The plight of converts to Christianity in Muslim countries is well known. What is less known is the plight of Muslim converts to Christianity in Western Europe. Last week Dutch television broadcast a documentary which shows how former Muslims in the Netherlands are frequent victims of intimidation and violence.

The 48 hours since the election of Barack Obama have been unkind. Friends once thought sensible recount how they burst into tears, or felt proud of America for the first time in eight years, or stood in awe of this historic moment. There is something to the last: it is historic that, as Shelby Steele writes, “For the first time in human history, a largely white nation has elected a black man to be its paramount leader.” Steele’s history is not entirely correct – I would argue that the 1992 South African referendum amounted to the same thing – but his point is taken, and there is certainly no parallel between 1992 South Africa and 2008 America.

For months, the media has been been whining about the Bradley effect that could have spoiled Barack Obama's victory in yesterday's presidential elections. Basically, the Bradley effect says that when there are two candidates, one white and one black, a significant number of whites intends to vote for the black candidate and says so too when asked by a pollster, but nevertheless, once in the voting booth they vote for the white candidate. Racism! But where's the outcry about 95% of African-Americans voting for Barack Obama, clearly a racist vote?

Conservative French websites and blogs are certainly numerous, but compared to what was available when I began GalliaWatch in February 2006, they have diminished surprisingly. Three years ago there was much more talk, more heated discussion at the forums and message boards, more sources of news and commentary than today. Possibly there was too much, and it was inevitable that some sites would fall by the wayside, but the main reason for the decrease seems to be discouragement, if not despair on the part of bloggers who saw their hopes dashed with the election of Nicolas Sarkozy, the blunders of Jean-Marie Le Pen, and the virtual uselessness of individuals like Philippe de Villiers who promised so much, but did not follow through.

Since taking office in 2004, Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has worked assiduously to craft his own public persona as a “convinced pacifist.” His first official act as pacifist-in-chief was, famously, to withdraw Spanish troops from Iraq, a decision that was not only wildly popular with Spanish voters, but also cemented Zapatero’s pacifist credentials on the world stage.

The sentry’s challenge

Qui vive is the French sentry’s challenge, the equivalent of "Who goes there?" Except, the literal meaning of qui vive conveys the timeless common sense of the French peasant who puts his trust only in blood ties, deeds to land, and in gold coins in a jar under the plum tree. For qui vive means “Who moves there?” but also "Who lives?"

He lives who is on the alert. But we have been dedicated somnambulists for 40 years now.

George Handlery about the week that was. Falling for tested and failed ideas. Campaign promises and good government. Why Europe elected Obama. The prospects of multilateralism. A house cleaning for the GOP. Crime prevention and personal freedom. Will success bring moderation?
 
1. Obama is close to getting elected. Add this to the costs of the financial crisis. At this point one hopes that he will cling to his record. The record is adaptation to whatever serves his rise. If elected his fate and that of the country become connected, and so the hope amounts to a well wish for America. Obama has a debt to clients that depend on contributions. Once he does not need them, he will be wise to see to it that he does not appear to be the President of special interest groups. To achieve that he will have to refuse to deliver on some of the expectations connected to his election.

Six years ago, when Belgian Minister Louis Michel addressed the Belgian Foreign Affairs Committee, on November 12, 2002, he explained that the EU intended to incorporate the whole of North Africa and the Middle East, but also Russia. In other words, the entire northern half of Asia as far as Vladivostok, is to be incorporated into the EU.

If that happens, Sarah Palin will be seeing Europe from her window instead of Russia.

One will not likely find many people in the Boston phone book who would prefer to join the foreign army than their own in the event of a war between the United States and a foreign nation. In Europe, that certainty no longer exists.

Current events have been begging for direct, pragmatic commentary. This serial essay is therefore cutting into the "Empire of Yin" series, which is more philosophical. Apology to my long-suffering readers. "Empire" will resume in a few weeks.

European Commissioners opine that “Immigration Is Moral Necessity” and “Islam Is Welcome.” A French President predicts that “Arabic Is the Language of the Future.”  A Moroccan becomes Mayor of Rotterdam. Europeans who wish to assert their ethnic identity and interests versus those of aliens are roughed up.