Is Obama 'Losing Juice'? President Cuts Frustrated Figure After Series Of Setbacks
THE GUARDIAN: President jokes that 'rumours of my demise have been exaggerated' – but failure to pass gun control reforms and a stalemate on the budget have left him increasingly powerless


Perhaps it was the taunting tweet from Mitch McConnell that did it. Or more likely just the indignity of being asked inside his own West Wing whether he was "losing his juice". But just 100 days into his new term, Barack Obama has been forced to confront the issue that is on everyone's lips in Washington right now: is his second presidency over before it ever really began?

"As Mark Twain said, rumours of my demise might be exaggerated at this point," insisted Obama during his first White House press conference in two months. He was responding to a question from ABC's Jonathan Karl about whether recent failures to get gun control reform through Congress or agree a federal budget meant he was now powerless to pursue his own agenda, or "losing juice", as Karl memorably phrased it.

"If you put it that way, Jonathan … maybe I should just pack up and go home," joked a somewhat defensive president. But his tone has shifted noticeably since the confident swagger of Saturday night's stand-up comedy at the White House correspondents' dinner.

Across a host of issues, the White House is not just frustrated by Republican opposition in Congress, but increasingly humiliated. Gun control represented the worst setback, as Obama was not even able to rally enough Senate support to pass what would have looked like the bare minimum response to the Sandy Hook shooting back at the time of his inauguration speech in January.

But the long-running stalemate over fiscal policy also took a turn for the worse this weekend when the White House was forced to sign an exemption for the Federal Aviation Authority from the sweeping sequester budget cuts currently hitting many US public services. » | Dan Roberts | Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Vereidigung von Willem-Alexander
Die Niederlande haben einen neuen König: In der Neuen Kirche von Amsterdam hat Willem-Alexander seinen Eid geleistet. Der 46-Jährige dankte seiner Mutter Beatrix. "Ihre Weisheit und Herzlichkeit werde ich mit mir tragen", sagte er.

King Willem Alexander's Investiture & Queen Beatrix’ Farewell Speech (April 29.)

Queen Beatrix Makes Farewell Address On Eve Of Abdication

Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands attended a banquet in her honour on the eve of her abdication. Within hours she officially passes the crown on to her son Prince Willem-Alexander.

Royal couples from Europe and beyond were invited to the glittering occasion in the newly renovated Rijksmuseum.

In her final address before the ceremonial handover she thanked the Dutch people and urged them to support her son:

"Since I announced my intention to retire, I have been struck by overwhelming expressions of heartfelt affection. This was accompanied by a broad understanding for the desire to hand over my role to the Prince of Orange. By being intensely active in the national arena and through his broad interest in issues of the day, he is well prepared in all aspects."

Queen Beatrix is to retire after 33 years in the job. During that time she has been a popular fixture of Dutch life. Although largely exercising a ceremonial role, Beatrix has used her influence with captains of industry and political figures and made her views known on such issues as the environment.

Islamist Extremists Admit Planning Gun and Bomb Attack on Far-right EDL Rally
Six Muslim terrorists have admitted planning to attack a rally by the far-right English Defence League with homemade bombs, guns and knives.

Read the article here | Tom Whitehead, Security Editor | Tuesday, April 30, 2013
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Copies of a letter found in the terror group’s car revealed their plans and reasons for it and made clear they had hoped to attack the EDL: This is a message to the enemies of Allah and his messenger, to the kaffir female devil, self-proclaimed Queen » | Tom Whitehead, Security Editor | Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Belgium Erasing Christianity for Islam
GATESTONE INSTITUTE: Under the guise of letting go of the Christian holidays, this text provides Muslims with a waiver to add Islamic holidays…. Six Belgian senators introduced a draft resolution in the Belgian Parliament that would make "Islamophobia" a crime punishable by fines and imprisonment. A person would be guilty if he "considers Islam to be violent, threatening or supportive of terrorism…" or "considers Islam to be a political ideology, used for political and military purposes to establish it hegemony." If passed, the law would pose a devastating blow to the exercise of free speech in Belgium.

EXTRACT: In February, six Belgian senators (three of whom are Muslim) introduced a draft resolution in the Belgian Federal Parliament that would make "Islamophobia" a crime punishable by fines and imprisonment.

The draft text -- which, among other objectives, seeks to equate "Islamophobia" with anti-Semitism -- is audacious in scope and if passed would pose a devastating blow to the exercise of free speech in Belgium.

According to the authors of the resolution, a person would be guilty of Islamophobia if he or she:

• Considers Islam to be a single monolithic bloc, closed and static, incapable of adapting to new situations;

• Considers Islam to be separate and "different," devoid of having any aims or shared values with other cultures, not influenced by other cultures and not influencing other cultures;

• Considers Islam to be inferior to the West, to be barbaric, irrational, primitive and sexist;

• Considers Islam to be violent, threatening and supportive of terrorism, actively engaged in a 'clash of civilizations';

• Considers Islam to be a political ideology, used for political and military purposes to establish its hegemony;

• Rejects out of hand criticisms made by Islam of 'the West';

• Shows hostility towards Islam to justify discrimination and social exclusion of Muslims;

• Accepts hostility toward Muslims as natural and normal.

This definition of Islamophobia, which is based on a 1997 report published by the London-based Runnymede Trust, would effectively outlaw any critical discussion of Islam in Belgium under the guise of combatting racism. Read the whole article » | Soeren Kern * | Tuesday, April 30, 2013

* Soeren Kern is a Senior Fellow at the New York-based Gatestone Institute. He is also Senior Fellow for European Politics at the Madrid-based Grupo de Estudios Estratégicos / Strategic Studies Group. Follow him on Facebook.

Guests Arrive for the Dutch Royal Banquet

Read the Mail Online article here | Jill Reilly | Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Dutch abdication: Willem-Alexander becomes Europe's youngest monarch
Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands has officially abdicated in favour of a "new generation", with her son Willem-Alexander becoming king.

Read the The Daily Telegra[h article here | Bruno Waterfield, Amsterdam | Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Queen Beatrix Thanks Dutch People On Eve Of Abdication

BBC: Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands has made a farewell national address on the eve of her abdication and investiture of her son, Prince Willem-Alexander.

The queen thanked the Dutch people for their "heart-warming displays of affection" and also paid tribute to her late husband, Prince Claus.

The queen was also attending a sumptuous gala dinner in her honour at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

She has been head of state since 1980, when her mother abdicated.

In her televised address, Queen Beatrix said that the people's devotion had given her the strength to carry on.

"Without your heart-warming and encouraging displays of affection, the burdens, which certainly have existed, would have weighed heavily."

Paying tribute to her late husband, Prince Claus, who died in 2002, she said he had helped modernise the House of Orange.

"Perhaps history will bear out that the choice of my partner was my best decision."

Monday evening's gala dinner was being attended by her family and other invited royals and high-ranking dignitaries. » | Monday, April 29, 2013

Im Netz von Salafisten - Doku über Salafisten - Wie radikale Muslime junge Menschen verführen

Sarkozy's Back: Ex-President Takes Aim at Hollande's Policies

SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: While French President François Hollande deals with dismal jobless figures and turmoil surrounding the recent legalization of gay marriage, his upbeat predecessor goes on the thinly veiled offensive in Montreal. "When I look at those who succeeded me," Nicolas Sarkozy says, "I feel very good."

Nicolas Sarkozy seems to be living proof that politics is an unhealthy profession. One year after he was voted out of office, the former French president was looking better than ever as he put in an appearance at the Montreal Convention Center last Thursday. Well tanned and full of energy, he stood grinning with his feet planted wide apart -- no comparison with the gray-faced and exhausted man who lost last year's French presidential election. » | Monday, April 29, 2013

Fear and Fundamentalism as the 'Modesty Police' Patrol Gaza
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Police in Gaza have arrested at least 41 men on charges of immodesty this April, writes Phoebe Greenwood. And now the city is gripped with fear that Hamas is driving the population towards militant Islamic fundamentalism.

It's three weeks since his arrest but Ismail Halou still has streaks of purple bruising on the soles of his feet. The 22 year-old was filling cars at his family's petrol station in Gaza City at 5pm on April 4th when a black jeep pulled into the forecourt, plain-clothed police stepped out and ordered him into the car. He was blindfolded and driven to the nearest police station.

"I could hear the screams of people being beaten in the rooms next to me. Two men held my legs down and tied them together on a wooden board then they beat the soles of my feet with a plastic rod. They beat me for at least five minutes. I was crying and screaming with agony. It was the worst pain I've ever felt," Mr Halou recalls.

It was only after the beating that police officers set to work trying to shave off the one-inch fin of gelled hair that was the cause of his arrest.

"At no point did they tell me why they had arrested me. I found out from neighbours when I got home that it was because of my hair," Mr Halou explains, running a hand over the fuzzy re[-]growth on his head. He could not walk for three days after his release.

Police in Gaza, a Palestinian coastal enclave run by Islamist faction Hamas, have arrested at least 41 men on charges of immodesty this April. » | Phoebe Greenwood, Gaza City | Monday, April 29, 2013

Arabie saoudite : une prison cinq étoiles pour les terroristes
LE POINT: Pour lutter contre les djihadistes, Ryad a mis au point un centre de détention... surprenant. Explications.

Chambres tout confort, sauna, spa, bassin olympique, salle de remise en forme, cinéma... Non, vous n'êtes pas dans un hôtel de luxe. Ce sont les infrastructures offertes par une prison saoudienne conçue pour accueillir les terroristes d'al-Qaida. À quoi bon tout ce luxe ? Rien de plus simple : remettre sur le droit chemin les partisans du djihad en leur faisant découvrir les petits plaisirs de la vie. Outre les outils de remise en forme, les détenus, en cas de bonne conduite, pourront "se relaxer" avec leurs femmes dans des suites spécialement aménagées. Des permissions pourront même être accordées pour les respectueux d'entre eux. » | Par Nicolas Guégan | lundi 29 avril 2013

Willem-Alexander wird König: Was Sie über den Thronwechsel wissen müssen
Hollands Königin Beatrix übergibt morgen ihr Amt an den ältesten Sohn: stern-Adelsexpertin Catrin Bartenbach erklärt, wie die Krönung ablaufen und Willem-Alexander künftig regieren wird.

Cost of Austerity Measures Is Poor Health
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Recession-driven austerity measures aren't just bad for your wealth - they're harming your health.

The after-effects of the financial crisis is driving a wave of suicide, depression and infectious diseases as medicine and treatment become prohibitively expensive across Europe and North America, according to new research by academics.

After examing a decade of studies, Oxford University political economist David Stuckler and Sanjay Basu, an assistant professor of medicine and an epidemiologist at Stanford University, have concluded austerity is seriously bad for health.

More than 10,000 suicides and up to a million cases of depression have been diagnosed during what they call the "Great Recession" and the austerity that followed it , the pair conclude in a book due to be published this week.

They cite examples in Greece, which has seen the rate of the Aids-causing HIV virus increase by 200pc as the health budget have been cut. The more than 50pc youth unemployment rate has also seen drug abuse on the increase, hastening the spread of the virus.

Greece also experienced its first malaria outbreak in decades following budget cuts to mosquito-spraying programmes. » | Alan Tovey, and agencies | Monday, April 29, 2013

Pat Condell: The Truth Is Incorrect

Clash of Titans: Franco-German Ties Crack as Hollande Slams Merkel
The partnership, which used be the heart of EU decision-making, is now set for cooler times. Francois Hollande's ruling Socialists in France have attacked the German Chancellor for acting only in her country's interests in a draft document on European policy. Although party officials later said the strong words would be removed, the sting reflects growing EU resentment against German austerity. RT discusses it all with investment adviser Patrick Young.

Verwandt »

Godless Gatherings: Lust for Life Drives UK Atheists to Church
In challenging times many join to the church for solace and support. But in Britain the great number of atheists has lead to the creation of an essentially new congregation in which religion is taken out of the equation. RT's Polly Boiko asked them what drives non-believers to use the House of God anyway?

Salafist Surge: Germany Faces Extremist Islamic Threat (April 28, 2013)
The radical Islamist movement is gaining ground in Germany with immigrants attempting to apply their traditions and laws to their new home. The country's government however is trying to cope the spreading amount of extremist Islamic sentiment. RT's Pieter Oliver reports.

«Das Verhältnis verschlechtert sich auf erschreckende Weise»
TAGES ANZEIGER: Frankreichs konservative Opposition hat François Hollande nach der harschen Kritik an Kanzlerin Angela Merkel für eine Verschlechterung der deutsch-französischen Beziehungen verantwortlich gemacht.

Der Chef der konservativen UMP, Jean-François Copé, und Ex-Regierungschef François Fillon erklärten in einer gemeinsamen Stellungnahme, François Hollande trage eine «persönliche Verantwortung» dafür, dass das Verhältnis zwischen beiden Ländern sich «kontinuierlich und auf erschreckende Weise» verschlechtere.

Hollande habe bereits kurz nach seinem Amtsantritt beim EU-Gipfel Ende Juni 2012 versucht, Merkel zu «isolieren». «Dieses unwürdige Verhalten, das von niedrigen parteipolitischen Anliegen motiviert war, hat den Ton vorgegeben, wie sein künftiges Verhältnis zu Deutschland sein würde. Das Ergebnis ist katastrophal.» Hollande hatte sich bei dem EU-Gipfel mit Spanien und Italien verbündet und Merkel Zugeständnisse bei der Verwendung des Euro-Rettungsfonds abgetrotzt. » | sam/AFP | Montag, 29. April 2013

Europe's Takeover By Islam




Read the article on The Brussels Journal: The Rape of Europe »

Schools Threat as Wales Is 'Target for Extremists'
EXPRESS: COUNTER terror experts are targeting schools feared to have been ¬infiltrated by Islamic fundamentalists using Wales as a base for recruitment.

The move comes after the country was identified as having a “very real” threat of terrorist activity.

Experts fear that extremists view Wales as a safe haven compared with London for would-be terrorists.

A leaked “restricted report” called the Wales Contest plan exposes growing radicalisation in Cardiff and proposes extra training in how to spot extremism for staff at schools “identified as having increased risks” of radicalism.

In December 2010, Cardiff brothers Abdul Miah, 25, and Gurukanth Desai, 30, along with Omar Sharif Latif, were arrested after planning a Mumbai-style attack on the London Stock Exchange. They were eventually jailed for a total of 40 years.

Last year Idris Faridi, 32, of Roath, Cardiff, was jailed for nine months after a “terrorist’s manual” called 39 Ways To Serve And Proceed In Jihad was discovered on his computer’s hard drive. He had applied to work at the Millennium Stadium during the Olympic Games.

A Welsh Government spokesman said last night: “In Wales, we work with a wide range of partners from across the public sector to raise awareness of issues relating to extremism and to improve community cohesion.

“As in England, this work includes education sessions for teachers and staff, undertaken by police ‘engagement officers’, which enables any potential issues to be identified and dealt with quickly.” » | Marco Giannangeli & James Fielding | Sunday, April 28, 2013

HT: Robert @ Jihad Watch »

Australian Muslim Teenager Claims She Was Held Against Her Will by a Service Station Worker in a Perceived Racist Attack

COURIERMAIL.COM.AU: TEENAGER Hafsah Negussie claims she was held against her will at a Brisbane service station after a worker confused company policy and refused to serve her.

Ms Negussie, a Muslim who wears a veil while in public, said she tried to pay for her goods and go, but claimed the attendant locked the doors when she attempted to leave.

The incident, which occurred at a BP service station on Brisbane's southside in December last year, was reported to police but no official report was filed until Ms Negussie came forward again in April.

"I'm Australian, I was born and raised here, I know my rights. It's so horrific,'' Ms Negussie said.

A company spokesman for BP service stations said the business required customers to remove helmets, hoodies or large hats before approaching the counter. » | Angela Ranke, Southern Star | Monday, April 29, 2013

Syria crisis: PM Halqi 'Survives Damascus Car Bombing'
BBC: Syrian Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi has survived a car bomb attack in the capital, Damascus, reports say.

The blast in western Mazzeh district targeted Mr Halqi's convoy, state television said. There are reported to be a number of casualties.

UK-based activist group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said Mr Halqi's bodyguard had been killed, AFP news agency reported.

It is unclear whether the blast was a suicide bombing or a planted device. » | Monday, April 29, 2013

Imran Khan on Election Campaign Trail
BBC: Three bombs have exploded in north-west Pakistan killing at least eight people.

They are the latest in a series of attacks targeting politicians in the run-up to May's general election.

After five years of democratic rule the country is struggling with terrorist attacks, inflation, and crippling power cuts.

Now, the party led by the country's former cricket captain, Imran Khan, has been gaining ground and could change the political landscape.

Orla Guerin reports from Punjab. Watch the BBC video » | Sunday, April 28, 2013

Young Margaret
BBC Documentary looking at the childhood influences that shaped Margaret Thatcher and drove her to her unique place in history. Including intimate interviews with close family members.
Watch the programme here

British Men Get Four Years for Possession of Drugs in Dubai
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Three British men sentenced to four years for possession of drugs in Dubai claim they were tortured by police.

Grant Cameron and Suneet Jeerh, both 25, and Karl Williams, 26, were jailed for possessing synthetic cannabis, known as “spice”.

The men, who are all from London, claim they were tortured by police following their arrest. Williams claims he had electric shocks to his testicles and all three said after they were arrested they had guns held to their heads by police.

Human Rights charity Reprieve said all three men signed documents in Arabic, a language none of them understands, while being threatened.

In a draft witness statement given to Reprieve lawyer Marc Calcutt, Williams describes having a towel put on his face by police and having electric shocks on his testicles.

He said: "They took off the towel and I could see that there was a gun pointed at my head. All I could think was that the gun in my face could go off if the policeman slipped, and it would kill me. I started to believe that I was going to die in that room." » | Claire Carter | Monday, April 29, 2013

Mensch Harry: Der wilde englische Prinz

Libya Faces Growing Islamist Threat
THE GUARDIAN: Exclusive: Diplomats warn that militants squeezed out of Mali by western intervention are hitting targets in Tripoli

Diplomats are warning of growing Islamist violence against western targets in Libya as blowback from the war in Mali, following last week's attack on the French embassy in Tripoli.

The bomb blast that wrecked much of the embassy is seen as a reprisal by Libyan militants for the decision by Paris the day before to extend its military mission against fellow jihadists in Mali.

The Guardian has learned that jihadist groups ejected from their Timbuktu stronghold have moved north, crossing the Sahara through Algeria and Niger to Libya, fuelling a growing Islamist insurgency.

"There are established links between groups in both Mali and Libya – we know there are established routes," said a western diplomat in Tripoli. "There is an anxiety among the political class here that Mali is blowing back on them." » | Chris Stephen in Tripoli and Afua Hirsch in Timbuktu | Sunday, April 28, 2013

Iceland's Voters Oust Austerity Government
Poll count shows voters have rejected austerity government to return centre-right parties that ruled over financial collapse five years ago.

Verwandt »

Al-Nosra prépare l'Etat islamique
leJDD.fr: REPORTAGE - Alors que les combats se poursuivent, les Syriens voient monter en puissance le front Al-Nosra, qui a fait allégeance à Al-Qaida.

Alep, il y a trois semaines. La télévision d’État vient d’annoncer une vaste contreoffensive du régime dans tout le pays. Le matin, un bombardement a déjà réduit en cendres deux immeubles de la ville. C’est la panique. Des familles entières prennent la fuite. "Il ne faut pas s’inquiéter, rassure un peu goguenard, Ayoub, un jeune activiste de 25 ans. Al-Qaida veille sur nous." Al-Qaida, c’est Jabhat Al-Nosra (JAN). Deux jours plus tard, cette organisation djihadiste prêtait allégeance à la mouvance terroriste. Sans que cela choque. "Bien sûr, ils ne reconnaissent pas le gouvernement en exil et obéissent à un islam strict, explique Abdel Kader Saleh, dirigeant de la branche militaire d’Al-Tawhid, le principal groupe de l’ASL (Armée syrienne libre) d’Alep. Mais nous faisons partie d’un même mouvement, celui qui combat le régime." » | Antoine Malo, envoyé spécial du JDD à Alep (Syrie) | Le Journal du Dimanche | dimanche 28 avril 2013

Island wendet sich von der EU ab
TAGES ANZEIGER: In Island kommt es laut Prognosen zu einem Regierungswechsel: Die Mitte-rechts-Opposition gewinnt demnach die Parlamentswahlen. Sie will den Beitrittsprozess zur EU stoppen.

Island steht nach der Parlamentswahl vor einem Regierungswechsel und vor eine Abkehr von seinem Weg in die Europäische Union. Bei dem Urnengang vom Samstag trug die Mitte-rechts-Opposition laut Prognosen erwartungsgemäss einen klaren Sieg davon. Die Sozialdemokraten der scheidenden Regierungschefin Johanna Sigurdardottir fuhren eine deutliche Niederlage ein. » | fko/AFP | Sonntag, 28. April 2013

President Obama Plays Daniel Day Lewis in White House Skit
The White House releases a video of Barack Obama pretending to be method actor Daniel Day-Lewis portraying the president. A skit for the White House Correspondents' Association dinner, Obama speaks, as Day-Lewis, about the difficulty in impersonating the presidential voice, as well as the time it takes to create the fake Obama ears. Steven Speilberg, who introduces the video, says he chose method actor Day Lewis as he would 'dive in and really become Barack Obama'

Qatar 'Playing with Fire' as It Funds Syrian Islamists in Quest for Global Influence
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Questions are increasingly being asked about weapons and money being supplied to Islamist rebel groups in Syria by sympathetic Arab states, because of growing fears that they are falling into the hands of jihadists and other extremists.

Qatar and Saudi Arabia are among a handful of countries whose support for the uprising against Bashar al-Assad's regime has won plaudits from many in the region, where few dispute that the Syrian president has forfeited any right to power.

But signs that arms and cash may be filtering through to groups such as the al-Nusra Brigade, which has openly declared allegiance to al-Qaeda, are alarming Western observers.

As the West has hesitated over sending its own military assistance, non-sectarian elements of the rebel Free Syrian Army are being outflanked and out-gunned by better-funded and armed Islamist fighters, including foreign jihadists.

Qatar's prime minister, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, said recently: "As there is no clear international opinion to end the crisis in Syria... we are supporting the opposition with whatever it needs, even if it takes up arms for self-defence."

But by focusing support on Islamist groups, both Qatar and Saudi Arabia are seen by many to be playing with fire. » | Colin Freeman, Chief Foreign Correspondent | Saturday, April 27, 2013

Baroness Warsi on Islamophobia and Muslim Attacks

HT: Islam versus Europe »

Paris Hosts France's First Gay Wedding Fair
France's first gay wedding fair has been held in Paris, just four days after the country legalised marriage and adoption for same-sex couples.

NBC Interview with Queen Farah Pahlavi

Canada Minister Wants Deportation Review After Train Plot Arrests
REUTERS CANADA: OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada must review its deportation policy in light of a pardon that was granted to a Canadian resident once threatened with deportation and now accused in an alleged al Qaeda plot to derail a passenger train, a government minister said on Friday.

Raed Jaser, one of two men charged in connection with the suspected plot, argued in a 2004 deportation hearing that Canada should not deport him because he was stateless and no country would take him in.

Canada had sought to deport him because he had convictions on several counts of fraud, immigration board documents show.

Jaser was later pardoned, and he then became a permanent resident in Canada, the equivalent to holding a U.S. green card.

"The reality is that he was pardoned, and that repealed his criminal inadmissibility to Canada," Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney told reporters. "That raises for me an important policy question. Why should a pardon override criminal inadmissibility?"

"That's what I'm looking at with my officials - to see whether we can make a policy change. It seems to me, I don't care whether you get a pardon or not, if you commit a serious criminal offense in Canada, you should be kicked out - period," Kenney said. » | Randall Palmer | Additional reporting by Allison Martell in Toronto and David Ljunggren in Ottawa; Editing by Janet Guttsman and Peter Cooney | Friday, April 26, 2013

Reza Pahlavi on CCTV

Documentaire ARTE - Iran, une puissance dévoilée (Décembre 2012)
Du début du XXe siècle à nos jours, ce documentaire d'archives et d'entretiens reconstitue cent ans d'histoire mouvementée de l'Iran et explore deux pistes essentielles : d'un côté la relation complexe que le pays entretient avec l'Occident, de l'autre les remous intérieurs qui l'agitent régulièrement. À découvrir à l'occasion du trentième anniversaire de la révolution islamique de février 1979.

Farah Pahlavi: The Queen and I

GOP Congressman: Obama’s ‘Political Correctness’ On Islam Led To Boston Bombings

THINK PROGRESS: Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) suggested on Friday that the FBI was unable to ask deceased Boston marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev about Islam during its 2011 interview with him due to President Obama’s “political correctness,” thus allowing the bombing to take place.

Gohmert said on the House floor that the Obama administration has prevented intelligence officials from discussing Islam. “It was in that 9/11 commission report, before this administration took over and implemented political correctness,” he said, arguing the FBI’s training manuals were “systematically purged” in 2011 to conform to Obama’s worldview.

Obama’s whitewashing of Islam, Gohmert hinted, allowed the Tsarnaev brothers to slip through the fingers of the FBI and set off bombs in Boston: » | Hayes Brown | Friday, April 26, 2013

Geert Wilders Looks to Alliance with Front National, Other EU Parties
DUTCHNEWS.NL: Anti-Islam campaigner Geert Wilders is looking to form an alliance with other similarly-minded parties, including France's Front National, to fight next year's European elections, the Volkskrant reports on Saturday.

Wilders, who leads the PVV in parliament, recently met Front National leader Marine Le Pen for lunch to discuss his ideas for a pan-European approach.

'We think the same abou[t] 90% of things, perhaps more,' Wilders said in the Volkskrant interview. 'We also have a lot of points of agreement in terms of immigration.' Many meetings » | DutchNews.nl | Saturday, April 27, 2013

Liberals Snub Islamic Celebration
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: Liberal Party MPs, including federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott and NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell, have snubbed one of the Islamic community's most important celebrations.

Leaders of Australia's peak Islamic body, the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, fear their annual gala dinner has been boycotted by the Liberal Party.

The entire federal shadow cabinet, Mr O'Farrell and all state Liberal MPs were invited to the Federation's 49th annual congress' ''love and peace'' themed dinner at Greenacre on Saturday night.

But none had confirmed their attendance by midday Friday - a week after the RSVP date. A number emailed their apologies. » | Heath Aston | Political reporter | Saturday, April 27, 2013

I’m Too Sexy for Saudi Arabia

Read the article here | Jill Reilly | Friday, April 26, 2013

Vladimir Putin Threatens To Change Russia's Adoption Laws Over Gay Marriage
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned he is considering a ban on the adoption of Russian children for states that allow single-sex marriages.

Speaking at Novo-Ogarevo, his residence outside Moscow, Mr Putin said he thought bilateral agreements with other countries on adoption should be changed if they contradicted Russian law.

The president was responding to a suggestion by the head of a regional parliament that Russia should modify its bilateral adoption agreement with France because of the country’s recent approval of gay marriage.

“She is right,” said Mr Putin. “We have to react to what is going on around us. We treat our partners with respect, but we ask that they treat with respect the cultural traditions, the ethic, legal and moral norms of Russia.

“I believe I have the right to introduce changes into such documents. This is a topical question, we need to think about this.”

France became the 14th country worldwide and the ninth in Europe to approve gay marriage on Tuesday, and legislation to the same effect is passing through the UK Parliament, after MPs approved it in February.

Moscow hinted at a possible crackdown that same month, when Konstantin Dolgov, the Russian foreign ministry’s human rights envoy, said: “The British and French parliaments have legalised same-sex marriages. This narrows the chances of citizens of these countries adopting Russian children.”

Mr Putin’s comments were the firmest suggestion yet that a legal ban could be adopted. » | Tom Parfitt, Moscow | Friday, April 26, 2013

The Gathering Storm Radio Show (Friday, April 26, 2013 | 3pm EST)

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