Rudyard Kipling"
“When you're left wounded on Afganistan's plains and
the women come out to cut up what remains, Just roll to your rifle
and blow out your brains,
And go to your God like a soldier”
General Douglas MacArthur"
“We are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction.”
“It is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it.” “Old soldiers never die; they just fade away.
“The soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and be the deepest wounds and scars of war.”
“May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't .” “The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.
“Nobody ever defended, there is only attack and attack and attack some more.
“It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.
The Soldier stood and faced God
Which must always come to pass
He hoped his shoes were shining
Just as bright as his brass
"Step forward you Soldier,
How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek?
To My Church have you been true?"
"No, Lord, I guess I ain't
Because those of us who carry guns
Can't always be a saint."
I've had to work on Sundays
And at times my talk was tough,
And sometimes I've been violent,
Because the world is awfully rough.
But, I never took a penny
That wasn't mine to keep.
Though I worked a lot of overtime
When the bills got just too steep,
The Soldier squared his shoulders and said
And I never passed a cry for help
Though at times I shook with fear,
And sometimes, God forgive me,
I've wept unmanly tears.
I know I don't deserve a place
Among the people here.
They never wanted me around
Except to calm their fears.
If you've a place for me here,
Lord, It needn't be so grand,
I never expected or had too much,
But if you don't, I'll understand."
There was silence all around the throne
Where the saints had often trod
As the Soldier waited quietly,
For the judgment of his God.
"Step forward now, you Soldier,
You've borne your burden well.
Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,
You've done your time in Hell."
Prime Minister
Anwar Ibrahim slams certain quarters for making mountains out of
molehills regarding issues which need not be politicised.
He calls on the people not to allow such voices to spread discord.
The
prime minister references the relocation of a Hindu temple in Kuala
Lumpur and the recent clash between enforcement officers and an
unlicensed balloon vendor.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim urged the people not to entertain certain “bebal” (stupid) quarters that insist on politicising issues and condemning those who do not align with their stance.
BOBBYO : When Umno stop realizing that they were making mistakes, and even after that issuing arrogant statements, the people started to reject them.
PMX is trying to shut the people from the truth concerning the temple issue, by issuing statements thinking that the public is illetrate and cannot understand the situation.
He was advised not to be involved in moving the temple and building the mosque even by certain Muslim leaders, but yet he was out to prove a personal point.
Now that it have come to haunt him, over the support of the NM's, he is trying to deflete the problem to others by calling them bebal. He should look in to the mirror.
As for the remarks by the mufti, he should be the last person to respond to his unintellectual remarks.
He should very well know that there are still unaswered questions as how the land was attained.
PMX should learn from Umno's mistakes, but it looks like he was not a good history student.
Vent : Firstly the Perlis mufti Asri Zainul Abidin (who may be one of Anwar's referents) is a provocateur who in comparing the two incidents is plainly comparing apples to oranges. Absolutely no comparison as any reasonable person can see!
The forced relocation of a 130 year old temple so that a mosque can be built on the same plot which was sold surreptitiously to an entrepreneur and the manhandling of an illegal trader with a criminal record who turned on the police is absolutely no comparison!
The intention is purely to inflame a deeply bigoted and racist base
But the PM gets no marks either for his declaration that "We did it in a peaceful manner, showcasing Islam’s strength while respecting others". Why is he even alluding to Islam? Unless he meant to refer to the might of a Muslim Malay centric government.
As for respecting the rights of others what "respect" did he afford to a temple that had been there since antiquity on land bequeathed to it. The only "respect" that was afforded was to grant the wish of a fellow Muslim who had bought the land on which the temple stood, fraudulently.
I guess from.that point of view he did showcase the "strength" of Islam over "others" by trampling on their rights!
GrizzledWarrior : I would agree with almost the entirety of your comment save for your last paragraph.
The PH government did alright. However, PMX's handling of the matter was far from commendable. PMX continues to be confrontational and defensive over his use of inflammatory and less than respectful labels. "Babel", "illegal", "haram", "victory" and the latest "no compromise".
PMX: “We wanted to build a mosque, so there was no compromise. We did it in a peaceful manner, showcasing Islam’s strength while respecting others.”
Is the above statement by PMX in your own words "one that protects peace, not provokes unrest."?
Muzzle PMX please. He causes damage to our race relations each time he opens his mouth.
PMX adds fuel to the fire instead of letting the dying embers burn out.
GrayParrot9290 : Fahmi in reading Mkini comments - hope you communicate clearly to your bebal Boss current Rakyat Negative sentiments especially Non bumiputera plus progressive Bumis toward Pmx personally and overall UG’ performance.
Pmx maybe too
Pmx including all his incompetent PKR’ minister will be gone in GE16.
Will not vote PN but there’s always a 3rd option which do not include bebal and arrogant politician like Pmx
Putra Heights Disaster, Is The Responsibility Of The Federal Government, State Goverment And Petronas - Not The Rakyat
Monday, April 07, 2025
Because we have a PM for Palestinians! Can give RM100m to them but THESE gas explosion victims/RAKYAT MALAYSIA, a token of RM5k for total loss cases and RM2.5k for others!
MCA Youth urges Kedah to focus on owner responsibility, not solely on banning certain dog breeds like Rottweilers.
Its secretary-general, Saw Yee Fung, says poor ownership and lack of training, not the breed, led to recent attacks.
She calls for legal action against negligent owners and stiffer penalties, rather than punishing animals acting on instinct.
Two Dobermans and a Mongrel from the shelter
Having lots of fun with my dogs
MCA
Youth has called for a more nuanced approach following reports that
Kedah is considering a ban on “aggressive” dog breeds in residential
areas.
Its secretary-general, Saw Yee Fung, said the
focus should not be solely on banning specific breeds, but on holding
owners accountable for the lack of responsible care.
Australia: Heading for Jihadist Conflict by Nils A. Haug
Extremist Islam exists within Australia's Middle Eastern community.
Anti-Semitic acts have become common in Australia, with more than 2,000
incidents in 2024 alone. They included 65 physical assaults and 600
cases of verbal abuse.
Gatestone Institute : The happy-go-lucky country of Australia, located at the far-end of
the globe, away from the geopolitical turmoil in Europe and the Middle
East, is a peaceful and pleasant place to live – or should be.
Most of the immigrants seem to have assimilated comfortably, enjoying generous benefits such as state-sponsored medical care, welfare packages, high wages, vast open spaces and low crime. Life is good
in Australia, with thousands of applicants from all over the world
keenly seeking a better life in the sun. Although with a relatively
small population of some 25 million, four of its cities are currently rated among the world's top 20 most livable.
However, an undercurrent of extremist
Islam exists within Australia's Middle Eastern community. This
development exploded into the headlines when, in January 2025, a serious
firebomb attack on a Jewish childcare
facility in Sydney took place, not surprisingly causing horror among
the peaceful community. When innocent children are threatened with
death, it can be said that the jihadist-Islamist crisis in the country
has finally arrived.
Anti-Semitic acts had, in fact, become common in Australia before January, with more than 2,000 incidents in 2024 alone. They included 65 physical assaults and 600 cases of verbal abuse. According
to Mike Burgess, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation's
director-general for security, "Jewish Australians, are increasingly
conflated with the state of Israel, leading to an increase in
anti-Semitic incidents."
"[T]he Israel-Gaza conflict has exacerbated antisemitic incidents in Australia" Burgess also said,
thereby "giving extremists an excuse to escalate threats and
violence.... communal violence is expected to rise over the next five
years, further straining social cohesion."
According to Deborah Stone, editor-in-chief of The Jewish Independent news website:
"There are clearly extremists within the Islamic
community and it is upon the broader Islamic community to do something
about them and it is upon the multicultural authorities and the people
who fund them to make sure that those extremists are not allowed to
influence the broader attitude of their communities."
It seems rather naïve of Stone to expect the "broader Islamic
community" to assist in erasing this view from within their community.
The Australian government, led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of the leftist Labour Party, called an emergency cabinet meeting in January to address the crisis. At the time, the Federal Police taskforce was "investigating at least 105 anti-Semitic attacks." To date, no convictions have resulted for these offenses, including the firebombing of a major synagogue, causing its destruction.
It is understandable that the Jewish community in Australia is highly distressed by the support
given by "Muslim and pro-Palestinian groups to the actions of Hamas,
which openly desires to destroy the Israeli state." This support has
become clear from the vociferous pro-Hamas protests such as the one that
took place at the iconic Sydney Opera House on October 9, 2023.
The murderous jihadist ideology of Jew-hatred regrettably seems to
know no bounds. The apparent normalization of jihadist-Islamist
radicals, such as Hamas and Hezbollah, became frighteningly real when a
video revealed
that two Muslim immigrant nurses working in a Sydney hospital boasted
that one of them had "killed Israeli patients" and the other had sworn
to "let them die." The male nurse is recorded as saying, "you have no idea how many Israeli dogs came to this hospital and sent them to jahannam (hell)." The nurses were suspended pending an investigation.
At the end of February, nurse Sarah Abu Lebdeh was eventually charged with "three very, very serious offences" and awaits trial. The male nurse, Ahmad Rashad Nadir was arrested and charged in early March and awaits a court appearance date.
After local Sheikh Wesam Charkawi declared his support for the two
nurses, "Pro-Palestinian teachers led dozens of schoolchildren in chants
of 'Allahu Akbar' outside a western Sydney public school" in support.
Charkawi, who is employed by the New South Wales Department of
Education, was "ordered to work from home after defending the two nurses in an Instagram post."
Islamist indoctrination certainly starts at a young age. Activists such as the Teachers and School Staff for Palestine group actually encourage
schoolchildren to get involved. The pro-Palestine cohort is active at
the far-end of the world as well as in the northern arena, as their openly stated objective is a worldwide Islamic Caliphate based in Jerusalem.
As usual, the issue harkens back to Israel. According to The Jewish Independent:
"In his Instagram video, Sheik Charkawi... criticised the
'hypocrisy' of Anthony Albanese and NSW Health Minister Ryan Park for
remaining silent 'when confronted with the most egregious acts of
violence committed by Israel.'"
As has occurred in Scandinavian countries such as Sweden,
or in many other countries in Europe, Islamic extremism in Australia is
becoming brazen. When Salwan Momika, a Christian Iraqi immigrant who
criticized jihad, was murdered in Sweden, the event was met online with applause. Sofie Löwenmark,
an Arabic-speaking journalist and expert in Islamist extremism, "told
media that the celebrations of Momika's murder are indescribable; there
are 'tens of thousands of comments with shouts of joy.'"
Fortunately, Australia has not (yet) experienced the cold-blooded
murder of a member of the Jewish community and hopefully the authorities
can maintain control of the situation, as they have pledged to do.
None of Australia's jihadist Jew-hatred occurrences should come as a surprise. Official opposition leader Peter Dutton noted that the present Labour government irrationally brought in 3,000 migrants from Gaza, "without security checks."
"If you bring in people from a war zone controlled by a
listed terror organisation and on tourist visas without checks, it's
negligent at best.... This is an attack on civilisation."
Egyptian journalist Mouna Al-Hilmi explains
that Islamic jihadist ideology exists for the precise purpose of
eradicating Western civilization through world-wide "jihad to establish a
global Islamic caliphate." Why, therefore, should Western nations be
shocked when it becomes active and causes social chaos?
Australia's Islamist problem, sadly, can be laid squarely at the door of Albanese and his Foreign Minister Penny Wong, both of whom irrationally backed the recognition of a Palestinian state. Hence the relocation of 3,000 unvetted Gazans into Australia.
As Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to the suggestion of an independent Palestinian state:
"There was a Palestinian state, it was called Gaza. Gaza,
led by Hamas, was a Palestinian state and look what we got – the
biggest massacre since the Holocaust."
Perhaps Australia's Labour Party leaders might take cognizance of Netanyahu's explanation of why the dangerous ideology of Palestinianism should be rejected, and act to protect their citizens from Islamist terror for generations to come?
Karolina Goswami explains WAQF's dark history in Europe. Watch the entire video for a fact-based analysis and to see how India, in many ways, seems far more inclusive.She also talks about creators like Dhruv Rathee, Akash Banerjee, and Shambhav Sharma.
I think I just discovered where the term Wakko or wako came from, meaning idiot, bandit, enemy, invader or intruder. It just so perfectly fits all of them. A long term justificatiom. Waqf can claim any property without any document.
It therefore is a source of income to many oligarchs like Owaisi and an instrument of oppression on not only Hindus, Christians and even Muslims by these Oligarchs
Malaysia's snitch society By Commander S THAYAPARAN (Retired) Royal Malaysian Navy
Malaysiakini : “Remember, you're an informant now. That means responsibilities, like conspiracy and confidentiality, but also privileges...”
- The Lives of Others (German film)
COMMENT
| I have no idea why the MCMC is questioning two Facebook
administrators for possibly inciting public disorder when this should be
under police jurisdiction with the MCMC playing a supporting role.
While I understand why certain groups are livid with what these administrators have done, the real issue here is how the religious and political establishment is enabling a society of snitches.
Now,
when I say snitches, I do not mean whistleblowers who for whatever
reasons, are exposing corporate or political malfeasances but rather the
average Joe Rakyat engaging in behaviour against the “other” for mala
fide purposes. What these administrators were doing was
encouraging citizens to document and publish state-sanctioned behaviour.
In this case, it was “illegal” Hindu temples.
Now of course what
is illegal would be difficult to determine but the point of these types
of groupthink is to destroy social cohesiveness for an ultimate agenda. What
they were doing was encouraging like-minded citizens to enable the
destruction of places of worship without regard for the feelings of
their fellow citizens.
Not only is this malicious but it also
creates an atmosphere where people with not much power feel powerful.
This enables the state which is all-powerful a distraction from its
failings. And honestly what these administrators were doing is not something alien to the state.
Think about it. The prime minister said the recently relocated 130-year-old temple was “illegal”.
This of course is complete horse manure which has already been pointed
out, hence what these administrators were doing is merely taking it to
the logical extreme.
The 130-year-old Dewi Sri Pathrakaliamman Temple in Kuala Lumpur
Of course, there were rumblings that the temple committee was compensated for something illegal but this is what happens when you proclaim victory in the name of religion.
Nothing
is ever enough to satisfy the delusionally self-righteous. But
remember, encouraging people to report any kind of supposed infraction
against the religion of the state or even majoritarian preoccupations is
something that the state has always enabled.
In 2019 Pakatan
Harapan's then-religious czar Mujahid Yusof Rawa proudly stated that
Putrajaya had created a special unit supervised by the Islamic
Development Department (Jakim) to monitor all media for insults against
the Prophet and Islam.
“I have instructed the unit to accept any
complaints about insults towards the Prophet and Islam, and to
immediately report them to the police and the Communications and
Multimedia Commission,” Mujahid had said.
This
has nothing to do with protecting the sanctity of the religion of the
state, but everything to do with making average citizens complicit in
the diktats of the government. This is about making citizens turn on each other in the name of religion thereby empowering the religious state.
77,000,000 voted for this change. President Trump and Elon musk are a blessing to America! May God bless them both! Mark levin is always spot on with his analysis💯. A stronger middle class means far more wealth for everyone.
BCF : France’s right-wing Rassemblement National (RN) has called for a
demonstration in Paris on Sunday, April 6th, in support of Marine Le
Pen.
The planned protest—which follows Le Pen’s conviction, prison
sentence, and disqualification from running in the 2027 presidential
election—has provoked the anger of the Left, which called it a “fascist”
threat. Despite this, the RN, supported by a public statement from
Donald Trump, claims that its membership has exploded in the space of a few days.
Malaysiakini : COMMENT | Prime Minister Anwar
Ibrahim’s poor choice of the word “victory” in the temple and mosque
controversy was highly irresponsible and dangerous. He seemed oblivious that his war-like rhetoric has probably sown more mistrust and hatred.
Claiming “victory”
invites the suggestion of a clash of different cultures, or religions,
between non-Muslims and Muslims, or in this case, between Hindus and
Muslims – “them and us”. Anwar’s self-proclaimed “victory”
probably went unnoticed by the federal ministers and his supporters at
Masjid Madani’s groundbreaking ceremony. His remark should have rung
alarm bells throughout the nation.
Whilst
it is true that the word “victory” can be used in several different
contexts, for instance, when overcoming a personal challenge like an
addiction, or when it's used to indicate success in a game like a
football, more often than not, “victory” is often used to signify the
defeat of an enemy in battle.
For someone who claims to be a uniting factor in Malaysia, Anwar did not do himself any favours. He
praised various federal ministers and many others who were involved in
the temple standoff. He claimed that their victory “was not borne out of
arrogance”.
He said, “This victory is because we were able to demonstrate the wisdom, strength, and nobility of Islam - not arrogance.”
Did he or his Madani team think the temple representatives lacked wisdom, were weak and did not possess any noble values? He
claimed victory had also been achieved because the Muslim had set a
good example for others and that this "showed the Muslim's good
character - compassionate, caring, just.”.
What is he trying to
suggest? That the temple people involved in the negotiations did not
exhibit similar good qualities displayed by Muslims?
You had an emergency Cabinet meeting on Trump’s new tariffs. I do not know if the matter of the urgency of negotiating was raised in your meeting. Here is a news report (by Donald Trump’s son) stating that the earlier countries negotiate the better chance of Malaysia being relaxed/reduced of the tariffs.
Strategy:
1 Foreign, Trade and other relevant ministries and secretary generals and DGs must convene meeting over this weekend to deliberate on how best to reduce the tariffs imposed on Malaysia.
2. Monday, 7th April 2025, a letter should be sent from your office and Malaysia’s proposals to reduce the tariffs. If possible, reach out to Trump. Hopefully, he takes your call. Nothing like trying.
3 Publishing statements and social media posts with threats of retaliatory action after the Republican's announcement will not help Malaysia.
4 Unlike Canada and Mexico, who spoke up, Malaysia is a small nation.
5 In addition, as the Asean chairman, another letter should be send through your Asean secretariat in protection of Asean countries.
6 Most of the Asean would have already submitted their proposals for the reduction of the tariffs.
7 Counter-productive stand like this “China, the E.U., Japan, Mexico and Canada have all announced planned countermeasures underway to combat Trump's policy” will not help Malaysia.
8 Get your inner circle of proactive ministers and ministries to discuss this over weekend (5th and 6th April) to have the proposals ready by Monday.
9 Read below on the urgency of reaching Trump with your constructive proposals.
10 Do engage top professional management consultants’ experts in negotiations to add value to your proposals.
ERIC TRUMP GIVES FREE ADVICE TO COUNTRIES TRYING TO NEGOTIATE TARIFFS.
Eric Trump's Advice:
News Report follows
President Donald Trump's son has a word of advice for countries reeling from his father's newly announced tariffs.
“The first son said those who quickly get in negotiations with the president will be better off than countries that wait before coming to the table.”
Eric Trump, the president's middle son who has worked with his father for decades, is now offering a word of advice for world leaders wondering how to react.
'I wouldn’t want to be the last country that tries to negotiate a trade deal with [the president],' Trump, 41, posted on X Thursday morning.
The first son was urging countries serious about getting a better deal to quickly get in contact with his president father.
The younger Trump currently serves alongside his brother Donald Trump Jr. as a senior executive at the Trump Organization.
Having overseen development and acquisitions at his father's company, Eric Trump has since branched out to into other ventures like cryptocurrency.
Other countries who quickly get into negotiations with the president, the first son wrote, would yield better results than that delay.
'The first to negotiate will win - the last will absolutely lose,' his post said. 'I have seen this movie my entire life.'
The president has used previous rounds of tariffs as negotiating tools.
He notably backed off tariff threats on Canada and Mexico earlier year after they increased border enforcement operations.
However, the president is also known to change his mind and policies, indicating the rates could fluctuate.
‘Islamophobia’ Phobia Subverts Combating Antisemitism By Andrew Bostom
Muhammad Tantawi
Jihad Watch : Cairo’s Al-Azhar University, and its mosque, founded in 972 A.D., have represented the authoritative, Vatican-like pinnacle of Sunni Islamic religious education since the beginning of the late 13th century,
Mamluk reign in Egypt. At a recent March, 2025 Ramadan event in front of Al-Azhar’s mosque, celebrating its founding, Muslims were reminded of the words of the famous 16th century Egyptian Muslim scholar al-Haytami (d. 1567), “There is no spot on the face of the earth that has gathered as many scholars and righteous people as Al-Azhar.”
An ugly, but equally important “reminder” to another gathering of Muslims in front of Al-Azhar—and Muslims worldwide—occurred recently on “the 7th night of the blessed month of Ramadan,” Thursday, March 6, 2025. Sheikh Reda Al-Sioufi chose not to recite any Qur’anic reference to Ramadan (see Qur’an 2:183; 2;184; 2:185). Instead, the good Sheikh intoned, gratuitously, a Ramadan-unrelated central Antisemitic verse from the Qur’an, 5:82, which opens by telling Muslims, “You will surely find the most intense of the people in animosity toward the believers [to be] the Jews.”
The insidious persuasive power of Qur’an 5:82 to animate Muslim hatred of Jews has been acknowledged by Muslim and non-Muslim observers, alike, across a millennium, since the mid-9th century A.D. This is unsurprising given how Muslims have been taught to understand 5:82 by Islam’s leading Qur’anic commentators, both classical and contemporary, including the major modern Qur’anic scholar, and late Al-Azhar University Grand Imam—Islam’s near “Papal equivalent”—Muhammad Tantawi (d. 2010).
How Turkey's Hagia Sophia, once a cathedral, became Waqf property by Priyanjali Narayan
India Today : Thievery and coveting the property of the Infidels, has never left their DNA. The Hagia Sophia is at the centre of Turkey's Byzantine, Ottoman and secular history. How did the sixth-century cathedral become a Waqf property, get converted to a museum, and again a mosque? Tracing the history of the Hagia Sophia amid the Waqf Bill debate in India.
This is "the tent of the heavens, which man, indeed, has set up,
although God has surely taken part in the work," wrote Michael of
Thessalonica, a 12th-century scribe, describing the Hagia Sophia, which
was then a cathedral, in what is now Turkey. This masterpiece of volume,
scale and architecture would see a trajectory like few other places of
worship. From a cathedral to a mosque to a museum, and then back to
being a mosque again. The Hagia Sophia’s 1,500-year history is steeped
in events, myths, and symbols that resonate across the East and West.
It was built in the sixth century by Byzantine Emperor Justinian I as
the Roman Empire’s premier cathedral and was dedicated to "Holy
Wisdom". For nearly a millennium, the magnificent structure of the Byzantine Empire stood as the world's largest church.
When Constantinople (now Istanbul) fell to the Ottomans in 1453,
Mehmed II the Conqueror converted the Hagia Sophia into the Great Mosque
of Ayasofya. Over time, Byzantine mosaics with Biblical
references were covered or destroyed, and four towering minarets rose
around its dome.
It remained a mosque until 1934, when Mustafa
Kemal Ataturk, founder of modern Turkey, turned the Hagia Sophia into a
museum. Hidden mosaics and marble decorations were uncovered in what was
seen as an effort to liberate both the monument and the nation from the
contested legacy of conquests.
However, in July 2020, Turkey's Council of State, the country's highest court, annulled the 1934 decree that had turned Hagia Sophia into a museum.It
based its decision on the premise that it was a Waqf property and could
only be changed on the grounds of "becoming useless or contravening law
or public policy", writes The Harvard Law Review.
The Directorate General of Foundations overtook the Hagia Sophia as property of the Fatih Sultan Mehmed Foundation. "Wakf-alal-aulad
is an inalienable religious endowment in Islamic law, typically
denoting a building or plot of land for Muslim religious or charitable
purposes," reads the website of the Directorate General of Foundations.
"Waqf, an inalienable religious endowment in Islam, is often translated into English with "Foundation", it added.
Shortly after, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed a decree
converting the Hagia Sophia back into a mosque and it being
administered as a Waqf property. This led to the first official Muslim
prayers in the Hagia Sophia in nearly 86 years on July 24, 2020.
The
Hagia Sophia's centuries-long trajectory, ultimately being declared a
mosque, is an interesting case study even as India debated and passed a
law for better and transparent administration of Waqf properties.
Turkey’s Trail of Terror and American Foreign Policy By Michael Rubin
The late Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh while visiting the ship Mavi Marmara in Istanbul on January 2, 2012.
ME Forum : The Pragmatism That Western Officials Ascribed to Erdoğan Was Always a Ruse That Erdoğan Embraced to Allay Concerns While He Consolidated Power. A segment of the multi-author memo "Hamas and Turkey: A Partnership in Terror."
In 1979, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini led the Islamic Revolution that
swept away Iran’s shah and replaced the Iranian monarchy with a clerical
rule. Overnight, Iran transformed from a pillar of American partnership
in the region to an adversary and terror sponsor. The change was
undeniable, even to Iran’s most ardent supporters.
Prior to his
ascent to power, Khomeini denied any ambition to rule Iran. He spoke of
bringing democracy and renounced interest in ruling Iran. “I don’t want
to have the power of government in my hand; I am not interested in
personal power,” he told one gullible journalist.102
There
is an irony today that while policymakers recognized the obvious
regarding Iran’s transformation, too many remain in denial about
Turkey’s equally momentous shift.
The pragmatism that Western officials ascribed to Recep Tayyip
Erdogan was always a ruse that Erdogan embraced to allay concerns while
he consolidated power. It worked. And not just with the Obama
administration. Daniel Fried, George W. Bush’s assistant secretary of
state for European affairs, described Erdogan’s AKP Party as “a kind of
Muslim version of a Christian Democratic party,” while Bush’s secretary
of state, Colin Powell, praised Turkey as a “Muslim democracy.”103
Erdogan played to Western naivete as he consolidated control. The
Turkish leader’s authoritarian tendencies were on full display after the
March 2025 arrest of Turkish opposition figure Ekrem Imamoglu on
spurious charges. Erdogan’s subsequent crackdown on protestors only
exacerbated Western concerns that Turkey’s window to join the club of
liberal democracies has all but closed.
In hindsight, Ankara’s
European Union accession process had less to do with a desire to join
Europe than with serving as a mechanism to consolidate Erdoğan’s
autocracy. Indeed, Erdogan was only too happy to accede to European
demands that he unravel any internal military role in Turkish society.
In theory, this was good for democracy given the military’s role in
toppling previous regimes.
In 1960 and 1980, the Turkish Army interceded
to end governments that violated the constitution or failed to maintain
law and order. In 1971 and 1997, the threat of intervention was enough
to force governments to resign. But the European Union unraveled the
military’s role to protect the constitution before establishing a check
on Erdogan’s power. In retrospect, this may have been the final nail in
the coffin for Turkey’s democracy.
Free Palestine from oppression, from poverty, from prison and from Hamas By Jason Shvili
Palestinians in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip, take part in an
anti-Hamas protest calling to end the war with Israel, March 26, 2025.
Photo by Flash90.
JNS : Pro-Palestinian protesters in America and around the world ignore the war-mongering jihadists who forced these Palestinians into the gates of hell. Hundreds of Palestinians rallied last week in Beit Lahia, in northern Gaza, chanting, among other things: “Out, out, Hamas out!”
This is the first time masses of Gazans have openly called for the terrorist group to be removed from power. Protests against Hamas rule have since spread throughout the Gaza Strip. Good news, right?
But wait: Why have no pro-Palestinian protesters in the West stepped up to support these brave demonstrators? Why have no mass protests been held echoing Gazans’ demands that Hamas relinquish power?
No surprise, of course: Pro-Palestinian protesters in America and around the world ignore the war-mongering jihadists who forced these Palestinians into the gates of hell … preferring instead to blame Israel, whose primary crime is defending its citizens from bloodthirsty terrorists. If the protesters truly cared about the Palestinian people, then they would focus on the disaster zone of the Gaza Strip, where 2 million Palestinians are held prisoner by Hamas.
It wasn’t Western protesters who demanded that Palestinians be given the right to emigrate from Gaza and take refuge in neighboring Arab lands; it was U.S. President Donald Trump. But this humanitarian idea has drawn virtually no support from progressive voices, NGOs, the United Nations or other world leaders.
Likewise, most proposals for ending Israel’s war with Hamas envision the Hamas monsters remaining in place, if not in power. This notion contradicts both U.S. and Israeli plans for the territory, which call for Hamas’s elimination. It also contradicts even the remotest sense of sympathy or desire to ease the Palestinians’ plight.
Gaza is a prison: Hamas are the wardens. In 2005, Israel withdrew completely from Gaza, allowing the Palestinians there to govern themselves. Two years later, Hamas seized power in the territory from the Palestinian Authority. Since then, the terrorist group has run Gaza as an iron-fisted authoritarian state.
Here are facts that no “pro-Palestinian” protesters—or the progressive media—will tell you: In Hamas-ruled Gaza, there is no free speech, no free press, no elections. No rights of any kind for women or LGBTQ+ people. Arbitrary arrests and torture are commonplace. Those now demonstrating against Hamas rule are taking a mortal risk, since the terrorist group ruthlessly suppresses dissent. Hamas also has complete control of the economy, heavily taxing impoverished Gazans. No wonder Hamas leaders are some of the world’s richest terrorists.
Hamas, not Israel, is responsible for Palestinian suffering. It is Hamas that wields absolute control over Gaza. Yet protesters on U.S. college campuses and public squares worldwide irrationally blame Israel for the Gazans’ misery. Similarly, mainstream media push a narrative in which Israel, not Hamas, is the cause of the Palestinians’ suffering.
Another hard fact: Israel has not occupied Gaza for 20 years, nor does it have any political power over Palestinians there. Free Palestine from what?
The most chilling thing about Southport? It could have been stopped By Rakib Ehsan
Spiked : Axel Rudakubana was known to the authorities. It is unforgivable that he slipped through the net. Michael Stewart – head of the UK government’s counter-extremism scheme, Prevent – announced he was stepping down
last week after a damning review exposed Prevent’s failures in relation
to the Southport attacker, Axel Rudakubana.
Good. Stewart presided over
a truly catastrophic failure, leading to the murder of three young
girls. But Prevent’s problems go much deeper than the man at the top.
A so-called learning review, published in February, showed that Prevent had misspelt Rudakubana’s surname
in its database, something that may have hindered its ability to assess
the threat he posed. We also know that Rudakubana was referred to
Prevent three times between 2019 and 2021, due to his morbid fascination
with knives, terrorist attacks and school shootings. Yet Prevent still
closed his case ‘prematurely’, three years before he went on to murder
and maim innocents at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class.
Rudakubana was clearly a ticking timebomb. And Prevent failed in its
fundamental task to protect the public. His case was closed because he
lacked any coherent terroristic or religious ideology – even though
Prevent also caters to would-be killers of this kind.
This is not the first time Prevent, a crucial pillar of the UK’s
counter-extremism apparatus, has come in for stinging criticism. William Shawcross’s independent review of Prevent,
published in 2023, concluded that the scheme too often ‘bestow[ed] a
status of victimhood on all who come into contact with it’. Shawcross
argued that it needed to shift focus from ‘safeguarding’ to ‘protecting
the public from those inclined to pose a security threat’.
Moreover, there is an increasing threat posed by non-ideological
actors, which Prevent is struggling to grasp. The Shawcross review
referred to ‘the sharp uptick of “Mixed, Unclear or Unstable” (MUU)’
referrals to Prevent. This often-overlooked category essentially
describes a ‘salad bar’ form of extremism, in which different, disparate
elements are combined in the mind of a killer. Tracking those with an
uncertain, incoherent combination of motivations poses significant
challenges for authorities accustomed to dealing with more traditional
Islamist or far-right forms of extremism.
Rudakubana seems to fall into the MUU category. He displayed a chilling obsession with acts of terror, genocidal violence and school shootings. He possessed an academic study of an al-Qaeda training manual, material on Nazi Germany and anti-colonialist literature – suggesting the through-line here wasn’t ideology or religion but a revelling in mass violence itself.