Iran and Russia's courting alarms the US

Washington has asked Moscow to reconsider selling Iran anti-aircraft missiles as the crisis over its nuclear programme continues.

Russia plans to sell Tehran 29 TOR M1 mobile surface-to-air missile defence systems in a deal said to be worth about US $700 million (£392m).

"This is not time for business as usual with the Iranian government," a top US state department official said.
The US also urged other states like China to review defence sales to Iran. Read it all here: Missile exports to Iran alarms US

Grundsätzliche Übereinkunft zur Urananreicherung

Laut eigenen Angaben haben sich Russland und Iran grundsätzlich auf ein Abkommen zur Urananreicherung geeinigt. Russland soll für den Golfstaat künftig die Produktion von Brennstoff auf russischem Boden vornehmen. Gemäss dem Vertreter Irans in der IAEA seien lediglich noch kleinere Fragen offen. Unklar ist auch, ob Iran vollständig auf die Anreicherung von Uran im eigenen Land verzichtet. Lesen Sie alles hier: Iran und Russland sind sich einig

Mark Alexander

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MA'AM!

The Prince of Wales led the nation yesterday in paying tribute to the Queen, his "darling Mama", on a day of both public and private celebrations to mark her 80th birthday.

In a televised broadcast, Prince Charles praised the most "remarkable steadfastness and fortitude" and her "duty and devotion" as Queen on a day that saw more than 15,000 cheering well-wishers line Windsor's High Street during a birthday walkabout.

On a more personal note he spoke, too, of her other role - as a mother.

"For very nearly 60 of those 80 years she has been my darling Mama and my sentiments today are those of a proud and loving son, who hopes that you will join with me in wishing the Queen the happiest of happy birthdays, together with the fervent prayer that there will be countless memorable returns of the day." Happy birthday darling Mama

Mark

TOSH!

A new report submitted to the Dutch government has sparked controversy by arguing that Islam does not conflict with either human rights or Dutch values.

Islam has been a hot topic in the Netherlands since the killing of a controversial film-maker, Theo van Gogh, by a young Muslim in 2004.

In a country traditionally seen as one of the most liberal and tolerant in Europe, Islam and Muslims are now viewed with suspicion.

The report is the fruit of three years' work by the Scientific Council for Government Policy (WRR), a think-tank in The Hague which advises the government.

It examines the evolution of thinking about democracy and human rights in a dozen Muslim countries, ranging from Egypt and Iran to Indonesia.

Jan Schoonenboom, a member of the council who supervised the research, says it highlights the variety and dynamism of Islamic activism.

While there are radical, jihadi trends, there are also more mainstream Islamic movements which are moving, albeit slowly, towards democratisation. Read it all: Dutch reconsider Islamic values

Mark

Two Great New Antipodean Book Reviews



One from Australia, from Sydney's top overnight broadcaster, Jim Ball:

Wake Up, West!

(15April06) I have read a lot of books on the issue of Islam and by no means consider my self totally across it. As is the case with most subjects, it has the capacity to glaze the eyes if you let it. This book though is a breezy and comprehensive easy read. You can pick it up and put it down at will and not lose the plot.

The introduction of Mark Alexander's easy to read reality check, The Dawning of a New Dark Age is Wake Up, West! It is compelling reading .

Read an extract from the first chapter entitled Wake Up, West!

Take a peek at Jim Ball's recommendations: Jim Ball's recommended reading list

Visit Jim Ball's very interesting website: Jim Ball, Sydney's No. 1 Overnight Broadcaster

And one from New Zealand, from one of our regular erudite and valued contributors, Judah of Judah's Journal

Mark’s format, a collection of essays, makes this an extremely readable text that can be picked up and put down as opportunity allows, giving ‘thinking time’ between reads in order to fully process the knowledge and insights imparted here.

Still too much is misunderstood about this aggressively invasive ideology which threatens to overwhelm and subvert our Western civilization. Since Islam seeks to progress an agenda of world-wide domination and universal submission of all to Allah, by the sword if necessary, we most certainly need to understand far more about it.

Mark knows Islam intimately, and his writing is both perceptive and authoritative. He clearly outlines the dangers posed by Islam, describing the process of ‘Islamicization’ that is already happening, supporting his concerns with references (in context) to the Qur’an and to history, identifying the factors in our own civilization that fosters erosion of our Judeo-Christian heritage and invites the incursion of Islam, and suggesting means by which this could be stopped and reversed. There is a great deal of information packed between the covers of this book and much food for serious thought. To some it will be a horror story, but as frightening as the subject may be, we are wise to have our eyes opened in order to recognize what is happening hopefully in time to help stop the situation from worsening. It may already be too late unless radical measures are put in place, but we all need to know and properly understand the real threat in order that something effective can be done about it.

This is an absolute ‘must read’ for anyone who wishes to know the truth rather than be lulled into complacency by the ‘taqiyya’ (holy hypocrisy) of the Islamic clerics and apologists. If you have never read anything on this subject before, this is a good place to start. Likewise, it is also an essential read for those who do know the subject, the author becoming increasingly well known for his contributions to major websites devoted to the education of the web-savvy general population interested in knowing more about Islam.

I have become well-read on this subject myself, and can testify that the author writes in accord with all else that I have read by other authors with impeccable and relevant credentials. I can recommend Mark’s book to all who wish to be properly informed on this subject and, as the author puts it so well, the ‘dawning of a new dark age’ under Islam.

ISBN: 1-4107-9038-X (e-book)
ISBN: 1-4017-9037-1 (Paperback)
ISBN: 1-4140-3021-5 (Dust Jacket)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2003297102

Vist Judah's Journal here.

Mark Alexander

Infidel filth!

Pupils protest as college linked to Iran puts fundamentalist text on curriculum, reports our correspondent

MUSLIM students training to be imams at a British college with strong Iranian links have complained that they are being taught fundamentalist doctrines which describe non-Muslims as “filth”.

The Times has obtained extracts from medieval texts taught to the students in which unbelievers are likened to pigs and dogs. The texts are taught at the Hawza Ilmiyya of London, a religious school, which has a sister institution, the Islamic College for Advanced Studies (ICAS), which offers a degree validated by Middlesex University.

The students, who have asked to remain anonymous, study their religious courses alongside the university-backed BA in Islamic studies. They spend two days a week as religious students and three days on their university course. Read it all: Muslim students 'being taught to despise unbelievers as filth'

Mark

Schizophrenia?

Since September 11, there has been a concerted effort to present a new and improved Islam to the world. The moderate Muslim activists in the West avoid referring to teachings that may offend the Western citizen, such as the Islamic code of punishment.

They stress that they believe in Moses and Jesus. They refrain from calling Jews and Christians "infidels", "Zionists" or "Crusaders".

They use the term "Sunday School" in place of "Friday Class", and they end their speeches with the Christian expression "may God bless you".

Islam has two streams of theological thought; those based on Mohammed's sayings in Mecca and those penned from Medina. Both eventually were brought together in the Koran, but reflect two entirely different worldviews. Islam's Split Personality

Mark

Depressing, or what?

Back in 2004, Bernard Lewis had this to say about the Islamization of Europe:

SELDOM HAS THE COURSE of European history been changed by a non-politician's throwaway remark in a German-language newspaper on a Wednesday in the dead of the summer doldrums. But on July 28, Princeton historian Bernard Lewis told the conservative Hamburg-based daily Die Welt that Europe would be Islamic by the end of this century "at the very latest," and continental politics has not been the same since.

Days before the third anniversary of 9/11, Frits Bolkestein of the Netherlands, the outgoing European Union competition commissioner, caused an uproar when he mentioned Lewis's remark in the course of an address at the opening of courses at the University of Leiden. Bolkestein warned that the E.U. will "implode" if it expands too quickly. It was a timely topic. Islamic Europe?

In today's Die Welt, this:

Die Christen werden zur Minderheit in Europa. Ggen [sic] den Iran braucht es Härte. Amerika ist bedroht. Ein Gespräch mit dem renommierten Islamwissenschaftler Bernard Lewis

Die WELT: Das Zwölfer-Manifest, unterzeichnet Mitte März auch von Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Irschad Manji, Salman Rushdie und Ibn Warraq, bezeichnet den Islamismus als neue globale totalitäre Bewegung wie einst Nationalsozialismus und Stalinismus. Folgt jetzt eine Epoche heftiger ideologischer Zwiste, die über islamische Minderheiten Europas nicht nur außen-, sondern gleichwohl innenpolitisch ausgetragen werden? Alles hier lesen: Europa wird islamisch

I apologize that the latter article is available only in German. Unfortunately, I do not have the time to translate it for you at this time.

Mark Alexander

WE HAVE BEEN HACKED YET AGAIN!

For the second time in a matter of weeks, this weblog has been hacked! It has become increasingly obvious to me that this is so, because things are disappearing mysteriously.

This is making life very difficult for me at a time when it is difficult enough as it is.

I wish the little runt would stop his antics. He needs to find something better to do. Perhaps he could go find a sewer to clean, or perhaps pigs to feed.

Whoever it is, he probably thinks he's being clever. In my mind, he is showing just how low, mean and vicious he is. Clearly, he doesn't like what's being said here, but hasn't the ability to counter the arguments with intelligent points, well-stated.

So if anyone sees that links to their own blogspots have gone missing, please don't think I have taken them down. I haven't. Some swine has taken them down for me!

Mark

Democracy comes to Iraq!

"I don't want to be gay anymore. When I go out to buy bread, I'm afraid. When the doorbell rings, I think that they have come for me."
That is the fear that haunts Hussein, and other gay men in Iraq.

They say that since the US-led invasion, gays are being killed because of their sexual orientation.

They blame the increase in violence on the growing influence of religious figures and militia groups in Iraq since Saddam Hussein was ousted. Read it all here: Gays in Iraq fear for their lives

Mark

Iran droht mit Selbstmordattentätern

Sondereinheit der revolutionären Garde. Für den Fall eines Angriffs auf iranische Atomanlagen droht Teheran mit dem Einsatz von angeblich 40'000 Selbstmordattentätern. Die Attentäter gehörten einer Sondereinheit der Revolutionären Garde an, die im März während einer Militärparade erstmals zu sehen gewesen sei, schrieb die Zeitung «The Sunday Times».

Die Mitglieder der Einheit hätten Sprengstoff an ihren Uniformen getragen und Zünder in die Höhe gehalten. Der Leiter des iranischen Zentrums für Doktrin-Strategische Studien der Revolutionären Garde sagte, 29 westliche Ziele seien ausgemacht worden. «Wir sind bereit, sensible Punkte der Amerikaner und Briten anzugreifen, wenn sie die Atomanlagen des Irans angreifen», zitierte die «Sunday Times» aus einer Rede Hassan Abbassis, deren Tonbandaufzeichnung dem Blatt nach eigenen Angaben vorlag.

Mark Alexander

Labour voters drift to the BNP

The growth of support for the British National Party is extremely disturbing. Margaret Hodge, the Minister of State for Employment, told this newspaper that eight out of ten white voters she canvassed in Barking and Dagenham admitted that they were considering voting for the BNP in the May local elections. It is a trend that has been noticed in several other working-class areas of Britain - and for which New Labour must take responsibility.

Nick Griffin, the BNP's Cambridge-educated leader, is no longer seen surrounded by a phalanx of tattooed thugs: he makes sure he is photographed in the company of smiling, unthreatening women. Griffin carefully crafts his message so that it sounds reasonable rather than racist. He has learned from the techniques of mendacious and misleading presentation that New Labour so effectively pioneered. Read the article here: Labour is to blame for the drift to the BNP

Also from The Telegraph: White voters are deserting us for BNP, says Blair ally

Leader of the BNP, Cambridge-educated Nick Griffin

Voting for the BNP is about rage rather than race

Mark

Pope speaks of darkness

Pope Benedict said last night that the world was in the grip of Satan and prayed for mankind to open its eyes to the "filth around us".

At an Easter ceremony that recreated the passage of Jesus Christ to the crucifixion, Benedict XVI lashed out at man's "decadent narcissism".

He said "a slick campaign of propaganda is spreading an inane apologia of evil, a senseless cult of Satan".

The Good Friday service, held at the Colosseum, showed the 14 stages of Christ's suffering and was designed to allow worshippers to share in the agony of Jesus. During the first and final stage, the Pope carried the cross.

The prayers, written by Archbishop Angelo Comastri, the Vatican City's vicar general, were approved by the Pope, and reflected his strongly conservative outlook.

"Surely God is deeply pained by the attack on the family," the Pope said. "Today we seem to be witnessing a kind of anti-Genesis, a counter-plan, a diabolical pride aimed at eliminating the family." Read it all here: The Pope: Society values 'immorality and selfishness'

Mark

HAPPY EASTER!



A VERY HAPPY EASTER TO YOU ALL!

Mark

Is it fair to call for Rumsfeld's resignation?

A whispering campaign against Donald Rumsfeld has burst into the open with two generals who helped him plan the Iraq war denouncing his leadership and calling on him to resign.

Maj Gen John Batiste, who commanded a division in Iraq last year, became the fourth recently-retired general to attack the defence secretary for his handling of the war and demand new faces at the Pentagon.

"I believe we need a fresh start at the Pentagon," he told CNN, adding that many of his peers agreed.

"It speaks volumes that guys like me are speaking out from retirement about the leadership climate in the Department of Defence." Read the whole article here: Generals call for Rumsfeld's resignation over Iraq

Mark Alexander

The long, long, long, long, long, long war!

It sounds eerily like the Cold War - and that is no mistake.

The "Long War" is the name Washington is using to rebrand the new world conflict, this time against terrorism.

Now the US military is revealing details of how it is planning to fight this very different type of war.

It is also preparing the public for a global conflict which it believes will dominate the next 20 years.

The nerve centre of this war against terror is the huge MacDill airbase in Tampa, Florida.

Surrounded by white sand beaches, palm trees and two golf courses it looks more like a holiday camp than a military camp.

But inside US Central Command (Centcom) generals are planning what they call "fourth-generational warfare".

Centcom is already responsible for operations in the Middle East, South Asia and Africa - as well as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan - and now it is planning a campaign that will eventually span the globe. Read it all here: Planning the US 'Long War' on terror

And now, Iran says it has started to enrich uranium! This from The Times: We've started to enrich uranium, Iran tells the world

Mark Alexander

Is talk of limited nuclear strikes on Iran "nuts"?

JACK STRAW sought yesterday to silence renewed sabre-rattling from hardliners within the US Administration who are pressing for military action — even the use of tactical nuclear weapons — against Iran.

The Foreign Secretary described the idea that the White House wanted a nuclear strike as “completely nuts”. He insisted that Britain would not support pre-emptive military action, adding: “I’m as certain as I can be sitting here that neither would the United States.”

Many analysts in the West suspect that Tehran is attempting to build its own nuclear weapons. Over the weekend Iran allowed UN inspectors to examine some of the atomic plants which, its Government maintains, are designed solely for production of electricity.

Speaking to the BBC, Mr Straw said: “There is no smoking gun, there is no casus belli. We can’t be certain about Iran’s intentions and that is, therefore, not a basis on which anybody would gain authority to go for military action.” Read it all here: The idea of US nuclear attack on Iran is just nuts, says Straw Mark Alexander

Please accept my sincere apologies for my absence in recent days. There has been illness (with hospitalization) in the family, so I have been otherwise engaged. I am posting this today, but, unfortunately, I shall not be able to answer all the comments as I usually do. Please bear with me as things will hopefully return to normal again soon.

Saddam Hussein to face charges of genocide

Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is to be charged with genocide over a 1980s campaign against the Kurds, an Iraqi tribunal has announced.

Saddam Hussein and six others face new charges over a campaign of killings, arrests, deportation and property destruction known as the Anfal.

Human rights groups say 180,000 civilians died in the campaign.

Saddam Hussein and seven others are already on trial for the deaths of 148 people in the town of Dujail.

The killings followed an attempt to assassinate the former Iraq leader.

Mahmoud Othman - an independent Kurdish member of the national parliament and former member of the Iraqi governing council - welcomed the announcement. Read it all here: Saddam to face genocide charges"

Mark Alexander

Does death await Moussaoui?

The jury in the US trial of confessed al-Qaeda plotter Zacarias Moussaoui has decided he is eligible to face the death penalty when he is sentenced.

A second phase of hearings will now take place, beginning on Thursday, to determine if he should be executed.

As the jury's verdict was announced in court, Moussaoui shouted: "You'll never get my blood, God curse you all."

Prosecutors argue he should be executed because he lied about the 9/11 plot. His defence say he knew very little.

Moussaoui has pleaded guilty to six counts of conspiracy to attack the US.

In order to deem him eligible for the death penalty, the jurors had to agree that Moussaoui's actions led directly to at least one death on 11 September 2001. Red it all here: Moussaoui can face death penalty

Mark Alexander

When women don't care anymore

Once, educated women could only be teachers. Now they can have any career they like, and society is suffering, says Alison Wolf

In 1945 the British public sector abandoned the marriage bar, which required female teachers and civil servants to stay single or resign in favour of male breadwinners. In the 60 years since, women’s lives have been transformed and, with them, the family and community.

You might not think it, given the focus on pay gaps and glass ceilings, but for the first time women, at least in developed societies, have virtually no career or occupation barred to them. Women used to enter the elite as daughters, mothers and wives. Now they do so as individuals.

This has brought enormous benefits to many women, but its repercussions are not all positive: we need to understand what the new female labour market means for all our lives.

Gender politics still encourages us to talk about women as a group with common interests and demands. Yet this is far less true today than when, as Kipling observed, the “Colonel’s lady an’ Judy O’Grady” really were sisters under the skin. Read it all here: The decline and fall of the caring woman

Mark Alexander

The big cover-up starts in Indonesia

SUNBATHING tourists in Bali and barely clad tribesmen in Papua are caught up in a cultural war between a minority of puritanical Indonesian Muslims and the country’s tolerant majority.

The battle appears to be frivolous, involving, as it does, learned arguments over whether a navel is indecent, or a penis gourd, which guards the modesty of the Papuan male, constitutes nudity.

However, it is serious for dozens of people who have fallen victim to zealous prosecutors, police harassment and mob violence in a battle for the destiny of the world’s most populous Islamic nation. Bali battles the Muslims who want an Indonesian cover-up from The Sunday Times

Mark Alexander