The “Grim” Milestone

Mark Steyn writes another classic in the Chicago Sun-Times today. His topic is the "grim milestone" of the United States reaching a population of 300 million. Well, it certainly is grim for certain people. Or at least an excuse (as if they need another excuse) to wax apocalyptic on the true meaning of the US reaching that population mark.

Last Tuesday morning, in a maternity ward somewhere in the United States, the 300 millionth American arrived. He or she got a marginally warmer welcome than Mark Foley turning up to hand out the prizes at junior high. One could have predicted the appalled editorials from European newspapers aghast at yet another addition to the swollen cohort of excess Americans consuming ever more of the planet's dwindling resources. And, when Canada's National Post announced "'Frightening' Surge Brings US To 300m People," you can appreciate their terror: the millions of Democrats who declared they were moving north after Bush's re-election must have placed incredible strain on Canada's highways, schools, trauma counselors, etc.

But the wee bairn might have expected a warmer welcome from his or her compatriots. Alas not. "Three hundred million seems to be greeted more with hand-wringing ambivalence than chest-thumping pride," observed the Washington Post, which inclines toward the former even on the best of days. No chest-thumping up in Vermont, either. "Organizations such as the Shelburne-based Population Media Center are marking the 300 million milestone with renewed warnings that world population growth is unsustainable," reported the Burlington Free Press. Across the country, the grim milestone prompted this reaction from a somber Dowell Myers. "At 300 million," noted the professor of urban planning and demography at the University of Southern California, "we are beginning to be crushed under the weight of our own quality-of-life degradation."

Steyn takes exception to this kind of reasoning. The US is still growing demographically, unlike Europe which is dying off rapidly. Too many in Europe have bought into the myth of "unsustainable growth". That old "population bomb" ticking away. As a result Europe is declining at the same time the ostriches have turned a blind eye to what is happening to them. This seems to be the day for a lot of "must reads", doesn't it?

Of course, Steyn usually is a must read.

The Ostrich And The Owl

Ayaan Hirsi Ali, lately come to live in the US, has a cautionary tale in the Los Angeles Times that is yet another Sunday 'must read'. She delivers a parable of sorts, illustrating the two world views of uncontrolled immigration and an unassimilated minority.

According to the ostrich, very soon there shall be a European Islam, signs of which are already visible in the young women in tight jeans; high heels; black, sleeveless, tight tops and matching head scarves, all designed by Prada. This Prada Islam will replace the old rural one and function as a vaccine against the Wahhabi Islam of the Saudis.

The overrepresentation of migrants in all the wrong statistics — such as unemployment, unfinished education and crime — is to the ostrich merely a temporary affair. It's a phase that all groups from underprivileged backgrounds go through, and it will be short, as long as there is economic growth.

According to the ostrich, the wealthy natives should stop whining about the backwardness of immigrants and concentrate on the benefits. The ostrich points to the nurses, nannies, construction workers, grocers, bag carriers, cleaners, factory workers and a host of other jobs natives won't do but are necessary to keep the economy going.

The ostrich is not worried about the flow of migrants transforming the culture and society of Europe in any negative way. He sees only one thing as a setback: the xenophobia of native Europeans. If only the inherently racist white society could overcome its fear of what is alien, it would notice how migrants have improved the cuisine, the music, the arts and the economy of Europe.

….

The old owl sees how poor migrants are exploited by cruel employers who provide little or no pay and hire and fire the migrants at will. The owl can't help but notice that even after the recent amnesty, Spain has an estimated 1 million illegal immigrants. Britain has roughly half a million. France, 200,000 to 400,000, if you trust the French. I think there are more. Germany has about 1 million.

The owl acknowledges unreservedly Europe's aging populations, its decreasing population growth and its need for migrants — but also sees that selection of migrants is not always based on who is useful for the economy. 

The owl sees that Islam is not Christianity and that not all Muslims understand or want to share in any European future based on European values of freedom, tolerance and an attitude of live and let live.

The owl sadly looks on as poor kids are taught to view themselves as victims, and the society in which they live as the enemy. He can't help but notice that Muslim migrants are receptive to the seduction of the Islamist movement. Even worse, there are now natives converting to this brand of totalitarianism.

Nor can the owl ignore the growth of the extreme right-wing movements and parties. He fears that the debate on pluralism in Europe will be hijacked by two uncompromising extremes: whites' power fascism and Islamic fascism.

The owl thinks that the ostrich is right: We should always look on the bright side of life. But he also thinks we should be careful not to get delusional.

Please read the whole thing. Hirsi Ali is always worth reading. She is also hopeful that a solution is possible. Provided we stop being ostriches, of course. Or worse, letting the ostriches form policy.

We seem to have an abundance of the voices of Muslim women being raised today. It would be well for us to listen to what they have to say.

“Turn Right Now!”

Earlier this month we brought our readers the story of the 80 year old German driver who followed the instructions from his in-car navigation system to the letter. Regardless of the barricades and warning markers. Well, it seems to be a common problem in Germany. This time, the victim was a public toilet. Oh, and the stairway the motorist had to drive up to get to the building.

BERLIN (Reuters) - A German motorist followed the command "Turn right now!" from his navigation system and crashed into a small toilet hut by the side of the road — about 30 metres (yards) before the crossing he was meant to take.

The overly obedient 53-year-old from Freiburg drove his sport utility vehicle off the road onto into a building site, up a stairway and into the small toilet shack, police in the eastern town of Rudolstadt said on Sunday.

It caused 2,000 euros (1,340 pounds) worth of damage to the stairway, 100 euros damage to his car, and he was also fined 35 euros.

The nut behind the wheel is loose again. So, if you're visiting Germany, you might really want to be extremely cautious about using the public toilets. You never know when someone might follow instructions and drive up the stairs to get you. I guess this is just another thing for the Germans to cry about. Aside from the toilets themselves, that is.

Now Back To Our Regularly Scheduled Genocide

The government of Sudan has kicked out the UN envoy sent there to try to get that nation to accept UN peacekeepers. It would appear that UN diplomat Jan Pronk gave enormous offense to the ruling thugs by telling the truth.

The Sudan News Agency gave no reason for the order against the envoy, Jan Pronk of the Netherlands. Pronk drew sharp criticism from the Sudanese military this month after writing in a personal Web blog that government forces had suffered serious losses recently at the hands of rebels in Darfur.

Sudan's government has been at odds with Pronk over Western efforts to get Sudan to allow a U.N. force of 20,000 troops to take over peacekeeping in Darfur — a move President Omar al-Bashir has flatly rejected as neocolonialism.

The Sudanese agency said the Foreign Ministry informed the U.N. office in Khartoum in writing that Pronk's mission "has come to an end" and he "must leave Sudanese territory within 72 hours starting from midday Sunday."

In a blog posted Oct. 14, Pronk wrote that Sudanese army losses in recent fighting "seem to have been very high."

"Reports speak about hundreds of casualties in each of the two battles, many wounded soldiers and many taken as prisoner," he said, adding that morale was low among Sudanese troops in northern Darfur and "some generals have been sacked; soldiers have refused fighting."

Of course, if Pronk had written nothing whatsoever about anything, Sudan would have found an excuse to eject him anyway. The UN cannot even get lip service from thugocracies anymore.

Cheap Shot Politics

This was all over the web yesterday and a lot of people have the video posted. The footage of Harold Ford, Jr. driving up to one of Bob Corker's scheduled events uninvited is a new classic in cheap shot politics. I seriously believe that this incident will be the one analysts look back on later when looking at what caused Ford's loss in the election. Sometimes one's only real purpose in life is to provide a bad example. Ford's done that.

Harold Ford Jr. showed up uninvited at a campaign event for rival Republican Bob Corker at a private charter airstrip in Memphis this morning. Corker had scheduled the media event earlier this week.

News reporters were surprised when Ford's tour bus pulled up at the event and, apparently staff at Wilson Air were surprised as well, as they tried to steer media inside the property for the Corker news conference.

"You need to get this bus off our premises please. Right now," said one Wilson Air staffer.

Corker instead, opted to come out and talk with Ford directly while the cameras were rolling. What followed was a tense confrontation between the two, caught on tape.

The two shook hands, but there was nothing civil about it. "I came to talk about ethics. And I have a press conference," Corker told Ford. "And I think that it's a true sign of desperation and that you would pull your bus up when I'm having a press conference."

"As a matter of fact, this is my press conference not yours, okay?" Corker told Ford.

I have no idea who  would give Ford advice that this was a good campaign move. His family is, of course, deeply involved in politics and you would think they would know better. This was a serious error.