Apr 3, 2003 | Dollars & Crosses
From James Morrow at The Weekly James:So yesterday's "Books Not Bombs" march for Saddam in Sydney was a lot more peaceful than last week's, which degenerated into an orgy of screaming and chair-flinging that had to be busted up by the cops. (Sounds a lot like the last family reunion I went to...) However, all was not quiet; the Stars-and-Stripes got torched, and even the Herald, which is normally highly circumspect about reporting the misdeeds of those who, shall we say, need a compass to say their bedtime prayers, notes:
Police made 10 arrests by late afternoon, although none related to crowd behaviour at the gathering. One naked woman who was not a protester was charged with obscene exposure, and a 15-year-old youth who was identified from police video footage faces charges related to burning papers at last week's march.
A further eight youths were charged after a breakaway group of about 50, chanting in Arabic, ran amok in Darling Harbour and then doubled back to the city.
This is being generous. The TV footage I saw on Channel Ten showed large numbers of Arab-looking high school kids in the crowd, mostly young toughs, and reportedly, they got into a scuffle with at least one media crew. (The ironies of a naked woman protesting against modernizing a culture with a hatred of naked women, and of protesters beating up the people who would help get their message, are too delicious and/or invigorating to contemplate). Even more, when confronted with a camera. one group of these kids started yelling sentiments along the lines of "We're all Arab mates!" and "Saddam's our mate, and we Arabs stick together!"
Stupidity like this just underlines the destructive nature of ethnic separatism in free socities. And the blowback from this explicit endorsement of the enemy is going to be tremendous, especially after last year's epidemic of gang rapes in western Sydney by Lebanese teens. For all the worries that Muslim "leaders" here have about anti-Islamic and anti-Arab prejudice, they sure don't seem to be doing a lot to stop their fellow hyphenated Australians (hyphenated by choice, it should be noted) from giving the so-called "majority culture" reason to be suspicious, to say the least.
Apr 2, 2003 | Dollars & Crosses
Actress Janeane Garofalo (who earlier this month on FoxNew's Bill O'Reilly claimed that Bush is just as dangerous to the world as Saddam Hussein) made an appearance this past Friday (March 28) on HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, where she stated that the U.S. attack on Iraq was "not fair" because it is an "unprovoked strike." Reports Ben Baker in his MRC CyberAlert:Garofalo appeared on the panel with talk show host Michael Graham and comedian/actor Larry Miller. Garofalo whined about Iraq as the victim of the U.S.: I would say a pre-emptive, unprovoked strike is not fair. This is a pre-emptive strike. It was not provoked. That is not fair."
Supposedly Saddam's attacks on his own people are provoked.
On anger at the Dixie Chicks: "You know what is good about these Dixie Chicks burnings or bashings? It's a wonderful, wonderful way for really stupid people to hook up. They meet, they throw some things on the fire, they talk about Vin Diesel, they tell stories about who their favorite Fox anchor is, they exchange phone numbers and in some cases has led to marriages."
As opposed to what: blocking some ambulance lanes, gushing over Noam Chomsky, telling stories about who their favorite murdering dictator is, and exchanging sexually transmitted diseases?
Graham recalled seeing this sign at an anti-war march: "We Support Our Troops...When They Shoot Their Officers." That set off Garofalo: "That one guy that had that one sign that you'll probably beat into the ground. You're going to use it over and over whether it actually existed or not. That's what all you right-wing radio hosts do. You make s??? up all the time."
No comment necessary.
Apr 2, 2003 | Dollars & Crosses
At that bastion of Pro-Americanism (kidding), NewsWeek's gives down arrows to President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and Donald Rumsfeld in a special edition of New's Week's Convention Wisdom, gleefully introduced with the following obnoxious "Gee, that little war was easy, just like we told everybody. Now it's on to Iran, North Korea and... Wha!! They're fighting back? No fair!"On President Bush: "Steadfast, but his war cluelessly flings open the gates of hell, making any sort of victory Pyrrhic."
On Vice President Cheney: "Tells Meet the Press just before war, 'We will be greeted as liberators.' An arrogant blunder for the ages."Rumsfeld, down arrow: "Taking fire from TV retired generals for flawed war plan. And how did you miss the fedayeen?"
Meanwhile in reality...
[W]aving Iraqis lined the streets when the advance northwards to Baghdad was resumed...."Maybe this is the parade they had promised us," said Sgt Gary Harrison, as he returned a greeting with a wave. "They sure seem happy to see us. Let's hope they aren't the only ones." As they passed, hundreds, possibly thousands, of people emerged from their houses to signal their welcome.Whole families stood together outside their homes, the children smiling and their parents urging the Americans forward....Capt David Waldron, 31, commander of the Black Knights tank company, said: "When we drove into this town and I saw the crowds I told everyone to keep their head down. But they were so obviously friendly that I ended up waving back, too. "I even tied a Stars and Stripes to the end of my machinegun as they need to know who it is who is liberating them. "We've been hearing this from a number of areas now. It seems the message is getting through what we are doing here." ...Yesterday's demonstration was the first large-scale welcome the Americans had received. [Daily Telegraph, 4/1/03]
Hundreds of Iraqis shouting "Welcome to Iraq" greeted Marines who entered the town of Shatra Monday after storming it with planes, tanks and helicopter gunships. A foot patrol picked its way through the small southern town, 20 miles north of the city of Nassiriya, after being beckoned in by a crowd of people. "There's no problem here. We are happy to see Americans," one young man shouted. [Reuters, 3/31/03]
Triumphant Royal Marine commandos yesterday mopped up the final traces of resistance in the south of Basra...They received a warm welcome from the members of the 30,000-strong population, with children and adults giving the thumbs-up, smiling and shouting "Mister, mister, England good". One surprised Royal Marine said: "We were meant to be giving them food but they keep coming up to us and giving us stuff." [Daily Telegraph, 4/1/03]
Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks described several instances in which local residents had helped U.S. forces throughout the country, paving the way for successful attacks against "death squads" loyal to Saddam. In one case north of the south-central Iraqi town of Nasiriyah, 100 local tribesmen joined U.S. soldiers in capturing Iraqi military prisoners and removing explosives from a bridge, he said. In the western desert, Brooks said residents of a town led U.S. troops to a hospital where weapons, munitions and gas masks were found. He said the residents carried the cache into the desert where it was blown up. [Associated Press, 4/1/03]
Alter and his Newsweek clan must be pissed. [Thanks to Paul Blair for the heads up!]
Apr 2, 2003 | Dollars & Crosses
Good stuff from Richard Salsman. Here is a brief excerpt from the lengthy article "From Containment to Pre-Emption: A New, Pro-Capitalist Defense Policy":The U.S. war against the terrorist regime in Iraq is a proper and welcome action. In our view it should have occurred long ago. But on the bright side, this war could mark the beginning of a new, pro-capitalist (and bullish) U.S. foreign policy. For this war marks the first time the U.S. government has ever undertaken pre-emptive military action against a regime that threatens America's national security. All other U.S. military actions have been taken in response to (or in 'containment' of) threats that already had developed or nations that already had attacked America directly. Defensive, appeasing policies have caused, in the past century, the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans soldiers and --on September 11th-- thousands of innocent American civilians....
America's (and any nation's) national security is a necessary pre-condition for its economic security. In turn, economic security is the necessary pre-condition for long-term and robust equity gains. It is precisely to the extent that a nation's producers, savers and investors enjoy security of life, limb and property that they'll produce, save and invest. Nations that fail to protect such basic rights suffer brain drains, capital flight and poverty. The U.S. foreign policy of pre-emption -- which must be extended beyond Iraq -- could usher in a new wave of wealth-building. [The Capitalist Advisor, March 31, 2003]
Apr 2, 2003 | Dollars & Crosses
According to a mail sent out by Patriots for the Defense of America, there will be a pro-U.S. rally tomorrow (April 2) at noon, at Columbia University: "The location is above Alma Mater on Low Plaza. Security will be tight. It will start with the Pledge of Allegiance, then the National Anthem, then the speakers, none of whom will be allowed than 5 minutes each. There will be no Q&A. The whole event is scheduled to last 45 minutes."Apr 2, 2003 | Dollars & Crosses
By the time you're reading this everybody knows it, but it's interesting anyway: "American troops have rescued Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch, who had been held as a prisoner of war in Iraq since she and other members of her maintenance unit were ambushed March 23, the Defense Department announced Tuesday. (AP, 4/1/03)" Without a doubt, by tomorrow she'll be the most famous woman in the world. Oh, Well Done!
As opposed to what: blocking some ambulance lanes, gushing over Noam Chomsky, telling stories about who their favorite murdering dictator is, and exchanging sexually transmitted diseases?