Seeing Class Warfare on a Pro-London Website
July 15, 2005
Seeing Class Warfare on a
Pro-London Website
"A few days ago, We're Not Afraid might have been a comfort. Today, there's
a hint of 'What, me worry?' from Mad magazine days, but without the humor or the
sarcasm. We're Not Afraid, set up to show solidarity with London, seems to be
turning into a place where the haves of the world can show that they're not
afraid of the have-nots."
- Sarah Boxer about www.werenotafraid.com a website set up to support
London in the wake of the 7/7 terror attacks, July 12.
Blame Terror Attacks on Blair's
Support for Bush?
"Increasingly, though, Britons seemed to be interpreting the attacks as a direct
result of Mr. Blair's support for President Bush in the Iraq war and America's
campaign against terrorism. 'The price for being America's foremost ally, for
joining President Bush's Iraq adventure, was always likely to be paid in
innocent blood,' Max Hastings, a military historian and former newspaper editor,
wrote in the Conservative-leaning Daily Mail. 'We must acknowledge that by
supporting President Bush's extravagances in his ill-named war on terror and
ill-justified invasion of Iraq, Blair has ensured that we are in the front line
beside the U.S., whether we like it or not.'"
- Times London bureau chief Alan Cowell, July 9.
Tony Blair As Bush's Poodle,
Again
"The war in Iraq has been increasingly unpopular here, with taunts that Mr.
Blair had become President Bush's poodle. The anger about Iraq led to Mr.
Blair's shaky showing in the May elections: a third term with a severely reduced
majority. Now, as long predicted and feared, his support of the war appears to
have cost British lives at home. Thursday was a day of rallying behind the
leader, but there were indications that the bombing could take a political
toll."
- Alan Cowell, July 8.
"Draconian Anti-Terror Laws" of
U.S.?
"The notion of more draconian anti-terror laws has raised concerns that Britain
will forfeit its long-standing commitment to tolerance and civil rights in the
name of a war on terror modeled on that of the United States."
- Alan Cowell, July 14.
Those "Strident" Anti-Communist
Dictator Refugees
"But if Mr. Castro's grip on Cuban Miami remains strong, the fixation is
expressed differently these days. The monolithic stridency that once defined the
exile community has faded."
- Abby Goodnough on anti-Castro exiles, July 6.
Signing on to Liberal Labels
"Senators Reid and Leahy also sought to discourage the president from naming an
extremely conservative candidate who would engender strong opposition from
Democrats and provoke a bitter confirmation fight."
- Carl Hulse and Richard Stevenson, July 13.
Not Doing It Very Well,
Apparently
"[Valerie Plame] has guarded her privacy, with rare exceptions. She posed with
her husband for a Vanity Fair photographer, wearing sunglasses and with a scarf
over her blond hair.While his wife has shunned publicity, he has become an
always-available news media voice, lending the weight of international
experience and insider status to criticism of Mr. Bush's conduct of the war."
- Scott Shane on Joseph Wilson's wife Valerie Plame "shunning
publicity," July 5. Valerie Plame's photo appeared in the June 2005 issue of
Vanity Fair.
Don't Even Try to Look for the
Liberal Label?
"The United Church of Christ prides itself on being in the forefront of human
and civil rights issues. On its Web site, the denomination says it and its
predecessors were among the first churches to take a stand against slavery, in
1700, the first to ordain a woman, in 1853, and the first to publish an
inclusive-language hymnal, in 1995. Its slogan, God is still speaking, is
meant to suggest that the Bible is not the sole source of divine instruction,
and that Scripture must be interpreted in today's context."
- Shaila Dewan, July 5.
A Warning Shot for Bush's Supreme
Court Nominee
"At the White House, the moment presents Mr. Bush with an opportunity to define
at last, more than four years into his presidency, whether he is a pragmatic,
flexible conservative, as he has portrayed himself in two campaigns, or a more
ideological one, determined to move the court much further rightward. It is a
juncture officials have been planning for."
- Douglas Jehl, July 2.
Hillary in the "Political
Center"?
"In fact, [Sen. Hillary] Clinton has defied simple ideological labeling since
joining the Senate, ending up in the political center on issues like health
care, welfare, abortion, morality and values, and national defense, to name just
a few."
- Raymond Hernandez and Patrick Healy, July 13.
Reality Check: The American Conservative Union gives Sen. Hillary Clinton a
lifetime rating of 9 (with 100 being the most conservative), the same as liberal
Sen. Tom Harkin.
Some "Lift"
"New Yorks Olympic Team Puts a Star on the Pedestal - Clinton, Wooing the
Adoring Crowds, Gives Bid by NYC2012 a Last-Minute Lift."
- Headline to a July 6 story on Sen. Hillary Clinton. Later that day,
the International Olympic Committee picked London to host the 2012 Games.
