EU-Präsidentschaft: Europa-Abgeordnete starten Kampagne gegen Blair
WELT ONLINE: Noch gibt es den Posten des EU-Präsidenten nicht, doch Kandidaten werden schon zahlreich gehandelt. Prominentester Anwärter ist der ehemalige britische Premier Tony Blair. Vier deutsche EU-Abgeordnete und ein Luxemburger wollen ihn aber nicht an der Spitze Europas sehen. Jetzt sammeln sie Unterschriften.

Im EU-Parlament nimmt der Widerstand gegen eine Wahl des ehemaligen britischen Premierministers Tony Blair zum ersten EU-Präsidenten konkrete Form an. Vier Abgeordnete aus Deutschland und einer aus Luxemburg reichten am Mittwoch eine offizielle Petition ein, die den Ausschluss Blairs aus dem Kandidatenrennen fordert.

Großbritannien sei kein Mitglied der Euro-Zone, des Schengen-Raums und sei befreit von der in der Gemeinschaft geltenden Grundrechte-Charta, hieß in der Begründung. Das Europaparlament werde die Ernennung des ständigen EU-Ratspräsidenten, der das „Gesicht und die Stimme Europas“ sein werde, nicht einfach abnicken. >>> AFP/Reuters/cn | Mittwoch, 21. Oktober 2009

BBC Stands by Griffin Invitation
THE INDEPENDENT: The BBC tonight stood by its decision to invite British National Party leader Nick Griffin on to Question Time as its governing body debated 11th-hour attempts to block his appearance.

Tonight a specially-convened BBC Trust panel met to consider appeals against the ruling that his participation in the flagship political programme should go ahead.

There has been widespread controversy about Mr Griffin's appearance on Question Time tomorrow, with a protest rally to be held in London tonight and further demonstrations planned during the filming of the show.

Today an academic warned Mr Griffin's appearance could boost support for the BNP as happened when French far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen made his prime-time TV debut in the 1980s.

But Ric Bailey, the BBC's chief political adviser, said the corporation would have been breaking its charter if it had not treated the BNP with impartiality. >>> Press Association | Wednesday, October 21, 2009

BBC Is Right to Allow BNP on Question Time, Says Mark Thompson
THE GUARDIAN: Censorship is decision for ministers not broadcasters, insists corporation chief

The BBC's director general, Mark Thompson, today robustly defends the corporation's decision to invite the BNP leader, Nick Griffin, on to Question Time, and challenges the government to change the law if it wants to censor the far-right group.

Writing in the Guardian, Thompson says ministers would have to impose a broadcasting ban on the party – as Margaret Thatcher did with Sinn Féin in the 1980s – before the BBC would consider breaching its "central principle of impartiality".

Griffin was not asked on to the flagship current affairs show out of "some misguided desire to be controversial", he says, but because it is the public's right "to hear the full range of political perspectives".

He adds: "It is a straightforward matter of fact that ... the BNP has demonstrated a level of support which would normally lead to an occasional invitation to join the panel on Question Time. It is for that reason alone ... that the invitation has been extended." >>> Robert Booth | Wednesday, October 21, 2009

World Agenda: No Role for Democracy in Search for Europe President
TIMES ONLINE: The Reform Act of 1832 swept away dozens of Britain’s “rotten boroughs”, where comfortable sinecures were left in the hands of a tiny number of voters. The 2009 Lisbon treaty will give an electorate of 27 the power to choose the president of Europe.

In one of the European Union’s greatest missed opportunities — in a long list — the European elite shunned calls to add the spice of democracy to their bureaucracy by making their first president directly elected by its 500 million citizens.

This is the job created under the EU’s Lisbon treaty that has been linked to Tony Blair, who has declined to confirm his candidacy before the the treaty is ratified by the Czech Republic — the final EU country yet to complete this process.

Almost nothing about the method of choosing a suitable candidate is written down, meaning that, in time-honoured fashion, the EU will revert to the cosy back-room stitch-up. >>> David Charter, Europe Correspondent | Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Muslim, a Jihadi, Arrested Over Terror Plots in US


THE TELEGRAPH: Boston man arrested over terror plots in US and Iraq >>> | Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Gaddafi fordert Aufteilung der Schweiz

’You’re a Terrorist’: Tony Blair Taunted by Young Palestinian in West Bank Mosque
DAILY MAIL: Tony Blair's bodyguards had to rush to protect him today when a protester calling him a terrorist assailed the former prime minister in a Palestinian mosque.

Mr Blair, now the Middle East envoy, was on an official trip to the West Bank city of Hebron when the man verbally attacked him.

His bodyguards backed the man into a corner and tried to keep him quiet as he shouted 'You're a terrorist' at Mr Blair.

'He is not welcome in the land of Palestine', the struggling man, who was carrying a bag, added. >>> | Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Tony Blair Branded a 'Terrorist' by Heckler During West Bank Visit
THE TELEGRAPH: Bodyguards subdued a Palestinian heckler as he approached Tony Blair shouting 'you are a terrorist'.

Middle East envoy Tony Blair heckled in Hebron.
The Middle East envoy and former British prime minister was verbally assailed while visiting an ancient mosque during an official trip to the West Bank city of Hebron.

The protester, carrying a bag, was backed into a corner by guards who tried to shut him up. "He is not welcome in the land of Palestine," the struggling man shouted.

Mr Blair, 56, is envoy for the "Quartet" of powers on the Middle East, comprising the European Union, the United States, Russia and the United Nations.

He gave a tight-lipped smile and a pacifying wave in the general direction of the shouting man, and afterwards played down the incident. >>> | Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Islam for the UK

What Is a Fascist?
BBC: It's a word much applied by opponents to the British National Party and other radical political movements, but what is a "fascist"?

"Fascist" and "fascism" are terms that one might suppose to be simple badges, but dig beneath the surface and there are myriad complexities and a morass of academic debate.

It is more than six decades since the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany, but those events are the prism through which the word "fascism" is still viewed.

The first "fascist" movement to gain power was Mussolini's Blackshirts in Italy in 1922. Their movement could certainly be said to be nationalist and authoritarian, as well as accepting of violence in the struggle for political power, but much of the rest of its characteristics have been subject to academic dispute.

"Frustratingly, I can't give a simple definition," says Kevin Passmore, reader in history at Cardiff University and author of Fascism: A Very Short Introduction. "It depends on definitions."

If your definition of "fascist" is someone who holds beliefs that can be categorised as "fascism", the terms fascism still needs to be defined. >>> | Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Der Schuhwerfer in Genf
NZZ ONLINE: Stiftung für Kriegsopfer im Irak

Der irakische Journalist Muntadher az-Zaidi, welcher im vergangenen Dezember Präsident Bush in Bagdad mit seinen Schuhen beworfen hatte, hat am Montag in Genf eine Stiftung für die Opfer des Irakkriegs gegründet. Zaidi wurde nach seiner Missfallensbekundung in Bagdad sofort von den irakischen Sicherheitskräften festgenommen und nach seiner Beschreibung auf brutalste Art drei Tage lang misshandelt; eine Zahnlücke und eine geknickte Nase zeugen noch sichtbar davon. Er wurde zu drei Jahren Gefängnis verurteilt wegen Beleidigung eines fremden Staatsgastes, doch am 14. September kam er frei. Nachher weilte er in Beirut, und seit dem 10. Oktober ist er mit einem Touristenvisum in Genf. >>> vk, Genf | Dienstag, 20. Oktober 2009

Vereint gegen die Minarett-Initiative: Sieben linke und bürgerliche Parteien starten Abstimmungs-Kampagne
NZZ ONLINE: Sieben Parteien von der FDP bis zu den Grünen haben am Dienstag gemeinsam zu einem Nein zur Minarett-Initiative aufgerufen. Das Begehren sei diskriminierend, rechtswidrig und löse keine Probleme, erklärten Vertreter von FDP, SP, CVP und Grünen.

Die Schweiz habe viele konkrete Probleme zu lösen, sagte der Waadtländer CVP-Nationalrat Jacques Neirynck vor den Medien in Bern. Die Initiative «Gegen den Bau von Minaretten» betreffe aber keines davon, sondern füge gewissermassen selbst ein neues hinzu. Zu gewinnen gebe es damit – ausser möglicherweise für die SVP – allerdings nichts, sagte er. >>> ap | Dienstag, 20. Oktober 2009

Suisse – Affaire Libyenne: L’avion du gouvernement de retour sans les otages
LE TEMPS: Une délégation suisse a effectué une courte visite en Libye avant de revenir hier soir, sans les otages. La mission entrait dans le cadre de la normalisation prévue des relations diplomatiques . Pour le président de la commission des affaires extérieures du National Geri Müller, «il ne s’est pas rien passé».

La visite a été confirmée en fin de journée par les services du Département fédéral des affaires étrangères (DFAE) dans un bref communiqué. «Pour l’instant, aucune autre information ne peut être communiquée», ont ajouté les services de Micheline Calmy-Rey.

Selon la Télévision suisse romande (TSR), la délégation était conduite par le secrétaire d’Etat aux affaires étrangères Michael Ambühl. Elle est arrivée dimanche en Libye pour rétablir le contact avec les deux Suisses retenus et s’assurer qu’ils sont en bonne santé. Selon des images diffusées par l’émission «10 vor 10» de la télévision alémanique, l’avion transportant la délégation est rentré lundi soir à Berne.

Délai échu mardi

Le président de la Confédération Hans-Rudolf Merz et le premier ministre libyen, Al-Baghdadi Ali al-Mahmudi, ont signé le 20 août un accord prévoyant notamment – au point 7 – que Berne et Tripoli normalisent leurs relations dans un délai de 60 jours. Une échéance qui tombe ce mardi.

Publicité

Les deux otages suisses, dont le sort n’est pas mentionné dans l’accord, ont «disparu des écrans radars», a reconnu Micheline Calmy-Rey il y a une semaine sur la Radio Suisse romande (RSR). Convoqués hors de l’ambassade de Suisse sous prétexte d’un contrôle médical, ils ont été placés dans un lieu «sûr», selon Tripoli. Une décision qualifiée d’«inacceptable» par le DFAE.

M. Merz avait pourtant fait de leur sort une priorité. Lors d’une rencontre avec le dirigeant libyen Mouammar Kadhafi en septembre à New York, il avait fait de leur libération une condition sine qua non pour une normalisation des relations entre les deux pays. Toujours pas de président du tribunal >>> ATS | Mardi 20 Octobre 2009

New Era Begins as Benedict Throws Open Gates of Rome to Disaffected Anglicans
Pope Benedict XVI. Photo: The Telegraph
THE TELEGRAPH – BLOG: This is astonishing news. Pope Benedict XVI has created an entirely new Church structure for disaffected Anglicans that will allow them to worship together – using elements of Anglican liturgy – under the pastoral supervision of their own specially appointed bishop or senior priest.

The Pope is now offering Anglicans worldwide “corporate reunion” on terms that will delight Anglo-Catholics. In theory, they can have their own married priests, parishes and bishops – and they will be free of liturgical interference by liberal Catholic bishops who are unsympathetic to their conservative stance.

There is even the possibility that married Anglican laymen could be accepted for ordination on a case-by-case basis – a remarkable concession.

Both Archbishop Vincent Nichols and Archbishop Rowan Williams are surprised by this dramatic move. Cardinal Levada, head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, was in Lambeth Palace only yesterday to spell out to Dr Williams what it means. This decision has, in effect, been taken over their heads – though there is no suggestion that Archbishop Nichols does not fully support this historic move. >>> Damian Thompson | Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Vatican Opens Door to Anglicans
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: ROME -- Pope Benedict XVI introduced a fast track for Anglicans seeking to join Roman Catholicism, a move paving the way for conservative Anglicans frustrated by their church's blessing of homosexuality in the priesthood and same-sex unions to enter the Catholic fold.

The Vatican on Tuesday announced plans to create a special set of canon laws, known as an "Apostolic Constitution," to allow Anglican faithful, priests and bishops to enter into full communion with the Vatican without having to give up a large part of their liturgical and spiritual traditions.

With the measures, Pope Benedict is attempting to reclaim ground lost by the Roman Catholic Church in the 16th century when King Henry VIII defied papal authority to found the Church of England. The move clears the way for entire congregations of Anglicans to join the Catholic Church and makes it easier for married Anglican priests to convert without embracing Catholicism's traditional code of priestly celibacy. >>> Stacy Meichtry and Amy Merrick | Tuesday, October 20, 2009

BNP Leader Nick Griffin Accuses Police of Abandoning His Security at BBC
THE TELEGRAPH: Nick Griffin, the BNP leader, has accused the police of refusing to discuss security arrangements for his visit to the BBC on Thursday.


Anti-fascist campaigners plan to stage a protest against Mr Griffin's presence on Question Time when it is filmed at the BBC's Television Centre in west London.

Mr Griffin said the party has formally requested that the Metropolitan Police appoint a liaison officer so he could discuss police arrangements for his entrance to the studio.

He said a "middle ranking" officer told him, "It's your problem, not ours."

Mr Griffin added: "I merely wanted to arrange a meeting to discuss the situation and for the police to appoint a liaison officer so that I can actually get into the building safely.

“In such a situation, this is standard procedure and a perfectly responsible thing to do but they refused outright. It was explained that the reason for the request was to ensure there would be a minimum of public disruption outside the BBC studios on Thursday.

“I can only deduce that the police will simply stand and watch if, as is quite likely, there is disruption when I arrive at the studio. I asked the police to put this in writing but they refused.

"This is an outrageous dereliction of police duty and I am minded to seek a judicial review in view of this action, or rather in-action." >>> Duncan Gardham, Security Correspondent | Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Leaked Membership List and Generals Renew Pressure on BNP
TIMES ONLINE: The British National Party came under attack from two fronts today as a group of retired generals accused it of hijacking the Armed Forces and its entire membership list was again leaked onto the internet.

The party said that it was the victim of an orchestrated campaign timed to coincide with the scheduled appearance of its leader, Nick Griffin, on BBC's Question Time this week.

The generals, including the past two heads of the Army, accused the BNP of tarnishing the Armed Forces' reputation by associating itself with the sacrifices of servicemen.

In a letter seen by The Times, they wrote: "We call on all those who seek to hijack the good name of Britain’s military for their own advantage to cease and desist. The values of these extremists — many of whom are essentially racist — are fundamentally at odds with the values of the modern British military, such as tolerance and fairness."

The broadside reflected widespread frustration within the Forces at the fact that the BNP is allowed to portray itself as the party of patriots in its literature, borrowing military images and pictures of Winston Churchill.

But Mr Griffin quickly launched a counter-attack, saying that his party shared the values of the "old" British military, not the new "PC British defence establishment". With video >>> Philippe Naughton and Aled Thomas | Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Former Senior Military Figures on New List of 'BNP Members' as BBC Reviews Leader Griffin's Question Time Appearance
DAILY MAIL: 'Members' include military figures, doctors, academics / BNP denounces document as 'malicious forgery' / BBC Trust review Griffin's involvement after Hain letter

Former senior military figures are among members of the British National Party, according to a new list published today.

The leaked document of those affiliated to the far-right party, which was posted on the web, includes several majors, scores of doctors and some professors.

It purports to show the membership as of April 15 this year and lists names, street addresses, post codes, mainline telephone and mobile phone numbers.

But the BNP denounced the list as a 'malicious forgery', insisting it is 'unequivocally' not genuine and many of the names had never been in touch with the party.

This is the third time in recent years that such a list has been published and comes days before leader Nick Griffin is due to appear on BBC's Question Time. >>> | Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Ramadan? No School Day
DAILY EXPRESS: PARENTS and headteachers are furious after schools were given permission to shut for Ramadan and other non-Christian holidays in the name of multiculturalism. >>> | Monday, October 19, 2009

The Barefaced Greed of Bankers and Their Bonuses Beggars Belief
THE TELEGRAPH: City pockets are bulging with bonuses, says Boris Johnson. Have the banks no shame?

Photo: The Telegraph
If you pressed a rifle into the hand of the man in the street and asked him to choose between two targets – an MP or a banker – who do you think would get the bullet? Tricky, eh? It is hard to know which of these two formerly respectable professions has fallen further in public esteem.

Some people might hesitate, like Buridan's ass, the rifle barrel weaving indecisively between two such luscious hate-objects. Most people would simply call for two bullets.

But then let me ask you a slightly different question. Which of the two species has managed to steer itself most effectively through the crisis? Which type of cockroach has scuttled through the nuclear blast of public disapproval? On the face of it, there is an obvious answer, and it is getting more blatant by the day.

Most of the MPs I know seem to be in a state of nervous collapse. Some of them are on suicide watch. Some of them face the task of sacking their wives and selling the house, or possibly the other way round. Some face penury. Never has Parliament been subjected to such protracted humiliation at the hands of the people.

Then look at the bankers, the bankers whose high-rolling risk-taking triggered the recession that has so exacerbated public rage at MPs. The bankers seem to be waltzing off with a song on their lips and their hands in their pockets – at least, their hands would be in their pockets if they were not stuffed with money. And when I say stuffed, I mean bulging, bursting, ballooning with the biggest bonuses you ever saw.

London estate agents say they cannot believe the wheelbarrows of dosh that are suddenly crashing through their doors. Savills says the number of buyers from the financial services sector has risen by 48 per cent in the third quarter of this year, purely in the expectation of yet another ginormous Christmas bonus.

A knuckle-cracking realtor in Knight Frank's Kensington office says he has never seen anything like it: email after email from the boys and girls at Goldman Sachs. "We did our first Goldman's deal in June," he tells the FT, "and we are now doing five times as many for its employees as for any other bank." >>> Boris Johnson | Monday, October 19, 2009

Medizintourismus: Deutsche Luxus-Medizin für reiche Araber
WELT ONLINE: Tausende wohlhabende Araber lassen sich in Deutschland behandeln: Kliniken in Aachen, Hamburg oder München haben dafür eigens luxuriöse Abteilungen eingerichtet – inklusive Dolmetscher und Spaßprogramm. Doch das lukrative Geschäft mit den Medizintouristen bekommt nun Billigkonkurrenz.

Es war ein ebenso ungewöhnliches wie rentables Geschäftsmodell: Viele deutsche Kliniken hatten sich in den vergangenen Jahren auf die Behandlung wohlhabender arabischer Medizintouristen spezialisiert. Nun jedoch weht ihnen der Wind ins Gesicht. Wirtschaftskrise, Schweinegrippe, Billigkonkurrenz aus Asien, aber vor allem der rasante Aufbau medizinischer Versorgung in den Golfanrainerstaaten führen dazu, dass der finanziell lukrative „Golfstrom“ bald versiegen könnte. Was bleibt für die deutschen Klinikbetreiber, wenn die arabischen Luxusmedizintouristen zu Hause bleiben? >>> Von Klaus Vogt | Sonntag, 18. Oktober 2009

US-Regierung legalisiert Marihuana als Medizin: Verzicht auf Strafverfolgung nach Bundesrecht
NZZ ONLINE: Die US-Regierung will neue Regeln zum Marihuana-Konsum aus medizinischen Gründen vorstellen. Die gesetzlichen Regelungen einzelner Bundesstaaten sollen dazu anerkannt werden.

Die amerikanische Regierung beendet die rechtliche Unsicherheit beim Marihuana-Konsum aus medizinischen Gründen, der in 14 Bundesstaaten zugelassen ist. In diesen Fällen soll es künftig keine Strafverfolgung nach Bundesrecht mehr geben, wie aus dem Justizministerium in Washington verlautete. >>> ap | Montag, 19. Oktober 2009

Bosnia 'on Brink of New Civil War'
THE TELEGRAPH: Bosnia is heading for a new civil war as a constitutional crisis threatens to cause the collapse of the political system, the country's leaders have warned.

The concerns have been triggered by Bosnian Serb leaders who have stepped up their demands for independence with a warning the country is no longer "sustainable".

The growing ethnic divisions have raised fears of a return to the fighting which claimed the lives of up to 110,000 people between 1992 and 1995.

Senior European and US officials have called an emergency meeting in Sarajevo on Tuesday to meet the country's leaders to find a solution.

The crisis centres on attempts to overhaul the constitution which was imposed on the country in 1995 in the wake of the war.

Since then Bosnia has been made up of two semi-independent entities – the Serbs' Republika Srpska and the Muslim-Croat Federation.

The two are linked with weak central institutions whose functioning is often obstructed by ethnic rivalries. >>> Bruno Waterfield | Monday, October 19, 2009

Saudi Woman Seeks Divorce After Husband's Guantanamo Phone Slur
THE TELEGRAPH: A Saudi woman is seeking a divorce after she found out that her husband had nicknamed her 'Guantanamo' on his mobile phone.

The woman made the discovery while examining the list of contacts in her husband's phone when he left it at home one day, the Al-Watan newspaper reported. >>> | Monday, October 19, 2009

Hamas Patrols Beaches in Gaza to Enforce Conservative Dress Code
THE GUARDIAN: Lawyers resist campaign to make Palestinian society more Islamist

A mounted Hamas officer rides along the beach at Gaza City, on the lookout for infringements of Islamic dress codes. Photo: The Guardian
It began with a rash of unusually assertive police patrols. Armed Hamas officers stopped men from sitting shirtless on the beach, broke up groups of unmarried men and women, and ordered shopkeepers not to display lingerie on mannequins in their windows.

Then came an effort to force female lawyers to abide by a more conservative dress code, and intense pressure on parents to dress their daughters more conservatively for the new school term. Last week police began enforcing a new decree banning women from riding on motorbikes.

For the first time since Hamas won Palestinian parliamentary elections nearly four years ago, the group is trying to Islamise Gazan society. In public, Hamas leaders say they are merely encouraging a social moral code, and insist they are not trying to imitate the religious police who operate in some other rigid Islamic countries. But to many it feels like a new wave of enforcement in what is already a devoutly Muslim society.

Asmaa al-Ghoul, a writer and former journalist, was one of the first to run up against the new campaign. She spent an evening with a mixed group of friends in a beachside cafe in late June. After dark, she and another female friend went swimming wearing long trousers and T-shirts. Moments after leaving the water they found themselves confronted by a group of increasingly aggressive Hamas police officers. "Where is your father? Your husband?" one officer asked her. Ghoul, 27, was told her behaviour had not been respectable. Five of her male friends were beaten and detained for several hours.

"I believe our society is secular, but some Islamic parties want to change the idea of this society to make it religious," she said. She does not wear a headscarf, a choice that is increasingly rare for women in Gaza and generally confined only to those living in the wealthier areas of Gaza City. She routinely suffers taunts from other Palestinians as she walks from her home to her favourite coffee shops. "We're just afraid to be ourselves in the street," she said. "Hamas uses Islam in the mosque to try and control people's hearts." >>> Rory McCarthy in Gaza City | Sunday, October 18, 2009