Free Republic

WE will be eating Israeli potatoes,” announces our host, with mischievous, defiant glee. He is Kristian Norheim, “international secretary” of the Progress party, the Reaganite, Thatcherite party here in Norway. Seven of us are gathered for a festive meal. What’s the big deal about Israeli potatoes? Ah, you need to get to know Norway. Israel is not the favorite country of this country. This is a country where Israeli products are typically boycotted and damned, not eaten. Norway’s government was the first outside the Islamic world to recognize Hamas. Put it this way: Norway’s attitude toward Israel is approximately that...

Daniel Johnson: Your party, the Progress Party, has sometimes been accused, on the left and in parts of the media, of being far-right, comparable to Le Pen - what is your answer to that? Siv Jensen: First of all, it's important for me to clarify what we stand for. We are a classical liberal party, and are very much in favour of market mechanisms. We seek to improve the competitiveness of Norway, which is actually getting worse and worse. And when it comes to what is, I guess, the most critical issue, immigration, I believe that we stand for the...

<p>WASHINGTON — One of the most contested states in presidential politics is center stage Sunday night as FOX News airs a Republican candidates primary debate in Orlando, Fla., that is sure to be used by the 2008 contenders as a chance to cater to the party's conservative base.</p>