When the Allahu Akbar boys opened fire, Paris was talking about the climate-change conference due to start later this month, when the world's leaders will fly in to "solve" a "problem" that doesn't exist rather than to address the one that does. But don't worry: we already have a hashtag (#PrayForParis) and doubtless there'll be another candlelight vigil of weepy tilty-headed wankers. Because as long as we all advertise how sad and sorrowful we are, who needs to do anything?
With his usual killer comedy timing, the "leader of the free world" told George Stephanopoulos on "Good Morning, America" this very morning that he'd "contained" ISIS and that they're not "gaining strength". A few hours later, a cell whose members claim to have been recruited by ISIS slaughtered over 150 people in the heart of Paris and succeeded in getting two suicide bombers and a third bomb to within a few yards of the French president.
Visiting the Bataclan, M Hollande declared that "nous allons mener le combat, il sera impitoyable": We are going to wage a war that will be pitiless.
Does he mean it? Or is he just killing time until Obama and Cameron and Merkel and Justin Trudeau and Malcolm Turnbull fly in and they can all get back to talking about sea levels in the Maldives in the 22nd century? By which time France and Germany and Belgium and Austria and the Netherlands will have been long washed away.
Among his other coy evasions, President Obama described tonight's events as "an attack not just on Paris, it's an attack not just on the people of France, but this is an attack on all of humanity and the universal values we share".
But that's not true, is it? He's right that it's an attack not just on Paris or France. What it is is an attack on the west, on the civilization that built the modern world - an attack on one portion of "humanity" by those who claim to speak for another portion of "humanity". And these are not "universal values" but values that spring from a relatively narrow segment of humanity. They were kinda sorta "universal" when the great powers were willing to enforce them around the world and the colonial subjects of ramshackle backwaters such as Aden, Sudan and the North-West Frontier Province were at least obliged to pay lip service to them. But the European empires retreated from the world, and those "universal values" are utterly alien to large parts of the map today.
And then Europe decided to invite millions of Muslims to settle in their countries. Most of those people don't want to participate actively in bringing about the death of diners and concertgoers and soccer fans, but at a certain level most of them either wish or are indifferent to the death of the societies in which they live - modern, pluralist, western societies and those "universal values" of which Barack Obama bleats. So, if you are either an active ISIS recruit or just a guy who's been fired up by social media, you have a very large comfort zone in which to swim, and which the authorities find almost impossible to penetrate.Don't worry, though. Mosqueteer Justin Trudeau will ensure that none of the 25,000 "Syrian" "refugees" he's hoping to import before Santa comes would ever do to, say, Toronto or Montreal what those ISIS savages did to Paris.
And if you believe that, you must be one of those Western "progressives" whose head is either in clouds or in a darker, narrower, more personal space (a "safe space," so to speak).
Update: How's this for killer comic timing--it's "Welcome Weekend" in the U.S., a special, symbolic time which underscores the American commitment to welcoming all and sundry "with open arms."
This bit of unintentional killer comedy is from the White House:
On Sunday, President Obama will travel to Turkey and later to Asia to meet with world leaders for the G-20 summit, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Meeting, and the East Asia Summit to promote strong, sustainable and balanced growth and to address urgent global challenges. These summits come at a unique time, when the world faces the worst refugee crisis since the end of World War II. Sixty million people globally have been displaced from their homes, including 12 million Syrians. While countries around the world work to take in as many refugees as possible, the U.S. Government is doing what we can to live up to America’s best tradition as a land of second chances and a beacon of hope. The President will visit a refugee center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, at the end of his trip to demonstrate our focus and commitment to this issue around the world. The need is enormous, but we are determined to answer the call.
That’s where the American people – and “Welcome Weekend” – are making a difference. An inspiring interfaith coalition has organized “Welcome Weekend” to support congregations and communities to come together and help refugees who have come to the United States get back on their feet, become integrated in new communities, and begin on the road to a normal life once again. Everyday Americans are invaluable partners in welcoming refugees into our communities by hosting a family for dinner, introducing refugees to their new neighbors, or helping them find employment or housing opportunities,. You can join in efforts with your local community and engage in innovative work to promote refugee integration. You can even share your efforts and spread the word using #RefugeesWelcome.
Check out www.aidrefugees.gov to learn more about how you can help today.
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This is a time when Americans of all faiths and beliefs are answering the call to be part of the response. Let’s remember – refugee families aren’t so different from our own and their aspirations for their children are the same. Their communities have been torn apart, their neighbors murdered, and their lives turned upside down. They’ve come here looking for a new life, and there’s no other country better equipped to offer them that opportunity than ours.It all sounds so nice and friendly and...multicultural. But sorry, folks, if your aspirations include "jihad is the way, sharia is the goal," you and your refugee family are not the same (and your "aspirations" for your children could look something like this). And, Trudeaupian bromides aside, your aspirations will likely clash with those of your new (and infidel) community.
Update: At least one of the jihadis had a Syrian passport. Quelle surprise, eh?
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