Breitbart - Next EU Prez, Slovakia Prime Minister Robert Fico: ‘Islam Has No Place’ ... ‘Migrants Change the Character of Our Country’ - Thank you, Slovakia, for your sanity. --tma

rovinginsight.org

Just over a month before Slovakia will take the rotating presidency of the European Union, Prime Minister Robert Fico claims that Islam has no place in his country.

”Islam has no place in Slovakia,” Fico told media on Wednesday night saying that the problem of the migrant crisis was not, “that migrants come, but that migrants change the character of our country,” and continued, “we do not want the character of this country to change. Let’s be honest and say that will not happen in Slovakia,” Der Standard reports.

The Slovakian Prime Minister has made similar comments in the past in reaction to the Cologne New Years Eve sex attacks when he and several other nations demanded stricter border controls and said, “the idea of multicultural Europe has failed… The migrants cannot be integrated, it’s simply impossible.”

[ ... ]

Slovakia, alongside Poland and Hungary are being threatened with €250,000 fines per migrant they refuse to rehome from the European Union.

“I do not wish tens of thousands of Muslims coming here and promoting their own stuff,” Fico said, confirming that he will not back down on his views that Islamisation is a threat to Slovakian culture.

The six month term presidency of the European Union will give the Slovakian Prime Minister a platform to express his views to the council of ministers which he will chair and the European Union Commission who are fiercely opposed to attitudes of his country and the V4. ...

http://www.breitbart.com/london/2016/05/28/slovakian-pm-no-place-islam-slovakia/

Daily Mail: 26 Women Are Sexually Assaulted at German Concert, with Victims Surrounded by Mobs of Migrant Men and Groped in Copycat Attacks Like Those in Cologne - When 'surrounded' by third-world pack animals, best to be packing. ---tma

- - -


telegraph.co.uk

A group of asylum seekers sexually assaulted numerous women at a free concert in Germany at the weekend in attacks similar to those carried out in Cologne on New Year’s Eve.

Three Pakistani men are already under arrest after 26 women filed complaints that they had been improperly touched, fondled and groped during the festival in the city of Darmstadt.

Police have said the number of complainants could rise.

Between two and three more men are still being sought by police as victims receive counselling and authorities try to cool down rising tensions against migrants in general.

The incident had similarities to the attacks in Cologne on December 31–when a number of young women were targeted in the concourse of the city’s main railway station.

All the complainants said they were ‘surrounded’ before being ‘touched and fondled’ improperly at the annual free Schlossgrabenfestes music festival.

The three arrested men are aged between 28 and 31 and are Pakistanis seeking asylum in Germany. All have been charged with sexual crimes as the hunt continues for their accomplices. ...

     When 'surrounded' by third-world pack animals, best to be packing. 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3617417/18-women-sexually-assaulted-German-concert-victims-surrounded-mobs-migrant-men-groped-copycat-attacks-like-Cologne.html

John Derbyshire - VDare: Keep Hate Alive—It’s An Election Year! The ROOTS Racket Rides Again - Screened at White House - One problem with original? Whites not evil enough.

The national appetite for stories—books and movies—about white people being beastly to black peopleis apparently insatiable.

A blockbuster of this genre, which I’ve referred to as “Abolitionist Porn”, was the novel and TV movie Roots, back in the 1970s. The book, written by professional black guy Alex Haley, was published in 1976; the TV show aired in 1977. ...

http://www.vdare.com/articles/keep-hate-alive-its-an-election-year-the-roots-racket-rides-again

WCQS: U.S.-Mexico Border Sees Resurgence Of Central Americans Seeking Asylum - Lying media: (1) Assumes all "fleeing gang violence." (2) "Nothing the U.S. govt does seems to deter." How does safe catch & release "deter"?

John Moore / Getty

Immigrants fleeing gang violence in Central America are again surging across the U.S.-Mexico border, approaching the numbers that created an immigration crisis in the summer of 2014. While the flow of immigrants slowed for much of last year, nothing the U.S. government does seems to deter the current wave of travelers.

Immigration officials opened controversial family detention camps in south Texas. They publicized immigration roundups earlier this year, with more to come. A big U.S. public relations campaign is under way in Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala, warning would-be immigrants they are not welcome. And recently, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson traveled to Central America to say it in person. ...

http://wcqs.org/post/us-mexico-border-sees-resurgence-central-americans-seeking-asylum#stream/0

Infowars.com: Video: Mexican Parents Train 3-Year-Old Girl to Say "We Have to Kill Donald Trump." - That some may be humble peasants doesn't change this is a hostile invasion and takeover of the US. --tma

“We’re going to kill Donald Trump,” states the toddler, to which the mother responds, “Why are we going to kill Donald Trump?”

“Cause he’s bad,” responds the child.

“That’s right,” replies the mother.

“We have to kill him,” continues the toddler.

“Why is he bad?” asks the father.

“Cause he wants to take away our family,” responds the child.

The mother then encourages the child to make a third death threat against Trump, asking, “So what are we going to do then?”

“We’re going to kill him,” the child re-asserts. ...

http://www.infowars.com/video-parents-train-3-year-old-girl-to-say-we-have-to-kill-donald-trump/

WND - Buchanan: Will There Always Be An England? 'Across Europe, the tribalists are rejecting, in a word, diversity'

anglotopia.net

Arundel Castle

In his op-ed in the Washington Post, Chris Grayling, leader of the House of Commons, made the case for British withdrawal from the European Union – in terms Americans can understand.

Would you accept, Grayling asks, an American Union of North and South America, its parliament sitting in Panama, with power to impose laws on the United States, and a high court whose decisions overruled those of the U.S. Supreme Court?

Would you accept an American Union that granted all the peoples of Central and South America and Mexico the right to move to, work in, and live in any U.S. state or city, and receive all the taxpayer-provided benefits that U.S. citizens receive?

This is what we are subjected to under the EU, said Grayling.

And as you Americans would never cede your sovereignty or independence to such an overlord regime, why should we?

Downing Street’s reply: Prime Minister David Cameron says leaving the EU could cost Britain a lot of money and a loss of influence in Brussels.

The heart versus the wallet. Freedom versus security.

While Barack Obama, Cameron and Angela Merkel are pulling for Britain to vote to remain in the EU, across Europe, transnationalism is in retreat, and tribalism is rising. ..

http://www.wnd.com/2016/05/will-there-always-be-an-england/#kX5bOoWLwWYOyxB1.99

James Fulford - VDare: Who’s Desecrating Memorials On Memorial Day? Mostly Blacks And Hispanics - Vietnam Memorial no doubt they defaced some Hispanic names, but, who cares, anything to yank the tail of the hated Anglo. --tma

foxnews.com

This is what I saw on the Drudge Report:

Vandals Deface Vietnam War Memorial...

Covered in graffiti...

MAN DRIVES THROUGH KENTUCKY MEMORIAL CROSS DISPLAY...

CRIME SCENE DECLARED AFTER LOOTING AT VIRGINIA BATTLEFIELD...

Drudge Report, May 29, 2016

The vandals in Venice Beach who did the graffiti on a Vietnam War memorial wall, “tagging” the names of the fallen with illegible gang-type symbols appear to be the usual suspects who tag normal buildings–local Hispanic gang members. ...

http://www.vdare.com/articles/whos-desecrating-memorials-on-memorial-day-mostly-blacks-and-hispanics?content=tweeted%20about%20it

Bloomberg: Surge of Immigrants Into Italy Leaves Rescue Teams Stretched - Rescue / invasion-helper boats need to be sunk. --tma

yahoo.com

Some 46,100 migrants have crossed the Mediterranean to reach Italy so far this year, with almost a third of them arriving last week alone, according to the United Nations refugee agency.

The total up to Sunday was equivalent to the same period in 2015, with about 14,000 arriving last week, UNHCR spokeswoman Carlotta Sami said in a telephone interview. More than 700 migrants perished in three shipwrecks last week. ...

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-30/surge-of-immigrants-into-italy-leaves-sea-rescue-teams-stretched

AFP: Stay or go? Brexit activists battle it out - Wonder how long the pro-EU "bohemian London district" will survive under Islam? --tma

citylab.com

London (AFP) - Politicians and world leaders have dominated the headlines in the campaign for Britain's EU referendum, but a passionate battle for the country's future is also being fought by activists on the streets.

At a stall in the bohemian London district of Fitzrovia last week, Sheila Hawkins tried to persuade workers on their lunchbreak that leaving the bloc in the June 23 vote would be a "disaster".

Standing on a street corner handing out leaflets, the pensioner volunteered with the "Britain Stronger In Europe" campaign to allay her own fears of what would happen in the event of a so-called Brexit. ...

https://www.yahoo.com/news/stay-brexit-activists-battle-042944962.html?ref=gs

Wa Examiner - Gallup: Just 1% Russians approve of U.S., Obama, far worse than Bush - I've never more admired the good sense of the Russian people. --tma

President Obama's 2008 campaign pledge to improve the image of the United States around the world hasn't worked in Russia where a decade low of just 1 percent approve of American leadership, according to Gallup.

In fact, Gallup said that Russia's view of the U.S. is the lowest in the world and comes at a time when Moscow is flexing its military muscle in hotspots like Syria where Obama is struggling to use force. ...

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/gallup-just-1-russians-approve-of-u.s.-obama-far-worse-than-bush/article/2592568

McClatchyDC: About 100,000 in U.S. now work for Chinese firms

forbes.com

WASHINGTON 

In the tiny North Carolina town of Tar Heel, the Smithfield Foods Packing Co., the world’s biggest slaughterhouse that often smells of pig manure, belongs to a giant Chinese meat-processing company.

Hundreds of movie theaters across the country are owned by the Kansas City-based AMC Theatres chain, which reports to China’s richest man.

And in Miami, a luxury condo tower called One Thousand Museum is rising over Biscayne Bay. Its contractor is a Chinese firm, the largest builder in the world’s most populous country.

In a presidential campaign focused on the loss of American jobs, a recent study shows how U.S. jobs are created or preserved under China’s investment boom in the United States. ...

     Notice the spin here. Is this really such great economic news, besides the American jobs and companies being lost to China, that some are simply being snapped up and owned by the Chinese here in America?  

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/article80386057.html

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/article80386057.html#storylink=cpy

NYT: Donald Trump and Bikers Share Affection at Rolling Thunder Rally - “Do we love the bikers? Yes. We love the bikers.”

newsflow24.com

WASHINGTON — Donald J. Trump, the Manhattan real estate mogul who boasts about his wealth, maintains a fleet of aircraft and sells his own brand of neckties, paid respects on Sunday to an incongruous constituency.

“Look at all these bikers,” Mr. Trump, standing before a crowd in front of the Lincoln Memorial, said with admiration. “Do we love the bikers? Yes. We love the bikers.”

Mr. Trump was addressing a gathering at the 29th annual Rolling Thunder motorcycle run, a vast event over Memorial Day weekend that is dedicated to accounting for military members taken as prisoners of war or listed as missing in action.

Bikers assembled near the Pentagon before riding en masse into the nation’s capital, with many dressed in leather vests covered in patches, their bikes rumbling throughout the afternoon. ...

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/30/us/politics/donald-trump-and-bikers-share-affection-at-rolling-thunder-rally.html

AFP: British far-right burn EU flag as referendum looms - All and only White people who want border law are "far-right." --tma

AFP

Dover (United Kingdom) (AFP) - Far-right demonstrators burnt the EU flag on Saturday at a rally in Dover, Britain's closest town to continental Europe.

Police officers in high-visibility jackets surrounded the small number of demonstrators as they marched along the seafront of the southeast English port town.

One man held up an England flag with "Refugees NOT welcome" written on it. ...

https://www.yahoo.com/news/british-far-burn-eu-flag-referendum-looms-185813849.html?ref=gs

MML News.com - Red-legged Frogs, Western Pond Turtles and Bighorn Sheep Return To Yosemite

westernwatersheds.org

Yosemite National Park, CA — After 50 years, two more once-prevalent species are now being reintroduced in to their natural habitats within Yosemite Valley.

Joining a flock of Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep, which last March were released in Yosemite National Park, as reported here, are California Red-legged Frogs and Western Pond Turtles. Releases are underway and will continue over the next three years into suitable lake, river and meadow habitats.

The program is part of a multi-agency effort by the National Park Service (NPS), San Francisco Zoo & Gardens, the Yosemite Conservancy, US Fish & Wildlife, State Fish & Wildlife, and NatureBridge, which includes a new permanent frog and turtle breeding center at the zoo. Yosemite National Park Superintendent Don Neubacher calls the undertaking a landmark event as well as a historic opportunity to reestablish species that contribute to a healthy park ecosystem. The decline of both species can be traced to past actions now viewed as mistakes that have since been corrected through environmental restoration, according to park officials. ...

http://www.mymotherlode.com/news/local/265872/red-legged-frogs-western-pond-turtles-return-to-yosemite.html?utm_source=myMotherLode.com+Noon+News&utm_campaign=4483f5a762-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c3880b40a2-4483f5a762-118631897

Philip Giraldi - Unz Review: How the World Ends Baiting Russia is not good policy

[ ... ]

As for the leading foreign policy failure there was an easy answer, “Iraq” which was on everyone in the room’s lips, but Mearsheimer urged one not to be so hasty. In reality the Iraq disaster has killed hundreds of thousands, has cost trillions of dollars and has unleashed serious problems for the Mideast region in general while allowing the rise of ISIS, but in “realistic foreign policy terms” it has not been a catastrophic event for the United States, which had hardly been seriously injured by it apart from financially and in terms of reputation.

Mearsheimer went on to say that, in his opinion, there is a far greater disaster lurking and that is the total mismanagement of the relationship with Russia ever since the downfall of communism. He cited the drive by Washington democracy promoters to push Ukraine into the western economic and political sphere as a major miscalculation as they failed to realize or did not care that what takes place in Kiev was to Moscow a vital interest. To that observation I would add the legacy of the spoliation of Russia’s natural resources carried out by Western carpetbaggers working with local grifters turned oligarchs under Boris Yeltsin, the expansion of NATO to Russia’s doorstep initiated by Bill Clinton, and the interference in Russia’s internal affairs by the U.S. government, to include the Magnitsky Act. There have also been unnecessary slights and insults delivered along the way, to include sanctions on Russian officials and refusal to attend the Sochi Olympics, to cite only two examples. ...

http://www.unz.com/article/how-the-world-ends/

CEC: Elections in Austria: Lessons Learned - Many anti-invasion voters vote against anti-invasion candidates on some other issue - As trump might say, Not good. --tma

The recent elections in Austria are rich in lessons. Of course, we could analyze the results by categories of voters and notice that the workers overwhelmingly supported the FPÖ (Freedom Party of Austria), or we could discuss endlessly why the results suddenly changed when the postal ballots were counted, making Hofer lose the lead. However, from a Canadian perspective, it would be pointless. We have no party similar to or vaguely resembling the FPÖ: all of the major Canadian parties, and I mean all of them, support mass immigration and are actually in a ridiculous race to know which party will increase it the most and appeal to ethnic votes. 

So what lesson is there for us Canadians? Well, it might be a surprise for many here, but where there are nationalist or populist parties there is always a significant segment of the nationalist movement that will not vote for them because of some elements of the programs or because of a personality clash. In France, it is surprising to see large numbers of nationalists who will not vote for Marine Le Pen because she is a "liberal" opposed to immigration and not a real nationalist. The same is true in Austria with the FPÖ, in Sweden with the Swedish Democrats, and even in the case of Trump notwithstanding the enthusiasm he has generated among alt righters.  ...

http://www.eurocanadian.ca/2016/05/elections-in-austria-lesson-for-european-nationalists.html

EU Times: Islam should be taught in all German schools Says Lutheran Bavarian Bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm - Huge Islam education bureaucracy--what could go wrong? [sarc] --tma

Islam must be taught in all German schools to help “immunize” pupils from radical leanings, Bavarian bishop of the Lutheran Church argues, calling on Muslim organizations to take responsibility for religious education.

Introduction of “extensive Islam classes” in all German schools would best safeguard young Muslims from “fundamentalists’ temptation” towards them, Head of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Germany (EFD), Bavarian Bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm said, Heilbronne Stimme newspaper reported on Friday.

Muslim schoolchildren must also have an opportunity to critically familiarize themselves with their religious traditions, the bishop believes.

“In the meantime, they can learn something new about Islam – and this is to be based on the Basic Law [the German Constitution],” he added.

Either the government or the religious communities should have a lead role in introducing Islam as a school subject, Bedford-Strohm said. “I wish that Muslims in Germany could have clear communication with the state. 

Then Islamic organizations may also take responsibility for the religious education in schools, like the Christian churches do.”

Public universities should establish Islamic theology faculties as well, the Bavarian bishop went on: “The Islamic tradition would therefore be approached critically based on scientific criteria.

“Tolerance, religious freedoms and freedom of consciousness must apply to all confessions. These rules could best be implemented when you have religion as part of public education.”

The bishop’s proposal adds to a heated debate on the role of Islam in German society, as the country struggles to find the right balance between multiculturalism and national identity. According to the latest statistical estimates, the number of Muslims is growing rapidly in Germany and beyond, with this process being fuelled by the ongoing refugee influx.

According to 2015 figures by Pew Research Center, the Muslim population has been growing throughout Europe, from four percent in 1990 to six percent in 2010. This trend is expected to continue through 2030, when Muslims are projected to make up eight percent of Europe’s population. ...

http://www.eutimes.net/2016/05/islam-should-be-taught-in-all-german-schools-bavarian-bishop/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheEuropeanUnionTimes+%28The+European+Union+Times%29

Kevin MacDonald - TOO: An Anti-Neocon Revolution in GOP Foreign Policy?

converge.org

One of the big stories coming out of the Trump campaign is the intense hostility he is getting from the neocons, a major part of which is that they would be out of luck when it comes to positions in a Trump administration.

But that implies a huge vacuum in the area of foreign policy for Republicans. After all, neocons have dominated the GOP foreign policy establishment since the Reagan Administration and achieved unrivaled power in the George W. Bush administration.

But with the Trump campaign, the neocons are on the outside looking in, which is a major part of why they are defecting to Hillary or plotting a third party candidacy — anything to derail Trump. (Bill Kristol keeps plugging away. In his latest, he claims that even obscure Congressmen would be good candidates to run against Trump, although of course he would love it if Mitt Romney took up the cause. So would Jennifer Rubin. Their desperation is showing.)

Given that there is a real possibility that Trump could win, it must have occurred to the people surrounding the Koch brothers that, even though they would much prefer a free market libertarian-type conservative, there is now an opening for some fresh ideas for Republican foreign policy. In any case, the Charles Koch Institute sponsored a conference of foreign policy experts which, given that the Koch brothers are well-known to be Republicans, could only be interpreted as a repudiation of the neocons, likely with the aim of providing the basis for a refurbished GOP foreign policy establishment. No neocons were invited. And just as significant are some of those who were invited, including some very well-known names high on the neocon hate list.  ...

http://www.theoccidentalobserver.net/2016/05/a-revolution-in-gop-foreign-policy/#more-36520

Breitbart: Must See Video: Trump’s Touching Gesture After Rally Brings Grieving Mother to Tears - Ironically Trump comforting parents who lost kids to illegals as illegals rioted outside. --tma

Cell phone footage captured at Wednesday’s campaign rally shows Donald Trump’s touching and spontaneous interaction with a group of mothers who attended the rally and who lost their children to illegal alien violence.

The footage shows Trump kissing and signing posters of the mothers’ deceased children after his rally in Anaheim, California. ...

http://www.breitbart.com/2016-presidential-race/2016/05/28/must-see-video-trumps-touching-gesture-rally-brings-grieving-mother-tears/

Allan Wall - VDare - bottom line: Trump's key to winning is White working class--not Hispandering - "Unlike a typical Republican, Trump is appealing to Latinos as fellow Americans, with the same interests as other citizens and workers"

hillarydaily.com

Well, here we go again. Univision’s English language outlet Fusion says Donald Trump will be crushed by the Latino vote. But a close examination shows the same old mistaken premises and faulty assumptions about immigration and politics that the MSM and Hispanic campaign consultants (where distinguishable) have been making for years.

Enrique Acevedo argues the Republican Party has suffered because of how it handled the immigration issue. He credits Democratic triumphs in 1996 and 2012 as well as Democratic control of California to Latino voters reacting against Republican support for restrictions on immigration . [Trump can’t get to the White House without the Latino vote, by April 26, 2016] Once again, we hear about the supposedly dire effects of Proposition 187 in California and how it doomed Republicans forever.

But this ignores history. Proposition 187 passed overwhelmingly and led to the victory of Governor Pete Wilson. It’s the California GOP’sinability to win enough of the white vote in the state that’s killing it. Acevedo blames Mitt Romney’s line about “self-deportation” for his defeat, but Romney’s lack of fighting spirit had more to do with his defeat than his (rather wobbly) immigration position.

Indeed, much of Acevedo’s article is just an attempt to scare Republicans into surrender by calling the GOP names. Senator Jeff Sessions and  Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach are cited as allegedly scary figures. “Loud voices from the radical fringe” have “hijack[ed]’” the party. And there is much gloating about increased Latino voter registration:

More than 13 million Latino voters are expected to cast their ballots in November. Latinos could decide key races in states like Florida, Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, Ohio and Virginia….Make no mistake, Latinos will come out to vote in record numbers in November. And their vote will prove, once again, that in this new American reality no one can get the White House without a broad and diverse coalition that includes Latino voters.

What this really implies is that white votes are somehow automatically illegitimate. ...

http://www.vdare.com/articles/memo-from-middle-america-hispanic-campaign-consultants-says-trump-needs-hispanics-and-them-wrong?content=(rather%20wobbly)%20immigration

Race & Gender PC - All-encompassing in today's novels & films - Examples: 'Final Victim, 1996, Stephen J. Cannell; 'The Martian,' 2015

     Like clockwork, it starts on page 37, "How about Malavida Chacone?" Chacone is one of the top two or so computer hacker geniuses in the nation who might help them crack their case. 

He is Hispanic. [check] 

He is so "handsome," he is "beautiful." [check] 

     I have no desire to see minorities and women written about in a bad light, but these things are so predictable, you can almost guess the first page they will appear. 

     In the crime 'thriller' I read before this one, the detective's best friend in college had been a handsome brilliant star athlete and college quarterback, who was all around simply spectacular, and--can you guess?--gay! [check]

     Our Open-Borders Overlords keep trying to teach us not to hate, when that is really not our problem. Our problem is being discriminated against by being falsely portrayed as haters. In novels and in films of course they usually make an exception by not including this fatal flaw in the the usually White [Who else buys this stuff?] protagonist and his or her love interest--but not for us, we hateful knuckle-headed readers and viewers they are so nobly trying to uplift.

Update pp. 164-165:

More on Chacone:

"He looked almost god-like, his square jaw jutting, his glossy black hair and penetrating eyes flashing in the sunlight. ... He smiled at her ... the smile was dazzling and lit his handsome features."

     Of course nothing wrong with this in itself. It is the suffocating, if comical, predictability. The Racial-Gender PC Gods and the ever present Tolerance Police absolutely demand this, especially if a novel has any hopes of making it in Hollywood. 

- - -

The Martian




     What to say? Except see the movie. 

     But can't resist a few words. With all these Hollywood brilliant Blacks along with the taboo on the drastic average IQ differences of different populations, no wonder so many minorities think their limited group accomplishments in the real world are the result of a giant conspiracy of 'White Privilege.' 

     Female commander. [check] Although if they could have brought in a female Muslim refugee commander wearing a burqa, they would have. 

     Most notable crew astronaut after Damon, Hispanic. [check]

      Favorite touch: The Black genius kid who saves the day, towards the end of his presentation to NASA-JPL, using the White junior JPL administrator's forehead to click off his ballpoint pen. Although the administrator was a woman, must have gotten clicked for her 'White Privilege.' 

     Could go on forever, but how about the last scene, showing the astronaut training class, with one astronaut cadet sitting in the audience, very dark and seemingly brooding under his dark baseball cap, as if he had just been recruited for another Mars mission, merrily plucked straight out of the latest Black Lives Matter riot. 

     As a final aside, is it my imagination, or are the younger Hollywood leading men becoming rather colorless compared to earlier ones? Matt Damon did a fine job, but if you imagine Willis or Ford in that role, instead of being pleasantly interesting, the character would have been riveting. The same wisecracks, instead of being amusing, would have had a delightful winning sparkle. Maybe Damon is supposed to be the 'strong silent type,' but so was Eastwood, whose performances were always riveting.