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Fifth Column
Greenpeace Issues Deck Of “Most Wanted” World Leaders
2003-05-03
The International Greenpeace distributed a deck of cards similar to the U.S. deck of most-wanted Iraqi officials, replacing them with world leaders who possess weapons of mass destruction. "It's an exact copy (of the U.S. deck) in terms of the design and layout," the spokesman for the environmental organization, William Peden, was quoted by Russia’s Interfax news agencies as telling the Salzburger Nachrichten on Friday. "The idea is to provide delegates with something that's not a boring piece of paper. It's something interesting and innovative that they can actually learn from — so it's an educational tool as well."
Oh, how original. How witty. How... Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
U.S. President George W. Bush replaced toppled Iraqi president Saddam Hussein as the ace of spades, while Russia’s Vladimir Putin, France’s Jacques Chirac, China’s Hu Jintao, Britain’s Prime Minister Tony Blair, Israel’s Ariel Sharon in addition to a number of other leaders replaced other Iraqi officials on Greenpeace’s deck of "most-wanted" leaders.
'Cuz, y'see, that puts them into the same category as the Iraqis. Betcha didn't catch that, didja? Oh. You did...
The Geneva-based organization handed out 600 decks to delegates at a 5-day conference on the 1968 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, which opened Wednesday, April 30. "We haven't had any negative comments — not even from the U.S. delegation," said Peden. "They're such a hot item."
Maybe it's because they find the whole idea boring and trivial?
"It's actually being used by delegates in their speeches and they love it because it's full of short snappy facts about the situation of nuclear weapons around the world," Peden added. He further said that the number of nuclear weapons produced since 1945 has hit 128,000 missiles.
Ummm... Production figures aren't offset by destruction figures, are they? I thought not.
Peden said countries which possess such weapons are on the rise, noting that Israel topped the list with some 59 ballistic missiles produced over the past ten years. Along with photographs of Bush and seven other leaders are details of the number of nuclear weapons their countries possess. The deck notes that Putin comes with around 18,000 nuclear-headed missiles, Bush with 10,600, Jintao with 400, Chirac with 350, Sharon with 200, Blair with 200, Pakistan’s Pervez Musharraf with 50 and India’s Atal Bihari Vajpayee with 35 missiles. Under the nonproliferation treaty, the declared nuclear powers of the 1960s — the United States, China, France, Russia and Britain — were meant to reduce their arsenals, halt the spread of nuclear weapons and ensure nuclear technology was used only for peaceful purposes. However, the accord has failed to stop other nations from becoming nuclear powers.
Posted by:Fred Pruitt

#15  What's that whooshing sound I hear? Could it be the sound of Greenpeace flushing the any remaining shreds of their respectability down the toilet? To think I once gave money to these quacks believing that they actually cared about the whales and the environment.

How silly.
Posted by: Becky   2003-05-03 18:11:24  

#14  Strangely silent?

Cuba: Executions mark an unjustifiable erosion in human rights

In yet another blow to respect for human rights, Cuban authorities have ended a three-year de facto moratorium on executions by sending three men to their deaths before an official firing squad, said Amnesty International today.

"Coming on the heels of the mass arrest and summary trials of at least 75 Cuban dissidents -- most of whom received shockingly lengthy prison terms ranging up to 28 years -- these executions mark a serious erosion in Cuba's human rights record."

Systematic torture of political prisoners in Iraq

Many, like Al-Shaikh Yahya, were the victims of torture. Methods of torture used included suspension followed by repeated beatings on various parts of the body, the use of electric shocks on the genitals as well as psychological torture such as torturing detainees in front of relatives or friends, and solitary confinement.

Despite national laws prohibiting it, torture has been used systematically in Iraqi prisons and detention centres for at least the last two decades. Over the years AI has interviewed hundreds of torture victims, or their relatives, many of whom now live with permanent physical or psychological damage. Some of their stories are told in a new report, Iraq: Systematic torture of political prisoners (AI Index: MDE 14/008/2001) published in August. Victims include people detained on suspicion of political activities against the government, such as being accused of having links with the Iraqi opposition outside the country or plotting to overthrow the government. Some died under torture. When their bodies were returned to their families they bore evident signs of torture, including the gouging out of the eyes, marks of severe beatings and electric shocks and finger- and toe-nails being removed.

Women have been the victims of torture such as rape and beatings on the soles of the feet, on suspicion of contacts with opposition groups or in some cases to put pressure on relatives abroad to cease their anti-government activities.

In 1994 the Revolutionary Command Council, Iraq's highest executive body, headed by President Saddam Hussain, introduced decrees prescribing judicial punishments such as amputation of hand and foot, branding of the forehead and cutting off of the ears for various criminal offences. The authorities justified the punishments as a measure to combat rising crime. Army deserters and evaders were particularly targeted and many suffered ear amputation. While the practice of amputating the ears of army deserters was officially stopped in 1996, the other judicial punishments remain in force. More worryingly, in mid-2000 amputation of the tongue was reportedly approved by the authorities as a new penalty for slander or abusive remarks about the President or his family.
Posted by: True German Ally   2003-05-03 14:24:54  

#13  As a former Amnesty International member, I almost have to agree with badanov now. They USED to be impartial witnesses to human rights violations. They have been strangely silent on violations under Saddam, in the Palestinian Authority areas, and I don't recall them saying one damn thing about the prisoners that Fidel rounded up last month. I do give them credit for speaking up about Amina Lawal in Nigeria, but they have lost a major amount of their once formidable credibility.
Posted by: Baba Yaga   2003-05-03 13:29:52  

#12  No badanov, I wouldn't include Amnesty International. I know they have been a pain in the ass for the U.S. but they do a lot of good work to help political prisoners in totalitarian states. And I have been one so I know what that means.
Posted by: True German Ally   2003-05-03 12:49:41  

#11  Is Chiraq at least a face card? Surely the Rainbow Warrior affair should count for something?
Posted by: Baba Yaga   2003-05-03 12:34:35  

#10  Greenpeace has had such a string of bad "luck" lately, they needed something to regain the attention they'd lost. It must really hurt to belong to such a looser organization.
Posted by: Old Patriot   2003-05-03 11:59:31  

#9  F*ck Greenpeace.

Let's issue our own cards.

Ace of Spades: The United Nations
King of Spades: Greenpeace
Queen of Spades: Amnesty International

... and so on. But let's call them the 55 least wanted.

F*ck Greenpeace.
Posted by: badanov   2003-05-03 11:26:44  

#8  "Short snappy facts" for short snippy minds

raptor - good idea. Let's see the manufacturer, who IIRC was a company in Ohio (?) file the suit here & Belgium (seat of all universal power) and put some of those donations to Greenpeace to good use.
Posted by: Frank G   2003-05-03 10:05:31  

#7  Sounds like a copywright violation to me.
Posted by: raptor   2003-05-03 09:42:40  

#6  Homer Simpson's rejoinder to GP: Booooooring!!
Posted by: Raj   2003-05-03 09:40:54  

#5  Just when I think Greenpreach can't get any more pathetic and useless, they come up with something like this. Geez, I had more imagination (and more relevance) when I was 2!

To quote that great philosopher, Bugs Bunny, "Wotta a buncha maroons!"
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut   2003-05-03 09:17:21  

#4  I'll 'splain it to you Wayne: Greenpeace knows that there's not a single politician or bureaucrat anywhere near the top in the Russian government who would even bother to read their press release, so why bother. GWB as "Ace of Spades" gets a little press; Putin as "Ace of Spades" is a total snoozer. It's all about marketing and keeping those dues and contributions flowing in.
Posted by: Tom   2003-05-03 08:43:36  

#3  wayne,
Don't hold your breath.
Posted by: marek   2003-05-03 08:05:59  

#2  "Logic? We don' need no steenkin' logic!"
Posted by: Fred   2003-05-03 08:04:19  

#1  Russia 18,000 nukes, US 10,600. Somebody want to 'splain to me why GWB gets to be the "Ace of spades" and all of the headlines as the worst violator? Are Russian nukes somehow more peaceful? Would we be the "Ace of Hearts" if it was Boffo Bill or Alegory had their fingers on the button? I wish someone would give me the inside track on the logic here.
Posted by: wayne   2003-05-03 07:59:27  

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