Sarkozy Not Afraid to Talk of ”Chemical Castration” for Pædophiles

Photo of M Sarkozy courtesy of the BBC

BBC: French President Nicolas Sarkozy has lost no time since returning from holiday in demonstrating that his political touch has not deserted him.

His response to a shocking news story - the alleged abduction and rape of a young boy by a serial sex offender who had just been freed from jail - was vintage Sarko.

Flanked by senior ministers on the steps of the Elysee Palace, the president announced a handful of simple, direct measures on an emotive topic - protecting children from paedophiles - that he knows will go down well with the public.

No more reduced sentences for sex offenders; secure hospitals for those still considered dangerous at the end of their sentences; tougher controls for those who are freed.

'Chemical castration'

The populist language was familiar.

He was not afraid, Mr Sarkozy said, to call hormonal treatment for paedophiles "chemical castration".

On the convicted paedophile who allegedly attacked the five-year-old boy, he said: "I don't understand how someone is sentenced to 27 years and only serves 18."

In a matter of minutes, President Sarkozy cut through a mountain of law and regulation in a highly complicated area to get to the heart of what concerns people: punishment for criminals, and protection for their potential victims. Sarkozy's anti-paedophile action-plan (more) By Alistair Sandford

Mark Alexander

Sayf al-Islam Gaddafi Announces Reform Plans

Photo of Sayf al-Gaddafi courtesy of the BBC

BBC: The son of the Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, has announced reform plans, including an independent central bank and free media.

Sayf al-Islam Gaddafi also called for a national dialogue on a new constitution to strengthen Libya's political system.

But he said Islamic Sharia law, security issues, Libya's territorial unity and his father's leadership would be kept out of any political debate.

Sayf al-Islam holds no government post, but is his father's most trusted envoy.

He has denied reports that he is being groomed to succeed his father.

'People's contract'

In a speech broadcast live on state media, Mr Gaddafi said the current political system, which mixes Islamic ideas with some socialist principles, was flawed.

He said it criminalised political dissent and banned the creation of political parties and a freely-elected parliament. Gaddafi son unveils reform plan (more)

Mark Alexander

Iran Frees Haleh Esfandiari
BBC: An Iranian-American academic jailed during a visit to Tehran in May has been freed, the official state news agency Isna has reported.

Detained on security-related charges, Haleh Esfandiari, 67, was released for a bail of 3 billion rial ($320,000; £160,000), according to Isna.

Ms Esfandiari, who works for a research institute in Washington, was jailed while visiting her 93-year-old mother.
Her release comes amid ongoing tensions between the US and Iran.

US National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe told AFP news agency: "This is encouraging news and the United States welcomes this." Iran frees detained US academic (more)

Mark Alexander

Vatican Plans Budget Flights for Christian Pilgrims
BBC: The Vatican is to launch a low-cost charter flight service to transport pilgrims to holy sites worldwide.

The inaugural flight on 27 August will go from Rome to Lourdes in France.

A small Italian airline, Mistral, will provide the planes, with the interiors decorated with sacred inscriptions such as: "I search for your face, Lord."

Other destinations could include Fatima in Portugal and Santiago di Compostela in Spain, the Holy Land, Poland and a Catholic shrine in Mexico. Vatican plans flights to shrines (more)

Mark Alexander

Nazi Files of the Holocaust Are Being Transferred to the US and Israel
BBC: The keepers of a vast archive of Nazi documents on the Holocaust have transferred copies of millions of files to museums in Israel and the US.

The electronic transfer is part of an agreement to open up the Bad Arolsen archive, overseen by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

The files, kept in Germany, were found in concentration camps and other Nazi prisons at the end of World War II.

Several countries have not yet ratified the agreement, delaying full access.

The archive will only be fully opened to the public when the 2006 protocol is ratified by Italy, France and Greece. That is expected later this year.

The ICRC says the archive has now transferred many documents from the archive to the Holocaust Memorial Museum in the US and to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Centre in Israel.

Chilling details
The 47 million files stored in the spa town of Bad Arolsen hold meticulously recorded information on forced labourers, concentration camp victims and political prisoners. They take up 26km (16 miles) of shelving. Copies of Nazi files transferred (more)

Vatican opens secret Nazi files

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Yad Vashem

The secret history of the Nazi mascot

Mark Alexander

Global Incident Map
With thanks to Nanc for drawing this Global Incident Map to our attention on AlwaysOnWatch’s great blogspot. It’s well worth checking out.

Mark Alexander

A Flight to Safety on Wall Street
THE TELEGRAPH: A flight to safety on Wall Street caused yields on 3-month US treasury notes to plummet at the steepest pace since modern records began, eclipsing moves at the height of the 1987 stock market crash.

The big freeze?

Investors fled the $2,500bn (£1,260bn) money market that usually serves as a safe-haven in times of turbulence, responding to reports that funds may be exposed to sub-prime mortgage debt and asset-backed commercial paper. "This is a sign of significant fear in the financial system," said one banker.

However, the Dow, after sinking nearly 100 points in early trading, staged a late rally and ended up 42 points at 13,121, as the pile into treasury notes eased later in the day.

Traders were initially unsettled by news that Deutsche Bank had tapped the credit window of the US Federal Reserve after the emergency half-point cut in the discount rate last Friday. Banks are typically reluctant to use the facility, fearing that it could send off a distress signal. US bond yields plunge at record rate (more) By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard and David Litterick

Mark Alexander

Saudi Family Killed Domestic Workers Says Human Rights Watch
MIDDLE EAST TIMES: DUBAI -- A Saudi family beat to death two Indonesian women workers in an attack that Human Rights Watch said Friday highlighted the government's failure to deal with employers who seriously abuse domestic staff.

"The brutal killings of these Indonesian domestic workers occurred in an atmosphere of impunity, fostered by government inaction," said Nisha Varia, senior researcher in the Women's Rights Division of the New York-based rights group.

"Not only do the authorities typically fail to investigate or prosecute abusive employers, the criminal justice system also obstructs abused workers from seeking redress."

The group said seven members of the Saudi family carried out the beatings, earlier this month, which also resulted in two other women being critically injured. They are now in intensive care in Riyadh.

The family accused the four of practising "black magic" on a teenage son.

Although the authorities have detained these employers, the rights group said many of the 2 million domestic workers in the kingdom are routinely underpaid, overworked, confined to the workplace, or subject to verbal, physical, and sexual abuse.

And those who complain often face countercharges, such as theft, adultery, or fornication in cases of rape or witchcraft.

It cited interviews it had with Sri Lankan women who had been sentenced to prison and whipping after their employers had raped and made them pregnant.

In another case, Nour Miyati, an Indonesian domestic worker, was seriously injuried and lost her fingers through gangrene, after her employer locked her up, physically and verbally abused her, and deprived her of food.

She then faced a countercharge of making false accusations against him and was sentenced to 79 lashes. A court subsequently overturned that conviction and sentence, but she still awaits a final monetary settlement from her employer, and the ability to return home to Indonesia after her ordeal.

Human Rights Watch said the Saudi government often took months or years to tell foreign missions if their nationals had been arrested, preventing them from giving badly-needed help, such as interpreters.

Despite this, it said the Indonesian embassy alone currently has 300 women in its shelter, mainly domestic workers complaining of abuse by employers and recruitment agents. In July, the shelter housed 500 women. [Source; Saudi family killed domestic workers says rights group]

Mark Alexander

Prophet Mohammed war ein “Verbrecher”, so Ehsan Jami. Einer, der mit Usama Bin Laden zu vergleichen ist!

Foto von Ehsam Jami dank der FAZ

FAZ: 21. August 2007
„Ehsan Jami könnte einflussreicher werden als Ayaan Hirsi Ali“, sagt Afshin Ellian. Die Prophezeiung des Rechtsphilosophen und Publizisten, der sich 1989 vor der iranischen Chomeini-Revolution in die Niederlande rettete und als populärer Islam-Kritiker vielen muslimischen Extremisten so verhasst ist, dass er dort bei seinen Universitätsvorlesungen stets von zwei Polizisten flankiert ist, gilt einem 22 Jahre alten sozialdemokratischen Lokalpolitiker. Der war als Neunjähriger mit seinen Eltern ebenfalls aus Iran gekommen, nennt sich seit dem 11. September 2001 nicht mehr Muslim und wurde im vorigen Jahr in den Rat der südholländischen Gemeinde Voorburg gewählt. Seit Anfang August lebt er unter Polizeischutz an einem geheimen Ort. Denn er hat angekündigt, ein niederländisches „Komitee für Ex-Muslime“ zu gründen - und wurde deshalb vor seiner Wohnung zusammengeschlagen.

Vereine von und für Menschen, die sich vom Islam abgewandt haben, sind unlängst auch in Deutschland und Großbritannien gegründet worden. Doch erregt das Vorhaben in den Niederlanden im beginnenden Jahr Zwei nach Ayaan Hirsi Ali einiges mehr an Aufsehen. Ein gutes Jahr ist es her, dass die im ganzen Land berühmte Kämpferin gegen den traditionellen Islam und die Unterdrückung muslimischer Frauen die Niederlande verlassen hat. Die gebürtige Somalierin, die in Europa dem Islam abschwor und auch als Abgeordnete der Rechtsliberalen ihren Kampf mehr außerhalb als innerhalb des Haager Parlaments focht, verließ vorigen Sommer geradezu fluchtartig Europa. Hirsi Alis Freunde (mehr) Von Andreas Ross

Mark Alexander

Unsichere Zeiten in der deutschen Wirtschaft
FAZ: 21. August 2007
Die Turbulenzen an den Finanzmärkten haben den Konjunkturoptimismus von Anlegern und Analysten stark getrübt. Der Index der ZEW-Konjunkturerwartungen sank im August überraschend deutlich: von 10,4 im Juli auf minus 6,9 Punkte. Dies teilte das Mannheimer Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung (ZEW) am Dienstag mit. Analysten hatten mit einem Rückgang auf minus 1,0 Punkte gerechnet. Der Index für die aktuelle Lage gab von 88,2 Punkten im Juli auf 80,2 Punkte nach.

Die 300 befragten Experten befürchten dem ZEW zufolge, dass die Krise am amerikanischen Immobilienmarkt auf die deutsche Wirtschaft durchschlägt. ZEW-Präsident Wolfgang Franz sieht dagegen nur begrenzte Folgen. „Mögliche Rückwirkungen auf die deutsche Konjunktur werden sich nach derzeitigen Kenntnissen in engen Grenzen halten“, sagte Franz. „Die Krise ist in erster Linie ein Problem der Vereinigten Staaten.“ Eventuelle Kreditengpässe fielen in ein Umfeld sehr guter Unternehmensbilanzen. Allerdings die Konjunkturerwartungen nun deutlich unter ihrem historischen Mittelwert von 32,6 Punkten. Die Konjunkturerwartungen für die Eurozone verminderten sich im August ebenfalls. Der Euro-Indikator sank um 13,3 Punkte gegenüber dem Vormonat auf minus 6,1 Punkten. Amerikanische Krise erreicht Deutschland (mehr)

Mark Alexander

Sarkozy: Staatschef, der sich aufführt wie ein Filmstar von Paparazzi gejagt! Alles muß schön, teuer, und luxuriös sein!
FAZ: 21. August 2007
Die „rupture“, den Bruch mit der Vergangenheit, hat Nicolas Sarkozy den Franzosen vor seiner Wahl zum Staatspräsidenten versprochen. Das sollte auch für den Stil seiner Politik gelten. Anders als sein Vorgänger Chirac wolle er nicht zurückgezogen hinter den Mauern des Elysée-Palastes die Geschicke des Staates lenken, eingepresst in steife Protokolle und Rituale, sondern er wolle bürgernah, offen und pragmatisch regieren, versprach Sarkozy. Dabei solle er für seine Handlungen immer zur Rechenschaft gezogen werden können.

Die Ferien von Sarkozy, so sehen es viele Kommentatoren, wollen nicht recht dazu passen. Schon zum zweiten Mal in seiner noch nicht einmal hundert Tage währenden Amtszeit sorgen sie für Aufsehen, weil sie teuer waren und von reichen Managern bezahlt wurden. Dem aufgrund von politischem Druck verkürzten Yachturlaub vor Malta zwischen Wahl und Amtseinführung im Mai, den der Unternehmer Vincent Bolloré bezahlte, folgten die gerade beendeten Ferien im amerikanischen Bundesstaat New Hampshire. Sarkozy lässt sich gern verwöhnen (mehr) Von Christian Schubert, Paris

Mark Alexander

Stock Market Crisis: The Tip of the Iceberg
THE TELEGRAPH: Switzerland's top banker has warned of massive losses from the unfolding credit crisis, describing the collapse in US lending standards as "unbelievable".

Jean-Pierre Roth, president of the Swiss National Bank, said market turmoil was far from over as tremors from the sub-prime debacle continued to rock the world.

"We're certainly not at the end of the story. There are question marks surrounding the development of the American economy," he said. "Something unbelievable happened. People who had neither income nor capital got credit with very attractive conditions. Now reality is striking back," he said.

In Germany, the state bank SachsenLB admitted that it had received a €17.3bn bail-out after its investment arm Ormond Quai racked up huge losses on US sub-prime debt. It had previously denied holding direct exposure to sub-prime.

The revelation came as traders braced themselves for another turbulent week, with mounting expectations that central banks may soon cut rates to prevent market mayhem leading to an economic downturn. Traders braced for another torrid week (more) By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard and Yvette Essen

THE TELEGRAPH:
Business comment: Sub-prime crisis is the edge of a financial hurricane (more) By Bernard Connolly

Mark Alexander

In Iran, Muslims Are Becoming Christians


Mark Alexander

In the Ultimate Act of Political-Correctness, British TV to Air the Islamic View of Jesus Christ
THE GUARDIAN: There was no manger, Christ is not the Messiah, and the crucifixion never happened. A forthcoming ITV documentary will portray Jesus as Muslims see him.

With the Koran as a main source and drawing on interviews with scholars and historians, the Muslim Jesus explores how Islam honours Christ as a prophet but not as the son of God. According to the Koran the crucifixion was a divine illusion. Instead of dying on the cross, Jesus was rescued by angels and raised to heaven.

The one-hour special, commissioned and narrated by Melvyn Bragg, is thought to be the first time the subject has been dealt with on British television. Lord Bragg said: "I was fascinated by the idea ... Jesus was such a prominent figure in Islam but most people don't know that."

He denies the programme will divide communities. Raised as an Anglican, he describes the documentary as thoughtful and well researched. "I hope it will provoke among Muslims the feeling they are included in television."

The director and producer, Irshad Ashraf, said the film was an attempt to shift the focus away from extremism to the spiritual side of Islam. "Jesus is loved and respected by Muslims and he's one of the most important prophets in our religion."

Representatives from mainstream Anglican and Catholic organisations were invited to take part in the film, to be broadcast on Sunday, but nobody was available, Mr Ashraf said.
Philip Lewis, the Bishop of Bradford's aide on inter-faith matters, urged believers on both sides to take advantage of a "worthwhile contribution to understanding a complex issue".

However, Patrick Sookhdeo, an Anglican canon and spokesman for the Barnabas Fund, which works with persecuted Christians, accused broadcasters of double standards. Mr Sookhdeo, who was born a Muslim and converted to Christianity in 1969, said: "How would the Muslim community respond if ITV made a programme challenging Muhammad as the last prophet?"

The Koran's denial of Jesus's divinity was "unacceptable". "On the last day the Koran says Jesus will destroy all the crosses. How can we praise that?" TV airing for Islam’s story of Christ [Source]

Mark Alexander

« Bibi » à la tête du Likoud
LEFIGARO: Il a été reconduit hier soir à la tête du Likoud et se prépare pour les prochaines élections.

POUR Benyamin Nétanyahou, ce devrait être la fin de huit années de traversée du désert. Il a été confirmé comme chef du Likoud hier, à l'issue des élections internes organisées dans le grand parti de la droite israélienne. Tous les sondages le donnaient élu dans un fauteuil. Selon les résultats définitifs rendus publics mercredi matin par les responsables de la formation politique, il a raflé 73% des suffrages .

Derrière lui, le candidat d'extrême droite Moshé Feiglin, qu'on attendait dans le rôle du trouble-fête, a obtenu 23% des voix.

Pour « Bibi », comme les Israéliens l'appellent, il ne suffisait pas de gagner. Encore faut-il qu'il y ait la manière. Sur le papier, son OPA pour le pouvoir avait toutes les chances de réussir. Les sondages le plaçaient depuis quelques mois en tête des successeurs possibles d'Ehoud Olmert, le chef de gouvernement qui bat des records d'impopularité. Mais Benyamin Nétanyahou a besoin d'un parti en ordre de marche pour l'emporter, surtout après la déroute lors des législatives de l'an dernier. Les défections d'Ariel Sharon et d'Ehoud Olmert, partis pour fonder Kadima, un parti centriste, avaient laissé le Likoud au tapis avec un groupe parlementaire réduit à la portion congrue - 12 députés sur 120. Benyamin Nétanyahou se relance sur la scène politique israélienne (suivant)

Mark Alexander

Left, Right, Left, Right! Is America About to March in a Different Political Direction?
THE ECONOMIST: For George Bush, the presidency is becoming a tragic tale of unintended consequences. In foreign policy, the man who sought to transform Iraq, the Middle East and America's reputation has indeed had revolutionary effects, though not the ones he was aiming for. Now something similar seems to be happening in domestic politics. The most conservative president in recent history, a man who sought to turn his victories of 2000 and 2004 into a Republican hegemony, may well end up driving the Western world's most impressive political machine off a cliff.

That machine has put Republicans in the White House in seven of the past ten contests. At times it has seemed as if the Democrats (oddly, given their status as the less Godly party) have had to rely on divine intervention to get elected. Watergate helped Jimmy Carter in 1976, just as the end of the cold war and Ross Perot's disruptive third-party campaign helped Bill Clinton in 1992. Better organised and more intellectually inventive than their “liberal” rivals, American conservatives have controlled the agenda even when they have lost: Mr Clinton is best remembered for balancing the budget and passing welfare reform, both conservative achievements. In a country where one in three people see themselves as conservatives (against one in five as liberals) and where the South and West have grown far more quickly than the liberal north-east, it is easy to see why Mr Bush and his strategist, Karl Rove, dreamed of banishing Democrats from power for a generation.

Now they would settle for a lot less. Having recaptured Congress last year, the Democrats are on course to retake the presidency in 2008. Only one Republican, Rudy Giuliani, looks competitive in the polls, and his campaign is less slick than those of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Voters now favour generic Democratic candidates over Republican ones by wide margins. Democrats are more trusted even on traditional conservative issues, such as national security, and they have opened up a wide gap among the young, among independents and among Latinos (see article). Is America turning left? (more)

Mark Alexander

Islam: What the West Needs to Know
Hat tip to Always On Watch for sending me the links to these videos. They really are ‘must views’ for everyone interested in the maintenance of Western civilization!

Part 1:


Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
Part 10

Mark Alexander

Ayaan Hirsi Ali Calling a Spade a Spade: “We Must Scrutinize Islamic Theology”


Mark Alexander

Islamophobia
If you are "Islamophobic", then you are a sensible human being, for Islam wishes to destroy your culture!

Mark Alexander

From Ireland, an Important Message!
PEDESTRIAN INFIDEL: From Ireland’s Independent.ie media company and writer Kevin Myers comes a deliberate and unapologetic opinion piece that sounds much like what we've been saying at Pedestrian Infidel all along (Hat-tip: Foehammer):

Forget lily-livered liberalism, time to take stand and say we don’t want Muslim immigrants

LET me ask you something. Is it a rational decision for a secular-Christian society to admit thousands of Muslims into its midst? Comparable movements of Christians into Muslim societies are not permitted, so what essential, non-negotiable, mutually respected right is involved?

The question is especially apposite, because we now know the consequences for every single European society which has admitted large numbers of Muslims: social alienation, religious antagonism and outright terrorism.

We know this. We all know it. And yet we continue to allow Muslim immigration. Why? What do we gain from it?

Well, up until two weeks ago you might have said, more doctors - for when Mary Harney declared that she was going to solve the impasse in the health service by bringing in medical graduates from around the world, we all accepted that doctors, no matter their religion, were dedicated to saving life.

That was then. We know otherwise now. Clearly the Hippocratic Oath doesn’t have the universal power we once thought. Even Mengele, for all his evil, could maintain the fiction that his abominable experiments were of some medical use. But no one could possibly say that of the medical mass-murder plots in Britain, where the term WMD has taken on a new and grisly resonance for some Muslim doctors. Which ones? We don’t know. Okay: so why take the risk?

Now, whenever I write about immigration, the response is a bristling silence, as the binary-weight of physical fear and PC-conformism successfully suppresses debate on Ireland’s future. Occasionally, one hears a little bleat, “You’re not being helpful” - ah yes, the lily-livered whinge of unprincipled liberalism.

Thus, the Dail has never debated the effects of Christian, European population-movement into Ireland, never mind the consequences of Islamic immigration. This is frivolousness to the point of delinquency, the hallmark of a society which has neither faith in its own values, nor a determination for them to endure. And a society which does not defend its core-certainties is sooner or later doomed. Much of Europe is so afflicted, and Britain is in an advanced stage of the disease.

Islamic norms are now tolerated, and informally enforced, across many British cities, where women routinely wear full face-veils. Of Britain’s two million Muslims, over 300,000 believe suicide attacks in the West are justified, and 500,000 believe the 7/7 attacks in London two years ago were the work of British intelligence.

Some 600,000 do not even regard themselves as British, 37pc want sharia law in Britain, and one-quarter want to live in all-Muslim areas. Meanwhile, MI5 is close to being overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the domestic terrorist insurgency: 100 Islamicist suspects are already awaiting trial, and there are some 200 terrorist networks, with 1,700 members, now operating around the country.

“Immigrants are good for a society,” goes the brainless parrot-cry of Irish dogmatic advocates. Sometimes, sometimes, but not always. In Britain, 16pc of Christians are economically inactive; the figure for Muslims is twice that, 31pc. Unemployment for Muslim women stands at 18pc, compared to 4pc for Jewish and Christian women. European newspaper (finally!) sounding the alarm about Muslim migrants (more) By the Anti-Jihadist

Mark Alexander

Dynamite!
Hat tip to Always On Watch for being so kind as to alert me to this amazing video. It’s a ‘must view’ for any self-respecting European. Pat Condell always gives us great and accurate videos. This is certainly no exception.

Islam in Europe

Mark Alexander

Tiny Muskens, Tiny Mind!
With many thanks to Judah of Judah’s Journal for reminding me of this absurd proposal by a Dutch bishop of little understanding.

WORLD NET DAILY: Catholic churches in the Netherlands should use the name Allah for God to ease tensions between Muslims and Christians, says a Dutch bishop.

Tiny Muskens, the bishop of Breda, told the Dutch TV program "Network" Monday night he believes God doesn't mind what he is called, Radio Netherlands Worldwide reported.

The Almighty is above such "discussion and bickering," he insisted.

Muskens points to Indonesia, where he served 30 years ago, as an example for Dutch churches. Christians in the Middle East also use the term Allah for God.

"Someone like me has prayed to Allah yang maha kuasa (Almighty God) for eight years in Indonesia and other priests for 20 or 30 years," Muskens said. "In the heart of the Eucharist, God is called Allah over there, so why can't we start doing that together?"

Muskens thinks it could take another 100 years, but eventually the name Allah will be used by Dutch churches, promoting rapprochement between the two religions, he said, according to Radio Netherlands.

However, a survey published today in the Netherlands' largest newspaper, De Telegraaf, showed 92 percent of the more than 4,000 people polled oppose the bishop's view, the Associated Press reported. Bishop urges Christians to call God 'Allah': Catholic leader believes it would help ease tensions between religions (more)

Mark Alexander

Stock Market Woes Unabated in Face of Uncertainty
FINANCIAL TIMES: Shares in London were back in the red by midday on Friday as an earlier rally fizzled out ahead of what was expected to be another rocky session on Wall Street.

Bank stocks, which have been heavily sold off since the turmoil in the credit markets began in June, stage a recovery as investors took the view that lenders had been oversold.

But losses for cyclical stocks like miners, metal groups and oil companies dragged the index of leading shares lower by midday.
The FTSE 100, which closed at its lowest level since September 2006 on Thursday, fell 31.50 points or 0.6 per cent to 5,825.40. The blue-chip index is down nearly 180 points or almost 3 per cent this week. Since its high in June the FTSE 100 has fallen nearly 13 per cent and is now in negative territory for the year. FTSE turns lower as uncertainty remains (more)

Mark Alexander

The Muslim Juror and the MP3 Player

Photo of Muslim juror courtesy of the Daily Mail

DAILY MAIL: A Muslim juror accused of listening to an MP3 player under her headscarf during a murder trial will face no further action.
Ruhela Khanom, 20, was serving on jury panel when she was accused of secretly listening to music during the trial of pensioner Alan Wicks, who was later jailed for life for bludgeoning his wife to death.

After repeated lateness and complaints that she was playing music when she should have been paying attention to the evidence, she was discharged from the trial at London's Blackfriars Crown Court.

But yesterday the Attorney General's office ruled that there was "insufficient" evidence to prove any alleged contempt of court.

Khanom was accused of contempt of court in July when 72-year-old Wicks was in the dock denying his wife's murder.
Judge Chapple said at the time he had discharged Khanom because: "There was a complaint made by a fellow juror during the course of the luncheon adjournment.

"The juror had seen wires disappearing into the juror in question's headscarf and heard her music emanating from that juror while we were in court and everyone else listening with close attention to important evidence of the defendant." Muslim juror accused of wearing MP3 player under her hijab escapes punishment (more) By Colin Fernandez

Mark Alexander

Weak, Clueless, Politically-Correct Doctors
With thanks to Always On Watch for alerting me to this article:

DAILY EXPRESS: DOCTORS and health workers have been banned from eating lunch at their desks - in case it offends their Muslim colleagues.

Health chiefs believe the sight of food will upset Muslim workers when they are celebrating the religious festival Ramadan.

The lunch trolley is also to be wheeled out of bounds as the 30-day fast begins next month.

But staff and politicians branded the move political correctness gone mad and warned that it was a step too far.

Bill Aitken, the Scottish Conservative justice spokesman, said: “This advice, well-meaning as it may be, is total nonsense.

“It is the sort of thing that can stir up resentment rather than result in good relations.”

The new guidance comes in the wake of the failed terror attacks on Glasgow and the death of suspect Kafeel Ahmed, 27.

Health chiefs in Lothian and Glasgow will give all employees time off to pray and to celebrate Eid, which marks the end of Ramadan.

But Greater Glasgow and Clyde as well as Lothian NHS boards also issued the advice, warning workers not to take working lunches, and said all vending machines should be removed from areas where Muslims work.

One senior consultant said: “What next? Are we going to have advice on how to deal with Catholics during Lent?

“This kind of thing does more harm than good.” Doctors Give In to Muslims (more)

Mark Alexander

Fun Time, Folks! Bill Maher on Religion!
With many thanks to Mat Keris for alerting me to this very funny video. I apologize, of course, for the bad language.


Mark Alexander

World's Stock Markets Suffer Heavy Losses
BBC: The UK's main share index has closed down sharply as concern over the impact of turmoil in the US sub-prime lending market continues to haunt investors.

While US shares were falling still further in early Wall Street trading, London's FTSE 100 ended the day down 4.1% or 250 points at 5,859.

This is the first time since October that the FTSE has closed below 6,000.

The falls came despite the Federal Reserve pumping an extra $17bn ($8.6bn) into the US banking system.

Central banks have been taking such action to try and restore confidence and avoid a credit squeeze.

Over the past week, the Fed has now injected $88bn (£44.3bn), while the European Central Bank has put up 211bn euros ($283.2bn; £142.6bn). Heavy losses sweep world markets (more

FAZ:
Der Crash geht weiter

LE FIGARO:
La bourse de Paris dégringole sous les 5300 points

Mark Alexander

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Set to Join ‘US Terror List’
BBC: The US is preparing to designate Iran's Revolutionary Guards force as a foreign terrorist unit, officials say.

If confirmed, this will be the first time official armed units of a sovereign state are included in the list of banned terrorist groups.

The classification would allow the US to target the force's finances.

The US has repeatedly accused Iran of destabilising Iraq and Afghanistan, blaming the Revolutionary Guards for supplying and training insurgents.

There are currently 42 organisations on the state department's list of foreign terrorist organisations.

They include al-Qaeda, the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and the Palestinian groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Iran Guards ‘join US terror list’ (more)

SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL:
US Weighing Terrorist Label for Iran Guards

Mark Alexander

Iraq: Set to Disintegrate?
SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL: It's no secret that Iraq is a politically, ethnically and religiously fractured country. But a new study released in Berlin on Wednesday argues that federalism remains the country's last, best hope. Otherwise, it may fall apart completely.

"Already today, the main priority is to prevent Iraq from breaking apart completely." That is the sober conclusion of a new study released Wednesday in Berlin on the situation in Iraq. Called "Iraq Between Federalism and Collapse," the study argues that there is little hope of a centralized power in Iraq and that the country's future depends on walking the fine line between decentralizing power and civil war.

The report, written by terror and Middle East expert Guido Steinberg under the auspices of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs in Berlin, says that a far-reaching decentralization is the country's only hope. And if it fails, the result could be devastating, including the possibility of full-scale civil war complete with foreign intervention. Iraq Set to Disintegrate, New Study Warns (more)

Mark Alexander

Rule of Islam the Only Way to Salvation for Mankind! So Says Ahmadinejad
IRNA: Iran-Afghanistan-Ahmadinejad 
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said here Tuesday that rule of Islam on mankind is the only way for salvation of human beings.

"There is no truth on earth but monotheism and following tenets of Islam and there is no way for salvation of mankind but rule of Islam over mankind," said

Ahmadinejad in a meeting with Afghan Sunni and Shiite ulama at Iranian Embassy in Kabul.

President Ahmadinejad said nations are today distancing themselves from culture of materialism and selfishness and look for a new way for their prosperity, that is the path of Islam.

He said that the world is on verge of a great upheaval and ulama at this juncture shoulder a heavy responsibility that is introducing genuine Islam as it is.

"Nations today have no haven but religion," the Iranian president announced, cautioning Muslim nations against enemies' divisive plots.

He said, "All of us have the duty to resist the enemy by closing our ranks." 
He said that the Iranian nation today feels more than ever the need to stand beside the Afghan nation.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran has kindly received their Afghan brothers and will continue to do so in future. Minor issues will cannot affect Iran's policies on Afghanistan," he added.

The president said Islam belongs to all generations and Muslims should get ready for global mission of Islam. [Source – President: Rule of Islam only way for salvation for mankind]

Mark Alexander

There Should Be a Moratorium on All Muslim Immigration to Australia Says Pauline Hanson

Photo of the controversial and determined Pauline Hanson courtesy of Google Images

NEWS.com.au: RIGHT-wing firebrand Pauline Hanson says she will run on similar policies to those that won her international notoriety a decade ago when she vies for a Queensland Senate seat at the upcoming election.

The main difference will be that this time the former fish and chip shop owner, who claims credit for forcing the Howard Government to adopt a harder line on immigration controls, will target Muslims.

"We need to have a look at our immigration levels and I'd like to have a look at putting a moratorium on any more Muslims coming into Australia," she said today.

The former One Nation leader has also applied to the Australian Electoral Commission to register Pauline's United Australia Party.

If successful, the party's abbreviated name, Pauline, will appear above the line on the Senate ballot paper, making it easier for people to vote for Ms Hanson.

The 53-year-old populist politician today said her policies had not changed since her days as the independent MP for Queensland electorate of Oxley.

Ms Hanson won Oxley at the 1996 election after being expelled from the Liberal Party because of her explosive views on immigration.

Her maiden speech warning against Asian immigration to the House of Representatives in September 1996 raised hackles in Asia and caused a sensation around the world. Pauline Hanson to oppose Islamic immigration (more)

WELTONLINE:
Partei will Muslimen Einwanderung verbieten

Mark Alexander

Islam: The Mother of All Darkness
The mass demonstration in Jakarta on Sunday in favour of the establishment of the caliphate (khilafah) is proof, if indeed any proof were needed, that the world is in grave danger of being dragged back into a ’New Dark Age’!

People, sceptics, liberals, politicians, and leaders in our establishments can deny what is plain to see; but they would be foolish to do so. Our world is polarizing before our very eyes. To fail to observe what a blind man could see is tantamount to playing fast and loose with the future of our civilization, tantamount to playing fast and loose with liberty, equality, and democracy.

If Islam won the day and a caliphate were indeed established, the world would be become bi-polar. The West would then be faced with an enemy of great dimension. As I stated in my book, The Dawning of a New Dark Age, an iron veil would have to be dropped between our two worlds, and this would have to be so for our own survival and safety. The concept of globalization will be effete: it will be no more; the concept will become exhausted.

Make no mistake about it, a world dominated by Islam will be a world enveloped in darkness. Political thought will come to a grinding halt; so will creative thought, scientific thinking, and much else besides.

Islam is not conducive to scientific thinking because it stifles freedom and creativity in thought. Prophet Muhammad might well have stated, “Go in quest of knowledge even unto China”, but there should have been a cautionary addendum: If the knowledge you come back with contradicts Islam, you will be beheaded!

In Islam, all knowledge must back up Muhammad’s ‘divine revelation’. If it does not, then it is not permitted. It is thrown out, for it is worthless. Nothing must contradict the word of Allah, nothing must contradict the Qur’an, nothing must contradict ah-Hadîth, or the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad, and nothing must contradict as-Sunnah, or the traditions of Muhammad. Woe betide anyone who brings back anything contradictory!

Unfortunately, Islam, in recent decades, has gained in influence because of oil wealth. Oil wealth has brought the Bedouins to Rome! The world is now the Bedouin's oyster! Alas, the Bedouin's thinking hasn’t expanded with his expanding pockets! And nor will it. It cannot do so, because his thinking is stuck in the era of their prophet. And that was more than 1400 years ago.

To the Muslim mind, there is only black and white; there are no shades of grey. To the Muslim mind, there is right or wrong according to the Qur’an and the teachings of the prophet; no-one else’s opinions matter. Islam is a simple religion for the simple mind. The Muslim is not given to abstract thinking. Even the concept of the Trinity is too much for him to grasp. Metaphor is not his strong point. All is taken literally.

That the Angel Gabriel should have appeared unto Muhammad in a cave defies comprehension; but to the Muslim it matters not. Rationality and logic are of no consequence in the Islamic world. And so it will be if Islam wins the day!

We shall be drawn back to a bygone age: An age in which prayer will matter more than progress, and age in which belief will matter more than science, and age in which meting out Allah’s punishments will matter more than human dignity. It will be an age in which the criminal will be beheaded in the public square, the thief's hand will be amputated, the adulteress will be stoned to death, the drinker of alcohol will be whipped, and the homosexual will be thrown from atop the local minaret. They will be dark days indeed!

The fact of the matter is that Islam is gaining in strength. It is like a locomotive steaming ahead at full throttle, without breaks, taking the world back centuries, back to a way of life we all thought the world had long left behind.

Many a Westerner might conclude that secularism is the mother of all enlightenment. If this is so, then by contrast he should conclude that Islam is the mother of all darkness; for indeed it truly is.

©Mark Alexander

All rights reserved

Mass Demonstration in Jakarta in Favour of Caliphate
With thanks to Roberts Spencer of JihadWatch where I first saw reference to the the following article:

Photo of Jakarta rally courtesy of the BBC

BBC: The BBC's Lucy Williamson reports from Indonesia, where tens of thousands of Islamists have gathered to push for the creation of a single state across the Muslim world.

The dull roars of a football match, the twanging music of a youth group concert - from a distance it is not always easy to tell an Islamic conference from a holiday crowd.

Inside Jakarta's Gelora Bung Karno stadium the clues get easier. There are about 100,000 people inside, and everyone is in Islamic dress.

The women's section - by far the largest - is a pitter-patter of ice-cream colours. On their parasols, one word is printed over and over again: Khilafah, caliphate.

This is the reason why people have come here. To show their support for a single, unified, Islamic state.

They have been invited by the international Islamist group, Hizb ut-Tahrir. Not everyone believed they would fill the stadium, but Hizb ut-Tahrir is good at bringing in supporters - and keeping them. Stadium crowd pushes for Islamist dream (more)

WATCH BBC VIDEO:
Islamists call for caliphate

NEWSMAX:
Rally Calls for Revival of Islamic State

Mark Alexander

’Sarko the American’
SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Hot dogs instead of lobster and hamburgers rather than swordfish: French President Nicolas Sarkozy's blitz visit to the Bush family compound in Kennebunkport was anything but a culinary summit. Politically, it was all show. Sarkozy, who outed himself as "Sarko the American" on the campaign trail wants to show that he is making a clean break from Chirac.

The entire Bush clan made an appearance at Walkers Point in Kennebunkport -- from current US President George W. to his father, former President George H.W. Also present was George W.'s brother Jeb, the former governor of Florida, as were the current first lady Laura Bush and former first lady Barbara, along with their children and grandchildren. It was not a political meeting between statesmen but a family reunion with a French addition.

Sure, global problems were apparently as big a part of the visit as burgers and hot dogs. There is enough to be dealt with, after all: Iraq and Afghanistan, plus problems on the international financial markets. But once again, the images and impressions Sarkozy wanted to leave behind took precedence.

Although he does not speak English fluently, and although Bush does not speak French at all ("I can barely speak English," the US president quipped), the visit was meant to emphasize one thing more than anything else: that the physically unimposing Sarkozy is used to dealing with the world's powerful in a completely relaxed way.

There must be an explanation, after all, for the presence of Chirac's successor in the United States -- given that many people in France are none too pleased about the circumstances of the luxury vacation, which is reminiscent of the expensive yacht holiday off the coast of Malta that Sarkozy treated himself to immediately following his electoral victory. At the time, the embarrassing public relations blooper put a serious dent in Sarkozy's image as a man of the people. This time, too, it remains unclear how much the French president had to shell out for the villa in exclusive Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. The rent for the estate -- which comes with a private beach, three boats and a jacuzzi -- is said to be about $30,000 a week. Sarkozy Praises ‘Land of Friendship’ (more)

Mark Alexander

Scandinavian Bourse Targeted for Take-Over by Owner of Dubai’s Stock Exchange
THE SUNDAY TIMES: THE owner of the Dubai stock exchange is to seek approval from the board of the leading Scandinavian bourse to make a full £2 billion takeover offer for the exchange this week.

The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), which owns the emirate’s fledgling stock exchange, has lined up meetings with key shareholders of Swedish-based OMX and the company management, ahead of a planned full bid pitched at 230 kronor (£16.70) per share.

Representatives of the Dubai exchange are also to meet members of the Swedish government and local regulators this week in an effort to win support for its approach to OMX.

Dubai’s move could have profound repercussions for the London Stock Exchange, with the OMX deal heralding a new wave of global consolidation of bourses. Dubai is thought to have visions of creating a pan-European exchange to include the LSE – which has just bought Borsa Italiana – and OMX. The new combine would rival NYSE/Euronext, created by the joining of the New York exchange and the Paris-based European exchange last year.

Insiders said that the idea of including Nasdaq, the aggressive American market, has also been considered, but Dubai is nervous of a political backlash if it buys in America. Dubai poised to bid £2bn for Nordic bourse (more) By Louise Armitstead

Mark Alexander

Was die Regierungschefs verdienen

Foto von Sarkozy dank der FAZ

FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: 11. August 2007 Dass der französische Präsident Nicolas Sarkozy sich in teure Urlaubsdomizile einladen lässt, wirft die Frage auf, ob der höchste Mann im Staate sich einen solchen Urlaub sonst nicht leisten könnte. Staats- und Regierungschefs werden höchst unterschiedlich bezahlt.

Auch wenn sie viel verdienen, an die Topverdiener der Wirtschaft reichen sie nicht heran. Ihre Bezüge sind mal mehr, mal weniger transparent - und ihre Lebensstile luxuriös bis bodenständig. Staats- und Regierungschefs: Die Gehaltszettel der Mächtigen (mehr)

Mark Alexander

When the Police Side with the Preachers of Hate
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: There are lots of stories running at the moment about how television makes things up to suit its purposes. It was into this pattern that prominent press reports on Thursday appeared to fit. The reports said that the Crown Prosecution Service and the West Midlands police had decided that a programme called Undercover Mosque, made for Dispatches on Channel 4, had "completely distorted" the remarks of Muslim preachers featured in the programme. The CPS and the police announced that they were making a complaint about the programme to the television regulator, Ofcom.

Few seemed to notice what a strange story this was. Why is it the business of the CPS or the police to make complaints, which are nothing to do with the law, about what appears on television? Aren't they supposed to be fighting crime, not acting as television critics?

When you poke around a bit, the story becomes a little clearer, but no less strange.

After the programme appeared earlier this year, many people who watched it were horrified by the extremism it depicted. It was, indeed, horrifying. The programme, all of whose material was collected, sometimes covertly, from British mosques, mainly in Birmingham, showed film, DVDs and internet messages from Islamist sermons and speeches. One preacher speaks of a British Muslim soldier killed by the Taliban in Afghanistan and says: "The hero is the one who separated his head from his shoulders." Another says that all Jews will be killed at the end of time, and makes a snorting noise as if imitating a pig.

One pronounces that woman is "deficient" and that homosexual men should be "thrown off the mountain", another that children should offer themselves for Islamic martyrdom, a third that Aids was deliberately spread in Africa by Christian missionaries who slipped it into inoculations.

As a result of all this, people, including, I believe, local MPs, asked the police to investigate the preachers to see if prosecutions for crimes of racial hatred could be brought against them. C4 itself did not ask for these investigations, but co-operated with police inquiries.

But then, on Wednesday, without any warning to Channel 4, the CPS and the West Midlands police issued their fatwa. Not only had they investigated, and decided, as they were entitled to do, that there were no charges to bring against people featured in the programme: they also announced that they had investigated the programme itself for stirring up racial hatred.

Again, they had decided not to press charges. But, said West Midlands police smugly, they had pursued the making of the programme "with as much rigour as the extremism portrayed within the documentary itself". They had concluded that comments had been "broadcast out of context" and so they and the CPS had complained to Ofcom. Stirring up racial hatred – not the medium (more) By Charles Moore

Mark Alexander

Panic in Stock Markets as Share Values Plunge
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Shares in London tumbled again yesterday, wiping £75bn off the value of the blue chip index in just two days.

Its fall was matched worldwide despite dramatic attempts by central banks to pour money into the credit markets to prevent losses from the US sub-prime mortgage market slump spreading throughout the financial system.

The FTSE 100 had its biggest drop in almost four and a half years, tumbling 232.9 points to 6038.3, to leave it lower than it started the year. The mid-cap index slid 322.6 to 10889.

Tom Hougaard, chief market strategist at City Index, said: "This is absolutely unprecedented. In the last 15 minutes of trading we dropped 50 points. That's serious 'Get me out, I don't want to be in this any more, I'm scared'." FTSE 100 loses £75bn in two days (more) By Josephine Moulds and Richard Blackden

TIMESONLINE:
Bernanke under pressure to cut rates as markets plunge By Suzy Jagger in New York

FT:
Fresh turmoil in equity markets

DAILY MAIL:
£63bn wiped off UK shares as fears of a recession grow By Sam Fleming

Mark Alexander

Seif Al-Islam, Ghadafi’s Son, Confirms that Nurses and Doctor Were Tortured
SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's son confirms allegations made by a Palestinian-Bulgarian doctor and five Bulgarian nurses that they were tortured while being held captive in Libya for nine years.

Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's son has confirmed allegations made by a Palestinian-Bulgarian doctor and five Bulgarian nurses that they were tortured while being held captive in Libya for nine years.
Since their European Union-brokered release last month (more...), the six have given interviews with the European press, including SPIEGEL, citing specific torture techniques and methods used on them while being held on charges of infecting Libyan children with HIV.

In an interview with Al-Jazeera released in excerpts on Wednesday, Seif Al-Islam Gadhafi, considered by some analysts to be a reformer, confirmed most of the allegations.

"Yes, they were tortured by electricity and they were threatened that their family members would be targeted," he said. Gadhafi did not apologize for their treatment, and even said allegations made by Palestinian-Bulgarian doctor Sharaf al-Hazouz, who was arrested with the five nurses and later awarded Bulgarian citizenship, were false. Gadhafi's Son Confirms Abuse of Bulgarian Medics: 'YES, THEY WERE TORTURED' (more)

Mark Alexander

Hinrichtungen in Iran – Macht oder Schwäche?
NZZ: Seit dem Amtsantritt von Präsident Ahmadinejad nimmt die Zahl der Hinrichtungen in Iran zu. Dies kann als Anstrengung zur Durchsetzung von islamischen Moralvorstellungen und konservativen Machtansprüchen, aber auch als Anzeichen von Furcht vor einer Rückkehr reformorientierter Kräfte gelesen werden.

ber. Kairo, 9. August

Anfang August sind in Teheran zwei Iraner öffentlich gehenkt worden. Die beiden Männer mussten sich auf Hocker stellen; als die Henker sie wegstiessen, zogen sich die Schlingen zu, während die Toten von einem Kran hochgehievt wurden. So konnten die Zuschauer, die zum grossen Teil von der Regierung aufgeboten worden waren, die Hingerichteten besser sehen. Wie auf Kommando riefen alle «Gott ist gross». Ein unsichtbarer Moderator des makabren Schauspiels kündigte den Tod sämtlicher Lügner und Terroristen und das Ende von Amerika an. Das Henken der beiden Männer war kein Einzelfall; seit Jahresbeginn sind weit über 100 Personen hingerichtet worden. Neu war auch nicht, dass das Todesurteil öffentlich vollstreckt wurde; im Februar und im Januar waren ebenfalls mehrere Männer in der Öffentlichkeit durch den Strang hingerichtet worden. Hinrichtungen in Iran – Macht oder Schwäche?: Versuch zur Durchsetzung islamischer Moralvorstellungen (mehr)

Mark Alexander

Tumbling Stock Markets
NZZ: Die amerikanische Immobilienkrise bringt die Finanzmärkte ins Trudeln. Panikartige Verkäufe an der Wall Street haben am Donnerstag die amerikanischen Aktienmärkte einbrechen lassen. Der Ausverkauf in New York brachte am Freitag auch die Börsen in Asien und Europa arg ins Rutschen.

tsf. Der Ausverkauf an den Börsen geht weiter. Die schweren Kursverluste an der New Yorker Wall Street rissen am Freitag die Aktienkurse in Asien und Europa erneut tief ins Minus. In Japan brach der Nikkei-Index für 225 führende Werte bis Handelsschluss um 2,37% auf 16764,09 Punkte ein. Der breit gefasste Topix gab sogar um 2,96% auf 1633,93 Zähler nach. Die Börsen rutschen weiter ab: Schwere Verluste nach panikartigen Verkäufen in den USA(mehr)

NZZ:
Hauptindizes

NZZ:
Panikartige Verkäufe an der Wall Street

LE FIGARO:
Le spectre d’un krach hante les bourses mondiales

FT:
European markets extend sell-off

TIMESONLINE:
Global share rout sends world markets plunging: ECB pumps extra €61 billion into markets

THE TELEGRAPH:
Global stock markets tumble as sub-prime contagion spreads

THE TELEGRAPH:
Market turmoil: views from the floor

THE TELEGRAPH:
Market volatility hits highest since 2003

THE TELEGRAPH:
Frantic Wall Street scenes as stocks fall due to worsening global credit crunch

TELEGRAPH COMMENT:
ECB’s confidence trick won’t restore faith in market

BBC:
World shares fall on credit fears

WATCH BBC VIDEO:
Asian markets take battering

Mark Alexander