Brussels!

(and Brussels has other republicans too)

A quote from Richard North on EuReferendum, 8 August 2006.

At the root is that death – or pictures of death - have become a commodity. For Hezbolla, they can be traded for political leverage, for the photo-journalists – those who are not working for Hezbolla – a good “snap” of a dead baby brings the prospect of financial reward, fame and even awards. And, at the top of the heap are the editors and the likes of Shane Richmond, in their air-conditioned offices, thousands of miles away from the action, who see the “pics” merely as illustrations for their productions.

These people have become so degraded, so devoid of humanity and so divorced from civilised mores that pictures of death are assessed on their artistic merit, their emotional power and relevance. [...]

Some 8,000 people demonstrated in Brussels on Sunday against the war in Lebanon. There were slogans against the U.S. and Israel and in support of Hamas and Hezbollah. Participating organisations included the maoist Workers Party of Belgium (better known under its Dutch acronym PVDA), the StopUSA platform, Lebanese liberals, a jewish-muslim-christian pacifist organisation from France, and a christian trade union from Belgium. Lebanese flags were flanked by Cuban and Venezuelan flags, a further indication of the left-wing character of the demonstration.

Photo courtesy of Bram Souffreau (Kapingamarangi.be) - published under a creative commons license

Also spotted: burning US flags and photos of Hassan Nasrallah.

A quote from The Sunday Telegraph, 6 August 2006

An amnesty that freed more than 5,000 inmates from Italian jails backfired when dozens of the former prisoners reoffended – and were back behind bars within hours.

[...] The most serious case was in the northern city of Udine where plumber Piero Melis, 53, was released early from an eight-month sentence for attacking his wife Carla – only to be rearrested less than six hours later after allegedly trying to strangle her. There have been dozens of similar incidents.

[...] In Genoa, Milan, Palermo, Rome and Trieste, former prisoners were involved in crimes ranging from assault, breaking and entering, attempted car theft and armed robbery. There were also fears that many foreign inmates released could have Islamic terrorist links.

A quote from Helen Szamuely on EuReferendum, 7 August 2006

What we are dealing with is not one news agency having a rogue photographer and incompetent editors who then try to cover their backs but a canker that has eaten into almost the entire MSM or, at least, its English language parts.

There are various reasons here, I think. One is the bias that is no longer seen as bias. The MSM tends to lean to the left and takes up all left-wing causes with gusto. This goes even for the supposedly right-wing publications like the Daily Telegraph.

They have all reached a stage when they no longer even understand that they are biased but assume that their own bias is the objective point of view. It is those who depart from it who are weird. We have seen this on matters European, on the reporting of American politics and society and, above all, the Middle East.

Upon reading the latest from those who know better:

Employers in Europe are free to refuse smokers a job, confirming their status as the continent's last pariahs.

The European Commission, which has presided over a vast array of anti-discrimination legislation in the past six years, has confirmed that it does not cover tobacco users.

One can rightfully wonder, "Shouldn't there first be jobs available?"

Fancy a weekend in Brussels? Beware two friends just arrived by Eurostar. Their reward was to have a suitcase pinched from under their noses at the Gare du Midi. Going to the police, they were told there are no less than fifty thefts of suitcases each day and they can do nothing.

Welcome to Brussels. They produce thousands of laws but common criminals get away with anything, including murder.

A quote from Victor Davis Hanson in National Review Online, 4 August 2006

There is no need to mention Europe, an entire continent now returning to the cowardice of the 1930s. Its cartoonists are terrified of offending Muslim sensibilities, so they now portray the Jews as Nazis, secure that no offended Israeli terrorist might chop off their heads. The French foreign minister meets with the Iranians to show solidarity with the terrorists who promise to wipe Israel off the map [...] and manages to outdo Chamberlain at Munich. One wonders only whether the prime catalyst for such French debasement is worry over oil, terrorists, nukes, unassimilated Arab minorities at home, or the old Gallic Jew-hatred.

A quote from the EU Council Presidency, June 2006

Scanning of fingerprints up to 12 years of age [...] is permissible if provided for by national legislation.

From 12 years of age: compulsory. [emphasis in original)

H/T Chris Gillibrand

I have heard comments from people who thought Fjordman was from Sweden, because I write at least as much about Sweden as I do about my own country, Norway. There are several reasons for this. The most important one is that Sweden is probably one of the worst, if not the worst, country in the Western world when it comes to Political Correctness. Norway is pretty bad, Sweden is absolutely insane. Which makes it fun to write about.