From the Financial Times:
Nicolas Sarkozy, French interior minister, will today call for a shake-up of immigration policy and propose tightening rules for granting visas to family members of immigrants living in France.His comments, in an interview published in L'Express magazine today, came after an opinion poll showed that Mr Sarkozy, the early favourite for the 2007 presidential elections, had won plaudits among voters for his tough stance over the recent rioting. Analysts said his tough position on immigration highlighted how Mr Sarkozy was identifying himself with policies normally associated with far right, anti-immigration parties, like the National Front, to enhance his populist image.
The debate over immigration heated up yesterday after Gérard Larcher, employment minister, told the Financial Times that polygamy on Tuesday among immigrants was one of the social causes that helped lead to the rioting during the past three weeks...
Early in the rioting, Mr Sarkozy was widely criticised for inciting more violence by calling the protesters "scum". However, a poll in Le Point magazine showed 68 per cent of people approved his handling of the rioting, a jump of 11 points from a previous poll...
At least Sarkozy is showing balls. Chirac has been hiding all along.
I am sure Le Pen is having the time of his life now though. And quite understandable.
Interesting how parties across France and Holland have shown sharp tilts to the right. Democracy is well and functioning then in the old world, despite socialism induced dependence and welfare junkie-ism among the urban intelligentsia and a sizeable section of the urban populace.
I also know that Austria and Denmark are tilting right. Wonder what the situation is like in Belgium though. Any knowledgeble commentators would like to comment? And the German giant will probably be the last to awake.
It's too late Mr Sarkozy. You and other French officials have been asleep at the wheel. You now wake up and are startled. Yes, that's right Mr Sarkozy, all those stories about muslim immigration were correct. There is not one country in the West that can say that muslims have settled in a seamless manner. But you knew best didn't you Mr Sarkozy.
That loud noise in the suburbs of Paris is the sound of chickens coming home to roost.
You arrogant fool.
From the Financial Times, "The debate over immigration heated up yesterday after Gérard Larcher, employment minister, told the Financial Times that polygamy on Tuesday among immigrants was one of the social causes that helped lead to the rioting during the past three weeks..."
What about polygamy on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday?
What about polygamy on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday?
Solomon Grundy
Born on a Monday
Christened on Tuesday
Married on Wednesday
Took ill on Thursday
Worse on Friday
Died on Saturday
Buried on Sunday
That’s the end of Solomon Grundy
Becomes Suleyman Grundy
Born on a Monday
Married on Tuesday
Married on Wednesday
Married on Thurdsay
Married on Friday
....zzzzzzzz....
And carried out a suicide bombing on a Sunday!
It's a start, but I would like to see more. How about deporting all of those rioters that were arrested and their families? How about stopping Muslim immigration altogether? "Tightening the rules" just doesn't cut the mustard I'm afraid, France is battling for her very survival and she needs an overhaul of the current French immigration policy. How about listening to the people for a change and not the insulated "Islam experts", Mr. Sarkozy?
Voletti,
In Belgium (where I live), I do not see a tilt to the right in a near future - at least in the French-speaking part of the country, Wallonie. Partly because a lot of people are still sleeping and having rousseauist dreams, partly because an awful lot of people are "clients" to the socialist party, partly also because we don not have any believable right party - the big "right" party being the "Mouvement Reformateur", compared to with UK Labour might be called extreme-right, I think!). Nothing to hope from them.
We alse have some clowns who try to "copy" the french FN (not a reference either!), and who don't usually account for much.
Plus they recently voted a 5% "electoral threshold", which means it would be pretty difficult for a new party to emerge...
It doesn't mean there are not people thinking "enough is enough, now"!. Only, there are to few of them - or rather they are never given an occasion to talk.
So... I might be wrong (and in a way I hope I am), but I don't see any political waking up around here.
PS: I'm also quite sceptical about the waking up in France. All right, a lot of people were appalled by what happened those last few weeks, and some politics have been gaining popularity from it. But I do not trust their efficiency (example: Sarkozy will be unable to have youth delinquent expelled due to a law that he himself had voted in 2003!). And I'm much more confident in the MSM to hide, cover, and explain away the recent events - my own father, living in France, told me only yesterday: "Yes, but you know, in "les banlieues", they are fed up of being poor..." !!!
Last note about France: in his last "Spectator" chronicle, Mark Steyn reports this (also reported elsewhere):
"As Jean-Claude Dassier, director-general of the French news station LCI, told a broadcasters' conference in Amsterdam, he has been playing down the riots on the following grounds: "Politics in France is heading to the Right and I don't want Right-wing politicians back in second or even first place because we showed burning cars on television.""
"I don't want Right-wing politicians back in second or even first place" ??!? funny thing to say, since the french governement is supposedly right-wing!! So even he aknowledges that those people are just... well... anything but right-wingers!
voletti: CDA is taking a pretty pro-muslim approach. PvdA is being very weird, going with all directions of the wind.
Leaning more to the right are Geert Wilders, LPF, Hildebrandt Nawijn.
In Belgium you have 'Vlaams Belang' (which used to be called 'Vlaams Blok') - they're the guys that typically get called xenophobic and racist.
The VLD seems to demand exams/courses for new migrants.
sp.a seems to follow a left character shared by many socialists.
Spirit follows a left-liberal character.
CD&V also demands a migrant course before becoming a Belgian citizen. Seems a slightly leftist.
Groen! appears to be quite left.
Vivant seems left.
In general it seems as if most parties lean towards left, but I have little information about the general feeling of the populace. Which is funny given I don't live that far away from Belgium.
Ooops... "Sarkozy will be unable to have youth delinquent expelled due to a law that he himself had voted in 2003"
must read: ""Sarkozy will be unable to have young rioters expelled due to a law that he himself had voted in 2003"
Explanation: About 3000 rioters stopped by the police, but most of them were french (at least on paper; so Sarkozy said he wanted 120 of the non-French rioters expelled BUT...
- this 2003 law protects people younger than 18 to be expelled
- dito for anyone who arrived in France when younger than 13
- dito for anyone having all his family in France!
So, at the end, he might be lucky to have 10 people expelled.
Below, the complete story in French (sorry!)
_________
Emeutes : 10 expulsions imminentes
Le ministre de l’Intérieur, Nicolas Sarkozy l’avait annoncé la semaine dernière aux députés, il allait demandé l’expulsion de 120 étrangers ayant participé aux émeutes. Finalement, après examen des cas et au regard de la loi, seules 10 personnes pourraient éventuellement relever d’une telle procédure. A propos du nombre de personnes impliquées, le bouillonnant ministre assure «ne pas vouloir faire du chiffre». Pour lui, «c’est une question de principe».
Près de 2 900 personnes ont été interpellées en trois semaines au cours des émeutes qui ont atteint les banlieues françaises défavorisées. Environ la moitié ont fait l’objet d’une garde à vue et 600 ont été écrouées, dont 107 mineurs, selon la direction générale de la police nationale. Parmi ces personnes, une centaine serait des étrangers. Ce sont ceux-là que le ministre de l’Intérieur, Nicolas Sarkozy souhaitait voir expulsés. Même si 63% des Français approuvent cette mesure selon un récent sondage, la loi offre une protection incontournable pour la très large majorité d’entre eux. Le ministre a donc dû revoir nettement à la baisse le nombre d’étrangers qu’il pouvait faire expulser. Au final, seules dix procédures d’expulsion ont pu être engagées. L’identité, l’âge et l’origine des dix personnes concernées n’ont pas été communiqués par le ministère.
Si la liste de Nicolas Sarkozy s’est rétrécie comme une peau de chagrin, c’est avant tout parce que l’écrasante majorité des personnes interpellées possède la nationalité française. La question de leur expulsion ne se pose donc pas. Quant aux étrangers poursuivis ou condamnés pour violences urbaines, ils relèvent pour la plupart de la loi sur l’immigration. Une loi que le même Nicolas Sarkozy a fait voter en 2003 et qui protège certaines catégories d’étrangers contre les mesures d’éloignement.
Un risque de stigmatiser les étrangers
Selon les termes de cette loi, les mineurs ne peuvent en aucun cas être expulsés. Pour ce qui concerne les majeurs, ceux qui sont arrivés en France avant l’âge de 13 ans sont également protégés par cette même loi. Pour ceux qui sont arrivés après 13 ans, s’ils ont toute leur famille en France, ils ne sont pas expulsables non plus en vertu cette fois, de l’article 8 de la Convention européenne des droits de l’homme. Les seules dérogations que la loi a prévues concernent la fausse monnaie, les incitations à la discrimination et le terrorisme. Les violences urbaines pour lesquelles sont poursuivies les dix personnes menacées d’expulsion actuellement, n’entrent en aucun cas dans ce cadre, explique le Conseil national des barreaux, qui représente tous les avocats de France.
Une fois l’arrêté prononcé, la personne poursuivie peut introduire un recours devant le tribunal administratif, puis le Conseil d’Etat. Mais ce recours n’est pas suspensif. Toutefois si les instances saisies annulent l’arrêté d’expulsion, la personne sera autorisée à revenir en France comme cela s’est produit récemment, pour un imam de la région lyonnaise, malgré trois arrêtés successifs.
Plusieurs associations de défense des droits de l’homme, dont le Groupe d’information et de soutien des immigrés (Gisti) reproche au ministre de l’Intérieur «d’avoir fait une annonce politique à l’Assemblée nationale qui ne correspond pas à la réalité des événements, puisque la majorité des jeunes impliqués sont français». «M. Sarkozy est pourtant avocat, aurait-il oublié l’esprit de la loi ?» s’interroge Me Ahcène Taleb, un avocat membre d’une cellule de vigilance. Cette structure a été mise en place par le barreau de Seine-Saint-Denis afin de préparer d’éventuels recours contre des arrêtés pris en «urgence absolue». Pour la Cimade (service œcuménique d’entraide), «il est intolérable que le discours gouvernemental se réduise à une stigmatisation des étrangers et à un amalgame qui tente de faire croire que la responsabilité des mouvements de révolte leur est imputable».
L’Etat d’urgence prolongé, assorti d’expulsions et de couvre-feux, semble profiter à Nicolas Sarkozy. Sa popularité, loin de souffrir des mesures autoritaires instituées, vient de gagner encore 11 points selon un sondage Ipsos. Ainsi, 68% des sondés approuvent son action. Bien évidemment, l’omniprésent ministre de l’Intérieur fait le score maximum au sein de l’électorat de son parti, l’UMP où 84,5% le voient comme le meilleur candidat à la présidentielle. Son potentiel électoral est au même niveau au Front national, le parti d’extrême droite de Jean-Marie Le Pen. Plus surprenant, Nicolas Sarkozy gagne aussi à gauche, où 50% d’électeurs socialistes déclarent dans ce même sondage, avoir une bonne opinion du ministre de l’Intérieur.
Claire Arsenault
Article publié le 16/11/2005
By the way, how on earth am I supposed to take this 'polygamy on Tuesday' mention? Am I missing something subtle?
Pistache and asmodai:
Tks for the responses and the info therein.
Seems like I was too optimistic by half. Are we gonna then see the fall of Pax Westerna, the second Roman Empire for all practical purposes, to the barbarians?
how on earth am I supposed to take this 'polygamy on Tuesday' mention? Am I missing something subtle?
Fro what i understand its one of the peculiarities of the English language which is rather sensitive to sequence of words used. So "mentioned on tuesday that polygame blah blah' is the correct way rather than 'mentioned that polygamy on tuesday blah blah" coz in the latter case the tuesday applies to the polygamy part and not the 'mentioned' part.
cheerio.
latter case the tuesday applies to the polygamy part and not the 'mentioned' part.
Baths for babies with tin bottoms.
I have a dog with a wooden leg named Smith.
Hang on, it was a dog with a wooden leg named Rover and a man with a wooden leg named Smith.
Easy mistake to make.
Could be the old peculiar having an effect...
Saudi royal picks his jail: Convict will do a year on MV
By Maggie Mulvihill and O’Ryan Johnson
Thursday, November 17, 2005 - Updated: 03:20 AM EST
E-mail article
A 23-year-old kinsman of the Saudi royal family will spend only a year in jail on scenic Martha’s Vineyard for running down a Cambridge father – allegedly while drunk – under a plea agreement to be presented this morning to a Suffolk Superior Court judge.
Bader Al-Saud, a former philosophy student at Suffolk University, was hurtling down Charles Street at nearly 50 mph in a luxury SUV on Oct. 29, 2002. He plowed into Orlando Ramos of Cambridge, killing the 37-year-old itinerant landscaper. His body landed 150 feet away, authorities said.
“He killed someone and he gets to pick where he wants to go to jail?” said an outraged Paula Caruso, mother of Ramos’ daughter, Jennifer, 16. “Why? Because he has money he gets to choose?”
A lawyer for Jennifer Ramos said her family was infuriated to learn that Al-Saud has been allowed to choose an island getaway – the Dukes County Jail and House of Corrections in Edgartown – as his prison.
“A number of the family members literally almost came out of their seats,” said attorney Richard A. Eustis.“It appears the defendant is being given special consideration that your typical Suffolk defendant isn’t usually given.”
Al-Saud’s blood alcohol level was .12, above the legal limit of .08, the night of the crash, police said.
Suffolk County officials initially planned to prosecute him for felony homicide. But their case weakened as he and his lawyers pushed to obtain Ramos’ mental health records after Ramos’ survivors sued Al-Saud for wrongful death.
David Procopio, spokesman for Suffolk DA Daniel Conley, said issues raised during the civil suit were “unfavorable” to the state’s case, but he would not elaborate.
“The defendant has as a result of a civil suit raised some triability issues with us,” Procopio said.“In our desire to see the defendant serve some time for this crime we agreed to the recommendation.” [continue]
Procopio said he could not confirm whether Al-Saud might serve his time at the jail on Martha’s Vineyard. But he said his office is not objecting to Al-Saud’s bid to serve his time outside Boston.
After the accident, Al-Saud was ordered held on $200,000 bail pending trial. He posted bail after the funds were made available to him by the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Washington.
Al-Saud was 19 or 20 at the time of the accident. But police found an international driver’s license in his leased BMW X5 with a bogus birth date that put his age at 24. Neither Al-Saud, who is listed at a Cambridge address, nor his lawyers could be reached for comment.
Eustis said Jennifer Ramos was informed in a meeting with Conley’s office last month that Al-Saud and the DA had reached the plea agreement. “Jennifer was left with the impression there wasn’t anything she could do about it,” Eustis said.“But she believes her father’s life is worth more than a year.”
Under Melanie’s Law, the mandatory minimum sentence for a motor vehicle homicide while driving under the influence would be five years instead of one.
Paula Caruso said her daughter, who still makes photo memorials to her dead father, will be in court today to face Al-Saud.
“Tomorrow is the first time we’re going to lay eyes on him,” she said. “I don’t think there’s going to be closure on this.”
a man with a wooden leg named Smith.
So what's his other leg called then?
a man with a wooden leg named Smith.
So what's his other leg called then?
I wouldn't like to say - he might hold it against me.
Interested, are you saying he would Stick it to you?
Too late, Mr. Sarkozy...
much too little, and way too late.
Europe, what have you done.
Interested, are you saying he would Stick it to you?
Honi soit qui mal y pense.
If I said you had a beautiful prosthesis would you hold it against me?
No use trusting the leaders any more. French people must rise high like a sunami wave,and subdue all these trouble makers and chase them out. Im sure half of them are without proper papers. French are known for their bravery. WAKE UP!! another French revolution is knocking at your door- A question of survival of your life,culture , faith and your own french identiy.
The intimidating hoosegow within walking distance of the Black Dog Cafe? And if one is 20, even within walking range of Beetlebung Corner? That'll change his reckless driving ways.
Someone should compile a list of the mayhem caused by Saudi students to date all over this country -- the automobile accidents, the girls seduced, even temporarily "married" (the children go back to Saudi Arabia with the father -- if you want to come along, forever, put on this abaya and shut up), the papers and doctoral theses written by others, and who knows what else they have done? Of course there are those -- the renters of luxury apartments, the full-price sellers of luxury cars, liquor, drugs, all those other things that get such a boost from exceptionally rich students enjoying the intense study that merican campuses are famous for offering.
As one involved in fraud prevention, I'm passing this along....
FRAUD FOCUS
Coalition Against Insurance Fraud (Fall 2005)
"Dentist nabbed in painful case of truth decay
Former dentist Dr. Alireza Asgari inflicted painful and worthless root canals, extractions, sinus surgeries and cavity drillings on patients to hike his insurance bilings. A piece of broken dental instrument also was stuck in one patient's tooth. Yet another patient with no history of tooth problems suddenly received several cavity fillings, two root canals, plus a crown, sinus surgery and an operation to remove the root end of his tooth. One woman even found glass beads lodged in her gums. The Wlkes-Barre, PA dentist also charged a young patient nearly $3800 to install metal braces that were clinically worthless. Asgari also billed insurers for phantom work he never performed. Asgari pleaded guilty this week. He could receive decades in prison when sentenced, and could be deported back to his native Iran. Asgari also faces lawsuits by more than 100 patients."
I can't help but wonder if some of that money found its way to questionable charities or shaheed fubnding groups. Perhaps it was only personal greed...
In Belgium (the Dutch speaking part) there is a National Front-like party, named Vlaams Belang (Flemish Interests?), it gets about 25% of the votes. It opposes immigration and is all for assimilation, as far as I know.
But, I do not think the question is right/left politics but whether one is willing to confront reality.
In the Netherlands, we have a lot of parties that declared islam almost holy (the so called left: PvdA (Labour), Groen Links (enviroment), D66 (social liberals) but the same goes for the so called right (Christen democrats, who seems to feel that a religieus renesance could help them also, and the VVD (conservative liberals). I leave some parties out, we have a lot of them in the Netherlands.
However, the VVD has Ayaan Hirsi Ali as MP, and the most popular (and hated) secretary of state, mrs. Verdonk (integration and immigration) is from the same party. I feel that the only party willing to work against immigration is the VVD, but since no party ever has a mayority in our country, it has to work with other parties, those that seem determend to do anything but seeing the reality and act upon it.
But isn't Sarkozy funding the building of mosques with French taxpayers money?
I'd say that De Villiers is the one to vote for in 2007.
"Nicolas Sarkozy, French interior minister, will today call for a shake-up of immigration policy and propose tightening rules for granting visas to family members of immigrants living in France."
How do you translate a Homer Simpson "Doh" into French?
FRAUD FOCUS
Coalition Against Insurance Fraud (Fall 2005)
"Dentist nabbed in painful case of truth decay"
I've heard this drill before -- in October there was a post about an Israeli Arab who was recruited by HAMAS...
There once was a dentist in Israel
Who was a decendant of Ishmael...
His work seemed quite calm
til he strapped on a bomb
and blew up the church's baptismal...
Sorry -- this was all I could come up with in short order... I tried to work out a poem involving the line "and carry out a suicide mission in the name of Allah the Compassionate and Muhammad his Messenger -- AllahuAkbar! AllahuAkbar!" but I couldn't work with the meter, nor could I find words that rhymed with "AllahuAkbar!" & co...