Text 12725, 113 rader
Skriven 2005-05-17 17:56:18 av Ed Connell (1:379/1.6)
  Kommentar till text 12662 av Jeff Binkley (1:226/600)
Ärende: Re: Cannes
==================
Hey, Jeff.

 JB> American way of life attacked in films at Cannes

 JB>  Email this Story

 JB> May 16, 12:03 PM (ET)

 JB> By Erik Kirschbaum

 JB> CANNES, France (Reuters) - The dark underside of the United States has
 JB> taken center stage in several films at Cannes this year, capped on
 JB> Monday with a scathing attack of past and present racism in America by
 JB> Danish director Lars von Trier.

They are the ones who suffer - not us. <g>

Here's a column by Ann Coulter.  I'm really getting to like her work.  Just 
the right amount of jocularity as Father Mukahee used to say.
==========================================

EVER HAVE ONE OF THOSE MILLENNIA?
by Ann Coulter
May 11, 2005


     It's always important to get liberals to stop complaining long enough 
to make a hard prediction. This week we will review liberal predictions on 
bringing democracy to Iraq.
     When they weren't claiming the Iraq elections would not take place at 
all - and, even if they did, the people wouldn't participate - liberals were 
telling us that if we let those crazy Arabs vote, the Iraqi people would 
elect extremist Islamic mullahs hostile to the United States.
     Well, the Iraq National Assembly completed filling out the cabinet this 
week, and it can now be said that this was liberals' laughably wrong 
prediction No. 9,856. (Or No. 9,857 if you count their predictions of 
ruinous global cooling back in the 1970s, which I don't because that could 
still happen.)
     Iraq's first democratically elected government in half a century has a 
Shia prime minister and a Kurdish president and several Sunni cabinet 
ministers. In fact, toss in a couple of dowdy lesbians from the Green Party 
and it would look a lot like Vermont's state house.
     Fat Muqtada al-Sadr saw his radical Shiite movement humiliated in the 
January elections. According to a recent poll by the International 
Republican Institute, two-thirds of Iraqis say Iraq is on the right track.
     The minority Sunnis, who once held sway under Saddam Hussein and were 
told by American liberals to expect major payback from the Shiites under a 
democracy, were chosen by the majority Shia government for four cabinet 
positions - including the not insignificant position of defense minister. 
Plus, the Sunnis might get a fifth if they can convince Rep. Ali Abu 
Jeffords to switch parties.
     One of the Sunnis picked for a cabinet post turned it down on the 
grounds that he thought he was chosen simply to fill a Sunni quota. "I don't 
believe in sectarianism," he said, "I believe in democracy." So I'll be 
moving to Iraq soon to live in a country that forcefully rejects quotas.
     Also this week, Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari said he would like a 
woman as his fourth deputy prime minister. It's as if the Taliban has risen 
from the dead!
     Apparently - like John Kerry and the Democrats - I guess the Muslim 
extremists just didn't get their message out. Although "Green Zone Veterans 
for Truth" were also a factor.
     What we've learned from this is: Talking to liberals is much more fun 
now that we have Lexis-Nexis.
     In a Nov. 9, 2003, news article, The New York Times raised the prospect 
that "democracy in the Middle East might empower the very forces that the 
United States opposes, like Islamic fundamentalists in Saudi Arabia and 
Egypt."
     Democracy in the U.S. might have put John Kerry in the White House, 
too, but you'll notice we didn't abandon the idea.
     One difference is that the Islamic fundamentalists in Saudi Arabia and 
Egypt were not democratically elected. Still, the Times said that "something 
similar" happened in Iran when "domestic pressures" installed the Ayatollah 
Ruhollah Khomeini. By "domestic pressures" in Iran, I gather the Times meant 
"the Carter presidency."
     Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Trudy Rubin claimed to be talking about 
"grim Iraq realities," explaining to her readers that if elections were 
held, the new Iraqi government "will likely be dominated by religious 
parties. If the economy stays bad, radical Islamic parties could do well." 
So you can see how leaving the tyrannical Hussein dynasty (slogan: "We're 
the rape room people!") in place was preferable to that.
     Winning the category of Most Wrong Predictions in the Fewest Words, Joe 
Conason predicted in the Sept. 27, 2004, New York Observer: "a series of 
horrifically violent confrontations in Iraq's cities, a postponement of the 
January elections, a wider call-up of National Guard and Reserve units, or 
even a renewed military draft." And if Bush won a second term, Conason said: 
"Beware the 'November surprise' that will begin to bring home the true costs 
of his feckless adventure."
     Conason's feeble litany of harebrained predictions reads like a haiku 
of bum steers. No increase in "horrific" violence, no postponement of 
elections, no draft, no "November surprise." (OK, there was one "November 
surprise" - but only for the Democrats. It happened on Nov. 2.)
     Winning the category of Most Wrong Predictions, Lifetime Achievement 
Award, Katrina vanden Heuvel (Queen of the May at the fun-loving Nation 
magazine) said invading Iraq would lead to "more terrorist retaliation, 
undermine the fight against al-Qaida and make America less secure and 
possibly unleash those very weapons of mass destruction into the hands of 
rogue terrorists in Iraq."
     What weapons, Katrina? (Katrina lied, kids died!) Hey! Wait a minute! 
How can rogue terrorists in Iraq detonate bombs? They're all too busy flying 
kites with their children! Hasn't she seen "Fahrenheit 9/11"?
     After we invaded Iraq, Katrina predicted the U.S. would stay in Iraq as 
a colonial power - as the only nonimperialist superpower in the history of 
the world is wont to do. As we paved the way for elections, she said, "You 
know, if there are elections in Iraq, it's very likely it will not be 
secular democracy."
     But it's not fair to quote Katrina. She still thinks the Soviet Union's 
planned economy failed because the farmers had 70 years of bad weather. 
Liberals' current prediction is that Hillary will be able to do a planned 
economy right.
     COPYRIGHT 2005 ANN COULTER 

--- Fidolook Lite FTN stub 
 * Origin: Procrastinate NOW, don't put it off for tomorro (1:379/1.6)