| Submit your comments on this article |
| Fifth Column |
| Yvonne speaks... Again. |
| 2003-03-07 |
| BRITISH Betcha Bush didn't feel a thing... The We haven't cut any Camp X-Ray detainees' heads off, but since the Talibs didn't lop off Yvonne's nut, either, I guess she's entitled to an opinion... Ms Ridley also said the Iraqi people — not the US — should decide their own future and decried the war in Afghanistan as a "humanitarian disaster." You could say that some Iraqi people have decided their own futures... "My treatment was in sharp comparison to the treatment of Camp X-Ray prisoners in Cuba," she said. "I had broken their laws and entered the country illegally. Well, damn you! They shoulda cut your head off! "The men in Camp X-Ray have not been charged with anything. We don't know if they are guilty or not. Battlefield captures? We don't know if they're "guilty" or not? "When I speak I often start out by saying that I was lucky to be captured by the Taliban. I could have been captured by the US." We're pretty lucky that way, too. Otherwise, we'd probably still be in the National Shower... Ms Ridley arrived in Bahrain yesterday to deliver a series of talks at Beit Al Quran. She was invited by "Discover Islam" along with German Muslim activist Fatima Grimm. They couldn't find any speakers who were coherent... Ms Ridley was captured by the Taliban as she was attempting to leave Afghanistan with two guides. She spent 10 days in a cell along with a group of fundamentalist Christians, who were accused of trying to convert Muslims. If you've never read The Telegraph's commentary on her commentary, titled "Friday. Fell off donkey. Captured by Taliban. V. scary", you should do so. If you have, and it's been awhile, you should do it again... After her release, she began to study Islam and the Quran after a promise she made to her captors. She is now in the process of converting to Islam herself and criticised the war in Afghanistan. "The war in Afghanistan was a humanitarian disaster. It achieved nothing," she said. When was the last time they cut somebody's head off? "President Hamid Karzai is now known as the Mayor of Kabul because he has now lost control outside the capital. War is still raging. What the US won't tell us is that they have lost nearly 60 servicemen in Afghanistan and 140 have been wounded. Body bags are still coming out but they don't tell that to the US people. Most of them think it is sorted." I have no idea what that last sentence meant, but Yvonne probably doesn't, either. Karzai started without control outside Kabul, and he's been in the process of establishing it, slowly and hopefully substantially... The first of her talks, called "UN Sanctions: The Real Weapons of Mass Destruction", took place last night. "Weapons of mass destruction" are chemical, nuclear, or biological weapons. Which one of the three is sanctions? Ms Ridley said UN sanctions are having a detrimental effect on the Iraqi people and should be lifted immediately. "The first thing we should do is remove UN sanctions," she said. "Yep. Stop it this instant!" "They are the real weapons of mass destruction. Figures from international organisations, such as the World Health Organisation, show 5,000 babies die every month as a result. The food-for-oil programme is abused by the West and Iraqi people have so far received a quarter of the revenue. The other revenue has gone to pay for UN administration costs and victims of the Gulf War." And armaments. Not our fault — blame that on Sammy and the UN. Does Yvonne think the victims of the war should get nothing? Matter of fact, does Yvonne think? Ms Ridley said current problems in Iraq would be compounded by another Gulf War. She also questioned whether the US is in any position to deal with the aftermath of a potential conflict. Only one way to find out... "Afghanistan shows the US is not a nation-builder," she said. "They talk about liberating Iraqi people. I have seen what US liberation does. I know they are not being sincere. When the US and UK began the war in Afghanistan, I was still being held in a Kabul prison. I realised then those bombs could hit both civilian and military targets. It was an experience being bombed by my own country and the US. That made me realise the futility of war." Most of us realize the futility of trying to make sense of anything Yvonne says... Ms Ridley is also taking part in a women-only seminar tomorrow, from 6pm, on "21st Century Women." This will be followed by another talk on Monday called "Who Runs the War on Terror?" As far as she is concerned, the answer is Al Qaeda or more accurately Osama bin Laden. "Al Qaeda is running the war on terror," she said. "They are deciding it. On September 11, 2001 thousands of people died. Hundreds more were killed in Bali. There were terror strikes in Kuwait and a tanker was attacked in Yemen. If we look at the figures we know who is winning the war. Osama bin Laden is releasing more tapes than a pop star." See what I mean? |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |
| #6 becky, when you're talking about woman rights in islam, i notice that you're talking without knowledge but rather what your desire is dictating you. why you don't read your homework before you write an essay? you're ignorant and arrogant person and such people will never succeed ! |
| Posted by: glas iz sjene 2003-12-2 10:43:17 AM |
| #5 Does |
| Posted by: Steve White 2003-03-08 00:14:13 |
| #4 jeez Becky - I was gonna add something, but it didn't quite measure up after that rant - I like it |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-03-07 22:29:29 |
| #3 "Ms Ridley is also taking part in a women-only seminar tomorrow, from 6pm, on "21st Century Women." Ms. Ridley will host a fashion show titled, The 21st Century Burka. American women will be enlightened on the many benefits of having a status less than a dog. When asked if she favored American women subjecting themselves to Sharia, Ridley said, "personally, I dig getting stoned". |
| Posted by: becky 2003-03-07 21:06:00 |
| #2 "but since the Talibs didn't lop off Yvonne's nut, either, I guess she's entitled to an opinion..." that's priceless! |
| Posted by: RW 2003-03-07 20:17:10 |
| #1 A serious world-class state-of-the-art alpha-hotel nutbar! I will pray to the gods that she never gets into a policy-setting position. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-03-07 20:03:46 |
