Sadly, No!

The good people of NewsMax are trying to get their readers upset!

The Jakarta Peace Conference — with activists representing social movements and networks from 26 countries in Asia, Europe, Australia, Africa, Latin and North America — came together in Jakarta, Indonesia to call for an international boycott of U.S. products on July 4, 2004.

Holy boycott Batman, we bet NewsMax has lots of evidence that all them mean foreigners are stickin’ it to America!

In South Africa, the Iraq Action Committee of South Africa has called for a boycott of American and British products to protest the bombing of Iraq, with support from the Muslim Youth Movement of South Africa.

Exports to South Africa 2002: US$: 2.5bn. 2003: US$2.8bn.

Almost one out of four people in the Asia-Pacific region said they have avoided purchasing American brands, according to a recent survey of 1,000 by the Leo Burnett ad agency. The agency polled consumers in India, China, South Korea, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Exports to China increased by US$6bn in 2003 compared to 2002. India: US$4.1bn to US$4.9bn. South Korea: US$22.5bn to US$24bn. Indonesia: US$2.6bn to US$2.5bn (the boycott is working!) Philippines: US$7.2bn to US$8bn.

Much of NewsMax’s evidence looks like this:

In Malaysia, there is reportedly a drive to boycott U.S. products … In Britain, the ExxonMobil Corp., known as Esso in Europe, has reportedly conceded that an activist boycott has hurt its sales. … In Saudi Arabia, Saudi women have reportedly targeted U.S. cosmetic brands …

And much of that:

there is an ongoing movement for a boycott of Coca Cola … In France, an enterprising Muslim has come up with the brand name “Mecca Cola” to replace Coca-cola. … In Hungary, Women for Environment and Green Women have joined a boycott against Shell [sic,] Esso, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, KFC, Pepsi and Coca Cola. … In Portugal, there has been an ongoing boycott movement, with some of the companies targeted being Esso, Shell [double sic,] BP [triple sic,] Coca-Cola … Colombian labor and human rights activists are pushing a Coca Cola

Coca-Cola, Starbucks, McDonald’s anyone?

Some of the companies most symbolic of America haven’t found any effect on sales […]

“We have seen no impact from any sort of anti- Americanism,” said Nani Beccalli, General Electric Co.’s president and chief executive for Europe who’s based in Brussels.

“We have consciously looked for it and found none,” said Niel Golightly, a spokesman for Ford Motor Co. in Europe. […]

AMR Corp.’s American Airlines, the world’s largest airline, hasn’t experienced any backlash, said Jacquie Young, a spokeswoman in Fort Worth, Texas, pointing to a 21 percent gain in passenger traffic on international routes in March. […]

Nike Inc., the world’s biggest maker of athletic footwear, said profit in the quarter ended Feb. 29 surged 61 percent and sales rose the most in six years, climbing 21 percent to $2.9 billion. Its fastest growth was in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, where revenue was up 36 percent.

McDonald’s same-store sales have risen for five consecutive months in Europe, including a 7.7 percent increase in February, the company said March 5. Same-store sales in Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa rose 1.9 percent in the fourth quarter. […]

While Middle East sales of Coca-Cola dropped 10 percent in the prelude to war in the first quarter of 2003, they have since rebounded, Malik said. Coca-Cola posted record sales of $21 billion in 2003, an 8 percent increase. Volume sales in Europe, Eurasia and the Middle East rose 5 percent last year, higher than the 2 percent growth in North America. […]

Mecca-Cola, founded in 2002 in a Paris suburb by 47-year-old Tawfik Mathlouthi, sells its soft drinks in dozens of countries including Indonesia. It sold 20 million liters in France in 2003, generating revenue of 3.57 million euros ($4.31 million). [Emphasis added]

Let’s see: Mecca-Cola sold 20 million liters in France in 2003. Carbonated bevrage sales in France for that year amounted to 13.3 billion liters. Yeah, that sounds like a really big deal.

If there is a meaningful boycott going on, we sure can’t find any evidence. Not that there’s anything new here.

Added: French lover Pierre at the Dark Window has the goods on related NewsMax developments.

The Washington Post’s Rajiv Chandrasekaran, Sunday June 20, 2004 (Page A1, no less:)

Electricity generation remains stuck at around 4,000 megawatts, resulting in less than nine hours of power a day to most Baghdad homes, despite pledges from U.S. administrator L. Paul Bremer to increase production to 6,000 megawatts by June 1.

The Washington Post’s Editorial page editor Fred Hiatt, Sunday June 20, 2004:

This is the irony of Bremer’s legacy. A ruthlessly methodical executive, he set numerical goals for himself more than a year ago and mostly met them: electricity restored… [Emphasis added]

Met his goals Fred? Sadly, No, No, No and No!

(Hiatt quote via G.A. Cerny.)

Our favorite Rabbi (no, not Mister T, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach) has some odd praise for Richard Gere on his way to calling Madonna a slut:

If Richard Gere, America’s most high-profile Buddhist, began doing a nude review at the Crazy Horse Saloon, surely the Dalai Lama would distance himself from his protege. Fortunately for the Dalai Lama, Gere has shown that his adherence to Buddhism has ennobled his character and he no longer plays roles like “American Gigolo.”

We don’t know about you Rabbi, but starring in the remake of Masayuki Suo’s Shall We Dance? alongside Jennifer Lopez is the very definition of slutty.

PS: In the last ten years, you may remember Richard Gere from such movies as Unfaithful, “Rated R for sexuality, language and a scene of violence,” The Mothman Prophecies, “rated PG-13 for terror, some sexuality and language,” Dr. T & the Women, “rated R for graphic nudity and some sexuality,” Primal Fear, “rated R for brief grisly violence, pervasive strong language and a sex scene,” and Intersection, rated R.

Talk about “ennobled.”

(Via World O’Crap.) [Changed title and the first sentence.]

Amber has to post it to her personal web site. This undated essay is titled: The Irony of Leftists Brow-Beating Iran-Contra. As you might expect, Amber’s never ending war on straw decides to take a whack at leftists:

As to be expected, after the death of America’s greatest President of the 20th century, Ronald Reagan, the left loves to subtly mention all negative things about him that they can muster up. Therefore, while Americans mourns his death and celebrate his life, leftists slyly mention Reagan’s biggest weak point during his Presidency at every chance they get: Iran-Contra.

Those no good mother fucker leftists, they make us so mad! Why you ask? Let Amber tell you:

Indeed, Iran-Contra was a major flaw in the Reagan presidency. After militant Muslims in Lebanon slaughtered American soldiers while they slept, Reagan did not adopt a get-tough policy. Instead, he negotiated and compromised with them, offering them arms for hostages. The left gleefully reminds Americans of this every chance it gets.

But isn’t this exactly how the left wants us to deal with terrorists?

Amber’s got you there, Mr. & Mrs. Leftist! It’s right there in the Democratic Party Platform: “We shall trade arms for hostages at every chance we get. Even though this goes against our stated policy. And regardless of the fact that it violates the Arms Export Control Act. And then we will use the proceeds from those sales to secretly finance the Contras in violation of US law.”

After September 11, 2001 ? even before the war in Afghanistan and before the war in Iraq ? the left screeched at us, ?Why do they (the terrorists) hate us!?? The message being that, clearly, getting to terrorists to love us, by pandering to their needs, whims and emotions, is the solution to terrorism. So, I ask again: was Iran-Contra not exactly how the left would want us to have dealt with those savages?

Amber darling, the answer you seek is… Sadly, No!:

On December 8, 1982, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed the “Boland Amendment” to the 1983 military appropriations bill stating that none of the appropriated defense funds could be used to “train, arm, or support persons not members of the regular army for the purpose of overthrowing the government of Nicaragua.” This amendment made it illegal for the CIA to continue funding its anti-Sandinista army, which by then was calling itself the FDN (Nicaraguan Democratic Forces), but was better known as the Contras. [Emphasis added]

Amber’s got more however:

If it were up to the left, Saddam Hussein would not have been dragged out of a hole, like the rat he was, and tried for his crimes against humanity. [Emphasis added]

Yeah, we really enjoyed that time when Saddam was tried for his crimes against humanity. Good times.

We also wouldn’t have taken out one of the most ruthless, violent groups in the Middle East: the Taliban.

Of course not, those traitorous lefties in the Senate didn’t want to go to war!

Verbatim: Use of Force Resolution

Following is the text of a joint resolution approved unanimously by the Senate today.

ok, but those commies in the House didn’t want to!

In a 420-1 vote late Friday, the House gave final congressional approval to a resolution authorizing President Bush to “use all necessary and appropriate force” against those involved in Tuesday’s deadly terrorist attacks.

So as long as Barbara Lee = leftists, you can see how Amber has a point there, can’t you???

So, I want to ask leftists: would you have supported a get-tough policy against the Islamic terrorists who killed American soldiers? I?d like it in writing: I, (fill in your name), would have wanted Reagan to have killed all terrorists who killed American soldiers, and all states who sponsored them, with whatever military force that would have been necessary.

Well if there’s one thing we always favor here at Sadly, No!, it is the killing of states who sponsor terrorists who kill American soldiers. And if there’s anything we learned during the Reagan presidency, it’s that his administration will always stay within the limits of what is reasonable and legal, so there is no reason why Congress wouldn’t just let Reagan & Co. do whatever they wanted.

As Americans, we may [sic] not even have to send ground troops in to overthrow this [Iran] regime. The critical component is nothing more than to give moral support to the rebelling people of Iran. [Emphasis added]

Because you know the only thing stopping a full scale magical revolution that will turn Iran into the United States is some positive vibes sent by Jane Fonda. Amber said so!

As for Reagan, there’s one thing we learned during the Clinton presidency: it’s not the blowjob, it’s the lying that gets you.

Monday is here, and it’s time to find out if, as some speculated, we only pretended some of the Doug Giles quotes were made up, when in fact they were all from TownHall’s most popular pundit. Of the quotes listed (click here or scroll down,) the following were composed by yours truly (with the help of OxyContin, the drug of pundits:)

b) My ClashPoint is this: Every exposed nipple on TV acts like a decay agent on our morality tooth.

d) It’s about time all your say-nothing, do-nothing Christians open up a can of whoop ass of faith on the intolerant liberal secular minds that won’t rest until God is eliminated from our lives.

f) We’ve become a society so free of character that slaying a dragon is no longer a requirement to be elected to the presidency.

g) Liberals eat away at our morals, like Michael Moore set free at the opening of a new Krispy Kreme Donuts.

(Our favorites were b and g, not that anyone asked or cares.)

Can you guess which of the following were written by Doug Giles, and which were concocted by the twisted minds of Sadly, No!?

a) From a communication standpoint, the prophets, patriarchs, warriors and wild men of scripture were more like Bill O’Reilly.
b) My ClashPoint is this: Every exposed nipple on TV acts like a decay agent on our morality tooth.
c) I know this doesn’t sound like “paradise” for those who are immoral, lazy, stupid and fat, but it was God?s and primitive man’s idea of Yippee Land.
d) It’s about time all your say-nothing, do-nothing Christians open up a can of whoop ass of faith on the intolerant liberal secular minds that won’t rest until God is eliminated from our lives.
e) My ClashPoint is this: Listen, concerned Christian?even though the times are going to get tougher than Joan Rivers’ elbows before they get any better in the United States of Liberal Acrimony, we must not acquiesce.
f) We’ve become a society so free of character that slaying a dragon is no longer a requirement to be elected to the presidency.
g) Liberals eat away at our morals, like Michael Moore set free at the opening of a new Krispy Kreme Donuts.
h) We’ve got to re-inject a mega dose of faith, character and virtue back into the personal and national mix. That is, if we want to continue to enjoy a free and just society.
i) You?ll remain a voiceless, passive facilitator of secularism who squats on the sidelines of life, sitting out the greatest ideological battle our nation has ever faced.

Answers tomorrow — no cheating.

Steven “Captain Stratego” Den Beste writes:

Europe’s labor laws, which were intended to increase employment by preserving existing jobs, have instead yielded chronic high unemployment because they have discouraged creation of new jobs. [Emphasis added]

Unemployment Rate, April 2004:

United States: 5.6%
Luxembourg: 4.2%
Cyprus: 4.4%
Ireland: 4.5%
Austria: 4.5%
Netherlands: 4.5% (March)
United Kingdom: 4.7% (February)
Denmark: 5.9% (March)
Hungary: 5.9%
Sweden: 6.3%
Slovenia: 6.4%
Portugal: 6.8%

This is not to deny, naturally, the fact that the unemployment rate in several EU members is significantly higher than in the US. Yet all Den Beste provides are trite (and partly inaccurate) platitudes that only manage to reinforce his preconceived opinions (Europe sucks.)

In one of several posts that followed this, Trying to Grok writes:

Many of those commenters from the weekend probably have kids. What if I printed out their comments and showed them to their kids. Look, Timmy, your daddy called me clueless fucktard dumb. And then I explained to little Timmy that his daddy called me that simply because he disagreed with what I had to say. That’s a bad lesson to teach your kids.

My mother reads my blog. So does my first grade teacher. I try to conduct myself in a way that would make both of them proud because they taught me that showing others respect is important. It’s a shame others weren’t taught the same. [Emphasis added]

Trying to Grok, March 21, 2004:

To quote James Lileks: Fuck you.

Apparently, they have first grade on pirate ships nowadays.

Over at Hairy Fish Nuts, the management provides a comprehensive review of the administration’s use of the word “desperate” in describing Iraqi-based terrorists/insurgents/dark skinned heathens/etc… Summary: they have been desperate for a long time now.

Meanwhile, Uncle Horn Head sums up yesterday’s White House buzzword: strategery facts.

The Santa Rosa Press Democrat [WTF?:]

Marion Jones: The Movie or Real Life?

The Simpsons:

MacArthur Parker: “Ever hear of Planet of the Apes?”
Troy McClure: “Uh, the movie or the planet?”