Things can still only get better
Simon Barrow
September 7, 2007 12:00 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/simon_barrow/2007/09/things_can_still_o=
nly_get_better.html
A poll commissioned for BBC1's new TV programme on ethics and belief
The Big Questions (starting Sunday 9 September at 10am) today
indicates that 83% of people in Britain think society is experiencing
moral decline; only 9% disagree.
Daydream believers
Andrew Mueller
September 7, 2007 11:30 AM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/andrew_mueller/2007/09/daydream_believe=
rs.html
It seems a barely fathomable distance down the list of things for
which George W Bush should be apologising, but it's better than
nothing. This week, the president phoned the widow of an American
soldier to say sorry, after she was uninvited to a meeting held by the
president with families of the fallen in her home state of Nevada.
Roberta Stewart, widow of Sergeant Patrick Stewart, who was killed in
action in Afghanistan in 2005, believed she was deliberately left off
the guest list because of the campaign she'd waged to have her
husband's grave at the local veterans' cemetery emblazoned with the
pentacle emblem of Wicca, the religion to which the Stewarts
subscribed.
The bendy own-goal?
Gwyn Topham
September 7, 2007 11:00 AM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/gwyn_topham/2007/09/the_bendy_own-goal.=
html
It might seem a peculiarly metropolitan whinge to be flagged up on the
front page of a national newspaper. But in devoting his Telegraph
column to plans to replace the bendy bus, would-be mayor Boris Johnson
is hitting on an issue that not only resounds practically with many
Londoners but raises genuine questions about Ken Livingstone's record.
The problems of the dread bendy bus itself have been well rehearsed
before in London, the subject of a long campaign in the anti-
Livingstone Evening Standard and trotted out again by Johnson. The
buses are generally agreed to be uncomfortable to travel in, ugly,
susceptible to fare dodging, ill suited to the capital's narrow or
windy streets and dangerous for cyclists and pedestrians. All
compounded by comparison to the bus they replaced: the nippy, jump on-
and-off Routemaster, complete with conductor. Even the genuine
improvement of disabled access is too often shown to be a theoretical
boon, as drivers fail to spot wheelchair users or allow them on board.
Surveillance culture
Edward Pearce
September 7, 2007 10:30 AM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/edward_pearce/2007/09/online_sedley.html
As wrong and as bad a proposal as could be made. That is the only
comment to make on the sly ministerial talk about a universal register
of our DNA, the DNA of all of us - bloke doing his lawn, 58, not known
as a tearaway, unknown to the police outside the golf club - watch
him.
More disgraceful yet is that this evil rubbish has received the
endorsement of Sir Stephen Sedley, Lord Justice of the High Court. He
joins a melancholy company in which surely he does not belong. Tony
Blair said that he saw no objection to tabulating everyone on a
national identity base, but Tony Blair is the minor public school ex-
prefect to whom routine ancient liberties are so much disabling
clutter.
Paying it forward
Riazat Butt
September 7, 2007 10:00 AM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/riazat_butt/2007/09/paying_it_forward.h=
tml
There seems to be legions of British Muslims who have made a living
from whining about how hard done by they are. It's like a broken
record and I'm tired of hearing it. Some smartypants will read this
and rearrange the following words - pot, black and kettle - but I'm
changing my tune anyway.
I'd always thought it was preferable being a Muslim in Britain than in
the US. Those poor Americans - being saddled with George Bush,
Guant=E1namo Bay, Abu Ghraib and the "war on terror". I imagined the
discontent to be rampant.
Cameron's big chance
Theo Hobson
September 7, 2007 9:00 AM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/theo_hobson/2007/09/camerons_big_chance=
..html
What David Cameron needs is a policy that moves the goalposts of
British politics. Unless he comes up with this, soon, the next
election is lost. What he needs is an idea that cannot be boxed in
terms of left and right; an idea that surprises and confuses the
media. It must genuinely anger a lot of traditional Tories, and more
importantly it must woo the millions of don't-knows who are so far
pretty sure that they are unwooable by Cameron. Margaret Thatcher
changed the goalposts by severing the link between Tories and toffs,
by democratising economic opportunity. Cameron can hardly imitate this
directly, but he must imitate the boldness.
His opportunity lies in education policy. When Cameron was running for
his party's leadership he was asked by Martha Kearney whether he would
send his children to private school. He produced the old line that
parents should be free to choose the best for their children. Kearney
followed up with an astute question: weren't private schools the
Tories' Clause Four - while Tory MPs tended to favour them for their
children, wasn't it impossible for them to convince the electorate of
their commitment to improving public services?
Starved of ideas
Zenab Eve Ahmed
September 7, 2007 8:00 AM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/zenab_eve_ahmed_/2007/09/starved_of_ide=
as.html
I have just received the following email from a TV producer who works
for a well-known production company, scouting for talent:
The art of peace (2)
Khaled Diab
September 7, 2007 7:00 AM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/khaled_diab/2007/09/the_art_of_peace_2.=
html
In my article last week, I explored the neglected backwoods of the
history of Zionism to try to build understanding and to challenge some
of the misperceptions widely held by Arabs. The ensuing heated debate
- which I followed closely - was both inspiring and depressing.
Many of the posters applauded my modest attempt to promote mutual
understanding and I thank everyone who joined the effort to carry
"candles lighting a way through darkness", as one reader put it. In
the midst of these admirable efforts to find common ground, a pitched
battle ensued in which both sides' partisans engaged in an ugly
ideological exchange of fire for the moral high ground - which wound
up instead in the unforgiving valley of demonisation.
The smallest signs of retreat
Madeleine Bunting
September 6, 2007 8:00 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/madeleine_bunting/2007/09/the_smallest_=
signs_of_retreat.html
It was tantalisingly brief, but welcome all the same: the scientist,
Richard Dawkins, finally agreed to debate religion with one of his
critics. He has repeatedly refused a head-to-head with protagonists
such as his Oxford colleague, Professor Alister McGrath, but on the
Today programme this morning, we got a snippet of a fascinating
exchange between two very clever men. John Cornwell's book, Darwin's
Angel published today, is a powerful riposte to the huge success of
Dawkins' The God Delusion and draws on Cornwell's background as a
philosopher, director of the science and human dimension project at
Cambridge and his Catholicism.
Under challenge from Cornwell, Dawkins came over all conciliatory.
It's not a tone we are familiar with from his book. But in the process
he got very tangled up trying to justify his comments that bringing a
child up with a religious faith is akin to a "milder form of sexual
abuse". He got even more contradictory on Cornwell's main critique of
the book developed in the Guardian last week. No, said Dawkins, I
never said religion was a disease, only "a virus". It was a shame we
didn't have time to establish the fine distinction Dawkins was trying
to make.
What a relief!
David Cox
September 6, 2007 7:00 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/david_cox/2007/09/what_a_relief.html
Those who feel outraged by the BBC's decision to abandon the Planet
Relief extravaganza should cast back their minds to 2005. Then, the
fashionable issue of the moment wasn't climate change, but poverty in
Africa (remember that?). BBC chiefs decided to throw the corporation's
full weight behind the Make Poverty History campaign, doubtless to the
delight of most Guardian readers.
Make Poverty History was an overtly political campaign, with policy
goals that included increasing aid, changing the terms of
international trade and relieving debt. The desirability of all of
these objectives is disputed, and the BBC is required to exercise
impartiality on matters of public controversy.
Kosovo: Europe's challenge
Bernard Kouchner and David Miliband
September 6, 2007 6:15 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/bernard_kouchner_and_david_miliband/200=
7/09/kosovo_europes_challenge.html
No European can forget the atrocities that took place in the Balkans
during the 1990s. No European can forget the scenes of brutality,
murder and mass deportation. At the moment when the fate of Kosovo
returns to the forefront of international attention, no European
should forget the tragic events that motivated the international
community to intervene: we are confronted today with the last stage in
the breakup of the former Yugoslavia.
The region's return to stability and normality has been thanks in
large part to the action of the European Union: European countries
have contributed international troops and police as well as
significant financial assistance to the Balkans. And the perspective
of entering Europe has encouraged the countries of the region to adopt
crucial reforms.
Still life
Ann Robinson
September 6, 2007 5:30 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/ann_robinson/2007/09/still_life.html
My nine-year-old daughter goes to a relaxed, small, state primary
school, more noted for its kindness to children than its strict
discipline. Even so, she'll still have to line up and sit
uncomfortably on the hall floor for half an hour listening to the
headteacher. Then it's back to class to sit, listen and work quietly.
This is followed by short break, which is cancelled in cases of bad
behaviour, more sitting then lunch, which must be eaten in silence
because otherwise the dinner ladies get a headache. Then it's play
outside and back for further enforced sitting.
Contrast that with my day. At work as a GP, no one shouts at me for
standing up. I chat with staff at lunchtime and never sit on the floor
or listen for half an hour without interrupting, though, arguably,
patients would like it better if I did. I'm part time, so today I went
for a run with my friend, had coffee and then sat down to write this.
Put me in a classroom, and I'd be extremely badly behaved and
depressed.
Love is blind ...
Khaled Diab
September 6, 2007 4:45 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/khaled_diab/2007/09/love_is_blind.html
Alex Stein and Seth Freedman have both written comments on the
insularity of different religious communities and how they frown upon
intermarriage. But neither touched on the beauty, variety, richness
and excitement of the kaleidoscopic world of mixed or multicultural
pairings.
Dismiss me as a hopeless romantic, if you want, but I happen to
believe that love is blind to race, religion and social class - and if
it isn't, it ought to be. I believe that cross-cultural pairings have
much to recommend them, which may go some way to explaining why, over
my life, I have rarely been involved with anyone of the same ethnicity
or faith.
Unwilling volunteers
Michael White
September 6, 2007 4:00 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/michael_white/2007/09/unwilling_volunte=
ers.html
The crucial word in David Cameron's new plan to offer 16-year-olds a
form of "national citizen service" is surely "voluntary". That's the
only realistic way to float an ambitious idea like this. Yet it makes
it more likely that the hard-to-reach kids the Tory leader most wants
to engage will be those least likely to grab at the opportunity.
It's a version of the point David Willetts made last spring - and got
into trouble over - when he highlighted the gap between what ambitious
families do for their kids nowadays and what struggling families fail
to do or can't because they are more fractured and hopeless.
Germany's loss of innocence
Luke Harding
September 6, 2007 3:30 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/luke_harding/2007/09/germanys_loss_of_i=
nnocence.html
Until yesterday, German conservatives had had a hard time convincing
anybody that their country could be the target of a terrorist attack.
True, the presence of German troops in Afghanistan always made it a
possible option for Islamist groups. And Germany has in the past
offered a congenial base for terrorists plotting attacks elsewhere.
Some of the suicide pilots who carried out the 9/11 attacks had
studied in Hamburg.
Tears of an intellectual warmonger
Linda McQuaig
September 6, 2007 3:00 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/linda_mcquaig/2007/09/intellectual_warm=
onger.html
Selling the American public on the need to invade Iraq was not easy.
But George Bush got some crucial help from a number of prominent
intellectuals. Probably none was more helpful than the Canadian
intellectual and Harvard professor Michael Ignatieff.
Four and a half years later, Iraq lies in shreds, and Ignatieff - no
longer a professor at Harvard - has other things on his plate. Now
deputy leader of Canada's Liberal party, he has a good chance of
realizing his dream of becoming prime minister of Canada in the not-
too-distant future.
No bother about Big Brother
Ian Williams
September 6, 2007 2:30 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/ian_williams/2007/09/no_bother_about_bi=
g_brother.html
The recent revelation from opened UK government files that George
Orwell was kept under surveillance by British security services has
led to lots of playful banter about Big Brother. But the tidings
should have been underwhelming.
From the establishment point of view it would have been gross
dereliction of duty not to keep an eye on a self-professed
revolutionary. It is difficult to believe it would have surprised
Orwell too much, and more likely he would have been proud that as a
mere hack he had excited that much attention with his writings and
doings.
Cheats can now prosper in the new lovey dovey world of US politics
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,2164049,00.html
To understand how an adulterer can now be a presidential frontrunner,
we need to peer inside Americans' bedrooms
Pamela Druckerman
Friday September 7, 2007
The Guardian
Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton were a picture-perfect couple
as they campaigned together recently. Between political remarks they
held hands, hugged and exchanged intimate whispers. And yet even some
supporters were surely wondering: how on earth can they still be
married?
Hillary Clinton's legendary endurance of her husband's extramarital
trysts haunts her candidacy for president. But then, there's no
shortage of adultery hovering over this election: Rudy Giuliani's
awkward transition into his third marriage; John McCain's overlapping
relationships with his first and second wives; and Newt Gingrich's
"periods of weakness". Mitt Romney seems one of the few major
candidates without marital baggage - save for a great-grandfather who
was a polygamist.
Four decades of intercourse
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,2164080,00.html
The artistic expression of sex let loose by the end of the Chatterley
ban has gone as far as it can
Mark Lawson
Friday September 7, 2007
The Guardian
For the next fortnight Radio 4 will be throbbing with sex - a
condition with which, outside of The Archers, the network has not
always been connected. To mark the 50th anniversary of the Wolfenden
report, which liberated gay men, a season of programmes will examine
all legal forms of sexual expression. And in the offices of Front Row,
the Radio 4 arts show, votes from writers, artists, critics and
broadcasters have been deciding 10 defining moments of sexuality in
culture for a series of what are perhaps fittingly called inserts.
A police state? Crying wolf won't protect civil liberties
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,2164125,00.html
If the left rejects every challenge to individual freedom, it will
miss its chance to regain the influence lost under Blair
Conor Gearty
Friday September 7, 2007
The Guardian
The argument for compulsory DNA testing of the entire population and
all visitors to the UK, so eloquently put by Lord Justice Stephen
Sedley, has provoked another bout of anxious navel gazing by civil
libertarians. Sedley is no reactionary but rather one of Britain's
most progressive judges, a man with an impeccable record of legal
activism. If even this kind of person is now joining the Reids,
Howards and the rest on the authoritarian side, does this mean
Britain's much-battered freedom has at last lurched into terminal
decline? Is the police state that so many have warned about for so
long finally on its way?
Politicians are the good guys
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,2164126,00.html
Writers imagine MPs as knaves or fools, but the true drama is one of
people with high ideals
Peter Hyman
Friday September 7, 2007
The Guardian
Lying, arrogant, aloof, egotistical, obsessive, out of touch,
philandering, false, hypocritical, untrustworthy, shameless, freebie-
grabbing scoundrels. Those are some of the more polite terms thrown at
politicians. And it's taken for granted that "they're only in it for
themselves" and "they're all the same". Resignation piled on cynicism
too often now passes for political commentary.
Almost the worst part of being an adviser to a prime minister was the
vilification he suffered that went far beyond political differences.
The vast majority of politicians I have worked with believe in public
service. They are driven by ideals and a desire to serve, rather than
by power or any of the very few perks of office.
Taiwan is not, nor has it ever been, an independent country
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,2164043,00.html
Repeated moves to split from mainland China have rightly been rebuffed
by the UN, says Pan Hejun
Friday September 7, 2007
The Guardian
James Huang impugned the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, for his
rejection of "president" Chen Shui-bian's application for Taiwan to be
admitted to the United Nations (Insulting and dangerous, September 3).
By accusing Ban Ki-moon of overstepping the boundaries of his power,
Huang - Taiwan's so-called minister of foreign affairs - forgot an
obvious fact: the UN gave its verdict on the issue of Taiwan decades
ago, and the secretary general was simply performing his duty.
Yes, the Duke of Buccleuch was rich - but he was more in touch with
ordinary people than most politicians
http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,2164104,00.html
Alexander Chancellor
Friday September 7, 2007
The Guardian
The 9th Duke of Buccleuch, who died this week at 83, was as rich as
rich can be and, with 280,000 acres in Scotland, was reputedly the
biggest private landowner in Europe. He was also for 13 years a
Conservative member of parliament, and it was inevitable that Labour
MPs would accuse him of being out of touch with "ordinary people".
It was, however, a charge he was at pains to rebut; and he liked to
say that running his vast estate was "every bit as much a business as
running a chocolate factory or a chain of shops" and that it kept him
in contact with all the 1,000 people who lived and worked on it. He
could also have pointed out, if he had wanted to, that he had served
as an ordinary seaman on destroyers during the second world war, and
that this had given him a rather tougher experience of life on the
ocean wave than anything John Prescott later had to endure.
North Korea invites US input on nuclear shutdown
http://www.guardian.co.uk/korea/article/0,,2164474,00.html
Peter Walker and agencies
Friday September 7, 2007
Guardian Unlimited
Experts from America, Russia and China will travel to North Korea
later this month to study how the country's nuclear facilities can be
shut down, a senior US official announced today.
The group will travel at the specific invitation of the country's
leader, Kim Jong-Il, said Christopher Hill, the assistant secretary of
state for East Asian and Pacific affairs.
"This is an idea the North Koreans came up with," Mr Hill told
reporters on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation
(Apec) summit in Sydney. "I don't think it will be the only such
trip," he was quoted as saying by the AFP news agency.
Website claims Bin Laden will release message to mark 9/11
http://www.guardian.co.uk/alqaida/story/0,,2164337,00.html
Sarah Knapton
Friday September 7, 2007
The Guardian
Osama bin Laden, the al-Qaida leader, will release a video addressing
the American people on the sixth anniversary of the September 11
attacks, an Islamist website reported last night.
The announcement appeared on a website where al-Qaida's media arm, as-
Sahab, frequently posts messages. It was illustrated with a still
photo from the video, showing bin Laden addressing the camera, his
beard apparently dyed black
Global poll shows most people want US out of Iraq
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,2164450,00.html
Mark Tran
Friday September 7, 2007
Guardian Unlimited
Most people across the world think American troops should withdraw
from Iraq within a year, according to a BBC poll published today.
The BBC World Service survey, released just before Congress receives a
landmark report on George Bush's "surge", underlined the unpopularity
of the president's Iraq policy.
RAF scrambles to confront Russian bombers as Putin flexes air power
http://www.guardian.co.uk/russia/article/0,,2164206,00.html
=B7 Encounter reminiscent of cold war incidents
=B7 Shifting alliances raise tension with Moscow
Richard Norton-Taylor and Luke Harding in Moscow
Friday September 7, 2007
The Guardian
Vladimir Putin's new-found determination to project Russia's military
power internationally led yesterday to an aerial encounter with the
RAF over the North Sea as British fighter jets, backed by an early
warning aircraft, intercepted eight long-range Russian planes in the
North Atlantic.
In the latest of a series of aerial incidents reminiscent of the cold
war, four Tornado F3s from RAF Leeming, North Yorkshire, and RAF
Waddington, Lincolnshire, were scrambled early yesterday followed by
an E3 early warning radar aircraft and a refuelling tanker to shadow
eight Russian Tupolev Tu-95 "Bears".
US studying Bin Laden '9/11 anniversary' tape
http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,2164742,00.html
Staff and agencies
Friday September 7, 2007
Guardian Unlimited
The US government has obtained a copy of a videotape purporting to be
a message from Osama bin Laden and is studying it to see whether it is
old or new, according to a report today.
The tape, news of which was first reported by an Islamist website last
night, was being analysed today, unnamed US intelligence officials
told the Reuters news agency.
The initial announcement, which said the al-Qaida leader would release
a video addressing the American people on the sixth anniversary of the
September 11 attacks, appeared on a website where al-Qaida's media
arm, as-Sahab, frequently posts messages.
British army expected to step up Iraqi prisoner releases
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,2164713,00.html
Richard Norton-Taylor
Friday September 7, 2007
Guardian Unlimited
The British army is expected to step up a phased release of Iraqi
detainees next week, including members of the Shia Mahdi Army militia,
as part of a "reconciliation process" which British forces hope will
pave the way for an orderly withdrawal from southern Iraq.
The British has released 26 detainees over the past three months, but
a further 77 are still in custody. Some may be transferred to the
Iraqi judicial authorities but in most cases British defence officials
say there is not enough evidence that would stand up in any court.
US jobs data in shock fall
http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,2164613,00.html
Vote: Is a US recession inevitable?
Ashley Seager, economics correspondent
Friday September 7, 2007
Guardian Unlimited
The dollar tumbled to a 15-year low today and stock markets plunged on
both sides of the Atlantic after the announcement of shock figures
showing employment in the United States had dropped for the first time
in four years.
With the Federal Reserve meeting in two weeks' time against a
background of a seizing up of the world's money markets, speculation
was rife that the US central bank would definitely make the first cut
in interest rates since summer 2003 - possibly of half a percentage
point.
Comedy team breach Apec security
http://www.guardian.co.uk/australia/story/0,,2164487,00.html
John Plunkett
Friday September 7, 2007
MediaGuardian.co.uk
A satirical TV comedy show caused a security alert after coming within
yards of George Bush's hotel at a top-level government conference in
Australia.
The Chaser's War on Everything, which airs on the ABC network, sent a
team to the Apec summit in Sydney with spoof security passes saying
"joke", "insecurity" and "It's pretty obvious this isn't a real pass".
Their motorcade, which included three cars and two motorcycles
carrying Canadian flags, was waved through two police security
checkpoints and was only found out when one of the crew hopped out of
the car dressed as Osama Bin Laden.
Beijing plans demolition of 'village' for corruption victims
http://www.guardian.co.uk/china/story/0,,2164499,00.html
Jonathan Watts in Beijing
Friday September 7, 2007
Guardian Unlimited
Beijing plans to demolish a gathering place for China's most
disaffected and maltreated citizens in a clean up ahead of a key
communist party congress, according to a human rights group.
The "petitioners village" in Fengtai is the home to an estimated 4,000
people who have moved to the capital to file claims against corrupt or
abusive local officials in a tradition dating back more than a
thousand years.
Abused in their home villages and often beaten and detained in
Beijing, the petitioners now face the extra threat of bulldozers,
according to the Human Rights Watch organisation.
Israel accused over Lebanon war claims
http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,,2164150,00.html
=B7 Human rights report tells of indiscriminate firing
=B7 Claim that Hizbullah hid behind civilians rejected
Rory McCarthy in Jerusalem
Friday September 7, 2007
The Guardian
Israel was accused yesterday of firing indiscriminately during last
year's 34-day war in Lebanon in a report by Human Rights Watch which
challenged Israel's claim that the high number of civilian casualties
resulted from Hizbullah shielding itself among the Lebanese
population.
In a 249-page investigation, the New York-based group said its
research showed that even though the militants were also guilty of
serious violations of the laws of war, there was no evidence that they
systematically fought from among civilians.
Libya is surprise venue for Sudan peace talks
http://www.guardian.co.uk/libya/story/0,,2164166,00.html
=B7 UN chief announces new bid to end Darfur carnage
=B7 Hopes that Gadafy will push for rebel compromise
Jonathan Steele in Khartoum
Friday September 7, 2007
The Guardian
Libya emerged yesterday as the surprise choice for full-scale peace
talks next month between Darfur's rebel leaders and the Sudanese
government. The talks, due to start on October 27 and to be chaired
jointly by the United Nations and the African Union, were announced at
the end of a four-day visit to Sudan by the UN secretary general, Ban
Ki-moon.
UN officials disclosed that Sudan's president, Omar al-Bashir, had
unexpectedly proposed Tripoli as the best venue during a dinner on
Monday night. Five other countries had offered to host the meeting. Mr
Bashir had already cleared it with Libya's leader, Muammar Gadafy, and
Alpha Oumar Konare, the chairman of the AU. Mr Ban and his advisers
spent several hours on the telephone during the past few days securing
the approval of the eight leading rebel movements for the venue.
Ex-Pakistan PM tries to outwit Musharraf with multiple flights
http://www.guardian.co.uk/pakistan/Story/0,,2164193,00.html
Declan Walsh in Karachi
Friday September 7, 2007
The Guardian
Pakistan's former prime minister Nawaz Sharif has booked himself on
five different flights to the country next week to counter government
efforts to thwart his return.
The airliner intrigue is one of several ruses by Mr Sharif to keep
Pakistan's intelligence agencies guessing. He has vowed to land in
Islamabad on Monday, a move that will challenge the leadership of
President Pervez Musharraf.
Somali Islamist leader emerges from hiding
http://www.guardian.co.uk/alqaida/story/0,,2164165,00.html
Xan Rice in Nairobi
Friday September 7, 2007
The Guardian
The leader of Somalia's Islamist movement emerged from eight months of
hiding yesterday to appear at an opposition meeting in Eritrea that
called for an immediate withdrawal of Ethiopian troops.
Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, who is accused by the US of links to al-
Qaida, headed the Somali Council of Islamic Courts (SCIC) until it was
driven from power in Mogadishu by Ethiopian forces last December.
Having fled the capital he was thought to have been living in southern
Somalia. Many people saw his hand in an ongoing insurgency against the
occupying Ethiopian army and troops loyal to Somalia's interim
government.
United States could go into recession, warns OECD
http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2163143,00.html
West's leading thinktank urges Federal Reserve to cut interest rates
as housing market crisis deepens
Larry Elliott and Angela Balakrishnan
Thursday September 6, 2007
The Guardian
The west's leading economic thinktank yesterday urged America's
central bank to insure against the prospect of recession with an
immediate cut in interest rates as it emerged that the crash in the US
housing market had left real-estate activity at its weakest since the
economy was brought to a halt by the terrorist attacks on 9/11.
Updating its half-yearly forecasts for the global economy, the Paris-
based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development added to
growing pressure on the Federal Reserve to ease the pressure on US
borrowers when it meets later this month.
Monks take officials hostage as Burma fuel protests escalate
http://www.guardian.co.uk/burma/story/0,,2164266,00.html
Ian MacKinnon, south-east Asia correspondent
Friday September 7, 2007
The Guardian
Hundreds of Buddhist monks in Burma held government officials hostage
for more than five hours yesterday in a further escalation of the
protests against the military regime's crippling increase in fuel
prices two weeks ago.
Angry young monks surrounded the largest monastery in the provincial
town Pakokku, trapping about 20 officials inside after they apparently
came to apologise for soldiers firing shots to break up a
demonstration the previous day.
The tense stand-off was eventually ended after a senior abbot
intervened to secure the hostages' freedom, but not before the angry
monks had burned four of the officials' cars.
Poll hopes are high for moderate Islamists, but king will be real
victor
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,2164071,00.html
Religious moderates pledge to fight corruption and inequality in
ballot watched closely by the west
Ian Black in Casablanca
Friday September 7, 2007
The Guardian
Saadedine Othmani has been busy getting out the vote in his Casablanca
constituency. The leader of the Justice and Development party is
offering something new for voters in today's parliamentary elections:
"Islamic values", with a commitment to tackle corruption and fight for
social justice. The party's logo, an oil lamp, is to light the way to
a better future.
Islamist parties don't come any tamer than Justice and Development,
known as the PJD. It does not seek to impose sharia law or restore the
caliphate and - crucially - accepts King Mohammed VI as "commander of
the faithful", the ancient title that makes him both a religious and
secular ruler.
Sweet blog extra: Michelle Obama tells Glamour Mag....well, check for
yourself....(snores and....)
http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2007/09/sweet_blog_extra_michelle_obam.html
WASHINGTON---Michelle Obama chats with Glamour Magazine's Tonya Lewis
Lee (wife of director Spike) about her life, marriage and the
campaign....and that in the morning her daughters don't want to get
into bed with dad--Barack Obama--because he is "too snore-y and
stinky."
read the story at...
http://www.glamour.com/news/articles/2007/09/michelleobama
The power of speech: Obama can talk his way to the presidency
(sycophantic barf alert)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1892427/posts
The Phoenix ^ | September 5, 2007 | Steven Stark
Posted on 09/07/2007 12:54:04 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
The press - or some of it - at least some of it have put Barack Obama
on the road to oblivion. When the candidate responded, at the July 23
CNN/YouTube Democratic debate, that he would meet with rogue foreign
leaders during his first year in office, much of the media excoriated
him - even though his statement was met with applause, and a
subsequent poll showed a large majority of Democratic voters agreed
with him. Michael Goodwin of the New York Daily News even wrote
recently that Obama "is starting to get that last call feeling. He has
to know his presidential campaign is running out of time."
Yet Obama's not nearly in as bad shape as the press suggests. Yes,
Hillary Clinton has a substantial lead in the national polls, but
Obama isn't far off her heels in several of the opening states that
count - Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina. Further, he's sitting
on a ton of cash and has a large institutional base of support in the
black community. Write him off at your peril.
Obama News Roundup
http://www.blueoregon.com/2007/09/obama-news-roun.html
in the news
We're one day away from Barack Obama's visit to Portland, with
thousands of supporters slated to attend. To catch you up to speed,
here's a news roundup from the Obama campaign over the past several
days.
Throughout the campaign, Obama has often been cast as inexperienced
compared to some of his main rivals such as Hilary Clinton or John
Edwards. During an Iowa event yesterday, Obama fought back, arguing he
had more relevant experience than either of the other candidates.
Novak: Hillary runs a con on Obama, Edwards
http://politics.wizbangblog.com/2007/09/06/novak-hillary-runs-a-con-on-obam=
a-edwards.php
We previously reported on Democratic presidential candidates siding
with the DNC in the dispute over the primaries moving earlier than the
rules permit. But if all the candidates refuse to campaign in those
states, it practically gives them - and the nomination - to Hillary
Clinton, argues Robert Novak :
Some of the news media bought into that, with The New York Times
reporting: "The decision seemed to dash any hopes of Mrs. Clinton
relying on a strong showing in Florida as a springboard to the
nomination." Rather, her forbearance looks like a windfall for the
Democratic front-runner.
Oprah fundraises for Obama
http://video.msn.com/v/us/fv/fv.htm??g=3Dca45ce91-28ba-46b8-936c-b221bff7f3=
4e&f=3D05&fg=3Drss
Sept. 6: Can Oprah turn her daytime magic into votes for Barack Obama?
NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports.
GALLUP: Obama Scores High on 'Thermometer,' Clinton Leaves Many 'Cold'
http://www.mediainfo.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=3D10=
03636838
By E&P Staff
Published: September 07, 2007 11:25 AM ET
NEW YORK It's still only 2007, already the candidates have been
measured on practically every scale. Now Gallup has borrowed one it
calls the "feeling thermometer" rating scale. And Sen. Barack Obama
wins the race for warmth while Sen. Hillary Clinton leaves many
"cold."
Gallup said today that it recently tested the public images of several
of the Republican and Democratic candidates running for president. "Of
these, only one -- Barack Obama -- stirs up warm feelings in a
majority of Americans," it found. But "Clinton's image is the most
polarized of this group: nearly as many Americans say she leaves them
cold as say they feel warmly toward her."
Federico Pena, former Clinton Cabinet member, endorses Obama
http://www.myfoxchicago.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=3D4290688&ver=
sion=3D2&locale=3DEN-US&layoutCode=3DTSTY&pageId=3D3.1.1
Last Edited: Friday, 07 Sep 2007, 1:21 PM CDT
Created: Friday, 07 Sep 2007, 1:21 PM CDT
By NEDRA PICKLER
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON -- Former Clinton Cabinet member Federico Pena said
Friday that he is becoming a co-chairman of Democrat Barack Obama's
presidential campaign.
Pena headed the transportation and energy departments under President
Clinton but has decided to back the chief rival of former first lady
Hillary Rodham Clinton.
A Fake Interview With Obama in "Politique internationale"
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/090707G.shtml
By Pascal Rich=E9
Rue89
Wednesday 05 September 2007
"Politique internationale," a serious review founded by Patrick
Wajsman, published an interview with Barack Obama, candidate for the
Democratic nomination for the American presidential elections, in its
latest issue. A rare interview: the black senator from Illinois has up
until now avoided interviews with the foreign press.
In the interview, he mentions his electoral campaign and comments on
the Iraq situation in very strong terms: "Yes, it's a defeat for the
United States. And a defeat that we will pay for for a long time. But
we don't have the means today to turn that defeat into a victory. It's
too late."
Former Clinton Cabinet Official Backs Obama
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/09/07/former-clinton-cabinet-of_n_63486.=
html
AP | September 7, 2007 01:36 PM
Former Clinton Cabinet member Federico Pena said Friday that he is
becoming a co-chairman of Democrat Barack Obama's presidential
campaign.
Pena headed the transportation and energy departments under President
Clinton but has decided to back the chief rival of former first lady
Hillary Rodham Clinton.
.
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