HT: Baron Bodissey of Gates of Vienna »
Friday, March 02, 2012
Mr Chavez broke his silence since leaving for Havana last week, to send greetings to Venezuela.
"Here I go, soaring like the condor!" he wrote in one of a flurry of upbeat Twitter messages, presumably from his room at Havana's Cimeq hospital where he is believed to be receiving treatment.
However, rumours persist that his condition may be far worse than the official version.
That would have huge implications for the South American OPEC member given that Mr Chavez is seeking re-election in October and has said he would like to rule for another decade or two.
The stakes are high, also, for the region. Cuba, Nicaragua and other leftist governments in the Caribbean and Central America depend on cheap oil subsidies and other largesse from the Chavez government. » | Thursday, March 01, 2012
Thursday, March 01, 2012
Some in the crowd then threw eggs at the bar guarded by riot police in the south-western town of Bayonne.
Mr Sarkozy described the protesters - Basque nationalists and supporters of his rival Socialist candidate Francois Hollande - as "hooligans".
He left the bar after about an hour.
The Basque region straddles south-western France and northern Spain.
Sarkozy 'saddened'
Mr Sarkozy was met in Bayonne by a hostile crowd, who jeered him and shouted insults.
Some chanted "Nicolas kampora", which in the Basque language meant "Nicolas get out".
Mr Sarkozy was also showered with campaign leaflets calling for greater Basque autonomy. (+ video) » | Thursday, March 01, 2012
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Children in Britain are being abused and murdered in increasing numbers because the belief in witchcraft is rife in some African communities, police said.
The warning was issued as a couple from the Democratic Republic of Congo were found guilty of murdering the woman’s 15-year-old brother during an “exorcism ceremony”.
The Metropolitan Police yesterday said it had investigated 83 “faith-based” child abuse cases involving witchcraft in the past 10 years but believed it was still an “under-reported, hidden crime”. » | Nick Britten and Victoria Ward | Thursday, March 01, 2012
François Hollande avait placé son meeting de Lyon jeudi soir sous le signe du rassemblement et du redressement de la France. Le candidat PS à la présidentielle n'a fait aucune annonce mais a expliqué le sens de sa candidature.
Redresser la France
"La France a été affaiblie pendant cinq ans parce que la finance a dominé l'économie et fragilisé nos entreprises" a-t-il expliqué. François Hollande n'a eu de cesse de critiquer Nicolas Sarkozy durant son discours d'environ une heure. Il a également renouvelé ses critiques contre "les excès de la finance" dénonçant "le libéralisme sans limite, une mondialisation sans régles et une marchandisation sans principe".
Selon François Hollande, le président sortant est "le protecteur des puissants et des privilégiés" mais il assure que "le temps des divisions, des faveurs et privilégiés est derrière nous". Continuez à lire et réagir à cet article » | Par LEXPRESS.fr | jeudi 01 mars 2012
NZZ ONLINE: Serbien rückt näher an die EU heran. Rumänien gab seinen Widerstand auf, womit einem positiven Entscheid der EU-Staats- und Regierungschefs nichts mehr im Weg stand. Herman Van Rompuy bleibt Gipfel-Chef und forderte Wachsamkeit.
Der frühere belgische Premier Herman Van Rompuy ist für weitere zweieinhalb Jahre als EU-Ratspräsident bestätigt und zugleich zum Vorsitzenden der Euro-Gipfel bestimmt worden. Seine Bestätigung als Ratspräsident war ebenso unbestritten wie seine Ernennung zum Vorsitzenden der künftigen Gipfel der 17 Euro-Staats- und Regierungschefs.
Er fühle sich «sehr geehrt» über die Weiterführung seines Mandats als ständiger EU-Ratspräsident, twitterte Van Rompuy. Er akzeptiere zudem die Ernennung zum Vorsitzenden der Euro-Gipfel und danke für das Vertrauen. » | sda | Donnerstag, 01. März 2012
Related »
TELEGRAPH BLOGS – JAMES DELINGPOLE: Andrew Breitbart: RIP – I keep going back to @andrewbreitbart's Twitter feed, still unable to believe that one of my conservative heroes has dropped down dead at the age of just 43. Perhaps I shouldn't be so surprised: Breitbart did enjoy a voraciously Type A lifestyle – smoking, drinking and burger-scoffing like there was no tomorrow. Which, sadly, for this big-hearted, generous, witty, rumbustious, intelligent, fearless father-of-four there now isn't. » | James Delingpole | Thursday, March 01, 2012
Adnrew Breitbart’s Twitter feed »
THE WASHINGTON TIMES: If any event marks the day the military’s gay ban was really over, it came last week, when Marine Corps Sgt. Brandon Morgan, in uniform, jumped onto his boyfriend and the two engaged in a passionate kiss at an on-base military-family homecoming.
A friend photographed the embrace, which later was posted on the “Gay Marine” Facebook page and triggered an outpouring of support — and some dissent.
For the armed service’s most tradition-bound service, the one that most opposed lifting the ban last year, the transition seemed complete when a spokeswoman at Marine Corps Base Hawaii told a local TV station, “It’s your typical homecoming photo.”
The gay rights movement is applauding. » | Rowan Scarborough | The Washington Times | Thursday, March 01, 2012
Related articles, material here, here, and here.
Henning Schnaars, who works for a shipping company in the northern German port city of Bremen, is standing with his two trolley cases on the side of a road in Libya. He has just been handed his first setback.
Schnaars stands with his back to the Benghazi airport, looking at a billboard. It depicts Libyan revolutionaries with outstretched arms and making the V-for-victory sign with their fingers. At the bottom of the billboard are the words, written in capital letters, "Merci La France."
"Oh, well," Schnaars says. At the moment, the French aren't exactly his favorite people.
Schnaars landed in Benghazi an hour ago and has just finished meeting with the airport's new director. It was a short conversation, with not even enough time for the coffee he had expected to be served. The director, who returned to Libya from exile during the civil war, had cut the meeting short after apologizing profusely, saying that he unfortunately had another appointment.
Schnaars was annoyed. He stood up reluctantly, took his briefcase and made his way to the door. It opened, and a delegation of well-dressed Frenchmen walked in, some wearing sunglasses. They saw a stocky German who hadn't had enough sleep and was standing there in his shirtsleeves without a jacket. A few of the Frenchmen grinned. One wished Schnaars "good business" as he walked by.
Schnaars was served his coffee, but it was in the waiting room, where he could hear his Libyan host enthusiastically greeting the French delegation through the closed door. » | Uwe Buse and Takis Würger | Thursday, March 01, 2012
Hardly a year goes by without the eruption of yet another chapter in Germany's ongoing debate about integration. Do immigrants feel at home in Germany? Are they willing to identify with and become part of the culture? And, most pressing, do Muslims fit in or are they more inclined to view German and Western culture with deep skepticism?
This year's discussion was kicked off on Thursday with the publication of a study carried out by Germany's Interior Ministry, which sought to gauge how Muslims living in the country view German culture and their attitudes to integration. The result? A significant minority encompassing 20 percent of Muslims in the country are skeptical when it comes to integration.
Perhaps more concerning, among Muslims in the age group between 14 and 32, "there exists a subgroup that could be described as 'strictly religious' with strong antipathy to the West, a tendential acceptance of violence and no willingness to integrate,'" the study says. Among Muslims with German citizenship, this group encompasses 15 percent, among non-citizens, it is 24 percent.
"Germany respects the origins and cultural identities of its immigrants," Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich said in a statement accompanying the study. "But we do not accept the import of authoritarian, anti-democratic and fanatically religious views. Those who reject freedom and democracy have no future here." » | Charles Hawley | Thursday, March 01, 2012
DEUTSCHLANDRADIO – AUDIO: Integrationsstudie sorgt für Wirbel: Innenminister Hans-Peter Friedrich hat mit einer Studie zum Integrationswillen junger Muslime eine Debatte ausgelöst. Der CSU-Politiker zeigte sich besorgt über die "überraschend hohe" Zahl integrationsunwilliger Muslime in Deutschland. » | Donnerstag, 01. März 2012
LA CROIX: Dans une interview accordée au quotidien marocain arabophone Akhbar Al Yom, le directeur de l’Organisation Islamique pour l’Éducation, les Sciences et la Culture (ISESCO), Abdulaziz Othman Al Twaijri, annonce son soutien à un projet de communication lancé par le Maroc pour « lutter contre les préjugés qui ternissent l’image de l’islam ». Selon le site français Ajib.fr qui relate cet entretien, ce projet vise notamment les éditeurs européens, alors que l’État marocain a récemment bloqué diverses revues occidentales à cause de représentations iconographiques. » | A-B.H. (avec Ajib.fr) | jeudi 01 mars 2012
LIBÉRATION.fr – BLOG: Ludovic et Qiyaam se sont mariés en Afrique du Sud. Le mariage religieux des deux hommes a été célébré par l'imam, ce week-end, à Paris.
Ludovic, vous vous êtes marié ce week-end à votre conjoint, Qiyaam. Comment vous êtes-vous rencontrés ?
Nous rencontre a eu lieu au Cap en 2010, lors d'une conférence internationale dédiée à la question de l’homophobie envers les homosexuel-les musulmane.
C'est seulement en Avril 2011 que nous avons décidé que nous voulions faire passer notre relation au niveau suivant, et qu’une relation longue distance n'etait pas ce que nous voulions. Nous voulions être ensemble car nous avons tellement de choses à construire afin de vivre une vie ensemble, mais ce n'était pas aussi facile que nous le pensions. Nous vivions en fait dans deux pays différents, et même sur deux continents différents. Au départ, nous avions pensé à rester en Afrique du Sud, mais plus tard, après ma visite pour rencontrer la famille de Qiyaam, nous avons décidé que nous devions vivre tous les deux en France. Je suis effectivement assez occupé avec mon doctorat en anthropologie j’ai un appartement qui m’appartient déjà. Qiyaam, lui, a effectué une pause dans ses études.
Notre premier engagement, lors de mes absences en Europe entre deux visites à Qiyaam en Afrique du Sud, a été de nous promettre de nous attendre. Nous avions ainsi l'habitude de nous téléphoner tous les soirs pendant une heure ou plus, afin de nous raconter les événements de nos journées respectives. Nous avons tous deux dit dès le début à nos familles que nous étions ensemble. Nos familles étaient heureuses pour nous, même si la famille de Qiyaam voulait savoir si je le traiterais correctement, s’il allait me rejoindre en France et s'il allait les quitter. Ils se sont toutefois senti mieux après m’avoir rencontré en personne, lorsque nous avons passé du temps ensemble. Finalement, l’année avant mon dernier séjour de deux mois en Afrique du Sud, nous nous sommes mariés le 12 Août 2011 au Cap devant un officier d’état civil ; en Afrique du Sud le mariage est ouvert à tou-tes les citoyen-nes.
Nous avons ensuite célébré notre union avec la famille et les amis de mon mari, Qiyaam. Continuez à lire et écrire un commentaire » | jeudi 01 mars 2012
KATHWEB*: Shaker Assem darf ab sofort das muslimische Freitagsgebet im Wiener Afro-Asiatischen Institut nicht mehr leiten
Wien (KAP) Der umstrittene Kalifat-Prediger Shaker Assem darf ab sofort das muslimische Freitagsgebet im Wiener Afro-Asiatischen Institut (AAI) nicht mehr leiten. Das teilte die Erzdiözese Wien am Freitag in einer Aussendung mit. Kardinal Christoph Schönborn habe diese Entscheidung als Protektor des von Kardinal Franz König gegründeten Instituts mit AAI-Geschäftsführer Nikolaus Heger getroffen. "Die Erzdiözese muss sich Klarheit über die Situation verschaffen, auch wenn die staatlichen Behörden bisher keinen Anstoß an Imam Assem genommen haben und dieser nicht als Hassprediger gilt", hieß es. Unberührt davon bleibe "die wichtige und verdienstvolle Funktion des Instituts als Stätte für interreligiösen und interkulturellen Dialog", so die Erzdiözese.
Die Tageszeitung "Die Presse" hatte zuvor in ihrer Freitag-Ausgabe berichtet, das Assem das Existenzrecht des Staates Israel bestreitet und die Todesstrafe bei Ehebruch für gerechtfertigt hält. Seine Predigten halte Assem u.a. regelmäßig im islamischen Gebetsraum des AAI - einem 1959 von Kardinal König als "entwicklungspolitisches Bildungshaus" gegründeten und von der Erzdiözese Wien unterstützten Institut zur Förderung des Dialogs der Religionen und der Völkerverständigung.
Zuletzt sorgte Assems Ankündigung einer Kalifatskonferenz für den 10. März in Wien-Vösendorf für Aufregung. Assem ist Sprecher der panislamischen "Hiz ut-Tahrir" (Partei der Befreiung), die sich für die Errichtung des Kalifats in der islamischen Welt einsetzt. Die in Deutschland verbotene Gruppierung wird in Österreich durch den Verfassungsschutz beobachtet, ein Verbot gibt es jedoch nicht, da sie weder als Partei noch als Verein registriert ist. » | Freitag, 24. Februar 2012
* Katholische Presseagentur Österreich
NACHRICHTEN.AT: BERLIN/TEHERAN. Mit einer Mahnwache vor der iranischen Botschaft in Berlin-Dahlem haben Menschenrechtler und christdemokratische Politiker am Donnerstag für die Freilassung des zum Tode verurteilten iranischen Pastors Youcef Nadarkhani demonstriert. Der 34-Jährige war im September 2010 wegen "Verbreitung nichtislamischer Lehre" und "Abfalls vom islamischen Glauben" zum Tod durch den Strang verurteilt worden.
Über das Schicksal Nadarkhanis gibt es widersprüchliche Berichte. Mehrere Quellen sprechen von einer unmittelbar bevorstehenden Exekution wegen "Apostasie", einem nach der Scharia todeswürdigem Verbrechen, andere meinen zu wissen, dass die ursprüngliche Anklage gegen Nadarkhani abgeändert wurde und ihm keine Todesstrafe mehr droht. » | Donnerstag, 01. März 2012
Verwandt »
ASIA TIMES ONLINE: Every political season has its hot-button issues. There's race, abortion, lunar colonies. But the hottest hot-button issue these days, judging from comments by Republican presidential hopefuls as well as what happened during the 2010 mid-term elections in the US, is Islam.
Islam dominated the headlines during the summer of 2010. Remember Terry Jones and his pledge to burn the Koran? Or those persistent rumors of President Barack Obama's Muslim faith? Plus, of course, that controversy over Park51, the Islamic cultural center planned for Lower Manhattan. Those 2010 elections became a litmus test for how a lot of American politicians stood on Islam. An embarrassing number of them are against it.
Although they flirt with racism, sexism, and homophobia at their own risk, US politicians indulge in anti-Islamic sentiment with near impunity.
One reason for that is the antipathy that nearly half of Americans feel toward Islam. According to a September 2011 study from the Brookings Institution and the Public Religion Research Institute, 47 percent of Americans believe that Islam doesn't jibe with American values. Republicans are more likely than Democrats to hold this view.
But the real dividing line runs right through the Republican Party. If you watch Fox News or belong to the Tea Party, according to that study, you're primed to see Islam as a threat. As a result, the presidential hopefuls have used Islam to mark their political territory and fire up their base. » | John Feffer* | Friday, March 02, 2012
* John Feffer is co-director of Foreign Policy In Focus at the Institute for Policy Studies
FOX NEWS: Widely read conservative Internet publisher Andrew Breitbart has died, his attorney confirms.
The websites he founded ran a statement Thursday morning announcing that Breitbart, 43, died "unexpectedly from natural causes" in Los Angeles shortly after midnight.
"We have lost a husband, a father, a son, a brother, a dear friend, a patriot and a happy warrior," the statement said. "Andrew lived boldly, so that we more timid souls would dare to live freely and fully, and fight for the fragile liberty he showed us how to love."
Breitbart was a prolific commentator who founded several websites devoted to covering politics, entertainment and everything in between. Earlier in his career, he worked for the Drudge Report before breaking off to start his own outlets -- including Big Government, Big Hollywood and Breitbart.tv. » | FoxNews.com | The Associated Press contributed to this report | Thursday, March 01, 2012
LOS ANGELES TIMES: Andrew Breitbart dead at 43 of natural causes at UCLA hospital » | Thursday, March 01, 2012
Breitbart.com » | Breitbart TV » | Big Hollywood » | Big Government » | Big Journalism » | Big Peace »
CNN: Read the article here | CNN Wire Staff | Thursday, March 01, 2012
WIKI: Saint David’s Day »
The Last Welsh Martyr »
GUARDIAN – WORD OF MOUTH BLOG: St David's Day: recipes for a feast »
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Marietta Schwarz: 50-mal im Jahr, das heißt, im Schnitt jede Woche ist 2011 im Iran ein zum Tode Verurteilter hingerichtet worden. Damit hat sich diese Zahl innerhalb eines Jahres nach Angaben von Amnesty International vervierfacht. Das Land schreckt offenbar immer weniger vor der Todesstrafe gegen Oppositionelle, Menschenrechtler oder einfach Andersdenkende zurück. Zu diesen Andersdenkenden oder Andersglaubenden gehört auch Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani. Er ist wegen seines Übertritts zum Christentum zum Tode verurteilt worden und kann jeden Tag hingerichtet werden. Darüber spreche ich mit Mahin Mousapour, sie konvertierte vor 25 Jahren zum christlichen Glauben und leitet heute eine kleine Gemeinde mit Konvertiten aus Afghanistan und dem Iran in Frankfurt am Main. Guten Morgen!
Mahin Mousapour: Guten Morgen!
Schwarz: Frau Mousapour, was wissen Sie aus dem Iran über den Fall Nadarkhani?
Mousapour: Jetzt wissen wir, dass die iranische Regierung Youcef Nadarkhani wegen Konversion zum Christentum hinrichten will. Und wir fürchten uns davor und wir haben Sorge über diese Nachricht. Wir wissen nicht, ob er heute überhaupt lebt, das wissen wir auch nicht.
Schwarz: Youcef Nadarkhani ist heute 34 Jahre alt, aber schon mit 19 konvertiert. Das heißt, viele Jahre lang wurde er dafür offenbar nicht verfolgt. Seit wann geht denn das Regime so hart gegen Konvertiten vor?
Mousapour: Gut, 2009 wurde er festgenommen, er wurde auch immer wieder verhört, immer wieder und immer wieder. Und seit 2010 ist er im Gefängnis und 2011, im Oktober, wollte die iranische Regierung Youcef Nadarkhani mit einem Todesurteil hinrichten. Aber die internationale Kampagne, besonders Aktivitäten von der IGFM, der Menschenrechtsorganisation in Frankfurt, haben dies verhindert. Und jetzt möchte die iranische Regierung wieder neu aufbeleben und auf einmal möchte sie, haben wir gehört, Youcef Nadarkhani hinrichten. Er ist ein Konvertit und in einem Land mit 67 Millionen Moslems. Die Menschen, die zu Jesus Christus ihren Glauben wechseln wollen, die Menschen, die vom Islam so enttäuscht sind, sind nicht wenig. Und das macht die iranische Regierung nicht sehr glücklich.
Schwarz: Haben Sie eine Ahnung, einen Hinweis darauf, wie viele Menschen das im Iran sind?
Mousapour: Wir wissen nichts, man kann keine Statistik hier erfassen. Aber wir haben von der Regierung selbst im Sommer 2011 gehört, dass die Regierung mitgeteilt hat, dass 200 Hauskirchen in Mashhad entdeckt wurden. Und Mashhad ist eine sehr religiöse Stadt. Wir selbst als bekehrte Moslems oder Christen mit islamischem Hintergrund waren sehr erstaunt darüber. » | Mittwoch, 29. Februar 2012
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Äußerungen unserer Gesprächspartner geben deren eigene Auffassungen wieder. Deutschlandradio macht sich Äußerungen seiner Gesprächspartner in Interviews und Diskussionen nicht zu eigen.
Related here, here, here, here, and here.
WESTFALEN–BLATT: Im Iran soll der evangelische Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani möglicherweise in den nächsten Tagen hingerichtet werden. Vorwurf: Abfall vom Islam und Werbung für das Christentum. Staatliche Medien schimpfen ihn auch einen Zionisten, Einbrecher und Erpresser, der ein »Haus des Verderbens« (sprich: Bordell) geleitet habe. Tatsächlich predigte und betete Nadarkani in kleinsten christlichen Hauskirchen, in denen sich sowohl evangelikale Christen als auch römisch-katholisch Orientierte sammeln – möglicherweise in wachsender Zahl. » | Von Reinhard Brockmann | Dienstag, 28. Februar 2012
BILD.DE: Osnabrück - Die Universität Osnabrück hat 5000 Bände theologischer Literatur für das geplante Islam-Institut von einem Kölner Gelehrten gekauft. Die wertvolle Sammlung sei der Grundstock der Bibliothek des neuen Instituts für Islamische Theologie, teilte die Universität am Mittwoch mit. Es handele sich um wichtige Werke, die nach der Begutachtung durch Experten in die Regale der Bibliothek eingeräumt werden. Von Herbst an sollen an dem in Kooperation mit der Universität Münster betriebenen Institut Imame und Lehrer für islamischen Religionsunterricht ausgebildet werden. [Quelle: Bild.de] | dpa/ini | Mittwoch, 29, Februar 2012
Graham's apology came after a group of prominent black religious leaders criticized the evangelist for saying he did not know whether Obama is a Christian and suggesting that Islamic law considers him to be a Muslim.
Graham, president of the relief organization Samaritan's Purse and the son of famed evangelist Billy Graham, said he now accepts Obama's declarations that he is a Christian.
"I regret any comments I have ever made which may have cast any doubt on the personal faith of our president, Mr. Obama," he said in a statement.
"I apologize to him and to any I have offended for not better articulating my reason for not supporting him in this election -- for his faith has nothing to do with my consideration of him as a candidate."
Graham said he objects to Obama's policy stances on abortion and same-sex marriage, which Graham considers to be in "direct conflict" with Scripture. » | Adelle M. Banks | Tuesday, February 28, 2012
THE GUARDIAN: Death threats to philosophers writing on 'after-birth abortion' curb academic discussion, says Journal of Medical Ethics editor
Two academics who wrote a paper suggesting that it should logically be permissible to kill babies at birth who would have fitted the criteria for abortion during pregnancy have been subjected to death threats, according to the journal editor.
Julian Savulescu, editor of the Journal of Medical Ethics, published by the British Medical Journal group, said the online intimidation of two philosophers endangered free speech.
The pair – Alberto Giubilini from the University of Milan and Monash University in Melbourne and Francesca Minerva from the University of Melbourne and Oxford University, argued in the journal that, as "potential persons", newborn babies, like foetuses, do not have the same moral status as "actual persons".
What they preferred to call "after-birth abortion" rather than infanticide should be allowed not only for babies with abnormalities, such as Down's syndrome, which had not been detected during the pregnancy, but also newborns whose parents would have been granted an abortion because they felt they could not psychologically or materially cope with a child.
The newborn baby is a non-person, argue the ethicists, because they have no sense of their own existence. At a few days old, they say, newborns are "potential persons" but not actual persons, in the same way that a foetus is a potential person. So the interests of their parents over-ride theirs. » | Sarah Boseley, Health editor | Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Mr Hollande’s first foreign trip this year came a day after he pledged to slap a 75 per cent tax on people who earn more than a million euros a year, telling the rich to consider the punitive rate “patriotism”.
At his campaign launch in January, Mr Hollande singled out finance as his “greatest enemy”, leading London mayor Boris Johnson to tell French expatriates: “Bienvenue à Londres. This is the global capital of finance…If your own president does not want the jobs, the opportunities and the economic growth that you generate, we do.”
As he stepped off the Eurostar yesterday Mr Hollande was asked whether he had any message for the City of London.
Replying in English, the Socialist replied: “We must have more regulation.”
Since the launch, Mr Hollande has told British journalists that the City of London has nothing to fear from a Socialist French president who will seek to regulate, not kill off finance. » | Henry Samuel | Wednesday, February 29, 2012
TMZ: Davy Jones -- lead singer of The Monkees -- died after suffering a heart attack this morning ... TMZ has learned.
An official from the medical examiner's office for Martin County, Florida confirmed with TMZ they received a call from Martin Memorial Hospital informing them that Jones had passed away.
A rep for the singer tells us Jones suffered a heart attack at his home this morning ... and was transported to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Jones is survived by his wife Jessica and 4 daughters from previous marriages. He was 66-years-old. Jones was married to Jessica Pacheco -- his 3rd wife. » | Wednesday, February 29, 2012
A Liberal Democrat peer has said Israel will not last for ever, with her remarks prompting calls for the party's leader, Nick Clegg, to take disciplinary action.
Lady Tonge, who was sacked as the Lib Dem children's spokeswoman in the Commons in 2004 when she suggested she could consider becoming a suicide bomber, made her remarks in a meeting at Middlesex University.
"Beware Israel," she said. "Israel is not going to be there for ever in its present form. One day, the United States of America will get sick of giving £70bn a year to Israel to support what I call America's aircraft carrier in the Middle East – that is Israel. One day, the American people are going to say to the Israel lobby in the USA: enough is enough."
She added: "Israel will lose support and then they will reap what they have sown." » | Nicholas Watt, chief political correspondent | Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Rick Santorum looked ahead to Super Tuesday after losing primaries in Michigan and Arizona to rival Mitt Romney Tuesday night, focusing on energy and the economy and again pitching himself as the candidate to take on Barack Obama in November. Full text and video of Santorum's speech follow (text courtesy of FDCH Transcripts).
THE WASHINGTON POST: Rick Santorum’s Michigan primary speech » | Amanda Zamora | Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Researchers conducting the national count found a total of 2,106 Islamic centers, compared to 1,209 in 2000 and 962 in 1994. About one-quarter of the centers were built between 2000-2011, as the community faced intense scrutiny by government officials and a suspicious public. In 2010, protest against an Islamic center near ground zero erupted into a national debate over Islam, extremism and religious freedom. Anti-mosque demonstrations spread to Tennessee, California and other states.
Ihsan Bagby, a professor at the University of Kentucky and lead author of the study, said the findings show Muslims are carving out a place for themselves despite the backlash. » | Associated Press | Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Mullah Rick has spoken.
He wants religion returned to “the public square,” is opposed to contraception, premarital sex and abortion under any circumstances, wants children educated in what amounts to little red schoolhouses and called President Obama a “snob” for extolling college or some other kind of post-high school education. This is not a political platform. It’s a fatwa.
But that’s not all. On the Sunday shows, he even lit into John F. Kennedy’s 1960 speech to Protestant ministers, in which he called for the strict separation of church and state. Santorum said the speech sickened him.
“What kind of country do we live in that says only people of non[-]faith can come into the public square and make their case?” Santorum asked on “This Week.” “That makes me throw up.” Earlier, he said, “I don’t believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute,” not noticing that he was speaking from what amounts to the public square.
Kennedy’s speech is actually a sad document, a necessary attempt to combat the bigoted and ignorant notion that a Catholic President might take orders from the Vatican.
Oddly, the assurances that Kennedy offered that day are ones that I would like to hear from Santorum. He, too, is a Catholic, although not of the Kennedy variety. Santorum is severe and unamusing about his faith, and that is his prerogative. But he has shoved his beliefs in our faces, leaving no doubt that his presidency would be informed by his extremely conservative Catholicism.
This is a perilous and divisive approach. We have all of world history to warn us about what happens when religion takes too prominent a role. The public square gets used for beheadings and the like. While that is not likely to happen now — zoning rules and such forbid it — we do know that layering religion over politics is dangerous.
Santorum cannot impose — and should not argue that — his political beliefs come from God. That closes all debate and often infuriates those who differ. » | Richard Cohen, New York Daily News | Monday, February 27, 2012
Rick Santorum probably wishes he could turn back time.
The Republican presidential candidate said he regrets saying a 1960 John F. Kennedy speech on religion made him want to throw up.
"I wish that I had that particular line back," the former Pennsylvania Senator — who's also a Catholic — admitted on the Laura Ingraham radio show on Tuesday.
Santorum, who came in second place to Mitt Romney in Arizona and Michigan's primaries Tuesday night, came under fire from critics after he ripped the legendary democrat's speech on separation of church and state earlier this week. » | Aliyah Shahid / New York Daily News | Wednesday, February 29, 2012
CNN: A relieved Mitt Romney headed back to the campaign trail Wednesday after sweeping crucial primaries in Arizona and his childhood home of Michigan to revitalize his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination.
Romney needed to win both states, but especially Michigan -- where he grew up when his father was governor -- to assert his ability to overcome the conservative challenge from former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum.
A Santorum victory in Michigan would have raised questions about how strong a candidate Romney is within his own party. » | Tom Cohen, CNN | Wednesday, February 29, 2012
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Pink Floyd star Roger Waters has reportedly stated that Britain should return the Falkland Islands, saying "Las Malvinas belong to Argentina".
In an interview with Chilean television, Waters, who is on tour in South America, allegedly said he was "as ashamed as I possibly could be of our colonial past ... When we were out raping and plundering and stealing".
The reported comments came as Argentina's industry minister called for all British imports to be banned as tensions escalate between the two countries ahead of the 30th anniversary of the Falklands conflict.
A journalist for the Chilean TVN state channel claimed Waters had made the comments during an exclusive interview on Tuesday. Amaro Gómez-Pablos tweeted: "Roger Waters was categorical: Las Malvinas belong to Argentina."
In a later press conference in Chile, Waters was more cautious, stating: "Clearly there needs to be a solution to the problem of the varying claims [to the Falklands] – the claims are so convoluted and so old, going back as they do to the 17th century. It's not a simple situation. » | Barney Henderson | Wednesday, February 29, 2012
DIE PRESSE: Das umstrittene Gesetz, das die Leugnung von Völkermorden unter Strafe stellt, soll gegen das Gebot der Meinungsfreiheit verstoßen.
Das französische Gesetz, das die Leugnung von im Land anerkannten Genoziden unter Strafe stellt, ist verfassungswidrig. Der Verfassungsrat entschied am Dienstag in Paris, dass das Gesetz gegen das Gebot der Meinungsfreiheit verstoße. Damit kann das umstrittene Gesetz nicht in Kraft treten. Die Türkei hatte scharf gegen das Gesetz protestiert, weil auch der in Frankreich so eingestufte "Völkermord" an den Armeniern betroffen ist.
Beide Parlamentskammer, Nationalversammlung und Senat, hatten das Gesetz verabschiedet. Zu den betroffenen Genoziden zählt neben dem Holocaust das Massaker an den Armeniern im Osmanischen Reich zwischen 1915 und 1917, bei dem nach armenischen Angaben 1,5 Millionen Menschen starben. Das Gesetz sah eine Haftstrafe von einem Jahr und Geldstrafen von bis zu 45.000 Euro vor. » | DiePresse.com | Dienstag, 28. Februar 2012
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Syrian troops advanced on Wednesday on a key rebel-held area in the central city of Homs, where three Western journalists are among 100,000 residents trapped by a government assault that has raged for weeks.
The forces appeared to be starting a ground operation to retake the area that has become a symbol of the uprising to oust President Bashar al-Assad.
Government forces have been heavily shelling Homs, and particularly the rebel-controlled Baba Amr neighbourhood, for more than three weeks with tanks, artillery and rockets.
The announcement by a Syrian official of the new troop advance indicated a ground assault was beginning to recapture Baba Amr, home to about 100,000 people.
A Syrian official vowed Baba Amr would be "cleaned" within hours. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. » | AP | Wednesday, February 29, 2012
The donation was made by Mica Ertegun, the widow of Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun, and will be used to set up humanities scholarships for graduate students.
The Mica and Ahmet Ertegun Graduate Scholarship Programme in the Humanities will see students worldwide compete for an award to study subjects including literature, history, music, art history, Asian studies, Middle Eastern studies and archaeology.
There will be 15 scholarships to start with, and eventually at least 35 will be awarded each year.
Mrs Ertegun said: "For Ahmet and for me, one of the great joys of life has been the study of history, music, languages, literature, art and archaeology. Read on and comment » | Wednesday, February 29, 2012
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