Dumb and dumber

Yes Mahmoud Ahmadinejad does resemble George Bush’s long lost cousin, and not just on looks. He is as stupid (if not more), and cannot resist the temptation to live up to the bogeyman caricature. What exactly does he achieve by constantly denying or downplaying the Holocaust? The Holocaust is a historical fact.

Many more worse things can be said of Ahmedinejad, but what exactly was his crime at this UN conference on racism which prompted the walkout by Western delegates?

The facts are the Iranian President said that Jewish migrants were sent to establish a ‘toally racist government’ in occupied Palestine. He also said, ‘in compensation for the dire consequences of racism in Europe, they helped bring to power the most cruel and repressive racist regime in Palestine.’

Apparently this prompted the walkout. Antony Lerman argues that they should’ve stayed to argue their case. They didn’t, because they couldn’t exactly argue against facts. And on the question of the ’cruel and racist’ government, this argument is constantly made by many prominent Jews. In short, truth hurts.

There is another issue which has vexed ‘Western’ governments – the clause on incitement of religious hatred. Understandably Muslim countries wanted it to remain on the draft, but Western countries saw it as a curtailment of free speech!

In plain English – this means there should be a freedom for people to say and draw the most despicable images, and things of the Prophet Muhammad, and the Islamic faith. But calling the Israeli government racist and cruel is beyond the pale. Still with me?

Incidentally this is the same double standards as the conditions set on Hamas: to get ‘international’ (ie Western) recognition, Hamas was to renounce violence, recognise past agreements and Israel. The new Israeli government wants to destroy Hamas militarily, does not think past agreements are binding and will not allow a Palestinian state.

Will there be sanctions and isolation of the Israeli government? No, we’ll just boycott those who criticise it. And then we wonder why Muslims are confused and angry…

PS. For once the partial BBC decided to correctly refer to a ‘Western’ boycott rather than the usual ‘Internaltional’ lies. I’ve always wondered how ‘white’, ‘Western’ countries were always referred to as the ‘international community’. This isn’t a racial point, just an observation of the imperial/colonial mindset of international relations.