Well, seems like the British neo-nazi group 'Blood and honour' has managed to give a new meaning to the Beatitude mentioned in the title.
Apparently, those idiots have split into two groups - one that's mainly involved in hate music and a second, more violent gang. And guess what? These two braches are at war, not just with Jews, immigrants and other non-whites, but also WITH EACH OTHER!!! Where's the 'master race' now? I mean, these guys claim to have a 'superior intellect'... . If what they say is right, then I certainly pity us 'untermenschen'. But since I still manage to tie my shoes - as opposed to 99.99 % of all neo-nazis - I remain fairly optimistic.
If they weren't so dangerous, I would almost pity those fools - or does that sound too much like Mr T? No, seriously, imagine your average right-wing Jew-bashing nutcase stepping into a lift - all alone! Can you picture the look on his face when he sees all those buttons? I guess they're the reason why modern skyscrapers are still equipped with staircases. Who else would go to the 1001th floor by stairs?
Ah well, like I said, if they weren't so dangerous ... . Society could actually make money by displaying these criminally insane swastika lovers in some kind of zoo. "Homo Hitlerensis - small brain capacity, no opposable digit, antisocial and xenophobic, no particular skills - do not feed, this species feeds on its own kind". Or like Vlaams Blok/Belang would say: Eigen volk eerst - something my Flemish readers will undoubtedly recognize.
In any case, let's make sure that this lot will soon become an endangered species - and maybe, one day, one beautiful day, an extinct one.
Inspired by Joe Cocker, Vlaams Blok/Belang frontman Filip Dewinter has written a song for his long-time fellow fascist, Frank Van Hecke, entitled, 'You are so dutiful to me'.
In related news, Van Hecke will perform live this week, singing his latest hit, 'With a little help from my fascist friends'.
Belgium, a tiny, peaceful, quiet Western European country with one of the smallest armies in the world. Buggenhout, a teeny tiny rural village in Flanders - one of Belgium's three communities. You'd think the main concern of people living in a village like Buggenhout is some chicken thief.
Wrong!! Buggenhout is home to more than just farmers and chickens. It's also home to the leader of 'Blood, Country, Honour and Loyalty', who was recently detained, along with some 18 members of his nazi terrorist group. And the worst part is that most of these **** are military men and women. Apparently, they were preparing to commit terrorist attacks in order to destabilize Belgian society. Their ultimate goal: a new nazi government who would restore order. Fortunately, this particular 'Blood and Honour' terrorist cell has been dismantled by Belgian law enforcement agencies, who were monitoring the group's activities since 2004.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: nazis are just not that bright. If you want to disrupt society, don't put it on your freakin' web site!! Don't distribute pamphlets saying you'll bomb the hell out of Jews and immigrants. But hey, I'm not complaining. As far as I'm concerned, Vlaams Belang/Blok can put their ideals - their REAL goals - on their web site too, so we can put those **** where they belong (here's a thought: send all nazis to the Middle East - "who's the immigrant now, eh?"). Nevertheless, this whole incident reminds me of the "Bende van Nijvel" - Nijvel Gang - who committed some of the most violent hold-ups in Belgian history. The gang members would 'rob' supermarkets and kill as many people as they could, striking fear into the hearts of Belgian citizens across the country. It's presumed that they, too, were a neo-nazi death squad intended to undermine law and order.
However, the difference between these two cases is that the first group was part of an international conspiracy to establish a "Fourth Reich", while the second group was operating independently (or so we're told). Another difference is that this second group consisted of military personnel, men and women who were sworn to protect this country, NOT attack its citizens in cowardly attempts to establish a fascist state. Let's hope that they'll be prosecuted to the full extent of the law and get the treatment they deserve.
The UN Mine Action Coordination Center, which has an office in the southern port city of Tyre, recently declared that "there are about 285 cluster bomb locations across south Lebanon, and our teams are still doing surveys and adding new locations every day". The UN's Dalya Farran added that "about 30 new locations" are being found per day.
"A lot of them are in civilian areas, on farmland and in people's homes. We're finding a lot at the entrances to houses, on balconies and roofs," Farran said. "Sometimes windows are broken, and they get inside the houses."
So who are the victims of this fine American product that was so graciously delivered to the Lebanese people by Israeli bombers? No, not the Lebanese army and certainly not Hezbollah, but ordinary citizens, people like you and me, children, elderly people, families trying to find their belongings amid the rubble that was once their home.
But hey, the American government is not to blame, because they had a secret agreement with the Israelis, stating that these bombs would only be used against soldiers. Israel didn't just break the Geneva Convention , but also US rules on the use of cluster bombs, so the US State Department will immediately "launch an investigation". However, economic or other sanctions will not imposed on Israel, whatever the outcome of this investigation may be.
Remember when Bush asked himself, after the 9/11 attacks, "why do they hate us?" Well, this is why.
Municipal elections in Belgium, set for October, will be another test for the country's fragile democracy.
Sounds like something you would read in an article on the Democratic Republic of Congo, doesn't it?Unfortunately, democracy in some Western European countries is in danger of being replaced by fascist regimes whose aim is to rid society of people who are 'different', i.e. non-white, non-European immigrants or refugees. Just look at some of the Vlaams Blok/Belang election posters and you'll know what I'm saying.
However, what bothers me most is that people in Western Europe have forgotten their history and I'm not talking about the crusades or the battle of Waterloo. No, I'm talking about what happened here only 60 years ago!!!
Now, I know some people will argue that 60 years is "like ancient history, dude. Contemporize, man". And I'm fully aware of the fact that I have been going on and on about this particular subject, but I strongly believe that we have a responsibility, not only to remembrance of the victims of the Third Reich, but to our fellow citizens, our neighbours. The responsibility to protect them against these nazi wannabees, against persecution, against genocide. And do not tell me that this will never happen again, no matter what. That Europeans are far too sensible. It happened before, it can happen again!!!
The danger lies in the fact that these far-right rejects pose as decent, hard-working people, pilars of the community. And their message doesn't sound too bad either: crime is on the rise, unemployment numbers are soaring, and so on. And guess who's to blame? That's right: foreigners, communists and those freaking tree huggers. So we have to protect our society, our children against these misfits, and put them on a plane to wherever the hell they came from.
But as you know, reality is much more complex than that, and you cannot simply blame everything that's gone wrong on one particular group of people. We all know how that goes... .
finally I'm back again after a three-month absence. I wasn't that far away, but nevertheless it seemed another world.
So, what happened recently in Europe? In Antwerp, Belgium, an 18-year old wacko shot and killed a Malaysian au pair girl and the baby she was taking care of and wounded a Turkish woman. And guess what? This psycho is - naturally - a Vlaams Blok / Belang member. After being shot by the police, he told investigators he intended to kill every foreigner he saw in the street. Killing the baby was "an accident". Or like Bush would call it, "collateral damage".
And last week, another 18-year old was arrested on suspicion of trying to copy the Antwerp killings. On its Web site, the VB states that it has nothing to do with these racist killers. All they did was brainwash some teenagers, repeating over and over that all foreigners and "coloured people" are stealing their jobs.
Municipal elections in Belgium later this year will put the tiny kingdom, or rather it's western region Flanders, to the test. Will Flemish people vote - for the third or fourth time in a row - for those Vlaams Blok / Belang / Blank fascist bastards I've already mentioned in one of my first articles on this blog? Can we expect a landslide victory in, say, Antwerp, the country's second city where they have won a quarter (!)of the vote in past elections? Or has the people of Flanders finally become a little bit smarter or a tad more tolerant?
I just come to think of it, it's no coincidence that for years now the VB has tried to gain control of one of Europe's largest ports: they probably think they can actually export their message of hate to any country in the world. Their next goal must be Brussels Airport.
All jokes aside, they annoy the crap out of me. Especially since they give Flemish people a bad name. I was born in Flanders, and I love my country. But you don't see me kicking "foreigners" out or desecrate Jewish or Muslim graves. Patriotism has nothing, I repeat, NOTHING to do with what the VB preaches. Now that I'm spending some time abroad, I would like to be able to show my face outside instead of being ashamed of being Flemish.
So I beg you, Flanders, PLEASE show some common sense in the upcoming elections. Don't believe those fools who will take away our freedom the minute they're in charge!!! Are you so afraid of taking responsibility yourselves? Do you just want a "strong leader" who will solve all of our problems? If you are, think about the last time this kind of thing happened in Western Europe. Yes, the German economy was a shambles, the country had not yet recovered from their defeat and "foreigners" appeared to be all over the place and doing well for themselves. So the newly elected "strong leader" was going to make things better again.
Just for the record, if the Vlaams Blok starts saying that they will "relocate" all Arabs, Jews, gipsies, Africans, and so on, to uninhabited parts of the new EU member states (i.e. Eastern Europe), you will know what they're actually saying, right? If not, check your history books. I'd say it's about **** time we learn from our past.
It's hard being a criminal or an asylum seeker in Europe these days. Not that I know from experience, but the Council of Europe's latest reports on the British and French prison systems and police forces leave little to the imagination. Alvaro Gil-Robles, the European Commissioner for Human Rights has fiercely condemned living conditions in overcrowded French and British prisons in an interview published in the daily newspaper Libération'.
He said that the premises for holding foreigners in Paris were the worst he had seen anywhere, except in the ex-Soviet republic country of Moldavia. He was also critical of the holding cells at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport. Stating that the cells were "assez digne", he questioned why detainees had only five days to complete asylum applications in French, a language many did not speak. He found totally unacceptable' the fact that asylum applicants needing an interpreter must pay for it themselves and often there are none available.
Britains prison system too is in an advanced state of decay and chaos. Overcrowded and unhygienic conditions mean that prisoners are dehumanised and humiliated on a daily basis, including regular bullying by demoralised and sometimes racist staff.
After reading these reports, it finally hit me: police instructors from various NATO member states are now training the new Iraqi and Afghan police forces. No wonder living conditions in prisons there are so similar to those in western jails!
All joking aside, I sometimes wonder what we're doing. We try to convince the world that our society should serve as an example, that our way of life is far superior to 'theirs' in that we respect one another. I believe it was Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn who wrote that one can measure a society by its prisoners. I think if he were alive today, Solzhenitsyn would take it even one step further.
Europe's leaders have condemned the violence that erupted over the Danish cartoons - and not a moment too soon!! I mean, it was about freakin' time they said something, anything! They have also expressed their solidarity with Denmark and all the EU member states which are targeted by the boycott. No talk of countermeasures, though. They're still afraid of their own Muslim population may react.
So Solana has started a dialogue with the Secretary General of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, who has compared the controversial cartoons of the Muslim prophet Muhammad to the September 2001 attacks. Meeting with Europe's foreign policy chief to discuss a ban on religious defamation, the OIC leader said, "Unfortunately, people in the Muslim world feel that this is a new 9/11 against themselves. In Europe, unfortunately, Muslims have taken the place of Jews during World War II." And while the Arab News reports that the secretary general claims his group "deplores" violent acts of protesters, he says, "we have to defend the rights of the Muslim Ummah for its holy values."
Now, I know that there's a general feeling of mistrust among Europeans against all foreigners, not just against Muslims. Anyone who dresses differently than we do, who doesn't fully master our language or who's not white, is looked down on, even feared. If we would just take the trouble to get to know these people, we would soon realise that they are in fact not that different from us and our society would be a better place to live in.
However, if people come to a European country hoping to find a better life they should show some respect for our democratic principles, e.g. freedom of speech. After all, these freedoms are the foundation of our society, our holy values.
Let's see, what happened during the weekend? Ah yes, Dick Cheney shot a 78-year-old man. The vice-president's spin doctors are calling the incident a case of mistaken identity. Apparently, Cheney thought he was aiming at a quail.
Mistaken identity, my foot! I happen to know from a reliable eyewitness that America's No 2 (or rather No 1) was participating in a good old Southern manhunt!
Surprised? Well, don't forget who makes up the Bush administration: a bunch of Kompassionate Konservative Killers!!
Can you picture it? Every weekend, Rove, W, Cheney, Rumsfeld and the rest of that lot go on a manhunting party. Equipped with the latest laser-scope elephant guns, they track their prey - usually provided by the NSA. Old homeless people, tortured prisoners from Guantanamo, sometimes even GOP dissidents (weakened by a couple of weeks of starvation, of course).
And so, to this day, this good old tradition, which started in Mississippi in 1866, is kept alive by the good ol' Dixie boys - "Be vewy vewy quiet, we're huntin' niggers".
No, I'm just kidding!! This 78-year-old probably just said something like: "Well Dick, in retrospect, don't you think going into Iraq may have been a mistake?"
A couple of months ago, Unicef Belgium started an awareness campaign for children in war zones. For this purpose, the organisation ordered a cartoon from the American company that holds the copyrights to the Smurfs. This cartoon shows the well-known little blue creatures singing and dancing around a camp fire. Suddenly, they hear the sound of heavy bombers flying over and bombs start raining down on them. Baby Smurf is sitting in the rubble, crying his little eyes out, dead smurfs lying next to him.
Unicef Belgium's intention was to shake us awake. If real pictures of real children in real misery can't shock the public any longer, then something else had to be done.
And the world WAS shocked and outraged by this "horrible sacrilege". One Dutch newspaper wrote: "Is nothing sacred anymore, not even the Smurfs?" I think the cartoon was an excellent idea!
Yesterday, I was thinking about all the commotion Unicef's cartoon had caused and then the infamous Muhammad cartoons also came to mind. We in the West are now saying: "Do they really have to make such a fuss about 12 stupid cartoons? They're crazy!" But are we any better? Bomb the Smurfs village for humanitarian reasons and the whole world is appalled ... talk about craziness.
Have you read CNN's article on the Muhammad cartoons on cnn.com? I have, and once again CNN has shown its true nature. Instead of bringing stories in an objective manner, it displays a bias against Europe. The article states that several European newspapers have published the prophet cartoons to provoke and enrage Muslims even more. And at the end it says "CNN has chosen to not show the cartoons out of respect for Islam. Of all the two-faced, back-stabbing sell-outs they must be the worst!!
Instead of showing support for Europe they're dropping us like ton of bricks. Remember 9/11? We were the first to send medical units, blood packs, etc. And let's not forget political support.
You could argue that the US didn't bring the September 11th attacks on itself. Well, let's see: unconditional support of the Israeli occupation, no military or humanitarian aid whatsoever for countries like Chechnya, not even a conviction of Russian violence against civilians (why should it, after all the US has no economic or strategic interests there), and so on. During the Afghan War, the US made Osama Bin Laden, supplied him and his Mudjahedin with training, weapons and ammunition, even Stinger missiles. Then, on 9/11, America was surprised this had all come back to bite it in the ass. And yet the EU showed its sympathy.
Now that the tables are turned, American media are giving us the finger - "screw you, it's your own damn fault" - and at the same time they're showing Muslims how much they respect their religion. What a bunch of kiss asses. Trying to discredit Europe and to come off as the good guys. It makes me sick!!
I don't know about you, but I could really use a laugh after all this bad news. So here goes:
What's the difference between George Bush and a chimpanzee? One has nearly the mental abilities of a human child and the other likes to eat bananas.
I've been hearing a lot of speculating lately on which country the US - together with Britain and Israel - will invade: Syria or Iran? Or both?
I vote none of the above. Here's why:
1. These two "rogue states" have entered into a treaty last year promising to help each other in case of foreign invasion.
2. Despite Rummy's rethoric, US forces in the region are stretched thin.
3. Iran can count on two powerful allies: Russia and China.
And Ahmadinejad is fully aware of the fact that the UN Security Council won't impose sanctions on his country. France and Germany aren't eager to endorse this kind of measure - Iran is a trading partner of theirs. So he removes all the cameras from his nuclear facilities. He prohibits the IAEA from carrying out surprise inspections. He continues to defy and provoke the international community, because no-one reacts.
In any case, Ahmadinejad's a clever bugger, isn't he? I mean, who else has taunted the western world like he's been doing and got away with it?
Protests in Brussels yesterday. Muslims demanding that no images of Allah or His Prophet should be made. Not by Muslims or anyone else for that matter. They think that the Quran applies to everyone, everywhere.
Wrong!! I have the liberty to choose my religion, my political party or my bowling club. It's called freedom of religion. It's a democracy thing. Even if I chose not to believe in God, no-one, and I mean no-one, has the right to tell me to do otherwise. Especially not some fundamentalist **** who's trying to convert the entire world, whether he's Jewish, Christian or Muslim. NO-ONE tells me what I should or should not believe. I'm perfectly capable of making up my own mind. And so are you!!
Like I said in Part one of this op-ed, the citizens of Europe deserve more than this continuing silence from our leaders. It's about **** time they start defending the rights of the people they are supposed to govern. Avoiding these "sensitive issues" will not solve the underlying problem, namely the intolerance of many Muslims. It's high time Islam evolved into a truly great religion, not just in numbers but also in wisdom.
On the 4th of February, angry protesters set fire to the Danish and Norwegian embassies in the Syrian capital Damascus. The next day, Lebanese protesters followed their example and torched the Danish consulate in Beirut.
Over what? Twelve cartoons! Madness!! And how does the EU react? Javier Solana, the Union's Foreign Affairs czar, has called for peace and respect. Respect towards religious sensitivities, that is. What is wrong with us Europeans! No country in the world would EVER tolerate an attack on its soil, on its sovereignty!! I'm not saying we should send in the cavalry or anything like that. All I'm saying is that we should not let our fear hold us hostage. Fear for another Paris scenario. Fear for our fellow citizens who happen to be Muslim. I'm saying it's the EU's duty to protect its citizens both at home and abroad.
It's always the same with us. When the US were planning to invade Iraq on the basis of outright lies, what was our reaction? 25 member states, 3 different groups: those in favour, those against and then of course the doubters. Instead of acting as one, we showed the world we were weak. And today we still are. Instead of condemning these vicious attacks on two of our member states, we are just standing by. I can hear Blair and Chirac thinking: "if we say anything, how will our Muslim population react? Well, maybe it's safer to let this whole thing blow over."
Has anyone ever noticed the uncanny likeness between Russian president Wladimir Putin and Montgomery Burns, the rich villain from "The Simpsons"? Well, me and my youngest brother have and we think it's hilarious! Just imagine Putin sitting at his desk in his Kremlin office, plotting his next move. "Chechen terrorists trying to kick my vast, vast army out of their country? Well, we'll see about that!" And after yet another 'overwhelming Russian victory' he'd say "Excellent". Maybe this is a good idea for Danish cartoonists.
Do you know the Belgian prime minister Guy Verhofstadt? Ever read "The velveteen rabbit"? See the connection?
If you can think of other heads of state or heads of government who resemble cartoon characters or funny vegetables, please let me know!
A series of cartoons depicting Mohammed as a terrorist has set off protests in the Muslim world and a boycott of Danish products. Jyske bank of Denmark estimates that about 11,000 people will lose their jobs as a direct result.
Every year, around the time of Passover, well-respected Saudi newspapers publish colums written by well-respected jounalists claiming that Christians and Jews drink the blood of children during Passover rituals.
Ever seen protests sparked by such articles in the streets of Brussels, London, Rome, Paris or Madrid? No. Let me tell you why: because here in Europe, we either don't know about the existence of such articles or we simply don't care. So why do they? Because you cannot just turn everything into a joke? Because you have to show a modicum of respect for other people's religious beliefs? Hmmm ... cartoons depicting Jews and Christians having a blood-tasting party isn't exactly what I call showing respect.
I don't mean to play the blame game because it's certainly no solution to this global climate of intolerance. Is there a solution at all? I strongly believe there is! Let's take a look at medieval Spain. Toledo, Cordoba, Sevilla,etc. These places were home to Christians, Muslims and Jews who all lived there side by side peacefully. How come they could and we can't? The answer is mutual respect. Well, that and the absence of fundamentalism - "introduced" in the late 1400s by the Catholic monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella.
So, you see, there is a solution to all this fear and hatred. All we have to do is follow the Spanish example. And remember the old saying "there's no time like the present". So when you go out there and you meet a Christian, a Jew, a Muslim, a Sikh or even Dave himself, just treat him like a person, without any prejudice or resentment. The world will be a better place for it ... and you a better person.
According to a study conducted by the Dutch government, the so-called 'gabbers' (Lonsdale-wearing, immigrant-harassing, white supremacist skinheads) pose a threat to public order. However, the good news is that they're no threat to the democratic constitutional state. Now isn't that a relief? And although these youths try to provoke by wearing a certain brand of clothes, shaving their heads, 'decorating' the streets with swastikas and waving flags bearing Celtic crosses, they do not form an ultra-right movement. Or at least that's what the Balkenende-administration is trying to sell us.
HELLO!! Not an ultra-right movement??? I mean, what do they have to do more? Build a camp? Round up Jews, gypsies and other "untermenschen"? Start another Holocaust? When are we going to wake up and realize that the 1930s WILL happen all over again if we keep ignoring the facts? Gabbers in Holland, Jean-Marie LePen (Front National) in France, Dewinter & Van Hecke (Vlaams Blok/Belang) in Belgium, etc. Isn't it about time we took our responsibility and weed out this evil that is threatening our society?
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for democracy and people vote however they want. But these farright **** lost the right to participate in a democratic state the moment they slaughtered 15 million men, women and children like cattle.
Just think about it! Do we want this to happen again? I know I don't!
1. Are you also fed up with all this BS churned out by the so-called traditional media and knowledgeable pundits?
2. Would you like a more objective (read: non-commercial) view on world events?
3. This blog will change your life!! Are you ready for this?
If your answer to at least one of these questions is yes, visit my blog regularly!! (If not, I hope you'll lead a happy and full life. And don't forget: Ignorance is Knowledge)
Chechen terrorists trying to kick my vast, vast army out of their country? Well, we'll see about that!
