Mark Alexander (Hardback)
Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Many thanks to Ray Boyd for drawing this truly excellent and insightful article to my attention:
DAILY MAIL: The case of Gillian Gibbons, the British teacher jailed in Sudan after her pupils named their class teddy-bear Mohammed, has shown up once again the spinelessness of the Foreign Office which has turned Britain into an international laughing stock.
Her freedom has been left to depend on the ostensibly freelance efforts by two Muslim peers, Lord Ahmed and Lady Warsi, who have been in Khartoum lobbying for her release.
Hopefully, Mrs Gibbons will be a step closer to being freed by the time this article lands on breakfast tables.
But the fact remains that, in response to this persecution of a British citizen under Islamic sharia law, the Foreign Secretary's craven response was to say how much Britain respected Islam.
It took four days from her arrest before he summoned the Sudan ambassador, and after she was jailed he summoned him again to express 'in the strongest terms' his concern.
Since we're talking cuddly-toy diplomatic incidents here, this was like being savaged by Winnie The Pooh (with apologies for thus insulting the cultural sensibilities of A. A. Milne).
Mr Miliband should have thrown the ambassador and every Sudanese diplomat out of the country, cancelled all visas and stopped British aid to Sudan.
And he should also have denounced the religious precepts which produced such a barbaric response to a preposterously imagined slight.
Moreover, the only reason Mrs Gibbons was placed in this predicament at all was because, for more than two decades, the British Government has kow-towed to the Islamist rogue regime in Sudan. The teddy-bear teacher and Labour's spineless response to a rogue state >>> By Melanie Phillips
Mark Alexander (Hardback)
Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Homophobic rap music has been banned in Brighton in case it offends the city's large gay population.
Music venues in the city have been ordered not to play certain tracks by artists such as Eminem and 50 Cent.
If pubs and clubs flout the ban, they can be stripped of their licence and closed down.
All music - whether played live or from a recording - that "incites hatred towards minorities" on religious, racial or sexuality grounds is affected. Brighton becomes first city to ban rap music that offends gays >>> By Gwyneth Rees
Mark Alexander (Hardback)
Mark Alexander (Paperback)
I should like to draw my visitors’ attention to the fact that this concept of ‘Christianophobia’ was first raised, I believe, in my book, ‘The Dawning of a New Dark Age’ as ‘Christophobia’. The book was published in 2003. Not as stated here, in 2004. The word is slightly different, but the concept is the same. I am proud to be able to state that I believe I used it first. You will find the word on page 145 of my book. Needless to say, I have contacted 'europe4christ' to draw this to their attention in the hope of getting this error corrected.
THE TELEGRAPH: British Christian traditions are being threatened by "Christianophobia" created by a "politically correct brigade", a Tory MP has warned.
Mark Pritchard, MP, who is leading a parliamentary debate on the issue today, said that he feared that Christianity could be hijacked by extremists if mainstream political parties fail to support this country's Christian tradition. How should we tackle 'Christianophobia'? >>>
Mark Alexander (Hardback)
Mark Alexander (Paperback)
THE GUARDIAN:
· British author fears attack over Armenian book
· Ankara accepts need for change, says Labour MEP
Nearly two years after the internationally acclaimed author Orhan Pamuk narrowly escaped imprisonment for statements that were thought to "insult Turkishness", the publisher of a British writer goes on trial today accused of the same charge.
Ragip Zarakolu is facing up to three years in prison for publishing a book - promoting reconciliation between Turks and Armenians - by George Jerjian, a writer living in London.
Jerjian's book, The Truth Will Set Us Free, which was translated into Turkish in 2005, chronicles the life of his Armenian grandmother who survived the early 20th century massacres of Armenians thanks to an Ottoman soldier. The historical account has prompted as much controversy among the Armenian diaspora, not least in the US, as it has in Turkey. Trial of publisher revives row over Turkish 'insult' law >>> By Helena Smith in Athens
Mark Alexander (Hardback)
Mark Alexander (Paperback)
BBC: Twenty per cent of people living in Canada are foreign-born, a proportion second in the world only to Australia, new census data reveal.
The 2006 census counted more than 6m foreign-born people out of Canada's population of 31.2m, the highest ratio of immigrants since the 1930s.
The immigrant population grew four times as fast as the Canadian-born population between 2001-2006.
Nearly 60% of the newcomers came from Asia and the Middle East. One-fifth of Canadians immigrants >>>
YORKREGION.COM:
Southern York among most diverse areas in Canada: census
THE SCOTSMAN:
Canada's foreign-born population at 75-year peak
Mark Alexander (Hardback)
Mark Alexander (Paperback)
BBC: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said that a US report on Tehran's nuclear programme is a "great victory".
He said in a televised speech that Iran would not retreat from its path towards a peaceful atomic programme.
The US intelligence report released on Monday said that Iran had halted a nuclear weapons programme in 2003.
The US and its European allies are pushing for UN sanctions but China has said the report raises questions about the need for new measures.
US President George W Bush said on Tuesday that Iran remained a threat and his view that a nuclear Iran would be a danger "hasn't changed".
'Final blow'
Mr Ahmadinejad made his televised speech in front of thousands of people during a visit to Ilam province in western Iran.
"This report... is announcing a victory for the Iranian nation in the nuclear issue against all international powers," he said. Nuclear report a victory – Iran >>>
Mark Alexander (Hardback)
Mark Alexander (Paperback)
DAILY MAIL: The job of the nurse used to [be] one of caring for the sick and needy.
But not - it would seem - in today's politically-correct Britain.
Now, nurses are being encouraged to spend valuable time turning around the beds of Muslim patients up to five times a day - so they can face Mecca.
In a bid to promote cultural understanding, they are also expected to provide patients with running water so they can wash before prayer.
And then, of course, they are required to turn the beds back around to return the wards to normality. The measures are being pursued by Mid Yorkshire NHS Trust to ensure Muslim patients have a "more comfortable stay in hospital".
Hundreds of staff have attended tax-payer-funded workshops with Muslim GPs and ethnic-minority support groups on how best to help patients.
During these meetings, nurses have been told that if a patient asks for water to bathe in, or for their bed to be turned to face Mecca, then this should be considered.
If the measure is deemed "practically possible" and does not impinge on other patients, then it should be carried out.
And if it is not practical, nurses are encouraged to find them a bed that faces Mecca permanently. Hospital staff told to make sure Muslim patients' beds face Mecca five times a day >>> By Gwyneth Rees
Mark Alexander (Hardback)
Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
NZZ: Der amerikanische Präsident Bush beharrt auf seinem Standpunkt: Von Iran geht weiterhin eine Bedrohung aus. Dies sagte Bush als Reaktion auf einen amerikanischen Geheimdienstbericht, nach dem Teheran sein Atomwaffenprogramm im Jahr 2003 unterbrach und bis Mitte 2007 nicht wieder aufnahm.
(sda/dpa) Der amerikanische Präsident Bush sieht Iran trotz neuen Geheimdiensterkenntnissen über dessen Atomprogramm weiter als Bedrohung. Er habe seine Einschätzung nicht geändert. «Iran war gefährlich, ist gefährlich und wird gefährlich sein, wenn es das Wissen zum Bau von Nuklearwaffen hat», sagte Bush am Dienstag in Washington. Bush betrachtet Iran weiterhin als Bedrohung: Reaktion auf US-Geheimdienstbericht zum Atomwaffenprogramm >>>
BBC:
Bush says Iran remains a threat
WATCH BBC VIDEO:
President Bush at His Very Best: “I feel very strongly that Iran is a danger”
Mark Alexander (Hardback)
Mark Alexander (Paperback)
TOWNHALL.COM: Suddenly, a new national debate is beginning about the national security, economic and other implications of Persian Gulf potentates using their petrodollars to buy up strategic American assets. Most recently, the Emir of Dubai’s purchase at fire-sale prices of 4.9 percent of the largest U.S. bank, Citigroup, has caused a level of unease not seen since he tried to buy his way into a large number of this country’s port facilities.
Almost completely unremarked thus far has been a parallel – and in many ways far more insidious – effort to penetrate, influence and dominate America’s capital markets: so-called “Shariah finance.” Some estimates suggest that there are approaching $1 trillion now being invested around the world under this rubric. If present trends continue, all other things being equal, such funds may grow to many times that amount within a few years.
Shariah is, of course, the term used by adherents to the totalitarian ideology practiced by the Saudi Wahhabis, the Iranian mullahs and the Taliban to describe the all-encompassing theocratic code they use to justify repressive rule at home and to extend their dominance elsewhere. While it is often depicted by its promoters as Koranic in character, in fact, it is largely man-made, the product of dictates and rulings by caliphs and scholars over many centuries.
For non-Muslims, Shariah is best known for its sanction for the brutalization of women, homosexuals and Jews. Beheadings, amputations, flagellation and stoning are among the prescribed punishments for those who transgress this barbaric code, punishments plucked from primitive tribal practices in the Arabian deserts dating back to medieval times. Shariah’s Trojan Horse >>> By Frank J. Gaffney Jr.
Frank Gaffney Jr. is the founder and president of the Center for Security Policy and author of War Footing: 10 Steps America Must Take to Prevail in the War for the Free World (Hardcover)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)
Mark Alexander (Paperback)
BBC: The results of Sunday's elections in Russia are bad news for the West, which, it seems, has not a single friend left in the Russian parliament.
Not that the previous Duma ever hesitated to demonstrate its patriotic credentials and snub Nato at every turn. But at least there were a few daring independent deputies who at times would challenge the views of the majority.
One such was Vladimir Ryzhkov, whose dissident stance on human rights and freedoms in his own country, as well as international issues, earned him the wrath of nationalists and wide respect among liberals - both inside and outside Russia.
On Sunday, Mr Ryzhkov and others like him lost their platform - and a chance to speak to the nation.
The loophole has now been closed. The new electoral law does not allow independents to stand. All candidates had to represent a major political party to stand a chance of winning a seat. A Duma without one Westerniser >>> By Andrei Ostalski, BBC Russian Service
Mark Alexander
SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL: German suspicion of Scientology resurfaced in Hamburg this week after a security official said he would seek a nationwide ban against the organization. He's arguing that Scientology is an "unconstitutional" big business.
Germany and Scientology have never been the best of friends. German officials consider Scientology a business, not a religion, and tax the outfit accordingly. Scientology has responded by complaining about "religious discrimination." Yet Berlin has a Scientology center, and the famous Scientologist Tom Cruise came to Berlin this year to film a big-budget Hollywood film -- even, after some debate, in restricted Nazi-era buildings.
Now an official in Hamburg named Udo Nagel is pursuing a national ban against the US-based organization.
As the city-state's interior minister, Nagel is Hamburg's top security official. At a meeting this week of other interior ministers from other states around Germany he plans to argue that Scientology is not only a commercial enterprise but also an "anti-constitutional" group with "aggressively fierce" tactics. Hamburg Official Wants a Germany-Wide Ban on Scientology >>>
Mark Alexander
TIMESONLINE: Iran halted its nuclear weapons programme in 2003 and has not restarted it since, a stunning new assessment released yesterday by intelligence agencies in the United States has found.
The findings contradict an assessment by US intelligence officials two years ago that Tehran was seeking nuclear weapons and appear to undercut President Bush’s repeated warnings about Iran becoming a nuclear power.
As recently as August Mr Bush warned that Iran’s pursuit of nuclear technology could lead to a holocaust and that the US “will confront this danger before it is too late”. In October he said that a nuclear-armed Iran could lead to a third world war.
Last night, however, Mr Bush’s closest aides claimed that the finding was vindication for the White House’s muscular but diplomatic approach. Stephen Hadley, Mr Bush’s National Security Advisor, said that the White House was only told last week about the new assessment of Iran’s nuclear programme. Iran halted its nuclear weapons programme in 2003, US agencies say >>>
Mark Alexander
It is to be hoped that this lady is still ‘in shock’ rather than being serious!
Mark Alexander
THE TELEGRAPH: The teacher imprisoned in Sudan for calling the classroom teddy bear Mohammed was said to be in "good spirits" after her release as she returned to Britain for an emotional reunion with her family.
Gillian Gibbons was granted a pardon from the President of Sudan following two days of intense negotiations between the Sudanese authorities and the British Muslim peers Baroness Warsi and Lord Ahmed.
Having served eight out of her 15 day prison sentence, the 54-year-old primary school teacher was given the news this morning that she was a free woman. Teddy bear teacher leaves Sudan after pardon >>> By Nick Britten and Nigel Bunyan
TIMESONLINE:
Freed teacher Gillian Gibbons: 'I just want to relax'
Mark Alexander
TIMESONLINE: Britain’s largest Muslim organisation is to end its boycott of Holocaust Memorial Day.
The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) voted this weekend to halt its protest because of concerns that it made the organisation vulnerable to charges of antiSemitism. Representatives have controversially stayed away from Holocaust Memorial Day activities, which began in 2001.
The MCB has argued for a new title such as Genocide Memorial Day which, it has said, would give greater recognition to more recent events, such as those in Rwanda and Bosnia. But this weekend its working committee voted 18 to 8 in favour of ending the boycott.
Representatives of the MCB, an umbrella organisation with more than 500 member groups, are now expected to attend the main Holocaust commemoration, which will take place in Liverpool on January 27. Muslim Council to end its boycott of Holocaust Day >>> By Fran Yeoman
Hat tip: Little Green Footballs
Mark Alexander
Monday, December 03, 2007
SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL:
Sudanese President Pardons Gillian Gibbons
Mark Alexander
With many thanks to Ray Boyd of Common Sense Against Islam for this great review:
Read up on the subject [Islam], be informed, know your facts. The Dawning of a New Dark Age: A Collection of Essays on Islam is the place to start. It’s easy to read and covers everything you need to know in a hurry. It’s the sort of book you can pick up and put down and then go back to it again and again. No doubt about it, if you need to wise up fast you won’t do better. If you only read one book on the subject this is the one. – Ray Boyd of Common Sense Against Islam (December 3, 2007)Mark Alexander
Can’t this meddlesome government leave anything alone? Is nothing ‘sacred’ to them? Our politicians don’t do what they should be doing; so they do what they shouldn’t be doing instead! This is a sure sign of incompetence at the top!
DAVID BATTY’S GUARDIAN NEWSBLOG: Last week the government confirmed it was open to redesigning the union flag, and now it's looking at overhauling the national anthem. Clearly nothing is sacred in Gordon Brown's ongoing quest to establish a vision.
Apparently the problem with God Save the Queen is that some of its lyrics are not "inclusive", says the former attorney general Lord Goldsmith, who is leading a citizenship review for the prime minister.
"Some people have suggested we might think about whether there are different words that might be put in place which would be more inclusive," he told Sky News today. Should we save God Save the Queen? >>>
Lyrics: God Save the Queen
Mark Alexander
You will respect our religion, or else! Ve av vays of making you respect it!
THE TELEGRAPH: The British teacher jailed in Sudan over a teddy bear is to be released immediately after being granted her a full pardon.
Gillian Gibbons said in a written statement that she was sorry if she had caused distress and that she has a "great respect" for Islam.
Mrs Gibbons was pardoned by President Omar al-Bashir after he held a meeting with two senior British Muslim peers, Baroness Warsi and Lord Ahmed, who had spent the weekend in negotiations with Sudanese officials in an effort to secure her release.
Gordon Brown welcomed the news, saying he was "delighted and relieved".
In a statement, the Prime Minister said: "Common sense has prevailed. She will be released into the care of our embassy in Khartoum after what must have been a difficult ordeal.
"Through the course of Ms Gibbons's detention I was glad to see Muslim groups across the UK express strong support for her case."
Mahzoub Faidul, the Sudanese presidential spokesman, said Mrs Gibbons would fly back to England today. Pardoned teddy teacher 'sorry' for distress >>> By Richard Holt and Caroline Gammell
BBC:
Teddy row teacher freed from jail
WATCH BBC VIDEO:
Reaction to teacher’s pardon
Mark Alexander
BBC: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has narrowly lost a referendum on controversial constitutional changes.
Voters rejected the raft of reforms by a margin of 51% to 49%, the chief of the National Electoral Council said.
Mr Chavez described the defeat as a "photo finish", and urged followers not to turn it into a point of conflict.
Correspondents say the opposition could barely hide their delight and that the victory will put a brake on Mr Chavez's self-styled "Socialist revolution".
Celebrations by the opposition began almost immediately in the capital, Caracas, with activists cheering, beeping car horns and waving flags.
"Venezuela won today, democracy won today, and I am sure that this victory for the Venezuelan people will have a very important impact in the rest of Latin America," Leopoldo Lopez, opposition mayor of Caracas' Chaqua municipality, told the BBC. Chavez defeated over reform vote >>>
Mark Alexander
Sunday, December 02, 2007
BBC: The protests may be over for now in Khartoum but the debate about Gillian Gibbons carries on unabated.
As efforts to get her released by the British foreign office and two Muslim peers continue, opinion is divided and both sides of the argument are trying to make their voices heard.
Clearly the Sudanese Government is coming under huge pressure internally about this case.
Some now want the government to send Mrs Gibbons back to court. They believe the 15-day sentence for insulting religion was too lenient and they would like her to be re-tried.
Pictures burned
As witnessed during Friday's protest, there is a minority who are baying for her blood.
Some chanted threats against the 54-year-old primary school teacher from Liverpool.
A group of men shouted: "She must be killed by the sword." Sudanese views differ in teddy row >>> By Amber Henshaw
Mark Alexander
IRAN FOCUS: TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian police will crack down on women in Tehran flouting Islamic dress codes with winter fashions deemed immodest, such as tight trousers tucked into long boots, an officer was quoted as saying on Saturday.
"Considering the start of the cold season and its special way of dressing, police will start early next week a drive against women who wear improper dress," Tehran police chief Ahmad Reza Radan was quoted as saying by state news agency IRNA.
"Tight trousers tucked inside long boots while wearing short overcoats are against Islamic codes," the police chief said.
"Wearing a hat or cap instead of scarves is also against Islamic dress codes." Tight trousers targeted in Iran clothing crackdown >>>
Hat tip: Marisol @ JihadWatch
Mark Alexander
BBC: Millions of Russians have voted in general elections expected to confirm President Vladimir Putin's popularity, but blighted by claims of fraud.
Polls have now closed across Russian region's spanning 11 time zones. Turnout is said to have been high.
Eleven parties are competing for places in the lower house, the Duma - though it is not clear how many will secure the 7% needed to qualify for seats.
Opposition parties have accused the government of stifling their campaigns.
President Vladimir Putin's party is predicted to win a landslide victory, boosting his bid to retain power after leaving the Kremlin next year. Russians vote in general election>Russians vote in general election >>>
Mark Alexander
THE JERUSALEM POST: Jordan's King Abdullah II inaugurated a new parliament Sunday with a call on Israel to relinquish war-won Arab lands, saying that would help peace and security to prevail in the volatile Mideast.
The king also urged unity among feuding Palestinian factions, saying the time has come for statehood.
"We emphatically tell Israel that ending the occupation of Arab and Palestinian lands, withdrawing from there and implementing legitimate international resolutions are the only way to realize just, permanent and comprehensive peace," said the staunch US ally who maintains cordial relations with Israel under a 1994 peace treaty.
Abdullah said a peaceful Arab-Israeli settlement would "guarantee a safe future for the region's peoples and its coming generations."
"We also say to the Palestinians that strength is in unity and weakness in disunity; so, unite your ranks and seize the available opportunity to realize peace and establish your independent state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip," he said. Jordan's king urges Israel to 'withdraw from Arab land' >>>
Mark Alexander
THE SUNDAY TIMES: I spent 14 years in the Middle East, so I’m quite accustomed to Arab culture and its easily offended sensibilities. But the decision to arrest and jail the English school teacher Gillian Gibbons is so far removed from even the remotest sense of logic, I wondered if the date on my Arabic calendar was April 1.
Sadly, this was no joke. The truth is, as we’re beginning to realise, we’re locked into a battle for hearts and minds at the core of which lies a battle for the essence of Islam itself. And we can’t expect anyone to fight this on our behalf.
A few weeks ago Rod Liddle participated in a debate about whether Islam is good for London. His message, in a nutshell: I don’t have a problem with Muslims, I have a problem with Islam. I don’t share his views, though many do – and I can see how they’ve got there.
We’re at the point where the naming of a cuddly toy by children has become a international incident with the Foreign Office summoning foreign emissaries to Whitehall.
Gibbons isn’t the first to suffer under Sudan’s Islamist government led by President Omar al-Bashir. His visceral hatred for the West, repugnant literalism and repudiation of all reason sealed her fate.
Since taking over in 1989, Bashir has waged war against the Christian south, hosted Osama Bin Laden as a national guest during the 1990s, and, more recently, has backed the Janjaweed militia during their murderous rampage in Darfur.
Anglo-French attempts to send UN peacekeepers into Darfur this autumn enraged Bashir who personally vowed to lead a jihad against them. To Bashir and his supporters who wanted Gibbons killed, the UN represents “western interference”.
And it’s this “insult” which lies behind the witless incarceration of Gibbons who went from London to Khartoum to help educate children. Had the Sudanese court really considered Gibbons to have offended Islam her fate would almost certainly have been far worse than 15 days’ imprisonment. A failure to confront radical Islam >>> By Shiraz Maher
Order your cute, cuddly little teddy today! A steal @ $17.99! (Please note: There's nothing in it for me!)
Mark Alexander
THE SUNDAY TIMES: WHEN Anya Kaluyeva, a Russian primary school teacher, was summoned to her boss’s office last week, she expected to discuss a new set of textbooks. The conversation quickly took a more sinister turn.
The head teacher asked the 48-year-old whom she intended to vote for in today’s parliamentary elections. When she hesitated, he ordered her to support United Russia, the party backed by President Vladimir Putin. He then issued a warning.
“He made it clear that if I didn’t vote for United Russia I’d lose my job,” said Kaluyeva, a mother of two who lives in a small town south of Moscow.
“I was so shocked I was left speechless. He put me under pressure and hinted that he had ways of checking who I’d voted for. I felt I was back in the Soviet Union.”
As millions of Russians go to the polls to vote for a new Duma, the 450-seat lower house of parliament, the result is a foregone conclusion. United Russia will win by a landslide. The vote, however, is much more than an ordinary parliamentary election.
Putin, who is due to step down in the spring when his second and final term permitted by the constitution ends, has turned the poll into an unofficial referendum on his eight years in power.
The Kremlin and the Russian president are thought to believe that anything less than 65% in favour of United Russia would be regarded as a failure.
There has been mounting evidence that voters have come under intense pressure to vote for United Russia. State employees ranging from teachers to doctors and factory workers have been ordered to cast their ballot for Putin and United Russia or face reprisals, including dismissal or demotion. Russians told: vote for Putin’s party ... or else >>> By Mark Franchetti
Mark Alexander
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