Monday - January 16, 2006
Goober Galloway Goes Nuts
British liberal MP George Galloway is barking mad. As the old saying goes “only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the noonday sun”. My problem is I can’t figure out which category this doofus belongs in. Remember, this is the clown who made money off the oil for food program, buddyed up to Saddam Hussein and slams the US at every opportunity. What I’m afraid is happening here is that Liberals all over the world are slowly losing their minds. I expect to see Teddy Kennedy down on all fours eating Kibbles ‘n’ Bits off the floor any day ....
From Firebrand To Pussycat:
Galloway’s TV Transformation
(GUARDIAN-UK)
He purred and mewed, his greying whiskers giving his face the appearance of a Cheshire cat. Next, George Galloway, the Respect MP for Bethnal Green and Bow, and scourge of Capitol Hill, got on all fours and pretended to lick milk from the cupped hands of the once-famous television actor Rula Lenska. She rubbed the “cream” from his “whiskers” and stroked his head and behind his ears.
When he steps out into the real world, Mr Galloway may regret his decision to accept the producer’s challenge to mimic a pet on live television last night. He may feel his flirtation with a reality TV youth audience was not worth the loss of credibility that many of his critics claimed yesterday was an inevitable consequence.
The firebrand parliamentarian earned the grudging respect of even his political enemies through his performance before the US Congress last year. But yesterday viewers only saw rolling footage of the cat performance. Commentators called it excruciating and his own supporters said it was an indignity.
As the cat scenes continued to play out, the Labour party moved into the absent MP’s constituency, in the form of Westminster chief whip Hilary Armstrong armed with a petition - as well as her own television cameras - demanding that the missing MP return to work. She urged Mr Galloway to “respect his constituents, not his ego”.
And as supporters argued that Channel 4 was censoring Mr Galloway’s political message, the Big Brother website was laden with innuendo after the cat incident, saying: “The task may be over, but George, it seems, just can’t keep his inner beast caged. George seemed to be feline frisky. First he starts a restless circling of the kitchen, looking every bit like a caged tiger marking his territory. Next he purrs something quietly in fellow feline Rula’s ear that makes her bottom jump and tighten excitedly. Sadly we don’t know what George said, but whatever it was got this reaction from our Polish thoroughbred: ‘Well I’m glad it can still do that for you.’ “
Those working for the MP said he had been prepared to suffer such indignities in the belief that his political message was getting across to millions of viewers. But, they claim, when he discovers his political message has been muted, he will be furious. Ron McKay, Mr Galloway’s spokesman and friend, said: “I would hope people will realise it’s just a bit of silliness and even MPs can indulge in that. I rather wish he hadn’t been given that particularly silly task.
- More on this feline funkiness here ...
Posted by The Skipper
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Permalink • Friday - January 13, 2006
High Noon
The United Nations and the European Union, both international embaressments, have decided to get tough with Iran and today started rattling sabers butter knives at the Mad Mullahs. You can probably guess where this is heading. These asshats will totally screw things up, the US will have to spank Iran for getting uppity and then the UN/EU will howl in protest at the US. Same story, different day ....
UN: Iran Sanctions May Be Considered
LONDON (Reuters) - The United Nations Security Council may consider imposing sanctions on Iran if it fails to comply with demands over its nuclear program, but may look at other measures first, Britain said on Friday.
“I am not necessarily saying there will be a U.N. sanctions regime. That will be on the table,” Straw told BBC Radio after Britain, France and Germany called for an emergency meeting of the U.N. nuclear watchdog to discuss Iran’s resumption of research into nuclear fuel.
“There are prior stages here, and there are plenty of examples where the Security Council has made what are called Chapter Seven resolutions ... imposing obligations on a member state without the resort to sanctions. Obviously if Iran failed to comply, the Security Council would then consider sanctions,” Straw said.
Iran Threatens to Block Nuke Inspections
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran threatened on Friday to block inspections of its nuclear sites if U.N. Security Council confronts it over its nuclear activities. Germany, Britain and France said Thursday that nuclear talks with Iran had reached a dead end after more than two years of acrimonious negotiations and the issue should be referred to the Security Council.
However, the Europeans held back from calling on the 15-nation council to impose sanctions and said they remained open to more talks. France said Friday that it favors a step-by-step approach with Iran over its nuclear program and that any sanctions request at this stage would be premature.
“We, like our partners, like the British and the Germans, consider that this co-request for sanctions is premature for the moment,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Jean-Baptiste Mattei said.
Iran said that if it were confronted by the council, it would be obliged to stop cooperating with the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency. That would be, among other things, the end of random inspections, said Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki.
“In case Iran is referred to the U.N. Security Council ..., the government will be obliged to end all of its voluntary cooperation,” the television quoted Mottaki as saying.
Posted by The Skipper
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Permalink • Tuesday - January 03, 2006
Danish Dilemna
Clash of civilizations: twenty-first century Europeans versus tenth century Muslims. There is too big a gap there and something’s gotta give sooner or later. Now the Muslims are declariing jihad over a few stupid cartoons? Get real, folks! This is childish at best. Dangerous at the other extreme. Do the Danes censor the press and deny freedom of speech to its citizens or do they tell the Arabs to go pound sand? Regardless, the cartoonists have started receiving death threats and the newspapers have had to hire bodyguards for staff. We report, you decide ...
(CNSNews.com)
For the government of one small European nation, the new year begins with a deepening crisis: growing anger in the Islamic world over a newspaper’s decision to publish cartoon depictions of the prophet Mohammed. The Danish daily newspaper Jyllands-Posten last fall published 12 caricatures of Mohammed, causing an uproar that continues to build more than three months later. Muslims consider any images of the prophet who founded Islam in the seventh century to be blasphemous.
The published cartoons showed “Mohammed” in various settings. One depicts him wearing a turban shaped like a bomb with its fuse lit, while another has him with eyes blacked out and carrying a large, curved knife, flanked by two women in top-to-toe burqas. In another, the prophet is shown telling a line of suicide bombers seeking entry to paradise: “Stop, stop, we have run out of virgins.”
The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), representing 57 Muslim states and territories, issued a memorandum on January 1 accusing the Danish government of “indifference” after Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen declined to intervene in the dispute. Rasmussen called it a matter of freedom of speech, echoing the reasoning of the newspaper at the center of the row. Jyllands-Posten had said it wanted to test the limits of free speech at a time it was under threat because of the influence of radical Islam.
The OIC dismissed the free speech argument, saying in its statement this week that the publication of the cartoons “was meant to disturb and infuriate Muslims, and could not be considered as an innocent behavior falling within the scope of freedom of expression in which everyone believes.” Claiming that the publication “has offended hundreds of millions of Muslims around the world,” the organization announced that the governments and cultural organizations in all OIC member states had been asked to boycott a forthcoming cultural project on the Middle East, partly funded by the Danish government.
Last week, foreign ministers of the Arab League mandated the 22-nation bloc’s secretary-general, Amr Moussa, to take up the issue directly with the Danish government. In a declaration, they voiced “surprise and indignation over the Danish government’s reaction, which was disappointing, despite the political, economic, and cultural bonds with the Muslim world.”
Not only did Rasmussen refuse to take up the matter with the newspaper, he also declined to meet with a delegation of ambassadors from 11 Muslim nations who wanted to discuss the “tone” of the debate over Islam in Denmark. “As prime minister I have no tool whatsoever to take actions against the media, and I don’t want that kind of tool,” he said at the time.
The growing pressure - the U.N. and European Union have also waded in, while a group of former Danish ambassadors said the premier was wrong to refuse to meet with the Muslim envoys - appears to have left the government cold. “Now it is important to stand our ground and say that we have a separation of powers in Denmark and something called freedom of expression,” the Copenhagen Post quoted the ruling party’s foreign affairs spokesman Troels Lund as saying in response to the Arab League complaints.
Posted by The Skipper
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Permalink • Putin Blinks
It looks like Europeans will stay warm after all this winter. The Russians caved in to pressure and turned the gas back on last night. This story isn’t over yet though. What’s really interesting about this story is the quote below about “reconsidering the decision to phase out nuclear energy” in Germany. Now there’s a thought. Look for the European envirowhackos to freak out over that ...
Russia Steps Back From Brink With Ukraine
and Restores Gas Supplies to Europe
MOSCOW (UK GUARDIAN)
Russia’s image as a reliable international energy supplier became increasingly tarnished yesterday as a stand-off with Ukraine over gas prices disrupted supplies to Europe. The Russian energy group Gazprom accused Ukraine of stealing about $25m (£14.5m) worth of natural gas from transit supplies destined for other European countries, but most EU members blamed President Vladimir Putin for the crisis. Last night Gazprom appeared to bow to international pressure by increasing transit supplies flowing through Ukraine by the amount allegedly siphoned off.
Germany’s economy minister, Michael Glos, called on Moscow to compromise in its feud with Ukraine. “Russia has the presidency of the G8 and therefore has to act responsibly,” he said. The Russian state-owned energy company Gazprom switched off flows to Ukraine on Sunday after a bitter, politically charged dispute over gas prices. A drop in deliveries to other countries sent through the same pipeline network was noticed within 24 hours. In the UK the energy minister, Malcolm Wicks, admitted the dispute could affect European and global markets. Speaking to the BBC, he reminded Russia it had “never let down Europe during the cold war” and expressed hope it would be “mindful of its reputation as a secure energy supplier”.
Five EU countries yesterday confirmed that the amount of gas arriving from Russia had fallen off dramatically. Germany, Austria, Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia all reported a sharp drop in supplies, with Hungary saying its gas deliveries had gone down by 40%. “This situation cannot be accepted. Russia is mixing its foreign policy with its policy for gas supplies,” Poland’s deputy prime minister, Ludwik Dorn, told broadcaster Radio Zet. While harsh judgment of Russia from former Soviet satellite states was predictable, there was fresh debate from “old Europe” as to how it should respond ahead of tomorrow’s emergency meeting of EU energy experts. The EU buys a quarter of its gas from Gazprom. Mr Glos, who belongs to a conservative coalition led by Germany’s chancellor, Angela Merkel, said the country should now reconsider its decision to phase out nuclear energy.
Posted by The Skipper
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Permalink • Monday - January 02, 2006
Checkmate
What we have here is a classic game of chess. The problem is that the Russians are masters of the game and Russian President Vladimir Putin is proving to be well versed in the strategies involved in a good match. Since the end of the Cold War, countries that used to be part of Russia’s realm of inflluence (the Warsaw Pact countries) have gradually moved out from under Russian influence and into Western Europe’s embrace.
Old Soviet satellites are now part of the European Union thus Russia lost most of its pawns in the opening game. Russia held onto the rebellious countries like Chechnya with brutal charges by knights and rooks in the middle game. Now Russia finds its queen in jeopardy as Ukraine went through its “Orange Revolution” recently and elected a pro-Western government. Putin simply responded with a brilliant counter-move. He decided that if his Ukrainian “queen” was going to defect to the West then the Ukraine would have to pay the same prices for gas that the West does.
Needless to say, Ukraine cannot afford the new prices and so Putin cut off their supply of gas. This puts his opponent’s king in jeopardy as Russia supplies a quarter of Europe’s gas ... through Ukraine. If it weren’t for the fact that this puts Europe in jeopardy of freezing this winter, I would have to congratulate Putin on an absolutely brilliant move. Check and mate!
The only viable solution is for Europe and the West to surrender the game but there is a way to do this with honor. Simply invite Russia to join the European Union and NATO. Bring the Russians into our camp. That’s all Putin and the Russians really want anyway. Why continue to keep them isolated on the continent? It is only going to involve more and more of these back-and-forth political chess matches and that’s what screwed up Europe so badly in the run-up to World War I. Which led to World War II. Which made a mess of everything.
I urge the member countries of NATO and the European Union to get together, admit they’ve been beaten by a wily, cunning opponent and invite him to join the team. After all, one must keep one’s friends close and one’s enemies even closer ... and “Pooty-Poot” is not really an enemy. He’s just a better chess player.
(UK NEWS-TELEGRAPH)
Russia took Europe to the brink of a winter energy crisis yesterday when it carried out a Cold War-style threat and halted gas deliveries to Ukraine, the main conduit for exports to the West. With a quarter of its gas supplied by Russia, Europe is facing serious disruption and price rises for as long as the dispute rumbles on.
Moscow turned off the tap at 10am after Ukraine refused to sign a new contract with the Russian state monopoly Gazprom quadrupling prices. Critics of the Kremlin say the rise was punishment for the Orange Revolution in 2004 which brought in a westward-leaning government that promised to remove Ukraine from the Kremlin’s sphere of influence.
The American State Department said that “such an abrupt stop creates insecurity in the energy sector in the region and raises serious questions about the use of energy to exert political pressure”. The European Union has called an emergency meeting of energy ministers on Wednesday.
Britain is less vulnerable than mainland Europe because it does not receive direct supplies from the former Soviet bloc. But as other countries seek to shore up their reserves, less gas is likely to be pumped through the pipeline that links the Continent with Britain. That could mean higher prices and, if there is no quick resolution, possible breaks in supplies.
The European Commission says that most countries have between a week and two months’ emergency reserves. Ukraine has upset Moscow by pushing to join the EU and Nato. However, Russia insists that the price rise merely brings Ukraine in line with the price that most of Europe pays: about $240 per 1,000 cubic metres.
President Vladimir Putin adopted almost warlike terms when he spoke on television as the hours ticked by before the ultimatum expired. “If no clear response [from Kiev] follows, we will conclude that our proposal has been rejected,” he said.
Posted by The Skipper
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Permalink • Thursday - December 29, 2005
Brits Bribe Students
If you ever wanted to see a clear example of socialism gone totally bonkers, look no further than our friends across the pond. I saw this story and couldn’t believe my eyes. I had to read ti twice before it sunk in. The Brits are actually subsidizing schoolchildren over the age of 16 who decide to stay in school. Even more unbelievable is the criteria for this socialist teenage bribery scheme: children qualify for a fistful of money as long as their family income is below £30,000 per year. For the currency-handicapped out there, that is nearly $52,000 annual income. Is that some kind of poverty level or what? And they’re going to give these kids up to £30 (US $52.00) every week and allow them to work part-time? This definitely qualifies Britain as an official “Nanny State” now. And to think ... these blokes once ruled the world. Sad. Very sad.
December 29, 2005
(BBC)
Some 380,000 students have received maintenance payments to help them stay on at college in England since the start of the autumn term. Students who continue training or education above the age of 16 and live in households with an annual income below £30,000 are eligible for support. The Learning and Skills Council is urging more young people to apply for the Education Maintenance Allowance.
Payments under the scheme range between £10 and £30 per week. Children’s Minister Maria Eagle said she was pleased so many had benefited. “We would also like to remind parents that EMA doesn’t affect any other family benefits.” She added: “I am particularly pleased they are attaining qualifications and developing skills that will help them to succeed in life.”
Ms Eagle urged all young people who felt tempted to drop out of education and into low-paid work to get in touch with their college to see what help is available under the EMA scheme. “It’s a great way to boost their career prospects and earnings potential in the long term,” she added.
Trevor Fellowes, director of learner support at the council which operates the scheme, said he expected the numbers to increase throughout 2006. He also urged all youngsters to see if they are eligible for the payments. He added: “We would also like to remind parents that EMA doesn’t affect any other family benefits and young people can still work part-time and receive cash while they learn.”
Posted by Ronald Reagan's Ghost
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Permalink • Wednesday - December 28, 2005
France Cracks Down
My, my! What’s the world coming to? Usually the French crack me up but now they have decided to crack down. On terrorists, that is. I’m sure they still have a full stock of white flags ... just in case. The French have always had a problem deciding whose side to be on in any war. This will probably be no exception to that rule.
PARIS (AFX) - The French parliament has adopted a tough new anti-terrorist law inspired by British measures used to identify the bombers who carried out the July bomb attacks in London. MPs voted 202 to 122 in favour of the law, which will increase video surveillance of railways stations, airports and other public areas, permit official snooping on the internet and mobile telephone records, and lengthen the period of detention for terrorist suspects.
Civil rights groups and left-wing opposition parties have expressed concern over the law, which they fear gives authorities too much power to invade citizens’ privacy and encourages confusion between immigration and terrorism. The law paves the way for increased use of surveillance cameras in public spaces such as train stations, churches and mosques, shops, factories or nuclear plants.
Mobile phone operators and internet access firms—particularly internet cafes—will be required to keep records of client connections for one year under its provisions. Officials will have greater authority to conduct identity checks on cross-border trains and to automatically monitor vehicles, and police will have wider access to previously confidential customer information from rail, maritime and air transport companies.
Local authorities will have the right to ban certain individuals from entering sporting stadiums. Terrorist suspects can also be kept in custody for a maximum of six days without being put under formal, criminal investigation. The previous duration was four days.
Posted by Ronald Reagan's Ghost
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Permalink • Wednesday - December 21, 2005
Caption Contest
Today’s caption contest lets you put words into Ronald McDonald’s mouth. The only catch is you can’t use the words “Sacre Bleu!”. The picture below shows the wreckage of a car used by rioters to break through the glass door of a McDonalds fast food restaurant amid the rubble of the restaurant in Corbeil-Essonnes, south of Paris, Sunday, Nov. 6, 2005. Give it your best shot ... !
Posted by The Skipper
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Permalink • Friday - December 09, 2005
Fwench Humor
I have to admit, some times the Frogs surprise me. Some of them actually have a sense of humor and are probably quite decent people. I present as evidence The Dissident Frogman and Merde In France (No-Pasaran).
The latest evidence comes from the folks at Geo-Loc who provide us with the nice little “Foreign Spies” feed in the right sidebar. The service is hosted in Paris but they must be good guys (even though they charge me €20 per year and you have to speak Fwench to do business with them). I just renewed our service and received the invoice with this little paragraph at the bottom ....
This payment will appear on your bank statement as FROG PLANETE SAS and will be credited to FROG PLANETE SAS, 4 place Félix Eboué F-75583 Paris Cedex 12 RCS Paris B 419164983 TVA FR56419164983.
Posted by The Skipper
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Permalink • Monday - December 05, 2005
Leaks In The Dike
Several things jumped out at me while reading the story below. First, the murderer of Theo van Gogh is finally coming to trial. Second, the court is being held in a damned “bunker” to protect the judges and lawyers. Third, the most these Islamic criminals can get is 15 years in jail.
Is all that enough to convince you that Europe is running scared from Islamic immigrants who murder and pillage as they destroy Western civilization on the continent? In my opinion, Europe is a lost cause. The Dutch may as well go ahead and order a large stock of white flags from France so they can surrender along with the frogs to the new Fascists.
Everywhere over there they are caving in to the Islamic criminals and hiding from the hungry hordes flooding in from the Middle East. It isn’t over yet for the Euro-Peons but the end is in sight unless somebody over there grows a pair real fast. Here’s a tip for Europe: it’s 1939 all over again, the Fascist murderers are already over-running Europe and appeasement is not the answer. Hello! Is anyone listening ... ?
AMSTERDAM (BBC)
Fourteen men are standing trial in the Netherlands charged with belonging to a radical Islamist terror network. Among the accused is Mohammed Bouyeri (pictured at left), already jailed for life for the murder of film-maker Theo van Gogh last year. The trial, the first to come to court under new anti-terror legislation, is being seen as a test case.
The suspects are alleged to be members of the so-called Hofstad group, based in The Hague. Two are also charged with trying to kill police with a grenade. Another of the men is accused of weapons offences after being arrested in Amsterdam last year with a loaded gun.
A court ruled in November that 27-year-old Bouyeri could stand trial a second time despite being given a life sentence in July. He confessed to killing Van Gogh - a critic of radical Islam - out of religious conviction. Bouyeri is alleged to have played a key role in the Hofstad network, hosting meetings of the group in his Amsterdam home and spreading radical texts. Prosecutors are using new anti-terror laws, brought in last year, which introduced a charge of “membership of a criminal organisation with terrorist intent”.
If found guilty, the men face jail sentences of up to 15 years. The BBC’s Geraldine Coughlan in The Hague says the new legislation may help prosecutors, who have suffered setbacks in recent terror trials. There is now more scope for them to build terrorist, rather than criminal, charges and for the defence to challenge evidence from the intelligence services, our correspondent says.
The trial, which starts on Monday morning in a high-security court in Amsterdam known as “the bunker”, is expected to last at least two months. Dutch teenager Samir Azzouz was cleared earlier this year of plotting attacks on Amsterdam airport, government buildings and a nuclear reactor after a court ruled there was no direct evidence.
Posted by The Skipper
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Permalink • Saturday - November 26, 2005
Fwench Cwime Fighters?
Yet another reason to nuke Fwance. We better hurry though because if “les racailles” discover that this is all they have to watch on Frog TV, they will burn the country down to the ground. Which might be a good thing. Who knows, Les Fwench might decide to make a TV series called “Les Ducs De Hazarde” next .... and that would be a crime against humanity ....
PARIS (LONDON TIMES)
STARSKY AND HUTCH are to be reborn as a pair of French cops called Madani and Duval in a Gallic version of the 1970s hit series. The show is being produced by the trendy M6 channel, which hopes to tap into the French love of American television while respecting its legal obligation to make 40 per cent of its programmes in France.
Work on a pilot episode will begin next week with Alexandre Brasseur, the French television actor, taking the part of Starsky, or Madani, as he will be known, the role originally played by Paul Michael Glaser. David Soul’s Hutch has been renamed Duval and will be played by Laurent Hennequin.
Half of the initial 22 episodes will be based on scripts from the original series, which was a success in France when it was broadcast on TF1 between 1978 and 1984. However, Duval and Madani will be more nouvel homme than their American counterparts, who are considered too macho for a contemporary French audience. The part of Captain Harold Dobey, Starsky and Hutch’s gruff boss, will be played by a woman, according to M6. Olivier Jamain, the director, is also looking for the right person for the role of Huggy Bear, whose name will be changed to César.
M Jamain has not yet chosen the car that will replace the red Ford Torino that featured in the 1970s series. With the French manufacturers largely absent from the high-performance vehicle market, the actors may have to settle for a Citroen 2CV, though Madani, otherwise known as Starsky, could have some trouble landing on its considerably smaller bonnet. In real life, French police officers tend to drive family saloons, such as the Renault Scénic and complain that they have difficulty catching crooks in fast German limousines.
M Jamain has already lined up Rémy Julienne, a famous French stuntman, to oversee the spectacular car chases that M6 says will be an integral part of the series. “We are always looking for lasting heroes,” a spokesman for the channel said. “There are no greater heroes than Starsky and Hutch. We are making our own version because everyone has seen the original. “It is also important that we meet our quota for French-made programmes, and this will obviously be included.”
French television is under fire for what critics say is a failure to maintain highbrow cultural traditions. But despite a continued belief in French cultural superiority in some quarters, viewers remain deeply attached to American shows: Dallas, Dynasty, Love Boat, Columbo and Charlie’s Angels are regularly repeated, while French series from the 1970s and 1980s have disappeared.
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Permalink • Monday - November 21, 2005
Horrors!
I have only two words to describe the absolute horror of the following story .... FRENCH ... RAPPERS .....
PARIS (AP)
The beat is infectious, the music sensual. But the words are acid, a rapped cry of wounded pride from the heart of France’s ghettos. “Whatever I do, in France’s mind I will always be just a kid from the projects,” raps Disiz La Peste on his new album. “I know that I fascinate people, because where I come from, succeeding is not easy, and I still bear the stigma of this environment, of my olive skin.”
Three weeks of riots, arson and attacks on police ripped the cover off problems that French hip-hop artists like Disiz have been rapping and raging about for years. Racism, despair, anger, drugs, crime, hostility against police—issues now thrust to the top of the national agenda by France’s worst civil unrest in four decades—have been grist for these urban social commentators for years.
In an interview, Disiz, whose real name is Serigne M’Baye, said it is too simplistic to say that French politicians now accused of having ignored the ghettos’ problems for decades need only to have listened to rap to learn that the lid was ready blow. Instead, everyone needs to examine themselves, their prejudices and their country, he says. That includes both youths from poor suburbs who are too quick to write off their own futures, telling themselves “there is no point in fighting,” and white French he says must ask themselves “Do we really accept immigrants who are French?”
Like other French artists, rappers benefited from legislation that obliges radio stations to broadcast a certain proportion of French songs to ward off English-language dominance. As in the United States, French rappers appeal as much to white rich kids as they do to French-born children of immigrants. French pioneers included Supreme NTM (pictured at left and above). Their song “What are we waiting for” ("Qu’est-ce qu’on attend"), from the 1995 album “Paris bombed” ("Paris sous les bombes"), seems, in light of recent riots, like an early warning sign that was ignored.
“What are we waiting for to set everything aflame? What are we waiting for to no longer follow the rules of the game?” NTM rapped. “We have nothing to lose because we had nothing to start with. I wouldn’t sleep soundly if I were you. The bourgeoisie can quake, the scum are in town.”
Posted by The Skipper
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Permalink • Monday - November 14, 2005
And The Beat Goes On
The Muslim rioters are still burning France down, albeit at a reduced pace. Chirac’s response is to keep the country in lockdown for another ninety days. Yep, that ought to keep a lid on this cauldron of boiling rage. Double, double, toil and trouble .. fire burn and cauldron bubble ..
November 14, 2005, 6:53 AM EST
PARIS (AP)
The French Cabinet approved a bill Monday to extend the country’s state of emergency for three months, while youths set schools ablaze and waged other scattered arson attacks across France. Though the unrest is abating, the bill, if approved by parliament as expected, would allow a 12-day state of emergency to be prolonged until mid-February if needed. The emergency measures empower regions to impose curfews on minors, conduct house searches and take other steps to prevent unrest.
“It is a measure of protection and precaution,” President Jacques Chirac said. Chirac stressed that the measure was “temporary” and that regional officials would use it “only where it is strictly necessary.” About 40 French towns, including France’s third-largest city, Lyon, have used the measure to put curfews for minors into effect.
Overnight, the number of car-torchings—a barometer of the unrest—dropped sharply, with youths setting fire to 284 vehicles, compared to 374 the previous night, police said Monday. There were no clashes between police and rioters. “The lull is confirmed,” national police spokesman Patrick Hamon said. A week ago, 1,400 cars were incinerated in a single night.
The 18 nights of arson attacks and riots—set off by the accidental electrocution deaths of two teens who thought police were chasing them—began in Paris’ poor suburbs, where many immigrants from North and West Africa live with their French-born children in high-rise housing projects. France’s worst unrest since the 1968 student-worker protests is forcing the country to confront decades of simmering anger over racial discrimination, crowded housing and unemployment.
In scattered attacks overnight Sunday-Monday, vandals in the southern city of Toulouse rammed a car into a primary school before setting the building on fire. In northern France, arsonists set fire to a sports center in the suburb of Faches-Thumesnil and a school in the town of Halluin, the North regional government said. A gas canister exploded inside a burning garbage can in the Alpine city of Grenoble, injuring two police officers, the national police said. Three officers were injured elsewhere.
From Sunday to Monday, 115 people were taken into custody, police said. Since the beginning of the unrest, 2,767 people have been arrested. Violence has decreased steadily since France declared a state of emergency Wednesday. The measure, unless extended, is set to end next Sunday. Government spokesman Jean-Francois Cope said the bill approved by the Cabinet on Monday would leave open the possibility of ending the emergency measures before three months are up, if order is restored.
Officials already are turning their attention to helping riot-hit towns recover: European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso proposed Sunday that the European Union give $58 million to France, and said it could make up to $1.17 billion available in longer-term support for suburban jobs and social cohesion. Later Monday, Chirac was to make a televised statement about the violence—his third public comment since the unrest began, the Elysee Palace said. His comments Monday to the Cabinet were reported to journalists by Cope, the spokesman.
Within the next few days, France is expected to start deporting foreigners implicated in the violence, a plan by law-and-order Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy that has raised concerns among human rights groups, and questions among other ministers. Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said he agreed that illegal immigrants could be sent home, but not foreigners with permission to live in France.
“A French person who carried out a crime or a misdemeanor in France cannot be treated in one way while a foreigner with papers in order is treated in another,” he told Europe-1 radio. “It’s not possible.”
Posted by The Skipper
on 11/14/2005 at 07:08 AM
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Permalink • Thursday - November 10, 2005
If It’s Thursday, Belgium Must Be Burning
Not satisfied to watch their cousins to the South burn, loot and riot their way across the media’s front pages, the MOOS-lim gangs in Belgium have started setting fire to Antwerp, Brussels and several smaller cities in what authorities are describing as “copy-cat” rampages. Denmark has already had problems too a few weeks ago. Fortunately the Danes cracked down hard. It will be interesting to see how far this recent asshat behavior spreads ...
Cars Set Ablaze In Belgium In New Copycat Attacks
BRUSSELS (Reuters)
Youths set fire to 15 vehicles across Belgium in a fourth night of attacks that authorities said looked like imitations of violence in France, leading to the far right to call for expulsion of the perpetrators. Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt told Reuters in Singapore the burning of cars in Belgian cities were “isolated incidents” and said they was not comparable to the riots in France, which he described as a “very serious, serious situation.”
The arson attacks late on Wednesday have not sparked worse violence across Belgium, which like France has big Muslim and African immigrant populations. “Burnt-out cars are rare in Belgium,” a spokesman for a government crisis center said on Thursday. “This seems to be an attempt to imitate what is happening in France.”
Ten cars were set ablaze in Brussels, with the others in Antwerp and the smaller towns of Lokeren, Mechelen and Ledeberg, the center said in a statement. There were a number of arrests. Brussels firefighters were called out 25 times to deal with attempted arson attacks, including three petrol bombs.
Belgium has a large immigrant population, many of Moroccan origin, with high unemployment among the young. But unlike France, it does not have a high concentration of immigrants in ghetto-like areas around major cities. The far-right Vlaams Belang party—which captured 25 percent of the vote during regional elections in the northern Flanders region last year—has called for the expulsion of the perpetrators should they turn out to be immigrants.
“(They) are no longer welcome in our country,” Filip Dewinter, a top party leader, said in a statement on his personal Web site. “In the case of foreigners, they need to be expelled. In the case of foreigners who hold the Belgian nationality, they need to be stripped of their nationality,” he said.
Belgian officials have tried to forestall violence by stepping up police patrols and increasing dialogue with migrant community leaders. Violence in French cities has decreased after the government revived emergency powers to curb two weeks of unrest. Verhofstadt, touring Asian cities to attract international investment to Belgium with corporate tax cuts, said there had been no European talks so far about the French unrest.
Posted by The Skipper
on 11/10/2005 at 03:56 PM
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