THE ARABIZATION OF FRANCE

From Arlene Peck. Excerpt:

Not a day goes by that I don�t read a headline stating that a rabbi�s car was set on fire, or that yeshiva children have been beaten on the way to school. Some are so blatantly anti-Semitic that I can only shake my head in wonderment at their rabid comments. The latest is how the French are now refusing to recognize wedding ceremonies, including those performed in pre-1967 Israel, where the presiding rabbi just happens to be a resident of Judea, Samaria and Gaza. The French Consulate in Jerusalem has refused certificates of marriage to those French who want to marry an Israeli. A French woman who had converted recently had her marriage turned down for recognition by the Consulate and was told that the French Government does not recognize it because the marriage certificate bared the signature and heading of a rabbi from Gush Etzion, which they believe to be �occupied territory.�

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THE PRIVILEGES OF BEING A LEFTIST

We all know that if you even look crosseyed at security screeners at U.S. airports you can end up in custody and in court (See here and here and here). But not apparently if you are a Leftist deliberately trying to provoke the screeners! It must be great to be a Leftist in the USA today. You sure can get away with a lot that other people cannot. You can even be blatantly antisemitic too!

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EXCITING ARCHAEOLOGICAL FIND

An inscribed stone tablet from the time of Yehoash, King of Judah, has apparently been discovered on the Temple Mount. The black stone tablet, containing ten lines of Phoenician script, describes activities carried out by King Yehoash in the First Temple some 2,700 years ago. The inscription corresponds to the biblical account as recorded in Kings II 12.

Source

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MORE ON CHRISTIANITY AND CIVILIZATION

In response to recent postings on this blog, one of my readers has emailed me as follows:

The concept of man having inherent value as a creation of God ... as having inherent self worth .... is the foundation of human rights as we know it and that is distinctly Judeo-Christian in origin. I don't believe that came from Germany or any other world religion. Individual liberties is one aspect but the value/sanctity of human life is the core ... today more and more this religious core is forgotten and the focus is solely on "rights or liberties" as defined by secular governments and pressure groups with no rational or moral foundation. We simply can't ignore or isolate the historical religious impulse of humanity .... right or wrong it always has been and always will be a central to the human condition .... dealing with it is another matter......

My limited historical understanding of historical Japan was that it was a very feudal society (Samurai)? involved in regional warfare. I believe that, while there was a traditional civility practiced in interpersonal relationships (excessively so ...), the overall cultural tendancy toward outsiders was not very civil .... my assumption is that Western influence (Christianity in part) since that time has had a beneficial impact on their society ... at the very least in lessening their historical insular tendencies.

The preaching of man�s value is NOT unique to Christianity. Buddhism is FAR heavier is stressing the sanctity of ALL life than Christianity is.

And note that, from shortly after 1591, when Hideyoshi united Japan under a single rule, Ieyasu initiated the Tokugawa shogunate, which gave Japan a period of nearly 300 years of peace that has no parallel in the West. We were all at one-another�s throats during that time. The Bible speaks of beating swords into ploughshares but it was only Hideyoshi that actually did it -- though the swords he collected were in fact melted down to make a statue of the Buddha. So who were the civilized ones then? The warring Christians or the orderly and peaceful animists and Buddhists of Japan?

Any idea that Christianity is necessary for the development and maintenance of a civil society is historically ludicrous.

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ELSEWHERE

Your government will guide you!: A picture of some crazy signage.

The inimitable Victor Davis Hanson has written yet another brilliant essay -- this time on the psychological roots of anti-Americanism among America�s intellectuals. Many of his points are similar to ones that I made in Front Page last year (see here) -- though he gives more weight to guilt than I do.

That venerable antique William Rees-Mogg says that the current American Empire is essentially a continuation of the British Empire. I think it is absurd to call America an empire. They rule no-one but themselves. That people everywhere imitate them is the decision of the people concerned. Nobody holds a gun at anyone�s head to make them watch American films or buy American products.

Freelance Radical says: � It's often assumed that Christian ethics are the foundation on which civilized nations are built. I tend to seriously doubt that assumption, since civilization is not a result of superstition, but of MEN having successfully sublimated their aggressive impulses.� But religion (or some religions anyway) may assist in the sublimation, I would think. Buddhism is very opposed to aggression.

Michael Darby has some detailed news and analysis direct from Zimbabwe about the parlous situation there.

The Wicked one has an amusing quote about interracial dating and some skepticism about drug addiction.

IQ & PC has some more postings about crime problems with blacks in Britain.

China Hand has a new/old look for his site. He should now have repaid most of his link debts. Likewise for his new blog.

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Comments? Email me: jonjayray@hotmail.com.
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