Loose cannons

Blaming the victim I

"As Israeli forces pursued militants, civilians continued getting in the way and dying as a result." — New York Times report, April 21.

Blaming the victim II

"The trouble is that we are facing a Palestinian leadership that still sees violence as a mode of obtaining political gains." — Israeli foreign ministry spokesperson Mark Sofer, May 8.

It's so hard to grasp

"There's a certain uneasy feeling [in Washington] that this tremendous use of force by Sharon is not getting us closer to peace." — former US assistant secretary of state, Robert Pelletreau, May 6.

Commander-in-chief

"And one of the things we've got to make sure that we do is anything." — George "The Crusader" Bush, after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, May 7.

Seeing red

"In the 21st century it is crazy that America continues to run a socialised system of agriculture that is more appropriate to Soviet countries than to America." — Prime Menzies John Howard complaining May 10 about the US Senate's decision to increase US farm subsidies by 67%.

From Green Left Weekly, May 15, 2002.

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From GLW issue 492