President of the Czech Republic Vaclav Klaus has challenged Al Gore to a debate about Climate Change.
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/208338,czech-president-klaus-ready-to-debate-gore-on-climate-change.html
Showing posts with label Europe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Europe. Show all posts
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
Italy - Vanguard of a New European Renaissance?
I have always been fond of Italy's interaction with the European Union. Take this example; after a sharp rise in crime by recent immigrants culminating in the brutal beating, rape and murder of the wife of the commander of the Italian Navy's mine sweeping squadron by a Gypsy, Italy moved to expel all Immigrants who posed a threat to the nation. The EU said Italy couldn't do that because those people were EU citizens. Italy told the European Union where it could stick its objections. The EU realized it had no real enforcement mechanisms.
Italy has recently re-elected Silvio Berlusconi and a recent survey has showed that 70% of Italy's gynecologists now refuse to perform abortions.
Europe, with Italy at the forefront seems to be moving in a more conservative direction at a healthy pace. Angela Merkel, Nicolas Sarkozy and now Silvio Berlusconi is back? And the Tories are expected to take back the UK - if only they'd start having kids again!
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/105266.php
Italy has recently re-elected Silvio Berlusconi and a recent survey has showed that 70% of Italy's gynecologists now refuse to perform abortions.
Europe, with Italy at the forefront seems to be moving in a more conservative direction at a healthy pace. Angela Merkel, Nicolas Sarkozy and now Silvio Berlusconi is back? And the Tories are expected to take back the UK - if only they'd start having kids again!
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/105266.php
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Kosovo: should it stay or should it go?
I am a nationalist, among other things. That is to say I believe states function more smoothly and have greater national cohesion when they are founded on, well, nations. I also believe a race has a much better shot at preserving its language, its culture and itself when it has a state to call its own. As such, Kosovo is a tricky situation for me.
Kosovo is currently a part of Serbia, a nation of Serbs, yet it is a province distinctly lacking in Serbs. It is filled with Albanian Muslims, the majority of whom want Kosovo to be a free country, and the following are the reasons why I believe they should not be.
1 – Kosovo is home not only to a large Serbian minority but also to many of the landmarks of Serbian culture and history. Those people will not stop wanting this land back. NATO may forget about this in a few years, generations from now those Serbs will still be wanting that land back and recent history says that they’ll eventually be in a position to get it and that they will fight for it.
2 – Kosovo was originally Serbian, overwhelmingly Serbian, it only became Albanian after Christian Serbs were kicked out by the late Ottoman Empire and then by the puppet government put up by fascist Italy during WW2. Transferring land from nations based on a demographics shift is a dangerous notion. As a drastic example, most of the counties around where I was born in Iowa could easily be awarded to Germany on the basis of race. As a more probable example, large portions of northern Macedonia could go to Albania on this precedent.
3 – Serbians have a lot of faults, they have done a lot of bad things but they are a repressed minority in Kosovo and if IFOR leaves in the wake of Kosovar independence things will get bad for them, very bad.
4 – Most importantly, we will piss off the Russians immensely. The Slavs see this as a broader blow against them (in a way, it is) and they will unite behind Putin who will promptly screw over several of our interests in that region in retaliation. If we allow Kosovo to become independent and hurt Russia’s ally (Serbia) they will allow Abkhazia to move toward independence and hurt our ally (Georgia). It will be a decided net lose for American interests if Kosovo becomes independent.
Kosovo deserves recognition of its special status, but more along the lines that Scotland has now and the Serbs are willing to give it that. We should not let Kosovo go, it is the wrong thing to do in principle and pragmatically it is terribly disadvantageous. If Kosovo declares independence we should not recognize it and support reunification under some sort of a federation.
http://www.euronews.net/index.php?page=info&article=470393&lng=1
Kosovo is currently a part of Serbia, a nation of Serbs, yet it is a province distinctly lacking in Serbs. It is filled with Albanian Muslims, the majority of whom want Kosovo to be a free country, and the following are the reasons why I believe they should not be.
1 – Kosovo is home not only to a large Serbian minority but also to many of the landmarks of Serbian culture and history. Those people will not stop wanting this land back. NATO may forget about this in a few years, generations from now those Serbs will still be wanting that land back and recent history says that they’ll eventually be in a position to get it and that they will fight for it.
2 – Kosovo was originally Serbian, overwhelmingly Serbian, it only became Albanian after Christian Serbs were kicked out by the late Ottoman Empire and then by the puppet government put up by fascist Italy during WW2. Transferring land from nations based on a demographics shift is a dangerous notion. As a drastic example, most of the counties around where I was born in Iowa could easily be awarded to Germany on the basis of race. As a more probable example, large portions of northern Macedonia could go to Albania on this precedent.
3 – Serbians have a lot of faults, they have done a lot of bad things but they are a repressed minority in Kosovo and if IFOR leaves in the wake of Kosovar independence things will get bad for them, very bad.
4 – Most importantly, we will piss off the Russians immensely. The Slavs see this as a broader blow against them (in a way, it is) and they will unite behind Putin who will promptly screw over several of our interests in that region in retaliation. If we allow Kosovo to become independent and hurt Russia’s ally (Serbia) they will allow Abkhazia to move toward independence and hurt our ally (Georgia). It will be a decided net lose for American interests if Kosovo becomes independent.
Kosovo deserves recognition of its special status, but more along the lines that Scotland has now and the Serbs are willing to give it that. We should not let Kosovo go, it is the wrong thing to do in principle and pragmatically it is terribly disadvantageous. If Kosovo declares independence we should not recognize it and support reunification under some sort of a federation.
http://www.euronews.net/index.php?page=info&article=470393&lng=1
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