Iraq, Manolo Blahniks, and conservative rants

This video from the USA says about itself:

Visit http://www.afsc.org/cost to tell Congress how you want your tax dollars spent. The Iraq war has taken the lives of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and thousands of U.S. military personnel. It is also costing $720 Million dollars each day – dollars that could be spent in much more constructive ways. It is time to DEFUND the war and RE-FUND human needs in the U.S. and Iraq. Get more details about our Cost of War campaign and sign our petition at http://www.afsc.org/cost.

On the far Right fringe of politics in the USA, there is something called the National Review.

It has a history of support for keeping racial segregation, for whitewashing anti-Semitism, and, “of course” for George W. Bush’s policies, including the Iraq war. They even expelled the son of the founder of their magazine, Christopher Buckley, when they thought he was not enough of a conformist sort of conservative.

Recently, once again, all the pro Iraq war propaganda was punctured by an Iraqi journalist throwing his shoes at George W. Bush. That journalist at the moment is in a torture jail in the Green Zone in Baghdad. He needs all the help possible from anti torture public opinion everywhere. Even from anti torture conservatives.

According to the New York Times, this Wednesday a criminal prosecution may start against the journalist. Every day in prison may turn out to be a deathly day for any prisoner in Iraq.

One National Review employee is called Mark Hemingway. Probably not in the slightest way related to Ernest Hemingway, judging from his writing. Mark Hemingway tries to defend the Iraq war, even now that the shoes thrown at George W. Bush have shown what the pro war propaganda is worth. Remember the Bushist predictions of flowers which would be thrown at George W. Bush and his armed representatives? And now, this reality. In the Green Zone of all places, where all “disloyalty” is supposed to never make it through all the endless body searches and other checks.

The Iraq war which killed over a million people, mainly civilians. The Iraq war, of which a Republican employed by the US Bush administration itself, has reported officially that there has been basically no reconstruction after 2003. The Iraq war which made over four million Iraqis refugees according to United Nations figures. The Iraq war which set back Iraqi women’s rights terribly. The Iraq war which set back Iraqi gay rights terribly (the National Review will not mind as they hate gay rights and women’s rights). The Iraq war which brought more torture of more prisoners to Iraq than even under Saddam Hussein. The Iraq war based on lies about so-called WMD in Iraq. The Iraq war based on lies of Iraq having anything to do with 9/11. The Iraq war which killed over 4,200 United States soldiers, mutilated many more, and still counting.

Mark Hemingway tries to defend this war. I will spare the readers of this blog from quoting his whole longish failure in doing that. I’ll limit myself to this paragraph:

A not atypical liberal blogger, Dear Kitty, responded, “It is a pity there was no Iraqi woman journalist with Manolo Blahniks at Bush’s news conference,” referring to absurdly expensive, hazardously sharp-angled women’s shoes preferred on Sex and the City. Perhaps Ms. Kitty wishes harm to the president, but it’s safe to say if Iraqi journalists end up wearing $400 shoes and spending all their free time kvetching about their lady troubles at hot clubs in downtown Baghdad, W.’s legacy is secure.

Yeah, “if Iraqi journalists” … maybe the most gigantic IF in world history 🙂

Mr Hemingway “forgot” the rest of my quote, immediately after the one sentence which he did quote. My complete paragraph is:

It is a pity there was no Iraqi woman journalist with Manolo Blahniks at Bush´s news conference. Extremely implausible, as women´s rights have become much worse in Iraq after Bush invaded in 2003. And that most women cannot afford non cholera drinking water and/or electricity, let alone Manolo Blahniks.

Mr Hemingway, it seems, still has to get his first lessons in understanding humour, hyperbole, and sarcasm. Humour, even while writing about the slaughterhouse which the Bush administration made in Iraq. Oh yeah, and even if that one and lonely Manolo Blahnik wearing Iraqi woman journalist would a) exist in reality b) have been admitted to the Bush press conference, then that one woman would not prove anything about Iraqi women being supposedly comfortable and about shoes being supposedly 100% of their lives. As even owning Manolo Blahniks, or a good car like Mary Awanis did, do not prevent Iraqi women from being killed by Bush’s paramilitary mercenaries in Baghdad.

Unfortunately, I have no time for free lessons in humour for conservatives who lack it. So I will just post the video trailer of the Sex and the City film here.

Me, “A not atypical liberal blogger”? I never try to be “a not atypical” anything. I am an individual. I write what I think. Contrary to paid employees of the National Review, who cannot ever forget that they have to toe the line of pro Bush, pro Iraq war, whatever the reality. As young Mr Christopher Buckley has found out when he was sacked.

The National Review side in the USA have lost the November elections. They should get over it. Apparently, they have trouble doing so. So, they say: let’s take out the disaster of Bush’s Iraq war on bloggers and on a fictional TV series about women. You don’t want to do that, employee? Then, you will get the Christopher Buckley treatment.

How great that the only person at this blog able to sack me is me. And I don’t have any intentions to do that soon.

British comedian Mark Steel on the shoe-throwing: here.