More From Alder's Ledge

February 24, 2011

Roma Still Being Persecuted In Bulgaria

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The Place France Deported Them To...
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The facts behind their exclusion from Bulgarian society are indisputable. The government in Bulgaria has relentlessly pursued a nationalistic stance in which the minority has no rights whatsoever. They can't even represent themselves in the so called democracy's Parliament.
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"As a result, ¾ of them still live in segregated quarters, 20% of them are illiterate, and 70% - jobless, the latest data reveal. The Roma in Bulgaria are about 700 000 people, or 10% of the total population. This makes Bulgaria the European country with the highest percentage of Roma, and thus - with the most urgent need for their integration." - PressTV.com
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These figures should speak for themselves. However Europe seems to think otherwise. They have for decades now been silent for the most part on Bulgria's disgusting behavior. When France deported the Roma to this Hell hole Europe barely could muster a slap on the wrist for France's racist agenda. And thus other countries followed France's example.
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Conditions in Romania aren't much better... the other country France deported its Roma to. The Romanian government has pursued a legal action that would change the name of the Roma community to a racist slur. It only dropped this legal move so as to save face when Europeans raised an eyebrow. Romania still however does exclude Roma from Romanian government and society at large.
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Italy, Sweden, Germany, and France have managed to do the same. Norway has a history of forcing Roma to be sterilized when their number of children passes government approved numbers (to be fair, Norway hasn't done this for some time now). And England has a long established history of chasing Roma families out of any town they just happen to stop in.
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So the question remains, will Hungary... a country with a wretched history of discrimination against Roma... be able to actually make any progress in "Roma inclusion" across Europe?
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And for that we will have to wait and see.
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Source Documents for this Post.
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PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/166745.html
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February 23, 2011

Artis Zoo, By The Grace Of God.

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I'm hoping to read a book, The Zookeeper's Wife, that is about the story in the video below. This is a story that many do not know ever happened. A story of how a kind spirited couple saved Jews from the Nazis. How they did it is what makes the story almost unbelievable.
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one little word

Hate. Such a horrible four letter word. Such a powerful thing that exists in this world regretfully. It can be attached to any agenda to purport it. It is dynamic and yet consistent in manner.
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Dynamic because it can be applied to any sentiment for justification. There are racist, sexist, and many more prejudices that all have the application of hate applied to them. Whether that hate stems from rooted fears, associated stereotypes or plain old ignorance- it is the same four letter word. Hate is consistent as the almost blind faith one has to have to it. Yes there is ignorance out there-literally people without resources or education to know any better. But for the majority out there- closing off all dialogue and debate is a choice to idiocy. Hate requires no logic or reason. Even when presented with truth and supporting facts- many cling to the prejudicial hate like a religion. For some it justifies their beliefs.
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Many horrendous acts have been done in the name of beliefs. Lives have been lost over differing beliefs in religion, politics, and economics. Demonizing a people makes it easier to see the enemy as less than human and thus allowing an easier division to segregate the “us versus them” that exists. It makes it okay to hate. Makes hate a reaction, a justified retaliation. Whether the offense is predetermined or not, hate is a perfect defense.
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Hate is a chameleon. It can wrap itself in any cause’s flag. It can be swapped side to side, flung from one argument to its rebuttal. Hate likes to sow itself in specks of truth taken out of context and grows into a twisted, distorted perspective of reality. So it can be seen in each side clinging to their facade. Some more blatant, some more subversive, but it can wriggle it’s way into any heart, mind or soul so easily. For hate is a parasite. Hate is a coward.
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Hate takes over. It doesn’t compromise, or pause to let reason and truth play a role. It generalizes and strips off the face of humanity. It makes it far easier to hate. Retaliation, self preservation, or simply selfishness is innate in the human heart. To go against nature in itself it seems to find a person or people not succumbing to hate.
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The world is becoming smaller with less isolated homes, cultures, and information. Hate will happen…whether out of the initial reaction of fear or ignorance- hate is looking for any band wagon out there to hitch a ride to- to give it a name. One can only hope and pray that with the shrinking of the world; that it may allow the opportunities to dispel the fear and bring truth to the ignorant. More people willing to fight the natural corruption. People who are willing to share, to learn and to educate. Reason and truth and love are needed. These are the weapons to fight hate. Reason to understand that differences between thinking exists, even dislikes, and to try to learn from them still. Truth that goes past generalizations and mere exceptions to the "rules." Most importantly to love- to see each person as more than a number or statistic. To acknowledge and try to see another soul. If we forget that major point- each person, each people is unique and has depth- then hate complains another victory. So fight hate with reason, truth, and most importantly love.

Article From Romea.cz

Verdict tomorrow on attempted pogrom in Czech town after two and a half years of delay
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Tomorrow (Thursday 24 February 2011) the Regional Court in Ostrava should announce a first-instance verdict in the case of those accused of committing a targeted racist attack on randomly selected Roma people in two neighborhoods of the North Moravian town of Havířov. In 2009, the High Court in Olomouc decided the case could be qualified as attempted murder. The case was therefore removed from the docket of the District Court in Karviná and transferred to the Regional Court.
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Almost two and a half years have passed since the crime was committed, and the defendants have been at liberty during that time. The state prosecutor has charged eight young men with committing a racially motivated, targeted gang attack on Roma people in the neighborhoods of Šumbark and Prostřední Suchá in Havířov. One of the victims has suffered permanent damage to his health as a result of the attack. By law the trial will be closed, as one of the defendants was not yet 18 years old at the time of the crime. The announcement of the verdict, however, will be public.
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The prosecution charges that on the night of 8 November 2008, a large group of young men took to the streets of Havířov "as previously agreed and with the intention of attacking Roma passers-by." The youths, armed and masked, chased at least five young Roma men for the purpose of attacking them. In Šumbark, after a brief chase, they threw J. H., who was 16 years old at the time, to the ground, beat him and brutally kicked him, especially in the head, causing him serious life-threatening injuries. The assailants caused him intra-cranial injuries not only by kicking him, but by using a metal bar called a "gola" and a 65-cm long collapsible nightstick to beat him with. Police officers confiscated these assault weapons.
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After attacking J. H., the gang continued on their way, driving to Prostřední Suchá, another neighborhood of Havířov also predominantly inhabited by Roma people. Three carloads of assailants attempted to attack Roma people there as well. One victim managed to hide in a worker's dormitory, where migrant workers from Ukraine protected him.
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Eight defendants are now on trial for racially motivated attempted grievous bodily harm and for rioting. Prior to these assaults, police already had files on some of them as aggressive football hooligan supporters of the Baník Ostrava and Havířov clubs or as neo-Nazis. The High Court in Olomouc concluded that the perpetrators' behavior could be qualified as attempted murder and transferred the case to the Regional Court. The defendants remain at liberty due to significant delays in the criminal proceedings.
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The case for the prosecution rests primarily on circumstantial evidence. Police documented the defendants' mobile telephone signals as having been present at both sites at the times the attacks were committed. Even though the defendants have confirmed they were present at both places, they claim to have not participated in the attacks. When asked why they were present at the time of the crimes, they were unable to explain. Some eyewitnesses have refused to testify to either the police or the courts out of concerns for their own safety.
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In mid-October the presiding judge read into the record the testimony of eyewitnesses who had either failed to come to court or whose interrogation the judge considered necessary. A medical expert testified and confirmed that the main victim had been in danger of losing his life after the attack. He also described the victim's extensive injuries.
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The prosecutor's main problem is that the assailants riding in one of the three cars have never been identified by police. It is therefore theoretically possible that they were the ones who attacked J. H. and that the others only watched. However, it is a fact that all of the assailants continued to hunt more victims together after the attack on J. H., which would mean they were aware that what they were engaged in was highly violent and could lead to more attacks.
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If the court finds the defendants guilty, they face not only prison time, but will have to pay the victim damages in the hundreds of thousands of crowns. They will also have to reimburse his insurance for the costs of his medical treatment.
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Police are staying quiet about the case even today. The public has learned about it mainly thanks to the chair of the Roma association Europe Roma CZ, Ladislav Baláž, who visited the family of the main victim immediately after the attack and found a lawyer to represent them. Markus Pape has mapped the case and was the first to inform the public of it in detail. Daniela Horváthová, chair of the local branch of Europe Roma CZ in Prostřední Suchá, is communicating with the witnesses who have not yet testified out of fear for their own safety. News server Romea.cz is regularly reporting on the case.
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In mid-July 2009, the Anti-fascist Action group (Antifašistická akce- AFA) reported in detail on the overall activities of some of the defendants on the neo-Nazi scene. According to AFA, the defendants belong to a hooligans group called Thugs Havířov, and one of them is also said to be an active member of the militant group National Resistance (Národní odpor), which was banned by the Czech Supreme Court some years ago.
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In the past, violent neo-Nazi incursions against Roma people in Havířov were mainly committed in the Šumbark neighborhood. "Since news server Romea.cz and the other media started reporting on the trial, it has been calm," said Ladislav Baláž, who is monitoring the situation.
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The trial will start on 24 February 2011 at 8:30 AM CET at the Regional Court in Ostrava, Havlíčkovo nábřeží 1835/34. The main victim is being represented by Mgr. Roman Krakovka of the Law Office of Miketa and Partners with the financial support of the ROMEA association.
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To see this article on its original site, Romea.cz, visit this site.
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http://www.romea.cz/english/index.php?id=detail&detail=2007_2186
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February 22, 2011

Gigi Ibrahim, A Hero

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From PBS, Frontline.
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Racist on the Right, Idiots on the Left.

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Failure of American Politics in the Middle East.
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Everyday we here in the United States wake to another day of freedom and liberty. We have never tasted the bitterness of true tyranny or the oppression under which the rest of the world lives. Even in our comrade nations across the pond there is a certain level of repression carried out by the so called Democracies. Yet when the Middle East erupts with the blood of its youth we stand on the sidelines waiting to see where this fight ends.
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In Libya the nation's youth are fighting for their lives to topple the tyrant they grew up with. This man they are fighting, Moammar Gadhafi, has ruled them with an iron fist since the very day they took their first breath. They have had their freedoms stripped from the moment they opened their eyes for the first time. And now they are fighting tooth and nail to defeat the barbarian government that has oppressed them for decades.
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The world we have called for far to long the "Islamic World" is awash in blood. For the first time this blood is being spilt in the name of liberty. It is a fight that gave birth to the very nation in which you live. It is a fight that we once took up against the tyranny of Great Britain. A fight we cherish in our own history. But when it comes to the freedoms of the Muslim we suddenly change our views.
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Amongst the right wing in our society you will easily find the racist undertone that fuels their scepticism of the protesters in Libya, Morocco, Bahrain, Egypt, Yemen, Tunisia, and Iran. The right seems to fear the rise of a free and self governing Muslim nation. And this fear always arises from their fear of Islam itself.
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Yes, it is true that a sect of Islam has fed the flames of hatred for the West. But it is also true that we ourselves helped to stoke those same flames. We exploited the Middle East once we found something we coveted more than freedom itself. We have propped up governments that were inherently corrupt so as to retain access to the oil upon which they sat. This is a fact the leftist like to fall upon. And it is historically correct.
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However, the left fails to act when liberty is being so diligently pursued. They too seem to fail to realize that these are people who do not want an American backed government. These are people who are sick and tired of outside hands working their own self determination and national fate. These are also people who are dieing to get free of governments who are trying to oppress them with their own religion. These are people who want to be free. They want their countries back.
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Today I listened to a radio host claim that we should be against these uprisings because they will "lead to the Muslim Brotherhood" taking power of all North Africa. He claimed that these are the same people who we "fought crusades against to kick out of Europe". And that is when he went on to claim that "radical Islam" was alive and well during the Moorish "occupation" of Spain and is still alive and well in Libya today.
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This is the sort of racist banter that should not be tolerated. It is the same sort of racist banter that contributes to our failure to uphold the pursuit of liberty where ever and whenever it arises around the world. The view that these coming elections in the Middle East will be a "one time thing" are fueled by this narrow view of the people doing the voting.
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In Iran the Green Movement took to the streets in protest of a rigged election. They fought for the toppling of a tyrant and even bleed in the streets while their oppressors took to bunkers. The United States did nothing during the 2009 uprising. Now the Green Movement is beginning to show up once more. They are ready to bleed for their cause once again. And once again they are ready to push for the fall of a tyrant.
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These brave Iran youth show just why these coming elections will not be a "one time thing". If the militant tyrants take power again through rigged elections... the youth of the Middle East are ready to fight. They are true patriots ready to die if need be for the cause of liberty.
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So why the American resistance to their fight for freedom?
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Democrats in this country have a long history of not supporting anything they can not control. If their hands can't be in the mix then they suddenly loose interest. And these "radicals" can not be controlled. They can not be made to follow talking points or an approved template handed down to them from Washington. That is why Obama will not support them without first pointing out how he wants them to behave.
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Republicans on the other hand have found themselves completely incapable of backing any Muslim uprising. If the word "Muslim" shows up than the Republicans instantly loose interest. Their racist views of the Middle East show up every time the Republicans talk about Islam or Muslims. They just can't seem to distinguish between the hijackers and the common man when it comes to Muslims.
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This was all too clear when Egypt took to the streets to end the rule of a dictator. The youth of Egypt turned the Capitol's square into a stage for their protest. And when the tyrant pushed back... they turned that square into a battle field. They did not want an election in which the hardliners would be present. They did not want a rise of radical Islam. They simply wanted to take their country back.
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When peace failed... I know, hard for a Democrat to believe... they took up any form of weapon they could find. Rocks, stones, concrete... anything that could be thrown was hurled at their armed assailants. That square was for a moment turned into Hell on Earth as David and Goliath went to battle once more. Yet the American media and American politicians failed to see this as an opportunity to defend freedom. We missed the bus so to speak.
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In Libya we are seeing that same fight. However this time Goliath has hired mercenaries to wipe little David of the map. Gun ship helicopters have begun firing upon helpless protesters. And yet the spirit of freedom fights on. The very soul of liberty itself is still taking to the streets to strike at the heels of the tyrant whenever and where ever they can. Yet America remains paralyzed with indifference.
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In the words of Rage Against the Machine, these are people who are trying to "take the power back". So why do we straddle the fence?
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Many of the politicians who have been in power long enough in this country recall what happened when we got involved in Iran a couple decades ago. We backed the wrong side and we lost big. The people in power there today got there because we tried to serve our own self interest. We tried to manipulate the government of another country so as to prevent a government we did not like from coming to power. And what happened was just the opposite. That is why we don't help those seeking freedom in the Middle East today.
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For Republicans the people seeking to free themselves from oppression are simply "ingrates" who are "prone to violence" and simply "can't grasp true democracy". For the Democrats these are the backwater children of the world who are just throwing another tantrum. For both parties it is just another episode that shows why we can't help Arabs.
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For 24 yearold Gigi Ibrahim, an Egyptian woman, this fight shows just why the Arab World is ready for freedom. It is a fight that her twitter account has documented. It is a struggle that she has been helping gain ground since day one. For her and her comrades... they are down for the struggle no matter how long it takes. If another dictator comes to power than she and her fellow revolutionaries will take to the streets once again. They will fight... they will bleed... and if need be, they will die for the freedom we here in America live with every day.
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So to finish this up, I believe that the politicians here in America are doing nothing on behalf of the oppressed Arab world because they fear that they are next. They fear that this spirit of an angry populus will spread. They want to retain power in much the same way as the Middle Eastern dictators. The only differance... next year we vote. The oppressed in the Middle East are fighting for the that right.
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Source Documents for this Post.
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Voice Of America
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/middle-east/Gadhafi-Loses-Support-of-Libyan-Officials-Denies-Fleeing-116643889.html
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Altmuslimah
http://www.altmuslimah.com/a/b/b/4171/
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PBS, Frontline
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/world/jan-june11/frontline_02-21.html

February 21, 2011

And the Jackboots Go Marching On...

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And On... And On...
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Jobbik... in one word this nationalistic Hungarian political party can be summed up as "Racist". Like their ancestors, the Hungarian Guard, these Nazi minions are on a mission. To seek and destroy their enemies. Enemies they label as "damn Gypsies" and the looming "Left". (Quotes taken from "Attila")
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Armed with the political muscle their party has garnished in recent elections, the minions are massing. Their ignorant masses are gathering. And the jackboots are being laced up with ever growing vigor.
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In a recent posted article on Politics.Hu (Hungary) a columnist decided to attack the ever popular nationalistic party. Despite the fact that the article was far from an iron fist in a velvet glove the minions of Jobbik showed up for the battle. And their verbal abuse, if it can be called that, showed just how fervent they are when it comes to the Roma.
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But before I can get to their little verbal volleys I may need to explain Hungarian xenophobia first.
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In Hungary the Jobbik party is still rather small and at times disproportionately represented in local government. But their reach from the halls of government out onto the streets is far from "small". It is on the streets that Jobbik first grew its numbers. It was there that they found a link with the common man. And it is there that they fed the general public their racist hook, line, and sinker.
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Using the Roma as a target of opportunity, the Jobbik leaders have exploited fears that had long resided under the surface of the Hungarian public. They claim that the Roma are parasites upon the Hungarian public by associating the Roma with "welfare".
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When Jobbik leaders come before Hungarian Parliament in a Nazi era uniform (currently banned in Hungary) nobody seems to care enough to levy fines or jail the politicians. Instead the skinheads appear to be patting their "brave leader" Gábor Vona on the back. They don't even seem to mind his usual rants, rather racist in nature, about the Roma.
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This is how the racist banter of the Jobbik party resonates with their voters:
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"Vona Gábor is, was and always will (I hope) be a militant nationalist," Elle began. "You know, people who faults Vona for doing this are very short-sighted. And a society that sees the steeply climbing number of births of children for whose provision the parents rely on the state, then does not intervene, is culpably negligent. What do these people want to see happen in Hungary: something like in Brazilian, where the army or police regularly gun down the legions of abandoned street children, or human organ harvesters catch them for lucrative spare parts?
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Let’s face it: Hungary is under heavy international attack from the so-called ‘left’. The Hungarian ‘left’ appear to have friends throughout the API and the Bretton Woods institutions. The possibility of Hungary being brought down economically by this combination is not remote. What, in such an event, will happen to the ever-growing number of Gipsy children whom the state can no longer support? Vona is absolutely right. The government must assess and correct heavy Gipsy dependence on the state for child support."
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We are supposed to ignore the racist remarks of this Elle character however. The reason... we are just members of the "left" and are conspiring with the Hungarian "left". Anyone who sides with the Roma are clearly just "short-sighted".
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But Elle's remarks were just the tip of the Jobbik spear.
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"Agreed, the last thing Hungary needs is to be out numbered by those dam gypsies FFS or at least deport them to Mongolia" -Attila
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Just so those of you know... FFS stands for "For **** Sake". That is how great public speakers demonstrate their grasp of oration.
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Eisenhower (the poster not the President) pointed out the following...
"According to a recent poll by Szonda Ipsos, Fidesz
approval rate among likely voters is 60 percent, a 3
percent drop from the previous month. The socialist
support is 20 percent.
In February, Jobbik approval rate stands at 12
percent, which is a 2 percent increase from the
previous month. LMP approval rate is 6 percent.
So where is the decrease in Jobbik parties
popularity? Again this liberal article is deceptive."
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He failed however to defend his party's racist banter.
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Elle than rejoined the fight with the following:
"Jewish Holocaust is still priority to Hungarian Holocaust.’ The latter’s supporters are clamorous. We could become more so. And there has been a milestone here. Becsület Napja is now established, and the anti-nationals do not dare to deride it too loudly. The Kitörés was commemorated this year by Hungarians and Germans, with only some police harassment. It had to be cancelled last year. There’s progress, here.
I am hoping that now that Jobbik is back on the tarmac, the above will be consolidated"
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This is Jobbik's only defense and way to hide its blatant anti-Semitic remarks. They simply make more remarks of the same manner.
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By the way, Hungarians were not killed in the Holocaust. They did however kill hundreds of thousands of Jews as they sided with the Nazis.
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But then the Jobbik minions always turn their war of words back toward the Roma...
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"laughable. Orban wants to increase the voting rights
of gypsy people in the elections. Orban wants to
give extra voting rights for parents in the basis of
the number of their children. Therefore gypsy people
can decide general parlamental elections."
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They just can't resist the opportunity to attack the Roma. They need the Roma so as to feed the flames of their blind hatred. They need the Roma to justify their xenophobic fears of the outside world. And for them, the Roma justify the so called wrongs and hardships that have befallen them and their beloved Hungary. Amazingly all the Roma have to do to be targeted is to simply breathe.
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You can read more if you want by visiting the link below. I however will refrain from pointing out anymore of their mind numbingly stupid racism.
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Source Document for this Post.
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Politics.Hu
http://www.politics.hu/20110218/no-more-mister-nice-radical-nationalist-jobbik

February 19, 2011

Sweden Democrat is Against "Race Mixing"

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Isak Nygren Says Europeans Should Not Have Children With "niggers, Asians, ext."
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The rise of the far-Right in Europe has been speeding up over the past few years in places like Germany and England. In Sweden however the far-Right has been climbing the ranks for around a decade now. The Sweden Democrats are the latest in the rising tide of neo-Nazi style politicians. And their Hitler Youth style membership is starting to show their dark underside.
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Some in Sweden may not agree with the racist party, but then again the Nazis didn't exactly win 100% of the vote either. So the rise of the Sweden Democrats is not a surprise to those of us who have been watching from the sidelines. And their race-baiting rhetoric isn't much of a surprise either.
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Isak Nygren is just the first Sweden Democrat I have found to be so open with his hatred for minorities.
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"It would be good for the child if the parents are similar in appearance," Isak Nygren told Expo Magazine.
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That is how a Swedish Nazi begins his tirade. Calling Islam a "a violent pedophile cult" is how Isak usually ends his tirades. This time however he just decided to drop the word "nigger" into the ending of the tirade he gave this past Saturday.
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So what happened next?
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Isak may or may not be removed from his post in the Katrineholm, Sweden. However, if the removal... all be it temporary... of the drunken Sweden Democrat MP William Petzall is any indicator than Isak Nygren may just be given the boot. After all, William Petzall simply got drunk... Isak Nygren made blatantly racist comments in multiple media outlets.
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But will it affect the Sweden Democrats' outlook on politics? Not a chance in Hell. They still will be calling for the mass deportations of Roma and the continued "reeducation" of Swedish Muslims. They will still be looking for every reason to further isolate and attack all and any minority group found within Sweden's boarders.... and possibly a few outside.
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In the end it will take an outright rejection of the Swedish Democrats by the citizens and voters of Sweden to end their ascension to power. No amount of embarrassments or criticism from the outside will change them or the course they have chosen for Sweden.
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Source Documents for this Post.
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The Local, Sweden's News In English
http://www.thelocal.se/32008/20110213/
http://www.thelocal.se/31878/20110207/
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February 18, 2011

Waiting For the Hammer to Drop

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Iran Ready For Revolution Once Again...
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Obama ready to let the enemy slaughter its youth once again.
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Not to long ago the world sat back and watched as the "great leader" stood by and allowed a golden opportunity to fade into history. We watched as the beautiful face of Iran's youth was gunned down without provocation. Her bloody face still haunts us as the Islamic Hell of Iran begins its march into revolution once again.
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The jackbooted leaders of Iran are gearing up for the slaughter to come. They have already begun attacks on "public enemies". If the Green Revolution does come out in force once again we will surely see the snipers come back to Tehran. And like in Egypt, this time around we will most definitely stop seeing what is going on inside Iran... the fascist will most definitely shut down the Internet and all connections to the outside world.
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In the rest of the Middle East we have seen what a handful of tyrants are willing to do to retain power. Letting loose their thugs, targeting the "ring leaders", and forcing out protesters with extreme force... these are the hallmarks of the Middle East dictators. The demands of the protesters will surely only make these hallmarks increase in measure and become more intense in how they are applied.
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So how will the West respond?
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It was obvious during the peak of the Egyptian uprising that Obama's White House had no clue what to do. The obvious decision would have been to jump on the bandwagon and support the protesters... people who were seeking actual democracy. Instead Obama straddled the fence just long enough to see how the uprising would end. This is why the Middle East views us as weak.
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Egypt has now made it rather clear how Obama will respond to Iran... he wont. Like the last uprising in 2009 Obama will fail to even say anything till the dead are piling up. He will once again fail to see that these are people who want their countries back. He will once again fail to see that these are people who are sick and tired of oppression through religion and politics mingling to no end.
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Iran's pro-government puppets have already begun to demand the executions of opposition leaders such as Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi. They chanted during their last rally for the deaths of these two leaders by name. And yet Obama's White House remains silent despite these clear attacks on common liberties and inalienable human rights.
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During Obama's meeting with the press this week he said, "What has been different is the Iranian government’s response which has been to shoot people, beat people and arrest people."
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He should have also added that his White House doesn't plan to do anything about all those shootings, beatings, rapes, and unlawful arrest. But that would have gone against his messianic image.
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So to end this I just have one message for Obama.
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We don't need the friends we currently have in the Middle East. We need the friends that will come from backing these protest. We need a democratic Middle East in which the freedoms of the individuals are put above the so called right of government to rule. We need to honor the deaths of brave people like Neda Soltani by backing the movement she died for... the right of the peoples of these countries to determine their own nations fate and not be oppressed by the religious views of a select few.
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Source Documents for this Post.
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Voice of America
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/middle-east/Irans-Opposition-Stays-Afloat-Despite-Heavy-Crackdowns-116440504.html
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Chicago Tribune
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/ct-oped-0218-iran-20110218,0,278099.story
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ISN
http://www.isn.ethz.ch/isn/Current-Affairs/ISN-Insights/Detail?lng=en&id=126945&contextid734=126945&contextid735=126944&tabid=126944
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Payvand
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/feb/1173.html
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February 13, 2011

Serbian Mass Murder Finally Arrested


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Miodrag Momic Finally to Face His Sins
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Wanted since the end of the Bosnian War, "Guy Monier" has finally been arrested by French police. He was wanted for participation in the mass murder of 8,000 or more Bosnian Muslims. It has taken nearly twenty years for the paramilitary dog to be dragged to jail.
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Momic will soon be extradited to Serbia where he will most likely only receive 20 years in prison for his participation in the deaths of thousands. His confession or conviction will mean little to the Serbs seeing as how four of his counterparts received the same measly sentence. This is how Serbian courts reward "Scorpion" mercenaries.
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The crime he is being convicted with falls under the title of "Crimes Against Humanity"... or Genocide.
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The reason...
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During July of 1995 the Scorpions, and possibly the Greek Volunteer Guard, seized the UN protected "safe zone" of Srebrenica, a Bosnian city. They then went on to round up all the Muslims they could find within the city. The Hell they unleashed became rather reminiscent of the Nazi SS in action. Their victims were given no chance to flee or fight.
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Many of the witnesses told UN forces just how the "fighting" was being done. The "civil war" was being fought by armed Serbs and defenseless Muslim Bosnians. The Bosnians in this case were often being impaled or clubbed to death so as to save ammunition. Others were tortured and then killed. None were given an opportunity to flee.
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At the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia the presiding judge, Theodor Meron stated...
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"By seeking to eliminate a part of the Bosnian Muslims, the Bosnian Serb forces committed genocide. They targeted for extinction the 40,000 Bosnian Muslims living in Srebrenica, a group which was emblematic of the Bosnian Muslims in general. They stripped all the male Muslim prisoners, military and civilian, elderly and young, of their personal belongings and identification, and deliberately and methodically killed them solely on the basis of their identity."
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The Scorpions also participated in the mass rapes of Muslim women and children so as to deprive the population of any form of dignity. They slaughtered pregnant women and infants in an attempt to destroy the next generation of Bosnian Muslims. Young women and girls were often used as "sex slaves" and treated as property by Serbs. And yet Miodrag Momic decided to hide from his sins by fleeing to France... an option he openly denied his victims.
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If it were up to me he would be publicly executed in the worst way possible. Perhaps he should be drawn and quartered or just simply hung. But most likely he will be able to walk out of prison a free man at the age of 67... something his 8,000 or more victims never got a chance to do... be free.
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Instead they were bombarded by artillery and harassed by snipers the entire time the UN forces "protected" them. Then they were overrun and rounded up like animals. Those who were not killed in the days that followed would be shipped off to concentration camps where guards would take their time torturing them to death. The women would be sold or destroyed by the rapist and perverts on the Serbian side of the war.
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May Momic's soul rot in Hell.
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Source Document for this Post.
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Voice of America
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http://www.voanews.com/english/news/europe/Serb-War-Crimes-Suspect-Arrested-in-France-115036519.html
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February 9, 2011

"They Turn You Into A Racist"


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Roma or Romanian? Doesn't really matter much in Italy.
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In America a child born on United States' soil is automatically born an American citizen. In Italy a Roma born upon Italian soil is not an Italian citizen. It doesn't matter if the child is born to parents who were also born in Italy. The fact that they are Roma puts them into a state of "political limbo". Their ethnicity automatically denies them citizenship to the country in which they were born and raised.
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Many Roma children in Italy can look back at their ancestry and find generation after generation of Italian born Romany ancestors. Their fathers were Italian and their father's fathers were Italian. But they are not... not according to the Italian government that is.
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If you look at any Roma who have been long term residents of Italy you will not be able to find much of a distinction between them and other Italians. Of course their skin color might be a little off white I suppose. But their hair, their clothes, and their language are all Italian.
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The quote I started this post with however shows the distinction white Italians seem to be making between themselves and the Rom. It is a distinction that ironically does not apply to the difference between a Romanian and a Roma.
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So I will be making that distinction for them.
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The Romany are an ethnic group with vast differences between one group of Roma in one country and another group of Roma in another country. One might even notice a distinct difference between a family of Roma living in one house to the family of Roma living in the next. But that difference can be said to exist between any group of people from any ethnic or nationalistic background. The thing that makes a Romanian different from a Roma is the fact that a Romanian is a person of any ethnic origin who happens to be a Romanian citizen. A Roma is a person of Romany ethnicity.
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So the main reason for race baiting in Italy does not persist from the idea that Roma immigrated to Italy (some as far back as the 14Th to 15Th century) but from the fact that the EU's borders are "open".
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With the gates having been flung open and the ascension of Romania and Bulgaria to statehood in the EU the flood of immigrants began. Romanians hungry for work and a chance for a better life rushed into the Western Europeans' world. Italy was no exception.
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Other immigrants have appeared in recent years as northern Africans have begun flowing into Europe. They seem to have favored France and Italy as places to settle. Muslims from the Middle East have also taken to the two xenophobic states. And this is what has led to Italian resentment of all immigrants.
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TOP IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES
Romania: 625,278
Albania: 401,949
Morocco: 365,908
China: 156,519
Ukraine: 132,718
Philippines: 105,675
Tunisia: 93,601
Source: Caritas/Migrantes, Istat
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The Roma are just setting between a rock and a hard place. If they leave Italy, their long lived home, they become immigrants in other neighboring countries... countries that also resent immigrants. If they stay they remain the "targets of opportunity" for the ever increasing xenophobic Italians.
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So what to do?
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Hungary currently holds the presidency in the EU. They have made the Roma a priority in Europe. A priority group to be dealt with in a way that Europe has only promised for nearly a decade now. Hungary wants to address the crimes the Roma have been forced to suffer at the hands of European states and to fix the issues these mistreatments have caused. After that they want to integrate Roma into the European societies in which they currently live. And this is the issue with which they will most likely meet the most resistance.
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It has been a long standing policy in Italy, France, and neighboring countries that the Roma can not be integrated in their societies. This past summer they (and even Germany) proved this point by deporting Roma they accused of being in their countries illegally. The fact was that none of the deported Roma were ever proven to have been illegal immigrants. But that wasn't the point... France and Italy proved they don't want Roma in their countries.
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These countries have however shown that they believe countries like Hungary, where Roma have suffered attacks, should be integrated there. They just don't seem to believe that the Romany should be allowed to enter into the Western societies.
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So how can Hungary force these xenophobic countries into the "multicultural" utopia that the "progressives" in the EU Parliament dream of?
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They can't.
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History shows us that in a time of economic depression that the people of Europe seem to seek out nationalism in its worse form. They crave a "white" Europe when times go sour. And that is what we are witnessing right now. A Europe that is suffering from a new strain of xenophobia.
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The only way Hungary can stem the tide of the far-right in Europe is to first purge itself of political parties like Jobbik... a party that is growing in Hungary. It must then make it a mission to fight and destroy the new jackboots in the EU government itself. From its seat of power in the EU it needs to destroy the "tolerance" of antisemitism in places like Holland. And it must force countries to punish and isolate the new Nazi style groups in Europe.
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However we will most likely not be seeing that aggressive of a policy coming out of Hungary. We will be lucky if we even see them accomplish anything that the EU has promised the Roma since 2005.
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Source Documents for this Post.
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BBC World News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7858012.stm

February 4, 2011

Failure to Comply


A Lack of Conformity...
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How is that people like President Barack Obama can commonly be heard preaching the tenants of democracy... one being the inalienable Human Rights... and yet we watch as our fellow democratic societies violate the rights of their own citizens? I'm not talking about China. I'm not talking about Saudi Arabia. I'm talking about European democratic societies. Our old friends from across the "pond".
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If you have been reading Alder's Ledge for long you should now be aware of the growing issues with the Europeans' violations of human rights. Not only has anti-Semitism made a comeback in the European mindset but the xenophobia has isolated Romani living in Europe. Targeting of Roma has grown rather intense over the past few years alone as France and Italy have deported Roma in great numbers.
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It is my opinion that European countries are trying to strip legal citizens of the European Union of their rights as citizens simply because the targeted community's ethnicity. By deporting the Roma to countries outside the European Union the governments are making it impossible for the Roma to claim the said rights. Instead the Roma find themselves in worse poverty than they had suffered back in France and Italy. And to make things worse, the deported Roma are considered less than second-class citizens in their new homes.
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It is hard to prove such allegations and near impossible seeing as how news from across the pond is hard to come by and difficult to believe. Most of the news agencies and news papers from Europe appear to mask what they find embarrassing about their home countries while pointing toward the United States as a "model violator of human rights".
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However when you hear the slogan "Hamas, Hamas, All the Jews to the Gas" being chanted at "football" games you have to realize that human rights is an issue in Europe. You can't ignore the reference. It doesn't happen by accident. And the fact that the fellow Europeans, the ones not shouting it, don't stop it... they become complacent to the violent rhetoric.
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In England the following video brought to us by CNN shows how violent the attacks on human rights (the right to live in peace) in even the moderate country of England have become.
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Meanwhile in Italy, a breeding ground for xenophobic hatred, the attacks on human rights take on an entirely different appearance.
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But none of this should be news for those of you who have been reading this blog over the past few months. So why do we care? Why does it matter what Europe does to its own citizens?
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We have been witnessing the violations of human rights in China for decades. But we can't do or say anything about those violations because of our own. And we will never be capable of being taken seriously due to those violations.
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Western democracies can not nor should not be taking part in the degradation of human life and the value of it. It is obvious that we do not out right destroy human life but rather attack the value of it. We isolate the targeted group and punish them nearly relentlessly. In doing this we usually deprive the targeted community of the common liberties we here in western democracies cherish most.
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For the Jewish community in Holland this has been a way of life for the past several years. The Holland community has blamed it upon the "immigrant population". They claim that the Jewish community has brought it upon itself since they continue to supposedly support the Israeli issues with the Palestinians. Yet most of the liberal minded Dutch don't seem to realize that they themselves are denying Holland's Jewish community of their civil liberties by allowing the persistent attacks.
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So why can't we here in the west preach "Human Rights" to the countries that need it most?
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Simple. They view us as being weak on the enforcement of common Human Rights laws. They appear to believe that if we can't enforce the laws here at home than we can't be trusted to enforce them abroad.
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Take Rwanda for example. This is a country that has suffered a genocide in its very recent past. Yet it continues to suppress the rights of its citizens in much the same ways as before the 1994 genocide. America and its European allies however do not seem willing to address the issue. And China, who has investments in Africa, will not dare talk about Rwanda's current human rights violations.
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And if we did talk to China about Rwanda... well there is always the issue of France's Roma deportations to bring up. We are blocked from taking on such clear violations and the violators themselves due to our own weaknesses. We can't act against China or Rwanda due to our own weakness when it comes to our allies in Europe.
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Those of you reading this blog can take action however. Unlike our government, you can make your voices heard. By writing your Congressman you can let him/her know that this issue does matter to you. By writing your Senator you can make our government listen.
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You can even write President Barack Obama himself if you want. After all, Barack did promise to officially recognize the Armenian Genocide... which he has not.
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Source Documents for this Post.
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VOA News
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/Human-Rights-World-Report-Quiet-Diplomacy-Failing-to-Protect-Human-Rights-114479969.html
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Romea.cz
http://www.romea.cz/english/index.php?id=detail&detail=2007_2127