Warmth, Returned

On the anniversary of the Madrid bombings, a jihadist cell found it germane to celebrate by threatening Germany and Austria, (yes, Austria,) with retribution for thinking unapproved thoughts, and not pulling a Zapatero: letting terrorists dictate their terms.

A message to the governments of Germany and Austria

In the name of Allah the humble by heredity and merciful, Joy to those who follow in the path of righteousness. The Caliphate channel correctly brings to you a message to the governments of Germany and Austria, the following people threaten you safety, but not by their own actions: the noble among you must remain vigilant and respect the will of the people before it acts, or acts on behalf of their allies, we ask a question: what does Germany gain from sending 2275 troops to support NATO to defend Bush’ lies? What does Germany gain from Bush’s promises? The German government lied to her people when they told them that participating with NATO troops is intended for reconstruction!

Their big lie was just a statement to get their soldiers to go to Afghanistan, and to prevent terrorist attacks in Germany!
Their first lie to get soldiers sent to Afghanistan was that they were just their for reconstruction was a lie that the whole world could see through. The German media reported more about the ways in which the soldiers were actually there more for security. The whole world saw pictures of them with skeletons and skulls.

The second lie to get your soldiers to go to Afghanistan was to say that it would prevent terrorism at home.

To that, Ayman Al-Zawahiri said: “Security is a double edged sword! If we’re safe, you’re safe. Only then is it possible for you to be safe. And when we will live in peace, it will then be possible for you to live in peace. When we’re attacked and killed, it will be definite that with Allah’s permission we will attack and kill. That is just retaliation, otherwise find understanding when you finally can understand.”

The participation of Germany in the war of the Loser States of America... [ed.: this is an un-funny play on words between Verlierer (loser) and Vereinigte (United, as in ‘United States’)] ...against Islam and Muslims will all be for nothing other than risk threats at home in Germany. Then the allies will have to set it straight after they experience the same thing their allies did, then the German troops in Badakhshan and Kunduz, in northern Afghanistan will not be safe from the Mujehedeins of Al-Queda and the Taliban.

For some time Mullah Dadu Allah has been warning that Taliban operations were underway in northern Afghanistan.
Oh, German government! Germany has a strong economy, and was until not long ago a wonderful land! Why would you want Bush and his cronies take that away? Isn’t it obvious that your economic interest worldwide is at risk? Isn’t it obvious that our Mujehedeins will conduct operations in your country? By helping America, those they call terrorists will be motivated to attack you, thus you risk you own safety.
What we propose is that you remove your soldiers from all muslim lands, and withdraw your support for Bush and his people, and then your interests will be safe.

And to Austria we say: your soldiers in Afghanistan are not much of a threat to us as you display your support for Bush and his cronies. The truth that the Austrian government has withheld from you is that these soldier were attached to NATO, even though it is a neutral country, and not part of that alliance! How can you be a neutral country, a military power, and go along with their alliance? How can one be a neutral country and support America against the muslims?

Austria was and still is one of the safest places in the world. Your people face no struggles, and their future is bright. The country relies mainly on summer and winter tourism, which brings in pleny of revenue. When world gets out that there are security threats, and Austria goes on the Mujehedein’s list of enemy states, this business will end. We blame this on the new Social Democrat government that spoke of fairness and public safety for not pulling their soldiers out of Afghanistan, and for listening to Bush in his war against all muslims. Thereby Austria has risked...

He drones on for about another two minutes in exactly the same way that “a deal” could be made available to the Germans.

This is the display of public justification offered in the fever swamps of Islamism, giving acts of terror a legitimacy “because they warned us,” when in reality it’s a cheerleading call to make the most backward and backward people on earth think themselves relevant, powerful, and engaged in the world, when in reality they are living nasty, brutal, and short lives due to their lack of social trust, corruption, paranoia, and incompetence. ‘m sure some of them genuinely believe that they are on the cutting edge of social advancement, well-being, power, and anything else they find in the way of imagined vainglory when you’re just an abject failure.

- With thanks to Liberal in Austria
for the tip-off, where you can also readily see that the
first comment to the post was “yeah, so what?”

University of Massachusetts Speech at Amherst

Many months ago, I received an email asking if I might be interested in giving a speech at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, with the subject matter the anti-Americanism observed, dissected, and described on No Pasarán and in my book on anti-Americanism.

The president of the College Republicans group, Benjamin Duffy, and I decided on February 12 (turned out to be Lincoln's birthday) for the speech. (I arrived from Boston in a rental car the day before, around 10 pm, and briefly got lost on the huge campus looking for the Campus Center Hotel.)

The title of the speech, suggested by my editor, was "Faux Amis (Je t'aime moi non plus)", and the subject was: what nobody tells you about America-bashers (foreign and domestic). I spoke for 45 minutes (did so easily, given the subject matter), giving example after example of double standards and self-serving "opinions", both in Europe and among liberal and/or leftist Americans, before arriving at some common-sense conclusions.

The reception I got from (the extremely friendly members of) the College Republicans group was awesome and, on top of that, I was invited after the speech to a delicious dinner at the town's best Italian restaurant (with a gift added in, which kept me warm during the ensuing snowstorm that hit the northeast a couple of days later). Many mercis, les amis, for the fine welcome! It is good to know that you are present, that you are using your common sense, and that you are unwilling to let the loud noise drown you out and willing, on the contrary, to stand up to the masses with pride and voice your opinions, reminding them of a reality here and there.

We Definitely Have a Winner

- Hail to the
Splashman

Tout ça car Ali Bou Baba de Clichy-sous-Bois n'arrive pas à trouver un djob

The Bureau International du Travail (International Labour Office) claims that job hiring discrimination is widespread and systematic in France.

Violent America vs.

Peaceful, Wonderful France, of course:

On February 13, 2007, French anchor Patrick Poivre d'Arvor - kind of the French Dan Rather - introduced the news of the shootings in Philadelphia, PA and Salt Lake City, UT,

The argument is even easier to make when you magically triple a bad statistic.

The conclusion: 4 dead. 4 victims among the 33 000 people who die every year in the United States, killed by a firearm.

The actual figure is 8 259. The firearm death, and not the murder rate was approaching 33 000, which included suicides and manslaughters had its’ peak under the “Clinton Junta.” I guess they couln't stop thinking about tomorrow.

- If you don’t already read Carine's
blog daily, you should consider it.

Maybe after the elections around the same time that pigs start flying

The European Commission's Eurostat seems to think that France's INSEE (French State Goskomstat-like body) is gaming the system and should be more independant.

Why Chain the Poor to their Roots?

...and environmentalists would do this for their moral vanity and their own pocketbooks. Where for they got off sailing through life on the backs of the genuinely productive.

Brough to you by the Moving Picture Institute that has some very entertaining projects on the way.
Along those lines, Scott Burgess asks: Do you have a flair for telling other people how to live? Visit the Daily Ablution daily, and tell ‘em ¡No Pasarán! sent you.

America’s thankless job

This simply means that, the US is not exactly a nightmarish country with devilish imperialist policies as Hugo Chavez, the demagogue president of Venezuela and others are portraying her to be. For if the US was reduced to only the negative things that sadly even some Americans and in chief, the Democrats are always claiming, people the world over will not be thronging to her, as it is currently the case. Even the hordes of Latin Americans who are now demonstrating on the George W. Bush tour of the region and are shamelessly and stupidly comparing him to Adolf Hitler, are in their numbers wanting to go the US.

writes Elie B. Smith at the AfricaPath journal, who finds little depth and a great deal of transparency in the venom directed at the notion of the United States, calling her an “indispensable World helper,” not deserving of the treatment it’s given.

When the US went to Afghanistan to flush out the medieval government of the Taliban there were some who cried, but now America wants to reduce her troops and have asked others to take up larger share of the responsibility, but there is an out cry. More France is even withdrawing her troops in Afghanistan. The lead vocalists against America are those so-called Peace activists who are in reality merchants of illusions who privately appreciate America but publicly decry and tarnishes her noble job around the world.

Tell a Shiite or Kurdish Iraqi or even a southern Sudanese to accept those audacious and odious statements peddle around against America, he/she will have the one uttering such statements for supper, for they know and appreciates the true loving America, that is ignored and ridiculed by some Liberals (US Democrats included) and Islamists today. America is a great country and it must be made known without any fear or shame.

Read on. He cites some excellent examples of how elites have constructed and exploited that anger while benefiting from the largess of American private and governmental generosity. It should come as no surprise that after decades of apparent invective, that many Americans find such aid which comes at the expense of helping far needier people who don’t have the same emotional difficulties with the US rather naïve.

Is this far back enough?

Paris plans its retreat.

Borloo Fan Club

After another anti-property law hits the books (thanks to employment minister Jean-Louis Borloo), members of the Borloo Fan Club try to celebrate both at a popular NGO and at the housing ministry (where the BAF cameraman is blocked inside the security doors and scolded by a functionary to the tune of the message, "you should be ashamed of yourself for making pranks while the minister is working for the French people").

Europe's growing infidelophobia crisis

Inverted French values spreading through Old Europe.

Old Europe... it ain't what it used to be...

Alors, comme ça les supporteurs de José persistent mais ne signent pas ?

José Bové©® menace le PS d'un démontage du côté de Solférino.

L'inconnue

"Je pense en conscience que Ségolène Royal ne doit pas devenir présidente de la République. Je ne le souhaite pas pour mon pays. Je le redoute pour mes enfants."
-- Eric Besson, l'ancien secrétaire national à l'économie du PS.

Inverted French Jungle Fever

Utrecht neighborhood closed off to non-residents as Dutch youths continue rioting.



'... une authenticité qui n'appartient qu'à ceux qui naissent dans un bunker.' -Suprême NTM

Pay as you exit

Guess who is going to try to sneak out the back door of the Elysée Palace?

Jungle Boogie Redux Sauerkraut Special: German youths on the rampage!

Violence and anti-German racism by German youths are featured in Le Monde Al-Jazeera on the Seine. Anti-German racism by German youths? Sounds very much like the Anti-French racism by French youths which very quickly became a taboo topic in these parts and is now banned from the pages of Le Monde Al-Jazeera on the Seine.

Mais non ! Sa haine contre les USA est née le jour il a perdu sa concession 'Roi du couscous' à Eurodisney

He grew angry at the USA when he lost his job as a Ron Jeremy body double.

Inverted European Jungle Boogie

Inverted Paris style riots in the Netherlands. France's new intra-European export. Quel rayonnement !

‘Lullabies from the Axis of Evil’

Call it a killer sales gimmick:

The story was repeated in dozens of Scandinavian newspapers: Bush bans CD featuring Swede Eva Dahlgren.

[ ... ]

The only problem with this story: it was entirely false.

Her fans, (both of you know who you are...) are sure to be disillusioned.

That's the Way to Do It!…

Meet Lisa Benson

Caption contest

Hilarious

Behold a “blog” that does a poor job as a news aggregator, and writes not one phrase of its’ own lists these as a set of principals:

To encourage a world, where globalization is not only about homogeneity and standardization, but also about diversity and cooperation.

To cover local events that are ignored or poorly covered by the corporate media.

To provide edited print stories, audio and video of the above on the Internet for independent media contacts, thought leaders, and the general public

To favor a strict separation between state and religion.

To oppose all radical religious movements and violence associated with these movements.

To support democratically elected governments

To oppose war as a solution for solving conflicts

To facilitate the networking and coordination of like minded individuals for the coverage of local events as well as the gathering of information about events to be covered

To provide links to a broad spectrum of news resources, including the alternative media, activist, and research groups

To seek out and provide coverage on the global reason's for social, economic, and environmental problems, as seen from the perspective of those that are most affected by these problems

To encourage, facilitate, and support the creation of a global system of independent newsgathering organizations

It’s said that in blogging that there are linkers and thinkers. Most people fall somewhere in between. Not only are they not in the category of thinkers, their blog does absolutely nothing they sat out to do. All of their stuff comes off of the wires, and they don’t even write titles or introductory lead-ins to state their favoring “a strict separation between state and religion”, “cover local events” (which is pointless task for a continental-minded outfit to even attempt,) or “encourage a world, where globalization is not only about homogeneity and standardization, but also about diversity and cooperation.”

If a transnational socialistic superstate is about anything, it is about creating homogeneity in law, society, and everything else. That a blog about it is as disengaged and has the air of never having been touched by a human hand should come as no surprise.

All the news that’s fit to link? When it comes to “truthiness”, it’s hard to beat:

The only problem is that France doesn't have a "happy-slapping" issue.

Unsurprisingly, an imaginary universe has a lot of appeal to them.

Joining a business that sells sex toys,

The European Union is looking into entering the virtual world and opening up an office in Second Life - an increasingly popular internet-based virtual world - which the Swedish government and the French presidential candidates have already entered.

Why there’s even some imaginary political strife to give them something to pretend to believe in and even a way to amuse themselves too. It’s all so very continental.

The amusing part is that the story isn't quite dead yet.

Les escrocs ne sont plus mariés

Buggered.

From Bowling Green to the Green Zone

Eugene Schlanger's September 11 Wall Street Sonnets and Other New York City Poems from Editions Underbahn is now available from The Wall Street Journal's Opinionjournal.com bookstore. ... and more pics have come in from Baghdad's Green Zone.

French poverty is a USA conspiracy

French talking heads, pundits and pédébloggeurs are in extasy every time some Nobel Peace Prize winner blurts out conspiratorial bullshit or other hysterical attacks directed at the US. When Nobel Economics winners tell the French to get off their duffs and start creating some value, they are ignored.

Partying Like It’s 1939

This is what socialism gets you: October 2005

I hope you can get past the use of an excellent Freddy Mercury song.

- found by Hervé who is one
seriously shrewd bastard.

Hey, You

Yeah, you in the panda costume dressing your kids up like butterflies... There’s no fine-tuning knob on the sun.

Finally Noticing the World Outside

That hideous social reality... they made bally cry.

A flyweight punching above his weight

Kind of like his shitty little country.

It was all fake

L'imposture de Chirak.

De préférence la gueule ouverte dans sa propre merde

The French preSS is surprised that in the USA nobody gives a shit about Chiraq hitting the bricks.

It would be wrong to suggest that this crisis is only an economic one; the Islamist war is now seething on French soil. But we have no doubt that the way forward for France has much to do with the economic principles that have been proven in America in the Age of Reagan. It was tragic for Mr. Chirac that he failed to see this, but these ideas of liberty are — as President Bush might point out — universal and await whoever in France will have the courage to seize them.

De préférence la gueule ouverte

"Il me manque déjà" dit de Villepin au sujet de Chirak. Moi, je dis "Qu'il crève !"

Doing What They Do Best

Behold a perfect metaphor for their International Policy. Two performance artists come from France to “express themselves” in Rapid City, South Dakota:

After stripping off their grubby clothes, the pair gobbled potato chips and spit them on the crowd, vomited into a filthy commode and threw around fake feces and urine before being shut down about a half hour into what was to be a 45-minute performance.

Costes, a French performance art duo consisting of one 50-something man, Jean-Louis Costes, and a 20-something woman, Lisou Prout, were the fourth act of five scheduled to perform Wednesday at the Dahl.

Naturally, there had to be a “concept” – one which, as usual, leads to the wise übermenschen of the continent treating others like they’re a different, lesser species.

It was all in French, but people who saw it said it was basically a depiction of American life from birth to death, portrayed in the most extreme way possible.

Michelle Malkin has more.

A Religious War Against a Contrived Enemy

To quote one of our more unselfconscious trolls:

Our latest nuclear submarines can dispatch 90 million Americans million from the East coast off to paradise.

I offer this example based on the question Michel Druker of French TV posed to the [French] chief of subsurface naval warfare “so that the missiles reach the USA?” It was not China, Iran, or Russia, but clearly the USA.

In other words a nation suspected of possibly going to war over resources to keep its’ massive population occupied, a economically defunct theocracy that supports terrorist sleeper cells in Europe’s cities, and a nation ritually making thinly veiled threats to Europe’s energy supplies in winter. No. The fantasies are of nuking the nation that acts as their bodyguard guaranteeing their safety, precluding them from the need to engage in the ugliest tasks of geopolitics, making the sea-lanes safe, and the financial environment stable enough for them to peddle their overpriced rubbish all over the third world, and have the luxury of imagining themselves dueling with windmills.

I'm sure Freud had a name for it.

Drucker is among those uniquely European media phenomena – one of those variety/talk show hosts who is equally unqualified to do a serious interview as they are to have a conversation based on cringing flattery with a third rate bubble-gum band or B actor.

The « Sandalista’s » Dillema

The love of their old squinting and mumbling hero of their violent youthful fantasies has brought the arthritic left a conundrum: Daniel Ortega made abortion illegal, and the EU has threatened to cut off aid to the leftists’ erstwhile holy land of Nicaragua in retaliation.

Can someone say sovereignty? Or perhaps call it ham-fisted “social justice” action?

It’s odd, really. During the Iraq war, Euro-sophists kept telling us that it was not for the US to impose its values on the world and that it was up to Iraqis to decide their own future. Fair enough. So why is it that, when it comes to hectoring Africans about the death penalty, or ordering South Americans to form a supra-national bloc in mimicry of the EU, or insisting that abortion be made easier, Brussels suddenly comes over all colonialist?

If abortion is a fundamental human right, why isn’t parliamentary democracy? If the EU can demand the former in Nicaragua, why can’t the US demand the latter in Cuba?

Perhaps the answer is that Brussels has never been all that keen on democracy.

Perhaps?

- Kudos to a good friend
of this blog, Stavn

It’s become a daily event

While getting intensely worked up about transatlantic passenger data, Europeans persist in monitoring ISPs, telephone calls, and emails for no clear reason. When they impose even more sever measures with less oversight, there is a refusal to admit to the outrage they reserved for American authorities monitoring the communications of people with hostile intent to Europeans and Americans alike.

It makes no difference – the goal is to find an authority figure to hate. Since Europeans feel foolish doing this with other Europeans, the US comes in quite handy. It’s petty and hateful, and causes many to persistently raise the meaningless to the level of “news”:

(Reuters) - Mayan leaders will spiritually "cleanse" ancient ruins in Guatemala after a visit by U.S. President George W. Bush, unpopular here because of foreign policies going back to Central America's civil wars.

The leaders said they would hold a spiritual ceremony to restore "peace and harmony" at the Mayan ruins of Iximche after Bush tours the site on Monday.

"No, Mr. Bush, you cannot trample and degrade the memory of our ancestors," said indigenous leader Rodolfo Pocop during a press conference. "This is not your ranch in Texas."

How his memories of his ancestors is degraded is unclear. Despite the fact that they were decimated by Spaniards, some flunky panders to the ideologically predictable world press, and the press can’t but wait to dish it up to an eager European public to eat it up.

Reuters also seems to forget how the word “new” figures into the word “news”:

Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, Washington's principal antagonist in Latin America, has called Bush "the devil" and at a United Nations debate last year said the U.S. leader left a smell of sulfur lingering in the room behind him.

But it doesn’t matter. It’s reporting without purpose, but does a nice job of tacitly describing the real story: people whining about America need to get over themselves, stop dwelling on an imaginary enemy they’ve created, and get out of the tight little shells they built around themselves.

Good News Buried

White Euro-sclerosis has unemployment at twice that figure, the NYT buries the news. If the left were in charge, and if they’re smart enough not to impose any of their “economic theories” on it to destroy it, the New York Times would call it the end of another successful 5 year plan.

- thanks to some guy in Baghdad.

Nobody is paying attention

"THE eyes of the world will be on the European Union's summit in Brussels this week. So claims the European Commission's president, José Manuel Barroso, anyway. He may just be wrong; powerbrokers in Washington, Beijing and Delhi probably have better things to do with their time."

Not a bug, a feature

Because it's a structural, built-in part of the French economy. French unemployment is largely underestimated.

Rising to the Level of Meaninglessness

One of the aspects of a cult is that it tries to intrude on every area possible sphere of people’s lives. Call it the drip, drip, drip of meme affirmation.

You've heard of green cars, green tourism and green weddings. Now Canadians should ready themselves for green sex.

All those things sound so damned green, don’t they?

BanPerish the Thought

And perish thinking about it! Eurovision Song Contest organizers might ban the Israeli entry, Teapacks' Push the Button, because of its’ political message threatens the public’s ignorance about the potential nuclear threat from Iran.
Another one of EUtopia’s countless “central committees” speak:

It's absolutely clear that this kind of message is not appropriate for the competition," said Kjell Ekholm, an organizer of the contest. "We'll have all the delegation leaders here in Helsinki next week, and I'm sure we'll talk about this case within the EBU [European Broadcasting Union] group."

French National Pasttime

Like Babe Ruth, Raymond Barre calls his shot and hits one out of the park.

“The People” are Just too Dumb for Socialism

We failed, therefore the world and all of the vulgar shlubs living in it in it must be big fat idiots...

Andrew, I spent many years with you (idealogically at least) but life on the front line of socialism, both campaigning and administrating at local authority level, taught me one overarching truth. The people are simply not up to Socialism. It's too difficult, it's too hard and it's too 'intellectual' for the people. The people have shown themselves, the world over, to be fundamentally lazy, greedy, selfish and myopic.

Did you watch the wall come down? The glee with which the people pulled down those bricks and threw themselves and their families headlong into unemployment, shabby education, poor health and CocaCola showed more clearly than anything else that the people are just too dumb for Socialism.

Socialism is indeed a better way to run things than capitalism, but first we have to find ourselves another 'people'.

Move on mate. You'll only cause yourself heartache.

Don’t you just love the distinct lack of mortal, fiancial, or personal risk of his efforts “on the front lines”? Having lived behind the iron curtain, I don't think the comment's author realizes how meaningless people's work was, just how shabby the education and housing really was, or even how bad the knock-off "coca cola", or any other available goods were.

- Vielen Dank, Georg

Want Good News?

Just make it up. Start cherry-picking in 2007 for a good-looking trend in data for 2004 to 2005!

According to the Commission's Joint Employment Report, published on 19 February 2007, "unemployment in the EU-25 fell from 9.1% in 2004 to 8.8% in 2005 and employment rose by 0.8% in 2005 - the largest increase since 2001.

Indeed. The Lisbonian magic is clearly at work. By 2010, the hard-working elves of the EU were scheduled (through the miracle of saying so,) to have the worlds leading economy. Instead a recent report warned that by some measures they were 22 years behind the US (where supposedly people live in cardboard boxes and eat cat-food.)

In two years’ since 2005, the gap EU-US has widened for all economic indicators:

- Income (GDP per capita). The current EU level for income was achieved by the US in 1985. Since the first edition of the study, the time gap has increased by 3 years;

- Employment and R&D. Both the current EU levels for employment and R&D investment per capita were reached by the US in 1978. (+3 years and +5 years respectively);

- Productivity (GDP per employed). The current EU productivity level was achieved by the US in 1989 (+3 years).

- The current EU level of Internet users per capita was reached by the US in 2002. Obviously, there hasn’t been enough ranting about predatory capitalism this winter to keep the good burgers of Outer-Lisbonium warm and dry long enough for them to enjoy the way high taxation and low wealth-creation is breaking their knees.

Sophisticated French show thuggish Americans the correct way to treat the ladies

It's happening in the notorious 9-3 (faut dire "neuf-trois") and the French preSS, while expressing astonishment at the levels of violence indicated by the results, is not even beginning to connect the dots leading to the 800 pound gorilla in the room. In a study of 1600 women between the ages of 18-21 in the Seine Saint-Denis 30% have been victim of physical violence during the last year (16 girls claimed that someone had attempted to kill them). Those conducting the study were particularly surprised by the levels of violence and sexual abuse committed by family members. Rather than confronting the reality of what is going on in these suburbs, look for the French establishment to put all this down to social problems arising from unbridled America-instigated globalisation.

PS - Too bad those 9-3 girls don't live in Tennessee.

Stop the presses!

Vagrants and loiterers told by the French police to "hit the bricks".

Make mine a double Jameson, neat, no ice

Election Possibly Rising to the Level of Ebay

Owing to the usual democratic-sounding un-democratic ideas, French Presidential elections require that 500 Mayors sign a petition to get a candidate on the ballot. One mayor of a town in Calvados (Noron-la-Poterie,) is giving his vote to the highest bidder. Any punters?

Funnier still is the dim starethat the news elicits. The story's been up all day without a single comment at Libération.

It’s Good to be the King

Remember, Chavs is people too.

Mesrine says ...

... let's blow this joint. Il ne voulait pas finir en "gueule triste" comme ses compatriotes.

Break out the café lattés ...

Because we is celebrating Zeropean muzak at its best, and with regards to Zeropean muzak and you can't get any better than this. An Italian singer (Sabrina Salerno) warbling on a German TV show. Imagine the impact ...

When Going Too Far is Never Enough

Funny how we come across some people: author and apologist for Syrian dictators Jürgen Cain Külbel seems mad at Medienkritik’s Ray, and oddly enough mad at the US, Israel, and even mad at most of Lebanon too. He’s even nearly expressing genuine emotions in his desperate comparison of the US’ dealings with the eastern Mediterranean as a “puppet play”, and implying that the Siniora government is a puppet of the US. The poodle meme dragged out one more painfully boring time.

How did we find this guy? He’s got his panties in a bunch over the fact that David’s Medienkritik organized a public demonstration in Mainz last year in support of President Bush and the war on transnational terror – something the Syrians have done more for through direct arming and tacitly allowing advanced terrorist training and technique development in the Be’kaa Vally of Lebanon for more than a decade. Using an accusation as a defense of his hatefulness, he accuses Ray of “working for the CIA”. Among idiots, this might actually seem novel. Evidently a handful of people practicing their right to free speech is a problem for this guy. He can’t wrap his brain around where the pluralism that permits him to trash others comes from or how to preserve it. It isn’t a matter of him disagreeing with anyone else’s VIEWS, he seemed apoplectic that they were allowed to be there at all.

What drew my attention to him was his blatant mendacity when it comes to the Lebanese which I'll get to later. But to get an idea of what passes for "advocacy journalism" these days, and what passes for intelligent discourse in the adolescent anti-western camp, you need to look at their actions and habits.

Forget free will, anyone who chooses anything other that his favorite repressive ideologues is “a puppet” – as if he isn’t. Talking straight through his teeth, he all but admitted to certainty that the Syrians killed Rafik Hariri while accusing the US and Israel of the deed, and seems a lot more concerned with constructing houses of cards to be fawned over in places which have no free press than making any informed or useful theses.

By way of German bloggers we learn that he's currently writing a book about Osama bin Laden entitled "Osama bin Laden -World Theater with a Corpse." In an interview he did with "Muslim Markt", he explains that his book will talk about how "USAma bin Laden" was already dead by the time of the 9/11 attacks, implying that he is a fiction created by the US to justify its' actions therafter. I suppose anyone with time-penetrating precience is sure to be capable of that sort of conspiracy! What's sad is that even in German the "corpse thing" is dated and tasteless, and if countless other attempts to make this same silly argument haven't grown stale yet, here he is trying to make it again. Too bad it only works once or twice with the same gullible audience, but by indulging the Syrians to find flattery in having a European writing it while focusing on their pet peeves, that a new field of interest might open up.

Like any bad propagandist, he also seems to have himself convinced of his own nonsense, and can’t seem to recognize that the majority of Lebanese detest the Hizballah, but like anyone with any serious criticism of the Ba'athists in Syria, are too scared by them to speak out. The fact that the far more serious problem that Hizballah, once a puppet, is now a barely controllable possessed puppet of Iran and Syria registers no-where in his work. One can hardly call that due dilligence.

Maybe this guy is grabbing his ankles for money, ideology, readership among fevered single-issue simpletons in the German-speaking geographic pocket, or simply doing it to get access to senior figures in Damascus. What seems particularly un-natural for any kind of writer is that he seems to be making quite an effort on their behalf of a state long obsessed with a neighboring state that has an actual free press.

Take look at his incredibly ignorant choice of images:

Puppets in blackface.

What century is he living in?
Apart from he seeming obsession with anti-capitalism (Syria is still a command economy), and manipulating the timeline and causes of Siniora’s appointment, here’s a sample of his rubbish:

Siniora obviously still believes in the US-American neoconservative idiocy of „nation building“ and to the spreading of western style democracy in the entire elbow from Morocco to Indonesia. And it obviously recognizes from Bush and cohorts would only install „democratic“ revolutions so long as only valid ones were established...

„L’état c’est moi”, is what Siniora thinks, because he’s following on a November 2006 opinion poll that didn’t take place in Lebanon, but mainly among the exiled Lebanese living prosperously in California, Ohio, and elsewhere under the star-spangled banner along with a few Parisians, the Israeli Prime Minister, and the former East German girl-scout leader who are behind him.

He goes on to question the motives of the protesters who wanted Syria-supporting President Emile Lahoud to step down, and also calls the Lebanese Prime Minister a “Guerrilla fighter for US democracy” and the first “Democratic Dictator” in Beirut.

There is absolutely no evidence that Siniora thinks any of this, or theorizes anything whatsoever about democratizing “ze elbow from Morocco to Indonesia.” It is far more likely that he has managed to see the same thing any humanist would: in democracies, ethnic and religious minorities aren’t singled out and slaughtered by unelected thugs. That this would have some appeal to the many religions and political views that very notion of The Lebanon was founded to protect should not shock this little man. But apparently it does.

And yes, Siniora does seem to believe in nation-building, just as Hariri did, he believed in the need to build back into existence from the dark days of Syrian “protection” that seemed to get a lot of people killed, a nation. His own nation. What WAS the Taïf accord if not just that?

As for taking potshots at Merkel, I can’t help but laugh at how much of a political slut this man is. Does he really believe that German foreign policy could have “made” anyone?, much less made a difference to anyone in the near east when they aren’t just disengaged from it, but aren’t even among the parties who have been historically entrenched in it? In Lebanon, German engagement is less than that of Canada's, and is limited almost entirely to selling them costly German goods inflated even more by an overvalued Euro. That lack of magnitude notwithstanding, he’s as blinkered as Michael Moore on 9/12 who stupidly believed that jihadists cared enough about the same issues he did to be shocked that they would attack states that voted for the Democrats.

Combining a fake populism by trying to throw red-meat to a potential audience and a racist's condescention of "who people are," Külbel is an example of the logical outcome of a societally trained incapacity to judge right from wrong. One that falls for the sort of relativism that gives ciphers and idiots way to think themselves intelligent and “fair”. It isn’t. It leads one from a lack of intellectual depth to making an entirely repugnant choice when they do finally think they know what they believe in. It also finds itself leading ultimately to supporting an unelected dictatorship that keeps political prisoners out of sight for decades in a callous bid to preserve its’ inner circle. It apologizes for the actions of tyrants, and does it to the cost of mankind's humanity.

Gôche caviar

Ségolène Royal and her faggoty effeminate buffoon of a partner (who has stated that he doesn't like the rich) have been caught understating the total value of their very significant wealth.

After all, La Fwance is a cultural desert

Le Louvre opens a subsidiary in Abu Dabai.

Le Louvre is not the first to délocaliser French culture:

It Seems That They Can’t Just All Get Along

From the “rights of man” to the flight to ban:

The French Constitutional Council has approved a law that criminalizes the filming or broadcasting of acts of violence by people other than professional journalists. The law could lead to the imprisonment of eyewitnesses who film acts of police violence, or operators of Web sites publishing the images, one French civil liberties group warned on Tuesday.

What began as a good natured attempt to suppress whistle-blowing by abusive care-givers in old age homes, as well as propagation of mobile-phone videos by “happy slappers”, finds itself fitting in perfectly with the continental predilection to suppress any telling but illuminating showing of their warts - without which there is no improvement or change.

The council chose an unfortunate anniversary to publish its decision approving the law, which came exactly 16 years after Los Angeles police officers beating Rodney King were filmed by amateur videographer George Holliday on the night of March 3, 1991.

Basically, this tries to make it illegal to report bad news to anyone other than the Police, unless you’re a “professional” journalist – which means, of course, you’ve been thoroughly indoctrinated into believing in the preciousness of the social status quo by having fear of one thing or another drummed into you.

- With thanks to Strummin’ Joe

Civilian killed by French military in Ivory Coast

Not to worry though. French soldiers aimed for his vehicle in accordance with the legal procedures regarding the use of their weapons.

Enfin une bonne nouvelle : Les nanas du 9-3 ont trouvé du boulot

After entering into a treaty agreement with the EU looking to attract more bankers, managers, and academics, Switzerland simply wound up with an influx of hookers.

Stone them back to the bomb age

José Bové does an excellent job of explaining exactly what he wants the French to aspire to (hint: $1600 monthly salary and compost toilets) as he proudly shows off the medieval style living conditions of his home and farm to gullible French journalists.

I always knew he was a faggot

French Presidential candidate François Bayrou read and appreciated Cindy Sheehan's "Peace Mom". Il en a parlé sur le plateau de Anal Plus.

Spanking their Monkeys

The way you do a poll that sees air in Europe is to flatter and indulge the reader, and in effect, rigging up the outcome. A “world” public opinion poll excluded Americans from answering questions about the US, but asked Europeans questions about Europe.

A majority of people polled for the BBC World Service across 27 countries believe Israel and Iran have a mainly negative influence in the world with almost as many saying the same about North Korea and the United States.

The outcome is obvious, and the BBC will flog it on the air for a good solid week without revealing the fact that it was ginned-up.

Canada, Japan, the European Union, and France were judged most positively. Britain, China, and India received more positive than negative evaluations while Russia was viewed slightly more negatively than positively.

Of course they’ll flog the results on the World Service for 3 days, and try to keep the story alive tomorrow a few days after that by doing a story about their own poll.

Opinions about Venezuela were evenly divided.

Of course they were, all things, ALWAYS being equivalent equal... but it isn’t very hard to explain:

They met, fell in love and had four children. But their story has horrified Germany. They are brother and sister, separated at birth and reunited years later.

The writer goes on to explain in the money quote:

And their story is astonishingly common.

- H/T to Georges

It might sound like the rant of an anti-American foaming at the mouth,

except for the fact that it’s not about America, and that it’s true:

In five decades of France-Africa summits, France has offered continued material and military aid to prop up unelected leaders, some of whom have been around for decades thanks to elections that have largely become a mockery of democracy.

FRENCH COMPANIES are equally guilty. For instance, Elf Aquitaine has been closely related to the enduring system of Franco-African relations, “Francafrique.”

Beyond the formal institutions, “Francafrique” worked through a system of international clientelism, combining corruption and force, economic, political and social exchanges, and public and private relations.

and right after their latest lecture promoting their faux euro-humanism to the rest of the world, they’ll be heading back down to the plantation to see what the Pinkertons of their state-run industries can wring out of those people getting “too many concessions.”

Le rayonnement de la Fwance

Terrorist dry runs emanating from Paris.

Chiraq and his Jagged Little Pill

After Chiraq boasting that France would be showing off a Viagra-like "rock-hard firmness" with regards to WTO talks, Dominique de Villepin today declared that France had no intention of blocking negotiations but intended to "re-establish some common sense".

100% hyper-marrant

50% Djian, 50% Rabelais. La France a grand besoin d'écrivains décomplexés comme Le Chaffeur de Limousine.

Pschitt!

The Presidential campaign of the globally reknowned globophobe, vandal, and McDonald's demolition expert, José Bové©®, is not making much of an impression back home.

“Only?!?”

Only 45% of the French want to work more to earn more.

As if that’s all bad. But for some bad is never bad enough. Le Monde publishes the result of a survey not so much on an attitude towards work, by on philosophizing about the concept of thinking about work... or something:

A majority of the French (53%) want to have “their current working hours guaranteed by law” rather than “to be able to work more to earn more” (45%), as proposed by UMP presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy, according to a LH2 survey for [the magazine] 20 minutes and [talk radio operation] RMC published on Friday March 2nd.

Asked about their definition of work, 78% of the people surveyed saw it as “a way to earn a living”, ahead of being “an important value to pass on to your children” (63%), “a source of wealth” (42%), “the way to being useful to your employer” (28%), “a source of pride” (21%).

[work is] “A PLACE OF INJUSTICE” to 5% of those surveyed.

Only a minority of the French regards work as “a source of inequality” (9%), “serious constraint” (5%) and “a place of injustice” (5%). The total of the percentages is higher than 100 because multiple responses were possible with question about work.

I’ll leave the heavy editorializing to your imaginations, dear reader, but consider the spin: 45% is still a lot of people, particularly in a society that has talked itself in circles and has had two generations of Socialist bunkum sold to them as an essential morality to the exclusion of all others.

Imagine a place for a moment where the society tells you what to do with a basic matter of personal choice like whether or not you want to work hard of your own free will.

EU policy hostage to French radical anti-Americanism

The EU looks more and more like an unmanned drone.

Is it because French elections are for the birds?

... ou plutôt parce que les fwançais sont des pigeons ? Danish artist "Lord B" enters his parrot in the French Presidential election.

They’re in Their Happy Place

It looks like the EU finally found the place to drone on about their imaginary problems.

The European Union is looking into entering the virtual world and opening up an office in Second Life - an increasingly popular internet-based virtual world - which the Swedish government and the French presidential candidates have already entered.

"It is certainly an idea we are looking into," commission spokesman Mikolaj Dowgielewicz told EUobserver.

"But we do not have enough people dealing with the internet - we could but they are bogged down with other work such as for the EU's 50th birthday,"

It gets even more ridiculous. Far from “experimenting” with alternate universes, it turns out people are being as stupefyingly predictable in Second Life as they are in meat-space:

the socialist Segolene Royal, centre-right Nicolas Sarkozy and far-right Jean-Marie Le Pen - have all opened election headquarters in Second Life sharing out free pizza slices and t-shirts while promoting their campaign.

However, the presence of Le Pen's anti-immigration, ultra-nationalist National Front has proved particularly divisive among virtual users, some of whom protested outside the party's first headquarters until it moved.

That's mighty big of you Javier, considering how some of your own member countries don't feel so secure inside their EUtopia

EU membership, the gift that keeps on giving shafting.
Solana on external threats to Europe ...
"We are not as Europeans concerned to establish a mechanism of that type," Solana said. "This is for every country to decide."

That's mighty big of you Javier, considering how it's in your own backyard and all

On Solana on Kosovo ...
The European Union hopes the future of the province can be sealed by a UN Security Council resolution this year.
Solana said that when that happens, "the European Union will have to play a role" in security.

Eurofaggots soil their panties

Eurovision song contest organizers are shitting in their pants because Israel's entry is a bit too edgy for them. Push the button, Teapacks!

Calling a spade a spade

The French Left, as always, cozying up to the more violent fringes of their society.

Deep down, in a secret place where the lights of smart dinner-party conversation and clever debating-society repartee never shine

Somewhere, deep down, tucked away underneath their loathing for George Bush, in a secret place where the lights of smart dinner-party conversation and clever debating-society repartee never shine, the growing hordes of America-bashers must dread the moment he leaves office

writes Gerard Baker (thanks to Tom Pechinski).

When President Bush goes into the Texas sunset, and especially if he is replaced by an enlightened, world-embracing Democrat, their one excuse, their sole explanation for all human suffering in the world will disappear too. And they may just find that the world is not as simple as they thought it was.

It’s been a great ride for the past six years, hasn’t it? George Bush and Dick Cheney and all those pantomime villains that succour him — the gay-bashing foot soldiers of the religious Right, the forktailed neoconservatives with their devotion to Israel, the dark titans of American corporate boardrooms spewing their carbon emissions above the pristine European skies. Having those guys around for so long provided a comfortable substitute for thinking hard about global challenges, a kind of intellectual escapism.

When one group of Muslims explodes bombs underneath the school buses of another group of Muslims in Baghdad or cuts the heads off humanitarian workers in Anbar, blame George Bush. When Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, denounces an imbalanced world and growls about the unpleasantness of democracy in eastern Europe, blame George Bush. When the Earth’s atmosphere gets a little more clogged with the output of power plants in China, India and elsewhere, blame George Bush.

Some day soon, though, this escapism will run into the dead end of reality. In fact, the most compelling case for the American people to elect a Democrat as president next year is that, in the US, leadership in a time of war requires the inclusion of both political parties, and in the rest of the world, people will have to start thinking about what is really the cause of all our woes.

Take a look at the miserable mess that is unfolding in what is supposed to be the “West’s” fight in Afghanistan against the Taleban and al-Qaeda. Afghanistan was, remember, unlike Iraq, “the good war”. Within days of September 11, 2001, all the European members of Nato readily signed up to assist America in righting the wrongs of international terrorism by defeating the Kabul regime and its allies.

Even after the alliance fell out over the Iraq war, those who opposed that conflict reiterated their dedication to winning the one in Afghanistan. When the Spanish socialists pulled their nation’s troops out of Iraq in 2004, they insisted they were fully committed to the war against the Taleban.

But what is the state of that struggle? These days, despite the notional presence of a Nato force involving more than 15 countries, only a handful — Britain, the Netherlands, Canada, and plucky Lithuania included — are putting anything like the effort required in terms of resources and willingness to take the fight to the enemy.

Others — such as the Germans and the French — will commit troops and equipment but won’t let them fight, preferring noncombatant roles. Last week the Italian Government collapsed because some of its members actually want to make friends with the Taleban. European countries are not failing to fight the war in Afghanistan because they don’t like George Bush. They lack either the perception of the threat or the will to deal with it.

…Even as some future Democratic president proclaims his commitment to renewing alliances, he is sure to be greeted with all kinds of explanations as to why the Europeans are just not quite ready to make that a joint ownership. When that moment comes, everyone will be urgently wishing they still had George Bush to blame.

Le héro des banlieues

L'idole des jeunes.

Multilateral European business on the March towards a Lisbon Statement 2.0 Utopia

Airbus has the empty order book blues.

A Communist Solution to a Non-Existent Problem

Bizarrely, having to do with sports:

The review talked of a democratic, European sports model, "deep-rooted in civil society, an important expression of our culture" and characterised by "solidarity" between the elite and community grass roots, specifically contrasting that with the US view of professional sport as pure big-business entertainment. The review's specific recommendations did not match the grand ambition, but did terrify our rich clubs by arguing for "competitive balance" to be restored with salary caps and for UEFA to share Champions League money more fairly.

Just how is it that the existence of professional sports takes something away from local, individual, or any other sort of sport goes unexplained. If anything, it encourages kids to get hooked on the games that they enjoy for the better part of a lifetime.

The American habit of locally formed league sports not requiring anyone's benevolent "regulation" notwithstanding, the fact that the grand sporting “traditions” seem to unduly influence the world by stacking the deck in favor of their preferences remains hidden. More than 80% of the members of the International Olympic Committee are European, seem to enjoy being bought-off, and when they spread a monoculture... well, that’s called ”wisdom”

It Never Ends

”Europe” is going after Microsoft again.

Microsoft was on Thursday dealt a serious setback in its long-running antitrust battle with the European Commission when Brussels threatened to impose yet another massive fine on the US software group for failing to comply with a landmark competition ruling handed down almost three years ago.

Europe’s top antitrust regulator on Thursday issued a new set of charges against Microsoft, a step that is likely to result in another ruling and a new fine against the group.

Never mind the fact that the threat to charge isn’t about competition, but the very opposite, and all feels okay. They are trying to eliminate the problem of European software companies from having Microsoft as competition.

The lame excuse this time?

The EU and Microsoft just can't seem to see eye to eye. After years and years in the courts and a guilty verdict a few years back, the EU has forced Microsoft's hand in releasing certain information that will help other companies create inter-compatible software with Windows and its components. Now, however, the EU is displeased with the way they are making that information available, and is threatening more fines. The reason? They are charging too much for it.

Again it seems that this is a sort of stopgap measure to frustrate the success of the foreigner to give their own producers a better shot at success, but in a malicious manner. It’s really not that different as common behavior on a larger level that have led to intense enmity between immigrants and the indigenous, except for the fact that the object of their effort is far away, and as a corporation (simply a collection of people,) carrying the trope of dreaded capitalism and is too far away to have to face personally.

"News You Can Use" Otherwise Eclipsed

Ironically, news like this gets no airplay, while criticisms of Americans' health, weight, "inequality of outcome", this that, and the other thing dominate the media.

There are wide variations in healthcare outcomes across the EU – for example, five year survival rates for bladder cancer range from 78% in Austria to 47% in Poland and Estonia.
Regions where income inequality is high tend to have a significantly lower life expectancy than regions where income inequality is comparatively low.

7% of Europeans had taken prescription drugs in the previous 12 months due to psychological or emotional health problems and 3% had received psychotherapy in that period (7% in the Netherlands).

As for obesity, the health risks can be as large as from smoking. Yet a Eurobarometer Survey showed that half of 15 -44 year olds had indulged in no vigorous physical activity in the previous seven days and 40% had not even taken part in moderate physical activity like walking for more than 30 minutes.

Oddly, this kind of story in the US about the US dominates the media, in exactrly the same way that the story about the US would dominate the news in Europe, but certainly not because it matters in Europe in any way.

In the US the story would be founded out of concern for public well being much as this one does, but in Europe out of mere ridicule - a mad degree of attention and at the expense of noticing "news you can use".

Burning the House Down to Stay Warm

The 80’s revival rages on. Transnational economic turf-warfare, greed, and meddling in business lead straight to Airbust:

Union officials, who were informed of the proposals earlier on Wednesday, expressed anger at the scale of the cuts.

"We totally oppose the closure of any site and we won't accept any firings," said European Metalworkers Federation head Peter Scherrer.

They would prefer the entire company go under and every employee lose their jobs? As usual, union blackmailers with nothing immediate to lose resoundingly say Yes!

- with thanks to George

Inquisitive Adolescents Expressing their Political views Through Interpretive Dance

A few more of the “Zionist spies” of one of our, intemperate troll commenters.

A tragedy was avoided on Sunday after a smoke bomb, thrown through a window of a Jewish kindergarten in Berlin, failed to ignite.

However, the school, located in a northwest neighborhood of the German capital, was not spared by the spray painting of swastikas, other Nazi symbols and anti-Semitic phrases, such as “Auschwitz,” “Juden Raus” (Jews, get out) and “Sieg Heil”, on its outer walls, as well as on toys that had been lying around in the school’s playground.

Targeting a place where these "dangerous" 4 and 5 year olds play. Perhaps to induce fear, but more likely because the people who did it have had their revusive reflex trained out of them with ideology, only to be replaced by some notion of "social justice" as an excuse. The new form youthful idealism takes is little more than loutish repugnance.

Time, perhaps, for “Altermonidialist” types to take a personal inventory. I’ll leave the colorful phrases found in the image to individual translation, but it needs to be said that the part of Berlin in question (Wedding, I believe) is by no means poor or “immigrant”, it’s a pleasant, wooded area free of the tension used to explain away this hatefulness which is actually old hat

O Canada!

In response to Ségolène Royal's attempt to appropriate Québec for France, La BAF's Canadian division joins the socialist candidate's Villepinte meeting to defend the unity of Canada.

Is That Yellowcake On Your Face?

Once again, the idiotic potbanging by the agitational left is founded on a lie. The “16 words” that the left are so cranked up about came from British intelligence that knew full well what France gave Saddam.

This reassuring assumption [that Mitterand had limited nuclear fuel shipments to Iraq], however, is massively belied by the contents of a 1987 letter from none other than current French President Jacques Chirac to Saddam Hussein. By 1987, Chirac was again French Prime Minister. His letter was leaked to the French press and widely interpreted at the time as a thinly veiled offer to rebuild Osirak. Waxing nearly rhapsodic in his praise of French-Iraqi relations, Chirac refers in the letter to "the cooperation begun over 12 years ago on our joint personal initiative in a domain that is essential for the sovereignty, independence and security of your country" (my emphasis - JR). (The full letter from Chirac to Saddam Hussein, dated June 24, 1987, is reproduced in Claude Angeli and Stéphanie Mesnier, "Notre Allié Saddam" [Oliver Orban, 1992], annexe VII.) The allusion to Iraqi security concerns is especially notable, since it suggests that Chirac was fully aware of the military significance of the Osirak project.

People don’t discuss “sovereignty” when it comes to electricity generation or worst still in the present date, the euphemism “right to technology". The goal was to give Saddam nukes. Nothing more.

The New Newspeak

Hilarious,considering the left’s “Non” Votes.

Just French good ole boys havin' some fun

French youths just want to have fun. 2006 saw a 45% increase in physical anti-Semitic acts in France with spikes occuring just after the torture and murder of Ilan Halimi and during the confrontation between Israel and the Hezbollah.

France offers hope to heroin addicts the world over

Shoot up to the beat. Gainsbourg says "Blow me."

Make the myths

Who's gonna be on top?
USA = Manifest Destiny = Legend factory = Europe sucks.



Don't miss 5 Years Later.

Squabbles and Characters like Flat Paper Cutouts

It’s got all the usual ingredients: fighting over nothing, a “declaration” named after a city, and a bunch of characters with no depth. The end product is a non-news story worthy of the gossip page.

A grand statement - the Berlin declaration - is planned next month to commemorate the founding in 1957 of what is now the EU, but the 27 member states are increasingly divided about what to celebrate.

Luxembourg is pushing for a prominent mention of the euro as one of Europe's greatest achievements.

It sounds like the start of a bad joke: “A German and a Frenchman are stuck in a rowboat...” Nonetheless, the usual subtext is always there:

Former Iron Curtain countries are growing increasingly concerned that their experience under communism will be airbrushed out.

Smoking Smoked Out in France

La BAF heads to France's health ministry to light up a stogy or two…

Who Deserves What; Double Standards

The people who say (reasonably enough) that Serbia proper was not guilty of the enormous crime of genocide are the same who find it not at all abnormal to say America deserved 9-11 because of September 11, 1973. (Or America deserved 9-11 just because of what America is. Or because of what it was. Or because of what it has done. Or because of what it hasn't done. Or because of…)

La littérature en français déposée offshore

Nous ne présenterons point d'excuses à l'Académie Franchouille ...


Thanks to George & CC.

The New-Old Objectification

In Sunday’s Telegraph, Niall Ferguson continues to flog his notion that present day America can be compared to the British Empire, on that he’s admitted is different because it is not an empire. One of the fantastic differences between the Telegraph and pathological nature of the BBC’s editorial ideology is that the Telegraph invites comments far more directly and without making a show of “letting you” Have Your Say, albeit with heavy editing by beeboids.

“The usual” view is always present. It has this vision of the world being a playground where all the children need to be equal for their own good despite the fact that some have given the world a reason to be on the “time out bench.” For the likes of these folks, even the Darfur genocide doesn’t get you an off-side whistle while “the good” in the world spend years on end trying to define the meaning of genocide anew.

Maybe it's because they are ignorant, arrogant, parochial and jingoistic.

Maybe it's because they have either invaded or forced regime change in more than 200 countries, many with democratically elected goverments.

Maybe it's because they would rather spend their time watching non-stop 'news' of such luminaries as Britney Spears and Anna Nicole Smith, than to bother to discover what their own government is doing to them and to other populations of the world.

As ever, the implied self-as-high-culture tries to form comparisons to American low culture. Low-culture to low-culture are quite typically strenuously avoided for the reason that they might produce some actual empathy. However, the matter of low-brow behavior cant be entirely hidden:

I am an American living in Britain and I have been abused many times by British people trying to get their jabs in at Americans. Mostly from teachers, believe it or not!

Believe me, I know. The inability to dislodge the prejudice for a person and a nation is a telling and ubiquitous feature of American dealing with Europeans’ lectures on a daily basis.

The difference is refreshing and enormous, and show a great breadth missing at the BBC. Between the highly predictable notes left by readers are those like the following:

As I see it, having visited the United States, the great advantage it's citizens possess is the ability to succeed, should they so wish. There is no class culture, consequently those who are successful are admired and indeed encouraged to achieve more. Envy and jealousy simply do not exist. It is something the rest of the world cannot understand and this is manifested by the so called "hatred" expressed against a country which is totally different to the class system which dominates all other nations.

Well, there’s always a “root cause” argument to be made too.

People hate America because they want the romance of the hammer and sickle, or the romance of a martyr.
...
The truth is it's not the US that's arrogant, it's the romantics that want a cause that exaults humanity into some kind of superman, when what is actually being offered is the chance to be ordinary.

A Typically European, Worthy of Locking Up in the Attic

...and a human embarrassment.


Le Pen morally unclear on Nazis:

"Our servicemen were not politically motivated. We were fighting for our country. There is no comparison between terrorists and the RAF."

Although renowned for his extreme views, Mr Le Pen remains one of the most influential politicians in France.

At least he’s honest. Euros wetting their beds over “Germania” is nothing new.

Engaged, Involved, and Curious

Maybe it’s the divine illumination they give us that makes them completely unremarkable

...in Britain, where 76 per cent of respondents ticked off the response "I don't know any of these candidates," though the country is just across the Channel from France.

In Germany, 62 per cent said they were not familiar with any of the four candidates, while the figure was 47 per cent in Spain and 43 per cent for Italy.

All of which is a sign of tremendous wisdom rather than apathy since all trends point to their leadership not mattering a great deal anyway:

...of la vie française (such as myself) need to stand back. In 1979, the British were 20 per cent poorer than the French, as measured by GDP per head. We are now 5 per cent richer, and the outlook is for that gap to widen further. The general economic background is a major part of this - the French economy has crawled along at a growth rate that has averaged half that of the UK's in recent years. Unemployment is stubbornly high, and even after a recent recovery, remains nearly twice the UK's.

The term “sick man of Europe” used to be used for places like Albania, now it’s used to point out those who used to point the “sick man” out. The common thread is obvious: socialism is necrotizing. It sounds like someone needs some peristroyka for the global public to pay attention to them.

Dominque de Villepin (who is a man) says ...

France is not a beat country.



Beaten down is more like it.

They do however, dispose of a few nickels and dimes

This whole single market thing might work out better if Europeans only had something known as disposable income.

Can Italian Leftists chew spaghetti and walk at the same time?

Not likely. If they would just stop looking over towards the USA constantly, they just might be able to put one foot in front of the other without tripping.

No problem, just have them set up a new deadline and call it "Lisbon 2.0"

Oh my. Looks like that whole Airbus thing is going from mess to hopeless mess and EU kommissars now fear that the same problems might befall Galileo.

Their Much Lauded Tolerance

Title: "Hillary" and "Obama" – A Woman and a Negro are Participating in the Campaign for the American Presidency



Religious Man: "This is another sign of the collapse of the Western civilization"
This is the advanced civilization that the left frets over offending, and ironically this cartoon is a sign of reform. Consider that it can be interpreted to mean that mocking the intemperate opinions of those who hide them behind their position in society is no longer the object of great fear.

-With gratitude to Hervé.