Shark has ‘Virgin Birth’

Photo of hammerhead shark courtesy of Google Images

BBC: Female hammerhead sharks can reproduce without having sex, scientists confirm.

The evidence comes from a shark at Henry Doorly Zoo in Nebraska which gave birth to a pup in 2001 despite having had no contact with a male.

Genetic tests by a team from Belfast, Nebraska and Florida prove conclusively the young animal possessed no paternal DNA, Biology Letters journal reports. Captive shark had virgin birth (more)

BBC AUDIO:
Captive shark's virgin birth

Mark Alexander

The Unintended Consequences of the Smoking Ban

Photo of the ’Marlboro Man’ courtesy of Google Images (US)

BBC: Like most things in life, when the smoking ban comes in force in England on 1 July, it will have unintended consequences. So who and what are the unexpected winners and losers?

The law of unintended consequences is always at work, in every area of daily life. The results can be good, bad and just plain odd. Oops, look what happened… (more)

FOREST:
Scots reject further restrictions on smoking

Mark Alexander

Blair’s New Labour Government Guilty of ”Administrative and Constitutional Vandalism”, says Norman Tebbit

Photo of Norman Tebbit courtesy of Google Images (UK)

WESTERN MAIL: CONSERVATIVE grandee Lord Tebbit yesterday took a swipe at David Cameron’s leadership of the party, accusing him of rebranding the Tories as “the party to implement New Labour policies more effectively”.

The comment from Margaret Thatcher’s former party chairman came in a speech in which he launched a ferocious broadside at Tony Blair’s Government for its administration of Britain.

“Administrative and constitutional vandalism” by the New Labour Government had cost Britain its historic freedoms, while bringing in a raft of oppressive state powers over the individual, he said. Tebbit slams constitutional vandalism (more)

Mark Alexander

Disappearing Human Rights
BBC: Powerful governments and armed groups have been deliberately fomenting fear to erode human rights worldwide, a report by Amnesty International says. Human rights ‘eroded worldwide’ (more)

SPIEGELONLINE: Amnesty International prangert an: Immer mehr Regierungen nutzen gezielt die Furcht vor Terror als Vorwand für die Einschränkung von Menschenrechten. Schwere Vorwürfe erhob die Generalsekretärin von Amnesty Deutschland, Lochbihler, gegen deutsche Geheimdienste. Terrorangst essen Menschenrechte auf (mehr)

Mark Alexander

Clinton’s oral sex? Bah! C’est la vie!
SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL: New French President Nicolas Sarkozy wants to revamp his country, but will he manage to get his wife to move into the Élysée Palace with him? At present, the French seem more interested in the private lives of the Sarkozys, and of Socialist candidate Ségolène Royal, than in the big changes coming. France Fascinated by Its New First Couple (more) By Stefan Simons

Mark Alexander

Haleh Esfandiari Formally Charged
BBC: Iran's intelligence ministry has charged a prominent Iranian-American academic with trying to overthrow the country's Islamic system of government.

Haleh Esfandiari, who works for a research institute in Washington, was detained in Tehran earlier this month.

Mrs Esfandiari had gone to Iran in December, but was not able to leave after her passport was stolen.

Her husband has told the BBC that she was only involved in innocent academic activities such as conferences.

The US government described the charges as "silly" and "outrageous" and called for her immediate release. Iran formally charges US scholar (more)

Mark Alexander

Electing a President: The US at a Fork in the Road
EDITORIAL: Never in recent history has it been so critical for American voters to make a wise choice at the polls. Never in recent history has so much rested on one ballot. Americans are going to be faced with a decision of momentous importance in November 2008: Whom to elect to the White House.

It is always important to vote wisely, of course; but it is to be hoped that American voters will pay particular attention when voting the next time. Why? Because so much depends on electing the very best president the US can kick up.

Elections in the West have become an opportunity for media-hype on a grand scale. The MSM love to choose a candidate and run with their choice, all the while paying far too much attention to looks and glitz, and paying far too little attention to what each candidate has to offer, paying far too little attention to the candidates’ experience.

Barack Obama seems to be the darling of the media. He has been likened even unto Jesus Christ Himself! This, of course, is totally absurd. Barack Obama, whatever else he is, is a political greenhorn, an “empty suit”. Can this man really, truly offer the Americans public any form of salvation? Aren’t people just taken in by his so-called charisma?

This is no time to elect a man on charisma alone, nice though charisma is to have. This is a time for Americans to take stock – BIG time. We are witnessing the declining influence of the USA worldwide. The country has become very unpopular since the election of George W Bush. His obsession with trying to bring democracy to a part of the world which is impossible to democratize, his obsession with characterising Islam as a "religion of love and peace”, when it so clearly isn’t, his obsession with all things Christian, when in actual fact he couldn’t have done more to weaken Christendom, his obsession with pandering to the Muslim electorate - all have weakened America beyond anyone’s wildest dreams only ten or so years ago.

The American electorate is given to obsessing about abortion issues, gay rights issues, and all manner of issues which are only marginally important to the continued supremacy of a truly wonderful nation.

9/11 has weakened America. There is no doubt about this fact. Osama bin Laden could not have wished for a better outcome! But there was no need for this to have happened. The war on Islamic terrorism has been handled so badly that one couldn’t have written a believable book of fiction depicting this outcome. Look at what has happened to the States since 9/11! Its standing in the world has gone down and down; the dollar, especially in recent times, has declined in value to a staggering extent; thousands have been killed in a war that should never have been started (democracy and Islam are totally immiscible); thousands of American jobs are going overseas to countries where labour costs are much lower than at home; illegal immigration has soared to breaking point; and the US National Debt is totally out of control. Yet the US continues to give away billions of dollars in aid to countries which it can ill afford to give aid to in the hope of buying influence. Influence, however, is not being bought; rather, the money is being squandered. It’s like throwing it into the four winds!

When the Americans go to the polls in November 2008, they need to think about what is important for their country: they shouldn’t be taken in by personalities.

One of the first things that needs to happen is that the national debt, now standing at the staggering figure of trillions of dollars, be reduced severely. The US needs a good dose of Thatcherism at this time. Remember what she said about government spending. She said that governments don’t have any money to spend; governments, she said, spend only other people’s money, collected in the form of taxes!

So what is going to be important for the American voters is to choose a president who is going to restore US supremacy, restore confidence in the US, reduce its colossal national debt (which has grown exponentially under George W Bush), and the country needs to start working with the rest of the West, not against it. The rest of the West needs a strong America as much as a strong America needs the rest of the West.

Only today, it has been reported that Kuwait has unpegged its dinar to the dollar. This is not a good thing for the US. On the contrary, since the Kuwaiti dinar has been pegged to the US dollar for so long, it shows a complete lack of confidence in the dollar! Don’t be surprised if Saudi Arabia follows suit!

Are we witnessing a United States of America in terminal decline? Don’t forget these facts: Europe is gaining in strength. France may well be about to surprise us all with its ability to renew itself. Yes, it has problems, but at least it has a president, in Sarkozy, with a will and determination to overcome those difficulties and problems (if he can overcome his own). Then we have China and India on the up and up. All these countries pose a long-term threat to the continued hegemony of the USA.

And all this says nothing about the growth of Islam in the US, and the danger that religious group poses for the continued existence of the States as we know it – as a land which is whole and peaceful and free. When the USA is no longer counted as ‘the land of the free’, then all of the free world will be in trouble. The forces at work within the USA to turn the country Islamic should not be underestimated. We have already seen the first Muslim elected to Congress in Keith Ellison. This is no harbinger of good fortune for the United States; on the contrary, it shows that there are great problems ahead for the country.

It is my belief, as much as it hurts me to say it, that America has come to a fork in the road. The one turning will return the US to its former glory, whilst the other will take it down the road to oblivion: it will make the country an irrelevance to the world. It is up to you, the American voter, to choose a president who will lead you and your great country to a place of unparalleled supremacy.

Remember this: The free world needs YOU! And it needs a STRONG AMERICA, too!

©Mark Alexander

All rights reserved

The Dawning of a New Dark Age

Many thanks go to all people that have reviewed my book in the past. Only a matter of a few days ago, I received this excellentcomment from Norm Ridler, for which I should like to show my deep appreciation.

Mark’s book,’The Dawning of a New Dark Age’, is both forthright and revealing.- Norm Ridler, May 16, 2007

Here are a couple of others I recently received. I would like to thank them, too:

"Mark, I have you to thank for two nights in a row of very little sleep! I have just finished reading your book. Awesome, but very worrying. I have been researching Islam for years now and your book is the latest. I feel that your book is probably the most amazing, and by far the most frank and to-the-point book about this very real and massive problem at hand. From one page to the other I thought about people in my street, my town and my country who are blissfully unaware of the impending peril." - Liberty Lover

“Recently, I took a competitive exam that would enable me to be a candidate for permanent hire. The odds of passing this writing test are around 15%. The vast preponderance of people who pass are people fresh out of college and lawyers. We were told we cannot study for this exam. We were told that either one has the ability or one does not. I refused to accept those myths. I quickly realized that my style would not pass that exam. I went through books of short essays and one book stood out above the rest: Mark Alexander's. His simple, no-frills writing style, his eloquence, worked like a charm! Before the exam, I examined Mark Alexander's sentence style for one hundred hours. Mark's style made the rules of grammar come alive! I have to give credit to Mark Alexander for this. Going into the test, I knew I had to produce a first rate essay, and I did. My boss has noted the drastic improvements in my writing style. He even asked me if I had taken a brush-up course at the local University!” – Beakerkin

Mark Alexander

Australians Urged Not to Pull Out of Iraq
THE AUSTRALIAN: A SENIOR Iraqi Government minister has urged Australia not to "cut and run" from Iraq as the struggle to stabilise the country enters a critical phase.

Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said yesterday his country still faced serious challenges in its fight against insurgents, including al-Qa'ida forces.

"We all see the pressures building up in Washington, in London, in Europe, here, but I think this is not a time to cut and run," he said in Canberra.

"I think this is the time to stand with the people who you helped to liberate and to assist." Don’t pull out, urges Iraqi minister (more)

Mark Alexander

Can the Web Really Be Unspun?
GLOBE AND MAIL: For the past few decades, a huge network infrastructure has provided billions of people with access to information and technology that was inconceivable to earlier generations.

But if the cybergelicals of the 1990s were right about how the Internet would transform everyday life, they were less prophetic about what exactly those transformations would look like. As the number of users and applications has expanded, so have the frustrations and risks of plugging in.

This week, the United States banned soldiers from websites such as YouTube and MySpace – concerned that downloads and social networking could overload military systems and lead to security breaches. Some banks have reverted to snail mail to help customers steer clear of phishers trying to bilk them out of their money.

“Over all, the situation is not getting better, it's getting worse,” says David Clark, a senior researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and one of the early creators of the Internet. Untangling the World Wide Web (more) By Christopher Dreher

GLOBE AND MAIL: Study finds 25 countries censor websites

GLOBE AND MAIL:
YouTube doubtful of Pentagon explanation for blocking sites By Scott Lindlaw

Mark Alexander

Sweeping Changes to US Immigration Proposed
LA TIMES: As the U.S. Senate prepares this week to debate the most sweeping proposed change to the nation's immigration system in more than four decades, Irvine technology executive Bruce Warren and Los Angeles homemaker Monsorat Jaldon symbolize the high stakes looming for millions of families, businesses and workers.

The proposal would shift the way the nation awards green cards from a heavy preference on applicants with family ties — a system adopted in 1965 — to those with advanced skills, college degrees and English-speaking ability. Businesses, families have a lot riding on immigration change (more) By Teresa Watanabe

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR:
To immigrants, US reform bill is unrealistic

Mark Alexander

5% Fall in Value of US Dollar Against the Euro and Pound Sterling So Far This Year; Equivalent to a 20% Decline
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR: NEW YORK - It's like a summer movie: the incredible shrinking dollar.

Since the beginning of the year, the buck has shrunk 5 percent – the equivalent of a 20 percent annual decline – compared with the pound and the euro.

But the shriveling value of the dollar may eventually help solve one of the most intractable US economic problems: the enormous trade deficit, which hit $63.9 billion in March, the highest level since September of last year.

Already, giant European companies are taking advantage of their strong currency by announcing huge investments in the United States. And US exporters such as Boeing and Caterpillar are getting an order boost as the lower-valued dollar allows them to undercut their competition.

"The forces are in place now to slowly over time cause the trade deficit to shrink," says Jay Bryson, a senior international economist for Wachovia Securities Research in Charlotte, N.C.

The change in the dollar's value also comes with ramifications for US consumers. It's now more expensive for Americans to travel abroad. Italian leather, Belgian chocolates, and English cheddar will cost more. In addition, many Americans may find they have a new boss – one who is based overseas or relocating to the States. Dollar buying ever less of the world’s goods (more) By Ron Scherer

Mark Alexander

"Liban: les combats meurtriers se poursuivent"
LE FIGARO: Alors que les affrontements entre l'armée libanaise et des militants extrémistes ont repris ce matin au nord du pays, un attentat a frappé la capitale.

C'est le premier incident du genre à Beyrouth depuis plusieurs mois. Dimanche, peu avant minuit, une Libanaise de 63 ans a été tuée et dix autres personnes blessées par l’explosion d’un engin piégé dans le quartier chrétien d'Achrafié. "Il s'agit d'un attentat terroriste qui vise à faire peur à la population et à déstabiliser la sécurité au Liban", a déclaré un officier de police. "La charge explosive placée dans une voiture garée dans un parking jouxtant un centre commercial pesait environ 40 kg et a provoqué un cratère de 1,5 mètre de profondeur et de 3 mètres de diamètre", a ajouté ce policier. Après Tripoli, la violence gagne Beyrouth (encore)

THE AUSTRALIAN:
Australians urged to avoid Lebanese fighting

BBC:
Lebanon clashes’ kill civilians

WATCH BBC VIDEO:
Fresh fighting in Lebanon

Mark Alexander

Islam-Compliant Funds Defy the Odds
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR: The strategy is almost heresy on Wall Street: Find a top-performing investment by seeking out a mutual fund with some of the industry's strictest ethical screening requirements.

Yet that approach, if adopted, would work in at least one case. The Amana Income Fund, which avoids not only alcohol, tobacco, and gambling stocks but also pork producers and lenders who charge interest, received a Lipper award earlier this year for outperforming 180 equity income funds – screened and unscreened – over the past three years.

Amana Funds dominate the relatively small niche of socially responsible investing (SRI) that aims to reflect Islamic law, or sharia. The idea is for an entire portfolio to reflect moral values from the Koran, which deems pork products unclean and regards the charging and paying of interest as immoral endeavors that foster exploitative relationships.

"If Islam forbids it, then we're not going to buy it," says Monem Salam, deputy portfolio manager at Amana Funds. That principle generally "keeps us out of trouble," he says, by requiring the funds to avoid such ticking time bombs as Enron and WorldCom, which imploded in accounting scandals a few years back. Both were too heavily leveraged to pass muster at Amana. A market edge for Muslims (more) By G Jeffrey MacDonald

Mark Alexander

Dubai Ruler Shows the Arab World the Way Forward
GLOBE AND MAIL: AMMAN — The Middle Eastern version of the World Economic Forum held each year in Jordan is known as a talking shop, one that produces little action. But simply talking has never been Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum's style.
The ruler of Dubai and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates left the other delegates at the forum almost speechless when he announced on the weekend that he would spend $10-billion (U.S.) of his own money to improve the level of education in the Arab world.

The announcement was greeted by thunderous applause at the forum being held on the shores of the Dead Sea, and was immediately hailed as the largest charitable donation ever given in the Muslim world.

"Without exaggeration I think this is the greatest thing anyone has done for Arab youth. This money will be well spent to improve human beings," said Abdulaziz al-Namalah, a Jordanian businessman and a participant at the forum. "I think the Arab world would look much different today if this was done many years ago." Dubai ruler donates $10-billion to boost education in Arab world (more) By Mark MacKinnon

Mark Alexander

”Ginger Beer” No ‘Small Beer’ for Clarkson

Photo of Jeremy Clarkson courtesy of Google Images (UK)

YAHOO NEWS: LONDON (Reuters) - "Top Gear" presenter Jeremy Clarkson was criticised by the media watchdog on Monday for describing a car as "very ginger beer", rhyming slang for "queer".

In a written ruling, Ofcom said the phrase could offend homosexuals and should not have been used. Clarkson rapped for “ginger beer” rhyming slang (more)

Mark Alexander

Kuwaiti Dinar No Longer Pegged to the Sliding US Dollar
FINANCIAL TIMES: Kuwait on Sunday removed its currency peg to the US dollar, throwing plans for a Gulf currency union by 2010 into doubt and raising the prospect that other oil-producing states might abandon long-held dollar pegs.
Sheikh Salem Abdelaziz Al Sabah, governor of the Central Bank of Kuwait, told the official Kuwait news agency that the decision had been made owing to the “detrimental effects of the pegging system to the national economy”.

Since late last year, Kuwaiti officials have hinted that the country would revert to a basket of currencies to prevent the sliding dollar increasing the cost of imports, which has stoked inflation to more than 4 per cent, double the historic average. This has encouraged speculators to plough billions of dollars into the dinar over the past few months, betting that the central bank would allow the dinar to appreciate. Kuwait abandons US dollar peg (more) By Simeon Kerr

KUWAIT TIMES:
Kuwait drops dollar peg

Mark Alexander

Negroponte Warning Over Al-Qaeda Expansion
FINANCIAL TIMES: A top US official has warned of the increasing risks of terrorism and violence in Africa and the Middle East, in a sobering account of the current state of the Bush administration’s “war against terror”.
John Negroponte, deputy US secretary of state, highlighted increased al-Qaeda activity in northern parts of Africa as well as the risk of Iraq violence spreading further across the Middle East.

“I think there’s a concern that al-Qaeda might expand its efforts into the Sahel region [immediately south of the Sahara in Africa]”, he said, citing Chad, Mali and Niger. His comments, in an interview with the Financial Times and other European newspapers, follow a warning from countries such as Morocco that a growing number of terrorist training camps across the Sahel region are drawing in north Africans. Negroponte fears al-Qaeda expansion (more) By Daniel Dombay

Mark Alexander

How Much Is Too Much?

Image courtesy of Google Images (Germany)

SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL: A debate is raging in Istanbul about just how much skin advertising billboards should be allowed to show. The dispute highlights the deep divisions between Muslims and secularists in the country. And it may become an election issue.

The model, wearing a scanty bathing suit, leans back against sun-baked stones, her hip jutting playfully to the side. In one photo she even spreads her legs slightly -- suggestively. In a Europe where photos of half naked models staring alluringly out at passers by are simply part of the cityscape, such a billboard would hardly rate a second glance. But in Turkey, the swimwear ads are far from mainstream, and they have triggered a dispute that offers a taste of just what the upcoming general election campaign might be like. Too much skin on Istanbul boards (more) By Annette Grossbongardt

Mark Alexander

When it Comes to Allocating Council Houses, British Families Should Be Given Priority, Says Margaret Hodge
DAILY MAIL: British families should be given council housing ahead of immigrants, a Labour minister has claimed.
Margaret Hodge risked a race row by warning that it was "unfair" when new arrivals jumped to the top of the queue - leaving no homes for families in Britain for generations.

She said a points system giving weight to length of residence, citizenship and National Insurance contributions would be a better way of allocating homes. Don’t let migrants jump the housing queue, says minister (more) By Ian Drury

Mark Alexander