VIDEO: Tourism in Zimbabwe: visiting the ruins of Rhodesia

Earlier this month we posted "The truth about Rhodesia - a warning to liberals of the AABC", a video explaining how, in 1980, the British betrayed their kith and kin in Rhodesia, and gave the country, now renamed Zimbabwe over to the Marxist-oriented Comrade Robert Gabriel Mugabe, whose ZANU-PF party has ruled the unfortunate country ever since.

"Majority rule" has turned the once-prosperous (pre-1980) country into the sort of place characterized by President Trump as a "shithole". It has been ruined by ignorance, incompetence and corruption. John Edmonds, In the video, John Edmonds presents a potted history of Zimbabwe, then embarks on a tour to see for himself the ruins of Rhodesia and the reality of the failed state today.

 

This video too can well be described as a cautionary tale. This is what happens when you hand your country or state (Hello, California!) over to letting loony lefties whose "Diversity, Equity and Inclusion" (DEI) agenda is driven by anti-white racism, gender ideology and a complete ignorance of economics. Keep it in mind when you vote.

VIDEO: "Allahu akbar!" in the Horn of Africa

Well, that does it! Somalia is off Walt's bucket list! The Liido Restaurant (pictured) in Mogadishu, the shithole's capital, serves excellent mystery-meat burgers, but enjoying one on the beach could cost you your life. Time for the latest news from Liido Beach, followed by a history lesson.

The news today is that at least 32 people were killed in a suicide attack at the popular beach, carried out by al-Shabaab militants. Hassan Ben-Sober [Ed., please check name], a police spokesthingy, told the meeja that "around 63" people were also wounded, some of them critically.

Video footage showed a number of bodies and injured people in Mogadishu's Abdiaziz district. Al-Shabab controls large parts of southern and central Somalia. The group is affiliated to al-Qaeda and for two decades has waged a brutal insurgency against a government backed by the Disunited Nations.

If you (like 99.99% of Americans) have forgotten about Somalia, let me remind you that the government of William Jefferson Clinton (Democrat) sent American troops there to wage peace in the 1990s as part of a UN snafu known as "Operation Gothic Serpent".

Mogadishu was the site of the infamous "Black Hawk Down Incident", of 3-4 October 1993, part of the Battle of Mogadishu, between forces of the US of A against the forces of the so-called Somali National Alliance (SNA) and armed irregulars. The battle was part of the then two-year-old Somali civil war, just one of the Muslim civil wars in which America has foolishly intervened. 

The UN initially sent troops to alleviate the famine of 1992, but then began trying to restore a central government, establish democracy, yada yada yada. In June of 1993, UN peacekeepers suffered their deadliest day in decades when the Pakistani contingent was attacked while inspecting a SNA weapons storage site. That's what happens when you look into the barrel.

UNOSOM II (the UN task force) blamed SNA leader Mohammed Farah Aidid and launched a manhunt. In July, American forces raided the Abdi House in search of Aidid, killing many elders and prominent members of Aidid's clan. Big mistake, Dr Jones! The raid led many Mogadishu residents to join the fight -- not on "our" side -- and in August, Aidid and the SNA deliberately attacked American personnel for the first time. And that's why slick Willy dispatched Task Force Ranger to sort things out.

On 3 October 1993, US forces planned to seize two of Aidid's top lieutenants during a meeting deep in the city. The raid was only intended to last an hour, but morphed into an overnight standoff and rescue operation extending into the daylight hours of the next day. Here's the trailer for the slightly biased movie version of what happened.

What really happened was this. As the battle progressed (or not), Somali forces used RPGs to shoot down three American Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters. Two of them crashed deep in hostile territory (read: anywhere in the city). A desperate defence of the two downed helicopters began and fighting lasted through the night to defend the survivors of the crashes. In the morning, a UNOSOM II armored convoy fought their way to the besieged soldiers and withdrew, incurring further casualties but rescuing the survivors.

No battle since the Vietnam War claimed so many American casualties -- 18 dead and 73 wounded. You won't see much about the other forces in the movie, but Malaysian forces suffered one death and seven wounded, and Pakistani forces had two injured. Somali casualties were far higher -- between 133 and 700 dead.

The part that really wasn't a good look for the Clinton government was that, after the battle, dead American soldiers were dragged through the streets of Mogadishu by enraged Somalis, in full view of a vast [or half-vast. Ed.] TV audience.

The UN gave up on Somalia in 1995, and, as today's news illustrates, the state is now a lawless and dangerous shithole, with no effective government -- a place to be avoided like the plague (which is said to be present there). Fear of another PR disaster kept the US government from increasing its involvement in Somalia and other regions. 

Some students of history (Republicans perhaps) say that what is now called "Somalia Syndrome" influenced the Clinton administration's decision not to intervene in the Rwandan genocide. However, the lesson of Somalia was apparently forgotten when new Muslim civil wars broke out in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan.

Do your part to prevent Californication!

Going to Niagara Falls to see the eclipse? Read this first

Walt [and Ed.! Ed.] are in Niagara Falls ON to see the solar eclipse this coming Monday. Niagara Falls is reckoned to be the best place in the world to see it, being right in the middle of the path, so there should be 100% totality around 1518 EDT. 

The only hitch could be the weather. Local Indians First Nations have been persuaded to do an anti-rain dance, just in case.

We chose the Canadian side of the river for reasons anyone who has visited Niagara Falls NY will know. The best views of the falls are from the Canadian side, and a US dollar will get you $1.35 in funny money -- but it'll be all coins. Canuckistan have no paper notes of less than five dollars.

Warning! If you're farther away than you can manage in a day trip, and haven't got a guarantee place to stay, forget it! The hotels, motels and inns on the Canadian side are 100% full... and have been for some time. 

Tourists who thought they had a hotel room booked months ago are being told by some hotels their reservations are cancelled because "a large group of people have decided to extend their stay." See "Screwed by Wyndham Garden Niagara Falls--they cancelled our prepaid rooms for the eclipse. What can we do?" on Reddit.

How come? What the lickspittle media are not telling you is that Niagara Falls hotels are full of "refugees" and asylum-seekers, sent there over a year ago by Canada's Liberal government (Blackie McBlackface, Prop.) See "Thinking of visiting Niagara Falls? Think again!", WWW 25/3/23. 

The supposedly temporary arrangement was, of course, anything but. The real reason for the "state of emergency" declared last week by the Region of Niagara is that the unwelcome "visitors" refuse to leave. 

Last wee, over 100 of them -- from shitholes like Nigeria, Pakistan, and Mexico -- who had their claims approved [Really? Ed.] were told to find other accommodations. But if they leave the hotels, they'll have to pay for their own lodgings, food, etc. So they're still there. 

They were given a check-out deadline of 22 April, but everyone knows it won't be enforced. Bad optics for the Trudeau government and wokesters in general. The hoteliers don't care, as they're still getting paid. Better a month of illegals @ $200/night than two days of tourists @ $1000, eh!

That's the news from Down by the Falls. Canada... or Niagara Falls at least... is full up. Stay home.

Looking for a good place to live?

Readers who live in dirty, crime-ridden, broken but expensive American city -- all Democrat-controlled, by the way -- may be wondering if there is somewhere better to which they can move. The answer is yes, but not in the Excited States of America, where peaceful and prosperous, Republican-controlled cities are few and far between. 

The Economist Intelligence Unit has just published its index of the world's most liveable (and unliveable) cities. Not one American city made it into the Top 10. The could-be-worse news for Crooked Joe Biden is that not even San Francisco or Portland sank into the 10 worst. Here's the Economist map. I know it's a bit hard to read, so I'll elucidate [and magnify -- thank you! Ed.) in my comments follow.

The best city in the world in which to live is... wait for it... Vienna, which the EIU scores at 98.4 out of a possible 100. I note that both these cities are the capitals of countries which put up walls of dykes and sandbags to divert the tsunami of "refugees", asylum-seekers and other riff-raff which has swept across Europe over the last decade.

The Danes, in particular, have been sticking to their guns [made from Lego kits? Ed.] about keeping Denmark for the Danes. See "New Danish law: refugees will no longer become immigrants", WWW 23/2/19. No wonder they're the happiest people in the world! 

Third and fourth on the index of liveable cities are Melbourne and Sydney, in the wonderful land of Oz. Auckland, New Zealand, is in 10th spot. If you want to get away from it all/get away from them all --  you know what/who I mean -- the Antipodes is a good bet. Australia sends all the boat people and other undesirables to desolate islands off its north coast. New Zealand had a couple of years of wokeism under former Jacinta Ardern, the pinko feminist prime minister, but has gone back to a peaceful slumber.

No fewer than three Canadian cities make the list: Vancouver in 5th spot, Calgary tied for 7th, and Toronto behind the 8-ball. I'll give you Calgary. Poor Len Canayen says they'd rank higher if they had a better hockey team. 

But the inclusion of Vancouver surprises me. I think it must have ranked so high because of the location between the seashore and the mountains. You can drive an hour east or west and go water-skiing or snow-skiing. As for the city itself, all that can be said is that it looks great in comparison with Seattle or Portland. 

As for Toronto, my guess is that the EIU researchers haven't actually been there, and have been taken in my the relentless advertising of the Wormy Apply as "the city that works", "a world-class city", "the world's most multicultural city", yada yada yada. It's all bullshit, except for the multicultural part. Folks with pale complexions are a beleaguered minority in the "Greater Toronto Area". IMHO, Montréal is a much more liveable city than Toronto. The difference is like that between the Canadiens and the Maple Leafs. Nuff said.

What cities remain to be discusssed? Geneva is tied with Calgary for 7th. Like the Danes and Austrians, the Swiss don't welcome foreigners and aren't hopelessly woke... yet. But I've been to Geneva more than once, and find it clean to the point of sterility, expensive, and boring. But at least they speak French. I imagine Zurich (6th) to be the same except that it's German-speaking, and full of bankers rather than watch-makers and chocolatiers.

And then there's Osaka, Japan, tied with Auckland for 10th. I note that the Japanese are even more xenophobic than the Europeans, and they don't like foreigners very much either. Your chances of being allowed to live there range from slim to none, and after endless meals of suski and seawood you wouldn't want to.

About the most unliveable cities, I shall say very little beyond giving you the EIU's ranking. Four of them -- Douala (164 - 46.4 out of 100), Harare (167), Lagos (170) and Algiers (171) and Tripoli (172 - 40.1) -- are in Africa, which is all ye need to know. 

I lived in Ha-ha-harare, the fun capital of Zimbabwe, for six years in the 90s. When it was known as Salisbury, the capital of Rhodesia, it was the best sub-Saharan African city outside3 of South Africa. But the roads, water and electricity forced on the poor black people by the evil colonialists are no longer functioning. That too is all ye need to know.

I was dismayed to see Kiev (aka Kyiv) in the Worst 10 list (165 - 44.0). In normal times it's a city of beauty and culture. But now it's a war zone, so what can be said except Слава Україні! 

As any traveller knows, South Asia is rich in shitholes, and you can apply that word literally. It's no accident that millions of people from thatblighted sub-continent risk everything to our blighted continent. One would expect to see Mumbai (formerly Bombay) and "New" Delhi on the list, but believe it or not, there are two worse cities: Dhaka, Bangladesh (167, tied with Harare) and Karachi, Pakistan (169 - 42.5). 

From World War I until its independence in 1975, New Guinea was a dependency of Australia. Even today it is largely unexplored and undeveloped, peopled by "savages" [Be careful, now. Ed.] who not very long ago wore penis sheaths and hunted heads for sport. Now they have their own country, its capital being Port Moresby (168 - 43.4 out of 100).

And now it's time for the presentation of the Economist Intelligence Unit's award for Least Liveable City in the World. May I have the envelope please? The winner is [drum roll]... Damascus, the capital of Syria, scoring 30.4 out of 100 and dead last of the 173 cities studied. 

Kind of discouraging, isn't it. I'm considering Asuncion, which I hear has become quite popular with Germans fleeing the new multicultural Stepfatherland. Meanwhile, I'll just stay right here.

Andrew Carnegie and the Titan submersible

Andrew Carnegie (1835–1919), a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist, led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans in history.

During the last 18 years of his life, he became a leading philanthropist in the United States, Great Britain, and the British Empire. In that time, he gave away around $350 million (roughly $5.9 billion in today's dollars, almost 90 percent of his fortune, to charities, foundations and universities.

He funded Carnegie Hall in New York City, the Peace Palace in the Netherlands, founded the Carnegie Corporation of New York, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Carnegie Institution for Science, Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland, Carnegie Hero Fund, Carnegie Mellon University, and the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, among others.

Mr Carnegie was an auto-didact, hence his special project was the funding and building of libraries, especially in small places like the Scottish town from which he came. Carnegie libraries sprung up all over the United States and Canada. I remember fondly the little library in the my hometown, which 30 years after the benefactor's death had a population numbering in the low thousands.

What does this have to do with the Titan submersible, which, as I write, is lost somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Newfoundland, somewhere near the wreck of the RMS Titanic?

Consider the list of those aboard, destined, it would seem, for a watery grave near that of the souls who remains are still there, in the ruins of the great ship.

Those on board the Titan are: 

* Paul-Henri Nargeolet, a Frenchman, her pilot; 

* Stockton Rush, CEO of OceanGate Expeditions, the American entrepreneur making big bucks by turning the Titanic into a tourist attraction;

* Hamish Harding, a British billionaire (basesd in the United Arab Emirate), pilot, explorer and adventurer;

* Shahzada Dawood, a British-Pakistani businessman, one of the richest men in Pakistant, and 

* his son and heir Suleman.

Mr Rush's company reportedly charged Messrs Harding, Dawood et fils $250,000 to go down in the briny deep for a spot of disaster tourism. The spending of three quarters of a million dollars for not-so-cheap thrill of being able to get close to the watery graves of the unfortunate passengers of the Titanic is what Thorsten Veblen would call "conspicuous consumption" -- a means to show one's social status, especially when publicly displayed goods and services are too expensive for other members of a person's class.

In other words, no-one benefits, except perhaps Mr Rush and his partners. To the spoiled billionaires who want to play with a new toy, $750,000 may be chump change, but it could so a lot of good for the less fortunate multitudes of No-longer-great Britain or (especially) the shithole that is Pakistan. Had they given the money to charity, Messrs Harding, Dawood and Dawood Jr might have something to say for themselves when they answer to their Maker... later today.

2022 Wally Awards: Best pictorial explanation of "our" foreign aid policy

Sometimes it's hard to understand government policies, particularly foreign policy and the trillions spent on foreign. For a clearer understanding of how your tax dollars are spent to help the development of third world shitholes, check out this photo, taken somewhere in the Middle East.

One picture may be worth 1000 words, but is it worth $1000? You be the judge. And be sure to let the rulers of your country know how proud you are of their wokeness.

Footnote and protest alert! Organizers of the original Freedom Convoy protest that paralyzed the capital of Canuckistan (Prime Minister McBlackface's residence is pictured above) for three weeks in early 2022 say they're planning on bringing a new convoy to Winnipeg MB next month. 

In a Facebook post reported by CTV, Canada Unity shared a live video in which they proclaimed that a "world unity convoy” would be held in Winterpeg, so named because of its insalubrious climate, from the 17th to 20th of February, to coincide with the Whitewash Rouleau Commission report into last year's protest.

Mr Socks is said to be making reservations for a skiing holiday at "an undiscosed location" (read: NOT Winnipeg) for the 16th through 21st.

To blacks fed up with American racism - "Go back to Africa!"

Q. What do Ghana, Rwanda and Liberia have in common... apart from being the kind of African countries sometimes referred to as "shitholes"? 

A. They have all been suggested as good places for African migrants to return to when they say they are unhappy [and/or unwelcome! Ed.] in Europe and/or North America.

Ed. has been doing some research, and discovered a growing GBTA (Go Back To Africa) movement in the US of A. Just over two centuries ago, the movement was spearheaded [Careful. Ed.] by white people who wanted to send slaves back home. Now it's the descendants of slaves who are raising the GBTA petitions. More about that below, but first let's look at where they could go, and ask Thomas Hardy's question: Can you ever go home again? 

Liberia began in the early 19th century as a project of the American Colonization Society (ACS), which believed black people would face better chances for freedom and prosperity in Africa than in the United States. Between 1822 and the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, more than 15,000 freed and free-born black people who faced social and legal oppression in the USA, along with 3198 Afro-Caribbeans, relocated to Liberia.

The Liberian constitution and flag were modelled after those of the United States while its capital was named after ACS supporter President James Monroe. The settlers brought their culture and traditions with them, and an "Americo-Liberian" identity soon became dominant in Libria, with the Liberians descended from the ACS immigrants now regarded as somehow superior, like the descendants of the Mayflower Pilgrims or the FFVs in America.

Liberia's last 40 years have been marked by political instability and horrific violence rooted in ethnic divisions. In April of 1980, a military coup led by Master Sergeant Samuel Doe of the Krahn ethnic group overthrew and killed President William R. Tolbert, Jr, one of the "Americo-Liberians" along with  a majority of Tolbert's cabinet and other Americo-Liberian government officials.

After Liberia adopted a new constitution in 1985, Mr Doe was elected president in subsequent elections that were internationally condemned as fraudulent [unlike the American election of 2020. Ed.] There followed a series of coups and counter-coups until in 1989 a rebel group led by Charles Taylor, launched an insurrection in 1989 triggering the First Liberian Civil War. 

From 1989 to 1997 around 60,000 to 80,000 Liberians died, and, by 1996, around 700,000 others had been displaced into refugee camps in neighboring countries. A peace deal between warring parties was reached in 1995, leading to Mr Taylor's election as president in 1997. Under his leadership, Liberia became internationally known as a pariah state due to its use of blood diamonds and illegal timber exports to fund the Revolutionary United Front in the Sierra Leone Civil War. 

The Second Liberian Civil War began in 1999 when a rebel group based in the northwest of the country, launched an armed insurrection against Charles Taylor. In March 2003, a second rebel group began launching attacks from the southeast. Mr Taylor resigned in August 2003 and went into exile in Nigeria, from where he has been sending letters and emails begging for help in getting his money out. [Ed., you might want to check that last bit.] 

In 2005, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, another Americo-Liberian, was elected president, an office she held until 2017, when a former soccer star, George Weah, was sworn in. He promised to fight corruption, reform the economy, combat illiteracy, and improve living conditions. None of this has happened, as yet, but hey, it's Africa.

Walt told you all ye need to know about Rwanda in "Back to Africa with ye!" - BoJo to asylum-seekers", WWW 14/4/22. It is notorious as the site of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, also known as the genocide against the Tutsi. Members of the Hutu ethnic majority in the east-central African nation murdered as many as 800,000 people, mostly of the Tutsi minority. 

Started by Hutu nationalists in the capital of Kigali, the genocide spread throughout the country with shocking speed and brutality, as ordinary citizens were incited by local officials and the Hutu Power government to take up arms against their neighbours. A Disunited Nations "peacekeeping" mission, led by a Canadian general, stood idly by. 

By the time the Tutsi-led Rwandese Patriotic Front gained control of the country through a military offensive in early July, hundreds of thousands of Rwandans were dead and 2 million refugees (mainly Hutus) fled Rwanda, exacerbating what had already become a full-blown humanitarian crisis.

Yet now the Rwandan government is happy to accept immigrants, refugees and asylum-seekers -- even Hutus -- from any African country. They made a deal with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to take back some of the 1000s of bogus refugees crossing the English Channel to seek refuge in Old Blighty. In a speech at the Channel port of Dover, BoJo said, "From today...anyone entering the UK illegally as well as those who have arrived illegally since January 1 may now be relocated to Rwanda."

Among the progressive voices decrying the British government's plan to get rid of at least some of the unassimilable black people who have washed up on the shores of the septic ["sceptred", shurely. Ed.] was that of the Washington Post, which is as anti-racist and woke as any newspaper in the world. Yet the same WaPo has now given a goodly amount of op-ed space to an American Woman of Colour named Karen Attiah, for a piece headed "For African Americans tired of U.S. hostility, Ghana is still calling", 18/5/22.

What Ms Appiah suggests is that if African-Americans are fed up with the systemic racism of American society, they might be happier if they move to Ghana! Seriously! I checked the dateline on the article, and it's not April 1st.

The author cites the example of W.E.B. Du Bois, a hero of American Communists, pictured in the article living in Ghana, standing beside his Russian-built Chaika limousine. Just four years after Ghana's independence (before the wheels fell off, see above), Mr Du Bois, then 93, moved to Ghana and became a citizen.

Ms Attiah tells us Mr Du Bois had endured Jim Crow racism, FBI surveillance and the confiscation of his passport, and decided it was enough. He handed White America a scathing resignation notice, in the form of a poem, "Ghana Calls", which is quoted at length.

Ms Attiah concludes that "the truth remains that Black people in the diaspora no longer have to be chained to countries that jail them, kill them and subject them to horrific hate crimes.... To borrow from Maya Angelou, God gave us traveling shoes, and if Black people choose to use them, so be it."

Let me tell you about Ghana. Its history, since gaining independence from Not-so-great Britain in 1967, has rivalled that of Liberial (see above) for coups, civil war, tribal warfare, and barbaric violence. According to a 2018 study by the Pew Research Center, roughly three-quarters of Ghana residents want to immigrate to the USA or Europe. That's why they infest dating and romance websites, looking for gullible westerners from whom they can cadge money or a visa or both.

Ghana is plagued by significant human rights issues, according to the US State Department, including "serious restrictions" on free expression and freedom of assembly [Worse than Canada? Ed.], serious government corruption, "lack of investigation of and accountability" for gender-based violence, crimes against LGBTQ2SI+++ people and those with disabilities, and some of "the worst forms of child labor."

Buggers beware! Ghana is one of 69 nations with active anti-sodomy laws and stipulates a prison term of three years for engaging in homosexual sex. Last year, proposed legislation in the country reiterated a ban on same-sex marriage while prohibiting LGBT indoctrination. [Hmmm. Maybe it's not all bad. Ed.]

The country continues to struggle with economic troubles which were worsened by the recent coronavirus pandemic. Last summer, 1000s of protesters marched in the capital against corruption, poverty and the education system (?) under the slogan "#FixTheCountry". So why does Ms Attiah (and presumably WaPo) recommend it? 

Well, it's all part of the ongoing liberal Democratic campaign to portray the US of A as a systemically racist country. Recently, CNN's "political reporter" (read: propagandist) Malika Henderson, reacting to President Brandon's crocodile-tear-filled speech in Buffalo, said that "white Americans have to come to terms with their racism." 

Last month, loony left 1619 Project creator and professor Nikole Hannah-Jones said she did not know how anyone could argue that the US was not "founded as a racist country." And in March, another WaPo piece accused many Americans of denying and downplaying rampant racism throughout the country, claiming the killers of Ahmaud Arbery "stand in for millions of Americans" nationwide who believe that skin colour deems one "less worthy."

Walt says, if that's how you feel, you're welcome to follow Ms Attiah's suggestion and Go Back To Africa -- Ghana, Rwanda, Liberia, any of those shitholes. I'll help you pack your bags. Don't slam the door on your way out.

Biden reveals Afghanistan exit strategy

Readers with longer memories than those of the lickspittle media may recall that when President Trump announced his plan to bring American forces home from Afghanistan by May 2021, the fiercest critics of his plan were two presidential wannabes: Sleepy Joe Biden and Hellery Clinton. Both of them were strong supporters of the US invasion of that country following 9/11, for which followers of the Prophet Mohammed were blamed.

You would have thought that once the Taliban was (supposedly) defeated, its leader killed, and democracy restored, there would have been no need for the US of A to continue to occupy that shithole, wasting 1000s of American lives and billions of US dollars on... may we be frank... a mission which was none of America's business in the first place. That argument was put forward by such voices of reason as Dr Ron Paul and (ahem) yr obdt servant. To no avail. 

Osama Bin Laden was killed ten years and a fortnight ago, not in Afghanistan but in Abbotabad, in neighbouring Pakistan. The Prez was the Commander-in-Chief at the time, Sleepy Joe was the 2IC and Mrs Bill Clinton was Secretary of State. We can all remember the photo of Hellery and the Prez and assorted hangers-on watching the report on the Clinton News Network.

Some folks thought the end of the adventure nigh. So it was, but not for American troops, only Canadians who wrapped up their combat role in 2011, and withdrew the last of their "training personnel" in 2014.

You might think that when the Canucks -- not known for suicidal tendencies -- pulled out, the Americans would see the handwriting on the wall and start packing. But noooooo... In 2014 the Prez still had another two years in office, and the well-known brave warrior John Kerry was Secretary of State. They saw fit to stay the course, lest the flickering candle of democracy be snuffed out again. It wasn't until President Trump got elected (in the last free and fair presidential election) that talk of a "drawdown" even began.

On the campaign trail in 2020, Sleepy Joe opposed President Trump's plans for withdrawal, saying that to bring our brave boys (and girls and in-betweens) home in May was to risk letting the Taliban retake control, yada yada yada. 

But everything would be different four months later, see? So President Biteme's plan, announced a few days ago, is to complete the withdrawal by September 11th. Geddit? The 20th anniversary of 9/11? Geddit now? 

You would expect that Hellery Clinton, having by now gotten over the humiliation of not being chosen by the Democrats for the task of defenestrating Trump, would be supportive of the alleged President's new plan, and all his other plans. You would be wrong. 

Apparently the Taliban, not content with finally forcing the Americans to leave Afghanistan, have taken to attacking other Afghans,just as they did before the US invasion. Mrs Clinton told her network, "This is what we call a wicked problem. There are consequences both foreseen and unintended of staying and of leaving."

Asked about Sleepy Joe's decision, Mrs Clinton said, "Our government has to focus on two huge consequences", notably the resumption of activities by extremist groups and a subsequent outpouring of refugees from Afghanistan. She said the potential collapse of the Afghan government and a possible takeover by the Taliban could result in a new Muslim civil war. (OK, she didn't include the word "Muslim", but we know who's fighting who, right?)

 Mrs Bill also said it was important to protect the "many thousands of Afghans" who had worked with the US and NATO during the "conflict". She advocates the creation of a large visa programme to provide for any refugees who get out of the shithole alive, provided they are allowed to settle no closer than 1000 miles to Chappaqua NY.

So, campers, circle the date on your calendars. 9/11/21.  (Non-American readers please substitute 11/9/21.) It's the first real date President Biteme has given for the achievement of any of his many plans. Let's see if the withdrawal from Afghanistan really happens... Hellery Clinton notwithstanding.

VIDEO: Wm. F. Buckley talks with Ian Smith, Prime Minister of Rhodesia

Regular readers of WWW will know that I have an abiding interest in Zimbabwe, a dictatorship in southern Africa which went from being the second-most prosperous on the Dark Continent to what Still-President Trump would now call a "shithole".

I lived and worked in Zimbabwe in the 90s, and could see the handwriting on the wall after the former Big Man, Robert Gabriel Mugabe, decided to pay all his "war veterans" gratuities of Z$50,000 each after they had staged a series of protests, claiming that they had not received the "benefits" of their revolt against the "white settler regime", viz: white cars, white houses and white women.

The unbudgeted payouts saw the Zimbabwe dollar lose its value by 70% in one day -- I remember it well -- and analysts say the move signalled Zimbabwe's well-documented economic collapse. Banknotes were issued in denominations of billions and even trillions of dollars and were literally not worth the paper they were printed on.

The Mugabe government abandoned the "Zimkwacha" because of hyperinflation in 2009 -- 1 US dollar was worth around Z$35 quadrillion at the time -- and started using American dollars and South African rand. 

But I digress. I was about to tell you that when I first went to Africa, there was no Zimbabwe. The country was then known as Rhodesia, a former British colony which declared its independence from No-longer-great Britain on 11 November 1965. I went there about four years later, over five years before William F. Buckley Jr. went there to record this interview with Prime Minister Ian Smith. 

I went to Rhodesia on a fact-finding mission, to see for myself whether the Africans (by which was meant "blacks") were so badly off under white minority rule as was argued by the "progressives" at the United Nations, the World Council of Churches and elsewhere. I concluded that it would be a mistake -- detrimental to the well-being of the Africans -- to overthrow the "white settler government" and impose "majority rule". But it was clear even then, in 1969, that the mistake was going to be made, in the name of "freedom and equality, yada yada yada. The mistake was made, and the result is the shithole that is Zimbabwe today. 

In this interview, recorded in April of 1974, Ian Smith makes the case for the continuation of minority rule until the majority population should be ready to govern themselves. Mr Smith was right, but of course that doesn't matter now, does it. 

One thing to note, at about the 38-minute mark, is that Mr Smith asserts that the black revolutionaries were financed and trained by Communist China. Of course today's China would never do that kind of thing.

Further viewing: Thames Television documentary visit to Rhodesia, June 1975. Includes interview with Ian Smith.  

"Allahu akbar!" at home in Afghanistan -- dozens, including newborns, killed

For the last couple of months, the Covid-19 "crisis", aka the Dempanic, as been not just the top story in our (((controlled media))), but, it would seem, the only story. They are so busy signalling virtue and pointing fingers that they have no time or space to report on threats to our way of life greater than those posed by the corona virus or the Chinese.

I refer to the militant Muslims, the Islamic terrorists whose aim is to kill us infidels -- all of us -- and conquer the world for Allah and his prophet, Mohammed.

That the jihadis have not been more active in North America and Europe of late is due in no small part to the closing of borders, following the lead given by Still-President Trump. But just because the terrorists have to stay at home doesn't mean that they've declared a "pauses" in their activity. Instead, they are killing other citizens of their shithole countries -- the ones that don't share their particular brand of the "Religion of Peace" (TM).

Just this week, militant Islamists attacked a maternity hospital -- let me say that again: maternity hospital -- in beautiful downtown Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. They killed 23 people, including two newborn babies, their mothers and an unspecified number of nurses. In the photo you see an Afghan soldier carrying in his arms the body of a dead baby.

Why would the jihadis attack a materntiy hospital? Because it's in Dashti Barchi, a mostly Shiite neighbourhood. The jihadis, you see, are Sunni Muslims. [Didn't Canuck PM Justin Trudeau say, "Sunni ways, my friends... Sunni ways."? Ed.] So the mothers were giving birth to little Muslims, OK, but not the right kind of Muslims!

No-one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but both the Taliban and the Islamic State frequently target Afghan military and security forces in Kabul, as well as civilians. The Taliban denied they were involved. In the past, most of the attacks in Dashti Barchi were carried out by ISIS. "Allahu akbar!!!"

Afghan and US officials have been telling us for months now that the ISIS affiliate in Afghanistan has been weakened as a result of relentless American bombing raids on the group's stronghold in eastern Nangarhar province, as well as military operations by Afghan security forces and attacks by ISIS' rivals, Taliban insurgents.

If you believe that, consider the evidence of a separate attack on the same day, in which a suicide bomber targeted the funeral in Khewa district of a local pro-government militia commander and former warlord who had died of a heart attack Monday night. 24 mourners were killed and  68 wounded.

The dead included Abdullah Lala Jan, a provincial council member, while his father Noor Agha, a lawmaker, was wounded in the attack. In a statement posted online late Tuesday, the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the bombing.

And so it goes. Cradle to grave, the Islamic terrorists are determined to get ya! Yesterday Afghanistan, tomorrow... who knows?

Iraqi parliament wants US troops out of their country

Regular readers will know that, along with such right-thinking patriots as Dr Ron Paul, I am absolutely opposed to American involvement the Muslim civil wars in the Middle East.

It's not that I'm a pacifist or peacenik. I do believe in the doctrine of the "just war". It's just that I think it's foolish to waste 1000s of lives and billions of dollars on a war we can't win, in an affair which is none of our business.

So I was heartened to hear yesterday that the Iraqi parliament voted in favour of a resolution asking the government to expel US troops from their shithole country. Mostly Shiite factions voted in favour, while Kurdish and most Sunni members of parliament did not attend the session, presumably because they want the American presence in Iraq to continue.

The resolution says, "The government commits to revoke its request for assistance from the international coalition fighting 'Islamic State' due to the end of military operations in Iraq and the achievement of victory. The Iraqi government must work to end the presence of any foreign troops on Iraqi soil and prohibit them from using its land, airspace or water for any reason."

Like so many resolutions passed by so many politicians in so many talking shops around the world, this resolution is likely to come to nothing. It still needs to be approved by the Iraqi cabinet, which, under their system, is not responsible to parliament. However, interim Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi voiced support as he railed against US "violations of Iraqi sovereignty."

He was referring to the US air strike on Friday which killed Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps' elite Quds Force, near Baghdad's airport. The force has been declared an Islamic terrorist organization, and the killing of its commander -- a man with the blood of 1000s on his hands -- was intended to prevent the execution of a major terrorist attack against Americans in the Middle East, while at the same time dealing a blow to the heart of Iran's Middle East policy.

About 5,200 US troops are deployed at Iraqi military bases -- built at considerable expense to American taxpayers -- to train and support local security forces, in hopes -- faint hopes -- of preventing a resurgence of ISIS. The troops are there at the invitation of the Iraqi government as part of an US-led international coalition against the Islamic extremist group.

The usual suspects (read: Democrats) filled the airwaves yesterday with complaints about the air strike, and dire warnings about immanentizing the eschaton. (You can look it up.) At the very least, they say, Still-President Trump's action has facilitated conditions for Iran to achieve one of its main regional objectives: removing the US military from its neighbour.

And I say: GREAT! What I see here is a brilliant plan to, at long last, get America out of Iraq and perhaps the entire sandpit, without spending at little cost in lives or money, and without losing face!
Previous administrations, both Republican and Democrat, got the USA into the Middle East quagmire (giggity!), without any realistic chance of victory, or any exit plan. The Prez promised to clean up the mess left by Bush, but just spread it further, into Libya.

President Trump said he'd find a way, and was attacked for preparing to bail out, abandoning the "good" Muslims, yada yada yada. What better way to end this colossal exercise in futility than to have the people that invited America to go in to "help" them, order the US to leave. Walt says, DO IT! NOW! Leave the Sunnis and the Shiites and ISIS and Al-Qaeda and the Taliban to fight it out. And may all the jihadis get what they so richly deserve. Selah!

Religion of Peace kills >6 dozen in Somalia. "Allahu akbar!"

While (some) Christians were celebrating the birth of our Saviour, life... and death.. went on as usual in the Muslim shitholes of the Middle East and North Africa. An explosion today at a busy checkpoint in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, killed at least 72 people and wounded dozens, including women and children.

Rescuers carried dead bodies past the twisted wreckage of a vehicle and minibus taxis smeared with blood. The director of a private ambulance service told the meeja, "The number of casualties we have confirmed is 76 dead and 70 wounded, it could still be higher." Witness Mohamed "the Inevitable" Abdi said, "I saw many dead bodies lying on the ground. Some of those dead were police officers, but most of them were students."

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast. The al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab often carries out such attacks. The Islamic extremist group was pushed out of Mogadishu several years ago but continues to target high-profile areas such as checkpoints and hotels in the seaside city. Today's blast took place at the Ex-Control checkpoint, a "tax" collection (read: extortion) centre in Mogadishu.

Al-Shabaab was blamed for the truck bombing in Mogadishu in October 2017 that killed more than 500 people. The group never claimed responsibility for the blast that led to widespread public outrage. Another witness told AP, "This explosion is similar like the one...in 2017. This one occurred just a few steps away from where I am and it knocked me on the ground from its force."

Earlier this year a spokesthingy for the Disunited Nations said the jihadis are now able to make their own explosives -- their "weapons of choice. The followers of the Prophet previously relied on military-grade explosives captured during assaults on an African Union peacekeeping force. Today's attack again raises concern about the readiness of Somali forces to take over responsibility for security from the AU force, which is scheduled to withdraw in 2020.

Canuck Muslim journalist among dead in Somalia car bombing

Somalia is a failed state, a place where Muslims have been killing other Muslims for decades, fighting for control of what is essentially a shithole. But, according to the liberals and apologists for the Islamists, things are getting better. Peace could break out at any time!

That was the message Hodan Naleyeh, a Muslim immigrant to Canada and former journalist, wanted to get out to the world. So, back home she went. Sadly, she didn't get to do a lot of reporting, as she was killed after a car bomb exploded today at a hotel in Somalia's port city of Kismyass. [Kismayu! Ed.]

The Somali Journalists Syndicate said in a statement it had confirmed Ms Naleyeh was one of two journalists among the dead. "Mohamed Omar Sahal, SBC TV correspondent based in Kismayu and Hodan Naleyeh, female TV journalist and founder of Integration TV (are) both among (those) killed," said Abdalle Ahmed Mumin, the syndicate's secretary general.

The SJS statement went on to say that Ms Naleyeh had recently returned to Somalia after living in Canada for years "to help showcase Somalia’s peaceful transformation." -30- [= end of story. Ed.]

"Project Kraken" proves Greater Toronto a really multicultural city

The Toronto Police Service [sic] (not exactly as pictured) assisted by forces from around the Greater Toronto [sic] Area, had a busy time in the pre-dawn hours of Thursday morning.

Following an eigh-month-long investigation -- dubbed "Project Kraken" -- into drugs and guns in the GTA, the boys in black did what they love to do -- dress up like soldiers and break into people's houses and apartments. The raids resulted in the arrest of 55 people. Add in 18 previously arrested for a total of 73, now charged with a grand total of 599 offences.

Who are these people (I hear you ask)? Where did they come from? Are they "old-stock Canadians", or perhaps "new Canadians" imported from the shitholes of the Caribbean, the Middle East and Africa. Inspector Knacker does not keep (or, perhaps, disclose) details of race, religion, or citizenship status. All we can do is peruse the list of names, as released by the TPS, and take an educated guess. Click on the link if you want to see details of who's charged with what. Don't expect any surprises.

Here, in alphabetical order except for No. 1, is the list of those charged. [This could take a while. Ed.]

1) Young offender (formerly known as "juvenile delinquent), of Toronto; 2) Aydid Adan, 31, of Toronto; 3) Mohamed Aden, 21, of Toronto; 4) Yasir Aden, 22, of Toronto; 5) Anas Ahmed, 22, of Waterloo

6) Tamim Ahmmadzai, 29, of Thornhill; 7) Fayaz Alakoozi, 24, of Ajax; 8) Nabil Amem, 30, of Newmarket; 9) Tamim Amem, 26, of Markham; 10) Alhaji Bangura, 31, of Ajax

11) Travis Bell, 27, of Oshawa; 12) Bobby Boating, 24, of no fixed address; 13) Salvatore Boccia, 32, of Toronto; 14) Mark Bollers, 29, of Toronto; 15) Jacob Braithwaite, 27, of Brampton; 16) Khadeono Burgess, 27, of Toronto

17) Attilio Commisso, 32, of Maple; 18) Cosimo Commisso, 74, of Thornhill; 19) Giovanni Commisso, 60, of Woodbridge; 20) Girolamo Commisso, 30, of Toronto (The family that plays together...)

21) Mekhi Cuffie, 21, of Markham; 22) Justain Dillon, 45, of Mississauga; 23) Kevin Douglas, 24, of Toronto; 24) Catherine Duffy, 44, of Toronto; 25) Treshawn Duffy, 24, of Toronto

26) Anthony Edwards, 29, of Toronto; 27) Rowan Gayle, 27, of Toronto; 28) Byra Ghafoor, 23, of Toronto; 29) Omer Gharibzada, 26, of Whitby; 30) Alexis Gomez, 23, of Toronto

31) Javade Gray (gray = black + white?), 29, of no fixed address; 32) Ed Greco, 42, of Sudbury; 33) Addul Nabi Hadi, 28, of Toronto; 34) Abdul Sami Hadi, 22, of Toronto; 35) Addul Wasi Hadi, 30, of Toronto; 36) Abdullahi Hassan, 20, of Toronto; 37) Houssein Hassan, 24, of Toronto

38) Tyler Henry, 29, of no fixed address; 39) Gabriel Khoury, 33, of Whitby; 40) Renee Korchinski Beals, 27, of Toronto; 41) Devon Lewis, 25, of Toronto; 42) Shemar Lue, 23, of Ajax; 43) Sergei Manukian, 30, of Aurora; 44) Arielle Maxwell-Rodney, 29, of Toronto; 45) Henok Mebratu, 26, of no fixed address;

46) Makador Mohamed, 25, of Innisfil; 47) Shahabeldin Mohamed, 23, of Toronto; 48) Sasha Morid, 24, of Toronto; 49) Maurice Mullings, 30, of Toronto; 50) Jahche Myers, 26, of Toronto

51) Shadab Nabizada, 29, of Toronto; 52) Deshayne Newman, 24, of Toronto; 53) Tyrel Osborn, 26, of Ottawa; 54) Chad Pillay, 27, of Toronto; 55) Trevor Poland, 33, of Sudbury

56) Karen Pringle, 44, of Toronto; 57) Mustafa Qazi, 28, of Toronto; 58) Omaid Rahmani, 22, of Ajax; 59) Kennedy Richards-Coleman, 26, of Toronto; 60) Kordell Richards-Coleman, 25, of Toronto:

61) Narisa Riel, 28, of Ottawa; 62) Eryk Rivard, 45, of Sudbury; 63) Clayton Robichaud, 28, of Hamilton; 64) Daniel Robinson, 41, of Toronto; 65) Karine Rouleau, 24, of Oakville

66) Hasibullah Sakhiyar, 25, of Whitby; 67) Marvin Toussaint, 28, of Oakville; 68) Jermaine Williams, 27, of Toronto; 69) Jhelisha Wilson, 23, of Toronto; 70) Le Keisha Wocker, 25, of Mississauga

71) Chenelle Woods-Francis, 25, of Toronto; 72) Christopher Wright, 31, of Ajax; 73) Thong Yi, 50, of Markham

Errr... that's it. Don't be telling me it's all those damn Muslim refugees. I only counted 3 Mohammeds and a couple of Abduls. The others are a real mixed bag, a fine fine example of the inclusivity and multiculturalism that makes "Greater Toronto" what it is today. "Diversity is our strength!" (copyright, J. Trudeau)

Imagine that! Muslims feeling unwelcome in Denmark

Let's have a good cry for the poor, oppressed Muslim "refugees" and asylum-seekers who weren't smart enough to stop in Angela Merkel's Germany but went on through to Denmark, the home of the happiest people in the world. (See "Why the Danes are the happiest people in the world", WWW 17/3/16.)

Seems that growing numbers of the followers of the Prophet are reporting verbal abuse, "exclusion" and "hate crimes" since Denmark's mainstream political parties began adopting the anti-immigrant policies of the Danish People's Party. To win back increasingly Islamophobic voters, both the ruling centre-right Liberal Party and the opposition Social Democrats are saying... now... that a tough stance in immigration is needed to protect Denmark's cherished welfare system and to integrate (if possible) the "refugees" and other migrants already in the country.

The number of immigrants (and their numerous descendants) from Middle Eastern and African shitholes who have allegedly experienced discrimination because of their ethnic background rose to 48% last year from 43% two years earlier, according to the Danish National Integration Barometer.

Although government statistics don't make any connection between racist incidents and the tone of the immigration debate, the fact is that the number of racially or religiously motivated hate crimes registered by Danish police jumped to 365 in 2017 from 228 the year before.

"If people are ready and willing to be part of Danish society and want to contribute to it, then we invite them to become part of one of the best-functioning societies in the world. But we need to be able to discuss openly if there are problems with groups of people," said a spokesthingy for the Liberal Party, citing the large number of immigrant women from the Middle East who have not found work in Denmark.

About 5.5% of Denmark's population now identify as Muslims. That's a slightly higher proportion than in other countries of western Europe. Large numbers of them arrived in the tidal wave of "refugees" who washed ashore in Europe in 2015. Earlier this year, the government passed a law that would mean more refugees could be repatriated, the latest move to discourage non-western immigration. See "New Danish law: refugees will no longer become immigrants!", WWW 23/2/19.

The law was passed with support from the anti-immigration Danish People's Party, a key ally of the minority government, and the Social Democrats, the country's biggest party, which has hitherto had a softer stance on immigration. It means residence permits for refugees will be temporary, there will be a limit on the number of family reunifications, and a cut in benefits for immigrants.

The Liberal Party said lower benefits would encourage people to work. Less than half of the "refugees" who have lived in Denmark for more than three years were employed by the end of 2018. However, only 19% of Muslim women had jobs compared to 57% of men. But while employment has risen (at the end of 2015 it was only 20%), assimilation of immigrants has not kept pace. Government stats show that more young men descended from non-Western immigrants commit crimes than Danes. [Do we keep those kind of statistics here? Ed.]

The Social Democrats, notionally even more liberal than the Liberals, have repeatedly said they want to limit the number refugees. Party leader Mette Frederiksen said earlier this month, "You are not a bad person, just because you are worried about immigration." The shift to the right by Denmark's mainstream parties has parallels elsewhere in Europe. But it may come too late not just for the liberals but for the Danish People's Party itself, which is facing competition from far-right parties the New Right and Hard Line, the latter a new grouping that wants Islam banned and Muslims deported. "Conservatives" take note!

Note from Ed.: I was looking for a "Mohammed cartoon" to accompany this article, and clicked on the bookmark I had saved for a blog called "Creeping Sharia", which was hosted by WordPress. Guess what? It has been removed "for violation of our Terms of Service". Freedom of speech is being restricted a little more every day, even in America, where it's supposed to be protected under the First Amendment to the Constitution.

South Africa "Freedom Day" -- not much to celebrate

Yesterday, black South Africans celebrated the 25th anniversary of "Freedom Day", the day in 1994 when they were allowed to cast ballots in the country's first "one person one vote" election. President Cyril Ramaphosa said, "On this day 25 years ago, we founded a new country defined by the principles of equality, unity, non-racialism and non-sexism. Despite the passage of time, we remember vividly...the exhilaration of seeing nearly 20 million South Africans of all races waiting patiently at polling stations around the country to cast their ballots."

Walt was there at the time -- based in Ha-ha-harare, the fun capital of Zimbabwe -- and remembers opening a book (read: started taking bets) on how long it would take for the most prosperous nation in Africa to regress to levels of poverty and inequality like those of Zimbabwe, the Congo, Sudan and other shithole states of the Dark Continent.

It didn't take that long. Today, widespread poverty and corruption mean that, 25 years after the end of apartheid, many South Africans are still not free. In yesterday's speech, President Ramaphosa praised the work of South Africa's first black president, Nelson Mandela, but said that the country could not be free "when so many live without enough food, without proper shelter, without access to quality health care, without a means to earn a living."

South Africa's black majority were promised that once they were "empowered", they would have white cars, white houses and white women. Pictured above is what they got.

Yesterday, President Ramaphosa (who replaced Jacob Zuma, President No. 3, who was forced out over a string of corruption scandals and a penchant for polygamy) said, "As we celebrate 25 years of democracy, we need to focus all our attention and efforts on ensuring that all South Africans can equally experience the economic and social benefits of freedom."

The reality of post-apartheid South Africa is that any progress made to fulfill the promises made to the country's blacks has been undone in just five short years. Today, South Africa is one of the most consistently unequal countries in the world. More than half the population lives in poverty, while a staggering 27% of people are unemployed. And that's according to the government's statistics, which are believed to be wildly over-optimistic.

Since 2011, three million more South Africans have been pushed below the poverty line, according to a study by the national data agency, Statistics South Africa, released this week. More than 30.4 million South Africans (55.5% of the population) live on less than 992 rand (about $75) per person per month.

Those figures, collected in 2015, are actually more optimistic than numbers from 2006, when two-thirds of South Africans were living in poverty. But it captures the painful one-step-forward, two-steps-backwards dance the country has been engaged in over the last decade trying to improve the lives of its population. In 2006, 28.4% of the country was found to be living in extreme poverty. That number had only inched downwards to 25.2% by 2015.

Those numbers aren't likely to improve. In the last year alone, South Africa has entered recession and seen its sovereign debt rating adjusted to junk status, making life harder for everyone, especially the poor. The national power supplier, Eskom, is effectively bankrupt. With massive power outages threatened, those who can afford to are rushing to buy generators and storage batteries. The "povo" (= truly poor) are buying or making candles.

Because of the seizure of productive white farms (and the murder of the white farmers, detailed previously on WWW), millions of South Africans are now facing "food insecurity" -- shortages of food, hunger, even the prospect of starvation -- the crisis which now besets Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi and other black-run states to the north. This in a country which was once a net exporter of foodstuffs.

The reality of post-apartheid South Africa is that the majority of its citizens live in grinding poverty. The full effect of the 2008 global financial crisis, initially hidden by the euphoria and capital injection of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, is now being felt. The country has also fallen victim to the sluggish growth seen by other commodities-driven economies, unable to improve on 3.3% growth in 2011, the highest GDP has peaked since the financial crisis.

The real problem, though, is South Africa’s inability to implement its own policies. In other words, the black government is incapable of managing the economy or the country. In 2012, the country launched a "National Development Plan" with much pomp and an explanatory animated video showing how much better life would be once they got organized. (18 years after the end of apartheid, they couldn't blame the whities any more.) But a lack of political will and simple competence have left the plan adrift. By almost all measures, South Africa is going to miss the goals -- reduction of poverty from 39% in 2009 to 0%, and the complete eliminate of hunger, by 2030 -- it set for itself in the plan.

Even the commission tasked with seeing the plan through is frustrated by the lack of government support to do so, despite having an office a few doors down from the president. The group's deputy commissioner told the meeja recently, "We have a plan, we like it very much, we take it to parliament, the whole world praises it... And we are the ones that don't implement it." Nothing more need be said. Mother Africa Wins Again.

UPDATED: Iraq at Sweet (?) Sixteen - Why are we still there?

UPDATED ADDED 25/3/19 - This comes under the heading of "Further reading", but I just became aware of it this afternoon. Click here to read a transcript of Dr Ron Paul's speech to Congress opposing the authorization of military force against Iraq. If only they'd have listened!

Today is the 16th anniversary of the American-led invasion of Iraq, which resulted in the overthrow of Saddam Hussein and then... chaos. The Paranoid States of America and its "Coalition of the Willing" involved themselves in the endless Muslim civil war -- a four-cornered one featuring Sunni Muslims vs Shia Muslims vs ISIS vs Kurds -- and there we are, still... 16 years later, after the expenditure of trillions of dollars (literally) and the loss of 1000s of lives of American and other Westerns. 16 years...

Is there any sign of the conflict in Iraq ending? NO! POTUS and our top military people tell us ISIS is "just about" defeated, reduced to a few hundred jihadis encircled in a shithole somewhere in Syria. Once they surrender, we can declare victory... again... and go home. Errr, not the part about going home. There will be a drawdown of some of the US personnel, sometime, but there will be a US presence in Iraq for the foreseeable future. Why? Because there is still a power vacuum, with no united and effective national government in place. And because ISIS has not been vanquished, but is merely going to ground. They will resurface at opportune times, whether in Iraq or Syria... or the Netherlands... or the USA!

I said "American-led" in the first sentence to emphasize that the US is not alone! In 2003, America's gallant ally, Canada, decided to take a pass on Iraq. Apparently the Liberal government of Jean Chrétien asked itself what the point of the mission was, and decided discretion was the better part of valour. A couple of years later, to repair relations with their disgruntled neighbours, the Canucks joined in the invasion of Afghanistan. After 160 troops lost their lives, the Canadians pulled out, leaving the US holding the Afghan bag.

But that was OK (they said) because they'd changed their mind and would send a token force to Iraq instead, to help with training and, like, you know... anything that didn't involve more body bags being repatriated. No more motorcades along the "Highway of Heroes", please! And more than a decade later, the Canucks are still there, working with the American forces to bring peace, order and good government to the shithole that is Iraq. Isn't that wonderful?

How appropriate, then, that Canuck Defence Minister Harjit Singh Sajjan (a Sikh person) and Diplomat of the Year (2018 -- look it up) Chrystia Freeland (the one not wearing a turban) picked yesterday to announce that Canadian armed forces, almost 200 strong (!), will stay in Iraq for another two years... like it or not. That should come as a great relief to the US military. What would the "Coalition of the Willing" be without Canadians?! What do Canadian voters think of this exercise in peacekeeping and nation-building, and other initiatives of Just In Trudeau's Gliberal government? We'll see in October.

Further reading: The Assassins' Gate: America in Iraq, by George Packer. Farrar Strauss & Giroux, New York, 2005. Mr Packer's thesis is that President Bush II and his advisers (Hello! Messrs Cheney, Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz) had no idea what they were getting into when they pressed ahead with the invasion of Iraq even though Saddam posed no threat to the USA or even his Gulf neighbours, and no plan whatever for stabilizing and rebuilding the shithole once the invasion was over. And remember, he wrote this book in 2005. Things only got worse after that. Where and when will it all end?!

Walt explains motive for the New Zealand attacks on Muslims

New Zealand! Whoda thunk it? Check any list of World's Most Boring Countries and you'll find New Zealand right up there in the top three with places like Canada and Norway. Nothing ever happened in New Zealand, until yesterday. And then...

In the NZ city of Christchurch, at least three white people, one of them an Australian, staged attacks on two mosques during Friday prayers, killing 49 Muslims and wounding nearly two dozen more. At least one of the attacks was live-streamed on social media. The Authorities, normally reluctant to characterize such occurrences when shouts of "Allahu akbar!" are heard, were quick to denounce yesterday's attacks as "right-wing extremist terrorism".

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern described the "incident" as "one of New Zealand's darkest days." Clichés about "thoughts and prayers" were immediately uttered by Paragons of Virtue (TM) around the world, including even President Trump. Police have asked mosques across the island nation to close, as a precautionary measure.

Three suspects are in custody, according to Inspector Knacker. One of them -- the Australian -- has been charged with murder. Now it's time to ask the Big Question: Why did they do it? Is it simple Islamophobia -- fear and loathing of Islam and followers of the Prophet? Walt thinks there's more to it... and, at the same time, less.

What we are seeing, today in New Zealand previously in Québec and other Western countries, is the extreme expression of anti-immigrant backlash. It didn't have to be Muslim immigrants. It could have been Hindus (like the Sri Lankan Tamils) or Christians (like the mostly Catholic Venezuelans who are flooding into Colombia) or Jews (like the so-called "black Jews" who are migrating from Africa to their "homeland" in Israel).

People who are the majority population of any country don't like the feeling of being invaded by hordes of aliens from shitholes, particularly when those aliens seem intent on bring their shit -- shit culture, shit habits, shit work ethic, etc -- with them.

Think, for example, about Sharia law -- the Islamic "justice" that punishes adultery by stoning and homosexuality by castration or even execution. Think about the Islamic culture that not only allows but encourages husbands and fathers to murder their wives and daughters for bringing dishonour on the family, e.g. by wearing blue jeans or not wearing Islamic head-covers. It's not hard to understand why citizens of Western countries say, "If you want to live in a place where those customs are normal, why don't you go back where you came from?!"

I don't condone the killing of innocent people, no matter whether it's four dozen Muslims or the 1000s of Christians killed by Islamic jihadists in the Middle East as well as Europe and countries of the West. But I do understand where the killers are coming from, so to speak.

What I don't understand is why hordes of Muslims are flooding into New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the UK and the USA. I mean... I understand it in the sense of, if I lived in a shithole like Pakistan, I'd try to worm my way into the USA too, especially if I didn't have to give up my religion and way of life.

But I don't understand why people would go where they are obviously not welcome. The signs, like the one illustrating this post, are there to be seen. Maybe attacks like yesterday's are just some misguided people's way of making the message even more plain.

Footnote: Seems I'm not the only one who had these thoughts. Today's Telegraph quotes Australian senator Fraser Anning as blaming the Christchurch terror attack on the "increasing Muslim presence" in Australia and New Zealand. "I am utterly opposed to any form of violence within our community, and I totally condemn the actions of the gunman," he said. "However, while this kind of violent vigilantism can never be justified, what it highlights is the growing fear within our community, both in Australia and New Zealand, of the increasing Muslim presence. The real cause of bloodshed on New Zealand streets today is the immigration program which allowed Muslim fanatics to migrate to New Zealand in the first place."

New Danish law: refugees will no longer become immigrants!

As Walt told you in "Why the Danes are the happiest people in the world" (WWW 17/3/16), the blonde, blue-eyed people of Denmark have, almost alone among western Europeans, discouraged dark, brown-eyed "refugees" from the shithole countries from entering their little country. There are many more cows than asylum-seekers in Denmark, and the Danes like it that way. That's why they're happy!

The Danes are much happier than their neighbours to the south -- the Germans -- who have been forced by the barking mad Angela Merkel to accept nearly two million asylum-seekers, who are now settling in nicely, apart from a few terrorist attacks, mass rapes, patrols of Sharia law police. Having got their noses in the German tent, the "refugees" now intend to get all of themselves in... forever... leaving real Germans in the minority. Although there are only a few thousand migrants in Denmark, the prospect of the same thing happening in their country is starting to worry the Danes.

To keep Denmark for the Danes, the country's government, with the assistance of the right-wing Danish People's Party and (surprisingly) the Social Democrats, has passed a law which is described as a "paradigm shift" in Danish refugee and asylum policy. Under the new policy, refugees should be sent home when conditions in their countries of origin are deemed safe enough. The integration allowance -- a financial handout to the newcomers -- will be reduced, and opportunities for them to bring their large families for "family re-unions" will be further limited. As well, residence permits will become temporary as the default, and it will become easier for the government to withdraw or not extend them.

As Danish Finance Minister Kristian Jensen put it, Denmark will no longer have a system where "refugees become immigrants." The new legislation is aimed at drastically reducing the number of refugees who stay in Denmark indefinitely by shifting the focus from integration of refugees to sending them back to their home shitholes. The message to immigrant wannabes is clear: Don't get too comfortable here; you're not going to be staying long!

Immigration and Integration Minister Inger Støjberg of the centrist Venstre party stressed that it is yet to be seen how many refugees will be sent home as a result of the new legislation, but promised a concrete effect. The bill was backed by the right-wing anti-immigrant Danish People's Party, as well as Denmark's largest opposition party, the Social Democrats, who previously criticised parts of it, such as the reduction of social welfare benefits for people who have been granted asylum. The socialists' immigration spokesthingy said he supported the general shift towards a temporary status for all refugees.

Further reading:
"Politically incorrect Denmark bans burqa, niqab", WWW 31/5/18.
"'Ethnic cleansing' of Europeans opposed by Danish parliament", WWW 17/2/17.