Al-Muhajabah's Sundries

the next time somebody tells you Churchill was a great man...

“I do not agree that the dog in the manger has the final right to the manger, even though he may have lain there for a very long time. I do not admit that right. I do not admit for instance, that a great wrong has been done to the Red Indians of America, or the black people of Australia. I do not admit that a wrong has been done to these people by the fact that a stronger race, a higher grade race, a more worldly-wise race, to put it that way, has come in and taken their place.” Winston Churchill; to the Peel Commission of Inquiry 1937, defending the brutal slaughter of Palestinians in the first Intifada of 1936 “on grounds of the racial superiority of the Jews”.

(source)

Or what about this?

I do not understand this squeamishness about the use of gas. I am strongly in favour of using [it] against uncivilised tribes.

(source)

More.

What about this?

They also show that he was willing, against the advice of his Cabinet colleagues, to "wipe out" defenceless German villages in retaliation for Nazi atrocities in Czechoslovakia.

The disclosures are contained in notebooks kept by Sir Norman Brook, the former wartime deputy cabinet secretary, who kept an account of proceedings in a form of shorthand...

...Sir Norman's notebooks, which are being made public by the National Archives at Kew, reveal Churchill to be a ruthless commander who was prepared to override moral and legal considerations to defeat Germany...

...Equally controversial will be the revelation in the notebooks, that Churchill wanted the RAF to wipe out German villages in retaliation for the massacre of civilians in Lidice, a Czech village, which was razed to the ground by the SS.

The Prime Minister abandoned his plan only in the face of opposition from Cabinet colleagues. On June 15, 1942, he said: "My instinct is strongly the other way... I submit (unwillingly) to the view of Cabinet against."...

...The notebooks also reveal Churchill's preferred method for dealing with Gandhi, the Indian nationalist leader, who embarked on a hunger strike in 1942.

Churchill, almost alone among his Cabinet colleagues, did not see the need to cave into the Gandhi's demands even though many observers believed he only had days to live.

He finally agreed for a reprieve on condition that Gandhi's release did not cause Britain to lose face. On January 7, 1943 he asked colleagues: "Why give way to h-strike by Gandhi?

"Let him out as an act of State, rather than an act of submission to G' will. I wd. keep him there and let him do as he likes... But if you are going to let him out because he strikes, then let him out now... Tell Viceroy."

More and also here and here.

Also here and here and see the extended post. And one should not forget Gallipoli.

Then there's the anti-Semitism (also here and here)

And of course the racism (and what about those views on flogging?)

huh?

At a press conference Gen. Richard Myers said:

"This attack [in Mosul], of course, is the responsibility of insurgents, the same insurgents who attacked on 9/11, the same type of insurgents who attacked in Beirut, the same insurgents who -- type of insurgents who attacked the Cole, Khobar Towers, and the list goes on."

Say what? He doesn't mean that the same people attacked the U.S. troops in Mosul who were behind 9/11, does he? Or is he meaning to say that the attack in Mosul is equivalent to 9/11? More here. Via TPM.

wtf?

Can somebody explain why all the pictures in this article about a vote recount are of American flags? That doesn't even have anything to do with the topic of the story or anything that happens in it. Is this some kind of subliminal message or something? Can we grow up, please?

blogging this summer's news this winter

OK, I'm really behind on this since it was published in May and it's now December. But it's well worth reading for debunking many myths: Think Again: Al Qaeda

Update: I posted this here because I was embarrassed to post something that old to The Clipboard but as it happens, I managed to sneak it in as a related link on another entry.

greetings from the Soviet of Washington

Yes, that's a statue of Lenin, which is located in Fremont, a neighborhood in Seattle. No, we're not that leftist here. Still, the neighborhood of Fremont is, shall we say, a bit on the quirky side and it is known as the People's Republic of Fremont in some quarters.

According to the story, the residents of Fremont have decided to drape the Lenin statue with garlands and lights for the holiday season. Even Communists can get into the spirit of the season.

By the way, the title of this post comes from a quote that there are 47 states in America, plus the Soviet of Washington (this was back when there were only 48 states). See Communism in Washington State.

Washington may be a "blue state" in modern political terminology, but historically it seems that we were a true, deep red.

Arise, ye workers, from your slumbers.

love the title of this one

Impeachment? I found it on Google

He is also unusual enough to credit a Guardian article by the military analyst Dan Plesch as his inspiration. "I was just Googling and I found it," he recalls.

I wisht them the best of luck in impeaching Blair! Now, if we could just get rid of Bush. I think there's cause.

for animal lovers

Guardian

Parachuting dogs, carrier pigeons and glow worms that aided military map reading were among creatures belatedly honoured yesterday in a memorial dedicated to the gallantry of animals in war.

Unveiled by the Princess Royal, the bronze sculpture on Park Lane in central London depicts a stallion, a dog and two mules laden with guns. Elephants, camels, monkeys and bears are carved on an encircling wall.

On the base of the monument the dedication etched into Portland stone reads: "To all the animals that served and died alongside British and allied forces in wars and campaigns throughout time. They had no choice."...

...Yesterday the sculptor David Backhouse told BBC News: "I don't think anyone can fail to be moved by the stories of pigeons that struggled home, of dogs that came through under fire and of the service some of the mules, in particular, gave. Whether you can call an animal a hero I don't know, but they certainly did extraordinary work."

Whatever floats your boat.

there's that at least

The Guardian

Voters welcomed an end to the longest, most expensive presidential election on record. "It's the only way to make the ads stop," Amanda Karel, 25, said as she waited to vote at a banquet hall in Columbus, Ohio.

And the pollsters.

October surprise

Right on schedule

Added: I'm not the only cynic.

now, that's freedom of religion

The Guardian

A Royal Navy technician who is a Satanist has been given permission to practise his beliefs at sea, the Ministry of Defence confirmed yesterday.

Chris Cranmer, 24, from Edinburgh, has been a practising Satanist for nine years. He joined the navy four years ago and was promoted to leading hand - the equivalent of an army corporal - last year.

The decision by his superiors means that if he is killed in action aboard the frigate, HMS Cumberland, he will be allowed to have a funeral carried out by the Church of Satan.

The church was founded in the 1960s and its members reject Christian views of God and the devil, instead following Satanic rules stating: "Satan represents indulgence instead of abstinence; Satan represents vengeance instead of turning the other cheek; and Satan represents all of the so-called sins, as they all lead to physical, mental, or emotional gratification."

An MoD spokesman said it was an equal opportunities employer and did not discriminate against specific religious beliefs.

LOL.