Wednesday, April 09, 2003
From our armchair correspondent, somewhere in north London. Non-British readers may find this post completely indecipherable ;-)
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I have already mentioned that I read both the Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail and that the latter newspaper is in the grip of a long standing obsession with the female bottom. Well on Monday, as I opened my Daily Mail, I thought with any luck it would also be an outstanding B-day (bottom-day..Ed.). Almost every day is a B-day of some sort where the Daily Mail is concerned but B-days for its male readers and sub-editors to treasure come only so often. As it turns out, bottom-wise, today's Daily Mail is only so-so. There are two profiles of bottoms of no great interest. In a complete reversal of form the Daily Telegraph - which ordinarily only prints pictures of Renaissance or Impressionist bottoms - had a picture with three bottoms in it. For the Telegraph to out-bottom the Mail is the media equivalent of no-hoper Snow Knight leading the field from start to finish to win the Epsom Derby in 1971. There are probably still a few bookmakers left who pray to this horse's memory.
To appreciate in full the delicious irony of this unlikely occurrence one has to know that the Daily Mail, which regards itself as a quality newspaper for all that it is tabloid in ormat, is the humbug to the Nth power in the matter of pornography. While it feeds its readership with an unrelenting diet of titillation (a policy that has provided it with a circulation about double that of the broadsheet Daily Telegraph) it condemns pornography with a fervour rarely seen since the mad monk Savonarola organised the Bonfire of the Vanities in 1495. It once published an editorial criticising an Archbishop of Canterbury for complaining about barbarous conditions in British prisons when he should be concerning himself with the scandalous availability of porn magazines to prisoners. It also ran the famous Athena poster picture of a girl with her skirt rucked-up and rubbing a tennis ball on her bottom three times in as many months. As often as not such pictures are provided with a headline that includes the word "cheeky".
Today's issue makes up for its bottom deficit with a double page spread featuring no less than 36 (thirty-six) pictures of celebrities and models wearing provocative underwear in styles ranging over the past fifty years. It is a cornucopia of lace and sheer black satin, basques and bras, plunging necklines and navels. The headline is "Thongs ain't what they used to be!"
I can hear my editor asking what this has to do with the war in Iraq. Everything, because the picture in the Daily Telegraph shows three totally naked ladies, a long one, a short one and a tall one, facing away from the camera and towards a phalanx of British bobbies wearing PC Dixon of Dock Green helmets and fluorescent riot jackets. The policemen are clearly discomforted and in every case staring fixedly at a point above the top of the ladies heads. This confrontation took place on Sunday outside the Permanent Joint Headquarters of the British Armed Forces at Northwood near London. Without the high heels and the assumption of the contrapose position the ladies are not showing their rears to the best advantage and would not, I am afraid, make it to the Daily Mail, even on a low B-day. In fact, as we know, they did not.
The picture is curiously reminiscent of three almost identically proportioned ladies in a picture by the famous French between-the-wars photographer Brassai. He captures them at the moment when they are displaying their charms to a just arrived customer of the Parisian brothel in which they work. There are differences, of course. Brassai's ladies are wearing highish heels, their hands are on their hips and the customer's eyeline is not elevated skyward. Nor, one supposes, would Brassai's ladies be capable of uttering anything so profound as "We are here to show solidarity with the troops. We don't want Iraqis to die, but we don't want the troops to either."
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I have already mentioned that I read both the Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail and that the latter newspaper is in the grip of a long standing obsession with the female bottom. Well on Monday, as I opened my Daily Mail, I thought with any luck it would also be an outstanding B-day (bottom-day..Ed.). Almost every day is a B-day of some sort where the Daily Mail is concerned but B-days for its male readers and sub-editors to treasure come only so often. As it turns out, bottom-wise, today's Daily Mail is only so-so. There are two profiles of bottoms of no great interest. In a complete reversal of form the Daily Telegraph - which ordinarily only prints pictures of Renaissance or Impressionist bottoms - had a picture with three bottoms in it. For the Telegraph to out-bottom the Mail is the media equivalent of no-hoper Snow Knight leading the field from start to finish to win the Epsom Derby in 1971. There are probably still a few bookmakers left who pray to this horse's memory.
To appreciate in full the delicious irony of this unlikely occurrence one has to know that the Daily Mail, which regards itself as a quality newspaper for all that it is tabloid in ormat, is the humbug to the Nth power in the matter of pornography. While it feeds its readership with an unrelenting diet of titillation (a policy that has provided it with a circulation about double that of the broadsheet Daily Telegraph) it condemns pornography with a fervour rarely seen since the mad monk Savonarola organised the Bonfire of the Vanities in 1495. It once published an editorial criticising an Archbishop of Canterbury for complaining about barbarous conditions in British prisons when he should be concerning himself with the scandalous availability of porn magazines to prisoners. It also ran the famous Athena poster picture of a girl with her skirt rucked-up and rubbing a tennis ball on her bottom three times in as many months. As often as not such pictures are provided with a headline that includes the word "cheeky".
Today's issue makes up for its bottom deficit with a double page spread featuring no less than 36 (thirty-six) pictures of celebrities and models wearing provocative underwear in styles ranging over the past fifty years. It is a cornucopia of lace and sheer black satin, basques and bras, plunging necklines and navels. The headline is "Thongs ain't what they used to be!"
I can hear my editor asking what this has to do with the war in Iraq. Everything, because the picture in the Daily Telegraph shows three totally naked ladies, a long one, a short one and a tall one, facing away from the camera and towards a phalanx of British bobbies wearing PC Dixon of Dock Green helmets and fluorescent riot jackets. The policemen are clearly discomforted and in every case staring fixedly at a point above the top of the ladies heads. This confrontation took place on Sunday outside the Permanent Joint Headquarters of the British Armed Forces at Northwood near London. Without the high heels and the assumption of the contrapose position the ladies are not showing their rears to the best advantage and would not, I am afraid, make it to the Daily Mail, even on a low B-day. In fact, as we know, they did not.
The picture is curiously reminiscent of three almost identically proportioned ladies in a picture by the famous French between-the-wars photographer Brassai. He captures them at the moment when they are displaying their charms to a just arrived customer of the Parisian brothel in which they work. There are differences, of course. Brassai's ladies are wearing highish heels, their hands are on their hips and the customer's eyeline is not elevated skyward. Nor, one supposes, would Brassai's ladies be capable of uttering anything so profound as "We are here to show solidarity with the troops. We don't want Iraqis to die, but we don't want the troops to either."
Tuesday, April 08, 2003
As expected, Al-Jazeera is now claiming on TV that their slain colleague, Tareq Ayoub, was deliberately targetted by US forces for "daring to speak his mind", and that he was, in effect, killed before he could expose the atrocities that US troops were about to commit.
By all accounts on various news channels, the attack on the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad was unnecessary. It was a hotel full of journalists, and while there were claims of sniper activity from the hotel, none of the journalists who made it alive could confirm anything. As a result, several journalists are now dead.
Apologies to the Iraqi National Congress for sticking my nose in their business, but shouldn't they be planning for the rebuilding of their country's institutions and infrastructure, and restoring the Iraqi people's dignity? Aren't these issues just a wee bit more important than normalizing relations with Israel? Don't they have anything better to do?
I personally don't care whether they normalize relations with Israel or not; it's their prerogative. But surely it won't gain them any currency with the skeptical Iraqi people..or the rest of the Arab world. They'll just be seen as stooges of AIPAC and the neo-conservative cabal, and the US will just confirm every Arab's worst fears.
I personally don't care whether they normalize relations with Israel or not; it's their prerogative. But surely it won't gain them any currency with the skeptical Iraqi people..or the rest of the Arab world. They'll just be seen as stooges of AIPAC and the neo-conservative cabal, and the US will just confirm every Arab's worst fears.
To die, or not to die, for Saddam. That is the question... I wish all the camera-ready morons heading to Iraq, purportedly to fight the invaders, would read this.
Last Sunday's "friendly fire" incident in northern Iraq was one of the worst on record. Anthony Swofford, author of Jarhead, recalls "what it's like to be attacked by your own side".
Why bother with the big news outlets, when you can find heatwarming human interest nuggets with a small-town flavor from places you've never heard of?
I can't remember how I found my way onto the Christian Science Monitor's website, but I actually enjoyed reading their dispatches from Kuwait. They make it all sound so....innocent and dreamy. A refreshing break from death and destruction.
George W. Bush's father's company, the Carlyle Group, is going to be awarded an estimated US$ 1Billion contract to rebuild Iraq in some form or other. Leaving aside the glaring conflict of interest, the bigger and more troubling issue is that the Carlyle group also manages funds for the Bin Laden family.
Is that the Saddam/Bin Laden connection that got the war started in the first place?
Is that the Saddam/Bin Laden connection that got the war started in the first place?
And here again is Kanaan Makiya's lastest journal entry, in which he discusses the future transition of Iraq from a dictatorship to a modern democracy.
Intrepid FOX correspondent Geraldo Rivera has apologized for being such an idiot last week when he drew lines in the sand outlining troop movements.
Didn't he also get thrown out of Afghanistan? Geraldo only cares about Geraldo, and how he became a war correspondent is a mystery. And don't you think that FOX News would be calling for his head if he'd done this working for another network?
Didn't he also get thrown out of Afghanistan? Geraldo only cares about Geraldo, and how he became a war correspondent is a mystery. And don't you think that FOX News would be calling for his head if he'd done this working for another network?
Al-Jazeera now says that one of its journalists has been killed. Their site is down, no doubt overwhelmed by traffic. Much as I hate them, I really didn't want this to happen. I was hoping they'd witness the fall of Saddam and see for themselves how Iraqis would celebrate. Now this unfortunate (and probably unnecessary) death of one of their staff will just have them wailing about it for the next few weeks and calling him a martyr, forgetting that the tyrant is gone.
The World Health Organization expressed its grave concerns over the medical situation in Iraq, fearing it might descend into severe crisis. I wonder if the recently captured Baghdad airport can be used for medical airlifts to transport critical cases elsewhere for treatment.
On Sunday, a severely wounded young Iraqi boy was brought to Kuwait to undergo emergency surgery. I bet nobody heard of that outside Kuwait.. it was on our TV
On Sunday, a severely wounded young Iraqi boy was brought to Kuwait to undergo emergency surgery. I bet nobody heard of that outside Kuwait.. it was on our TV
You need to be registered to the New York Times to read this fascinating column on how China sees this war. Many Chinese who lived through Mao's Cultural Repolution and the massacre at Tiananmen Square, know only too well what life under Saddam can be like and, therefore, fully support the war to depose him. Younger Chinese are more familiar with the US bombing their embassy in Belgrade.
"While the shift to a market economy has improved the lives of millions, political reforms have been put on the back burner. To distract attention from this failure, and to fill the vacuum left by a bankrupt communist ideology, the state has done its best to build nationalist sentiment. It has done a very good job, especially among those under 30. Anti-globalization and anti-Americanism — and thus opposition to an American-led war — are natural byproducts of this campaign. The United States is portrayed as a wealthy bully that will try to beat back China or any country (like Iraq) that dares challenge it"
Sound familiar?
"While the shift to a market economy has improved the lives of millions, political reforms have been put on the back burner. To distract attention from this failure, and to fill the vacuum left by a bankrupt communist ideology, the state has done its best to build nationalist sentiment. It has done a very good job, especially among those under 30. Anti-globalization and anti-Americanism — and thus opposition to an American-led war — are natural byproducts of this campaign. The United States is portrayed as a wealthy bully that will try to beat back China or any country (like Iraq) that dares challenge it"
Sound familiar?
Yesterday, SKY News's correspondent gave a breathless walking tour of one of Saddam's "palaces" in Basra (below left and centre). Aside from the ornate ceilings, I was rather underwhelmed. I was expecting something outrageously garish, even though it was huge and stood out as an insult to the people of Basra, living in complete squalor. It was still totally lacking in taste, but the emptiness sort of ruined it for me. Where was all the ugly furniture?!
In his main Baghdad palace(above right), there were some hints that an interior decorator (albeit a bad one) had set foot inside. "Large bedrooms with hotel-style beds and imitation French baroque furniture lie empty, covered with a film of dust. Almost every room had several televisions"... presumably to watch a sinister mix of porn and torture videos on multiple screens. Charming..
In his main Baghdad palace(above right), there were some hints that an interior decorator (albeit a bad one) had set foot inside. "Large bedrooms with hotel-style beds and imitation French baroque furniture lie empty, covered with a film of dust. Almost every room had several televisions"... presumably to watch a sinister mix of porn and torture videos on multiple screens. Charming..
Reports in from MSNBC say that the US hopes that Saddam and his two sons may have been killed in last night's air strikes...
Hoping isn't good enough for me. I want confirmation!!
Hoping isn't good enough for me. I want confirmation!!
Was Richard Armitage a nightclub bouncer in a previous life? Meanwhile, a Google search came back with this interesting bio.
Two aid workers from Medecins Sans Frontieres have gone missing in Iraq. What kind of a country is it when even aid workers can't be safe?
Monday, April 07, 2003
I just checked with the Shout Out people and it seems that several bloggers have reported this problem. They're working on it.
From our London correspondent. He said he'd try to edit his dispatches but I suppose there's a learning process involved... :-P
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What some in this country (the U.K. Ed.) would regard as the most shocking scene to be shown on television since the beginning of the war was transmitted today by Fox News. The English are well known for their love of animals and have a special soft spot for donkeys. Donkey sanctuaries run by charities attract huge bequests from elderly spinsters, kindness to donkeys coinciding with cruelty to expectant nephews and nieces. Beginning about an hour before the Centcom briefing Fox set up a kind of TV serial comprised of a progression of images of two Iraqi citizens loading-up one of those two wheel donkey carts that are a familiar and attractive feature of the Basra street scene. What appeared to be being loaded was a palace-size fitted wardrobe. Whatever it was, there was a lot of it and every few minutes Fox would return to the scene to show even more cupboards, and doors of cupboards (and may be a his-and-hers dressing table), being piled higher and higher on the cart.
The donkey was a very small one. Fox's point, presumably, was that this was a probable example of looting. You can be sure, however, that the concern of the average English female viewer of a certain age would be exclusively directed to whether so small a donkey could possible pull a cart loaded higher than a standard issue (Iraqi municipalities for the use of) Saddam statue. The only possible alleviating factor that could be envisaged is that one of the two Iraqis would assist the donkey by pushing the cart from the back. There was a break in the Fox donkey coverage for the length of the Centcom briefing. When they returned briefly afterwards the donkey could be seen pulling the cart with one of the Iraqis walking along side supporting one of the items which was projecting outwards by about ten feet and the other walking behind the cart at a distance of several feet.
To be fair, the Donkey seemed to be quite unphased and able to pull the cart without difficulty. But small donkeys pulling carts loaded to the skies are about as acceptable to elderly English ladies as Korean dog soup. My advice, therefor, to anyone wishing to start a business in post war liberated Iraq would be set up a donkey sanctuary funded out of England. And sit back and wait for the legacies.
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What some in this country (the U.K. Ed.) would regard as the most shocking scene to be shown on television since the beginning of the war was transmitted today by Fox News. The English are well known for their love of animals and have a special soft spot for donkeys. Donkey sanctuaries run by charities attract huge bequests from elderly spinsters, kindness to donkeys coinciding with cruelty to expectant nephews and nieces. Beginning about an hour before the Centcom briefing Fox set up a kind of TV serial comprised of a progression of images of two Iraqi citizens loading-up one of those two wheel donkey carts that are a familiar and attractive feature of the Basra street scene. What appeared to be being loaded was a palace-size fitted wardrobe. Whatever it was, there was a lot of it and every few minutes Fox would return to the scene to show even more cupboards, and doors of cupboards (and may be a his-and-hers dressing table), being piled higher and higher on the cart.
The donkey was a very small one. Fox's point, presumably, was that this was a probable example of looting. You can be sure, however, that the concern of the average English female viewer of a certain age would be exclusively directed to whether so small a donkey could possible pull a cart loaded higher than a standard issue (Iraqi municipalities for the use of) Saddam statue. The only possible alleviating factor that could be envisaged is that one of the two Iraqis would assist the donkey by pushing the cart from the back. There was a break in the Fox donkey coverage for the length of the Centcom briefing. When they returned briefly afterwards the donkey could be seen pulling the cart with one of the Iraqis walking along side supporting one of the items which was projecting outwards by about ten feet and the other walking behind the cart at a distance of several feet.
To be fair, the Donkey seemed to be quite unphased and able to pull the cart without difficulty. But small donkeys pulling carts loaded to the skies are about as acceptable to elderly English ladies as Korean dog soup. My advice, therefor, to anyone wishing to start a business in post war liberated Iraq would be set up a donkey sanctuary funded out of England. And sit back and wait for the legacies.
Great minds think alike! More than 2 weeks after posting my Open Letter to Abdel-Bari Atwan, a similar screed appears in Arabic in today's Al-Qabas, courtesy of my cousin Hassan Al-Essa... I doubt he's seen my Blog, so we must be on the same wavelength!
To all the pundits and talking heads on all the Arab news channels, glorifying the alleged Iraqi suicide bombers carrying out attacks on the "invaders": Did any of you seriously believe that they willingly carried out these attacks to martyr themselves for Saddam Hussein?
Here's the story of a suicide bomber from Basra who surrendered before carrying out his "mission". Note how he doesn't fit the profile of the typical suicide bomber, i.e. young, stupid and full of rage. He was a lonely old man, dragged out of his house and threatened with murder if he didn't follow orders to blow himself up next to British troops.
This regime is capable of evil way beyond the wildest of imaginations.
Here's the story of a suicide bomber from Basra who surrendered before carrying out his "mission". Note how he doesn't fit the profile of the typical suicide bomber, i.e. young, stupid and full of rage. He was a lonely old man, dragged out of his house and threatened with murder if he didn't follow orders to blow himself up next to British troops.
This regime is capable of evil way beyond the wildest of imaginations.
What the hell is this man doing here in Kuwait?! And if the Bush administration can choose a war criminal to rule Iraq after Saddam, then what was the point of this war in the first place?!
Saddam's Minister of Information, Mohamed Saeed Al-Sahaf is strangely becoming a folk figure here in Kuwait. People are glued to their TV sets, waiting to see what outrageous stories he'll come up with and have developed a strange affection for him. He looks more terrified as the end of Saddam draws near, yet he soldiers on with his hysterical press conferences. It's pure black comedy!
I suspect he doesn't believe a word he's saying anymore than we do and is probably up at the podium with a rifle aimed at his head from behind the scenes. One of the big fat microphones in front of him looks set to explode in his face if he strays from the script. This is one official whom I truly wish could survive this war, for no other reason than just to hear what he has to say when it's all over.
I suspect he doesn't believe a word he's saying anymore than we do and is probably up at the podium with a rifle aimed at his head from behind the scenes. One of the big fat microphones in front of him looks set to explode in his face if he strays from the script. This is one official whom I truly wish could survive this war, for no other reason than just to hear what he has to say when it's all over.
And more (edited) from our London correspondent. Not sure how old he is; he claims to have fought in WW2, or at least witnessed it.
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The Times of London, Thunderer so-called and now in the same stable as Fox and Sky (Augean stable some would say) is reported to be running a front page story about a high ranking Iraqi General who defected a few days ago and is spilling the beans big time. In return the General is going to be offered a new identity and asylum in Britain, says the Times, says Sky who carried the news in its review of tomorrow (Monday's) newspapers. I do not read the Times so I shall not know any more than what I have said above but I gathered from the Sky piece that, in any case, the article is all about the asylum arrangements (a hot topic in these parts) and not about what information the General is giving.
This poses an interesting question which I have been pondering now for almost since the war started. Surely any interrogator's first question to any captured co-operating prisoner would be: Tell us what plans there are for chemical or bio warfare? And, this being the case, why is not the first question put by a journalist at the Centcom briefings: Have any of the captured military personnel confirmed that Iraq has such weapons of mass destruction?
I do not believe that American intelligence is as cack-handed as they would have us believe. It is more a question of news management with them. If you can read, as they tell us, a license plate from a satellite it is a reasonable supposition that they have been watching license plates moving around Baghdad (and probably everywhere else in the world including London) for a long time and (and no one has ever said this, so far as I know) recorded every number plate on tape and logged it on computer. The moment the number plate features in an incident they look back through their tapes and computer records to see where it has been previously and - Bingo - out of the sky comes a Hell Fire missile with your name on it!
Similarly, how can American Intelligence not know all about Saddam's bunkers? Even if the bunkers were built by a slave army, kept underground and then put to death when they had finished their work, you still have to cart off the spoil. Further more, bunkers and tunnels have to have ventilation systems that are vulnerable to dynamite, tear gas, etc. So what is the problem? Could any reader who has, or knows someone who has a seat at Sitcom please get these questions asked.
According to the author of a book about Saddam interviewed on Fox this evening, by the way, George Galloway (the UK member of parliament who some want to see tried for treason) said after meeting Saddam in his bunker that it was so deep his ears popped. It is always possible, of course, that the American intelligence is as cack-handed as it appears. If so there is no hope for the world and I am glad that I am due to be pushed off the end of the shelf sooner rather than later. I would be sorry for you younger folk, however.
Finally, a piece of trivia: Did you notice that the one American tank which was destroyed on the famous jolly through Baghdad had the word "Cojone" written along the barrel of its gun? "Cojone" is Spanish for testicles. The Greeks would have called this hubris. There are other cultures that would have seen it as inviting the attention of the Evil Eye.
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The Times of London, Thunderer so-called and now in the same stable as Fox and Sky (Augean stable some would say) is reported to be running a front page story about a high ranking Iraqi General who defected a few days ago and is spilling the beans big time. In return the General is going to be offered a new identity and asylum in Britain, says the Times, says Sky who carried the news in its review of tomorrow (Monday's) newspapers. I do not read the Times so I shall not know any more than what I have said above but I gathered from the Sky piece that, in any case, the article is all about the asylum arrangements (a hot topic in these parts) and not about what information the General is giving.
This poses an interesting question which I have been pondering now for almost since the war started. Surely any interrogator's first question to any captured co-operating prisoner would be: Tell us what plans there are for chemical or bio warfare? And, this being the case, why is not the first question put by a journalist at the Centcom briefings: Have any of the captured military personnel confirmed that Iraq has such weapons of mass destruction?
I do not believe that American intelligence is as cack-handed as they would have us believe. It is more a question of news management with them. If you can read, as they tell us, a license plate from a satellite it is a reasonable supposition that they have been watching license plates moving around Baghdad (and probably everywhere else in the world including London) for a long time and (and no one has ever said this, so far as I know) recorded every number plate on tape and logged it on computer. The moment the number plate features in an incident they look back through their tapes and computer records to see where it has been previously and - Bingo - out of the sky comes a Hell Fire missile with your name on it!
Similarly, how can American Intelligence not know all about Saddam's bunkers? Even if the bunkers were built by a slave army, kept underground and then put to death when they had finished their work, you still have to cart off the spoil. Further more, bunkers and tunnels have to have ventilation systems that are vulnerable to dynamite, tear gas, etc. So what is the problem? Could any reader who has, or knows someone who has a seat at Sitcom please get these questions asked.
According to the author of a book about Saddam interviewed on Fox this evening, by the way, George Galloway (the UK member of parliament who some want to see tried for treason) said after meeting Saddam in his bunker that it was so deep his ears popped. It is always possible, of course, that the American intelligence is as cack-handed as it appears. If so there is no hope for the world and I am glad that I am due to be pushed off the end of the shelf sooner rather than later. I would be sorry for you younger folk, however.
Finally, a piece of trivia: Did you notice that the one American tank which was destroyed on the famous jolly through Baghdad had the word "Cojone" written along the barrel of its gun? "Cojone" is Spanish for testicles. The Greeks would have called this hubris. There are other cultures that would have seen it as inviting the attention of the Evil Eye.
On TV it looks like US forces are smack in the middle of downtown Baghdad, and it looks like they've seized the Al-Rasheed Hotel. I've only been to Baghdad once, in 1979, and I can't remember where we stayed, which is strange since I can tell you where we stayed in Lebanon in 1970. Anyway, I was there just 2 months before Saddam took complete control of Iraq and purged the ranks of the Baath party for treason in that infamous session at the national assembly - caught on video for posterity. And no, I wasn't there to plot the coup!
How many civilians have been killed so far in this conflict? As truth is the first casualty of war, we won't know the exact number for a while. And I'm certainly not inclined to believe Iraqi TV or CNN or even CENTCOM, so I'll wait for figures from the Red Crescent and the Red Cross. So far, unofficial figures stand at 1,252 dead and more than 5,000 injured.
Meanwhile, over 1,000 people were slaughtered in the "Democratic" Republic of Congo just this past weekend. Did anyone notice or care?
Meanwhile, over 1,000 people were slaughtered in the "Democratic" Republic of Congo just this past weekend. Did anyone notice or care?
And another one:
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Does the Iraqi Minister of Information actually make the stuff up? Or is he being fed it by other people and actually believes it himself? If the former he is a better actor than the bit part player who pretended to be Saddam Hussein in his walk about. Did anyone notice, by the by, the characters in the crowd waving kalashnikovs? What about this story that no one is allowed to carry a personal firearm in Saddam's presence? The only doubt that I have that the thing was a total set-up comes from the little old man who runs up, stamps his foot to attention, Prussian style, and then salutes. I ask myself whether anyone could have invented that and it troubles me. Otherwise it reminds me of the "Springtime for Hitler" number from The Producers. I bet there are people in Hollywood who are already trying to option the Minister of Information.
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Does the Iraqi Minister of Information actually make the stuff up? Or is he being fed it by other people and actually believes it himself? If the former he is a better actor than the bit part player who pretended to be Saddam Hussein in his walk about. Did anyone notice, by the by, the characters in the crowd waving kalashnikovs? What about this story that no one is allowed to carry a personal firearm in Saddam's presence? The only doubt that I have that the thing was a total set-up comes from the little old man who runs up, stamps his foot to attention, Prussian style, and then salutes. I ask myself whether anyone could have invented that and it troubles me. Otherwise it reminds me of the "Springtime for Hitler" number from The Producers. I bet there are people in Hollywood who are already trying to option the Minister of Information.
None of you bothered to vote for or against adding my "wannabe" correspondent from London, so guess what? I'm adding him anyway. Here's his first dispatch:
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It now appears that the mortuary story is not a sign of past atrocities but just plain thoughtless incompetence by the Iraqi authorities in not promptly repatriating remains ex the war with Iran. It never seemed very likely that they would carefully place bones of executed victims in coffins, and where there was not much to place, in bags in coffins. This would have been a first in the catalogue of man's inhumanity to man. That there will be evidence in abundance of atrocities I do not doubt. I am just hoping that the incoming administration will ensure that journalists, spiritual leaders, politicians, et al, from the Arab world, France, Germany and the anti-war factions are put in the position that they have to tour the prisons and other sites - a la Belsen and Buchenwald when Germany fell - or shut up. I shall also be interested to see how al-Jazeera handles pictures of cheering crowds mobbing British and American soldiers on their entry into Iraq cities, if and when it happens.
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It now appears that the mortuary story is not a sign of past atrocities but just plain thoughtless incompetence by the Iraqi authorities in not promptly repatriating remains ex the war with Iran. It never seemed very likely that they would carefully place bones of executed victims in coffins, and where there was not much to place, in bags in coffins. This would have been a first in the catalogue of man's inhumanity to man. That there will be evidence in abundance of atrocities I do not doubt. I am just hoping that the incoming administration will ensure that journalists, spiritual leaders, politicians, et al, from the Arab world, France, Germany and the anti-war factions are put in the position that they have to tour the prisons and other sites - a la Belsen and Buchenwald when Germany fell - or shut up. I shall also be interested to see how al-Jazeera handles pictures of cheering crowds mobbing British and American soldiers on their entry into Iraq cities, if and when it happens.
I received this hilarious email today from an armchair war correspondent (like me) in London who would like to join in the fun. Please read it and let me know if I should add him as a contributor. My brother Tareq has also joined my blog, so expect postings him very soon.
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Do you have a vacancy for an honorary London Correspondent?
I live in London, UK. I have put my normal life on hold "for the duration" (as we used to say in the second world war) to follow the Iraq war on satellite television. My belief is that this is the opportunity in my life time to take a place on the grandstand of history, so to speak, and I do not want to let it pass. I am watching the TV almost 24/7 and there are many curiosities that are worth recording.
I watch the TV with the remote control in my hand and flip from channel to channel to avoid commercial breaks, repetitions, boring pundits who could not have been that great in the military if they retired with the rank of Major, and to stay with briefings when the channel on which I am watching moves on (generally so that they can hear the sound of their own voices) and thereby misses the tail end question which can sometimes be the most revealing.
On satellite I can get (in order of click) a Chinese English Language station CCTV-9, Fox News, EuroNews, ITV News, CNN, CNBC, UK Parliament, BBC News 24 and Sky News. Also the terrestrial stations BBC 1 and 2, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5. I mainly stay with the satellite channels - with a slight preference for Fox because it is so gross.
The Chinese English Language station only very occasionally has anything of interest but is easy to keep an eye on because it is only one click on the remote from Fox. After Fox comes EuroNews, a European news station. I do not know who is behind it or finances it, but it is clearly pro French and German and anti USA and UK. Probably it is for this reason that it was the only channel to carry the Iraqi Minister of Information Saeed al Sahaf's briefing this afternoon and they left it early to go over the Centcom briefing which clashed. I regard the Iraq briefing as a daily treat. ITV satellite suffers from lack of financing and shows it. CNN is a shadow of its former self and the European version is loaded with Asian and African content, BBC is obscenely anti American and anti war and if I was in public life I would campaign for the entire production and front of the camera staff to be interned. Channel 4's seven o'clock evening news presenter Jon Snow, likewise.
Sky shares exclusives with Fox (same company) but often does its own thing, has a brilliant pundit called Francis Tusa, and along with Fox frequently scoops the poor old BBC, et al. I would be glad to email you with a blow by blow commentary for you to upload as you think fit. Let me know it this idea appeals to you and if you need any personal details. I found out about your web site via the article in the Daily Telegraph. I read the Daily Telegraph and Daily Mail. The latter has a long standing complex centred on the female bottom and can be relied upon to regularly provide light relief subject to the sensibilities of your regular readers. I frequently visit the Drudge Report.
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End of email... So what do you think? He's already sent me his first dispatch. Should I add him to the team?
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Do you have a vacancy for an honorary London Correspondent?
I live in London, UK. I have put my normal life on hold "for the duration" (as we used to say in the second world war) to follow the Iraq war on satellite television. My belief is that this is the opportunity in my life time to take a place on the grandstand of history, so to speak, and I do not want to let it pass. I am watching the TV almost 24/7 and there are many curiosities that are worth recording.
I watch the TV with the remote control in my hand and flip from channel to channel to avoid commercial breaks, repetitions, boring pundits who could not have been that great in the military if they retired with the rank of Major, and to stay with briefings when the channel on which I am watching moves on (generally so that they can hear the sound of their own voices) and thereby misses the tail end question which can sometimes be the most revealing.
On satellite I can get (in order of click) a Chinese English Language station CCTV-9, Fox News, EuroNews, ITV News, CNN, CNBC, UK Parliament, BBC News 24 and Sky News. Also the terrestrial stations BBC 1 and 2, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5. I mainly stay with the satellite channels - with a slight preference for Fox because it is so gross.
The Chinese English Language station only very occasionally has anything of interest but is easy to keep an eye on because it is only one click on the remote from Fox. After Fox comes EuroNews, a European news station. I do not know who is behind it or finances it, but it is clearly pro French and German and anti USA and UK. Probably it is for this reason that it was the only channel to carry the Iraqi Minister of Information Saeed al Sahaf's briefing this afternoon and they left it early to go over the Centcom briefing which clashed. I regard the Iraq briefing as a daily treat. ITV satellite suffers from lack of financing and shows it. CNN is a shadow of its former self and the European version is loaded with Asian and African content, BBC is obscenely anti American and anti war and if I was in public life I would campaign for the entire production and front of the camera staff to be interned. Channel 4's seven o'clock evening news presenter Jon Snow, likewise.
Sky shares exclusives with Fox (same company) but often does its own thing, has a brilliant pundit called Francis Tusa, and along with Fox frequently scoops the poor old BBC, et al. I would be glad to email you with a blow by blow commentary for you to upload as you think fit. Let me know it this idea appeals to you and if you need any personal details. I found out about your web site via the article in the Daily Telegraph. I read the Daily Telegraph and Daily Mail. The latter has a long standing complex centred on the female bottom and can be relied upon to regularly provide light relief subject to the sensibilities of your regular readers. I frequently visit the Drudge Report.
============
End of email... So what do you think? He's already sent me his first dispatch. Should I add him to the team?
Comedy Break: Switch off your TV and watch Between Iraq and a Hard Place. If you're a fan of outrageous British comedy, then you'll be familiar with its star, Rory Bremner, one of the best comedians/impersonators around. It's a whole show, almost 50 minutes long and you'll need Windows Media Player to see it.
I was sad and upset to hear of the untimely death of NBC correspondent David Bloom in northern Iraq. At first I thought he was a victim of shooting or friendly fire; I later learned that he died of an apparent pulmonary embolism (not sure what that is).
David Bloom was a familiar face long before this war was even imagined. I used to catch him on weekend editions of NBC's Today Show, and was always taken by his genuine enthusiasm - unlike many anchors who shall remain nameless. May he rest in peace.
David Bloom was a familiar face long before this war was even imagined. I used to catch him on weekend editions of NBC's Today Show, and was always taken by his genuine enthusiasm - unlike many anchors who shall remain nameless. May he rest in peace.
Sunday, April 06, 2003
Last week, London's Daily Telegraph interviewed yours truly about this blog, and the interview appeared in the print edition on Wednesday April 2nd. I would've mentioned it sooner - and linked to the article - had it appeared on their website. To date it hasn't gone up, which I find a bit strange. You'd think an Internet-related article would sooner appear on their website than in print..... Anyway, I'm happy with the actual interview, never having done this sort of thing before. I wasn't too thrilled with my picture though, but why quibble? Exposure is good, I guess..
Stop American cultural imperialism now!! Just joking..... Here's Lance Corporal Alex Rivera a.k.a. the Rapping Marine entertaining a few Iraqi children... Very sweet of him, but he should keep his day job ;-)
Look to your left on the orange sidebar. I've added a rating system so you can let me know what you think of my Blog. Click on any of the little coloured squares to express your opinion. Green is best, Red is worst.
Not that I really care or want anyone's approval... it's just another free gimmick I found ;-)
Not that I really care or want anyone's approval... it's just another free gimmick I found ;-)
Can Chemical Ali really be dead? One can only hope, and millions of Kurds and Iraqis will be celebrating his death and maybe even commemorating it for generations to come, although it will pale next to news of Saddam's death - and lets hope that happens soon!
In a brave about-face, Egypt's leading Muslim cleric, Sheikh Mohammed Tantawi has come out against Saddam Hussein and blames him for the unnecessary bloodshed in Iraq, which could've been averted if he had just gone into exile. He even went as far as to call Saddam's wars against Iran and Kuwait "terrorism". He is still very critical of the US-led war but I wish he had urged young outraged Muslims not to go fight for Saddam, or at least not to offer their lives as martyrs for him. The Iraqi people need more protection from Saddam's thugs than the coalition.
If there's one thing I'm really looking forward to after this war is over and Saddam is destroyed, it's the silencing of one Abdel-Bari Atwan. Here he claims that Bush's major achievement in this war is the elevation of Saddam Hussein from villain to folk hero across the Arab world. While that may indeed be true, nowhere in this article does he admit to his own contributions to this elevation and his screaming tirades on Al-Jazeera, in defense of this most reprehensible of regimes. Wasn't it Atwan himself who called the sandstorms "divine intervention" a couple of weeks ago?
As I read more about the terrible discovery of the human remains in an abandoned base near Basra, my heart sank at one thought: Could these possibly be the remains of Kuwaitis abducted by Saddam's forces during the occupation? I pray to God that they are not.
Saturday, April 05, 2003
In the other battle raging on Capitol Hill, I'm relieved that Congress backed Colin Powell over Donald Rumsfeld by voting to shift money for postwar reconstruction of Iraq from the Pentagon to the State Department. Rumsfeld had wanted $30 billion set aside for the Pentagon that would be exempt from congressional oversight. Luckily, it was voted down.
I wonder if Rumsfeld's arrogance had anything to do with it.
I wonder if Rumsfeld's arrogance had anything to do with it.
And while the battle rages on in Iraq, putting innocent Iraqis as well the young men and women of the coalition in harm's way, another conflict - The Battle of the Think Tanks takes place up and down Washington DC, fought by blowhards of all ideological stripes sitting in their conference rooms and pontificating on the future of Iraq with absolutely no idea what they're talking about.
Gruesome findings in southern Iraq. British troops have found thousands of human remains in a makeshift morgue at an abandoned military base near Basra.
It's not clear how long these bodies have been there, but it looks like they were all executed by republican guards
It's not clear how long these bodies have been there, but it looks like they were all executed by republican guards
Even the vehemently anti-war Independent, had to be shocked at their correspondent's visit to a Fedayeen camp in Nassiriya. Read this terrifying account of a place that was "indicative of the way President Saddam has used these militia – officially under the control of his son Uday – to maintain his grip over the people of Iraq".
He may scold the press like a cranky old uncle who just kicked a life-long cigarette habit, but Donald Rumsfeld is also a poet. Who knew?
Here's a story full of hope and optimism. Zainab Al-Suwaij witnessed the 1991 uprising in Karbala and ,for a few days, tasted freedom in Iraq. That uprising was, of course, crushed and she escaped with her family to Jordan and then eventually settled in the US. Zainab was also briefly present in Kuwait during the occupation and witnessed the brutality and looting firsthand.
On Friday, she was among a group of Iraqi exiles who met with President Bush - though I wonder if he should have met with them much earlier - and she looks forward to seeing Iraq free from Saddam's evil grip.
On Friday, she was among a group of Iraqi exiles who met with President Bush - though I wonder if he should have met with them much earlier - and she looks forward to seeing Iraq free from Saddam's evil grip.
After capturing the airport and renaming it Baghdad International Airport (take that, Saddam!), US ground troops are making their way into the center Baghdad amid fears that Saddam's thugs may force innocent civilians to stand as human shields in the face of incoming troops. Could this be Saddam's Last Stand? I shudder to think that he might unleash his chemical weapons on Baghdad. The coalition is well-prepared but the civilian population will perish just like the Kurds did in Halabja... not that he cares.
Comedy Break: The CIA announced Monday that it suspects Saddam Hussein's latest televised address was pre-recorded, pointing to its suspiciously dated reference to Nelly's "Hot In Herre," a rap hit from the summer of 2002.
"For the enemy invaders of Iraq, it soon will get truly hot in here," Hussein said in the speech, which was televised worldwide.
"For the enemy invaders of Iraq, it soon will get truly hot in here," Hussein said in the speech, which was televised worldwide.
I'm actually more touched and inspired by the real hero of the Jessica Lynch story, the young Iraqi lawyer who put his life on the line getting help to rescue her. He couldn't bear to see her being beaten and slapped around by Saddam's goons, and guided the rescue team to her location using maps that he and his wife drew by hand.
I haven't seen anything yet, but I bet Al-Jazeera is calling him a sell-out or a traitor.
I haven't seen anything yet, but I bet Al-Jazeera is calling him a sell-out or a traitor.
I love it when I'm right! Just as I - and the rest of the free world - predicted, Hollywood is already buzzing over movie rights to the Jessica Lynch story. All the ingredients are there: Small-town girl from West Virginia, a brave fight against the enemy, the young Iraqi lawyer who risked everything, a spectacular rescue.
Let the casting calls begin!
Let the casting calls begin!
US forces found 'suspect vials' with some unidentified white powder. Could this be Uday Hussein's cocaine stash? Think about it.. vials, white powder... no wonder he's so paranoid!!
What the hell was that tape we just saw? I, for one, am not convinced that was the real Saddam Hussein. For example, he was smiling too much and being way too jolly and slap-happy. As much as the foolish Arab media are trumpeting this little walking tour as a defiant stand against the US, I wish they'd realize that he's really sending a message to the Iraqi people: "I ain't dead yet, so don't try anything funny!".
Why on earth didn't a bomb just drop on him and end this war?
Why on earth didn't a bomb just drop on him and end this war?
Friday, April 04, 2003
Taking a break from war, is this the right forum to declare my undying love/fanhood for Turin Brakes? Their first album "The Optimist" saw me through the dark days after September 11, and now their new one "Ether Song" is keeping me company during this war.
I wonder how France will react to this report that the funds earmarked for financing reconstruction of Iraq is 'for allies only'. It does seem a bit petty and France will no doubt raise a stink, as only France can. But the burning question is..... Where's Kuwait in all this?!
US forces say that they're in control of most of Baghdad's international airport, as they edge closer to the city. Many Iraqis have gone on record (outside Iraq of course) to express their fear that Saddam Hussein might do more to increase civilian casualties than the coalition. In an epic "last stand" he may unleash his whole arsenal against the helpless population and make it look that the coalition was responsible. Don't put it past him..
"The War Americans Don't See" is an excellent editorial that appears in today's New York Times, written by Rami Khouri of Lebanon's Daily Star. Since you need to be a registered user to read it, I've taken the liberty of putting it here for your reading pleasure. The closing paragraph is the most powerful.
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The Arab press — like Arab public opinion as a whole — predominantly opposes the British and American attack on Iraq, and does not hesitate to say so in its front page headlines, articles and photographs. Yet the press is neither monolithic nor uniformly anti-American.
The samples, from front pages this week in the Arabic-language (and in Algeria's case, French-language) press, demonstrate that the United States and the Arab world do see a different war unfolding. But the front pages of leading newspapers in and around the Arab world include both American and Iraqi perspectives, and feature dramatic photographs that show United States forces as both aggressors and humanitarians. One recent front page photo even showed an Iraqi civilian pouring tea for an American soldier.
More common, though, are images of dead and maimed Iraqi children, parents wailing over the coffins of relatives killed by American bombings, extensive damage of Iraqi civilian buildings and Iraqi civilians being humiliated by American and British troops. Sometimes, an image that would get an innocuous description in an American newspaper is given a more sinister interpretation in the Arab press.
Coverage tends to mirror ideology. The quality regional press like Asharq al Awsat and Al Hayat, edited in London and printed throughout the Middle East, are the most balanced. More ideological papers with narrow readerships reflect the sentiments of their financial backers and tend to cater to the nationalistic, political and emotional views of their audiences.
The tone of opinion columns and editorials is heavily anti-American. Only occasionally do Arab writers, like Ghassan Tueini in Beirut's An Nahar, call for the end of Saddam Hussein and his regime ( and that is coupled with a rejection of American occupation). That view cuts against the grain of widespread anti-American sentiments that dominate Arab public opinion, except in Kuwait, where support for Iraqi regime change is high.
Like their audience, the Arab world's newspapers are angry, nuanced, multifaceted, passionate and argumentative. The complexity of imagery reflects several trends. Arab and Western satellite television, FM radio and the Internet have vastly expanded the range of news and views available to the average Arab. Any credible newspaper that hopes to compete with these comprehensive sources of information must provide more complete and balanced fare, or it will quickly be discredited as biased and unreliable. Arabs are increasingly tired of being lied to and presented with only half of reality, and their press is starting to reflect this.
The press also is starting to reflect fast-changing Arab attitudes, as more and more people in this region criticize both American military attacks and the tradition of autocratic Arab regimes that have caused so much waste and destruction in modern times. One antidote to the cumulative catastrophes that have plagued the modern Arab world is truth and intellectual balance, and the press is also beginning to reflect this important demand as well.
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The Arab press — like Arab public opinion as a whole — predominantly opposes the British and American attack on Iraq, and does not hesitate to say so in its front page headlines, articles and photographs. Yet the press is neither monolithic nor uniformly anti-American.
The samples, from front pages this week in the Arabic-language (and in Algeria's case, French-language) press, demonstrate that the United States and the Arab world do see a different war unfolding. But the front pages of leading newspapers in and around the Arab world include both American and Iraqi perspectives, and feature dramatic photographs that show United States forces as both aggressors and humanitarians. One recent front page photo even showed an Iraqi civilian pouring tea for an American soldier.
More common, though, are images of dead and maimed Iraqi children, parents wailing over the coffins of relatives killed by American bombings, extensive damage of Iraqi civilian buildings and Iraqi civilians being humiliated by American and British troops. Sometimes, an image that would get an innocuous description in an American newspaper is given a more sinister interpretation in the Arab press.
Coverage tends to mirror ideology. The quality regional press like Asharq al Awsat and Al Hayat, edited in London and printed throughout the Middle East, are the most balanced. More ideological papers with narrow readerships reflect the sentiments of their financial backers and tend to cater to the nationalistic, political and emotional views of their audiences.
The tone of opinion columns and editorials is heavily anti-American. Only occasionally do Arab writers, like Ghassan Tueini in Beirut's An Nahar, call for the end of Saddam Hussein and his regime ( and that is coupled with a rejection of American occupation). That view cuts against the grain of widespread anti-American sentiments that dominate Arab public opinion, except in Kuwait, where support for Iraqi regime change is high.
Like their audience, the Arab world's newspapers are angry, nuanced, multifaceted, passionate and argumentative. The complexity of imagery reflects several trends. Arab and Western satellite television, FM radio and the Internet have vastly expanded the range of news and views available to the average Arab. Any credible newspaper that hopes to compete with these comprehensive sources of information must provide more complete and balanced fare, or it will quickly be discredited as biased and unreliable. Arabs are increasingly tired of being lied to and presented with only half of reality, and their press is starting to reflect this.
The press also is starting to reflect fast-changing Arab attitudes, as more and more people in this region criticize both American military attacks and the tradition of autocratic Arab regimes that have caused so much waste and destruction in modern times. One antidote to the cumulative catastrophes that have plagued the modern Arab world is truth and intellectual balance, and the press is also beginning to reflect this important demand as well.
Here's Kanaan Makiya's journal entry from yesterday. I love his optimism in the face of such horror, it keeps me going. And he tells the tale of young Iraqis who feel left out of the war to liberate their country, and are heading to Iraq now. What a refreshing thing to read! This is what I expected Iraqis to do, rather than the idiots in Jordan who went in to defend the regime that drove them out.... unless it was just for the cameras.... who knows anymore?
Makiya ended with this rather troubling statement: "Meanwhile, the body known as the Iraqi Interim Authority has not yet been designed, even though no one knows how close or how distant we are from regime change. Jay Garner's reconstruction team is gathered at a Kuwaiti beachside hotel creating spreadsheets of reformed government ministries while the Iraqi opposition is in limbo in the mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan. Misunderstanding and confusion are the order of the day."
Makiya ended with this rather troubling statement: "Meanwhile, the body known as the Iraqi Interim Authority has not yet been designed, even though no one knows how close or how distant we are from regime change. Jay Garner's reconstruction team is gathered at a Kuwaiti beachside hotel creating spreadsheets of reformed government ministries while the Iraqi opposition is in limbo in the mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan. Misunderstanding and confusion are the order of the day."
Thursday, April 03, 2003
Since today's postings have already taken a turn toward the tasteless.... I might as well show you this sick parody of American Idol. It defies description.
Hey everybody! You can watch a bootleg of Madonna's anti-war video for American Life right here. Discuss amongst yourselves whether she should have pulled it off the air or not.
The link worked from home. Let me know if you face any trouble. (Requires Real Player)
The link worked from home. Let me know if you face any trouble. (Requires Real Player)
You know you're famous when you start turning up in gossip columns; in this case Kuwait itself is the "subject". Some of the seedier gossip websites claim that sex-starved male war reporters in Kuwait City are getting their only "relief" by watching the lingerie segments on Fashion TV!
I had to laugh....
I had to laugh....
Wednesday, April 02, 2003
And on the retail front... sales at most retailers in Kuwait are down by at least 40%. People's nervousness about the war is taking its toll on the retail sector, even though now would probably be the best time to go on a shopping spree and enjoy all the discounts designed to lure shoppers back to the stores. The strange thing is that the general "hanging around" at crowded shopping malls hasn't been greatly affected by the war, even after the SCUD missle slammed into the Souk Sharq mall last week. The outstanding weather this week must have something to do with it.
On the other hand, the Kuwait Stock Exchange is booming... as was Baghdad's before the war!
On the other hand, the Kuwait Stock Exchange is booming... as was Baghdad's before the war!
In other war/fashion news, our friend Majed Al-Sabah reports that a major shipment of merchandise from Prada destined for his Villa Moda retail complex here in Kuwait — some 300 boxes of shoes, handbags and clothes — were mistakenly collected from the Kuwait City airport by the U.S. Army. The goods were then taken to its warehouses north of the city in Camp Doha, which supplies troops with equipment, food and other necessities. Army officials identified the errant Prada shipment on Sunday and were rerouting it to Villa Moda on Monday.
The shipment did not include Prada gas-masks ;-)
The shipment did not include Prada gas-masks ;-)
It turns out that Pentagon spokeswoman Victoria Clarke is colour-blind...no, really....I'm not making fun of her! Well, I am.. but not of her colour-blindness. If you've ever felt your eyes being assaulted by the glare of her brightly coloured outfits, now you know why.
Is George W. Bush un-American? Americans may agree or disagree, but this article claims that the war on Iraq does an injustice to the glorious history of the United States and represents a break from everything America used to stand for and believe in. Alright, it's in the left-leaning Guardian - but read it anyway. It's an order!
It looks like the "Battle of Baghdad" is ready to start any minute. Karbala looks like it's been captured and a bridge on the Tigris river east of Baghdad has been captured. It's the beginning of the end, as some marines see it.
I wonder if Saddam's no-show last night means that he's been killed. What happens if word gets out or if a last minute announcement is made?
I wonder if Saddam's no-show last night means that he's been killed. What happens if word gets out or if a last minute announcement is made?
For pure black comedy in this time of war, nothing beats watching the press conferences held by Saddam's officials. The glint in their eyes belies the sheer terror that they must be feeling as they drift away from any common sense. Last night's stand-up routine was a last minute replacement by Taha Yaseen for the no-show Saddam, and it was the usual hysterical rant directed at Kuwait but this time the gloves came off for Saudi Arabia as well. This was in response to Saudi Arabia's foreign minister Saud Al-Faisal calling on Saddam Hussein to sacrifice himself for Iraq, since he's been asking the people of Iraq to do the same. Taha Yaseen went ballistic and said that the Saudi minister had no right to call on Saddam to leave! Saddam is the symbol of Iraq and the Arab nation.... blah, blah, blah...yadda, yadda, yadda.
Madonna has withdrawn her anti-war video for her new single "American Life" just a few days before its scheduled premiere. It was apparently filmed before war broke out and she now feels it to be inappropriate, even after re-editing it last week to tone it down. In its controversial ending, which we'll just have to read about for now, she hurls a grenade at a Bush lookalike who then flips its top to light up a cigar. In her statement she says "Due to the volatile state of the world and out of sensitivity and respect to the armed forces, who I support and pray for, I do not want to risk offending anyone who might misinterpret the meaning of this video".
I wonder if she just chickened out after what happened to the Dixie Chicks. And what's with the Patty Hearst getup?
I wonder if she just chickened out after what happened to the Dixie Chicks. And what's with the Patty Hearst getup?
I've stopped being shocked by the relentless bombing of Baghdad. I think I've been numbed by overexposure, to the point where I can't even remember the last report I saw. It's all a blur... When the bombing first started I couldn't bear to watch it; I kept imagining myself living in Baghdad and cowering in fear under some desk while my house fell to pieces all around me.
How horrific it must be for the innocent residents of Baghdad; they've been through so much. Saddam's rule, two wars, sanctions, and now this.. I just pray it will be over very soon
How horrific it must be for the innocent residents of Baghdad; they've been through so much. Saddam's rule, two wars, sanctions, and now this.. I just pray it will be over very soon
All day yesterday, I avoided discussing the shooting of those poor women and childen at the checkpoint in Najaf because it was just too painful. Their death was tragic and senseless.
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I understand how nervous the soldiers at that checkpoint must have been, after a suicide attack had killed 4 of their comrades in the same spot, but it seems that a warning shot in the air could have averted a human tragedy.
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I understand how nervous the soldiers at that checkpoint must have been, after a suicide attack had killed 4 of their comrades in the same spot, but it seems that a warning shot in the air could have averted a human tragedy.
It seems that secret plans are afoot to impose a new regime on Iraq made up of 23 ministries, each headed by an American plus 4 Iraqi advisers. Way to go America! That'll get all your friends back on your side!
Can you imagine American ministers running things in a country where they don't speak the language? I'm not advocating violence here, but I do feel that the 23 ministers will likely be bumped off one by one!
Can you imagine American ministers running things in a country where they don't speak the language? I'm not advocating violence here, but I do feel that the 23 ministers will likely be bumped off one by one!
Tuesday, April 01, 2003
Check out the IRAQ-O-METER to see how the war is going. The numbers are frightening and distressing.
Al-Sharq Al-Awsat has an amazing editorial slamming the Arab media coverage of this war and calling it worse than the coverage of the 6-day war in 1967, in which it was falsely reported that tens of Israeli war planes were destroyed. He takes the Arab media to task for ignoring the Iraqi opposition and for acting, in effect, as Saddam's mouthpiece and a willing combatant in his own "psy-ops" propaganda war against the world.
Who said our press was too pro-American? Today's Al-Qabas has a tough article questioning the wisdom of appointing pro-Israel Jay Garner to administer Iraq after Saddam's ouster. It's translated from a dispatch by one Nathan Goodman in Jerusalem. Does anyone know who he is? I couldn't find anything.
To my Blog friends at QHATE.com (God, I'm really trying to like that name...and failing!): Your old design/template was much nicer.... and John Vause was spotted at Marina Mall last night with Becky Anderson.
OK.. no verification necessary. It's all true!. What in the world can they be thinking? Sometimes I wonder if Bush sits in his office every morning (after Bible study) and tries to come up with new ways to piss off the world. I can safely speak for Kuwaitis and, yes, even Iraqis and say that these missionaries had better think twice about coming to Iraq. Even if the coalition soldiers are eventually greeted with cheers after Saddam's fall, these missionaries will not be greeted as warmly. In fact, they will be ruthlessly chased out!
Can anyone from the US please verify this? "According to Franklin Graham, son of the Rev Billy Graham, missionaries disguised as relief workers are "poised and ready" to roll into Iraq to provide for post-war "spiritual needs". Graham, who has publicly called Islam a "wicked" religion, is a confidant of George Bush and led prayers at his inauguration. And he has been joined in his holy war for the souls of the Iraqi Muslims by the Southern Baptist Convention, a key supporter of the Bush presidency".
A visit to the Southern Baptist Convention's website only yielded a story about chaplains meeting soldiers' spiritual needs, with a very hip looking preacher in the photo. And then I found this article. Then one thing led to another, and I came upon this site, which starts out harmlessly as a site urging love for Muslims, yet inside is this rather unsettling statement:"Muslims do not understand or accept God’s ultimate expression of His love shown in Christ’s life, death and resurrection. They focus on God’s holiness, justice and power. They strive to earn His favor and entry into heaven through obedience to Islamic law, good deeds and acts of self-sacrificing devotion. Muslims live within a protective wall of laws, traditions and relationships that separates them from God’s love. Your prayers take His love beyond the wall"
What the @#$% does any of that mean??!! Rest assured that even if this is indeed a "crusade" as some overexcited Muslims seem to believe, I seriously doubt that Iraqis' faith could be so easily shaken by a bunch of visiting missionaries. There will be no forced conversions to Christianity so give the Iraqi people some credit.
A visit to the Southern Baptist Convention's website only yielded a story about chaplains meeting soldiers' spiritual needs, with a very hip looking preacher in the photo. And then I found this article. Then one thing led to another, and I came upon this site, which starts out harmlessly as a site urging love for Muslims, yet inside is this rather unsettling statement:"Muslims do not understand or accept God’s ultimate expression of His love shown in Christ’s life, death and resurrection. They focus on God’s holiness, justice and power. They strive to earn His favor and entry into heaven through obedience to Islamic law, good deeds and acts of self-sacrificing devotion. Muslims live within a protective wall of laws, traditions and relationships that separates them from God’s love. Your prayers take His love beyond the wall"
What the @#$% does any of that mean??!! Rest assured that even if this is indeed a "crusade" as some overexcited Muslims seem to believe, I seriously doubt that Iraqis' faith could be so easily shaken by a bunch of visiting missionaries. There will be no forced conversions to Christianity so give the Iraqi people some credit.
Has Fareed Zakaria been reading my Blog? Why bother writing when I can just scour the web for similar opinions by people with access to an editor? ;-)
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