Melanie Phillips on Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Images courtesy of Google Images

I had the enormous privilege last week of appearing on a platform with Ayaan Hirsi Ali at the centennial meeting of the American Jewish Committee in Washington.

Ms Hirsi Ali is the Somalian-born Dutch MP who now lives under round-the-clock police protection, because her uncompromising opposition to Islamist fascism has resulted in a death sentence upon her by the people whose monstrosities she has devoted her life to defeating.

The daughter of a Muslim intellectual, she fled an arranged marriage and sought asylum in the Netherlands. There she observed the hidden plight of many Muslim women, suffering from such obscenities as genital mutilation or ‘honour killings’ when family members suspect them of sexual impropriety.

This led her to help write an 11-minute film called Submission about the violence practised against Muslim women and its justification in religious doctrine. As a result the film’s director, Theo van Gogh, was murdered and Ms Hirsi Ali went into hiding for her life as the Dutch finally woke up to the horrendous madness that now threatened to engulf their society. A woman of valour from the Jewish Chronicle (12 May 2006)

Mark Alexander

Government protection leaves much to be desired

The first duty of any government is to protect its citizens. This is the most basic and fundamental of the state’s roles. Beside it, what normally engages the political world verges on the superfluous. The Blair-Brown soap opera pales into insignificance, exposed for the narcissistic nonsense that it is. But, while no government can guarantee the safety of its people in all circumstances all the time, this one has proved particularly inept at carrying out this duty.

Two reports last week on the July 7 London bombings, in which more than 50 people were killed and several hundred injured, put a favourable gloss on the role of the security services. The Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) thought it “understandable” that, having been aware of two of the four bombers for up to two years before (and having the telephone number of a third on its database), MI5 diverted its attentions to “more pressing priorities”. MI5 — its motto is regnum defende — had a lot on its plate and “resources” were scarce. Regnum non defendit (Leading article in today's Sunday Times)

Mark Alexander

OBL allowed to live "untroubled" in Pakistan!

Foto dank Google Images

Vorwürfe der afghanischen Regierung

Die afghanische Regierung hat dem Nachbarland Pakistan vorgeworfen, al-Kaida-Chef Usama bin Ladin nur halbherzig zu verfolgen. Das Land könnte bin Ladin fangen und vor Gericht stellen, wenn es nur wollte. Bin Ladin soll unbehelligt in Pakistan leben

Mark Alexander

Mass Exodus of Christians from the Middle East

Photo grâce à Figaro

En Egypte, en Irak, en Palestine ou en Syrie, leur nombre ne cesse de diminuer en raison des départs en exil. Pour les héritiers des premiers croyants, l'avenir est opaque.

LA SEMAINE PROCHAINE, dix patriarches et archevêques catholiques orientaux viennent célébrer en France le 150e anniversaire de l'Oeuvre d'Orient, qui aide les Eglises orientales liées à Rome. Mais les festivités marquent une période de doute et d'angoisse. Partout, les descendants des premiers chrétiens, qu'ils soient ou non liés à Rome, craignent pour leur avenir. Leur exode s'accentue. Beaucoup quittent leur pays avec peu ou pas d'espoir de retour, vers l'Europe, les Etats-Unis ou l'Australie. «Le départ des chrétiens d'Orient n'est pas un phénomène nouveau, dit Christian Lochon, universitaire spécialiste des Eglises d'Orient. Déjà, au XIXe siècle, les habitants de Bethléem et de ses environs ont fondé des colonies en Argentine, au Chili ou au Brésil. Plus généralement, toutes les crises de l'Empire ottoman ont déclenché des vagues d'émigration. Récemment, la guerre en Irak et la montée des islamismes ont accentué cette tendance.»

Combien sont-ils à vivre encore sur les terres qui virent naître le christianisme ? Les données sont aléatoires et les chiffres souvent politiques. Les statistiques varient du simple au double selon l'auteur du décompte, communautés ou gouvernements. Le grand exode des chrétiens d'Orient par Pierre Prier

Mark Alexander

Highly-enriched uranium found in Iran

Photo courtesy of Google Images

Diplomats say IAEA discovers traces of highly enriched uranium on equipment from site in Iran

(AP) The U.N. atomic agency found traces of highly enriched uranium on equipment from an Iranian site linked to the country's defense ministry, diplomats said Friday, adding to concerns that Tehran was hiding activities aimed at making nuclear arms.

The diplomats, who demanded anonymity in exchange for revealing the confidential information, said the findings were preliminary and still had to be confirmed through other lab tests.

Initially, they said the density of enrichment appeared to be close to or above the level used to make nuclear warheads. But later a well-placed diplomat accredited to the International Atomic Energy Agency said it was below that, although higher than the low-enriched material used to generate power and heading toward weapons-grade level. Traces of Uranium Said Found in Iran

Mark Alexander

Moussaoui's life saved by one juror

Photo courtesy of the BBC

Only one juror prevented Zacarias Moussaoui from being sentenced to death for his role in the 9/11 attacks, the Washington Post has reported.

The paper says it was contacted by the jury forewoman from the trial, after which Moussaoui was given life in jail.

She said that in secret votes on three terrorism charges, the jury repeatedly voted 11-1, 10-2 and 10-2.

A unanimous vote on any of the charges would have condemned Moussaoui to a lethal injection. Moussaoui 'saved by lone juror'

Mark Alexander

Jean-Marie Le Pen goes to court again

The right-wing extremist Jean-Marie Le Pen has been in court again for inciting racial hatred. He has been fined €10,000 and ordered to pay a further €5,000 (with interest) to the human rights organization, Menschenrechtsliga, the organization which brought the charges in the first instance.

In 2003, in an interview with the newspaper Le Monde, he stated that if the number of Muslims in France reached 25 million, then the French would be taking orders from them, and that the French themselves would have to lower their gaze when passing Muslims in the street. To look them in the eye would mean that they would get a “thrashing”.

Le Pen has been charged on several occasions for anti-Semitic and xenophobic statements. In particular, he described the gas chambers of Nazi Germany as a “detail in the history of the Second World War”. This from the Neue Zürcher Zeitung

Foto dank der NZZ

Kassationsgericht in Paris bestätigt Urteil

(ap) Der französische Rechtsextremist Jean-Marie Le Pen ist in letzter Instanz wegen Anstiftung zum Rassenhass verurteilt worden. Das Kassationsgericht bestätigte am Donnerstag in Paris das Urteil der Vorinstanz, wonach Le Pen 10'000 Euro Strafe für seine 2003 in einem Zeitungsinterview gemachten Äusserungen zahlen muss. Weitere 5000 Euro plus Zinsen muss er an die Menschenrechtsliga zahlen, die die Klage eingereicht hatte. Rechtsextremist Le Pen wegen Volksverhetzung verurteilt

Mark Alexander

Can the cartoon wounds be healed?

Photo courtesy of the BBC

The great and the good from Europe and the Muslim world spent two days at a quiet retreat in southern England this month in an urgent effort at crisis management.

The mood was sombre.

"There is no trust," lamented a senior Muslim diplomat. "Dialogue has failed. We need a historic reconciliation."

The soul-searching was prompted by the bitter controversy over cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad.

The republication of the cartoons in several European countries - after they first appeared in Denmark last year - provoked a wave of Muslim anger and dire warnings of a "clash of civilisations". Healing the cartoon row wounds by Roger Hardy, BBC Islamic affairs analyst.

Mark Alexander

The Plan

This excellent article written by Patrick Poole and printed in Frontpagemag highlights the magnitude of the problem the West is now facing vis-à-vis Islam:

One might be led to think that if international law enforcement authorities and Western intelligence agencies had discovered a twenty-year old document revealing a top-secret plan developed by the oldest Islamist organization with one of the most extensive terror networks in the world to launch a program of “cultural invasion” and eventual conquest of the West that virtually mirrors the tactics used by Islamists for more than two decades, that such news would scream from headlines published on the front pages and above the fold of the New York Times, Washington Post, London Times, Le Monde, Bild, and La Repubblica.

If that’s what you might think, you would be wrong. The Muslim Brotherhood "Project"

Mark Alexander

Iran ready to negotiate (on its own terms)

Phot courtesy of Yahoo

Jakarta — Iran's President said Thursday he was ready to negotiate with Western powers over Tehran's nuclear program, but warned that threats would make any talks more difficult.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made his comments after key UN Security Council members agreed to present Tehran with a choice of incentives or sanctions in deciding whether to suspend uranium enrichment.

Later on Thursday, Mr. Ahmadinejad called Israel's government a "regime based on evil," and told a cheering crowd of students in Jakarta that the Jewish state "cannot continue and one day will vanish."

Students in the crowd held up posters saying "Iran in our Hearts," and "Nuclear for Peace."

Mr. Ahmadinejad said his country was willing to negotiate, but that the United States first must drop its "bad attitude."

"We are not only defending our rights, we are defending the rights of many other countries," he said. "By maintaining our position, we are defending our independence."

Iran's President says country ready to negotiate by Chris Brummit, Associated Press Writer

An Islamic Declaration of War

Mark Alexander

The Illegal Immigrant Problem in the US

"The problem in our lack of border security and illegal immigration is becoming increasingly obvious: two political parties that are beholden to corporate America, the largest employers of illegal aliens, and the leadership of both parties that are selling out American citizens in search of cheap labor and political advantage. How dumb do you all think we are? Again, that's only a rhetorical question."

CNN does not spring to mind when one thinks either of political incorrectness or anti-multiculturalism. So when I came across this from Lou Dobbs today, I was rather suprised. I found it to be refreshing, and right on the button. See what you think...

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Reports this week that the Border Patrol is notifying the Mexican government of the locations of Minutemen volunteers are being denied by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. True or not, the Bush administration continues to follow absurd policies on both issues of border security and illegal immigration.

President Bush continues to push his guest worker program and amnesty for anywhere between 11 million and 20 million illegal aliens, and he insists still that nothing less than what he calls comprehensive immigration reform is acceptable.

And the lies keep coming from both political parties. This president is not enforcing the immigration laws enacted by Congress, and this Congress is failing in its duty of oversight to demand that those laws be followed. Dobbs to President: Do you take us for fools?

Mark Alexander

The Palestinians in financial difficulties

Photo courtesy of the BBC

An Israeli firm providing the only fuel source to the Palestinians has decided to cut off supplies because of mounting Palestinian Authority (PA) debts.

The Palestinian Petroleum Agency head said he expected petrol and cooking gas would run out within hours.
The PA has faced financial crisis since foreign aid was frozen after Hamas - regarded as a terrorist movement by the US and EU - won elections in January.

A plan to channel donor aid directly to the Palestinians was agreed on Tuesday.

Palestinian fuel crisis looming

Mark Alexander

Sarkozy tout simplement puissant et ambitieux

Photo grâce à Figaro

Selon un sondage BVA pour Le Figaro et LCI, Le projet de loi Sarkozy suscite l'adhésion à droite mais aussi à gauche.

LES FRANÇAIS soutiennent massivement le projet de loi sur l'immigration et l'intégration élaboré par Nicolas Sarkozy et actuellement discuté à l'Assemblée, selon un sondage BVA pour Le Figaro et LCI. Selon cette enquête d'opinion, 60% des Français ne sont pas satisfaits des règles fixées jusqu'à présent pour encadrer l'immigration, contre 28% seulement d'un avis contraire et 12% qui ne se prononcent pas. Les sympathisants de droite sont 75% à affirmer leur mécontentement à l'égard de la politique actuelle. Plus notable encore, les Français proches de la gauche sont 56% à se dire insatisfaits. Un chiffre qui devrait faire réfléchir les socialistes, qui bataillent à l'Assemblée nationale contre le texte du ministre de l'Intérieur. Les Français plébiscitent la loi immigration

And this from the BBC:

I was at a dinner party the other night where half the people around the table thought it would be a terrible shame for France if Nicolas Sarkozy became president - and the other half thought it would be a good thing.

He is a man who polarises opinion, but as France counts down the months to the presidential election next year, more and more people seem to be warming to the plain-speaking former lawyer.

He has not officially declared he is going to run for the Elysee Palace, but it is surely only a matter of time.

His speech in Nimes on Tuesday was given in a hall packed with members of his governing centre-right UMP party, but it was also carried live on television. This was a speech addressing the people of France.

No-one can deny he is a great orator, with a powerful presence belying a slim, short frame.

He has a commanding voice that echoed across the hall and into people's homes.

What he said perhaps entered people's hearts too.

Ambitious Sarkozy works the crowd

Mark Alexander

Muslims want no statues for Egypt

Photo courtesy of the BBC

A religious ruling condemning the display of statues has angered Egyptian liberals and intellectuals who fear it could encourage religious zealots to attack the country's pharaonic heritage.

The ruling was issued by the Mufti, the most senior religious scholar in Egypt.

Islam has always been wary of representations of the human figure.

Anything which could even remotely suggest idolatry is frowned upon.

But sculpture in Egypt is as old as the pharaohs. Egyptians look to Islam for answers

Mark

War not Criminality

On the afternoon of Sept. 11, as the Pentagon still burned, Donald Rumsfeld told the president, 'This is not a criminal action. This is war.'

That's still the distinction that matters. By contrast, after the 2005 London bombings, Boris Johnson, the Conservative member of Parliament, wrote a piece headlined 'Just Don't Call It War.' Johnson objected to the language of 'war, whether military or cultural . . . Last week's bombs were placed not by martyrs nor by soldiers, but by criminals.' War-war not law-law

Mark

Muslims portrayed badly

US Islamic leaders are complaining about the way that Muslims are being portrayed on TV and in the media. They say conveying a peaceful image of Islam is much more difficult since September 11, and they blame what they call a 'barrage' of negative news stories.

By 'negative' news stories, they mean stories like the Afghani convert threatened with execution, the daily terror attacks by Islamic jihadists, the mass demonstrations protesting cartoons of Mohammed and the Islamic car-burning protests in France.

USAToday quoted Irfan Rydhan, 31, a spokesperson and organizer for the South Bay Islamic Association in San Jose, Calif.

“We say we're peaceful people, but it doesn't matter what we say,” he complained. “They see these violent images on TV, and those people look like us.”

Islam Cries "Foul"

Mark

Ahmadinejad's Letter to Bush

Photo courtesy of the BBC

Details have emerged of the surprise letter written by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to US President George W Bush.

In it, Mr Ahmadinejad criticises the US invasion of Iraq and urges Mr Bush to return to religious principles.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has dismissed the letter, saying it contained nothing new.

The letter was issued as foreign ministers met in New York for talks on the Iranian nuclear crisis. Ahmadinejad letter attacks Bush

Mark

An Interview with Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Photo courtesy of Google

This fascinating interview with the delightful, attractive, and very courageous Ayaan Hirsi Ali (Dutch MP) was brought to my attention by Robert Spencer's great website, Jihad Watch.

It can be viewed courtesy of another great website, Little Green Footballs, HERE.

The interview was brought to us by Norwegian television (NRK). She talks about her film Submission, Theo Van Gogh, her views on Islam, the Danish cartoons, and her need for constant protection from Islamic threats of death.Be patient! The film begins in Norwegian, but soon switches to English.

This is her latest book:

Caged Virgin: An Emancipation Proclamation for Women and Islam

Buy this book in the UK

Remember! She is speaking at Harvard on May 9. Ayaan Hirsi Ali at Harvard, May 9, 2006

Mark

Rueful expression replaces Blair's permasmile

Photo courtesy of the Telegraph

It's over for Tony Blair; and, in his heart, he knows it. His end might be protracted, of course. He has plenty of disciples urging him to stand and fight. He will find allies, too, among those who fear for their careers under a Gordon Brown premiership.

He still has the machinery of the Labour Party at his disposal, to say nothing of that of the British state.

He can, in other words, keep going for a while, just as a fighting bull will sometimes charge for several minutes after the matador's steel has found its aorta. But the death wound has already been dealt.

What is the point of Blair? He should quit

Mark

Depressing news for the Church of England

THE Church of England has debunked the widely held view that young people are spiritual seekers on a journey to find transcendent truths to fill the “God-shaped hole” within them.

A report published by the Church today indicates that young people are quite happy with a life without God and prefer car boot sales to church.

If they think about church at all, the images young people come up with are “cardigans”, “sandals and socks”, “corrupt”, “traditionalist” and “stagnant”.

Church seeks spirituality of youth ... and doesn't like what it finds

Mark Alexander

It's high time for meddling Cheney to mind his own business

US Vice-President Dick Cheney has supported the attempts of three Balkan countries - Albania, Croatia and Macedonia - to join Nato and the EU.

He told the leaders of the three countries that their membership would help rejuvenate the two blocs. Cheney backs Balkan Nato-EU bids

Mark Alexander

NEW: This book will be a disturbing read, but a great one!


Londonistan (US Version)

The suicide bombings carried out in London in 2005 by British Muslims revealed an alarming network of Islamist terrorists and their sympathizers. Under the noses of British intelligence, London became the European hub for the promotion, recruitment and financing of Islamist terror and extremism - so much so that it has been mockingly dubbed 'Londonistan'. In this ground-breaking book, Melanie Phillips pieces together the story of how Londonistan developed as a result of the collapse of British self-confidence and national identity and its resulting paralysis by multiculturalism and appeasement. The result is an ugly climate in Britain of irrationality and defeatism, which now threatens to undermine the alliance with America and imperil the defence of the free world.

"Melanie Phillips’s Londonistan is a last-minute warning for Britain and for much of the free world ... This book is powerful and frightening, but also courageous. In dictatorships, you need courage to fight evil; in the free world, you need courage to see the evil." — Natan Sharansky

Buy Londonistan (UK Version)

Mark Alexander

Der Papst dankt der kleinsten Armee der Welt

Dieser Artikel von der Neuen Zürcher Zeitung:

Benedikt XVI. feiert Pontifikalamt zu Ehren der 500-jährigen Schweizergarde

Im voll besetzten Petersdom hat Papst Benedikt XVI. die Schweizergarde mit einer Messe geehrt. Er rief die kleinste Armee der Welt auf, mit «Mut und Treue» in die Zukunft zu blicken. Am Pontifikalamt nahm auch Bundespräsident Moritz Leuenberger teil. Dank im Namen aller Päpste

Mark Alexander

Tony no longer in awe of Straw

The key to the demotion of Jack Straw from foreign secretary is Iran. Mr Straw for more than a year, in his favourite outlet the BBC Today programme or at various press conferences, said repeatedly a military strike on Iran was inconceivable.

Politicians always try to avoid boxing themselves in, but Straw did on this issue: if a military strike had become a serious option, he would have been forced to resign. Iran is the key to Jack Straw's demotion

Mark Alexander

Reza Pahlavi Speaks

Reza Pahlavi, son of the late Shah of Iran, told the editors of HUMAN EVENTS last week that in the next two to three months he hopes to finalize the organization of a movement aimed at overthrowing the Islamic regime in Tehran and replacing it with a democratic government.

He believes the cause is urgent because of the prospect that Iran may soon develop a nuclear weapon or the U.S. may use military force to preempt that. He hopes to offer a way out of this dilemma: a revolution sparked by massive civil disobedience in which the masses in the streets are backed by elements of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

Pahlavi, who lives in exile in the United States, said he has been in contact with elements of the Revolutionary Guard that would be willing to play such a role, and activists who could help spark the civil disobedience.

He also said that the U.S. and other governments can help by imposing “smart sanctions” on the leaders of Iranian regime, but he categorically opposes U.S. military intervention. Shah of Iran's Heir Plans Overthrow of Regime

Mark

Saudi Cleric: Islamic victory over US

On April 19, 2006, Saudi Islamist cleric Sheikh Dr. Nasser Al-'Omar appeared on Al-Jazeera delivering a lecture on jihad. In it, he said, "The Islamic nation now faces a great phase of jihad," and added "There are places where jihad is proper - Afghanistan, Palestine, Iraq, Chechnya, Kashmir, and the Philippines." He also told his audience that the U.S. was "disappearing" - echoing his statement on Al-Majd TV on June 13, 2004 that "America is collapsing," and that Muslims "must be patient." America Disappearing from the Hearts

Mark

Islam and Democracy



This very interesting article, written by Cardinal George Pell, the Archbishop of Sydney, was drawn to my attention by Warner, a trusted and faithful visitor to my website. I would like to share it with you...

September 11 was a wake-up call for me personally. I recognised that I had to know more about Islam.

In the aftermath of the attack one thing was perplexing. Many commentators and apparently the governments of the “Coalition of the Willing” were claiming that Islam was essentially peaceful, and that the terrorist attacks were an aberration. On the other hand one or two people I met, who had lived in Pakistan and suffered there, claimed to me that the Koran legitimised the killings of non-Muslims.

Although I had possessed a copy of the Koran for 30 years, I decided then to read this book for myself as a first step to adjudicating conflicting claims. And I recommend that you too read this sacred text of the Muslims, because the challenge of Islam will be with us for the remainder of our lives – at least.

Can Islam and the Western democracies live together peacefully? What of Islamic minorities in Western countries? Views on this question range from näive optimism to bleakest pessimism. Those tending to the optimistic side of the scale seize upon the assurance of specialists that jihad is primarily a matter of spiritual striving, and that the extension of this concept to terrorism is a distortion of koranic teaching[1]. They emphasise Islam’s self-understanding as a “religion of peace”. They point to the roots Islam has in common with Judaism and Christianity and the worship the three great monotheistic religions offer to the one true God. There is also the common commitment that Muslims and Christians have to the family and to the defence of life, and the record of co-operation in recent decades between Muslim countries, the Holy See, and countries such as the United States in defending life and the family at the international level, particularly at the United Nations. Islam and Western Democracy

Mark Alexander

We need to toughen up to deal with Islam

A triumphant Zacarias Moussaoui shouted "America, You lost" and made a V for Victory sign after he escaped the death penalty last night for his role in the September 11 terrorist attacks.

In a stunning defeat for the Bush administration, a federal jury ruled that the only man convicted in America for a role in the attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon should not be executed but should spend the rest of his life in prison. Life for Moussaoui

This from The Times:

THE only man convicted for the attacks of September 11, 2001, was spared execution as a jury decided yesterday that Zacarias Moussaoui will spend the rest of his life in prison.

After seven days of deliberation the 12 members of the jury at the court in Alexandria, Virginia, failed to reach unanimous agreement that he should die by lethal injection.

In their 42-page verdict form, they rejected arguments that Moussaoui was seeking martyrdom or was mentally ill. But three members decided that he had only limited knowledge of 9/11, and described his role in the attacks as minor. There was also support for mitigating factors such as his violent and dysfunctional backgound, as well as the racism that he had encountered as a youth. 'America, you lost,' he shouts as his life is spared

And again this from The Telegraph:

Zacarias Moussaoui's family in France blame the British for what happened to a once-carefree youth.

They trace the great change in Moussaoui's life to the moment the 23-year-old arrived in Britain in 1992, to attend a business studies course at South Bank University, after graduating in engineering in Perpignan in southern France.

Until then, his family and friends agree, the young man had been full of smiles. He had gone to bars and drunk beer and had a French girlfriend, with whom he ultimately shared a flat. The couple even won a dance contest.

He vowed to make his fortune in London and after a few months managed to get a place to study for an MA in international business studies. But in the ultra-tolerant atmosphere that existed in London before the September 11 attacks, such "wayward" young Muslims were exactly the material being sought by radical Islamists. Life in London made my boy a terrorist

Mark Alexander

Chanel comes to Tehran

Image courtesy of the BBC

Mark

The Immigration Issue: A Barometer of the Strength of the West

That the West is bedevilled by the problem of immigration is an understatement indeed. Yesterday, the States witnessed the biggest demonstration ever in its history staged by illegal immigrants. Europe has yet to witness such a large demonstration; but it might well come to that if the authorities suddenly turned to rather more Draconian measures to control the borders. The immigration problem in Britain and Europe is simply simmering under the surface.

The numbers of protesters in the streets of cities such as Chicago and New York yesterday were mind-boggling. It just shows how weak the States has become vis-à-vis such a pressing issue. George W. Bush’s handling of this issue, again, has been singularly unimpressive. He has shown no resolve in tackling the issue. Ultimately, this reveals his weakness as a President of the most powerful nation on earth, and the weakness of the authorities in enforcing the law. President Bush is beginning to resemble putty more and more!

Hasn’t the US got itself into this fix because it has failed to act decisively from the start? Procrastination has only made matters worse. It always does. However has America allowed eleven million illegal immigrants into the country anyway? This is an absurd figure! Quite absurd, too! It shows how little control the authorities have on the borders. But more than that: It sets a very dangerous precedent for the future. If these people are afforded an amnesty, then it will be a signal to the Mexicans that they can cross the border with impunity.

Laws are not there to be broken; they are there to be enforced. However harsh that may sound, it is true. Unless laws are enforced, then there is little point in wasting time passing the laws in the first place. It is the authorities’ responsibility to enforce the laws that have already been enacted. It is not good enough not to do so, since not only will it send the wrong message, but it is also unfair to all those people – American and foreign – who abide by the laws of the land. Why should Mexicans get away with breaking the law when others cannot?

For example, when I, as a Brit, visit the States, I have to be very careful that I do not stay a day longer than I am allowed to by law. For some inexplicable reason, people entering the States from the old country are very carefully controlled. I dread to think of what would happen to me if I stayed even a day longer than I am legally entitled to do. One thing is certain: The next time I would try to enter the States, I might well be turned away. Why, then, are the Mexicans treated preferentially? The same laws should apply to all!

The fact of the matter is clear: These Mexicans have entered the States illegally. They knew what the score was before they entered. They did so at their own risk. They should now be made to face the consequences of their illegal entry. To say, as some people have, that all Americans are immigrants is to miss the point entirely. Yes, all Americans might well be immigrants; but the vast majority of them entered that country legally. Therein lies the difference! The people who should be rewarded are the people who abide by the law, not the people who break it!

To say that the presence of these illegal immigrants makes life easier for the Americans themselves is also to miss the point. So, these people’s labour comes cheap, and they do the work that Americans do not want to do. So what? That is no reason to allow them to get away with breaking the law and stay.

Often times, people use the argument that it is difficult, if not well nigh impossible, to find people to do the menial work. That is utter rubbish! Nonsense! Balderdash! Everything has a price in a free market economy. If you pay enough, you’ll get everything you want done. You simply have to pay enough.

In any case, to utter such sentiments shows just how decadent people have become. It seems that many now would prefer cheap labour to having the laws of the land enforced. This sets a new and dangerous precedent. It might also mark the beginning of the end for the US as a superpower. After all, if the authorities cannot control the borders, what else can’t they control? This is no good sign for the future of the free world.

Here in Europe, we have a similar problem. Just look at the number of immigrants coming into Europe illegally. Usually, it has to be said, Muslim immigrants at that. This is also not a good sign for the stability of Europe.

Muslim immigrants in Europe and Mexican immigrants in the US share one thing in common: They are unwilling to assimilate. In the States, there has recently been a rumpus over the national anthem. The Mexican immigrants want to sing it in Spanish! Now that’s a nerve if ever there was one! They enter the States illegally and then re-write the national anthem in their own language. That would be enough for a strong American President to show them the door. I mean: How much nonsense must Western governments tolerate?

It is hard for me to imagine how a President of the United States of America can be so weak on this most important of matters. This should not be about a ready supply of cheap labour; rather, it should be about ensuring that the law is abided by, that the laws are enforced. It is also about the strength of the nation.

At a time when the US wants to show its strong face to Iran, it behoves the US government show that it is in total control. This fiasco sends all the wrong messages to Iran and the rest of the world. People in the rest of the world will look on: Those who love the Americans will sympathize, the rest will laugh gleefully at the government's lack of firm control and weakness. In short, they will delight in America’s problems; and they will also delight in Bush’s lack of firm control.

The immigration issue is a problem for most of the free world. The West has allowed itself, out of weakness, to be infiltrated. Getting immigration under control is a barometer of the strength of the West; it is a barometer of the determination of the West to survive.

The way things are going, it is looking increasingly doubtful that our civilization will make it into the next century!

©Mark Alexander

The Power of Immigrants

Building sites fell silent, fruit was left unpicked, restaurant tables were not served and conveyor belts stood still.

The strike by immigrants across America was hugely impressive even if not observed by all of the estimated 12 million illegal workers.

Sympathisers also joined the protests and responded to calls to stay away from work, to keep their children out of school and to boycott stores in order to show their economic power.

Television pictures of the people who humbly do America's toughest and worst-paid jobs demanding a better life struck a chord in a country built on immigration. Marchers show America the power of immigrants

The British Problem

Yesterday's "Day without Immigrants" - Un Dia Sin Inmigrantes - in the United States was a protest mounted on behalf of recent immigrants, mostly Hispanic and many illegal. The idea was to show that the world's greatest economy could be crippled by a strike by people who, largely, are not supposed to be there in the first place.

The American government did not support the strike - but one significant fact should be noted. The protest was aimed at hardline anti-immigration legislation passed by the House of Representatives that the President does not fully support. He favours a guest-worker programme that would open up a path to citizenship for many illegal immigrants.

It is worth contrasting George Bush's attitude with the slogan coined by Nicolas Sarkozy, the French interior minister: "Love France or leave it." Mr Sarkozy, himself from an immigrant background, is hardly a Front National rabble-rouser; but he vigorously supports the deportation of illegal immigrants - the sans papiers - who have turned the outer suburbs into dystopian ghettos. We can no longer dodge the immigration issue

Mark

Iranian Viewpoints

As part of a week of special coverage on Iran, the BBC World Service has spoken to a number of Iranians about the situation in their country and their fears of possible conflict over Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Postcards from Iran: Maheen

Postcards from Iran: Hamid-Reza

Postcards from Iran: Hamid

Postcards from iran: Amir

Strikes on Iran "too risky"



Military action against Iran would be fraught with risk and would have repercussions across the region, a leading American general conceded.

"Any action militarily is very complicated," Lt Gen Victor Renuart, the director of planning for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told The Daily Telegraph.

Strikes on Iran too risky, says US general

Mark

The Ayatollah's Iran

The current president of Iran has repeatedly said that his policy is going back to the time of Khomeini. He is not alone in nostalgia about going back to the time of Khomeini. Many of the statesmen and Mullahs of the Islamic regime of Iran believe that the words or acts of Khomeini are like criteria for everything. These days the mass media of the Iranian Islamic regime are full of the materials written by various groups that they claim that have understood the messages of Khomeini better than the others. Also you see that many of them criticize each other for failing to observe the saying of Khomeini. Therefore, it is important and interesting to see what was Khomeini was telling and doing when he was alive and ruling Iran. Crucifixion of Iran by Bahman Aghai Diba PhD International Law for the Persian Journal

Mark Alexander

Every picture tells a story: With leaders like these, no wonder the Islamic world is in awe!

Bush waiting for some relief!

Bush doing his cowboy thing!

Cheney contemplating his navel!

Blair caught without make-up on 'a bad hair day'!

Chirac after a fright!

Prodi looking pleased with himself!

Zapatero down in the mouth because he can't light up!

Images courtesy of Google.

Mark

Ahadinejad does "not give a damn"! But frankly, dear Ahmadinejad, we do!

ISRAEL'S prime minister-designate Ehud Olmert has denounced Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as a "psychopath" and said the West would never permit Iran to obtain a nuclear bomb. Olmert likens Iran leader to Hitler

Mark Alexander