a.)Between 15,000 and 30,000 specimen of the Lunalefticus Moonbatensis variety protested in London today asking for a general troop withdrawal from Iraq.
Apparently the march was scheduled to coincide with the closure of the European Social Forum held in the metropolis.
b.)Meanwhile, it now appears that since March 70,000 people have died in Darfur refugee camps. Mr. David Nabarro, head of the WHO’s crisis operations group, has rung the alarmbell.
"I am personally concerned that we still don't have a significant enough popular perception around the world of the enormity of the suffering experienced by people in Darfur and Chad, where disease and suffering is being experienced on a quite extraordinary and inhuman scale," Nabarro said.
As you will all remember, Kofee Anus warned the Sudanese government in the beginning of August that Sudan was to face "grave and serious consequences" if it did not disarm the janjaweed within a month. The beginning of August, that’s almost three months ago, the janjaweed are still in business and Koffee only saw fit to issue a statement that the war in Iraq is illegal. Somehow the specimen mentioned under a.) missed the topic of the 70,000 dead. Someone tell 'em. Find out more about it here.
c.)You may or may not know that the Galactic Dominion of Belgium has some 630 soldiers in Afghanistan as part of the ISAF-force (International Security Assistance Force) in Afghanistan, currently under Eurocorps control.
The bulk of them are guarding Kabul airport, with a few attached to the so-called PRT teams meant to support government control of areas till now beyond Karzais reach (Herat, Kandahar).
Well, on NATO’s recent summit In Romania, the Belgian Asshole of Surrender, erm, Defense Secretary André Flahaut (Parti Socialiste) , stated that Belgium’s contingent will be reduced from 630 to 250 in February 2005.
In Romania, Mr. Flahaut pleaded to withdraw in due time ALL NATO-troops from Afghanistan. His spokesman was quoted as saying:
"Now that elections are over, we must give the Afghans the chance to maintain order themselves. That’s why the minister does no longer think it’s appropriate to calculate a long-lasting NATO-presence in Afghanistan. Just like in the Balkans, the local law enforcers must take over NATO-tasks".
Never mind that only now the PRT initiatives are starting to get well under way and that in fact MORE troops are needed right now. Never mind that later in 2005 elections for an assembly will take place, requiring ample NATO presence to keep watch. Never mind that despite progress the country is far from pacified.
(One piece of advice: don't you never, ever, appoint a socialist Defense Secretary)
d.)The news that GM plans to cut 12,000 jobs in Europe to cut costs has come as a shock, especially so in Germany, where the Opel division, with plants at Ruesselsheim and Bochum, is expected to see its payroll diminish with 8,000. At least that’s the figure the German Labor Union provides. GM itself has not confirmed that number. The reason for the restructuring is, put simply, overcapacity. Cars, being ever more reliable and costly, are kept longer and longer (in Germany on average 7,5 years) while factories keep churning them out by the millions. Especially in Germany with its lackluster economy the news has struck a blow and the personnel at said plants is on strike. The strike at Bochum affects directly the Opel plant in Antwerp, Belgium, which may see its production halted this week as a result of parts not coming through (the Antwerp plant, which has a good producitivity, is said to be not affected too much by the job cutting operation).
Don’t worry though, the lefty moonbats have found the real culprit: Dubya. Find out more about it at David's Medienkritik.
e.)Finally, the soon-to-be installed new EU Commission has had two of its candidate commissioners rejected by an EU Parliament panel. One of them is Rocco Buttiglione, meant to be the new EU Commissioner for Justice. Now while the EU Parliament's Panel on Justice found the candidate competent, independent and experienced, the guy DID manage to pull off a really stupid comment, It's quite a row you know. Personally, I'd keep the guy since he provides some much-needed rightwing weight in the new commission. Also, he has pledged to respect the rights of minorities. All signs indicate that he would perform well in the job and it's a pity that talent should be lost for one stupid remark. Someone should help him off his asinine belief and that should be it. But of course the Left, already clearly longing for the days of Prodi's Commie Commission, has jumped on this incident to weaken the conservative half of Barroso's new commission. Luckily I don't expect they will succeed.
MFBB
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