British government consigns term ‘War on Terror’ to the dustbin of history
If the British government feels that the term is counterproductive, then allow me to suggest a better term: ‘War on Jihad’! This term will be clear to everyone what we are up against. Go for it, Tone!

TIMESONLINE: The Government has stopped using the phrase “War on Terror”, Hilary Benn, the International Development Secretary said last night. Government puts an end to the ‘War on Terror’

But Muslim extremists are to be tracked like paedophiles. TIMESONLINE: MI5 adopts paedophile-tracking tactics for Muslim extremists

Mark Alexander

Has Alan Johnston been killed?

Photo courtesy of the NZZ

BBC: A Palestinian group calling itself the Al Tawhid Al Jihad brigade has issued a claim that it has killed BBC Gaza correspondent Alan Johnston.

The BBC says it is aware of the reports and is deeply concerned, but stresses there is no independent verification.

In a statement faxed to news agencies, the group contrasts the attention given to Alan Johnston's captivity with that given to Palestinians held in prison.

Mr Johnston was abducted as he returned home from his Gaza office on 12 March.

The BBC has issued a statement saying it is deeply concerned about what it is hearing.

"But we stress that at this stage," it says, "it is rumour with no independent verification".

NEUE ZÜRCHER ZEITUNG: Der BBC-Journalist Alan Johnston in Gaza angeblich getötet: Keine offizielle Bestätigung

Mark Alexander

Why do we put up with this nonsense?
THE AUSTRALIAN: THE most senior Muslim cleric in Canberra regularly praises Islamic jihadists in Iraq and Afghanistan in his Friday afternoon sermons.

Mohammed Swaiti, who is being investigated by the Australian Taxation Office over claims he failed to pay income tax on thousands of dollars he allegedly received from the Saudi embassy, yesterday called on God to grant "victory to mujaheddin (Muslim holy warriors)" worldwide.

"God grant victory to the mujaheddin in his name in all places," he called out twice in Arabic over a microphone at Abu Bakr mosque in Yarralumla in front of about 500 worshippers.

"God grant victory to mujaheddin in Palestine, and Chechnya and Kashmir and Afghanistan and Iraq."

Although Sheik Swaiti translated his sermon into English for non-Arabic-speaking audience members, the imam of Canberra's only mosque omitted the praise for Islamic jihadists in the English version. Jihadists praised by cleric (Cont'd) by Richard Kerbaj

Mark Alexander

Les prisons britanniques sont devenues des centres de propagation de l’extrémisme islamique
Un chercheur s'alarme de la radicalisation des prisonniers musulmans, fruit d'une politique gouvernementale contre-productive.

AVEC les campus, les prisons britanniques sont devenues des centres de propagation de l'extrémisme islamique. Plus alarmant encore, les mesures strictes instaurées pour empêcher toute radicalisation des détenus musulmans se révèlent contre-productives. « En se focalisant sur la sécurité, le gouvernement a fait fausse route », assène Gabriele Marranci. Pendant quatre ans, ce maître-assistant de l'université d'Aberdeen, a mené 170 entretiens avec d'anciens ou d'actuels prisonniers, a vécu avec des familles de condamnés et s'est immergé des heures dans des centres pénitenciers. Et sa conclusion est sans appel : « Les règles sécuritaires - comme les restrictions touchant les prières en commun ou la lecture du Coran durant les pauses de travail - exacerbent plutôt qu'elles n'atténuent le processus de radicalisation. » Les prisons anglaises, vivier de l'islam radical (encore)

Mark Alexander

Amerikaner gegen Amerikaner
Christopher Paul wird beschuldigt, Terroristen hierzulande den Umgang mit Sprengstoff beigebracht zu haben. Zudem soll er Anschläge auf Ferienanlagen geplant haben, die gern von Amerikanern besucht werden. Auch über Flugsimulatoren habe er sich informiert.

Terrororganisation al-Qaida und der Planung von Anschlägen in Europa festgenommen und angeklagt worden. Christopher Paul soll unter anderem in Deutschland Terror-Aktivisten im Umgang mit Sprengstoff ausgebildet und sich an der Rekrutierung neuer Mitglieder beteiligt haben. Wie die Justizbehörden in Washington mitteilten, waren Anschläge auf häufig von Amerikanern besuchte Ferienanlagen und US-Einrichtungen in Europa geplant. Auf die Anklagepunkte gegen Paul steht als Höchststrafe lebenslange Haft. US-Bürger soll in Deutschland Aktivisten geschult haben

Mark Alexander

A Clear Case of Nepotism
TIMESONLINE: The board of directors of the World Bank found today that Paul Wolfowitz, the President of the bank, had moved his girlfriend, Shaha Riza, to a new government post at a salary of nearly $200,000 without review by its ethics committee.

The revelation appears to contradict earlier statements from Mr Wolfowitz's office.

The World Bank said that the ethics committee had "informally" advised Mr Wolfowitz to relocate Ms Riza but that it had not approved her new salary and terms and conditions, which were ordered by Mr Wolfowitz.

Her new salary at the US State Department is thought to exceed even that of Condoleezza Rice, who, as Secretary of State, is the highest-ranking official in the department. Wolfowitz ‘acted without approval’ says bank (Cont'd) by Robert Lindsay

BBC: Pressure grows on World Bank boss

BBC VIDEO: Bank meets over Wolfowitz

LE MONDE: Le départ de Wolfowitz

THE SUNDAY TIMES: I’m a wronged woman, says girlfriend in Wolfowitz scandal

Mark Alexander

France needs to cast off the shackles of its socialist past and ‘go for it’

Image courtesy of THE ECONOMIST

After a quarter-century of drift Nicolas Sarkozy offers the best hope of reform
THE ECONOMIST: NO FRENCH presidential election in 50 years has looked as unpredictable as this year's, the first round of which takes place on April 22nd. This is so even though the leader in every opinion poll so far has been Nicolas Sarkozy, the candidate of the ruling centre-right UMP party. His support may be overestimated, just as that of the far-right Jean-Marie Le Pen may be underestimated. The rise of the centrist François Bayrou, who at one point almost overtook the Socialist Ségolène Royal, has muddied the electoral arithmetic. And with only ten days to go, more than two in five voters are undecided.

This election matters. France is the euro zone's second-biggest member and home to ten of Europe's 50 biggest companies. But it is deeply troubled. It has the slowest-growing large economy in Europe, a state that soaks up half of GDP, the fastest-rising public debt in western Europe over the past ten years and, above all, entrenched high unemployment. Over the past 25 years French GDP per person has declined from seventh-highest in the world to 17th. The smouldering mood of the suburbs (banlieues), home to many jobless youths from ethnic minorities, blazed into riots in 2005 and lay behind new trouble that flared recently at a Paris railway station. The disenchantment of voters is reflected not only in opinion polls but also in their rejection of the European Union constitution in 2005. Tellingly, they have not re-elected an incumbent government for a quarter-century. France’s chance (Cont’d)

BBC: French voter's viewpoint

Le Figaro: The Economist vote Nicholas Sarkozy

Mark Alexander

Schweizer irakischer Abstammung läuft mit Sturmgewehr tobend herum
Täter schoss in Baden wahllos um sich - Ein Toter und vier Personen verletzt
NEUE ZÜRCHER ZEITUNG: Ein Amokschütze hat am Donnerstagabend in Baden einen 71-jährigen Mann erschossen und vier weitere Personen verletzt. Beim Täter handelt es sich um einen 26-jährigen Schweizer irakischer Abstammung. Er wurde nach der Tat verhaftet.

Der Amokläufer war kurz vor 21 Uhr 45 mit einem Sturmgewehr 90 auf dem Parkplatz des Hotels «Kappelerhof/La Cappella» aufgetaucht, wie Urs Winzenried, Chef der Aargauer Kriminalpolizei, am Freitag vor den Medien sagte. Wortlos habe der 26-Jährige das Feuer auf zwei Jugendliche eröffnet, die an einem Tisch vor der Bar sassen. Die Gewehrkugeln trafen die beiden 15- und 16-jährigen Jugendlichen. Sie hatten zusammen mit ihren Eltern das Restaurant besucht. Trotz ihrer Verletzungen konnten sie ins Innere des Restaurants flüchten. Amoklauf mit Armee-Sturmgewehr (mehr)

Mark Alexander

Tough, revolutionary words from Berezovsky
London exile Berezovsky says force necessary to bring down President Putin

Photo courtesy of Google Images

THE GUARDIAN: The Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky has told the Guardian he is plotting the violent overthrow of President Putin from his base in Britain after forging close contacts with members of Russia's ruling elite.

In comments which appear calculated to enrage the Kremlin, and which will further inflame relations between London and Moscow, the multimillionaire claimed he was already bankrolling people close to the president who are conspiring to mount a palace coup.

"We need to use force to change this regime," he said. "It isn't possible to change this regime through democratic means. There can be no change without force, pressure." Asked if he was effectively fomenting a revolution, he said: "You are absolutely correct." I am plotting a new Russian revolution (Cont’d)

GUARDIAN AUDIO: Berezovsky on change in Russia

THE GUARDIAN: Berezovsky on his personal safety

BBC: Russia probes Berezovsky 'plot'

BBC VIDEO: Russia probes 'Putin plot'

NZZ: Beresovsky widerspricht sich selbst

LE FIGARO: Manifestation sous haute tension à Moscou

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Hundreds held in Moscow anti-Putin protests

Mark Alexander

The Bush Legacy: Loss of Confidence in the Dollar
THE TELEGRAPH/Money: The euro has reached an all-time high against the yen and surged to $1.35 against the dollar, setting the stage for a battle between French politicians and the European Central Bank for control of the currency.

Jean-Claude Trichet, the ECB's president, gave a virtual guarantee that interest rates would be raised again to 4pc in June, narrowing the yield gap with the US. "I would not say today anything aimed at changing expectations for the month of June," he said.

Global currencies are going through a major realignment as Europe takes over as the engine of world growth and the US starts to trip, setting off an exodus from dollar assets. Super-euro may spark a currency war while French battle the ECB by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard

Mark Alexander

The death of neoconservatism?
TIMESONLINE/Comment: Every now and then an intellectual movement, a school of social, economic or political thought, jumps the cultural barrier that divides the arid squabbling of university senior common rooms from the saloon bar brawling of everyday political discussion.

In the 1970s it was monetarism that made the switch into the mainstream. An economic theory, rooted in orthodox neoclassical explanations about the causes of inflation, was suddenly as familiar a subject to TV viewers and newspaper readers as changes in the cast of MASH.

Since its complexities were too great to comprehend, most commentators did the safe thing and simply looked at the identities of its principal advocates. These seemed to be readily identifiable right-wing villains, so in the demotic demonology of the day monetarism became shorthand for greedy, heartless conservatives.

In the first years of the 21st century, history will recall that it was neoconservatism that played the role of most despised and least understood intellectual theory. For years it languished in the obscurity of certain US universities and think-tanks.

Though its adherents were important protagonists in the Cold War, it never really got much of a public airing as a theoretical system of its own.

It took, improbably, the arrival of George Bush in the White House and September 11, 2001, to catapult it into the public consciousness. When Mr Bush cited its most simplified tenet — that the US should seek to promote liberal democracy around the world — as a key case for invading Iraq, neoconservatism was suddenly everywhere. It was, to its many critics, a unified ideology that justified military adventurism, sanctioned torture and promoted aggressive Zionism.

Almost as suddenly as it emerged from obscurity, neoconservatism seems to have collapsed. As the misery in Iraq has deepened, as President Bush and the Republican Party have stumbled deeper into the mire, and as Britain and Europe seem eager to move quickly towards a kind of social democratic system that seeks an all-encompassing multicultural accommodation, the neocons look routed. The neocons have been routed. But they are not all wrong (Cont’d) by Gerard Baker

Mark Alexander

Auch Europa steht in Gefahr
Nach den Anschlägen in Algerien und Marokko stellten die Urheber klar, worum es ihnen eigentlich geht. Die erklärten „Vasallen“ Usama Bin Ladins bezichtigten sich nicht nur der jüngsten Verbrechen ihrer Selbstmordattentäter in Nordafrika. Sie nannten auch abermals ihr eigentliches Ziel: „Die Befreiung der islamischen Erde von Jerusalem bis nach Al Ándalus.“

Fünf Jahre nach den Anschlägen in Casablanca, drei Jahre nach den Madrider Zugattentaten und zwei Jahre nach den Anschlägen von London fühlt sich die Terrororganisation „Al Qaida im islamischen Maghreb“ offenbar stark genug, die offene Auseinandersetzung mit den Regierungen in Algerien, Marokko und Tunesien zu suchen. Gleichzeitig droht sie in Europa besonders Spanien und Frankreich, wo ihre Mitglieder offenbar schon aktiv sind. Die „Vasallen“ Bin Ladins bedrohen auch Europa Von Leo Wieland

Mark Alexander

Fragile Iran
In the following excerpt from Alireza Jafarzadeh’s book on Iran entitled, The Iran Threat: President Ahmadinejad and the Coming Nuclear Crisis, we are given the following insights into Ahmadinejad’s fragile Iran:

”The Iranian regime’s ability to create chaos in Iraq, fund and train terrorists throughout the Middle East, and defiantly proceed with its nuclear enrichment program can easily be interpreted as signs of the Iranian regime’s strength. That is exactly what the leaders in Tehran want the world to think. But in reality, these actions, including Ahmadinejad’s bravado and grandstanding, provide a smoke-screen for a regime that is struggling to survive.

In spite of Iran’s oil wealth, the economy is in shambles; the most conservative estimates rank inflation in the double digits, and one out of every four Iranians living below the poverty line. One of Iran’s own economic organizations estimated 52 percent unemployment among the 15-29 age group for 2006. Others believe the numbers are much higher. Strikes are rampant in state-run businesses, from bus companies to soda factories, where workers go for months without pay or benefits. The ruling mullahs monopolize huge segments of the economy through ownership of massive, unregulated 'philanthropic' organizations (bonyads) that form a bloated and corrupt system. The younger generation, which comprises the vast majority of the population, is fed up with all the restrictions imposed upon them and the increasing crackdown on the press and personal liberties. Civic unrest forces the government to expend enormous resources to put down the thousands of demonstrations that erupt every year before the situation gets out of hand. Iran’s leaders realize that the domestic situation is a time bomb that could explode any day, and they attempt to hide that weakness and vulnerability behind “success” abroad. The regime’s defiance of the IAEA and the West regarding the nuclear program is just one attempt to try to build up Tehran’s image, while repressing the population that seeks to drive them out of power.

Understanding the realities of Iran’s domestic situation, any state that attempts to negotiate with Tehran while perceiving Iran as a strong, rich, and stable nation is operating under a fallacy. Tehran has never been more vulnerable. The leaders’ greatest fear is that the organized opposition will continue to gain more visibility and international support. Far from leading a young, loyal nation toward prosperity and stability, Tehran is facing down an inevitable showdown with its own people.”

Buy this extraordinarily detailed book here: The Iran Threat: President Ahmadinejad and the Coming Nuclear Crisis

Mark Alexander

Bosnia gets tough with jihadists

Photo of ‘foreign fighters’ courtesy of the BBC

BBC: Bosnia-Hercegovina has stripped almost 400 people of citizenship as part of an investigation into foreign fighters who settled in the country after the war.

Bosnian media sees the investigation as a part of a drive against terrorism requested by the US.

Bosnia's government says those involved came from Turkey, Egypt, Syria, Algeria, Tunisia, Sudan and Russia. Bosnia tackles ‘foreign fighters’ by Nicholas Walton

Mark Alexander

The Myth of Madrassah Reform in Pakistan
KASHMIR HERALD: Five years after General Pervez Musharraf promised sweeping reforms to ensure that Pakistani religious schools are not used any further to propagate extremist Islam; the country’s traditional madrassa system continues to operate freely as the key breeding ground for radical Islamist ideology as well as the recruitment centre for terrorist networks.

The madrassa reform campaign launched by General Musharraf in the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks in January 2002 has largely failed and hardly a few cosmetic changes could be introduced in the existing madrassa system. The federal government’s plan for madrassa reform is a classic example of the one-step forward two-steps backwards approach. Musharraf’s rhetoric to modernise the religious schools has met with little success mainly due to a lack of political will to enforce any of the much-trumpeted policy decisions that were supposed to be taken by his administration to reform the madrassas by bringing them into the educational mainstream. Subsequently, signs of Talibanisation are quite evident in all parts of Pakistan, especially in the heart of the federal capital where hardline religious leaders and hundreds of men and women activists from local madrassas continue to challenge the writ of the government by trying to force their brand of Islamic justice.

The March 30 raid by a group of burqa-clad madrassa students on a brothel in Islamabad and subsequent hostage taking of the alleged brothel owner was the second provocation by the Jamia Hafsa girl students in a short span of three months. Since January 2007, other than this incident, the violent students have occupied a children’s library adjacent to their madrassa after the Capital Development Authority began demolition of two mosques that were constructed on state land without permission. Several hundred girls of the Jamia Hafsa armed with bamboo sticks and weapons seized the only library in the federal capital, chiefly meant for children and refused to vacate it until the government reconstructed the mosques. At one stage the government did start reconstruction but the girls upped the ante and made extraneous demands including enforcement of Shariah laws in the country. Madrassa Reforms - The Great Myth (Cont’d) by Amir Mir

Mark Alexander

The story of the conversion of the Avenging Apostate
This moving story is in SIX parts, so be sure to read them all. To read the next part, click on the link at the bottom of each piece.

"The following post is my testimony on how I converted out of the death-cult of Islam into Christianity. It was a very long journey which I undertook just to find the truth and I am happy that finally I did. I wanted to share this testimony publicly because I want people to know what Islam’s true colors are and to show what it's like being born in a Moslem family in Saudi Arabia. I feel I have a duty to do so too. I want to show how the horrors of Islam change people’s lives, break relationships and destroy homes—these are the experiences that might not be fully understood in the west. I hope my testimony helps save lives both spiritually and physically and in the meantime I hope I don’t get caught in Islam’s deadly embrace. You will know why I say that once you read this." - From a Jihadist to a Human

Mark Alexander

Researcher claims Jews smarter than Gentiles
Dr Charles Murray claims Jews' IQ 7-15 higher than gentiles; 'just look at Nobel Prize recipients and do the math'

Jews' average IQ score is seven to 15 points higher than gentiles and they are exceptionally accomplished, claims the British social theorist Dr Charles Murray.

"Jewish genius", Murray says, is a topic so sensitive that Jews rarely address it. Writing in Commentary, a neoconservative journal, Murray argues that anti-Semitism has succeeded in blurring the connection, but the Jews' accomplishments are scientifically based. Murray said he regards himself as a Scotsman who came to Britain from Iowa and therefore is not afraid to broach and elaborate on the findings in his research. British researcher claims 'Jews smarter, it's genetic'

Mark Alexander

Shari’ah law: What lies behind it?
Shari’ah is the detailed code of conduct of the faithful, or the canons comprising ways and modes of worship. Remember that Islam asks the faithful to live a life of obedience and submission to their Lord, Allah.

Shari’ah also sets the standards of morals and life and laws, laws which allow this, or proscribe that. This is the judgement between right and wrong. Muslims believe that Muhammad is the final prophet of Allah, and they believe that the final codified law, as-Shari'ah, is the body of law which is applicable for all of mankind and for all time.

The sources of Shari’ah are the Qur’an and Ahadith, or ‘the sayings of the prophet Muhammad'. Muslims believe that the Qur’an is a divine revelation. Further, they believe that the Qur’an is made up of the literal and actual words of Allah. Ahadith, or ‘the sayings of the prophet Muhammad’, are made up of instructions issued by Muhammad, or the memoirs of Muhammad’s conduct and behaviour. They are preserved by those who were present in his company, or by those who were handed down this guidance by the first witnesses. The collections of Ahadith were made by Malik, Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud, Nasa’i, and Ibn Majah. These are the Ahadith which are considered to be the most authentic.

Fiqh, or detailed law derived from the Qur’an and Ahadith, may be broken down into four major schools of thought. They are: Fiqh Hanafi, Fiqh Maliki, Fiqh Shafi’i, and Fiqh Hanbali. These four schools took final shape within two hundred years after the death of the prophet. All four schools of thought are considered to be correct and true, regardless of which school of thought a Muslim belongs to. It’s all a matter of interpretation.

Fiqh deals with observable conduct and the fulfilment of the obligations of Islam to the letter of the law. Tasawwuf, by contrast, deals with the spirit of a Muslim’s conduct. Tasawwuf, in its true sense, is an intense love of Allah and Muhammad. The love of both requires strict obedience to Allah and Muhammad’s commands as written in the Qur’an and the Sunnah, or the way of the prophet of Allah.

People can be divided into two types: those who go astray wilfully; and those who go astray out of ignorance. As-Shari’ah, or the Sharia, meets the need of separating these two types of people.

As-Shari’ah forbids all that is ‘harmful’ to man and ordains all that is useful to him.

The scheme of life which Islam envisions consists of a set of rights and obligations. Muslims are asked to live up to these. These rights and obligations are as follows:

1. The rights of Allah: the primary right being that man should have faith in him and in him alone; and that man should accept his guidance (Hidayah) and seek his pleasure with heart, mind, and soul. Further, man should obey Allah, honestly and unreservedly; and he must worship him, and him alone.

2. One's own rights: The Shari’ah forbids those things which are injurious to man’s physical, mental, or moral existence.

3. Other men’s rights: Other people’s rights should not be violated. Hence, adultery, fornication and unnatural sexual pleasures have been strictly forbidden.

a. To preserve morality, the free co-mingling of the sexes has been forbidden. Further, man has been asked to lower his gaze when he comes into contact with women.
b. ‘Proper’ dress should always be worn. A man should not expose any part of his body between his knees and his navel. A woman should expose no part of her body other than her hands and her face. Except, that is, to her husband. This is a religious duty for every woman.
c. Islam does not approve of pastimes, entertainments, or recreations which stimulate the senses. They are a waste of time, money, and energy, and they destroy morality in society.
d. Believers are required to avoid mutual hostility in order to safeguard the unity and solidarity of the Ummah.
e. Muslims must seek out knowledge and science for the common good, but Muslims are forbidden from aping the mode of living of the non-Muslim.

4. The rights of all creatures: Each animal has its own rights, as do vegetables.

The law of Islam, as-Shari’ah, is eternal. It is said not to be based on the customs or the traditions of any particular people, and nor is it meant for a particular time in the history of the world; rather, it is one body of laws for man for all time, in the same way that Muslims believe that Islam is the universal religion for man for all time, the religion is for an eternity.

[Source: Abul A'la Mawdudi: Towards Understanding Islam]

©Mark Alexander

Ayn Rand on Ayn Rand
Since I started my weblog, I have been introduced to the philosophy of Ayn Rand. One of the books she wrote is Atlas Shrugged. Her philosophy of life is Objectivism, of which she is the originator.

I am NOT an Objectivist and nor, to my knowledge, are many Brits. I therefore thought it would be interesting to explore Ayn Rand's ideas with you today.

Objectivism, as I understand it, is a philosophy of life diametrically-opposed to Christianity, Islam, or any other faith.

Because of the growing influence of Islam in the West, and because the West seems to be ‘going astray’ and seems incapable of finding the strength to compete with that competing 'religion', I thought it would be very interesting and useful to explore and discuss Ayn Rand’s body of ideas on this forum.

I would be very interested to read your comments on the following three interviews which took place in the USA in 1959. Ayn Rand, a Russian immigrant to the US, is interviewed by Mike Wallace. I think you will find these interviews enlightening and interesting, even if you might disagree with the ideas expressed therein.

These interviews are in ‘black and white’. You will sometimes lose Ayn Rand from focus because of the haze of smoke billowing from Mike Wallace’s mouth. Please be tolerant. This was 1959, not 2007! (How interviewing styles have changed!)

The Mike Wallace Interview (1959)

Part 1:



Part 2:



Part 3:



©Mark Alexander

Yet more evidence the West is losing its way: Schoolchildren can no longer be controlled
The answer, according to the government: Give the disruptive little darlings prizes! Baloney!

THE TELEGRAPH: Difficult and disruptive pupils should be praised and given prizes to encourage them to behave, Government guidance said yesterday.

A system of rewards - including good news postcards home, special privileges or prizes - is the best way to encourage troublemakers to behave, says the document on keeping order in class.

It urges schools to adopt a more positive approach that it suggests will help improve relations with parents "tired" of receiving letters about children's poor behaviour.

But the Department for Education document is likely to cause alarm among teachers, who have called for tough action to clamp down on increasingly violent pupils. Disruptive pupils 'should be given prizes’ by Liz Lightfoot and Graeme Paton

Mark Alexander