Muslim immigrants reacting Violently

From Eric Dondero:

Western European countries are starting to enforce statutes meant to preserve their language and culture. With vastly increased immigration from mostly northern African Muslim countries such as Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt, Euro nations like Britain, Austria and Italy are taking a stand, with a requirement of basic knowledge of the native language, and even knowledge of history and cultural values. Predictably, the immigrants are not reacting favorably to the changes.

From Yahoo News, "Italy makes Immigrants speak Italian for Work Visa":

Italy

Italy is the latest Western European country turning the screws on an expanding immigrant population by demanding language skills in exchange for work permits, or in some cases, citizenship. While enacted last year in the name of integration, these requirements also reflect anxiety that foreigners might dilute fiercely-prized national identity or even, especially in Britain's case, pose terror risks.

The United Kingdom

Since 2005, would-be citizens and permanent residency holders have been asked to prove their command of "Britishness" by answering multiple choice questions, in English, on British history, culture and law, from explaining the meaning behind the fireworks-filled Guy Fawkes Night, to knowing which British courts use a jury system.

Britain's government has pledged to dramatically cut immigration, and the language requirement is effectively a tool to put a cap on the number of newcomers, said Sarah Mulley, an immigration expert at the Institute of Public Policy Research, a London think tank.

Austria

In Austria, terms are tougher. There, where native speakers have been sometimes known to scold immigrant parents for not speaking proper German to their children, foreigners from outside the European Union need to prove they speak basic German within five years of receiving their first residency permit. Failure to do so can bring fines and jeopardize their right to stay.

The government argues that foreigners who master German can better integrate and help foster understanding across cultures. But, like in Italy, critics say it's a just a pretext for erecting barriers.

Strong opposition of course, is being voiced by a coalition of Leftist parties and Muslim immigration advocates.

"The German language is increasingly being used as a marginalization tool," said Alev Korun, a Turkish-born member of the opposition Greens party who immigrated to Austria when she was 19.

And Muslim violence on native Europeans has increased dramatically in the last few months, and weeks.

Just last week in Spain: A Morroccan Muslim stabbed 12 people in Ibiza and a crazed Muslim attacked staff and patients at a hospital in Madrid. (Source: BNI).

And in France, hordes of Muslim Youth rampaged through neighborhoods in Marseilles, attacking local French citizens, and shops after a soccer match. (LR, March 4).

Photo of Algerian man yelling at Italian woman. Korun right.

Using Middle-Eastern/Northern Africa uprisings as excuse to Immigrate for Job opportunities

From VOA "Italian Island Crowded by North African Refugees" March 6:

The people of Lampedusa, the southern-most island in Italy and the first port of call for migrants fleeing the strife in North Africa, have been preparing themselves for potential mass arrivals...

The people of Lampedusa fear it’s just a question of time. Soon, they say, their island will again be inundated with migrants fleeing the political turmoil in North Africa. After the collapse of the Tunisian regime in mid-January, more than 6,000 arrived on the tiny southern island, braving the stretch of sea that separates it from the African coastline.

Most are young men who hope they will be able to find a job and send money back to their families

Continuing:

Simona Moscarelli is the representative of the International Organizations for Migration on the island. She says they expect to see more flows from Tunisia and then migrants arriving from Libya.

They were Shouting "Allahu-Ahkbar"

From Eric Dondero:

Rioters threw gas cylinders into a Church a few miles away from Cairo. A riot started during a dispute between Muslim families; a dispute that appears not to have involved local Christians.

From AINA.org (h/t Pamela Geller):

A mob of nearly four thousand Muslims has attacked Coptic homes this evening in the village of Soul, Atfif in Helwan Governorate, 30 kilometers from Cairo, and torched the Church of St. Mina and St. George. There are conflicting reports about the whereabouts of the Church pastor Father Yosha and three deacons who were at church; some say they died in the fire and some say they are being held captive by the Muslims inside the church.

Witnesses report the mob prevented the fire brigade from entering the village. The army, which has been stationed for the last two days in the village of Bromil, 7 kilometers from Soul, initially refused to go into Soul, according to the officer in charge. When the army finally sent three tanks to the village, Muslim elders sent them away, saying that everything was "in order now."

Witnesses say that the rioters burning down the Church were shouting "Allahu-Ahkbar."

Photo of Christian Coptic church in Cairo, not the one burned down.

Muslims shouted "Allahu-Ahkbar" as they stoned Christians and beat them with rods

From Charismag.com Feb. 27:

One of the Oma villagers started arguing with the missionaries. The situation quickly escalated as the man’s anger incited a mob that attacked the students. The Muslim mob was shouting “Allah Akbar,” which means “God is great” as they stoned the Christians and beat them with rods.

The Christian missionaries fled the village, but the angry mob didn’t end its attack. The Muslim persecutors tried to set fire to the car. The arson attempt failed, but 17 Christian college students were wounded in the Feb. 26 assault, according to International Christian Concern (ICC).

“We thank God that no one was killed,” one of the victims, who wanted to remain anonymous, told ICC. “It’s sad that we suffered the attacks despite the Ethiopian laws which say there is freedom of religion and equality in the country.”

When the price of an item rises, fewer of the items are sold. The rate at which the sales of an item declines is called elasticity of demand. The greater the decline, the greater the elasticity.

Products will vary greatly in their elasticity. Necessary products like fuel and medicine tend to be less elastic. This is because they are quite vital to the running of the economy. Though an increase in fuel prices will decrease its use, it will not make it fall as rapidly as the rise in cost of a leisure product, for example, the price of lawn gnomes. -- Indepthinfo.com

•The number of close substitutes for a good / uniqueness of the product – the more close substitutes in the market, the more elastic is the demand for a product because consumers can more easily switch their demand if the price of one product changes relative to others in the market. -- Tutor2U.com Price Elasticity of Demand

From Eric Dondero:

It's a well-known principle of free market economics - Henry Hazlitt, Frederich Hayek, Milton Friedman - that when Price goes up due to factors such as increased taxation, consumers will seek "replacement" goods.

A strong tradition has developed in Washington State in recent years to just roll your own cigarettes. Washington State has some of the highest cigarette taxes in the Nation.

From the Seattle Times "New Port Orchard tobacco business for DIY smokers":

Taxes on cigarettes have increased since the passage of the federal Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009. Smokers in Washington now pay just more than $3 of federal tax and just more than $1 of state tax on a pack of cigarettes typically costing around $7.50, according to Mike Gowrylow, spokesman for the state's Department of Revenue.

The Times gives an example of a local resident beating the system. Continuing:

Kathryn Davis, 78, lives on a fixed income, and has at times passed up grocery items to buy cigarettes.

On Thursday, Davis made her first visit to DIY Tobacco in downtown Port Orchard, where customers purchase loose tobacco and roll their own smokes at a deep discount.

Davis inserted a tray of paper tubes with filters into a large machine, dumped the tobacco in the top and waited. The contraption hissed and banged methodically, churning out the equivalent of a carton of smokes in about eight minutes.

The cost for materials and use of the machine is about $33 for 200 smokes, half to two-thirds of what Davis might pay for a carton of commercially manufactured cigarettes.

North Carolina is on the verge of boosting the State's cigarette tax by an astounding $1.00 a pack.

As John Stephenson of the National Taxpayers Union (NTU.org) points out:

Cigarette taxes are notoriously unreliable sources of revenue. The projection that North Carolina will see a windfall of more than $300 million does not account for the losses of revenue that will surely result from higher taxes as smokers seek out cheaper alternatives from other lower-tax jurisdictions or smugglers.

Meanwhile, the "roll-your-own" shops appears to be a growth industry in Washington, with similar stores opening up throughout the State.

Could North Carolinians and smokers in other states learn from Washington State's example?

Newly-elected Gov. Sandoval backs local control

From Eric Dondero:

Harry Reid's call for making prostitution completely illegal throughout Nevada is being met with fierce opposition from those in the industry, and even strong opposition from Republicans.

From CNN "Reid takes on Nevada brothels":

Under Nevada law, prostitution is illegal in major cities such as Las Vegas and Reno. More sparsely populated rural counties, however, have the option of allowing brothels. Ten counties currently do so.

Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval, a first-term Republican, has said he believes that any decision to ban prostitution should continue to be made by county governments.

Dennis Hof, owner of the famous Moonlite Bunny Ranch, slammed Reid on Wednesday, calling the senator's proposal a "red herring" to compensate for his "lack of performance" in office.

"We're not rolling over," Hof said. "Reid will have to pry the keys to the cathouse out of my cold dead hands."

Church-going Republicans say keep the Brothels open

Some even believe Reid is pursuing this course as a sort of revenge against rural Nevada, which voted in big numbers for staunchly conservative Republican candidate Sharron Angle.

Republican Senator John Ensign also expressed his opposition to Reid's call to close down the brothels.

And this from MSNBC:

Ed Goedhart, a church-going Republican widely considered the most conservative in the state Assembly, blasted Reid's stance as an attack on freedom and an attempt to "legislate morality."

"This is a transaction that's conducted on the acceptance of both individuals, and I don't believe that we should go there," Goedhart said. "Nevada is still one of the last, best free places. We should be embrace that heritage of freedom and libertarianism and that's going to bring people out here."

Editor's note - This website was an early and enthusiastic supporter of Brian Sandoval for Governor.

From Eric Dondero:

US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, surprised many Nevadans and observers nationwide, with an out-of-the-blue rant last week against legalized prostitution in rural counties in his home State.

Some have speculated that since Reid won urban Las Vegas overwhelmingly, and lost big time in rural Nevada to Republican Sharron Angle, it's payback time.

Whatever the reason, his comments have won him Reason's Nanny-Stater of the month distinction.