FiM in The Middle East: Miscarriage of Justice

"We know that such measures increase hatred between the two peoples, but we have to defend and protect our civilians."
Amira Aron, director of the Arab Media Department in the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs reacting to reports that pregnant Palestinian women are often prevented by Israeli forces from reaching hospitals to receive appropriate medical attention, causing many miscarriages and the deaths of some women. Just how the Israelis hope to protect their civilians by increasing Palestinian hatred is beyond me!

Moi on 1pm News

"The way the appointment has been announced should raise eyebrows. There has been no formal communication. You do not appoint a former president in a casual manner."
Former President Daniel Arap Moi in a statement issued by his Press Secretary Lee Njiru reacting to the offhand manner in which the Government announced his proposed appointment as a special envoy. During his tenure, Moi was notorious for appointing and disappointing cabinet ministers on the 1.00 pm KBC news bulletin, mostly without consulting with the affected individuals.
Daily Nation, Friday, October 13, 2006.

FiM on the Sub-Continent 2

"We are deeply concerned at the reported nuclear test conducted by the DPRK. It is unfortunate that the DPRK has conducted such a test in violation of its international commitments, jeopardizing peace, stability and security on the Korean Peninsula and in the region. The test also highlights the dangers of clandestine proliferation. We are monitoring the situation and are in close touch with several countries." Indian official spokesperson's statement issued today, Oct. 9, 2006.

India and Pakistan were roundly condemned after they stunned the world with back-to-back nuclear tests in May 1998, sparking fears of an arms race on the sub-continent

FiM on the Sub-Continent

"Pakistan deplores the announcement by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea that it has conducted a nuclear test. It is regrettable that the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) chose to ignore the advice of the international community not to test a nuclear weapon," Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam told a news conference today, Oct. 9, 2006 in the capital, Islamabad. India and Pakistan were roundly condemned after they stunned the world with back-to-back nuclear tests in May 1998, sparking fears of an arms race on the sub-continent.

FiM-Iran (Halo-tosis)

Partial translation (courtesy Online NewsHour): "On the last day when I was speaking before the assembly, one of our group told me that when I started to say 'In the name of God the almighty and merciful,' he saw a light around me, and I was placed inside this aura. I felt it myself. I felt the atmosphere suddenly change, and for those 27 or 28 minutes, the leaders of the world did not blink. When I say they didn't bat an eyelid, I'm not exaggerating because I was looking at them. They were astonished as if a hand held them there and made them sit. It had opened their eyes and ears for the message of the Islamic Republic." Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad describing his 2005 speech at the UN General Assembly.

Foot-in-Mouth in the US (aka Mad Cowboy Disease)

"I wouldn't have sent troops to Haiti. I didn't think it was a mission worthwhile. It was a nation-building mission. And it was not very successful. It cost us billions, a couple of billions of dollars, and I'm not so sure democracy is any better off in Haiti than it was before. . . . I don't think our troops ought to be used for what's called nation-building. . . . I think what we need to do is convince people who live in the lands they live in to build the nations. Maybe I'm missing something here. I mean, we're going to have a kind of nation-building corps from America? Absolutely not." -Republican Presidential Candidate George W. Bush during a debate with then-Vice President Al Gore on Oct. 11, 2000, in Winston-Salem, N.C. During his administration, the US has spent over US$300 billion in sending troops on nation-building missions in Iraq, Afghanistan and Haiti. For a guy who had only left North America 3 times before the 2000 election, who could not name the leaders of India and Pakistan, and who thought Nigeria was a continent, it's remarkable (and perhaps alarming) that his tenure has been dominated by foreign policy issues. A former alcoholic and now born-again Christian, it seems Bush does not believe in half-measures.