Dig those legs! Cute, or what, Cameron? What a leader! Ahmadinejad must be quaking in his boots!

Photo of David Cameron courtesy of The Mail on Sunday

Mark Alexander

Take a good look at those eyes!

Photo courtesy of The Times

Mark Alexander

Slide Show

Mark Alexander

English is the lingua franca of the United States of America
I have never understood why Americans have allowed Spanish, as a language, to grow and grow in the States.

Having just returned from a vacation in the States, I couldn’t help but notice when I was there that Spanish is growing in importance. So many things one buys in the supermarket are labelled both in English and Spanish.

The lingua franca of the States is still English. Immigrants should be encouraged to learn the language of their host nation. That, of course, is English.

I have myself lived as a foreigner in a country which has a different tongue. In my case it was Switzerland, and the lingua franca was German. I did my utmost to learn that language.

Looking back on it, I wouldn’t have wished to have it any other way. I was ‘forced’ to learn the language of the country I lived in; and that, today, is to my benefit. It will be to the immigrants' benefit also if they are 'forced' to learn English. So the States should do the same: immigrants should be made to make the effort. In the long-run, it is kinder to them. It helps them not one jot to be mommy-coddled. If immigrants wish to become a part of the country in which they have chosen to live, and if they wish to be upwardly mobile, then it is imperative that they adopt the language of that country. It’s time to get tough!

Make English our official language

©Mark Alexander

Tolerance or Cowardice?
The British are famous for their tolerance. It should be noted that tolerance and cowardice are two sides of the same coin. In that case, are the British so tolerant that they won’t deal with the threat from Islam, or are they too cowardly to do so? Just a thought.

Mark Alexander

“Control freak” Brown displays “Stalinist” tendencies according to Lord Turnbull

THE TELEGRAPH: An astonishing and deeply damaging attack on Gordon Brown's "insulting" treatment of fellow cabinet ministers and his fitness to be Prime Minister is made today by the country's former top civil servant.

The day before the Chancellor delivers his 11th and almost certainly final Budget, Lord Turnbull accuses him of exhibiting a "Stalinist ruthlessness" in government, belittling his cabinet colleagues whom the Treasury treats with "more or less complete contempt".

In a newspaper interview, Lord Turnbull, permanent secretary to the Treasury for four years under Mr Brown before becoming cabinet secretary in 2002, accused the prime minister-in-waiting of a "very cynical view of mankind and his colleagues".

"He cannot allow them any serious discussion about priorities. His view is that it is just not worth it and 'they will get what I decide'. And that is a very insulting process," Lord Turnbull said.

"Do those ends justify the means? It has enhanced Treasury control, but at the expense of any government cohesion and any assessment of strategy. You can choose whether you are impressed or depressed by that, but you cannot help admire the sheer Stalinist ruthlessness of it all." Top civil servant attacks ‘Stalinist’ Brown’ by George Jones

Mark Alexander

Seven Mortal sins
Tony Blair is guilty of "seven mortal sins" that have degraded British politics, the country's outgoing guardian of standards in public life said yesterday. Blair ‘guilty of seven mortal sins

Mark Alexander