The Devalued Nobel Peace Prize
President Obama has not yet been in office for a year. So far he has shown himself to be a weak president. Weak and ineffectual. What has he accomplished so far? Nothing discernible. Obama is a talker; he’s a bloviator. He talks a great deal and achieves little. Common sense tells any normal person that he does not deserve this prize; not yet, at least. The Nobel Peace Prize should be awarded for achieving peace in the world. Having the intentions of achieving peace isn’t, or shouldn’t be, enough. Hence, by awarding this greenhorn the Nobel Peace Prize, the committee has destroyed its integrity at a stroke. The award has been devalued. Furthermore, the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to Barack Obama at this stage lays bare the politics behind such awards. Merit and achievement have little or nothing to do with them. – © Mark

Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: President Barack Obama won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples," the Norwegian Nobel Committee said, citing his outreach to the Muslim world and attempts to curb nuclear proliferation.

The stunning choice made President Obama the third sitting U.S. president to win the Nobel Peace Prize and shocked Nobel observers because Obama took office less than two weeks before the Feb. 1 nomination deadline. President Obama's name had been mentioned in speculation before the award but many Nobel watchers believed it was too early to award the president.

"Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future," the committee said. "His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world's population."

The committee said it attached special importance to President Obama's vision of, and work for, a world without nuclear weapons.

"Obama has as president created a new climate in international politics. Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play," the committee said.

Theodore Roosevelt won the award in 1906 and Woodrow Wilson won in 1919. Former President Jimmy Carter won the award in 2002, while former Vice President Al Gore shared the 2007 prize with the U.N. panel on climate change. >>> Associated Press | Friday, October 09, 2009

Barack Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize. For What?
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: This is completely bizarre. President Barack Obama has just won the nobel peace prize. It is unclear why. For making peace, of a kind, with Hillary Clinton? For giving up the missile shield and cheering up the Iranians? For preparing a surge of troops and weaponry in Afghanistan? >>> Iain Martin | Friday, October 09, 2009

THE TELEGRAPH: Nobel prize for President Obama is a shocker. He should turn it down. >>> Benedict Brogan | Friday, October 09, 2009

THE GUARDIAN: Barack Obama's Nobel prize: why now? : Giving Barack Obama the Nobel peace prize so early in his presidency could hinder rather than help his diplomatic efforts >>> Peter Beaumont | Friday, October 09, 2009

AFP: KABUL — The Taliban Friday condemned Barack Obama's Nobel Peace Prize, saying rather than bring peace to Afghanistan he had boosted troop numbers and continued the aggressive policies of his predecessor.

"We have seen no change in his strategy for peace. He has done nothing for peace in Afghanistan," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told AFP.

"We condemn the award of the Nobel Peace Prize for Obama," he said by telephone from an undisclosed location.

"When Obama was elected president, we were hopeful he would keep his promise to bring change. But he brought no change, he has continued the same old strategy as (President George W.) Bush. Taliban condemns Obama's Nobel Peace Prize >>> Waheedullah Massoud (AFP) | Friday, October 09, 2009

TIME: The last thing Barack Obama needed at this moment in his presidency and our politics is a prize for a promise.

Inspirational words have brought him a long way — including to the night in Grant Park less than a year ago when he asked that we "join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it's been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years — block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand."

By now there are surely more callouses on his lips than his hands. He, like every new president, has reckoned with both the power and the danger of words, dangers that are especially great for one who wields them as skillfully as he. A promise beautifully made raises hopes especially high: we will revive the economy while we rein in our spending; we will make health care simpler, safer, cheaper, fairer. We will rid the earth of its most lethal weapons. We will turn green and clean. We will all just get along.

So when reality bites, it chomps down hard. The Nobel committee cited "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples." His critics fault some of those efforts: those who favor a missile shield for Poland or a troop surge in Afghanistan or a harder line on Iran. But even his fans know that none of the dreams have yet come true, and a prize for even dreaming them can feed the illusion that they have. Obama's Nobel Peace Prize: The Last Thing He Needs >>> Nancy Gibbs | Friday, October 09, 2009

«Un prix encombrant pour la poursuite de son mandat»
LE FIGARO: ANALYSE VIDEO - Selon Philippe Gélie, chef du service international du Figaro, le jury du Nobel n'a peut-être pas fait un cadeau à Obama en lui attribuant ce prix à la surprise générale.

Pour Philippe Gélie, chef du service international du Figaro, Barack Obama n'a pas encore d'énormes succès diplomatiques à son crédit, «c'est sans précédent je crois qu'un chef de l'Etat soit primé aussi tôt dans son mandat».

Il souligne également que ce prix pourra être lourd à porter pour un président dont le monde attend déjà énormément : «Est-ce qu'il a besoin, dix mois après le début de son mandat, d'être aussi prix Nobel de la paix?»



[Source : Le Figaro]

TIMES ONLINE: The award of this year’s Nobel peace prize to President Obama will be met with widespread incredulity, consternation in many capitals and probably deep embarrassment by the President himself.

Rarely has an award had such an obvious political and partisan intent. It was clearly seen by the Norwegian Nobel committee as a way of expressing European gratitude for an end to the Bush Administration, approval for the election of America’s first black president and hope that Washington will honour its promise to re-engage with the world.

Instead, the prize risks looking preposterous in its claims, patronising in its intentions and demeaning in its attempt to build up a man who has barely begun his period in office, let alone achieved any tangible outcome for peace.

The pretext for the prize was Mr Obama’s decision to “strengthen international diplomacy and co-operation between peoples”. Many people will point out that, while the President has indeed promised to “reset” relations with Russia and offer a fresh start to relations with the Muslim world, there is little so far to show for his fine words.

East-West relations are little better than they were six months ago, and any change is probably due largely to the global economic downturn; and America’s vaunted determination to re-engage with the Muslim world has failed to make any concrete progress towards ending the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

There is a further irony in offering a peace prize to a president whose principal preoccupation at the moment is when and how to expand the war in Afghanistan.

The spectacle of Mr Obama mounting the podium in Oslo to accept a prize that once went to Nelson Mandela, Aung San Suu Kyi and Mother Theresa would be all the more absurd if it follows a White House decision to send up to 40,000 more US troops to Afghanistan. However just such a war may be deemed in Western eyes, Muslims would not be the only group to complain that peace is hardly compatible with an escalation in hostilities. Comment: absurd decision on Obama makes a mockery of the Nobel peace prize >>> Michael Binyon | Friday, October 09, 2009

Open for comments.

Robert Spencer: Obama Declares War on Free Speech
HUMAN EVENTS: The Obama Administration has now actually co-sponsored an anti-free speech resolution at the United Nations. Approved by the U.N. Human Rights Council last Friday, the resolution, cosponsored by the U.S. and Egypt, calls on states to condemn and criminalize “any advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence.”

What could be wrong with that? Plenty.

First of all, there’s that little matter of the First Amendment, which preserves Americans’ right to free speech and freedom of the press, which are obviously mutually inclusive. Any law that infringed on speech at all -- far less in such vague and sweeping terms -- would be unconstitutional.

“Incitement” and “hatred” are in the eye of the beholder -- or more precisely, in the eye of those who make such determinations. The powerful can decide to silence the powerless by classifying their views as “hate speech.” The Founding Fathers knew that the freedom of speech was an essential safeguard against tyranny: the ability to dissent, freely and publicly and without fear of imprisonment or other reprisal, is a cornerstone of any genuine republic. If some ideas cannot be heard and are proscribed from above, the ones in control are tyrants, however benevolent they may be.

Now no less distinguished a personage than the President of the United States has given his imprimatur to this tyranny; the implications are grave. The resolution also condemns “negative stereotyping of religions and racial groups,” which is of course an oblique reference to accurate reporting about the jihad doctrine and Islamic supremacism -- for that, not actual negative stereotyping or hateful language, is always the focus of whining by the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and allied groups. They never say anything when people like Osama bin Laden and Khaled Sheikh Mohammed issue detailed Koranic expositions justifying violence and hatred; but when people like Geert Wilders and others report about such expositions, that’s “negative stereotyping.” >>> Robert Spencer | October 08, 2009

Keywords: Update
Some days ago, I reported that I was having a problem placing keywords at the end of my blog postings. The problem has been only partially resolved.

It seems that Google has changed the rules of the game. Henceforward, bloggers are allowed to place no more than ten keywords at the end of each blog posting, and in all there should be no more than 2000 keywords per blog!

As all my visitors know, I blog not only in English, but in other languages too, especially French and German. From time to time, I have also placed keywords in Arabic. Having such restrictions will make it very difficult for me, and other bloggers, to place the appropriate keywords when posting an article. Why? Because now, unless the keyword I want to use has already been used in the past, i.e. it is in my 'bank' of keywords, I am no longer able to use that keyword. Let me illustrate my difficulty, please…

This afternoon, I put up Enya’s song ‘Anywhere Is’. It was impossible for me to use the keywords ‘Anywhere Is’, because it had not been used before, so it was no in my keyword ‘bank’. I could therefore place the song up only under Enya. And even for this explanatory post, I am unable to use the keyword 'keywords', because that keyword had never been used before the 'bank' was frozen.

If this continues, it is going to make my posts far more difficult to find; so, naturally, I am going to continue to resolve this problem. It will take some time. I therefore ask you all for your understanding. May I also request that you be so kind as to contact Google by emailing them at help@google.com, asking them to rescind this recent, ludicrous decision. Clearly, there must be thousands of bloggers suffering from these arbitrary restrictions. – Mark

La polémique enfle, Mitterrand va s'expliquer
Frédéric Mitterand, le ministre de la Culture de la France. Crédits photo : Le Figaro
LE FIGARO: Alors qu'Henri Guaino ou Brice Hortefeux soutiennent le ministre de la Culture, qui s'exprimera ce soir sur TF1, Xavier Darcos lui demande de «clarifier les choses». A gauche, des élus exigent son éviction du gouvernement.

La grande explication. Frédéric Mitterrand va tenter jeudi soir sur le plateau du 20 heures de TF1 de justifier un passage de son livre «La mauvaise vie» écrit voilà cinq ans, alors que la polémique sur cet extrait de son ouvrage, où il raconte avoir eu recours à de jeunes prostitués en Thaïlande, n'en finit pas de rebondir.

Henri Guaino, conseiller spécial de Nicolas Sarkozy, s'est indigné sur France 2 de cette controverse, lancée à l'initiative du Front National. «Tout cela est plein d'excès, tout cela est assez indigne au fond», explique Henri Guaino, pour qui «il n'y a pas de faits», puisque Frédéric Mitterrand n'a fait qu'écrire un livre.

Autre soutien au ministre de la Culture, celui de Brice Hortefeux, qui dit ne pas être au courant que ce livre existait et s'interroge sur la réalité des faits écrits. Selon lui, «c'est un sujet qui est parti très rapidement. Comme c'est très rapide, précisément, il faut se méfier des jugements à l'emporte-pièce et des culpabilités pré-annoncées». Et le ministre de l'Intérieur d'ajouter : «Je ne connaissais pas Frédéric Mitterrand avant son entrée au gouvernement, j'observe aujourd'hui que, comme ministre de la Culture, il est unanimement salué, reconnu, respecté de tous par sa compétence». >>> S.L. (lefigaro.fr) avec agences | Jeudi 08 Octobre 2009

Vilipendé pour son livre, Mitterrand contre-attaque
LE FIGARO: La polémique, déclenchée lundi par le Front national, gagne du terrain, notamment dans les rangs socialistes.

Quatre ans après la parution de son livre «La Mauvaise vie» [sic], où il relatait ses expériences de tourisme sexuel en Asie, la polémique rattrape Frédéric Mitterrand. Après la charge lancée lundi par le Front National, le ministre de la Culture, jusqu'ici silencieux, a choisi mercredi de contre-attaquer : «Se faire traîner dans la boue par le Front national est un honneur», a-t-il ainsi lâché laconiquement à la sortie du Conseil des ministres. Et, face aux critiques de certains socialistes, il s'est contenté d'estimer : «C'est bien dommage de pouvoir imaginer que des élus de gauche aillent rejoindre le Front national».

C'est en effet après le passage de Marine Le Pen sur le plateau de Mots-Croisés, sur France 2, que la polémique a enflé lundi. A l'occasion d'un débat sur les délinquants sexuels, la fille du leader du FN lit des extraits du livre de Frédéric Mitterrand, paru en 2005 aux éditions Laffont. Des extraits qui sont en fait un ensemble de citations mises bout à bout. Mais la députée fait mouche et le malaise s'installe sur le plateau, où sont présentes plusieurs personnalités politiques. >>> Flore Galaud (lefigaro.fr) | Jeudi 08 Octobre 2009

Sex-Outing: Frankreichs Kulturminister unter Druck
DIE PRESSE: Der Neffe des einstigen Staatspräsidenten François Mitterrand kommt immer mehr in Bedrängnis: Anlass dafür ist sein Buch, in dem Frédéric Mitterrand von seiner Vorliebe für Homosexuellen-Bordelle in Südostasien erzählt.

Frédéric Mitterand, Frankreichs Kulturminister. Bild: Die Presse
Der französische Kulturminister Frédéric Mitterrand steht wegen Sexvorwürfen unter Druck. Anlass ist sein Buch "La mauvaise vie" (Das schlechte Leben), in dem der Neffe des früheren Staatspräsidenten François Mitterrand bereits im Jahr 2005 von seiner Vorliebe für Homosexuellen-Bordelle in Südostasien erzählt hatte. Mitterrand wehrt sich >>> Ag. | Donnerstag, 08. Oktober 2009

THE TELEGRAPH: Nicolas Sarkozy backs 'sex tourism' minister Frederic Mitterrand: President Nicolas Sarkozy has given his backing to his embattled culture minister Frederic Mitterrand who travelled to Thailand to have sex with 'young boys'. >>> Peter Allen in Paris | Thursday, October 08, 2009

Retrouvailles syro-saoudiennes à Damas
Le roi Abdallah d'Arabie (à gauche) accueilli, hierà Damas, parle président syrien Bachar el-Assad. Crédits photo :: Le Figaro
LE FIGARO: Après des années de froid, la visite du roi Abdallah en Syrie pourrait apaiser les contentieux au Moyen-Orient.

Accompagné d'une importante délégation ministérielle, le roi Abdallah d'Arabie a été accueilli, mercredi après-midi, par Bachar el-Assad avec gar­de d'honneur, coups de canons et hymnes nationaux.

Attendue depuis des mois, la visite du monarque saoudien chez le président syrien marque la fin de la brouille entre les deux frères ennemis arabes. Elle était encouragée par la France et des monarchies du Golfe.

Entre Damas et Riyad, les relations s'étaient envenimées après l'assassinat de l'ancien premier ministre libanais, Rafic Hariri, en février 2005 à Beyrouth. L'Arabie avait vu «la main syrienne» derrière la liquidation de son allié libanais, qui possédait également la nationalité saoudienne. Pour le roi Abdallah, le régime syrien se devait d'être isolé - à défaut d'être renversé. Damas avait ri­posté en accusant les Saoudiens «d'arroser» le Liban en armes et en argent au profit de leurs alliés sunnites, des plus fréquentables (les partisans du camp Hariri), aux plus radicaux (les activistes salafistes).

«Il ne faut peut-être pas s'attendre à des retombées immédiates», observe de­puis Damas un diplomate occidental, mais «cette visite va créer un climat régional plus favorable».

Au Liban, tout d'abord, où le premier ministre désigné Saad Hariri peine à former un gouvernement d'union nationale avec l'opposition, soutenue par la Syrie et l'Iran. Sa victoire aux élections législatives de juin avait renforcé les Saoudiens dans leur bras de fer avec Damas. >>> Georges Malbrunot | Jeudi 08 Octobre 2009

Polens Präsident sagt Ja zu «Lissabon» : Lech Kaczynski will EU-Reformvertrag am Sonntag unterzeichnen
NZZ ONLINE: Nach dem irischen Ja will auch der polnische Präsident Lech Kaczynski den EU-Refomvertrag von Lissabon unterzeichnen. >>> sda/Reuters | Donnerstag, 08. Oktober 2009

Sprache und Kultur als Staatsziel: Koalition will Deutsch im Grundgesetz verankern
WELT ONLINE: "Die Sprache der Bundesrepublik ist deutsch" – mit diesem Satz soll künftig die deutsche Sprache im Grundgesetz verankert werden. Kulturpolitiker der künftigen Koalitionspartner FDP und Union einigten sich auf einen entsprechenden Vorschlag. Ebenfalls als Staatsziel festgelegt werden soll die deutsche Kultur.

Nach dem Willen der zukünftigen Koalitionspartner FDP und Union sollen die deutsche Sprache und Kultur als Staatsziele im Grundgesetz stehen. Bild: Welt Online
Im Grundgesetz sollen nun doch die Staatsziele Kultur und Deutsche Sprache verankert werden. Auf einen entsprechenden Vorschlag haben sich die Kulturpolitiker der künftigen Koalitionspartner CDU/CSU und FDP verständigt. Ähnliches hatte auch das Online-Portal „Bild.de“ am Donnerstag gemeldet. Die endgültige Entscheidung will die große Koalitionsrunde allerdings erst in einer künftigen Sitzung treffen. Der Beschluss in der zuständigen Koalitionsarbeitsgruppe Integration, Familie, Kultur und Medien sei einstimmig gefallen.

Im Falle eines Staatsziels Deutsche Sprache soll es heißen: „Die Sprache der Bundesrepublik ist deutsch.“ Kulturpolitiker betonen in diesem Zusammenhang, dass damit keine andere Sprache diskriminiert werden soll, es sei aber ein eindeutiges Bekenntnis zur deutschen Sprache. >>> dpa/AFP/ks | Donnerstag, 08.

Iran: Demonstrant droht angeblich Todesstrafe
ZEIT ONLINE: Im Iran soll erstmals seit den Protesten im Juni die Todesstrafe gegen einen der Demonstranten verhängt worden sein. Viele Oppositionelle sind noch im Gefängnis.

Nach den Wahlen im Juni gingen im Iran Hunderttausende von Menschen auf die Straße, um gegen die Regierung zu protestieren. Bild: Zeit Online
Ohne Angaben von Quellen berichtete die von iranischen Reformern betriebene Website Mowjcamp.com am Donnerstag, dass in einem der Verfahren gegen die Demonstranten, die vor vier Monaten zu Hunderttausenden wegen Wahlfälschung auf die Straße gegangen waren, ein Todesurteil gefallen sei. Der Betroffene, Mohammed-Resa Al-Samani, sei von einem Richter über das Urteil informiert worden. Al-Samani ist den Angaben zufolge Mitglied einer pro-monarchistischen Gruppe.



Die Behörden nahmen zu dem Bericht nicht Stellung. Im August hatte die halbamtliche Nachrichtenagentur Mehr gemeldet, Al-Samani sei unter anderem wegen Auflehnung gegen das islamische Staatssystem und Mitgliedschaft in einer terroristischen Gruppe angeklagt. In Iran können zum Tode Verurteilte gegen das Urteil Berufung einlegen. >>> Zeit Online, Reuters | Donnerstag, 08. Oktober 2009

Enya: Caribbean Blue

Enya: Anywhere Is

Johann Hari: We All Fund This Torrent of Saudi Bigotry
The following article was published in The Independent in 2007. However, it is still so pertinent that I feel it should be re-read. It really is a truly excellent article. – Mark

THE INDEPENDENT: Junkies don't talk back to their dealers. We are addicted to the Saudi oil supply

Which glossy brand name has been the biggest winner on the planetary roulette wheel of globalisation? Most of us could reel off a dozen eligible mega-corporations: Apple, Coca-Cola, McDonald's, the Nike swoosh. They are all wrong. The check-in-your-chips champion of globalisation is in fact a puritanical desert-nomad from the sands of Arabia who died in 1792, and the evidence was there in this week's Islamic panic front pages.

In his 18th-century oasis, Mohamed ibn Abd al-Wahhab Wahhab had a dream. He dreamed of an Islam stripped down to a cold list of mechanical rules, strictly enforced, severely upheld. He ordered whippings and beheadings of Muslims to "purify" the faith. He smashed up and burned down the worship places of the softer, more mystical Muslims all around him. And - his smartest move - he cut a deal. He met the chief of the desert bandits who lived in the nearby long stretch of sand called Najd - a man named Mohamed Saud - and offered him his allegiance, in return for enforcing his severe, new brand of Islam. The Saud ruling family and the Wahhabi doctrine have been locked in a stiff waltz ever since.

More than two centuries later, oil was discovered under the territory of these bandits, and billions of dollars began to soak into the Kingdom. True to their ancestor's deal, the House of Saud used this black gold to promote the ideas of Wahhab, no longer merely on their own sands, but across the world.

By paying for thousands of schools, mosques and trained imams, they dispersed the ideas of one reactionary little preacher to every continent. It has been a corporate strategy that leaves Ronald McDonald looking like a puffing, obese slouch. Slowly, steadily, they are succeeding in eroding other, gentler forms of Islam. They are globalising Wahhabism - and your petrol purchases are paying for it.

Which brings us to the swish, swanky classrooms of the King Fahd Academy in west London, in the year 2007. A Muslim teacher called Colin Cook has revealed that children there are taught, via Saudi textbooks, that Jews are "repugnant" and Christians are "pigs". Exercises for five-year olds include the charming exercise, "Mention some repugnant characteristics of Jews". Cook repeatedly heard children in the playground idolising Bin Laden. Challenged on Newsnight about whether she will stop using these racist books, the headteacher, Sumaya Alyusuf, said, "No... I cannot withdraw them. There are good chapters in the books."

Why are we surprised? The King Fahd Academy is not a freak. It is part of a deliberate globalised project, led by the House of Saud, that has been documented a hundred times. Azzedine Gaci, the head of the regional Muslim council, in Lyon, France, explains: "When Saudi Arabia gives you €1m with one hand, with the other they give you a list of what you must say or not say." Here's some of the things you can say, taken from standard-issue Saudi textbooks. For 10-year-olds: "The whole world should convert to Islam and leave its false religions lest their fate will be hell." For 12-year-olds: "There is a Jew behind me - come and kill him!"

And what can't you say? Anything about freedom for women, which is, the textbooks explain, "a continuation of the Crusades". A woman can only be taught to "enable her to be a successful housewife, an exemplary wife and a good mother". No need for maths or technology, shabibi, there's the kitchen. They are banned from any form of physical education, because it would be "obscene" for them to change their clothes outside the home. Besides, "they might become attracted to each other if they saw each other in leotards", in which case they would have to be killed. >>> Johann Hari | Thursday, February 08, 2007

Suisse : Fribourg interdit aussi l'affiche controversée
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: VOTATIONS | A l'inverse de Lucerne et Zurich, Fribourg a interdit ce jeudi l'affiche anti-minarets.

La décision a été prise «après une pesée minutieuse des intérêts entre liberté d'opinion, protection contre la discrimination et protection de la société suisse contre une agitation qui favorise la haine».

Dans un communiqué, la ville indique se rallier à l'opinion de la la Commission fédérale contre le racisme. Cette dernière estimait que l'affiche «esquisse à propos de l'Islam un scénario catastrophe, qu'elle nourrit les préjugés et que l'image véhiculée nuit à l'intégration sociale et à la paix publique». >>> ATS | Jeudi 08 Octobre 2009

TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: «Le minaret est un élément artistique avec une ambition de beauté» : Un minaret, c’est quoi? Les réponses de Samir Jelassi Radouan, imam à Lugano. >>>

Stephen Fry's Slur Against Polish Catholics: 'Remember Which Side of the Border Auschwitz Was On'
THE TELEGRAPH – BLOG: Stephen Fry (he is the bore that is a permanent fixture on your television screen but is not Jonathan Ross or David Attenborough) has delivered an insulting attack on Catholics and Poles which grotesquely misrepresents historical fact and which, if levelled at almost any other targets, would probably be characterised as a “hate crime”.

Fry, who joined Labour luvvies in signing an open letter protesting against the Tories’ alliance in the European Parliament with the Polish Law and Justice Party, said on Channel 4 News: “There’s been a history, let’s face it, in Poland of a right-wing Catholicism which has been deeply disturbing for those of us who know a little history and remember which side of the border Auschwitz was on”…

That is beyond outrageous. It slanderously suggests that Auschwitz was run by Polish Catholics, not by German Nazis. “A little history” is right. Just how very little history Fry knows is demonstrated by that crassly ignorant statement. Auschwitz was on Polish soil, ergo it was a Polish institution? As for which side of the border Auschwitz was on, it was actually in Upper Silesia which had been annexed to Germany in 1939. It might, of course, be argued that the Poles built Auschwitz – if slave labour counts.

The first prisoners in Auschwitz were Polish intellectuals and members of the resistance. Altogether, 150,000 Catholic Poles were murdered in Auschwitz, including Saint Maximilian Kolbe. Between two and three million Catholic Poles were killed in the Second World War. Polish pilots fought in the RAF in the Battle of Britain. Note Fry’s insidious use of the dog-whistle term “right-wing Catholicism”: >>> Gerald Warner | Wednesday, October 07, 2009

Al-Azhar Chief 'Should Resign Over Veil Remark'
AFP: CAIRO — A Islamist lawmaker called on Wednesday for the head of the most prestigious centre of religious learning in the Sunni Muslim world to resign after he told a schoolgirl to remove the veil covering her face.

The demand to step down came as about two dozen students, wearing the face veil, known as a niqab, protested outside the state-run Cairo University, which has banned the veils from its residence hall.

Mohammed Tantawi, head of Al-Azhar University, told a schoolgirl to remove her niqab when he spotted her during a tour of an Al-Azhar affiliated school, the independent Al-Masry al-Youm newspaper reported this week.

He also said he intended to ban the niqab at Al-Azhar and made an unflattering remark about the girl's appearance when she took off the veil, the newspaper said.

"And you look like this; what would you do of you were a bit pretty," he reportedly asked, adding "I know more about religion than your parents."

Al-Azhar spokesman Ahmed Tawfiq confirmed Tantawi had asked the girl to remove the niqab, but said he spoke to her in a kindly way.

He said Tantawi, who insists the niqab is not an Islamic practice, wanted to ban the niqab from Al-Azhar classrooms on religious grounds.

"The imam always bases his decision on religious grounds," said Tawfiq.

Hamdi Hassan, an MP with the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's largest opposition group, said "Tantawi cannot stay in his post; he hurt's Al-Azhar every time he says something.

"I believe the niqab is not an obligation, but it is a benefit," he added. "Why ban it from Al-Azhar? It's a religious institution, not a belly dancing academy." >>> Samer al-Atrush (AFP) | Wednesday, October 07, 2009

Kuwaiti MP Blasts Top Egypt Imam over Veil
ARAB TIMES: KUWAIT CITY: A Kuwaiti hardline Salafist MP on Wednesday blasted Egypt’s leading cleric Mohammed Tantawi for reportedly saying that wearing a face veil was not an obligation under Islam for women. “Tantawi’s statements against the niqab (face veil) are shameful,” Mohammad Hayef told reporters. “He is known for his bizarre and abnormal fatwas (religious edicts).” Tantawi, head of the Islamic Al-Azhar University, reportedly asked a student to take off her niqab when he spotted her in a classroom at an institute run by the university. The cleric reportedly said the niqab was a tradition, not an Islamic obligation.

The niqab has come to be associated with Salafism, a brand of ultra-conservative Islam practised mostly in Saudi Arabia and some Gulf states. Al-Mutairi, who is also the Al-Thawabet Bloc Secretary General — asserted this statement defies the actions of Islamic clerics and the spirituality code of scholars. Islamists in Egypt and the whole world launched a scathing attack against Al-Tantawi immediately after the publication of these reports. “The public has grown familiar to the appalling statements of Al-Tantawi who has continued to brandish his idiosyncrasies to the whole world,” said Al-Mutairi. [Source: Arab Times] Dahlia Kholaif, Arab Times Staff and Agencies | Wednesday, October 07, 2009

Frédéric Mitterrand Admitted to Paying for Sex with 'Young Boys’ in Thailand
THE TELEGRAPH: Frédéric Mitterrand, France’s culture minister, was under pressure to resign after it emerged that he had admitted to paying “young boys” for sexual acts while on holiday in Thailand.

Frédéric Mitterrand wrote about paying "young boys" for sex during trips abroad. Photo: The Telegraph
The revelations in his 2005 autobiography “The Bad Life” have come back to haunt Mr Mitterrand after he emerged as one of the most vociferous defenders of Roman Polanski, the film director currently detained in Switzerland in connection with an outstanding conviction for unlawful sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old girl in the US in 1977.

In his book, Mr Mitterrand, the nephew of the late Socialist president François Mitterrand, wrote: “I got into the habit of paying for boys...All these rituals of the market for youths, the slave market excite me enormously.

“One could judge this abominable spectacle from a moral standpoint but it pleases me beyond the reasonable.”

Curiously, there was little outcry when the book was published in 2005. However, Mr Mitterrand’s tastes were brought to the fore on Monday by Marine Le Pen, daughter of the far-right National Front leader, Jean-Marie Le Pen, on a political chat show.

Miss Le Pen read out a passage in which Mr Mitterrand wrote: “The profusion of very attractive and immediately available young boys puts me in a state of desire that I no longer need to hinder nor hide...as I know that I will not be refused.”

Her call for his resignation has become an internet hit. >>> Henry Samuel in Paris | Wednesday, October 08, 2009

Sex with Boys Admission Haunts French Culture Minister Frédéric Mitterand
TIMES ONLINE: President Sarkozy’s new Culture Minister, Frédéric Mitterrand, was struggling to save his name and possibly his job last night amid a storm over his past accounts of paying “boys” for sex.

The nephew of the late President Mitterrand, who is openly gay, was thrown on the defensive after opposition politicians homed in on a memoir in which he described his delight in visiting brothels in Bangkok.

“I got into the habit of paying for boys ... The profusion of young, very attractive and immediately available boys put me in a state of desire that I no longer needed to restrain or hide,” he wrote.

The autobiography, La mauvaise vie (The Bad Life), was a critically acclaimed bestseller in 2005 and Mr Mitterrand, 62, a popular television presenter, was praised for his honesty. It rebounded on him this week after he leapt to the defence of Roman Polanski, the filmmaker, who was arrested in Switzerland for extradition to face a Los Angeles court for having sex with a girl aged 13. >>> Charles Bremner in Paris | Thursday, October 08, 2009

Saudi Man Jailed and Gets 1,000 Lashes for Talking about Sex
THE TELEGRAPH: Mazen Abdul-Jawad, a Saudi who bragged about his sexual exploits on a TV show, has been sentenced to five years in prison and 1,000 lashes.

Mazen Abdul-Jawad. Photo: The Telegraph
Mr Abdul-Jawad appeared on a Lebanese chat show, Bold Red Line, in July. In the programme, which could be seen by TV viewers in ultra-conservative Saudi Arabia, he described how he first had sex when he was 14 and showed off sex toys before discussing his exploits with other men.

His lawyer, Sulaiman al-Jumeii, said he plans to appeal against the Riyadh court's ruling and is confident the sentence against his client, which includes a ban on travel and talking to the media for five years after his release, will be revoked. >>> | Wednesday, October 07, 2009

France's 'Enfants de Boches' Awarded German Passports
THE TELEGRAPH: Children believed to have been fathered by German soldiers in occupied France are receiving dual Franco-German nationality in a belated move to recognise their identity.

Pierre, born in a town in Normandy, realised his family were keeping a terrible secret from him when he discovered shortly before his wedding that he had been baptised without a surname.

He called his mother's husband "papa" but always had the "painful intuition" that he was not his real father.

Then seven years ago, when he was 60, his mother finally admitted that he was an "enfant de Boche" – roughly translated as "child of Jerry" - born during the war to French women and German soldiers. At the age of 20, she had an affair with a German sailor whom she met while cleaning a chateau requisitioned by the Nazis.

On Wednesday, Pierre, whose surname has been withheld, reportedly became the first of at least 200,000 children believed to have been fathered by German soldiers in France during the war to receive dual Franco-German nationality. He was to receive his passport and papers at a ceremony in the German embassy in Paris. >>> Henry Samuel in Paris | Wednesday, October 07, 2009

Silvio Berlusconi Faces Fight for Career as Top Italian Court Strips PM of Immunity
TIMES ONLINE: Silvio Berlusconi was fighting for his political survival last night after he was stripped of his immunity from prosecution. The dramatic ruling will reopen several criminal trials against the Italian Prime Minister and could lead to the collapse of his government.

After two days of tense anticipation, the 15 judges of the Constitutional Court finally emerged to deliver a damning decision that will thrust the billionaire into a series of trials for fraud, corruption, tax evasion and bribery. The court’s ruling on constitutional issues is final and there can be no appeal. >>> Lucy Bannerman in Rome | Thursday, October 08, 2009

Razzia gegen mutmassliche Islamisten in Berlin: Zunahme der Terrordrohungen in Deutschland im Umfeld der Bundestagswahl
NZZ ONLINE: Die Polizei hat in Berlin die Wohnungen von mutmasslichen Islamisten durchsucht. Die Gruppe, die nach Erkenntnissen der Ermittler von drei jungen Arabern aus Nordafrika angeführt wird, soll Anschläge in Russland geplant haben.

Die deutsche Polizei hat am Mittwoch in Berlin 26 Wohnungen durchsucht, um gegen eine Gruppe von etwa 15 mutmasslichen Islamisten vorzugehen. Ihnen wird vorgeworfen, von Deutschland aus Sprengstoffanschläge und Selbstmordattentate in Russland geplant zu haben. Die Ermittler beschlagnahmten Computer, Datenträger und Tarnkleidung. Festnahmen gab es nicht, da die Anschlagsplanungen noch wenig konkret gewesen seien. Aus Ermittlerkreisen hiess es, es gebe Hinweise darauf, dass Mitglieder und Sympathisanten der Gruppe bereits aus Deutschland ausgereist seien, um sich in pakistanischen Terrorcamps ausbilden zu lassen. «Ein böses Erwachen» >>> Joachim Riecker, Berlin | Donnerstag, 08. Oktober 2009

Tories Face Lisbon Referendum Turmoil as the Czechs Vow to Ratify EU Treaty by New Year
MAIL ONLINE: The Czech Republic will ratify the Lisbon Treaty before the New Year, the country's prime minister promised today.

In a move that could derail Conservative Party plans to hold a referendum on the EU agreement if they win power at the general election next spring, Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer said the country will not derail the long-awaited reform treaty.

The Czech Constitutional Court is studying a complaint against the treaty and the Eurosceptic Czech President, Vaclav Klaus, has not yet signed it.

Lisbon cannot take effect unless all 27 EU countries ratify it. All but the Czech Republic and Poland have done so.

Mr Fischer was speaking after talks in Brussels in the wake of the Irish 'Yes' vote last weekend.

One man holds the key - eurosceptic Czech president Vaclav Klaus, whose signature is required to complete full ratification of the treaty.

He says he is waiting for the outcome of a treaty challenge lodged with the constitutional court by a group of Czech senators.

And Mr Fischer, who has little sway over his president, said procedures were being speeded up.

After a treaty meeting by video conference with European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso and European Parliament president Jerzy Buzek, he said: 'Everything is in place for the treaty to be ready and implemented by the end of this year. >>> | Wednesday, October 07, 2009

Taking the Pill for the Last 40 years ‘Has Put Women Off Masculine Men’
MAIL ONLINE: t ushered in the 1960s sexual revolution and gave women control over their own fertility.

But according to a new study, the Pill may also have changed women's taste in men.

Scientists say the hormones in the oral contraceptive suppress a female's interest in masculine men - and make boyish men more attractive.

Although the change occurs for just a few days each month, it could be enough to influence the fashions of the day.

If the theory is right, it could partly explain the shifting in tastes from macho 1950s and 1960s stars such as Kirk Douglas and Sean Connery to the more wimpy stars of today, such as Johnny Depp and Russell Brand.

Dr Alexandra Alvergne, of the University of Sheffield, says the Pill could also be altering the way women pick mates - and could have long term implications for society.

'There are many obvious benefits of the Pill for women, but there is also the possibility that the Pill has psychological side effects that we are only just discovering,' she said.

'We need further studies to find out what these are.' >>> David Derbyshire | Wednesday, October 07, 2009

I count my blessings everyday, and I thank God for them. Yes I do. You see, with money, I can buy all the houses Tone and I need! I know there is a god, because I only have to ask Him for a new house, and the money to buy one just appears – as if by magic! It seems like the more you 'blie', the more houses you can buy!
The Blairs Didn’t Have Enough Houses..
MAIL ONLINE: They have already amassed a collection of homes to rival even the most brazen of Russian oligarchs.

Now Tony Blair and his wife Cherie have bought yet another - bringing their total property portfolio to six homes worth a total of £11.94million.

The Daily Mail can reveal the most recent addition is a £1.13million town house in a quiet mews in an upmarket area of London.

As well having four bedrooms, the three-storey home boasts three bathrooms, a sun terrace, a state-of-the-art kitchen, an open plan living room and a garage.

It is situated in a quiet cul-de-sac in an up-and-coming area of central London near numerous bars, restaurants and pubs. Another Blair house: Cherie pays £1m cash for mews home that'll be property number six >>> Dan Newling | Wednesday, October 07, 2009

Carla Thinks Obama and Michelle Are Beautiful…

…Ditto Sarah Brown!

THE TELEGRAPH: Carla Bruni website publishes Barack Obama and Sarah Brown drawings >>> Henry Samuel in Paris | Wednesday, October 07, 2009

THE TELEGRAPH: She's a fox, she can sing, she can draw (-ish): what's not to like about Carla Bruni? >>> James Delingpole | Wednesday, October 07, 2009

Io sono il Signore, tuo Dio. Non avrai altri dèi di fronte a me.
Silvio Berlusconi's Lawyers: Italian PM Is Above the Law
THE TELEGAPH: Silvio Berlusconi's lawyers said he should be considered above the law, as Italy's highest court deliberated on whether legislation giving him immunity from prosecution is unconstitutional.

Mr Berlusconi's duties as prime minister distinguished him from ordinary Italians, his legal team insisted, using a justification which opposition politicians branded "Orwellian".

"The prime minister ... should be considered the 'first above equals'," said one of his lawyers, Gaetano Pecorella, putting a new twist on the more familiar Latin term primus inter pares, or "first among equals".

Mr Berlusconi, 73, has repeatedly complained of being unfairly hounded by "Left-wing" magistrates who he claims have waged a politically motivated campaign against him since he first entered politics 15 years ago.

An opposition MP, Massimo Donadi, of the Italy of Values party, said the argument recalled George Orwell's novel Animal Farm, in which the power-corrupted pigs asserted that "all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others". >>> Nick Squires in Rome | Tuesday, October 06, 2009

"Super Sarko": Mighty man, mighty ego, mighty complex
Fitness Fanatic Nicolas Sarkozy Wants to See Less of His Ministers
TIMES ONLINE: Brains and political talent are no longer enough to land a job in the French Cabinet. Under President Sarkozy, members are also expected to cut a trim figure.

Eager to be surrounded by fit-looking people, “Super Sarko” told a would-be minister to lose weight and change his hairstyle if he wanted to be considered for a job, insiders have reported.

Mr Sarkozy acquired his passion for thinness after meeting Carla Bruni, his supermodel future wife, and her fitness coach in late 2007. Living off cottage cheese, fruit compote and mineral water, Mr Sarkozy has lost about 15lb (7kg) over the past year. His resolve is said widely to have been spurred by the election of the tall and feline President Obama.

“Nicolas Sarkozy is very attentive to the physique of his ministers. They have to show an example, keep in shape,” an Élysée Palace aide told Le Point news magazine this summer. Yesterday Le Parisien noted a spectacular weight loss by several ministers. “You would think that the Élysée Palace has launched a real policy of political correctness for the figure,” it said.

Gérard Apfeldorfer, a Paris psychiatrist specialising in nutrition, told The Times: “I know that Sarkozy is putting pressure on his ministers to have a flat stomach. He is a prisoner of the stereotypes of our age, to the point of imposing it on the others,” he said. >>> Charles Bremner in Paris | Wednesday, October 07, 2009

THE TELEGRAPH: Carla Bruni effect: French ministers vie to keep up with Sarkozy's diet: French ministers are succumbing to the "Carla Bruni effect", vying to keep up with Nicolas Sarkozy's weight loss programme following reports that one MP was told to shed pounds if he wanted a top job. >>> Henry Samuel in Paris | Tuesday, October 06, 2009

Gold gefragt wie noch nie: Preis pro Feinunze klettert auf Rekordhoch
NZZ ONLINE: Für die Feinunze Gold wird derzeit ein Preis von exakt 1036.40 Dollar bezahlt. Dieser neue Höchstwert überbietet den bisherigen Rekordpreis um 5.60 Dollar aus vom März vergangenen Jahres.

Der Goldpreis ist auf einen neuen Rekordstand geklettert. Die Dollarschwäche trieb den Preis für eine Feinunze (etwa 31 Gramm) in der Spitze auf 1036.40 Dollar. Damit wurde die alte Rekordmarke vom März 2008 bei 1030.80 Dollar übertroffen. >>> sda/dpa | Dienstag, 06. Oktober 2009

Dollar Tumbles on Report of Its Demise
THE INDEPENDENT: Gold price at record high as Independent story sends global markets into a frenzy

The price of gold is surging on world markets amid fears that the old economic order based on the supremacy of the US dollar could be breaking down.

A new spike has sent the cost of the precious metal to a level not seen before. The dollar slid sharply after yesterday's report in The Independent that Gulf Arab states are secretly planning to stop trading oil in dollars, and a senior UN official said that the US should be stripped of its position as the main source of currency reserves for other countries.

The developments come on top of speculation that the Obama administration is operating a policy of benign neglect of the dollar, engineering a devaluation that could help repair some of the economic damage caused by the recession.

Not since the collapse of the Bretton Woods system in 1971 has gold been treated as the equivalent of a world currency, but The Independent reported that it could form part of a basket of currencies that would be used for oil trading by the end of the next decade.

Aram Shishmanian, the chief executive of World Gold Council, said: "The financial and economic instability of the past 18 months has brought gold's historical role into sharp focus and has continued to increase its prominence among policy advisers, central banks, and investors around the world.

Across the world, investors have been reaching for gold as an alternative to the dollar and to other US assets, fearing that the American currency is headed inexorably lower.

The dollar index – which measures the greenback against other currencies – fell 0.7 per cent yesterday and the dollar was lower against all major currencies except the British pound. >>> Stephen Foley in New York | Wednesday, October 07, 2009

Robert Fisk: A Financial Revolution with Profound Political Implications
THE INDEPENDENT: Such large financial movements will have major political effects in the Middle East

The plan to de-dollarise the oil market, discussed both in public and in secret for at least two years and widely denied yesterday by the usual suspects – Saudi Arabia being, as expected, the first among them – reflects a growing resentment in the Middle East, Europe and in China at America's decades-long political as well as economic world dominance.

Nowhere has this more symbolic importance than in the Middle East, where the United Arab Emirates alone holds $900bn (£566bn) of dollar reserves and where Saudi Arabia has been quietly co-ordinating its defence, armaments and oil policies with the Russians since 2007.

This does not indicate a trade war with America – not yet – but Arab Gulf regimes have been growing increasingly restive at their economic as well as political dependence on Washington for many years. Of the $7.2 trillion in international reserves, $2.1trn is held by Arab countries – China holds about $2.3trn – and the nations interested in moving away from dollar-trading in oil are believed to hold over 80 per cent of international dollar reserves.

Saudi Arabia's denials of any such ambitions were regarded by Arab bankers as a normal part of Gulf politics. The Saudis, of course, managed to deny that Iraq had invaded Kuwait in 1990 – even when Saddam Hussein's legions stood along the Saudi frontier, until the US broadcast the news of Iraq's aggression to the world. >>> Robert Fisk | Wednesday, October 07, 2009

American Dream Evaporating
YNET NEWS: Great hopes stirred by Obama waning in wake of questionable performance

The fact that Barack Obama is the first American president since 1991 not to meet the Dalai Lama is not worrying in and of itself.

The reason why Obama chose to adopt this dubious step (his wish not to upset China) is also not perturbing. After all, he does not fundamentally object to anything about the Dalai Lama. He simply listened to the wrong advisor and underestimated his power as an American president and his ability to be received with great honors anywhere in the world, regardless of who he met with the day before.

Yet the issue is becoming disquieting because of the feeling that is increasingly being reinforced in our collective sense of anxiety that the charismatic guy who ran the exciting campaign – the guy who for a moment convinced all of us that we’ll be seeing an acute change and that the world will at once turn into a good place to live in – is turning before our eyes into a so-so president, at best.

His rhetorical ability is still there, but suddenly everyone is talking about the fact that the American president is reading from a teleprompter. Charisma isn’t enough >>> Hanoch Daum | Tuesday, October 06, 2009

Saudi King Sacks Cleric for Attack on His University
THE TELEGRAPH: King Abdullah, the Saudi monarch, has dimissed a senior Muslim cleric after he described a new university that will teach male and female students together as 'evil'.

Sheikh Saad al-Shethri was "relieved" of his duties on the influential Council of Religious Scholars, according to state television. He had described the new King Abdullah University of Science and Technology as a "great sin" and had demanded that fellow scholars vet the curriculum to be taught at the flagship institution, which opened near Jeddah last month.

The university is part of a new opening up of the conservative kingdom by Abdullah, who is keen to pursue its modernisation. >>> | Tuesday, October 06, 2009

Film Director Roman Polanski Refused Bail in Switzerland
THE TELEGRAPH: The film director Roman Polanski has lost his bid to be bailed from prison in Switzerland ahead of his possible extradition to the US over his 1977 conviction for unlawful sex with a 13-year-old-girl, Samantha Geimer.

In 2002 Roman Polanski won an Oscar for The Pianist. Photo: The Telegraph
"We continue to be of the opinion that there is a high risk of flight," said Folco Galli, a Swiss justice ministry spokesman.

He said the risk was too great for the government to accept bail or other security measures in exchange for the release of the filmmaker.

Polanski, 76, the director of Chinatown, Rosemary's Baby and The Pianist, was arrested on Sept 26 as he arrived in Zurich to receive an award from a film festival. Authorities in Los Angeles consider him a convicted felon and a fugitive, and Switzerland says there has been an international warrant for his arrest since 2005.

His legal representatives are also asking Switzerland's highest criminal court to free Polanski. Mr Galli said the justice ministry has submitted a letter to the tribunal explaining why it opposes release even on bail.

Two former Zurich prosecutors have said Polanski stands a minimal chance of an immediate release.

Dieter Jann said extradition would be hard to fight, and he thought Switzerland had followed procedures correctly. Peter Cosandey added that Polanski was unlikely to be released because he is not a permanent resident and had already jumped bail years ago in the US. >>> | Tuesday, October 06, 2009

Proche-Orient : Les incidents se multiplient à Jérusalem-Est
LE TEMPS: Les lieux de prière juifs et musulmans sont sous haute surveillance policière depuis vendredi. Les autorités israéliennes ont interdit l’accès de l’Esplanade des mosquées aux hommes âgés de moins de 50 ans

La tension entre juifs et musulmans remonte dangereusement à Jérusalem. Lundi, pour protéger les prières organisées devant le mur des Lamentations dans le cadre de la fête juive des Cabanes (Souccot), la police israélienne avait d’ailleurs mobilisé des milliers d’effectifs. Ainsi qu’une montgolfière d’observation et un hélicoptère.

Tout a commencé vendredi dernier lorsqu’un groupe de touristes français a été attaqué à coups de pierres par des extrémistes musulmans alors qu’il venait de pénétrer sur l’Esplanade des mosquées. Depuis lors, les incidents n’ont cessé de se multiplier. Lorsque des musulmans postés sur l’esplanade lancent des pierres aux fidèles priant devant le mur des Lamentations, des extrémistes juifs ripostent en attaquant des chauffeurs de taxi arabes. Le lendemain, des ultra-orthodoxes qui se rendaient devant le mur des Lamentations ont été caillassés à leur tour.

Pour réduire les incidents, l’armée, la police et les services de sécurité de l’Etat hébreu ont interdit l’accès des lieux saints musulmans aux hommes âgés de moins de 50 ans. Ils patrouillent dans les ruelles sinueuses de la vieille ville – où ils sont régulièrement attaqués par de jeunes nationalistes palestiniens – et contrôlent l’identité de tous ceux qui pénètrent sur l’Esplanade des mosquées.

Quant à l’Autorité palestinienne dont un responsable a été arrêté durant les manifestations du week-end, elle lance une campagne internationale accusant Israël de ne pas respecter la liberté de culte en «sélectionnant» les musulmans autorisés à prier sur l’esplanade. «Judaïser» Jérusalem-Est >>> Serge Dumont | Mardi 06 Octobre 2009

Physik: Nobelpreis für die Erfinder der Digital-Fotografie und den Meister des Lichts
ZEIT ONLINE: Ohne sie gäbe es weder Breitband-Internet noch digitale Fotos: Die Physik-Nobelpreisträger 2009 revolutionierten den Alltag und ermöglichten die Informationsgesellschaft.

Charles K. Kao, heute an der Universität Hongkong, schaffte die Grundlage dafür, dass Glasfasern Licht leiten. Ein Effekt, der nicht nur diese Glasfaser-Lampe zum Leuchten bringt, sondern auch die digitale Übertragung von Bilder ermöglicht. Bild: Zeit Online
E-Mails, Digitalfotos im Internet, Videos auf dem Handy – all das gibt es nur, weil wir Daten rasant durch Glasfasern schicken und Bilder digital auf Chips speichern. Möglich wurde dies zu einem großen Teil durch die Forschung dreier Physiker, die in diesem Jahr dafür den Nobelpreis erhalten.

Für ihre Arbeiten im Bereich der Glasfaseroptik und der Telekommunikation erhalten die beiden US-Wissenschaftler George Elwood Smith und Willard Sterling Boyle von den Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill im US-Bundesstaat New Jersey die Hälfte der Auszeichnung. Sie teilen sich den Preis mit dem gebürtigen Chinesen Charles Kuen Kao von der Universität Honkong.

Das Internet gäbe es ohne Kao nicht, man könnte nicht in alle Welt günstig telefonieren, geschweige denn Bilder um den ganzen Globus senden – Godehard Walf, Ingenieur für Nachrichtentechnik

Kao hatte bereits 1966 als erster Lichtsignale über weite Strecken in einem Kabel aus Glas übertragen. "Die Kabel, die es zuvor gab, konnten Licht wenn überhaupt 20 Meter weit leiten. Kao identifizierte das Problem und machte die industrielle Herstellung von Glasfaserkabeln möglich", sagte der Sprecher des Nobelpreis-Komitees auf der Pressekonferenz in der Königlich-Schwedischen Akademie der Wissenschaften in Stockholm. >>> Von Dagny Lüdemann, Sven Stockrahm and Alina Schadwinkel | Dienstag, 06. Oktober 2009

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: 'Masters of Light' Share Nobel in Physics >>> Gautam Naik | Tuesday, October 06, 2009

Comment: Reflections on Yom Kippur and Homosexuality within Judaism
PINK NEWS: PinkNews.co.uk founder Benjamin Cohen reflects back on yesterday's Jewish festival of Yom Kippur and what it means for an openly gay Jew.

Two years ago, I wrote about my experiences in Synagogue over Yom Kippur, the day of atonement when according to Judaism, all men and women are judged and God decides whether to write them into the book of life for the following year, who will die at his allotted time and who before. It's also the day that God decides who will have a good year and who will have a year of struggle. As I left yesterday's service, I felt that it would be apt to update the original article.

As I sat in Synagogue yesterday during Yom Kippur I once again regretted that I'm still an attendee of the United Synagogue.
The United Synagogue is Britain's largest Jewish community and represents what it defines as "modern Orthodoxy", a centre ground which aims to embrace modernity with a traditional slant.

Despite their orthodox claims, the majority of those who belong to the movement are certainly not orthodox in the strictest sense of the word. They may attend synagogue regularly but they'll often watch television and drive on Shabbat (the Sabbath) something which is banned.

But in terms of morality, particularly sexual morality, those Rabbis in charge of the synagogues have failed to recognise the strides forward both society as a whole and the Jewish community in particular have made in the past few years.

Many of my parent's friends are clearly subscribers to the modern orthodox doctrines; strictly keeping Kosher, refraining from all forms of work on the Sabbath (even switching a light on) and attend Synagogue at least once a week. But all have accepted my sexuality, one even saying that I was "silly to have thought they would have behaved otherwise."

Yet as I sat in the Yom Kippur service yesterday afternoon, I was reminded that the movement still has a long way to go. The Torah reading for the afternoon was from Leviticus, particularly those verses concerning forbidden sexual relationships. >>> Benjamin Cohen | Tuesday, September 29, 2009

The Onion: “It’s Gay to Smoke”
THE ADVOCATE: Last month, a conservative Congressional staffer advised that porn turns young boys gay, and now The Onion seems to be responding to his outrageous claim with a joke that may leave some people feeling burned. According to the satirical news source, “It’s gay to smoke.” >>> Julie Bolcer | Tuesday, October 06, 2009

American Bloggers Forced to Declare Interests
TIMES ONLINE: American bloggers will be forced to declare any interest in products reviewed or discussed in their blogs under new rules announced on Monday by the Federal Trade Commission.

The FTC’s revisions to its existing guidance are intended as an aid to advertisers to keep their work within the FTC Act, part of which covers endorsements by consumers, experts, organisations, and celebrities, as well as the disclosure of important connections between advertisers and endorsers. They will come into force on December 1 this year.

In a statement, the FTC said that its revised rules “also add new examples to illustrate the long standing principle that ‘material connections’ (sometimes payments or free products) between advertisers and endorsers – connections that consumers would not expect – must be disclosed… while decisions will be reached on a case-by-case basis, the post of a blogger who receives cash or in-kind payment to review a product is considered an endorsement. Thus, bloggers who make an endorsement must disclose the material connections they share with the seller of the product or service.” >>> Nigel Kendall, Technology Editor | Tuesday, October 06, 2009

Ed West: Muslim Honour Killing Book Cancelled over Safety Fears
THE TELEGRAPH – BLOG: Another European publisher has fallen victim to the continent’s blasphemy laws – blasphemy against Islam, that is. As the German press is reporting:

Dusseldorf – A German publisher has cancelled plans to publish a mass-market novel out of fears that it might face violent protests due to a rude reference to the Koran, Der Spiegel magazine reported Saturday. The crime novel – about the “honour killing” of a Muslim woman – had been scheduled for September publication, but the Droste publishing company of Dusseldorf decided not to print it after all, the magazine said in a story to appear in its Monday issue.

It said the publisher had first asked the author, Gabriele Brinkmann, writing under the pen name WW Domsky, to tone down dialogue in “To Those Worthy of Honour” which might be construed as offensive, but she had refused.

Spiegel reported that the offensive phrase in question was a character saying: “You can shove your Koran up …”

Publisher Felix Droste had asked an expert on Islamic society to study whether the crime story’s text could compromise the safety of his firm or his family, and the expert suggested the phrase be modified.

But the author refused to alter it to “You can shove your honour up …”

Droste wrote back that riots over Danish cartoons that poked fun at the Prophet Mohammed in 2005 showed that anyone publishing insults to Islam was putting their safety at risk, Spiegel said.

Over the weekend… >>> Ed West | Monday, October 05, 2009

Egyptian Politicians Call for Gigimo Artificial Virginity Hymen Kit to Be Banned
THE TELEGRAPH: Egyptian politicians have demanded that an ‘Artificial Virginity Hymen’ kit be banned in the country, calling it a “mark of shame”.

The Gigimo Artificial Virginity Hymen kit: controversial in Egypt Photo: The Telegraph
Artificial Virginity Hymen is distributed by a Chinese company called Gigimo and sells for about £19. It consists of a pouch which is inserted inside a woman’s vagina before sex and leaks a blood-like substance when broken during intercourse.

Its website says, in broken English: “No more worry about losing your virginity. With this product, you can have your first night back anytime... Add in a few moans and groans, you will pass through undetectable.”

Sheik Sayed Askar, a member of the conservative Muslim Brotherhood political party, said: "It will be a mark of shame on the ruling party if it allowed this product to enter the market."

"This product encourages illicit sexual relations. Islamic culture forbids these relations except within the confines of marriage.

Abdel Moati Bayoumi, a prominent Islamic scholar, agreed. He said: "I think this should absolutely not be allowed to be exported because it brings more harm than benefits. Whoever does it (imports it) should be punished." However, the product has met with some support. … >>> Tom Chivers | Tuesday, October 06, 2009

Related:
Pakistani family shot dead in 'honour killing' after wedding >>> | Monday, June 29, 2009

Study alleges 'honour killings' conspiracy >>> Jonathan Wynne-Jones | Sunday, February 03, 2008

Barack Obama Accused of Snubbing Dalai Lama to Placate China
The Dalai Lama in a cowboy hat presented as the mark of an honoured guest in Calgary, Canada, last week. Photo: Times Online
TIMES ONLINE: President Obama was accused of bowing to Chinese pressure and snubbing the Dalai Lama as he prepares for a Sino-US summit in Beijing next month.

Tibet’s spiritual leader arrived in Washington yesterday on his first visit since Mr Obama’s inauguration. For the first time since 1991 he will not be received at the White House. The Dalai Lama will eventually meet Mr Obama, but not until the US President returns from the Beijing meeting.

American officials have insisted that the delayed encounter is part of a broad new strategy to win Chinese co-operation on a range of issues including North Korea, Iran, Taiwan — and Tibet. But the break with a nearly 20-year tradition of White House “drop-ins” by the Dalai Lama follows a declaration by Hillary Clinton, the Secretary of State, that human rights alone cannot be allowed to determine the US-Chinese relationship.

A leading Republican campaigner on human rights called Mr Obama’s failure to welcome the Dalai Lama “just terrible”. Frank Wolf, a congressman, veteran advocate for Tibet and friend of the Dalai Lama, told The Times: “This is a retreat by the Obama Administration on human rights and religious freedom.

“Dissidents in Lhasa will know exactly what it means. Guards will come by their cells and laugh at them. It’s a mistake and the ramifications are going to be felt for months ahead.” One Tibetan expert with ties to Chinese delegations in the US, who did not want to be named, said that the decision was unnecessary since Beijing had been resigned to a meeting going ahead. >>> Giles Whittell in Washington | Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Obama Will Soon Tackle Gay Ban in Forces, Says Adviser
THE SCOTSMAN: PRESIDENT Barack Obama will focus "at the right time" on how to overturn the ban on gay people serving in the military, according to a top aide.

General James Jones, the president's national security adviser, said yesterday: "I don't think it's going to be – it's not years, it will be teed up appropriately."

The Democrat-led Congress is considering repealing the 1993 law, although no action is expected until early next year. The largest number of homosexuals ousted under the "don't ask, don't tell" policy came in 2001, when 1,227 were discharged.

This month Senate majority leader Harry Reid wrote to Mr Obama and defence secretary Robert Gates asking for a review of the cases of two US officers discharged from the military because of their sexuality. "At a time when we are fighting two wars, I do not believe we can afford to discharge any qualified individual who is willing to serve our country," he said[.] [Source: The Scotsman] | Monday, October 05, 2009

Related: Gays in the US Military – Mark >>> | Monday, September 21, 2009

Philip Hensher: Flummoxed by Foreign Tongues
THE INDEPENDENT: What was the BBC doing, sending a reporter who can't speak German?

Dr Guido Westerwelle, head of the Free Democrats party in Germany, has just found himself in the effective position of kingmaker after the German elections, second in power only to Angela Merkel. He was in confident mood at his first press conference, and when the BBC reporter called out a question in English, he had no doubt on what to do. "If you would be so kind as to ask in German, since this is a press conference in Germany," he said in German. "Excuse me, I understand that you are from England, but just as you speak English in England, so one speaks German in Germany."

Some people, even in Germany, have criticised Westerwelle for his insistence, and suggested that in fact he couldn't answer in English. Actually, though his English is certainly not as horribly wonderful as many German politicians', and he does seem to make some trivial mistakes, it is perfectly serviceable. More curiously, what did the BBC think it was doing, sending a reporter to a press conference in Germany on the German elections, knowing that he couldn't or wouldn't speak any German? >>> Philip Hensher | Thursday, October 01, 2009

Grande-Bretagne : Les Tories ouvrent leur congrès sans étouffer la polémique sur l'Europe
LE POINT: Les Conservateurs britanniques, favoris des prochaines législatives, ont ouvert leur congrès annuel lundi à Manchester (nord-ouest de l'Angleterre) sans parvenir à étouffer la polémique sur leur position sur l'Europe et le traité de Lisbonne. S'exprimant devant les délégués à l'ouverture des débats, David Cameron, que les sondages donnent bien placé pour devenir le prochain Premier ministre, a souligné que pour la première fois depuis 12 ans, les Tories ont "une vraie chance de changer les choses".

Plusieurs responsables conservateurs ont présenté les premières mesures sociales qu'ils entendent mettre en oeuvre à leur arrivée au pouvoir. Mais le chef du principal parti d'opposition n'est pas revenu sur le sujet qui fâche, le traité de Lisbonne, ratifié par l'Irlande lors d'un second référendum vendredi. À sa place, ses lieutenants tentaient d'expliciter la position du parti, perçue comme confuse. Cameron a réaffirmé vouloir un référendum sur ce traité, déjà ratifié par le parlement britannique. "Je veux un référendum. Je ne pense pas que ce soit un bon traité", a déclaré Cameron dimanche sur la BBC, ajoutant que les Tories feraient campagne pour le non. >>> AFP | Lundi 05 Octobre 2009

Seltene Ehre: Merkel spricht im November vor dem US-Kongress
WELT ONLINE: In vier Wochen hat die Bundeskanzlerin in den USA einen großen Auftritt: Angela Merkel soll vor beiden Kammern des US-Kongresses sprechen. Diese Ehre wird ausländischen Politikern nur selten zuteil. Das letzte Mal, dass ein deutsches Regierungsoberhaupt dort eine Rede hielt, ist mehr als 50 Jahre her.

Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel (CDU) reist im November in die USA. Am 3. November werde Merkel vor beiden Häusern des US-Kongresses – dem Senat und dem Repräsentantenhaus – sprechen, sagte Vize-Regierungssprecher Thomas Steg in Berlin. Die Sprecherin des US-Repräsentantenhauses, Nancy Pelosi, hatte die Kanzlerin bei deren Besuch im Juni in Washington eingeladen, eine Rede vor beiden Häusern zu halten.

Es handele sich um eine „seltene Ehre“ für ausländische Staatsgäste, sagte Steg. Unter den deutschen Bundeskanzlern habe bislang nur Konrad Adenauer (CDU) im Mai 1957 vor beiden Häusern gesprochen. >>> ddp/cn | Montag, 05. Oktober 2009

’President Tony Blair’ to Pocket £3.6m Pay
THE SUN: TONY Blair will pocket £3.65MILLION if he wins his bid to be first President of Europe.

The mega deal emerged as Ireland's PM yesterday backed him for the job.

Mr Blair's salary will be at least £270,000 - £1.35million during his five-year term.

He will pay a paltry 25 per cent tax under EU rules - while raking in a fortune in perks. They include a £40,500 annual housing allowance, £16,000-a-year for entertaining, a chauffeured limo, 20 staff, fees paid for his kids' education and a huge pension. >>> Graeme Wilson, Political Editor | Monday, October 05, 2009

Obama to Speak at LGBT Rights Dinner
abcNEWS: President Obama will be the keynote speaker at the Human Rights Campaign’s annual dinner on Saturday in Washington, D.C.

“We are honored to share this night with President Obama, who has called upon our nation to embrace LGBT people as brothers and sisters,” The Human Rights Campaign President, Joel Solmonese, said in an announcement today.

The dinner precedes a scheduled march on Washington by the LGBT community to take place on Sunday. The march was largely organized to draw attention to the administration’s lack on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT)” and the Defense of Marriage Act, among other gay rights issues.

Many leaders in the LGBT community are hoping Obama will use the platform as an opportunity to re-establish his position as a “fierce advocate” for gay rights that he solidified on the campaign trail.

White House aides say that the President has not yet written his remarks, and did not give guidance if the President will reveal any new policy.

National Security Jin Jones this weekend said that at the right time the President will deal with these issues, such as DADT – among others.

“The President has an awful lot on his desk. I know this is an issue he intends to take on at the appropriate time,” Jones told CNN.

While the gay community waits for the “appropriate time” after dedicating themselves to Obama’s campaign, discontent has continued to grow in light of the little progress that has been made since Obama took office in January.

Obama’s address on Saturday will be an historic one—as only the second sitting President ever to address a Gay rights organization. President Clinton was the first in 1997. >>> Jake Tapper, Senior White House Correspondent | Monday, October 05, 2009

THE GUARDIAN: Gay Muslims need support: Discrimination based on sexuality is as wrong as that based on religion. The Muslim Council of Great Britain can take a lead >>> Inayat Bunglawala | Monday, October 05, 2009

Egypt Purges Niqab from Schools and Colleges
THE TELEGRAPH: Egypt has embarked on a campaign to restrict the most conservative forms of Muslim dress after one of Islam's most respected clerics ordered a schoolgirl to remove her niqab, or veil.

Sheikh Mohammed Tantawi was reportedly angered during a tour of a Cairo school when he saw a girl wearing a niqab, the full veil worn by some devout Muslim women which covers the entire body except for the eyes.

Sheikh Tantawi, regarded by many as Egypt's Imam and Sunni Islam's foremost spiritual authority, asked the teenage girl to remove her veil saying: "The niqab is a tradition, it has no connection with religion."

The imam instructed the girl, a pupil at a secondary school in Cairo's Madinet Nasr suburb, never to wear the niqab again and promised to issue a fatwa, or religious edict, against its use in schools. The ruling will not affect use of the hijab, the Islamic headscarf worn by most Muslim women in Egypt.

Although definitions vary, the niqab is generally distinct from the burka, a garment which covers the entire body and allows only a mesh material in front of the eyes.

Shekih Tantawi's order is likely to resonate throughout the Islamic world even though, ironically, the schoolgirl had only worn the niqab in honour of his visit to the school. Following the imam's lead, …>>> Adrian Blomfield, Middle East Correspondent | Monday, October 05, 2009

Sechs Gründe für die Angst vor einer neuen Krise
TAGES ANZEIGER: Der Optimismus an den Börsen ist vorbei, die Bären geben die Stimmung an. Leider haben die Pessimisten gute Argumente.

Erstens

Der Zustand der Weltwirtschaft ist zu vergleichen mit einem Patienten, der einen schweren Herzinfarkt erlitten hat. Sein Zustand ist jetzt wieder mehr oder weniger stabil, doch er ist noch längst nicht der alte. Dasselbe gilt für die Weltwirtschaft. Eine Finanzkrise schüttelt man nicht ab wie eine harmlose Grippe, sie hinterlässt Spuren. So hat der Internationale Währungsfond (IWF) in seinem jüngsten Bericht dem World Economic Outlook, 88 Finanzkrisen der letzten 40 Jahre untersucht. Das Resultat ist wenig ermutigend: In den meisten Fällen war der Output der betroffenen Wirtschaften auch nach sieben Jahren noch gegen zehn Prozent unter dem Niveau bevor die Krise ausgebrochen war.

Zweitens

Langsam werden die Schäden der Krise sichtbar. Sie sind gewaltig. Die OECD, ein volkswirtschaftlicher Thinktank, schätzt, dass in den 30 reichsten Ländern gegen 25 Millionen Arbeitsplätze vernichtet worden sind. Viele der betroffenen Arbeitnehmer haben wenig Chancen ihren Job wieder zu erhalten. Das wird die Nachfrage über längere Zeit schwächen. Drittens >>> Von Philipp Löpfe | Montag, 05. Oktober 2009

Editorial : En Europe aussi, le référendum fait la force
LE TEMPS: L’Union européenne avait grandement besoin du «oui» irlandais. Après le «non» de juin 2008, une nouvelle défaite sortie des urnes aurait en effet relancé le débat sur la légitimité démocratique des institutions communautaires, et transformé Bruxelles en un parfait épouvantail à voix. Les «non» français et néerlandais de 2005, qui ont enterré le projet de Constitution, seraient revenus tels un boomerang. L’Union européenne, groggy, aurait dû batailler ferme pour se relever d’un pareil coup politique.

L’Irlande a fini par accepter le Traité de Lisbonne. Mais ne soyons pas aveugles. La crise qui a terrassé le «Tigre celtique» a joué un bien plus grand rôle dans le retournement de l’opinion irlandaise que la plupart des arguments raisonnés. A une différence toutefois: fort des garanties accordées par l’UE en matière de droit à la vie, de neutralité, de fiscalité et du droit pour chaque pays à disposer d’un commissaire européen, le gouvernement irlandais – bien qu’au plus bas dans les sondages – a pu convaincre. La pédagogie a façonné le vote utile. Les électeurs se sont sentis, sinon compris, du moins écoutés et capables d’influer. >>> Richard Werly | Lundi 05 Octobre 2009