Jingo Day, and other rants
Jan. 27th, 2006 05:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
catsidheSo yesterday was Jingo Day: everything was as Aussie as, and the bushfires triply so. The news was basically "It's Jingo day, and many people had barbeques, and some angry Abos burned a flag, and several towns are at immediate risk from these photogenic infernos, how Aussie is that?!, here's a live cross to the Aussie Bushfires," on all the channels I saw.
Yes, I know that the bushfires are serious and important news, and that Kinglake is in trouble (hopefully the current showers will help...), but couldn't they have at least tried to disguise their glee at Aussie Bushfires featuring on Aussie Day, so they could alternate the Aussie Flag with shots of Aussie bushfires on the Aussie newsroom backdrop. Aussie.
*sigh*
We spent the morning chasing Abbi through the Aquarium. The fishbowl in the basement is very impressive, and so is the Architeuthis Dux on ice. There were lots of people. The entry cost was exhorbitant, even if the girls got in free. The corned beef bagel was nice. Abbi held a starfish. There were lots of fish.
*drinks more coffee*
So, Palestine. The Democratic Process is a wonderful thing, if you vote for the people you are supposed to, it seems. Palestine has not voted for the people it was supposed to. It seems Hamas has won. Everyone is pulling out unfeasably large testicles and uttering (voce basso) manly declamations of How It's Gonna Be. Israel won't negotiate with any government with Hamas in it. Neither will the US. Other Manly Men like Howard and Blair have said that Hamas must renounce terrorism before they will talk to them.
What pompous, simplistic twaddle.
First, everyone who knew anything about Palestinian politics knew that Fatah was by now unsustainable: it was Arafat's personal charisma and authority which held it together and in power. It was also well known that Fatah was entrenched in corruption and incompetance, and even where it wanted to do its duty, was actively prevented from doing so by the IDF. Well, the Palestinians knew this too. And it's not like they have a lot of choice here, anyway.
Second, by saying that no peaceful interaction will be entered into, what does that leave? For the love of the Gods, if someone is as angry as Hamas is, and has no way to express their grievance except by violence, then they will do that. Shimon Peres was interviewed by George Negus on the last Dateline, and his view was that the very fact of being in power would expose Hamas to new responsibilities. Before, they could do their local strongman thing, and look after neighborhoods, but any failures were the fault of a supine and useless PA. Well, now that PA is them. They will actually have to put effort into looking after people which they were putting into plotting their generalised revenge. The thing is, though, that Palestine needs help from Israel. If Israel says "Nu-huh, you voted for people we don't like, so we won't talk to you," then the only thing Hamas has left is another grievance. The point I'm trying to make here, and which Peres was hinting at was that if Hamas are treated like humans, then they might start acting like humans. Treat them like caged dogs, and they most certainly will react as such.
Oh, sorry, but that can't work, can it. After all, Hamas == Hitler. Littlegreenfootballs tells us so. *bzzzzzt!* Point of order: specious comparisons with Hitler do not help debate: they abnegate it. No rational response is possible, whether the response is a stunned searching for words, or "Yes! Yes! and because these Nazis won the election, then all Palestinians are like Hitler, and they Must All Be Crushed Like The cockroaches they are!" Try again. Try harder.
Oh, and here's something to think about. Mahmoud Abbas was ignored by Israel because he was 'weak', that is, he could not exert control over the armed militia groups. (Hmm, do you think a sustained and consistant policy of bombing police stations (that is, his centers of authority) might have something to do with that? I wonder...). Well, now Hamas are in charge, and they can exert control over the militias. Indeed, in many cases, they are the militias. Do you think that this strength will appease the Israelis? Will it bollocks. The rule seems to be Heads I Win, Tails You Lose. The Palestinians do not have any recourse which will satisfy Israel, and few which will appease it (all of which would be humiliating, both nationally and personally). Given that, there may not have been any choice of candidates to have made a difference, and given a choice between crooks and thugs, the thugs were the only option that allowed them any degree of pride in themselves. "We chose to fight."
What is needed is an alternative to fighting, but Blair's and Bush's and Israel's amazing testicles will cut that possibility off in the bud. It's almost like, if I didn't know better, they want more Palestinian violence.
But I can't say that. That would be wrong.
Do I like Hamas? Actually, no I don't. I would far prefer that someone else had won the elections. But for that to have happened, there would have to have been somebody else. The reaction of the right is sadly predictable: force them into a corner, leave them only one option, then punish them for taking it. Fucking grow up, you Calvinist hypocrits. And stop comparing me to Chamberlain.
Toy ads.Slutz Bratz are bad enough, but at least they are presented as of-age vapid whores. Bratz Babyz, above and beyond their crimes against the English Language, are simply abominable, and I use that word advisedly. They are an abomination against childhood and innocence.
They are sexualised Goddess-damned TODDLERS. The ads feature the four of them, with bottles and the proportions of a three-year-old, in nappy-bikinis, with wide hips, canted and tilted towards the viewer. And these 'toys' are aimed at six-year-old girls. As rôle-models: "This is what you should aspire to be, forget 'princess', or 'nurse', or godforbid, 'policewoman' or 'astronaut', your life-goals should include fishnets and miniskirts, shopping and getting drunk and advertising your sexual availability -- even if you don't know what that means."
For Fuck's Sake.
And then you have The Teen Trends dolls, which are at least more vapid than slutty (No sign of fishnets, micro-mini-skirts and CFM boots, for example), and are meant to be teenagers. Still. I wonder how much of a coincidence it is that the ad is punctuated with the cry "Ho's!".
"Teen Trends, the girls know what to do (HO's!), Teen Trends, Teen Trends..."
I was so much happier before Abbi reintroduced us to early morning cartoons. What happened to Transformers, Battle of the Planets, or the Mysterious Cities of Gold? Even theMattel/Cadburies Chocobot hour Machine Men would be preferable to this.
Quote just heard on JJJ from a -- dare I say -- White Supremacist:
Idiot.
If I don't respond to emails in a hurry, it's because I'm on holiday for a fortnight, and Mim doesn't like me looking sideways at the computer. If you have to get in touch, phone me. If you don't have my number, email and I'll give it to you when I next log on. And I'll try and stay connected when I can.
Yes, I know that the bushfires are serious and important news, and that Kinglake is in trouble (hopefully the current showers will help...), but couldn't they have at least tried to disguise their glee at Aussie Bushfires featuring on Aussie Day, so they could alternate the Aussie Flag with shots of Aussie bushfires on the Aussie newsroom backdrop. Aussie.
*sigh*
We spent the morning chasing Abbi through the Aquarium. The fishbowl in the basement is very impressive, and so is the Architeuthis Dux on ice. There were lots of people. The entry cost was exhorbitant, even if the girls got in free. The corned beef bagel was nice. Abbi held a starfish. There were lots of fish.
*drinks more coffee*
So, Palestine. The Democratic Process is a wonderful thing, if you vote for the people you are supposed to, it seems. Palestine has not voted for the people it was supposed to. It seems Hamas has won. Everyone is pulling out unfeasably large testicles and uttering (voce basso) manly declamations of How It's Gonna Be. Israel won't negotiate with any government with Hamas in it. Neither will the US. Other Manly Men like Howard and Blair have said that Hamas must renounce terrorism before they will talk to them.
What pompous, simplistic twaddle.
First, everyone who knew anything about Palestinian politics knew that Fatah was by now unsustainable: it was Arafat's personal charisma and authority which held it together and in power. It was also well known that Fatah was entrenched in corruption and incompetance, and even where it wanted to do its duty, was actively prevented from doing so by the IDF. Well, the Palestinians knew this too. And it's not like they have a lot of choice here, anyway.
Second, by saying that no peaceful interaction will be entered into, what does that leave? For the love of the Gods, if someone is as angry as Hamas is, and has no way to express their grievance except by violence, then they will do that. Shimon Peres was interviewed by George Negus on the last Dateline, and his view was that the very fact of being in power would expose Hamas to new responsibilities. Before, they could do their local strongman thing, and look after neighborhoods, but any failures were the fault of a supine and useless PA. Well, now that PA is them. They will actually have to put effort into looking after people which they were putting into plotting their generalised revenge. The thing is, though, that Palestine needs help from Israel. If Israel says "Nu-huh, you voted for people we don't like, so we won't talk to you," then the only thing Hamas has left is another grievance. The point I'm trying to make here, and which Peres was hinting at was that if Hamas are treated like humans, then they might start acting like humans. Treat them like caged dogs, and they most certainly will react as such.
Oh, sorry, but that can't work, can it. After all, Hamas == Hitler. Littlegreenfootballs tells us so. *bzzzzzt!* Point of order: specious comparisons with Hitler do not help debate: they abnegate it. No rational response is possible, whether the response is a stunned searching for words, or "Yes! Yes! and because these Nazis won the election, then all Palestinians are like Hitler, and they Must All Be Crushed Like The cockroaches they are!" Try again. Try harder.
Oh, and here's something to think about. Mahmoud Abbas was ignored by Israel because he was 'weak', that is, he could not exert control over the armed militia groups. (Hmm, do you think a sustained and consistant policy of bombing police stations (that is, his centers of authority) might have something to do with that? I wonder...). Well, now Hamas are in charge, and they can exert control over the militias. Indeed, in many cases, they are the militias. Do you think that this strength will appease the Israelis? Will it bollocks. The rule seems to be Heads I Win, Tails You Lose. The Palestinians do not have any recourse which will satisfy Israel, and few which will appease it (all of which would be humiliating, both nationally and personally). Given that, there may not have been any choice of candidates to have made a difference, and given a choice between crooks and thugs, the thugs were the only option that allowed them any degree of pride in themselves. "We chose to fight."
What is needed is an alternative to fighting, but Blair's and Bush's and Israel's amazing testicles will cut that possibility off in the bud. It's almost like, if I didn't know better, they want more Palestinian violence.
But I can't say that. That would be wrong.
Do I like Hamas? Actually, no I don't. I would far prefer that someone else had won the elections. But for that to have happened, there would have to have been somebody else. The reaction of the right is sadly predictable: force them into a corner, leave them only one option, then punish them for taking it. Fucking grow up, you Calvinist hypocrits. And stop comparing me to Chamberlain.
Toy ads.
They are sexualised Goddess-damned TODDLERS. The ads feature the four of them, with bottles and the proportions of a three-year-old, in nappy-bikinis, with wide hips, canted and tilted towards the viewer. And these 'toys' are aimed at six-year-old girls. As rôle-models: "This is what you should aspire to be, forget 'princess', or 'nurse', or godforbid, 'policewoman' or 'astronaut', your life-goals should include fishnets and miniskirts, shopping and getting drunk and advertising your sexual availability -- even if you don't know what that means."
For Fuck's Sake.
And then you have The Teen Trends dolls, which are at least more vapid than slutty (No sign of fishnets, micro-mini-skirts and CFM boots, for example), and are meant to be teenagers. Still. I wonder how much of a coincidence it is that the ad is punctuated with the cry "Ho's!".
"Teen Trends, the girls know what to do (HO's!), Teen Trends, Teen Trends..."
I was so much happier before Abbi reintroduced us to early morning cartoons. What happened to Transformers, Battle of the Planets, or the Mysterious Cities of Gold? Even the
Quote just heard on JJJ from a -- dare I say -- White Supremacist:
"Racism" is just a word used by the Left to confuse the Right.
Idiot.
If I don't respond to emails in a hurry, it's because I'm on holiday for a fortnight, and Mim doesn't like me looking sideways at the computer. If you have to get in touch, phone me. If you don't have my number, email and I'll give it to you when I next log on. And I'll try and stay connected when I can.
