May 31, 2005

Amnesty International has “Lost its Bearings”

Circulated via email, from Gary Bauer—AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL MELTS DOWN:

Amnesty International has gone from being merely irritating to now making obscene charges. On the eve of Memorial Day weekend the human rights group compared the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay to the Soviet Gulag (prison system.) For good measure they also urged that Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, Attorney General Gonzales and other U.S. government officials, or “architects of torture” as they referred to them, be brought up for charges of war crimes.

Even the liberal Washington Post was astonished and accused Amnesty of having “lost its bearings.” Actual prisoners who survived the Gulag, like Natan Sharansky, quickly reminded us that the Soviet Gulag brutalized tens of millions of people. Millions of those who entered that Russian government-sanctioned hell on earth died of torture, starvation, exposure or execution. As the Post points out, if Amnesty wants to find something comparable to the Gulag they could look to “the labor camps of North Korea, …China’s Laogai…or, until recently, the prisons of Saddam Hussein’s Iraq.”

Meanwhile at our “gulag” at Guantanamo Bay the “scandal” is about whether a Koran was inappropriately handled – a Koran that was one of hundreds we supplied to the prisoners! Guards who have on occasion violated interrogation guidelines have been charged and punished. Can Amnesty International really be this blind?

One final thought. The inmates of the Soviet Gulag were people who, by and large, simply wanted freedom. For that they suffered horrible torture and death. The prisoners in Cuba were captured on the battlefields of Afghanistan in the wake of the vicious Al Qaeda attack on our homeland. It is a testament to the values of Western Civilization that they are still alive.

Gary Bauer

The Washington Post article Bauer quotes is here.

Washington Post Reveals Identity of “Deep Throat”!

I’m surprised they didn’t trumpet this announcement. They could have made a media event out of this. This has been one of the biggest mysteries in MSM for decades. Washington Post confirms ‘Deep Throat’ ID:

By GREG SANDOVAL
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

SANTA ROSA, Calif.—The Washington Post said Tuesday that a former FBI official, W. Mark Felt, was the confidential source known as “Deep Throat” who provided the newspaper information that led to President Nixon’s impeachment and eventual resignation.

(via Memeorandum .)

This line is just for testing the new FeedBurner rss feed.

Kipling Poem Provides Insight on Terrorists

Ambient Irony points out this poem by Rudyard Kipling:

Danegeld

It is always a temptation to an armed and agile nation,
To call upon a neighbour and to say:
“We invaded you last night – we are quite prepared to fight,
Unless you pay us cash to go away.”

And that is called asking for Dane-geld,
And the people who ask it explain
That you’ve only to pay ’em the Dane-geld
And then you’ll get rid of the Dane!

It is always a temptation to a rich and lazy nation,
To puff and look important and to say:
“Though we know we should defeat you, we have not the time to meet you.
We will therefore pay you cash to go away.”

And that is called paying the Dane-geld;
But we’ve proved it again and again,
That if once you have paid him the Dane-geld
You never get rid of the Dane.

It is wrong to put temptation in the path of any nation,
For fear they should succumb and go astray,
So when you are requested to pay up or be molested,
You will find it better policy to say:

“We never pay any one Dane-geld,
No matter how trifling the cost,
For the end of that game is oppression and shame,
And the nation that plays it is lost!”

The methods of terrorists—killing civilians—may be relatively recent, but the strategy is age-old. Putting up with it just means, that you never get rid of the terrorists.

What Kids Can Learn from Star Wars Episode III

I finally saw Star Wars Episode III this weekend. It’s really good. It’s like the previous two were just ways for George Lucas to limber up and remember how to write and direct movies. I hope he makes a lot more now.

Little kids are very impressionable, and I have no doubt that lots of kids will try to find life lessons in this. We can consider what it is they may be learning.

...SPOILER SPACE… MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD…

The Bad
Always Avoid Absolute Statements
Anakin: “If you’re not with me, then you’re my enemy!” Obi-Wan: “Only a Sith deals in absolutes!”
This is the most dangerous one, I think, since many kids will start thinking, “Absolute statements are all bad.” Many won’t realize that “Only a Sith deals in absolutes!” is of course an absolute statement, and is therefore absurd.

Some Heros Aren’t Supposed to Have Kids.
In Episode II it was established that Jedi aren’t supposed to have kids. That’s so uncool. What does that teach a kid? Of course, it’s absurd again, since the Jedi ability to use The Force is inherited. (LYT pointed that out to me).

The Good
If You Betray Your Friends You Hurt Yourself
Anakin’s fear that his wife Padme would die came true only because he betrayed his friends. At the end of the movie the doctor says that Padme’s in perfect health and they can’t explain why she’s dying. It appears that she’s dying of a broken heart over Anakin’s having done evil. If he’d been honest, Padme would have lived, and the thing he feared would never have happened. This one is really good, and may be one reason why the movie feels uplifting, even though the good guys lose almost everything.

If You Betray Your Friends You Hurt Everyone Around You
Anakin’s betrayal of the Jedi costs him all of his friends, costs him his wife, drives him into the employ of a villain, and does a great deal of damage to the lovable, beautiful Star Wars universe. Again, this is really good for kids to learn.

Find the High Ground
Surely one of the moments kids will think over the most is the conclusion of the fight between Anakin and Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan: “It’s over Anakin, I have the high ground.” Anakin: “You underestimate my power!” Obi-Wan: “Don’t try it…” Anakin jumps and his legs are cut out from under him. I’m sure some kids will notice that “having your legs cut out from under you” is a common expression, as is, “not having a leg to stand on,” meaning, you don’t have a good basis for your beliefs. “High ground” is also a phrase used with reference to discussion, meaning the position that helps all the people involved. I think some kids may learn some generosity, forgiveness and nobility from Obi-Wan’s effort to try to keep Anakin from being hurt. And they may also learn that not having the high ground leaves you in an indefensible position. I’d hesitate to show this scene to kids, since some could find it horrifying. But if it’s not too much so for a kid, I guess he or she could learn some good things from it. Of course, they may also learn, “you may have to yell at your family members sometimes,” which in my personal view is silly. But family members being mad at each other is common in drama.

So there’s a lot of good stuff there. Hopefully, for many kids who might be susceptible to the first two items I noted, the absurdity of those items will make them self-cancelling.