Please clean *your* backyard first
By glazou on Friday 4 June 2004, 17:31 - Bushisms - Permalink
The US are going to release four persons of french citizenship currently detained in Guantanamo. Whatever they did (or did not... remember a few UK citizens were recently released from Guantanamo and the UK authorities just let them go, saying there was no charge at all against them...), these four persons were detained during years in total denial of their civil rights, under the bill of a country's president that is almost certainly illegal according to the international treaties. And guess what? Washington has sent the French Foreign Office an official diplomatic note requiring that Paris confirms these four persons will be, personal translation of AFP's news report, treated with dignity in full respect of the French Law!!!! Bush will be in France tonight or tomorrow for the D-Day's celebrations, and he'll meet Chirac. In diplomatic words, that diploatic note is called a snub. In less diplomatic words, that's called a slap in the face, and I can imagine Chirac tonight thundering forth against Bush. And you know what? I agree with him.
The French have no problems at all with US citizens. But my american friends should really dump their current president to /dev/null.
In the meantime, heads are falling in the Bush administration... CIA's number one, George Tenet resigns because he wants to spend more time with his family (thanks to CIA's excellent reports of WMD and 9/11), CIA's deputy director for operations is retiring (thanks to spy name's leak). Who's next?
Comments
Thanks for sharing your doubleplus strong postion. And will you go in the streets when He comes? Hope you do..
P.S. I really hope you don't log user IPs, otherwise they'll come and get me some day, when they've finally taken over the world
No I won't demonstrate because it's totally useless. Writings and movies are much stronger weapons against this man and the system around him.
Books in the US as a mean of influence? Give me a rest. Movies -- yes, and you know who controls them.
That's not to say that protests aren't useless -- but they are at least fun. Resistance is futile
Unfortunately "almost certainly illegal" does not actually mean illegal.
And then again, a whole lot of bad things in the world right now are a result of countries like France not following through on international agreements. In terms of the more significant stuff, the US is probably leading the charge for upholding international law.
It's incredibly amusing that those who charge the US with working to undermine bodies such as the UN are the ones that, through their actions, do the most to render it insignificant.
Protests aren't useless at all. Bush will of course don't mind it, but you give a signal to your own government and other people that you don't tolerate him (who does?). I just hope that the American people will dump him once and for all this time. I'm sure they won't, since they have this strange election system (and they call that a democracy???), and bush can pay for a victory. The 911 Fahrenheit issue is one that proves this. Disney won't publish it because they are afraid of what brother Bush will say about it, and maybe raise the rent for Disneyworld. I'm just so happy that I'm a European
Oh, I plan on voting against him in November. I voted against him last time, and I'll do it again. Heck, more people voted for the someone else than voted for Bush in 2000. I'm hoping it's that way in November as well, and we can send him back to Texas (and Cheney to Wyoming).
"Whatever they did (or did not... remember a few UK citizens were recently released from Guantanamo and the UK authorities just let them go, saying there was no charge at all against them...)"
Anyway, I'm just curious about what french or UK citizens were doing in Afghanistan under the Taliban rule. Except a few NGO workers, some reporters, I do no think most people who went to Afghanistan during this period have the same love for human rights that we all share here while reading and commenting this blog.
I don't minimize the formal denial of their civil rights, but I'm sorry to say that I'm not very happy to see those people coming back to France and possibly be freed as soon as they land. Maybe they should have been released in the environment they seem to appreciate the most : tribal zones in Pakistan or Afghan mountains...
In one word, cleaning american backyard should not mean asking the USA to send us back the "rubbish" of Guantanamo they no longer need.
>>The 911 Fahrenheit issue is one that proves this<<
That's laughable. Michael Moore is a propagandist who uses half-truths to push his agenda. The fact that he won in Cannes is nothing more than a political statement. And don't worry, the movie will come out, just like all his movies, generally to a yawn from the american movie-going public. Btw, the reason Disney doesn't want to get involved is because they are afraid that Moore's bombthrowing message will piss people off sufficiently to ignore/boycott Disney's other movies (that actually do make money).
>>since they have this strange election system (and they call that a democracy???)<<
It is not strange at all, it is clearly defined and all the candidates play by the same rules. And yes, it is a democracy, now going on 228 years. Worked pretty darn well.
>>and bush can pay for a victory.<<
Kerry and Bush will spend a pretty identical amount of money. And if you count peripheral left wing orgs such as MoveOn, Soros, etc... it is likely that democrats will outspend the republicans.
>>I'm just so happy that I'm a European<<
You should be unhappy, that you are ignorant.
"In terms of the more significant stuff, the US is probably leading the charge for upholding international law."
There is no doubt on that, every agreement can be legally broken, the US do that quite well. And yes, Geneva Conventions are not significant.
"Michael Moore is a propagandist who uses half-truths to push his agenda."
Yet another conspirationist. So, what is Moore agenda according to your insightful views? To get a job?
"And yes, it is a democracy, now going on 228 years. Worked pretty darn well."
You sure mean 139 years, or not pretty darn well...
>>There is no doubt on that, every agreement can be legally broken, the US do that quite well. And yes, Geneva Conventions are not significant.<<
You can throw bombs all you want. Mention a particular agreement and we can discuss it. But you'd rather paint US with a broad brush.
>>>>"Michael Moore is a propagandist who uses half-truths to push his agenda." <<<<
>>Yet another conspirationist. So, what is Moore agenda according to your insightful views? To get a job?<<
He has an extremely left wing agenda. And there is no conspiracy here. You can acquint yourself with his agenda at his web site. Btw, in US just being associated with this bullshit generator essentially destroyed Gen. Clark's otherwise healthy presidential campaign.
>>>>"And yes, it is a democracy, now going on 228 years. Worked pretty darn well."<<<<
>>You sure mean 139 years, or not pretty darn well..<<
Once again, instead of re-asserting Truben's original specific remarks against which I posted the remark above, you throw out a broadly brushed bomb. If you want to argue something seriously, bring up something specific.
rizzo : if you don't fear the godwin law, read this.
www.amics21.com/911/fasan...
(french translation and original spanish version if you prefer exists as well)
www.reseauvoltaire.net/ar...
www.redvoltaire.net/artic...
"You can throw bombs all you want. Mention a particular agreement and we can discuss it."
Geneva Conventions, Kyoto Protocol, Rome Statute on the International Criminal Court, Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, Biological Weapons Convention...
"He has an extremely left wing agenda. And there is no conspiracy here. You can acquint yourself with his agenda at his web site."
Oh, to make people to vote for the left? To prevent people from having guns? To stop the spendings in the Irak war? You call that "an agenda"?
"Once again, instead of re-asserting Truben's original specific remarks against which I posted the remark above, you throw out a broadly brushed bomb. If you want to argue something seriously, bring up something specific."
I wasn't speaking about the electoral process, but given that you don't understand that, I don't know why I should spend time to argue.
to jmfayard:
You can't post such america-hating dribble and be taken seriously. Regardless, the author plays fast with the truth. If you want to know the truth on this matter, I suggest you look to more reputable sources.
To Damien Bonvillain:
>>"You can throw bombs all you want. Mention a particular agreement and we can discuss it."
Geneva Conventions, Kyoto Protocol, Rome Statute on the International Criminal Court, Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, Biological Weapons Convention...<<
US has never left Geneva Conventions.
Kyoto Protocol - US has not ratified it, so there is nothing to withdraw from. Besides it is seriously flawed. Why does China & India get to pollute all they want, but a country of similar economic power such as Russia does not.
Rome Statute of ICC - this has been explained to death. Here are some refreshers.
www.state.gov/p/9949.htm
www.state.gov/t/us/rm/135...
www.state.gov/t/pm/rls/fs...
www.state.gov/t/pm/rls/fs...
www.state.gov/s/wci/fs/20...
It seems there are reasons, but you just hear one thing.
Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty
I don't know if you noticed the other signatory no longer exists. Besides what is wrong with creating space based defence shields. What exactly do you object to?
I think you like singing Kumbaya just for the point of it. In your opinion, nations should just join an international treaty because others have joined it. I am betting, you've read none of the treaties.
>>>>"He has an extremely left wing agenda. And there is no conspiracy here. You can acquint yourself with his agenda at his web site."<<<<
>>Oh, to make people to vote for the left? To prevent people from having guns? To stop the spendings in the Irak war? You call that "an agenda"? <<
I suppose if you considers guns to be so bad, then I guess it is not an agenda.
>>>>I wasn't speaking about the electoral process, but given that you don't understand that, I don't know why I should spend time to argue.<<<<
Given that you replied to comment to Truben, which talked about the electoral process, it would stand to reason that you were. Follow the train of thought here. The words on this page are not randomly placed together. Either stop being an idiot or stop pretending to be one.