Yank in London
occasional musings on politics, culture and life in general from an american in exile
"We have it in our power to begin the world over again"
Tom Paine - Common Sense
"A republic, sir, if you can keep it."
Benjamin Franklin
"War! What is it good for? Absolutely nothing!"
Norman Whitfield / Barrett Strong
BREAKING NEWS: Most Americans are appeasers and traitorous bastards!
Don't believe? Just
ask them. They seem to freely admit it.
Labels: us politics, world politics
How many left?
Labels: iraq, world politics
1,000 reasons John McCain shouldn't be President
Number 34: his ridiculous "
League of Democracies (That I Approve Of)" is simply a non-starter. Who is going to decide who is a democracy? (John McCain?) Who is going to decide who gets in? (John McCain?) Would Pakistan qualify and Venezuela not? How about Thailand or Zimbabwe? (The Vatican's out for sure!)
Labels: mccain, world politics
Whatever you do, don't mention the wars
German writer and media executive Jürgen Todenhöfer has taken out
three full page ads in the New York Times, as well as in
Allgemeine Zeitung and the
Al-Quds Al-Arabi to teach Americans and the west about the impacts of their wars on the Muslim world in Ten Theses. I am certain that the reaction from the American right with be muted, thoughtful and vitriol free.
For those of you who don't have access to the
Times here are his theses:
1. The West is much more violent than the Muslim world. Millions of Arab civilians have been killed since colonialism began.
2. Faced with the warmongering of the West, it is really not surprising that support for Muslim extremists continues to grow.
3. Terrorists in Islamic disguise are murderers. The same holds true for the ringleaders disguised as Christians who wage wars of aggression in contravention of international law.
4. Muslims were and are at least as tolerant as Jews and Christians. They have made a major contribution to Western civilization.
5. Love of God and love of one's neighbor are the central commandments not only in the Bible but also in the Qur'an.
6. Western policies towards the Muslim world suffer from a shocking ignorance of even the simplest facts.
7. The West must treat the Muslim world just as fairly as it treats Israel. Muslims are worth as much as Jews and Christians.
8. The Muslims must champion a progressive and tolerant Islam, as did their prophet Muhammad. They must strip terrorism of its religious mask.
9. Nothing fosters terrorism more than the West's "war on terror". Muslim countries must resolve their problems with radical Islamism themselves.
10. What is needed now is the art of statesmanship, not the art of war - in the Iran conflict, the Iraq conflict and the Palestine conflict.
Labels: egwot, world politics
What's in a name?
Rather a lot if you are Macedonia. The country is being kept out of NATO because Greece believes that the name "Macedonia"
implies a territorial claim to Greece's province of the same name. In related news Canada has asked that the US be expelled from NATO because the name "United States of America" implies an imperial desire to rule over not one, but two, continents!
Labels: europe, world politics
Not exactly news
The Italian government led by Romano Prodi
has collapsed after losing a vote of confidence. Thus ends Sr. Prodi's year and half in office as head of the 61st Italian government since the end of World War II.
Labels: europe, world politics
Bush - the legacy
From the early nineties until 2002 the number of armed conflicts declined and since then
have held steady according to the Uppsala (Sweden) University Department of Peace and Conflict Research. Their annual report "States in Armed Conflict" notes that most of the current conflicts are "intractable" and the absence of peace negotiations, especially in the Middle East, is notable. But don't worry. Captain Codpiece still has time to start one or two more before he leaves office so that he can exit with an upward trend line.
Labels: captain codpiece, world politics
Captain Codpiece plumbs new depths
He is
tied for second to the bottom with his old buddy Kim Jong-il, and only narrowly ahead of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in a global poll of most admired heads of government. He is also rated lower than either Hugo Chávez or Pervez Musharraf.
Labels: captain codpiece, world politics
Is that a vote in your pocket or are you just glad to see me?
Parties in Thailand stand accused of
handing out Viagra in exchange for votes in the upcoming (pun not intended) election. A happy electorate is a docile electorate.
Labels: southeast asia, world politics
Another Bush-mate bites the dust
The reign of Australian Premier John "The Most Annoying Voice in Politics" Howard would
appears to be over as his inaccurately named Liberal Party looks certain to go down to defeat. He shall be missed, if only by Captain Codpiece.
Labels: antipodes, world politics
Is it election day yet?
Australia's Prime Minister John "Most Annoying Voice in Politics" Howard leads his euphemistically named Liberal party to the polls tomorrow (and it might be tomorrow there already) trailing badly in the polls. According to Julian Glover in the
Guardian this might be the world's first election
decided on climate change. Taking orders from his master Captain Codpiece Mr. Howard has continually sneered at even the idea of man made climate change whilst doing absolutely nothing (like his master) to address it despite the fact that Aussies are the world's worst per capita greenhouse gas emitters. Meanwhile as miners, loggers and polluters of every size, shape and description lay waster to the continent the country in deep in the grips of its worst recorded drought. Should Mr. Howard and the Liberals lose as expected to Kevin Rudd and his Labour Party it is save to assume that his neglect of this issue will be largely to blame.
Labels: antipodes, climate, world politics
No I would not!
Negin Farsad asks if you would be the Facebook friend of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Also on the list of world leaders and ex-world leaders would not be the Facebook friend of:
- Captain Codpiece
- "I'm a Big Dick" Cheney
- St. Tony Blair
- Silvio Berlusconi
- Robert Mugabe
- Ehud Olmert
- Vladimir Putin
- Pervez "The General" Musharraf
Need I go on?
Labels: iran, world politics
What did they talk about?
Labels: religion, women's rights, world politics
Today's reading assignment
The current issue of
The Economist has a
special section on religion in politics across the globe entitled "In God's Name". I've only managed to skim through it so far but it looks very good. In their own words:
"This special report is an attempt to tease out these conflicts. It comes with three health warnings. First, many numbers in religion are dodgy: most churches inflate their support and many governments do not record religion in their censuses (in Nigeria the best source is health records). Second, in a field where many believers claim to know all the answers, it poses mainly questions. And lastly, given the emotion the subject arouses, the chances are that some of what follows will offend you."
Happy reading!
Labels: religion, world politics
When bunnies attack
Labels: world politics
You'd think we'd be smarter by now
The formula is simple and yet voters the world over don't seem to have worked it out yet. Politician is foundering in the polls; politician promises to cut taxes;
politician's support rebounds.
Maybe I'm just cynical.
Labels: world politics
So long Mr. Howard
One of George Bush's most loyal followers, and owner of what can only be described as the most irritating speaking voice in politics, Australian Prime Minister John Howard is likely to be
out of work by Xmas after he has finally called an election for the end of November. Opinion polls show Mr. Howard's euphemistically named Liberal Party far behind the opposition Labour Party.
It's been good to know you - not.
Labels: world politics
