Blogging the democratic revolution
Two days ago, I reported on my blog the news of the decision of current Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi to resign. Here’s the text I had written: The Left lost at the Senate over a vote on the Italian Afghanistan mission. Now it????????s up to the President of the Republic to accept the resignation (he????????ll most probably do so) and decide whether to schedule new elections (I don????????t think he????????ll do so, as he is from a party of the current gov????????t). If elections are scheduled, they might be held in a few months. And, according to all polls,…
The Spanish are known for doing their protests big. Everytime they’ve had an anti-ETA or anti-terrorism march, it’s been huge. They’ve been dealing with terrorism for decades like few developed countries have, and with nearly a thousand deaths accumulated over the years, the airport bombing two weeks ago have been them over the edge. Tonight, rather than going out to the nightclubs or spending time with family and friends, all of Madrid poured into the streets together as one with just one thing to say: No to Eta! From where I am at an internet cafe, it looks like there…
A large reason for my absence here from Publius, beside a hectic end to the year, has been that I’ve been enjoying my vacation time with my family here in Madrid and Andorra. Since I’ve been in the latter for the past several days, it’s been nearly impossible to get on the internet without forking out five euros an hour at the nearest cafe, but a week is long enough to remain holed off from the rest of the world. And frankly, my fingers were getting fidgety. I was in Madrid the day that the bomb went off at Terminal…
Peter Mork at Economics with a Face has some intelligent observations about ongoing efforts in certain European cities to eliminate all – repeat ALL – traffic rules in the name of fewer traffic accidents, an idea that scares the heck out anyone who first hears about it. But it turns out, it’s not that crazy an idea at all. Rule-free traffic, seen in some third-world cities, where no one thought to set any rules, turns out to work very nicely. Now Europe’s working on it the concept. Someone apparently went and looked at how well things worked on this matter…
First, some words from France’s resident tough guy, Nicolas Sarkozy: I would like to say one thing, in what is my conception of the Republic, security is the responsibility of the State, I am against militias, I am against the private ownership of firearms, and I????????m trying to make you think about that. If you are assaulted by an armed burglar, he????????ll use his weapon more effectively than you anyway so you????????re risking your life. If the criminal is not armed and you are and you shoot, your life will be ruined, because killing someone over a theft is not…
Is there any greater freedom than to be a bozo? That’s the way it seems with Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, the prime minister of Spain. He really, really, really hates the U.S. He hates it with a loathing that would challenge Hugo Chavez. He kicked the U.S. out of the Columbus Day parade in Spain a few years ago and invited in Cuba instead. Columbus Day – which in Spain is National Day – is a big deal there. Then in another incident, Zapatero pointedly refused to stand for the passage of the U.S. flag at a parade. “Why should…
Europe. Treasure box of civilization that every other civilization on earth, grand and small, old and new, owns a few pearls and diamonds from. Reason, individualism, liberty, fairness and linear progress from the Judeo-Christian European heritage have affected human aspirations all over the earth – everything from Pakistani kids longing for Nikes and Iranian women demanding their human rights, to India demanding its place at the UN Security Council. All of these are derived from the heritage of reason which began in Europe. But the LAST people who seem to be aware of this are Europeans themselves. They don’t even…
Gates of Vienna posts and interesting article, along with his own commentary, regarding a recent referendum in Switzerland in which around 2/3 of the population voted to tighten the country’s asylum laws. This is what happened: 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…
Rightwing Swedish babes celebrate their victory over socialism Source: Reuters, via Yahoo! News In a wonderful surprise, Sweden’s center-right bloc has defeated the long-ruling socialist coalition, in Sunday’s parliamentary election, 48%-46.2%. A new government is being formed now. The winners are a four-party bloc who’ve been out of power for 25 years. They have just ousted the ruling 3-party socialist coalition which has held power in its current lineup for a decade. Meanwhile, taking in just 35% of the vote, the socialist party itself had its worst showing since 1914! The center-right, led by 41-year-old Fredrik Reinfeldt of the centrist…
The death of great Italian journalist continues to reverberate, oddly intersecting the entry of the pope into the struggle against Islamofascism, and some great essays have been written about her and her legacy. I’ve been really moved by them and present a small roundup of the best of this writing: Victor Davis Hanson has a collection of resonant thoughts in a short informal essay, describing his sorrow at her death and why it has hit us all more deeply in this age of terror and Islamofascism. This is one I read several times. It can be read on Pajamas Media…
Major mainstream television networks in France and Brazil have both taken aim at the odious regime of Fidel Castro in Cuba. And I don’t mean something small. They’ve put out huge high-advertising long programs out, firing a unusual cannonade at the dictatorship. This has never happened before. These TV programs document Cuba’s long lines, miserable shortages as a way of life, bureaucracy, commissars, vaunted health care that is nothing but a failure, monstrous communist indoctrination that passes for “education,” secret police surveillance, jailing of dissidents, and complete lack of freedom. It’s realistic programming on Cuba that no one in either…
Oriana Fallaci, freedom fighter Source: Mlle Glass’ photos The great Oriana Fallaci, a clear-eyed journalist and universal freedom fighter for democracy, has died. We all knew she had cancer but this is very sad and affecting news. Her impact on world events cannot be underestimated. The Italian journalist went places no one else would go and saw through everything. No dictator could fool her. She exposed and clarified clowns like Khaddafi and others so that we could see what the real tyrannical enemy was like. At the end of her life, she denounced Islamofascism and extolled the value of civilization,…
Miss Indonesia Universe, crowned Aug. 25, 2006 Source: Reuters, via Yahoo! News! Miss Kazakhstan World 2005, Miss Kazakhstan Universe 2006 Source: Missosology Miss England World 2005 Source: Yahoo!, via My Pet Jawa Miss Afghanistan Earth 2003 Source: Wikipedia What do these girls have in common? They’re all Muslim beauty queens, showing off their hair, faces, arms, legs, and much more. Nothing remarkable about that in modern society – everyone’s got to wear a bathing suit sometimes, and no, I don’t mean this – but for perverse, repressed, bitter, dirty-minded Islamofascists, it’s something that’s utterly forbidden. The Age of Democratic Revolution…
The British are rebelling. Their target is their own idiot authorities, the lunatic leftists who’ve managed to get into power on the coattails of the estimable Tony Blair, who’s from the Labour Party, which attracts all kinds. They’ve gotten control of the BBC, of the city of London government, of the regulatory agencies. They are the ones who are putting out all these politically correct rulings, rulings designed to appease local Islamofascists and far-leftist lunatics eager to meddle with and remodel British life, while British voters suffer. That’s why they are rebelling. The Dihly Mail, a newspaper that I had…
On July 31st, Basel transforms into Beirut. All day long, loud explosions disrupted the otherwise peaceful and introverted nature of this Swiss city on the border of France and Germany. Huge bangs near and far pierced the air and shook buildings. The first one I heard as I walked down the street that afternoon had made me duck. There was no bombing, however, or terrorist attack. It was mostly teenagers lighting off powerful rockets that are sold in little stands by the grocery stores in preparation for the coming events. August 1 is Swiss National Day, considered the country’s birthday…
I am writing this piece in response to the many allegations circulating in the Web regarding the Zidane-Materazzi case. One version has already been told, so I want the readers to read the other,too. There is an ongoing inquiry opened by the FIFA to find out what has really happened betwen the two players. In my opinion, everyone of us should refrain from expressing summary claims without having any proof. So far, the proof we have is that Zidane has committed a vile act of violence by head-butting a rival player. False claims have circulated according to which Materazzi would…
The Italian national team landed yesterday evening (Italy local time) at Pratica di Mare airport, Rome. They have been awarded by the Italian institutions (it was hard to me to see Prodi and company to award my players). Then, they walked in the streets of Rome on board of a bus, waving Italian flags and inciting the 600 thousand people who were waving flags and singing. Regarding Materazzi, we can never know the truth behind the claims of Zidane. Already, several arab and Islamist websites are ‘condemning’ Materazzi. Here is a list of what is circulating in the arab and…
French fans celebrate their World Cup victory in Paris Source: Reuters, via Yahoo! The French team accomplished a beautiful victory against the Portuguese team today, putting it in the World Cup final match versus Italy on July 9. The French took it very well and were out celebrating the penalty-kick victory match in the streets of Paris. It sure beats burning Citroens and kicking in shop windows, no? Maybe the game did not entirely have a satisfactory endimg but it was a fine thing for France, because their team had been so underestimated, so dismissed as ‘all washed up’ and…
The last World Cup Italy won was on 1982 and I was only 3 months ! I am deeply believing that Italy can win the 2004 World Cup, regardless of whether it will be against France or Portugal! German newspapers such as Der Spiegel insulted the Italians these days, including headlined , before the match: “Goodbye Pizza”. And Pizza is still there! Just to clarify something: I am convinced that the majority of the German people are not supporting the insults written by a few misguided German media outlets. However, below are a few nice photos! Del Piero’s wife. Del…
French fans cheering their team’s victory Source: AP, Reuters and AFP, via Yahoo! News Here’s why soccer is fun – France unexpectedly beat powerhouse Spain in the quarter finals of the match, 3-1, in a very good game. Nobody expected France to do it, not even me, but sure enough, they did. Spain’s a very strong, very impressive team, and they looked hard to beat. But the French team beat Korea earlier, which is not an easy soccer team, and perhaps the effort that went into that was underestimated. Anyway, most everyone wrote off France after their dismal performance in…
Carlos The Jackal, in his yeayyy-babeeee days Source: 24-Hour Party People Just as Venezuelan Hugo Chavez plays the role of clown-dictator in the world Axis Of Evil, so does Venezuelan terrorist Carlos The Jackal play the bozo in the world War On Terror. It’s like a bad parody that keeps repeating itself. Not that his crimes aren’t real. The fat balding terrorist, who had his heyday in the 1970s as an International Man Of Mystery, shooting up OPEC meetings and taking diplomats hostage, in the end ended up in Sudan down there with bin Laden, and eventually was scooped up…
Now that all the media glory for France’s masked shop-trashing thugs is over, something sad and quiet has happened in the wake of their violent “victory.” France’s best and brightest are leaving France. One by one, they are leaving their homeland, in search of work, and a better life. They are heading to the savage lands, the lands of capitalism, the places denounced as inhuman, darwinian, American. Places that no French person supposedly would ever want to live. France’s angry young men who actually believe this, taught well by their Marxist intellectual schoolmasters, rioted late last year to condemn that…
The national conscious of the Nazi atrocities in German memory has led to cautiousness towards conflict in the German public and government. While this position is a natural reaction and in many respects noble, it has unfortunately decreased Germany’s ability and consequent role to be an international peacekeeper and decision maker. Indeed, Germany’s relations with traditional powers such as the United States and Great Britain have undoubtedly been affected by the apprehension associated with German worldwide involvement. In order to sufficiently repair important diplomatic relationships and raise its role as a purveyor of social democracy, Germany must engage in a…
Yes: Italy 2 Czech Republic 0 . Italy goes to the next round.. hoping not to play against Brazil ! So, Brazil has the moral duty to win today, so that Italy will not play against Brazil! Viva Italia! Some photo: Alena Seredova, second from left, girlfriend of Italy’s goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon. She is a showgirl from the Czech Republic, but she supported Italy out of love for her boyfriend! Dante,Leonardo and the Romans were there as well ! Playing mandolino, typical instrument of Naples
On Sunday, Catalonian voters approved a referendum for greater autonomy from Madrid by about 75% of the population with nearly 50% turnout. Below is a summary of what’s at stake: Residents of Catalonia will today vote in a referendum that could see the region granted more autonomy and move further away from Spain’s government. If a yes vote is delivered as expected then the region will become one of the most independent in Europe, effectively achieving nation-within-a-nation status with powers to decide how taxes are spent and how visas are granted to immigrants. Although the majority of Catalans are believed…