The IDF Screenwriters Guild
by Not Sure
8 October 2023
Two movies
come to mind, daring rescues both. Where
Eagles Dare from 1968, starred Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood. Really very bad Nazis have captured a US
brigadier general and are holding him hostage at a mountaintop fortress,
accessible only by cable car. The 1976
action film, Sky Riders, also known as Assault on the Forbidden
Fortress, starred James Coburn and Robert
Culp. The wife and children of a wealthy
businessman are kidnapped by a radical group and held for ransom at a remote
monastery high atop a cliff.
Meanwhile,
in Morocco, “Play it again, Sam.” What
intrigue and skullduggery will be plotted in the serene spas and pillow-laden
suites of the palatial Hotel La Mamounia, where the World Bank Group and
International Monetary Fund (IMF) hold their annual meeting this week? For the movie buffs, La Mamounia was one of the
filming locations of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1956 thriller, The Man Who Knew Too
Much, starring James Stewart and Doris Day.
The film won an Academy Award for the song sung by Doris Day, “Que Sera,
Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be).”
Indeed, que sera, sera, but still, it’s all worth protesting.
Over the
years, Alan Watt spoke at great length about the World Bank and the IMF, the
destruction they cause when they arrive to lend a helping hand. If a country is merely struggling, these
institutions guarantee that is swiftly turned into an outright failure and
abject poverty (oops, I mean austerity or belt-tightening, haircuts
and bailouts) for the average citizen.
In this
Redux number 130, Alan covered the G8 Summit which was held in Deauville,
France in 2011, with France’s Sarkozy hosting and the U.S.’s Obama attending,
along with the six other pirate kings of that year, who surely felt right at
home in this seaside resort for the wealthy.
Poor Nicolas Sarkozy. The years since 2011 have not been kind and
he has been convicted twice of corruption.
In February of 2023, Sarkozy visited Israel with his wife and daughter,
and they expressed their deep appreciation for their friendship with
Israel. It’s just as well they made the
trip at that time, because in May of 2023, he lost his appeal and now must face
imprisonment. Home confinement, of
course.
The now-G7
is going to have a little side meeting in Marrakech, suggested by Japan’s
Finance Minister, Shunichi Suzuki, who wants to discuss the group’s assistance
to Ukraine and the challenges that multilateral development banks face. Oh, to be a fly on the wall at that
booze-fest, where the booty-looty gets carved and
carved until the pirate gangsters have grabbed as much as the banksters will
allow. Red noses powdered. Lights, camera, action! “We are so grateful to the people of Morocco
who have shown us such tremendous hospitality in the aftermath of this tragic
earthquake. It is with humility that we
offer the support of the world and every assistance these financial
institutions can provide.” “Please sign
here for your $1.3 billion climate resilience and disaster relief loan. Don’t look at the fine print. It’s standard, boilerplate legalese. Don’t worry, we’ve got your six.”
In Where
Eagles Dare, a transport plane carries a team of paratroopers close enough
to the mountain for them to stage their daring rescue, and in Sky Riders,
a hang glider flying circus is hired to take part in the rescue mission. Let that float around in your mind for a
moment. A hang glider flying circus.
Here’s the
opening scene of the latest real-life movie, as summarized by CNN. “The gunmen came from air, sea
and land. They shot at civilians, took hostages and
forced families to barricade themselves indoors, fearing for their lives.” We are told, and shown video footage, that
Palestine’s Hamas fighters breached Israel’s southern border at the Gaza Strip
using motorized paragliders, while at the same time, Palestinians entered
Israel all across the northern and eastern borders of the Gaza Strip.
Israel has
an impressive military and perhaps the world’s top intelligence agency. They have a “smart” border system and walls
that extend deep underground. Their air
defense capabilities are world-class.
Israel’s air defense system, the Iron Dome, has all the whistles and
bells, including directed-energy weapons.
But according to a former spokesman for the IDF, “The entire system
failed. It’s not just one component. It’s the entire defense architecture that
evidently failed to provide the necessary defense for Israeli civilians…This is
a Pearl Harbor-type of moment for Israel, where there was reality up until
today, and then there will be reality after today.”
According to
Wikipedia, “Until the 2021 war in Gaza, the US had contributed a total
of US$1.6 billion to the Iron Dome defense system. After the end of the 2021 conflict, Israel
asked the US for another US$1 billion for replenishing the Iron Dome batteries,
which was approved by the US Congress in 2022.”
Right now, political squabbles within the U.S. appear to be standing in
the way of Israel defending itself. The
recent ouster of the speaker of the House has everyone on edge. House Foreign Affairs Chairman Mike McCaul
said that there is $3.3 billion in foreign military spending that has already
been appropriated. “We have to get a
speaker elected this week so we can get things on the floor like replenishing
the Iron Dome.”
IDF Major
General Ghassan Alian said, “Hamas has opened the gates of hell into the Gaza
Strip. Hamas made the decision, and Hamas will bear the responsibility and pay
for its deeds.”
Sadly, I can
no longer go to the movies and enjoy the outing with a bucket of popcorn. I see ludicrous stories and spot the plot
holes. It’s just not fun anymore.
© Not Sure
G-8
Meeting is Great for Eating:
"The Great Ate Club is Off to France
For Rich Food, Wine, Women, Dance,
And While There Will Sign Agreements
Integrating More Power for Global Achievements
Still to Come, For Such an Ancient Plan
Is Not to Be Thwarted by Petty Man,
Feudal Overlords Salivate, Power Delectable,
Now Each Peasant is Totally Predictable,
Transparent Lives Uploaded to Net,
The Watchers' Presence Not Felt as Yet,
Guzzling Science's Offerings, Science the Saviour,
Oblivious to Guidance Over Their Own Behaviour"
© Alan Watt May 26, 2011
Additional
reading:
IMF board approves $1.32 billion resilience loan for Morocco
IMF at Morocco
https://www.imfconnect.org/content/imf/en/meetings/AM23.html
Hotel La Mamounia
Hotels for the second tier
https://annualmeetings.bnetwork.com/Index.aspx
Iron Dome
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Dome
A ‘Pearl Harbor’ moment: Why didn’t Israel’s sophisticated
border security stop Saturday’s attack?
https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/07/middleeast/israel-gaza-border-security-intl/index.html
Hamas Paragliders Join Surprise Assault On
Israel
Hamas has "opened the gates of
hell," Israeli military leader says
Pressure to fill House speaker vacancy builds as crisis
unfolds in Israel
https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/08/politics/house-speaker-vacancy-israel/index.html