Karen Armstrong: Muhammad: A Prophet for Our Time

Karen Armstrong talked about her book Muhammad: A Prophet for Our Time, published by Harper Collins in the Eminent Lives series. She described Muhammad, the prophet and founder of Islam, as a respectful man.

My comment:

This woman is obviously very erudite; but she is very naïve and is obviously living in cloud-cuckoo-land. In fact, she is living in a parallel universe. – © Mark

‪Nonie Darwish Moment: The Truth About The San Bernardino Terror Attack‬

‘Turkey Gets Impunity for Whatever It Does’: Turkish Troops Deployed in N. Iraq

The Arab League has condemned deployment of Turkish troops in northern Iraq, saying it amounts to “an intervention.” Iraq has demanded that Ankara withdraws its troops, saying it will go to the UN Security Council if they remain.

PEGIDA Dresden Live | 7.12.2015

Livestream vom PEGIDA Dresden Abendspaziergang auf dem Theaterplatz Dresden. Gäste: Filip Dewinter und Anke Van Demeersche von Vlaams Belang

US-led Coalition Reportedly Strikes Syrian Army Compound, Several Dead & Injured

US-led coalition warplanes have inflicted a missile strike on a camp of Syrian regular troops in the Deir ez Zor province, killing three soldiers. Damascus has slammed the incident as an “act of aggression.” This is the first time coalition planes have hit Syrian troops.

«Die französische Bevölkerung will etwas Neues ausprobieren»

Den Artikel hier

Philipp Blom, deutscher Historiker, zu Deutschlands Kriegseintritt

Den Artikel hier lesen

Huckabee: Obama More Concerned with Reputation of Islam

Dec. 07, 2015 - 8:14 - GOP candidate reacts to Oval Office address

Judge Jeanine: Time to Batten Down the Hatches

Dec. 06, 2015 - 5:28 - United States faces deadliest terror attack since 9/11

The Isis Papers: Leaked Documents Show How Isis Is Building Its State

The leaked Islamic State document sets out a blueprint
for building a state

THE GUARDIAN: Blueprint lays bare new contours of Islamic state, complete with civil service, regional government and Soviet levels of economic control

A leaked internal Islamic State manual shows how the terrorist group has set about building a state in Iraq and Syria complete with government departments, a treasury and an economic programme for self-sufficiency, the Guardian can reveal.

The 24-page document, obtained by the Guardian, sets out a blueprint for establishing foreign relations, a fully fledged propaganda operation, and centralised control over oil, gas and the other vital parts of the economy.

The manual, written last year and entitled Principles in the administration of the Islamic State, lays bare Isis’s state-building aspirations and the ways in which it has managed to set itself apart as the richest and most destabilising jihadi group of the past 50 years.

Islamic State blueprint

Together with other documents obtained by the Guardian, it builds up a picture of a group that, although sworn to a founding principle of brutal violence, is equally set on more mundane matters such as health, education, commerce, communications and jobs. In short, it is building a state. Read on and comment » | Shiv Malik | Monday, December 7, 2015

A Spectacular Result for Marine Le Pen and France’s Far Right

THE ECONOMIST: In the first round, the migrant crisis helps the National Front to its best ever results

THE spectacular first-round result achieved by the far-right National Front (FN) in Sunday’s regional elections in France is a sobering reminder of the dark political mood in Europe today. As the continent grapples with the aftershocks of terror in Paris and its greatest migrant influx in modern history, Marine Le Pen’s party pulled off its best-ever national score on December 6th. It secured an estimated 27-30% of the nationwide vote, beating its previous record of 25% at last year’s elections to the European Parliament, and nearly tripling its haul at the previous regional vote, in 2010.

The FN, which has never governed a region, now leads in no fewer than six out of 13 contests after the first round. Most startling of all, Ms Le Pen took an estimated 40-43% of the vote in coming top in the region of Nord-Pas-de-Calais-Picardie, according to exit polls. Her niece, Marion Maréchal-Le Pen, got an estimated 41-42% in the southern region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur. The one region that defied the trend was Ile-de-France, around Paris, where the FN has long had difficulties; there, it trailed in third place. Voters will return to the ballot box on December 13th for a run-off.

…

Yet the FN had been upsetting France’s traditional two-party dominance, and entrenching itself as a serious player, long before these latest crises, thanks to a methodical effort by Ms Le Pen to “disinfect” the FN brand, shed its anti-Semitism and make it a respectable party ready to govern. Today, voters are turning to Ms Le Pen as much because of disillusion at unkept promises by successive governments over the economy and jobs, and because of a sense that only she stands up for ordinary folk. It is no coincidence that the two regions where the FN did best are also those with the highest rates of unemployment. The mainstream left and right will need more than just pious admonishments if they are to curb the FN. The more they urge voters to do whatever it takes to stop Ms Le Pen’s party, the better the FN seems to do. Read the whole article here » | Sunday, December 6, 2015

France's Front National Is No Long[er] the Pariah Party

THE TELEGRAPH: Far-Right party capitalises on fears of terrorism and immigrants as French political landscape is turned upside down


The Front National has long been considered a fringe party – a troublesome protest grouping of xenophobes, bigots constituting something of a danger to the French Republic.

Yet on Sunday night, almost a third of those who turned out to vote in regional elections chose the far-Right party, placing it in pole position in at least six regions. The FN is a mere protest party no more.

In the latest political earthquake for France, the country now finds itself with a tripartite political landscape where the FN is no longer a mere troublemaker but can hold its own against the mainstream Right and Left, and increasingly, beat them. That has ominous implications for the resurgent far-Right across Europe. » | Henry Samuel, Paris | Monday, December 7, 2015

Britain Is No Longer a Christian Country and Should Stop Acting As If It Is, Says Judge

Baroness Butler-Sloss

THE TELEGRAPH: A major inquiry into the place of religion in modern society has provoked a furious backlash from ministers and the Church of England

Britain is no longer a Christian country and should stop acting as if it is, a major inquiry into the place of religion in modern society has concluded, provoking a furious backlash from ministers and the Church of England.

A two-year commission, chaired by the former senior judge Baroness Butler-Sloss and involving leading religious leaders from all faiths, calls for public life in Britain to be systematically de-Christianised.

It says that the decline of churchgoing and the rise of Islam and other faiths mean a "new settlement" is needed for religion in the UK, giving more official influence to non-religious voices and those of non-Christian faiths.

The report provoked a furious row last night as it was condemned by Cabinet ministers as "seriously misguided" and the Church of England said it appeared to have been "hijacked" by humanists.

The report, by the Commission on Religion and Belief in Public Life, claims that faith schools are "socially divisive" and says that the selection of children on the basis of their beliefs should be phased out.

It also accuses those who devise some RE syllabuses of "sanitising" negative aspects of religion in lessons and suggests that the compulsory daily act of worship in school assmblies should be abolished and replaced with a "time for reflection". Read on and comment » | John Bingham and Steven Swinford | Monday, December 7, 2015

My comment:

This report has 'liberal' written all over it. But more than that, it is so yesteryear, so passé, so old hat!

Times are moving fast; the Zeitgeist is changing. Witness yesterday's political earthquake in France, witness Marine Le Pen's remarkable triumph over old, stodgy, slow-moving established parties.

The growth of Islam in France, the UK, and the West in general, which has been encouraged and allowed to happen by the West's traditional political élite, is fuelling a backlash. And, if I am not greatly mistaken, this is not a temporary phenomenon. Marine Le Pen's stunning victory will embolden the right-wing across Europe to rise up against this growth of an alien 'culture' in its midst.

We couldn't depend on traditional parties to safeguard our Judaeo-Christian culture; so now it's the turn of the so-called 'far-right' to do it instead.

The growth of the 'far-right' is every mainstream politician's nightmare. But they have only themselves to blame for this outcome. People have been telling them for a long, long time that they are uneasy with this alien ideology in their countries. But they wouldn't listen. The result is the fast growth of the 'far-right'.

Baroness Butler-Sloss' solution might have been paid heed five or ten years ago. Now, however, and at this juncture, our traditional Judaeo-Christian culture is fighting back. Therefore, many of the suggestions and conclusions in this out-dated report will surely have to be consigned to the dustbin of history.

The fightback has begun. We are living in very interesting times.

RIP, Baroness Butler-Sloss. – © Mark

This comment appears here too.

President Obama Delivers an Address to the Nation

Live from the White House.

Front National profitiert vom Misstrauen

Die Regionalwahlen am Sonntag in Frankreich sind die ersten Wahlen nach den Terroranschlägen von Mitte November. Wie keine andere Partei profitiert der Front National davon, dass in Frankreich nur zwei Themen debattiert werden: die Sicherheit und die Flüchtlingskrise.

Far Right Gains: National Front Winning in Some Regional Elections in France

Syria President Bashar Al-Assad Says British Air Strikes Will Fail and Mocks David Cameron ‘Farce’

Mr Assad poured scorn on the PM's assertion that 70,000
moderate rebels could defeat Isis

THE INDEPENDENT: Mr Assad says RAF air strikes were illegal and detrimental to anti-terror operations being undertaken by his regime

Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad has claimed British bombing raids against Isis targets in his country will fail – and ridiculed Cameron’s Middle East policy as a “classical farce”.

In an interview with the Sunday Times within his Damascus compound, Mr Assad said the RAF air strikes were illegal and detrimental to anti-terror operations being undertaken by his regime.

He said: “You cannot defeat them [Isis] through air strikes alone. You cannot defeat them without co-operation with forces on the ground.

“You cannot defeat them if you do not have buy-in from the general public and the government …They are going to fail again.”

It comes after MPs gave their backing to British air strikes in Syria, with the oil fields operated by militant group Isis targeted.

Mr Assad went on to praise his Russian allies, who he said entered the Syrian conflict “the legal way”.

“The Russians can see this clearly, they want to protect Syria, Iraq, the region — and even Europe,” he said.

“I am not exaggerating by saying they are protecting Europe today.” » | Matt Payton | Sunday, December 6, 2015

Front National Wins Opening Round in France's Regional Elections

THE GUARDIAN: Marine Le Pen’s party capitalises on Paris attacks to win 27-30% of national vote, the highest the party has ever scored in a local election

The far-right Front National has made historic gains in the wake of the Paris terrorist attacks, emerging as the winner in the opening round of regional elections and coming top in half of France’s regions.

The projected score is the highest vote that the anti-immigration, anti-European party has ever registered in a local election and, if the party maintains the strong lead in in next week’s second round, it could reshape the country’s political landscape.

The FN, which pushed a hardline stance on Islam, security and national identity, saw a poll boost in the wake of the Paris attacks three weeks ago in which Islamic State gunmen killed 130 at Paris bars, the Bataclan concert hall and in a suicide bombing outside the Stade de France. » | Angelique Chrisafis in Paris | Sunday, December 6, 2015

Regionalwahlen: Frankreich rückt nach rechts

Freude beim Marine Le Pen: Die Front National-Chefin zieht
sich schon vor dem zweiten Wahlgang als Siegerin

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Gezeitenwechsel in Frankreich: Mit dem Vormarsch des Front National bei den Regionalwahlen wird die V. Republik zum Drei-Parteien-System. Und beschreibt auch ideologisch eine Wende nach rechts.

Eine Gewinnerin, sonst vor allem Verlierer: Am Abend der ersten Runde der französischen Regionalwahlen kann Marine Le Pen jubilieren. "Frankreich erhebt seinen Kopf", so die Chefin des Front National (FN), am frühen Abend: "Die nationale Bewegung ist damit die erste Partei Frankreichs."

Tatsächlich liegt der FN nach den Hochrechnungen nicht nur in Madame Le Pens Wahlregion Nord-Pas-de-Calais-Picardie mit fast 42 Prozent an der Spitze; ihre Nichte Marion Maréchal-Le Pen könnte mit einem gleichen Ergebnis beim zweiten Durchgang die Gegend Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur erobern. Und zwei weitere FN-Promis führen im Elsass-Lothringen und im Langedoc-Roussion Midi-Pyrénées.

Der Front National hat sich mit fast 30 Prozent landesweit vor alle anderen Formationen geschoben und liegt in 6 von 13 Regionen vorn: Ein Erdbeben, das die politische Landschaft Frankreichs gründlich umgestalten wird. Von jetzt an findet das Rennen um die Wählergunst zwischen drei Blöcken statt - den Linken/Grünen, den Konservativen/Zentristen und den Rechtsextremen des FN. » | Von Stefan Simons, Paris | Sonntag, 6. Dezember 2015

Régionales 2015 : "un résultat magnifique" (Marine Le Pen)

A l'issue des résultats du premier tout des élections régionales, Marine Le Pen, chef de file de l'extrême-droite et qui arrive en tête dans la région Nord-Pas-de-Calais-Picardie, a salué "un résultat magnifique que nous accueillons avec humilité". "Nous avons vocation à réaliser l'unité nationale dont le pays a besoin", a-t-elle déclaré.