Circus Twelvers

You mean Obama’s BFF Ahmadinejad? Does anyone else feel like the whole world has seriously become Kabuki theater? Wow.

Do not criticize Hillary Clinton. This is a Hillary blog. She is the one good person in the Obama administration.

It is Obama’s policy!!!

Ahmadinejad is the sicky Obama wants to chat with,without preconditions. What will they talk about?

Hmmm, I’m thinking they’ll compare iPod playlists.

What they want to use for their secret bff handshake? Women’s rights maybe? When is it more appropriate to use stoning as opposed to flogging… you know from a theological perspective as opposed to a legal perspective?

Wonder what movie box set the oZero will send Ahmadinejad. (But make no mistake, he’ll send the PAL version this time!)

The Passion of the Christ…. That whole movie was about a Jewish man being beaten mercilessly and then killed.

The UN conference on Racism is a very important event. Over 100 nations signed the official document on Racism. We must come to grips that Racism exists world-wide. Read the Draft document here:
http://www.un.org/durbanreview2009/pdf/Draft_outcome_document_Rev.2.pdf

From Swissinfo.ch:

More than 100 countries at a controversial United Nations racism conference in Geneva have agreed on a declaration urging the world to combat intolerance.
The 143-point document, a broad call to fight racism and discrimination against minorities, was adopted by consensus and without debate at a public session, three days before the end of the weeklong meeting.

It also warns against stereotyping people because of their religion, a key demand of Islamic states who say Muslims have been unfairly targeted for their beliefs since the 9-11 terrorist attacks in the United States.

The declaration reaffirms principles agreed at the UN’s first global racism meeting eight years ago in Durban, South Africa, when the United States and Israel walked out because many participants had taken the Jewish state to task over its treatment of Palestinians.

In a speech on Tuesday afternoon Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey said she was “very satisfied” with the outcome and thanked all the delegates “for their flexibility and cooperative spirit”.

“We are encouraged and happy that a text has been adopted. It will enable us to make progress against all forms of racism. It is a success,” she said.

“After the unacceptable comments yesterday, it is a very important signal for the victims of racism.”

Yes, the US did not attend, nor did some European countries, and Israel, Australia, and some others.
Forget what one person says at the podium, Racism must be faced and steps must be taken to eliminate Racism. If not through the UN, then how?

Somehow I think he’s blame that on the US, too.

I hope I’m wrong, but looking at the news blogs and newspapers coming out of Israel, I have this gut feeling that Israel and Iran will be at war within a year.

Didn’t Israel, Canada, and Germany walk out of this meeting?

Correction, I found the article.

Actually it was 40 diplomats that got up and walked out of the meeting when he began talking. I was wrong about which countries it was.

That prompted a walk-out by some 40 diplomats from Britain, France and other European countries that had threatened to leave the conference if it descended into anti-Semitism or other rhetoric harshly critical of Israel.

The walk-out was temporary, and most diplomats returned after Mr Ahmadinejad finished speaking, but the Czech delegation said it would not return to the conference. The Czech Republic holds the European Union presidency.

The US was already boycotting the event, along with Australia, Canada, Germany, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Poland.

Most returned after he was done talking.
From the Scotsman
http://tinyurl.com/ckn7q5

I get the sentiment, but does walking out in itself not defeat the whole idea of the U.N. to begin with? I am not sure what good wearing rainbow wigs or walking out is going to do in the long run. It probably just makes Ahmadinejad look good at home that he caused these representatives to leave their own posts on his account. It might be seen as some sort of a victory, that these guys can’t even face him in a public forum.

I am confused. How could the representatives from Israel and Canada walk out and simultaneously be boycotting the event?

Okay, Ahmadinejad is no prize. But, I am wondering when decent, reasonable people will stop supporting the racist policies throughout the Middle East, including Israel. The Israeli government is not a government I can support at all; their policies in the West Bank, Israel, and Gaza with regard to Palestinians are racist, and their policies equate to a system of apartheid, much like South Africa’s apartheid. So, people getting up and walking out when Ahmadinejad criticizes Israel is as hypocritical as it gets. Staged political theatre does nothing to help real human suffering . I’m wondering when all those “human rights” people will realize that Palestinians are “humans” too.

I decided long ago not to listen to or show respect to anyone who condones the subordination of females. The clowns are perfect because the idea of a conference on racism is ludicrous when it includes governments who practice gender apartheid.

Oh, my gosh!

I didn’t realize this was “a Hillary Blog!”

All kidding aside….

I thought the discussion/debate was broader than that around here. I supported then Sen. Clinton in the primaries and wish she had won the nomination. But, I do not consider Sec/State Clinton to be beyond criticism on any score. Policy differences are fair game as far as I’m concerned, even with a woman and Sec/State I admire immensely.

For example, I differed with her on her vote to support the Iraq invasion, though I understood her reasons and applauded her efforts to strengthen the oversight in the AUMF. I was inexorably and adamantly opposed to Bush’s policy of “pre-emptive war.” I believed at the time, and I still do, that it was illegal, a war crime. But, I still voted for Hillary Clinton to be President. And, I still wish she were President.

There are other policy areas in which I disagree with Sec/State [and Sen.] Clinton. I hope I may continue to discuss and debate Sec/State Hillary Clinton honestly, and won’t be boxed in to fawning messiah-isms on this “hillary blog!”

Yeah, I know how you feel. But, “subordination of females” can include a pretty broad sweep of humanity, if truth be known.

Condoning the subordination of females is a pretty widespread practice, and nearly everyone, including many women, engage in it on one level or another. Countries, communities, Congresses, Churches, next-door neighbors, family and friends~ad infinitum.

You might be surprised at how the “subordination of females” manifests itself in some pretty unlikely places, through laws, or traditions even in western countries, even in enlightened cultures or religious practices. In Israel, women cannot get divorced from their husband, unless they get permission from their husband. That’s subordination isn’t it? It’s a cultural and religious norm. In Iran, women were quite liberated and free, an educated and professional class before the Ayatollahs took over in the revolution.

Ahmadinejad doesn’t respect “human rights”; but neither does China, and we don’t mind making China our most significant trading partner. So, how hypocritical are we, on Ahmadinejad?

It’s just the hypocrisy I hate…

support or no, for this man to deny that the Holocaust even occurred tells me he’s nuttier than a fruitcake. And I agree with Citizen70; any regime that subjugates women should not be listened to and will not, in my case or that of my family, be respected.

Actions speak louder than words for me. As a fierce Hillary supporter, I will withhold judgement and wait and see what she accomplishes with the completely outrageous and unacceptable imprisonment in Iran of the young woman reporter from North Dakota. Hillary did throw me for a loop this AM when I read her response to questions about Daniel Ortega’s 50 minute diatribe. She deflected, changed the subject and talked about the cultural dancers from Bolivia Huh? WTF? Then I laughed, hoping that it’s a sign she has a shadow goverment waiting in the wings to take over when Barky crashes and burns.

Because I was wrong, see where I said I was wrong about which countries. That’s why I sent a correction.

THE ONLY ONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OK, now my question to the UN is: when will it organize a forum on misogyny.

For a while now I’ve been waiting for the UN to give women worldwide status by having the dignity to name a female secretary general. Secretary generals rotated from Europe, S. Am., Africa, Asia, etc. that included white, Asian, black….but no women. Over 50% of the world population and the UN a world organization….and no woman at the top in its history. The UN is an anachronism, a regime that needs to be phased out and replaced with one whose charter has a 21st century mindset.

from the BBC:

Internal debate has raged in the US for weeks on whether to attend, the Associated Press news agency reports from Washington.

Pro-Israel groups vehemently opposed participation while human rights advocates and organisations like TransAfrica and members of the Congressional Black Caucus thought it was important to attend.

Immediately after the announcement, Democratic Congresswoman Barbara Lee, who heads the black caucus in Congress, said the group was “deeply dismayed” by the boycott.

“This decision is inconsistent with the administration’s policy of engaging with those we agree with and those we disagree with…” she said.

“The US is making it more difficult for it to play a leadership role on UN Human Rights Council as it states it plans to do. This is a missed opportunity, plain and simple.”

Uh, yeah. When “pro-Israel groups” demand, we jump, don’t we?

And, it is completely INCONSISTENT with Obama’s defense of his handshake with Chavez, and his silence in the face of Ortega’s tirade against the US, isn’t it?

Obama’s big principles of “engagement” fall over the cliff when “pro-Israel groups” demand it. Well, that’s certainly not “change you can believe in,” because that’s been our standard operating procedure [SOP] for 40 years now.

Oh, well then! You’ve dictated to your family how they will think. Wow. Isn’t that a form of subjugation?

Durban II no-shows won’t be missed:

Recently, a number of countries that are still in denial about their history of racism, namely Israel, the United States, Canada, Australia, and the Netherlands, have announced that they will be boycotting the UN anti-racism conference.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=92025§ionid=3510303

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Ahmadinejad’s Webster speech canceled:

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s speech at a Swiss university has been canceled due to apparent pressure from pro-Israeli lobbying.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=92052§ionid=351020101

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UN racism conference adopts final declaration – Summary:

All but nine of the 192 United Nations member states adopted by consensus Tuesday a declaration at the Durban Review Conference in Geneva calling for protecting vulnerable people and fighting against racism, discrimination and intolerance.
http://snipurl.com/ge57p

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Norwegian lawyers to accuse Israeli leaders of war crimes:

Israel’s former prime minister Ehud Olmert and other top officials could face legal action in Norway over the Gaza offensive after six Norwegian lawyers said Tuesday they would accuse them of war crimes.
http://snipurl.com/ge58l

Yeah, I hate that too. Wonder how many Iraqi women we slaughtered in Iraq? Wonder how many Palestinian women Israel slaughtered in Gaza?

Well, yeah, I know. That’s not “subordination” after all. Just murder.

Note to Barky- This is what real leaders and statespersons do when lunatics are in the midst of a diatribe.

I would have prefer the US to walk out during hateful speech rather than boycott the entire event.
Walking out is a protest, and can serve a purpose.

An effective rebuttal by the next person at the microphone is also a useful tool. Something that slipped Barky’s mind when he cracked his smart ass joke ” Glad you didn’t blame me for what happened when I was 3 months old”

Oh, well then! You’ve dictated to your family how they will think. Wow. Isn’t that a form of subjugation?

Haha! Why yes! Tis good to be the queen!

Look, y’all can call me blind, naive or whatever but since I and my hub have some good friends who are Jewish it’s hard for me to hear of anti -semitism (and I am talking about Ahmadinejad here) without turning into a rabid Texas coyote. Regardless of how anyone feels, to deny that the Holocaust occurred is shameful. The Nazis didn’t just pick on Jews in Poland (which might account too for my “rabidness”).

I am not here to debate who’s right and who is wrong. But I think we can all agree women’s rights are not a high priority for the country of Iran.

-Uh, yeah. When “pro-Israel groups” demand, we jump, don’t we?-

It has been feeling that way for some time (years), hasn’t it.

Day in day out subordination is one thing, death in an armed conflict is another. Don’t equate the two, in doing so you undermine both.

And if you want to talk about murder, why are you not including the most heinous: bombs in markets, school yards, hospital entrances, etc. In an armed struggle between militaries, you KNOW who the enemy is, when its your own kind carrying out the acts, you free everyone around you, you don’t know who the “enemy” is.

sorry, “fear” not “free”…tried to stop the post, but too late.

-Condoning the subordination of females is a pretty widespread practice,-

So was slavery, still didn’t make it “right.” Still fighting against it.

-and nearly everyone, including many women, engage in it on one level or another. Countries, communities, Congresses, Churches, next-door neighbors, family and friends~ad infinitum.-

-Ahmadinejad doesn’t respect “human rights”; but neither does China, and we don’t mind making China our most significant trading partner. So, how hypocritical are we, on Ahmadinejad? –

Probably because Iran figuratively yells out, Kill, kill, kill while China yells out, Buy, buy, buy.

You really think so? You think I undermine the concept of “subordination of women” by raising the the issue of the millions of women killed in war?

I don’t think so. Of course, you’re entitled to differ with me, but in my worldview, innocents being slaughtered during war as “collateral damage” is no more excuseable than subordination of women in general. So, in fact, I think by raising the issue of women killed in war-particulary in wars like Iraq and the Gaza slaughter of tens of thousands of women and children, I highlight the degradation of social mores which respect women. After all, would we wage war so easily, knowing that women and children would be slaughtered, if we respected them and their human rights?

I don’t think so. It’s all part of one big ugly package in my mind.

Use of the words “collateral damage” epitimizes societal subordination of innocent women, children–and men. Their lives are not even worth using the proper words–they are just “collateral damage.” Like a building.

That’s not an attack on our troops who serve. I’m a veteran, and so is my spouse, my brother, my sister, my father, my spouses father, brother and generations before us.

Yeah, but I am fighting against it. I’m just doing it by recognizing that the hypocrisies used to attack Ahmadinejad, are the beams in our own eyes. See? If I want to dislike Ahmadinejad, I don’t have to pretend that women are not subordinated every single day

Don’t agreed.

A day to day subordination of women, at whatever level in whichever society, is a conscious, premeditated, programmed, accepted and encouraged by the society at large, as well as often linked to and viewed as an integral part of the culture, etc, etc. etc.

Not so in an armed struggle, women victims are not singled out when a bomb drops (what you call collateral damage), they just happen to be at or near an intended target.

Big difference.

There are certainly degrees of subordination. Women in the USA are still perceived as inferior to men by many people but at least they can vote, own property, work, travel independently – not so in many Arabic cultures. I say those countries practice true gender apartheid and don’t allow women to gain any access to power over their own lives.

Didn’t know it was a Hillary blog? Well, now you know! Don’t do it again.
(:-)

Hi Mounty! As I sit here and sip my Starbucks coffee..oops it’s late gotta get to bed but need to tell you: if you are calling me a hypocrite dear, tell me straight out. This beams in our own eyes BS is passive aggressive and not good for you.