Kasra Naji finds an atmosphere of anxiety among people on the streets of TehranMark Alexander
The middle-aged housewife lugging her food shopping in a white plastic bag had a lot to say about her worries for her three grown-up children living here.
With the fighting over in Lebanon, many here fear the world’s attention may now focus on Tehran — and that international sanctions will be imposed if Iran does not suspend its nuclear research programme by the end of the month. Ordinary Iranians fearful as prospect of international sanctions looms closer
Sunday, August 20, 2006
Thursday, August 17, 2006
After the shocking news that “home grown” Muslim “terrorists” (more rightfully called jihadis) planned to blow up nine aircraft full of passengers mid-flight over US metropolitan areas which would have killed thousands of innocent people (mostly infidels in their eyes) – in other words, mass murder of enormous proportions – there have been renewed calls for more interfaith dialogue with “our Muslim brothers and sisters”. These calls for more interfaith dialogue are naïve at best, downright stupid, dangerous and appeasing at worst.
One engages in dialogue with people who are yielding enough, with people who are willing enough to shift their opinions somewhat, in order to be able to reach a compromise. Muslims are totally and utterly unyielding. There can be no compromise with them. None at all! They believe they are right. They believe they are God’s (more correctly Allah’s) chosen people, the people who have a monopoly on the truth. They believe that we are inferior beings to them simply because we do not belong to their faith group, because we have not accepted Muhammad as the final messenger of Allah. Further, they believe that we are unclean and unworthy. Their stated aim is to take over the world, to Islamize it. This is the aim of jihad. How can one engage successfully in dialogue with such people?
To engage in dialogue with Muslims is a futile exercise. Nothing will come out of it. Ex niliho nihil fit. This is not a defeatist attitude; rather, it is a realistic one. Islam is out to dominate the world, out to supersede Christianity as the only worthy faith, and out to annihilate Israel and the Jews. With such people, one does not engage in dialogue; rather, one fights them, one thwarts their ambitions, one vanquishes them.
In any case, what is there to discuss? Muslims deny all the basic tenets of Christianity: They deny that Jesus was the Son of God; they deny that Jesus was crucified (hence the cross is anathema to them); they deny that true Salvation can be found only when one accepts Jesus as one’s Redeemer; indeed, they deny that Jesus is the Christ.
If someone doesn’t believe in these basic tenets of our faith, then there is absolutely nothing to talk about.
In actual fact, Muslims believe that Islam is the perfection of religion for man for all time. They believe that Muhammad came to bring this perfection about. They believe that Muhammad was the ultimate prophet of Allah, and that Jesus was the penultimate one. Jesus is therefore a lesser ‘prophet’ in their eyes than Muhammad is. This should surely be anathema to Church leaders; but apparently it is not. So dilute has our faith become in the eyes of the Church elders!
It defies belief that our Church leaders are prepared and willing for Muslims to deny - absolutely - the raison d’être of the Church. What Church leaders should be urging their priests to do is evangelize, they should be bringing Muslims to task for their heinous crimes against humanity, and showing them the Way, the Truth and the Light. That, after all, is what they are paid to do; it’s their raison d’être. But they seem not to know it!
Do churchmen not know that every country in which Islam has put down roots it has eventually taken over and snuffed out Christianity almost for good. Egypt, Libya, Syria, and the Lebanon are good cases in point. Yes, there are still some Christians left in some of these countries – just – but these countries are now Islamic, and the indigenous populations are minorities in their own lands. Christianity never thrives where Islam takes hold. So what on earth are our Church leaders aiding this process of our own destruction for? Don’t they really believe that Jesus is the Christ? Don’t they really believe that Jesus was crucified for our sins? Don’t they really believe that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Light?
Interfaith dialogue with Muslims is a waste of time and effort; so I do not believe in it. Rather, I believe in thwarting the enemy within, and making the enemy submit to our way of life. After all, if they don’t like it here, then they are free to leave and find other pastures. Nobody is keeping Muslims here; and there is easy access to airports throughout the UK. This is true not only for the UK, but for other Western countries, too. In fact, I would hazard a guess and say that the vast majority of Westerners would be relieved if they did leave, since hell will freeze over before Muslims integrate!
To get to this point, we have made many, many mistakes. Here are some of them…
First of all, we shouldn’t have allowed so many Muslims into the West in the first place. We should have done our homework first. Successive political leaders should have read a few history books on the 1400-year struggle between Christendom and Islam. That would have set off some alarms. Instead of this, nothing was learnt from history. People thought that the wheel could be reinvented. They were let in in their droves. And – astoundingly – they are still being let in! Moreover, if we truly live in a democracy, as our leaders keep telling us, then the people should have been consulted about allowing them in, and warned of the dangers of such a course of action.
Secondly, the ones that were let in should have been told – in no uncertain terms – that they can come here if they abide by our laws, and live according to our customs; otherwise they would not be welcome here. Instead of that, the West has gone down the politically-correct, multicultural route, thus forcing the indigenous population to make all the concessions. I always liken it to guests in my home: They are always welcome, as long as they abide by the rules of the house. I make the rules in my household. I am always the boss in my own home. Once someone starts to tell me how I should run my home, I politely show him/her the door. This should have been done with these immigrants from the start. They need to be placed on the defensive. They must be shown that they are not in the driving seat in our countries, no more than we are in the driving seat in theirs.
Thirdly, who gave our leaders the permission to try and turn our countries into pluralistic havens anyway, into utopias for all the peoples of the world. Were you ever asked to vote on this? I wasn’t; I know that. And had I been asked, I would have voted a firm ‘no’, without any hesitation.
The politicians have got themselves into a fix; and they don’t know how to get out of it. They haven’t got the courage to take the necessary Draconian measures to fix this problem, so they ask for dialogue instead. This goes for the Church, too. They no longer believe in the Scriptures as they should do; so they embark on a dilution of our faith instead, so that it doesn’t offend Muslims. Church leaders will never fill the empty pews that way. People are sick and tired of their prattling! That probably goes a long way to answer why the pews in Europe are pretty empty, and are continuing to empty still further, too.
We have embarked on a perilous journey: a journey of self-destruction. If people don’t wake up to the realities of what we are facing soon, then it will be too late. It is already five to midnight!
President Bush, for the first time in a long time, had the courage recently to state that we are engaged in a war with “Islamic fascists”. This is the most truthful thing he has stated in a very long time. I applaud him for having the courage to say it. He should say it again and again, until it sinks in with the general public. But if he really wants to hit the nail on the head, he should come out and say that this is not so much a “war on terror”, but a ‘war on the jihad’, the jihad which is out to annihilate us, and annihilate freedom and democracy, and annihilate all that the West stands for. This is indeed a battle between two civilizations. In such a battle, there is no room for dialogue, there is room only for victory. For, as Churchill so wisely stated during the Second World War, “without victory, there is no survival”. That, ladies and gentlemen, is why I say: You 'interfaith' if you want to. This gentleman is not for ‘interfaithing’!
©Mark Alexander
All rights reserved
THE CHURCH of England must play its part to make sure the Muslim community does not become demonised or alienated in the wake of last week’s terror alert, according to senior interfaith representatives. Church urged to reach out to alienated Muslim communities by Ed Beavan for 'The Church of England Newspaper'Mark Alexander
Police have arrested 20 men after raiding what was described as the wedding party of two men in the town of Jizan, in the south of the Gulf kingdom. 20 arrested at gay ‘wedding’ in Saudi Arabia by Tony GrewMark Alexander
Photo courtesy of IRNA
Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Seyed Ali Khamenei here Thursday felicitated the Lebanese Hezbollah's Secretary-General Seyed Hassan Nasrallah on the victory of the Islamic resistance in Lebanon. Victory of resistance is victory of Islam, says Supreme Leader according to IRNA (Islamic Republic News Agency)Mark Alexander
Reactions to recent security alerts have been varied among British communities. Tensions are running high on all sides and we need to keep our minds focused on the critical issues. Issues for which panic is the worst possible reaction. Judging the alleged plotters before the due process of law is given a chance may only compound the problem. Their names and other personal information should not have been released. There is a huge sense of relief amongst all Britons, including Muslims, that the alleged plot was foiled. If such a plot had succeeded it would have been the one of most difficult tests that we as a nation would have faced. It is deeply distressing and doubly painful for us, as Muslims [,] to learn of allegations that some of our youth may be prepared to commit mass murder. While some members of the government and sections of the media are increasingly framing this as a problem pertaining exclusively to the radicalisation of our Muslim youth, there is [a] growing sense of despair and anguish among Muslim leaders over the lack of recognition for their unreserved condemnation of these (alleged) senseless acts of violence and the persistent belittling of their tireless efforts to guide the Muslim youth away from such paths of death and destruction. Let there be no doubt, despite the Prime Minister’s denial, that recruiters for violent extremists exploit the carnage of the Middle East and the suffering of the innocent in Muslim countries.Mark Alexander
Read it all here: Blaming Islam for the rise in extremism is counter-productive says Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra, Chairman of the Interfaith Relations Committee of the Muslim Council of Britain
WASHINGTON -- Prevention of the plan to destroy 10 jetliners bound for America has sharply boosted President Bush's approval scores for his handling of the war on terrorism and homeland security. U.K. terror plot vindicates Bush by Donald LambroMark Alexander
A majority of British people wants the Government to adopt an even more "aggressive" foreign policy to combat international terrorism, according to an opinion poll conducted after the arrests of 24 terrorism suspects last week.Mark Alexander
However - by a margin of more than five to one - the public wants Tony Blair to split from President George W Bush and either go it alone in the "war on terror", or work more closely with Europe. Ditch US in terror war, say 80pc of Britons by Toby Helm
John Prescott has given vent to his private feelings about the Bush presidency, summing up George Bush's administration in a single word: crap. Bush is crap, says Prescott by Colin BrownMark Alexander
A MAJORITY of voters support moves by the Government to introduce security screening at airports that focuses on the passengers who pose the greatest risk. 55% support passenger profiling, poll indicates by Andrew PierceMark Alexander
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
On the BBC website today, this video clip is showing in which the British Home Secretary, John Reid, talks of a "persistent and very real" threat of terrorism to Europe. He goes on to say that a group of people have subverted a religion whose very name, Islam, means "PEACE". I say, NO, Mr Reid. Please do your homework before making such pronouncements. ISLAM means SUBMISSION. 'Salaam' means peace, not 'Islam'; the root of the word (salama, or more correctly 'slm') may be the same, but the meaning is very different.
Islam means 'submission', submission to what Muslims consider to be the one true god, Allah, and to their prophet, the prophet Muhammad. That's what Islam means. And please don't think that Islam has been subverted. What we are witnessing today is the practice of Jihad, an cornerstone of Islam which has been there since Islam's inception. Jihad, of course, as all well-informed men and women know, is the instrument used by all good Muslims to terrorize the world into submission to the Islamic way of life. It is the instrument to Islamize the world. Please watch this VIDEO and see what you think.
Mark Alexander
Part 1:
Part II:
Part III:
With thanks to You Tube
Mark Alexander
In June 2006, the Turkish media reported on two recent surveys, by Pew and by Princeton Survey Research Associates. The Pew study, which was conducted in 15 countries between March 31 and May 14, 2006, found significant erosion of positive feelings towards the U.S. among the Turkish people. The Princeton study showed that most Turks have negative feelings towards Jews and Christians - more than in other Muslim countries and Arab countries - and that most do not believe in democracy, despite the common belief that Turkey is the most democratic country in the Muslim world. Turkish PM Erdogan Says 'Nobody Should Expect Us to Remain Neutral': Reactions From the Turkish Media to the Middle East Crisis from MEMRIMark Alexander
We call upon the Jewish people throughout the diaspora to unite with us in our homeland by making aliyah, by building the land, and by taking part in the momentous undertaking of the redemption of the Jewish people, which has been the dream of generations - David Ben Gurion, First Israeli Prime Minister, 1948 (Source: BBC)
Emigration is a life changing experience - but for British Jews who choose to go to Israel it can also be the fulfilment of a religious and cultural dream. So how do they feel about moving to what the rest of the world regards a war zone?Mark Alexander
Sharon Saltoun hugs her parents, Shoshi and Ischeskel, and smiles. Shoshi holds back tears - those happy tears tinged with sadness that parents shed as children fly the nest.
"We'll take good care of her," says the rep from Nefesh B'Nefesh, the organisation taking a coach load of British Jews to Heathrow Airport to embark on a new life in Israel. Why leave the UK for this? by Dominic Casciani (BBC News)
Straight after 9/11, American Muslims proudly flew the Stars and Stripes. New York cabbies plastered their cars with patriotic decals. In Britain, days after the security services busted a plot that could have been as deadly as 9/11, so-called Muslim leaders delivered an open letter to Prime Minister Tony Blair demanding that Britain change its "foreign policy to show the world that we value the lives of civilians wherever they live and whatever their religion." Or to put it more bluntly, pull out of Iraq, denounce President Bush and abandon support for Israel. Radical Islam plagues U.K. by James ForsythMark Alexander
Where will it all end? All right-thinking, sensible people know that Muslims' demands will never end until they have turned Britain into an Islamic state. Now they want to start the process by introducing Islamic family law into the UK "to curb extremism"! There is no limit to Muslims' chutzpah (yes, I know, I used that word deliberately). This, of course, is the tip of the iceberg, the thin edge of the wedge. We can all only hope - and pray - that this government, which has shown itself so weak on many things, will find the strength to tell these Muslims where to get off. But don't hold your breath.
Muslim leaders have urged Ruth Kelly, the Secretary of State for Communities, to support Islamic family law in Britain to stop youths joining Islamic extremists. Let us adopt Islamic family law to curb extremists, Muslims tell Kelly [the Secretary of State for Communities] by Colin Brown©Mark Alexander
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
If you would like to watch the news from an Israeli perspective, then please click on the following link: Jerusalem Online
Mark Alexander
Thousands of citizens take to streets chanting, 'Lebanon won, Israel destroyed'; dozens of ambulances hold procession in show of empathy with casualties of war. Senior religious figure in Iran warns: 'If Israel and US attack us, we will shoot missiles at Tel Aviv'Mark Alexander
Read the rest here: Iran: Victory celebrations, threats to Israel by Dudy Cohen
THE Government is discussing with airport operators plans to introduce a screening system that allows security staff to focus on those passengers who pose the greatest risk.Mark Alexander
The passenger-profiling technique involves selecting people who are behaving suspiciously, have an unusual travel pattern or, most controversially, have a certain ethnic or religious background. Read it all here: Muslims face extra checks in new travel crackdown by Ben Webster
Profiling plan angers UK Muslims
Monday, August 14, 2006
Suppose the foiled terror plot in the UK had not been foiled and thousands of innocents had perished aboard planes heading for the United States. I fear that one of the scenes we would have witnessed would have been one we witnessed following 9/11: scenes of celebration and jubilation in certain boroughs and banlieus of major European cities.Mark Alexander
Never before has the West faced an enemy like this. It is an enemy who is prepared to blow up thousands of innocent people in suicide actions, but it is also one who lives in our midst. As in the 1930s the Europeans prefer to appease the enemy. Drawing people’s attention to the fact that he is living in our midst is regarded as hate-mongering. Thou shalt not hate the enemy, let alone fight him, thou shalt appease him. Read it all here: The Enemy in Our Midst by Paul Belien
I'd like to share this excellent article from The Telegraph today. I think you'll enjoy it.
The anti-war-on-terror lobby has had a bad week. Not that it hasn't kept its end up. Oh no. Faced with a threat so devastating that it seemed more like a world-domination plot from a Superman comic than a hard-headed act of war, there was nothing for it but to fall back on semantics.Mark Alexander
George W. Bush was pilloried for referring to "Islamic fascists" by, among others, the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu. Using that kind of language "on the ranch in Texas" did not help, he said, to make society "a good, neighbourly place".
I don't know what the ranch in Texas has to do with anything, but Dr Sentamu seems not to understand the difference between describing Islamic fundamentalists as fascistic, and saying that all Muslims are fascists. Read it all here: 'Fascistic' is the right word for Islamic fundamentalism by Janet Daley
Sunday, August 13, 2006
This audio, based on Craig Winn's book, 'Prophet of Doom', is an interesting view on Islam. See what you think.
Mark Alexander
“It is a war with a cultural and ideological component that is lavishly financed by easy oil money from states like Saudi Arabia that we have long (and foolishly) regarded as ‘moderates’ and ‘friends’. It is a war utilising sophisticated technology for destruction and communications, and equally sophisticated techniques for inculcating lethal extremism.” – Richard PerleNo, Mr Perle, we should not; and nor should we tolerate the explosive growth of Islam in the West!
Read the article: We should not tolerate the preachers of jihad
Mark Alexander
Saturday, August 12, 2006
British Muslim community leaders are working hard to change government foreign policy. They should be given the cold shoulder by all sane people. This country has its own foreign policy, which has always been pro-Israel and pro-America. It should remain that way for ever. We, the people, must insist on that. If Muslims don't like our foreign policy, then they should be shown the door. Goodbye! We don't need them. Islam spells trouble whichever way you slice it. Islam always will. Maybe it's time we started to think about repatriating these people. They don't belong here; and they probably never will.
Foreign Office minister Kim Howells has criticised Muslim leaders for condemning British foreign policy.Mark Alexander
An open letter, signed by three Muslim MPs, three peers and 38 community groups, said the stance on the Middle East has put civilians at risk.
They went on to say that UK policy has given "ammunition to extremists".
But Mr Howells denied there was a "rational connection" and said "no government" formulates policy based on a perceived risk from terrorists. Minister criticises Muslim letter
President Bush at last shows some understanding of the nature of Islam and the BBC rushes to protect Muslims again. People at the Beeb seem to feel that the President has insulted moderate Muslims. Well, if so-called moderate Muslims feel offended by this term, maybe they should better direct their anger at the fanatics carrying out quranic instructions! And while they're at it, they would be wise to control their offspring better, too. Bush's language angers US Muslims
©Mark Alexander
Friday, August 11, 2006
With thanks to Always On Watch for drawing this video to my attention.Mark Alexander
Thursday, August 10, 2006
A terrorist plot to blow up several aircraft in mid-air has been foiled. Hand-luggage may no longer be taken on board. Except for the barest essentials, nothing may be carried on board. Wallets, credit cards, and essential papers must be carried on board in transparent plastic bags. As it is believed that the terrorists intended to detonate “liquid chemical” devices, even baby milk must now be tasted by the baby’s mother or father in front of the security. Moreover, all electronic devices, including mobile phones, laptop computers, CD players, and MP3 players may no longer be carried on board the plane until further notice.
The Neue Zürcher Zeitung has reported that all flights to continental Europe from Heathrow have been cancelled, and added that the next stage would be to close all airports altogether. CNN has reported that the Deputy Commissioner Paul Stephenson had said the plot was "intended to be mass murder on an unimaginable scale".
This from The Telegraph:
Aircraft bomb plot thwarted
This from the BBC:
’Airlines terror plot’ disrupted
This from CNN:
UK foils aircraft terror alert
And this from the Neue Zürcher Zeitung:
Flughafen Heathrow macht dicht
©Mark Alexander
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Ben Shapiro, on Townhall.com today, hits the nail on the head with his open letter to the mainstream media:
Dear mainstream media,Mark Alexander
I understand why you report as you do in both the Israel-Hezbollah conflict and the larger war on terror. You believe journalism requires a sort of elegant moral relativism, that telling "both sides of the story" is a necessary prerequisite to "objective" journalism. You don't believe that there can be an objective right or wrong; if you were reporting World War II today, you'd feel obligated to speak to front-line Japanese and Nazi soldiers and discuss the Allies' disproportionate response to the attack on Pearl Harbor and the invasion of Poland. Open letter to the mainstream media by Ben Shapiro
Monday, August 07, 2006
Having just returned from my summer holidays, one thing struck me above all else whilst travelling: European airports are full to bursting with Muslims. This goes for British airports too. Landing in Heathrow upon my return I could have been forgiven for believing I had landed in Riyadh!
News, too, is rather depressing: We are doing our level best to destroy our heritage and civilization. Indeed, we are busy paving the way for Islam’s eventual triumph in the very heart of Europe, and the process appears to be accelerating. The sad thing is that many Europeans are in denial of the fact, and I include the British in this. Germans seem to have mastered the art of contorting their brains to excuse what is happening. Many have elevated this denial to a fine art. The main reason for this, in my opinion, is that they still live in the shadow of a racist past. Herr Hitler sadly casts a long shadow. So long, in fact, that many Germans are quite incapable of coming to terms with the threat that Islam poses our continent.
Of course, it also has to be said that Europeans have gone soft: They no longer have any appetite for making tough decisions, let alone for a fight. Muslims will surely have sensed this. Little wonder many of them think that the future of the West belongs to them.
It should depress any sane European that Christianity is given no special place in present day Europe. That nobody may discriminate on the basis of religion is enshrined in European law. This sounds all well, good and fair; but what this effectively means is that Christianity is no longer afforded any special place. A civilization which no longer gives pride of place to the religion upon which it is founded should start counting the days before its eventual demise, for its days are surely numbered.
©Mark Alexander
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Toronto Sun - OTTAWA -- Canada is heading toward conflict with its Muslim population, says the head of a study on Canadian attitudes toward Islam.Mark Alexander
The study found that the majority of Canadians held a negative view of Muslim countries. Dim view of Islam by Jorge Barrera
Saturday, July 22, 2006
Photo of Gul courtesy of the BBC
Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul has warned that moderate Turks are becoming anti-American and anti-EU.Mark Alexander
Mr Gul said many Turks were embittered by the US' support for Israel's actions in Lebanon and by Turkey's problems in joining the EU. Turkish anti-West mood 'rising'
I'm sure the Israelis are quaking in their boots, as are Hizbullah terrorists, Ms Arbour!
Photo of Ms Louise Arbour courtesy of the BBC
War crimes could have been committed in Lebanon, Israel and Gaza, a senior UN official has said.Mark Alexander
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour said international law stressed the need to protect civilians.
There is an obligation on all parties to respect the "principle of proportionality", she said. UN warning on Mid-East war crimes
Friday, July 21, 2006
With illegal attacks across Israel’s internationally recognized borders, hostage taking of soldiers and a relentlessly raining of rockets and missiles upon Israel’s major cities, the Israeli Defense Forces have finally sprung into action. This is after months of “restraint” that world leaders are now calling upon them to use. The time for “restraint” has long passed, as I will demonstrate.Mark Alexander
It is because of Israel’s compromise, appeasement and restraint that Hamas, Hizbollah and their true masters, Iran and Syria, have come to believe that “now” is the time to attack and destroy Israel.
Every time Israel unilaterally gave “land for peace”, as in Southern Lebanon and Gaza, the terrorist claimed it as their victory. Hamas used this claim to get elected by popular vote in the West Bank and Gaza. Hezbollah has used the same claim to move in a massive force that is now more powerful than the Lebanon’s army.
Every compromise that Israel has made to make peace with the Palestinians and the surrounding Muslim nations has been rewarded with more terrorism. The Myth of ''Measured Response''
Israel is continuing its Lebanon military offensive, with war planes bombing more than 40 targets, mainly in southern parts of Beirut, on Friday.Mark Alexander
Troops are also fighting Hezbollah inside southern Lebanon, and Israel has told people to leave the area, warning of a possible large-scale incursion. Israel tightens grip on Lebanon
Thursday, July 20, 2006
I'd like to share with you this excellent article written by Fjordman
In a true, totalitarian society such as the old Soviet Union, crime rates are usually low because of the crushing state control of all its citizens. Supposedly, street crime in Moscow in the USSR was rare, probably because the state itself was the biggest criminal. In contrast, in the European Union of today, which is not a totalitarian society, at least not yet, crime rates are booming in major cities. At the same time, authorities are stepping up censorship efforts, openly talking about media “speech codes” and aggressively slapping labels such as “racism” or “xenophobia” on anybody daring to criticize the immigration policies or pointing out the inadequate response to Muslim gang violence.Mark Alexander
There is obviously a connection here: The less control the authorities have with Muslims, the more control they want to exercise over non-Muslims. As problems in Europe get worse, which they will, the EU will move in an increasingly repressive direction until it either becomes a true, totalitarian entity or falls apart. This strange mix of powerful censorship of public debate, yet little control over public law and order, has by some been labelled anarcho-tyranny. In Praise of the First and Second Amendments
More than 60 people, most of them Lebanese civilians, were killed yesterday on the bloodiest day of the Middle East conflict so far.Mark Alexander
As the violence continued the United Nations raised the possibility that civilian deaths could lead to war crimes charges. Lebanon said 300 people had been killed in eight days of Israeli air strikes and artillery barrages. 500,000 Lebanese flee the carnage by Tim Butcher
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
REUTERS - BEIRUT, 19 July (IRIN) - Lebanon's dream of 2006 as a record year for economic growth has in the space of a week turned into a nightmare. Israeli air strikes have brought its fast-growing economy to an almost complete standstill. With thousands of nationals and foreign workers evacuating, and more than 500,000 internally displaced people, a bleak scenario confronts the country's workforce.Mark Alexander
"The direct losses are estimated to be nearly half a billion US dollars," said Jihad Azoor, Lebanon's Finance Minister. "But we have to read this number carefully because we have no way of assessing the situation fully to get an accurate estimate. And more losses occur by the hour." LEBANON: Workforce morale at an all-time low
Monday, July 17, 2006
NEWSMAX.COM - World War III has begun, and the nation’s leadership is failing to deal with this reality, former House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich concludes. Gingrich Says World War III Has BegunMark Alexander
Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
It is an axiom of Israeli military operation that its armed forces must hurry to achieve victory before international pressure forces them to stop.Mark Alexander
Yet after bombarding Lebanon for five days, and causing pain to ordinary civilians unseen since the civil war ended 15 years ago, the international outcry is surprisingly muted. If anything, as the conflict has intensified and the regional stakes have risen, Israel has found a degree of international sympathy, or at least understanding.
Lebanon has become the battleground between pro-western and radical Islamic forces. Few governments, even Arab states, want to see Hizbollah win the contest. Israel fights West's cause against radical Islam by Anton La Guardia
Iran plans to dominate the Middle East by Dore Gold
Saturday, July 15, 2006
Photo courtesy of the BBC
It was perhaps the most elegant exodus in history. Thousands of wealthy, well-dressed Arabs snarled the mountain roads leading to Syria with their Range Rovers and Porsches as they fled Lebanon yesterday.Mark Alexander
There were women with expensive coiffures, husbands wearing designer sunglasses and teenagers playing the latest hand-held video games as Lebanon morphed from Arab world summer playground to ghostland.
But behind the tinted windscreens, the faces of the fleeing were haggard with worry. Crawling Porsches and the prayerful join Lebanon's opulent exodus by Tim Butcher
If Hamas, Hizbullah win war they have declared, Zionist project is nearing end of its daysMark Alexander
This is no competition of false machismo. This is a fateful decision: Even if these two radical Islamic movements gain symbolic propaganda victories – it could free other enemies around the Middle East. The need to win this war is absolute. There can be no debate about it. A war Israel must win Opinion by Sever Plocker
As so often in the Middle East, text and sub-text are inextricably bound up.Mark Alexander
Thus a crisis that at first sight pits Israel against Hamas and Hezbollah, inevitably reaches out to involve Syria and Iran, both strong supporters of the Lebanese-based Shia movement.
This is what makes this crisis so difficult to resolve. But it also underlines how dangerous its ramifications could be unless the fighting is halted.
Inevitably then, events in the Middle East have pushed themselves onto the G8 summit agenda here in St Petersburg. Hostility envelops wider region by Jonathan Marcus
Thursday, July 13, 2006
At a recent conference in Switzerland, student representatives asked: how could the Muslim population gain traction so quickly in Western Europe? It is a simple and direct question that could easily be addressed with reference to the disparity between Christian and Muslim birthrates and immigration patterns.Mark Alexander
But numbers do not tell the whole story, nor do these numbers reveal very much about European attitudes. There are philosophical underpinnings that reveal more than any statistical analysis can provide.
The first of these is multiculturalism, an attitude which suggests each culture should be treated on its own terms without regard to universal considerations. For example, female deformation in the form of clitoridectomy is not wrong; it is simply the manifestation of a different culture.
The second, and arguably the view that represents the most significant shift in European attitudes, is secular humanism, a turning away from the spiritual to the temporal. European churches are now ostensibly museums, not places of worship. The moral teachings of Christianity have been largely interred and replaced by relativism or “new age” phenomenology, such as pantheistic environmentalism.
The third shift in attitude might be characterized as extreme liberalism. In this case, the virtues of liberalism such as tolerance have been perverted into an unwillingness to discriminate. Right and wrong are seen as archaic concepts belonging to the ash heap of history. What counts is openness, a strange form of egalitarianism in which all opinions have equal value if rendered earnestly.
The fourth attitudinal consideration is transnationalism. A project to reduce or eliminate the national heritage of European states through Continental harmonization has had the unintended effect of making citizens rudderless, of losing an identity and deracinating patriotism. Do the bureaucrats in Brussels represent the will of the European people? And can a Continental parliament rely on consent of the governed or even care about those governed? Answers beg the questions.
Last is the loss of confidence. The retreat of apostolic teaching has resulted in an absence of authority. Catholicism is in retreat, not only as a religion but as a voice of moral conviction. London: To defeat radical Islam Europe must re-Christianize by Herbert London
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Out-of-the-mainstream beliefs about gay marriage and supposedly sexist doctrines are gutting old-line faiths.Mark Alexander
The accelerating fragmentation of the strife-torn Episcopal Church USA, in which several parishes and even a few dioceses are opting out of the church, isn't simply about gay bishops, the blessing of same-sex unions or the election of a woman as presiding bishop. It also is about the meltdown of liberal Christianity.
Embraced by the leadership of all the mainline Protestant denominations, as well as large segments of American Catholicism, liberal Christianity has been hailed by its boosters for 40 years as the future of the Christian church.
Instead, as all but a few die-hards now admit, all the mainline churches and movements within churches that have blurred doctrine and softened moral precepts are demographically declining and, in the case of the Episcopal Church, disintegrating. Liberal Christianity is paying for its sins by Charlotte Allen
Radical Islamism is more than a response to western actions: it is an ideology that provides a battle cry and a battle order.Mark Alexander
The competing explanations for a resort to terrorism are many, but you can more or less group them round two poles.
One of these was vividly expressed in the Guardian last Saturday by Karen Armstrong. Tony Blair had been wrong, she said, to call for moderate Muslims to act and speak out more decisively against radical Islamists. He had missed the point: all Muslims, moderate or radical, were deeply stirred by the sufferings of their co-religionists in Guantánamo, Abu Ghraib, Iraq and Palestine, and the "strong emphasis placed by Islam on justice and community solidarity" made this a religious issue.
"It is disingenuous of Tony Blair," she wrote, "to separate the rising tide of 'Islamism' from his unpopular foreign policy, particularly when Palestinians are being subjected to new dangers in Gaza."
This pole is defined, roughly, by the belief that it is the west's, or America's, fault that radical Islamists are violent. While violence may be wrong - Armstrong certainly believes that - it takes its root and justifies itself in its own eyes in the empathy with the victims of, and anger with, the West's actions.
The other pole has been evoked, at least as vividly, by an ex-Muslim, now a non-believer: Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the Somalian-born Dutch MP whose apostasy (as many of her former co-religionists saw it) and outspoken criticisms of Islam earned her death threats and police protection. Further, a campaign against her in the Netherlands mounted by some elements in the left saw her temporarily stripped of her citizenship, a move that was the main cause of the collapse of the country's centre-right coalition last month. To the death by John Lloyd
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Photo courtesy of the BBC
At least 100 people have been killed by seven near-simultaneous bombs on the train network in the Indian financial capital Mumbai (Bombay), police say.Mark Alexander
The first explosion went off at about 1830 local time (1300 GMT), during the peak of the evening rush hour in the suburbs on the busy Western Railway.
Correspondents spoke of scenes of pandemonium, with people jumping from trains and bodies flung onto tracks. Scores dead in Mumbai train bombs
SYDNEY — The Australian government has banned two books that encourage young Muslims to become suicide bombers in Afghanistan.Mark Alexander
The federal Classification Review Board ruled Monday that the books — “Defence of the Muslim Lands” and “Join the Caravan” — violate Australian laws by promoting, inciting or instructing in matters of violence or crime and can no longer be sold or imported to Australia. Australia bans two books encouraging suicide bombers
A Pompano Beach clergyman's comments about Islam has cost him a post on Broward's Judicial Nominating Commission.Mark Alexander
Following some controversial remarks on radio about Muslims, the Rev. O'Neal Dozier, a Gov. Jeb Bush appointee, resigned from a panel responsible for nominating judges in Broward County.
Dozier said Monday he was asked to step down from the nine-member Judicial Nominating Commission after he characterized Islam as a ''cult'' on a radio show.
Dozier, pastor of the World Wide Christian Center Church in Pompano Beach, also called Islam ''a dangerous religion'' Friday on the The Steve Kane Radio Show. Islam remark costs pastor by Darran Simon
Sunday, July 09, 2006
Im Land der unbegrenzten Möglichkeiten herrscht Pessimismus - aus unerwarteten GründenMark Alexander
Politiker in den USA warnen vor unzähligen Gefahren für die Sicherheit der Nation. Doch die Amerikaner sorgen sich derzeit eher um gewöhnlichere Dinge wie Benzinpreise oder die illegale Einwanderung.
Pünktlich zum Nationalfeiertag am 4. Juli lanciert, haben Nordkoreas Raketen ihre Wirkung auf die politische Klasse der USA nicht verfehlt. Richard Haass, Chefstratege unter dem früheren Aussenminister Powell und Präsident des Think-Tanks Council on Foreign Relations, erklärte, nie zuvor in ihrer modernen Geschichte seien die USA mit einer derartigen Häufung von Problemen konfrontiert gewesen. Amerikas sorgenvoller Sommer
The forecast for the new fashion season is as somber as it is certain. It is going to be a long dark winter.Mark Alexander
After a decade of free-fall hipster pants, bared midriffs, bras on show under sheer dresses and naked legs, fashion has started on its great coverup. Forget girlie frills and celebrities flashing flesh on the red carpet. The typical outfit in the current international fashion collections is in any color as long as it is black with a silhouette long, lean and layered.
The mood is now for a chaste sobriety, with sturdy fabrics, thick leggings and even ankle-length hemlines.
The world's leading designers have no doubts as to where fashion is headed as they talk about "restraint" and "sobriety."
"I think 'modesty' is a beautiful word today - and a beautiful attitude," says Lanvin's Alber Elbaz, who has built his career on designing dresses with a respectful attitude to women.
Marc Jacobs, founding father of the girl-woman aesthetic, shocked the audience at his New York show last month with hefty knits, leg warmers and thick layers of clothes shrouding the body. The new sobriety: Covering up the body
KABUL (Reuters) - Models strode down a catwalk in the Afghan capital Kabul for the first time in decades this weekend as two designers showed off their clothes behind the guarded walls of a luxury hotel.
An audience of expatriates and well-heeled Afghan watched the show in hotel garden, under a clear midsummer night's sky, to the strains of traditional Afghan music.
All of the models showing the conservatively cut clothes that included designer burqas were expatriate women, to the disappointment of some in the audience.
The organisers said they did not want to court controversy in what is a deeply conservative Muslim country by having Afghan models.
"We invited a lot of Afghan women to attend the show but not to be models," said Italian designer Gabriella Ghidoni, who organised the show with an Afghan partner.
The Taliban forced women to wear the all-enveloping burqa but nearly five years after the hard-line Islamists were ousted, many women still choose to wear burqas when they are out. Afghanistan gets first fashion show in decadesPhoto courtesy of The Scotsman
With thanks to my friend, Always On Watch, for bringing this excellent article to my attention:
After the terrorist outrages of July 7, 2005, most Londoners have continued to travel by bus, train and Underground. They are more vigilant, but few seem to experience anxiety about a repeat attack during their journey. That is remarkable because objectively the chances of another massacre must be higher than a year ago.Mark Alexander
Last year the bombs were the first shock. The second was to discover that the terrorists were suicide bombers and British. We could have coped with the outrage more easily had the murderers been foreigners, raised in squalor, brainwashed under a theocratic dictatorship and shipped here to massacre people for whom they had no kindred feelings.
It is more plausible that we could defend the country against an exterior threat than defeat one that comes from within. We can hope to monitor comings and goings at our airports and to keep tabs on people who stand out because they are visitors. But the task is almost hopeless if the perpetrators live among us. If four young men who had enjoyed the advantages of life in Britain decide to kill themselves and as many others as possible, then why should there not be 400 or 4,000 more? No offence, imam, but we must call it Islamic terror by Michael Portillo
THE date is looming large in America’s debate about immigration: the population is predicted to reach 300m on October 17 and the newborn citizen is as likely as not to be a bouncing Hispanic baby.Mark Alexander
The face of America is changing as immigration fuels population growth out of sync with the rest of the developed world. It is also complicating President George W Bush’s efforts to offer illegal entrants a path to citizenship.
William Frey, a social scientist at the Brookings Institution in Washington, pinpointed the date by examining the most popular months for births — August to October — and ethnic birth rates. “We know about half the growth in the United States is Hispanic,” he said. “Only about 10% is white.” Hispanics nudge US population to 300m by Sarah Baxter in Washington
Do you remember that wonderful 'letter to the editor' I drew your attention to in the The Daily News (Galveston) on July 1? You know, the man who said what the problem we face is in just a few, succinct words. Well, below is the editor's response. His response shows the problems we have in dealing with Islam by having a mammoth task to try and enlighten our own people first about the danger to Western civilization that Islam is:
The Daily News recently angered some readers by printing a letter about Islam.Mark Alexander
The letter contended that Islam is not a religion of peace but a religion that urges violence against those who don’t believe in it.
Some readers said publishing such a letter only encourages attacks against a religious minority.
Others applauded the letter, saying it reflects the feelings of most Americans.
I think it was important to print the letter, although I disagree with it strongly.
The discussion about what Islam is and isn’t already is going on in our society. Trying to hide from that debate is impossible. Letter about Islam sparked worthwhile debate by Hebor Taylor (Editor: The Daily News)
Seven terror suspects have escaped from prison in Saudi Arabia, according to the country's Interior Ministry.Mark Alexander
Saudi-owned television Al Arabiya said the fugitives - six Saudis and one Yemeni - were linked to al-Qaeda.
Saudi Arabia has been battling a campaign of violence by al-Qaeda aimed at toppling the pro-US monarchy. Terror suspects 'flee Saudi jail'
Saturday, July 08, 2006
Besuch in Valencia zum Abschluss des Welt-FamilientreffensMark Alexander
Das Oberhaupt der römisch-katholischen Kirche, Papst Benedikt XVI., ist am Samstag in Valencia eingetroffen. In der spanischen Stadt tritt er zum Ende des Welt-Familientreffens auf. Auf dem Flughafen und bei einem Treffen mit Bischöfen betonte Benedikt XVI. den Wert der Familie für die Kirche und die Gesellschaft.
(sda/dpa/afp/Reuters) Papst Benedikt XVI. hat zum Auftakt seines Besuches in Valencia einen besseren Schutz von Familie und Ehe gefordert. Die auf der Ehe basierende Familie sei «eine einzigartige Einrichtung nach Gottes Plan». Die Familie sei eine unersetzliche Institution und für die Kirche mit fundamentalen Werten verbunden, sagte das Oberhaupt der römisch-katholischen Kirche am Samstag auf dem Flughafen von Valencia, wo er vom spanischen Königspaar, Ministerpräsident José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero sowie Tausenden von Gläubigen begrüsst wurde. Papst betont Wert der Familie
''[Blanket criticisms of Islam] do not reflect the sentiments of my government or the sentiments of most Americans. Islam, as practiced by the vast majority of people, is a peaceful religion, a religion that respects others'' - President Bush
Remarks on a radio show about his views on Islam may cause conflict for a Pompano Beach minister who is well-known in Republican circles.Mark Alexander
The Rev. O'Neal Dozier, a Broward clergyman who has advised President Bush and is a political appointee of Gov. Jeb Bush, took to the air waves Friday to criticize Islam as a ''cult'' religion.
The radio appearance by Dozier, who serves on the governor's committee that screens Broward judicial nominees, startled a local Muslim leader, and prompted the governor to immediately distance himself from the statements.
Reached later in the day by The Miami Herald, a contrite Dozier said he was ''concerned'' his comments could jeopardize his position on Broward's Judicial Nominating Commission. But he did not disavow those comments.
''The Islamic religion in my view is a cult,'' Dozier said Friday, when asked to recap the controversial comments he made earlier on The Steve Kane Radio Show on WNN-AM 1470. ''On the show I said that Islam is a dangerous religion.'' Jeb Bush ally slams Islam
Berlin - Eigentlich gilt in Baden-Württemberg für muslimische Lehrerinnen an öffentlichen Schulen ein striktes Kopftuchverbot. Doch nun hat ein Urteil des Stuttgarter Verwaltungsgerichts eine erste Ausnahme von dieser Regelung geschaffen. Die zum Islam konvertierte Deutsche Doris Graber darf weiterhin mit Kopftuch unterrichten, da sie den Schulfrieden allenfalls abstrakt gefährdet, wie es in der Begründung der Stuttgarter Richter hieß.Mark Alexander
Mit dem Urteil wurde ein "Zeichen gegen die Diskriminierung des Islam gesetzt", erklärte der Parlamentarische Geschäftsführer der Grünen-Bundestagsfraktion, Volker Beck. Entweder man verbiete konsequent alle religiösen Bekundungen im staatlichen Bereich oder aber definiere einen Freiraum für religiöse Bekundungen, der für alle Religionen gleichermaßen gelte. Das baden-württembergische Schulgesetz vom April 2004 verbietet politische, weltanschauliche und religiöse "Bekundungen", die den Schulfrieden gefährden oder stören könnten, es nimmt die "Darstellung christlicher und abendländischer Bildungs- und Kulturwerte" davon jedoch aus. Wenn aber Nonnen in Ordenstracht an staatlichen Schulen in Baden-Württemberg unterrichten dürften, sei das Kopftuchverbot für Muslimische Lehrerinnen eine nicht hinzunehmende Benachteiligung, urteilten jetzt die Richter im Fall Graber. Lehrerin siegt im Kopftuchstreit von Claudia Ehrenstein
With thanks to Always On Watch for drawing this short, but very informative, newspaper article to my attention:Photo courtesy of The Sun
A MUSLIM fanatic caused outrage yesterday by admitting he wouldn’t tip off cops about another 7/7 suicide attack.Mark Alexander
Anjem Choudary also claimed “oppressed” Muslims had a right to defend themselves using “whatever means”. Fanatic's sick 7/7 rant by Anthony France
Friday, July 07, 2006
Photo courtesy of the BBC
The UK is preparing to mark the first anniversary of the London bombings that claimed 52 lives and injured hundreds.Mark Alexander
At 0850 BST - when bombs on three Underground trains went off - flowers will be laid at King's Cross station, near the scene of one of the attacks.
At midday, a two-minute silence will be observed across the country, including Wimbledon and other events.
A public ceremony will be held later in Regent's Park, with readings and a recital of the names of the dead.
The commemoration comes as Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair gives a firm warning that London must expect another attack. Nation prepares to remember 7/7
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Photo courtesy of the BBC
The rows were explosive, the challenges enormous, but Churchill led Britain through World War Two with unique assurance - his cigar always in place. 'Winnie' changed his country's military approach from defensiveness to aggressive attack, and so altered the course of history. The historian Geoffrey Best describes how he did it.Mark Alexander
A statesman transformed
At the beginning of the Second World War the reputation of Winston Churchill was that of a gifted politician who had twice changed parties, an impulsive man prone to impractical enthusiasms, and a Conservative backbencher who opposed the foreign policy of his leader - the prime minister, Neville Chamberlain.
Six years later, Churchill towered above all contemporaries as a statesman of international renown. He was known as the champion of freedom and civilisation, and the victorious leader of the British nation and empire at war. How did this transformation happen?
The change did not begin to happen until 1940, when the war was nine months old. Even his enemies had recognised that Churchill would have to be brought into the government in the event of war - his military expertise was universally acknowledged, and his criticisms of Chamberlain's policy of appeasement had after all proved justified - and he had been made First Lord of the Admiralty. In this capacity he was given charge only of the Royal Navy, a position that, after ten years in the political wilderness, he was content to accept. Winston Churchill: Defender of Democracy by Geoffrey Best
Image courtesy of the EU Observer
EUOBSERVER / STRASBOURG - One of the first concrete proposals the Finnish EU presidency will push in the bloc's agenda is an alcohol tax hike across Europe.
Helsinki has put the issue on the agenda of the very first meeting during its six-month period at the EU's helm - the gathering of finance ministers planned for 11 July.
"It is necessary to harmonize the tax rates to even out the price levels of alcohol," the presidency stated in a press release on the council agenda, adding that it aims to achieve an increase in the EU minimum excise duty rates on alcohol, particularly spirits. Finland to start EU presidency with alcohol tax hikes by Lucia Kubosova
Mark AlexanderPhoto courtesy of Google Image
Life's no fun any more, according to the experts. You can't drink beer because it kills your brain cells. You can't eat cakes because they clog your arteries. You can't drive in the bus lane because the cameras get you. You can't have unprotected sex in case you catch some unspeakable disease. You can't hunt foxes because it's nasty. You can't have a coal fire in the city because of pollution and you can't use a cellphone because it fries your brain. What's left?
Smoking? You must be kidding. The whole world is a long way down the road of making smokers feel like serial killers, and wanting to have a cold pint and a nice fag in the environs of your local pub is supposed to make you an anti-social reprobate of the worst order. Some day, when the world is old, people will scoff at the fact that human beings once lived in a society - Britain - where the Government could confirm its commitment to Trident missiles, whose only single purpose is to wipe out the planet, while, in the same week, that identical Government floated the idea of making it illegal for people of 16 and 17 to smoke a cigarette. Under-18s will smoke whatever the law by Andrew O'Hagan
Mark AlexanderImages courtesy of Google Images
“Enough now with this turning the other cheek! It’s our duty to protect ourselves.” Thus spoke Monsignor Velasio De Paolis, secretary of the Vatican’s supreme court, referring to Muslims. Explaining his apparent rejection of Jesus’ admonition to his followers to “turn the other cheek,” De Paolis noted that “The West has had relations with the Arab countries for half a century…and has not been able to get the slightest concession on human rights.”Mark Alexander
De Paolis is hardly alone in his thinking; indeed, the Catholic Church is undergoing a dramatic shift from a decades-old policy to protect Catholics living under Muslim rule. The old methods of quiet diplomacy and muted appeasement have clearly failed. The estimated 40 million Christians in Dar al-Islam, notes the Barnabas Fund’s Patrick Sookhdeo, increasingly find themselves an embattled minority facing economic decline, dwindling rights, and physical jeopardy. Most of them, he goes on, are despised and distrusted second-class citizens, facing discrimination in education, jobs, and the courts.
These harsh circumstances are causing Christians to flee their ancestral lands for the West’s more hospitable environment. Consequently, Christian populations of the Muslim world are in a free-fall. Two small but evocative instances of this pattern: for the first time in nearly two millennia, Nazareth and Bethlehem no longer have Christian majorities. The Vatican Confronts Islam by Daniel Pipes
The ban was ordered in accordance with the Printing Presses and Publications Act of 1984, which prohibits the reproduction or distribution of materials that disrupt peace and harmony. The banned books - six of which are in Malay, with the rest in English - include works of noted Islam scholars Karen Armstrong and John Esposito. Government bans 18 books on Islam and religionMark Alexander
His dragon-slaying heroics have kept his legend alive through the centuries.Mark Alexander
But the Church of England is considering rejecting England's patron saint St George on the grounds that his image is too warlike and may offend Muslims.
Clergy have started a campaign to replace George with St Alban, a Christian martyr in Roman Britain.
The scheme, to be considered by the Church's parliament, the General Synod, has met a cautious but sympathetic response from senior bishops. Will George be slayed as England's patron saint? by Steve Doughty
Egyptian cleric tells children's TV show: Come on to the jihad, encourages child-soldiers to join holy war by Yaakov LappinMark Alexander
An Egyptian Islamic cleric working for the state ministry of religious endowment has used a children's television program to encourage young children to strive for holy war.
During program, made available by the Arabic translation service MEMRI, the cleric told a story about Muslim children in history keen to "sacrifice" themselves and kill "infidels" for the cause of Islam.
"Let's listen to a very beautiful story to learn about the courage of a child, and how, when a child is brought up in a good home, and receives proper education in faith, he loves martyrdom, which becomes like an instinct for him. He can never give it up," Sheik Muhammad Nassar told children on the program, which aired on the Al-Nas television channel. Egypt primes children for jihad
My thanks to my friend, Always On Watch, for alerting me to this article from Yahoo News:
LONDON - Britain cannot defeat terrorism unless moderate Muslims do more to confront militancy in their own communities, Prime Minister Tony Blair said Tuesday.Mark Alexander
Blair said the vast majority of Muslims abhorred terrorism and wanted to defeat it, but said they had to do more to counter what he described as the extremists' misplaced anger and grievances.
Moderates, he said, must "stand up against the ideas of these people, not just their methods."
"If you want to defeat this extremism, you've got to defeat its ideas and you've got to defeat in part a completely false sense of grievance against the West," said Blair, testifying before a House of Commons committee. "The government has its role to play in this, but honestly, the government itself is not going to defeat this."Blair: Muslims must confront militancy
The Government has no policy for controlling the size of Britain's population, Tony Blair admitted yesterday.Mark Alexander
Questioned by MPs, he refused to estimate the number of illegal immigrants in Britain, although a recent study calculated there could be up to 570,000.
"By the very nature that they are illegals makes it very difficult to have a precise estimate," Mr Blair said.
Tony Wright, the Labour MP for Cannock Chase, told Mr Blair that Britain's population had topped 60 million for the first time last year and was expected to rise 12 per cent over the next generation. The rises were equivalent to having a new Oxford, a new Middlesbrough and a new Ipswich every year, and migration was the main driver of the rise. Blair admits he has no policy on population
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
The government cannot alone root out extremism in Muslim communities and defeat the terrorism it creates, Prime Minister Tony Blair has said.Mark Alexander
He hit back at claims ministers had done little to win Muslim "hearts and minds" since the 7 July London bombs.
He said he was "probably not the person to go into the Muslim community".
It was down to moderate Muslims to stand up to extremism and tell those with "grievances" against the West they were wrong, Mr Blair told MPs. Muslims 'must root out extremism'
With thanks to European Kafir for drawing this very interesting article in the The Jerusalem Post to my attention:
Switzerland said Monday that Israel has been violating international law in its Gaza offensive by heavy destruction and endangering civilians in acts of collective punishment banned under the Geneva conventions on the conduct of warfare.Mark Alexander
"A number of actions by the Israeli defense forces in their offensive against the Gaza Strip have violated the principle of proportionality and are to be seen as forms of collective punishment, which is forbidden," the Swiss Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
"There is no doubt that Israel has not taken the precautions required of it in international law to protect the civilian population and infrastructure," it said. The statement did not name the Geneva Conventions, but it referred to provisions of the 1949 treaty, which is regarded as the cornerstone of international law on the obligations of warring and occupying powers.
Switzerland, as the depository of the conventions, has a responsibility to call meetings if it finds general problems with the implementation of the treaty, but it does not have any special powers to interpret the document. Switzerland: Israel violating int'l law
Photo of the Empty Quarter (Rub al-Khali) courtesy of Google Images
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Saudi Arabia seems an unlikely destination for fun in the sun.Mark Alexander
Yet here was a Saudi prince at a tourism conference in neighboring Dubai, busily trying to sell his country as a vacation spot — provided visitors don't expect alcohol, women come robed, and everyone refrains from eating in public from dawn to dusk during the holy month of Ramadan.
And swinging singles need not apply. Women younger than 40 must be accompanied by their brothers or fathers.
Undaunted, the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, until recently accessible to only a handful of non-Muslim tourists, is opening its doors, beckoning curious world travelers to its mysterious and hidden treasures.
The change springs from the new policies of King Abdullah, who ascended the throne last August after the death of his half-brother, King Fahd.
Abdullah, a reformer, wants to show that his country is more than just the former home of Osama bin Laden and a breeding ground for Islamic extremism.
"He wants to show the world a different face to the kingdom. It's all part of a greater plan to open up the country, to show that though it is Arab and Islamic, it is also modern and moderate," said Mishari al Thaybi, a Saudi writer and analyst for the London-based newspaper Al Sharq al Awsat.
"Tourists are the best ambassadors for any country," Mishari added. Visit Saudi Arabia, but dress and behave appropriately by Lara Sukhtian
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