An American Cultural Loss

Les Français will forgive me, but the best — and most powerful — rendering of La Marseillaise was in a Hollywood classic.

As "France — the historic image of La Belle France — [goes] up in smoke", Diana West offers us a not-quite random list of movies that fixed the 20th-century-image of Paris in the American imagination.

This has more than geopolitical ramifications; it's an American cultural loss. That's because France, as an American muse, has long inspired some of the best of American arts and letters.

The difference between a holding cell that destroys freedom and one that protects it

Traian Ungureanu (who has been fired by the best) may not speak for all Romanians, but he speaks for our dear friend Kit who translated a recent article of his.

"Are there “secret” American prisons in Romania and Poland? One should hope so! Why? First of all, because it’s consistent with pro-American attitudes among Eastern Europeans who know what the inside of a Soviet prison-state looks like. Esteemed Strasbourg and dearest Bruxelles, allow us to use the only on-the-job training we’ve had in forty years of forced labor. We are experts in prison facilities and we have no problem in telling the difference between a holding cell that destroys freedom and a holding cell that protects it.
Second, because Romanians and the Poles have a great thirst for life and travel and they would like to combine the two without visas (thank you!) and without bomb-propulsion systems. [It’s a play-on-words. Something like “transportation services powered by bombs”.]

But who’s asking? The answer is most enlightening: the Council of Europe, an institution born out of Winston Churchill’s vision, in 1949. Almost fifty years on, the great British Prime Minister would make an excellent subject of inquiry for this Council. Churchill was an unabashed advocate of freedom and force. The freedom to live one’s life under the principles of western democracy and the use of unlimited and not overly restrained trust to act against those who try to destroy it. Those who don’t care much for Churchill should know that they are missing both the wisdom of the past and the meaning of the present. Our times are much more treacherous than Churchill’s clear-cut fight. The enemies of the West are no longer waging an open war, they no longer have a flag or a government nor do they wear uniforms.

The Council of Europe, The Washington Post, Human Rights Watch and other American abuse-detectors want to know if there are secret prisons in Eastern Europe. They’re asking the wrong question and the enquiry will do nothing but harm Europe. These institutions which seem ever so ready to investigate, and have too much time on their hands, would do better to ask another question: are there secret terrorist networks in Western Europe? What is their purpose? Is it to disseminate Arab cuisine in Europe, or to destroy the West’s political system? Unless they choose to look into the prior, the aforementioned organizations might ask themselves this: how do we defeat such an enemy? In our case, victory is defined as nothing less than the right of each citizen inhabiting a space between Malmö and Birlad [a one-horse-town in Romania] to die as the Almighty wishes, and the Almighty’s right to retain His place and not be substituted by a foreign god, nor by the resentful motives of an anti-American part of Europe.

This continent, whose freedom is still guaranteed by the American military, has learned to be persnickety [I love that word!], like a homeowner who dismisses the fire fighters who come to put out the fire because their uniforms are not buttoned-up. Those who criticize American practices are counting planes in Timisoara, but they are unable to suggest a solution on how to make the members of a terrorist cell talk. Other than a utopian view of a terrorist who was busy chopping heads the other day turning into an eager conversationalist, America’s critics offer no alternative.

However, everything depends on the successful interrogation methods, from the opportunity to freely lambaste Americans, to the right of The Council of Europe to have a building as its headquarters, instead of a pile of ruins.

Interrogating terrorist prisoners cannot always be done by following the contemporary standards of Western justice. Investigating a suspect rests on all that comes with the territory of the rule of law, and on the sovereignty of a constitutional state. The investigators have access to accounts, to personal information, witnesses, friends, archives, private papers. A prisoner captured in Pakistan or in a Muslim neighborhood in Bruxelles has either no papers, or has too many. He is unable or unwilling to speak the language, he is not integrated into anything. There’s nothing the good old fashioned justice systems can do when faced with a suspect of this kind. It is inconceivable that the honorable Council of Europe is unaware of this fact. It is unthinkable that Human Rights Watch, which is in itself a huge log book of the lawlessness of Arab states, is oblivious in this respect. The source of their dogmatic distress is not a lack of information, but their hostility towards President’s Bush’s policies.
The way they see things, Romania and Poland are nothing but American enclaves inside the European Union, out of control territories that make perfect targets for retaliation in the guise of their concern.

This is their secret and ugly truth."

The article clearly speaks for itself.

To boldly go where no Realpolitiker has gone before

This is why John Bolton rocks. For precisely the same reasons that leftists and Europe’s “Gutmenschen,” “nuanced” übermenschliche-thinkers, and others who are motivated to conceal their confusion and moral deficits hate him:

UN Condemns Hizbullah Thanks to Bolton:

Senator Kennedy thought he wasn't UN Diplomat material? (I think that's really a complement)

Meanwhile, Martin Indyk, a likeable American diplomat with a British accent was criticizing the 'tough' Bush administration attitude so they agreed to let the former Clinton admin diplomat go talk sense to the Syrian Dorktator. Now the amiable Mr. Indyk is bashing Mr. Assad because he lied to him in their face to face meetings? I'm shocked and chagrinned!

MEANWHILE - the tough so-called cretin devoid (supposedly) of diplomatic skills is getting landmark things done at the UN!!

I still don’t understand where the western left got it’s idea of diplomacy. What they hope for is ineffectual, and doesn’t even take advantage of diplomacy itself or even soft power. Their ideas truly are a hazard to the world’s well being.

Bolton is not playing games. He is VERY clear about the enforcement of 1559 and to have so control put on a violent extra-governmental element like Hezbollah. If you think the two motivations aren’t compatible then you don’t understand diplomacy at all. It is about give and take. It’s about having a vision when others don’t, which often requires a complex series of conditions. The end-goal is the peace that Bolton’s critics think they can achieve by doing none of this.

Radio Free Erik

Resident ¡No Pasaràn! all around decent chap, author, and man-about-town Erik Svane will be a guest on the weekly Radio Free Finland podcast on Sunday 27 November at 20h00 GMT, 21h00 in Paris, 22h00 in Helsinki, and 15h00 in New York.

See Finland For Thought for more information.

Ça sent le brûlé

"... Ce continent connaîtra bientôt une guerre différente, une intifada communautaire et générationnelle, une succession d'affrontements ponctuels et épidermiques, greffés sur le lent corps-à-corps des identités." -- Lt. Col. EMG Ludovic Monnerat, de l'armée Suisse.

French Mercs in Iraq

Très prisés sur le marché de la sécurité en Irak, les mercenaires français travaillent donc pour une demi-douzaine de sociétés, essentiellement anglo-saxonnes.

Gérard Davet and Fabrice Lhomme have an article about French mercenaries in Iraq (there were up to 63 at one point, four of whom have been killed), while Patrice Claude joins a convoy protected by French mercs.

Cheveux ras, physiques impressionnants... Tous Français, les hommes qui défilent devant une petite assemblée de recruteurs ont des profils similaires : anciens de la Légion, des commandos ou des paras. Entre autres faits d'armes, ils ont soutenu le président congolais Denis Sassou Nguesso, combattu à Madagascar, ou fondé une école de krav-maga, le sport de combat israélien, dans le sud de la France...

I was planning a matter-of-fact post no longer than what is above this line, but then I got to reading the articles. And of course (sigh), the journalists, the government's DGSE, the French mercs themselves cannot prevent themselves from belittling the "Anglo-Saxon" mercs' tactics (just look at the title of Claude's article) and suggesting that their own (French) tactics are (naturally) more refined, more in tune with local population, and more practical.

Je ne demande pas à mes hommes d'être des Rambos

Besides, they "cultivent un certain art de vivre à la française."

Pamela’s sage advice

You would have thought we were at a large football game the way the locals and Iraqi soldiers were clapping and yelling…

…You would have thought we were at a large football game the way the locals and Iraqi soldiers were clapping and yelling after we [bombed the hell out of the idiot Muj]

writes a Marine in a post (Shookhran to Rhomp) that lends little credence to either the Iraqi population or members of the military (the people most concerned by Bush's decision to invade Saddam's Iraq, after all) feeling any kind of sympathy for Western Bush-bashing peace activists and war protesters (the type of which you find in the MSM).

Yes I said locals because the vast majority of civilians know we are here to help and they know the MUJ that come from different cities or even countries are here to disrupt their lives. Of course you would not know this as the MSM refuses to leave the Green Zone to report on more then just deaths.

Merci à Guillaume et à sa bande de potes no kpotes

Whoda thunk it? Prises de risque chez les pédés ? L'homosexualité est un comportement à risque.

I’m mad.

Harrukmpf. Piffle.

Mad, mad, mad. I’m Fuming.

«Un "petit" Guantanamo au Kosovo ?»
«A “small” Gitmo in Kosovo?»

It’s freaking EMPTY! FILL it, dangnabbit! And it wasn’t even secret! TF1 goes on to find a story where there frankly isn't one:

«"There is no secret prison at the Bondsteel Camp. It’s publicly known that KFOR has a prison here", said the spokesman of the American troops in Kosovo, commander Michael Wunn on Saturday. "the prison is managed by soldiers of the American military police force. Currently nobody is held there ", underlined Wunn. "the prison at Bondsteel is under the command of General John Harrel, who’s brigade is attached to KFOR.»

TF1 referred to Wunn as a Commander, which is amusing since he is a civilian working as a spokesman under the Iowa Army National Guard, where the rank of “Commander” doesn’t exist anyway. It’s also unlikely that a Public Affairs Officer would be running a detention camp.

But hey, who am I to quibble about facts. Their other horror had to do with the fact that there were once some bearded men imprisoned there, some of whom would read the Koran.

Will they find their little shop of horrors? Will reporting on this thing for the next 5 years turn into a nice little meal ticket? Tune in next week...

“I saw a sign that said ‘Drink Canada Dry’ so I did.”

Biased BBC notes that wall to wall coverage for George Best (who is still dead) has pre-empted weather reports. How charming.

More to the point why does the BBC think that somewhere, out there, on a perfectly regular 24 hour pattern, that there is only one “big story” that they can flog? Or they just plain lazy?

Yesterday, “World (ooh la la) ‘ave Your Say” interviewed a guy from Al-Jazeera about the mythical memo that the mirror cocked up reported (what they called) were it’s ”supposed contents”. Also interviewed was some British blogger who insisted that the memo must really exist, because the White House dismissed the story, and because no. 10 was enraged enough by the fabrication that they want to bring on legal proceedings. And while we’re talking around the matter and pretending that the 4th estate is legitimate ruling entity, by the way, have you stopped beating you wife?

BBC’s “World (that word is just SO global) Have Your Say” refused to venture into this territory: what if the whole stinking thing was ginned-up? Hasn’t anyone seen this memo? If the Mirror (a rather trashy tabloid) has a source, why are they anonymous and why wont they explain or elaborate of the affair?

Since reality is too much to bear and reporting an uncorroborated rumor is more appealing, why not then, like an alcoholic who can’t control themselves, skip the more pedestrian reports of backchecked facts in favor of just what it is you WANT to do? It’s called emotional adolescence. It’s characterized by an inability or a struggle with self-restrain. The very same thing that did in Best. Freud would have a field day with the beeb.

M-cRAP

When Brixton was rocked by riots in the early 1980s, the French preSS screamed "race riot". When Los Angeles was rocked by riots in the early 1990s, the French preSS screamed "race riot". When young French Muslims rock the entire country during 3 weeks of rioting, the French preSS strictly forbids the slightest reference to the ethnic-religious nature of the events. Alain Finkielkraut is hung out to dry by the French preSS because he called a cat a cat. A rat is a rat as well, and in this case the rat is the MRAP. Si un blanc respire, le MRAP juge aussitôt qu'il s'agit d'un acte raciste. But Finky fights back.

MRAP's anti-racist hate speech : Terminate ... with extreme discretion

Passport? Wait, it's in my bomb belt.

Communism must always be stopped at all costs

Now we learn how the ex-Soviet Union planned to sacrifice Poland.

Encore un qui est persécuté pour avoir déboulonner ces saints de pacotille, misérables charognards encore et toujours vénérés par les zayatollahs zumanistes laïques.

What Kind of Decisions Might Be the Best to Make?

The editor of the Concise Encyclopedia of Economics is out with another book.

David R Henderson's The Joy of Freedom explained economics so succinctly and in such eye-opening terms that in 2003, I called it my major read of the year.

Needless to say, I immediately shopping-carted his and Charles L Hooper's Making Great Decisions in Business and Life.

The Zeropean gift that keeps on giving

One ism that continues to thrive. Zeropeans portraying American businessmen as gold toothed, hook nosed, bloodsuckers. Remind you of anything?

Le topo sera donnée ici dès le 10 décembre.

Ce sont toujours des banlieues rouges ... à sang pour sang

Avant de partir sur la planète MaBoule avec son nouveau pote Dieudonné, Alain Soral avait fourni cette analyse sur la dérive des banlieues dans son livre 'Abécédaire de la bêtise ambiante' (Éditions Blanche, 2002).

Des banlieues rouges aux banlieues beurs

Je me souviens de la banlieue populaire des années 60 ; issus de l’exode rural et de l’immigration, les travailleurs y vivaient en bonne intelligence, et dans le plein emploi aux usines Renault de Billancourt tout près.

Aucun racisme contre les anciens immigrés ; dans cette cité-dortoir sans passé, tous étaient fiers d’être originaires d’un ailleurs historique : breton, savoyard, italien, espagnol, polonais... Petite nuance pour les Noirs africains qu’on trouvait rigolos (comme dans Tintin au Congo) ; les Antillais un peu cons qui ne rêvaient que d’astiquer leur BM d’occase le dimanche sur le parking. Les seuls qui posaient problème, déjà, c’étaient les Algériens qui se tenaient à l’écart dans la solitude, la peur, l’islam et la Sonacotra, et dont les jeunes, peu nombreux encore, foutaient déjà la merde : agressions de postiers, glaviots, insultes, bagarres...

Mais ce mélange tenait, fraternel, grâce à l’idéologie du travailleur collectif ; le respect de celui qu’on côtoie tous les jours sur le lieu de travail ; le travail partagé au quotidien qui rapproche les gens et abolit les préjugés. Cette solidarité ouvrière, internationaliste, inculquée par le Parti, qui s’opposait à l’ethnisme de droite aujourd’hui en vigueur chez tous les gauchistes. Un petit peuple des banlieues structurellement moins raciste que les petits-bourgeois et les commerçants ; quant aux grands bourgeois qui vivaient ailleurs, pour eux comme toujours la banlieue c’était du cinéma, voire de la science-fiction.

Alors que s’est-il passé ?

Crise du pétrole de 1973 et raréfaction de l’emploi, clament les gauchistes, marxistes quand ça les arrange.

Pourquoi la raréfaction de l’emploi aurait-elle dissous la morale ouvrière, quand la morale ouvrière, faite de conscience et de solidarité de classe, venait justement de sa lutte contre la misère ?

En général c’est plutôt l’embourgeoisement qui dissout la morale et les solidarités (les li-li-bo-bos en savent quelque chose). Or, le moins qu’on puisse dire c’est qu’en banlieue, depuis 1973, il n’y a pas eu embourgeoisement !

Le vrai changement vint du « regroupement familial », décrété par Giscard en 1974.

Alors qu’avec le « premier choc pétrolier », l’emploi devenait rare et l’immigration beaucoup moins nécessaire à l’économie nationale ; alors que la continuation de la politique gaullienne eût été de renvoyer chez eux ces travailleurs exploités, avec pécule et savoir-faire, le gouvernement de droite de l’époque, contre toute logique, décréta l’aberrant « regroupement familial ». Dorénavant ces travailleurs solitaires, maintenus jusque-là isolés de la population française, auraient le droit de faire venir leurs femmes, et tous les fils qui naîtraient de ces esclaves humiliés et de leurs épouses brutalement déportées deviendraient français !

Bombe à retardement, quand on songe que tout ces z’y va qui pourrissent aujourd’hui l’ambiance seraient encore dans les couilles de leur père !

Décision étrange, prétendument humaniste, qui a changé pour toujours le visage de la France et qui est peut-être en train de la foutre en l’air.

Bêtise ou... stratégie ?

Une fois de plus la bourgeoisie française, qui vit depuis toujours dans la terreur de son peuple de gauche (1793, 1848, 1871, Pétain...), choisit la politique du pire pour ne pas avoir à rogner sa rente et partager les richesses...

Le regroupement familial ne fut pas une naïveté humaniste de grand bourgeois qui plane, mais un projet pervers, dégueulasse : transformer les banlieues rouges à très forte conscience et solidarité de classe (avec un PCF à 30 %) en banlieues beurs.

Car on ne dira jamais assez à quel point la maghrébisation, l’africanisation, la tiers-mon-disation de la France ont fait baisser vertigineusement le niveau de civisme et de civilité de la population française. À quel point ce recul du niveau de conscience démocratique fut voulu par le patronat et le pouvoir : des voyous et des abrutis plutôt que des ouvriers conscients de leurs droits... et de leurs devoirs. Il y eut un procès Pétain, on peut rêver d’un procès Giscard.

Of course, and this goes without saying but is said in all seriousness, aliens from outer space should fully benefit from the Geneva Convention

Canadian ex-Defense Minister says that the future American moon base will be used to attack aliens and that the warmongering George Bush is going to get the planet involved in an intergalactic war.

Secret US prison in Kosovo "ressemblait à une reconstitution de Guantanamo en plus petit"

... mais pourquoi en plus petit ?

Racaille

One more misunderstood suburban violent animal that should be made the subject of preferential treatment put out of his misery.