[wisconsin_cur]

South Africa violence Spreads to Cape Town It spreads like a wild fire or a disease, where ever it can find a susceptible host or enough dry tinder. Once people overcome the cultural inhibitions to start such violence it will catch on. Once it starts where you are do not be caught in the wrong neighborhood. And as this story makes known, do not be seen as a "foreigner" (to the neighborhood) of means. Some my try to spin it as "only looting" but this would be like saying Krystalnacht (forgive my horrendous spelling... I even write German with an accent ) was "just vandalism." $this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', ' ')A wave of anti-immigrant violence in South Africa spread to Cape Town on Friday, even as troops and police appeared to have quelled the unrest in the hotspot of Johannesburg. Police reported attacks against immigrants and foreign-owned shops in a slum area of picturesque Cape Town.

The southern coastal city is a major draw for tourists and had thus far been spared the mob violence seen in Johannesburg. At least 42 have been killed, more than 500 arrested and 16,000 displaced in the province of Gauteng, which includes Johannesburg and the capital Pretoria, since unrest broke out 12 days ago.

Police spokesman for the Cape Town area Billy Jones said a public meeting to address the danger of xenophobia in the Dunoon slum area 20 kilometres (12 miles) north of the city degenerated into violence on Thursday evening. "Groups within the crowd started to loot shops owned by Zimbabweans and other foreigners," he told AFP, saying 500 had since fled the area and were staying in community centres. "Some people were assaulted, but mostly shops were looted."

Police also reported pockets of overnight unrest in Durban in the KwaZulu Natal region, where an unidentified foreigner was shot, and in North West province where two Pakistanis were stabbed. Pakistanis were also targeted in Free State on Thursday. Twenty two people were arrested after a group of people were seen throwing stones at their shops. "The police are on high alert and we will not tolerate any violence," said North West police spokesman Peter du Plessis. "What we are doing is identifying the areas where the foreigners are staying and then patrolling those areas."

In Johannesburg, the raging violence of the last week and a half appeared to have been brought under control by police bolstered by specialist units trained in public order and the army. "It's quiet," said police spokesman for the Johannesburg area Govindsamy Mariemuthoo.

For the first time, soldiers deployed on Johannesburg's streets on Thursday to help stem the tide of violence that has seen mobs of armed youths attack foreigners in poor areas around the city. About 200 soldiers assisted police with morning arrest and search operations in central Johannesburg on Thursday and remain on standby to offer back-up and logistical support.

Spokesman for the defence forces General Kwena Mangope told AFP Friday there had been no further army deployments. President Thabo Mbeki bowed to pressure to call in the army on Wednesday after a request for support from the police force.

Foreigners in South Africa, many of whom have fled economic meltdown in neighbouring Zimbabwe, are being blamed for sky-high crime rates and depriving locals of jobs. The violence, which has done untold damage to South African's reputation as the "Rainbow Nation," is also taking its toll on the country's economy.

Unions and several mining companies reported Thursday that gold mines around Johannesburg, the country's economic heartland, had been hit by the unrest, with employees failing to show up for work.

South Africa's tourism industry has also warned of the impact on visitor numbers and a farming group raised alarm Thursday about the impact of xenophobia in the agricultural sector.

Politicians are increasingly blaming criminals for the anti-immigrant violence, as well as the insanitary and lawless conditions found in slum areas.

But a number of rights groups have said the government has failed to address the problem of xenophobia, with isolated incidents of attacks against foreigners reported since the end of the 1990s.

"These unpardonable acts bring to the fore the need to intensify the implementation of government's efforts to eradicate poverty and reinforce our housing and service delivery programmes," Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils told the National Assembly Friday, SAPA news agency reported. "We must better educate our people in tolerance, resolutely dispelling any erroneous perceptions about foreign nationals, which are fuelled in circumstances of relative socio-economic disadvantage," he added.

[Ayoob]

What are the benefits of diversity again? Contact with other cultures and learning about other groups of people isn't necessarily a benefit, by the way. Ask the Native Americans how much they value diversity.

Other than mere contact, how do I as a white American benefit from the importation of the Other into my country? I know how foreigners benefit, but what adds up in the asset column for me? I'll give you one. Lunch. Lunch is pretty Expletive deleted in Los Angeles. I like Indian food quite a bit.

What else? Competition for jobs, competition for housing, my wages driven down, are those benefits for me? How great is it for me to have to navigate the 233 languages spoken in LA county, or to have to learn a dozen new cultures in order to simply do my job? Objectionable text deleted.

[Pretorian]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('energycity', 'N')ot much to do? Are you talking about the unemployment rate? The UK's rate is about the same as that of America, Canada, Russia and Australia and about 2 points less than the EU average. At present if you have any sort of base level of skills (and especially if you are prepared to move) there is plenty of work. For how long though .... ?

[mos6507]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ayoob', 'O')ther than mere contact, how do I as a white American benefit from the importation of the Other into my country? I know how foreigners benefit, but what adds up in the asset column for me?

[MrBill]

I have been an economic migrant working in foreign countries for almost twenty years now. I understand why people move in search of a better life or just to maximize their personal chances. I cannot therefore blame the economic migrant. Were I in the same position I would do what they are doing as well.

But the problem with xenophobia, protectionism and regionalism during economic hardtimes is that hatred is channeled against some scapegoat regardless of how rational that hatred is or not. When the mob run out of colored immigrants it will be those who speak with an accent. And then the Catholics if they cannot find any Jews around. Why not the old, infirm or obese then? The guy from the next town? Or just the poor schmuck that lives on the wrong side of the street? And then one day it will be you or your family!

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

[Bella]

Me and mine are pagans, we know all about scapegoating. However kicking back to my sociological background I would make a few points. Point one, squeeze people and they get desperate. Humans denied access to their needs find ways around that which stymies them or they innovate and make the need irrelevant. Human egos need to self justify, to feel they are right and good (even if they are murderous thieving bastards).
These problematic aspects of human nature considered, one has to plan for the worst, security has to be on the list. Yet when push comes to shove, I firmly believe the best security is not guns, but community. Guns will save a family in some situations, but good neighbors are helpful in a wider variety of disaster scenarios. Therefore our policy is to always be outgoing and helpful to others. We take in refugees and we participate as fully as we are able in our town. If things turn so that folks are looking for a sucker to take the fall for their own stupidity, we don't want to be set up as "those people over there" and be targeted for our differences. Instead it is better to be seen as part of the solution before the problems become so acute as to neccesitate someone to blame. If you are tight with your neighbors you have somebody to stand together with when the Expletive deleted. really hits the fan. Bella

[Plantagenet]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Prince', ' ') Energy has been very cheap from 1970 to 2005, so the migration of whites to the suburbs was never an issue of cost or resources. However, the cost of energy has grown substantially in the 3 years since, and in the future we face really tough choices that haven't been portrayed since the 1950s. Right now gas prices are merely an inconvenience for most. Nobody is going without--yet. They are just paying more right now for the privilege. What will happen when the upper middle class can't get the fuel to drive their precious cars?

[wisconsin_cur]

Hat tip to Savinar High Prices to derail Globalism$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'O')TTAWA — The rising price of oil is making international trade of heavy cargo prohibitively expensive, and acting as an incentive for importers to find products such as steel closer to home, new research by CIBC World Markets shows.

For heavy products, rising shipping costs are eroding the low-wage advantage of China over North America, say chief economist Jeff Rubin and senior economist Benjamin Tal.

If oil prices continue to rise, the soaring cost of global transport will act like a major tariff barrier and lead to a substantial slow down in international trade, they argue. “Globalization is reversible,” they state.
High fuel costs are expected to have a dramatic impact on trade patterns, as businesses look for supplies closer to home

High fuel costs are expected to have a dramatic impact on trade patterns, as businesses look for supplies closer to home. Oil passed $133 (U.S.) a barrel on Monday, and Mr. Rubin forecasts the price will average $106 this year, $130 next year, $150 in 2010 and $225 by 2012.

These days, the cost of oil is the equivalent of imposing a tariff rate of about nine per cent on goods coming into the United States. At $150 a barrel, transport costs act like a tariff of 11 per cent. And at $200, all the trade liberalization efforts of the past 30 years are reversed, Mr. Rubin said.

Oil prices now account for about half of total freight costs, and for the past three years, for every $1 increase in world oil, there has been a corresponding one per cent increase in transport costs.

“Unless that container is chock full of diamonds, its shipping costs have suddenly inflated the cost of whatever is inside,” Mr. Rubin said. “And those inflated costs get passed onto the Consumer Price Index when you buy that good at your local retailer. As oil prices keep rising, pretty soon those transport costs start cancelling out the East Asian wage advantage.”

[wisconsin_cur]

Politics of Fear Returns to Italy

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he Berlusconi coalition combines his Forza Italia with the anti-immigrant Northern League and the “post-Fascist” Alleanza Nazionale. All agree with Berlusconi that “Italians have the right not to live in fear” - which means targeting those who make Italians afraid.

Illegal immigration is about to become a crime for the first time, punishable by up to four years in prison, with new detention centres to hold clandestini prior to their expulsion. Another measure, aimed at the thousands of Romanians who have poured into Italy since Romania joined the EU, states that EU citizens will be expelled if they cannot show that they have the “economic resources” to stay for longer than three months. Vigilante “neighbourhood patrols” have sprung up in many Italian towns, and mayors are being given special powers to “ensure public safety”.

In Rome, where the election of Gianni Alemanno of Alleanza Nazionale a month ago was greeted by Fascist salutes from some supporters and cries of “Duce, Duce”, there were clashes on Tuesday between extreme Left and extreme Right supporters at Rome University. Last weekend masked youths went on the rampage in the hitherto peaceful and trendy multiracial quarter of Pigneto, smashing the windows of Asian businesses and beating up Indian and Bangladeshi shopkeepers. The pretext was an allegation that one of the shopkeepers was harbouring a North African who had stolen a purse, but witnesses had no doubt that this was a racist attack.

Kabir Humayun, a Bangladeshi shopkeeper, said; “I'm terrified that it will happen again. I'm worried for my wife and children.”

“Where will this all end?” asked Islam Serajul, whose launderette-cum-phone centre was trashed. “And why now? I have been here six years with no problems.”

[Ayoob]

Italy for the Italians!

Can somebody explain to me why this is bad? Italy is being invaded. The Italians don't want to be invaded. They want to send the foreigners home.

Why shouldn't they be able to do this if that's what they want?

[wisconsin_cur]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ayoob', 'I')taly for the Italians! Can somebody explain to me why this is bad? Italy is being invaded. The Italians don't want to be invaded. They want to send the foreigners home. Why shouldn't they be able to do this if that's what they want?

[Ayoob]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('wisconsin_cur', 'I'), speaking for myself, do not necessarily have a problem with it... I am truly agnostic on the issue. I find it an interesting issue of human sociology as we move into a future that moves from an assumption of plenty to the assumption of scarcity. --snip--
Of course we all live somewhere so it might be useful knowledge to see how things unfold somewhere else and then, since we are all human after all, extrapulate how a similar trend might unfold in your own city, state or nation.

[wisconsin_cur]

It isn't a big deal, unless you are one of those who wakes up one morning to find yourself on the outside...

...hence the thread to follow the development of this social dynamic of peak oil.

[Ayoob]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('wisconsin_cur', 'I')t isn't a big deal, unless you are one of those who wakes up one morning to find yourself on the outside... ...hence the thread to follow the development of this social dynamic of peak oil.

[cowuvula]

Actually it is the world for Italy. The Germans and the Italians run everything, they are the boss.
And why should any one else exist?
Stay tuned...

[wisconsin_cur]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ayoob', 'T')he thing is, all those people have somewhere to go.

[Ayoob]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('wisconsin_cur', 'D')o they? I mean, really?

[MrBill]

Everyone knew about the problem of the Romas in the first place. They are a problem in Romania. They are a problem in Hungary. They are a problem in Slovakia. Now they are a problem in Italy. The EU simply wanted to sweep the problem under the matt and pretend it did not exist. Well, guess what? The problem did not go away. And Italy lacks legal protection against an underclass social parasites within EU laws. Perfectly predictable. Illegal and/or unwanted immigration is always a problem. A problem that cannot be wished away. As the economic noose tightens Italy will pay for its lack of fiscal discipline as well as the political corruption of its system. And the frustration of the Italian people that are unable to deal with their own self-made problems will be expressed as anger and hatred towards scapegoats like the Romas. As the N. Italians say, Africa begins south of Rome.

[wisconsin_cur]

And after all of the illegals are gone, what about those that are next? Ok so you send legal aliens back "to where they came from," what then?
As you said,$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he scapegoating will continue until there's enough for everybody that's left, or until the most violent are at ease.

[wisconsin_cur]

There is also the issue of the company you want to keep. I mean when it comes to how they treat people does Italy really want to be compared to Bahrain? News Link$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'M')anama, 26 May (AKI) - An Islamic parliamentarian in Bahrain has called for the expulsion of Bangladeshi immigrant workers after one of them was accused of a gruesome killing. "We need to expel all the Bangladeshi workers that are in our country," said Abdel Halim Murad of the hardline Salafi bloc according to a report in the local newspaper Akhbar al-Khalji. "We cannot tolerate the way in which these people continue to repeat crimes," he said.

Murad said this during a political debate on Sunday after a Bahraini citizen was allegedly killed by a foreign worker from Bangladesh who worked as a mechanic. The victim was said to have fought with his killer because they could not decide on the price to pay to repair a car. "The society in Bahrain has been hit by this barbaric incident and now we have to rise above every limit. It is necessary to have zero tolerance with regards to them," said Murad.

Murad also said that an example should be made of the punishment handed out to the Bangladeshi who has been accused of murder. "He should be immediately sentenced to death and the punishment should be carried out in a short time in order to make an example to everyone," he added "It is also necessary to have a plan which will foresee the gradual expulsion of all these people from our country," he said.

There are an estimated 106,000 Bangladeshis living in the small Arab country. Bangladeshi diplomats in Bahrain have asked the government in Bahrain not to blame the entire community for the mistake of some of their citizens. Bahrain is not the only country in the Emirates which has had to deal with problems associated with Asian immigration.

An MP in Kuwait had on 28 April called for the expulsion of all foreign workers. "All the Bangladeshi immigrants who have committed crimes in our country have to be immediately deported," said Muhammad Hayf al-Mutairi.

This was also suggested by an Islamic politician, who has gained a lot support because of these types of proposals with regards to foreigners. "Their presence here represents a major danger for our national security because of them, there has been a rise in the number of crimes committed and for this reason the interior ministry must immediately expel them from the country," said al-Mutairi in an interview on the Arabic satellite television network, Al-Arabiya.

According to al-Mutairi, the Bangladeshis have organised themselves into gangs, making them responsible for a large number of crimes committed in the country such as rapes, theft and the falsification of documents.

There are about 200,000 foreign workers in Kuwait and their presence in the country is often a source of protest from the rest of the local population.