Interested in maladministration. Estd. 2005
 RTEs Sarah McInerney ? Fianna Fail supporter? Anthony
Joe Duffy is dishonest and untrustworthy Anthony
Robert Watt complaint: Time for decision by SIPO Anthony
RTE in breach of its own editorial principles Anthony
Waiting for SIPO Anthony Public Inquiry >>
Indymedia Ireland is a volunteer-run non-commercial open publishing website for local and international news, opinion & analysis, press releases and events. Its main objective is to enable the public to participate in reporting and analysis of the news and other important events and aspects of our daily lives and thereby give a voice to people.
Julian Assange is finally free ! Tue Jun 25, 2024 21:11 | indy
Stand With Palestine: Workplace Day of Action on Naksa Day Thu May 30, 2024 21:55 | indy
It is Chemtrails Month and Time to Visit this Topic Thu May 30, 2024 00:01 | indy
Hamburg 14.05. "Rote" Flora Reoccupied By Internationalists Wed May 15, 2024 15:49 | Internationalist left
Eddie Hobbs Breaks the Silence Exposing the Hidden Agenda Behind the WHO Treaty Sat May 11, 2024 22:41 | indy Human Rights in Ireland >>
Green MP Proposes Sweeping Reforms to House of Commons in Maiden Speech Sat Jul 27, 2024 19:00 | Sean Walsh
The sweeping House of Commons reforms proposed by Green MP Ellie Chowns are evidence that the Mrs Dutt-Pauker types have moved from Peter Simple's columns into public life. We're in for a bumpy ride, says Sean Walsh.
The post Green MP Proposes Sweeping Reforms to House of Commons in Maiden Speech appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Heat Pump Refuseniks Risk £2,000 Surge in Gas Bills Sat Jul 27, 2024 17:00 | Richard Eldred
With heat pump numbers forecast to rise, the energy watchdog Ofgem has predicted that bills for those who continue using gas boilers will surge.
The post Heat Pump Refuseniks Risk £2,000 Surge in Gas Bills appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Debt-Funded GB Energy to Bet on the Costliest Electricity Generation Technologies Sat Jul 27, 2024 15:00 | David Turver
So much for Labour's pledge to cut energy bills by £300, says David Turver. Under GB Energy, our bills can only go one way, and that is up.
The post Debt-Funded GB Energy to Bet on the Costliest Electricity Generation Technologies appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Christians Slam Paris Opening Ceremony for Woke Parody of ?Last Supper? Sat Jul 27, 2024 13:00 | Richard Eldred
Awful audio, bizarre performances, embarrassing gaffes and a woke 'Last Supper' parody that has outraged Christians turned the Paris Olympics opening ceremony into a rain-soaked disaster.
The post Christians Slam Paris Opening Ceremony for Woke Parody of ?Last Supper? appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Victorian Laws Against Priests Meddling in Politics Are Now Needed More Than Ever ? To Prevent Imams... Sat Jul 27, 2024 11:46 | Steven Tucker
The Muslim Vote wants Labour to abolish Victorian ?spiritual influence? laws that prevent religious leaders from swaying voters, but Steven Tucker argues that in cities like Leicester these laws are more vital than ever.
The post Victorian Laws Against Priests Meddling in Politics Are Now Needed More Than Ever ? To Prevent Imams Doing the Same appeared first on The Daily Sceptic. Lockdown Skeptics >>
Voltaire, international edition
Netanyahu soon to appear before the US Congress? It will be decisive for the suc... Thu Jul 04, 2024 04:44 | en
Voltaire, International Newsletter N°93 Fri Jun 28, 2024 14:49 | en
Will Israel succeed in attacking Lebanon and pushing the United States to nuke I... Fri Jun 28, 2024 14:40 | en
Will Netanyahu launch tactical nuclear bombs (sic) against Hezbollah, with US su... Thu Jun 27, 2024 12:09 | en
Will Israel provoke a cataclysm?, by Thierry Meyssan Tue Jun 25, 2024 06:59 | en Voltaire Network >>
|
The return of Mini-Me..
Yes, Saddam has been deposed but there is another despot in Iraq. Like Saddam he is an unelected ruler, ruling with an iron hammer. .It has been argued by libertarians that the invasion of Iraq has little to do with "democracy" and freedom for Iraqis and, like the backing of Saddam in the 1980s and the toleration of his crushing of the popular revolts in 1991, a lot more to do with US imperialist interests. Essentially, as before, the invasion was an attempt to deter genuine democracy by removing the demonised leadership of a weakened formed US client regime in favour of a superficial "democracy" that protected US geopolitical and economic interests.
In opposition to the claim by a few left-wingers who supported the invasion because Saddam was so evil, libertarians argued that if you genuinely wanted real freedom and democracy in Iraq then a popular revolt was the only way to achieve it. Supporting the US invasion would see Iraq shaped in US interests, not Iraqi ones. Unsurprisingly, those who claimed to believe that the Bush Junta was telling the truth about their love of the Iraqi people have been proven wrong.
Yes, Saddam has been deposed but there is another despot in Iraq. Like Saddam he is an unelected ruler, ruling with an iron hammer. From the comfort of Saddam's luxury palaces, his military force is killing uncounted Iraqi civilians, censoring the press and asserting those who speak out against his rule. Saddam's palaces are not the only legacy of the past being used by the new boss, his network of domestic "intelligence" uses many of the same thugs that terrorised Iraqis for decades. Welcome to "free" Iraq and its master, Paul Bremer.
Remember back to before the war. As the Bush Junta geared up to bomb Baghdad, we were subjected to exposes of Saddam's lush lifestyle and his palaces. The irony of the pro-monarchy tabloids denouncing Saddam living in luxury while ordinary Iraqis suffered was lost on them. Just as the irony of the US occupiers seizing these very same palaces across Iraq was also unmentioned. Out went the old elite from their marbled palaces, in came the military commanders. Out went Saddam's Republican Guard; in came the marines
Bremer not only shares the lifestyle of Saddam, but also the ruling techniques. Saddam and his deputies used Iraqi TV to inform their subjects of what they had planned for them. Now they get the ramblings of Bush, Bremer, Rice, Rumsfeld and US military commanders. According to one American soldier, Iraqi journalists call the US commanders working with them "Little Saddams."
As predicted before the war by libertarians, the US has keep dozens of Saddam's thugs, many in the same positions. They now have a new boss, which, like Saddam, is not that keen on having democratic elections. With Iraq's leading Shi'ite clerics becoming increasingly vocal in their demand for direct elections of an interim government, the US occupiers are ignoring them. The clerics want one person, one vote, with elections overseen by the UN. They want an end to US-appointments. Fair demands as this is what bourgeois democracy is all about and, more importantly, what the Bush Junta (sometimes) said it was waging war for.
Followers of one cleric have said that there may be direct action if the US prevents elections. We can only hope that the masses in Iraq will see the futility of swapping one set of bosses for another, organise themselves and use direct action to create a genuinely free society, one based on self-management. Unfortunately, independent class organisations are far weaker than religious ones at the moment and an Islamic republic seems to be the dominant demand, something the occupiers will be loath to tolerate even if the majority want it.
The problem is the US elite rejects elections if the "wrong" candidates are going to win. Unsurprisingly, the people most opposed to direct elections in Iraq are the Bush Junta and their imported "opposition". They argue that the country is too unstable for fair elections, favouring local caucuses of mostly appointed representatives to select a national assembly, which would then "elect" a government. But, then again, the Bush Junta did say it was going to create a "US style" democracy in Iraq. Perhaps the Supreme Court appointed cronies should have been honest and said a "Florida style" democracy?
|
international |
anti-war / imperialism |
opinion/analysis
Tuesday January 13, 2004 13:04
by Anarcho
printable version
Digg this
del.icio.us
Furl
Reddit
Technorati
Facebook
Gab
Twitter
View Comments Titles Only
save preference
Comments (14 of 14)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14Q. Has Paul Bremer given top government postions to his family members?
A. No
Q. Does Paul Bremer have a secret police force who torture innocent men women and children to death.
A. No.
Q. Are red hot pieces of metal applied to their tongues of detainees in prisons in Bremer's Iraq.
A. No.
Q. Do American soldiers hack off the limbs of petty thieves?
A. No.
Q. Do American carry out summary executions of political dissidents?
A. No.
Q. Are their jails in Bremer's Iraq where the children of his Iraqi opponents are anally raped in front of their parents to extract confessions?
A. No.
Q. Are innocent men women and children the family members of Iraqis fed feet first into industrial shredding machines to extract confessions from them?
A. No.
Q. Does Bremer suppress free speech?
A. No.
Q. Does Bremer suppress peaceful Shia Muslim congregationsor blow up their mosques?
A. No.
Q. Does Bremer command total and utter obedience or death from his subjects?
A. No.
Saddam = Paul Bremer? Q&A
by righteous pragmatist Tuesday, Jan 13 2004, 1:44pm
Q. Has the arms industry given money to elect people in top government postions in the US?
A. Yes
Q. Does Paul Bremer' CIA torture innocent men women and children.
A. Yes.
Q. Are they put in prison without any legal defence or representation
A. Yes.
Q. Do American soldiers drop bombs on innocent women and children?
A. Yes.
Q. Do the American government invade countries to oust political dissidents?
A. Yes.
Q. Are their jails in Bremer's America where the the black population outnumber the white population by 10 to 1?
A. Yes.
Q. Does Bremer support free speech?
A. No.
Q. Does Bremer oppose Israeli troops blowing up up mosques or houses in Palestine?
A. No.
Q.Has anyone been put in prison in the US for opposing the war in Iraq?
A. yes
Why shouldn’t the arms industry ( as if Colt and Berreta and FN were a cartel rather than separate companies in direct competition with other) be allowed to donate money to elect people to top government positions in the U.S.?
Environmentalists and Feminist groups do too. Politicians who received money from everyone from dog owners to millionaire industrialists often pocket the money to fund their election campaigns or swanky lifestyles with out ever living up to their promised commitments.
Paul Bremer is not in control of the CIA. George Tenet is. And what evidence do you have for such wild statements that it tortures men women and children?
Men women and children are not being held without any legal defence or representation. Again where is your proof?
Even Saddam will be given legal defense and representation.
American soldiers do not drop bombs. The USAF drops bombs from airplanes. And those bombs were deliberately dropped on Iraqi troops, tanks, artillery positions, bunkers, Scud launchers, army bases, command and control centres and Saddam’s palaces. That’s why the war was over in only 3 weeks and Saddam hid in his spider hole. Unfortunately many many men women and children who were entirely innocent were accidentally killed as many of these targets were in built up areas. Saddam in contrast set out to deliberately kill men women and children in Hallabjah with mustard gas in 1986.
The American government invade countries to oust communist and fascist and theocratic dictatorships e.g. Germany, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Panama, Grenada, Haiti, Iraq, Afghanistan etc. to bring freedom to their people.
The reason there are jails in America where the black population outnumber white 10 to 1 is because there is often a racist attitude among police in many states in the U.S. I fail to see what that has got to do with Paul Bremer and Iraq?
I’m sorry but Bremer does allow free speech in Iraq. Ask the Kurds.
Bremer doesn’t oppose Israelis blowing up mosques and houses in Palestine which were used as bases of operations for terrorist who blow up innocent men women and children because they were Jewish. I imagine he wouldn’t support blowing up mosques and houses which are not bases of terrorism in Palestine if it is possible to find any.
Nobody has been put in prison for opposing the war. For instance a man in Atlanta was supposedly jailed for wearing an anti-war t-shirt in a shopping mall. But the fact was the shopping mall was private property and the owners told the man to leave because they didn’t agree with his t-shirt displayed on their property. He refused to leave and resisted attempts to eject him. He was arrested for trespassing and breach of the peace. If he wore the t-shirt in the middle of the street side walk he would not have been arrested because that is not owned by anyone.
I’m not a complete gobshite with shit for brains. I’m calling you that.
This moron’s reasoning suggest probable requirements sympathetic treatment in a secure environment but I will be charitable and assume he/she is striving to express coherent though odious, political opinion.
"Why shouldn’t the arms industry ..... elect people to top government positions in the U.S.? "
I mean why indeed shouldn’t politics be bought by industry and commerce? Democracy is a commodity after all and just look at those environmentalists and feminists at it too. The chances of progressive groups even coming within a cows moo of competing in the democratic marketplace with big business is nil but hey, they do fund raise so that makes “donations” and money-for-access OK then. Sure politicians don’t live up to all their promises but the one group they will never let down are the magnates, fu*k the rest of us.
(US)… “bombs were deliberately dropped on Iraqi troops, tanks, artillery positions, bunkers. …. Unfortunately many many men women and children who were entirely innocent were accidentally killed as many of these targets were in built up areas”
Those pesky natives getting in the way, what do they expect, I mean whose country is it REALLY anyway?
“The American government invade countries to oust communist and fascist and theocratic dictatorships e.g. Germany, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Panama, Grenada, Haiti, Iraq, Afghanistan etc. to bring freedom to their people.”
And a wonderful job they did too, the US is still basking in the collective gratitude of all these countries from saving them from tyranny especially the 1980’s axis of evil Panama and Grenada. The most grateful nation must of course be Mexico who had over half it’s land stolen by America in the 1846 war provoked by Mexican cheek in abolishing slavery.
“… Bremer does allow free speech in Iraq. Ask the Kurds.”
Yes indeed I’m sure they are grateful for the heroic American efforts to stop it's puppet Saddam's, brutal anti-Kurd oppression, including repeated use of chemical weapons in the1980’s .
“Nobody has been put in prison for opposing the war. For instance a man in Atlanta… because that is not owned by anyone.”
I mean the cheek of that beatnik! Imagine not having consulted the Shopping Malls list of approved attire before defiling the premises with his godless commie-loving gear. If only he had worn something that glorified slave labour like Nike or Adidas.
“I’m not a complete gobshite with shit for brains. I’m calling you that.”
Feeling insecure? I think you protest too much.
RP: ". I imagine he wouldn’t support blowing up mosques and houses which are not bases of terrorism in Palestine if it is possible to find any."
If it's possible to find any?!? So obvioulsy your knowledge of affiars on teh ground in Palestine is vastly superior to all of ours, including people that have been there. All Palestinians are are terrorists? Every Palestinian house and every Mosque in Palestine is a 'base of terrorist operations'.
Obvioulsy. I bow before your superior analysis of the Palestinian situation. I now realise the error of my ways, and that all Palestinans are evil, and possibly Al-Qeada members. I will now donate vast moneies to Zionist organisations to root out all Palestinians from their homeland.
I would talk about your other points, but I think this single phrase sums up you obvioulsy distorted view of the world, and how you especially view arab peoples. You must have cried when they took Kilroy off the air.
You see it's better if white people have all the power with which to abuse people. When they do it it's called being firm, defending democracy, and so on. When foreigners whose culture I don't like do it, I call it despotism.
Q. Did the US administration support Saddam' s government full of his family members?
A. Yes
Q. Did the CIA train Saddams secret police force who torture innocent men women and children to death.
A. Yes.
Q. Even though red hot pieces of metal applied to their tongues of detainees in prisons.
A. Yes.
Q. Did the American administration provide Saddam with weapons, training and support carry out summary executions of political dissidents (Iraqi communists)?
A. Yes.
Q. Even though the children of his Iraqi opponents are anally raped in front of their parents to extract confessions?
A. Yes.
Q. And innocent men women and children the family members of Iraqis fed feet first into industrial shredding machines to extract confessions from them?
A. Yes.
Q. Did the US administration support Saddam even though he suppressed free speech?
A. Yes.
Q. Did the US support Saddam despite the fact that he was in the process of suppressing peaceful Shia Muslim congregations and blowing up their mosques?
A. Yes.
Q. Was Saddama despot insisting on total and utter obedience or death from his subjects during the peroid that he was financed by the US?
A. Yes.
Q.Who killed more Iraqi civilians than anyone else in history ?
A.The yanks
Q. who continnues to kill mire civilians in Iraq than anyone ?
A. yep.
I'd say they love our democratic ways
So basically you guys are pissed at the arms industry for having more money and so being able to get more people on its side in elections. So why don't the greens and all of the anti-war parties and all that try to generate as much money and take em on that way. I see no problem with governments being sponsored by business, hell its been going on for years and it is in every government.
Also as for the Guy in the states arrested in the mall. The mall was a privately owned business, they asked him to leave the premises as he was wearing something on their property that they disagreed with, so therefore he should have left. Its not like the government imprisoned him for wearing the T-shirt he was imprisoned for not complying with someone representing the owners of the premises he was in. It would be no different than if you were asked to leave a bar, because you were being offensive to a member of staff. And I think he got what he deserved.
So on to the whole who did what. Can we please just stop all of the bullshit, you guys continuously bring up that America supported Saddam during the 80s, well what would you have had them do instead, allow Iran to win the war and then have an Islamic superstate, that has control over the oil and as such can dictate to the world. Even if they only contained a small amount of the oil, people dictating oil is a bad idea. Unfortunately America is doing it right now, I know this, and you guys know it, but TS it happens. So America backed Iraq, so Saddam had Americas blessing for years, well so did Stalin, and we can all see what a lovely man he is.
Who has killed more Iraqis than anyone else. WHO FUCKING CARES?? Who has killed more Irish people than anyone else, does it fucking matter. It happened, get over it. I say this knowing that Yes my family have not been killed recently, none of my family have been arrested by the US Army, but either way, sitting around and moaning over and over again gets you nowhere. Why not take a leaf out of the pacifists book and learn to get things done peacefully and without force. Hell Gandhi got rid of the British in no time, and he did not advocate the use of Violence, why can't the Iraqis do the same in their want to get rid of the Us Army???
Oh and to the people who still think that Iraq did not have any WMD, then look up what the Danish Troops found last weekend. I believe it was shells with Blister Agents inside. So in other words, Iraq did have some WMD. Admittedly the shells dated back to the Iran-Iraq war, but you could still fire em. So they still had weapons. Now I am sure the anti-war people will go on about who supplied the WMD, and I ask you this, does it truely matter?? Does it matter to the family of a murdered man who supplied his killer with the implement to kill that man?? Only if the supplier knew exactly what the implement would be used for and against whom!! Or you guys will say how it was only a small amount, which surely does not justify a war. Well I must argue that any amount is too much. Hell Israel has em and I think they shouldn't have em. I know Bush won't invade Israel, but in an ideal world he should. Tough Shit.
The guy arrested in the mall for wearing a 'give peace a chance' t-shirt sued the shopping mall and won-the security guard who arrested him under the 'patriot act' got fired, get all the facts before you go mouthing off. And it does matter who armed sadam, and why-thats the point . If you think we should move on and just forget about it, you must be sitting pretty right now, clean running water, flush toilets, healthy kids, belly full, Mum& Dad paying all the bills while you decide what youll do with your life. Half the world is starving to death while the other half is eating itself to death, theres no question which half you belong to dribble,or what ever your name is.
Asking the rich to surrender their property for self appointed people like to decide how it should be distributed?
Why not ask Michael Douglas to share Catherine Zeta Jones with all the sex starved ugly sixty plus virgins in the world?
Do you think really that because someone has a material or any other type of advantage he should surrender it to someone who never earned it nor deserves it?
Tough Shit.
Mabey the Indonesian govt should be allowed to buy weapons from the us/uk to wipe out half the people of east timor,so we can all get cheap nike gear, made by children working 18 hour days for less than a dollar. Its also right that three of the worlds richest men ccould buy 120 of the worlds poorest countries. And to hell with 24 million Iraqis,thetve done without enough food this long theyre used to it-besides you cant eat oil .-Like I guessed idiot-your belly is full .
But hey I'm sure there are creatures not dreamt of in your philosophy that know a thing or two about the fuel.
as sweet as honey in your mouth
and bitter in your belly.