Monday, March 12, 2012

The Freedom House Of Horror

On March 12, 2012, David Kramer who is president of an outfit that calls itself Freedom House published an article in the Washington Post in response to an article that was published two days earlier by Ms. Fayza Aboulnaga, Egypt's minister for planning and international cooperation. Her article was titled: “Why Egypt Moved on the NGOs” and his article was titled: “Egypt's full-frontal assault on civil society”. It is to be noted that Freedom House is one of the non governmental organizations (NGOs) involved in the incident discussed by the two parties.

My interest in writing this piece is not to adjudicate the case; it will take a number of judges and a full court setting complete with lawyers, prosecutors, clerks and witnesses to do this. Instead, my interest is to highlight the mentality that is here displayed by David Kramer and the likes of him, a mentality that has sent ordinary Egyptians into the street to demand that the military cooperation between Egypt and the United States be terminated forthwith, a demand that the newly elected parliament has taken seriously and is looking into.

He begins by saying that she did not repeat in her article the charges she made when testifying before a judicial body last fall. Well, no one does that; the record is there and if someone wants to look at it, they can do so. In fact, he looked at it himself and he reported a few things he did not like about it. This is normal; it is the reason why there is going to be a trial at which time the judges will decide what is what. One of the things she said that bothered him is this: “She also testified that 'Freedom House moreover was founded by the Jewish Lobbyists to hail accusations and criticisms against countries whose policies are not in line with US objectives.'” Well, well, well, all I can say about this is welcome to my world, Ms. Aboulnaga. It's about time that you get to know these things.

In fact, having lived here for nearly half a century without going outside of Canada or the United States, I have determined years ago from my observations that the so-called think tanks littering the moral landscape of the Continent were nothing but septic tanks full of intellectual discharges like only the Judeo-Yiddish mentality can produce, and only the Jewish organizations can excrete. As if to help me prove my point, Kramer does something that is right out of the Judeo-Yiddish culture. He writes this: “Interesting that she opted not to repeat these … allegations … The anti-Semitism and anti-Americanism at the core of these assertions belie her insistence that...” What he did here just before tackling the points that came in her article, is stir the hatred of the readers by calling her antisemitic and anti-American. Nothing can be more Jewish than that, and this should tell you who founded Freedom House.

He now tackles the article of the minister starting with this: “Aboulnaga wrote in The Post that the dispute involves a handful of NGOs … [But] beyond the 10 [foreign] organizations … some 400 Egyptian … organizations are under investigation … All could be shut down … In other words … Aboulnaga has unleashed a full-frontal assault [on] civil society.” And this is another way of presenting a case that is very much in the Judeo-Yiddish style. It is the filthy habit of accusing someone by speculating on what they might do. Nobody but nobody except the Jews had used this method of presentation, and now the Americans are absorbing it by osmosis and using it too. No wonder America is sinking deeper and deeper into the Jewish septic tank.

Having accused Aboulnaga directly of being antisemitic and anti-American, and having accused her of other things by the method of speculation, he now wants the reader to believe that his organization was operating as legally as did the Egyptian organizations. But the truth is that each group is regulated by a different law, and what applies to one does not apply to the other as he will himself demonstrate in a moment. But for now, he uses a cheap trick to commit his misrepresentation: “None of us is operating illegally.” He continues to misrepresent the case by stating this: “Freedom House's application … was acknowledged … three days before the raid.” But to acknowledge that an application was received does not mean to approve. Still, he goes on to cite law 84 which states that lack of denial within 60 days constitutes acceptance of the organization as a legal entity. What this means is that an organization that has been accepted will be allowed to operate but only after it is given a license containing a description of what it can and cannot do. The gang at Freedom House, however, started to do their thing before they got the license.

Kramer now does the bellyaching routine: “Heavily armed security forces stormed into our office and those of nine other organizations without … in some cases any legal authority … The actions of Egyptian authorities have been different from [those under] the rule of law.” First of all, when the military is in charge of a country deemed to be in a state of insurrection, ordinary rule of law does not apply. Second of all, Kramer implicitly acknowledges here that the 10 foreign organizations were treated differently from the Egyptian organizations; and this means he admits that he deliberately deceived the readers early on when he lumped together all the organizations. Third of all, there is this question: What difference would it have made if the security forces were less heavily armed? And this one: Would he have fought back? And this one: If not, why mention something as trivial as this unless he wants to stir up emotions?

He now does something that typically falls in the realm of the Judeo-Yiddish tragicomedy. In other words, he does it to himself for some strange reason. You want to laugh at him at the same time as you feel sorry for him. Look what he does: “Don't take my word for it … Egyptian NGOs condemned the 'ongoing slandering and intimidation.' They described the December raids as 'a crime' … A judge … told … Al-Ahram that the substance of the case was 'nonsense.'” Well now, my friend, if the Egyptians are capable of something to which he clutches like a crutch so as to stay on his feet, why the hell do they need him or need someone of his low caliber? What can he teach them that they do not already know?

Apparently, he has an answer to that question: “We are in Egypt to support civil society organizations, encourage respect for fundamental human rights … We would not be in Egypt were there no indigenous demand for the kind of work we do.” If he really believes he can do what he says he can, I have a few suggestions for him. How about leave the Egyptians alone and go to the District of Columbia where he will find characters so illiterate in the art and the science of governance, a monkey could teach them a thing or two about running their congress more effectively. How about coming to Canada and showing the folks here how not to blacklist people who have things to say that can enrich the audience. And how about going to Israel and showing them there how to behave -- not necessarily as human being which they will never be able to do – but as something that is a little more evolved than a snake.

David Kramer insists at the end of his article on showing his readers the sort of fantasy land in which he lives. First, he quotes Aboulnaga who wrote: 'Our friends must understand that Egypt will never be the same, that this is an Egyptian revolution and that the Egyptian people will determine its outcome.' And guess what he does next. Well, with the authority of a pope pardoning a sinner that came to confess, he solemnly declares: “I endorse these sentiments.” But a good pope would not stop here because there is the fear that the sinner may recidivate. And so he warns: “But this is a strange claim from an official who … is a holdover … from the previous … regime.” And he makes her feel guilty to deter her from sinning again: “The campaign she leads … is a betrayal of … the ultimate sacrifices made by … Egyptians.”

Hey, Mr. Pope of the land of fantasy, pick up your marbles and go to hell if you're worthy. If not, go to the District of Columbia or come to Canada or go to Israel where the houses to worship freedom are so full of horror, they feel worse than hell itself.