Thursday, April 27, 2006

MORE ON THE LUNATIC FRINGE


"Just look carefully, I only want you to look carefully. Do not repeat the lies of liars. Do not become like them. Once again, I blame al-Jazeera before it ascertains what takes place. Please, make sure of what you say and do not play such a role." ~ Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf, Iraqi Information Minister.


Okay, a couple of items today from the I-Told-You-So Department.

First of all, I love it when I find out I'm not alone, that there exists, somewhere out there in the blogosphere, someone else who can speak Rastî. I came across this opinion piece at a place called Blogcritics.org. It's an opinion article about the Iraqi blog, IraqPundit, and our IraqiPundit is of the distinct impression that the Lunatic Fringe is, well, lunatic. He even thinks the Nutty Professor from U of M (Juan Cole, for those of you who are not aware) doesn't know what in the hell he's talking about! Bijît IraqiPundit!

I could not believe my eyes as I read Dave Nalle about IraqPundit. I was thoroughly dumfounded and then I almost fell out of my chair, I was laughing so hard. Check this out:


In analyzing a comment by Juan Cole he says:

Speaking of morally challenged hectoring, the inimitable Juan Cole has this to say about Iraqi support for the insurgents:

"Too many Sunni Iraqis support them by now, and hate the US and its Iraqi allies. And, the new Iraqi military is too listless and sectarianized to make something like this work over the long term."

Izzatso? Where did Prof. Cole get these insights? Do they show up along with his bill at his Ann Arbor kabob house? The central issue about insurgents is this: The terrorists kill Iraqi civilians. They kill Sunnis. They kill Shiites. They kill Christians. They kill Sabeans. They kill Kurds. They kill everybody. Bombs and bullets don't check lineage. If Iraqis who know of terrorist hideouts aren't telling the authorities, it's because they are afraid. Fear ruled us for decades and it's hard to recover from that mind-set. So my informed comment is that no, most Sunnis don't support the killing of their fellow Iraqis. And most Shiites don't support the killing of their fellow Iraqis. Most Iraqi civilians want to live normal lives without the imminent threat of random slaughter.


No kidding.

Apparently, IraqPundit goes after other members of the Lunatic Fringe as well, proving, once again, that none of these little emperors have any clothes on at all, and he does so neither from the right nor from the left. A guy after my own heart.

My second item for your perusal is in the same vein. I discovered another member of the Lunatic Fringe, this one in the UK, proving that American Lunatic Fringers have not yet cornered the market on stupidity. Allow me to introduce Steph. Steph is a Kurd-hater. Steph is also blond, which probably explains a lot about what she has to say. She's also got that diffuse-lens thingy going, which probably means that her best years were the ten between 28 and 29.

Steph is upset that the American and British media put a good spin on Jalal Talabanî and the Kurds. Can anyone tell me when was the last time they saw or heard any video or mention of Kurds in the American media? Mam Jelal does not count, because he is the Iraqi president. The last time I saw any Kurds on American news was at the end of January, 2005, during the elections. Other than that, I saw Mohammed Ihsan on the PBS Frontline production of Saddam's Road to Hell. Do they have Kurds crawling all over the British media, or what? We count ourselves lucky if the media on this side of the pond even mentions the dreaded K-word, or if some talking head says "Sulêmanî" instead of "As-Suleiymaniya," and I would have a heart attack if I heard any of them say "Hewlêr" instead of Arbil/Irbil/Erbil. So what the hell is going on in the British media that has Steph's panties tied up in knots?

Steph believes the Turkish and Arab propaganda which says that the pêşmerge committed genocide. This is news to me. Would Steph have any evidence of that? Evidence as in the kind of stuff that Mohammed Ihsan brought back to Kurdistan from the southern desert? Evidence as in the kind of stuff brought against Turkey in the ECHR? Evidence as in what journalists and a few brave Kurds managed to smuggle out of Mullahland last summer? Or out of Syrian-occupied Kurdistan in March, 2004.

Steph never heard about Arabization either, or she wouldn't be so upset at the whole question of Dilê Kurdistan. On the other hand, Steph is a good Turk/Arab/Persian wannabe, because she says there's no such thing as Kurdistan. Steph thinks PKK murdered 40,000 Kurds in Bakur and that KDPI and PJAK murdered thousands in Iranian-occupied Kurdistan. Steph thinks Kurdistan will be a second Israel. Steph thinks Ja'afari got screwed for going to Ankara when the fact is that Ja'afari screwed himself by going to Ankara. After all, he wasn't the prime minister at the time, was he?

Steph thinks that Kurds are responsible for many genocides and that all Kurds are "terrorists." Steph says that Kurds aren't secular because they are majority Muslim. By Steph's twisted thinking, this means that the US and the UK are not secular either, especially not the US. Neither is Turkey, Syria, Iran, Iraq or any of hundreds of other countries on the planet.

Steph thinks there is a sizeable Jewish population. Now, since Steph is obviously not the sharpest knife in the drawer, I wonder where this sizeable Jewish population is located, because she doesn't say specifically. Is it in New York City? Israel? The planet Neptune? Or does Steph really mean to say that there is a sizeable Jewish population in Kurdistan? But Kurdistan doesn't exist according to Steph, so does she really mean to say that there's a sizeable Jewish population in Iraq? Syria? Turkey? Iran? Strange, isn't it, that I didn't see any Jews in Kurdistan Bakur or Başur when I was there last year.

Steph thinks that most Kurds love being Turks, Syrians, Iraqis and Iranians. Steph thinks that the pêşmerge "sold" oil contracts that they don't own--whatever that means. Steph thinks the Americans are launching terrorist attacks against Iran, Lebanon, Syria and Basra. . . Basra? I guess she got that info from Iran Daily or the Islamic Republic News Agency, but I'm only guessing, since Steph doesn't bother to quote a single source for anything she says. She must pull all of this stuff out of her ear, just like good old Juan does. I'd also like to know when Steph was last in Kurdistan, or Iraq, or Syria, or Turkey, or Iran.

I am sure that all of you have had enough of Steph. Besides, it's time that Steph the Kurd-hater is off to the salon, to get a little touch up on her roots.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Unfortunately there are plenty of us "westerners" who read the news with as little interpretation as Steph... Boy I'm sorry that you had to sift through such uninspiring copy. However, at least you got some mileage out of it. Yes, Turkish troops have crossed the border, but then they cross the border every year no? What makes this year different? Could it be that they are actually securing the transportation of oil tankers out of northern Iraq? to help fill the energy void in Turkey which is permitting them to build a nuclear reactor.Hmm...

I live in Turkey and would be shot for uttering such words as "Kurdistan" in public. Well sure it exists according to my friends who have actually traveled there. Having not traveled to Iraq and having lived in Turkey for five years I have been lead to believe that it doesn't and that every Kurd is a terrorist – totally insane! The Turkish government does need to start admitting to a few facts and being "transparent" about issues. They like to dangle this infront of the EU often. Actions DO speak louder than words. Look at the visit of Erdogan to Diyabakir where he stood in the street and told the Kurdish residents that he was there to help, then he bolted from a press conference in Copenhagen as soon as he found out there was a Kurdish reporter in the room. Confusion reigns!

Hey, something for Steph and all those westerners that would really freak them out, is that, it is actually the Islamists in Turkey that want change, not the secularists, who are too stuck in the country's past and staunchly shy away from embracing the future. Turkey is paralyzed but it ain't by the folks we westerners would like to believe it to be, it is in fact completely the opposite. Its lost by its missing sense of identity. Something that puzzles every foreigner that comes here.

And the old line that it is everyone else's fault but ours still exists. Easier that way I guess. History does have a role to play, but so does reconciliation. Call me naieve but history also moves on.

Anonymous said...

Hey, Mizgin, not all of us pro-Kurds are dark-haired! And there are many intelligent blondes out there...how 'bout Denmark?!

I hope you're proud of stuffing Steph like that...what next, pushing a little kindergarten girl in a wheelchair down the stairs? Clubbing a baby kitten to death?

Come on, she's an obscure net-moron with a blog, you probably just gave her 100X more publicity on YOUR blog than she'd get in a year on her own.

IMHO, the proper treatment for retards like Steph can be summed up as:

"SILENCE IS GOLDEN."

arcan_dohuk said...

what happened to MEIC?

Anonymous said...

I tracked down Fremen, he informed me that he had to shut MEIC down due to hackers. His tech support has been slow to help him, so it's still down.

But it is NOT permamnent.

But it seems like we've lost HBK there, has he bid us adieu forever?

Anonymous said...

The Turks are instigating trouble with Northern Iraq.

arcan_dohuk said...

im sure he will be back. word is that turkish hackers have attacked a number of pro-kurdish sites. xabat, a pro KDP site, also went down at the same time.

Mizgîn said...

Anonymous, Turkish troops do not cross the border every year. Turkish troops are not deployed en masse, every year. I have seen statements from different politicians saying this, but these are lies. Neither is there any need to secure oil transport, not in South Kurdistan anyway, and that is where the Ibrahim Xalil/Habur border crossing is, well within safe Kurdish territory. The KRG, which operates the Kurdish side isn't armed to the teeth, unlike the Turks on the other side of the river.

Yeah, energy void. . . good one. Just like Iran and their "energy void."

Kurdistan is not only in "Iraq"; the largest portion of Kurdistan is occupied by Turkey. All you have to do is go to Amed (Diyarbakir) and you are in the capital of Greater Kurdistan.

Identity. . . that is the root of all Turkey's problems and that is what makes Kurds their biggest enemies--terrorists, according to the state--because Kurds have a sense of Kurdishness, and it is that clear sense of Kurdish identity that makes the Kurd stronger.

When it comes to Kurds, there is no difference between Islamists and Kemalists.

Philip, Steph is a big girl but, as they say, if she can't run with the big dogs, she better stay the hell on the porch.

KN, the only other news I have seen about Turkish troop movements within South Kurdistan is something from the extremely racist JTW, which said that Turkish special forces had crossed the border. The problem with the Zaman article is that it is admitting that TSK is firing on Zaxo and Amedîya, cities that are filled with civilians.

In one of the more bizarre things lately, Hurriyet (on JTW) reported that Turkey is going to hunt for PKK in the Mediterranean--as if PKK had a navy! Hurriyet claims that this will strike a blow to "PKK drug trafficking." The only thing it will do, in fact, is protect Turkish trafficking. That's all ANY of their drug enforcement measures do.

http://www.turkishweekly.net/news.php?id=30829

Anonymous said...

Mizgin, a very insightful young fellow just posted the most hilarious post on Steph's blog...Somehow I sense it is not entirely serious...

Anonymous said...

Now Iran is attacking North Iraq. The Americans should tell the Turks and Iranians to BACKOFF!

Mizgîn said...

Somehow I think I know that guy, Philip.

KN, I think the KDP/PUK pêşmerge would be acting in accordance with Iraqi law to counterattack. I also believe that Turkey and Iran are acting together.

You may want to check out the posts here:

http://globalguerrillas.typepad.com/globalguerrillas/

dated 26 April and 30 April.

I am also fairly certain the Zaman article is lying about the bombing of Zaxo and Amedîya, however it does give us an insight into what Zaman readers want to hear.

Anonymous said...

Yes, co-operation between Turkey and Iran exists with regard to Northern Iraq. This report from the Financial Times confirms this. I can’t understand how America still views Turkey as a loyal ally when its actions, of trying to destabilize the only region in Iraq that is relatively peaceful, run counter to American interests.

Mizgîn said...

KN, Mahmoud Othman is backing up PKK's reports on this, and the Iraqi Defense Ministry continues to say it happened:

ABC News

I have not been able to confirm any shelling of Zaxo or Amedîya, the cities, but it looks like shelling of those districts, near the border, may have taken place. See DozaMe's latest for more info.

Another interesting thing is that the Turkish government claims it maintains a troop presence in South Kurdistan specifically to fight PKK, to include a JITEM presence in a number of cities. If so, why aren't they doing their alleged job? If not, why do they remain there?

There has also been a little report where Talabani says that the cross-border arrangements between Turkey and the Ba'ath regime have been nullified. If so, it's time for Mehmetcik to go home:

KurdishInfo

The US is going to pack up and leave Turkey. I saw something the other day about a deal being sealed between the US and Bulgaria for military bases (in Bulgaria). The US has been moving in this direction for several years, and I believe the move is a strategic one.

However, I think I am as mystified as you are about the whole US/Turkey relationship.

Anonymous said...

Mizgin, going back to Steph, check out these two posts on her blog today--she is really a modern Brit Nazi:
[
BasamHamid [Member]
05/02/06 @ 11:35

In London a 20 year old Kurdish woman, Banaz Mahmod Babakir Agha was murdered and chopped up and put into a suitcase by her family. Honour killings don't happen much in Arab communities but they happen a lot in Kurdish communities but the media will say Muslim honour killing not Kurdish honour killing. This is a Kurdish problem not Muslim problem.

Reply to comment | Show subcomments
Steph- [Member]
05/02/06 @ 13:44

Yeah I agree, it will be all about Muslims and not about the Kurdish community, Honour killings have nothing to do with religion, there are more honour killings in the USA than anywhere else but they don't call them honour killings they call it domestic violence.

Honour traditions are based on the community not on religion. In Sicily a woman was thrown out of her house by her brother because a man tried to rape her and she went to the police for breaking the code of Omerta.

It certainly seems to be a problem within the Kurdish community but that doesn't fit the coalition agenda.

Steph ]