Irony Meter Goes Off the Scale…*SNAP*!
By dcmediagirl on November 13, 2008 at 12:27 PM in Current Affairs
Every now and then something happens that involves such an elevated level of shamelessness that you’re left shaking your head in wonder and questioning your own sanity. Over the past 8 years many of these moments have involved George W. Bush in some way, with Dick Cheney and other Bush administration minions popping up in unforgettable cameos. Today is one such event. Bush needs to hurry and cram in as many as he can before he’s evicted from his current place of residence.
If someone had told you that a major international organization was going to hold an interfaith conference which would focus on religious tolerance and exploring ways to combat extremism, you’d probably think that was a good thing. If they told you the Saudis would be hosting this grand event, well, not so much. Actually you’d laugh, thinking that was a joke.
But alas it isn’t a joke.
Yes, the UN in all its wisdom has convened this illustrious “dialogue”. In my view no self-respecting nation would send even a local dogcatcher as a representative to such a farce of an event, but I guess protocol dictates that it would be rude not to send someone, even if it means being lectured about open-mindedness by the Saudis of all fucking people. So most nations sent some lackey or low-level sucker to show his or her wretched face, except for the Israelis, who for some reason thought showing up for this absurd and offensive bit of theater would somehow be productive.
OK, so the Israelis sent one current and former distinguished personages. God knows they’ve got their own issues with religious loonies who try to stick their noses where they don’t belong and preside over religious “courts” that make decisions appropriate for the Middle Ages. But the US wouldn’t commit the diplomatic faux pas of taking this idiocy seriously by sending someone seriously high level to attend, right?
Think again. Condoleezza Rice was there to show her love for the Saudi “king”. And not only did George W. Bush, the current American President, attend in all his glory, he gave a little speech. Pull quote:
Freedom is God’s gift to every man, woman, and child — and that freedom includes the right of all people to worship as they see fit. Sixty years ago, members of the United Nations General Assembly acknowledged this truth when we adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Declaration proclaims that everyone has the right to choose or change religions, and the right to worship in private or in public.
Yes, I’d agree freedom is good. Try telling that to the Saudis, whose crimes against humanity and enlightenment are legion.
Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah, the event’s chief sponsor, opened the meeting with a call for greater understanding in the Middle East, saying that religious and cultural differences in the region have “engendered intolerance, causing devastating wars and considerable bloodshed.”
And just to show that someone’s got the lights on over at the Washington Post, here’s an amusing little reminder for the folks following along at home. Bold mine:
The conference provides an opportunity for Saudi Arabia, which prohibits the public practice of non-Islamic faiths, to present a more tolerant image on the world stage. Fifteen of the 19 hijackers in the terrorist attacks on the United States on Sept. 11, 2001, were Saudis.
Shimon Peres was so overcome by the event that he said this:
“Your majesty, the king of Saudi Arabia, I was listening to your message. I wish that your voice will become the prevailing voice of the whole region, of all people,” he said. “The initiative’s portrayal of our region’s future provides hope to the people and inspires confidence in nations.”
Am I hallucinating?

















