe there are 'too many Turks' in Austria, the predominant immigrant group.

'Young, open, tolerant? The ideal of an open, socially minded younger generation remains, as a current study shows, an illusion,' said Austria's Standard newspaper.

'Youth are openly hostile to foreigners and are anti-Semitic to an amazingly large degree.'

'Too many Turks live in this country,' said 43.6 percent of the respondents.

Perhaps more sinisterly, in a statement that harks directly back to the Nazis, 18.2 per cent of them declared that 'Jews have now, like before, too much influence over the world economy'. Read on and comment » | Allan Hall | Friday, December 16, 2011

Atomstreit: Der Feind meines Feindes...

ZEIT ONLINE: ...ist mein Freund. Deshalb rüstet Deutschland Saudi-Arabien auf. Das ist fatal

Wir leben in stürmischen Zeiten. Da müssen wir uns an jemandem festhalten. Manchmal ist der, nach dessen Hand wir greifen, ziemlich unappetitlich, mitunter geradezu abstoßend. Doch wir packen zu, weil wir glauben, keine Alternative zu haben. Es gibt in der politischen Sprache eine Wortschöpfung für solch sinistre Freunde. Man nennt sie Stabilitätsanker. Das klingt fest, das klingt sicher, das hilft gegen die Angst. Dieser jemand, der uns unheimlich ist und uns trotzdem schützen soll, dieser jemand ist zurzeit Saudi-Arabien.

Die eklatante Missachtung der Menschenrechte daheim und eine militante-extremistische Missionierung in fernen Ländern ist typisch für Saudi-Arabien – eigentlich Grund genug, Abstand zu halten. Das Gegenteil geschieht gerade. Die saudische Monarchie bekommt alles, wonach sie verlangt. Zum Beispiel 270 hochmoderne Kampfpanzer aus deutscher Produktion. Die Bundesregierung hat eine Voranfrage zum Kauf aus Saudi-Arabien positiv beantwortet. Sie verweigert darüber jede öffentliche Debatte.

Innenpolitisch ist das ein Skandal, und außenpolitisch ist es eine desaströse Entscheidung, denn sie stützt sich auf ein Prinzip, das vor allem in der Golfregion noch nie funktioniert hat: Der Feind meines Feindes ist mein Freund. » | Von Ulrich Ladurner | Freitag 16. Dezember 2011

The Late Christopher Hitchens on the Burka
The French legislators who seek to repudiate the wearing of the veil or the burka – whether the garment covers “only” the face or the entire female body – are often described as seeking to impose a “ban”. To the contrary, they are attempting to lift a ban: a ban on the right of women to choose their own dress, a ban on the right of women to disagree with male and clerical authority, and a ban on the right of all citizens to look one another in the face. The proposed law is in the best traditions of the French republic, which declares all citizens equal before the law and – no less important – equal in the face of one another.

On the door of my bank in Washington, DC is a printed notice politely requesting me to remove any form of facial concealment before I enter the premises. The notice doesn’t bore me or weary me by explaining its reasoning. A person barging through those doors with any sort of mask would incur the right and proper presumption of guilt.

This presumption should operate in the rest of society. I would indignantly refuse to have any dealings with a nurse or doctor or teacher who hid his or her face, let alone a tax inspector or customs official.

The particular demand to consider the veil and the burka as an exemption applies only to women. And it also applies only to religious practice (and, unless we foolishly pretend otherwise, only to one religious practice). This at once tells you all you need to know. Society is being asked to abandon an immemorial tradition of equality and openness in order to gratify one faith, one faith that has a very questionable record in respect of females. [Source: The Daily Telegraph] | Friday, December 16, 2011

David Cameron Says the UK Is a Christian Country

BBC: David Cameron has said the UK is a Christian country "and we should not be afraid to say so".

In a speech in Oxford on the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible, the prime minister called for a revival of traditional Christian values to counter Britain's "moral collapse".

He said "live and let live" had too often become "do what you please".

The PM said it was wrong to suggest that standing up for Christianity was "somehow doing down other faiths".

Describing himself as a "committed" but only "vaguely practising" Christian, the PM admitted he was "full of doubts" about big theological issues.

'Don't do God'

But he staunchly defended the role of religion in politics and said the Bible in particular was crucial to British values.

"We are a Christian country and we should not be afraid to say so," he told the audience at Christ Church.

"Let me be clear: I am not in any way saying that to have another faith - or no faith - is somehow wrong.

"I know and fully respect that many people in this country do not have a religion.

"And I am also incredibly proud that Britain is home to many different faith communities, who do so much to make our country stronger.

"But what I am saying is that the Bible has helped to give Britain a set of values and morals which make Britain what it is today." » | Friday, December 16, 2011

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: David Cameron: the Church must shape our values – David Cameron warned the Church of England that it must keep to an "agenda that speaks to the whole country" as he said Britain should be proud to be a "Christian country". ¶ In a landmark speech on religion, the Prime Minister said that the country had been "unwilling" to "distinguish right from wrong", but warned "moral neutrality is not going to cut it any more". ¶ He said that Britain was at a "pivotal moment" in the wake of the riots and the financial crisis and that the Church must play a central role in reshaping the country. ¶ But, in a coded attack on the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Prime Minister warned that the Church must "keep on the agenda that speaks to the whole country". » | Saturday, December 17, 2011

Biens Kadhafi – Canada: Saadi Kadhafi propriétaire d’un appartement de luxe

LE MATIN: Saadi Kadhafi, fils de l’ancien dirigeant libyen Mouammar Kadhafi, possède un appartement de luxe au sommet d’une tour de Toronto, acheté plus d’un million et demi de dollars.

Le quotidien National Post qui a été le premier à publier cette information, souligne, photocopie à l’appui, qu’en dépit de l’ordre du Conseil de sécurité des Nations unies de saisir tous les biens de la famille Kadhafi à l’étranger, Saadi Kadhafi figure sur la liste des propriétaires de l’immeuble.

Il aurait acquis ces locaux le 7 mai 2008. A l’époque il se rendait souvent au Canada pour y passer jusqu’à trois mois par an, ajoute le journal.

Interrogé sur cette affaire, le ministère canadien des Affaires étrangères s’est refusé à toute déclaration, en se bornant à indiquer que la gendarmerie royale (police fédérale) était chargée de l’éclaircir. » | LeMatin.ch & les agencies | vendredi 16 décembre 2011

Sternstunde Philosophie: Helmut Schmidt im Gespräch - Ein Staatsmann über sein schwieriges Land

Altkanzler Schmidt: SPD soll mehr Europa wagen

SCHWEIZER FERNSEHEN: Die SPD will die Eurokrise durch eine Kraftanstrengung aller europäischen Partner auf Augenhöhe lösen und wirft der Regierung eine schädliche Kraftmeierei vor. Altkanzler Helmut Schmidt warnte in Berlin vor einem Scheitern der EU und einer Isolation Deutschlands.

Erstmals seit 1998 hat Helmut Schmidt auf einem SPD-Parteikongress das Wort ergriffen. Es geht um die Zukunft, nicht nur jene der SPD.

In einem flammenden Appell warnte Schmidt die schwarz-gelbe Bundesregierung davor, sich in der Eurokrise zu stark als Lehrmeister anderer Länder aufzuspielen und so das Europa-Projekt zu gefährden.

«Deutschland hat Pflicht zu helfen»

«Wenn wir Deutschen uns verführen liessen, eine Führungsrolle zu beanspruchen oder doch wenigstens den primus inter pares (Erster unter Gleichen) zu spielen, so würde eine zunehmende Mehrheit unserer Nachbarn sich zunehmend dagegen wehren.» Das könne das Ende der europäischen Einigung bedeuten und Deutschland in die Isolierung führen.

«Wir Deutsche sind uns zu wenig im Klaren darüber, dass bei allen unseren Nachbarn wahrscheinlich für mehrere Generationen latenter Argwohn besteht.» » | sf/dpa/schubeca/halp | Sonntag 04. Dezember 2011

Unruhen in Kairo: Hunderte Verletzte, zwei Tote

SCHWEIZER FERNSEHEN: Bei gewaltsamen Zusammenstössen zwischen Demonstranten und den Sicherheitskräften sind in Kairo mindestens zwei Personen getötet und hunderte Menschen verletzt worden.

Die Demonstranten, die schon seit drei Wochen vor dem Kabinettsgebäude campieren, bewarfen laut Augenzeugen die Polizei mit Steinen. Zuvor sei einer von der Demonstranten von der Militärpolizei vorübergehend in Gewahrsam genommen worden.

Die Polizei habe mit Wasserwerfern geantwortet. Einige Polizisten hätten Steine zurückgeworfen und in die Luft geschossen. Drei Autos und mehrere Zelte der Protestierenden gingen in Flammen auf. » | sda/buev | Freitag 16. Dezember 2011

Genozid-Gesetz: Türkei droht Frankreich

DIE PRESSE: Frankreich plant ein Gesetz, das das Leugnen eines Völkermordes an den Armeniern im Osmanischen Reich unter Strafe stellt. Der türkische Regierungschef Erdogan warnt vor "schweren Folgen".

Der türkische Ministerpräsident Recep Tayyip Erdogan hat Frankreich vor Konsequenzen gewarnt, sollte Paris ein geplantes Gesetz zu den Gräueltaten von Türken an den Armeniern verabschieden. In einem Brief forderte Erdogan den französischen Präsidenten Nicolas Sarkozy auf, er solle das Gesetz stoppen. Das berichtete die türkische Nachrichtenagentur Anadolu am Freitag. » | Ag. | Freitag 16. Dezember 2011

Lästereien über Wirtschaftsleistung: Frankreichs Dauerkritik nervt London

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Die Briten sind "not amused". Vize-Premier Clegg forderte Paris auf, die "Rhetorik zu beruhigen". Französische Kabinettsmitglieder hatten zuvor erneut die britische Wirtschaftslage kritisiert und Londons Top-Rating in Frage gestellt.

London - Der verbale Schlagabtausch zwischen Großbritannien und Frankreich um den Kurs in der europäischen Schuldenkrise geht in die nächste Runde: Großbritanniens Vize-Premierminister Nick Clegg hat sich bei Regierungschef François Fillon über herablassende Äußerungen französischer Kabinettsmitglieder beschwert.



"Jüngste Bemerkungen von Mitgliedern der französischen Regierung über die britische Volkswirtschaft waren schlicht nicht akzeptabel", sagte Clegg laut seinem Sprecher am Freitag in einem Telefonat mit Fillon, der sich in Rio de Janeiro aufhielt. Es müssten Schritte unternommen werden, um die "Rhetorik zu beruhigen". Nach Angaben des Clegg-Sprechers hat Fillon sich dazu bereiterklärt.

Der französische Wirtschaftsminister François Baroin hatte zuvor die Wirtschaftslage in Großbritannien als "besorgniserregend" bezeichnet. "Aus wirtschaftlicher Sicht ist es momentan besser, Franzose zu sein als Brite", sagte Finanzminister François Baroin am Freitag im Radiosender Europe 1.

Am Donnerstag hatte bereits der französische Zentralbankchef Christian Noyer einen deutlichen Seitenhieb gegen Großbritannien ausgeteilt. Die Rating-Agenturen, die mit der Herabstufung von 15 Ländern der Euro-Zone drohten, sollten sich lieber mit Großbritannien befassen, sagte Noyer in der Tageszeitung "Le Télégramme". » | lgr/dpa/Reuters/AFP | Freitag 16. Dezember 2011

The High Price of Impatience: Michelle Jets Off to Hawaii with the Kids for 17[-]day Vacation Before the President Can Leave ... at a Cost of $100,000 to the Taxpayer
MAIL ONLINE: With thousands of families struggling to raise funds for Christmas, you would think the Obamas might manage a little thriftiness.

But today, Michelle Obama and her two daughters fly to Hawaii for a 17-day holiday - days before the president joins them.

The separate flights will incur costs of more than $100,000 to the taxpayer.

Obama has vowed to stay in Washington until Congress passes an extension of the payroll tax cut and will join his family before Christmas.

By not waiting for Congress to reach a decision before jetting off together, the family is inflicting eye-watering costs on the taxpayer.

When Michelle flew to Hawaii alone last year, it cost a staggering $63,000 - without security or staff costs - according to White House Dossier website.

Michelle, 13-year-old Malia and 10-year-old Sasha will leave Washington Friday after giving toys to the Marines Corps’ Toys for Tots programme.


Barack Obama previously said to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid: 'Michelle and the girls are going to have a great time in Hawaii. They don't need me there.'

The president's family covers the cost of a private beach front residence in Kailua, Oahu, for the vacation - a ‘Winter White House’ that costs up to $3,500 a day, or $75,000 a month.

But the local and federal taxpayers help pay the bill for travel and security.

Last year the trip cost more than $1 million, according to the Hawaii Reporter.

The move also puts the president at odds with one of his own executive orders that instructed agencies to avoid unnecessary flights, said the site. Read on and comment » | Lydia Warren | Friday, December 16, 2011

Brief von 12 Staaten: Klage über Auswärtigen Dienst der EU

FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE: Mehrere Mitgliedstaaten haben in einem gemeinsamen Brief an Catherine Ashton die Reform des Auswärtigen Dienstes der EU verlangt. Die Kritik gilt allerdings weniger der Außenbeauftragten als der EU-Kommission.

In mehreren EU-Mitgliedstaaten hat sich so viel Unmut über die Arbeit des neuen Auswärtigen Dienstes der EU aufgestaut, dass sie in einem gemeinsamen Brief an die Außenbeauftragte Ashton eine Reform der gerade einmal ein Jahr alten Institution verlangen. Außenminister von zwölf EU-Ländern, unter ihnen Deutschland, Frankreich, Italien und Polen, machen in dem Schreiben detaillierte Vorschläge zu sämtlichen zentralen Aspekten des neuen Dienstes: seiner Zusammenarbeit mit der EU-Kommission, seinen internen Abläufen, der Arbeit der neuen EU-Botschaften und der Mitwirkung der Mitgliedstaaten. Sie erhoffen sich davon einen Anstoß für eine neue politische Diskussion über die Arbeitsweise des Dienstes. Frau Ashton muss zum Jahresende ihren ersten Bericht über das Funktionieren ihres Hauses vorlegen.

Die Kritik der zwölf Staaten zielt dem Vernehmen nach allerdings weniger auf die Außenbeauftragte ab, sondern vor allem auf die Rolle der EU-Kommission. Diese nehme immer noch eine „sehr feindselige Haltung“ gegenüber dem neuen Dienst ein und versuche ihn „mehr oder weniger zu bekämpfen“, sagen Diplomaten. » | Von NIKOLAS BUSSE, BRÜSSEL | Mittwoch 14. Dezember 2011

The Madness of Bradley Manning?
Bradley Manning, the man held over the leaking of confidential cables to WikiLeaks, was a 'mess of a child' who should never have been put through a tour of duty in Iraq, according to an investigative film produced by the Guardian

Related »

France Needs Us to Survive

TELEGRAPH BLOGS – BENEDICT BROGAN: The last time France was in deep trouble, Winston Churchill offered to merge our two countries and make common cause against the Germans, who had driven what remained of French authority from Paris. On 16 June 1940, at the urging of de Gaulle, who had just arrived in London, the British proposed a Declaration of Union to Paul Reynaud, who was desperate to avoid surrender. But the French PM's colleagues dismissed it as a nefarious plot by Britain to snaffle France's colonies. Reynaud resigned and the next day Petain did his deal with Hitler. That instinctive desire to help our oldest friend, ally and rival was celebrated last year when Nicolas Sarkozy came to London to mark the anniversary of l'appel du 18 juin, De Gaulle's call to arms that launched France's resistance and defined her post-war future. With David Cameron, he recalled that the Entente Cordiale of our intertwined histories prove that for France and Britain "their unity has always been a condition of their survival". Read on and comment » | Benedict Brogan | Friday, December 16, 2011

Christopher Hitchens, 1949–2011: In Memoriam

VANITY FAIR: Christopher Hitchens was a wit, a charmer, and a troublemaker, and to those who knew him well, he was a gift from, dare I say it, God. He died today at the MD Anderson Cancer Center, in Houston, after a punishing battle with esophageal cancer, the same disease that killed his father.

He was a man of insatiable appetites—for cigarettes, for scotch, for company, for great writing, and, above all, for conversation. That he had an output to equal what he took in was the miracle in the man. You’d be hard-pressed to find a writer who could match the volume of exquisitely crafted columns, essays, articles, and books he produced over the past four decades. He wrote often—constantly, in fact, and right up to the end—and he wrote fast; frequently without the benefit of a second draft or even corrections. I can recall a lunch in 1991, when I was editing The New York Observer, and he and Aimée Bell, his longtime editor, and I got together for a quick bite at a restaurant on Madison, no longer there. Christopher’s copy was due early that afternoon. Pre-lunch canisters of scotch were followed by a couple of glasses of wine during the meal and a similar quantity of post-meal cognac. That was just his intake. After stumbling back to the office, we set him up at a rickety table and with an old Olivetti, and in a symphony of clacking he produced a 1,000-word column of near perfection in under half an hour. » | Graydon Carter | Thursday, December 15, 2011

VANITY FAIR: Christopher Hitchens: A Life in Pictures » | Thursday, December 15, 2011

Related »

Is Anti-Muslim Politics on the Rise in Florida?

BBC: Clashes between Muslim activists and Florida conservatives have turned the state into a stand-off. Why?

When hardware superstore Lowe's pulled its advertising from the cable reality programme All-American Muslim, it did so at the behest of a small group called the Florida Family Association (FFA).

The FFA's previous letter-writing campaigns have been targeted at shows with both gratuitous and non-traditional sexuality, like Behind Girls Gone Wild and RuPaul's Drag Race.

All-American Muslim is the first show that FFA has targeted on the grounds that it obscured "the Islamic agenda's clear and present danger to American liberties and traditional values". But it's not the first time Florida has made national headlines for sentiments hostile towards Muslims.

Last spring, pastor Terry Jones caused worldwide outrage when he burned a Koran at his church in Gainesville, Florida. In September, Nezar Hamze, head of the Florida Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), was the first person refused admission to the Broward County Republican party executive committee.

And Congressman Allen West, who represents constituents in South Florida, was recorded by the liberal website ThinkProgress last August saying "Islam is a totalitarian theocratic political ideology, it is not a religion. It has not been a religion since 622 AD, and we need to have individuals that stand up and say that." » | Kate Dailey | BBC News Magazine | Friday, December 16, 2011

Republican Debate: Romney and Gingrich Defend Positions

BBC: Republican presidential front-runners Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney were forced to defend their records, in the final TV debate before primary season.

Mr Gingrich was challenged over his work with federal housing firm Freddie Mac, while Mr Romney had to explain his stances on gay marriage and abortion.

The two rivals played it safe, but their conservative credentials were assailed by lower-tier candidates.

The eventual nominee faces Democratic President Barack Obama next November.

Thursday night's two-hour forum, hosted by Fox News in Sioux City, Iowa, also featured Texas Republican Ron Paul, Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, Texas Governor Rick Perry, former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman and former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum.

'Scam'

In his opening remarks, Mr Gingrich challenged the president to series of lengthy policy debates: "I believe I can debate Barack Obama and I think in seven three-hour debates, Barack Obama will not have a leg to stand on in trying to defend a record that is terrible and an ideology that is radical."

Mr Romney lambasted President Obama for trying to "appease or accommodate the tyrants of the world", criticising his approach to retrieving a drone which recently went down in Iran.

"Foreign policy based on pretty please? You have to be kidding," Mr Romney said. » | Steve Kingstone, BBC News, Washington | Friday, December 16, 2011

Wikileaks: Bradley Manning Military Hearing Begins

BBC: Defence lawyers representing the US Army analyst accused of leaking government secrets have asked the investigating officer to step aside.

The request came as Private Bradley Manning, 23, appeared at a military court for the first time.

He faces 22 charges of obtaining and distributing government secrets - which he allegedly leaked to anti-secrecy site Wikileaks.

The Article 32 hearing will determine whether Pte Manning is to stand trial.

The hearing offers the first opportunity for his defence team to present their case since he was arrested in Iraq in May 2010 and placed in military custody.

It is taking place under tight security at an army base at Fort Meade, Maryland.

As the hearing opened, Pte Manning's defence team asked for the investigating officer - equivalent to a judge in a civilian court - to withdraw from the case, the BBC's North America editor Mark Mardell reports from the base.

Pte Manning was reported to be sitting in the courtroom dressed in military khaki and wearing black-rimmed glasses.

During the Article 32 hearing, which is similar to a pre-trial hearing, both prosecuting and defence lawyers will make their initial cases and are permitted to cross-examine witnesses.

Proceedings are expected to last around five days, after which recommendations will be made to a military general, who will decide whether to proceed to a full trial, according to his lawyer, David Coombs.

The BBC's Paul Adams says the soldier's defence team is likely to argue that little harm came of the leaks, and that their release was in the greater public interest. » | Mark Mardell, BBC North America editor | Friday, December 16, 2011

THE GUARDIAN: Bradley Manning hearing: defence lawyer turns fire on military accusers: On first day of preliminary hearing, investigating officer rejects defence's demand that he recuse himself » | Ed Pilkington and Matt Williams in Fort Meade | Friday, December 16, 2011

Proofs of God in a Photon
THE INDEPENDENT: SCIENCE Since quantum physics, the idea of a purposeful universe has become scientifically admissible. Scientists themselves, however, remain firmly divided. Martin Redfern reports on the challenge to dualist thought

FOR THE first time in 400 years, sensible people are saying some very dangerous things. Theologians are discussing the origins of the physical universe, the beauty of the fundamental laws of physics and the wonder of the complexity of nature. Scientists, too, are discussing what they suggest may be a sense of purpose behind the universe and questioning why those laws of nature should be exactly the way they are and why they give rise to those wondrous complexities. This year, a flurry of new books has been published, written by eminent scientists and with the word ``God'' in the title. It may be that this is in part due to pressure from publishers - ``God'' sells well - but it also represents a profound change of attitude since, until recently, few scientists who value their reputations would have risked the G-word even in private. That scientific books invoking God should sell well is also a reflection on the rest of us. Society seems to be searching for something which neither religion nor conventional science on its own has been able to deliver.

Science and religion began to go their separate ways in the Renaissance. The process continued when Galileo and Descartes started to ponder on the nature of the universe. To do so, they had to stray into the territory traditionally the exclusive domain of the church and, in Europe in the first half of the 17th century, the church was powerful indeed. Those who offended it too loudly or too fundamentally could burn in a hell that was very much on earth. So it was out of an instinct of self-preservation that Galileo divided the world into two. He said that there are primary qualities that are external and objective, such as temperature, wavelength, hardness and so on, and secondary qualities that are subjective, such as the sensations of heat, colour and pain. Thus he gave the primary qualities to science in comparative safety and left the secondary qualities to the church: on these he said, I am silent. » | Martin Redfern | Sunday, December 24, 1995

Christopher Hitchens Dies Aged 62

THE GUARDIAN: Celebrated journalist, writer and unshakeable secularist has died from complications of oesophageal cancer

The writer, journalist and contrarian Christopher Hitchens has died at the age of 62 after crossing the border into the "land of malady" on being diagnosed with an oesophageal cancer in June 2010. Vanity Fair, for which he had written since 1992 and was made contributing editor, marked his death in a memorial article posted late on Thursday night.

The reactions to Hitchens's illness from his intellectual opponents – which ranged from undisguised glee to offers of prayers – testified to his stature as one of the leading voices of secularism since the publication in 2007 of his anti-religious polemic God is Not Great. The reaction from the author himself, who after a lifetime of "burning the candle of both ends" described his illness as "something so predictable and banal that it bores even me", testified to the sharpness of his wit and the clarity of his thinking under fire, as he dissected the discourse of "struggle" that surrounds cancer, paid tribute to the medical staff who looked after him and resolved to "resist bodily as best I can, even if only passively, and to seek the most advanced advice".

Born in 1949, Hitchens was sent to boarding school at the age of eight, his mother deciding: "If there is going to be an upper class in this country, then Christopher is going to be in it." This resolution pursued him to his time at Oxford, where he confessed to leading a "double life" as both an "ally of the working class" and as a guest at cocktail parties where he could meet "near-legendary members of the establishment's firmament on nearly equal terms".

After he graduated in 1970 with a third-class degree, the doors of Fleet Street opened wide for Hitchens, who followed his friend James Fenton into a job at the New Statesman. He began a lifelong friendship with Martin Amis and quickly gained a reputation as a pugnacious leftwing commentator, excoriating targets such as the Roman Catholic church, the Vietnam war and Henry Kissinger in dazzling essays, news reports and book reviews. » | Richard Lea | Friday, December 16, 2011

THE GUARDIAN: Christopher Hitchens obituary: Maverick, polemical journalist whose career was a rollercoaster of love and loathing ¶ For most of his career, Christopher Hitchens, who has died of oesophageal cancer aged 62, was the left's biggest journalistic star, writing and broadcasting with wit, style and originality in a period when such qualities were in short supply among those of similar political persuasion. Nobody else spoke with such confidence and passion for what Americans called "liberalism" and Hitchens (regarding "liberal" as too "evasive") called "socialism". » | Peter Wilby | Friday, December 16, 2011

The Immortal Rejoinders of Christopher Hitchens
In our video homage, the late, great journalist and cultural critic, a longtime contributing editor to Vanity Fair, says that “one wouldn’t be doing one’s job if one didn’t itch to prick.” View a mere sampling of his brilliant ripostes.

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Christopher Hitchens: tributes – Contemporaries, friends and admirers of Christopher Hitchens, who has died aged 62, have paid tribute to the contrarian. » | Friday, December 16, 2011

THE INDEPENDENT: Author Christopher Hitchens dies: English-American author and journalist Christopher Hitchens has died after losing his battle with cancer. ¶ The outspoken atheist had been undergoing chemotherapy after being diagnosed with oesophageal cancer last year, but died aged 62 at the MD Anderson Cancer Centre in Houston, Texas, last night. ¶ Graydon Carter, editor of Vanity Fair, where Mr Hitchens was a contributing editor, paid tribute on the magazine's website. ¶ "Christopher Hitchens was a wit, a charmer and a troublemaker, and to those who knew him well, he was a gift from, dare I say, God," he wrote. » | Ellen Branagh | Friday, December 16, 2011

MAIL ONLINE: Writer Christopher Hitchens dies, aged 62, after battle with cancer: • 'Christopher Hitchens was a wit, a charmer and a troublemaker, and to those who knew him well, he was a gift from, dare I say, God' • 'I'm a member of a cancer elite. I rather look down on people with lesser cancers,' he said in an interview with CBS on March 6, 2011 • Smacked in the rear by Margaret Thatcher and beaten up in Beirut, he once submitted to waterboarding to prove it was indeed torture » | David Richards | Friday, December 16, 2011

Munk Debate on Religion - Christopher Hitchens Opening Remarks

TELEGRAPH BLOGS – TOBY YOUNG: RIP Christopher Hitchens, the Cicero of the saloon bar: I've known for a couple of days that Christopher Hitchens was about to die and yesterday asked his brother to deliver a farewell note, via email. I was fond of him as an occasional drinking companion, but also admired him as journalist and I said that in the note. I've no idea whether he got it or not, but I hope so. » | Toby Young | Friday, December 16, 2011


Christopher Hitchens: a noble contrarian » | Nicholas Shakespeare | Friday, December 16, 2011

What Sex S[c]andal? Herman Cain Releases Cringe-worthy Christmas Video Hand-in-hand with Wife Gloria as He Reads the Bible by an Open Fire

MAIL ONLINE: What sex sandal? Herman Cain releases cringe-worthy Christmas video hand-in-hand with wife Gloria as he reads the Bible by an open fire

Scandal-hit pizza tycoon Herman Cain may be out of the presidential race but he's wasted no time returning to the spotlight to resuscitate his image - with a warm and cozy Christmas video featuring his wife, Gloria.

The former Republican candidate dropped his bid for the White House after several sexual misconduct accusations and claims of a 13-year extra-marital affair surfaced.

But the married couple have put on a united display for the holiday clip, sitting in front of a roaring fire as Cain reads an excerpt of the Christmas story from the Bible.

The four-minute video, entitled 'It's Christmas in America!' opens with a pair of glowing candles flickering by a fireplace, and the word 'Peace' appears on the mantle.

The camera pans and in soft focus reveals the Cains sitting behind a lit Christmas tree, as the former Godfather Pizza CEO begins to read the story of Jesus’ birth.

The couple smile and hold hands, exchanging glances between the scripture.

A message posted below the online video reads: 'As we experience the joys of Christmas this year, let us not forget the birth of Christ and what it means to mankind.' » | Jennifer Madison | Friday, December 16, 2011

Jacques Chirac ne fera pas appel de sa condamnation
LE MONDE: Jacques Chirac, condamné jeudi 15 décembre à 2 ans de prison avec sursis pour détournement de fonds publics, a annoncé dans un communiqué qu'il ne "ferait pas appel" bien que, "sur le fond, [il] conteste catégoriquement ce jugement".

L'ancien président de la République "affirme avec honneur" qu'"aucune faute ne saurait [lui] être reprochée", avant de justifier sa décision de ne pas faire appel par le fait qu'il n'a "plus, hélas, toutes les forces nécessaires pour mener par [lui-même], face à de nouveaux juges, le combat pour la vérité". » | LEMONDE.FR avec AFP | jeudi 15 décembre 2011


Related »

Police Rescue Students from 'Torture Dungeon' in Karachi
Police in the Pakistani city of Karachi have freed 54 students from the basement of an Islamic school, where they said they were kept in chains by clerics, beaten and malnourished.

Read short article here | Tuesday, December 13, 2011

French Leaders Declare a War of Words on Britain

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: French leaders have launched outspoken public attacks on Britain, calling for the UK to lose its AAA credit rating and comparing its economy with that of Greece.

Christian Noyer, the governor of the Bank of France, said that Britain faced larger national debts, higher inflation and slower growth than France.

François Baroin, the finance minister, said Britain was “marginalised” and faced “a very difficult economic situation” because of Coalition policies.

The blunt remarks are the latest sign of Anglo-French tension following David Cameron’s refusal last week to back a new European treaty drawn up in response to the eurozone crisis.

George Osborne, the Chancellor, also provoked anger in France recently by suggesting it could be the next eurozone economy to experience a debt crisis. France and Germany want a new treaty to create a “fiscal union” of eurozone members, to control their deficits and reassure the markets.

Mr Baroin told the French parliament that the pact had been backed by every country in Europe, “with the singular, now solitary, exception of Great Britain, which history will remember as marginalised”.

He added: “Great Britain is in a very difficult economic situation, a deficit close to the level of Greece, debt equivalent to our own, much higher inflation prospects and growth forecasts well under the eurozone average. It’s an audacious choice the British government has made,” he said.

French policymakers were angered last week when Standard and Poor’s, a ratings agency, threatened to downgrade eurozone nations — including France — if leaders did not act urgently to address the single currency crisis.

But in an interview with Le Télégramme, a French regional newspaper, Mr Noyer said the downgrade did not appear “justified in regard to the economic fundamentals”.

“Otherwise, they should start by downgrading Britain which has more deficits, as much debt, more inflation, less growth than us and whose credit is collapsing,” he added. » | James Kirkup, Deputy Political Editor | Thursday, December 15, 2011

THE GUARDIAN: France stokes eurozone row with call for UK credit downgrade: Britain's credit status should be cut before France is downgraded, says its central bank governor, Christian Noyer » | Press Association | Thursday, December 15, 2011

MAIL ONLINE: France lose its credit rating? It should be the UK! blasts head of central bank amid rising tensions between London and Paris: Relations between Britain and France plunged to a new low yesterday when the head of the French central bank called for the UK’s gold-plated credit rating to be downgraded. ¶ The inflammatory attack on the British economy by Christian Noyer was quickly branded evidence of a cross channel ‘Entente Discordiale’ over the future of the euro. » | David Richards | Friday, December 16, 2011

Syrie : la Russie propose une résolution surprise à l'ONU

LE FIGARO: Pressée par la communauté internationale de mettre la pression sur son allié syrien, la Russie a présenté contre toute attente un projet de résolution condamnant les violences perpétrées dans le pays «par toutes les parties».

La Russie vient de faire un grand pas diplomatique en envisageant pourla première fois de mettre la pression sur son allié historique syrien. Le pays, qui s'était jusque là opposé avec force à toute action de l'ONU, a surpris toute la communauté internationale en dévoilant un projet de résolution au Conseil de sécurité, dont il occupe ce mois-ci la présidence tournante, condamnant la répression en Syrie. Même si le texte mentionne de façon plus générale les violences commises «par toutes les parties», incluant donc l'opposition, il fait aussi explicitement référence «à l'usage disproportionné de la force par les autorités syriennes». Une première.

«Ce mouvement de la Russie est bienvenu», s'est félicité le prote-parole du Quai d'Orsay Bernard Valéro. «Cinq mille morts victimes de la répression depuis 10 mois, c'est un bilan accablant et inacceptable.» L'ambassadeur français à l'ONU, Gérard Araud, a lui aussi salué dans un communiqué «un événement extraordinaire puisque la Russie a enfin décidé de sortir de son inaction et de nous présenter une résolution sur la Syrie». «Le texte qui nous est présenté est un texte qui mérite évidemment beaucoup d'amendements car il est déséquilibré. Mais c'est un texte sur la base duquel nous allons négocier», a-t-il ajouté. » | Par Tristan Vey | jeudi 15 décembre 2011

Deutschland: Wetterdienst warnt vor Tief “Joachim”

So bedauerte Wulff sein Verhalten

Demonstrationen gegen Herrscherfamilie

Die besten Weine zum Weihnachtsfest

All In Against Newt

TALKING POINTS MEMO – EDITOR’S BLOG: This morning we’ve officially reached the end of the Newt Surge and — whether the data support the thesis or not — moved on to the Establishment Counterattack. After a week or so of stunned silence, the Republican establishment, under the very uneasy leadership of Mitt Romney, has roused to the unavoidable truth (now backed up by hard data) that nominating Newt Gingrich means all but giving up any chance of taking the presidency in 2012. » | Josh Marshall | Thursday, December 15, 2011

Vladimir Putin Lashes Out at America for Killing Gaddafi and Backing Protests

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Vladimir Putin has accused his political opponents at home of trying to destabilise Russia on the West's orders and alleged that the United States killed Libyan dictator Col Muammar Gaddafi.

In a ferocious verbal tirade broadcast on state TV that lasted more than four and a half hours, the Russian prime minister made it clear he was determined to return to the Russian presidency next year, scornfully dismissing recent demonstrations against him.

"I know that students were paid some money - well, that's good if they could earn something," he said, referring to the biggest protest of its kind since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union last Saturday.

Facing down the biggest challenge of his almost twelve years in power, the Russian strong man insisted that the disputed parliamentary election which triggered the protests was not flawed, rejecting calls for a re-run outright.

"It properly reflected the real balance of power in the country," he said during a live televised question and answer session that has become an annual tradition. "As for the fairness or unfairness: the opposition will always say the elections were not fair. Always. This happens everywhere, in all countries." Repeatedly accusing his domestic critics and opponents of taking money from the West to do him down, he claimed there was a plot to destabilise Russia by effecting a velvet revolution there.

"There is a well-tested scheme to destabilise society," he said.

Scornfully recalling Ukraine's pro-Western Orange revolution in 2004, he said that anti-Kremlin opposition figures had advised Ukraine's orange movement at the time and had now brought the same technology to Russia. "Some of my critics are sincere, they must be heard and respected. The rest are pawns in the hands of foreign agents. There are people with Russian passports but who work in the interests of foreign states." Unruffled and outwardly supremely confident, he even quipped that the street protests were only possible because he tolerated freedom of expression. » | Andrew Osborn, in Moscow | Thursday, December 15, 2011

Wie la Crème de la Crème den Islam in Deutschland verbieten will!

Die Gardinenprediger

DER TAGESSPIEGEL: Demokratie halten sie für etwas Atheistisches. Sie träumen von einem Land ohne Bier und Bikinis und fürchten sich vor dem Höllenfeuer. Mit ihren Parolen bekommen die radikal-islamischen Salafisten in Ägypten immer mehr Zulauf. Beim ersten von drei Wahlgängen wurden sie zweitstärkste Partei.

Ob es der Wind ist, der so heftig vom Mittelmeer weht, dass der Müll durch die Straßen Alexandrias fliegt? Oder sind es am Ende halt doch mal wieder die Frauen? Irgendjemand muss ja Schuld haben, dass der Scheich, der oben auf dem Podium sitzt, seit 20 Minuten warten muss, bis er endlich reden darf. Er sieht den Männern unten zu, die große Mühe haben, ein schweres, drei Meter hohes Tuch mit islamischen Mustern an vier Dattelpalmen anzubinden. Es soll eine Art improvisierter Blickschutz werden für die zwölf Personen, die auf Stühlen sitzen und aussehen, als hätte ihnen jemand einen langen, schwarzen Sack über den Körper gestülpt; es sind mutmaßlich Frauen.


Wer mit dieser Absperrung vor wem geschützt werden soll und vor allem warum, das ist nicht ganz klar. Klar ist aber, dass die 400 Männer, die sich an diesem Freitagabend im November auf dem Midan el-Mitafi versammelt haben, damit ein Zeichen setzen wollen: Wir sind doch gar nicht so schlimm, wie alle denken! Wir haben Frauen unter uns! Oder, wie der Scheich auf dem Podium ins Mikrofon lärmt: „Männer und Frauen sind bereit für Gottes Auftrag!“

Im ägyptischen Wahlkampf ist es Mode geworden, öffentliche Konferenzen zu veranstalten. Mal geht es um die Wirtschaft, mal um die Zukunft, mal um irgendwie alles und nichts, so wie bei den Salafisten. Sie treffen sich in el-Seyuf, einer Ecke Alexandrias, die auch nach ägyptischen Maßstäben ziemlich arm und ziemlich kaputt ist. Hier wohnen viele Fans von Abd el-Moneim el-Schahat, dem Scheich auf dem Podium, studierter Ingenieur, Jahrgang 1970, dessen Bauch kaum durch eine Tür passt. Der Bart ist obligat, die Hochwasserhosen sind es auch, denn die soll der Prophet schließlich auch so getragen haben, als Zeichen gegen die Angeberei. Seiner Stimme sagt man nach, sie sei ein „Zilzaal“: ein Erdbeben.

Abd el-Moneim ist der Sprecher des Dachverbands der Fundamentalisten, der aAl-Da’wa al-Salafeya. Das erste Wort könnte man mit Aufruf übersetzen; das zweite heißt so viel wie: zurück zu den Wurzeln. Also ins siebte Jahrhundert, als Mohammed, der Prophet des Islams, die Menschen in Arabien begeisterte. Abd el-Moneim sieht sich dieser Tradition verpflichtet. Also forderte er, dass die Pyramiden mit Wachs überzogen werden müssten, „weil die pharaonische Kultur verderblich“ sei. Ein andermal ließ er die Statue einer Meerjungfrau verschleiern. Und neulich sagte er, Demokratie sei etwas für Atheisten, die Todfeinde des Islams. Weiter lessen und einen Kommentar hinzufügen » | Von Gerald Drißner | Donnerstag 15. Dezember 2011

Plus de cent pays reconnaisent l'État de Palestine
LA PRESSE (LE CANADA): Après l'annonce par l'Islande, jeudi, de la reconnaissance de «l'indépendance et de la souveraineté de la Palestine» et l'établissement de relations diplomatiques bilatérales, plus de cent pays ont reconnu la Palestine en tant qu'État.

En reconnaissant l'État palestinien, l'Islande est devenu l'un des premiers pays d'Europe occidentale et membre de l'OTAN à prendre cette décision.

«Voici le jour où je vous présente la déclaration de l'indépendance de la Palestine en accord avec la volonté du Parlement islandais», a déclaré le ministre des Affaires étrangères Össur Skarphedinsson s'adressant à son homologue palestinien Riad Malki.

Les deux ministres, qui étaient réunis lors d'une cérémonie à la Maison de la culture de Reykjavik, ont également convenu de l'établissement de relations diplomatiques entre les deux pays qui seront représentés par des ambassadeurs non-résidents.

Cette annonce a été aussitôt saluée par le ministre palestinien pour qui elle «revêt une grande portée» car elle peut créer en Europe «une atmosphère très positive que d'autres pourront suivre».

Cette décision intervient après l'adoption par le parlement islandais (Althingi) le 29 novembre dernier d'une résolution autorisant le gouvernement «à reconnaître la Palestine en tant qu'État indépendant et souverain dans le cadre des frontières antérieures à la Guerre des Six Jours de 1967».

Le chef de la diplomatie islandaise a déclaré que cette reconnaissance par un pays d'Europe occidentale également membre de l'OTAN intervient au bon moment. » | Haukur Holm, Agence France-Presse | Reykjavik | Islande | jeudi 15 décembre 2011