Iran Warns West against Military Intervention in Syria

THE GUARDIAN: Tehran threat comes as John Kerry says US would respond to 'undeniable' use of chemical weapons by Assad regime

Iran has warned that foreign military intervention in Syria will result in a conflict that would engulf the region.

The threatening rhetoric from Tehran came in response to a statement by the secretary of state, John Kerry, on Monday that the US would respond to the "undeniable" use of chemical weapons in Syria.

In the strongest signal yet that the US intends to take military action against the Assad regime, Kerry said President Bashar al-Assad's forces had committed a "moral obscenity" against his own people.

"Make no mistake," Kerry said. "President Obama believes there must be accountability for those who would use the world's most heinous weapon against the world's most vulnerable people. Nothing today is more serious, and nothing is receiving more serious scrutiny".

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman, Abbas Araqchi, indicated it was equally resolved to defend Assad.

"We want to strongly warn against any military attack in Syria.

There will definitely be perilous consequences for the region," Araqchi told a news conference. "These complications and consequences will not be restricted to Syria. It will engulf the whole region."

Shi'ite Iran is Syria's closest ally and has accused an alliance of militant Sunni Islamists, Israel and western powers of trying to use the conflict to take over the region. (+ video) » | Paul Lewis in Washington, Martin Chulov in Beirut, Julian Borger and Nicholas Watt | Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Muscle-Flexing: UK Deploys Warplanes in Cyprus, 100km from Syria

Syria looks set to face a military onslaught as British media report that warplanes and transport jets are being deployed at the UK's airbase in Cyprus. The spot is just a hundred kilometres from the Syrian coastline and is expected to become a launch-point for a US-led campaign against the Assad government. RT's Lucy Kafanov joins the studio with the details.

Brewing Storm: 'Western Military Intervention Will Worsen Syria'

To help answer the growing amount of questions on Syria, Lode Vanoost in Brussels - a journalist who's widely-covered events in Syria, and who is also a former deputy speaker of Belguim's parliament joins RT.

Boy Dies of Plague in Kyrgyzstan

BBC: A 15-year-old herder has died in Kyrgyzstan of bubonic plague - the first case in the country in 30 years - officials say.

The teenager appears to have been bitten by an infected flea.

The authorities have sought to calm fears of an epidemic and have quarantined more than 100 people.

Bubonic plague, known as the Black Death when it killed an estimated 25 million people in Europe during the Middle Ages, is now rare.

The teenager, named as Temir Issakunov, came from a mountain village in the north-east of the country, close to the border with Kazakhstan.

"We suspect that the patient was infected with the plague through the bite of a flea," health ministry official Tolo Isakov said.

He said teams had been sent to the area to get rid of rodents, which host the fleas that can carry the deadly bacterium. » | Monday, August 26, 2013

Saudis Offer Russia Secret Oil Deal If It Drops Syria

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Saudi Arabia has secretly offered Russian a sweeping deal to control the global oil market and safeguard Russia’s gas contracts, if the Kremlin backs away from the Assad regime in Syria.

The revelations come amid high tension in the Middle East, with US, British, and French warship[s] poised for missile strikes in Syria. Iran has threatened to retaliate.

The strategic jitters pushed Brent crude prices to a five-month high of $112 a barrel. “We are only one incident away from a serious oil spike. The market is a lot tighter than people think,” said Chris Skrebowski, editor of Petroleum Review.

Leaked transcripts of a closed-door meeting between Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan shed an extraordinary light on the hard-nosed Realpolitik of the two sides.

Prince Bandar, head of Saudi intelligence, allegedly confronted the Kremlin with a mix of inducements and threats in a bid to break the deadlock over Syria. “Let us examine how to put together a unified Russian-Saudi strategy on the subject of oil. The aim is to agree on the price of oil and production quantities that keep the price stable in global oil markets,” he said at the four-hour meeting with Mr Putin. They met at Mr Putin’s dacha outside Moscow three weeks ago.

“We understand Russia’s great interest in the oil and gas in the Mediterranean from Israel to Cyprus. And we understand the importance of the Russian gas pipeline to Europe. We are not interested in competing with that. We can cooperate in this area,” he said, purporting to speak with the full backing of the US. » | Ambrose Evans-Pritchard | Monday, August 26, 2013

Britische Banker: Die Europäer

FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNGNirgendwo in Großbritannien hat die EU so viele Unterstützer wie in der Londoner City. Die Banker bangen um ihr Geschäft, sollte das Land Europa den Rücken kehren.:

Der sechshundertfünfundachtzigste in der langen Reihe der Lord Mayor of London sitzt in seinem Büro im Herzen des Bankenviertels und sagt, dass dort alle Europa-Fans seien. „Ich habe noch keinen Banker getroffen, der findet, wir sollten aus der EU austreten“, sagt Roger Gifford. Als Bürgermeister der City of London, dem Finanzbezirk und historischen Kern der britischen Hauptstadt, ist er eine Art Edel-Lobbyist für die Interessen der Finanzmanager an der Themse. Recht weit oben auf seiner Agenda steht ein Problem, das maßgeblich über die Zukunft Londons als zweitgrößtem Finanzzentrum der Welt entscheiden könnte: Die wachsende Entfremdung zwischen Großbritannien und Europa. Was die Finanzmanager in der City umtreibt ist allerdings nicht die Sorge um das europäische Projekt als solches. Ihnen geht es um Soll und Haben. » | Von Marcus Theurer, London | Freitag, 23. August 2013

Brigitte Bardot Accuses French Police of Brutality

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Brigitte Bardot today accused French police of "savagery" after a man was left in a coma when they cleared anti-bullfighting protestors from an arena.

Dozens of animal rights demonstrators were hurt during the clearance in Rion-des-Landes, close to the Spanish border in south west France, on Sunday.

Around 80 of them had attended the bullfight, including members of the Brigitte Bardot Foundation, which is run by the retired movie star.

One of the eight most seriously hurt was airlifted to hospital in Bordeaux, and has since been placed in an artificial coma because of his head injuries.

“If the barbarity behind the torture of bulls and their bloody deaths are tolerated in certain regions in the name of an obsolete, ridiculous, indecent and sadistic tradition, then the right to protest peacefully should also equally and legally be respected in a democracy,” said Ms Bardot, 78.

The family of the injured man – identified only as Alain – are now set to press criminal charges against the police, saying they caused his injuries on purpose. » | Peter Allen in Paris | Monday, August 26, 2013

The Strange Death of the British Middle Class

THE SPECTATOR: The great stabilising force in our society is disappearing fast

To Voltaire, the British class system could be summed up in a sentence. The people of these islands, he said, ‘are like their own beer; froth on top, dregs at bottom, the middle excellent’. A harsh judgment, perhaps, but one that might still have some truth in it today. Yes, we have horrible poverty in our council estates and toffery on our country estates. But Britain is a country that has always taken pride in what we think of as middle-class virtues — hard work, honesty, thrift and self-help.

Today, however, we are witnessing the strange death of the middle class. In Britain, as in the United States, it isn’t just being squeezed — it is actually shrinking and sinking. This is the most disturbing social change of our age and will probably dominate your children’s lives. The lifestyle that the average earner had half a century ago — reasonably sized house, dependable healthcare, a decent education for the children and a reliable pension — is becoming the preserve of the rich. Middle-class pensioners look on amazed at how their children, now into adulthood, seem to have a far harder time.

Just as Britain has an unwritten constitution, so the values of the middle class have been tacitly understood — even if they have proven difficult to define. ‘England,’ declared the Liberal MP Charles Masterman in 1909, ‘is the tone and temper which the ideals and determinations of the middle class has stamped upon it.’ Advocating the Great Reform Act, Lord Brougham put it even better. ‘By the people, I mean the middle classes,’ he said, ‘the wealth and intelligence of the country. The glory of the British name.’ The Conservative party, when it has been most successful, has sought to define and champion the middle class — or, more importantly, its ideals. David Cameron tries, still, now and again. His government, he likes to say, is on the side of ‘hard-working people who do the right thing’.

And how might you define the right thing? Studying hard at school and university, finding a job, getting married, saving money and buying a house. For those who did that, Britain has been — until recently — a superb place to live. Evelyn Waugh wrote Brideshead Revisited in 1945 as a requiem for a ruling class that he thought would be supplanted by a new, regnant middle. This seemed to arrive in the Thatcher government, in the ascendancy of a grocer’s daughter from Grantham who revered small businessmen and savers. It struck many as crude, certainly déclassé. But it seemed to represent a transfer of power from the well-born elite and towards a self-confident middle class. » | Ed West and Fraser Nelson | Saturday, August 24, 2013

Les cigarettes électroniques potentiellement cancérogènes

LE FIGARO – SANTÉ: Une étude menée par 60 millions de consommateurs révèle que les e-cigarettes peuvent émettre des molécules toxiques, dans des teneurs qui dépassent parfois même celles des cigarettes conventionnelles.

Les cigarettes électroniques sont-elles dangereuses? En tout cas, elles ne seraient «pas si inoffensives», selon le magazine 60 millions de consommateurs. «Ce n'est pas une raison pour les interdire. C'est une raison pour mieux les contrôler», écrit Thomas Laurenceau, rédacteur en chef du magazine de l'Institut national de la consommation (INC) dans le numéro de septembre de la revue.

La publication affirme avoir décelé, grâce à une méthode inédite, des «molécules cancérogènes en quantité significative» dans les vapeurs d'e-cigarettes qui, selon elle, n'avaient jamais été mises en évidence jusque-là. «Ainsi dans trois cas sur dix, pour des produits avec ou sans nicotine, les teneurs en formaldéhyde (couramment dénommé formol) relevées flirtent avec celles observées dans certaines cigarettes conventionnelles.» » | Par le Figaro.fr | lundi 26 août 2013

Russia Warns West Over 'Illegal' Syria Intervention

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Russian foreign minister warns West that military intervention in Syrian conflict without UN Security Council approval would violate international law, as UN inspectors finally arrive at site of last week's suspected chemical weapons attack.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters that the use of military force by the West against Assad's regime without the approval of the UN Security Council "is a very grave violation of international law".

Speaking at a hastily convened news conference, he added that the West was currently moving towards "a very dangerous path, a very slippery path".

His comments came after William Hague today refused to rule out bombing Assad regime targets within days, warning that the Syrian regime could not be allowed to use chemical weapons against its own people “with impunity”, following an alleged attack last week in which at least 355 people were killed and 3,600 injured.

Royal Navy vessels are being readied to take part in a possible series of cruise missile strikes, alongside the United States, as military commanders finalise a list of potential targets.

The British Foreign Secretary said "there is no possible explanation other than that [the alleged chemical attack] has been carried out by the Assad regime". » | Andrew Marszal | Monday, August 26, 2013

Miranda Detention: 'Blatant Attack on Press Freedom'

SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: The detention of David Miranda -- partner of the Guardian journalist involved in the NSA revelations -- and the destruction of hard drives in the British newspaper's basement reveal one thing: Governments do not want their citizens to be informed when it comes to the topic of surveillance.

I woke up last Sunday in Berlin to an email from Glenn Greenwald with only one sentence: "I need to talk to you ASAP."

For the past three months, Glenn and I have been reporting on the NSA disclosures revealed to us by Edward Snowden.

I went online to the encrypted channel that Glenn and I use to communicate. He told me that he had just received a call telling him that his partner David Miranda was being detained at London's Heathrow airport under the Terrorism Act. David was traveling from Berlin where he had come to work with me. For the next six hours I was online with Glenn as he tried to find out what was happening to the person he loves most in the world. » | A Commentary by Laura Poitras | Monday, August 26, 2013

Inside Story: Is Egypt's Judicial System on Trial?

As the world watches the legal proceedings against Mubarak and Morsi, we ask if their trials will be transparent or not.

UN Inspectors Visit Syria Attack Site

Team visits field hospitals near Damascus despite being "deliberately shot at multiple times by unidentified snipers".

Assad Warns Failure Awaits US Military Intervention in Syria

THE GUARDIAN: President says chemical weapons allegations are politically motivated and all US wars since Vietnam have ended badly

Syrian president Bashar al-Assad has dismissed as politically motivated western allegations that he used chemical weapons and warned Washington that any US military intervention would fail, in an interview published in a Russian newspaper on Monday.

"Failure awaits the United States as in all previous wars it has unleashed, starting with Vietnam and up to the present day," he told the Izvestia daily when asked what would happen if Washington decided to strike or invade Syria.

Assad said Syrian government forces had been close to where rebel forces say chemical weapons were used last week during the country's more than two-year-old civil war.

"Would any state use chemical or any other weapons of mass destruction in a place where its own forces are concentrated? That would go against elementary logic," Assad told Izvestia, a pro-Kremlin newspaper.

Russia has been Assad's most important international ally throughout the civil war, supplying his troops with arms and resisting pressure at the UN for tighter sanctions on Damascus.

Asked about the arms deliveries, Assad said: "I want to say that all contracts that have been concluded with Russia are being fulfilled." » | Reuters in Moscow | Monday, August 26, 2013

U.S. Says Syria Offer to Show Chemical Attack Sites 'Too Late'

REUTERS.COM: A U.S. military response to alleged chemical weapons attacks in Syria appeared more likely on Sunday after Washington dismissed the Syrian government's offer to allow U.N. inspection of the sites as "too late to be credible."

A senior official of the U.S. administration said there was little doubt the Syrian government had used chemical weapons against civilians in suburbs of Damascus last week and that President Barack Obama was weighing how to respond.

A year ago, Obama said the use of chemical weapons in Syria's war would be a "red line" for the United States. However, Obama has been reluctant to intervene in Syria and U.S. officials stressed that he has yet to make a decision on how to respond.

U.S. lawmakers from both political parties urged a limited American military response, such as cruise missile strikes, but a senior Democrat, Senator Jack Reed, cautioned that any move by Washington should not be unilateral.

Senator Bob Corker, the top Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee, said he had discussed the issue with the administration in the past week and believed Obama would ask Congress for authorization for intervention once Congress returns from its recess on September 9.

"I think we will respond in a surgical way and I hope the president as soon as we get back to Washington will ask for authorization from Congress to do something in a very surgical and proportional way," he told Fox News Sunday.

Americans strongly oppose U.S. intervention in Syria's civil war and believe Washington should stay out of the conflict even if the reports are true that the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons, a Reuters/Ipsos poll says. » | Mark Felsenthal and Susan Cornwell | Washington | Sunday, August 25, 2013

Liz Cheney: Time to 'Stand Up and Fight' to Save America

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Far out in the America west, under the big skies and rough-hewn landscapes of Wyoming, near the town that William "Buffalo Bill" Cody gave his name, a race is on for the soul of America.

And it is a woman with a familiar surname in US politics that is asking for a chance to lead a renewed assault on Washington and rid America of, what she sees as, the scourge of Barack Obama, impending socialism and the grasping hand of big government.

Liz Cheney – 46-year-old daughter of former US vice president Dick Cheney – doesn't stand much over five feet tall in her cowboy boots, but from behind her sunglasses she radiates the kind of toughness that suits a place where you can still legally take a six-shooter into a bar.

It is very early days in her race for the 2014 Senate, but as Mrs Cheney takes to the stump to address a meeting of the Big Horn Basin branch of the Tea Party, she is breathing conservative fire and warning that America is facing "a moment of decision."

Just as Winston Churchill refused to "seek terms with Nazis" and "saved freedom and civilisation" in 1940; just as Margaret Thatcher saved Britain from the "ravages of socialism" and Ronald Reagan saved America from the "morass" of the Carter years, Mrs Cheney says it is now time to "stand up and fight."

The comparisons with Nazism might sound a little over-the-top, but not to Wyoming's Tea Party activists who believe with a passion that the essence of America embodied in the US Constitution, is being frittered away.

Most are over 60, and believe the America that they grew up in – hardscrabble, self-reliant, enterprising and "free" – is being suffocated by a stultifying blanket of petty regulation and political correctness that intrudes everywhere from farmyard to workplace; to classroom and beyond. » | Peter Foster in Cody, Wyoming | Sunday, August 25, 2013

Inside Story: Egypt: A Return to the Old Régime?

We examine how the former President Hosni Mubarak's release from jail will play out in the country.

Janet Daley: It's Left-wing Prats Who Are Defending Our Freedoms

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The visit by national security agents to smash up computers at the Guardian newspaper is shocking, like something out of East Germany in the 1970s

A few weeks ago, a British national newspaper was visited by a detachment of national security agents who demanded that its computers and hard drives be destroyed. The security men then stood over its staff while they smashed their equipment to pieces. In the peace-time history of a free country, this incident is about as shocking as it gets. And yet, a remarkable consensus has grown up, including – I’m sorry to say – many on my side of the political fence, to the effect that this is no big deal.

The reasons that this scene – which looks, on the face of it, like something out of East Germany in the 1970s – is apparently perfectly acceptable seem to be: a) the data in the computers was a threat to the national security of this country and to that of our American allies; b) this information was stolen from the US government and published illegally by people who are narcissistic/eccentric/of dubious political judgment, and c) the newspaper in question was the Guardian, which is full of annoying Left-wing prats. Let’s consider these points in order of importance.

Taking a hammer to the hardware in the Guardian’s basement will make scarcely any difference to the dissemination of this data since duplicates reside in other locations around the globe. So presiding over the physical destruction of the newspaper’s property could only constitute a form of rather theatrical intimidation.

The official excuse for getting rid of the equipment – even though the data was known to exist elsewhere – was that the paper’s system might be insecure, so obliterating it meant that at least one source of potential leaks was eliminated. This would be far more credible if the National Security Agency (whose mass surveillance programme had been exposed) was as diligent in carrying out its prescribed function as it is in vindictively pursuing anyone who reports its unconstitutional activities to the world. Read on and comment » | Janet Daley | Saturday, August 24, 2013

My comment:

Guardianistas are defending our freedoms. Perhaps they don't call it The Guardian for nothing then.

PS: Excellent article by Janet Daley. – © Mark

This comment appears here too.

Diana Film Is 'Completely Wrong', Says Former Lover

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: According to the tagline on posters for the new biopic portraying Princess Diana’s love affair with a Pakistani heart surgeon, “the legend is never the whole story.”

Now the man at the centre of the narrative, Hasnat Khan, has spoken out to insist that the film itself does not tell the whole story either, being based entirely “on hypotheses and gossip.”

Dr Khan, who was nicknamed Mr Wonderful by the Princess, launched a scathing criticism of the forthcoming big budget release, Diana, claiming it was “completely wrong” and vowing he would never watch it.

A still image from the film showing the actors playing him and Diana side by side at the hospital where they met was enough to convince him it would entirely misrepresent their relationship, he said.

“I don't see this movie doing well at all,” he said.

“It is based on gossip and Diana's friends talking about a relationship that they didn't know much about, and some of my relatives who didn't know much about it either. It is all based on hypotheses and gossip.” » | Rosa Silverman | Sunday, August 25, 2013

MAIL ON SUNDAY: Diana film’s cruel lies about our love, by Hasnat Khan: Doctor nicknamed ‘Mr Wonderful’ by the Princess attacks new movie… and reveals an intriguing insight into their affair » Hasnat Khan | Saturday, August 24, 2013

US-Bürger sind gegen Syrien-Intervention

TAGES ANZEIGER: Sollte sich US-Präsident Obama entscheiden, in Syrien einzugreifen, täte er dies ohne die Unterstützung seines Volks: 60 Prozent sind der Meinung, die USA sollten nicht intervenieren. Republikaner machen dennoch Druck.

Die Amerikaner sind mehrheitlich gegen eine US-Intervention in Syrien. Sie sind der Meinung, Washington sollte sich aus dem Konflikt heraushalten – obwohl vergangene Woche dramatische Bilder eines Chemiewaffeneinsatzes um die Welt gingen. Zu diesem Resultat kommt eine Umfrage der Nachrichtenagentur Reuters in Zusammenarbeit mit dem Marktforschungsinstitut Ipsos. Konkret waren 60 Prozent der Befragten der Meinung, die USA sollten nicht eingreifen. Nur neun Prozent finden, US-Präsident Obama sollte handeln. » | rbi/sda | Sonntag, 25. August 2013

Syrien: Assad erlaubt Untersuchung von mutmaßlichem Giftgaseinsatz

FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: UN-Kontrolleure dürfen die bombardierten Dörfer in Syrien untersuchen, in denen Giftgas eingesetzt worden sein soll. Das hat das syrische Außenministerium bekanntgegeben. Das Pentagon hatte zuvor erklärt, für eine mögliche militärische Intervention gerüstet zu sein.

Nach dem mutmaßlichen Einsatz von Giftgas in Syrien hat die syrische Regierung den Chemiewaffenkontrolleuren der UN Zugang zu den bombardierten Dörfern versprochen. Das meldete die staatliche syrische Nachrichtenagentur Sana am Sonntag. Wie das syrische Außenministerium mitteilte, erzielten die Regierung in Damaskus und UN-Vertreter eine entsprechende Vereinbarung. Nach Angaben der syrischen Opposition waren am Mittwoch bei Angriffen der Regierungstruppen mit Chemiewaffen nahe der Hauptstadt mehr als tausend Menschen getötet worden. » | Sonntag, 25. August 2013

Téhéran reconnaît l'utilisation d'armes chimiques

24 HEURES: L'Iran, allié du président syrien Bachar al Assad, a reconnu pour la première fois samedi par la voix de son président Hassan Rohani, que des armes chimiques avaient été utilisées en Syrie.

Téhéran a reconnu l'utilisation d'armes chimiques par la Syrie. Le président iranien Hassan Rohani a appelé la communauté internationale à empêcher leur utilisation.

Le nouveau président iranien n'a pas été jusqu'à dire qui était responsable de l'utilisation de ces armes. Jusqu'ici Téhéran accusait les rebelles d'être derrière les attaques présumées à l'arme chimique.

Il n'a pas non plus fait allusion au tollé international suscité par les informations données par l'opposition syrienne a propos de l'attaque massive à l'arme chimique menée par les forces loyales au président Bachar al Assad aux premières heures de mercredi dans la banlieue est de Damas qui aurait fait plusieurs centaines de morts. » | samedi 24 août 2013

Nutella attaque en justice Nugtella

LE SOIR: Ferrero veut protéger ses droits et éviter toute confusion avec cette pâte à tartiner à la marijuana

Les fabricants de la pâte à tartiner Nutella, soit la société italienne Ferrero, vont agir en justice contre les fabricants américains de Nugtella, une pâte à tartiner au chocolat, aux noisettes et... à la marijuana.

Pour consommer du Nugtella, un habitant de la Californie doit posséder une «carte de marijuana médicinale». » | Rédaction en ligne | dimanche 25 août 2013

Lien en relation avec l’article »

Arabie : un nouveau décès dû au coronavirus

leJDD.fr: Un Saoudien atteint du coronavirus est décédé, portant à 41 le nombre de morts liés à ce virus en Arabie saoudite, a indiqué dimanche le ministère de la Santé, en évoquant par ailleurs deux nouveaux cas dans le sud-ouest du royaume. » | dimanche 25 août 2013

The Truthseeker: US Civil War Is Coming

US Government "getting ready for civil war"; the experimental vaccines in your dinner; and that virus on your computer - the army now linked to systematic black ops against ordinary citizens. Seek truth from facts with Trends Journal publisher Gerry Celente, editor of Storyleak Anthony Gucciardi, and author of Questioning the War on Terror Dr. Kevin Barrett.

Venture Capital: Oil in the Sand

Who controls Libya's oil industry: is it the government or regional tribal warlords? With crude exports accounting for 95% of the country's earnings, ongoing strikes are now threatening the nation's lifeline. Moscow is gearing up for the MAKS international air show -- as the latest jets take to the skies we'll tell you about the billion-dollar deals to be struck on the ground. Greece's state TV has been switched on, but is the government switched off when it comes to the country's finances? RT's in-house trader Sean Thomas manages to keep his shirt and even his pants this week as he battles with the bulls and bears on the Russian stock market.

America Ready to Take Action against Syria as Iran Warns of 'Harsh Consequences'

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: America is ready to take action against the Syrian regime and has "prepared options for all contingencies," as Western leaders summon their advisers to discuss how to handle the crisis.

Chuck Hagel, the American defence secretary, said the US was still assessing the evidence from Wednesday's chemical weapons attacks in Damascus, that are thought to have killed up to 1,300 people.

Four American warships have moved into the Mediterranean as President Barack Obama weighs up his options.

"President Obama has asked the defence department to prepare options for all contingencies. We have done that," said Mr Hagel, speaking in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur as part of a south[-]east Asia tour.

"Again, we are prepared to exercise whatever option, if he decides to employ one of those options." » | Harriet Alexander | Sunday, August 25, 2013

Special Report: After the Chemical Weapons Attack, Military Action against Syria Looms Closer, Warn David Cameron and Barack Obama

THE INDEPENDENT: Britain and US warn President Assad of 'serious response'

Military action against Syria moved a step closer last night after Britain and the United States warned President Bashar al-Assad that there would be a “serious response” to last week's chemical weapons attack in Syria. As fresh footage emerged of children killed in the strike against a Damascus suburb last Wednesday, David Cameron and Barack Obama agreed in a 40-minute phone call yesterday that the Syrian government was responsible for the atrocity and that all military options are on the table.

The two leaders agreed that "a significant use of chemical weapons would merit a serious response" and a "new stage" in the two-and-a-half-year civil war. In a sign of how the military build-up is escalating, Washington despatched a fourth naval warship to the Mediterranean capable of launching missile attacks on targets on the Syrian mainland. Mr Cameron and the US President are "looking for a response that makes clear our abhorrence about the use of chemical weapons", a British source said. "Both shared the view that there is little doubt that this was a significant use by the Assad regime of chemical weapons against his own people," a No 10 source said.

While Britain is against sending "boots on the ground", military action could range from enforcing no-fly zones to air strikes against the Syrian regime. » | Alex Delmar-Morgan, Jane Merrick | Sunday, August 25, 2013

Brushing Brussels Off: Iceland May Drop Bid for EU Membership

Iceland is thinking of dropping its bid for membership of the EU. The country's foreign ministry will consider dissolving the special committee which is working on the negotiations. Iceland suspended talks ahead of parliamentary elections in January, and the eurosceptic coalition which took power has never restarted them. For more, RT talks to to Arsaell Valfells, economics professor at the University of Iceland.

Windows Watching? Germany Fears OS Provides NSA with Remote Access

Leaked German security documents have shown the country doesn't trust the new Windows 8 system - fearing it provides the NSA with remote access. That's according to one of the country's newspapers - although the German government denies it. Earlier reports indicated the country was a major target for US intelligence - let's remind you how much data the NSA collected there.

State of Emergency in San Francisco as Huge Wildfire Moves into Yosemite

THE OBSERVER: San Francisco is on alert as blaze threatens power and water supply

A huge wildfire raging on the western boundary of Yosemite National Park was gaining strength on Saturday and led California's governor, Jerry Brown, to declare a state of emergency 150 miles away in San Francisco. Officials fear the blaze could threaten the city's water and power supply.

The week-long fire on the slopes of the western Sierra Nevada mountains is burning across nearly 200 sq miles, threatens 5,500 homes and could push deeper into Yosemite – one of the country's most treasured national parks as well as one of California's most popular tourist destinations. » | Edward Helmore in New York | Saturday, August 24, 2013

France: Une maire d'extrême droite refuse un mariage gay

TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Une maire s'oppose au mariage dans sa commune de deux femmes en raison de sa «conscience».

La maire de Bollène (Vaucluse), Marie-Claude Bompard (Ligue du Sud), opposée au mariage pour tous, refuse que l'union de deux jeunes femmes soit célébrée, par elle comme par un conseiller municipal, au nom de sa «conscience», a-t-on appris auprès de la mairie, confirmant une information de Vaucluse matin.

«Il s'agit d'un viol de conscience, les maires sont sous la contrainte, sous la menace de sanctions disproportionnées et illégitimes», a indiqué le directeur de communication de la mairie de Bollène, Jean Vallier. «A l'automne dernier François Hollande, président de la République, avait reconnu la conscience des maires sur ce sujet au congrès des maires, c'est une preuve que c'est une affaire de conscience», a-t-il ajouté. » | afp/Newsnet | samedi 24 août 2013

Scam Scan Spreads: UK Operates Secret Mideast Digi-spy Base

The UK's reportedly been operating a secret data gathering base in the Middle East - part of a one and a half billion dollar investment in global surveillance. Britain's Independent newspaper claims it obtained this information from Edward Snowden's leaks. But the NSA whistleblower himself says he has not released any information linked to these allegations.

Miranda Rights: UK Takes Flak over Detention of Greenwald's Partner, File Destruction

A judge has ruled British police won't be able to fully inspect a lap-top or other items taken from the partner of a journalist who was involved in publishing NSA spy leaks. David Miranda was detained and questioned for nine hours under the Terrorism Act in London. The government's been under fire ever since detaining him, as well as forcing the Guardian newspaper to destroy files containing NSA data.

David Miranda's Detention Is a Threat to Press Freedom, Say European Editors

THE GUARDIAN: Newspapers urge prime minister to restore Britain's reputation for free press after holding of Guardian journalist's partner

The detention and subsequent criminal investigation into the partner of a Guardian journalist threatens to undermine the position of the free press around the world, the editors of several northern European newspapers have warned.

In an open letter to David Cameron published in today's Observer, the editors of Denmark's Politiken, Sweden's Dagens Nyheter, Norway's Aftenposten and Finland's Helsingin Sanomat describe the detention of David Miranda, the partner of the Guardian's Glenn Greenwald, as harassment.

They say that the "events in Great Britain over the past week give rise to deep concern" and call on the British prime minister to "reinstall your government among the leading defenders of the free press".

Miranda was detained by the Metropolitan police for nine hours last Sunday as he was passing through Heathrow on his way to Brazil.

Greenwald has broken a series of stories about the US intelligence agencies based on material leaked by the National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden.

The editors describe a free press as crucial to holding governments and their intelligence agencies to account. They write: "We are surprised by the recent acts by officials of your government against our colleagues at the Guardian and deeply concerned that a stout defender of democracy and free debate like the United Kingdom uses anti-terror legislation in order to legalise what amounts to harassment of both the paper and individuals associated with it."

They add: "It is deeply disturbing that the police have now announced a criminal investigation" and they warn that "the implication of these acts may have ramifications far beyond the borders of the UK, undermining the position of the free press throughout the world". » | Jamie Doward | The Observer | Saturday, August 24, 2013

Ban for a Ban: Should Gay Propaganda Law Be Addressed via Sochi Boycott?

The Olympic flame is set to light up Sochi in several months, but as the final touches are being added to the venues, calls to boycott the Winter Olympics are becoming louder in some European countries & across the Atlantic too. The reason is not connected with sport though, but with a ban on homosexual propaganda to minors, recently adopted by Russia lawmakers. RT invited a panel of guests for a broad discussion on the matter.

Iran: la bombe nucléaire menacerait la sécurité, dit un ministre

LE POINT: Posséder la bombe atomique menacerait la sécurité de l'Iran, a déclaré le ministre iranien des Affaires étrangères, Mohammad Javad Zarif.

"Nous considérons que posséder l'arme nucléaire n'est pas conforme aux intérêts du pays et menacerait la sécurité de l'Iran", a déclaré M. Zarif, dont les propos étaient rapportés vendredi par l'agence Fars.

Mais il a aussitôt ajouté que "le peuple iranien ne renoncera pas à ses droits" en matière nucléaire. "Mais nous allons montrer au monde entier qu'il n'existe aucune menace de la part de l'Iran" contre les autres pays, a-t-il ajouté. "La seule menace nucléaire (...) vient du régime sioniste", a-t-il ajouté, en allusion à Israël. » | AFP | vendredi 23 août 2013

Failure to Take Neo-Nazi Serial Killers Seriously Led to Murder Spree

German security services allowed a neo-Nazi gang to go on a murder spree that took the lives of 10 people because they failed to take the threat of far-Right violence seriously, an inquiry has found.

Read The Daily Telegraph article here | Jeevan Vasagar, Berlin | Thursday, August 22, 2013

Bahrain: The Police and the Protesters

BBC: Police in Bahrain were heavily criticised in 2011 for the way in which they had put down anti-government unrest earlier that year.

Dozens died, hundreds were injured and hundreds more arrested - almost all Shia Muslims, the majority population in a country ruled by a Sunni Muslim royal family, the al-Khalifas.

A panel of international human rights experts criticised the use of "excessive and unnecessary lethal force."

Now, authorities in the Gulf island kingdom say they have undertaken a lengthy list of reforms of the police.

Critics say the reforms are little more than window dressing.

Bill Law visited a Shia community to gauge the feeling there two years on. (+ video) » | Thursday, August 22, 2013

Barack Obama: The First Female President

THE DAILY CALLER: Condolences to Hillary Clinton, who wanted to be the first woman president. She just missed it.

Barack Obama is the first female president.

And no, it’s not because President Obama doesn’t hunt or drink a lot of beer, or curse and belch. As I’ve written before, quoting H.L. Mencken, every great man has a streak of woman in him. “Find me an obviously intelligent man,” Mencken wrote in In Defense of Women, “a man free of sentimentality and illusion, a man hard to deceive, a man of the first class, and I’ll show you a man with a wide streak of woman in him.” Examples: Lincoln, Goethe, Bonaparte, Bismarck, Shakespeare, JFK. I am not here defending the caveman or moron WWF America.

The problem is, Barack Obama doesn’t have just a streak of the feminine in him; he seems to be a woman, and a feminist one at that, with a streak of man in him. » | Mark Judge | Author: A Tremor of Bliss | Tuesday, August 20, 2013

US Army Will Not Allow Bradley Manning to Become a Woman

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Bradley Manning announced today he wanted to live the rest of his life as a woman called Chelsea but the US Army said he could not start hormone therapy while serving his 35-year prison term.

A day after he was sentenced for handing thousands of secret files to WikiLeaks, the soldier said he wanted to live as a female and be known as "Chelsea Manning".

The 25-year-old was diagnosed with a gender identity disorder while serving in Iraq and sent his superiors an email of himself dressed as a woman with a blonde wig and make[-]up.

"As I transition into the next phase of my life, I want everyone to know the real me," Manning said in a statement released through his lawyer. "I am Chelsea Manning. I am a female.

"Given the way I feel, and have felt since childhood, I want to begin hormone therapy as soon as possible."

Manning requested that his supporters refer to him as "she" and signed the statement "Chelsea E. Manning". » | Raf Sanchez, Washington | Thursday, August 22, 2013

A person's gender used to be determined by his/her genitals. It was simple, and obeyed nature. Whatever happened to that concept? – ©Mark

This comment appears here too.

Al Jazeera World: The Pain Inside

After military service, many young Israelis travel abroad to distance themselves from distressing experiences.

Egypt's Hosni Mubarak Released from Prison

Former president leaves Tora prison pending further court hearings, but will remain under house arrest.

Egypt Salafists Warn against Trying to Wipe Out Islamism

REUTERS UK: While security forces round up the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's second largest religious party has warned the state against trying to wipe out political Islam entirely during its toughest crackdown in decades.

The Nour Party, a Salafist group that backed the military's removal of President Mohamed Mursi last month, is now also feeling the heat, its leader Younes Makhyoun told Reuters.

Members of his pacifist party - which follows an austere interpretation of Islam - have been beaten, harassed and turned over to the police in recent days, simply because they wear beards as a sign of their religious observance, he said.

With at least 900 people killed in a week, Makhyoun cautioned against an arbitrary campaign targeting Islamists, saying this would drive some underground. "This will be a dangerous path and make many disavow the tools of democracy, and perhaps resort to other methods," he said in an interview.

Political Islam could not be "uprooted", he added. "If anyone is thinking about excluding it, that is of the utmost stupidity."

The Brotherhood's main rival, the Nour Party turned strongly against the much older Islamist group earlier this year, joining liberals who accused Mursi of staging a power grab. » | Tom Perry | Cairo | Wednesday, August 21, 2013

White House Spokesman Jokes about Islamic Attacks on Christian Churches in Egypt

THE DAILY CALLER: The White House’s deputy press secretary today downplayed Muslim attacks on Christians in Egypt, joking about the savagery that has left at least six Christians dead.

Press secretary Josh Earnest was asked by Fox News’ correspondent, Ed Henry, if President Barack Obama has a “red line” beyond which he would act against Muslim attacks on Egyptian Christians.

“Well, I didn’t bring my red pen out with me today,” Earnest joked.

After making his joke, Earnest said the administration is “outraged… and concerned” about the Muslim attacks on almost 100 churches, monasteries, orphanages and other marked Christian sites. Many Christians’ shops and homes have also been looted and burned by mobs.

But Earnest didn’t name or criticize the attackers, even though he did charge the military with perpetrating “violence… against peaceful protestors.” (+ video) » | Neil Munro | White House Correspondent | Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Convicted WikiLeaker Manning Wants to Live as Woman

Read the Reuters article here
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