[BRIEF NOTE] Copycats

I regularly read the Jerusalem Post. Today, I noticed this op-ed by Isi Leibner, "senior vice president of the World Jewish Congress." One choice paragraph:

Many European Jews now seriously doubt whether their children can prosper in societies where they are vilified and ostracized. They also fear the demographic impact of expanding Muslim communities and ask themselves whether "Eurabia" is not in the process of becoming a reality.

Did I ever mention that, for two years after the outbreak of the Kosova/o crisis, I regularly read the Serbian Unity Congress' news site? Increasingly, I can find little difference between the Jerusalem Post and news.suc.org, since they both condemn the rest of the West for failing to support them as the West's Bulwark against Islam ^tm, while never failing to mention the Threat From Within ^tm.

The Jerusalem Post has already noticed this. What's more worrying, perhaps, is that Ma'ariv International seems like it might be heading down the same route.

[BRIEF NOTE] More on Belgium

Saturday, I made a brief note about the differences between Belgium and Canada which make the former country's model of federalism incompatible for the latter. In today's Globe and Mail, Lysiane Gagnon makes the case in her article "Belgium is no model for harmony" (page A13) that the most critical difference lies in the fact that the Flemish and the Walloons hate each other.

Where on earth did Stephen Harper get his idea that Belgium could be an inspiration for Canadian federalism? There is no worse model than Belgium, a country where linguistic feuds have been fraught with extreme bitterness--to a point where the country had to be split into two completely unilingual regions; the north is Flemish and the south is Francophone Walloon, with only Brussels remaining as a bilingual territory.

[. . .]

Belgium is the country where a five-century-old university, l'Université catholique de Louvain, had to be rebuilt in another part of the country--and its precious ancient manuscripts transported in trucks--because once the linguistic frontier was drawn, the university found itself in Flemish territory.

Belgium is theoretically a bilingual country, but try speaking French in Anvers--sorry, Antwerp. You will be rudely ignored, even by people who actually know French. Better switch to English.

In the early eighties, I was part of a week-long study tour of Wallonie, at the invitation of the Communauté Wallone. Over, I must say, magnificent meals, we were subjected to the most obnoxious tirades against the Flemish by our hosts. According to the many politicians and journalists we met, the Flemish--all of them--were former Nazi supporters, greedy businessmen, congenital bigots, and generally unbearable.

I had covered the "language wars" of the seventies in Quebec and the tensions wrought by the Parti Québécois victory of 1976. I had interviewed Canadian rednecks and Quebec xenophobes and closely followed the divisive 1980 referendum campaign. Never had I met such visceral interethnic hatred as I saw in Belgium.

[URBAN NOTE] Paulette Jiles' "Heat Lightning" read in the early morning

While travelling east on the Queen Street early this morning, I read Paulette Jiles' poem "Heat Lightning" as part of the TTC's poetry campaign:

Beauty of landscapes is a great stimulus,
even the real estate sign across the street
lighting up the front room like persistent heat-lightning.
And the streetcars creep by catlike on unbending rails
cracking electrical walnuts, blue-white and dangerous,
a handful of voltage, a long trip to the end of town.

Disembarking at Queen Station, at the foot of the Eaton Centre, I looked up at the skyscrapers, City Hall and the rest. Office lights had been turned on though it was still dark outside. The effect--lighted rooms surrounded by darkness and the thin frames of the buildings--reminded me of the cave dwellings of Cappadocian monks.

[NON BLOG] Sunday Report

At three o'clock, myself, schizmatic, and James B. met for a meeting of the Counterfactual Threats Analysis Grioup at the Yonge-Wellesley Starbucks. By unanimous consent, we moved the meeting up the street to Volo. There, the relative specializations of contemporary Roman and Han law codes (private and public affairs, respectively), the unusual naming practices relating to certain new American military vehicles (google "stryker"), the personalities of soc.history.what-if and its related newsgroups, discussion on the upcoming American elections, the influence of post-structuralism on Anglo-American academe, and amusingly ahistorical Franco-American rivalries.

Incidentally, James B. will be heading to work overseas, now Aerodrome. Godspeed to him!

A quarter past five, I bid my leave to head for dinner, with various people in attendance including bitterlawngnome, danthered, djjo, schillerium and vaneramos. The food, as on my last visit, was excellent, as was the company. The Revolution was great, although I remain curious about the persimmon diet skit that got fast-forwarded past.