	Generational Dynamics
	Forecasting America's Destiny ... and the World's

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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 22-Sep-2010
22-Sep-10 News -- More on xenophobia in Europe

Web Log - September, 2010

22-Sep-10 News -- More on xenophobia in Europe

All sides prepare for collapse of Mideast peace talks

More on xenophobia in Europe

Yesterday, I posted a news story about the recent Parliamentary elections in Sweden. (See "21-Sep-10 News -- Sweden shocked at anti-immigrant victories.")

In that article, I referred to the 2004 murder by a Muslim extremist of Theo van Gogh in the Netherlands, and the "widespread violence against Muslims" including the burning of Dutch Mosques and Churches after the murder.

A web site reader from Eindhoven, the city where van Gogh was murdered, wrote to me, questioning whether I had accurately reported the situation.

His comment piqued my interest, and I wondered whether I had properly sourced my comments when I reported them in 2004.

It's my practice, whenever I write something more controversial than usual, to collect as much information as I can, including contemporary news stories where possible, and fortunately I did so in this case.

So I've retrieved 21 of these news stories from my archives, and I've placed them onto a separate web page: "- 21 news stories after the murder of Theo van Gogh."

Going back and rereading these stories is an amazing experience, because the enormous shock that was felt in the immediate aftermath of Theo van Gogh's murder is barely remembered today, only six years later.

Thus, one article by Holland's Expatica begins, "Amid growing public tension in the aftermath of the murder of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh, the Netherlands risks falling into a situation similar to the one that led to the Crystal Night in 1938 and the hardening of Jewish persecution by the Nazis, a Danish newspaper has warned."

This illustrates an important principle about Generational Dynamics: When you want to evaluate a historical event, then you MUST try to obtain descriptions of it from as many points of view as possible AT THE TIME that the event occurred, and then compare those accounts to later accounts of the same event. That comparison can yield a great deal of information about how perspectives change over time, and how different generations view the same event.

This event occurred after 9/11, but it was before the subway bombings in London and Madrid, and other European terrorist acts by al-Qaeda linked Islamist terror groups. Since 2004, the general European public has become inured to terrorist violence, and would no longer react so dramatically the murder of a single person, as horrible as that murder was.

The second thing that's happened is that Europeans have gradually turned away from embracing immigrants, especially Muslim immigrants, and are gradually adopting the kinds of attitudes that gradually developed in the 1930s.

This is a worldwide phenomenon. As massive numbers of people in the West become increasingly xenophogic about Muslims, Muslims around the world are becoming increasingly anti-American and anti-West.

A news story that's going on right now is a growing confrontation between Japan and China over Japan's arrest of a fishing trawler captain found in disputed waters. This confrontation could spiral out of control, though it's much more likely to fizzle within a few days. But either way, it represents the growth of another example of mutual xenophobia.

So, whether it's anti-Americanism or Islamophobia or a form of xenophobia that doesn't have a special name, xenophobia in increasing in regions around the world, and worsening as more and more World War II survivors die off.

I've been writing about this for years, because it's predicted by Generational Dynamics as occurring in every generational crisis era, throughout history. Typically, xenophobia continues to worsen, exacerbated by population growth, shortages or resources like food and water, and increased nationalism, leading to wars of extermination. In today's world, those wars of extermination will spiral into the Clash of Civilizations world war. It's happening right before our eyes, and all we can do is argue.

All sides prepare for collapse of Mideast peace talks

Israel is refusing to extend the moratorium on building West Bank settlements that's set to expire on Sunday. The Israeli government is under enormous international pressure to extend it, but there's even more pressure NOT to extend it, coming from political groups within Israel. So now it appears that it won't be extended.

Will the peace talks end on Sunday? That's the way it looks right now, but who knows? Maybe someone on the Israeli side or the Palestinian side will back down. Right now, though, it doesn't look that way.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) chief is warning that violence could flare if the talks break down, according to Haaretz.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is preparing "contingency plans" for dealing with the hostile international political situation if the talks break down, according to the Jerusalem Post.

Hamas, which has opposed the peace talks from the beginning, is warning of renewed violence in the West Bank. However, Hamas is always warning about that, so I suppose the collapse of the Mideast peace talks won't affect that one way or the other.

Nothing has changed since 2003, when I wrote "Mideast Roadmap - Will it bring peace?" I said that peace was impossible, because Arabs and Jews will be re-fighting the genocidal war they fought in 1948, after the partitioning of Palestine and the creation of the state of Israel.

Soooooo, let's see what happens on Sunday. Maybe the Obama administration can pull a rabbit out of the hat, and get the peace talks to continue.

Additional links

When a person over 50 loses his job, the chances are that he'll never find another job again. NY Times

I thought this was a joke when a web site reader first sent it to me, but I guess it's not: The UK's tax collection agency is proposing that all paychecks should go to the government first, and the government would then deduct taxes and fees and pay the worker. CNBC

As the number of wealthy people in China rises, the bodyguard industry is growing. Washington Post

Outspoken atheist Christopher Hitchens, who is very ill from esophageal cancer, will not be participating on Monday in "Everybody Pray for Hitchens Day" in Alabama. Associated Press

Now you can buy "divorce insurance," that pays off when you get divorced. Time. Warning to men: Don't bother. You won't get any of the insurance money. Every penny will go to your ex-wife and the lawyers.

Marijuana growers in California are joining the Teamsters labor union. Sacramento Bee

(Comments: For reader comments, questions and discussion, see the 22-Sep-10 News -- More on xenophobia in Europe thread of the Generational Dynamics forum. Comments may be posted anonymously.) (22-Sep-2010) Permanent Link
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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 22-Sep-2010 22-Sep-10 News -- More on xenophobia in Europe

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All sides prepare for collapse of Mideast peace talks

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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 22-Sep-2010
22-Sep-10 News -- More on xenophobia in Europe