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

Muslims in Europe

As we all know, the BBC has a special love of Muslims. This is the BBC's take on Muslims in Europe:

Muslims in Europe

Mark

’The Incompetent War’!

If ever there was an admission of failure by the Bush Administration, then this is it! The war being waged against the United States and the rest of the West is now called ‘The Long War’! It should never have been allowed to come to this.

The US is doing Saudi Arabia’s dirty work for it! Why? Because GWB and his administration have been too timid to wage the war as it should have been waged: with clear thinking, sound strategy, courage, fortitude and resolve! And with the determination to win at all costs!

The day after 9/11, the Saudis should have been put in the hot seat. They should have been told that it was their responsibility to track down Osama bin Laden and his henchmen, not ours, i.e. not the US’s! Further, they should have been put on notice: The US’s support for the régime is dependent on their co-operation to find these savages.

Why on earth should the US foot the bill of tracking down these savages anyway? Has the West gone mad? After 9/11, so much was made of the fact that the US was not at war with Islam. The fact of the matter is clear though: Islam was, and still is, at war with the West. The West shouldn’t have allowed the King of Saudi Arabia – who is, after all the Keeper of the Two Holy Mosques, and therefore the supposed head of the faith – to get away with hiding behind a smokescreen. They should have been told: Find these people, or else!

George W Bush has been making excuses for Islam. This, we all know. He has come out with ridiculous statements about the loving and kind nature of Islam, statements which are so obviously false. In short, he has placed the West on the defensive. What he should have done is place the West on the offensive by placing the Saudis on the defensive. No war was ever won on the defensive. And this war will be no different. We will not win it this way. Be sure of that!

The Saudi régime depends on the US for its continued existence. The rulers should have been told that if they expect the US (and the rest of the West) to keep on propping it up, then they had better track OBL & Co. down forthwith. If their dynasty would have been put on the line like that, then they would have pulled out all the stops to track down and find the people who are now wreaking havoc with the West.

Political leaders the West over are blinded by oil. Their thinking is therefore muddled. The money being made in the West by the top echelons – and being made often in a corrupt manner – means that the West has been locked into this protracted war. As the saying goes: Our leaders are trying to have their cake and eat it, too. But it won’t work. The result of this protracted war might well bankrupt the States. That, by the way, has always been a stated aim of OBL. The US is playing into his hands!

Why should the Americans allow themselves to be bankrupted like this? Why not let the Saudis, with all their new riches from oil do the spending? They wish to be propped up; so let them pay for it. Why should the American taxpayer foot the bill? And why, indeed, should the taxpayers in the rest of the West foot the policing bills that all this Islamic terrorism is creating? This is ludicrous!

The fact is, however, that Bush and his administration, and the governments of other Western countries, are running scared of Islam. No war will ever be won that way! Name me a war that was ever won when fought from a timid position!

The Saudi régime should be made to feel scared, not Bush and his administration. The royal family of Saudi Arabia would have a great deal to lose if the US suddenly withdrew its support for their régime. For the Saudi royals know that their régime is deeply unpopular at home. The country is, after all, being run like a private family business, with the royals taking a healthy cut of all the contracts going into the country.

I remember well the time when the then leader of Romania, Nicolai Ceauscescu, was heavily criticized for running that country as a private business. It had made the man extremely rich, and, rightly, it was thought to be malpractice on his part, as well it should have been. But for some inexplicable reason, when it comes to the oil-rich kings, princes and sheikhs of the Gulf, the practice is thought to be acceptable, even when the average Saudi is kept very short of money! How strange! And how hypocritical our Western leaders can be when big oil and armaments deals are at stake!

It goes without saying that we need to get the better of this jihad being waged against us. We need to crush it before it crushes us! But as things stand at the moment, we are not going to be able to do that. This is why our strategy needs to be changed, and changed rather quickly, before too much more serious damage is done to Western economies. In short, we need to place the unpopular Saudi royal family on the defensive, we need to put them on the spot, we need to make them take the initiative, we need to make them fight this war for us.

It is not for Bush and Blair to talk about Osama bin Laden as being a renegade who doesn’t speak for his faith. Let the Saudis do the talking! If they consider him (and his cronies) to be renegades, then it should be up to them to find them and punish them.

We need to start fighting this war against the jihad as a real war, for a real war it most certainly is. The kid gloves need to be taken off. If we don’t start fighting this real war soon, instead of this phony war we are engaged in, we will fail; and the fate of the West will be sealed. As things stand, the war we are now waging would be more accurately called ‘The Incompetent War’! For incompetent it indeed is!

©Mark Alexander

Jihad versus 'Long War'

This analysis by Paul Reynolds, the World Affairs Correspondent for the BBC:

Monday's bombings in Egypt fit in with the philosophy of war laid out in a 7,000-word document by Osama Bin Laden which appeared recently in the form of an audio tape.

And in turn, the tape came within weeks of the publication in February of the Pentagon's "Quadrennial Defence Review" which stated: "The United States is a nation engaged in what will be a long war."

We therefore now have two almost simultaneous documents from the leading forces in the war and they are worth comparing. Continued: Al-Qaeda jihad vs 'long war'

Mark Alexander

Europe needs a stong military!

Europeans, and that now includes the British, need to reassess their attitudes to their own culture(s). European culture is clearly being threatened by Islam; but we Europeans are in denial.

The French are not famous for their courage: When Hitler and his army invaded France, the French simply capitulated. The Germans were just able to march in and take control of their country. The French didn’t even put up a fight!

Now, Muslim immigrants have invaded France; but again, the French are in denial. They just don’t seem to be able to grasp the nettle, don't seem to be able to take tough action to protect their wonderful culture. Do they, I wonder, inhabit a dream world, or are the French just lacking in courage to assert themselves?

The Germans are crippled by memories of their brutal past. That’s what makes them incapable of tough action. They are terrified of being perceived as ‘racist’ again.

The British are just too tolerant. The British put up with anything and everything these days. The characteristics which made the British strong and triumphant in the 40’s now seem to have evaporated. Young people seem incapable of knowing what makes them British! Nor are they any longer able to look danger in the face and call it what it is: danger!

It seems that the Europeans not only fail to see the dangers that lie ahead of them vis-à-vis Islam, but they are unwilling to identify the danger even if they do. A civilization will not last long that way, not last long when the people are unwilling to identify the enemy, and are unwilling to fight for its survival.

Spending on the military is way too low in Britain. It is shamefully low in Europe. One of the first things that needs to be done is increase spending on the military thoughout Europe: on the armies, the navies, and the air forces. No civilization can be strong when spending on the military is so woefully inadequate. If the military needs manpower, equipment, and training, then it’s only a matter of time before that civilization will be challenged.

We are now being challenged by Islam like never before in recent history. It’s no good the Europeans depending on the Americans to come to their rescue. God knows, central Europeans have criticized the Americans enough in recent years. Frankly, I wouldn’t blame the Americans if they refused assistance!

In this era of grave danger, in an era in which Islam is growing in importance all over the world, especially here in Europe, and in an era in which the Iranians are threatening to develop the nuclear bomb, it is most essential that the Europeans be ready for any crisis that may develop. The Europeans need to put forward a strong face to the Islamic world. Muslims need to be shown that nonsense will not be tolerated. Europeans need to be ready for the good fight, ready to fight for our Judeo-Christian heritage and civilization!

Historically, Islam has played little part in European culture. I repeat: Our culture is based on Judeo-Christianity. It is not based on Islam! Our culture must be fought for, fought for in each and every way necessary. Islam would soon snuff it out, given half a chance.

This is why the Europeans should in no way allow the Eurocrats to let Turkey into the Union. Turkey does not belong in Europe for all the reasons I have mentioned many times before.

It is high time for our European ‘leaders’ to listen to the people. It is also high time for the Europeans themselves to start being more courageous, and willing to put up a fight for our civilization, regardless of the cost. War cannot be avoided at all costs anyway. A war in the name of fighting for our civilization, should it come, would be a just war. Naturally, nobody wants war. Only a fool would wish for it. But the fact of the matter is this: War is far more likely to come about if we are not ready for it, if we are weak. Without a strong military, and the will to use that military should it be necessary to do so, the Europeans will be perceived as weak. Indeed, they already are.

Weak people don’t avoid being attacked; on the contrary, they are more likely to be attacked, and for the very reason that they are weak! This can be seen even in the schoolyard: How many strong children get picked on?

It’s high time that Europeans started to stand up and be counted. Our culture and civilization is in grave danger of being Islamized.

©Mark Alexander

Viewpoints: Iranians in the Diaspora

Estimates of the Iranian community living abroad vary from between two to five million, the bulk of which live in the US, while Canada, the UK and other European countries also hold sizeable Iranian communities.

Many left after the Islamic revolution in 1979, when the pro-Western Shah was swept aside, and remain solidly opposed to Iran's clerical government.

But a new generation, raised in the West yet influenced by the Iranian values of their families, is beginning to address the thorny issues of identity and belonging.

Seven Iranians from different parts of the world told the BBC about their relationship with the land of their birth and their sense of identity. Check the diverse viewpoints out here: Iran: Life in the diaspora

Iran in maps

Mark

When there are problems locating Mecca

Malaysian scientists and religious scholars are trying to determine how Muslims should behave in space, as the predominantly Islamic country prepares to dispatch its first astronaut next year.

More than 150 delegates attended a seminar to consider how to pray in space given the difficulties of locating Mecca and holding the prayer position in zero gravity; as well as other questions such as halal food and washing.

"It's as important as sending the astronaut," said Mustafa Din bin Subari, deputy director of Angkasa, Malaysia's space agency. "We want to stress that being a Muslim does not restrict you from doing anything."

The application of a religion founded in the 7th century Arabian desert to space travel in the 21st century is complex. The International Space Station (ISS) moves at almost 17,000 mph, so the relative position of Mecca is constantly shifting. With 16 orbits a day, and the timing of five daily prayers determined in relation to sunrise and sunset, devout Muslim astronauts could find themselves intoning their chants 80 times in 24 hours. Read it all: Computer will tell Muslim astronaut how to pray in space

Mark

Iran talks even tougher!

US interests around the world will be harmed if America launches an attack against Iran, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said.

"The Iranian nation will respond to any blow with double the intensity," he added, in comments reported on TV.
Iran has been reported to the UN Security Council, amid Western fears Iran is seeking atomic weapons.

The UN is seeking a diplomatic solution but the US has not ruled out military strikes against Iranian nuclear sites.
Addressing workers in Tehran on International Labourers' Day, Ayatollah Khamenei said Iran would not heed US "threats and intimidation". Read it all here: Iran leader issues warning to US

Analysis: Iran under pressure

Who holds the power?

Mark Alexander

White House calls for Snow to whiten its image

One of Fox News' most personable personalities to take over as Press Secretary at the Whie House. This from the Washington Post:

Fox News commentator Tony Snow was named White House press secretary today after top officials assured him that he would be not just a spokesman but an active participant in administration policy debates, people familiar with the discussions said.

A former director of speechwriting for President Bush's father, Snow views himself as well positioned to ease the tensions between this White House and the press corps because he understands both politics and journalism, said the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the appointment had not been officially confirmed, although an announcement is expected today. Read it all here: Tony Snow to Be White House Press Secretary

Mark Alexander

Muslimahs urged to take off the veil

I've just read this very interesting article on MEMRI.org. I'd like to share it with you...

Reformist Yemeni columnist Dr. Elham Mane'a, who writes regularly for the reformist website www.metransparent.com, espouses improvement of women's status, freedom of thought, a rationalist approach to the religious sources, and the right of humans, as rational beings, to decide their own futures. In a recent article, Mane'a urged Muslim women to exercise free thought and to decide for themselves whether to wear the veil. ...

... Take Off the Veil, Sister

"I call on you, my Muslim sister, to take off the veil. This is an honest call... Its intention is not to defile you, nor to encourage you to [moral] lassitude. I call on you to exercise [free] thought and to use your own mind.

"You and your mind are sufficient. There is no need to search in books and in history, and there is no need to consult the opinions of the commentators... I request that you listen to my words and judge them without suspecting my intentions. After that, you are free. Free to choose [for yourself], to [shape] your own fate, and to do as you wish. You are your own master. You alone. No one but you has custody over you. After [you consider my words], don the veil or take it off - I will respect your decision. Ultimately, the decision must be yours... Read it all here: Yemeni Reformist Writer Urges Muslim Women to Take Off the Veil

Mark

Too little, too late?

US President George W Bush has unveiled plans, including an inquiry into price fixing, to lower the cost of oil and cut climbing petrol prices.

Mr Bush told the Renewable Fuels Association that the US needs to "get off its dependency on oil" as crude costs have moved towards record levels.

The US will also stop topping up the strategic oil reserve, boost domestic output and promote alternative fuels.
Mr Bush said that oil and petrol prices were a matter of national security[.] Read it all here: Bush plans to tackle petrol price

Mark

The Futility of Interfaith Dialogue
Have you ever wondered about this thing called 'interfaith dialogue' - the dialogue so beloved by our weak politicians and clergy? Well, wonder no longer. Please let me elucidate...

For dialogue with an enemy - and make no mistake about it, Islam is the enemy of the liberal and democratic West - please read my earlier article here - to serve any purpose, there must be a possibility of finding some middle ground. A compromise must be found. If it is not possible to find a compromise, then engaging in dialogue becomes not only futile, but meaningless, too. Engaging in such a dialogue with Islam, a so-called 'interfaith dialogue', is precisely that: futile and meaningless.

You might well ask how I can say this with such certainty. Well, the answer is really quite simple to comprehend...

In Islam, we have a faith which is diametrically opposed to everything Christianity says is true. The tenets of both faiths couldn't be more different. Christians are taught that God had a Son, born of the Virgin Mary, who came down to earth and died for their sins, quasi to redeem them, to save them. Hence, Jesus Christ is their Lord and Saviour, their Redeemer. He died on the cross to save their souls. Further, to Christians, God is loving and forgiving, merciful and compassionate indeed.

Muslims are taught, by contrast, that God never begat a son; indeed, in Islam it is sacrilege to believe so. The whole concept of the Trinity, so essential to the belief system of a Christian, is considered to be shirk, or polytheism to any practising Muslim.

Furthermore, Jesus in Islam, although revered as a major prophet, is nothing more than this. He is not considered to be the Godhead. Muslims have an unshakeable belief that God is unique and one - tawhid - and cannot conceive of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Christians, in their eyes, are considered to be guilty of polytheism for believing in the Trinity! The abstract concept of there being three bodies in one - actually just like the human body - is beyond their understanding and comprehension.

So, to believe that Jesus is man's Saviour and Redeemer is totally and utterly alien to Muslims. As far as they are concerned, indeed as far as they are convinced, Jesus was not crucified at all. They believe that a look-alike was crucified in his stead!

For a devout and practising Christian, there can be no compromising on these issues; likewise, for a devout and practising Muslim, there can also be no compromising on them, either.

So would someone like to explain to me what all this 'interfaith dialogue' is about? For what compromise is there to be? Perhaps I'm missing something; but I don't think so.

You see, the differences between Islam and Christianity are so clear in even the basic understanding of the concept of God in the two religions. The name for God in Islam is Allah. Allah is also the name for God for Christian Arabs. But the Christians' understanding of God (and the Christian Arabs' understanding of Allah) is very different from the Muslims' understanding of Him. For anyone seriously to believe that these two deities are the same, he would have to be seriously deluded. To a Muslim, Allah is to be feared; to a Christian, He is the kind and understanding and merciful Father.

The fact of the matter is clear: 'Interfaith dialogue' is a mechanism thought up by the weak and ineffectual in a desperate attempt to find a solution to the growing chasm in Western society, a chasm between the ever-growing Muslim population and the rest. (Do we ever hear calls for 'interfaith dialogue' from Muslims?) But it is merely a Band Aid. It will never solve the problems that have been shored up for us over the past few decades, never solve the problems of increasing tensions which will inevitably ensue.

Truth is: Our politicians, because they have lacked the foresight to see the inevitable outcome of their lax immigration laws, because they have lacked the courage to enact sensible laws to stem the growing problem of immigration in this country, and because they have failed to lead, they have got us all into a fine mess. Believe me: The storm clouds are gathering on the horizon. It's only a matter time now before we will witness their devastation.

©Mark Alexander

All Rights Reserved

Fear in the mainstream parties; desperation in the electorate

David Cameron called yesterday on voters in next month's English local elections to support any party other than the far-Right British National Party.

The Conservative leader accused the BNP of "thriving on hatred" and wanting to set one race against another.

"I hope nobody votes for the BNP. I would rather people voted for any other party," Mr Cameron told Sky News.

His remarks reflect growing alarm among mainstream parties that the BNP is poised to make gains on May 4 when almost 23 million voters in London and in borough and metropolitan councils go to the polls.

A YouGov survey for The Daily Telegraph today suggests that millions of voters are not enamoured of any of the main parties.

Fewer than one voter in five wants the Conservatives to control their local council. The same small proportion wants to see Labour in power locally. Still fewer fancy the Liberal Democrats. Cameron calls on voters to back anyone but the BNP

Please note: That the mainstream parties - Labour, Conservative, and Liberal - are becoming ever more fearful and desperate at the prospect of significant gains by the British National Party (BNP) is obvious. When people like Cameron call out for voters to vote for any party but the BNP, something is seriously wrong. Cameron is the second to raise the spectre of such gains in less than a week.

If the mainstream parties are fearful, then you can bet your bottom dollar that the British electorate is both fearful and desperate: fearful of what the mainstream parties have turned this 'Sceptered Isle' into, and desperate to find someone with enough courage to fix the problem.

The fact of the matter is clear and simple: The mainstream parties are guilty of a dereliction of duty. If the British electorate becomes desperate enough to look for radical and extreme solutions, the main parties have only themselves to blame.

It is high time that politicians of all hues - red, blue, and orange - do a bit of serious contemplation. It is also high time that they stop the spin and find their backbone. Without backbone, there will be no solution. Beware: The electorate will tolerate this nonsense no longer!

By the way, just in case you didn't know who Cameron is, he is the increasingly unconvincing leader of the Conservative Party! The man who used to think of himself as a "media tart"!

Mark Alexander

BIN LADEN TALKS AGAIN OF CRUSADE AGAINST ISLAM

The West's moves to isolate the new Hamas-led Palestinian government prove it is at war with Islam, a tape attributed to Osama Bin Laden declares.

The tape also described the situation in Iraq and Sudan's troubled Darfur region as further evidence that a "Zionist-crusader war" was being waged.

The recording was broadcast by Arab satellite TV al-Jazeera on Sunday.
If confirmed, it is the first message from Bin Laden since January 2006, when he threatened more attacks on the US. Read it all here: West is on crusade - 'Bin Laden'

Verbalattacken auf die Uno

Die USA stufen die jüngste ausgestrahlte Osama-Bin-Laden-Tonbandaufnahme als authentisch ein. Der Extremistenführer wirft darin dem Westen einen Kreuzzug gegen den Islam vor. Zudem greift er auch explizit die Uno an und ruft die Muslime zu Vorbereitung eines Kriegs im Sudan auf, wie aus am Sonntagabend zusätzlich gesendeten Passagen hervorging. Neues Bin-Ladin-Tonband offenbar echt

Le chef de l’organisation terroriste Al-Qaïda dénonce, dans un enregistrement sonore qui lui est attribué par la chaîne de télévision qatarie Al-Jezira, la «guerre de croisés et de sionistes» lancée par les Occidentaux contre l’Islam. Il cite notamment les exemples du Darfour, des caricatures de Mahomet ou encore de la suspension des aides aux Palestiniens. Un nouveau message attribué à Ben Laden

Mark Alexander

AHMADINEDRAB!

Authorities in Iran are to crack down on women failing to follow the regime's definition of good Islamic dress.

Some 200 extra police are to patrol the streets of Tehran confronting women who reveal ankles, sport thin headscarves or wear short or tight jackets.

Those found to be in breach of Iran's Islamic dress code could face instant penalty fines.

The move is part of a blitz against anti-social behaviour, also targeting drugs and people who play loud music. Read it all here: Iran launches Islamic dress drive

Mark Alexander

There's nothing new under the sun!

Jamal Abu Samhadana had just been appointed chief of the Palestinian security services, but his supporters saw no reason to celebrate.

Instead of driving around the potholed streets firing their AK47s in the air, his advisers gathered in a tin-roofed hut in a remote part of the Gaza territory, safe - they hoped - from prying ears.

For now is a dangerous time to be the Palestinians' security supremo, and Abu Samhadana's allies know that even if the Israelis do not succeed in killing him, there are plenty of Palestinian rivals who might like to.

In his first interview with a British newspaper since his controversial appointment as Hamas's "iron glove" last week, Abu Samhadana, 43, revealed his ambitions for the paramilitary force under his control.

"This will be the nucleus of the future Palestinian army," he said. "The resistance must continue."

Abu Samhadana was speaking only days after nine Israelis were killed by a Palestinian suicide bomber. He can expect that Israel security officials are hungry for revenge for the Tel Aviv bombing and regard him as an attractive target.

For his part, the new commander-in-chief remained defiant and gave no sign that he would seek to rein in future attacks.

He told The Sunday Telegraph: "We have only one enemy. They are Jews. We have no other enemy. I will continue to carry the rifle and pull the trigger whenever required to defend my people." Read it all here: 'Jews are our enemy. I will pull the trigger whenever required'

Mark