Tunisie : légalisation de la consommation de la zatla ?
INVESTIR EN TUNISIE: Les pratiques étranges ne cessent d’augmenter dans la Tunisie poste-révolutionnaire. Après le phénomène du djihadisme, du salafisme, du 6ème Califat, de l’excision… une manifestation a été annoncée pour la dépénalisation de la consommation du cannabis ou zatla en Tunisie.

Zatla, cette drogue douce tant convoitée par quelques Tunisiens, qui se sont mobilisés pour lancer un événement afin de faire légaliser son usage. « Tous unis pour la légalisation du cannabis », c’est le slogan levé, samedi 18 février 2012, devant l’Assemblée nationale constituante, au Bardo.

Plus de 4000 personnes se sont réunis, ont tous répondu présents à «Legalize it», appel à manifestation lancé via des pages d'événements créées sur Facebook. Les fumeurs de joints veulent visiblement sortir de la clandestinité. » | M.Kh | mardi 21 février 2012

«Ich komme aus einem links-grünen Elternhaus»

BASLER ZEITUNG: Mit seinem Islamischen Zentralrat sorgt Nicolas Blancho ständig für negative Schlagzeilen. Im Interview erklärt der IZRS-Präsident, weshalb die Schweiz weder islamische Schulen noch die Fatwa fürchten muss.

Wie stellen Sie sich die ideale muslimische Gesellschaft in der Schweiz vor?
Nicolas Blancho: Es geht uns nicht um die Formulierung einer idealen Gesellschaft, sondern darum, dass Muslime in der Schweiz das gleiche Ansehen und dieselben Rechte geniessen wie alle anderen Gruppierungen.

Wo werden Muslime diskriminiert?
Ein Beispiel sind muslimische Lehrerinnen. Wenn sie ein Kopftuch tragen, haben sie fast keine Chance, einen Job zu finden. Oder das Verhalten der Stadt Bülach. Man kündete uns willkürlich und unter fadenscheinigen Argumenten den bereits abgeschlossenen Mietvertrag für die Stadthalle. Dies nur, weil wir dort eine islamische Veranstaltung planten.

Nun sind Sie damit auch in der Aargauer Gemeinde Spreitenbach abgeblitzt. Was tun Sie?
Aktuell stehen noch zwei weitere Optionen zur Diskussion. Genauere Angaben können erst morgen Nachmittag gemacht werden.

Wie wollen Sie mehr Anerkennung für Muslime erreichen?
Mit sehr viel Aufklärungsarbeit. Wir müssen unsere Positionen einbringen und dafür gerade stehen. Wir haben unterschiedliche Wertvorstellungen und Positionen. Das ändert aber nichts daran, dass wir im selben Staat leben und unter dem Dach der hier gültigen Rechtsordnung zusammenfinden müssen. » | Von Andrea Sommer | Donnerstag, 16. Februar 2012

Islamische Republik Iran: Hinrichtung von Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani steht unmittelbar bevor
KATOLISCHES: (Teheran) Der wegen Glaubenswechsel im Iran zum Tode verurteilte Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani soll in den nächsten Tagen hingerichtet werden, so die Internationale Gesellschaft für Menschenrechte (IGFM). Das Zentralgefängnis von Rasht, in welchem Nadarkhani einsitzt, sei von Justizbehörden angewiesen worden, die baldige Ausführung des Befehls vorzubereiten. Nadarkhani war am 22. September 2010 wegen „Verbreitung nichtislamischer Lehre“ und „Abfall vom islamischen Glauben“ zum Tode durch den Strang verurteilt worden. Noch am 20. Dezember 2011 war das Gericht angewiesen worden, für mindestens ein Jahr ausschließlich daran zu arbeiten, Nadarkhani zum Islam zurückzubringen.

Der Iran scheint sich von der internationalen Welle der Empörung nicht beeindrucken zu lassen. Auch von ihm ratifizierte völkerrechtlich bindende Abkommen lassen ihn kalt: Glaubwürdige Quellen berichten von der imminenten Hinrichtung des Pastors. Sollte das Todesurteil tatsächlich vollstreckt werden, wäre dies „nicht nur die erste Hinrichtung mit der offiziellen Begründung ‚Abfall vom Islam‘ sondern auch ein Schritt in das dunkle Mittelalter“, so Martin Lessenthin, Sprecher des Vorstands der IGFM. Bisher wurden im Iran immer wieder Menschen hingerichtet, auch ohne Hinrichtungsbefehl und ohne daß die Familie verständigt wäre. Auch der Familie von Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani wurde ein solcher nicht übergeben. » | PM/Linus Schneider | Mittwoch, 22. Februar 2012

Rev. Graham: Obama Seen as ‘Son of Islam’

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Read the MSNBC article and comment here | Becky Bratu, msnbc.com | Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Related »

"Caliphate Conference" Seeks to Islamize Europe, U.S.
RIGHT SIDE NEWS: The explicit aim of the Istanbul Process -- currently backed by the Obama administration -- is to make it an international crime to criticize Islam.

A Muslim fundamentalist group is organizing a conference focused on turning Austria and other European countries into Islamic states.

The "Caliphate Conference 2012" will be held on March 10 in the Austrian town of Vösendorf, situated just south of Vienna.

The main theme of the event will be "The Caliphate: The State Model of the Future." The conference is being organized by Hizb ut-Tahrir [Party of Liberation], a pan-Islamic extremist group that seeks to establish a global Islamic state, or caliphate, ruled by Islamic Sharia law.

Hizb ut-Tahrir -- which is banned in many countries, including Germany, but is free to operate in Austria -- is virulently opposed to Western capitalism and democracy and seeks to extend the future caliphate to Europe and the United States.

According to a promotional video (in German) for the conference, "the Islamic Caliphate is the only social and political system that has the right solutions to the political, social and economic problems of humanity." » | Soeren Kern | Tuesday, February 21, 2012


Related »

Oliver Stone’s Son: The Jewish Christian Muslim

FRONTPAGEMAG.COM: In the midst of all the important news stories competing for my attention lately, I found myself distracted the other day by what, at first blush at least, seemed a decidedly trivial one. Apparently there exists someone by the name of Sean Stone. He is twenty-seven years old, and is the son of Oliver Stone, the famous film director, writer, and outspoken fan of Hugo Chavez, Fidel Castro, and other charismatic totalitarians. Coincidentally, Sean Stone has also appeared in twelve of his father’s own movies, which means he is obviously an exceedingly talented young actor.

Sean was born with the middle name of Christopher, which means “bearer of Christ.” He has now, however, changed his name to Sean Ali Stone, because he has converted to Islam. In what seems a nod to family tradition, he did not just convert to Islam, he did it in a country run by the kind of tyrants his dad loves, namely Iran.

Young Sean explains his new faith in good old-fashioned addled-celebrity style. On the one hand: “I have said a simple prayer, ‘There is no God but God, and Mohammed is his messenger.’” On the other:

“I am of a Jewish bloodline, a baptized Christian who accepts Christ’s teachings, the Jewish Old Testament and the Holy Koran. I believe there is one God, whether called Allah or Jehovah or whatever you wish to name him. He creates all peoples and religions. I consider myself a Jewish Christian Muslim.” It will be diverting to see how young Mr. Stone’s new Muslim friends will respond to his theological insights.

It is also worth noting that Sean’s conversion, according to him, followed hard upon his reading of the Koran. He claims to have learned from his study of that volume that “Islam is not a religion of violence any more than Judaism or Christianity is.” He must somehow have missed the many passages in the book that vilify those who, like him, have a “Jewish bloodline.” Continue reading and comment » | Bruce Bawer | Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Bruce Bawer is a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the Freedom Center and the author of “While Europe Slept” and “Surrender.” His new Harper Collins e-book, "The New Quislings," about the Norwegian Left's exploitation of the July 22 mass murders in Norway, is now available.

Related »

Iranian Festival Honors Sean Ali Stone

TEHRAN TIMES: TEHRAN -- The son of U.S. filmmaker Oliver Stone, Sean, who has converted to Islam and chosen the name Ali in Iran, was honored Thursday during a side section program at the 30th Fajr International Film Festival.

The honoring ceremony took place at Tehran’s Azadi Cinema with Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad Hosseini, Deputy Culture Minister for Cinematic Affairs Javad Shamaqdari and secretary of the festival Mohammad Khazaei attending.

Stone converted to Islam at the office of Shia cleric Ayatollah Mohammad Nasseri Dowlatabadi in the city of Isfahan last week.

On receiving his award, Stone expressed his thanks to Iranians and hoped to make joint films to help improve relations between Iran and the United States, the Persian service of ISNA reported on Friday.

He also explained about his reasons for accepting Islam and said that as a student of history, he had studied different religions and it was because of his personal interest that he chose Islam; adding that actually, it was Islam that had invited him. » | RM/YAW | Friday, February 17, 2012

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Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd Resigns

THE GUARDIAN: Announcement comes amid speculation that he plans to seize power from the prime minister, Julia Gillard

The Australian foreign minister has resigned amid an ongoing leadership row, saying he could not continue in his role without the support of the country's prime minister, Julia Gillard.

Kevin Rudd announced his resignation during an early morning news conference in Washington, where he is on official business. The announcement came amid continuing speculation that he planned to seize power from Gillard.

Gillard came to power in an internal Labor party coup in which Rudd was ousted in June 2010. She became only the third Australian prime minister since the second world war [sic] to gain power in this way, and secured a minority government in a subsequent election. » | Associated Press | Wednesday, February 22, 2012

The King of Cool Crooning Sings ‘Sweet Home Chicago’ During White-House Concert

Read the Time article here | Lauren Daniels Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Michael Bloomberg Defends NYPD Surveillance on Muslims

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Michael Bloomberg, the Mayor of New York, has defended the city's police officers after they were found to have launched covert surveillance operations on Muslim student groups, businesses and mosques.

Mayor Bloomberg said that the New York Police Department had a duty to "keep this country safe" after the force was criticised for mounting surveillance operations beyond the city's borders, even compiling dossiers on Muslims in other states.

Universities including the prestigious Yale and Columbia have protested about the operations, which included officers tailing a group of students on a white water rafting trip.

Muslim residents in the neighbouring state of New Jersey, and the Long Island counties of Nassau and Suffolk, where undercover operations were carried out, have also questioned why the NYPD was investigating outside of the city limits.

But Mayor Bloomberg defended the police, saying: "We have to keep this country safe.
"The police department goes where there are allegations. That's what you'd expect them to do. That's what you'd want them to do. Remind yourself when you turn out the light tonight." Read on and comment » | Rosa Prince, New York | Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Cristina Kirchner Told to Leave Falkland Islanders Alone, by Argentina's Intellectuals
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Cristina Kirchner has been warned to leave Falkland Islanders to decide their own future as Argentina's president faced a backlash from a group of the South American country's leading thinkers.

Last week, Sean Penn, the Hollywood actor, appeared with President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner to criticise British actions over the disputed archipelago.

But a group of Argentina's leading intellectuals, historians, journalists, constitutional experts and politicians have published an open letter calling on their own government to rethink policy towards the islands they call the Malvinas branding it "crazy" and "absurd".

The 17 signatories accused Mrs Kirchner's government of "harassing" the Falklands population of 3,000, who overwhelmingly want the islands to remain a British Overseas Territory.

The group said Argentina must respect the islanders' right to self-determination and give up its policy of trying to force Britain into negotiating sovereignty.

"It is truly absurd and crazy to force a government and sovereignty on people who do not want it," commented Fernando Iglesias, a former congressman who co-authored the document. » | Fiona Govan | Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Marie Colvin Killed: Syrian Forces Had Pledged to Kill 'Any Journalist Who Set Foot on Syrian Soil'
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Syrian forces murdered journalist Marie Colvin after pledging to kill "any journalist who set foot on Syrian soil", it has emerged.

The 55-year-old Sunday Times reporter was killed alongside French photographer Remi Ochlik, 28, in a rocket attack on the besieged city of Homs this morning.

Now communication between Syrian Army officers intercepted by Lebanese intelligence staff has revealed that direct orders were issued to target the makeshift press centre in which Colvin had been broadcasting.

If journalists were successfully killed, then the Syrians were told to make out that they had died accidentally in firefights with terrorist groups, the radio traffic revealed.

Just before she died, Colvin had appeared on numerous international broadcast networks including the BBC and CNN to accuse Syrian dictator Bashar Al-Assad's forces of [â] murder'.

Jean-Pierre Perrin, a journalist for the Paris-based Liberation newspaper who was with Colvin in Homs last week, claimed they had been told that the Syrian Army was "deliberately" going to shell their centre.

Mr Perrin said: "A few days ago we were advised to leave the city urgently and we were told: 'If they (the Syrian Army) find you they will kill you'.

"I then left the city with the journalist from the Sunday Times but then she wanted to go back when she saw that the major offensive had not yet taken place." » | Nabila Ramdani, Peter Allen in Paris | Wednesday, February 22, 2012


THE SUN: Sunday Times journalist Marie Colvin killed in Syria: Reporter and French photographer Remi Ochlik die during shelling » | Staff Reporter | Wednesday, February 22, 2012


THE TIMES: Sunday Times journalist killed in Syria: The Sunday Times journalist Marie Colvin — an American who became one of Fleet Street’s most courageous war reporters — has been killed covering the conflict in Syria. Colvin, 55, died this morning in the besieged city of Homs together with a French photographer,… | Philippe Naughton and Laura Pitel | Wednesday, February 22, 2012 [£]

Afghanistan: US Embassy on Lockdown as Koran Burning Protests Continue for Second Day
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Eight demonstrators were killed and 30 wounded across Afghanistan as violent protests erupted for a second day following the inadvertent burning of Korans in main American airbase north of Kabul.


Police and security guards fired into a crowd gathering on the eastern outskirts of the Afghan capital, Kabul, leaving at least three with gunshot wounds witnesses said.

Volleys fired over the protestors heads as they massed near Camp Phoenix, a military base on the main eastern road into the city, failed to dent the crowd’s strong anti-Western anger and protestors said they would march to the city centre.

Police said they had burned shops and cars and smashing windows as they progressed.
Embassies in Kabul locked their gates and forbade staff from leaving as they braced for violence.

Protest paralysed the eastern city of Jalalabad and a doctor at one hospital said it had admitted ten wounded. A doctor said he had seen one young man shot dead in Jalalabad. » | Ben Farmer, Kabul | Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Isn’t this the kind of mayhem we in the West can expect in the future, as the Muslim population grows and grows? Isn’t it true to say that Western politicians have endangered our way of life and our peace in their quest to make our societies multi-cultural? And aren’t the politicians endangering our peace, tranquility, and way of life by their very cowardice to address the problems here at home? Imagine what life will be like in Europe when the indigenous population is outnumbered?– © Mark

Related »

Endgültiges Aus für Garzón
Prominenter spanischer Richter des Amtes enthoben
NZZ ONLINE: Der prominente spanische Richter Baltasar Garzón ist am Montag des Amtes enthoben worden. Vor knapp zwei Wochen war gegen ihn bereits ein 11-jähriges Berufsverbot erlassen worden. Garzón ist durch seine Ermittlungen zu den Gräueltaten während der Franco-Zeit bekannt geworden.

Der prominenteste spanische Richter Baltasar Garzón darf seinen Beruf nicht mehr ausüben. Die zuständige Richterkommission in Madrid beschloss am Montag, den umstrittenen Richter seines Amtes zu entheben. » | sda/dpa | Montag, 20. Februar 2012

Obama Administration Is Infiltrated by, and Cooperating with, Radical Islamists throughout the World and in the USA
LIBERTY NEWS ONLINE: A note from Investigative Project on Terrorism Executive Director Steven Emerson: Please take the time to read this very important story written by a courageous Egyptian liberal intellectual about the Islamist and Muslim Brotherhood lobbies in Washington and the Obama Administration's secret collaboration with these pro-terrorist, anti-Western, anti-women, anti-American and anti-Semitic organizations. This is one of the most important articles I have read in years.

It was just revealed two days ago that FBI Director Mueller secretly met on February 8 at FBI headquarters with a coalition of groups including various Islamist and militant Arabic groups who in the past have defended Hamas and Hizballah and have also issued blatantly anti-Semitic statements. At this meeting, the FBI revealed that it had removed more than 1000 presentations and curricula on Islam from FBI offices around the country that was [sic] deemed "offensive."

The FBI did not reveal what criteria was used to determine why material was considered "offensive" but knowledgeable law enforcement sources have told the IPT that it was these radical groups who made that determination. Moreover, numerous FBI agents have confirmed that from now on, FBI headquarters has banned all FBI offices from inviting any counter-terrorist specialists who are considered "anti-Islam" by Muslim Brotherhood front groups. » | Essam Abdallah* | Tuesday, February 21, 2012

* Dr. Essam Abdallah is an Egyptian liberal intellectual who teaches at Ain Shams University and writes for the leading Arab liberal publication Elaph.

This article also appears here.

Al-Qa'ida Urges Jihad on Bashar al-Assad's Syrian Regime

THE AUSTRALIAN: AL-QA'IDA yesterday called for a jihad, or holy war, against the regime of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, adding an ominous new dimension to the worsening conflict.

The call raised fears that what is descending into a civil war will become a religious war.

"Don't depend on the West and Turkey, which had deals, mutual understanding and sharing with this regime for decades and only began to abandon it after they saw it faltering," said Ayman al-Zawahiri, who assumed the role of al-Qa'ida leader after the killing of Osama bin Laden.

"Don't depend on the Arab League and the corrupt governments who support it.

"Instead, depend on Allah alone and then on your sacrifices, resistance, and steadfastness."

Al-Zawahiri, in a recorded video message, said of the Syrian regime: "There is no treatment other than removal."

He urged Muslims in Lebanon, Iraq, Turkey and Jordan to join the effort.

The comments were immediately echoed by Sunni Muslim leaders in other countries. » | John Lyons, Middle East Correspondent | The Australian | Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Related »

Former Jordanian MP Ahmad Uweidi Abadi Vehemently Criticizes King Abdallah and Queen Ranya Prior to His Arrest on Charges of High Treason

Franklin Graham: ‘Assume’ Obama Is Christian

Read the article here | Tim Mak | Politico | Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Somalia: Islamist Militants Behead Another Christian Convert
INSPIRE MAGAZINE: Islamist militants in Somalia have beheaded a Christian relief worker – the third Christian to be killed in this way since September, reports Release International.

It has emerged that al-Shabaab militia murdered 26-year-old Zakaria Hussein Omar in January 2012 near the capital Mogadishu.

Zakaria worked for a Christian humanitarian organisation that had been banned by the Islamist extremists. He converted to Christianity from Islam seven years ago. A close friend who identified his body said Zakaria realised his life would be in danger if he continued in his work.

Al-Shabaab has vowed to rid the country of its Christian minority.

In September the terrorist group beheaded two other Christians, including a 17-year-old boy. They have publicly flogged and paraded other converts. » | Sources: Compass Direct, Assist, ICC, Operation World | Undated

Iran Raids House Church, Arrests Christians
BAPTIST PRESS: ISTANBUL (BP) -- Iranian authorities in early February arrested Christian converts from Islam while they were meeting for worship at a home in the southern city of Shiraz, according to sources.

Officials are holding the Christians at an unknown location, they told Compass Direct News.

The sources put the number of the arrested Christians, who belong to one of Iran's many underground house churches, at between six and 10. Authorities often detain, question and apply pressure on converts from Islam, viewing them as elements of Western propaganda set against the Iranian regime; as a result, the converts are forced to worship in secret.

The identity of only one of those arrested on Feb. 8, Mojtaba Hosseini, was known. Authorities arrested Hosseini in 2008 along with eight other Christian converts on charges of being Christians, according to Mohabat News.

"I guess they have been watching Hosseini since then," an Iranian Christian who requested anonymity told Compass.

Shiraz is not a particularly "religious" part of predominantly Shiite Islamic Iran, the Christian explained, but persecution against Christians in Iran stems from the government more than from local religious sentiment. The families of the victims have requested information about their whereabouts, but authorities have refused to provide it, according to Mohabat News. » | Staff/Compass Direct News | Monday, February 13, 2012

Sean Stone Converts to Islam in Iran

Read the transcript here | Bill O’Reilly | O’Reilly Factor | Monday, February 20, 2012
Related »

”[My conversion] to Islam means I have accepted Mohammad…” »

Gloom Grips Qatar's Arab Riviera After Alcohol Ban

THE GUARDIAN: Unexplained prohibition reflects emirate's balancing act between religious puritanism and pursuit of modernity

There are car dealers on both sides of the road – Rolls-Royce on the right, Ferrari on the left – leading to the bridge over to the Pearl in this new district of Doha. Located on a man-made island to the north of Qatar's capital, a mixture of big houses with private beaches, 50-floor luxury hotels and marinas for the ultra-rich, the Arab Riviera, as its promoters have dubbed it, is the emirate's most recent folly.

But the sale of alcoholic beverages was banned on the island at the end of last year and gloom has gripped many residents. The managers of top-notch restaurants and boutiques complain sales have dropped by about half.

"When we heard the news we thought it was the end of the world," says a waitress at the Mango Tree, a Thai restaurant where the bottles behind the bar have been replaced by water jugs. The foreigners who once turned up in droves on weekend evenings, filling the cafe terraces of this golden enclave, have taken refuge in the hotels at West Bay, the business quarter of Doha, where alcohol still flows freely.

"We'll die of boredom here," says the proprietor of a coffee stall. » | Benjamin Barthe | Guardian Weekly | Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Afghanistan Erupts Over Koran 'Burning'
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Furious protesters firing petrol bombs and slingshots have besieged the largest US-run military base in Afghanistan after reports that Nato troops had set fire to copies of the Koran.


The enraged crowd shouted "Death to Americans" and "Death to infidels" at guards at Bagram airbase, north of Kabul. The guards responded by firing rubber bullets on the crowd, said an AFP photographer, who was hit in the neck.

US helicopters fired flares to try to break up as many as 2,000 demonstrators who massed outside several gates to the base.

Hundreds of other people protested in the Afghan capital as security forces dispatched reinforcements in a bid to stop the demonstrations from spiralling out of control in the fiercely conservative Islamic country.

The US commander in Afghanistan, General John Allen, apologised and ordered an investigation into a report that troops "improperly disposed of a large number of Islamic religious materials which included Korans". » | Source: agencies | Tuesday, February 21, 2012


THE GUARDIAN: 'Qur'an burning' at Bagram base sparks protest – in pictures » | Tuesday, February 21, 2012

No 10 Sides with Gay Couples over Full Marriage
THE INDEPENDENT: Gay couples will finally win the right to marry, Downing Street insisted last night, despite an escalating campaign of opposition led by a former Archbishop of Canterbury and some Conservative MPs.

Lord Carey provoked an angry backlash from gay couples and campaigners as he denounced the move as a "hostile strike" on the traditional view of marriage. There will now be a furious battle ahead of this spring's Queen's Speech, in which proposals could be announced, with the aim of the first gay weddings taking place by 2015 at the latest.

Tory right-wingers gave their backing to a new pressure group, Coalition for Marriage, which accused the Government of having no mandate for the move – and claimed the public was on its side.

But Downing Street insisted that David Cameron remained determined to end the discrimination faced by homosexual couples. A senior source said: "Nothing has changed on this as far as he is concerned. He is very passionate about this subject – it is something that has defined him." » | Nigel Morris, Nick Clark, Andrew Grice and Terri Judd | Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Tony Blair Flies to Kazakhstan to Advise President

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Tony Blair has flown to Kazakhstan to advise Nursultan Nazarbayev, the Kazakh president, for the first time since police in the west of the country shot dead at least 16 people during a riot two months ago.

A short note on the presidential website stated that Mr Blair discussed a speech Mr Nazarbayev was due to make on employment, industry and housing issues in the former Soviet state.

“I agree with your message and the large scale tasks which need to be put into practice” the Russian-language version of the presidential website quoted Mr Blair as saying.

“We’re ready to work and present to you recommendations on successfully implementing these tasks.”

For an £8 million a year fee, Mr Blair reportedly set up a group last year to advise Mr Nazarbayev.

Mr Blair’s spokesman has previously said that he is not profiting from the deal. The spokesman also said that Mr Blair’s only involvement had been to set up the group and that he was not personally advising Mr Nazarbayev.

In November, however, the presidential press service released a video of Mr Blair sitting at a table at Mr Nazarbayev’s right-hand side, looking like an aide. » | James Kilner, Almaty | Monday, February 20, 2012

A Country in Decay: Greece's Youth Pay Bitter Price for the Wisdom of Their Elders

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Greek youths will be victims for years to come thanks to the austerity being demanded in return for a 130 billion euro bail-out being hammered out. David Blair reports from Athens.

The knot of 100 black-clad protesters strode out under an anarchist banner through the heart of Athens, their cry simple as it was stark: "bread, education, freedom!"[.]

But for all the sound and fury passers-by barely seemed to notice their fist-waving presence. Ordinary Greeks, wearied by their country's all-consuming crisis, have become inured to demonstrations and the chosen slogan of Monday's march seemed almost quaint.

Greeks are bitterly aware that "bread, education and freedom" will be an empty dream for years to come, thanks to the austerity demanded by Eurozone finance ministers in return for a euros 130 billion bail-out being hammered out.

Athenians now live in a city where physical decay mirrors social malaise: traffic lights have broken down across the capital, either because demonstrators have smashed them or the state, which is sacking thousands of personnel, no longer troubles to fix them. City thoroughfares are stained with graffiti, shops are boarded-up and Stadiou street, scene of the last big protests, is lined with the blackened shells of burnt-out buildings.

Meanwhile, a pack of stray dogs roams the street beside the Parthenon, snarling at passers-by and running in demented pursuit of motorcyclists.

Greece had endured five consecutive years of recession even before the looming onset of this new round of deflation. Unemployment for those aged under 25 already stands at 48 per cent, having risen by more than a third since November 2010. Perhaps most stark of all is a national suicide rate that has doubled from 2.8 per 100,000 people in 2008, to about 6 last year. » | David Blair, Athens | Monday, February 20, 2012

Sternstunde Religion: Kirche und Homosexualität – Ein zwiespältiges Verhältnis (Von Sonntag, 03. Mai 2009)

Erzkonservativer Santorum in US-Vorwahlen klar vorn
SCHWEIZER FERNSEHEN: Nun werden die Karten neu gemischt: 36 Prozent der Republikaner wollen den streng-religiösen Rick Santorum als Präsidentschaftskandidaten. Er zieht Umfragen zufolge dem bisherigen Favoriten Mitt Romney eindeutig davon.

Einer landesweiten Gallup-Umfragezufolge will eine Mehrheit der Republikaner, dass der streng-religiöse Ex-Senator Santorum Barack Obama bei den Präsidentenwahlen im November herausfordert.

Lediglich 28 Prozent unterstützen den Multimillionär und ehemaligen Gouverneur Romney. Damit habe Santorum erstmals einen eindeutigen Vorsprung, der ausserhalb statistischer Fehlermargen bei Umfragen liege, meinen Umfragexperten. » | dpa/gallch | Montag, 20. Februar 2012

Gay Marriage: David Cameron Faces Church Backlash Over 'Cultural Vandalism'

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: David Cameron was accused of planning an “Orwellian” act of “cultural vandalism” by an alliance of bishops, Tory MPs and legal figures yesterday over his plans to allow homosexual couples to marry.

Mr Cameron, who has publicly pledged his support for gay marriage, is facing a growing backlash from within his own party over the proposal to redefine the legal definition of marriage to include same-sex couples.

He is now facing the prospect of an open breach with prominent religious figures – just a week after leading Conservatives voiced their support for Christianity following a series of court rulings which reinforced the secularisation of Britain.

Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, yesterday joined Lord Brennan, the barrister and peer, to launch the “Coalition For Marriage”, a new cross-party campaign [to] designed derail the plans for homosexual marriage.

A clutch of Church of England bishops and other Christian groups have already pledged their support for the alliance which is seeking hundreds of thousands of signatures on a petition to maintain the current definition of marriage.

Crucially, the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church yesterday threw its support behind the campaign, raising the prospect of support from the more than a million devout Catholics in England and Wales.

It is understood that leading bishops are considering issuing a pastoral letter to parishes across urging them to support the campaign. » | John Bingham, Social Affairs Editor | Monday, February 20, 2012

Europe Needs More Migration to Boost Growth, Says David Cameron and allies
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Workers should be able to get jobs abroad within Europe more easily as migration will help the economy, David Cameron has claimed.

In a joint letter with 11 other conservative leaders, the Prime Minister urges greater “labour mobility” within the European Union to help people move abroad to places with the best job opportunities.

Mr Cameron has claimed that mass immigration in Britain has led to “discomfort” and promised voters that he will bring immigration down to the “tens of thousands”.

Hundreds of thousands of migrant workers from Eastern Europe have settled in Britain since countries such as Poland joined the European Union.

However, Mr Cameron is now leading a coalition of countries claiming that Europe should have a “more integrated open labour market”.

The European leaders, including the prime ministers of Italy, Ireland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Latvia, want migrants to settle where there are jobs amid high unemployment rates across the continent. Read on and comment » | Rowena Mason, Political Correspondent | Monday, February 20, 2012

My comment:

The longer Cameron is prime minister, the more disappointing he is. It is the prime minister's responsibility to foster a sound economy with sound economic principles. It is not his job to pass on the responsibility to create jobs to other countries. It may or may not have come to his attention that unemployment is high right across Europe. Shifting workers hither and yon will not solve any unemployment problems, and certainly will do little to foster economic growth.

I have direct experience of working in Europe. Not many countries in Europe are as open to foreign workers as is Britain. British workers migrating to Germany or France, for example, are likely to be employed in menial work unless they are able to speak the local language. But even if they are absolutely fluent in the local language (which very few British people are), they will find that they are discriminated against in one way or another.

So David Cameron is talking about something which his life's experience has given him little or no knowledge or experience of. It is becoming ever clearer to me that this prime minister is as mediocre as the last few. It is also becoming absolutely clear that he simply doesn't know what he is talking about. It behooves him to engage his brain before he allows his chin to wag. That will be better for him. – © Mark

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British Muslims Hold onto Faith
ON ISLAM: CARDIFF – Muslims in the United Kingdom are actively practicing their faith and are passing on their religious teachings to their children at much higher rates than other religions, a new study has found.

“There is more involvement of Muslim young people in religious organizations,” says the study by the Cardiff University and cited by the BBC News Online on Tuesday, February 14.

“It is well known that there is considerable supplementary education for Muslim children such as the formal learning of the Qur'an in Arabic."

Studying the role of religion in the life of minority communities, the research, performed by Cardiff's School of Social Sciences and Center for the Study of Islam in the UK, found that Muslims are practicing their faith at higher rates than other religions.

It showed that 77% of adult Muslims in Britain actively practice the faith they were brought up in, compared with 29% of Christians and 65% of other religions.

It also found that 98% of Muslim children had the religion their parents were brought up in, compared to 62% of Christian children and 89% of other religions. » | OnIslam & News Agencies | Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Sean Stone and Islam: What Is It about Religion and Hollywood?
GUARDIAN – SHORTCUTS BLOG: The director has become a Shiite Muslim. And Julia Roberts announced her conversion to Hinduism in 2010. Are stars more prone to religious conversions than the rest of us?

Religious belief is usually a private affair, but movie actors and directors are public figures, and this week there has been a resurgence of that notable phenomenon, the "Hollywood conversion". Sean Stone, the 27-year-old son of director Oliver Stone, has become a Shiite Muslim during a visit to Iran; he is working on a documentary about the 13th-century Persian Muslim poet and mystic Rumi. Liam Neeson, in Istanbul filming a sequel to his hit thriller Taken,, [sic] was quoted by the Sun as saying: "There are 4,000 mosques…[i]t really makes me think about becoming a Muslim." » | Posted by Peter Bradshaw | Wednesday, February 15, 2012

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Sean Stone after Converting to Islam


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Oliver Stone's Son Wants To Help US With Islam

SKY NEWS: The son of US filmmaker Oliver Stone has told Iranian media he hopes his conversion to Islam helps Americans to understand more about the faith.

Sean Stone, 27, became a Muslim last week in a ceremony in the Iranian city of Isfahan and has adopted the Islamic name Ali.

In the past, the documentary maker has spoken of his support for Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the country's nuclear programme.

Following Mr Stone's conversion, he told a news conference: "It's a mistake to believe that Islam is antagonistic towards Judaism and Christianity.

"What we need is to understand each other's beliefs and to establish dialogue."

Asked how his conversion would be reported in America, Mr Stone said he was not famous and it would have little effect on his life back home.

"The most important thing is I hope I can help Americans to understand the true nature of Islam," he said.

"I feel good when I enter a mosque. I believe there is only one God and with this view it is not important whether you are Muslim, Christian or Jewish."

Iranian media has widely covered Mr Stone's conversion and his Iran-friendly comments. » | Monday, February 20, 2012

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Oliver Stone's Son, Defender of Ahmadinejad, Converts to Islam
REUTERS.COM: Sean Stone, the son of Oscar-winning director Oliver Stone son and a defender of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, converted to Islam on Tuesday while filming a documentary in Iran, he told Agence France Presse.

"The conversion to Islam is not abandoning Christianity or Judaism, which I was born with. It means I have accepted Mohammad and other prophets," Stone, whose famous father is Jewish and mother is Christian, told AFP. He underwent the ceremony in the city of Isfahan.

The 27-year-old did not say why he converted. Iran's Fars news agency said he had become a Shiite and taken the Muslim first name Ali.

In an interview with TheWrap at the Toronto Film Festival in September, he supported Iran’s right to a nuclear program as a defense against threats from Israel. He said criticizing the Iranian government is “like someone coming to your house and saying the father shouldn’t hit the kids,” he said. “Who are we to tell them how to rule their country?” » | Timothy Molloy at The Wrap | Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Inside Story - Iran and Syria: A Show of Strength and Unity
Iran has announced plans to train the Syrian navy. Is the move purely a symbolic gesture or does it mean much more for a desperate Syrian government? Guests discussing this are: Sadegh Zibakalam, Mahjoob Zweiri and Joshua Goodman.

Efforts Underway to Restore Babylon's Glory
The whims of a dictator, war, and salt water erosion have all contributed to the deterioration of one of the wonders of the ancient world in Iraq. Babylon, built 2,600 years ago, suffered under the weight of Saddam Hussein's 1980s emulation of King Nebuchadnezzar, building his own palace on top of Babylon's north palace. The weight of modern stones, concrete, and erosion caused by new salt water canals near the ancient palace have caused great damage to the site. The structural and environmental impact of Saddam's palace coupled with poor attempts at restoration twice kept Babylon from being recognised as a UNESCO world heritage site. During the US occupation, the ancient city was home to US and Polish troops whose trucks and helicopters further damaged the one-time centre of astronomy, science, and culture. Al Jazeera's Jane Arraf reports from Baghdad on efforts to restore this wonder of the ancient world.

Latvia Holds Referendum On Second Language
Latvians have been voting in a referendum on whether to make Russian the second official national language, after Latvian. The country's a substantial Russian-speaking minority has long complained of discrimination, as Harry Smith reports.

Former Gaddafi Residence Now Booming Market
In a sign of the changes that have taken place in the year since the beginning of the uprising against Muammar Gaddafi, the former leaders' residence now hosts Tripoli's Friday market. Gaddafi delivered many defiant speeches at his Bab al Azzizya residence but now the secretive sanctuary is home to some of the best deals in the Libyan capital. Everything from clothes to accordions and heaters can be found, at a site which only a year ago many Libyans were afraid to even drive past. Al Jazeera's Stefanie Dekker reports from Bab al Azzizya.

Prince Still Critical after Avalanche
AUSTRIAN TIMES: Dutch Prince Johan Friso is still in hospital after he got caught in an avalanche on Friday. The second oldest son of Queen Beatrix was skiing in Lech am Arlberg, Austria when the avalanche struck.

Prince Johan went for 23 minutes without oxygen before he was recovered from under the avalanche on Friday. As the Austrian Times reported yesterday it has now emerged that the 43-year-old was dug out by a friend who had survived the incidient after wearing a cumbersome avalanche airbag. The unconscious Prince was reanimated by rescue teams at the scene was taken by an emergency helicopter to hospital in Innsbruck. » | Austrian Times | Monday, February 20, 2012


THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Dutch prince buried in avalanche is in a coma: Dutch prince Johan Friso is fighting for his life in a coma as Austrian doctors say it will be the end of the week before they can say if he will live or die. » | Bruno Waterfield | Monday, February 20, 2012

NEWS.AT: Familien-Besuch am Krankenbett: Angehörige bangen an Frisos Krankenbett. Auch fünfjährige Tochter besucht Vater. ¶ Die niederländische Königin Beatrix und ihre Schwiegertochter Mabel sind am Montag wieder an der Innsbrucker Universitätsklinik eingetroffen, um den bei einem Lawinenabgang lebensgefährlich verletzten Prinz Johan Friso auf der Intensivstation zu besuchen. Begleitet wurden sie von der fünfjährigen Tochter des Verunglückten, Zaria, und Mabels Mutter. » | Montag, 20. Februar 2012

WELT ONLINE: Johan Friso im Koma, Königin Beatrix trägt Schwarz: Tragödie für das niederländische Königshaus: Prinz Johann Friso befindet nach dem Lawinenunglück im künstlichen Tiefschlaf. 23 Minuten lang soll er unter 40 Zentimeter Schnee gelegen haben. » | Elisalex Henckel | Montag, 20. Februar 2012

PARIS MATCH: Prince Johan Friso, l’interminable attente de Beatrix: Les médecins ne se prononcent toujours pas sur l'état de santé du Prince Johan Friso, victime vendredi d'un avalanche en Autriche. Alors sa mère, la reine Beatrix, attend. » | Clément Mathieu - Parismatch.com | lundi 20 février 2012

Game Change
An HBO 'docu-drama' based on a book about the 2008 campaign by two leading American journalists.

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Sarah Palin 'believed Queen was in charge of British forces in Iraq': Sarah Palin believed that the Queen rather than the prime minister was responsible for the decision to keep British forces in Iraq, according to research done for a new film chronicling her brief political rise. » | Raf Sanchez, Washington | Monday, February 20, 2012

Egyptian Presidential Candidate Tawfiq Okasha Predicts that Egyptian Army Will Open Fire on "Its Enemies" – the US, Germany, and Israel – Within Three Months; States That If Not for the Holocaust, the Jews Would Have Annihilated the Germans (Al-Faraeen TV (Egypt) - February 9, 2012)

Egyptian Cleric Mazen Sirsawi in Favor of Killing Apostates: "Beheading Them Should Be Easier than Cutting the Buttons off Their Shirts" (Al-Hekma TV (Egypt) - September 4, 2011)

British Islamist Launches Anti-Hindu Shariah

BLITZ: Anjem Choudary, a British Islamist who described himself as "in the camp" of Osama bin Laden, has founded Shariah4Hind (India). Choudary has headed several radical Islamist organizations in Britain, including Islam4UK. All of these organizations were proscribed by the UK Government in 2010. However, despite swearing allegiance to Osama bin Laden on CNN, he has been able to continue his propaganda activities with virtual impunity.

Choudary's new website comes in the wake of a failed coup in Bangladesh, one of India's neighbors, by members of the radical pan-Islamic party Hizb ut Tahrir, as well as a successful coup in the nearby republic of the Maldives.

On the Shariah4Hind website (shariah4hind.com), the people behind it say that they are calling the region back to the "period under the divine [i.e., Islamic] law [...]. This involves a call for all those in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan to come out of the darkness of man made law [...]" and to sharia.

Another page on the website, entitled "the need for Muslim rule in India," says that there is broad consensus among Muslim clerics that "it is not permitted for non-Muslims to have authority over Muslims."

In its press release, Shariah4Hind says "the time is rife [sic] today to make the shari'ah sweep across India and insha'allah from there to the whole world. Let us take a lesson from the Arab spring and rise up against the tyrants in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. But let us not make the mistake of calling for the false idols of democracy and freedom but rather the truth of Islam and the Khilafah [Caliphate]."

Shariha4Hind sees Islamic law penetrating well beyond India, which it would use as a launch pad to spread into China and other neighboring states. "[A]ll non-Muslims will be given the Zimmi ["protected" but second class] status," says the press release, "where their life and wealth will be protected in return for obeying the divine law of the land who will never be asked to be part of the Muslim armies whose job it will be to expand the frontiers of the Islamic State (into China, Indonesia, Malaysia etc…) and protect it from its enemies." » | A. Millar | Thursday, February 16, 2012

Norway killer Anders Behring Breivik 'Had Hit-list of 30 Targets'
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Anders Behring Breivik had a death-list of 12 Norwegian "traitors" and his "Plan A" was to attack 30 targets including Norway's Royal Palace and the HQ of Amnesty International, according to leaked police documents.

The right-wing Norwegian extremist, who has admitted killing 77 people in bomb and gun attacks last year, told police that his initial plans included senior politicians and organisations he blamed for allowing Muslims to "colonise" Norway.

On 22 July 2011, Breivik set off a car bomb outside the government's headquarters in Oslo and then travelled, dressed as a police officer, to Utoya island, outside the capital, where he opened fire on a Labour Party youth camp.

It has now emerged that his attack, the worst peacetime massacre in Norway's history, was a scaled down version of his original plans.

According to documents leaked to the Verdens Gang newspaper, Breivik had death and hit-lists divided into categories of importance, A, B, and C, as legitimate targets for his terror attacks. » | Monday, February 20, 2012

Obama's Team Fires Back at Santorum for Calling President's Faith 'Phony Theology'

MAIL ONLINE: A day after telling an Ohio audience that Barack Obama's agenda is based on 'some phony theology, not a theology based on the Bible,' Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum said he wasn't criticizing the president's Christianity.

'I've repeatedly said I don't question the president's faith. I've repeatedly said that I believe the president's Christian,' Mr Santorum said in a broadcast interview Sunday.

'I am talking about his world view, and the way he approaches problems in this country. I think they're different than how most people do in America.'

Mr Obama's campaign said Mr Santorum's remarks were another attack on the president's faith by Republican rivals in a nominating contest that has grown increasingly bitter and negative. » | Daily Mail Reporter | Sunday, February 19, 2012

Sarkozy s'affirme «candidat du peuple»

LA PRESSE: Le président Nicolas Sarkozy s'est attaché dimanche à peaufiner une image de candidat du «peuple», protecteur face à la crise et défenseur des valeurs identitaires, tout en poursuivant son matraquage contre son rival socialiste François Hollande.

Devant quelque 10 000 sympathisants brandissant des drapeaux tricolores dans une vaste salle d'un parc de Marseille (sud-est), le candidat de la droite a commencé par dire qu'il était «venu parler de la France».

«Jeune, j'ai aimé la France, beaucoup dans ma famille venaient de loin», a déclaré le président d'origine hongroise sur le ton de la confidence avant de retrouver un ton nettement plus agressif contre son adversaire socialiste, donné vainqueur dans les sondages à deux mois du premier tour.

«Je veux être le candidat du peuple de France. Je ne serai pas le candidat d'une petite élite contre le peuple», a-t-il lancé, défendant ainsi le référendum auquel il veut recourir notamment sur «le contentieux de l'immigration» et «la formation des chômeurs».

Il a expliqué à une salle conquise s'adresser à ceux qui pensent que se «tourner vers le peuple, c'est du populisme, parce qu'au fond d'eux-mêmes ils trouvent que le peuple n'est pas assez raisonnable, pas assez intelligent pour qu'on lui demande son avis».

Dès jeudi à Annecy (est), lors de sa première réunion, Nicolas Sarkozy s'était présenté en défenseur du «peuple» face à «l'entre-soi des élites», s'attirant des railleries de l'opposition, qui n'avait pas manqué de rappeler l'image d'un président fêtant sa victoire de 2007 au Fouquet's, restaurant chic des Champs-Élysées, ou adoptant comme première grande réforme un «bouclier fiscal» protecteur «pour les riches». » | Agence France-Presse | Marseille | dimanche 19 février 2012