Mad as Hell -- Links and Thoughts

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World Glossary

For those who, like me, seem to be watching coverage of the Iraq situation as reported by people from a bizarro dimension, in which they speak a language very similar to English, but with subtle and confusing differences, I think that I've finally broken the code, and have thus put together a little translation guide for the rest of us.

"allies":

Nations that we either defeated or liberated six decades ago, and then paid to rebuild half a century ago, and continued to pay for their defense through the Cold War, which has been over for more than a decade, who now feel that they are thereby entitled to obstruct or dictate our foreign policy, which is driven by our own self defense, in the furtherance of the business interests of their corrupt governments and the brutal dictators that they cynically coddle.

"going it alone":

Meaning 1: Taking action in concert with numerous European and Middle-Eastern nations, and others around the globe, but without France and Germany.

Meaning 2: Using the coalition from (1) to enforce numerous UN Security Council resolutions, including one that was passed within the past three months, which was supposed to be final, without going back to the Security Council, hat in hand, to get yet another "final" resolution.

"let the inspections continue":

Allow more time for a few dozen people to literally cluelessly wander around a country hundreds of thousands of square miles in area, searching for things that the Iraqi government has no intention of letting them find, and are hidden in private homes, or mosques, or presidential "palaces" (some of which are themselves the size of typical western cities), or in caves that we don't even know exist, or that are moved just prior to the threat of an actual search in any of these areas, in order to continue to delay military action in the slim hope that some other means of delay can be found while this one continues, or that the weather will get too hot, or that W is so dumb that he will eventually forget why he's doing this, or choke on a pretzel, this time for good, all in order to put off forever the day that we actually remove Saddam Hussein from power.

"making war on the innocent Iraqi people":

Removing a malign tyrant who, along with his vile offspring, has been torturing, starving and murdering the Iraqi people for decades, often for no reason other than his own perverse pleasure, and thus thereby finally giving them peace. To fully satisfy the definition, he must be removed while we spend vast amounts of money on precision munitions to minimize collateral casualties to the Iraqi people, even to the extent of risking higher casualties to our own forces to do so.

"rush to war":

Waiting a dozen years after Saddam signed an agreement to relinquish his weapons of mass destruction; waiting almost half a decade after he threw out the arms inspection teams who were there to see that he carried out his commitment; waiting a year and a half after being attacked by Middle Eastern forces that woke us up to the possibility of our vulnerability to people who have been threatening us for years; waiting over a year after declaring Iraq one of the nations that constitute a danger to the planet; carefully crafting and passing yet another UN Security Council resolution reiterating all the previous ones, with the stated intent of being a final one; waiting two months after the submission of a declaration in response to that supposedly final resolution that was 12,000 pages of non-responsiveness, before actually taking any significant military action to see that Saddam's capability to attack his neighbors and our own nation is eliminated through military force.

"smoking gun":

The level of evidence that will justify removing Saddam Hussein by military force. This one is very precisely defined.

It is a photograph of Saddam Hussein, standing next to fifty-gallon barrels clearly labeled "Anthrax, "Tabun, "Sarin," "VX," "Phosgene," and "Smallpox Virus," along with a suitcase marked "Danger: ACME Suitcase Nuke--Stand Well Back Before Detonating," next to a geiger counter with meter pegged. One of Saddam's hands is evilly twirling his mustache a la Snidely Whiplash, and the other arm is around the shoulder of a hale and hearty Osama bin Laden, who is in turn holding up a clearly-identifiable copy of last Sunday's New York Times.

The picture must be taken by an objective, prize-winning photographer, such as Robert Fisk. No satellite imagery or CIA evidence is acceptable, since such a photo could be easily faked, and its provenance would thus be highly suspect.

I hope that this guide will help make more sense out of the speeches from politicians and commentary by clueless pundits and reporters that you'll continue to hear over the next few weeks.

Posted by Rand Simberg at January 31, 2003 02:50 PM

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Profiling

Please pause a moment, reflect back, and take the following Multiple Choice test.  The events are actual cuts from past history.  They actually happened!  Do you remember?

1. In 1972 at the Munich Olympics, athletes were kidnapped and massacred by:

     a. Olga Corbitt

     b. Sitting Bull

     c. Arnold Schwartzeneger

     d. Muslim males between the ages of 17 and 40

2. In 1979, the U.S. embassy in Iran was taken over by:

     a. Lost Norwegians

     b. Elvis

     c. A tour bus full of 80-year-old women

     d. Muslim males between the ages of 17 and 40

3. During the 1980's a number of Americans were kidnapped in Lebanon by:

     a. John Dillinger

     b. The King of Sweden

     c. The Boy Scouts

     d. Muslim males between the ages of 17 and 40

4. In 1983, the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut was blown up by:

     a. A pizza delivery boy

     b. Pee Wee Herman

     c. Geraldo Rivera

     d. Muslim males between the ages of 17 and 40

5. In 1985 the cruise ship Achille Lauro was hijacked and a 70 year old American passenger was murdered and thrown overboard in his wheelchair by:

     a. The Smurfs

     b. Davy Jones

    c. The Little Mermaid

     d. Muslim males between the ages of 17 and 40

6. In 1985 TWA flight 847 was hijacked at Athens, and a U.S. Navy diver trying to rescue passengers was murdered by:

     a. Captain Kid

     b. Charles Lindbergh

     c. Mother Teresa

     d. Muslim males between the ages of 17 and 40

7. In 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 was bombed by:

     a. Scooby Doo

     b. The Tooth Fairy

     c. Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid

     d. Muslim males between the ages of 17 and 40

8. In 1993 the World Trade Center was bombed the first time by:

     a. Richard Simmons

     b. Grandma Moses

     c. Michael Jordan

     d. Muslim males between the ages of 17 and 40

9. In 1998, the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed by:

     a. Mr. Rogers

     b. Hillary, to distract attention from Wild Bill's women problems

     c. The World Wrestling Federation

     d. Muslim males between the ages of 17 and 40

10. On 9/11/01, four airliners were hijacked; two were used as missiles to take out the World Trade Center and of the remaining two, one crashed into the US Pentagon and the other was diverted to a crash by the passengers. Thousands of people were killed by:

     a. Bugs Bunny, Wiley E. Coyote, Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd

     b. The Supreme Court of Florida

     c. Mr. Bean

     d. Muslim males between the ages of 17 and 40

11. In 2002 the United States fought a war in Afghanistan against:

     a. Enron

     b. The Lutheran Church

     c. The NFL

     d. Muslim males between the ages of 17 and 40

12. In 2002 reporter Daniel Pearl was kidnapped and murdered by:

     a. Bonny and Clyde

     b. Captain Kangaroo

     c. Billy Graham

     d. Muslim males between the ages of 17 and 40

Nope, .........I really don't see a pattern here to justify profiling, do you?   So, to ensure we Americans never offend anyone, particularly fanatics intent on killing us, airport security screeners will no longer be allowed to profile certain people.  They must conduct random searches of 80-year-old women, little kids, airline pilots with proper identification, Secret Service agents who are members of the President's security detail, 85-year old Congressmen with metal hips, and Medal of Honor winning former Governors.

Let's send this to as many people as we can so that the Gloria Aldreds and other dunderheaded attorneys along with Federal Justices that want to thwart common sense feel doubly ashamed of themselves.

As the writer of the award winning story Forest Gump so aptly put it,

"Stupid is as stupid does!"

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Sent: Monday, November 18, 2002 5:31 AM

Subject: Fw: London Daily Mirror

Subject: Tony Parsons-London Daily Mirror

Just a word of background, for those of you who aren't familiar with the UK's Daily Mirror. This is a notoriously left-wing daily that is normally not supportive of the Colonials across the Atlantic.

Tony Parsons is a spiritual adept, and author, who has a large following in Europe and the US.

SHAME ON YOU AMERICAN HATING LIBERALS

by Tony Parsons

Daily Mirror September 11, 2002

One year ago, the world witnessed a unique kind of broadcasting-the mass murder of thousands, live on television.  As a lesson in the pitiless cruelty of the human race, September 11 was up there with Pol Pot's mountain of skulls in Cambodia, or the skeletal bodies stacked like garbage in the Nazi concentration camps.  An unspeakable act so cruel, so calculated and so utterly merciless that surely the world could agree on one thing - nobody deserves this fate.  Surely there could be consensus: the victims were truly innocent, the perpetrators truly evil.

But to the world's eternal shame, 9/11 is increasingly seen as America's comeuppance. Incredibly, anti-Americanism has increased over the last year.  There has always been a simmering resentment to the USA in this country - too loud, too rich, too full of themselves and so much happier than Europeans - but it has become an epidemic.  And it seems incredible to me.  More than that, it turns my stomach.

America is this country's greatest friend and our staunchest ally.  We are bonded to the US by culture, language and blood.  A little over half a century ago, around half a million Americans died for our freedoms, as well as their own.  Have we forgotten so soon? And exactly a year ago, thousands of ordinary men, women and children - not just Americans, but from dozens of countries - were butchered by a small group of religious fanatics.  Are we so quick to betray them?

What touched the heart about those who died in the twin towers and on the planes was that we recognized them. Young fathers and mothers, somebody's son and somebody's daughter, husbands and wives, and children, some unborn. And these people brought it on themselves?  And their nation is to blame for their meticulously planned slaughter?

These days you don't have to be some dust-encrusted nut job in Kabul or Karachi or Finsbury Park to see America as the Great Satan.  The anti-American alliance is made up of self-loathing liberals who blame the Americans for every ill in the Third World, and conservatives suffering from power-envy, bitter that the world's only superpower can do what it likes without having to ask permission.

The truth is that America has behaved with enormous restraint since September 11.

Remember, remember. Remember the gut-wrenching tapes of weeping men phoning their wives to say, "I love you," before they were burned alive. Remember those people leaping to their deaths from the top of burning skyscrapers.  Remember the hundreds of firemen buried alive.  Remember the smiling face of that beautiful little girl who was on one of the planes with her mum.  Remember, remember - and realize that America has never retaliated for 9/11 in anything like the way it could have.

So a few al-Qaeda tourists got locked without a trial in Camp X-ray?  Pass the Kleenex... So some Afghan wedding receptions were shot up after they merrily fired their semi-automatics in a sky full of American planes?  A shame, but maybe next time they should stick to confetti.

AMERICA could have turned a large chunk of the world into a parking lot.  That it didn't is a sign of strength.  American voices are already being raised against attacking Iraq - that's what a democracy is for.  How many in the Islamic world will have a minute's silence for the slaughtered innocents of 9/11?  How many Islamic leaders will have the guts to say that the mass murder of 9/11 was an abomination?

When the news of 9/11 broke on the West Bank, those freedom-loving Palestinians were dancing in the street. America watched all of that - and didn't push the button.  We should thank the stars that America is the most powerful nation in the world.  I still find it incredible that 9/11 did not provoke all-out war.  Not a "war on terrorism."  A real war. The fundamentalist dudes are talking about "opening the gates of hell," if America attacks Iraq.  Well, America could have opened the gates of hell like you wouldn't believe.

The US is the most militarily powerful nation that ever strode the face of the earth.  The campaign in Afghanistan may have been less than perfect and the planned war on Iraq may be misconceived.

But don't blame America for not bringing peace and light to these wretched countries.  How many democracies are there in the Middle East, or in the Muslim world?  You can count them on the fingers of one hand - assuming you haven't had any chopped off for minor shoplifting.

I love America, yet America is hated.  I guess that makes me Bush's poodle. But I would rather be a dog in New York City than a Prince in Riyadh.  Above all, America is hated because it is what every country wants to be - rich, free, strong, open, optimistic.  Not ground down by the past, or religion, or some caste system. America is the best friend this country ever had and we should start remembering that.

Or do you really think the USA is the root of all evil?  Tell it to the loved ones of the men and women who leaped to their death from the burning towers. Tell it to the nursing mothers whose husbands died on one of the hijacked planes, or were ripped apart in a collapsing skyscraper.  And tell it to the hundreds of young widows whose husbands worked for the New York Fire Department.

To our shame, George Bush gets a worse press than Saddam Hussein.  Once we were told that Saddam gassed the Kurds, tortured his own people and set up rape-camps in Kuwait.  Now we are told he likes Quality Street.  Save me the orange center, oh mighty one!

Remember, remember, September 11.

One of the greatest atrocities in human history was committed against America.

No, do more than remember.  Never forget.

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We'll go forward from this moment

by Leonard Pitts Jr. of the Miami Herald

It's my job to have something to say. They pay me to provide words that help make sense of that which troubles the American soul. But in this moment of airless shock when hot tears sting disbelieving eyes, the only thing I can find to say, the only words that seem to fit, must be addressed to the unknown author of this suffering.

You monster. You beast. You unspeakable bastard.

What lesson did you hope to teach us by your coward's attack on our World Trade Center, our Pentagon, us? What was it you hoped we would learn? Whatever it was, please know that you failed.

Did you want us to respect your cause? You just damned your cause.

Did you want to make us fear? You just steeled our resolve.

Did you want to tear us apart? You just brought us together.

Let me tell you about my people. We are a vast and quarrelsome family, a family rent by racial, social, political and class division, but a family nonetheless. We're frivolous, yes, capable of expending tremendous emotional energy on pop cultural minutiae -- a singer's revealing dress, a ball team's misfortune, a cartoon mouse. We're wealthy, too, spoiled by the ready availability of trinkets and material goods, and maybe because of that, we walk through life with a certain sense of blithe entitlement. We are fundamentally decent, though -- peace-loving and compassionate. We struggle to know the right thing and to do it. And we are, the overwhelming majority of us, people of faith, believers in a just and loving God.

Some people -- you, perhaps -- think that any or all of this makes us weak. You're mistaken. We are not weak. Indeed, we are strong in ways that cannot be measured by arsenals.

Yes, we're in pain now. We are in mourning and we are in shock. We're still grappling with the unreality of the awful thing you did, still working to make ourselves understand that this isn't a special effect from some Hollywood blockbuster, isn't the plot development from a Tom Clancy novel. Both in terms of the awful scope of their ambition and the probable final death toll, your attacks are likely to go down as the worst acts of terrorism in the history of the United States and, probably, the history of the world. You've bloodied us as we have never been bloodied before.

But there's a gulf of difference between making us bloody and making us fall. This is the lesson Japan was taught to its bitter sorrow the last time anyone hit us this hard, the last time anyone brought us such abrupt and monumental pain. When roused, we are righteous in our outrage, terrible in our force. When provoked by this level of barbarism, we will bear any suffering, pay any cost, go to any length, in the pursuit of justice.

I tell you this without fear of contradiction. I know my people, as you, I think, do not. What I know reassures me. It also causes me to tremble with dread of the future.

In the days to come, there will be recrimination and accusation, fingers pointing to determine whose failure allowed this to happen and what can be done to prevent it from happening again. There will be heightened security, misguided talk of revoking basic freedoms. We'll go forward from this moment sobered, chastened, sad. But determined, too. Unimaginably determined.

You see, the steel in us is not always readily apparent. That aspect of our character is seldom understood by people who don't know us well. On this day, the family's bickering is put on hold.

As Americans we will weep, as Americans we will mourn, and as Americans, we will rise in defense of all that we cherish.

So I ask again: What was it you hoped to teach us? It occurs to me that maybe you just wanted us to know the depths of your hatred. If that's the case, consider the message received. And take this message in exchange: You don't know my people. You don't know what we're capable of. You don't know what you just started.

But you're about to learn.

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From FRED

I feel a need to protest against a country that thoroughly opposes us. I received this list of companies that are owned by French interests. I have not checked the sources as there are too many of them. Before you boycott any one of them be sure to check out my resource. It is important to be mad at the correct object and not an innocent company that has done no wrong. If you want to read the total source go to http://www.newsmaxstore.com/a/boycottad . I take a grain of salt with such calls to action until I check it out. You should too.

Fred

France has every right to disagree with America. But France has moved from simple dissent to active hostility toward America. French President Chirac warned East European nations that if they side with America, France will oppose their membership in the European Union. This week, William Safire reported in the New York Times that France has been secretly helping to arm Iraq – and has been helping Iraq build long range missiles. These same missiles may soon be used against American soldiers.

Just as France is exercising its right to disagree, Americans can exercise their right to boycott -- and avoid helping companies and countries that do no stand with America. Here is a list of French products and companies to boycott;

Air France.

Air Liquide.

Airbus.

Alcatel.

Allegra (allergy medication).

Aqualung (including: Spirotechnique, Technisub, US Divers, and SeaQuest).

AXA Advisors.

Bank of the West (owned by BNP Paribas).

Beneteau (boats).

BF Goodrich (owned by Michelin).

BIC (razors, pens and lighters).

Biotherm (cosmetics).

Black Bush.

Bollinger (champagne).
Car & Driver Magazine.

Cartier.

Chanel.

Chivas Regal (Scotch).

Christian Dior.

Club Med (vacations).

Culligan (owned by Vivendi).
Dannon (yogurt and dairy foods).

DKNY.

Dom Perignon.

Durand Crystal.
Elle Magazine.

Essilor Optical Products.

Evian.
Fina gas stations and Fina Oil (billions invested in Iraqi oil fields).

First Hawaiian Bank.
George Magazine.

Givenchy.

Glenlivet (Scotch).
Hennessy.

Houghton Mifflin (books).
Jacobs Creek (owned by Pernod Ricard since 1989).
Jameson (whiskey).

Jerry Springer (talk show)
Krups (coffee and cappuccino makers).
Lancome.

Le Creuset (cookware).

L'Oreal (health and beauty products).

Louis Vuitton.
Marie Claire.

Martel Cognac.

Maybelline.

Méphisto (shoes and clothes).

Michelin (tires and auto parts).
Mikasa (crystal and glass).

Moet (champagne).

Motel 6.
Motown Records.

MP3.com.

Mumms (champagne).
Nissan (cars; majority owned by Renault).

Nivea.
Normany Butter.
Parents Magazine.

Peugeot (automobiles).

Pierre Cardin.
Playstation Magazine.

ProScan (owned by Thomson Electronics, France).

Publicis Group (including Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising).
RCA (televisions and electronics; owned by Thomson Electronics).

Red Magazine.

Red Roof Inns (owned by Accor group in France).

Renault (automobiles).

Road & Track Magazine.

Roquefort cheese (all Roquefort cheese is made in France).

Rowenta (toasters, irons, coffee makers, etc.).

Royal Canadian.
Salomon (skis).

Sierra Software and Computer Games.
Smart & Final.

Sofitel (hotels, owned by Accor).
Sparkletts (water, owned by Danone).

Spencer Gifts.
Sundance Channel.
Taylor Made (golf).

Technicolor.

T-Fal (kitchenware).
Total gas stations.
UbiSoft (computer games).

Uniroyal.

Universal Studios (music, movies and amusement parks; owned by Vivendi -Universal).

USFilter.
Veritas Group.

Veuve Clicquot Champagne.

Vittel.
Vivendi.
Wild Turkey (bourbon).

Woman's Day Magazine.
Yoplait (The French company Sodiaal owns a 50 percent stake).

Yves Saint Laurent.
Zodiac Inflatable Boats.

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Editorial Ran 03/01/03

United We Stand...Divided We Fall!

An Open Letter From Jerry Reynolds, owner, PRESTIGE FORD, Garland, Texas

I have heard that saying since I was a kid, but I am not sure I ever put much thought into it until recently. We are clearly a nation divided when it comes to the subject of war with Iraq. I think the only thing we can agree on is nobody wants to have a war. I do not believe President Bush wants to go to war, but he feels it is necessary and I for one will support what our Commander-in-Chief feels is best for our country. None of us can be naive enough to think they have told us everything. Our leaders truly think if we are going to be safe from attack, this is necessary.
The thought of war sends cold chills down my spine. I have a 19-year old son and the idea of him going off to fight literally makes me sick to my stomach...but then again, so do the still-vivid images of planes flying into the World Trade Center. Do we know for a fact whether or not Saddam Hussein had anything to do with that? To me, the more important question is: Can we take the risk?

I will not allow myself to forget what happened on the morning of September 11th, 2001. Ten days or so later, George Bush told the nation we would begin the fight against terrorism. He told us "We will not tire, we will not falter and we will not fail." And he assured every leader of every country if they supported terrorism, we would come after them. We all rejoiced in those words. Tears rolled down my cheeks when I heard him say that. They were, in fact, words we needed to hear and frankly, we WANTED to hear.

Now less than a year and a half later, many in our country seem to be surprised. Some even question why we're doing this. I will not debate the "should we or shouldn't we" question. I just know that we have to UNITE. That means unite behind the people we elected to lead us in good times and bad. Perhaps the reason we were so vulnerable that fateful September day was due to the lack of being strong. Fear of reprisal is a huge motivator when dealing with cowards like Osama bin Laden.
I believe with all my heart the goal on September 11th was to kill 100,000 Americans or more. I beg you to close your eyes and visualize those planes going into the buildings.

Remember the images of the people who jumped out of the burning inferno? Admit it, you were horrified...and most of us cried. But we found strength and we UNITED as a country. So many people wanted to buy American flags that within 24 hours the stores were sold out. Where are those feelings today?

No matter HOW you feel about war with Iraq, we are sending a VERY dangerous message to the world that we are vulnerable. I can only imagine how happy it makes the terrorists to see us divided like this. I can see them laughing as they burn our sacred American flag.

Let's face it...this war is going to happen no matter if we want it or not. So I encourage all Americans to lock arms and show the world we are strong and we want to remain free of the fear of dying like our brothers and sisters did in New York.
I for one won't buy duct tape, nor store a hundred gallons of water...I just won't let Saddam or Osama or any of the rest of our enemies know I am scared. For, you see, I am more afraid of the division inside our borders than an invasion from the enemy.

As for Martin Sheen, Madonna, Barbara Streisand, and the rest of you "stars:" The "little people" like myself and everyone else I know don't really give a darn what you think, so why don't you keep it to yourself? Your voices are no more valuable than ours and I resent you trying to divide our great country. Channel the energy and publicity you love so much to garner unity or pick some other cause with a POSITIVE effect...like helping our veterans who have fought in previous wars, or supporting our police officers and fire fighters.

United we stand...divided we fall. I will continue to pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and believe ONE NATION, under God, is indivisible, and there will be liberty and justice for all. I hope you'll join me.

Sincerely,
Jerry Reynolds
Owner, PRESTIGE FORD

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