Prime Minister’s Question Time
If you haven’t already, watch Jon Stewart embarrass Tony Blair in a 10 minute interview.
read on“Freiheit” für Gazellen.
Daß die Befreiung von Saddam Hussein den wenigsten Menschen im Irak wirklich zu Freiheit verholfen hat, ist eine Erkenntnis, der sich angesichts der letztlich noch immer – mit immer unübersichtlicheren Koalitionsstrukturen – eskalierenden Stammesfehden/ethnischen Konflikte/Verteilungskämpfe im Lande selbst und der im Lichte dieser Entwicklung zumindest nicht unproblematischen “get out yesterday”-Haltung der Heimatfront wohl nur noch […]
read onA slightly late political obituary…
Or possibly a particularly early one. Two weeks after Tony Blair’s demission as Prime Minister, and four years after he opted for political suicide. This is what I wrote on March 18, 2003 , on the day before the Commons vote on a British participation in “operation Iraqi Freedom”. I doubt Blair will lose his […]
read onPatches of War.
I don’t know how many black sheep there are in the US army in Iraq today. But I suppose there are a lot who never imagined their fur would even feature a single black patch, because, probably, given normal circumstances, they’d likely have remained white all their lives.
read onNow really?
Downing Street Memo follow up in the IHT – “Our diplomatic strategy had to be arranged around the military planning,” David Manning, Blair’s chief foreign policy adviser at the time, wrote in the memo that summarized the discussion between Bush, Blair and six of their top aides.” And in case anyone is surprised why there […]
read onI’m having a déjà vu.
reading the NYT’s report about the updated US national security strategy. An updated version of the Bush administration’s national security strategy, the first since the invasion of Iraq in 2003, includes a vigorous defense of striking pre-emptively against countries seen to threaten the United States. The document declares for the first time that diplomacy to […]
read onRecycled News.
So I’m checking my mail, browse quickly through a newsletter by n-tv, the German news-channel, and I’m suddenly two years younger. Seriously, tonight I’m being told it’s news that George W. Bush allegedly told Palestinian PM Abbas that God told him to go nation-building in countries he did not even know about before. Hmm, didn’t […]
read onIrony…
Last Wednesday, at the anti-Bush demonstration during the President’s visit to Mainz, Germany: This demonstrator’s “subtle” statement about murderous, and militaristic foreign policy allegedly exhibited by a well known remaining superpower that “everyone, except ‘us’” (whoever us may be) allegedly participated in, is, ironically, just as subtly contradicted by a portrait of a certain Mr. […]
read onA little disappointment.
Did you know that, on average, it takes ten new year’s resolutions until there is even a small effect in the direction of one of them? That could be a good excuse for not posting my song tonight, but, gentle readers, I will be honest with you: I was not yet able to get it […]
read onColin Powell. The Sad Truth.
Colin Powell seems to be a man whose pride apparently gets in the way of seeing the world as it is. Recently, he contested a statement by the likely democratic nominee for President, J.F. Kerry, that he had been marginalised in the Bush administration’s foreign policy. Yet as a list compiled by Brad DeLong amply […]
read onCivilisation? What’s going on at the Economist…?
I can’t read Economist premium content online these days, so I have to rely on Brad Delong’s quote from this week’s Lexington (US politics) column – “Bush-hatred is now something that civilised people wear as a badge of honour…” Who would have thought that the day would come where a common adversary would make the […]
read onWilliam Safire, once again.
I should really stop reading William Safire’s columns, I suppose. Yesterday, the Ny Times provided the world with another marvel. He’s writing about “The Age Of Liberty”, the new Bush foreign policy theme song, after ensuring the reader that he has indeed read, and re-read “the serious speech in its entirety.” That’s good news, I […]
read onThe Economist surrenders.
Now look at that – The Economist is getting warier of supporting President Bush and Tony Blair. Given that the magazine was among the very few European outlets which decidedly supported the war on Iraq because of the dangers posed by the assumed proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, a cover like this week’s must […]
read on900 million Dollars.
That’s 900 000 000 Dollars, or 2 465 753,42 Dollars a day, on an annual basis ignoring all kinds of interest. It’s also the amount the current American administration wants to spend to search the weapons of mass destruction it could not find so far. A third, roughly 300 million US Dollars, has been spent […]
read onDeserting a professional army?
Apparently, the number of deserters in the US army has been increasing for some years now.. Not surprising, one might be tempted to say, given the rising number of foreign deployments. But then again – maybe I am not getting this – but why would anyone desert in a professional army? Isn’t serving in a […]
read onNews From Baghdad.
Salam Pax’ latest column in The Guardian.
read onWeapons of mass distraction.
Verehrtes Publikum, jetzt kein Verdruß; Wir wissen wohl, das ist kein rechter Schluß.Vorschwebte uns: die goldene Legende. Unter der Hand nahm sie ein bitteres Ende. Wir stehen selbst enttäuscht und sehn betroffen Den Vorhang zu und alle Fragen offen. Thus ends Bertolt Brecht’s “Der gute Mensch von Sezuan” (Engl. “The Good Woman of Setzuan”). It’s […]
read onQuality Journalism?
At least for the moÂment, I am not realÂly comÂmenÂting the quarÂrel betÂween the Labour goÂvernÂment and the BBC that very likeÂly led to the traÂgic suiÂcide of Dr. DaÂvid KelÂly, who was the oriÂgiÂnal sourÂce beÂhind the BBC Radio 4′s deÂfenÂce corÂresÂponÂdent AnÂdrew GilÂliÂgan’s claim that the British goÂvernÂment, most proÂmiÂnentÂly AlasÂtair CampÂbell, Tony […]
read onA New Atlantic Charter?
Tony Blair just addressed a joint session of the US congress and I suppose he will have convinced many in Congress that the right way for America is to fill out an application to the Commonwealth right now – or at least to again change the US constitution to allow Blair to run for President […]
read onThe Psychology Of WMDs
Salon.com’s Louise Witt is wondering why America is in collective denial that [someone in] the Bush administration knowingly “sexed up” the WMD charges against Saddam Hussein, as the administration is now admitting itself.
read onThe Next Tirpitz?
Ha – I knew it. My gentle readers, I am going to tell you a little secret. On last new years eve I bet a young German Navy officer for six bottles of Champagne that, in ten years, Germany would have at least ordered a brand new Aircraft carrier… and today – according to Spiegel […]
read onThe Next Tirpitz?
Ha – I knew it. My gentle readers, I am going to tell you a little secret. On last new years eve I bet a young German Navy officer for six bottles of Champagne that, in ten years, Germany would have at least ordered a brand new Aircraft carrier… and today – according to Spiegel […]
read onGod’s Own Agenda?
Haaretz reports that, according to Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas President Bush allegedly explained at the recent Akaba summit that “God told me to strike at al Qaida and I struck them, and then he instructed me to strike at Saddam, which I did, and now I am determined to solve the problem in the […]
read onSaddam’s new small change.
Apparently, lack of small change is strangeling the Iraqi economy to an extent that the US administration has decided to begin reprinting old Iraqi 250 Dinar notes (about $ 1,50) featuring the face of – he who must no longer be named on the streets of Baghdad (via Sueddeutsche Zeitung)
read on