Fjordman: September updates

[30 - 9] On Gates of Vienna: Fourteen Centuries of War Against European Civilization.

Western Europe today is a strange and very dangerous mix of arrogance and self-loathing. Muslims are creating havoc and attacking their non-Muslim neighbors from Thailand to India. It is extremely arrogant to believe that the result will be any different in the Netherlands, Britain or Italy, or for that matter in the United States or Canada, than it has been everywhere else. It won’t. If we had the humility to listen to the advice of the Hindus of India or even our Christian cousins in south-eastern Europe, we wouldn’t be in as much trouble as we are now.

On the other hand, if we didn’t have such a culture of self-loathing, where our own cultural traditions are ridiculed in favor of a meaningless Multicultural cocktail, we probably wouldn’t have allowed massive Muslim immigration, either. There doesn’t have to be a contradiction between being proud of your own cultural heritage and knowing that there may still be lessons you can learn from others. A wise man can do both. Westerners of our age do neither.

[29 - 9] On Gates of Vienna: Suggestions for the Future.

We are against Islam. What are we for? I would suggest that one thing we should fight for is national sovereignty and the right to preserve our culture and pass it on to future generations. We are fighting for the right to define our own laws and national policies, not to be held hostage by the United Nations, unaccountable NGOs, transnational progressives or self-appointed guardians of the truth.

[28 - 9] On Gates of Vienna: Did Prehistoric Europeans Invent Wheeled Vehicles?

It is true that the technology spread quickly, but the earliest evidence is in Europe. It is quite possible that wheeled vehicles, one of the most important technological innovations in human history, were invented by prehistoric Europeans and were associated with the Indo-European expansion. The PIE word for “wheel” relates to words for “to turn, spin” while the words for wheel in Sumerian and Semitic appear to be loanwords from Indo-European.

[24 - 9] On Gates of Vienna: What To Do? With the following news:

The final chapter in the upcoming online book Defeating Eurabia will include some recommendations for what to do next. I will focus on Europe, as the title indicates, but we can also include some general recommendations for the wider Western world, Israel, North America and Australia. What do we want to achieve? What would constitute victory, or at least an outcome we could live with? What is wrong with our civilization today, and how can we revitalize it?

We'll be closely following this bit of excellent news.

[23 - 9] On Atlas Shrugs: Of "Fascists" Fighting for Freedom in Cologne.

The blackshirts were deliberately allowed by the authorities to harass those who are critical of the official pro-Islamic policies. This confirms my long-held suspicion that the extreme Leftist thugs who assault immigration-critics in certain countries are a prolonged arm of the state.

[22 - 9] On Gates of Vienna: Will Holland Survive the 21st Century?

The Netherlands, which for centuries was a haven for those seeking more freedom of thought, is becoming an increasingly totalitarian society as a direct result of mass immigration in general and Muslim immigration in particular. This is the reason why the insightful Hans Janssen, Professor of Modern Islamic Ideology at Utrecht University, stated that a peaceful society that wishes to remain existent “will have to find a way to defend itself through non-peaceful means from people who are not peaceful.”

And on Brussels Journal: Britain: Arrested over “racially insulting” doll.

Make no mistake about it: Harassing the natives in order to crush them mentally and destroy any ideas they might harbor about defending their country against foreign colonization is a deliberate strategy on the part of the authorities and the ruling Multiculturalist oligarchy, whether you identify this as the British Labour Party or the European Union (both are correct).

[17 - 9] Two for the price of one today

On Brussels Journal: Europe’s Decline – Hurrah! We Capitulate!

The European Union is now about to do what senior officials have already agreed upon years ago in meetings with Muslim nations, as documented by Bat Ye'or in her book about Eurabia: To officially recognize sharia law in European countries.

And on gates of Vienna: Heeding Locke and Jefferson

Friedrich Nietzsche stated in the nineteenth century that “God is dead.” In 2008 it is fair to say that “The State is dead,” the State as the replacement God in which we placed our trust after the other God died.

[12 - 9] On Democracy Reform: Democracy not working.

The democratic system has significant flaws, but it worked to some extent as long as there was sense of being a demos, a people with a shared identity and common interests. What we are witnessing now is the gradual breakdown of this demos, starting from the top down. Powerful groups frequently have more in common with the elites in other countries than they have with the average citizen in their own. If you no longer believe in your nation as a real entity with a specific culture, it simply becomes a tool for obtaining power, a stepping stone for your global career.

[11 - 9] On Brussels Journal: Europe for Africans: Is Robert Mugabe a Hero?

If native Europeans talk about limiting mass immigration (which really is a form of colonization), the same "African diaspora" are always among the first to complain about "racism." They should have the right to expel whites from Africa, and then they should follow them abroad. In other words: Africa for Africans - and Europe for Africans, too.

[8 - 9] Over at Brussels Journal: Islamization and Cowardice in Scandinavia

You can find pockets of resistance in Norway (and to a lesser extent Sweden), but the general picture is rather bleak

And on Atlas Shrugs: Reparations from Muslims?

The wars in the Balkans all the way into the 21st century are a direct result of the legacy of Turkish Muslim brutality. So why does nobody demand that the Turks apologize in public for their massacres? They should pay reparations to their former subjects, starting with the Armenians, who suffered a Jihad less than a century ago, and continuing with the Serbs, the Bulgarians, the Greeks, the Croatians and others who have suffered hundreds of years of abuse and exploitation at their hands.

[6 - 9] On Gates of Vienna: Eastern Europe and the New Threats to Freedom

[1 - 9] Away from his usual venues, Fjordman penned a piece for Europe News: Europeans: With Prejudice Against Our Own Ancestors

RECENT FJORDMAN
Fourteen Centuries of War Against European Civilization
Suggestions for the Future
Did Prehistoric Europeans Invent Wheeled Vehicles?
What To Do?
Of "Fascists" Fighting for Freedom
Will Holland Survive the 21st Century?
Britain: Arrested over “racially insulting” doll
Europe’s Decline – Hurrah! We Capitulate!
Heeding Locke and Jefferson
Democracy not working
Europe for Africans: Is Robert Mugabe a Hero?
Islamization and Cowardice in Scandinavia
Reparations from Muslims?
Eastern Europe and the New Threats to Freedom
Europeans: With Prejudice Against Our Own Ancestors


More Fjordman files here.

Black Monday: Random thoughts of a spectator

The Bail-Out failed. The House of Representative rejected The Bill with a 228 to 205 vote. What I gather from live reporting on CNN it was mainly a speech made by speaker Nancy Pelosi that 'poisoned' (Boehner) the well and turned a lot of republicans (and even 94 democrats) against The Bill. Gateway Pundit has more, F5 regularly.

Curious fact: the Dow made a 50 point up jump after the news broke, from a -540 loss to a -510 loss. Don't know that that will hold, but if it does: How many in Wall Street were actually in favour of the Bail Out? (Update: That didn't last long. Down 600 777.68 at market close.)

No Euro reaction to speak of at the moment. If one is forth coming this post will be updated.

I am watching CNN right now with a mix of surprise and bemusement, but also with awe. What a bland and bone dry beast our EUnion 'post-democracy' is compared with US politics.

Having said that: I am glad the bail out failed. The case against it has been made quite forcefully by Michelle Malkin (who must be pogo-ing around the house right now. Have to go check!). Based on the little knowledge I have about economics I tend to agree with her analysis.

Yet, with the bail out (temporarily?) out of commission, the future is also quite a bit less predictable. A mob in a panic can be a dangerous thing. Doubly so if that mob is trading in billions of euros worth of shares and commodities on a daily basis. This is starting to look like the Perfect Storm.

In the mean time, this video below (h/t EU Referendum) tries to get to the root of the current economic melt down crisis. I don't know enough on the matter to vouch for the contents. But all of the statements made are google-able, apparently.

[UPDATE001] Michelle also reports on the singularly unhelpful speech made by Pelosi. It isn't pretty and in a just world Pelosi's days a speaker of the House (and Democrat party big shot) would and should be numbered between 1 and 10.

[UPDATE002] EU Referendum is short and concise:

The US bank bailout has been rejected. Wall Street has nose dived.

Hold on tight!

[UPDATE003] AP reports that the price of oil is down as well:

Light, sweet crude for November delivery sank $10.52 to settle at $96.36 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after earlier dropping as low as $95.04.

In the words of Johan Cruijff (paraphrased): Every downside has its upside. But evidently someone somewhere thinks the demand for oil is going to drop, i.e. the worlds economy is going to slow down significantly. 'Hold on tight!' is accurate...

[UPDATE004] Of course we have had our own little troubles even before the bail out news: Troubled Fortis partially nationalised. Causing the biggest drop (NL) in the AEX (the Dutch Dow, if you will) since 1987. And our FM, Wouter Bos has promised more if needed.

[UPDATE005] Michelle: Let’s stop pounding the panic buttons.

Here’s a novel thought: Maybe banks are finally learning they shouldn’t fork over money to bad risks.

[UPDATE006] The New York Times has a transcript of the Pelosi speech here. EU Referendum has some Euro reactions here. Especially Peter Mandelsons reaction is exemplary for the alternative universe that EUrocrats seem to inhabit:

US lawmakers have "taken leave of their senses".

Killing the bail out was probably the most sane course of action. Unless of course you want to (trans-)nationalise the entire financial sector. See where I'm gong with this?

[UPDATE007] Ambrose Evans-Pritchard: global crisis was now engulfing Europe with devastating speed.

Geert Wilders on Glenn Beck

(h/t GoV)

[UPDATE001 Sunday 28 - 9] Pamela Geller of Atlas Shrugs conducted her own interview with Wilders. Watch it here.

A five point plan

Helen Szamuely of EU Referendum is attending a conference on the issue of “Free Speech, Jihad and the Future of Western Civilization”. Speakers at this conference include Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Mark Steyn, Daniel Johnson, Melanie Phillips, John O’Sullivan and David Pryce-Jones. Though the conference deals mostly with the dangers to our Western society posed by 'soft jihad', Helen is not convinced that jihad, soft or otherwise, is the most direct, urgent threat we face.

A repeated theme elaborated by several speakers was the notion that the danger we are facing through soft jihad is greater than any we have faced before as neither Nazism nor Communism were so obviously ensconced in our society. There were no schools named after Lenin or St Adolph churches on street corners. Thus, our refusal to fight the jihad is liable to destroy Western civilization in a way the other two ideologies could not.

Let me, respectfully, disagree with that. The presence of mosques and madrassas (that means school) on our street corners need not be a problem as long there is a reasonable oversight as to what is taught there. No religious or educational institution is supposed to encourage people to go out and murder various others. By and large the people who attend these institutions have no power or influence in our society.

Helen proceeds with an analysis in a vein that has been somewhat of a regular feature on this blog as well. Moreover, Fjordman already two year ago diagnosed islam as a secondary infection riding piggyback on the civilizational immune deficiency syndrome we know as cultural marxism or multi-culturalism. Here's what Helen says on the issue:

At the conference Ayaan Hirsi Ali talked of soft jihad as termites. You may think your beautiful furniture is still standing but as soon as you move it there is a complete collapse – the termites have destroyed it. I am afraid it was the Communist infiltration that were the termites and the furniture that was in place and looked so nice cannot stand up to the strong movement that is being inflicted by the jihadists.

In the same way, many of us would argue that another specie of termites are the tranzis and, particularly, the European Union that is lodging in our furniture and destroying it from inside.

Read the entire post. It is long but well worth it. And not stopping at mere diagnosis, the post ends on a possible cure: A five point plan suggested by John O’Sullivan, Executive Editor of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty:

End multiculturalism and concentrate on teaching that decent British patriotism that includes a great deal of history, not forgetting that within a liberal (in the true sense of the word) Western culture there can be many divergences.

Something nasty to be done with the establishment, whose idiocy and dishonesty has, if not exactly landed us, certainly has kept us in the mess we are in. Of course, the establishment tends to be rather left-wing these days so let us not have any more nonsense about the poor underprivileged left, ranting against power structures that disappeared decades ago.

A serious reform of the police, which has become “the paramilitary wing of the Guardian”, a phrase so clever that many of us in the audience immediately made a note of stealing it.

An alteration to immigration rules that would prevent all those endless first cousin marriages to people from backward villages in the Indian sub-continent. This, needless to say, will start working towards an improvement in the situation of women in the Muslim communities.

The fifth point was the most important one as this is something we can all do immediately: resistance to foolish intellectual fashions, no matter where they come from.

My personal favorite, and the most immediately called for, I should think, is number two: 'Something nasty to be done with the establishment'.

Be that as it may, those five points bear repeating, as does the diagnosis of our current ailment. It is not islam (though it is a threat), it is 'the moral paralysis and, possibly, physical cowardice' of those that adhere to a suicidal 'belief system': Multi-culturalism. That is the problem and there lies the solution.

A chilling wind blows across the EUnion

On matters EU this blog has a number of favourites, quite coincidentally (or not) all of them member of the Umbrella. Among them is England Expects. And sadly it is this blog that had to close shop today.

The proprietor of EE, Gawain Towler, works inside the beast as the Press officer of the UK delegation to the Ind/Dem Group, which is the UK Independence Party. A formal complaint was lodged against him for blogging EUnion shenanigans in a manner that was 'ironique et eurosceptique'. Since the EUnion doesn't do irony, let alone eurosceptisism, Towler is faced with the prospect of upwards of a four month docking of his salary. Having a wife and family to support, one would be particularly blind and callous to blame him for packing it all in.

The demise of EE is particularly striking, since tomorrow the EUnion toy parliament (that colorful band aid on the EUnions democratic deficit) will discuss a proposal to ban anonymous blogging. Bruno Waterfield reports:

Marianne Mikko, an Estonian centre-left MEP, is concerned that growing numbers of blogs are being used by individuals with "malicious intentions or hidden agendas".

"The blogosphere has so far been a haven of good intentions and relatively honest dealing. However, with blogs becoming commonplace, less principled people will want to use them," she said.

Mrs Mikko has proposed that bloggers should be required to identify themselves and that some popular blogs should come with a declaration of interests.

Remember this? It isn't all that surprising really. As Waterfield also report: A recent internal European Commission report found that the EU was losing the battle for hearts and minds online.

Blog activity remains overwhelmingly negative.

Gee, how on earth did that happen?

The language of mrs. Mikko is such that on first sight it all sounds incredibly reasonable and civilized. But the upshot of this is succinctly summarized by EU Referendum:

That, ladies and gentlemen is freedom of speech EU-style. Where they can, they shut down debate and, if they could, they would close it down on the blogosphere and everywhere else.

That is, after all, what Marianne Mikko's resolution would do if it could and only the limited power of the Eurocrats prevents them from attempting it. We are not dealing with democrats here.

That, as they say, is the nature of the beast. Having said that, all that is left for us is to wish mr. Towler all the best and thank him for the insight he has given us into the day-to-day banality and absurdity of our new overlords. You will be sorely missed, Gawain.

The fruits of our labour

It has finally come to this: A fragile lady of 100 years of age is relieved of the contents of her purse by the scum that our government and authorities refuse to deal with, what with the 'vulnerable background' of this facsimile of human life.

Yes, posting this is populist, without nuance, stigmatizing and totally uncalled for. It also is so emblematic of what we have gained, of the glorious world that cultural marxism has wrought. Yay for us!

And the beat goes on... and on...

Our Worthy Read of the Day comes to us by way of the American Thinker (h/t Gagdad Bob): The Drumbeat

The drumbeat. It's always there. Day and night. Rain or shine. Winter or Summer. Sunday or Monday. It comes at you from every direction. It comes over the TV, the radio, at work, at school, in music, in the newspapers, from the politicians, in conversation with others, even in church.(...)

It's the drumbeat of the left. It is political, philosophical, theological, and social. It pervades every activity. It is post-structural, post-modern, post-everything in the parlance of the day. It is tolerant, diverse, non-judgmental, non-discriminatory, egalitarian, politically correct, multicultural, globalist, and collectivist. It insists that there are no rights and wrongs, no moral absolutes. It turns everything upside down in its looking glass world. It denies the correctness of all that produced what our culture revered before the deconstruction of the world in accordance with the tenets of cultural Marxism.(...)

Generally, these perversions are manifested in bigger government, more laws, more bureaucracy, more regulations, more taxes, and government controlled redistribution of wealth, more collectivism, less individualism, and less freedom. We all hear it constantly from leftist politicians as they add their part to the drumbeat: government must do more to ensure Americans avoid the consequences of their choices. We all know the song, sung to the cheers of the unthinking throngs who would give up their very humanity for the promise of a free lunch. These are the joys of cultural Marxism.

There is much more to it then the nibble-sized fragments reproduced here. Go and read.

Again censorship in The Netherlands

Every year we have a Dutch political event named ‘Prinsjesdag’. It’s a day when the head of the government, Queen Beatrix, explains the main features of the intended government policies for the coming year. On that day both houses of parliament listen to what the royal head of state has to tell them. The day after ‘Prinsjesdag’ all political parties are allowed to give their reaction to the new government plans. This event, that the Dutch political elite holds dear, is named in Dutch: ‘algemene beschouwingen’.

The Dutch government runs many state television channels and of course on one of them the whole ‘algemene beschouwingen’ is broadcasted live. The Dutch state broadcaster, named NOS, handles the event. The NOS is run by leftists, who rather want to silence real opposition to their leftists causes. Thus the NOS this year censored the: “algemene beschouwingen”.

In the Netherlands it’s Geert Wilders and his Party For Freedom (PVV) who are currently the biggest challengers of the leftist status quo. They oppose Islamization, climate hysteria, high taxes and many more celebrated leftist elite causes. Thus after Geert Wilders spoke for 20 minutes and started really to fire up, they pulled the plug (NL). The NOS stopped transmitting his speech (NL), claiming there was a ‘technical problem’.

But the bloggers at Geenstijl.nl found out that a secret live stream that apparently uses the same live feed as the NOS, was still alive and functioning without any problems (NL). Also intriguingly coincidental was that after Wilders finished his speech, the ‘technical problems’ suddenly were gone and they continued the live broadcast without any problems.

Will this backfire to the NOS or it’s management? Of course not, after all it was just an unfortunate ‘technical problem’ wasn’t it? Well, I bet that the only way to fix these kinds of ‘unfortunate technical incidents’ is to fire people at NOS management positions. But that isn’t going to happen, because these positions are appointed on basis of political affiliation.

The spy who came in from the Riff

By now the case of the Moroccan spy in the Rotterdam police force has gained a little international attention. Jihad Watch reported the case. Gates of Vienna has some pointed commentary by fellow Lowlander VH.

The 'official' news bulletin is here (mirror). The whole case is one of panic stricken ineptitude. Elsevier reports (NL) that after this Moroccan spy was caught he was 'punished' with a desk job at Rotterdam Airport. With the approval of the Dutch intelligences and security service AIVD!

But now the authorities have been found out. And all of a sudden the decision is made to prosecute the spy from the Riff after all.

[I]f the man did actively spy for the Moroccan authorities, the public prosecution department will try to take away his Dutch passport.

Which of course should have been the first action after this cretin was found out. So why didn't such happen. Well... Pay a little attention to the last paragraph of the NIS news bulletin:

The programme suggests that the OM did not prosecute him because this could generate negative publicity about the 'multicultural society'.

Where have we heard a similar line of reasoning again? Oh yeah, I remember.

In the mean time news is coming out that the Moroccan government makes a habit of recruiting highly placed Dutch Moroccans. During an interview on the daily discussion program 'Pauw en Witteman' PvdA member of Rotterdam city council Fouad El Haji revealed that it is customary for Moroccan consulate staff to actively recruit members of parliament, local politicians and businessmen and members of the police force for the Moroccan lobby. According to El Haji (NL) the Moroccan government actively frustrates effort to integrate Dutch Moroccans to secure the flow of cash from the Netherlands (4.4 billion euros in 2006).

Be that as it may, the worrying point about this whole story is the fact that our own government apparently is not willing to protect Dutch security and interests when the multicultural mirage is at stake. That much is proven by the fact that it was only able to get off its arse after it had been found out. Hopefully this Dutch Moroccan traitor (there is just no other word for it) will get what he deserves. By which I mean a return in disgrace to his country of origin, after being stripped of his Dutch passport and being declared persona non grata.

But it must be remembered that Dutch authorities, including the AIVD, were willing to let him get away with it. Because he was Moroccan... because the multicultural puppet theater must be upheld. Fjordman might have two or three astute observations to make on the depths to which Dutch authorities have sunk. Me, I am at a loss for words. So incredibly sad...

Bears repeating

Do you now there are still people who tell me that the EU has kept the peace in Europe for the last 60 years? The hell it has! I'll tell you what's kept the peace in Europe for the last 60 years: it's the Trans-Atlantic Alliance, it's NATO. It was for a long time the nuclear deterrent, it was 100,000 GIs in Germany. It wasn't the European Commission that pulled down the Berlin wall and dissolved the USSR. It was the commitment and steadfastness of people like Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan who did that!

Roger Helmer MEP on the decades of peace in Europe

Things that make you go *sigh*

The Dutch public broadcaster VARA (internationally renowned for the hit job that got Ayaan Hirsi Ali kicked out of the Netherlands) brings news that with their active support a new muslim broadcast organisation will be founded: Zenit (NL).

The VARA (part of the socialist 'pillar' and closely related to the social democrat PvdA en the biggest Dutch trade union) will actively support the upstart with recruiting members. Zenit needs 50,000 members to obtain a license to broadcast on Dutch public channels. VARA-direcot Vera Keur speaks of a 'promising initiative'.

[INSTANT UPDATE] Linked to before, but pertinent to the bit of news posted above: the interview by Reason magazine with Ayaan Hirsi Ali. Just so you know how things stand with the islamisation of Dutch society.

The problem in a nutshell

You may remember Mohammed Faizel Ali Enait from our reporting of his refusal to shake hands with women, the approval he got from the Centre for Equal Treatment (CGB) and the smack down he got from the Dutch court. Back then we reported the last item with the question: Are we watching the tide turning?

Well, we're not. Enait, a lawyer by profession, has taken to refusing to stand up when the judge enters the court room (NL). He justifies this arrogance by citing his view that all men are created equal,including judges. Hence, he feels no need to acknowledge the arrival of the judge by standing up, which is customary in Dutch courts.

Contempt of court is a part of the Dutch judicial system as well, so one would think the solution to this problem is simplicity itself. But alas: The Rotterdam court has decided Enait may remain seated if his 'deeply held religious convictions' prescribe such. The liberal conservative VVD fraction in Second Chamber is deeply offended by the courts decision, calling it 'the height of cultural relativism' and wants to end this 'madness'. They will raise the issue at question time, next Tuesday afternoon.

And that, dear reader, is the problem in a nutshell. Enait is obtuse facsimile of human life, constantly looking for a quarrel. The best, and really only, solution to the behavior of the likes of Enait is to not mind them. But he is muslim, and we are of the multi-cult, bent on selling out our own traditions in a misguided display of 'enlightenment'. Dutch customs and traditions are on sale to the lowest bidder, and one would have to make an effort to get any lower then this Enait creature.

And is this little anecdote not symptomatic for the current state of the entire Western world?

More EUnion goodness...

Nothing marks the absence of any real EUnion-sceptic reporting in the Dutch MSM as the fact that we continental Saxons have to get the news of what our Brussels overlords are really doing from our brethren from across the little pond. What should be big items on the agenda of anyone who values freedom and personal sovereignty, and feature prominently on the pages of the Telegraaf en Elsevier, is simply not reported, for whatever reason.

Take for instance this tidbit from the UK Telegraph (emphasis mine - KV):

British people could be convicted in their absence by foreign courts, under proposals approved by the European Parliament.

The plans could see them immediately extradited to a European country on the basis of an "in absentia" guilty verdict in its courts for offences carrying fines or custodial sentences.

In a joint statement the Parliament said: "The EU wants to create a common area for justice, which requires the mutual recognition of criminal law judgements by member states."

The proposals, which were put forward by seven countries, including Britain, were described as "by their very nature a violation of the fundamental procedural rights of the accused" by the European Criminal Bar Association.

In a letter to MEPs, it said: "The rights of European citizens will be undermined because in absentia judgments will result in the surrender of European citizens on the basis of a judgement given at a trial in which they never had the chance to participate."

Read the whole disgusting item. The Huntsman has more, including this observation:

The tyranny which is the EU now rules in this land without the legitimacy of the consent of the British [or Dutch - KV] people. The longer that we are denied our opportunity to have our say on the EU into which our political elite has suborned us, the more rumbustious will be the spasm that eventually throws off the thrall-shackles thus placed upon us.

So much does history teach us about those who try to rule without consent.

[UPDATE001 Sunday 7 - 8] And speaking of EUnion goodness: The Times had two journalists conducting a sting operation exposing corruption in the top circles of the EUnion. Go over to EU Referendum for a short and concise version of the affair, with relevant links.

EUnion preparing for war

No, not against Russia. The governments of France and Germany, for all intents and purposes hostages of Russia's energy supply, made sure that the EUnion would not do anything rash. Instead the EUnion rolled over and showed it's belly at the first grumbles of the bear.

Nor is it preparing for war against Iran. Napoleons retarded little brother, President Sarkozy, was visiting Syria this week. This visit was seen as an attempt to enter into negotiations with Iran with the chinless wonder acting as a go-between on behalf of the EUnion.

France... You can always trust her to side with the enemy...

No, the EUnion is preparing for a blogwar. Not surprisingly the vast bulk of (and the most vehement) opposition to the EUnions ever more intrusive meddling is expressed in the blogosphere. And even less surprisingly: The EUnion is now seeking to curb the blogosphere. Daniel Hannan is reporting, EU Referendum has more. The EP draft report is here (pdf).

[UPDATE001] Tony Sharp has a good overview of the debate in the blogosphere here.

Dutch government: Bombing Iran is racism!

Dutch biggest blog Geenstijl.nl is warned (NL) by the Dutch governments Complaints Bureau for Discrimination on the Internet (MDI) because Geenstijl.nl refuses to censor a comment (NL) on it’s news website spitsnews.nl. The MDI claims that a reaction to a news message about Israel preparing to bomb Iran was offensive. The commenter had written: “Bomb them now!” a statement that the MDI censor deemed unacceptable racists.

Weblog geenstijl.nl however did not understand what was racist about the remark and refused to censor the comment from it’s website. They asked the MDI officials to clarify their position and describe what was actually racist about the comment. The weblog received this answer of the MDI:

"We have also internally discussed the comment. Eventually we concluded that according to our opinion it is nevertheless punishable by law. The call for bombing a country includes a call for violence against the people living in that country, in this case Iranian people. It’s after all not possible to bomb a country without hurting it’s inhabitants. These kind of calls are prohibited by article 137d Sr [of the Dutch criminal law]"

To clarify, Article 137 is an article that prohibits discriminatory defamation, incitement to hatred and discrimination. It was also the MDI that was involved in the arrest and incarceration of a Dutch cartoonist of which we reporter earlier.

Update: Also today in the press (NL): How Christian Democrat minister of economic affairs, Maria van der Hoeven, published in July a story on her departments public website in which she described how she recently talked with the Iranian minister about energy shipments to The Netherlands. This remarkable show of the real political position of the Dutch government was today denounced by the Dutch parliament.

Today the Dutch government also announced that the terror threat to foreign Dutch target has increased (NL). The general Dutch terror threat level stays "substantial" and that’s the second highest possible threat level possible in The Netherlands (in effect from last March when Fitna was released).