Thursday, December 24, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Do I need to comment on this?
Paris. From NYT. A paper that, incidentally, did not bring the above picture.
It seemed like a good idea at the time, one for the annals of great publicity gimmicks. An ambitious Internet marketing company would sponsor a double-decker London bus to drive around central Paris, throwing cash from the windows in a promotional stunt.
But it didn’t quite work out as planned. Minutes before the event was to have started late Saturday morning, the police decided they did not like the look of the hard-jostling crowd of around 7,000 people that had formed near the Eiffel Tower in search of instant riches, and they ordered the event stopped before even a single centime had been handed out. Some in the crowd then ran amok.
In the ensuing mayhem, about a dozen people were arrested, store windows were broken, a car was overturned and at least one man was beaten by thugs. The riot police were called in to restore order.
Instead of the middle-class Parisians the organizers had hoped for, witnesses said the crowd, overwhelmingly young, male and poor, appeared to be made up mostly of residents of the tough suburbs that ring the French capital, as well as poor students and homeless men.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Allies send peace signals to moderate Nazies, Japs, Taliban
Moscow, Washington, London. December 1941
AP
In an effort to end WWII, a high ranking Soviet army official, with an abundance of medals on his chest, today told AP that the Politburo had send a telegram to the German High Command, stating that peace would be an option if the Germans would containe extreme elements in the Werhmact.
"We have no quarrel with the German people per se," the official said.
"We know the vast majority are moderates who only want to live in peace with their neighbors. However, there seems to some bad apples in the invading German armies, particularly in the SS, who seems to enjoy rounding up innocent civilians for no apparent reason and either kill them on the spot, or use them at slave-labor behind the front."
"Not that we have anything against that," he hastingly added. "After all, the Communist Party have been doing the exact same thing for decades, in fact ever since the glorious Bolshevik Revolution; but still, it would be nice if either the Kremlin or the local Commissar got to decide who and how many to purge and who not to," the official said under the promise of anonymity, lest he be summarily executed by the whim of Soviet leader, Joseph Stalin, and unceremoniously buried in an unmarked grave somewhere in Siberia.
This diplomatic move is believed to have been taken in concert with the US and Great Britain, as both countries yesterday took a similar step towards the Empire of Japan.
"We understand the cultural gap between Western Democracy and the Japanese way of Bushido, and we in the West have no desire to insult a culture as old and civilized as the Japanese," an official from the State Department said under the condition that he would not be named, lest he would find himself in the first wave in a rumored amphibious asualt on Iwo Jima.
He went on to say that the sinking of the US fleet at Pearl Harbor and the subsequent invasions of various islands i the Pacific could be excused as an "explainable misunderstanding between the great Empire of Japan and the West", and that the US might be willing "to overlook these unfortunate incidents".
However, some argument is reported going on between the State Department and the Pentagon.
An ranking officer at the Pentagon told the AP:
"If some sissy [expletive] in the [expletive] State Department thinks there's any slant-eyed gooks in the Jap's sorry excuse of a [expletive] government, who's willing to cut a [expletive] deal, he's very much mistaken. Give me the means, and I'll personally kick the Emperor's yellow [expletive, expletive] all the way through [expletive] China if I have to!"
Only hours after his statement was made public, the officer was suddenly hospitalized due to a massive cardiac arrest, sources say.
This new allied policy was conformed by the British later the same day:
"It's one thing to behead POW's or force them to build bridges over rivers, but those wretched Kamikazes are getting somewhat annoying," a British War Office employee said to AP, adding that: "I wouldn't go so far as to say that it isn't cricket, but it is hardly good form to wage a war that way, old boy."
The British official who asked not to be named, lest he be ordered to parachute into a theoretical attack on Arnhem, also said: "If the Jappoes would be more moderate in their conquest of our Far East colonies, we ought to come to some sort of agreement. Surely there must some chaps we can talk to, to prevent this silly thing getting out of hand," he said before going on to matter of the theater of war in Europe.
"As for the Jerries, His Majesty's Government is willing to let them keep France, and also welcome them to Ireland, even though for the life of me I can't understand why The Hun would be bothered with that part of the world. I mean, not even the bloody Irish wants to live there," he said.
The Axis Powers have so far not reacted to the allied's suggestions, as they are busy taking over the the world.
A senior German field marshal, however, did say when asked about the recent development: "Donner und Blitzen! Now you tell me. And I've just got my orders to re-deploy Army Group South and take Stalingrad. Talk about bad timing!"
Today:
UPDATE: Not to mention this rolling of eyes by the Talliban:
AP
In an effort to end WWII, a high ranking Soviet army official, with an abundance of medals on his chest, today told AP that the Politburo had send a telegram to the German High Command, stating that peace would be an option if the Germans would containe extreme elements in the Werhmact.
"We have no quarrel with the German people per se," the official said.
"We know the vast majority are moderates who only want to live in peace with their neighbors. However, there seems to some bad apples in the invading German armies, particularly in the SS, who seems to enjoy rounding up innocent civilians for no apparent reason and either kill them on the spot, or use them at slave-labor behind the front."
"Not that we have anything against that," he hastingly added. "After all, the Communist Party have been doing the exact same thing for decades, in fact ever since the glorious Bolshevik Revolution; but still, it would be nice if either the Kremlin or the local Commissar got to decide who and how many to purge and who not to," the official said under the promise of anonymity, lest he be summarily executed by the whim of Soviet leader, Joseph Stalin, and unceremoniously buried in an unmarked grave somewhere in Siberia.
This diplomatic move is believed to have been taken in concert with the US and Great Britain, as both countries yesterday took a similar step towards the Empire of Japan.
"We understand the cultural gap between Western Democracy and the Japanese way of Bushido, and we in the West have no desire to insult a culture as old and civilized as the Japanese," an official from the State Department said under the condition that he would not be named, lest he would find himself in the first wave in a rumored amphibious asualt on Iwo Jima.
He went on to say that the sinking of the US fleet at Pearl Harbor and the subsequent invasions of various islands i the Pacific could be excused as an "explainable misunderstanding between the great Empire of Japan and the West", and that the US might be willing "to overlook these unfortunate incidents".
However, some argument is reported going on between the State Department and the Pentagon.
An ranking officer at the Pentagon told the AP:
"If some sissy [expletive] in the [expletive] State Department thinks there's any slant-eyed gooks in the Jap's sorry excuse of a [expletive] government, who's willing to cut a [expletive] deal, he's very much mistaken. Give me the means, and I'll personally kick the Emperor's yellow [expletive, expletive] all the way through [expletive] China if I have to!"
Only hours after his statement was made public, the officer was suddenly hospitalized due to a massive cardiac arrest, sources say.
This new allied policy was conformed by the British later the same day:
"It's one thing to behead POW's or force them to build bridges over rivers, but those wretched Kamikazes are getting somewhat annoying," a British War Office employee said to AP, adding that: "I wouldn't go so far as to say that it isn't cricket, but it is hardly good form to wage a war that way, old boy."
The British official who asked not to be named, lest he be ordered to parachute into a theoretical attack on Arnhem, also said: "If the Jappoes would be more moderate in their conquest of our Far East colonies, we ought to come to some sort of agreement. Surely there must some chaps we can talk to, to prevent this silly thing getting out of hand," he said before going on to matter of the theater of war in Europe.
"As for the Jerries, His Majesty's Government is willing to let them keep France, and also welcome them to Ireland, even though for the life of me I can't understand why The Hun would be bothered with that part of the world. I mean, not even the bloody Irish wants to live there," he said.
The Axis Powers have so far not reacted to the allied's suggestions, as they are busy taking over the the world.
A senior German field marshal, however, did say when asked about the recent development: "Donner und Blitzen! Now you tell me. And I've just got my orders to re-deploy Army Group South and take Stalingrad. Talk about bad timing!"
Today:
Richard Holbrooke, United States President Barack Obama's special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, was urged Tuesday to reach out to reconcilable factions among the Taliban insurgents as an essential move towards bringing peace to the region.
Holbrooke is on the first leg of a tour, including Afghanistan and India, aimed at developing a new strategy against Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan.
UPDATE: Not to mention this rolling of eyes by the Talliban:
"This does not require any response or reaction for this is illogical," Qari Mohammad Yousuf, a purported spokesman for the insurgent group, told Reuters when asked if its top leader Mullah Mohammad Omar would make any comment about Obama's proposal.
"The Taliban are united, have one leader, one aim, one policy...I do not know why they are talking about moderate Taliban and what it means?"
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Vets Welcomed Home
Times are a'changin'.
The Danish public have always looked with quite a lot of skepticism on the military. Ether they thought that the soldiers were bumbling idiots of the Keystone variety, or the servicemen were bloodthirsty maniacs (although still idiots.)
I spend several years in the army back in the 80s at the heydays of the "peace movement" when I couldn't tell anyone I didn't know that I was a professional soldier lest I got personally responsible for the deployment of Pershing missiles, or little old me would provoke the Soviets to unleash Nuclear Armageddon.
This seems to have slowly changed as the army has shown great professionalism and fighting skills in Afghanistan, demanding the respect of the general public.
For the first time in years a parade was performed to celebrate the return of a battalion rotated out of Afghanistan. People actually cheered and applauded the soldiers:
People lined the streets of Holstebro yesterday to welcome home the Danish troops who recently returned from their tour of duty in Afghanistan
Spontaneous applause greeted the 600 soldiers returning from their tour of duty with the Nato-led Afghanistan mission yesterday, as they took part in an official parade through the streets of Holstebro, northern Jutland.
Defence Minister Søren Gade attended the parade and was surprised by the reaction of the crowd.
‘When people suddenly started to clap it was like an out of body experience for me. If I had said five or six years ago that people would applaud returning Danish soldiers, people would have thought I was drunk. It really was a moving experience,’ said Gade.
There was also time set aside to remember the six members of the deployed team who lost their lives in Afghanistan. Major General Niels Bundsgaard asked for a minute’s silence to remember the fallen at the local Dragoon Regiment Barracks.
Please include these six men who paid the ultimate price for our freedom in your prayers. I for one salute them and their comrades in arms.
Friday, February 27, 2009
LEGO donates toys to Sdrerot pre-schools
Danish Ambassador to Israel, Liselotte Plesner was present at a ceremony in Sderot, Israel giving LEGO toys to the pre-schools in the missile stricken town.
Denmark's ambassador to Israel, Liselotte Plesner, visited Sderot on Tuesday to take part in a celebration – held in a fortified pre-school – to honor a generous contribution by the LEGO group to WIZO (Women's International Zionist Organization) pre-schools.
The LEGO group contributed two large containers holding a thousand boxes of 'duplos' – large-sized Lego blocks. The Danish toys will be distributed among 170 WIZO pre-schools across Israel and particularly to the 35 pre-schools located in southern communities, where residents are still suffering from rocket-fire.
The Danish ambassador surprised participants by delivering a speech to the children and pre-school employees in Hebrew. In her speech, she referred to the trauma to children in the rocket-plagued region, saying "the children who live under the threat of Qassams need to be able to escape to a world of magic and creativity – something that can be done with Legos."
Danish ambassador surprised participants by delivering a speech to the children and pre-school employees in Hebrew. In her speech, she referred to the trauma to children in the rocket-plagued region, saying "the children who live under the threat of Qassams need to be able to escape to a world of magic and creativity – something that can be done with Legos."
That's a nice touch, if I may say so. Definitely not something ARLA would have done.
Read more here.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Shouting 'Fire' in a Theater
Flemming Rose, the former cultural editor of jyllands-Posten and the man responsible for printing the MoToons back in 2005 has an interesting comment on the grounds of witch Geert Wilders was denied entry to the UK earlier this month. A take on the lazy argument that Freedom of Speech doesn't allow one to shout 'Fire' in a crowded theater.
(H/T Steen.)
Drawing an analogy with socialist Schenck handing out flyers falls short in the Wilders case. What's more, Holmes later used an opposing argument to defend freedom of speech. But note that in defending the move to keep Wilders out, Miliband forgot that Holmes said you weren't allowed to yell 'fire' unless there actually was a fire. If there is a fire, or if there is smoke, then you have an obligation to draw everyone's attention to it.Read his entry in the Copenhagen Post here (In English.)
Wilders's film is made up of documentary pictures, which makes it hard to reject them as false. What's more, the issue the film takes up – violence carried out in the name of religion – is a part of the European reality, which makes it a subject of heated discussion. You can argue that Wilders's depiction is one-sided and that it is propaganda, but Michael Moore does the same thing, and he wins film awards.
(H/T Steen.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
