The United Arab Emirates says it will move its official weekend - a decision aimed at helping to improve business contacts with Western states.Mark Alexander
The change from a Thursday-Friday weekend to a Friday-Saturday one will come into force in September. Emirates changes days of weekend
Photo courtesy of Google Images
I came to Holland in the summer of 1992 because I wanted to be able to determine my own future. I didn’t want to be forced into a destiny that other people had chosen for me, so I opted for the protection of the rule of law. Here in Holland, I found freedom and opportunities, and I took those opportunities to speak out against religious terror."Hirsi Ali herself, meanwhile, has announced her intention to come to the United States to work with the American Enterprise Institute. Europe’s loss is America’s gain, but this is no occasion for rejoicing by Americans; Hirsi Ali’s ejection from Holland will before too long be seen as one significant step closer to the extinguishing of the light not only in that country, but in all of Europe." - Robert Spencer, May 18, 2006 FrontPageMagazine
In January 2003, at the invitation of the VVD party, I became a member of parliament. I accepted the VVD’s invitation on the condition that I would be the party’s spokesman for the emancipation of women and the integration of immigrants.
What exactly did I want to achieve?
First of all I wanted to put the oppression of immigrant women — especially Muslim women - squarely on the Dutch political agenda. Second, I wanted Holland to pay attention to the specific cultural and religious issues that were holding back many ethnic minorities, instead of always taking a one-sided approach that focused only on their socio-economic circumstances. Lastly, I wanted politicians to grasp the fact that major aspects of Islamic doctrine and tradition, as practiced today, are incompatible with the open society.
Now I have to ask myself, have I accomplished that task? Ayaan Hirsi Ali Press Statement on Resignation from Parliament
Holland has for some time now been celebrated, or notorious, as a land where anything goes, but now the Dutch have finally discovered that there are limits. Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the courageous Dutch Parliamentarian who has drawn death threats for her outspoken criticism of women’s rights in Islam and unrestricted Muslim immigration into Europe, has resigned from Parliament and will leave the Netherlands. Dutch immigration minister Rita Verdonk has brought this about by suddenly deciding to press the fact -- which has actually been public knowledge for years, and has never caused controversy before -- that the Somalia-born Hirsi Ali lied in her request for asylum in the Netherlands was grounds to strip her of her Dutch citizenship.Mark Alexander
Read the rest of Robert Spencer's excellent article here: Holland's Cassandra
America to welcome Hirsi Ali with open arms
The French parliament has given strong backing to a controversial immigration bill that will make it more difficult for the unskilled to settle in France.Mark Alexander
The bill, which offers renewable residence permits to highly-qualified newcomers from outside the EU, was passed by 367 votes to 164.
Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy says it will bring France into line with countries with selective immigration.
But the left-wing opposition and human rights groups say the bill is racist. MPs back French immigration bill
Photo courtesy of the BBC
A gunman has shot dead a prominent judge and wounded four others in an attack in Turkey's highest court, in the capital, Ankara.Mark Alexander
Judge Mustafa Yucel Ozbilgin died despite six hours of surgery to remove a bullet from his brain.
One of the wounded judges had been criticised for ruling against teachers wearing Muslim headscarves, and had reportedly received death threats.
The attacker, believed to be a lawyer, was detained by police.
Identified as Aslan Alpaslan, 29, he is being questioned to determine his motive.
But the BBC's Sarah Rainsford in Istanbul says many here already see this as an attack on secularism itself - the founding principle of the Turkish republic. Judge dies in Turkey court attack
Turks protest over judge shooting
Photo courtesy of Google Images
The US dollar is in freefall. Illegal immigration is out of control. The Federal budget deficit is astronomical at $400bn, because of a trade deficit spiralling out of control. That now stands at $742bn, which equates to 7% of the US economy! The war in Iraq is going badly, attempts to gloss over the reality notwithstanding. Manufacturing and service jobs are relocating abroad, to countries where labour costs are far, far lower.©Mark Alexander
The result: The weakening of America. The United States of America is weak because it lacks strong, determined, decisive leadership, because its economy has been allowed to drift, and because it has allowed itself to get involved in a war in a far off land about which it understands little. The war has become a drain on the American economy. And there is little prospect in sight of its being brought to an end. In fact, with Iran flexing its muscles, and with that country determined to develop nuclear capabilities, the prospect for America is looking bleaker than ever.
This is a very worrying development: The free world needs a strong America. It is the free world’s only hope. If America fails, the world will be plunged into darkness.
World economic developments and changes in the balance of power mean that one has to ask the question: Are we witnessing the beginning of the end of the US as the world’s superpower. After all, China is coming up quickly and strong; it’s flourishing. Inward investment is large and valuable. It has a ready supply of cheap labour, and a ready market for its goods due to the enormous population of China. Those who work there also have to consume. After years of hardline communist rule, the Chinese have got a lot of catching up to do, too. Which can only be a boost for the Chinese economy.
One cannot help but ask one pertinent question: Has the US government deliberately turned a blind eye to the enormity of the problem with illegal aliens from Mexico till now to try and compete with the cheap labour available in China? Is it trying to make the US economy more competitive again by allowing these people into the country? There seems to be no other logical explanation for the authorities’ tardiness and reluctance to deal with the problem.
It seems to me that the US government is guilty of playing fast and loose with the country’s future. Can there really be rational, coherent, well-defined economic, foreign and immigration policies underlying all this? Or is the government simply being reactive – reactive to events, both economic and political – as they unfold? It seems to me that there is much of the latter going on. There seems to be little coordinated policy to bring the US back to the health the American people deserve.
At a time when Islam is gaining so much in strength, we need a strong America more than ever. Islamofascism is the greatest threat to the free world since Nazism and communism. The US, with the help of its die-hard and staunch allies, the British and Commonwealth nations, was able to defeat these two ‘isms’. We are showing little resolve to defeat Islamofascism. Indeed, till now, the enemy we face has not even been properly defined; instead, we are told that we are at war with Islamic terrorism. This is something else that Bush has failed to come to grips with. The nature of the enemy!
But then, what can we expect from a president who cannot even control the borders of the country he presides over? Can we really expect of him that he be able to defeat the enemy?
There needs to be a fundamental re-think by the White House staff on all these issues. Is it, perhaps, time to reintroduce the use of the P-word? For years now, protectionism has been extremely unfashionable; and it has been held in a bad light. But can America really go on trying to compete with economies, without a little help of protectionism, with countries whose economic circumstances are so totally different from its own?
How realistic is it for Americans to try and compete with the Chinese who can produce everything so much cheaper than the Americans can? Or does the US government want all jobs to be relocated to China. Does it wish to become a nation of consumers, building up ever larger national debt?
When one of our children is weak, we, as parents, shelter and protect it till it grows up to be big and strong. Why should this not be the case with economies also? After all, it’s what the Japanese did for many, many years. What makes the US so different?
You see, it’s all well and good to argue for open competition on the world markets. It’s a great idea in theory. But for that to work well, there has to be a level playing field. The Chinese, for example, are not willing to play the economic game on a level playing field. The Chinese yuan, as a case in point, needs to be revalued. But if China revalued its currency, it would make it more difficult for China to attract as much inward investment. Hence it is reluctant to do so.
It is very clear to me: President Bush needs to start getting tougher. He needs to be tougher on illegal immigrants, tougher in his foreign policy, tougher in his economic policies, tougher on Islam, tougher, actually, in all he pursues.
President Bush, unless he does a U-turn on many aspects of his policies, will leave the US much, much weaker than it was when he took office. This will not be a good legacy for him to leave the nation. As a result, history will judge him harshly on it.
Mr. President: Step up to the plate before it’s too late! Remember this: Mrs. Thatcher used to say that the best decisions are the tough decisions.
Mrs Thatcher was a great leader. Great leaders have many characteristics in common. Perhaps above all, they have vision. They are decisive. They couldn’t care less what others think of them. They have set standards, and they stick to them. They are honest. They expect a lot from the people they lead. They show those they lead what to do, and ensure these things get done. But they also listen.
How do you measure up, Mr. Bush?
15 Characteristics of Great Leadership
Photo courtesy of the BBC
The controversial Somali-born Dutch MP Ayaan Hirsi Ali is under pressure to quit parliament amid revelations that she falsified her asylum application.Mark Alexander
Dutch media say she will move to Washington to work for the conservative American Enterprise Institute.
A TV documentary about her, shown last week, triggered calls for her to be stripped of her Dutch passport.
Ms Hirsi Ali, a fierce critic of conservative Islam, is under 24-hour police protection.
She has received death threats since the murder of film-maker Theo van Gogh, who was stabbed by a radical Islamist, Mohammed Bouyeri, in November 2004.
She wrote the script for Van Gogh's TV film Submission, which angered many Muslims.
Ms Hirsi Ali did not deny that she had lied in her 1992 asylum application, her spokeswoman Ingrid Pouw told the BBC News website. Dutch MP lashed by asylum storm
How al-Saud view Saudis and Foreigner. Saudhouse.com. September 20, 1996Mark Alexander
The history of al-Saud family is quite interesting. It spans three different eras with the last being the most visible and the most publicized because of the discovery of oil.
Going back to its modern founder Ibn Saud, Saudi Arabia found its place in history through secret conspiracies that initially pegged cousins against cousins and tribes against tribes. Today, it pegs nations against nations and still churns out enough secrets and conspiracies to keep it in the limelight.
Al-Saud have financed fundamentalism in neighboring countries. They have financed the Iran-Contra operations against the will of US Congress and the laws of the United States. They have financed Mujaheddin in Afghanistan. They have financed Iraq against Iran. They have started two wars in Yemen and failed in both of them. They have financed French elections using their cronies on both sides of the isle. This is what we know. What we do not know is the iceberg itself.
Armed with a keen disposition to interfere in affairs of other nations around the globe, this country of 12 million had used its money and influence to peddle everything and anything. Along the way, we have seen al-Saud's own views of the world and the people around them. A heated conversation in 1980, at the height of Saudi power and oil surplus, took place between this author and a closed associate of the royal family and considered part of their inner circle at the Fouquet cafe on the Champs Elysees in Paris. The conversation centered around Saudi role in world affairs having been thrusted [sic] onto the scene at a time when western economies were still stagnating from higher oil prices and other factors one of which the taking of hostages by Iran and the low self-esteem the US endured during that period.
I asked my esteemed acquaintance the following question : "What do you think Saudi Arabia's role will be in world affairs by the year 2000?" His answer was unequivocally strong and determined. No hesitation. "Saudi Arabia will, in 20 years, own the United States" Thoughts like these are groomed and discussed and do not land in someone's mind after a long dream. It was without a shadow of a doubt that this uttered sentence by this worldly gentleman had roots at much higher levels within the Saudi government. How else can one explain the lack of hesitation or the lack of consternation on his behalf given that al-Saud foreign policy centers around them and around them only ? I wish I could meet with this same person today in September of 1996 to remind him of his answer.
The Al-Saud clan categorizes people in four distinct categories. Since no one has scientifically studied that subject before, we feel it is appropriate to give titles to these categories based on our understanding of the family.
Masters Servants - High and Low Slaves Owned - Privileged and Unprivileged Each of these categories may have sub-categories that may explain further the inter-relationship of al-Saud within that category.
MASTERS : in this category you will find people whom al-Saud think of them as superior in economic and political power. Ibn Saud started a tradition when he met with Roosevelt at the end of World War II when he agreed to oil concessions to American companies at ridiculous prices. That historic meeting and the pursuant policy of al-Saud with the Americans truly puts the Americans as masters of al-Saud. Very few requests are refused, very few demands are questioned. A true master/slave relationship. Within that category, other sub-category exist that explain al-Saud relationship with other powerful allies or nations. Such is true of China or France where a demand is not refused but questioned and only approved if the US approves as well. This cautious dynamic relationship can be best described as two male siblings one who is powerful and one who is weak with a half-sister seeking favoritism.
SERVANTS : This category is divided into two distinct sub-categories, the High Servant and the Low Servant. The High Servant is close to the royal family whose job is to serve their immediate needs. These immediate needs are as different and complex as the life of a human being. A High Servant is a front businessman who steals the money on behalf of the Saudi prince. A high Servant is one that takes care of the family of an al-Saud such as shopping needs or personal needs. Another one serves the Prince drugs or women, and so on... These people can make a lot of money if they play their role with total discretion. A business High Servant easily becomes a billionaire such as Rafic Hariri, the prime minister of Lebanon or the late Akram Ojjeh or Wafic Said etc... A personal High Servant such as Ali bin Mussallam can become billionaire faster because he may control personal business matters such as oil deals where the true value and true payments are never known to the King or his immediate family. The area is too complex and fraud is easy. Many High Servants are non-Saudis because al-Saud treat their own people under a different category. The Low Servant is a typical middle class manager mainly a Palestinian or Lebanese or Egyptian who in reality has built Saudi Arabia. These people are indistinguishable to al-Saud and are considered as a necessary low maintenance, low cost commodity very much to how a family man considers potatoes : low cost yet useful to keep his household happy. Once in a while a Low Servant graduates to a High Servant because he catches the eye of a family member of al-Saud. This is what happened to Rafic Hariri before he became a High Servant. He was a middle manager at the finance ministry in Saudi Arabia where he was introduced to King Fahd who fancied him.
SLAVES : In this category we find third world workers who have demenial jobs in Saudi Arabia such as maids, taxi drivers, bus boys, etc... These people have as much rights as a deer in a tiger park. They are abused, beaten, raped, and sometimes killed with no legal recourse. Al-Saud condone the way treatment is accorded to these people by the masses. Many Human Rights organizations have complained about the abuse subjected to these poor souls but with no political will on behalf of western nations to upset an exporter of oil, these peoples have mostly relied on international organizations for a merciful treatment while in Saudi Arabia. In fact, many of these organizations consider the testament of foreign workers as slavery and sometimes worse.
OWNED : Two distinct sub-categories constitute the make-up of this category. Privileged Owned and Unprivileged Owned. Owned is a term describing how al-Saud feel about their own people. The term describes correctly the fact that al-Saud "OWN" these people lock, stock, and all. To argue with them that they feel they own all of the oil in Saudi Arabia is an exercise in futility. To argue with them that they think they also own the people of Saudi Arabia is more difficult than arguing about the oil. Al-Saud reason that if they own the people then they own the land and thus the oil. The logical step is to treat people as if they own them. Decree after decree only goes to prove this point. The latest decree forbids people to name their children certain names. If that is not ownership, we do not know what is. The Privileged Owned are those merchant Saudi families and Saudi businessmen whether rich or not who must please, pay, kiss up to, and sustain any al-Saud member in order to survive in their totalitarian regime.
No Saudi businessman who has ever displeased a royalty did any considerable business in Saudi Arabia. Like the infamous black list created to punish Israel, Saudi businessmen are blacklisted if they do not abide by a certain unethical code that include almost all of the times paying off an al-Saud to get his business going. The Privileged Owned are subjected to a routine that tax them heavily in financial and moral terms. This Saudi club between an owner and an ownee has been around ever since al-Saud have been in power. Not one case exist in the history of that country where someone disagreed with the government publicly and was not punished severely for stepping out of line. Even al-Saud members are not exempt from that punishment. When Prince Talal bin Abdul Aziz started an organization called Free Princes in Egypt in the early seventies that opposed the way the country was being run, it took him over twenty years to gain back the confidence of his peers and to be forgiven. His love for children landed him a job to head the UNICEF at the U.N.
The Unprivileged Owned are the rest of the Saudi populace who have no one but al-Saud to get their grievances heard and who represent the majority of Saudis made up of illiterate tribal people. These people have no power, no understanding of the rule of al-Saud, no mental capacity to fight or oppose, and no will to elevate themselves from the quagmire they find themselves in. A rumor once circulated in the ministries that al-Saud wanted that populace to remain ignorant and uneducated because they served an essential social service with their blind obedience and misunderstanding of the ill deeds practiced by al-Saud every day. They represent the majority of the population and mostly live a simple life with agriculture as a primary source of income and life cycle.Al-Saud think they also own these people and treat them sometimes with pity and sometimes with harshness depending on the level of obedience and loyalty they can inject into the corrupt system of al-Saud.
The thoroughly modern Sabreen! Photo courtesy of the Christian Science Monitor
CAIRO – The Egyptian actress Sabreen was at the peak of her fame when, in 2001, she underwent a religious "awakening," retired from acting, and donned the veil.Mark Alexander
Now she's back on television, hosting a talk show on a new Islamic satellite channel called Al Risala ("The Message"). Sabreen, who is still a household name thanks to the popular films and TV shows she used to appear in, says she chose to make her come-back on Al Risala because the channel "talks about Islam in an enlightened, moderate way ... a very honest and frank way."
She's a far cry from the bearded men in white robes who dominate traditional religious programming here. With her smiling face framed by a stylish, sequined veil, Sabreen has become the spokesperson for a new sort of Islam: media-savvy, modern, and moderate. Her producers say they hope she will be the Muslim world's Oprah. The new Muslim TV: media-savvy, modern, and moderate by Ursula Lindsey
Photo courtesy of the BBC
The government is to review whether "core British values" should become a compulsory part of the curriculum for all 11 to 16-year-olds in England.Mark Alexander
In response to last year's London bombings, ministers want to adapt the current citizenship classes in an attempt to make society more unified.
But critics say the definition of British values is too vague and education cannot prevent extremism.
A second review, of the teaching of Islam in universities, is also planned. British values classes considered
Photo courtesy of BBC
Many Muslims in England face bleak employment prospects and endure poor standards of housing, a government-backed study has found.Mark Alexander
The report revealed Muslims are more likely than any other faith group to be jobless and living in poor conditions.
It said half of Muslims aged over 25 are unemployed and one in three live in the most deprived areas of England. Muslim hardship under spotlight
Photo grâce à Figaro
Les différents programmes de surveillance intérieure ne remettent pas en cause les libertés civiles des Américains et servent à les protéger des attaques terroristes. C’est en substance ce qu’a déclaré samedi le président des Etats-Unis lors de son allocution radio hebdomadaire. Surveillance électronique : Bush se défendMark Alexander
Images courtesy of Google Images
I had the enormous privilege last week of appearing on a platform with Ayaan Hirsi Ali at the centennial meeting of the American Jewish Committee in Washington.Mark Alexander
Ms Hirsi Ali is the Somalian-born Dutch MP who now lives under round-the-clock police protection, because her uncompromising opposition to Islamist fascism has resulted in a death sentence upon her by the people whose monstrosities she has devoted her life to defeating.
The daughter of a Muslim intellectual, she fled an arranged marriage and sought asylum in the Netherlands. There she observed the hidden plight of many Muslim women, suffering from such obscenities as genital mutilation or ‘honour killings’ when family members suspect them of sexual impropriety.
This led her to help write an 11-minute film called Submission about the violence practised against Muslim women and its justification in religious doctrine. As a result the film’s director, Theo van Gogh, was murdered and Ms Hirsi Ali went into hiding for her life as the Dutch finally woke up to the horrendous madness that now threatened to engulf their society. A woman of valour from the Jewish Chronicle (12 May 2006)
The first duty of any government is to protect its citizens. This is the most basic and fundamental of the state’s roles. Beside it, what normally engages the political world verges on the superfluous. The Blair-Brown soap opera pales into insignificance, exposed for the narcissistic nonsense that it is. But, while no government can guarantee the safety of its people in all circumstances all the time, this one has proved particularly inept at carrying out this duty.Mark Alexander
Two reports last week on the July 7 London bombings, in which more than 50 people were killed and several hundred injured, put a favourable gloss on the role of the security services. The Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) thought it “understandable” that, having been aware of two of the four bombers for up to two years before (and having the telephone number of a third on its database), MI5 diverted its attentions to “more pressing priorities”. MI5 — its motto is regnum defende — had a lot on its plate and “resources” were scarce. Regnum non defendit (Leading article in today's Sunday Times)
Foto dank Google Images
Vorwürfe der afghanischen RegierungMark Alexander
Die afghanische Regierung hat dem Nachbarland Pakistan vorgeworfen, al-Kaida-Chef Usama bin Ladin nur halbherzig zu verfolgen. Das Land könnte bin Ladin fangen und vor Gericht stellen, wenn es nur wollte. Bin Ladin soll unbehelligt in Pakistan leben
Photo grâce à Figaro
En Egypte, en Irak, en Palestine ou en Syrie, leur nombre ne cesse de diminuer en raison des départs en exil. Pour les héritiers des premiers croyants, l'avenir est opaque.Mark Alexander
LA SEMAINE PROCHAINE, dix patriarches et archevêques catholiques orientaux viennent célébrer en France le 150e anniversaire de l'Oeuvre d'Orient, qui aide les Eglises orientales liées à Rome. Mais les festivités marquent une période de doute et d'angoisse. Partout, les descendants des premiers chrétiens, qu'ils soient ou non liés à Rome, craignent pour leur avenir. Leur exode s'accentue. Beaucoup quittent leur pays avec peu ou pas d'espoir de retour, vers l'Europe, les Etats-Unis ou l'Australie. «Le départ des chrétiens d'Orient n'est pas un phénomène nouveau, dit Christian Lochon, universitaire spécialiste des Eglises d'Orient. Déjà, au XIXe siècle, les habitants de Bethléem et de ses environs ont fondé des colonies en Argentine, au Chili ou au Brésil. Plus généralement, toutes les crises de l'Empire ottoman ont déclenché des vagues d'émigration. Récemment, la guerre en Irak et la montée des islamismes ont accentué cette tendance.»
Combien sont-ils à vivre encore sur les terres qui virent naître le christianisme ? Les données sont aléatoires et les chiffres souvent politiques. Les statistiques varient du simple au double selon l'auteur du décompte, communautés ou gouvernements. Le grand exode des chrétiens d'Orient par Pierre Prier
Diplomats say IAEA discovers traces of highly enriched uranium on equipment from site in IranMark Alexander
(AP) The U.N. atomic agency found traces of highly enriched uranium on equipment from an Iranian site linked to the country's defense ministry, diplomats said Friday, adding to concerns that Tehran was hiding activities aimed at making nuclear arms.
The diplomats, who demanded anonymity in exchange for revealing the confidential information, said the findings were preliminary and still had to be confirmed through other lab tests.
Initially, they said the density of enrichment appeared to be close to or above the level used to make nuclear warheads. But later a well-placed diplomat accredited to the International Atomic Energy Agency said it was below that, although higher than the low-enriched material used to generate power and heading toward weapons-grade level. Traces of Uranium Said Found in Iran
Only one juror prevented Zacarias Moussaoui from being sentenced to death for his role in the 9/11 attacks, the Washington Post has reported.Mark Alexander
The paper says it was contacted by the jury forewoman from the trial, after which Moussaoui was given life in jail.
She said that in secret votes on three terrorism charges, the jury repeatedly voted 11-1, 10-2 and 10-2.
A unanimous vote on any of the charges would have condemned Moussaoui to a lethal injection. Moussaoui 'saved by lone juror'
Kassationsgericht in Paris bestätigt UrteilMark Alexander
(ap) Der französische Rechtsextremist Jean-Marie Le Pen ist in letzter Instanz wegen Anstiftung zum Rassenhass verurteilt worden. Das Kassationsgericht bestätigte am Donnerstag in Paris das Urteil der Vorinstanz, wonach Le Pen 10'000 Euro Strafe für seine 2003 in einem Zeitungsinterview gemachten Äusserungen zahlen muss. Weitere 5000 Euro plus Zinsen muss er an die Menschenrechtsliga zahlen, die die Klage eingereicht hatte. Rechtsextremist Le Pen wegen Volksverhetzung verurteilt
The great and the good from Europe and the Muslim world spent two days at a quiet retreat in southern England this month in an urgent effort at crisis management.Mark Alexander
The mood was sombre.
"There is no trust," lamented a senior Muslim diplomat. "Dialogue has failed. We need a historic reconciliation."
The soul-searching was prompted by the bitter controversy over cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad.
The republication of the cartoons in several European countries - after they first appeared in Denmark last year - provoked a wave of Muslim anger and dire warnings of a "clash of civilisations". Healing the cartoon row wounds by Roger Hardy, BBC Islamic affairs analyst.
One might be led to think that if international law enforcement authorities and Western intelligence agencies had discovered a twenty-year old document revealing a top-secret plan developed by the oldest Islamist organization with one of the most extensive terror networks in the world to launch a program of “cultural invasion” and eventual conquest of the West that virtually mirrors the tactics used by Islamists for more than two decades, that such news would scream from headlines published on the front pages and above the fold of the New York Times, Washington Post, London Times, Le Monde, Bild, and La Repubblica.Mark Alexander
If that’s what you might think, you would be wrong. The Muslim Brotherhood "Project"
