Frustration Grows Over Saudi Deportations

Thousands of migrant workers waiting to leave the Kingdom after surrendering amid new protests and violence.

Pre-Christmas Party Angers Dutch Campaigners

Anti-racism campaigners say the event, during which children paint their faces black, is inappropriate.

Nobel-winning Novelist Lessing Dies at 94

British novelist, who tackled race, ideology, gender politics in prolific and often iconoclastic career died in London.

The Most Diverse Street in America

Welcome to Devon Ave in Chicago, where immigrants come for cheap housing, acceptance and the comforts the old country.

'Allah Made Me': Radicalized EU Citizens Threaten Home Countries

As chemical weapons in Syria are being sought out and destroyed, spy chiefs in Europe have warned of a rapid rise in citizens going out there to fight. Counterterrorism analysts say one in ten of all foreign fighters come from the continent. And as the EU's top intelligence official has warned, they pose a serious threat to their home countries if they make it back from the fighting.

The Truthseeker: White Minority of America

This Thanksgiving celebrate 'far and away the most massive act of genocide in the history of the world'; Unthanksgiving Day and National Day of Mourning protests expose the real story of the first settlers; the bloodbath after the federal government 50¢/scalp offer to anyone who kills a native American; and the year whites become a minority in the US.

Seek truth from facts with Ihanktonwan First Nation hereditary Chief Phil Lane, Mexica Movement Director Olin Tezcatlipoca, Atsina tribe member Lenore Stiffarm, who suffered sexual abuse from the Catholic Church at an 'Indian boarding school', Savage Anxieties author Professor Rob Will

Saudis Team Up with Israel to Plan Strike against Iran - Report

Although Israel and Saudi Arabia officially have no diplomatic relations - they're rumoured to be preparing a joint bombing campaign against Iran. The Sunday Times suggests an attack may take place if a new round of international talks fails to produce a deal rolling back Tehran's nuclear power programme. Israel considers Iran its enemy-number-one, and has long accused the country of working on an atomic bomb, a charge that Iran denies.

Directors' Pay Jumps 14% in Year Thanks to Share Incentives

BBC: Total pay for the directors of the UK's top businesses rose 14% over the past year driven by a huge jump in share-based long term incentive payments, a pay research company has found.

Incomes Data Services ((IDS) said this took the average pay for a director of a FTSE 100 firm to £3.3m.

IDS said basic pay rises were "relatively restrained" at 4% higher, while annual bonuses fell 8.8%.

But total pay rose thanks to a 58% rise in share-based long-term incentives.

And over the past ten years, the median total earnings of a FTSE 100 chief executive has gone up by 243%, Steve Tatton, editor of IDS's directors' pay report, told the BBC.

Mr Tatton said the survey illustrated the "complex make-up of boardroom remuneration".

"With nearly two-thirds of FTSE directors benefiting from an LTIP [long-term incentive plan] award in the latest year, the higher share-based payouts clearly made up for any ground lost in lower annual bonuses," he added.

A director is typically awarded a proportion of their salary in shares, which pay out only if the director hits their performance targets. » | Monday, November 18, 2013

Martin Bashir Says Sarah Palin Is an 'Idiot' and Suggests Someone Should Defecate in Her Mouth

THE INDEPENDENT: Bashir used his afternoon show to launch a scathing attack on Ms Palin over her comments comparing the US national debt with slavery

The British journalist Martin Bashir, who is currently working as a political commentator for US network MSNBC, has sparked outrage by calling former Republican Party nominee for Vice President, Sarah Palin, a 'world class idiot', and suggesting someone should defecate in her mouth.

Bashir, who is most famous for his high-profile interviews with Princess Diana and Michael Jackson, used his afternoon show to launch a scathing attack on Ms Palin over her comments comparing the US national debt with slavery.

In response Mr Bashir described Palin as having a "well-established reputation as a world class idiot", before going on to cite the story of an incident where a slave was made to defecate in another's mouth. » | Rob Williams | Monday, November 18, 2013

Tory Blow as Tycoon Paul Sykes Gives UKIP Millions

Paul Sykes, self-made businessman

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Self-made businessman promises to do “whatever it takes” to help Ukip top the polls in May

The UK Independence Party will receive a multi-million pound boost before next year’s European elections after winning support from one of Britain’s wealthiest businessmen.

Paul Sykes, a self-made tycoon and veteran of the campaign to keep the pound 15 years ago, has promised to do “whatever it takes” to help Ukip top the polls in May.

His move deals a big blow to the Conservatives as they fight to contain Nigel Farage’s party.

Mr Sykes supported the Tories under Margaret Thatcher and Michael Howard, but has backed Ukip in the past, giving the party £1.5 million in 2004.

His latest investment in the party is expected to run into several millions. He told the Telegraph that he wanted to finance Ukip’s efforts to pull Britain out of the EU. » | Philip Johnston | Sunday, November 17, 2013

Céline Dion, Josh Groban: The Prayer

Elton John - Circle Of Life

‪Unreported World: ‪Egypt's Tomb Raiders‬

Unreported World investigates the shocking effects Egypt's political unrest is having on the country's tourism industry and its unique archaeological heritage
Watch the documentary here | Friday, November 08, 2013

North Korea: Dispatches: Life Inside the Secret State

This programme follows Jiro Ishimaru, a journalist who risks his freedom to train undercover cameramen in North Korea and expose the truth of life there
Watch the documentary here | Thursday, November 14, 2013

Leningrad Siege Reflections: RT Documentary

First-hand accounts of the siege of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), during World War II, which lasted 872 days (8 Sep. 1941 -- 27 Jan. 1944). More than 1.5 million civilians died as a result of incredibly heavy bombing, starvation or extreme cold. The death toll peaked at 150,000 a day, individual daily food consumption was limited to around 125 grams of bread. Unimaginable deprivation and suffering retold by those who lived through it, including the contemporary diary of a young woman whose moving journal tells a personal story of loss, resilience and survival.

Reputation Purge: UK's Tories Clean Website to 'Brush Broken Promises Under Carpet'

The Conservative Party in the UK has purged its official website, apparently hoping to clean up its online image. It's removed a whole section of pledges made before the party came to power. The opposition has labelled the move an attempt to brush broken promises under the carpet. RT's Polly Boiko reports.

Germany a 'Sex Tourism Hotspot'

The Reeperbahn quarter of Hamburg at night

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Relaxed attitude to prostitution has resulted in Germany attracting sex tourists from France, Italy and beyond to visit its brothels

Germany has become a sex tourism hotspot thanks to the legalisation of prostitution, the country's leading feminist campaigner has warned.

Alice Schwarzer, whose book "Prostitution – a German scandal" was published last week, says sex tourists from France, Italy and Scandinavia travel to Germany to visit its brothels.

They are attracted by a relaxed approach to prostitution and legal brothels such as Cologne's Pascha, the largest brothel in Europe, she explained.

"Germany today is a 'sex paradise' for foreigners – thanks to the 2002 reform which permitted conditions that our neighbouring countries are amazed at: large brothels with low fees and flat rates, and 'wellness' brothels," Ms Schwarzer said.

"Foreigners travel from as far as Scandinavia and France by the busload." » | Louise Barnett, Berlin | Friday, November 15, 2013

Danger! Tens of Millions Targeted by Email 'Ransom’ Virus

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Internet fraudsters are targetting tens of millions of British customers with a virus which locks computers until the victim pays a £500 ransom

Internet fraudsters are targetting tens of millions of British customers with a virus which locks computers until the victim pays a £500 ransom to be released, the National Crime Agency warned today.

The spammers are particularly aiming the virus - known as ransomware - at small and medium size businesses. It is disguised as an email alert about suspicious payments or invoices.

Once opened the virus 'freezes' the computer and the local network and demands two Bitcoins of internet currency - approximately £536 - to unlock the machine.

The NCA described the 'mass spamming' event as a 'significant risk'. » | Telegraph reporter | Friday, November 15, 2013

Warsi: Britons More Worldly Than Americans

Baroness Warsi, Minister for Faith

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: America is not as “sophisticated” as Britain in understanding international relations, Baroness Warsi says

America is not as “sophisticated” as Britain in understanding international relations, Baroness Warsi said today.

The minister for faith, on a visit to America, also said the conservative Fox News channel needed training on “religious literacy”.

The blunt remarks at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington DC caused a flutter on social media networks after being picked up by the liberal Huffington Post website.

“I think Britain is quite uniquely sophisticated in its understanding of the world in a way the US is not,” she said.

“That comes from much of our own history and much of our connection.” » | Peter Foster, in Washington | Friday, November 15, 2013

Inside Story: Russia and Egypt: Reviving Old Ties?

We examine what the two countries stand to gain or lose from renewed relations.

Shi’ite Muslims Around the World Celebrate Ashura

An Afghan Shi'ite beating himself with chains and blades

TIME: Shi'ite Muslims from Lebanon to Afghanistan mark Ashura, a day of mourning, celebration and remembrance

Shi’ite Muslims celebrated Ashura on Thursday, marking a day of pain, pilgrimage, and pageantry that is one of the holiest in their religion.

The word Ashura means 10, and the holiday is the tenth day of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar. For Shi’ite Muslims, those ten days are a period of mourning and remembrance, where they commemorate the death of Hussein ibn Ali, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. One of the central figures in the Shi’ite denomination, Hussein was beheaded in the Battle of Karbala in 680 AD, and his martyrdom was a defining event in the split between Sunnis and Shi’ites. » | Nate Rawlings | Thursday, November 14, 2013

The Surprising Underlying Causes of Cancer Growth

What are they? You may be surprised at the thing that might eventually lead to cancer growth. Dr. Patrick Quillin discusses diet and conventional cancer treatments as well.

iHealthTube.com - The Surprising Underlying Causes of Cancer Growth

The Many Risks with Sugar and Aspartame

Cancer researcher Ty Bollinger talks about the dangers of sugar when it comes to cancer. He also discusses the role sure plays in overall health. Artificial sweeteners aren't any better. Ty talks about one in particular, aspartame, and how that can be even worse for your health than sugar.

iHealthTube.com - The Many Risks with Sugar and Aspartame

Medical Profession 'Brainwashed' on Cholestorol

Dr. Derrick DeSilva says cholesterol is not the villain that it's been made out to be. Dr. DeSilva mentions a number of studies and facts about cholesterol that might make you think twice about cholesterol's role.

iHealthTube.com - Medical Profession 'Brainwashed' on Cholestorol

Élections européennes : l'extrême droite se met en ordre de bataille

Marine Le Pen avec Geert Wilders

LE POINT: Les partis populistes et europhobes d'Europe se réunissent à Vienne en vue d'une alliance et de la création d'un groupe parlementaire à Strasbourg.

Plusieurs partis européens d'extrême droite se retrouvent vendredi à Vienne pour une rencontre informelle de travail en vue d'une éventuelle alliance pour les élections européennes de mai 2014, a indiqué vendredi le parti autrichien d'extrême droite FPÖ. "Il y a une réunion, mais elle n'est pas ouverte à la presse. Il s'agit d'une rencontre informelle de travail", a précisé à l'Agence France-Presse un porte-parole du FPÖ, refusant de donner des informations supplémentaires, notamment sur les partis qui seront représentés lors de cette réunion et sur le lieu où elle doit se tenir. (+ vidéo) » | Source AFP | vendredi 15 novembre 2013

Al Jazeera Investigates - Killing Arafat

A world exclusive investigation tells the inside story of the fight for the facts behind Yasser Arafat's death.

Following What Killed Arafat? which led French prosecutors to open a murder inquiry, this documentary follows the struggle to convince the Palestinian Authority to allow an exhumation of Arafat's body to test for radioactive poison.

Al Jazeera's Clayton Swisher reports on the tests that led to the Swiss scientists reporting high levels of polonium Yasser Arafat's bones.

President Offers Administration 'Fix' for Canceled Plans

Obama delivers remarks on Affordable Care Act

Sen. Barrasso: ObamaCare Change Is a 'Political Band-Aid'

Next step for health care fix in Congress

Barack Obama Makes Full Blown Apology for Healthcare Debacle

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama says he is 'not a perfect president' as he pledges to fix roll out of ObamaCare plan

Barack Obama last night issued a deeply personal 'mea culpa' for the botched roll-out of his health care reforms as the signature achievement of his presidency threatened to be derailed by technical glitches and a broken campaign promise.

"I am not a perfect man and I will not be a perfect president, but I'll wake up every single day working as hard as I can on behalf of Americans," said Mr Obama, as he issued an unusually abject apology for "fumbling" the implementation of his ObamaCare plan.

The launch of the reforms have been both a political and personal disaster for Mr Obama who has been accused of misleading the American public by repeatedly pledging that everyone who had already had health insurance would not be affected by ObamaCare.

However his oft-repeated campaign pledge – "If you like your plan, you can keep your plan" – has come back to bite Mr Obama as it emerged that millions of Americans were having their health care plans cancelled this month, contrary to his assurances. » | Peter Foster, US Editor | Thursday, November 14, 2013

Baroness Warsi: Extremists Are Driving Christians Out of Their Homelands. We Must Act

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Terrorist violence against Christians has put the very survival of the religion in some regions in peril. We cannot stand idle, says Baroness Warsi.

There are parts of the world today where to be a Christian is to put your life in danger. From continent to continent, Christians are facing discrimination, ostracism, torture, even murder, simply for the faith they follow. The pages of this newspaper regularly chart the plight of the persecuted, from the scores of worshippers killed recently by bombers at All Saints Church in Pakistan to the Coptic congregation sprayed with bullets by gunmen in Egypt.

Christian populations are plummeting and the religion is being driven out of some of its historic heartlands. There is even talk of Christianity becoming extinct in places where it has existed for generations – where the faith was born. In Iraq, the Christian community has fallen from 1.2 million in 1990 to 200,000 today. In Syria, the horrific bloodshed has masked the haemorrhaging of its Christian population.

Perpetrators range from states to terrorists to people's neighbours. And victimhood is not exclusive to Christians; Hazara Shias in Pakistan, Baha'is in Iran, Rohingya Muslims in Burma – all have long been singled out and hounded out because of the faith they follow.

While religious persecution may not be a new concept, today the fault lines between faiths and within faiths are ever more volatile. Collective punishment is becoming more common, with people being attacked for the alleged crimes, connections or connotations of their coreligionists, often in response to events taking place thousands of miles away.

This has become a global crisis, and in Washington D.C. today I will be making the case for an international response. Speaking at Georgetown University and the Council on Foreign Relations, I want to call for cross-faith, cross-continent unity on this issue – for a response which isn't itself sectarian. Because a bomb going off in a Pakistani church shouldn't just reverberate through Christian communities; it should stir the world. » | Baroness Warsi *, Minister for Faith | Thursday, November 14, 2013

* Baroness Warsi is Senior Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office & the UK’s first Minister for Faith. Follow her on twitter @sayeedawarsi

Related »

Christians 'Face Extinction' amid Sectarian Terror, Minister Warns

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Exclusive: violence against Christian minorities is now a "global crisis" as worshippers are driven out of their ancient homelands by militants, a senior minister warns

Christianity is in danger of becoming extinct in its ancient homelands because of a rising tide of sectarian attacks, a senior minister will warn on Friday.

Violence against Christian worshippers and other religious minorities by fanatics has become a “global crisis” and is the gravest challenge facing the world this century, Baroness Warsi will say.

“A mass exodus is taking place, on a Biblical scale. In some places, there is a real danger that Christianity will become extinct,” she will say at a speech at Georgetown University in Washington.

In the new year, Lady Warsi, the Minister for Faith who sits in the Cabinet, will host an international summit to draw up a plan to end the violence against Christians - particularly in the countries where the faith was born.

Writing for Telegraph.co.uk, Lady Warsi highlights the bombing of All Saints Church in Pakistan, killing 85 congregants, in September and the gun attack on a Coptic wedding party in Egypt as the latest outrages by militants who have turned “religion upon religion, sect upon sect”.

“There are parts of the world today where to be a Christian is to put your life in danger,” she writes. “From continent to continent, Christians are facing discrimination, ostracism, torture, even murder, simply for the faith they follow.

“Christian populations are plummeting and the religion is being driven out of some of its historic heartlands. In Iraq, the Christian community has fallen from 1.2m in 1990 to 200,000 today. In Syria, the horrific bloodshed has masked the haemorrhaging of its Christian population,” she says. » | Matthew Holehouse, Political Correspondent | Thursday, November 14, 3013

Al-Qaeda-linked Rebels Apologise after Cutting Off Head of Wrong Person

Mohammed Fares, left) was mistakenly decapitated

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham militants say sorry for decapitating a fellow extremist rather than enemy

Militant Islamist rebels in Syria linked to al-Qaeda have asked for "understanding and forgiveness" for cutting off and putting on display the wrong man's head.

In a public appearance filmed and posted online, members of Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, one brandishing a knife, held up a bearded head before a crowd in Aleppo. They triumphantly described the execution of what they said was a member of an Iraqi Shia militia fighting for President Bashar al-Assad.

But the head was recognised from the video as originally belonging to a member of Ahrar al-Sham, a Sunni Islamist rebel group that often fights alongside ISIS though it does not share its al-Qaeda ideology.

After inquiries, an ISIS spokesman admitted he was Mohammed Fares, an Ahrar commander reported missing some days ago. This could not be independently confirmed, but in an earlier video of a speech by Mr Fares he bears a close resemblance to the severed head in the later video. » | Richard Spencer, Middle East Correspondent | Thursday, November 14, 2013

Mlle Israa al-Mudallal, nouveau visage du Hamas

Mlle Israa al-Mudallal

LE FIGARO: La jeune porte-parole du gouvernement, en charge de la presse étrangère, a passé une partie de son enfance à Bradford, en Grande-Bretagne, avant de rejoindre en 2004 la bande de Gaza.

Le Hamas, répertorié comme une organisation terroriste par les États-Unis et l'Union européenne, veut offrir un nouveau visage à l'Occident. Une jeune et souriante journaliste palestinienne, Israa al-Mudallal, vient ainsi d'être nommée porte-parole du gouvernement en charge de la presse étrangère. Coiffée d'un voile coloré, maquillée avec discrétion et parfaitement anglophone, elle entend montrer une image «plus humaine» de la bande de Gaza, notamment en faisant connaître le dénuement et les souffrances de ses habitants. Une mission qu'elle promet de remplir sans se mettre au service d'aucune faction.

Fille d'un universitaire réputé proche du Hamas, la jeune femme de 23 ans a passé une partie de son enfance à Bradford, en Grande-Bretagne, avant de rejoindre en 2004 la bande de Gaza, où elle a entrepris des études de journalisme. Diplômée de l'université islamique, elle y a travaillé en tant que présentatrice pour la chaîne islamiste al-Kitab, avant d'être débauchée par le ministère de l'Information. «Israa réunit toutes les qualités pour parler au public occidental, assure son patron, Ihab al-Ghusain, porte-parole du gouvernement. Nous n'avons pas eu le temps ni les moyens de lui dispenser une formation, mais nous sommes certains qu'elle s'adaptera parfaitement à ce poste sensible.» » | Par Cyrille Louis | jeudi 14 novembre 2013

Les Français préfèrent une dissolution de l'Assemblée à un remaniement

LE FIGARO: EXCLUSIF - Selon un sondage OpinionWay pour Le Figaro, les Français, de gauche comme de droite, réclament au président de la République un changement profond.

Les Français préfèrent la dissolution comme mode de sortie de crise. C'est ce que révèle notre sondage OpinionWay pour Le Figaro: 39% (+ 6 points) des personnes interrogées souhaitent que François Hollande dissolve pour provoquer de nouvelles élections législatives.

Cette solution est préférée au remaniement avec un changement de premier ministre (33%, + 5 points), et au remaniement avec maintien de Jean-Marc Ayrault (5%, - 5 points). Il reste encore 22% des Français qui, eux, souhaitent conserver l'Assemblée nationale et le gouvernement actuels. » | Par Albert Zennou | jeudi 14 novembre 2013

Pat Condell: How Gay Is Islam?

Oprah Winfrey: The Butler, Racism and Obama

BBC: American broadcaster and actress Oprah Winfrey said there was a whole generation of racist people who were "born and bred and marinated" in racism who would never change their ways, but that would die out.

She spoke to the BBC's Will Gompertz while in the UK to promote her new film The Butler, in which she plays Gloria Gaines, the wife of a White House butler. Watch BBC interview » | Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Geert Wilders Invites Nigel Farage to Join Anti-EU Alliance

Marine Le Pen and Geert Wilders

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Geert Wilders and Marine Le Pen launch anti-EU alliance to slay the "monster of Brussels"

Geert Wilders has appealed to Nigel Farage to join him alongside France’s Front National in building a new international movement united on an anti-European Union programme.

The Dutch far Right leader made his plea alongside Marine Le Pen, his French equivalent, in their first joint public appearance since agreeing to fight together in European elections next year.

He urged Mr Farage, the head of Britain’s Eurosceptic Ukip party, to “join our initiative” after making what he said was a “historic” announcement of a pan-European “movement of patriots”.

The Dutch anti-Muslim and Freedom Party leader, who has previously distanced himself from far Right groups including the Front National (FN), urged the more respectable British party to ally with them, saying: “I have a lot of respect for Nigel Farage – I think he is an excellent politician who is understandably very popular in the UK.

“I understand that he is not too eager today to work with my party and the others. But let me tell you, I hope that after the elections next May that Ukip will be able to join our initiative.” » | Bruno Waterfield, Brussels | Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Kevin Rudd Quits Politics

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Two-time Australian prime minister and self-styled geek Kevin Rudd quits politics, saying "enough is enough"


Kevin Rudd, who served twice as prime minister of Australia, has made an emotional departure from politics after finally conceding that "enough is enough".

Following his decision to step down as Labor leader on election night in September, Mr Rudd said in parliament that he will quit as an MP at the end of this week.

"The decision that I have made has not been taken lightly," he said, pausing to fight back tears.

"This has been the product of much soul-searching for us as a family over the last few months."

Mr Rudd, 56, was one of the country's most popular ever prime ministers but was forced to endure the shame of being deposed by his colleagues before completing a first term. » | Jonathan Pearlman, Sydney | Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Iran to Ban Morality Police from Targeting Women

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: President Hassan Rouhani has ordered the country's morality police to stop arresting women considered to be in defiance of a strict dress code

Iran's notorious morality police have been barred from arresting women deemed to be immodestly dressed, as President Hassan Rouhani moved to fulfil an election promise to ease up on the country's strict Islamic dress code[.]

Mr Rouhani, who has displayed a more moderate bent than his hardline predecessor since taking office in June, has moved to reign in the Gashte Ershad (Guidance Patrol), that has been a trademark of the Islamic Republic since its inception in 1979.

He has ordered the Iranian police to hand over the "modesty project" to the Ministry of Interior, a move interpreted as a relaxation of the restrictive Islamic mores that have long governed personal behaviour, particularly that of women.

Brigadier Ismail Ahmadi-Moghaddam, the head of the Iranian police, said the issue of how women and men dressed was no longer a matter of law enforcement. » | Ahmed Vahdat | Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Euroskeptic Union: Right-Wing Populists Forge EU Alliance

Geert Wilders, head of the Dutch Party for Freedom (PVV)

SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Right-wing populists are trying to create a powerful faction in the European Parliament. Leading the efforts are Geert Wilders from the Netherlands and Marine le Pen of France -- and their initiative has big implications for Europe.

The press room in the Dutch parliament building in The Hague has been fully booked up for days for the scheduled meeting on Wednesday afternoon. The office responsible for handing out media accreditation already has a long waiting list. The meeting will be broadcast live on Dutch TV, and the whole world will also be able to watch online as right-wing populists Marine Le Pen, head of the Front National (FN) in France, and Geert Wilders, chairman of the Party for Freedom in the Netherlands, come together to talk.

The two politicians will savor the limelight. They want to finally be able to present themselves on the European stage as established representatives of the people. Wilders and Le Pen have a common cause that is not about national sensitivities, even though both see themselves as nationalists and do well as such in opinion polls at home. Rather, they have a common strategic goal in mind with regards to the European Union. » | Christina Hebel and Gregor Peter Schmitz | Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Verwandt »

Barack Obama's Popularity Falls to All-time Low

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: For the first time a majority of Americans think the president is dishonest and untrustworthy

US President Barack Obama's popularity has slumped to an all-time low, with a majority of Americans for the first time believing him to be dishonest and untrustworthy, according to new survey.

The respected Quinnipiac University Poll found that Mr Obama's approval rating had nosedived to the level of unpopularity faced by Republican predecessor George W. Bush at the same stage of his presidency.

Overall, the poll said 54 per cent disapproved of the job Mr Obama was doing against 39 per cent who approved.

The findings mark a significant downturn from an October 1 survey which put Mr Obama's disapproval rating at 49 per cent to 45 per cent approval.

It caps a turbulent few weeks for Mr Obama, whose administration has come under heavy fire for the chaotic roll-out of his signature health care legislation, the Affordable Care Act. Read on and comment » | AFP | Edited by Bonnie Malkin | Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Gay-marriage Bill Passes in Hawaii

THE GUARDIAN: Governor Neil Abercrombie says he is looking forward to signing 'significant piece of legislation'

The Hawaiian senate passed a bill on Tuesday legalising gay marriage, putting the state a signature away from becoming a same-sex wedding destination.

Governor Neil Abercrombie, who called lawmakers to a special session for the bill and has vocally supported gay marriage, said in a statement he will sign the measure. It will allow thousands of gay couples living in Hawaii and even more tourists to marry in the state starting from 2 December.

"I look forward to signing this significant piece of legislation, which provides marriage equity and fully recognises and protects religious freedoms," Abercrombie said.

Barack Obama praised the bill's passage, saying the affirmation of freedom and equality makes the country stronger.

"I've always been proud to have been born in Hawaii, and today's vote makes me even prouder," Obama said. » | Associated Press in Hawaii | Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Rechtsextreme in Russland: Grausame Schau der Schwulenhasser

Russland: Das Drangsalieren und Verfolgung eines Gays

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Sie erniedrigen ihre Opfer, rasieren ihnen den Kopf, schreiben ihnen das Wort "Homo" in den Pass: Russische Neonazis drangsalieren Schwule, filmen die Qualen und stellen die Aufnahmen ins Netz. Die Behörden sahen dem Treiben lange tatenlos zu.

Der Mann, den seine Kameraden Tesak nennen, gibt sich gern einen bürgerlichen Anstrich. Mit einer hippen Brille ohne Rand posiert er auf seiner Webseite bei Russlands Facebook-Klon VK.com. Dort schmückt er sich gern mit dem Schlagwort "Occupy", in Anlehnung an die Proteste von Antikapitalisten gegen Wall Street und Banken.

Tesak, was das russische Wort für Jagdmesser ist, heißt mit bürgerlichem Namen Maxim Marzinkewitsch. Er trägt die Haare kurz rasiert und hat im wahren Leben wenig übrig für die Ideale linker Occupy-Aktivisten. Marzinkewitsch ist ein berüchtigter Skinhead. Im Internet veröffentlicht er seit Monaten Video-Aufnahmen, die zeigen, wie er und Gleichgesinnte Schwule drangsalieren.

"Seid gegrüßt, meine kleinen Freunde des Extremismus", so beginnt Marzinkewitsch seine Videos. Mit Helfern lockt er Homosexuelle in Wohnungen. Dann quält er sie und stellt Mitschnitte davon ins Netz. Nackt müssen sie vor ihm knien. Dann rasiert der Neonazi ihnen die Haare und pinselt eine Regenbogenfahne auf die Kopfhaut. Der Regenbogen ist das Symbol der internationalen Schwulenbewegung.

Mal zwingt er sie, an einem riesigen Sexspielzeug zu saugen, mal ruft er Bekannte, Dozenten oder Arbeitgeber seiner Opfer an, um diese bloß zu stellen. Manchmal gießt Marzinkewitsch ihnen eine Flüssigkeit über den Kopf, die stark an Urin erinnert. In einem der Streifen müssen zwei junge Männer halb entkleidet miteinander tanzen. Einer der beiden weint. » | Von Benjamin Bidder, Moskau | Dienstag, 12. November 2013

Wilders, Le Pen und Co.: Rechtspopulisten schmieden Allianz der Anti-Europäer

Niederlande: Geert Wilders, Vorsitzender der PVV

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Europäische Rechtspopulisten bereiten ein Bündnis quer über den Kontinent vor. Das Ziel: eine mächtige Fraktion im Europaparlament. Wortführer sind der Niederländer Wilders und die Französin Le Pen - ihre Initiative zeigt bereits Wirkung.

Hamburg/Brüssel - Der Pressesaal im niederländischen Parlamentsgebäude in Den Haag ist für den Termin am Mittwochnachmittag seit Tagen ausgebucht. Die zuständige Abteilung führt eine lange Warteliste für Akkreditierungen. Das holländische Fernsehen will live übertragen. Auch über die Website kann sich die ganze Welt zuschalten, wenn am Mittwoch ab 15.30 Uhr die Rechtspopulisten Marine Le Pen, Chefin des französischen Front national (FN) aus Frankreich, und Geert Wilders, Vorsitzender der niederländischen Partei für die Freiheit (PVV), zusammen auftreten.

Die beiden Politiker werden das Rampenlicht auskosten. Schließlich wollen sie sich als etablierte Volksvertreter auch auf europäischer Bühne präsentieren. Machen Wilders und Le Pen gemeinsame Sache, geht es nicht um nationale Befindlichkeiten, auch wenn beide sich als Nationalisten verstehen und in den Umfragen daheim gut abschneiden. Ihnen geht es um ein gemeinsames strategisches Ziel: um die rechte Sache in der Europäischen Union. » | Von Christina Hebel und Gregor Peter Schmitz | Dienstag, 12. November 2013

Kristallnacht Commemorated by Rabbis in Berlin

More than 200 rabbis from around the world hold a candlelit vigil in Berlin on Monday night to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Kristallnacht - the night of broken glass. They sing traditional songs at the Brandenburg Gate before walking to the nearby Holocaust memorial to remember the victims of the 1938 Nazi pogrom in which scores of Jews were killed and thousands arrested

Dozens Executed in North Korea 'For Watching Foreign Films'

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Eighty people have been executed by firing squad in North Korea for watching foreign films, it has been claimed.

South Korea’s JoongAng Ilbo newspaper reported that the co-ordinated public executions took place in seven separate cities earlier this month.

In one case, the local authorities rounded up 10,000 people, including children, and forced them to watch, it reported.

Those put to death were found guilty by the state of minor misdemeanors, including watching videos of South Korean television programmes or possessing a Bible.

Sources told the paper that witnesses saw eight people tied to stakes in the Shinpoong Stadium, in Kangwon Province, before having sacks placed over their heads and being executed by soldiers firing machineguns.

“I heard from the residents that they watched in terror as the corpses were so riddled by machinegun fire that they were hard to identify afterwards,” the source said. » | Julian Ryall, Tokyo | Monday, November 11, 2013

Former Australian PM Paul Keating Says World War One Was European Folly 'Devoid of Virtue'

Former Australian Prime Minister, Paul Keating

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Former Australian PM Paul Keating says World War I was "devoid of any virtue" and Australians will not be used as cannon fodder again

Paul Keating, Australia’s former prime minister, has used a memorial ceremony speech to lash out at the Great War as a European folly which was "devoid of any virtue", lamenting the use of Australian troops as “cannon fodder”.

Criticising European tribalism and racism, Mr Keating said Australia fought out of loyalty to imperial Britain but had already moved away from European values by the time of the war. He said the nation had developed an “Australian-ness” which was “free of the dismal legacy of Europe's ethnic stigmatisation and social stratification”.

"The First World War was a war devoid of any virtue. It arose from the quagmire of European tribalism," he said.

"A complex interplay of nation-state destinies overlaid by notions of cultural superiority peppered with racism."

Mr Keating, a staunch republican with a passion for history and oratory, used his Remembrance Day address in Canberra to declare that young Australians were now “too wise to the world to be cannon fodder of the kind their young forebears became”.

“One thing is certain: young Australians, like [young] Europeans… can no longer be dragooned en masse into military enterprises of the former imperial variety on the whim of so-called statesmen,” he said. » | Jonathan Pearlman, Sydney | Monday, November 11, 2013