Archive for February 2007

The Robert Taft Club is honored to host a Friday evening lecture featuring Frank Vanhecke and Filip Dewinter of the Vlaams Belang. This will be their only public appearance in the United States. Because of the eminence of these men, and that many people wish to come from out of town, the format for this event will be greatly different from past Robert Taft Club meetings. Rather than a discussion there will be a lecture on the subject “Immigration, Multiculturalism, and the End of Free Speech in Europe” Filip Dewinter, Member of Belgian Parliament and Frank Vanhecke, Member of Euorpean parliament will discuss the threat that multiculturalism, radical Islam, and mass immigration bring to the fundamental European and American values of free speech, tolerance, and representative government in Europe. I have set up a website http://www.vlaamsbelang.us to promote this event.

The Vlaams Belang (Flemish Interest) is the largest political party in Belgian, recieving 25% of the vote. Like most American conservatives, the Vlaams Belang defends the free market, traditional values, and a cohesive national culture. They focus most strongly, however, for autonomy for the Flemish people, and opposition to mass immigration and the Islamification of their country. The Vlaams Belang is unapologetically populist, in Mr. Dewinter’s words “if by populism you mean breaking taboos and saying what ordinary people think, even if it’s politically incorrect.”

In response to the success of the Vlaams Belang, the establishment socialist and “conservative” parties have attempted to suppresss the Vlaams Belang. They issued a “Cordon Sanitaire” refusing to caucus witht the party. In 2004, the Belgian court’s changed the constitution, to ban the Vlaams Belang’s earlier incarnation the Vlaams Blok on the grounds they incited racial hatred. Their offense? Printing a pamphlet by a member of Turkish descent criticizing female gential mutilation in Muslim countries. Despite these efforts, the Vlaams Belang remains the most successful true right wing party in Europe. The lecture should both educate Americans about the fate of Europe and give inspiration and ideas so that their success can be duplicated by a genuinely right wing movement in this country,

Filip Dewinter is the party’s most prominent member and serves as its floor leader in the Belgium Parliament. Frank Vanhecke serves as the party’s chairman and is a member of the European Parliament. More background information on the men and the party is availible at http://www.vlaamsbelang.us

When: Friday, February 23. 7:00-10:00 PM
Where: Crystal City Marriot
1999 Jefferson Davis Highway
Arlington, Virginia 22202, directly above the Crystal City Metro

Some various generous donors are helping fund this event, but currently, we only have funds to pay for the room. We would like to have money to help pay for a bar and food, so donations are still greatly appreciated. They are tax deductible, but not through the American Cause, so if you would like to contribute, please send me an e-mail and I can give you more information.

marcusepstein@gmail.com

As usual, feel free to show up if you do not RSVP, but please RSVP as soon as possible, and forward this to as many people as possible. Please post this on your blogs, and promote this as much as possible, as we would like to give these men a show of the American solidarity.

If you are in press or politics, I am setting up some smaller meetings with journalists and Hill Staffers, so please contact me about that if you are interested
–
Marcus Epstein
(757) 375-0179

The Liberal Democrats have suspended two councillors who backed a BNP representative for a key local position and then refused to apologise.

The party initially said it would let the matter rest because John Jones and Jeff Sumner, from Lib Dem-held Burnley council, had admitted they were wrong and undertaken not to support members of the far-right group again.

But after the men told the Guardian that they had no regrets about voting for BNP councillor Sharon Wilkinson - rather than her Labour rival - to join the board of a publicly-funded regeneration initiative, the party’s president issued a further statement.

Complete text linked below:

“As I have researched this problem, I wonder how many other senior citizens have experienced the same kinds of problems and shoddy treatment by the Social Security Administration,” Toney Scott, of Jerseyville said. “After all, these people are in this position of trust and the people have no input into the system.”

Scott said the nightmare began for his 85-year-old mother-in-law, who he would not identify, via an Oct. 18 letter from the Social Security’s Great Lakes Program Service Center in Chicago, notifying her that the agency had mistakenly overpaid her $1,900 in widow’s benefits - dating to 2004 - and that she had 30 days to refund the full amount or they would immediately begin deducting the amount from her monthly benefits.

The letter said that if she wished to appeal or request a waiver, the agency might need a full statement of her assets and monthly income and expenses. Supposedly, she had 60 days to appeal.

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There is a certain despair that comes with being pushed to the fringes of the political norm by those who stake a claim to the “mainstream”; even though we see possible consequences to policy decisions that may seem popular at the time, we are easily discounted with any number of character assassinations from alarmist to xenophobic. Unfortunately, by the time the consequences become publicly apparent, those who are in the position to correct the problems (or could have prevented them in the first place) face too much political pressure from the new “mainstream” to deal with them appropriately.

William Lind is one of those “alarmists” who used his understanding of fourth generation warfare to warn of coming turmoil from the US invasion of Iraq. Now that we are embroiled in a conflict with an undefinable purpose and for which our leaders cannot identify the standards for success, Lind is discounted as little more than an unpatriotic threat to the safety of “the troops” and, worse, someone who “emboldens the terrorists”.

The body of Lind’s work, however, is concerned with domestic problems faced by a system that is designed to operate as a republic rather than as an empire. Much of his criticism focuses on the fact that socially and politically, America’s institutions are not suited to confront enemies that have no centralized governing infrastructure or military targets. His position asserts that attempting to conquer such enemies will, eventually, bring this nation to economic, social, and political collapse.

Recently Lind suggested, “One of the things U.S. troops are learning in Iraq is how people with little training and few resources can fight a state. Most American troops will see this within the framework of counterinsurgency. But a minority will apply their new-found knowledge in a very different way. After they return to the U.S. and leave the military, they will take what they learned in Iraq back to the inner cities, to the ethnic groups, gangs, and other alternate loyalties they left when they joined the service. There, they will put their new knowledge to work, in wars with each other and wars against the American state. It will not be long before we see police squad cars getting hit with IEDs and other techniques employed by Iraqi insurgents, right here in the streets of American cities.”

Complete text linked below:

The Robert Taft Club is honored to host a Friday evening lecture featuring Frank Vanhecke and Filip Dewinter of the Vlaams Belang. This will be their only public appearance in the United States. Because of the eminence of these men, and that many people wish to come from out of town, the format for this event will be greatly different from past Robert Taft Club meetings. Rather than a discussion there will be a lecture on the subject “Immigration, Multiculturalism, and the End of Free Speech in Europe” Filip Dewinter, Member of Belgian Parliament and Frank Vanhecke, Member of Euorpean parliament will discuss the threat that multiculturalism, radical Islam, and mass immigration bring to the fundamental European and American values of free speech, tolerance, and representative government in Europe. I have set up a website http://www.vlaamsbelang.us to promote this event.

The Vlaams Belang (Flemish Interest) is the largest political party in Belgian, recieving 25% of the vote. Like most American conservatives, the Vlaams Belang defends the free market, traditional values, and a cohesive national culture. They focus most strongly, however, for autonomy for the Flemish people, and opposition to mass immigration and the Islamification of their country. The Vlaams Belang is unapologetically populist, in Mr. Dewinter’s words “if by populism you mean breaking taboos and saying what ordinary people think, even if it’s politically incorrect.”

In response to the success of the Vlaams Belang, the establishment socialist and “conservative” parties have attempted to suppresss the Vlaams Belang. They issued a “Cordon Sanitaire” refusing to caucus witht the party. In 2004, the Belgian court’s changed the constitution, to ban the Vlaams Belang’s earlier incarnation the Vlaams Blok on the grounds they incited racial hatred. Their offense? Printing a pamphlet by a member of Turkish descent criticizing female gential mutilation in Muslim countries. Despite these efforts, the Vlaams Belang remains the most successful true right wing party in Europe. The lecture should both educate Americans about the fate of Europe and give inspiration and ideas so that their success can be duplicated by a genuinely right wing movement in this country,

Filip Dewinter is the party’s most prominent member and serves as its floor leader in the Belgium Parliament. Frank Vanhecke serves as the party’s chairman and is a member of the European Parliament. More background information on the men and the party is availible at http://www.vlaamsbelang.us

When: Friday, February 23. 7:00-10:00 PM
Where: Crystal City Marriot
1999 Jefferson Davis Highway
Arlington, Virginia 22202, directly above the Crystal City Metro

Some various generous donors are helping fund this event, but currently, we only have funds to pay for the room. We would like to have money to help pay for a bar and food, so donations are still greatly appreciated. They are tax deductible, but not through the American Cause, so if you would like to contribute, please send me an e-mail and I can give you more information.

marcusepstein@gmail.com

As usual, feel free to show up if you do not RSVP, but please RSVP as soon as possible, and forward this to as many people as possible. Please post this on your blogs, and promote this as much as possible, as we would like to give these men a show of the American solidarity.

If you are in press or politics, I am setting up some smaller meetings with journalists and Hill Staffers, so please contact me about that if you are interested
–
Marcus Epstein
(757) 375-0179

It is patently ridiculous and a downright insult to hear about “efforts on the part of our leadership” to keep Afghanis from growing opium poppies and Columbians from growing coca plants when Mexicans are cultivating vast marijuana plantations right here in America’s national forests. It’s of the same to hear politicians talk about securing the borders of Iraq and Afghanistan all the while refusing to secure our own borders. The sheer hypocrisy of such things as these is obvious to the entire world, lending its weight to the loss of any credibility on the part of America’s “leadership.”

However, while no one can blame the poverty-stricken Afghani, Columbian, or Mexican trying to make a living by growing opium poppies, coca plants, or marijuana these poor need some means of marketing the product. And this is where the politicians come in. The Godfather needed those politicians and judges he “carried about like so much loose change in his pocket” to make his own enterprises successful. Without those bought politicians and judges The Godfather would have been out of business in short order.

It is gratifying to read and hear of attention being given to the problem of gangs terrorizing law abiding citizens; but the message was clear enough when Clinton pardoned all his sleazebag friends that crime pays. Clinton wasn’t unique in this; he was only unique in his blatant in your face pardoning so many at one time. But given the past history of the Clintons shrouded in so many dark deals they needed a lot of these sleazebags with their connections to continue being friendly to this infamous couple.

You have to be well connected for crime to pay well, as The Godfather or any CEO could tell you. Politicians and their CEO bosses have sent the message to everyone that crime pays. This includes not only those like Halliburton et al. but those that take advantage of the slave labor being provided from Mexico knowing politicians, the ACLU, La Raza, the universities, judges, the media, will continue to aid and abet this use and abuse of slave labor.

Republican or Democrat, they are of a kind when it comes to “follow the money;” it was Reagan that opened the floodgates to illegal aliens, and it was Carter that forbade the proper term “alien” to be used and substituted “immigrant” in his own financial interest, though the courts continue to use the judicially correct term alien. And it is blatantly obvious the government of Mexico will continue to encourage this illegal invasion of America; and why not, since there is no penalty for doing so. For the leadership of Mexico, using America as a dumping ground for its refuse population is a win/win deal.

Complete text linked below:

Jean-Marie Le Pen laughed, and then laughed some more. The right-wing scourge of French politics, now 78, wouldn’t say, exactly, whether he thought he’d be up against the Socialists’ Ségolène Royal in the final one-on-one duel for the presidency this May. But he clearly liked the idea. “Absolutely! Me, I have nothing against women. I am … ” Le Pen actually giggled as he talked over the phone from the European Parliament in Strasbourg. “I am pretty much a ‘gynophile’.” And he chortled some more.

Does that strike you as funny? Maybe it was something in the air in Strasbourg. But the banter certainly was vintage Le Pen: mocking political correctness, presenting himself as more than a little misunderstood. Oh, no, he is not a bigot or buffoon as his critics charge, much less a fascist or anti-Semite or, in this case, a sexist. He’s just speaking up for French values as he sees them.

What’s unquestionable is that Le Pen, for better or worse, is the driving force behind a major shift in both the style and the substance of French politics. Royal has picked up on voters’ visceral dissatisfaction with the arrogant and ossified leadership of the main parties, which Le Pen’s popularity first helped to expose. Her main rival, Gaullist Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, meanwhile, has seized on many of Le Pen’s ideas and catchphrases, including a version of “France, love it or leave it.” In the process, Sarkozy has helped not only to legitimize these notions but also the man who first voiced them. “I consider that the Le Pen-ization of Sarkozy, in that he is coming into my territory, [shows he] recognizes that I have good reason to be there,” Le Pen declared last October.

Complete text linked below:

If you were one of the nearly 2,800 reported robbery victims in Minneapolis in 2006, you were most likely robbed on a street or sidewalk by a male between the ages of 13 and 17, according to an analysis the Police Department released Friday.

The crime also more likely happened Thursday through Sunday, between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m. Many robberies happened in June or July.

Whether victim or robber, you were probably male. But as a victim, you were most likely between ages 20 and 39 and threatened or assaulted while the robber demanded money.

Jordan and Hawthorne neighborhoods on the North Side and Whittier and Central on the South were the top spots for robbers.

Last year’s robbery totals were the highest since 1997 and a major factor for the 17 percent increase in violent crime reports in 2006.

The analysis, which has been produced for the past two years, supported the Police Department’s renewed focus on juvenile crime: Victims reported that 1,581 robbery suspects in 2006 were 13 to 17 years old.

Complete text linked below:

Asked whether Greece has “reached its limit” in the number of immigrants it can accept, 88 per cent of respondents agreed, even though the same percentage described migrants living in their neighbourhoods as peacable.

Greece has around one million immigrants, constituting nine per cent of the population.

Two-thirds hail from neighbouring Albania, and are viewed with ethnic animosity by many Greeks.

Another 130,000 are of Asian origin, mainly from Pakistan and the Philippines, a study presented by the Greek institute for international economic affairs (IDOS) showed.

The survey by pollsters VPRC also showed that Greek public opinion remains confused as to the overall effects migrants have on economy and society.

Over 50 per cent of respondents admitted that migrant workers have made a positive contribution to Greece’s economy, but an equivalent number accuse them of taking jobs from Greeks, and 65 per cent blame them for a perceived rise in crime.

And although 68 per cent say migrants pose no threat to Orthodox Christianity, Greece’s dominant religion, one in two oppose the building of a mosque in Athens, a project that has stalled for years.

Organisations representing migrants routinely hold demonstrations in Athens - most recently last weekend - to demand simpler legalisation procedures, which currently can last up to a decade.

Most Asian immigrants, in particular, are prevented from being joined in Greece by their families and are considered “alien” to Greek society, the IDOS study said.

The Robert Taft Club is honored to host a Friday evening lecture featuring Frank Vanhecke and Filip Dewinter of the Vlaams Belang. This will be their only public appearance in the United States. Because of the eminence of these men, and that many people wish to come from out of town, the format for this event will be greatly different from past Robert Taft Club meetings. Rather than a discussion there will be a lecture on the subject “Immigration, Multiculturalism, and the End of Free Speech in Europe” Filip Dewinter, Member of Belgian Parliament and Frank Vanhecke, Member of Euorpean parliament will discuss the threat that multiculturalism, radical Islam, and mass immigration bring to the fundamental European and American values of free speech, tolerance, and representative government in Europe. I have set up a website http://www.vlaamsbelang.us to promote this event.

The Vlaams Belang (Flemish Interest) is the largest political party in Belgian, recieving 25% of the vote. Like most American conservatives, the Vlaams Belang defends the free market, traditional values, and a cohesive national culture. They focus most strongly, however, for autonomy for the Flemish people, and opposition to mass immigration and the Islamification of their country. The Vlaams Belang is unapologetically populist, in Mr. Dewinter’s words “if by populism you mean breaking taboos and saying what ordinary people think, even if it’s politically incorrect.”

In response to the success of the Vlaams Belang, the establishment socialist and “conservative” parties have attempted to suppresss the Vlaams Belang. They issued a “Cordon Sanitaire” refusing to caucus witht the party. In 2004, the Belgian court’s changed the constitution, to ban the Vlaams Belang’s earlier incarnation the Vlaams Blok on the grounds they incited racial hatred. Their offense? Printing a pamphlet by a member of Turkish descent criticizing female gential mutilation in Muslim countries. Despite these efforts, the Vlaams Belang remains the most successful true right wing party in Europe. The lecture should both educate Americans about the fate of Europe and give inspiration and ideas so that their success can be duplicated by a genuinely right wing movement in this country,

Filip Dewinter is the party’s most prominent member and serves as its floor leader in the Belgium Parliament. Frank Vanhecke serves as the party’s chairman and is a member of the European Parliament. More background information on the men and the party is availible at http://www.vlaamsbelang.us

When: Friday, February 23. 7:00-10:00 PM
Where: Crystal City Marriot
1999 Jefferson Davis Highway
Arlington, Virginia 22202, directly above the Crystal City Metro

Some various generous donors are helping fund this event, but currently, we only have funds to pay for the room. We would like to have money to help pay for a bar and food, so donations are still greatly appreciated. They are tax deductible, but not through the American Cause, so if you would like to contribute, please send me an e-mail and I can give you more information.

marcusepstein@gmail.com

As usual, feel free to show up if you do not RSVP, but please RSVP as soon as possible, and forward this to as many people as possible. Please post this on your blogs, and promote this as much as possible, as we would like to give these men a show of the American solidarity.

If you are in press or politics, I am setting up some smaller meetings with journalists and Hill Staffers, so please contact me about that if you are interested
–
Marcus Epstein
(757) 375-0179