Human shield reaches home (USEFUL IDIOTS UPDATE!)

The Sunday Times ^ | March 9, 2003 | Jane Mulkerrins

[MadIvan]

DISILLUSIONED and exhausted, Godfrey Meynell has called it a day as a human shield, writes Jane Mulkerrins. Last weekend, with eight other British peace protesters, he left Baghdad, admitting that the situation in Iraq had become too dangerous.

“My courage failed me,” said Meynell, 68, now back in his Derbyshire cottage with his wife, children and grandchildren. “And I wish I had had the energy and resolve to carry on.”

After a month-long journey through Europe and Syria on a red London bus, the former civil servant arrived in Baghdad and was allocated a power station to guard in his role as a human shield. Others were guarding water treatment plants and oil refineries.

Initially Meynell, who had asked to guard a water plant, found the conditions bearable: “We were allowed to walk around quite freely and we didn’t have to stay on the site every minute of the day — we did have to sleep there, however.”

However, after five days at the plant his enthusiasm began to wane. “The vibrations in the power station were getting to me, and I started to feel quite unwell,” he said.

“The news was also getting more threatening — and I really didn’t want to be scrambling for the last bus home.”

[MadIvan]

At least he's honest about having been frightened.

Chortle! Giggle! ROFL!

Regards, Ivan

[MadIvan]

Bump!

[Sparky760]

“The news was also getting more threatening — and I really didn’t want to be scrambling for the last bus home.” Real Committed

[cynicom]

Cowards never have courage of their convictions.

[SamAdams76]

“The news was also getting more threatening — and I really didn’t want to be scrambling for the last bus home.”

How pathetic. This is like quitting the Appalachian trail after getting your first blister. This loser has no right to the title "Human Shield." He's just a loser.

[CavScoutNC]

Most of the "shields" left when they found out that Saddam wanted them at military installations and Command and Control facilities. Not the hospitals and schools these idiots thought we would attack. Goes to show you that there is no "dedicated" liberals anymore.

Sad thing is the will still support this idiot. Commen sense is definitly uncommen among liberals!

[guitfiddlist]

“...And I wish I had had the energy and resolve to carry on.”

Maybe you should have wished for the wisdom to have never gone in the first place, ya pinhead.

[Teacher317]

A month of travelling to stay for 5 days. This guy's a true genius.

[Dog]

However, after five days at the plant his enthusiasm began to wane. “The vibrations in the power station were getting to me, and I started to feel quite unwell,” he said.

I imagine sitting near a million watts would fry your insides...LOL!!!

[Noumenon]

These people should be stripped of their citizenship.

[Randjuke]

“The vibrations in the power station were getting to me, and I started to feel quite unwell,”

Gosh, it's a good thing nobody was like, bombing the place - that might have caused a bit of stomach upset.

[Oldeconomybuyer]

Mon Feb 10, 4:22 AM ET

A red London bus carrying anti-war campaigners who aim to act as human shields in Baghdad drives past Istanbul's Suleyman the Magnificent Mosque as they set out for Baghdad February 10, 2003.

[Amelia]

“The news was also getting more threatening — and I really didn’t want to be scrambling for the last bus home.”

In other words, he really didn't plan on being there when the bombs started falling to begin with - it was all a show.

[EaglesUpForever]

A good thing this poor delicate fellow didn't have to endure 9/11: it might have been really strenuous for him to jump from the top of the WTC, might have even shocked him into taking the side *against* terrorists next time...

[tiamat]

CavScoutNC wrote: Most of the "shields" left when they found out that Saddam wanted them at military installations and Command and Control facilities. Not the hospitals and schools these idiots thought we would attack.

Tia writes : Ah!! but see FRiend? they never really THOUGHT we were likely to target schools and hospitals. Here's the beauty part: These hypocrites KNOW we avoid targets like that! They wanted to be able to huddle with women and kids and old folks, feel smug and superior, and grant interviews to CNN and Al Jazeera.... AND badmouth us from afar with impunity. AND chances of getting their butts blowed off iz SLIM!

In other words these cringng dogs want to have the cake, eat it too, AND bite the hand that feeds them!

'Twere up to me, they'd never be allowed back in, and i'd have them shot on sight as enemey spies if I found 'em inside my borders ! After all, they have given away their citizenship , haven't they?

Tia

[rface]

“My courage failed me,” said Meynell, 68

what he ment was - My brain failed me, said Meynell, 68

[tetelestai]

“My courage failed me,” said Meynell

Loser

[CavScoutNC]

I agree 100% with you, Tia. They gave aid and comfort to our enemy during wartime. We are still at war with Iraq. We only signed a cease fire agreement and not a peace treaty.

I volunteer my services to round up these traitors when they sneek back into the US with their tails between their legs. It's time to bring justice to the injust.

Liberals need to find out that they are indeed consquences for their actions. Some jail time would to them some good, if not them, their burly cellmate!

[muir_redwoods]

"My courage failed me"

Probably so since it's a cinch your intelligence didn't suddenly kick-in.

Actually it's he who failed his country but I'm sure that doesn't bother him

[LaGrone]

Look, the peacenik bus is burning pine knots. Maybe they should have slept in the bus..with the motor on...in the enclosed garage.

[daviddennis]

Oh, come on. They're a great source of comic relief. The world needs comedy nowadays, so I say leave 'em be. Laugh at 'em all you want, but they're not worth the cost of criminal charges.

Other than that, I agree with your message and thought it was well expressed. Yes, they didn't have the courage of their convictions when asked by the Iraqis to fish or cut bait.

This is exactly why I wouldn't have done so if I'd been an Iraqi. I would have treated them lavishly and sent them back (in time) with stories of how great life was in Iraq.

I guess Saddam's people aren't very good liars after all. The only people they can fool are Blix and the French, and I think those nice folks can be fooled only because they want to be.

D

[leilani]

Are we quite sure that this (predictably, Reuters)update was not, in fact, written by the good folks at The Onion and mischievously put out as NEWZ?? I mean, the satire here is SO sharp, it's starting to ooze out the windows at Black Rock (CBS), even if the snoozer suits there haven't got the snap to figure it out yet.

[Catspaw]

“The vibrations in the power station were getting to me, and I started to feel quite unwell,” he said.

It's the lentils and hummus.

[MadIvan]

It's the lentils and hummus.

Most of those peaceniks eat organic vegetarian stuff anyway. I rather liked what Bill Cosby had to say:

Go into a health food store and you'll see pale, thin people shuffling around. They may live forever, but they look dead. Steakhouses on the other hand are full of ruddy, happy people. They are dying, of course, but they look terrific.

Regards, Ivan

[CathyRyan]

Anyone want to start a betting pool regarding the date of the first book being published?

[tiamat]

Daviddennis wrote: "Oh, come on. They're a great source of comic relief. The world needs comedy nowadays, so I say leave 'em be. Laugh at 'em all you want, but they're not worth the cost of criminal charges. "

Tia writes, : Well, sure, they ARE comical . I just dislike that they so knowingly work the system, and get away with it cold.

And the sad fact is that so many people will just soak it up without question.

Suckers.

Tia

[MadIvan]

Anyone want to start a betting pool regarding the date of the first book being published?

Probably as soon as that third rate hack William Rivers Pitt can get a hold of one of them.

He's looking for a new writing partner since Scott Ritter has been exposed.

Regards, Ivan

[CathyRyan]

You win the pool. :)

[weegee]

Old Human Shields never die... they just run away!

[tiamat]

MadIvan writes

"Most of those peaceniks eat organic vegetarian stuff anyway. I rather liked what Bill Cosby had to say: Go into a health food store and you'll see pale, thin people shuffling around. They may live forever, but they look dead. Steakhouses on the other hand are full of ruddy, happy people. They are dying, of course, but they look terrific."

Tia : Ya know, Ivan? i have NEVEER seen a healthy vegetarian or "whole food" advocate. I have met and known several, and they are ALWAYS sick! AND they complain!

Geez! Eat a steak and have a beer! It'll do a body good!

tia

[DainBramage]

HUMAN SQUEALS

[weegee]

Maybe they should have taken this bus instead:

[ijcr]

He has advanced to Human Panty Shield 1St Class with cluster.

[hdrider]

However, after five days at the plant his enthusiasm began to wane. “The vibrations in the power station were getting to me, and I started to feel quite unwell,” he said.

COWARDS ALWAYS HAVE EXCUSES!

[YOMO]

This loser has no right to the title "Human Shield." He's just a loser..................................

Maybe we should refer to them as Panty Shields.

[Interesting Times]

Sorry, you don't qualify as a human shield if you bail before the bombs start dropping.

This guy is a "failed human shield."

[Becki]

and I really didn’t want to be scrambling for the last bus home.”

He never had any intention of staying!!

Becki

[weegee]

“The vibrations in the power station were getting to me, and I started to feel quite unwell,” he said.

Our military can stop the vibrations at the power station. Just ask Colin Powell to explain how...

[YOMO]

A red London bus carrying anti-war campaigners who aim to act as human shields in Baghdad drives past Istanbul's Suleyman the Magnificent Mosque as they set out for Baghdad February 10, 2003..................................

From the SMOKE they are spewing it is a wonder they were not targeted for spraying Germs.

[hdrider]

His month supply of DEPENDS ran out in 5 days....scardycat.

[CapandBall]

This is like quitting the Appalachian trail after getting your first blister

GA -> ME 95... and I never had a blister!

[Rockpile]

The entertaining thing would be for their native governments to seize these halfwits and send them straight back to Iraq.

[driftless]

The title of Pitt's new book will be "My Life As God". All his rearend-kissing stooges on DU will laud it as the greatest book ever written...since his previous effort.

[Oztrich Boy]

Kamikaze Briefing Script by Douglas Adams

COMM Now, you all know the purpose of this mission. It is a kamikaze mission. Your sacred task is to destroy the ships of the American fleet in the Pacific. This will involve the deaths of each and everyone of you. Including you.

PILOT Me sir?

COMM Yes you. You are a kamikaze pilot?

PILOT Yes sir.

COMM What are you?

PILOT A kamikaze pilot sir.

COMM And what is your function as a kamikaze pilot?

PILOT To lay down my life for the Emperor sir!

COMM How many missions have you flown on?

PILOT Nineteen sir.

COMM Yes, I have the reports on your previous mission here. (FLIPS THROUGH EACH ONE) Let’s see. Couldn’t find target, couldn’t find target, got lost, couldn’t find target, forget to take headband, couldn’t find target, couldn’t find target, headband slipped over eyes, couldn’t find target, came back with headache...

PILOT Headband too tight sir.

COMM Vertigo, couldn’t find target, all the rest, couldn’t find target. Now I don’t think you’ve been looking very hard.

PILOT Yes I have sir. I’ve looked all over the place!

...

COMM And another thing...

PILOT Yes sir?

COMM Skip the victory rolls.

[mingwah]

No way! Watch these failed shields show up on Good Morning America whining through their interviews!!!

[Interesting Times]

Hadn't seen that one...

COMM Well, where exactly have you been looking for these aircraft carriers?

PILOT Er, well sir...

COMM (FLIPPING THROUGH NOTES) ...I mean, I notice for instance that you seem to have more or less ignored the sea. I would have thought that the sea was a promising area.

[daviddennis]

I actually looked into what it would take to visit Iraq late last year, at a time I knew the war wasn't going to start. I was curious to see some of Saddam's more bizarre monuments.

In the end, I discovered it was just about impossible, period. 'Dangerous Places' (which considers Iraq a perfectly safe place for wimps, at least until the war breaks out) says that you apply for a visa, the Iraqis laugh and use the $48 fee on a nice dinner, and you never get an answer.

In the end, I decided to check out Cuba, which I strongly suspect was just a shade more fun than Iraq, although it still had the curious contradictions of a totalitarian regime (which I was very curious to observe). The Cuban people were all wonderful, and I had a splendid time except for the food, which was the stuff of nightmares.

(Yes, I strongly disapprove of Castro and his regime, and seeing that for myself was part of the reason I went. But in terms of spending a week there, dodging the secret police just added a little spice to the journey :-) ).

D

[nicmarlo]

after five days at the plant his enthusiasm began to wane.

Probably the longest period of time this guy every really "worked," and then his enthusiasm began to wane......after just 5 days....wow! What a commitment he had.

[sweetliberty]

Thanks for the update Ivan.

Ping for "Baghdad Vacation" update.

[sweetliberty]

"He's looking for a new writing partner since Scott Ritter has been exposed."

Hehehehehehe.... Ritter sure did make Pitt look foolish (as if he really needed any help). I think he was supposed to have the opposite effect. Maybe Will just brings out the worst in people.