Blair: "There is a problem within Islam"

Tony Blair: "There is a problem within Islam, and we have to put it on the table and be honest about it. There are, of course, Christian extremists and Jewish, Buddhist, and Hindu ones. But I am afraid that the problematic strain within Islam is not the province of a few extremists. It has at its heart a view of religion that is not compatible with pluralistic, liberal, open-minded societies."

http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/lee-rigby-and-the-struggle-to-contain-violent-islamists-by-tony-blair

the real Al-Nakba: May 29th 1453, Constantinople falls to the Turks

A sad anniversary today: 560 years since the fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans. A lesson to be remembered when again Western Civilization and Islam collide.

This catastrophe led the armies of the Sultan to the gates of Vienna and endangered the whole of Europe. We fought for centuries to reverse this tragedy, but the consequences are still with us: Thrace, Bosnia, Albania...

May 1453 - Ottoman soldiers storm the ramparts of Constantinople

Europe: approaching Zero Lower Bound

Interest Rates of Major Central Banks compared (compiled by Reuters)

With the rates in the Eurozone approaching Zero Lower Bound the room to maneuver is almost nil.

Is it still to early to mobilize the fiscal weapons?

We need something better designed than the clumsy and rather inefficient American 'stimulus'. Maybe Abenomics will teach the EU a thing or two.

Obama and Syria

"When we finance and arm Al-Qaeda...
...we prefer to call them 'Free Syrian Army'"

The US is unashamedly financing and arming the the terrorists that are a threat to the Western world.
America has nurtured and cared for these thugs since the war against the USSR in Afghanistan.
Maybe we should come up with sanctions against the US for their support of terrorism?

Is bombing mosques ´Halal'?

Today four Shia mosques in Baghdad and one in Kirkuk were struck by car bombs. Such sectarian bombs are common in Iraq, Pakistan, Syria and other corners of the Ummah.

So while tearing a page of the Koran, or publishing a caricature of Muhammad (pbuh!) will make the entire Muslim world freak-out in anger, exploding entire mosques containing God knows how many Korans (as well as the 'occasional' person...) doesn't even raise an eyebrow.

Should we then assume that bombing mosques is Halal?

Islam: maybe you don´t have a right to live

Islamic law, depending on how strictly it's interpreted, distinguishes among three types of non-Muslims: Dhimmis, people who are permitted to live in an Islamic territory, but with limited rights; Mustamins, people who are granted similar rights as the Dhimmis, through a temporary protection agreement; and Harbis, people who live outside an Islamic territory, without rights, including the right to life.

Der Spiegel, March 15, 2013

Democracy and Economic Growth

"What is clear is that democracy is not the prerequisite for economic growth that aid proponents maintain. On the contrary, it is economic growth that is a prerequisite for democracy; and the one thing economic growth does not need is aid. "

- Dambisa Moyo in "Dead Aid: Why aid is not working and how there is another way for Africa"

Economist Dambisa Moyo