Now Muslims want to introduce Shari'ah family law into the UK!
Where will it all end? All right-thinking, sensible people know that Muslims' demands will never end until they have turned Britain into an Islamic state. Now they want to start the process by introducing Islamic family law into the UK "to curb extremism"! There is no limit to Muslims' chutzpah (yes, I know, I used that word deliberately). This, of course, is the tip of the iceberg, the thin edge of the wedge. We can all only hope - and pray - that this government, which has shown itself so weak on many things, will find the strength to tell these Muslims where to get off. But don't hold your breath.

Muslim leaders have urged Ruth Kelly, the Secretary of State for Communities, to support Islamic family law in Britain to stop youths joining Islamic extremists. Let us adopt Islamic family law to curb extremists, Muslims tell Kelly [the Secretary of State for Communities] by Colin Brown

©Mark Alexander

News from an Israeli perspective
If you would like to watch the news from an Israeli perspective, then please click on the following link: Jerusalem Online

Mark Alexander

Iranians celebrate

Thousands of citizens take to streets chanting, 'Lebanon won, Israel destroyed'; dozens of ambulances hold procession in show of empathy with casualties of war. Senior religious figure in Iran warns: 'If Israel and US attack us, we will shoot missiles at Tel Aviv'

Read the rest here: Iran: Victory celebrations, threats to Israel by Dudy Cohen

Mark Alexander

Profiling may be introduced

THE Government is discussing with airport operators plans to introduce a screening system that allows security staff to focus on those passengers who pose the greatest risk.

The passenger-profiling technique involves selecting people who are behaving suspiciously, have an unusual travel pattern or, most controversially, have a certain ethnic or religious background. Read it all here: Muslims face extra checks in new travel crackdown by Ben Webster

Profiling plan angers UK Muslims

Mark Alexander

The enemy is a real danger, they're in our midst, and we continue to pander to them

Suppose the foiled terror plot in the UK had not been foiled and thousands of innocents had perished aboard planes heading for the United States. I fear that one of the scenes we would have witnessed would have been one we witnessed following 9/11: scenes of celebration and jubilation in certain boroughs and banlieus of major European cities.

Never before has the West faced an enemy like this. It is an enemy who is prepared to blow up thousands of innocent people in suicide actions, but it is also one who lives in our midst. As in the 1930s the Europeans prefer to appease the enemy. Drawing people’s attention to the fact that he is living in our midst is regarded as hate-mongering. Thou shalt not hate the enemy, let alone fight him, thou shalt appease him. Read it all here: The Enemy in Our Midst by Paul Belien

Mark Alexander

Islamofascism
I'd like to share this excellent article from The Telegraph today. I think you'll enjoy it.

The anti-war-on-terror lobby has had a bad week. Not that it hasn't kept its end up. Oh no. Faced with a threat so devastating that it seemed more like a world-domination plot from a Superman comic than a hard-headed act of war, there was nothing for it but to fall back on semantics.

George W. Bush was pilloried for referring to "Islamic fascists" by, among others, the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu. Using that kind of language "on the ranch in Texas" did not help, he said, to make society "a good, neighbourly place".

I don't know what the ranch in Texas has to do with anything, but Dr Sentamu seems not to understand the difference between describing Islamic fundamentalists as fascistic, and saying that all Muslims are fascists. Read it all here: 'Fascistic' is the right word for Islamic fundamentalism by Janet Daley

Mark Alexander

Al Qur'an al Karim (The Glorious Koran)
This audio, based on Craig Winn's book, 'Prophet of Doom', is an interesting view on Islam. See what you think.

Mark Alexander

Our tolerance is naïve

“It is a war with a cultural and ideological component that is lavishly financed by easy oil money from states like Saudi Arabia that we have long (and foolishly) regarded as ‘moderates’ and ‘friends’. It is a war utilising sophisticated technology for destruction and communications, and equally sophisticated techniques for inculcating lethal extremism.” – Richard Perle

Read the article: We should not tolerate the preachers of jihad

No, Mr Perle, we should not; and nor should we tolerate the explosive growth of Islam in the West!

Mark Alexander

Muslims trying hard to change our country's foreign policy
British Muslim community leaders are working hard to change government foreign policy. They should be given the cold shoulder by all sane people. This country has its own foreign policy, which has always been pro-Israel and pro-America. It should remain that way for ever. We, the people, must insist on that. If Muslims don't like our foreign policy, then they should be shown the door. Goodbye! We don't need them. Islam spells trouble whichever way you slice it. Islam always will. Maybe it's time we started to think about repatriating these people. They don't belong here; and they probably never will.

Foreign Office minister Kim Howells has criticised Muslim leaders for condemning British foreign policy.

An open letter, signed by three Muslim MPs, three peers and 38 community groups, said the stance on the Middle East has put civilians at risk.

They went on to say that UK policy has given "ammunition to extremists".
But Mr Howells denied there was a "rational connection" and said "no government" formulates policy based on a perceived risk from terrorists. Minister criticises Muslim letter

Mark Alexander

BBC rushes to protect Muslims again
President Bush at last shows some understanding of the nature of Islam and the BBC rushes to protect Muslims again. People at the Beeb seem to feel that the President has insulted moderate Muslims. Well, if so-called moderate Muslims feel offended by this term, maybe they should better direct their anger at the fanatics carrying out quranic instructions! And while they're at it, they would be wise to control their offspring better, too. Bush's language angers US Muslims

©Mark Alexander

Movie: "Relentless"
With thanks to Always On Watch for drawing this video to my attention.

Mark Alexander

Severe disruptions at all British airports; UK terror alert raised to critical
A terrorist plot to blow up several aircraft in mid-air has been foiled. Hand-luggage may no longer be taken on board. Except for the barest essentials, nothing may be carried on board. Wallets, credit cards, and essential papers must be carried on board in transparent plastic bags. As it is believed that the terrorists intended to detonate “liquid chemical” devices, even baby milk must now be tasted by the baby’s mother or father in front of the security. Moreover, all electronic devices, including mobile phones, laptop computers, CD players, and MP3 players may no longer be carried on board the plane until further notice.

The Neue Zürcher Zeitung has reported that all flights to continental Europe from Heathrow have been cancelled, and added that the next stage would be to close all airports altogether. CNN has reported that the Deputy Commissioner Paul Stephenson had said the plot was "intended to be mass murder on an unimaginable scale".

This from The Telegraph:

Aircraft bomb plot thwarted

This from the BBC:

’Airlines terror plot’ disrupted

This from CNN:

UK foils aircraft terror alert

And this from the Neue Zürcher Zeitung:

Flughafen Heathrow macht dicht

©Mark Alexander

Ben Shapiro slams the MSM
Ben Shapiro, on Townhall.com today, hits the nail on the head with his open letter to the mainstream media:

Dear mainstream media,

I understand why you report as you do in both the Israel-Hezbollah conflict and the larger war on terror. You believe journalism requires a sort of elegant moral relativism, that telling "both sides of the story" is a necessary prerequisite to "objective" journalism. You don't believe that there can be an objective right or wrong; if you were reporting World War II today, you'd feel obligated to speak to front-line Japanese and Nazi soldiers and discuss the Allies' disproportionate response to the attack on Pearl Harbor and the invasion of Poland. Open letter to the mainstream media by Ben Shapiro

Mark Alexander

Britain and Europe continue to engineer their own demise
Having just returned from my summer holidays, one thing struck me above all else whilst travelling: European airports are full to bursting with Muslims. This goes for British airports too. Landing in Heathrow upon my return I could have been forgiven for believing I had landed in Riyadh!

News, too, is rather depressing: We are doing our level best to destroy our heritage and civilization. Indeed, we are busy paving the way for Islam’s eventual triumph in the very heart of Europe, and the process appears to be accelerating. The sad thing is that many Europeans are in denial of the fact, and I include the British in this. Germans seem to have mastered the art of contorting their brains to excuse what is happening. Many have elevated this denial to a fine art. The main reason for this, in my opinion, is that they still live in the shadow of a racist past. Herr Hitler sadly casts a long shadow. So long, in fact, that many Germans are quite incapable of coming to terms with the threat that Islam poses our continent.

Of course, it also has to be said that Europeans have gone soft: They no longer have any appetite for making tough decisions, let alone for a fight. Muslims will surely have sensed this. Little wonder many of them think that the future of the West belongs to them.

It should depress any sane European that Christianity is given no special place in present day Europe. That nobody may discriminate on the basis of religion is enshrined in European law. This sounds all well, good and fair; but what this effectively means is that Christianity is no longer afforded any special place. A civilization which no longer gives pride of place to the religion upon which it is founded should start counting the days before its eventual demise, for its days are surely numbered.

©Mark Alexander

Canadians have a negative view of Islam

Toronto Sun - OTTAWA -- Canada is heading toward conflict with its Muslim population, says the head of a study on Canadian attitudes toward Islam.

The study found that the majority of Canadians held a negative view of Muslim countries. Dim view of Islam by Jorge Barrera

Mark Alexander

Anti-Western feelings on the rise in Turkey

Photo of Gul courtesy of the BBC

Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul has warned that moderate Turks are becoming anti-American and anti-EU.

Mr Gul said many Turks were embittered by the US' support for Israel's actions in Lebanon and by Turkey's problems in joining the EU. Turkish anti-West mood 'rising'

Mark Alexander

U is for Utter, N is for Nonsense!
I'm sure the Israelis are quaking in their boots, as are Hizbullah terrorists, Ms Arbour!

Photo of Ms Louise Arbour courtesy of the BBC

War crimes could have been committed in Lebanon, Israel and Gaza, a senior UN official has said.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour said international law stressed the need to protect civilians.

There is an obligation on all parties to respect the "principle of proportionality", she said. UN warning on Mid-East war crimes

Mark Alexander

Hal Lindsey's interesting religious viewpoint

With illegal attacks across Israel’s internationally recognized borders, hostage taking of soldiers and a relentlessly raining of rockets and missiles upon Israel’s major cities, the Israeli Defense Forces have finally sprung into action. This is after months of “restraint” that world leaders are now calling upon them to use. The time for “restraint” has long passed, as I will demonstrate.

It is because of Israel’s compromise, appeasement and restraint that Hamas, Hizbollah and their true masters, Iran and Syria, have come to believe that “now” is the time to attack and destroy Israel.

Every time Israel unilaterally gave “land for peace”, as in Southern Lebanon and Gaza, the terrorist claimed it as their victory. Hamas used this claim to get elected by popular vote in the West Bank and Gaza. Hezbollah has used the same claim to move in a massive force that is now more powerful than the Lebanon’s army.

Every compromise that Israel has made to make peace with the Palestinians and the surrounding Muslim nations has been rewarded with more terrorism. The Myth of ''Measured Response''

Mark Alexander

Israel won't think twice about conquering Lebanon

Israel is continuing its Lebanon military offensive, with war planes bombing more than 40 targets, mainly in southern parts of Beirut, on Friday.

Troops are also fighting Hezbollah inside southern Lebanon, and Israel has told people to leave the area, warning of a possible large-scale incursion. Israel tightens grip on Lebanon

Mark Alexander

East to Eurabia!
I'd like to share with you this excellent article written by Fjordman

In a true, totalitarian society such as the old Soviet Union, crime rates are usually low because of the crushing state control of all its citizens. Supposedly, street crime in Moscow in the USSR was rare, probably because the state itself was the biggest criminal. In contrast, in the European Union of today, which is not a totalitarian society, at least not yet, crime rates are booming in major cities. At the same time, authorities are stepping up censorship efforts, openly talking about media “speech codes” and aggressively slapping labels such as “racism” or “xenophobia” on anybody daring to criticize the immigration policies or pointing out the inadequate response to Muslim gang violence.

There is obviously a connection here: The less control the authorities have with Muslims, the more control they want to exercise over non-Muslims. As problems in Europe get worse, which they will, the EU will move in an increasingly repressive direction until it either becomes a true, totalitarian entity or falls apart. This strange mix of powerful censorship of public debate, yet little control over public law and order, has by some been labelled anarcho-tyranny. In Praise of the First and Second Amendments

Mark Alexander

UN talks of war crimes for Israel but not for Hizbullah!

More than 60 people, most of them Lebanese civilians, were killed yesterday on the bloodiest day of the Middle East conflict so far.

As the violence continued the United Nations raised the possibility that civilian deaths could lead to war crimes charges. Lebanon said 300 people had been killed in eight days of Israeli air strikes and artillery barrages. 500,000 Lebanese flee the carnage by Tim Butcher

Mark Alexander

Lebanon's dream of record economic growth for 2006 in tatters

REUTERS - BEIRUT, 19 July (IRIN) - Lebanon's dream of 2006 as a record year for economic growth has in the space of a week turned into a nightmare. Israeli air strikes have brought its fast-growing economy to an almost complete standstill. With thousands of nationals and foreign workers evacuating, and more than 500,000 internally displaced people, a bleak scenario confronts the country's workforce.

"The direct losses are estimated to be nearly half a billion US dollars," said Jihad Azoor, Lebanon's Finance Minister. "But we have to read this number carefully because we have no way of assessing the situation fully to get an accurate estimate. And more losses occur by the hour." LEBANON: Workforce morale at an all-time low

Mark Alexander

Has World War III begun?

NEWSMAX.COM - World War III has begun, and the nation’s leadership is failing to deal with this reality, former House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich concludes. Gingrich Says World War III Has Begun

Mark Alexander

Israel fights West's war to rid world of Islamic extremism

Photo courtesy of The Telegraph

It is an axiom of Israeli military operation that its armed forces must hurry to achieve victory before international pressure forces them to stop.

Yet after bombarding Lebanon for five days, and causing pain to ordinary civilians unseen since the civil war ended 15 years ago, the international outcry is surprisingly muted. If anything, as the conflict has intensified and the regional stakes have risen, Israel has found a degree of international sympathy, or at least understanding.

Lebanon has become the battleground between pro-western and radical Islamic forces. Few governments, even Arab states, want to see Hizbollah win the contest. Israel fights West's cause against radical Islam by Anton La Guardia

Iran plans to dominate the Middle East by Dore Gold

Mark Alexander

On the run with style, class and elegance

Photo courtesy of the BBC

It was perhaps the most elegant exodus in history. Thousands of wealthy, well-dressed Arabs snarled the mountain roads leading to Syria with their Range Rovers and Porsches as they fled Lebanon yesterday.

There were women with expensive coiffures, husbands wearing designer sunglasses and teenagers playing the latest hand-held video games as Lebanon morphed from Arab world summer playground to ghostland.

But behind the tinted windscreens, the faces of the fleeing were haggard with worry. Crawling Porsches and the prayerful join Lebanon's opulent exodus by Tim Butcher

Mark Alexander

When losing is not an option

If Hamas, Hizbullah win war they have declared, Zionist project is nearing end of its days

This is no competition of false machismo. This is a fateful decision: Even if these two radical Islamic movements gain symbolic propaganda victories – it could free other enemies around the Middle East. The need to win this war is absolute. There can be no debate about it. A war Israel must win Opinion by Sever Plocker

Mark Alexander

Interesting commentary from the BBC

As so often in the Middle East, text and sub-text are inextricably bound up.

Thus a crisis that at first sight pits Israel against Hamas and Hezbollah, inevitably reaches out to involve Syria and Iran, both strong supporters of the Lebanese-based Shia movement.

This is what makes this crisis so difficult to resolve. But it also underlines how dangerous its ramifications could be unless the fighting is halted.

Inevitably then, events in the Middle East have pushed themselves onto the G8 summit agenda here in St Petersburg. Hostility envelops wider region by Jonathan Marcus

Mark Alexander

How to defeat radical Islam in Europe

At a recent conference in Switzerland, student representatives asked: how could the Muslim population gain traction so quickly in Western Europe? It is a simple and direct question that could easily be addressed with reference to the disparity between Christian and Muslim birthrates and immigration patterns.

But numbers do not tell the whole story, nor do these numbers reveal very much about European attitudes. There are philosophical underpinnings that reveal more than any statistical analysis can provide.

The first of these is multiculturalism, an attitude which suggests each culture should be treated on its own terms without regard to universal considerations. For example, female deformation in the form of clitoridectomy is not wrong; it is simply the manifestation of a different culture.

The second, and arguably the view that represents the most significant shift in European attitudes, is secular humanism, a turning away from the spiritual to the temporal. European churches are now ostensibly museums, not places of worship. The moral teachings of Christianity have been largely interred and replaced by relativism or “new age” phenomenology, such as pantheistic environmentalism.

The third shift in attitude might be characterized as extreme liberalism. In this case, the virtues of liberalism such as tolerance have been perverted into an unwillingness to discriminate. Right and wrong are seen as archaic concepts belonging to the ash heap of history. What counts is openness, a strange form of egalitarianism in which all opinions have equal value if rendered earnestly.

The fourth attitudinal consideration is transnationalism. A project to reduce or eliminate the national heritage of European states through Continental harmonization has had the unintended effect of making citizens rudderless, of losing an identity and deracinating patriotism. Do the bureaucrats in Brussels represent the will of the European people? And can a Continental parliament rely on consent of the governed or even care about those governed? Answers beg the questions.

Last is the loss of confidence. The retreat of apostolic teaching has resulted in an absence of authority. Catholicism is in retreat, not only as a religion but as a voice of moral conviction. London: To defeat radical Islam Europe must re-Christianize by Herbert London

Mark Alexander

The price of liberal Christianity

Out-of-the-mainstream beliefs about gay marriage and supposedly sexist doctrines are gutting old-line faiths.

The accelerating fragmentation of the strife-torn Episcopal Church USA, in which several parishes and even a few dioceses are opting out of the church, isn't simply about gay bishops, the blessing of same-sex unions or the election of a woman as presiding bishop. It also is about the meltdown of liberal Christianity.

Embraced by the leadership of all the mainline Protestant denominations, as well as large segments of American Catholicism, liberal Christianity has been hailed by its boosters for 40 years as the future of the Christian church.

Instead, as all but a few die-hards now admit, all the mainline churches and movements within churches that have blurred doctrine and softened moral precepts are demographically declining and, in the case of the Episcopal Church, disintegrating. Liberal Christianity is paying for its sins by Charlotte Allen

Mark Alexander

Competing explanations for Islamic terrorism

Radical Islamism is more than a response to western actions: it is an ideology that provides a battle cry and a battle order.

The competing explanations for a resort to terrorism are many, but you can more or less group them round two poles.

One of these was vividly expressed in the Guardian last Saturday by Karen Armstrong. Tony Blair had been wrong, she said, to call for moderate Muslims to act and speak out more decisively against radical Islamists. He had missed the point: all Muslims, moderate or radical, were deeply stirred by the sufferings of their co-religionists in Guantánamo, Abu Ghraib, Iraq and Palestine, and the "strong emphasis placed by Islam on justice and community solidarity" made this a religious issue.

"It is disingenuous of Tony Blair," she wrote, "to separate the rising tide of 'Islamism' from his unpopular foreign policy, particularly when Palestinians are being subjected to new dangers in Gaza."

This pole is defined, roughly, by the belief that it is the west's, or America's, fault that radical Islamists are violent. While violence may be wrong - Armstrong certainly believes that - it takes its root and justifies itself in its own eyes in the empathy with the victims of, and anger with, the West's actions.

The other pole has been evoked, at least as vividly, by an ex-Muslim, now a non-believer: Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the Somalian-born Dutch MP whose apostasy (as many of her former co-religionists saw it) and outspoken criticisms of Islam earned her death threats and police protection. Further, a campaign against her in the Netherlands mounted by some elements in the left saw her temporarily stripped of her citizenship, a move that was the main cause of the collapse of the country's centre-right coalition last month. To the death by John Lloyd

Mark Alexander

Pandemonium in Mumbai: At least 100 killed in a series of terrorist bombings

Photo courtesy of the BBC

At least 100 people have been killed by seven near-simultaneous bombs on the train network in the Indian financial capital Mumbai (Bombay), police say.

The first explosion went off at about 1830 local time (1300 GMT), during the peak of the evening rush hour in the suburbs on the busy Western Railway.

Correspondents spoke of scenes of pandemonium, with people jumping from trains and bodies flung onto tracks. Scores dead in Mumbai train bombs

Mark Alexander

Australia bans two Islamic books

SYDNEY — The Australian government has banned two books that encourage young Muslims to become suicide bombers in Afghanistan.

The federal Classification Review Board ruled Monday that the books — “Defence of the Muslim Lands” and “Join the Caravan” — violate Australian laws by promoting, inciting or instructing in matters of violence or crime and can no longer be sold or imported to Australia. Australia bans two books encouraging suicide bombers

Mark Alexander

Islam's influence in the US just grows and grows

A Pompano Beach clergyman's comments about Islam has cost him a post on Broward's Judicial Nominating Commission.

Following some controversial remarks on radio about Muslims, the Rev. O'Neal Dozier, a Gov. Jeb Bush appointee, resigned from a panel responsible for nominating judges in Broward County.

Dozier said Monday he was asked to step down from the nine-member Judicial Nominating Commission after he characterized Islam as a ''cult'' on a radio show.

Dozier, pastor of the World Wide Christian Center Church in Pompano Beach, also called Islam ''a dangerous religion'' Friday on the The Steve Kane Radio Show. Islam remark costs pastor by Darran Simon

Mark Alexander

Amerikas sorgenvoller Sommer

Im Land der unbegrenzten Möglichkeiten herrscht Pessimismus - aus unerwarteten Gründen

Politiker in den USA warnen vor unzähligen Gefahren für die Sicherheit der Nation. Doch die Amerikaner sorgen sich derzeit eher um gewöhnlichere Dinge wie Benzinpreise oder die illegale Einwanderung.

Pünktlich zum Nationalfeiertag am 4. Juli lanciert, haben Nordkoreas Raketen ihre Wirkung auf die politische Klasse der USA nicht verfehlt. Richard Haass, Chefstratege unter dem früheren Aussenminister Powell und Präsident des Think-Tanks Council on Foreign Relations, erklärte, nie zuvor in ihrer modernen Geschichte seien die USA mit einer derartigen Häufung von Problemen konfrontiert gewesen. Amerikas sorgenvoller Sommer

Mark Alexander

Islam influencing fashion

The forecast for the new fashion season is as somber as it is certain. It is going to be a long dark winter.

After a decade of free-fall hipster pants, bared midriffs, bras on show under sheer dresses and naked legs, fashion has started on its great coverup. Forget girlie frills and celebrities flashing flesh on the red carpet. The typical outfit in the current international fashion collections is in any color as long as it is black with a silhouette long, lean and layered.

The mood is now for a chaste sobriety, with sturdy fabrics, thick leggings and even ankle-length hemlines.

The world's leading designers have no doubts as to where fashion is headed as they talk about "restraint" and "sobriety."

"I think 'modesty' is a beautiful word today - and a beautiful attitude," says Lanvin's Alber Elbaz, who has built his career on designing dresses with a respectful attitude to women.

Marc Jacobs, founding father of the girl-woman aesthetic, shocked the audience at his New York show last month with hefty knits, leg warmers and thick layers of clothes shrouding the body. The new sobriety: Covering up the body

KABUL (Reuters) - Models strode down a catwalk in the Afghan capital Kabul for the first time in decades this weekend as two designers showed off their clothes behind the guarded walls of a luxury hotel.

An audience of expatriates and well-heeled Afghan watched the show in hotel garden, under a clear midsummer night's sky, to the strains of traditional Afghan music.

All of the models showing the conservatively cut clothes that included designer burqas were expatriate women, to the disappointment of some in the audience.

The organisers said they did not want to court controversy in what is a deeply conservative Muslim country by having Afghan models.

"We invited a lot of Afghan women to attend the show but not to be models," said Italian designer Gabriella Ghidoni, who organised the show with an Afghan partner.

The Taliban forced women to wear the all-enveloping burqa but nearly five years after the hard-line Islamists were ousted, many women still choose to wear burqas when they are out. Afghanistan gets first fashion show in decades

Photo courtesy of The Scotsman

Mark Alexander

"Islamic Terror"
With thanks to my friend, Always On Watch, for bringing this excellent article to my attention:

After the terrorist outrages of July 7, 2005, most Londoners have continued to travel by bus, train and Underground. They are more vigilant, but few seem to experience anxiety about a repeat attack during their journey. That is remarkable because objectively the chances of another massacre must be higher than a year ago.

Last year the bombs were the first shock. The second was to discover that the terrorists were suicide bombers and British. We could have coped with the outrage more easily had the murderers been foreigners, raised in squalor, brainwashed under a theocratic dictatorship and shipped here to massacre people for whom they had no kindred feelings.

It is more plausible that we could defend the country against an exterior threat than defeat one that comes from within. We can hope to monitor comings and goings at our airports and to keep tabs on people who stand out because they are visitors. But the task is almost hopeless if the perpetrators live among us. If four young men who had enjoyed the advantages of life in Britain decide to kill themselves and as many others as possible, then why should there not be 400 or 4,000 more? No offence, imam, but we must call it Islamic terror by Michael Portillo

Mark Alexander

The changing face of America

THE date is looming large in America’s debate about immigration: the population is predicted to reach 300m on October 17 and the newborn citizen is as likely as not to be a bouncing Hispanic baby.

The face of America is changing as immigration fuels population growth out of sync with the rest of the developed world. It is also complicating President George W Bush’s efforts to offer illegal entrants a path to citizenship.

William Frey, a social scientist at the Brookings Institution in Washington, pinpointed the date by examining the most popular months for births — August to October — and ethnic birth rates. “We know about half the growth in the United States is Hispanic,” he said. “Only about 10% is white.” Hispanics nudge US population to 300m by Sarah Baxter in Washington

Mark Alexander

Twaddle, Mr Taylor! Twaddle, twaddle, twaddle!
Do you remember that wonderful 'letter to the editor' I drew your attention to in the The Daily News (Galveston) on July 1? You know, the man who said what the problem we face is in just a few, succinct words. Well, below is the editor's response. His response shows the problems we have in dealing with Islam by having a mammoth task to try and enlighten our own people first about the danger to Western civilization that Islam is:

The Daily News recently angered some readers by printing a letter about Islam.

The letter contended that Islam is not a religion of peace but a religion that urges violence against those who don’t believe in it.

Some readers said publishing such a letter only encourages attacks against a religious minority.

Others applauded the letter, saying it reflects the feelings of most Americans.

I think it was important to print the letter, although I disagree with it strongly.

The discussion about what Islam is and isn’t already is going on in our society. Trying to hide from that debate is impossible. Letter about Islam sparked worthwhile debate by Hebor Taylor (Editor: The Daily News)

Mark Alexander

Terror suspects on the run in Saudi

Seven terror suspects have escaped from prison in Saudi Arabia, according to the country's Interior Ministry.

Saudi-owned television Al Arabiya said the fugitives - six Saudis and one Yemeni - were linked to al-Qaeda.

Saudi Arabia has been battling a campaign of violence by al-Qaeda aimed at toppling the pro-US monarchy. Terror suspects 'flee Saudi jail'

Mark Alexander

Der Papst in Spanien

Besuch in Valencia zum Abschluss des Welt-Familientreffens

Das Oberhaupt der römisch-katholischen Kirche, Papst Benedikt XVI., ist am Samstag in Valencia eingetroffen. In der spanischen Stadt tritt er zum Ende des Welt-Familientreffens auf. Auf dem Flughafen und bei einem Treffen mit Bischöfen betonte Benedikt XVI. den Wert der Familie für die Kirche und die Gesellschaft.

(sda/dpa/afp/Reuters) Papst Benedikt XVI. hat zum Auftakt seines Besuches in Valencia einen besseren Schutz von Familie und Ehe gefordert. Die auf der Ehe basierende Familie sei «eine einzigartige Einrichtung nach Gottes Plan». Die Familie sei eine unersetzliche Institution und für die Kirche mit fundamentalen Werten verbunden, sagte das Oberhaupt der römisch-katholischen Kirche am Samstag auf dem Flughafen von Valencia, wo er vom spanischen Königspaar, Ministerpräsident José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero sowie Tausenden von Gläubigen begrüsst wurde. Papst betont Wert der Familie

Mark Alexander

Clergyman stokes controversy and calls Islam a "cult" on radio

''[Blanket criticisms of Islam] do not reflect the sentiments of my government or the sentiments of most Americans. Islam, as practiced by the vast majority of people, is a peaceful religion, a religion that respects others'' - President Bush

Remarks on a radio show about his views on Islam may cause conflict for a Pompano Beach minister who is well-known in Republican circles.

The Rev. O'Neal Dozier, a Broward clergyman who has advised President Bush and is a political appointee of Gov. Jeb Bush, took to the air waves Friday to criticize Islam as a ''cult'' religion.

The radio appearance by Dozier, who serves on the governor's committee that screens Broward judicial nominees, startled a local Muslim leader, and prompted the governor to immediately distance himself from the statements.

Reached later in the day by The Miami Herald, a contrite Dozier said he was ''concerned'' his comments could jeopardize his position on Broward's Judicial Nominating Commission. But he did not disavow those comments.

''The Islamic religion in my view is a cult,'' Dozier said Friday, when asked to recap the controversial comments he made earlier on The Steve Kane Radio Show on WNN-AM 1470. ''On the show I said that Islam is a dangerous religion.'' Jeb Bush ally slams Islam

Mark Alexander

Lehrerin mit Kopftuch muß gleichbehandelt mit Ordensschwestern

Berlin - Eigentlich gilt in Baden-Württemberg für muslimische Lehrerinnen an öffentlichen Schulen ein striktes Kopftuchverbot. Doch nun hat ein Urteil des Stuttgarter Verwaltungsgerichts eine erste Ausnahme von dieser Regelung geschaffen. Die zum Islam konvertierte Deutsche Doris Graber darf weiterhin mit Kopftuch unterrichten, da sie den Schulfrieden allenfalls abstrakt gefährdet, wie es in der Begründung der Stuttgarter Richter hieß.

Mit dem Urteil wurde ein "Zeichen gegen die Diskriminierung des Islam gesetzt", erklärte der Parlamentarische Geschäftsführer der Grünen-Bundestagsfraktion, Volker Beck. Entweder man verbiete konsequent alle religiösen Bekundungen im staatlichen Bereich oder aber definiere einen Freiraum für religiöse Bekundungen, der für alle Religionen gleichermaßen gelte. Das baden-württembergische Schulgesetz vom April 2004 verbietet politische, weltanschauliche und religiöse "Bekundungen", die den Schulfrieden gefährden oder stören könnten, es nimmt die "Darstellung christlicher und abendländischer Bildungs- und Kulturwerte" davon jedoch aus. Wenn aber Nonnen in Ordenstracht an staatlichen Schulen in Baden-Württemberg unterrichten dürften, sei das Kopftuchverbot für Muslimische Lehrerinnen eine nicht hinzunehmende Benachteiligung, urteilten jetzt die Richter im Fall Graber. Lehrerin siegt im Kopftuchstreit von Claudia Ehrenstein

Mark Alexander

Choudary: Britain faces civil war!"

Photo courtesy of The Sun

With thanks to Always On Watch for drawing this short, but very informative, newspaper article to my attention:

A MUSLIM fanatic caused outrage yesterday by admitting he wouldn’t tip off cops about another 7/7 suicide attack.

Anjem Choudary also claimed “oppressed” Muslims had a right to defend themselves using “whatever means”. Fanatic's sick 7/7 rant by Anthony France

Mark Alexander

7/7 one year on: The UK remembers: 52 perished, hundreds injured

Photo courtesy of the BBC

The UK is preparing to mark the first anniversary of the London bombings that claimed 52 lives and injured hundreds.

At 0850 BST - when bombs on three Underground trains went off - flowers will be laid at King's Cross station, near the scene of one of the attacks.

At midday, a two-minute silence will be observed across the country, including Wimbledon and other events.

A public ceremony will be held later in Regent's Park, with readings and a recital of the names of the dead.

The commemoration comes as Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair gives a firm warning that London must expect another attack. Nation prepares to remember 7/7

Mark Alexander

This is the calibre of man we need to lead us!

Photo courtesy of the BBC

The rows were explosive, the challenges enormous, but Churchill led Britain through World War Two with unique assurance - his cigar always in place. 'Winnie' changed his country's military approach from defensiveness to aggressive attack, and so altered the course of history. The historian Geoffrey Best describes how he did it.

A statesman transformed

At the beginning of the Second World War the reputation of Winston Churchill was that of a gifted politician who had twice changed parties, an impulsive man prone to impractical enthusiasms, and a Conservative backbencher who opposed the foreign policy of his leader - the prime minister, Neville Chamberlain.

Six years later, Churchill towered above all contemporaries as a statesman of international renown. He was known as the champion of freedom and civilisation, and the victorious leader of the British nation and empire at war. How did this transformation happen?

The change did not begin to happen until 1940, when the war was nine months old. Even his enemies had recognised that Churchill would have to be brought into the government in the event of war - his military expertise was universally acknowledged, and his criticisms of Chamberlain's policy of appeasement had after all proved justified - and he had been made First Lord of the Admiralty. In this capacity he was given charge only of the Royal Navy, a position that, after ten years in the political wilderness, he was content to accept. Winston Churchill: Defender of Democracy by Geoffrey Best

Mark Alexander

Dry ideas from dry people! Kill everyone's joy! After all, the Islamization of the EU will be that much easier thereafter!

Image courtesy of the EU Observer

EUOBSERVER / STRASBOURG - One of the first concrete proposals the Finnish EU presidency will push in the bloc's agenda is an alcohol tax hike across Europe.

Helsinki has put the issue on the agenda of the very first meeting during its six-month period at the EU's helm - the gathering of finance ministers planned for 11 July.

"It is necessary to harmonize the tax rates to even out the price levels of alcohol," the presidency stated in a press release on the council agenda, adding that it aims to achieve an increase in the EU minimum excise duty rates on alcohol, particularly spirits. Finland to start EU presidency with alcohol tax hikes by Lucia Kubosova

Photo courtesy of Google Image
Life's no fun any more, according to the experts. You can't drink beer because it kills your brain cells. You can't eat cakes because they clog your arteries. You can't drive in the bus lane because the cameras get you. You can't have unprotected sex in case you catch some unspeakable disease. You can't hunt foxes because it's nasty. You can't have a coal fire in the city because of pollution and you can't use a cellphone because it fries your brain. What's left?

Smoking? You must be kidding. The whole world is a long way down the road of making smokers feel like serial killers, and wanting to have a cold pint and a nice fag in the environs of your local pub is supposed to make you an anti-social reprobate of the worst order. Some day, when the world is old, people will scoff at the fact that human beings once lived in a society - Britain - where the Government could confirm its commitment to Trident missiles, whose only single purpose is to wipe out the planet, while, in the same week, that identical Government floated the idea of making it illegal for people of 16 and 17 to smoke a cigarette. Under-18s will smoke whatever the law by Andrew O'Hagan

Mark Alexander

The rough side and the smooth; the tough side and the gentle

Images courtesy of Google Images

Mark Alexander