Part of my occasional Seeing Things series.

I've been thinking about Paul Weston's essays (parts 1 and 2) on civil war in Europe, and had a few thoughts on reading something recent. I begin to ask myself questions. What if Paul Weston is wrong? What if civil war is not inevitable? What if we die out, not with a bang, but a whimper?

What if civil war in Europe were a preferable alternative?

I was reading this piece at the excellent Brussels Journal and had a little thought when I read the following passage:

Click to read more ...

Another Democrat Debate is over. The usual suspects lined up at their podiums to obfuscate the issues and attempt to evade the questions. No candidate was illuminating; none very entertaining. Nothing new here.

Rush Limbaugh made an interesting point this morning on the  radio.  He thinks that Hillary, despite her gaffes, won the debate by default.  None of her opponents successfully stepped up to the plate and challenged her; none lodged her from her perch as anointed Democratic nominee.  Rush pointed out that this says something about the Democrat's roster of candidates.  It says that the candidates the Democrats are fielding are extremely weak.

Hugh Hewitt agrees with liberal MSM and  Roger Simon -- Hillary lost the debate. From  Roger Simon of politico.com

PHILADELPHIA — We now know something that we did not know before: When Hillary Clinton has a bad night, she really has a bad night.

It was not just that her answer about whether illegal immigrants should be issued driver's licenses was at best incomprehensible and at worst misleading.

It was that for two hours she dodged and weaved, parsed and stonewalled.

It used to be, on university campuses in the United States, that a Residential Assistant (RA) was an older student living in the student dorms; the RA was put in charge of keeping the noise down, ensuring the plumbing didn’t leak, and lending a sympathetic ear to stressed-out freshmen during exam week.

At the University of Delaware, however, the RA job description now includes intensive training regarding the ins-and-outs of “diversity,” and the reeducation --  the indoctrination into the Leftist world-view -- of the new, incoming students, students unlucky enough to need room and boarding in the dorms.  From the University of Delaware RA training manual:

“In a white supremacist, capitalist,male supremacist and hererosexist system, all non-ruling class of whites are in some way oppressed by that system, but we are also privileged by it. When we organize against our own oppression, but not against our privilege – that is, against the oppression of people of color, we become oppressors of people of color. Inaction is complicity. Silence is consent. To cease being oppressors, we must act against oppression.” (To download the manual go to thefire.org; click “intensive training.”)

Students are pressured or required to accept an array of the university's approved views. In one training session, students had to announce their opinions on gay marriage. Those who did not approve of gay marriage were isolated and heavily pressured to change their opinion….

…The indoctrination program pushes students to accept the university's ideas on politics, race, sex, sociology, moral philosophy and environmentalism…The training is run by Kathleen Kerr, director of residential life, who reportedly considers it a "cutting-edge" program that can be exported to other universities around the country…She (Kerr) has been quoted as saying that the job of RAs is to educate the whole human being with a "curricular approach to residential education." In this curricular approach, students are required to report their thoughts and opinions. One professor says: "You have to confess what you believe to the RA." The RAs write reports to their superiors on student progress in cooperating with the "treatment."

Don’t ask a man where he came from; judge a man by what he is today.

Defend yourself whenever necessary.

Click to read more ...

A couple of days late due to me being away.

Christopher Booker's Notebook, essential reading for a clear persepctive on the true nature of the EU, related the following tale in the Sunday Telegrah at the weekend. In 2003, when he was 19, Joe Mendy was on holiday with two friends in the Canaries. One evening, several Spanish policemen arrived, asking to be taken to their room. After a search the three young black Englishmen were taken to a police station and charged with counterfeiting four 50 Euro notes.

Two fake notes had allegedly been passed off in the town, one was found in the possession of one of the friends and a fourth was found in the room. The three men were held in custody for two days, subjected to racial abuse and given hardly anything to eat. When a court then told them to report back next morning, they returned to their room to find most of their belongings had been stolen.

Click to read more ...

I was pretty disgusted, though not surprised, to read that "youths" who smashed up the roof and windows of a Church in Belfast have been let off any possible prosecution. What is remarkable about this is that the incident was fully photographed, with very clear images recorded as to who was doing what. Yet the vandals will get off scot-free! I can fully understand why the rector of the Church which was vandalised, Rev Charles McCartney, has said he intends to appeal their decision. 

"If the prosecution service don't do this, then it sends a message to the young men involved that there's nothing the police can do," Rev McCartney. "It says to the local people there's no point ringing the police, it also says to the police themselves 'what's the point in taking a case'.

That's the point, there is no point! This is exactly the way things are meant to be. We have a Judiciary and a Police Service which is much more interested in helping those who have committed crime, wanting to understand them, to feel their pain.  They have little thought for those at the receiving end. If you want to stop them wrecking your church roof, put up barbed wire and then expect to be sued for damages.

Snow Fright and the Six Stooges went at it last night in the Democratic Candidates' Debate as reported here yesteday.  I don't know if the highlight was Congressman Dennis Kucinich discussing the time he saw a UFO or John Edwards looking like he landed in one.  In any event, if a knockout punch was hoped to be delivered by Barack Obama, it clearly was not.  Senator Clinton was able to finesse her way through by not responding in kind.  Her only stumble -the doubletalk involving New York State's demented governor Spitzer's plan to give driver's licenses to illegal aliens. 

Obama said he was going to go "Yo Mama" on her, and he folded like a six week old slice of swiss cheese.  Edwards was far more obnoxious, and it showed.  Note to Edwards, if you are going to push snake oil, then you got to sell it with a real smile - not a fake one.  New Mexico Governor Richardson blew hot and cold, but he had the sense to defend Hillary by saying the attacks against her were uncalled for, and then repeating all the attacks.  The two adults - Joe Biden and Chris Dodd weren't bad, but treading water doesn't help their struggling campaigns.  Biden got off a nice shot at Rudy and the 911 game.  Kucinich with the protective shield afforded those who can not possibly win, was able to get off a few shots at the process itself.  

End of the day, Hillary did what she had to do - ignore the boys and make them cry.   She should have been more prepared for the driver's license question - old Bill would have seen that one coming from a mile away.  But she did pretty well on her feet as even the questions were directed against her.  Conclusion:  Hillary's staff should start thinking about running mates now.     

Did you read that Young people aged 18 to 34 are paying half their earnings in tax as they help fund the pension and health care costs of an ever more prosperous older generation?

Nick Bosanquet, consultant director of Reform and professor of health policy at Imperial College London, argues that the need to control government spending and protect young people from having to foot so much of the bill has become ''a defining modern political issue" and crucial to the long-term health of the economy. The report is a severe embarrassment to the Prime Minister, who said when accepting the Labour leadership in June that his priority was to help "young people with talent and ambition wanting the best chance to realize their aspirations." Instead Reform argues that much of government fiscal policy is doing the reverse.

I disagree. I think government policy is exactly to enshackle the young generation. I think Brown and his cronies will be delighted at the news that so many young Brits are deep in debt. We have a Government in power which HATES the individual, and so the fact that half of the coming generation is consumed in repaying debt  will come as great news. Those in debt tend not to rock the boat. 

How appropriate that Cherie Blair chooses Halloween to drone on about "inequality"!

"Culture and religion cannot be used as an excuse for discriminating against women", she argues.

I agree but she is less than robust when it comes to dealing with the religion which above all others, most definitely discriminates against women. I'm talking about Islam. She is coy about the issue of the Islamic veil, at one point likening it to the garb worn by the Nuns that taught her.  She refuses to endorse the boycott of King Abdullah even though the regime over which he presides clearly discriminates against women.  It strikes me that Cherie is a typical self-loathing liberal who hates her own culture, seeing "inequality" everywhere, but when it comes to dealing with the real inequality in this world she's just one more hollow vessel.

The thing about the political left is that it constantly seeks to find new ways to INCREASE the size of the State. This explains why the right of council housing tenants in Scotland to buy new-build homes is to end.

Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is also expected to tell MSPs that a new generation of council houses will tackle Scotland's housing crisis. At the centre of the strategy will be the reversal of 30 years of "running down the role of local authorities", with new incentives to encourage the construction of a new generation of council houses.

In other words, the State in Scotland will ensure that IT controls new housing and that the liberation brought about by the Thatcher government will be brought to a terminal end. Tenants are required, not owners. We are being pushed back into state controlled housing and that means that the right to own one's house has to be rescinded. This is why the entire "social housing" argument so beloved of ALL the devolved structures in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is specious. It's more accurate to call if "SOCIALISED" housing and you can be sure it will gain media approval. Anything that advances the size and role of the State is welcomed.

One of the features of ATW that I notice is how very well-read the overwhelming number of those who comment here are. It's great to see so many references to so many books, and it shows that you are all a lot of book worms when you're not on here sorting out my mistaken opinions and errors. Ahem.

ATW regulars will know that I have been working on a book for some time. Well, it is now finished and it is starting to go through the publishing process at the moment, which is a whole new adventure for me. The book is entitled "Unionism Decayed - 1997-2007" and it is basically my take on what has happened to Unionism, and me, during those years. I have met with most of the major and minor Unionist figures and this is my take on them, on the Parties, on the Churches, on Loyalism, on the Media, on the Orange Order and on the future as I see it. I think I am the only anti-Agreement unionist who has taken on this kind of sweeping appraisal and it is guaranteed to probably isolate me further! Who cares? - I write what I believe to be true. I'm unsure when the book will be published but it will be within the next few months. I really hope you will support me when it comes out and buy it!

However, I have a surprise for you. In addition to this book (Which does have some laughs in it as well as some poignancy) there is ANOTHER book which I am pleased to tell you about - and it's an ATW book! In essence, most of those folk who write here, along with me, have contrived to create a book which covers a wide range of topics - from Education to Islam, from Peace processing to the Monarchy, there is a spectrum of challenging opinion coming your way. My vision is to take the blog thing, and to move it into the written word, by creating a series of well-constructed essays that tackle things we debate here all the time. It's a way of moving ATW into other areas, not just the net. This book is more or less completed, and will also make its way through the publishing grind. I believe ATW will be one of the few UK blogs that have taken the issues and turned it into a thought-provoking book. I have held the view that the conservative perspective is ill-served in the UK, too many left-wing books, not enough gritty no-compromise alternatives from the right of liberal perspective. Well, there will be when we publish this venture and I hope you will all support it when it arrives off the production line.

So - there you go - TWO books currently working their way into published format, and that's just the start.

Now, I have to go and lie down in the dark for a while...the stress of it all!!!

No matter how you view it, it is a truly startling fact.

 More than half of new jobs created under Labour since 1997 have gone to foreign workers.

The government had previously claimed the majority of new jobs had been filled by British workers. But that was a lie, of course and the Government has now admitted it had underestimated the number of migrants. It later put out a clarification suggesting 52% - or 1.1 million - of new jobs created had gone to migrants.

So, under this British Government, the majority of new jobs do not go to British workers. Instead immigrants are picking up the majority of new employment positions. Of course this is exactly what Labour wants, as our work force is essentially colonised by eastern Europeans and our fat parasitic welfare class grows bigger and bigger and ever dependent on its' NuLabour benefactors. 

The damage that Labour has done to the integrity of the UK is truly phenomenal. It is if we are occupied by a foreign government. Hang on a second....WE ARE!

I see that the US dollar has hit a 26 year low against the British Pound, finishing at around $2.06 to the Pound. Happy days!

This December marks my 20th Wedding Anniversary and the Vance family will be travelling to the good ol' USA! We're planning to visit California (San Francisco, and yes, I will of course have flowers in my hair whilst watching out for pesky  liberals) and then to a couple of the Hawaiian islands, Kauai and Oahu. We'll see in Christmas and the New Year on Waikiki beach, as I sip the local beverages and reflect on the year that was! Best of all, with the dollar so low against the Pound, my wife and kids will be tempted into doing their level best to restore US prosperity by spending all their  dollars in a blaze of shopping glory!

When I got married, back in 1987, I had a choice of two honeymoon destinations. Bali was one, Hawaii the other. I chose Bali, and now after these years, I'm back for Hawaii! To get in the mood, I bought a CD of Hawaiian music today, which was surprisingly pleasant if a tad eccentric in the avenues and alleyways of Northern Ireland. I'm hoping to find a way to blog during this extended break otherwise there will be more than a three week silence from yours truly. I always enjoy the Christmas period here on ATW, it's a nice feel as the extended ATW family is pleasant to each other for all of a few days. So, I'm watching currency exchange rates with more than a little interest these days, and I trust the mighty Dollar sinks a little lower so that the Vance budget goes that little bit longer!

Now here's a thing! Some immigrant children in Northern Ireland are being paid less than £3 an hour for labouring in the fields. Migrant support worker and former MP Bernadette McAliskey has said foreign youths aged under 16 were" being exploited" to produce cheap food after the minimum wage of £2.76  was approved by the Agricultural Wages Board. "It is unacceptable in a modern country to be paying people that amount of money for difficult work," she said."The undeclared reality here is that we are taking such children born in other countries and suffering in our fields to keep us in cheap food."

Sorry, but this is so much crap. Let's sort her out, shall we, because you can be sure the talking heads in the media will go along with this gross economic illiteracy!

For a start, no one FORCED these immigrants to come to Northern Ireland. The reality is that they come here, in their legions, because it is so economically attractive for them AND for their children. If they feel that the wage offered is not good enough, as Bernadette McAliskey believes, then they should either seek better wages elsewhere in Northern Ireland OR travel to whichever country provides the sort of wages that McAliskey will accept. In fact what this is REALLY about is the uber-socialism/marxism of those like McAliskey who seeks to IMPOSE wages on employers. She should be ignored.

So, what do you make of the news that a serial sex offender from Sierra Leone has been allowed to stay in the UK after a judge ruled deporting him would breach his human rights? And not just ANY old Judge, we're talking Mr Justice Hodge, who is the wife husband of Government minister Margaret Hodge!

Mohammed Kendeh (Catchy first name, eg?) who has admitted indecently assaulting 11 women, was assessed by the Home Office as being at "high risk" of reoffending. But their attempt to deport him was overruled by an immigration judge last year.  The Home Office appealed that decision but now Mr Justice Hodge, President of the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal, has delivered a lengthy judgement upholding Kendeh’s right to stay in Britain. Mr Justice Hodge, said article eight of the Human Rights Act, which enshrines the "right to a family life", meant the sex attacker could not be deported.

Well, if this is the legal reason, then we need to instantly scrap the HRA, since it is working against the people of the United Kingdom and in particular against those women who have suffered at the hands of this sex attacker. Kendeh should be put on the very next flight back to Sierra Leone and left to take his own chances. We need to put BRITISH interests first, the Human Rights Act is a moral and legal affront that protects the likes of this fiend whilst leaving other women potentially vulnerable.

The Democrats are going to have another debate this evening.  Senator Obama has, in his muted way, signaled that he intends to attack Senator Clinton with more vigor.  This unchivalrous development is of course necessitated by the fact that she is beating him like a red-headed stepchild in the polls.  While not quite Ali picking the round that he would knock out his opponent, it was a least a greater shot across the bow than the frontrunning Senator Clinton has received thus far.   The interesting thing is how does he attack her positions when he so often shares them?  And how does he attack her without seeming strident or desperate?  And lastly, doesn't he know that the Clintons are far more dangerous on defense than offense?

I think he has to do this if he wants to pull away from the pack.  To do this successfully, he has to indicate that while she is an asset to the party in terms of ideas, that she is kryptonite to 50% of the electorate, and that the party stands the best chance with him.  I don't think claim is necessarily the case, but it is the case he has to make if he wants to be something more than a footnote.  I'll be watching tonight (the baseball season having ended) and will report back on Wednesday as to the fireworks.   But  I will suggest that if he doesn't try something, he is going down for the count.   

Given that extremist literature that encourages hatred of gays, Christians and Jews can be easily found at many of Britain's mosques, isn't it time we took the bull by the horns and considered that some of these Mosques should be closed down given that they are Islamic centre's of hatred?

 Researchers for the think tank Policy Exchange claims it found the literature in a quarter of the 100 mosques and Islamic institutions they visited. Many of the publications allegedly called on British Muslims to segregate themselves from non-Muslims and for unbelievers to be treated as second-class citizens wherever possible. The literature also allegedly contained repeated calls for gays to be thrown from mountains and tall buildings and for women to be subjugated. Policy Exchange said that among the documents were the anti-Semitic forgery, The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion, and other publications peddling bizarre conspiracy theories.

Why is this permitted? These Mosques do their faith NO GOOD and should be raided at the very least and all this extremist literature removed, then they should be fined for permitting such vile material on their premises and finally, they should be warned that if it re-appears, they WILL be closed.

Aren't the Welsh, Scots and Northern Irish football associations pathetic?

The British Olympic Association (BOA) is pressing ahead with plans to enter British men's and women's football teams at the 2012 Olympic Games. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has written to the BOA confirming that the host qualifying rule will apply to all team sports in London. "We will field a team," BOA chief Simon Clegg told BBC One's Inside Sport. "And the comfort and commitment that we've now got from the IOC just reinforces that aspiration."

HOWEVER, The BOA's confident stance comes despite opposition from the Scottish (SFA), Welsh (FAW) and Northern Ireland Football Associations. These footballing minnows reckon that involvement with a British Olympic team could threaten their separate status with the European and world football governing bodies, despite Fifa's assurances to the contrary. Gordon Smith, chief executive of the SFA, reiterated his organisation's opposition to a British team. Aren't they just a little bit sad, just a tad pathetic?

Here's another vomit-inducing piece of peace process propaganda in the news today...

"The lasting legacy of the North’s peace process could be to point a way forward for other conflict zones around the world, a leading US statesman claimed today. Senator George Mitchell, who chaired the talks which led to the Good Friday Agreement, made the claim after details emerged of a conference in Belfast next year which will take stock of the power-sharing accord 10 years on."

I remember having a very robust encounter with Senator Mitchell back in 1998. Bob McCartney and I held a meeting with him in which we both launched into the sheer IMMORALITY of the process he was conducting. We told that democracy cannot co-exist with democracy and that the IRA - along with the loyalist paramilitary vermin - had NO place in government. I remember his eyes widening as he sought to imply that this was not the aim of the process. We did not accept this view and told him so plainly to his evident displeasure. We told the Senator that the United States had no business seeking to find ways to impose a political solution in Northern Ireland that would be unacceptable to any democrat in the USA. It was a fiery encounter, with Bob refusing to accept the honeyed words from Mitchell. 

Of course he ignored us, there were many more pliable politicians to work with. But when I now hear Mitchell - Clinton's little helper - advocate the use of the Northern Ireland appeasement model elsewhere, I still refuse to accept a word he says.