Month: July 2006

A military reader writes:

Like all G.I.’s in the theater, my soldiers in Iraq were keen consumers of pirated DVDs, which are, almost literally, a dime a dozen. When "Passion" was released, I was besieged with requests from Christian soldiers for copies – because I flew to Kuwait monthly to get various materials on the local economy, I had good contacts for pirated DVDs, video games, etc. (sorry Hollywood), and it was usually a few weeks before that stuff could make it into Iraq.

On my first approach to the best source I had in Kuwait City’s Hawali district just after the film was released in the US, I was told that the Kuwaiti thought police had embargoed the film as Christian proselytizing, which is against the law (Kuwait’s Ministries of Information and Communication have offices to "promote" public virtue), though Kuwait does officially have freedom of religion and there is a Catholic church near the old American Mission Hospital.

Less than a week later, my source contacted me with the good news – I could have as many copies of "Passion of the Christ" as I wanted. When I asked why the change, I was told that the Kuwaitis had viewed the film and saw, much to their delight, that it "correctly" blamed the Jews for the killing of "our" most important prophet! What better message for American G.I.’s than that?

All of this egged on by Christianist Republicans.

The Passion of the Christ – Iranian TV’s version. Funny how close it is to Gibson’s.

The Pope of the journalistic establishment, Nick Lemann, issues an encyclical on the blogosphere.

"Mel Gibson might be my favorite feminist. If he’s not number one on my list, he’s pretty close, in competition with Pope John Paul II… In a day when "Take Your Rosaries Off My Ovaries" is an often-heard chorus in mainstream abortion debates, Mel Gibson’s understanding of women and his articulation of their unique mission could have remarkable repercussions. This new ‚Äî or old, inasmuch as it is natural and commonsensical ‚Äî kind of feminism, a focus on the different contributions of men and women and the different ways they live their missions, should make us all rethink how we live and love," – Kathryn-Jean Lopez, National Revew Online, not so long ago.

"What do you think you’re looking at, sugar tits?" – Mel Gibson to a female police officer last Friday.

The diversionary tactics being deployed by the theocon right (and fellow-travelers) in defense of their cultural icon, Mel Gibson, are getting quite inventive. Here’s David Frum, who uses the occasion to suggest Gibson’s anti-Semitism qualifies him to become head of the U.N. Can you imagine him taking such a jocular approach if, say, Louis Farakhan had been ranting similar things about Jews?

Here’s Captain Quarter’s blog who summons up his greatest outrage for Abraham Foxman:

Foxman had our support while he expressed outrage and disgust at Gibson’s drunken rant. However, he loses it when he advocates criminal penalties for merely offering an opinion. Gibson’s remarks, as reported, were hateful and obnoxious – but Foxman’s are truly dangerous.

You’ll find no more passionate opponent of hate crime laws than me. But Foxman’s idiocy is more dangerous than spreading medieval anti-Semitism through the Middle East in the midst of a global terrorist movement to eradicate the Jewish people and state? Please. This right-wing blog, on the other hand, blames … Hollywood:

I am sickened by Mel Gibson’s behavior, but I am certainly not surprised. Hollywood is Hollywood after all.

Another rightist manages to bring Ted Kennedy into the entire mess:

The thing is that [Gibson] has owned up to his mistake. Unlike a Ted Kennedy or others in his blood line that have been in the news lately.

Still, Jay Nordlinger’s apology for Gibson is the real beaut. I reprint part of it here:

The second story ‚Äî or the second version of this common story ‚Äî comes from my friend Ben. He lives in Israel, but went to college in Michigan. One night, his roommate got ripped, and accosted Ben with ‘f***ing Jew.’ (Unlike Mike, Ben really is a Jew.) As Ben tells it, relations with his roommate were always better after that. Go figure. Something about openness.
So, is there veritas in vino? Is alcohol a truth serum? Probably so ‚Äî but you don’t necessarily want to know the truth. Then again, you may.
In any case, I was thinking someone could market a wine or a vodka or something, naming it ‘F***ing Jew.’ A few swigs, and out come the words.

How many friends do you have who, after around three drinks immediately and without warning blurts out that the "Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world"? I guess I run in different circles than others.

This is a regional war:

"Islamic nations will not forgive the entities that hinder a cease-fire," al-Sistani said in a clear reference to the United States. "It is not possible to stand helpless in front of this Israeli aggression on Lebanon," he added. "If an immediate cease-fire in this Israeli aggression is not imposed, dire consequences will befall the region."

Maybe even Moulitsas will have to have an opinion now.

"Back in March, The New York Times did a vicious and despicable article in which they tried to use guilt by association of the lowest kind to try to say that some fairly kooky ideas that Mel’s father may hold were somehow associated with Mel, and therefore, this movie was part of a grand conspiracy. And it almost looked like a set-up job. Mel is being attacked – and this is laughable – even in a recent article in "The New York Times," he’s being attacked because he’s a charitable guy who has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars of his own money to build a church. I don’t see what’s wrong with that … The point is, Jews have real enemies. Americans have real enemies. I mean, there are people out there who mean us harm. Mel Gibson isn’t one of them," Jewish conservative Michael Medved, on CNN August 4, 2003.

Fareed makes a good point:

"[If I were running against conservatives,] I would make up a campaign commercial almost entirely of Donald Rumsfeld’s press conferences, because the man is looking — I mean, it’s not just that he seems like a bad Secretary of [Defense]. He seems literally in a parallel universe and slightly deranged. If you listen to what he said last week about Iraq, he’s living in a different world, not a different country."

Too bad the Dems are too clueless to take his advice.

(Photo: Brendan Miaslowsi/AFP/Getty.)

This is a translation of a letter to the editor in the German leftwing daily, Die Tageszeitung. It’s from a Lebanese Shiite, explaining Hezbollah’s evil strategy:

I lived until 2002 in a small southern village near Mardshajund that is inhabited by a majority of Shias like me. After Israel left Lebanon, it did not take long for Hezbollah to take have its say in other towns. Received as successful resistance fighters and armed to the teeth, they stored rockets in bunkers in our town as well. The social work of the Party of God consisted in building a school and a residence over these bunkers! A local sheikh explained to me laughing that the Jews would lose in any event because the rockets would either be fired at them or if they attacked the rockets depots, they would be condemned by world opinion on account of the dead civilians. These people do not care about the Lebanese population, they use them as shields, and, once dead, as propaganda. As long as they continue existing there, there will be no tranquility and peace.

Let’s hope an international force can get there soon.

Los Angeles, California, noon.