Month: September 2006

Switzerland Opposes Unlimited Immigration

In another sign that EU members are waking up to the fact that full-blown multiculturalism might not be the best thing for the member countries, Switzerland has voted to raise the barriers higher to immigrants and asylum-seekers. Now if only France, Italy, and Spain would follow.

UPDATE: Dave Schuler corrects me below in comments: Switzerland is NOT a member of the EU. My mistake, and thanks for the correction. This is a real head-slapper for me since Switzerland’s neutrality in all things is well-known, so EU membership was a poor assumption. The blogmind corrects all in the end.

In another sign that EU members are waking up to the fact that In another sign that some of the people in Europe are waking up to the fact that full-blown multiculturalism might not be the best thing for the member countries, their countries, Switzerland has voted to raise the barriers higher to immigrants and asylum-seekers. Now if only France, Italy, and Spain would follow. ABC story. The government had already narrowly passed the new legislation, but multiculturalist opposition forced it to a national popular referendum vote in which two thirds or more of the Swiss voted for the legislation.

According to early poll projections, Switzerland has voted heavily in favour of making it harder for asylum-seekers to gain entry to the rich Alpine state.

Despite warnings of damage to Switzerland’s humanitarian reputation, some two-thirds of voters appeared to have said ‘yes’ in referendums on laws limiting access for non-European job-seekers and making the country’s asylum rules amongst the West’s toughest.

They seemed also to have rejected a call by centre-left parties to redirect part of the central bank’s profit to the public pension system – a move opposed fiercely by the powerful Swiss National Bank.

“The revision of the asylum law looks to reserve Switzerland’s humanitarian tradition while at the same time stopping abuse,” right-wing Justice Minister Christoph Blocher, a strong backer of the new laws, had said during campaigning.

Bin Laden Death Reports Unsubstantiated per Saudi Government

Since the genesis of this sensational story was purported Saudi intel memos I have to chalk this up as another false report, like others that have come out near elections.

Since the genesis of this sensational story was purported Saudi intel memos I have to chalk this up as another false report. Here’s the ABC story.

The Saudi Government has pulled the rug from under a French newspaper report about the alleged death of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

In a statement the Government says it “has no evidence to support” the contention that the world’s most wanted man is dead.

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has no evidence to support recent media reports that Osama bin Laden is dead,” the Saudi Embassy in the US said.

“Information that has been reported otherwise is purely speculative and cannot be independently verified.”

The question remaining is who put this report out there, and why? The possibilities might be  that this was a ploy to get UBL to prove he’s still there, it could be election fodder: something put out to decrease the urgency terror, or it could be UBL trying to distract.

India is accusing Pakistan as noted in my previous report.

Reuters speculates that this is a ploy to cause UBL to surface, one which might be needed if the Waziristan pact has actually caused him to relocate.

It was fun while it lasted, but I’m not playing here anymore, Bin Laden lives, we still need to find him and figuratively put his head on a pike at ground zero.

Reports of Bin Laden’s Death

The French Press paper L’est Republicain and the Hindustani Times are reporting of Osama Bin Laden’s death, this coming from leaked security memos that included information from Saudi Arabia intelligence services. France is investigating the leaks, but the memos report UBL dieing in Pakistan from Typhoid in late August. Article below:

 ubl2 Dead.jpg

 UBL DEAD! ?? Not

Les services secrets saoudiens auraient acquis la conviction que le fondateur d’Al-Qaïda est mort.

Chirac said he was “a bit surprised” at the leak and has asked Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie to probe how a document from a French foreign intelligence service was published in the French press.

 

The French Press paper L’est Republicain and the Hindustani Times are reporting of Osama Bin Laden’s death, this coming from leaked security memos that included information from Saudi Arabia intelligence services. France is investigating the leaks, but the memos report UBL dieing in Pakistan from Typhoid in late August. This might explain a few things, like Clinton’s recent rant, the funeral not fired upon report, and the recent tactics of the Taliban, which caused 1000-1500 Taliban deaths the past month. UPDATE: CNN carrying this story at 9:11 AM central. Update: Fox News now carrying the story. 11:40 central

Update: Un-named Saudi sources are quoted by Times.com as saying that UBL was ill etc., however Fox News just flashed a letter onscreen from the Saudi Government denying the report. Interesting, could this be another “faked intelligence memo” of the sort that tend to come out at election time? Is this an attempt by the left to sidetrack the issue of terrorism? The last two fake memos regarded Bush’s guard duty, and the yellow-cake plame affair; these past fakeries should by now have us suspicious at least. I will keep playing however, Osama is dead until proven otherwise.

Update: This quote from the Sauds: Saudi Arabia’s Interior Ministry offered no details. “I’ve heard the reports, but I have no information at all. I have no idea,” spokesman Mansour al-Turki told The Associated Press..

Continue reading “Reports of Bin Laden’s Death”

Waziristan Pact Update

One of the more important events this week flew somewhat under the radar, we had a visit from President General Musharaf and with him came the governor of the rebellious Waziristan province, the possible home to Bin Laden, and one where a peace pact was recently made.

One of the more important events this week flew somewhat under the radar, we had a visit from President General Musharaf and with him came the governor of the rebellious Waziristan province, the possible home to Bin Laden, and one where a peace pact was recently made. Some, like CT Blog and Bill Roggio think the pact is more capitulation than substance, but I am holding out hope that it will make for good things over time. More is becoming public on the Waziristan Truce, the Pak Tribune prints the key points

Continue reading “Waziristan Pact Update”

Why Natural Foods are Bad for You

The latest ecoli outbreak demonstrates why natural farming could be bad for you… while investigators are wandering the Salinas valley searching for source of the outbreak, I suspect the answer lies right underfoot.

In the continuing series “Liberals Lied People Died” this week’s update is about natural foods. Germs kill more people worldwide than any other cause, including old age, but for years we’ve been told that additives, preservatives, and modern agri-business are bad for us. The latest e-coli outbreak demonstrates why natural farming could be bad for you… while investigators are wandering the Salinas valley searching for source of the outbreak, I suspect the answer lies right underfoot.

Could it be that they grow the Spinach in fields coated with cow-shit perhaps?

Give me good ol’ agribusiness and chemically pure ammonium nitrate any day thank you! While I am making fun of the natural-food eating left-coast, this does have a somber follow-up: two children and and elderly man have died from this outbreak. The fact that liberals lied and people died is not humorous to the parents of those dead children.

When you hear that preservatives are bad for you, think again. When you hear that modern farming methods are bad, think again and do a bit more reading.

From Yahoo news:

“There are some situations of concern, may I say, that would warrant some possible corrections in the near future,” Roh told reporters by telephone. When asked to elaborate, a spokeswoman broke in and said the FDA would not, citing the ongoing nature of the investigation. The farm and plant inspections are expected to last another week.

Last week, Natural Selection Foods LLC of San Juan Bautista, Calif., recalled all its spinach and spinach-containing products. Many people reported eating the company’s spinach, sold under multiple brands, before falling sick. And a package of Dole baby spinach, one of those brands, taken from a victim’s refrigerator tested positive for E. coli

Bush and Musharraf Meet; Discuss Waziristan, Nuclear Energy, and Kashmir

During the Press Q&A afterwards the humorous exchange came when reporters asked him about the statement regarding Armitage threatening to “Bomb Pakistan back to the stone age,” whereupon Musharraf quipped back that they would have to read his book to find out.

bush musharraf.jpgPresident Bush and President General Musharraf met today and discussed many things, including mutual cooperation in the War on Terror. It was significant that NFWP Governor Aurikzai also was there as he was in the delegation to Kabul earlier this month. The group discussed cross-border patrols and incursions, the F-16 deal, peaceful nuclear energy programs, and the import of concluding the Kashmir peace.

 

Continue reading “Bush and Musharraf Meet; Discuss Waziristan, Nuclear Energy, and Kashmir”

34 Taliban dead; Waziristan update

As reported here previously there are large groups of expatriate Taliban moving out of Pakistan with their families, so there are bound to be more clashes as the returning Taliban try to re-establish inside Afghanistan. The Taliban also appear splintered, and there are separate, un-coordinated efforts underway in three separate regions, as if an axis had shifted, or as if a leadership vacuum had formed.

Thirty Four more Taliban are dead, and I fully expect this trend to contiinue. As reported here previously there are large groups of expatriate Taliban moving out of Pakistan with their families, so there are bound to be more clashes as the returning Taliban try to re-establish inside Afghanistan.

The Taliban also appear splintered, and there are separate, un-coordinated efforts underway in three separate regions, as if an axis had shifted, or as if a leadership vacuum had formed. It could just be that the real leadership is incommunicado, underground, or on the move. The Taliban returning appear now to be poorly armed and equipped as well compared to past encounters.

Continue reading “34 Taliban dead; Waziristan update”

Charlie Freak

Another rough day, so just a picture and a poem.

 sunset.jpg

Charlie Freak

Charlie Freak had but one thing to call his own.
Three weight ounce pure golden ring, no precious stone.
Five nights without a bite, No place to lay his head,
And if nobody takes him in he’ll soon be dead.
On the street he spied my face, I heard him hail.

Continue reading “Charlie Freak”

What the Pope Said

I’ve excerpted the pertinent parts of the Pope’s speech, and as you can read below, these are clearly not the opinions of the Pope, but rather a scholarly, and timely springboard to the main topic of his speech, the ties between Greek Logos or or reason, and modern Christian faith.

I’ve excerpted the pertinent parts of Pope Benedict XVI’s speech, and as you can read below these are clearly not the opinions of the Pope, but rather a scholarly springboard to the main topic of his speech, the ties between Greek Logos (word and reason) and modern Christian faith. This is tie easily seen by the adoption of Stoic philosophy and other Greek schools to Christianity. (if you read Meditations by Marcus Aurelius you will see many passages that many priests would agree with, or even say today if they replaced the word “gods” with God)

It’s timely that the Pope brought this up as there were forced conversions not only in the fourteenth century, but just last month in Gaza.

Continue reading “What the Pope Said”