German Politician Says Gays Should Not Be Allowed to Bring Up Children
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A leading German politician has declared that homosexuals should not be allowed to bring up children.

Volker Kauder, the parliamentary leader of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats, said the question of children's wellbeing should come before the wishes of adults wanting to become parents.

"This has to be accepted, even if it's difficult for those affected," said Mr Kauder told the Berliner Zeitung. "I don't think children wish to be raised by homosexual couples."

In Germany, homosexuals can legally adopt the children of their partners, but adopting an unrelated child as a couple is against the law. [Source: The Daily Telegraph] Allan Hall in Berlin | Monday, December 20, 2010

Vince Cable: I Could Bring Down the Government
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Vince Cable has privately threatened to “bring the Government down” if he is “pushed too far” during fractious discussions with his Conservative colleagues, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.


The Business Secretary also claims that David Cameron will seek to scrap or reduce the winter fuel allowance paid to pensioners from next year.

He believes that policies are being rushed through by the Conservatives and that ministers should be “putting a brake on” some proposals, which are in “danger of getting out of control”. Mr Cable says that, behind the scenes, the Tories and Liberal Democrats are fighting a “constant battle”, including over tax proposals. Likening the conflict to a war, he says he can always use the “nuclear option” of resignation. His departure from the Government would spell the end of the Coalition, he claims.

The disclosures emerged in a secret recording of a conversation Mr Cable had with two reporters from The Daily Telegraph posing as Lib Dem voters in his constituency.

They provide the first concrete evidence of the level of distrust and infighting taking place within the Coalition. His comments indicate that the public professions of support between the parties may not be a true reflection of what is occurring in Cabinet. Mr Cable has appeared uncomfortable in the Coalition and his comments will lead to speculation that he could be the first high-­profile member of the Government to quit.

Following divisions within the Lib Dems over the raising of tuition fees, this newspaper has begun an investigation into the party’s true feelings towards the Coalition and it discloses widespread unease. >>> Holly Watt, Robert Winnett and Heidi Blake | Monday, December 20, 2010

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH – BLOGS – BENEDICT BROGAN: No one in the Coalition will trust Vince Cable now >>> Benedict Brogan | Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Saudi Wahhabis Infiltrate USA Through Chicago Nation of Islam

Pour financer les mosquées, les élus se mouillent
L’EXPRESS.fr: Marine Le Pen s'est opposée à tout financement, public ou étranger, pour la construction des mosquées en France. A mille lieues des réalités du terrain. Exemples à Strasbourg et à Marseille.

Pour mettre le cap sur l'Elysée, Marine Le Pen s'est trouvé un nouveau cheval de bataille: le respect de la laïcité. Depuis deux semaines, elle enchaîne les déclarations polémiques et les sorties tonitruantes sur le sujet. Après avoir comparé à l'occupation nazie les musulmans qui prient dans la rue, elle s'en est pris au financement de leurs lieux de culte.

Invitée du Grand jury RTL/LCI/Le Figaro, la candidate à la succession de son père à la tête du Front national s'est dite opposée à tout "financement public" pour la construction de mosquées, "directement ou indirectement", ainsi qu'au financement "de pays étrangers", dont l'Arabie Saoudite. Selon elle, "les fidèles doivent financer leurs propres mosquées (...) modestes et pas ostensibles". >>> Par Julien Chabrout et Matthieu Deprieck | Lundi 20 Décembre 2010

Frankreich: Marine Le Pen vergleicht Burka-Trägerinnen mit Nazis
WELT ONLINE: Sie steht ihrem Vater in nichts nach: Die rechtsextreme Politikerin Marine Le Pen wettert gegen Burka-Trägerinnen. Dahinter steht ein Machtkampf in ihrer Partei Front National.

Gezielt provozieren, die öffentliche Empörung an sich abprallen lassen und sich danach über steigende Umfragewerte freuen – dies war lange Jahre die Strategie, mit der Jean-Marie Le Pen die Wahlerfolge des „Front National“ (FN) erzielte. Vor knapp zwei Wochen hat seine Tochter Marine Le Pen endgültig unter Beweis gestellt, dass sie dieses schwefelige Talent von ihrem Vater geerbt hat – und damit ihren Anspruch bekräftigt, diesen als Führer der rechtsextremen Partei abzulösen. Bei einem Auftritt in Lyon verglich die 42-jährige Muslime, die in manchen Vierteln französischer Großstädte freitags auf der Straße beten, weil es nicht genug Platz in den Gebetshäusern gibt, mit der Besetzung Frankreichs durch die Nationalsozialisten zwischen 1940 und 1944.

Vor zehn Jahren sei der Schleier aufgetaucht, begann Marine Le Pen ihre Ausführungen, inzwischen gebe es mehr und mehr Schleier in Frankreich. Dann sei die Burka gekommen, inzwischen gebe es mehr und mehr Burkas, behauptete die Frau mit der Stimme einer Stadionsprecherin. Und dann fügte sie betont umständlich und verschachtelt jenen perfiden Vergleich an, der in der Folge sämtliche Kommentatoren der französischen Medienlandschaft gut eine Woche lang beschäftigte: „Es tut mir leid, aber für diejenigen, die gerne vom Zweiten Weltkrieg reden, wenn es darum geht, über Besatzung zu sprechen, dann könnte man dies in diesem Fall so nennen, denn das, das ist eine Besatzung von Territorium.“ Diese geschehe zwar „ohne Panzer“ und „Soldaten“, „gleichwohl ist es eine Besatzung“, so Marine Le Pen. Weiter lesen und einen Kommentar schreiben >>> Sascha Lehnartz | Montag, 20. Dezember 2010

Le froid sème la pagaille en Grande-Bretagne
LE TEMPS: Avions cloués au sol, passagers qui dorment dans les aérogares, routes et voies ferrées gelées: le chaos dans les transports se poursuivait ce lundi en Grande-Bretagne, où les températures restaient exceptionnellement basses

Bien qu’ouvert, l’aéroport de Heathrow près de Londres, un des premiers du monde pour le trafic voyageurs, opérait «un nombre limité de vols», selon son site internet. British Airways a annoncé qu’une soixantaine de vols seraient maintenus lundi matin à partir de Heathrow, soit environ la moitié. Des dizaines d’autres vols ont donc été annulés, et les perturbations devraient se prolonger au-delà de Noël du fait des reports et annulations. >>> AFP | Lundi 20 Décembre 2010

LE TEMPS: L’Europe est paralysée par les intempéries: Des milliers de passagers, en Belgique et en Angleterre, ont été bloqués dans les aéroports >>> AFP/LT | Lundi 20 Décembre 2010

BBC Middle East Business Report: Designer Dishdasha

Bah Humbug! Christmas Trees 'Make Non-Christians Feel Excluded'
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Christmas trees should be removed from public places to avoid making non-Christians feel “excluded”, scientists have suggested.

The research suggests firms and councils should think twice about displaying Christmas trees. Photo: The Daily Telegraph
Researchers at Simon Fraser University in Canada, found non-Christians feel less self-assured and have fewer positive feelings if a Christmas tree was in the room.

The scientists conducted the study using 77 Christians and 57 non-believers, including Buddhists and Sikhs.

The participants did not know the survey was about Christmas, and were asked to fill in questions about themselves both when a 12-inch Christmas tree was in the room and when it was not.

"Non-celebrators" reported fewer positive feelings and less self-assurance in the Christmas room. Christians were mostly cheered by the tree.

Christians, however, did report feeling more guilt when a tree was in the room, which, claim the researchers, suggests the holidays can be stressful. >>> Andy Bloxham | Monday, December 20, 2010

Diddums! Christmas Displays Have Emotional Consequences
SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY: Christmas displays can undermine the psychological well-being of people who do not celebrate the holiday, according to a new Simon Fraser University study.



“This research demonstrates that the pervasive presence of Christmas displays in December makes people who do not celebrate Christmas feel like they don’t belong, and it harms their emotional well-being,” said SFU associate psychology professor Michael Schmitt.



The study was conducted by Schmitt, SFU psychology professor Stephen Wright, and SFU grads Kelly Davies and Mandy Hung. Their research was published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology in an article called, “Identity moderates the effects of Christmas displays on mood, self-esteem, and inclusion.”



Two experiments were conducted to examine the emotional consequences of being in the presence of a Christmas tree. SFU students were brought to a lab and randomly assigned to work in one of two rooms – one that had a 12-inch Christmas tree on a desk and one that didn’t. The participants, who were not aware they were part of a study about the effects of Christmas trees, then completed a questionnaire about their mood. >>> | Friday, December 17, 2010

This study is a load of nonsense! Christmas trees are part of our heritage. If non-Christians (you are probably referring here to Muslims) feel they don’t belong, then probably they don’t; and there’s a simple solution to this: Find the nearest airport and look for greener pastures!

I think I speak for the many when I say that I am sick to death of politically-correct do-gooders undermining our civilization. Take a trip to Saudi Arabia, or some other Muslim country, and see if they care whether we feel we don’t belong when they display their own Islamic ornaments for Eid, etc. They couldn’t give a fig. So lay off our Christmas! Get back to real science, guys, and see if you can do some good in this troubled world! – © Mark

Contact:
Michael Schmitt, SFU psychology, 778.898.0464, mschmitt@sfu.ca
Dixon Tam, SFU media relations, 778.782.8742; dixon_tam@sfu.ca

Deutschland: Eine Muslimin tanzt aus der Reihe

Germany Admits Enslaving and Abusing a Generation of Children
Youths digging turf at Diakonie Freistatt, one of the church institutions, near Hannover, in the 1960s. Photograph: The Independent
THE INDEPENDENT: Government agrees up to €120m in compensation for three decades of post-war 'Nazi-era' brutality in foster homes

Germany has owned up to one of the most disturbing examples of mass child and youth abuse in its post-war history, some 60 years after the first teenagers started being locked away and mistreated by supposedly "caring" foster homes.

The country agreed yesterday to provide a €120m (£101m) compensation fund for the estimated 30,000 victims who were among the 800,000 children in German foster homes in the Fifties, Sixties and Seventies.

Institutions that for decades meted out inhuman treatment – including ritual beatings, periods of solitary confinement, forced labour and sexual assaults – were not youth remand centres or borstals as might be expected, but homes run by nuns and priests in former West Germany's Catholic and Protestant churches, as well as state-run homes. Read on and comment >>> Tony Paterson in Berlin | Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Briton Stabbed and US Tourist Killed in Israel Knife Attack
THE INDEPENDENT: An American woman was knifed to death and her British Israeli companion seriously injured when they were attacked by two assailants while walking in the wooded hills near Jerusalem over the weekend.

Briton Kaye Wilson, who narrowly survived the assault, claimed that two Arab men attacked her and her friend before trussing them and stabbing them repeatedly.

Suspicion for the attack appeared to fall on Arab militants. Micky Rosenfeld, a police spokesman, said it was probably a "terrorist attack" given the way in which the two women were tied up and stabbed. "The main line that we're looking at is that it's a nationalistically-motivated attack, but we haven't ruled out possible criminal motives," Mr Rosenfeld said.

Israeli soldiers raided a Palestinian hospital in nearby Bethlehem, in case the attackers were injured and sought treatment. No arrests were made. >>> Catrina Stewart in Jerusalem | Monday, December 20, 2010

Endless Memory


MAIL ONLINE: Masters of memory: The people who can recall what happened on every day of their lives >>> Clare Bates | Monday, December 20, 2010

Saudi King 'In Talks to Buy Disused New York Hospital to Move Mosque Away From Ground Zero'
MAIL ONLINE: The King of Saudi Arabia is said to be in talks with New York officials about a plan to move the controversial Ground Zero mosque to a disused medical centre.

Lawyer Dudley Gaffin claims King Abdullah is considering buying St Vincent's Medical Center in the West Village to build an Islamic cultural centre on the site.

Under the proposals, the hospital would also be saved with units shut when it filed for bankruptcy in April reopened, the New York Post reported.

Sources said that Mr Gaffin has come up with the plan in a bid to head off the Rudin Organization, which is trying to buy St Vincent's with a view to constructing luxury housing.

One community leader, who did not want to be identified, told the newspaper: 'He's asking what it would take to put in a bid.

'He says the king wants to do this as a PR move - to save the hospital and move the mosque away from the World Trade Center site.

'He wants to show that Muslims can do good works.' Read on and comment >>> Daily Mail Reporter | Monday, December 20, 2010

Sacked Iran Foreign Minister Criticises 'Un-Islamic' Dismissal
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Manouchehr Mottaki, the former Iranian foreign minister who was abruptly fired last week, has said his dismissal was "un-Islamic, undiplomatic and offensive".

The former minister said he was caught unaware when Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iran president, announced the decision to sack him while he was away on a diplomatic mission in Senegal, according to the Mehr new agency. Mr Ahmadinejad appointed nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi as acting foreign minister.

Mr Mottaki added his criticism to an outcry by parliament members who rival Mr Ahmadinejad from within his own conservative camp. He told that he was not told about the dismissal before or during his trip.

"Dismissing a minister during a mission is un-Islamic, undiplomatic and offensive," Mr Mottaki said. "I was never informed," he added. >>> | Sunday, December 19, 2010

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Riot police across Tehran as regime fears unrest: Iran's rulers showed they were fearing another bout of mass unrest on Sunday when they deployed riot police across the capital at the same time as a biting austerity programme took effect. >>> Adrian Blomfield, Middle East Correspondent | Sunday, December 19, 2010

Former Sarah Palin Colleague Says She Has Multiple Flaws
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Nicolle Wallace, a former colleague of Sarah Palin, has become the latest senior Republican publicly to round on the darling of the Tea Party movement, saying that her opponents should avoid criticising her directly and let her expose her own multiple flaws.

Mrs Wallace, who worked closely with Mrs Palin on the ill-fated 2008 Republican presidential campaign, said the former vice-presidential candidate's weaknesses would be revealed by the rigours and demands of a long contest to secure the party's nomination for the next White House election. >>> Alex Spillius, New York | Sunday, December 19, 2010

Iran Committee Votes to Cut Ties with U.K.
TORONTO SUN: TEHRAN - A committee in Iran’s parliament voted on Sunday to cut diplomatic relations with Britain, a day after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called for “cooperation“ with major powers.

The decision by parliament’s national security and foreign policy committee, reported by the semi-official Fars news agency, follows criticism by Britain’s ambassador to Tehran of Iran’s human rights record.

“After voting by the members of the committee, it was decided to have diplomatic relations completely severed with Britain,” Fars quoted lawmaker Mohammad Karami-rad as saying.

If the motion is backed by the full parliament it would put pressure on the government to downgrade relations with Britain at a time when a new foreign minister has called for “positive interaction””with the European Union. >>> Reuters | Sunday, December 19, 2010

Schweden nach dem Terroranschlag: „Wir haben es immer gesagt“
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Nach dem misslungenen Terroranschlag in Stockholm trumpfen die Rechtspopulisten in Schweden auf und fordern eine „offene Debatte“; die Gefahr müsse endlich ernst genommen werden. Islamistischen Fundamentalisten sei in Schweden ein „roter Teppich“ ausgerollt worden.

Am Tag nach dem Terroranschlag von Stockholm legte Fredrik Reinfeldt auf eine Feststellung besonderen Wert. „Es ist wichtig“, sagte der Ministerpräsident, „dass wir unsere offene Gesellschaft verteidigen und keine voreiligen Schlüsse ziehen.“ Anderenfalls drohten unerwünschte Spannungen in der schwedischen Gesellschaft. Doch die rechtspopulistischen Schwedendemokraten, seit der Wahl vom September im Reichstag vertreten, wollten nicht warten. Sie verlangten „eine aktuelle Debatte im Parlament über gewaltbereiten islamischen Extremismus“ – und zwar „aufgrund des großen öffentlichen Interesses so schnell wie möglich“.

Parteichef Jimmie Åkesson forderte im „Svenska Dagbladet“ eine offene Debatte; die Gefahr müsse endlich ernst genommen werden. Doch die Bereitschaft der anderen Parteien, die Diskussion tatsächlich offen und mit den Schwedendemokraten zu führen, dürfte spätestens dann versiegt sein, als deren Parteisekretär Björn Söder der gesamten politischen Konkurrenz vorwarf, sie hätten den islamischen Fundamentalisten in Schweden „den roten Teppich“ ausgerollt. Johan Linander von der mitregierenden Zentrumspartei gab sich empört. Soweit er verstehe, seien die Schwedendemokraten ohnehin gegen alle eingewanderten Muslime. „Sie geben einer ganz Gruppe die Schuld für die Tat eines Einzelnen, das ist sehr gefährlich.“ >>> Von Matthias Wyssuwa | Freitag, 17. Dezember 2010

Wikileaks: Julian Assange Facing US Prosecution Bid, Says Joe Biden
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Julian Assange, the Wikileaks founder, is facing proscution [sic] in America for leaking secret cables, the US Vice President, Joe Biden, has disclosed as he branded him a "high-tech terrorist".

Mr Biden said that officials in the US Justice Department were actively exploring ways to prosecute Mr Assange in America over his website’s leaks.

It is the first admission from a senior member of the US administration that efforts are already underway in Washington to bring charges against Mr Assange, who is currently on bail in Britain facing extradition to Sweden on unrelated sexual assault charges.

The 39-year-old Australian-born whistleblower has infuriated the US government by leaking thousands of sensitive diplomatic cables.

He said last week that it looked increasingly likely the US would try to extradite him to face charges related over the leaked cables. >>> John Bingham | Sunday, December 19, 2010

Hier feiern die Obamas Weihnachten
SCHWEIZER FERNSEHEN: Vier Wochen vor Heiligabend erstrahlt das Weisse Haus in feierlichem Glanz. In welcher Pracht Barack und Michelle Obama mit ihren Töchtern Weihnachten feiern, sehen Sie im Video.


Barack Obama läutet Weihnachten ein
SCHWEIZER FERNSEHEN: Jetzt weihnachtet es auch offiziell: Barack Obama hat in Washington einen riesigen Christbaum in ein Lichtermeer getaucht. Der US-Präsident forderte in seiner Rede zur Nächstenliebe auf. Auch Michelle Obama und Blues-Legende B. B. King hatten einen Auftritt.

Fury Over BBC’s Nativity Insult
THE SUNDAY EXPRESS: THE BBC has angered Christians with a TV drama in which the Virgin Mary is branded a prostitute and sex cheat.

In The Nativity, written by EastEnders scriptwriter Tony Jordan, 15-year-old Mary is attacked by people who do not believe her claim that she is pregnant by the Holy Spirit.

Her husband Joseph accuses her of “whoring” and even suggests that her pregnancy might have been the result of rape.

The Church of England has described the four-part drama, which goes out before the 9pm watershed from tomorrow, as “a gritty interpretation”. >>> David Stephenson | Sunday, December 19, 2010