"Telling the Fallujah Story to the World" - A Must See Slide Show

As you can tell blogging is light this week because they are making me work (which sucks ass). Also I'm a little down right now and lack the drive to spout off about just how fast the world is going to shit. (In case you don't know, pretty freaking fast. Sometimes I get dizzy trying to watch the blur.)

While I am getting my groove back here's a must see PowerPoint slide show from the Multi-National Force in Iraq titled "Telling the Fallujah Story to the World". The clever guys at Little Green Footballs have put it on the Web. Be warned - it is 59 slides so bring a snack and get comfortable.

Basically, don't believe the drivel from some quarters regarding our operations in Fallujah. This was one of the most complex and successful urban military efforts in history. A normal country would be astounded and pleased by our achievements there. For more on Fallujah than you are getting from the MSM, see the Belmont Club's posts, especially The River War, River War 2, The Triangle of Death, and Triangle of Death 2. (Sounds like a Hong Kong kung-fu straight-to-video series, 'Dodecahedron of Death 3', 'Trapezoid of Serious Back Pain 3 - the Herniated Disk'.)

Back later.

No Yoga for Muslims

The Grand Mufti of Egypt issued a fatwa against yoga, declaring it 'a '"sin" for Muslims because it is considered "one of the ways or practicing Hinduism." His Fatwa was endorsed by Dr Fayza Khater, a professor at al-Azhar University, the seat of Islamic learning.'

Now Muslims can be even less flexible and relaxed. Great.

That Didn't Take Long

Weren't the Europeans just touting this agreement on Monday?

The Iranian mullahs will not let little things like a series of treaties and international agreements slow down their nuclear ambitions. The ink is still damp on the agreement with the Eurocrats and the Islamic Republic wants an amendment.

"Iran has requested amending the terms of its freeze of uranium enrichment activities so that it could continue "research and development" of technology that can be used to make atomic weapons."

This is all the diplomatic equivalent of masterbastion. Iran will build nuclear warheads and the missiles to carry them. Plain and simple. Nothing the Europeans do will stop that.

Dutch to Extremist Muslims: We're Not Taking Anymore of Your Shit

A Muslim cleric says he wants a Western politician to die. It's common in Western Europe, the UK, and even occasionally in the US. But the Dutch are having none of it. Not the Dutch government mind you but the Dutch people. The cleric has gone into hiding.

Earlier Abdul-Jabbat van de Ven said on Dutch television that he wanted MP Geert Wilders to die, preferrably of an illness. Then he claimed "that he felt "some joy" on hearing of the murder of filmmaker Theo van Gogh on 2 November." Enjoy your undisclosed location asshole.

Is Violence Spreading to Belgium?

Haaretz reports a British synagogue worker was shot in the head at close range and left for dead outside his home today. Moshe Naeh, a father of five, is 24 years old and "in the hospital with life-threatening injuries."

Rant Wear is Back Baby!

Asking the important question, "Who Would Allah Bomb?"

Complain to Cafe Press

Register your complaints to Cafe Press here:

IPCUT@cafepress.com

RantWear Shut Down!

All my images have been deemed offensive and prohibited. Even the URL to this blog somehow violates Cafe Press's policies. I emailed my concerns but as of this post everything is prohibited. So your thinking, "RW, you created a bunch of sophmoric and insulting crap. Of course they are going to deem your stuff offensive. They are a corporation. They don't want to get involved in insulting people or hosting images that may offend people." And you're right. They wouldn't.

Expect for this bumper sticker that says, "Proud Parent of an Islamic Jihad Martyr." That's not offensive.

Or this product which says "Burn This Book" next to a picture of the Bible. How long do you think the same product would last if it referred to the Koran? Ten minutes?

Or any one of these twenty products asking "Who Would Jesus Bomb?" That wouldn't offend anyone, would it? Just to jerk around with the Cafe Press pinheads I will create some products tonight, just like these, but asking the more pertinent questions, "Who Would Muhammed Bomb?" and "Who Would Allah Bomb?" How long will they last? Place your bets people.

"Allah All-aahhh! It Burns!"

From the Oop, I Just Made a Terrible Mistake Dept. "A man set himself afire Monday just outside a White House gate and repeatedly yelled "Allah Allah" as a Secret Service officer held him facedown on the sidewalk."

"White House doctors joined uniformed Secret Service personnel in administering first aid until the emergency service technicians arrived." Then the merciless infidels took the man to Washington Hospital Center where he will be subjected to medical treatment for the burns on 30 percent of his body.

Arab Elections - Place Your Bets

We all know that Iraqi elections are scheduled for January. Now that Yasser has left this world for the eternal reward, Palestinian elections "are set to take place within 60 days." That puts the PA elections on roughly the same schedule as the Iraqi elections, both now set for January 2005. Anybody care to bet which elections are in fact held and which are not? Anyone care to give odds?

My money is on the Iraqi elections taking place as scheduled, despite the violence and insecurity. The elections will not be perfect. Polling places may not be available in every district or province. There will almost certainly be attacks on election day itself. But flawed as they may be, they will be the free and open and fair by any historical Iraqi standard (which admittedly is a very low threshold, sort of like aiming for the floor and being proud that you hit the target but you have to start somewhere).

But watch the PA. Regardless of any Israel military action the elections will either be delayed due to an "emergency situation" or "an unfree voting environment" either of which will be blamed on the Israelis. Or the elections will take place as a "referendum" on the current leadership, meaning people can vote Yes or No but not actually choose between competing candidates. And most everyone will vote Yes. Of course that isn't an election at all.

Not that this will make a damn bit of difference. The media will likely portray the Iraqi elections as a fraud and a failure because they will not up to the standards of the free world, even though they may very will be a major advance over any previous elections in Iraqi (or Arab) history. The Arab media at least will claim that the PA elections are a "triumph of the spirit of the Palestinian people and a rebuke to the Israeli occupiers" even though they will be little more that a show, the electoral equivalent of shadow puppets. Such is our situation.

Aww, That's So Sweet

The armed wing of Fatah on Thursday announced its decision to change its name from the Aksa Martyrs Brigades to the Brigades of Martyr Yasser Arafat.

Martyr? Isn't that using the term a little more loosely than usual? The 75-year old thug died at one of the best hospitals in Europe after being on rather expensive life-support for several days while his "wife" haggled with PLO bosses over a payoff and functionaries tried to negotiate a buried site. Some freaking martyrdom.

No Virgins for Yasser

I'm not watching the coverage of Yasser Asshat's funeral. It's bad for my blood pressure. It would needlessly enrage me. And I don't have much to say on the subject of his undeservedly peaceful death, except that the world is a better place now that he is a cold corpse.

I have to paraphrase an Onion story from just after 9/11. Rather than surrounded by compliant black-eyed virgins, terrorist-gangster Yasser Arafat finds himself perpetually sodomized by the serrated phallus of Beelzebub.

Welcome to Hell, Yasser.

Dutch Convert Arrested. Church Bombings Continue

A discouraging story from Expatica. Police arrested two people yesterday after that siege in the Hague. One of those arrested was Jason W., a 19-year-old Dutch native who converted to Islam. Meanwhile arson attacks churches continued in Utrecht and Rotterdam. I saw on PBS last week that half the population of Rotterdam are foreign born, meaning Moroccan, Turkish, or Algerian.

I am particularly struck by the convert. Apparently he is a Dutch native who fought the Dutch police during a 14-hour standoff. Think about that. He sided with the enemies of Dutch society. He has become a combatant against the Dutch state. And he's freaking Dutch! How long until these native European converts go that extra step and start bombing soft targets in European cities? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Update: Zacht Ei, who has become indespensible on this story, reports that there were two native Dutch converts to Islam among the seven people arrested thus far. And these two are brothers.

Submission, the film, and the shock of the un-shocking

Theo van Gogh's short film, Submission, is available at IFILM among other places. I saw it a few days ago. The atmosphere is vaguely haunting, especially the music. The actress is good. Since her face is mostly covered she has to use her eyes and her voice to full effect. To be honest I found her quite attractive.

However the shocking thing about Submission is that it is not shocking. Except for the Arabic language Koran quotes, it's basically a monologue summarizing any number of Lifetime Channel Movies of the Week. A woman forced to marry a man she does not love. An uncaring husband who abuses her sexually and physically. An uncle who rapes her. Parents who blame the victim. A culture of silence. A religion of shame.

I say that the film is shocking because it is not shocking. Having seen the film after the assassination of van Gogh I expected something, well, shocking. American television offers far more shocking images and narratives routinely, on many channels at once, without even turning on HBO or paid cable. What Submission really demonstrates is the hyper-sensitivity of (some) Muslims to any criticism or expression that they deem sacrilegious. Which means, ultimately, the utter comtempt by (some) Muslims for freedom of expressions, one of the cornerstones of Western civilizations, especially in America.

I am reminded of a comparative example of years past that demonstrate this Muslim hyper-sensitivity. Remember Piss Christ, the infamous photograph of Christ on the Cross submerged in urine? Certainly an offensive and blasphemous image to most Christians. Was he killed? No. Assaulted? Not to my knowledge. Were there any consequences? Yes. He lost federal funding for his photo exhibit.

Remember Sinead O'Conner tearing up a photograph on the Pope live on national television to the words, "Fight the real enemy." Murdered by Ops Dei? Nope. She released a CD two years ago.

I remember crossing a picket line to see The Last Temptation of Christ, a film that portrayed Christ on the Cross doubting His mission and imagining a different life. I wasn't beaten up or even confronted by the handful of protesters. The DVD is now part of the Criterion Collection of film masterpieces.

By contrast, Submission, does not deny the divinity of Allah or the role of Muhammed as prophet. It does accuse Allah of sanctifying abuse of women and it does so by using the Koran quotes, in Arabic, projected onto the bodies of bruised and beated women. It may be the use of these Koranic quotes that sends (some) Muslims into murderous rages. But again, I'm unimpressed. All it takes to offend these guys into assassinating people is an image of a Koranic quote on the skin of a woman? In a free Western society that is a ludicrous threshold.

Judging from the reaction to the film (even before van Gogh's assassination) I had expected something much more obviously offensive: Koranic quotes projected onto a steaming pile of pig dung; a naked woman squating on the Koran; a mullah kissing a veiled swine perhaps. But no, all it is, all poor van Gogh was kill for, all the Dutch Muslims are so freaking crazed about, are a few images of Arabic on a women's skin. That's it. As sad and desperate and weak as that may, that's all this is about. That is why a man was brutally murdered in the middle of the day on a public street.

How can people this intolerant, this childishly sensitive, this easily, some would say willfully, offended, live in the West? How can they coexist with people of other faiths, with atheists, with the Dave Chappells and Marilyn Mansons of the world? How can they live in a society where South Park is on every Wednesday night?

Try a little thought experiment. Look around our society, one that Islamist call "Christian" and "Crusader" and take notice of the sheer volume of criticism and ridicule aimed at Christianity. Some of it is funny and insightful, some of it is adolescent and rude, but all of it is protected speech. Now replace "Jesus" and "Christianity" with "Muhammed" and "Islam". Ask yourself, Can Islamists or even moderate Muslims live in such a society without threatening people, much less actually murdering them? Where cartoons show Muhammed as a small town talk show host. Where people sell t-shirts showing a picture of the Koran beside the phrase "Burn This Book." Where bands give themselves or their CDs purposely blaphemous names. If a band called "Festering Muhammed" went on tour, how long until the death threats poured in?

Imagine an all-girl band releasing a dance hit, "Mecca in My Panties," from their hit CD "Crotchless Hajj." Sample lyrics:

"You gotta pray toward Mecca boy, get down on your knees.
Five times a day is what it takes to please.
I know Mecca's hot but the journey's worth the ride.
You gotta circle my Black Box before you come inside."

Koran-a-rama, anyone?

Siege at the Hague Ends, Two Arrested

After 14 hours it's finally over. No word on who was arrested. Shots had been heard as dusk fell. Police said in a statement one of the suspects had been injured in the shoulder.

Police are inside the apartment continuing their investigation. Perhaps as many as 200 police officers were involved.

"I am going to behead you"

More on the Dutch anti-terrorist raid and siege. An inhabitant of the sealed-off Laak quarter told NOS he heard one suspect shout, "I am going to behead you" at what the resident called a police negotiator. ...

Dozens of anti-riot squad busses were parked in the roads around the building. ... Other witnesses told NOS radio that police sharpshooters had taken up positions on nearby rooftops.

Nearby residents told ANP news agency they were jolted awake by a huge blast. "It was like a war movie being played out in front of my house," said Sylvia Cordia, 42. She told ANP a first blast came from a boobytrap attached to a door, then a grenade was thrown before police and suspects exchanged gunfire.

Snipers, boobytraps, threats to behead negotiators: this is the future of other European countries if they dare to resist Islamism. Watch closely France and Germany. Take notes.

Dutch Special Forces in Stand-Off in the Hague

Things are heating up quickly. The police are all over a suburb on the Hague. Three police officers were injured by an explosion.

The members of the specialist arrest team were injured by a hand grenade when they attempted to carry out an anti-terrorist raid on a building in The Hague in the early hours of Wednesday morning. ... Police immediately sealed of the area after the explosion.

People heard gunfire around 3am. Residents near the area have been evacuated. A no-fly zone has also been introduced over the city.

Dutch blogger Zacht Ei says Even more police have arrived in The Hague from Amsterdam and all over the country. I don't think I've seen this much police in one location ever before.

My head is spinning with the speed of events. In the past 8 days the Dutch have witnessed the assassination of van Gogh, an explosion at an Islamic elementary school, numerous firebombing and arson attacks against mosques and churches, threats from internal and external Islamic groups, and now a paramilitary siege in the Hague. Stay tuned.

Quote of the Week

Holland is now the crucible of Europe. Not even the most tolerant people on earth can tolerate the Islamists.

Dutch Religious War II

Voices from the van Gogh's funeral service, from the NYT:

Jan Colijn, 46, a bookkeeper from the central Dutch town of Gorinchem, who was at the funeral, complained that the generous Dutch social welfare system had allowed Muslim immigrants to isolate themselves. Because of that trend, "there is a kind of Muslim fascism emerging here," he said.

Another man, who declined to give his name, was more succinct: "Now, it's war."

There are estimated 900,000 Muslims in Holland.

Religious War Comes to Holland

Remarkable that one of the most secular countries in the Europe is the first place in the West to the witness the manifestation of this Religious War.

The anti-Islamist arsonists strike in revenge for van Gogh. Suspected arsonists set an Islamic elementary school on fire Tuesday ... Firefighters struggled to extinguish the flames at the burning Bedir school in the southern town of Uden, where someone had scrawled "Theo Rest in Peace" in the building ...

And the anti-Christian (presumably Muslim) arsonists strike at churches. Arsonists attempted to burn down Protestant churches in Rotterdam, Utrecht and Amersfoort in apparent retaliation for the bombing of a Muslim elementary school in Eindhoven on Monday

When will the Dutch authorities get a handle on this? So far no one has been killed or injured. As soon as someone else dies in these revenge attacks look for the violence to really escalate.

Earlier today van Gogh's funeral service was broadcast on national television. A thousand people gathered outside the crematorium to watch the service on a large screen. "It is time for the silent majority to speak out because the fundamental rules of our society are at stake," Bram Peper, a former mayor of Rotterdam, told the funeral service.

Meanwhile Muslims gathered to condemn "extremism" and call for "unity." About 60 young Dutch Muslims wearing orange T-shirts reading "We won't put up with extremism any more" cycled through Amsterdam stopping at mosques to protest against the murder. Stop the presses infidel. That's right 60 Muslims. Amsterdam alone has tens of thousands of Muslims. Not an inspiring turnout.

CafePress.com, You Bastards

The pencilneck ninnies at Cafepress have deemed many of my images to be Prohibited Content. They fall at the far end of the Cafepress questionable content spectrum, in the dreaded Black Zone. I believe I have violated one of these policies:

- Use of KKK or other marks based on hate towards another group of people.
- Obscene and vulgar comments and offensive remarks that harass, threaten, defame or abuse others such as F*** (Ethnic Group).

This includes my colorful pink, green, or yellow "Kill More Jihadists" shirts (although how they make "Jihadists" into an ethnic group is beyond me). I liked those. Now they are Prohibited Content and cannot be displayed or sold. Sorry. Maybe I'll retitle the images, something like Flowers4Jihadists.jpg, and see if that sneaks under their radar. Maybe I need to find a new partner for my wares, a company that's not run by spineless Image Police.

Islamists in Dubia Threaten Dutch

Could this be the infamous Cycle of Violence? (or maybe Cycle of Violence 2: Going Dutch)

From Reuters:

A little-known Islamist group has threatened to carry out attacks in the Netherlands following a series of attacks on Muslim buildings there, according to an Internet statement posted on Tuesday.

Lovely. Let's be perfectly clear about what has happened so far regarding the 'wave of attacks' against Muslims in Holland. The bomb at the school exploded at 3am. Three mosques were subjected to arson attacks over the weekend "but the damage in all cases was very minor". Three people were arrested. There was a separate act of arson against a mosque that was still under construction. So far, to my knowledge, no Muslims have been injured.

There is no comparison to the murder of Theo van Gogh who was shot and stabbed and viciously defiled. "The killer sawed through the neck and spinal column, almost to the point of decapitating him."

These arson and bombing incidents so far have been warnings clearly not intended to harm people. The warning from the jihadists are quite different. "We will not stand with our hands tied and we will make the Dutch government and people pay dearly."

Dutch School Explosion 2

I am shocked/horrified/amazed/impressed by this Dutch school explosion story. I believe this is a major development to a major story. History may judge the assassination of van Gogh as the most important event of last week, more important that the reelection of Bush, the death of Arafat, or the beginning of the battle of Fallujeh.

This bombing is the clash of civilizations. It will have repercussions far beyond Holland. The inevitable revenge attack by jihadists could occur in any country in Europe.

Perhaps I should be ashamed to admit this but I am have conflicted feelings about this bombing. Yes it is illegal terrorist violence. Yes it is against the norms of Western society. Still, maybe it takes something like this to get the attention of the spineless Dutch goverment. Maybe the Eurocrats need to stare into the abyss of open street fighting and rampant anti-Muslim violence before they fully grasp the importance of what is happening and the urgent need for legal, non-violent action. Maybe the jihadists and their sympathizers need to see that the Dutch, and by extention European citizens, are not the doormats that their feckless leaders portray them to be. Maybe the Guardian, the BBS, Chirac and Schoeder need to understand that the Dutch Right is a Boy Scout troop compared to the specter of Rightist forces in Britain, France and Germany. Do they really want to inspire an anti-Muslim backlash with their constant attempts to downplay the Islamist threat to European civilization?

Good morning Europe. Wake up and smell the jihad and the anti-jihad. Welcome to the 21st century.

Muslim School Attacked in Holland

That didn't take long.

An explosion blew the door off a Muslim school in a southern Dutch town and shattered windows across the street on Monday, Dutch television reported. There were no reports of injuries.

Last week I warned that something like this would happen. If the Dutch populace does not believe that the government will move against Muslim extremists, then segments of the population will take matters into their own hands. Make no mistake, this is terrorism plain and simple. The government is now caught between two factions: Islamists and anti-Islamists. Parts of the native, ethnic Dutch population will sympathize with the anti-Islamists and a smaller but vocal part will sympathize with the Muslims. Look for about zero percent of the Muslims to cross over to defend Dutch culture.

Look for Muslim reprisals for this attack very soon. The clock is ticking on the current Dutch government. They have to control this situation or call for new elections to select someone who will.

Dutch Islamist Terror Letter - Please Read

Dutch blooger Zacht Ei is all over the van Gogh story. He links to this English translation of the letter left on van Gogh's body.

Did Arafat Die from AIDS Related Illness

Look, he's dead. He basically died Thurday. The man is being kept on artificial support until the PA and his 'wife' can figure out what to do with the body. DEBKAfile reports that funeral arrangements are very delicate. France wants the whole thing resolved in the next few days but Egypt and Jordan don't want the body. What to do? What to do?

Meanwhile the question remains: what did he die from? Not leukemia or another form of cancer. It's certainly not a stomach virus as reported when he was first ill. 365gay.com says that it could have been AIDS. Low platelet count, loss of body weight, weakness, wasting.

Of course, we'll never know.

"Democratic principles should not just be a litany of complaints."

Salon gathered a group of Leftist commentators for an article, "What Do We Do Now?" Amid the usual bitching, fantasizing, denial and conspiracy theories are a few good ideas from the usually irratating Camille Paglia.

"The Democratic Party bureaucracy and A-list consultants need to be disassembled like matchstick men. ... Fire DNC chief Terry McAuliffe, a shallow hack whose political expertise is at the Chamber of Commerce level. ... Democrats have got to go cold turkey on their tedious old rhetoric about the suffering masses in their World of Pain. The Democrats' condescending portraits of African-Americans and the poor are manipulative, patronizing and ultimately self-destructive."

"In the weeks leading up to this election, the Northeastern major media (network news and urban newspapers) were caught in blatant displays of liberal bias and overt conspiracy. This can't go on: It is unprofessional and unethical, and it alienates the heartland."

"Progressives must do some serious soul-searching. Too often they are guilty of arrogance, insularity and sanctimony. They claim to speak for the common man but make few forays beyond their own affluent, upper-middle-class circles. There needs to be less preaching and more direct observation of social reality."

Sobering Numbers for Europe

Europe needs to look closely at some numbers from the U.S. election and do a reality check. Roughly speaking:

- As many people voted for Bush as live in France.

- As many people voted for Bush in Florida as live in Ireland.

- As many people voted for Bush in California, a state that Kerry won, as live in Norway.

- 116 million Americans voted on Tuesday. That is as many people as Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, and Belgium combined.

Jane Smiley: Bush Voters are Ignorant, filled with Bloodlust and Fear

Novelist Jane Smiley cranks out an embarrassing display of intelligensia arrogance and condescension in Slate. According to her vision of the world, "The election results reflect the decision of the right wing to cultivate and exploit ignorance in the citizenry."

After a few paragraphs about the violent history of the Red States she reanimates caricatures of Bush and Cheney that I thought the election would stop, at least temporarily. "Cheney is the capitalist arm and Bush is the religious arm. They know no boundaries or rules. They are predatory and resentful, amoral, avaricious, and arrogant. Lots of Americans like and admire them because lots of Americans, even those who don't share those same qualities, don't know which end is up. ... The Republicans have sold their souls for power."

This makes me sad. This kind of thinking will not make the Democratic party more competitive. And we need a competitive, responsible, innovative Democratic party. We don't need adolescent whinning about Republican cheating or a 'if-they-don't-vote-for-us-they're-stupid' mentality.

We don't need this, "And in addition, we have to remember that threats to democracy from the right always collapse. Whatever their short-term appeal, they are borne of hubris and hatred, and will destroy their purveyors in the end." For Smiley an election where 115 million people vote is a threat to demcracy if the Republicans win. Do I smell a bit of projection there Jane? If you don't accept the verdict of 60 million people, who exactly is the threat to democracy again?

This is What Terrorism Does

We've heard a lot recently, with the new bin Laden tape especially, about what I'll call the Standard Theory of Terrorism: terrorists try to get a response from the government with their bombings and murders. The theory being that the response will be indiscriminate or disproportionate and this will push people into the arms of the terrorists.

In al-Qaeda's case, they hoped the US would attack Islamic countries and outraged Muslims would rise up and overthrow their corrupt governments. Often when this theory is expounded in the media the implication is that if the government response was more precise or more like a law enforcement effort and less like a military action, we would lower the risk of arrousing the sympathizers or the 'Muslim street'. (Extreme pacifists say we should not respond at all; far-leftists say that we deserve to be attacked - but they simply don't count.)

There is another side to the Standard Theory of Terrorism that does not get much attention. Yet. If the government response to terror is seen by the public as insufficient or ineffectual then, in a democratic society, a movement will grow based on a different, more potent method of dealing with terror. (In a non-democratic society this movement could take the form of a terrorist group against the terrorists. This happened in a few Latin American countries where Leftist guerillas were pitted against Rightist paramilitary groups, but that's a different story.)

Now look what is happening in the Netherlands after the killing of van Gogh.

Andre Krouwel, a political scientist at Amsterdam's Free University, said the killing would polarise society even more, with the prospect of a new far-right party emerging as well as a more radical immigrant underclass.

It's not just the killing of one man. Theo van Gogh's death is becoming the rallying point for deep and profound anti-Muslim sentiments that the government has been ignoring for years, since before the assassination of popular anti-immigrant politican Pim Foruyn.

A survey last week showed that a majority of Dutch said they expected to no longer feel at home in their own neighbourhood in five years due to the rising number of foreigners. In the three biggest cities, immigrants make up about a third of the population and form a majority among young people.

According to the Standard Theory the government would not want to clamp down too hard on the nascent Rightists for fear of arousing sympathy for them among the general populace. I don't think the Dutch government has learned this.

A group of far-right protesters shouting "Islamists, parasites" were arrested in The Hague on Tuesday . "I don't rule out unrest. The climate is seriously hardened," said Interior Minister Johan Remkes.

Notice how quickly the police were to arrest the right-wing native Dutch but the foreign Islamists seem to go around untouched.

Moroccan teenagers have allegedly spat on a large portrait of murdered Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh in Amsterdam, it was reported Thursday. Initially greeted by applause for painting the portrait, Spaanstra claimed some Moroccan teens then hassled him, screaming "Hamas, Hamas".

Meanwhile the Euro-Muslim elites are in full outrage mode, not over the killing but over public discussion of the suspect's ethnic identity.

Immigration and Integration Minister Rita Verdonk was the only one of the three speakers at a special rally in Amsterdam on Tuesday evening to remind the 20,000-strong crowd that the 26-year-old man arrested after the killing held both the Moroccan and Dutch nationalities.

The Arab European League (AEL) went so far as to liken the appearance of Verdonk at a rally in Amsterdam to a "Hitler speech, with only the little mustache missing".

The Union of Moroccan-Dutch Academics (UMAH) said Verdonk had gone "very close to the edge" of acceptable comment by mentioning the suspect's dual nationality in her speech. Said Bellari of the UMAH said her "us and them" rhetoric and her "fractured reasoning" would harm the cause of integration.

Now 8 men of Algerian and Moroccan origin have been arrested. As terror attacks and assassinations continue throughout Europe look for an increase in anti-immigrant Rightist parties. What are Europeans supposed to do? Their left-of-center governments either cannot or will not reduce immigration by Muslim fundamentalists. They can form new parties, win elections and enforce new policies or they can take to the streets. Either way this will not blow over. Suddenly Dutch politics is important.

"This is what you get when you open the door to Muslim fundamentalists."

The Guardian of all places has a roundup of Dutch newspapers on the killing of Van Gogh by a Muslim man. It makes for fascinating reading.

Telegraaf, the Netherlands' largest daily, was bewildered. "We are so tolerant here towards these religious fascists that we allow them to hack away at the very roots of our freedom," it said. "This is what you get when you open the door to Muslim fundamentalists."

"For centuries, we played the game of the progress of civilisation, consulted one other, tolerated differences of opinion," added Trouw, but now "we are surrounded by trigger-happy criminals and summary executions."

I'm Not Dead Yet

Luxembourg's prime minister told reporters Thursday that Yasser Arafat had died, but doctors treating the Palestinian leader near Paris said he was still alive.

He's in a coma, sure, but not dead yet.

Arafat in ICU

He's been in intensive care since this morning. The end is near. I keep saying this but sooner or later I'll be right.

Kerry Concedes. It's Over. The Dems Must Change or Disappear.

I hope the Dems wake up and change. Or collapse and something is rebuilt from the ashes. I voted for Bush, the first time in my life I voted Republican. As you may know I am not quite a one issue voter but very close. I’m not against gay marriage but I understand and sympathize with those who are. And I ask why America should become the first society in human history to codify that? What’s the hurry? It’s more complex and yes, nuanced, than pro-gay marriage advocates assume. Same with stem cell research. It is not currently illegal just not federally funded. On these issues I am a classic ‘conservative’; I want to go slow with such profound change and show a certain respect for tradition. Greens and Europeans worry about genetically modified food but they want lots of federal dollars for stem cell research? C’mon. There is a lot I don’t like about Bush but I am convinced that he has beliefs and he is obviously willing to take the heat for a cause he thinks is important. Kerry kept saying he would hunt down and kill the terrorists and I simply didn’t believe him.

I am continually stunned by the behavior of the Democratic Party and their candidates. They got what they deserved. I agree with them on many things but they all but pushed me out the door. They have become tone-deaf to the American character. I put much of the blame for the loss on Kerry. The Dems may have lost in any case but Kerry was terrible. Repeat terrible. To my mind he had no redeeming values whatsoever. He was like a parody of a Democratic candidate, a ponderous, wooden wonk who’s only recognizable personality trait is naked ambition. He can win debates but not elections.

The Dem’s whole approach to this election, the anger, the pessimism, the not-so-subtle appeal to foreigners (for me the best part of the Bush victory is giving the finger to the Euro-leftist and the BBC; and tactically supporting Blair) made someone like me turn them off very early. I was repulsed when they criticized the Wars in Afghanistan & Iraq from every angle rather than offering a consistent approach. "We don’t have enough troops but let’s bring them home." "Let’s blame Bush for letting terrorists get a hold of powerful explosives that a) we argued weren’t there & b) the UN let Saddam have." Kerry would have done “everything” differently? What kind of shit is that? I kept waiting for a Clintonesque moment (Sister Souljah-style) when Kerry criticized the UN or the IAEA or Michael Moore or somebody besides Bush. But it never came. Kerry lacks both the imagination and the balls for that. I don't need a President who can debate but I do need someone with balls and imagination.

“Stupid, stupid people holding hands. Stupid, stupid people laughing.” That has become the theme song for much of the Democratic party. How do you expect people to vote for you if they know that you think they are stupid? (Answer: they don't vote for you.) It’s like that Jeanne Garafolo quote about how everyone is being lied to. The blanket condescention, the wholesale assumption that most Americans are stupid and easily lead is an acid coroding the foundation of the Democratic party. Among some elites it is an unspoken given that the majority of Americans are dangerous quasi-fascist religious fanatics. How can they begin to complete in a democratic society with that inbred attitude?

Currently they can't.

Drudge: Kerry to Concede at 1 pm

Keep in mind it is Drudge, but he's been more or less accurate on recent election stories.

If true, it's the right move. Without the popular vote on his side and facing such long odds that the provisional ballots would overcome Bush's 140K vote lead in Ohio, Kerry risks a lot of bad PR if he resists the inevitable beyond today.

Stay tuned.

Van Gogh's Killer an "Islamist Extremsit" - Reuters

Really? I thought he advocated a new, more rigorous form of film criticism?

A 26-year-old with dual Dutch and Moroccan nationality was arrested for the killing of Van Gogh, a distant relative of the painter Vincent van Gogh.

The ministers said the arrested man had already come to the attention of the AIVD national security service, but was not among about 150 suspected Islamic extremists which the service is monitoring.

But don't worry, the police aren't passive in Holland.

Police arrested some 35 people in the Hague Tuesday night for taunting bystanders with anti-immigrant slogans.

Shocking News: Young People Don't Vote

You can Rock the Vote and throw concerts and show all the celebrity nonsense you want on MTV but young people always vote at lower percentages than the population as a whole. It didn't work for Dean. There were no armies of Deaniacs rushing to vote. And it's not working in the general election.

AP reports that the percentage of voters 18 to 24 is about the same as it was in 2000.

Bush Must Win Iowa

I may have been wrong. Iowa may close at 9pm EST. If Bush wins FL and Iowa, given the rest of my electoral map, Bush wins. However, since I'm giving Kerry both OH and PA then if Kerry can win NM, NV and IA, he wins.

Update: Iowa doesn't close the polls tim 10 EST. But many in the MSM are giving Bush 1 electoral vote from Maine. My current estimate puts Bush over the top at 272 to 266.

9pm Eastern is Big Hour

Lots of states close at 9pm EST, from NY to AZ, except Iowa, Idaho and the west coast states. Look for the numbers to really change in about 20 minutes.

W Ahead in FL

With 8% reporting Bush is up 56 to 46%. Fox News just showed an exit poll with Hispanic voters in FL giving Bush a 10% edge. Military families in FL also going for Bush.

Update: with 40% reporting Bush is up 55% to 44%.

Kerry Ahead in Ohio

If Kerry wins both PA and Ohio then Bush must win Florida. The race could end sooner than anyone thought.

Kerry Will Win PA

My prediction based on CNN exit polls shows that Kerry wins PA.

Kerry Up in Electoral Votes, Bush Up in National Count

CNN has Kerry 77, Bush 66. Most of New England is in Kerry's column. Bush is up in popular votes 57% to 42% with 3% reporting.