01 March 2005
Mirror, mirror, on the wall
I choked on my Freedom Fries when I read about the US State Dept's report criticising Russia and Saudi Arabia (among others) for egregious human rights violations. Among the litany of transgressions were rigged elections, erosion of government accountability, torture and abuse of prisoners by security forces, arbitrary arrests, incommunicado detentions etc.
We must exist in a parallel universe constructed by George Orwell where bad means good, black is white and wrong is right in the lexicon of neo-cons.
In my books, rigged elections means getting your brother and his hench woman to help you steal a presidency. Erosion of government accountability means prosecuting an illegal war using lies and deception which would make Hitler proud; without so much as roasting Fried Rice in a hot wok.
Or not jailing a Secretary of Defence (but re-appointing him) and General Officer instead of half-witted GIs for the systematic torture and murder of prisoners in Abu Ghraib and in America's other little outposts of tyranny. Arbitrary arrests means detaining civilians in Afghanistan and Iraq just because someone claimed they were terrorists, in order to receive a large reward in return.
What puzzles me to no end is how such morally worthless and hypocritical reports can be issued by an administration proven to be deceptive, dishonourable and disingenuous, and hoped to be regarded with authority and credibility?
I mean, they must be smoking some really good dope over at Foggy Bottom.
Do you think that if we ask nicely, we can have some too?
We must exist in a parallel universe constructed by George Orwell where bad means good, black is white and wrong is right in the lexicon of neo-cons.
In my books, rigged elections means getting your brother and his hench woman to help you steal a presidency. Erosion of government accountability means prosecuting an illegal war using lies and deception which would make Hitler proud; without so much as roasting Fried Rice in a hot wok.
Or not jailing a Secretary of Defence (but re-appointing him) and General Officer instead of half-witted GIs for the systematic torture and murder of prisoners in Abu Ghraib and in America's other little outposts of tyranny. Arbitrary arrests means detaining civilians in Afghanistan and Iraq just because someone claimed they were terrorists, in order to receive a large reward in return.
What puzzles me to no end is how such morally worthless and hypocritical reports can be issued by an administration proven to be deceptive, dishonourable and disingenuous, and hoped to be regarded with authority and credibility?
I mean, they must be smoking some really good dope over at Foggy Bottom.
Do you think that if we ask nicely, we can have some too?
