Saturday, 5 April, 2003Al-Zubayr morgueThe BBC Reports British troops have found what is being termed a "makeshift morgue" at an Iraqi military base near al-Zubayr, which is some 15 km south-west of Basra, and perhaps 25 km north of Safwan. Approximately 200 sets of human remains were found in a warehouse; catalogues of photographs of the dead were found in a neighbouring building, and in the courtyard outside was what looks suspiciously like a purpose-built execution spot: a brick wall, pockmarked with bullets, with a foot-high platform in front of it and a gutter in between. posted 1641 Z-8 [more..] Saddam/Nielsen? There's this still from Saddam's supposed televised walkabout, and there's just something uncharacteristic about that facial expression. It's... I dunno, more like Leslie Nielsen dressed to look like Saddam than anything. Take a look:   Okay, it'll take coloured contacts and a lot of hair dye and make-up, but still... posted 0021 Z-8 [more..] Friday, 4 April, 2003The lexicon of bloggingI'm enjoying I think I'll coin the term "clog blog" for a blog written by a Dutchman (such as my own, Peak Talk and arguably eameljenet, though Ijsbrand's Frisian through and through). Let's see if it catches on. posted 1953 Z-8 [link] A final solution? Perusing Daimnation! some further, I ran across a link to this little film, Peace, Love and Anti-Semitism by Evan Coyne Maloney (could he be Jewish?), regarding anti-Israeli attitudes among the anti-war movement ("peace movement" is a misnomer). I can't say it's an eye-opener as such—the conflation of Iraq and the Palestinian issue is nothing new—but my jaw definitely dropped at this statement: I believe they should be phased out, and I think they could be relocated... I've heard Madagascar mentioned several times.Yeah, Madagascar's been suggested. In 1938, by Hermann Goering! Gosh, I wonder whether that solution is sufficiently "final"? posted 1644 Z-8 [link] Meta-fiskage One of my readers, Jen from Seattle (hi Jen!), wrote in asking for my take on an article, "Reports of airport assault premature", by Robert Fisk in the New Zealand Herald. The title doesn't quite say it all; Fisk gleefully concludes CENTCOM was lying, because the Iraqi Ministry of Truth, excuse me, Information, showed him and some other journos around Saddam International mid-afternoon local time on Thursday and there wasn't an American soldier to be seen. Damian Penny's beaten me to it (link via Diane) by finding an article in the Independent, "Allies 'seize most of Baghdad airport'", co-written by... Robert Fisk. Mohammed Saeed-al Sahaf, the Information Minister, dismissed reports of coalition troops closing in on the capital as "silly". He said: "They are nowhere near Baghdad. Their allegations are a cover-up for their failure."Not a mention of the fact that Fisk bought that lie hook, line and sinker (or at least "reported" it as if he did). About the only accurate part of Fisk's article in the NZ Herald seems to have been the title, and that was probably written by the sub-editor. And even then one can ask how "premature" the reports were, given that the 3rd Inf Div seems to have reached the airport only a few hours after Fisk et al. were shown around by Iraqi Minitrue. posted 1549 Z-8 [link] The Stranger, Rachel Corrie and UNSC Resolution 242 This week's issue of The Stranger carries an article by Eli Sanders on the Rachel Corrie incident, titled "Was This House Worth Her Life?" It's worth a read, and I rather appreciate Sanders' approach in trying to glean as many perspectives as he can and let his readers draw their own conclusions, rather than drawing them for us. Overall, this is a solid piece of journalism. (Credit goes to my brother-in-law, Steve, for alerting me to the article.) I have one observation, and one piece of criticism. posted 0503 Z-8 [more..] Thursday, 3 April, 2003Da svidanjaRegular readers may have noticed I dropped the link to Russian WarBlog off the sidebar; I had my reasons for doing so, and while I'd considered publicising them, I decided against it. Well, that decision has evidently been taken out of my hands. Charming. posted 1429 Z-8 [more..] Meanwhile, in Cyprus... Newsrack Blog cites (and helpfully provides a translation of) an article in Die Zeit, "Die deutsche Schuld am Krieg" (freely: "The blame due Germany for the war") The short version is that a number of UNMOVIC inspectors point out that as long as America was threatening imminent war, the Iraqis were letting them do their job; but as soon as the French and the Germans broke ranks in the UNSC and started saying they wouldn't back war, the level of Iraqi cooperation dropped like a trapeze artist with a bad sense of timing. In other words, the vocal Franco-German insistence on a peaceful solution was instrumental in scuppering any chance that war could be avoided. Even so, that article concludes: Aber dann doch ein ambivalenter Gedanke, der aus Inspektorenmunde erschreckend hart klingt: „Wie behandelt man ein Krebsgeschwür am besten – mit einem kurzen chirurgischen Eingriff oder mit einer langwierigen Chemotherapie, deren Erfolg zweifelhaft ist?“Damn. posted 0012 Z-8 [link] Wednesday, 2 April, 2003Twin Towers and BlackbirdsBrowsing further through COINTELPRO Tool, I ran across a link to an almost two month-old column in the Independent. Written by Joan Smith, it is titled "It's about time the US got over 9/11" The title—and, for that matter, most of the article—is inane drivel, as befits a columnist of the Indepedent. (I'm old enough to remember that paper had such promise when it was launched; where did it go wrong?) But hidden in the dross is a small nugget that is a valid, reasonable point. posted 2325 Z-8 [more..] Something Rotten in the State of Washington It seems that Rachel Corrie will not be allowed to rest in peace for the foreseeable future; as Bill Herbert notes in COINTELPRO Tool, "comments suggesting that this young woman got what was coming to her were wrong, regardless of her [...] misplaced sympathies." Hear, hear. He also refers to his initial entry on the topic, in which he makes the comment: The "Darwin award" jokes aren't really doing anything besides give this idiot [Antonia Zerbisias of the Toronto Star] a case.Again, hear bloody hear. One of the people to make a "Darwin award" remark (if it was an attempt at a joke, even one intended to be in bad taste, it failed utterly) is Hans Zeiger, of Puyallup, WA in his column, titled "Mourning Rachel Corrie: a tragedy of the radical Left" Zeiger actually directs most of his vitriol—there is no other word for it—at The Evergreen State College, of which Carolyn, my wife, is a graduate. She was so dismayed by Zeiger's invective that felt compelled to write a rebuttal to Zeiger's piece. I should note that, of the two of us, she's the reasonable, classy one. You see, from my point of view, Zeiger has a very special talent: he made me want to change my stance on the death of Rachel Corrie, the war against Iraq, and various other issues, for no other reason than that I did not want to be on the same side of the issue as him. (Warning: the rest of this entry contains strong, spiteful and vicious language and probably violates Godwin's Law.) posted 1145 Z-8 [more..] Tuesday, 1 April, 2003Cyber-KimIs it me, or is there something weird about the fact the website of the Korean Central News Agency—which variously describes the Japanese as "hysterical," "reactionaries" and "militarists," prone to "perfidy" and "political and moral vulgarity and shamelessness," to quote the nicer utterances about Japan—is based on a Japanese server? I bet the Japanese government is ponying up the dough for the bandwidth as well. (Link via Jackie.) posted 0525 Z-8 [link] Keegan on Iraq While I don't normally care for the Daily Telegraph, I have to give them kudos for publishing an opinion piece by noted military historian John Keegan, "This is not Vietnam" The title indicates the main thrust; check it out. posted 0159 Z-8 [more..] In HARM's way? Regarding the explosion in the Shu'ale (also spelt al-Shulaa) district of Baghdad two days ago, Tim Blair's blog, especially contributions by correspondents, provides a fascinating read. posted 0005 Z-8 [more..] Monday, 31 March, 2003Peter Arnett and his amazing talking bollocksI'm sure you've heard about Peter Arnett's craptastic performance on Iraqi state television by now (and his subsequent dismissal), and you don't need me to tell you about it. What I do notice, though, is that very few people seem to realise Arnett isn't an American; he's from New Zealand. Call me pedantic, but I was rather under the impression that it's impossible to be a traitor or a dissident (to quote two popular points of view) when one is not actually a national of the country one is betraying or with the government of which one is dissenting. Whoops! Correction to the above: Jackie tells me Arnett naturalised about 25 years ago. My mistake. (And you'll note that, unlike Michael Moore, I actually left this entry up.) posted 1712 Z-8 [link] No Cameras responds to a (self-described) 'Peacenik' I ran across a piece titled "A Warmonger Explains War to a Peacenik" (variously attributed to Anonymous, Victor Forsythe or Bill Davidson, if it is attributed at all—truth may be the first casualty of war, but intellectual property is clearly in the top five of casualties of anti-war protest), which is doing the rounds online (you can find it here, and here, or just do a Google search for the title). What a brilliant display of the Straw man fallacy; I don't think I've ever seen one quite so elaborate. Following on from my own reasons for supporting this war, let the fisking commence! posted 0246 Z-8 [more..] Sunday, 30 March, 2003A million MogadishusThis story via Diane, from this article: "The only true heroes are those who find ways that help defeat the U.S. military," Nicholas De Genova, an assistant professor of anthropology and Latino studies at Columbia University, told the audience at Low Library Wednesday night. "I personally would like to see a million Mogadishus."Now, admittedly my knowledge of the Battle of Mogadishu doesn't stretch much further than having read Mark Bowden's book, Black Hawk Down (though that puts me well ahead of anyone who only saw the movie). What De Genova does not seem to appreciate is that, while American losses were 18 KIA and 76 (I believe) WIA, the death toll inflicted on the Somalis—combatant and insufficiently separated non-combatant alike—ran in the thousands. Thus, while De Genova might think he is "only" hoping for the deaths of 18 million GIs, he is also calling for the deaths of billions of paramilitaries and civilians. How humane. I doubt that was what he had in mind, but that's what you get for not doing your research before shooting your mouth off. Stupid git. posted 2000 Z-8 [link] Communiqué from the Home Front Earlier today, Nocameranian ground forces embarked upon a major operation in the northern zone; thought by experts to be codenamed Operation "Herbivore," the force was spearheaded by a mechanised element, with light infantry following on. Extensive defoliation led to mass displacement of the local population, as their residences were brutally razed to the ground. The Nocameranian contingent was forced to pause the operation frequently in order to reorganise lines of supply, and was occasionally hindered by mechanical failures. But, while encountering resistance in areas of dense growth, it ultimately succeeded in sweeping some 90% of the northern zone. Mopping-up operations are expected to continue in the near future, as soon as specialised equipment is brought up. A similar sweep of the Nocameranian southern zone is also expected within the week, depending on meteorological conditions. posted 1932 Z-8 [more..] In defence of HRW I think Steven den Beste is a wee bit rough in his assessment of Human Rights Watch. I developed a deep respect for HRW during my time with ICTY, and Den Beste's claim that HRW is "deeply concerned about human rights abuse as long as it's not by anyone opposing the US" is, in my experience, rubbish. HRW compiled some damn fine dossiers of material on everybody involved in the Yugoslav wars, and not too long ago it was vehemently protesting the election of Libya to the chair of the UN Human Rights Commission. HRW, I believe, does not like to cry wolf; they don't issue reports until they've got a picture of what's going on. And right now, it's hard to tell what is going in Iraq. As for what had already happened in Iraq, check out this link. It's a shame Den Beste evidently didn't. That said, he's probably spot-on as far as Amnesty International is concerned. posted 0311 Z-8 [link] |
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