Red blogule to Amerika's "Freedom Agenda"

I listened to Dubya's I have a dream press conference yesterday. It's good to hear again about the need for an independant and free Palestine, but it's getting harder and harder to stand this voice and that surrealistic propaganda rap of empty keywords repeated on and on (blah blah terror blah blah freedom blah blah Iran nuke blah blah liberty blah blah freedom of worship blah blah strategy of freedom blah blah universal desire for liberty blah blah democracy blah blah tyranny blah blah unstoppable power of freedom blah blah amen). While munching their pizzaz, mesmerized Joe Sixpacks musta understood Hezbollah helped Saddam and Bin Laden destroy the Twin Towers back on 9/11. With such efficient History Bis 101 lessons, no wonder 50% of US adults now think Iraq had WMDs when the US invaded that country, up from 36% back in February 2005 (Harris polls mentioned by the CMD).
Freedom will prevail, yeah... Hezbollah, a state sponsored terrorist group, will be replaced by Qaeda wannabes, a cloudy mist of irresponsible people far more dangerous for the region, but that's OK because Israeli hardliners need a bigger threat at their doors. Olmert will be replaced by a madhatter even worse than Benjamin Netanyahu but that's OK because that's what Amerika needs too. The utterly successful Iraki model will be replicated in Lebanon but that's OK because that was the aim of the game... Sorry Beirut but Bush's speech is yet another bring'em-on-invitation to terrorists from all over the world to visit your country.
But the most surrealistic speech of the day was pronounced by Ehud Olmert himself : admitting his own failure, he dared say next time - because there will be a next time - , he'll handle war better. Talking about flattened Lebanon as a learning curve...
Last throes of sanity, anyone ?
More than ever, it's time for a regime change in both the US and Israel... but for the better, please.

Red blogule to Operation Summer Rain - peace drowned in monsoon

Israel won't enjoy longlasting peace if its government keeps humiliating Palestinians. Just like Bush's Amerika, Sharon-and-now-Olmert's Eretz Israel openly mocks at intra-and-international laws, exacerbates hatred, fuels radicalism, extremism and terrorism, loses all respect and credit from moderates.
Just like Sharon got rid of Arafat, Olmert can wack Hamas but it doesn't matter since the annilihation of each of every one constructive hope today means the creation of thousands of new ennemies tomorrow.
And all this for what ? Just artificially keeping a minority of ultra-conservatives and fundamentalists alive ; species bound to extinction in a peaceful world.
Where on Earth are Israel's moderates ? Why are they keeping silent ? At least, we know why the US are not doing anything to stop this sick joke...

Red blogule to demokracy - professor Bush's vision

There were eventually quite a few changes between the final version of Dubya's State of the Union speech and the complete and uncut version I published last week. But as for surprises, I didn't get a lot.
I don't need to learn from such a lousy teacher "terrorists have chosen the weapon of fear". I don't need the President of the United States to quote an unknown soldier (Dan Clay) to paint a thin emotional layer of justification on his strategic mistakes. I don't need W to speak directly to the people of Iran the same way he did with the people of Irak right before invading their country.
Democracy definitely is on its way and here are the results : fundamentalists won in Iran and made their highest scores ever in Saudi Arabia or Egypt in 2005, and fundamentalists won in Palestine in 2006 because fundamentalists won in the US in 2004.
When George W Bush is talking about "a nation now held hostage by a small clerical elite that is isolating and repressing its people", is he talking about Iran of the Amerika that harrassed and fired all the good law people within its own administration who confessed some doubts regarding the use of torture ? The Amerika that reserved the best positions for the promoters of Intelligent Design and crucified the ones who refused to mix religion and science ?
And yet, this man is asking for more support : "tonight I ask for yours. Together, let us protect our country, support the men and women who defend us, and lead this world toward freedom". The freedom of being either with him or against him, the freedom of facing the consequences, the freedom of either being a good Amerikan citizen/churchgoer or abandoning all rights and dignity, the freedom of contributing to the economic domination of the Liberator or undergoing boycott and pressure.
And what is his ultimate goal, the final point of his brilliant speech ? "By applying the talent and technology of America, this country can dramatically improve our environment … move beyond a petroleum-based economy … and make our dependence on Middle Eastern oil a thing of the past." What an inspiring vision... I suggest another wording for this back-to-square-one agony : "Help me outta there ! I've been stuck to that damn Texan pit ever since I started digging for my life but I've never been able to collect anything but mud, debts and shame."

Red blogule to Ehud Olmert - the Bangladesh scenario

Olmert shares Sharon's vision of a Great Israel that takes into account the demographic factor : Israel cannot remain a Jewish state if it doesn't give a piece of land back to the Palestinians*. Since Sharon didn't want to give much land, he needed to pile up as many Palestinians in as small a space as possible, even if this meant a total redifinition of borders... a tradition for this bold warrior used to touring neighbouring countries driving his tank the foot to the metal and both hands to the gun (same for political borders : creating Kadima was maybe Sharon's smartest move ever).
Olmert speaks to both the Likud and Hamas radicals : no one can win it all and both parties have to give up part of their dreams. But it sounds as if the Israeli sacrifice is over (past tense) while the Palestinian's still has to start somewhen in the future (more tensions ahead)**.
What theses semi-harliners dream of is a not so Eretz Israel and a political failure in Gaza so that they won't have to liberate much more land. Not only do they want to keep Jerusalem all for themselves : they expect a "Bangladesh scenario". Parted from India, Pakistan couldn't survive as two seperate parts of land. The radicals concentrated in the Western Part while the weaker ones remained in an innofensive bayou miles apart.
Sharon followers may get what they want : an independant undersized West Bank turned into some kind of a Bangladesh too concerned with its own survival to be dangerous. They may also get what they fear : a Gaza strip turned into a bellicist Pakistan and a fundamentalists' hub.


* (even if the word "back" never appears) "The choice between allowing Jews to live in all parts of the land of Israel, and living in a state with a Jewish majority, mandates giving up parts of the Land of Israel (...) We will not be able to continue ruling over the territories in which the majority of the Palestinian population lives."
** "The Palestinians will have to give up part of their national dreams, just as we have given up some of our national dreams".

Red blogule to Bush's terrorist training camps

Even if, this time again, the bombs didn't strike the US, the landscape looks terrible : propaganda, torture, gulags, illegal abductions on foreign soil and now journalists in prison... George W. Bush's Amerika looks everyday more like Kim Il-Sung's North Korea.
As terror strikes London like Baghdad any given day, as Bosnia / Chechnya veteran fighters start messing with what's left of Afghanistan, one can only imagine how long the World will pay for the US historical suicide in Iraq. Thanks to Uncle Sam, today Iraq is a much easier training camp for foreign terrorists than 1980s Afghanistan, 1990s Bosnia or 2000s Chechnya.
Bush keeps talking about good vs evil and the use of force to retaliate - Blair keeps talking about attacks against civilization... but such speeches are music to the ears of fundamentalists. What these leaders need to protect is not their own "way of life" but the basic rights of moderate majorities under the spell of extremist minorities.
After this awful wake up call in the deadest middle of the G8 meeting, will the World eventually admit how wrong that war was ? Back then, Iraq had nothing to do with terror, and Saddam was more under stronger control than ever (even he wouldn't have performed that much destruction that quickly) - a smarter approach was possible and almost under way. The US is not only wasting people and key ressources in Iraq ; it keeps fueling the extremists with more energy. Off course Iraq shouldn't be abandoned now, but the World would be safer without this unnecessary front.
Removing the Talibans was a true war on terror, but the right way to fight terror was and still remains at its very roots : solving the Palestine issue (following the footprints and roadmaps of moderate 1995 leaders), supporting the moderates versus the fanatics and moreover eradicating the very world poverty G8 members were supposed to meet for...

Red blogule to the "Bush doctrine"

The big question nowadays is : was Bush right ? Is the man responsible for democracy's tidal wave in Ukraine, Gaza, Lebanon, Kyrgyzstan...?
The answer is yes, the US did play a major role, but not the way they dreamed it.
Washington did invest in the opposition in former soviet republics, and keeps laying greenbacks over Iraq (even watering them with the blood of honorable marines and local citizens, but I'm not sure it will help them grow). But the US also made their point in revealing their own weaknesses : here is an allmighty warlord getting humiliated, losing face (faith ?), uniting the international community against this negation of respect. Bush even managed to pass for the bad boy while fighting Bin Laden and Saddam. This man did everything he could to crush the Palestinian side during his first mandate. And when his top aides dare say about Lebanon elections cannot be considered democratical when held in an occupied country, how do you think Iraqis should take it ?
The world knows well the US are not likely to repeat their Iraqi failure that soon, that their military forces are far too stretched to allow one more "shock & awe" mission right now. The world knows the US are no more the center of the world, the only economical superpower. The world knows the US are weaker than ever.
But the world knows the world is watching. Not necessarily with enough strength to avoid the abuses of a Bush or a Putin, but with enough intensity to make it count.

White blogule to good intentions - Mind the gap

Strike the pose, George. You'll have your snapshot next to that of Jimmy & Anwar, or even better that of Billy, Yasser & Itzhak. All smiles at home, at your dear lil' White House on the prairie. After blocking all peace attempts for over 4 years and setting the World on fire... Luckily enough, you can put the blame on Arafat or even Powell for the failures of your first mandate. Not on you ("Make no mistake" is your middle name)... But tell you what : I'll even swallow my pride and endure your presence on that picture for posterity if you manage to make Palestine happen during your second mandate. Heck, even Russia celebrates Stalin for Yalta's 60th anniversary.
And you're also tackling that deficit issue now ? What a week ! Well... even divided by two this remains a huge deficit to be compared to the comfortable surplus you inherited. And you don't even take into account your little extras in Iraq. I'm sure a very efficient cut will be performed, but it's likely to be on your project by the very majority you got elected on that radical program of yours a couple of monthes ago...
I should rejoice and yet I can't help but smell a rat. Let's name it Karl for convenience. How is dear Karl gonna cope with the hardliners for 2006 and 2008 ?