The Brussels Journal - Odds & Ends

Flemish 17th Century Pulpit Offends Turks

Fri, 09 May 2008 09:02:50 -0500

A Turkish “reader” sent us the following email, including the links and the picture which he found here.

From: <admin@security-turk.com>
Date: Fri, May 9, 2008 at 1:53 PM
Subject: Warning!
To: webmaster@brusselsjournal.com

Warning!

Your news is very race.If you are continue this your website is must be close. We check your server, database,IP and find this pictures, news.You must be careful. Our father of Turk is Ataturk. We are democratic, laic and muslum. We are not Arabic people.We live for peace. We like "Isa" and "Meryem" They are God childs. We give you 7 days. If you are dont change any news or insult. Turkish attack will be started!

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Duly Noted: The Riflemen Aimed to Miss

Mon, 05 May 2008 01:42:48 -0500

Some bits in the mosaic of our time are overlooked because we look for boulders. This column presents issues/ideas that might deserve attention.

1. There was a time when Obama’s candidacy seemed to be good news. His reach for the presidency might have brought America a step closer to bridging her racial divide. Thanks to Wright and especially Obama’s handling of the case, the splendid opportunity is lost. The primaries suggest that, no matter what, Blacks support unconditionally anyone they designate as their own. If true, this attitude makes color decisive and race into a criterion of right and wrong. Meanwhile for many whites, regardless of the matter at hand, it is of paramount importance to prove that they are not racially prejudiced. Despite of what is pretended, these attitudes do not make such groups color blind. At the same time, however, the described predisposition does cloud their perception of racism in a manner that, in the case of whites, would justly be found to be intolerable.

2. To prove that they are not white racists, America’s Liberals feel obligated to vote for someone who carries on with and is supported by black racists.

3. Liberal-White America is shocked that Afro-Americans can also be racists. Their way out of the embarrassment is akin to the solution that is often applied when the facts contradict dogmatized theories. Ignore the problem and try to move on to a simpler case.

4. Watching Obama’s Reverend Wright defend his candidate is a rich source of insights. The Preacher reiterates every one of the extreme and irrational allegations that have outraged everybody on this side of the Black Panthers. In part Wright tries to sell the idea that if “it” is White, it is bad, if “it” is Black, it is good. The obviously self-enamored man seems to feel that he needs to make Blacks stand together not as individuals but as Afro-Americans. To achieve this goal, in the manner of all extremists, separating, even alienating Blacks from the majority is a necessity. This makes the wished-for Black identity a consequence of self-segregation, apartness and of a claim of superiority.

5. Rejecting Wright’s worldview now that it has become the core of a scandal is, in PR terms, belated. The impression arises that the disassociation is not provoked by the message’s content but by the shady seditious blabber becoming public. Equally compromising is that Obama claims that in twenty years in the pews he has not noticed anything odd. If this is accepted as being quite candid then the man is not especially alert to the obvious consequences of ideas. The same goes for his ability to identify clearly articulated weird thoughts. Such naiveté makes a candidate suffering from this ailment ill suited to conduct the affairs of a nation. How will a myopically naïve person deal with the crooks that are the weed in the garden of world politics?

6. America’s coming election might turn out to be a decision on “Is it enough to be anti-American.”

7. The Republicans used to wish that Hillary be the nominee of the Democrats. Given the scandals surrounding Obama, he now seems to be easier to beat than a warmed up Clinton. She is left-of-center but is able to reach rhetorically for the middle. Obama is more to the left, racially tainted, and he courts the center only with shibboleths floating on hot air. On this basis, an Obama candidacy might be an advantage to the GOP. At the same time, a danger for the country should be pointed out. Anyone nominated can be elected. There is a potential majority composed by those who observe public life only casually and who, being superficial, do not comprehend the implications of Obama’s positions.

8. Major sins in PC-terms have been committed in the above items. The misstep makes the writer recall the case of the boy who, according to the tale, dared to cry aloud “the Emperor is naked.” In self-defense, it is to be emphasized that that not the boy had caused the nakedness. In the story (unlike some in real life) he is not punished either.

9. On September 6, 2007, an air strike eliminated an object in Syria. Israel dislikes discussing the matter but it is rumored that the target was a nuclear installation. The complex looked like Nuke Korea’s Yongbyon and there are indications of Koreans at the complex. So far there is nothing unexpected about the story or that the Syrians energetically trumpet their innocence. The interesting part is that subsequently the Syrians raised the ruins of the edifice. Could this mean tampering with the evidence? An IAEA inspection could have confirmed officially scandalized Syria’s claim of a civilian project. Only the inspectors were not allowed to visit the covered-up ruins. What a notable effort this is to deprive oneself of the proof of a terror attack! Or is there another, more convincing, explanation? An obvious version of events exists that conforms to logic. The case needs no elaboration but it involves an explanation that will certainly insult Syria.

10. PC is, as are all patterns of thinking that preordain conclusions, in its consequences harmful and humiliating in its practice. The cause of the distaste is the pressure forcing one to embrace an incredible version of events and to have to claim that the intellectual somersault is voluntarily. Often this imposition is topped when there is reason to surmise that the occurrence on which the tale is based might not have happened at all. One example is the case of the demolished Syrian non-reactor. Here you are supposed to allege that nothing is what it looks like. Furthermore, in any case, the innocent object was a local reactor and not a North Korean import.

11. Stable freedom is more than just the momentary absence of dictatorship. Therefore, destroying a dictatorship does not create a new order of liberty. This is the appropriate lesson from the Iraq imbroglio. The fitting lesson is not that, when facing a threat, nothing can and should be done no matter when and where it arises.

12. Virtue is always in danger of becoming identified by inbreeding elites as corresponding to their interests. Accordingly, their self-serving rule is declared to represent a moral imperative and to be an ethical necessity. If an effective control of the media – probably also run by the same elite – is achieved then the critics can be cast in the role of rednecks. Said to be seduced by populist, these are proclaimed, to the extent that they might become a majority, to constitute a threat. If they prevail, so the smear goes, they will act against the interest of the “real people” whose self-appointed vanguard is the clan of treacherous scribes.

13. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, defunct East Germany’s leadership denied that there has ever been an order to shoot “in defense of the anti-Fascist Wall.” In the light of new evidence that confirms what was common knowledge, the original tale is revised. The truth-of-the-month is that here was an order to shoot but there was no order to kill. We are to believe that it was bad marksmanship that caused bullets to kill the unintended targets, which the riflemen aimed to miss. Rewards that grew in value if the would-be deserter was felled must have been caused by a misinterpretation of orders. Or were they handed out because the inept guard at least did not hit his commanders?

14. It being 2008, it is fashionable to celebrate the “revolt” of the “68-ers”. The career in journalism after the bold lot ran out of shop windows to smash, might be an explanation. The self-adulation of those now nearing retirement – wisely, they advised not to trust anyone above thirty – leads one to reflect. What are those, who fought an “easy” enemy, congratulating themselves for? With some sincerity but little wisdom and sense for the possible, the “68-ers” wanted to create a society free of sanctions. This goal needed to be held high as sanctions imply an order and an order is imposed from “outside”. With this intellectual snake medicine the difference between the foreign (Communist) dictatorships, they sympathized with, and the democracy they lived in, could be negated.

15. The above allegedly made order and its laws into oppression because they kept the individual from exploring to limits he set unilaterally. The ideal society was to be built from the communes that were to be its basis. Indeed, some communities might function without formal rules. Their order based on voluntarism is possible because of the voluntary identification of individuals with a community they were free to choose – and to abandon. The smaller such a group, the greater the identification can be. The larger the organization, the less selective its membership. The more people belong, the less likely it becomes that the idealized commune and the real self can fully match. The consequence is that wherever this experiment is attempted, the voluntary association of free members develops its own oppressive order. Since the radicals of ’68 did not manage to replace the democratic state and to absorb society, their associations could not ripen into their own dictatorship. As a consequence they are still able to measure their claim to glory not on the basis of a record but by the standards of their “movement’s” dreams.

16. The (Western) “68-ers” main impact: they entered the struggle between freedom and Communist dictatorship by supporting the latter. They knew the pickles of free societies by examining them from close up with a magnifying glass. Reflecting their prejudices, they were quite content to observe the festering sores of real-existing “Socialism” through a wide angle lens.

Duly Noted: Communism, the Antidote to Global Warming

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 04:36:44 -0500

Some bits in the mosaic of our time are overlooked because we look for boulders. This column presents underrated issues/ideas that might deserve attention.

1. Allegedly, fair taxes reflect the assumed ability to pay. Generally, the criteria applied are, however, not economic put political. This makes taxation subject to pressures that might be devoid of much economic sense. At the same time, the principle is reversible. The ability to pay depends, ultimately, on the extent of the taxes levied. Therefore, high taxes ultimately reduce tax revenues

2. The foregoing opens the door to a related speculation. Prices reflect the value subjectively attributed by the users of goods to what they consume. The share of the disposable income used to attain a good is also determined by the extent it is consumed by the rest of the public. If this is so then, one can argue that with taxes we pay for something we buy. Therefore, the amount of tax collected from individuals could depend on the usefulness to them of whatever taxes buy. In this case, those with low incomes should pay more taxes than those with above average incomes. After all, the former derive more benefits from tax-financed services than the latter.

3. As so often, our economy totters at the threshold to the future. As it moves forward, it needs ever more people with skills and especially the ability to acquire new and applicable knowledge. Meanwhile a counter-trend is discernible. The educational systems of modernized and correspondingly wealthy countries engage in a newfangled luxury. It is to permissively teach ever less to a growing number of learners to be entertained. Instead of skills, the victims of fancy theories are equipped with degrees.

4. Quote from a paper. “North Korea has not yet recovered from the famine of the 90s.” To do that, Korea must first recover from Communism.

5. That famine was due to bad weather. It is notable how different the weather north and south of the 38th parallel is. There is no famine in the ROC. Communism’s collectivized agriculture is a great idea hindered by the fact that since 1917, wherever it was implemented, the weather turned bad. That is what must have caused food output to slide south. This correlation might make Communism into an antidote to global warming and drought. Producing bad weather, Communism might be able to save mankind from being boiled like spaghetti.

6. The reaction of African leaders to Zimbabwe’s secret election’s secrets tells us something. These leaders are color blind when they need to react to the plight of those suffering. They rise to a high level of color consciousness when the ruling perpetrator of the hardship needs to be judged. Alternatively, is it just the fraternal loyalty of dictators?

7. Kenya must be the “best governed” country of the globe. If not quite then, she gets the title “the most governed state.” We hope that her new coalition government will be less destructive than the civil war the deal is designed to end. The new arrangement gives that country ninety ministers. (Think here of the 14 Secretaries of State that run the US with 300+ million inhabitants.) So much talent directing Kenya must bring heaven to earth there. On the other hand, it might dig the deep holes into which the pillars of corruption will be firmly sunk.

8. The Democrats promise (17 April) to react forcefully if nuclear weapons are used against Israel. Once this happens Israel will have acted and if not, then it will be too late. In this latter case a welcome excuse – the fait accompli – will serve the preferred cause, that of resigned inaction.

9. More bold action. Piracy is becoming a growing problem to international shipping. A few recent cases received much attention. As a result, an international task force commenced to operate around Somalia. On the 21st, a German frigate had the intention to board a boat. The vessel appeared to be the mother ship of a speedboat with armed men equipped with machine guns and armor piercing weapons. However, the rules set for German ships prohibit the use of force. Therefore, the plan had to be dropped. In the end, it was a US ship that carried out the boarding.

10. The effective defense of the West – and of politically-economically advanced societies in general – pre-supposes an activist alliance. A compact is meant whose terms would credibly deter challengers. It must also have the means to crush (yes, what else?) attackers when needed. This implies a unity of purpose. Some of NATO’s major members are increasingly incapacitated by internal pressures that demand something that approaches neutrality. The list of reservations regarding threats and the appropriate approved reaction is lengthening. As a result, the current alliance blocks itself before inching forward, and hinders the execution of agreed upon measures when in action. Therefore, the US might have to recruit partners within the formal alliance that are willing to share the common burden. At the same time, America also needs to make a commitment. It is that it shall not abandon its partners when her permanent electoral campaigns produce a poll suggesting that ducking brings more votes than steadfastness can.

11. As long as there will be Jimmy Carters around to play the redeemer, terrorism will continue to pay. At least one accomplishment by a boastingly modest person with many failures to his credit.

12. Carter met and embraced a leading terrorist who, like Brezhnev, also got a ritual hug. After the talks Carter emerged to trumpet his success. Hamas was prepared to accept the existence of Israel! (Put facetiously, with this only the presence of those confounded Jews continued to stand in the way of peace.) By return mail, Hamas took everything back that Carter thought Hamas had promised. Had it been able to judge intelligently, in its own long term interest, Hamas should have built Carter up and exploited him to a greater extent as a “useful idiot.”

13. Ahmadinejad has the habit of accepting petitions in public places and he also acts on some of these. The scene reminds one of old-style monarchs. Sticking to the present, it is likely that the custom creates more political capital for the Leader than the value of the extended help might be to the petitioners. Behind the practice, there is a system.
(1) The benign ruler creates hardship by his abuses.
(2) A few people get help from the ruler so they can individually overcome the problems he has caused. Without him, both the succor and the problem would not be there.
(3) All are made to feel thankful and hope for relief. The worse conditions become, the more will rising needs make this to be the case.

14. Even voting majorities cannot change the facts. They can only determine the response to them.

15. We might be depleting our resources. The search for alternative supplies is on. Perhaps we should find a way to convert nuts into fuel. The supply seems to be not only vast but also expands. Take this one, which, although it is from April, is seriously not meant as an April fool joke. Well, a publicly financed Swiss ethic commission that seems to take itself seriously came up with a gem. It concluded something like that plants have a personality and hence possess an innate dignity. Therefore, to protect their natural rights, they must not be mutilated. (How to become a self-taught mass murderer? Mow the lawn!) Presumably, this respect for all living things includes eating them, which, by the standard set, might be a form of unconscious cannibalism. This writer’s main concern is what might happen to vegetarians. Until now, we were told that not eating animals makes one virtuous. Now those who went along should not eat plants either. This creates a few difficulties but also brings a solution. Applying such newly discovered ethical standards, the problem of over-population and, thereby that of man-made pollution, will soon be under control. Finally, the polar bears and heated-up Al Gore will be alone.

16. Another case from the “hard-to-believe” file. Jan Sokol, a Slovak Bishop has celebrated a mass honoring the 61st anniversary of the execution of Monsignore Jozef Tiso. If the name does not ring bells, you might think that Pater Tiso was a clergyman that the Communist had martyred. Not at all. Tiso was the head of the Nazi Slovak state that existed between 1938 and 1945. Its uniqueness is that it paid the Reich for every Jew that the architects of the “Endlösung” accepted for disposal. There is also a demand afoot to make Tiso a saint. Herewith the writer nominates the lions of the arenas to become candidates. Use this case as an illustration to what extent misplaced ethnic loyalty can blind chauvinists.

17. Just in. In Nepal the Maoists have won an election. Many voted for them in to stop their insurgency and terror. The likely result is that they will continue to do legally what they practiced as subversives. Additionally, count on the weather turning bad (see item 5). After a decent interval, be prepared for the refugees from the new “workers’ paradise.”

The Vampirization of the Louvre

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 04:20:05 -0500

The Louvre, in its effort to be in tune with the times, has on view an exhibit of works by Belgian "artist" and stage director, Jan Fabre, who makes his fortune on scatophilia and exhibitionism, and whose contempt for quality has earned him praise from audiences and politicians alike.

A critique of the current exhibit entitled The Vampirization of the Louvre, by Professor Jean-Louis Harouel of the University of Paris, appeared in Le Figaro on April 15. Here are excerpts:

What is inadequately termed "contemporary art" has been gaining ground since 2004 against the masterpieces in the Louvre. Last year, around the tomb of Philippe Pot, a marvel of 15th century sculpture, they appended rows of fakes, as in an old-fashioned hardware store. Today, the center of the huge room (photo) where the life of Marie de Médicis by Rubens is displayed, has become a chaotic pile of tombstones like the backyard of a negligent stone-cutter. [...]
As a general rule, so-called contemporary art is nothing but an imposture. [...] The eternal repetition of what used to be the provocations of empty art or of anti-art no longer shocks anybody and procures fortune and prestige. It's the academicism of our times. [...]

But why this mania to bring this farce into classical museums, and in particular the Louvre? For despite its colossal commercial success, despite the media's drum-beating, despite the support of uncultivated billionaires imagining themselves to be art lovers and the approval of all the triumphant dupes who sing its praises, the more lucid adherents of so-called contemporary art know perfectly well that it suffers from a total absence of artistic legitimacy. Now, the theory that postulates equality, that seeks to create a supposed dialogue between on the one hand authentic masterpieces of the past, and on the other the present-day impostures, permits the latter to be extolled as having high artistic value. Contemporary art, which is not art, seeks to give itself artistic legitimacy through a forced confrontation with the greatest masterpieces. It vampirizes them in order to affirm itself as true art. The Jan Fabre exhibit in the Louvre adds nothing to Van Eyck, Memling, Rembrandt or Rubens. It does however bring to Jan Fabre the illusion of conversing on an equal footing with them, the illusion, therefore, of being a great artist. [...]

Sarkozy One Year Later

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 11:35:47 -0500

Several different polls concur on the low standing of Nicolas Sarkozy among the French people one year after his election. The following is a simplification of the statistics:

A poll done for Paris-Match shows 72% of the French are dissatisfied with his performance. Another poll for JDD indicates a record 79% of the French feel nothing has improved in the last year, and a third poll for Libération shows 59% of those questioned regard his first year as a failure.

The illustration from Yahoo shows the decline in the president's popularity correlated with events of his administration. When first elected he enjoyed a rating of 65% that continued to rise, reaching a peak of 69% in August. Then the decline started: he divorced his wife Cecilia, attempted to make reforms in pension plans, had his immigration law passed, welcomed Colonel Qadhafi to Paris, published the Attali Report, married Carla Bruni, attempted to implement a misbegotten plan to teach the holocaust to 5th graders, and lost the municipal elections in March, falling in that time from an approval rating of 69% to 28%.

Notice that the polls never mention crime, immigration, national identity, the Treaty of Lisbon, bioethics, Islam. Or, if they do, those statistics are never mentioned in the press.

Duly Noted: Dictatorship International

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 07:23:22 -0500

Some of the bits in the mosaic of our time are overlooked because we look for boulders. This column presents underrated issues that might deserve attention.

1. About the State of “Nuke Korea.” North Korea seems to get a better deal for disarmament that the old USSR got. Part of the difference – expressed in donations in exchange for unverified disarmament – is explained by a “nut bonus.” Equally dangerous is another divergence. It is the tendency to minimize the problem of consistent non-compliance by treating North Korea as an obnoxious funny midget. In doing so some lose sight of the fact that atomic weapons are our time’s Colt-like “great equalizer.”

2. Dealing with Kim by the rules he penned, the following seem to apply. (1) You are to show “respect” and avoid insulting the Beloved Leader who is also the son of the “Hero of all Ages.” (2) If you ask to verify the implementation of agreed upon measures you become an insulting provocative warmonger. (3) While bearing gifts you kowtow to these commandments, the nuclear project to extort you before destroying you continues.

3. It is likely that Iran’s nuclear project cannot be halted diplomatically and will not be stopped by the use of force. In this case, dissuasion, that is the threat of nuclear retaliation in response to an atomic attack, will be revived. Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD) has worked while there was a USSR. Terrorists are operating without a return address and this suggests that tested dissuasion might not work as well in the future as it did in the past. Failure is almost assured unless much non-PC courage is mustered. It must be made perfectly clear that devastation will be “returned to the sender” and that certain states will be held accountable even if the attack has no official point of origin.

4. In Europe the piety of many Americans and the inclination of politicians – whether convinced or not – to talk about their deep faith generally elicits derision for its supposed “fanaticism.” Religion tends to have in Europe another definition than in the US. The result is not devoid of oddities. Organized “religion” produced an interesting mutant in Europe. In many countries here, people support with their taxes the recognized churches – and their left-leaning ministers. Where I live, the payments are automatically collected by the state from those who, when registering with the authorities, admit to belong to a religious community. Those who can prove with a statement issued by a church that they have left that organization, receive the status of having “no confession” and need not contribute. (In Switzerland, business must also pay without having the option of discontinuing their membership.) However, in smaller communities the act of “resigning” can become public and that creates a stigma. Could this have something to do with the empty churches? Understandably, where many claim, “I am a good Christian since I pay” the participatory commitment of Americans raises eyebrows.

5. Tell someone that out of the three hundred American Nobel prizewinners seventy are foreigners. Those who find this a pleasing negative that shrinks the US come probably from an unsuccessful society. The contempt is symptomatic of underachievers because it testifies to their inclination to overlook success-strategies while, on occasion, these approaches are even resisted.

6. Audaciously asserted. The modern state that emerged from medieval chaos was a “security state.” Its initial task was security within its borders. Subsequently security was extended to include protection from other states. In this process, state power grew and became authoritarian (except in places such as England, Switzerland and America). Later the state assumed an additional duty and the “economic security state” emerged. It was to protect against the hazards emerging with industrialization. While providing social security, redistribution developed a pressure group consisting of the recipients and those manning the organs of bureaucratic distribution. Nowadays, in developed societies securing survival is a receding need. The political organization emerging could be called the “opportunity state.” Its responsibility will be to guarantee to all access to the tools required for the effective pursuit of individual happiness. Additionally, this nascent political community has the purpose of securing the environment in which the opportunities to be exploited can unfold unhindered. The crux is that this process implies the cutting back of the state intervention that we – and the negatively effected bureaucracy of “social engineers” – have become accustomed to.

7. To serve the future interest of the community, the new public policy has to jettison the old practice of legislated equality. Equal opportunity and therefore the accepted and appreciated inequality of end results are called for. Our prevailing practice uses the ideal of equality to equalize the results of differing inputs. This attempt to make equal what is different has always been an abuse and belongs, by the demands of the future we can have, into the trashcan.

8. A time-proven success strategy can turn into a handicap once it is applied under changed conditions. An example from industry is Detroit’s sticking to the once beloved large gas-guzzlers regardless of falling sales. The rule is also applicable to the world of politics. On April 11, Clinton had to back off the attempt to revive a face lifted version the Tuzla sniping fire story. This came with an accusation that the media is treating her like a bank robber. So, by the wish of the embarrassed Clintons –but not the electorate – the issue is to them unilaterally “closed.” Lucky for them if it flies. Some pretend that Hilary has repeatedly told the sniper story. Therefore, the excuse of exhaustion becomes even less convincing than previously. The unabashed and careless distortion is no surprise. In the past, the Clintons have gotten away with fibs that were more brazen. As stated, assuming that old tricks that worked in the past will still score is typical. So is the failure of the old parachute to open again.

9. Transcribed from “newspeak.” Zimbabwe had an election. A secret election at that. It was, in a way that gives the term a new Orwellian meaning. Three weeks after the balloting, the results are still a secret of the ageing dictator. For good reason. In his self-delusion, Mugabe apparently underestimated his unpopularity. Thus misled, he failed to counterfeit enough votes to make it over the top. Further innovative elements can be discovered. Until now cheating meant that individual ballots were removed or smuggled into the count. To steal, lock, stock and barrel, an entire election, adds a new twist to an old practice. Expect new absurdities to emerge on this front in the coming week.

10. Africa’s problem is an underdevelopment that is anchored in a cleptocratic authoritarianism whose operators benefit from backwardness. (Some dictatorships have not prevented modernization. China on the left and Taiwan/S. Korea on the right have not used state power consistently to suppress advancement. In the latter, economic growth created conditions for a political process that led to democracy.) The “age of the soldier” that followed the “age of colonialism” is hard to overcome. South Africa‘s role in the Zimbabwe crisis partly reveals why. Against dictators whose pigments fit, even the relatively democratic politicians of the continent are reluctant to act, as their means would allow them to. Meanwhile, effective outside pressure is meek as that amounts to “colonialist interference.”

11. One hand washes the other. 12 April. In Harare Mbeki met Mugabe prior to the gathering of concerned African leaders. (Being busy with other things, Mugabe refused to attend.) The visit led Mbeki to the original conclusion that “there is no crisis.” The “secret elections” are a “normal electoral process in Zimbabwe.”

12. Dictatorship International. The foregoing is not singularly an African problem. Burma’s rulers are also propped up by the solidarity of her neighbors. Notable is the China plays. This is hardly a surprise if we consider how China is ruled, Peking’s comfortable veto in the Security Council, and the return from dealings with otherwise isolated regimes.

13. Good opportunities to establish a Palestinian state were let go unused by the chief beneficiaries of its creation. In part the chance was missed because of the record created in the areas already under Palestinian control. One problem is that there is no one to negotiate with as Palestinian institutions do not function reliably and lack permanence. Connected to this is the corruption of the organizations active there. This condition is a cause of the wobbly institutional framework and also its consequence. Since an agreement involves the survival of Israel, the security guaranteed needs to correspond to the risk she takes by entrusting survival to Palestinian promises. It is not convincing when bad governance is attributed to the “occupation” – which only partially exists. Germany and Japan were also occupied. Sovereignty was only returned once local government functioned. The Baltic states under the Soviets had it much worse than the Palestinians. In part independence came because the occupied created good governance wherever the occupant‘s grip could be loosened. Contrary to what the writer heard a commentator say, corruption is not caused by the “Zionist occupant.” Blaming the Jews suggests that if Israel disappears corruption will not be gone – only a good excuse for it will be missed.

Belgian Streets Named after US Presidents

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 09:54:37 -0500

When Ronald Reagan died in June 2004, I wrote:

It's remarkable how European streets, squares and tunnels are named after Democratic presidents (the Kennedy tunnel in Antwerp, Avenue Franklin Roosevelt in Brussels, the Clinton Park in Roeselare), but how reluctant local governments are to pay the same honor to Republican presidents. When, if ever, will there be a Ronald Reagan Square in Belgium?

Yesterday I realized that I had all the necessary tools and information to prepare a small showcase. I have a list of all the street names in Belgium, I can semi-automatically filter those streets which are named after US presidents, I can distinguish between Democrats and Republicans, and I can display everything in a table:

The high scores of Woodrow Wilson and Franklin D. Roosevelt are due to the US role in ending both World Wars. Eisenhower's score will probably be due to his role as a general and not so much to his role as president. Still, it's puzzling why not a single street or square has been named after Ronald Reagan, whose role in ending the Cold War was significant.

I can also display everything on a map of Belgium, using Google's geocoding service and maps API and GmapEZ.

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The blue markers are streets named after Democratic presidents, the red ones are named after Republican presidents. You can zoom in or out by clicking the plus and minus signs, you can drag the map with the mouse, and when you hover the mouse over a marker, you will see the street and town names.

The Unholy Sleepers of Brussels: Asylum Seekers Desecrate Church

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 09:55:06 -0500

Asylum seekers desecrate a Catholic church in Brussels as they re-occupy the Church of the Beguinage. This first occured in 2000, when they trashed the place. Now, with the full permission of the parish priest -- this is, after all, the parish whose biggest event in the year is a Multi-Cultural Picnic in the square in front of the Church.

Outside the Church

And inside. When I can find someone in authority, will find out if the Blessed Sacrament is still reserved. In the meantime, sympathisers and asylum seekers turn the nave into a place for chat.

The South Aisle

Banner strung between confessionals which are used for storage.

South aisle from the other direction

The altar of Our Lady of Sorrows.

The Sacred Heart altar

Lifting the blue curtain -- to reveal two women chatting away and the Sacred Heart altar laden with rubbish.

The Welcome Office in the Church -- welcome to asylum seekers but to no-one else.

Another confessional wardrobe

Some screens -- the advert is for a Pispottenfestival.

The Unholy Sleepers of Brussels

On another noticeboard --

The asylum seekers are watched over by The Hand. Incredibly, it is meant to represent the Hidden Hand of Adam Smith's economics. What is this doing in Church?

Another poster -- Become Scandalously Fraternal -- a parody advert for a Church charity which parodies a lottery poster -- Become Scandalously Rich.

Its a scandal alright -- there are hundreds of halls to occupy in Belgium. Why desecrate a Church?

More on this topic:

Belgian Church Organizes Illegal Immigrants, 5 May 2006

Allah Takes Over Catholic Church, 7 May 2006

Muhammad Takes Over Protestant Church, 8 May 2006

Vatican Representative Supports Church Squatters, 10 May 2006

Bishops in Ever Deeper Pickle over Support for Illegal Aliens, 11 May 2006

Duly Noted: Incremental Encroachment

Sat, 12 Apr 2008 07:04:45 -0500

Some of the bits in the mosaic of our time are overlooked because we look for boulders. This column presents underrated issues that might deserve attention.

1. As a rule, the discontent of the electorate points at a reverse for the party in power. In the coming US election, this rule might not hold up. The incessant demonization of Bush could doom the Democrats’ White House hopes. For all the real or claimed wrongs ultimately not the Republican candidates but Bush personally might be blamed.

2. According to Vremya Novostei (8 April) Russia’s top election official is prepared to send election monitors to America. The candidates there have no equal access to the mass media, which “does not exist” in the US. How will the Republicans thank Moscow for supporting the case they make about their coverage by a biased press?

3. Bush wanted to “fight them over there” so as not to have to fight them “over here” says The Economist (29 March). In doing so America “overstrained” its military and left the “home front vulnerable.” Fighting there so as not to have to fight here might be as true as is the bit about the over extension. The relationship between the military’s presence in Iraq and the weakness of the defenses against terrorism at home is shaky. Combating terrorism on the home front is not a function of the armed forces but of the police and the FBI.

4. Not a few political lives in the US – and elsewhere – depend on America’s success or failure in Iraq. The greatest potential political benefit is what the doomsayers and doom makers might harvest as a reward of failure. Some motivated campaign talk creates a danger to be faced later. Careless statements made to indicate that difficult problems have easy solutions will function as a shackle for the elected. An example is the April 9 claim of Clinton that defines Obama as all talk but no action regarding an unconditional post-election retreat on the double.

5. At the NATO summit in Bucharest and during the Sochi tête-à-tête with Bush, Putin kept protesting the stationing of an anti-missile defense system to be located in Poland and the Czech Republic. Putin cannot possibly believe that a dozen of rockets could endanger – even if evil intent is assumed – a Russia that possesses missiles in the four-digit range. With security not qualifying as a valid reason, alternative explanations emerge: (1) By exerting pressure, Russia seeks to hand the US a political defeat; (2) Moscow wishes to establish its right to determine how strong and safe Europe, and especially the eastern flank of NATO are allowed to be.

6. What NATO is good for is a seriously posited question. There are several answers. One could argue that new dangers arose with the disappearance of the Soviet threat. Potential but not far-fetched sources are Russia and China. A clear-cut threat comes from the Jihadists located in the West as immigrants or active in Near Eastern states. Therefore, thanks to its expansion and the globalization of politics, NATO is subject to out-of-area challenges. Second, NATO might be a suitable instrument to commit America to Europe at a cut-rate price for the latter. Third, NATO might indeed be, as some insinuate, purposeless. To some foes of developed countries and successful societies this makes the forces pleading for separation temporarily valuable because they blunt US power. Lastly comes the ignored but imaginable American isolationist’s response. Irritated by the blows and kicks ritually administered in the name of Europe, these could also answer with a “nothing.” If this is made to happen, it will be the USA that drops Europe. Unlike Europe’s ambivalent distance to the States this break will be unequivocal. Through utilizing the results of a few bilateral contacts in Europe, the US is as defensible without NATO as NATO is handicapped without America.

7. Lest we forget. Ever serious, Fox News quotes on April 1 an Islamist lawyer residing in the West: “as a Muslim […] I must have hatred to (sic) everything that is not Muslim.” Apparently, the advantages of residence and education are no antidote for fanaticism.

8. Incremental encroachment. The original issue regarding Islamic clothing in countries hosting large numbers of Muslims involved the headscarf. In Europe – but also in once secular Turkey – the front line in the battle of the symbols has moved significantly. The main contested issue now involves the burqa that gives total coverage. If the trend continues, all non-believers will be declared to be unbelievers and these will be forced to run for cover as they deny and insult the Prophet.

9. Europe’s old-style religious and social (not racial) anti-Semitism of the past is now copied by the anti-Christianism and anti-Semitism of radical Muslims in Europe.

10. Some immigrants might assert that their entry into advanced countries is their basic, therefore undeniable, right. At the risk of the accusation of prejudice, some of these must be reminded of another self-evident right. It is that the natives prefer “to live differently.” Therefore, they do not wish to adjust to the life-style that invited or uninvited guests try to force upon them. This is so even if the claim is shrewdly raised that submission is a test of the hosts’ tolerance.

11. A small news item told that out of 37 spies in the US 17 were ideologically motivated. In earlier years, the traitors for money were the majority. The numbers suggest that we can find here a symptom. It reflects the erosion of values and of the undermining of the sense of citizenship that is advocated by the relativists that control the pulpit, the schools and much of the media.

12. It is a positive and, regarding the above, contradictory sign that, the protest of the suppression of Tibetans is spreading. Unfortunately, some of this could be protest for the fun of it by people who do not know and care to find out about the fundamental, inherent-to-the-system causes behind the subjugation of Tibetans.

13. In the case of Tibet and other ethnic groups under pressure there is confusion of the terms “separatism” and “autonomy.” This can reflect ignorance regarding the actual goals of such movements or is caused by the lack of clarity pertaining to the meaning of these terms. In significant instances, however, the misuse of these words is the result of disinformation propagated by suppressors or their sympathizers.

14. Significantly, China’s problem with minority regions is not limited toTibet. Using the population reserves of the majority, the territory of the Uighurs and Mongolians is also inundated by Han settlers in order to create a new majority. With this, a tested recipe from central Europe is put to creative use.

15. The future might prove that last week’s most significant news item could prove to have been a new North Korean threat. This time the target was South Korea that is under new management. For no returns, its undaunted old government has supplied the Reds in the North. Pyongyang had an opportunity in the past to discover that if there is nothing else around to eat it may bite the hand that feeds it. All too often, their practice netted them not a slap but an apology of the abused. Now the newly elected President in Seoul had the audacity to announce that the continuation of aid is connected to the fulfillment of earlier promises made in exchange for grants. Guided by old reflexes, the Beloved Leader’s gang responded with threats. Nuclear war was one of the verbal torpedoes fired. The interesting thing about this is not that it happened and that it suggests that, while beggars may not be choosy, being aggressive increases alms. In this case, it is the reception of the news that makes the matter notable. Its presentation reveals a lot about what might be wrong in advanced societies. In those organs that carried the report it got just a few inches of space – less than a Richer 3 quake would score in California. This handling of the matter threatens the reputation of the ostrich. Their claim to uniqueness used to be that they stick their head into the sand. Let the big birds awake! They are being successfully copied.

16. If one calculates rationally, it appears that North Korea loses benefits – payments for better behavior – and fails to realize some goals – such as normalized relations – it claims to have set. All this because the Beloved Leader continues to pursue the nuclear armament program that he has repeatedly promised to terminate. Conclusion: the bomb is of paramount importance. You may connect the dots that lead us to the comparable case of Iran.

17. The radicals that govern Gaza demand that Israel open the common border. If this is not done, their wards are in danger of “suffocating.” We might have a remarkable case wrapped into this demand. It is not unusual that a party commits openly to the destruction of another state. When such an entity demands that, to survive, it be allowed to have access to its chosen enemy, we seem to have entered the realm of the surreal.
PS. It is reported (12 April) that from Gaza Hamas has subjected an Israeli refinery to a rocket attack. It so happens that this is the refinery that delivers Gaza’s fuel. The deliveries are interrupted. Wait for news that Hamas protests the hardship created for innocents by the lack of gas.

Imagine: Europe to Relax Free Speech Laws…

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 08:47:48 -0500

EUobserver reports that Turkey is to ease curbs on free speech.

The Turkish parliament is likely to pass a bill next week softening a law which sets limits on freedom of speech by criminalising “insults to Turkishness.” One article in the country's penal code - article 301 - currently imposes up to three years in prison for such an insult. The EU has repeatedly called on Turkey to “repeal or amend without delay” the controversial article as a prerequisite to join the bloc.

Imagine the European Parliament passing a bill softening laws which set limits on freedom of speech by criminalising “insults to Islam.” Some European penal laws currently impose up to two years in prison for such an “insult.”…

Duly Noted: Wobbly Thinking

Sat, 05 Apr 2008 13:47:26 -0600

Some of the bits in the mosaic of our time are overlooked because we look for boulders. This column presents underrated issues that might deserve attention.

1. It is safe to predict that American conservatives are destined to develop a liking for McCain. Here a reason. Moscow Times (26 March) tells why a McCain presidency is to be rejected. He represents the “US’ hatred for Russia.” Furthermore, there is no evidence that “he would be willing to alter any important US policy at Europe’s request.” Another posting opines that ultimately his enemies might look back at Bush with “nostalgia.” McCain is found guilty abroad for being a committed conservative.

2. Outside America Obama is frequently defined as a “black Kennedy.” The liking of Kennedy has a basis that amounts to a bad reason. Kennedy died before the generational credit extended to him could wear off. This left him a beneficiary of irrational projections. Additionally, his early death came about before the price of his policies became obvious.

3. It is to be expected that Obama’s endorsers praise his virtues. One of these natural advantages seems to be that being “black” he could achieve much abroad. Do we know why he is not described as “white”? This use of his background raises issues. The original promise associated with the candidate has been that he is “above” race. Those who now talk about the advantages of race are the ones who insist that race makes no difference. Lest we forget, those who used to make race the axis around which their world turned used to be called “racists.”

4. More about the election. Hillary claims she should be elected because of her experience. Was it go beyond standing erect on the crumbling walls of the beleaguered fortress to save Bill from paying the price of a mischief?

5. Two images. One is Hillary taking that pre-dawn call. The other one shows her strolling in Tuzla from the plane to be greeted by the obligatory girl with flowers. That is the scene when, according to the original telling, bullets were flying around her like mosquitoes. Now, put the two pictures and the text together. A question arises. What might happen once someone, who when awake confuses a reception’s flashing cameras with a firefight, is awakened by the call that the world is about to go under?

6. The best way to defeat an army representing a democratic society is through the votes of the confused citizens.

7. Backing down can be sold as successful diplomacy defusing a confrontation. Regardless of the grateful voter’s short term reaction, running away makes the likelihood grow that ultimately a conflict comes your way that cannot be avoided.

8. In Vienna, an exhibition showing the works of Mr. Hrdlicka, who is an Austrian cult-artist, has opened. One of the highlights is a homoerotic Last Supper with copulating Apostles. The reaction is muted as no one wants to appear to be an old-fashioned reactionary clericalist. In itself, this silence is telling. The matter gains in interest if one remembers that the controversy regarding the Wilders film and the Mohammed cartoons are parallel events. So is the muted outrage evoked by events in Tibet. One of the insights pertains to the subject of moral outrage. Moral positions are frequently not determined by the unadulterated facts of the case. The secretly raised question before protesting loudly is who commits the outrage. Corresponding to his power and the likelihood that it will be used to retaliate, the openly expressed moral objection is muted. Whatever one might think of this, the practitioners deserve to be praised for being “flexible.”

9. The big guns are puking barrages at Geert Wilders’ Fitna. The charge that it insults religious-cultural sensibilities is worth an observation. The crazier and the more dangerous a group, the faster will it be insulted. The real issue here is not how outraged someone chooses to be at the push of a button but our freedom. It would seem that the criticism is not aimed primarily at Wilders’ arguments. Nor can it be the material he assembled. Since long, its components have been posted. Much rather it is the credibly threatened and understandably feared violence that causes the “moderation” and the attempt to censure the documentary. (Wilders is unlikely to stab you or burn your car.)

10. The reaction to “Fitna” is an excellent argument that supports the claim that the unmasking criticism of fundamentalist Islam is warranted.

11. Is it racism when an idea and the comportment it advocates or tolerates, is admitted to be in close correlation with an ethnic group? Correspondingly, is it in the classical sense liberal, to excuse or to deny the advocacy of violence and the inclination to commit crimes, in case these tendencies correlate with identifiable groups?

12 A “softest” line to handle Tibet is emerging. It is known that Peking is irrationally irritable if criticized. When it reaches this stage, incalculable reactions are feared. Therefore, in the interest of global harmony, the irritating issue should be avoided. However, the premises upon which the conclusion rests support a contradictory course. It is exactly this agreed upon inclination that warrants suspicion of China. The time is now to draw red lines to contain the penchant to use aggressive policies of this still educable nascent superpower.

13. More about talking ourselves out of a problem that demands action. Tibet might make it difficult to make the Chinese “look good” in the “not to worry” sense of the word. However, “solving” the problem by inaction remains possible. One only needs to make the Tibetans “look bad.” This slowly emerging line runs this way: everybody expects China to be assertive. So the use of force to prevent the change they did not initiate is simply “Beijing’s way.” Clubbing the natives is, therefore, consistent with China’s nasty practice and ideology. Now to the Tibetans who are known as being nice. As seen on TV, they have resorted to burning cars and were caught kicking when dragged away. Therefore, they have betrayed the principle to which they are committed. In the end, both parties can be declared to have been violent while only China remained true to herself. In time all this can be given a cherry topping by pointing out the brutality of Western colonizers (now critical of China’s Tibet policy) in the 19th century. Case closed. (Who is next?)

14 On paper, hardly any organ is more likely to investigate human rights abuses than the UN’s Human Rights Council. The inclination to even hear a case apparently correlates with the power and the brazenness of the parties concerned. On 27 March the Tibetan exile government’s representative requested to be heard by the Council. The delegate was denied the privilege of speaking. Knowing the institution, the non-surprise elicited is stunning.

15. These days the Human Rights Council crept into the news in a further way. This organization has an advisory board. New positions had to be filled. By a nearly unanimous vote – mainly from Third-World states – a professor, J. Ziegler got the nod. He is less known for his science than for being a vocal leftist activist colporting the moment’s intellectual fashions. He is also a notorious friend of leftist and anti-Western dictatorships. One of Ziegler’s descriptive achievements is the funding of the “Gadhafi Human Rights Prize.” (Therefore, the HRC’s refusal to hear a case of potential genocide is hardly unexpected.) The same day Ziegler is interviewed. He strongly protests the libelous charge sketched above. In doing so, he inadvertently revealed his real position. Behind his desk, he sat just under a large Che Guevara picture.

16. Apparently, the energy the HRC saved on Tibet was injected into another issue. True to form, the Wilders film was pronounced anathema, as was the bad-mouthing of religion. Notably, the singular and not the plural was meant. Logical, as there are non-progressive religions, such as Tibetan Buddhism and Christianity. Their telltale sign: they do not regard political democracies and their economic order as enemies.

17. Wobbly thinking. Some draw analogies between building Christian churches in Turkey and the construction of mosques in Europe. Inconveniently, those petitioning for minarets miss the analogy and do not feel that there is an obligation to exchange privileges. Therefore, they are asking for something they are unwilling to grant to others. Actually, under scrutiny, the analogy appears to rest on a dubious fundament. The Christians in Turkey are indigenous conquered people. The Muslims in Western Europe are recent immigrants.

18. More analogy. Fox reports (28 March) on a radical Muslim website that operates from the USA. Obligingly it even reveals how to access it. It is enlightening if a comparison is attempted with the Geert Wilders case. His initial posting on Islam got blocked under his government’s pressure. What happens to those that operate anti-American websites in the US? Has any website – let us say one that shows decapitations or pleads that 9/11 was a CIA plot of the vast Zionist conspiracy – been blocked in a country dominated by Islamists?

Fitna

Sat, 29 Mar 2008 18:17:41 -0600

Duly Noted: Ignorance Rules

Sat, 29 Mar 2008 03:40:00 -0600

The bits in the mosaic of our time are overlooked as we focus on the big chunks. This column presents some issues that might deserve attention.

1. Charge and countercharge. Clinton attended the 2005 funeral of a Communist who served the cause from the 30s through 9/11. One that celebrated the Soviet Union (“Black men should associate their hopes with the promises of Socialism”) who went on the street for the atom-spies, the Rosenbergs (guilt confirmed by post Soviet Russia). Would Clinton have taken part if this individual had not been black? Is the answer “unlikely”? If so, what are we to think of the Clintonista charge that if Obama would be white he would not have gotten where he is?

2. Witnessing a strange game. Iran is working on a nuclear project. At best, those ingredients are being prepared which, when assembled, allow for the quick completion of a bomb. US diplomacy tries to enlist other powers to apply pressure on Iran to desist. These efforts are consistently emasculated, hindered or blocked. A possible consequence: direct action once the political process fails to provide for security. Once this happens, those now blocking a political solution will complain. They will allege that America‘s imperial preference for unilateral military solutions has deprived diplomacy from a chance to work.

3. China has the means and the local prestige to pressure North Korea economically and politically to live up to the promises it had made for juicy bribes. The West does not have unlimited time to write off concessions made in exchange for lies, deception and insults.

4. Regardless of “April 15” (for Americans) taxes are perennial topic. The more so since cutting taxes is becoming a mainstream issue. The left’s standard reaction to such nightmarish outrage is to claim that tax-cuts favor the rich. This is correct in a way not meant by those who raise the charge. Expressed in absolute monetary units, reduced tax rates affect the above average more than the below average. This is especially true when the lower 10-20% enjoy tax exemption. “No tax, no refund” is the principle that applies. Actually, lowered taxes do not damage the “poor”, they only hurt the left. In exchange for power conferred through votes cast, it has less to fork over to bribe its clients. Of some of these dependents, you can say that they are paid for being poor. Doing so assures us that they are likely to continue to live under precarious conditions.

5. Success! Mugabe, Zimbabwe’s Marxist dictator (sorry to use two adjectives when one suffices) has finally scored. The inflation rate is over 100 thousand per cent and so it might topple the hither world record set by occupied Hungary after WW2. An additional achievement emerges. No one is counterfeiting the papers used as imitations of money in the once prosperous country kidnapped by Mugabe.

6. Elections show how the voters reacted to the facts they thought they knew. However, contrary to what some party platforms imply neither elections nor the elected have the power to change the real facts.

7. A quick glance at platforms and party-programs reveals something significant about politicians and parties. They tell what some politicians think people want and how high they rate the street-smartness or the gullibility of the vowed. The matter is two pronged. For one thing, there is a tendency to promise to change the facts. (Shutting down nuclear power stations in Germany and gaining the needed energy from the sun and the wind.) Even more frequent is the case when the challenging facts are ignored to imply that doing so amounts to a solution. In this case, the core of the political dogfight is about whether a problem exists or is properly beyond the pale of civilized discussion. (Almost everything connected to immigration falls into this category.)

8. It is often hard to determine whether those that ask for tolerance aim at ultimate domination. It is equally difficult to tell whether the advocates of compromise seek, a common denominator based on reason or, driven by self-hate, they just need an excuse to give up.

9. Under new management, France and Germany express greater solidarity with Israel than shown earlier. What will be the substance once the situation demands more than declarations? Both countries are democracies with elections and are led by politicians in need of votes. There is no majority appreciative of Israel’s predicament, in fact there is no awareness that a nuclear Iran’s will have an impact on Europe’s security either. A majority might even be lacking for military self-defense. Regarding the Near East, 3% of the Germans support Israel, 91% are neutral. Merkel has admitted the problem. She is also willing to educate her public. This, if seriously attempted, produces credentials that make her rise from mere politics to statesmanship.

10. Serbia proposes (24 March) to divide Kosovo along ethnic lines. With this she takes a position she had opposed when Kosovo’s independence was the issue. A detached logic, which might not convince the Albanians, demands that, this partition be supported. The earlier separation of Kosovo from Serbia implies that territorial integrity, wile preferable, is not sacrosanct. If borders are subject to revision when the principle of their inviolability collides with that of self-determination, then it applies to Kosovo, too. Therefore, the Serb districts adjacent to Serbia should be allowed to revert to Serbia. Kosovo’s reaction was “we do not discuss such proposals” as they are “reminiscent of the old way of thinking”. How this is proven as implied is unclear. What is clear, however, is that chauvinism catapults the infected into an exalted sphere to which common sense cannot rise.

11. Ignorance rules. The scene is a US quiz show. The contestant is to name the country whose capital is Budapest. It might be France, is the answer. Being wrong causes no embarrassment to the person who has never heard of a country called “Hungry”. The wide spread ignorance (in America and also in Europe) regarding politics, economics and even the recent past, is stunning. It is one thing to hold the educationalists responsible. Regrettably, permissiveness’ destruction of knowledge and values is allowed to continue. Even more frightening is that thanks to this cultivation of ignorance the past can, and is, coming back.

12. A connected case is the March 16 celebration of the Latvian Region in Riga. Even with much empathy for the tragedy of a small people trapped between unscrupulous great powers, there is reason for raising eyebrows. Helping the occupier that hurt your family less than did his enemy, is understandable. Especially when your community is small and is left without a decent ally. What is an understandable act in a desperate moment is still subject to subsequent review. Joining the Waffen SS to fight the Reds, or – this was more rarely the case – linking up with the Soviets to fight Nazis, was plainly wrong. That it happened is a sign of a predicament for which the Latvians were not responsible. This still leaves little reason to celebrate those who succumbed to the hopelessness of a moment that left them little choice. To praise those involved –instead of commiserating them at best – is a symptom of the mixture of ignorance and half-truths that determines the public affairs conscience of many of our contemporaries.

13. More regarding political culture and its Conservative component. A reader reacted to my previous posting by suggesting that the Palestinians should be “destroyed”. This must have been a from-the-hip reaction prompted by (understandable) frustration. The writer regrets that his piece has provoked this reaction. Extremism does not fit the conservative profile. We are individualists and as such resist the assignment of guilt based on group membership. Radical simplifiers have done that. Among the highlights are the Inquisition, the “Terror” of the French Revolution, the Communist in Eurasia and the National Socialists. We also believe in limited government and that the less force is used by it the better. As a related matter, conservatives regard individual morality and sense of responsibility as the factors best suite to set the limits of man’s actions. It is also these forces that are to guarantee the judicious yet resolute use of power once the safeguarding of life and liberties require it. We therefore also believe in the rule of morally sustainable laws that are made by individuals capable for, and committed to, rational thinking.

Chicken, Incompetent and Treacherous

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 04:11:10 -0600

Network Solutions, an American internet service provider, has closed down the website that the Dutch polician Geert Wilders reserved to post “Fitna,” his 15-minute movie about the Quran. So far, no-one has seen “Fitna,” nor does anyone know what it will be like, although it will be critical of Islam.

Network Solutions says it closed down the site because it received complaints related to the film. Network Solutions also cites technical reasons for suspending the site, including the anticipated “excessive use of services” by onlookers who could overload and crash the site. Apparently this is a problem Network Solutions is incapable of providing network solutions for. Apart from being chicken Network Solutions is clearly also incompetent.

Network Solutions is also unpatriotic and a traitor of Western values. Network Solutions is the provider that hosts [update: see comment below] Hizbollah.org and IslamOnline.net. IslamOnline is owned by Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the spiritual leader of the extremist Muslim Brotherhood. Unlike Hizbollah, which is a terrorist organization, Mr Wilders has never killed anyone, nor does he threaten to do so. He is, however, critical of Islam, which for Network Solutions is worse than running a terrorist organization and calling for Jihad.

I you live in the USA, call Network Solutions toll-free number: 1-800-333-7680

Selective Blindness

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 04:19:32 -0600

The bits in the mosaic of our time get overlooked as we focus on the big chunks. This column presents some of the details that might deserve attention.

1. Used to quick results, Americans are impatient. Therefore, they wind up as sprinters in marathon runs. Additionally, the Yanks see themselves as being appreciated for services rendered and attribute a high value to “being liked.” The result is that credible threats, are ignored. Therefore, the average American underestimates the hostility directed at his system, his government and his person.

A hard to keep promise follows. Some candidates promise to restore America’s status from “disliked” to “liked” in the world – and especially in Europe. The problem with the project is that “they” say “Bush” when the “USA” is meant.

2. Obama’s Trinity Church declares its rejection of “middleclassness.” In its “10 Point Vision,” the #10 “economic parity” and a “non-negotiable commitment to Africa” (#4) stand out. One hopes that if elected, Obama discovers that economically successful democratic societies are characterized by their broadening middle classes. The bit about parity shows that the congregation might have imbibed too much Socialism. Therefore, equality is confused with justice and these two with general welfare. If these goals are achieved then the commitment to Africa will lack the means it needs.

3. To save his campaign, Barack Obama‘s delivered an address (18 March) about race. It might pacify those who only hear the candidate but missed his minister’s sermons. Obama should not have dealt with racism in general but also with black racism. Or is it racism to say that blacks can also be racist? PR that – like PC-talk in general – is designed to handle problems by making them unmentionable. This might not suffice in this case.

4. Obama claims not to have heard Wright utter those “embarrassing things.” The explanation must be that he slept through the reverend’s performances. Given the background noise of the incriminating tapes this is quite an accomplishment. This has a positive side. Ignoring the “voice of clericalism” mobilizes the secularists.

5. The EU was meant to provide stability by guaranteeing the security of its members. The kind of security was meant that small states can not provide. This purpose implies often ignored limits on the power of the association’s central organs. After all, the protection of unique systems expressing the values of their people was the pact’s purpose. This translates not into centralism but into a covenant designed to preserve Europe’s historically created diversity.

6. The Swiss system has an interesting oddity. It institutionalizes a popular right. The citizens can determine directly what elsewhere legislatures, staffed by the political class, decide. Some referendums are obligatory, others, being optional, must be initiated from below. Right now signatures are collected to extend direct democracy. Currently a referendum is obligatory only if an international organization is joined. The new popular vote stipulates that the referendum shall become mandatory in additional instances. The people are to be consulted if an agreement transfers to a non-national organ law making, the law’s interpretation, or when the automatic application of foreign ordinances is stipulated. You might wonder, in how many countries would this win endorsement.

7. German schools are advised to introduce classes in “Islam.” Because “anyone that wants integration has to provide Islam instruction.” Given the all-too-close relationship between church and state here, furthermore, considering the pressures behind the measure, detached and factual instruction is unlikely. So the question arises, who is integrating whom and into what?

8. Much is done at a great sacrifice born by the public, to facilitate the integration of the new type of migrants. Kowtowing to PC-thinking, the main obstacle is officially ignored. Some migrant groups do not want to be integrated into their host society. This is ignored by a “damn the facts” ideology.

9. The changes inherent in the flow of time can bring challenges that some feel they cannot cope with. Most likely the change interpreted as a threat scares because its causes and implications are not understood. Some national cultures are more crisis-resistant than others. Once the reaction amounts to the panic of the confused, the state is asked to intervene. This happens regardless of the role the state might play aggravating the problem. This is now happening in Germany. The rise of the cosmetically reconstructed Communists, labeled the Party of the Left, is the upshot.

10. If you have been on the wrong end of a massacre then Tibet creates concerns that are not universally shared. Even without an axe to grind, a statement by the Vice President of the Olympic Committee might sound shocking. He revealed that human rights – desirable as they might be – are not his business. The Olympics should not be politicized by dragging Lhassa into the antiseptic picture of the Peking games.

11. Today everybody is boldly against the 1936 Berlin games. How many decades must pass before the same standard is applied to the coming event in Peking? By then this will be a moot question as there will be, thanks to a local version of the Endlösung, no Tibetan left. Which might be quite convenient. Meanwhile it remains safer to protest (16 March) in San Francisco “Bush’s war” than to demand self-determination for Tibetans who are hicks and live without Gucci bags.

12. The Dalai Lama‘s handling of the Tibet crisis is remarkable. Many governments would be thankful to have such a morally consequent and strategically astute, reasonable opponent to negotiate with. It speaks badly for the internal and external policies of China’s rulers that they are unaware (or uninterested?) in their good fortune. (Luckily, South Africa had Mandela and he was, ultimately, used by de Klerk “to do business with” – to the advantage of all parties involved.)

13. A related matter is that the „68-ers“ are (again) celebrating themselves. Pride is taken in the fact that they had revolted against the Nazi past of their parents. They did so by supporting another – to them congenial – totalitarian world system. It is the one that, in the same year demonstrated the virtue of panzer-communism by crushing the Prague Spring. The antecedent was Budapest in 1956 and both moves are a warm-up for the Tiananmen square massacre in ’89. In all of these cases a genuine revolts against a dictatorship demanded the contrary of what the 68-ers wanted from a democracy. The irony is lost amidst the popping champagne corks.

14. It is reported that, responding to a Serbian attack, international forces have retreated in Northern Kosovo (18 March). Subsequently a counter-action recaptured the court-hose seized by a mob. This led to the arrest of the Serbs that occupied the building. Serbia called the action “uncivilized” and demanded the release of the captives. Representing the problems of extremist nationalism, right and wrong’s criteria hinges on the nationality of the perpetrators. Ethnicity often serves as a before-the-fact excuse of whatever a group might be up to. A grenade of the “demonstrators” killed a Ukrainian policeman. Kiev considers withdrawing her peace-keepers. If others follow suit, the Serbs will be left unprotected from the Albanian majority.

15. Lest we forget: regardless of Mr. Spitzer, not everybody who appears on the stage as a “Mr. Clean” is a hypocrite.

16. Some of its values and procedures made the West successful. It is losing ground today because it prefers to forget the connection. Also, these values imply obligations and demand some of Churchill’s “blood and sweat.” A relativism that accepts values that correlate with poverty has become a vote getter at a time when we insist that even the doors to our gym shall open automatically.

17. We often hear the phrase that “the Palestinian people suffers.” Retroactively there is also talk about the WW2 suffering of the German people, the Japanese, etc. It gets selectively forgotten that – alas – communities bear some responsibility for the governors they submit to. Would Berkeley-style softness moderate Hamas? Do its rockets avoid, by design, to hit those who might also be “suffering innocent civilians”?

18. Revealingly, some human rights advocates do not resent that Hamas rockets Israeli agglomerations. After all, the damage is limited. True. However, is this so on account of not wanting to hurt civilians or because of the primitive hardware? Presumably Israel’s retaliation is classed as immoral because her technology allows for sensitive hits. What will the moralists say once Hamas’ technology improves? (the Human Rights Council condemns Israel, 6 March)