Tribes Report:
Denmark, Netherlands, Judah, UK, Canada
25 November 2010, 18 Kislev 5771
Contents:
1. The Danish Value System.
Denmark, New Zealand and Singapore top list of least corrupt countries by Sean O'Hare.
2. Remarks on Holland.
THE NETHERLANDS, THE MIDDLE EAST, AND THE 2010 PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS
By Barry Rubin.
3. Jews Join British Patriotic Demonstrations.
What are Israeli flags and Jewish activists doing at demonstrations sponsored by the English Defence League?
By Shaul Adar
4. Are they Jewish?
Interesting Site Answers ??? About the Jewish Roots of Famous People.
Jew or not Jew? Example: Kate Middleton (Fiancee of Prince William).
5. Canadian Prime Minister Defends Israel.
|
Site Map Contents in Alphabetical Order | 
|
 This Site |
|
Brit-Am Discussion Group 
|
Contents by Subject |
Research Revelation Reconciliation Contribute |
1. The Danish Value System
Denmark, New Zealand and Singapore top list of least corrupt countries by Sean O'Hare
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/
offshorefinance/8089876/Denmark-New-Zealand
-and-Singapore-top-list-of
-least-corrupt-countries.html
Extracts:
Denmark, one of the least corrupt countries in the world according to this year's Corruption Perception Index Photo:
Britain, in the wake of the MP expenses scandal, has slipped to its all-time lowest rating of 20th in the survey of 178 countries, compiled by Transparency International.
The ranking is based on the perceived levels of corruption among public officials and politicians, as assessed by experts at ten independent institutions including the World Bank, Economist Intelligence Unit and World Economic Forum.
It scores countries on a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 is perceived to be highly corrupt and 10 indicates low levels of corruption.
Scoring 9.3, Denmark, New Zealand and Singapore head the chart, followed closely by Finland and Sweden at 9.2.
President for the British Chamber of Commerce in Denmark Mariano A. Davies said: "The Danish mentality is to a great extent permeated by a Scandinavian cultural heritage known as 'Jante Law', where modesty, punctuality and equality are important measuring tools in the Danish way of life.
"For this reason, few people become seriously rich and even fewer are seriously poor. This rule of life is never very far from the surface of Danish life.
"In a business context, this will mean that Danes celebrate promotion with sensitivity and do not like people who promote themselves bombastically and at the expense of others.
"There is a sense of watchdog mentality underlying the Danish way of life resulting in very clear 'dos and don'ts'?.
"Furthermore, from a business perspective, it can take a very long time (and therefore a local presence) to earn the trust of a company in a supplier role and this trust can be lost very quickly."
2. Remarks on Holland
THE NETHERLANDS, THE MIDDLE EAST, AND THE 2010 PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS
By Barry Rubin,director of the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center and editor of the Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA) Journal
http://www.gloria-center.org/
meria/2010/09/rubin.html Mon Oct 31 2010
Extracts:
The Netherlands is a fascinating test case of how Middle Eastern factors--immigration, foreign policy issues--affect European politics. These questions have become highly partisan ones, with the left side and right side of the spectrum often having diametrically opposite standpoints. The 2010 election brought to power a government that is friendly toward Israel and has pledged to reduce immigration.
INTRODUCTION
The Netherlands is about to provide Europe with an important experiment: Can a center-right government manage an overblown welfare state, nationally suicidal multiculturalism, and virtually open-door immigration policies in a way that can maintain popular support and solve problems? After months of negotiations failed to bring about a coalition government across the spectrum, a new government has finally been formed. The partners are the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), a European liberal (that is, conservative) party and the Christian Democratic Party, (CDA). As it is, together they have 52 seats. While the VVD has been growing, the CDA has been in decline.
To be sure of a majority, the government will be supported from the outside by the Party for Freedom (PVV) led by Geert Wilders, giving a grand total of 76 seats, a razor-thin majority. Another small Christian party with two seats might offer support when needed. What makes this arrangement controversial is the role of Wilders, a controversial figure often described as 'anti-Islam' and made into something of a bogeyman in Dutch politics. Yet Wilders' role has arguably undermined the conservative side since if he hadn't run, the two other main conservative parties would have gained almost all of his votes and had a big majority.
Wilders is thus something of a distraction here, who will be used by the left to call the new government various names; but the key figures are the leaders of the VVD, Mark Rutte, and of the CDA, Maxime Verhagen. Conservative and center parties received 55 percent of the votes in the elections.
Both of these parties support lower taxes, the free market, smaller government, less government regulation, limited immigration, are friendlier toward the United States and Israel, and take a tougher stance on radical Islamist groups. Thus while the international media is going to be focused on Wilders, the Dutch majority supports a program that might be called Wilders without the most controversial bits.
Among the key points in the new government's program:
--Heavier punishments for repeat criminals and the hiring of more police, including a special increase in those dealing with animal-cruelty crimes (a big issue in Holland).
-- Immigrants will receive Dutch citizenship for a five-year trial period during which it would be revoked and they would be deported for being convicted of any crime requiring twelve years imprisonment.
--A ban on the burqa, with no headscarves permitted for judges, prosecutors, or police.
--Cutting legal immigration in half.
--First-cousin marriage, common among Muslim immigrants, will be banned.
--Spending cutbacks, for the minister of defense also, including a withdrawal of the Dutch forces from Afghanistan.
A CASE STUDY
The Netherlands is a small country with many unique characteristics. Yet this society also offers an interesting case study of how these issues-including the Middle East and immigration of large numbers of Muslims with consequent demographic shifts-affect European societies. It also shows why European political systems-though each, of course, is different-are deadlocked on ideas and power, paralyzed from taking effective action to deal with their problems.
After the June 2010 elections, centrist and conservative parties hold 83 seats, while those of the left have only 67. Since there are ten parties in parliament, however, there tend to be coalition governments in which decisions on key issues are deadlocked. The two largest have only 20 percent of the seats each.
In the elections, only three seats changed hands between the two broad blocs. Yet this conceals some important changes. The biggest news was the shift within the center-right to favor the PVV led by the controversial Geert Wilders, which almost tripled its vote, going from 9 to 24 seats. To his enemies, almost no epithet is too extreme to throw against him. The flamboyant Wilders has been outspoken in opposing immigration and especially that of Muslims, making a sharp critique of political Islamism and sometimes Islam itself. Throughout the elections, Wilders had round-the-clock bodyguards to protect him from assassination by Islamists.
Amsterdam, not long ago the most gay-friendly city in the world, is a place where homosexuals might be attacked in the streets by Muslim immigrant youth. Twenty percent of Dutch teachers report that attempts to teach about the Holocaust, in the country of Anne Frank, were rejected or disrupted by immigrant children.
In an event that became widely discussed, a television show followed Rabbi Lody van de Kamp and two young men clearly dressed as Jews who were mocked and insulted, apparently by Muslims, while walking down Amsterdam's streets.
While Muslims still comprise only a bit more than five percent of the population, whole areas of Dutch cities have a majority of people who are recent immigrants who are far from being assimilated to the country's traditional norms. For example, it is frequently estimated according to polls that up to half of the country's Muslim population is sympathetic to the September 11 attacks.
To understand the Netherlands requires comprehension of two concepts often credited for the stability and success of Dutch society. One of these is polder, which basically means a high value placed on consensus. In the narrow sense, it means employer-worker cooperation, a form of what is often called 'corporate' structure. This means that decisions are made slowly among a set of very centralized interests. This system is often useful but may be disastrous if faced by the need for tough and quick decisions required by a major financial or social crisis.
Given this Dutch emphasis on stability, the violence that has developed over immigration-which has always come from Muslim immigrants and not from 'nativists,' in contrast with other countries-and resulted in the murder of Theo van Gogh by an Islamist, was especially shocking.
The other concept is zuilen, which means the organization of separate, relatively autonomous communities, each of which has its own political parties, trade unions, schools, and media--though this system has weakened since the 1980s. Nominally, this deliberate division of society would seem to contradict the polder framework but the two actually fit together since the zuilen also permit centralized, elite decisionmaking on the basis of compromise and consensus. The leaders of the zuilen come together to achieve a decision acceptable to all.
While the zuilen have been weakened, they have left their mark on Dutch society. The four historic zuilen are: Protestant, Catholic, Socialist, and Liberal (in the European meaning of the word, that is, moderate conservative).
3. Jews Join British Patriotic Demonstrations
What are Israeli flags and Jewish activists doing at demonstrations sponsored by the English Defence League?
By Shaul Adar
http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/
magazine/what-are-israeli-flags
-and-jewish-activists-doing
-at-demonstrations-sponsored-by
-the-english-defence-league-1.307803
Extracts:
LONDON - In March 2009 a unit of British soldiers returned from a stint in Iraq and, as usual, were welcomed with a parade and reception at home - in this case in Luton, not far from London. Standing out in the crowd of civilians cheering the troops was a group of counter-demonstrators, a few dozen long-bearded Muslims who shouted slogans against the British forces and carried posters bearing messages such as "The butchers from Basra." Many in Luton were outraged, and within a few days a group organized and eventually developed into the English Defence League.
Indeed, what began as an emotional reaction turned into a popular movement which, according to the British media, is growing rapidly and now numbers thousands of supporters; it's hard core is located in Luton. The organization calls for taking action against the "Islamization of Britain" and Muslim fundamentalists. British media reports suggest that the league is a magnet for extremist right-wing activists and for unruly soccer fans. In late May the organization gained an important addition in the form of what it calls the "Jewish division." According to one member, "hundreds of Jews" joined its ranks, including "young people who are dying to do something." In the streets of England, Jews can now be seen demonstrating together with people they would have shunned in the past.
4. Are they Jewish?
Interesting Site Answers ??? About the Jewish Roots of Famous People
Jew or not Jew?
Example:
Kate Middleton (Fiancee of Prince William)
http://www.jewornotjew.com/profile.jsp?ID=307
Extracts:
Some people think that Kate Middleton, quite possibly the next Queen of England, just might be somewhat Jewish? She might not be royalty yet, but we have to check.
You see, Kate's mother's maiden name is Goldsmith. And apparently that's enough to make some think that she has Jewish ancestry. But if that's the case, that Jewish link was lost a long, long time ago. Genealogy research is not just limited to days past, and in case of Kate possibly ascending the British throne, her lineage has been studied at length. And for at least five generations, Kate's Goldsmiths have been married in churches. Nothing Jewish about that.
5. Canadian Prime Minister Defends Israel
From: Dennis Tate <tate4pictoucentre@yahoo.ca>
Prime Minister Harper's speech in support of Israel.
Shalom Mr. Davidiy: I will sure appreciate your prayers regarding the results of this
message that I sent out regarding much closer cooperation between Canada and
Israel. Feel free to use any part of this message that you wish to in your
messages.
Shalom and G-d bless you.
Dennis Tate
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper Stands by Israel
Posted by Ilana Angel
http://www.jewishjournal.com/
keepingthefaith/item/canadian_prime_minister
_stephen_harper_stands_by_israel
_flaunts_his_balls_b/
