The West’s Fatal Mistake: We Are All Serbs Now

Published by The Brussels Journal

By Thomas Landen

Today, one day after Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence, the United States and the major European countries rushed to recognize Kosovo’s independence. George Bush hailed Kosovo’s “bold and historic bid for statehood.” Five years ago, Mr Bush invaded Iraq and began “operation Iraqi freedom.” He toppled Saddam Hussein in order to get rid of a rogue regime, one of the members of the “axis of evil.” Five years later, Mr Bush is saddling Europe with a new rogue state.

Surely, Mr Bush knows that al-Qa’eda fighters were involved in driving the Serbs from Kosovo in the late 1990s. The Jerusalem Post reported in 1998 that the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) was “provided with financial and military support from Islamic countries,” and had been “bolstered by hundreds of Iranian fighters or mujahedin [some of whom] were trained in Osama bin Laden’s terrorist camps in Afghanistan.” There is more proof of involvement of the KLA of the (then and current) Kosovar leader Hashim Thaçi, nicknamed ‘the Snake,’ with al-Qa’eda than there was of the Iraqi Ba’ath regime of the late Saddam Hussein.

Yesterday, thousands of ethnic Albanians were celebrating their independence in the Kosovar capital Pristina, shouting “KLA! KLA!” and waving American flags alongside the Albanian and the new Kosovar national flag. Is America now in league with al-Qa’eda and the Albanian mafia? What is the point of fighting Islamism in Iraq while at the same time one creates a free haven for Islamists on the European continent?

Surely, Mr Bush knows that “the KLA […] is tied in with every known middle and far eastern drug cartel. Interpol, Europol, and nearly every European intelligence and counter-narcotics agency has files open on drug syndicates that lead right to the KLA, and right to Albanian gangs in [Kosovo]. Furthermore, the KLA was involved in sex slaves. Furthermore, they were supported by Osama Bin Laden.”

Only last week, General Fabio Mini, the Italian general who commanded the NATO troops in Kosovo in 2002-2003, warned that the recognition of Kosovo’s independence would turn out to be a “fatal mistake.” This new state, the general said, will only benefit the clans who currently rule Kosovo: i.e. the clans of the current Prime Minister, Hashim ‘the Snake’ Thaçi “who is in business with the oil companies,” of his predecessor Ramush Haradinay, who is standing trial for war crimes in The Hague, of former Prime Minister Agim Ceku “who wants to become a generalissimo” and of Behgjet Pacolli, a billionaire “who needs somewhere to stack the money of his empire.” “What these clans want,” General Mini said, “is a place in Europe where they can open new banks, a free haven for the money that flows in from the East.”

Sadly, Mr Bush is not the only one making a “fatal mistake.” Many of the 27 European Union (EU) member states have done so, too, including the big three – Britain, France, Germany – and the Franco-German poodle, multinational Belgium. Others, however, have serious misgivings. Spain, Cyprus, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia oppose Kosovo’s independence. The Italian government is divided on the issue.

In a statement issued in Brussels the EU foreign ministers say that Kosovo’s history of “conflict, ethnic cleansing and humanitarian catastrophe” in the 1990s by Serbia exempts it from the rule that international borders can only be changed with the agreement of all parties. The EU countries that recognize Kosovo’s independence admit that they are doing so in violation of the rule of “territorial integrity” of nations under international law. They want to ‘punish’ Serbia for its misbehaviour in the 1990s, but fail to see that they are ‘punishing’ the whole of Europe by saddling it with a state run by criminal gangs.

Russia refuses to accept Kosovo’s independence. So does China. Moscow has called on the United Nations to annul Pristina’s decision. It will be interesting to see which countries will back Russia in the UN. Moscow’s allies in the Organization of Islamic States definitely will not. They applaud the establishment of a new Muslim state in Europe. Will Russia now become the leader of the Europeans who resist the Islamization of their continent? Or will the crisis in the Balkan trigger a new world war, just as the Great War was triggered in the Balkans in 1914?

Indeed, what will Russia do if the 16,000 NATO “peace keeping” troops in Kosovo attack the Serbian army when it attempts to recover its breakaway province? If Russia intervenes, then 2008 might become the year that war broke out between Russia and NATO. America, the EU, Europe’s immigrant “youths” and Osama bin Laden would find themselves on one side, and Russia, with China and the Europeans who resist Islamization on the other.

Top Psychiatrist Concludes Liberals Are Clinically Nuts!

From WorldNet Daily

WASHINGTON – Just when liberals thought it was safe to start identifying themselves as such, an acclaimed, veteran psychiatrist is making the case that the ideology motivating them is actually a mental disorder.

"Based on strikingly irrational beliefs and emotions, modern liberals relentlessly undermine the most important principles on which our freedoms were founded," says Dr. Lyle Rossiter, author of the new book, "The Liberal Mind: The Psychological Causes of Political Madness." "Like spoiled, angry children, they rebel against the normal responsibilities of adulthood and demand that a parental government meet their needs from cradle to grave."

While political activists on the other side of the spectrum have made similar observations, Rossiter boasts professional credentials and a life virtually free of activism and links to "the vast right-wing conspiracy."

For more than 35 years he has diagnosed and treated more than 1,500 patients as a board-certified clinical psychiatrist and examined more than 2,700 civil and criminal cases as a board-certified forensic psychiatrist. He received his medical and psychiatric training at the University of Chicago.

Rossiter says the kind of liberalism being displayed by the two major candidates for the Democratic Party presidential nomination can only be understood as a psychological disorder.

"A social scientist who understands human nature will not dismiss the vital roles of free choice, voluntary cooperation and moral integrity – as liberals do," he says. "A political leader who understands human nature will not ignore individual differences in talent, drive, personal appeal and work ethic, and then try to impose economic and social equality on the population – as liberals do. And a legislator who understands human nature will not create an environment of rules which over-regulates and over-taxes the nation's citizens, corrupts their character and reduces them to wards of the state – as liberals do."

Dr. Rossiter says the liberal agenda preys on weakness and feelings of inferiority in the population by:

• creating and reinforcing perceptions of victimization;

• satisfying infantile claims to entitlement, indulgence and compensation;

• augmenting primitive feelings of envy;

• rejecting the sovereignty of the individual, subordinating him to the will of the government.

"The roots of liberalism – and its associated madness – can be clearly identified by understanding how children develop from infancy to adulthood and how distorted development produces the irrational beliefs of the liberal mind," he says. "When the modern liberal mind whines about imaginary victims, rages against imaginary villains and seeks above all else to run the lives of persons competent to run their own lives, the neurosis of the liberal mind becomes painfully obvious."

Archbishop Vindicated. British Government Prepared to Say Yes to Sharia Law

From The Brussells Journal

Britain is to become the first Western nation to issue bonds approved by Muslim clerics in line with sharia law, which bans conventional loans involving interest payments as "sinful". The scheme would mark one of the most significant economic advances of sharia law in the non-Muslim world.

It will lead to the ownership of Government buildings and other assets currently belonging to British taxpayers being switched wholesale to wealthy Middle-Eastern businessmen and banks. The Government sees sharia-compliant bonds as a way of tapping Middle-East money and building bridges with the Muslim community.

But critics say the scheme would waste money and could undermine Britain's financial and legal systems. […] Other Western nations have been reluctant to issue Islamic bonds. In the United States the bonds are banned partly as a result of claims that the money could be linked to terrorism. […]

However, The Mail on Sunday has established that Chancellor Alistair Darling is ready to give the go-ahead to sharia-compliant bonds – known as "sukuk", an early Arabic form of cheque. Treasury officials have been working behind the scenes for months on the plan. […] Treasury officials say the aim is to attract big investors as well as making it easier for British Muslims to invest in National Savings products at banks and post offices. The Government has already backed Islamic car loans and mortgages.

GEORGE WASHINGTON'S PRAYER FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Almighty GOD; we make our earnest prayer that Thou wilt keep the United States in Thy holy protection, that thou wilt incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to government; and entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another and for their fellow citizens of the United States of America at large. And finally that Thou wilt most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility and pacific temper of mind which were the characteristics of The Divine Author of our blessed religion, and without whose example in these things we can never hope to be a happy nation. Grant our supplication, we beseech thee, through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen

- George Washington -

April 30th, 1789

George Washington's prayer was adapted from his Circular Letter to the Governors of the United States

The End of Press Freedom in Europe?

The unelected elite running the European Union are consolidating their power and tightening their grip. The following from The Brussells Journal sounds the alarm that freedom of the press may soon be eliminated.

EU Journalist or Propagandist?

By Elaib Harvey

Created 2008-02-15 19:23

Yesterday I received a copy of an open letter from Aidan White, the General Secretary of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). And very odd it was. It talked about the idea of a new journalist registration system, with Mr White pointing out that such a thing already exists in the shape of the IFJ card.

I write on behalf of the International Federation of Journalists and the European Federation of Journalists concerning a current discussion within European Union circles over the issuing of a specific European Press Card.

You might like to know that there is already an accreditation in circulation which is recognised by the major organisations of journalists throughout the European Union – the International Press Card of the IFJ.

The IFJ International Press Card (IPC) is the world’s oldest and most reputable press accreditation and provides instant confirmation that the bearer is a working journalist. It is only issued to genuine journalists who are committed to ethical standards and solidarity between media professionals.

Despite his job Mr White is no radical, and often seems pretty tardy on issues relating to press freedom, however here he is bang on. I immediately picked up the phone to the IFJ and spoke to them.

Indeed this letter seems to be a shot across the bows of the Commission. There are discussions going on in the Commission, (but at this point I and nor do the IFJ know how high up they go) about the creation of an European Press Card.

The ramifications of this could be massive. It could mean that it would be the Commission which could decide which journalist were 'proper' journalists and which were not. I know personally of journalists who have been threatened and arrested on the say so of European officials. They are accused of publishing inaccuracies, they are told that 'what they write does not represent the interests of their newspapers'. I know of newspapers that have had their advertisers phoned by the Commission's legal team with suggestions about how the Commission is represented in the paper, and how it would be helpful if they were to have a quiet word with editorial team. I remember when Alessandro Buttice the lawyer who represents OLAF as its press spokesman sent out a 16 page document to the Brussels' press corps advising them of how they should report EU news.

Access to Commissioners and officials could be restricted to those on the Commission list. Today there is European Institutional press accreditation, but any journalist who is vouched for by an editor is accepted. This new idea has a strong suggestion that the Commission itself will do the vetting not the news organisation and must be opposed as vigorously as possible.

I cannot emphasise how serious this could be.

Book Review: A Grace Given

From Catholic Exchange

One of the hardest things to bear is the illness or loss of a child. I brushed up against this terrifying possibility briefly last December, when my five year old daughter with Down syndrome, normally so healthy, was suddenly stricken with double pneumonia.

For six days, we dwelt in the valley of the shadow of death with her, holding an oxygen tube in front of her mouth day and night, our eyes fixed upon the monitor who measured her blood oxygenation, thumping her back and chest with our cupped hands, the simple treatment which saved her life. There was never a more joyful Christmas Eve procession as that of our family bearing her out of the hospital past the hospital chapel overflowing with worshippers who turned as I prayed aloud, "Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ, King of endless glory!"

But for Liz and Kent Gilges the dark night of sorrow didn't end. Life saving surgery on their firstborn infant girl, Elizabeth Nyanga Gilges, whom they called "Elie" caused brain damage from which she would never recover. They lovingly nursed her, unresponsive in a persistent vegetative state, for ten years before Jesus took Elie home.

Liz, a devout Catholic, had her faith to sustain her, but her husband, Kent was raised without any religious faith. His deep love for Elie, however, brought him down a path he never expected to travel, one towards faith in God. Just before the crisis with Elie began, he had asked Jesus for a sign that He was real, and, paradoxically, Elie's suffering and death was His answer. It was the same response Jesus gave in the Gospel, "If you wish to be my disciples, you must take up your cross and follow me", St. Matt16:23.

A Severe Mercy, the classic by Sheldon Vanauken, speaks of his beloved wife Davy's death as God's way — His severe mercy -- of calling him home to faith in Christ. Kent, whose heart, still raw with his daughter's loss, admits that her suffering is God's megaphone, which got his attention. However, he is still stumbling over the cross he experienced in his daughter's suffering. "Why did Elie have to die?" her brother Alexander asks, and Kent has no answer. Yet. But he does know why she lived. "Elie is the greatest gift we as a family could have received. She made — and still makes — our lives far richer, more contemplative, and full of joy than they ever would have been without her. She was a beloved and essential part of our family and would have been as long as she was with us. Elie has given us an awareness of suffering's noble beauty."

A Grace Given is a beautifully written treatise on love. It is one of the most pro-life books I have ever read. The love of a father for a child that can give him almost nothing in the traditional sense, no open arms, no endearing words, no loving glances, no soft caresses, is so complete, that we are transformed and ennobled merely by witnessing it. The story, even though we are told of its heartbreaking ending near the book's beginning, is so engrossing, I read the entire 260 pages in only two sittings.

Kent Gilges' gifted use of language transports the reader with him around the globe, to the various places he's traveled, from Africa, to Rome, Oxford, Manhattan and to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. His precise use of detail and ability to build the drama of a scene, powerfully evokes the intensity of the emotions which he and Liz were going through in their ten year odyssey with Elie. Kent Gilges draws you into the sea of love that is his family, and helps you understand the depth of their devotion to their beautiful, helpless little girl. A little girl whose intercessory prayers he suggests may already be working miracles in the lives of others, and will certainly work a miracle in your heart. Read A Grace Given and you will be renewed in your hope in the power of a father's love, and the gift which the disabled child is for a family who knows God.

Leticia Velasquez is a wife and homeschooling mother of three daughters. She is a free lance writer whose articles have appeared in Faith and Family and Celebrate Life magazines. A film critic for Mercatornet, Leticia has recently helped create a new blog called Catholic Media Review.

LARRY KING LIVE, FEBRUARY 4, 2009 (humor)

From National Review online February 8, 2008

By Rob Long

LARRY KING: “From Rawlins, Wyoming! Hello!”

CALLER: “Hi, Larry. I’d like to ask your guest if she intends to keep her maiden name.”

LARRY KING: “Good question. Your name. You’ve been back and forth on it. What’s gonna be the deal?”

HILLARY CLINTON: “Well, Larry, I’ve always been Hillary Rodham, and then when I was married to Bill, I was Hillary Rodham Clinton, and then of course with all of those forms and so forth — ”

LARRY KING: “Legalese! It’s killing us!”

HILLARY CLINTON: “Right, right. So it was easier to just keep it simple. Hillary Clinton.”

LARRY KING: “But Bill’s been dead for . . . what? Nine months?”

HILLARY CLINTON: “Eleven. And two weeks. And three days.”

LARRY KING: “And so now the healing starts.”

HILLARY CLINTON: “And sixteen minutes.”

LARRY KING: “From Stevens Creek, California! Hello!”

CALLER: “Hi, Larry, hi Mrs. Clinton. I want to know if you have any regrets about the way the campaign ended up last year. And if you still have plans to run again?”

LARRY KING: “What about it? Tough year. Obama. Then the thing with Bill. The . . . heart attack? Was it a heart attack? The ticker just went pop? Been there, folks! Been there, felt that!”

HILLARY CLINTON: “Honestly, Larry, we don’t really know. We’re trying to get to the bottom of it, but the Chappaqua medical examiner’s office has been less than forthcoming. As near as I can tell — and remember, I was in the middle of a pretty intense presidential campaign at the time — he had a heart attack, fell down the stairs, and that was that.”

LARRY KING: “I know he had a history of heart disease. But the cause of death was ruled as ‘poison.’”

HILLARY CLINTON: “That’s correct, Larry. Apparently, he fell down the stairs onto an open bottle of poison, somehow ingested a large amount . . .”

LARRY KING: “Amazing. And I’ve had heart attacks, friends, so I know they can be disorientating.”

HILLARY CLINTON: “It was a tragedy, Larry. Of course, I was devastated. What we shared . . . well, it was a very special thing. It’s been hard to heal, of course. Very painful. But Bill would have wanted me to go on . . .”

LARRY KING: “Would you like a tissue?”

HILLARY CLINTON: “Thank you, Larry.”

LARRY KING: “From Rockport, Maine! Hello!”

CALLER: “Hi, Larry. Mrs. Clinton, I was wondering if you have any thoughts about the new McCain administration. Have you talked to him? And how do you think he’s doing?”

LARRY KING: “The one hundred days! Important stuff! Up! Down! Your thoughts!”

HILLARY CLINTON: “Well, as you know, Larry, I endorsed Senator McCain shortly after I left the race myself, due to the unfortunate events with Bill and so forth, and I’ve been pleased to see him moving forward on a lot of the issues that I talked about during my campaign — national health insurance, higher income taxes, that sort of thing — but even I have been surprised by some of his initiatives.”

LARRY KING: “The open borders?”

HILLARY CLINTON: “Not just opening them up. But the welcome barbeques, the logo tote bags, the free skin-care products, all of it.”

LARRY KING: “He’s taken it to a whole ’nother level!”

HILLARY CLINTON: “And nobody expected him to switch parties. Especially not to the Peace and Freedom party.”

LARRY KING: “He’s a maverick! He’s outside the box! From Detroit, Michigan! Hello!”

CALLER: “Hi, Mrs. Clinton. I was wondering if you have any plans to remarry?”

LARRY KING: “Great question! Well? Got the itch? Lemme be the first to say, marriage is great after sixty! The sex, even better than it was at fifty-five!”

HILLARY CLINTON: “Oh, this is all very premature.”

LARRY KING: “Is there a man in your life? Is there a guy for Hillary Clinton?”

HILLARY CLINTON: “You know, Larry, I just haven’t had a moment to think about that kind of thing. I’ve been focusing on healing, and the family, and the issues that I care about. And Bill’s death is so recent . . .”

LARRY KING: “Would he have wanted you to date?”

HILLARY CLINTON: “That’s a very complicated question, Larry.”

LARRY KING: “But he was a guy who understood something about physical needs, right? About the human desire for touch.”

HILLARY CLINTON: “Um . . .”

LARRY KING: “He wouldn’t have begrudged you, would he? You know who would be good for you? I keep thinking a Mort Zuckerman. A Ron Perelman.”

HILLARY CLINTON: “Aren’t both of those gentlemen married?”

LARRY KING: “I didn’t say get married to them! I said, go out, have a few drinks, have some laughs! Look at me! I’m a yenta all of a sudden!”

HILLARY CLINTON: “Honestly, Larry, I’m just looking forward to putting this all behind me, and then moving on.”

LARRY KING: “You’re talking about the inquest?”

HILLARY CLINTON: “Yes. It’s all so unnecessary. People just love to make things into these big conspiracies.”

LARRY KING: “They’re trying to explain the stab wounds?”

HILLARY CLINTON: “But they’re so easy to explain! Bill had a heart attack, then fell down the stairs onto a bottle of poison, ate some, then got up to call 9-1-1, and when reaching for the phone he mistakenly grabbed a knife from the counter, stabbed himself several times in the chest and neck and face and abdomen, raced to the garage, and collapsed in the trunk of the car. Why is that so hard to understand?”

LARRY KING: “Makes sense to me! Tomorrow night! The whole hour with Lorna Luft!”