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Dutch Election Watch:Christian Democrats and Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende Claim Victory
Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende celebrates the parliamentary elections results with his Democratic Party CDA at the Lucent Dance Theater in The Hague , Netherlands, Wednesday Nov 22, 2006. Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende’s center-right Christian Democrats had a clear lead Wednesday over the leftist Labor Party, early returns suggested _ but not enough for a majority in the next parliament.
AFP: Christian Democrats claim victory in Dutch elections
Christian Democrat Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende claimed victory in the Netherlands elections, saying that his party has again become the biggest group in parliament.
“We are the biggest party again … the effort of four years of struggle has been rewarded and that makes me proud,” Balkenende, whose speech was often interrupted by cheers of “four more years”, told his supporters.
Partial results on Wednesday showed the Christian Democrats holding 41 seats in the 150 seat parliament based on 83 percent of votes counted. This means Balkenende will probably be asked to head another a coalition government.
Their main rival, the Labour Party of leader Wouter Bos, had 33 seats.
But, what about the RIGHT parties?
The Christian Democrats current coalition partner, the right-wing liberal VVD known for its hardline Immigration Minister Rita Verdonk, garnered only 22 places, a loss of six.
While the Netherlands has made headlines around the world for its tough stance on immigration and integration, the election campaign was mainly fought over social welfare and economic issues.
Even the government’s proposed “burqa ban” and allegations of torture by Dutch troops in
Iraq that made headlines last week appeared to have had little impact.The perceived lack of integration by Muslims who account for 5.8 percent of the population has been much debated here since the 2002 rise of populist leader Pim Fortuyn — murdered by an animal rights activist who said he wanted to protect weaker members of society such as immigrants and Muslims — and the killing of filmmaker Theo van Gogh by a Muslim radical in 2004.
However, Dutch voters seem to have tired of the issue and the major parties appear to have reached a consensus on hardline policies to curb immigration and promote integration, making it almost a non-issue in the campaign.
Of the right-wing populist parties, the Freedom Party of outspoken Islam critic Geert Wilders, a former VVD MP, came out of nowhere to win nine seats according to the partial results.
Looks like the Muslim ASSIMILATION parties won BIG this election.
Now, will they ban the Burqa?
Some jewelers in Canada certainly wish Canada would.
Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende casts his vote for the general election in Capelle aan de IJssel. Balkenende claimed victory in the Netherlands elections, saying that his party has again become the biggest group in parliament.
Technorati Tags: Netherlands, ChristianDemocrats, JanPeterBalkenende
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Michael Ramirez on John McCain and Presidential Election 2008
Arrgh……………Flap is NOT with McCain……………..Guess who?Giuliani takes step toward White House bid
Giuliani moves nearer to White House run
In a nationwide Rasmussen Reports survey of 1,050 Republicans and 203 GOP-leaning independents, 24 percent backed Giuliani while 18 percent chose Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. McCain, at 17 percent, lags behind Rice, a declared non-candidate.
“If we assume Rice is not running and allocate her votes,” says pollster Scott Rasmussen, “Giuliani would top McCain 32 percent to 22 percent in the Nov. 4-7 study.”Among likely Republican voters polled in Michigan, McCain beat Giuliani 33 percent to 25. Rudy romped elsewhere in Strategic Vision’s Nov. 6 survey. Giuliani outran McCain by nine points in Georgia (33 percent to 24); 19 in Florida (46 percent to 27) and Washington state (42 percent to 23); 22 in New Jersey (47 percent to 25); and 23 points in Pennsylvania (47 percent to 24). Gov. Mitt Romney, R-Mass., scored, at best, a distant third in these states.
A Clemson University poll of South Carolina Republicans and GOP-leaners revealed Giuliani’s enormous 68 percent net-favorable rating (78 percent favorable minus 10 percent unfavorable). McCain’s equivalent figure was 42 percent (65 favorable, less 23 percent unfavorable). These figures don’t surprise Rasmussen.
“Giuliani has the highest net-favorable ratings of any candidate on whom we’ve been polling,” he says. “Giuliani’s higher than McCain and higher than Hillary Clinton. He’s even higher than Bill Clinton.”
Technorati Tags: RudyGiuliani, JohnMcCain, MichaelRamirez
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Islam Watch: Canadian Jewel Heist Features Thieves in Burqas
Abdul Rasheed Khalid, owner of Zaibi Jewellers, in Brampton, poses with empty display cases. He was bound and hit several times during a robbery last Friday, the latest in a series of GTA jewellery store heists.
Toronto Star: Jewel heists target Asians
One recent robbery included a male thief disguised in a head-to-toe burqa
Abdul Rasheed Khalid was alone in his Brampton jewellery store filling the display cases with yellow gold rings and necklaces when two people, one wearing a head-to-toe black burqa, appeared outside his locked door.
“Salamu alaikum,” the 58-year-old store owner said after pushing the entry buzzer, believing them to be a Muslim couple. There was no reply, and seconds later the pair — both males — forced him at gunpoint to the back office where he was bound with duct tape and hit several times. Then his store was cleaned out.”Keep quiet, keep quiet, close your eyes,” they said, while emptying the red velvet trays into duffel bags carried by an accomplice. Khalid caught a glimpse of the crooks. He thinks they were Pakistani or Indian.
Now, we have demonstrated why the Dutch have attempted to outlaw the public wearing of the Burqa.
And the disaffected South Asian Youth gangs who have allegedly perpetrated these crimes?
Well, they know how to cover-up the Muslim Way………
Will Canada now pass an anti-Burqa law?
Not a chance……
Canada prides itself on its multi-culturalism and this might be offensive – even as they are robbed BLIND.
Stay tuned…..
Muslim women wearing veils out doing their shopping in Blackburn, England Friday Oct. 6, 2006. Britain’s former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw’s preference that devout Muslim women visiting his office remove their veils ignited a heated debate Friday about cultural isolation and tolerance in Britain. Straw is the Member of Parliament for the constituency of Blackburn.
Linked with Stop the ACLU.Â
Previous:
Islam Watch: Dutch Muslims Say Proposed Burqa Ban a Violation of Freedom of Religion
Islam Watch: Dutch Government Supports BAN on Burqa
Jack Straw MP Watch: Rushdie – “Veils – A Way to Take Power From Womenâ€
Jack Straw MP Watch: Veiled Threat?
Technorati Tags: Burqa, Canada, Holland, Dutch, Islam
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Day By Day by Chris Muir November 22, 2006
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Cox & Forkum: Snow Gray
From the Scotsman: Battered Bush shows new zeal for diplomacy.
THE Bush administration has not been known for dramatic policy shifts, until last week.For while the US President was making tentative noises that Syria and Iran might have a role to play in salvaging something from the wreckage of Iraq, the previously unthinkable was already happening.
Damascus and Tehran have been talking to senior Washington diplomats and advisers about their role in creating some kind of stability in the region.
From Hamilton Spectator: Democracy in Iraq out of reach for now, Kissinger says.
Former U.S. secretary of state Henry Kissinger, a frequent adviser to President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, has concluded that the United States must choose between stability and democracy in Iraq — and that democracy, for now, is out of reach.
Technorati Tags: GeorgeWBush, Iran, Iraq, IraqWar, HennyKissinger
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Global War on Terror: United States to Require Passports for Nearly All Air Travelers on January 23, 2007
Travelers wait to check baggage Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2006, at San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco.
AP: U.S. to require passports for nearly all
Nearly all air travelers entering the U.S. will be required to show passports beginning Jan. 23, including returning Americans and people from Canada and other nations in the Western Hemisphere.
The date was disclosed Tuesday by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff in an interview with The Associated Press. The Homeland Security Department plans to announce the change on Wednesday.
Until now, the department had not set a specific date for instituting the passport requirement for air travelers, though the start had been expected to be around the beginning of the year. Setting the date on Jan. 23 pushes the start past the holiday season.
The requirement marks a change for Americans, Canadians, Bermudians and some Mexicans.
Currently, U.S. citizens returning from other countries in the hemisphere are not required to present passports but must show other proof of citizenship such as driver’s licenses or birth certificates.
About time. Applying and obtaining an American Passport is not overly burdensome. Requiring a passport for ALL foreign travelers post 9/11 is ESSENTIAL.
Visitors from most countries in the hemisphere are required to show passports. However, people from Canada, Bermuda — and those from Mexico who enter the U.S. frequently and have special border-crossing cards — have been allowed to use other forms of identification, including driver’s licenses.
“Right now, there are 8,000 different state and local entities in the U.S. issuing birth certificates and driver’s licenses,” Chertoff said. Having to distinguish phony from real in so many different documents “puts an enormous burden on our Customs and Border inspectors,” he said.
In a few cases, other documents still may be used for air entry into the U.S. by some frequent travelers between the U.S. and Canada, members of the American military on official business and some U.S. merchant mariners.
Under a separate program, Homeland Security plans to require all travelers, including Americans, entering the U.S. by land or sea to show a passport or an alternative security identification card starting as early as January 2008.
The Homeland Security Department estimates that about one in four Americans has a passport.
The SOONER, the BETTER for ALL foreign travelers in the United States to be required to have a Passport and a biometric one at that.
Stay tuned……..
Technorati Tags: HomelandSecurity, Passport, AmericanPassport, MichaelChertoff, Canada, Bermuda, Mexico
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President George H.W. Bush Watch: Former President Bush Takes on Arab Critics of President Son
Former U.S. President George H.W. Bush speaks at the World Leadership Summit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates November 21, 2006.
AP: Elder Bush takes on son’s Arab critics
Former President George H.W. Bush took on Arab critics of his son Tuesday during a testy exchange at a leadership conference in the capital of this U.S. ally.
“My son is an honest man,” Bush told members of the audience harshly criticized the current U.S. leader’s foreign policy.
The oil-rich Persian Gulf used to be safe territory for former President Bush, who brought Arab leaders together in a coalition that drove Saddam Hussein’s troops from Kuwait in 1991. But gratitude for the elder Bush, who served as president from 1989-93, was overshadowed at the conference by hostility toward his son, whose invasion of Iraq and support for Israel are deeply unpopular in the region.
“We do not respect your son. We do not respect what he’s doing all over the world,” a woman in the audience bluntly told Bush after his speech.
Bush, 82, appeared stunned as others in the audience whooped and whistled in approval.
A college student told Bush his belief that U.S. wars were aimed at opening markets for American companies and said globalization was contrived for America’s benefit at the expense of the rest of the world. Bush was having none of it.
“I think that’s weird and it’s nuts,” Bush said. “To suggest that everything we do is because we’re hungry for money, I think that’s crazy. I think you need to go back to school.”
Papa Bush has the COJONES to tell the Arab ASSHATS what they say is BULL.
The hostile comments came during a quesion-and-answer session after Bush finished a folksy address on leadership by telling the audience how deeply hurt he feels when his presidential son is criticized.
“This son is not going to back away,” Bush said, his voice quivering. “He’s not going to change his view because some poll says this or some poll says that, or some heartfelt comments from the lady who feels deeply in her heart about something. You can’t be president of the United States and conduct yourself if you’re going to cut and run. This is going to work out in Iraq. I understand the anxiety. It’s not easy.”
Maybe George H.W. should tell the “IMPEACHED” Slick Clinton the same when they next meet up for some charity work.
Flap would and so would the FREEPERS.
Former U.S. President George H.W. Bush is seen on a screen as he speaks at the World Leadership Summit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates November 21, 2006.
Technorati Tags: GeorgeHWBush, GeorgeWBush, IraqWar,
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Iraq War Watch: United States State Department’s Alberto Fernandez Receives Award for “Integrity, Courage, [and] Sensitivity”
Remember this MORON?
Remember that Flap said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice needs to bring Fernandez in for a WOODSHED TALK.
So, what does the United States State Depatment do?
Fox News: Public Praise
Remember Alberto Fernandez? The State Department press officer was forced to apologize last month after telling Al Jazeera that the U.S. had shown “arrogance” and “stupidity” in Iraq.
Well after a month of silence, the State Department is finally speaking out on Fernandez — not to condemn him, but to praise his “integrity, courage, [and] sensitivity.”
Fernandez was selected from three department nominees for the Edward R. Murrow Award for Excellence in Public Diplomacy by Tufts University… for his work with pan-Arab media … to increase the number of appearances by U.S. officials.
He receives a certificate signed by Secretary Condoleezza Rice — and $10,000 in cash.
Does anyone wonder why the GOP lost control of Congress and the President’s polling numbers are in the basement?
This is, after all, the same U.S. State Department that gave performance awards to bureaucrats responsible for the lax visa policies that paved the way for the 9/11 terrorists.
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Iraq War Watch: United States State Department’s Fernandez Apologizes for Remarks on Al-Jazeera
Iraq War Watch: American Diplomat – America Has Shown “Arrogance†and “Stupidity†in Iraq
Technorati Tags: AlbertoFernandez, Al-Jazeera, IraqWar
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Iran Nuclear Watch: Robert Mugabe – Iran, Zimbabwe “THINK ALIKE”
Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (R) welcomes his Zimbabwean counterpart Robert Mugabe during an official welcoming ceremony in Tehran November 20, 2006.
News24: Mugabe: Iran, Zim ‘think alike’
Iran and Zimbabwe “think alike” and “should fight against Western superpowers and their evil systems”, says President Robert Mugabe.
According to reports, the Zimbabwean leader, who was on a four-day state visit to Iran aimed at bolstering political and business ties, said his country and Iran had to come together and work out “mechanisms for defending ourselves”.
Iran and Zimbabwe had been labelled “outposts of tyranny” by American secretary of state Condoleezza Rice.
But Mugabe – who proudly described Iran as a great friend – dismissed the accusation saying that “only God can judge”.
Mugabe said: “Some people who regard themselves as demigods say we belong to the axis of evil. Who are they to judge us?” He was speaking shortly before holding closed-door talks with his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday.
Two ROGUE dictators who COVET nuclear weapons think alike – how convenient.
And what is Ahmadinejad’s attraction to Mugabe and Zimbabwe?
Surprised?
NOPE……..
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, center right, reviews an Iranian guard of honor with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, center left, during an official welcoming ceremony in Tehran, Iran, Monday, Nov. 20, 2006. Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe arrived in Tehran on Monday for an official meeting.
Stay tuned…….
A general view of the heavy water plant in Arak around 320 kms south of Tehran in August 2006. The UN atomic agency was moving at a meeting that has opened to heed US and European calls to put off helping Iran build a nuclear reactor that could provide plutonium for nuclear weapons.
Previous:
Iran Nuclear Watch: Iran Replacing Tehran Nuclear Reactor With Heavy Water Arak Reactor
Iran Nuclear Watch: Russia Continues to Disagree on Iran SanctionsMichael Ramirez on Iran’s Nuclear Ambitions
Iran Nuclear Watch: Ahmadinejad – Iran “Will Resist to the Endâ€
Cox & Forkum: Flashback – “PEACE IN OUR TIMEâ€
Iran Nuclear Watch: Ahmadinejad – Iran Will Soon Celebrate Completion of its Nuclear Fuel Program
Iran Nuclear Watch: Ahmadinejad – “Israel’s Destruction NEARâ€
Iran Nuclear Watch: Ahmadinejad Blasts U.N. Security Council
Iran Nuclear Watch: Iran Broadcasts Drone Footage of United States Carrier
Iran Nuclear Watch: Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh – Strike on Iran Possible
Iran Nuclear Watch: Russia Won’t Bargain Over Bushehr
Iran Nuclear Watch: A Military Option
Iran Nuclear Watch: Six Arab States Want to Go Nuclear
Iran Nuclear Watch: Iran Test Fires Three New Missiles in the Gulf
Iran Nuclear Watch: Russia and China Say NO to United Nations Iran Sanction Resolution
The Natanz uranium enrichment complex in Natanz is pictured in this January 2, 2006 satellite image.
Technorati Tags: Iran, Ahmadinejad
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Global War on Terror Watch: Hezbollah and Syria Make a MOVE in Lebanon
Lebanese security forces surround the bullet-riddled car of assasinated Lebanese Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel in the Beirut northern suburb of Jdeideh, in the latest in a spate of attacks to target anti-Syrian politicians.
AP: Lebanese Cabinet minister is killed
Pierre Gemayel, an anti-Syrian politician and scion of Lebanon’s most prominent Christian family, was gunned down Tuesday in an assassination that heightened tensions amid a showdown between opponents and allies of Syria that threatens to topple the U.S.-backed government.
Gemayel, 34, was the fifth anti-Syrian figure to be killed in the past two years and the first member of the government of Prime Minister Fuad Saniora to be slain. A car rammed his vehicle from behind and then a gunman stepped out and shot him at point-blank range, his Phalange Party radio station and Lebanon’s official news agency reported.
Footage from the scene showed Gemayel’s car, the driver’s-side window dotted by about a dozen bullet holes, and the second car behind it with a crumpled hood.
The assassination, in an afternoon shooting in Gemayel’s mainly Christian constituency of Jdeideh, threatens further instability in Lebanon at a time when Hezbollah and other parties allied with Syria are planning a massing wave of street protests unless Saniora reforms his government to give them more power.
Israel will be back in Lebanon like Flap said the first time.
Civil War brewing?
Likely……..
Stay tuned…….
Technorati Tags: Lebanon, PierreGemayel, Syria, Hezbollah, Israel
