Free Republic

Saudi Columnist: Brussels Increasingly Looks Like Any Great Middle East City; 'In Years to Come, [Muslims in Europe] Could Only Grow In Numbers, Coming... In Droves' In a column titled "The Muslims Are Coming!" in the Saudi Arab News daily, Aijaz Zaka Syed, a Dubai-based journalist and commentator, wrote that "no matter what Europeans think of Muslims and other recent arrivals, the continent badly needs new blood and ideas." He adds that "Europe's past is catching up with its present and future."The following is his column, in the original English.[1]Brussels "Increasingly Looks Like Beirut, Istanbul, or Any Other Great...

Joe Biden’s May 6 speech to the European Parliament appears to have been largely ignored by the American media, both old and new. The full performance can be viewed below. The video comes complete with images (at 0:18 of the clip) of Biden puffing out his chest as Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy,” the unofficial EU anthem, is played. ----click on link for amazing video and analysis

As Joe Biden gaffes go, this one’s a …medium. Biden saluted Brussels, Belgium in the opening of his address to the European Parliament with the traditional, obsequious praise all speakers offer to another country when addressing their legislatures — well, almost all, anyway. However, as Biden is wont to do, he goes overboard, and in the process denigrates his peers in the American political system and his own country:

Even though we refer to Washington, D.C. as the capital of the free world, Vice President Joe Biden suggested Brussels – in Belgium – may well have claim to that title. But would Brussels still exist as a capital for not the allied forces in World War I and World War II? Read the full post including Biden's remarks on video...

Defense Secretary Robert Gates begins another push for Pentagon cuts, NATO is preparing to follow suit. Adm. James Stavridis, the supreme allied commander of NATO, said Monday he will look to make "significant" cuts of both flag officers – generals and admirals – as well as staff for the US and NATO allies. The comment follows a speech by Mr. Gates at the Eisenhower library in Abilene, Kan., May 8, in which the Defense secretary promised significant belt-tightening at the Pentagon – one of the dominant themes of his tenure. In the speech, Gates mentioned the Pentagon's European operations, noting...

Britain could be forced to have its Budget signed off by European leaders under plans to impose an 'economic government of the EU', it emerged yesterday. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is pressing for 'oversight' of national economies to be included in controversial arrangements that were agreed by EU leaders yesterday. She wants to introduce financial penalties for states with persistently high budget deficits, giving the EU a high degree of control. This could see Britain forfeiting the £2billion annual 'structural funds' paid out to some of the nation's poorer areas by Brussels.

The Cold War-era Western European Union defence alliance, set up in the wake of World War II, is to cease functioning, its assembly's head Robert Walter said on Wednesday. "The WEU as an organisation will be wound down within a year or so," said British parliamentarian Walter, who presides over the Paris-based assembly of the international grouping. The body was initiated by Belgium, Britain, France, Luxembourg and the Netherlands in 1948 and later expanded to include Germany, Italy, Spain and others. Its founding principles were "to afford assistance to each other in resisting any policy of aggression," and "to promote...

Follow up to my earlier post about 14 Belgians arrested for being al Qaeda members. It turns out one of them is Malika El-Aroud, who has been arrested in the past for running an al Qaeda support website. If you speak French and hang around the eHadis, you'd probably recognize her from her frequent appearances at the minbar-sos forum.

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Wednesday that the western military alliance will debate the bloc's nuclear policy in Estonia next month. He said a "discussion" is planned after the foreign ministers of Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Norway requested "a major debate" on NATO's nuclear policy at their next gathering in Tallinn on April 22 and 23. However, Rasmussen stressed that the talks, which come as President Barack Obama mulls a drastic cut in the US nuclear arsenal, will have to balance calls to remove outdated weapons with a need for a strategic nuclear "deterrent." The...

Ukip's European leader Nigel Farage has been fined £2,700 after refusing to say sorry for a colourful outburst against the new European president. Mr Farage used Herman Van Rompuy's maiden speech to the European Parliament last week to describe him as having the "charisma of a damp rag and the appearance of a low grade bank clerk". He was summoned in by EU officials to explain his comments but said his only apology would be to bank clerks. Yves Leterme, Belgium's Prime Minister, has demanded a public apology for the "slander" and Mr Farage's added "insult" that Mr Van Rompuy...

The French daily "Le Monde" broke the news on February 9: Paris had "agreed in principle" to negotiate the sale of one or more Mistral-class ships to Russia. If the sale goes through, it will be the first deal of its kind between a member of NATO and Russia. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin first voiced Russian interest in buying a Mistral-class ship during a trip to Paris in late November. As he spoke, a Mistral was docked in St Petersburg -- part of a carefully choreographed move -- playing host to Russian combat helicopters. Feeling vulnerable, a number of Russia's...

We woke up in a different country today. Alright, it doesn’t look very different. The trees still seem black against the winter sun; the motorways continue to jam inexplicably; commuters carry on avoiding eye contact. But Britain is no longer a sovereign nation. At midnight last night, we ceased to be an independent state, bound by international treaty to other independent states, and became instead a subordinate unit within a European state. Yes, a European state. Take a quick dekko at the definition set out in Article One of the1933 Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States: “The...

Note: The following text is a quote: November 6, 2009 U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and World Customs Organization Secretary General Kunio Mikuriya announce preliminary results of largest global cash smuggling operation BRUSSELS - Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano and World Customs Organization (WCO) Secretary General Kunio Mikuriya today announced the preliminary results of Operation ATLAS-the largest multilateral operation in history targeting cash smugglers which took place from Oct. 26-30. More than 80 countries participated in Operation ATLAS (an acronym for Assess, Target, Link, Analyze and Share)-leading to more than $3.5 million in cash seized and...

From Gloucester to Afghanistan: the making of a shoe bomber Saajid Badat this week pleaded guilty to plotting to blow up a plane. What drove this quiet football fan to thoughts of terror? Mark Honigsbaum and Vikram Dodd Saturday March 5, 2005 The Guardian He seemed the model British Muslim citizen - a poster boy for integration whose knowledge of the Qu'ran and achievement at grammar school made Gloucester's close-knit Islamic community proud. When in November 2003 anti-terrorist police turned up at the terraced house in the Barton and Tredworth district of the city that Saajid Badat shared with his...

Brussels, May 18th: Libertas, the pan-European people’s movement for a democratic, accountable and transparent European Union, is to-date backing 613 candidates for the European elections next month. This makes Libertas the single largest group ever to run for the European elections. 488 of the 613 candidates are running directly as Libertas candidates. A further 125 are running for parties with which Libertas has formed alliances. France, Spain, Italy, Poland and the UK have the highest number of candidates. Candidates include a former Prime Minister (Latvia), a former finance minister (Czech Republic), former presidential candidates (France), a former head of an...

Libertas, the movement that led the successful campaign against the Lisbon Treaty in Ireland, is to run candidates in the UK for the European Elections. The party will also contest elections in countries across Europe to get the voters' mandate to bring more democracy, accountability and transparency to European Union governance. Announcing the UK campaign today, party chairman Declan Ganley said "Almost 80% of laws that change the daily lives of Britons come from Brussels, and those laws are drafted by unelected, unaccountable civil servants. Brussels does not want to answer to the people of Europe. We want to bring...

EU recognizes new party dedicated to ‘a culture embracing life’ Declan Ganley Dublin, Feb 11, 2009 / 12:43 am (CNA).- A leader of Libertas, a new European Union political party dedicated to “individual freedom, democracy, and a culture embracing life” says the party has now been formally recognized despite “the best efforts by Brussels.”Ganley made the comments over the weekend at a conference’s panel discussion in County Roscommon, Ireland. The conference was organized by the John Paul II Society in Ireland and co-hosted by the pro-life group Human Life International. Libertas founder Declan Ganley said the party is now recognized...

SNIPPET: "The fundamental truth is that Hamas' road to Iran runs through the international Muslim Brotherhood, and has for two decades. What is often missing in the discussion of the Muslim Brotherhood is that Hamas, according to its own founding charter, is an integral and armed part of the Ikwhan, not separate from it."

Tension in Gaza leads to extra measures in Belgium The Jewish community in Belgium is receiving extra protection. The Jewish community in Belgium is receiving extra protection due to the escalating tension which is spilling over to Belgium from Gaza. Police presence during demonstrations will also be heightened. This was decided by the new Home Affairs Minister Guido De Padt. The concrete measures were discussed at a meeting at the Home Affairs crisis centre, organised by Minister De Padt. The impact of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Gaza and consequences for Belgium were discussed and analysed. In the police zones of...

FOURTEEN suspected al-Qaeda terrorists were detained in Brussels today before Gordon Brown was due to meet EU leaders. The sweep came just hours before a summit brought together the heads of the 27 EU countries in Brussels. One of the suspects is believed to be a suicide bomber mounting an operation "from which he was not expected to come back". It is thought a terror attack was being planned – but the target has not been revealed. Nearly 250 police officers raided 16 locations in the capital and one in the eastern city of Liege overnight. Computers, data storage equipment...