24
You only tell me, perhaps, perhaps, perhaps
Whoa, can you feel the love?
Amnesty International is just a few liberal British attorneys who formed an organization to further their views. At least that’s how they started out, though perhaps they employ more people now.
Those damn liberals and their human rights. Still, it made us wonder what other “organizations” could be similarly dismissed based on their suspicious origins.
- The United States is just a few slaves-owning British guys who founded a country to further their views. At least that’s how they started out, though perhaps they employ a few more people now.
- National Review is just a few Negro-hating white guys who founded a magazine to further their views. At least that’s how they started out, though perhaps they employ a few more people now.
- Microsoft is just a few geeks who founded a software company to further their views. At least that’s hwo they started out, though perhaps they employ a few more people now.
Needless to say, you are expected to come up with better, funnier examples in the comments. Extra credit goes to those who use al-Qaeda.
As for Amnesty, the story of its origins is obviously suspect:
How did Amnesty International start?
More than four decades ago, the story of two Portuguese students sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment for raising a toast to freedom horrified British lawyer Peter Benenson. He wrote to the British newspaper, The Observer, calling for an international campaign to bombard authorities around the world with protests about the “forgotten prisoners”. On 28 May 1961 the newspaper launched his year long campaign, Appeal for Amnesty 1961, calling on people everywhere to protest against the imprisonment of men and women for their political or religious beliefs – “prisoners of conscience”.
Damn communists.
Brad R. said,
June 24, 2006 at 15:49
The fact is the Republican Party is the only human rights group with any credibility. The fact is Kissinger liberated Chile from the tyranny of a democratically elected government.
Adam said,
June 24, 2006 at 16:27
The Bush family is just a bunch of white guys from Connecticut who grew rich financing Nazi construction projects at Brown Brothers under the Third Reich. At least that’s how they started out, though perhaps they employ a few more people now.
Neal Peart said,
June 24, 2006 at 16:39
Rush was just a few Canadian guys who started a band to further their views. At least that’s how they started out, though perhaps they employ a few more people now.
Roman Totale said,
June 24, 2006 at 16:48
The World Cups is just a little tournament originally hosted by Uruguay in honor of their first 100 years of independence. But it may employe a few more people now.
tigrismus said,
June 24, 2006 at 16:59
perhaps they employ more people now
It’s really too bad this kind of infomation isn’t readily available.
Worst. President. Ever. said,
June 24, 2006 at 17:03
The Project for a new American Century are just a bunch of overweight wingnut geeks bellowing for wars that other poor suckers are supposed to go fight and die in.
At least that’s how they started out.
But they’ve raked in a few more millions, killed a few more hundreds of thousands and put a few more trillions on the taxpayers’ tab now.
And with any luck, they’ll persuade the sheeple to give up their Social Security benefits to pay for all this wonderfulness.
Ain’t this a wonderful country?
jade said,
June 24, 2006 at 17:10
1. The Brits don’t have “liberals”. There used to be a Liberal Party but that was a long time ago (not counting the two Davids). The word “liberal” really just means in favor of free trade.
2. The Brits don’t have attorneys.
Boney said,
June 24, 2006 at 17:39
The internet is just a small, four node network.
At least that’s how it started out. Perhaps it has a few more users now.
Edmund Schluessel said,
June 24, 2006 at 18:06
They’ve got a Liberal Democratic Party. At least, they like to think so.
M.Sphinx said,
June 24, 2006 at 18:12
“Al-Qaida, literally ‘the database’, was originally the computer file of the thousands of mujahideen who were recruited and trained with help from the CIA to defeat the Russians.”
Though perhaps it means something else now.
flawedplan said,
June 24, 2006 at 19:26
The American Psychiatric Association is just a bunch of deluded sexist authoritarian control freaks who formed an organization to further their –oh shit, that’s true. I’ll have to get back to you.
John said,
June 24, 2006 at 20:02
The British Liberal Party existed as recently as 1988, when it merged with the Social Democrats (breakaway rightwing Labour Party types) to form the Liberal Democrats. So there would have been Liberals in 1961. However, Mr. Benenson was, according to Wikipedia, a Labour expert. So, you could actually say that it was founded by a bunch of British Socialists. Although, to be fair, the Labour Party has always included a large liberal (small-l) component, which I would think that a barrister educated at Eton and Balliol would be more likely to be a part of than the redder wing of the party.
Also, I’m not sure it makes sense to say “the British don’t have attorneys.” They normally call them barristers or solicitors, but that doesn’t mean they’re not attorneys. And the highest legal officer of the crown is the Attorney-General (not the same as our Attorney-General – most of the functions of ours would be held in Britain by the Home Secretary or the Lord Chancellor)
John said,
June 24, 2006 at 20:05
Also, Seán MacBride (http://en.wikipedia.org/Seán MacBride) would seem to be less a liberal British attorney and more a major Irish statesman.
Mark said,
June 24, 2006 at 21:01
Christianity is just a Jew and twelve of his followers who formed a religion to further their views. At least that’s how they started out, though perhaps there are a few more adherents now.
MrWonderful said,
June 24, 2006 at 21:57
Yeah, ha ha ha, and so forth, but how come none of you use phrases like “my testament, for the record”? Can anything be more intelligent than that? Ans.: No, it can’t. And so even if the pompous nincompoop who wrote it were, say, touring various exotic countries (smugly assured of the protection afforded by his U.S. passport, the utility of which depends on the sanctity of international laws which Amnesty upholds and of which he is contemptuous), and if, say, he happened–through no fault of his own–to be tossed into a Turkish prison, where he was expected to play Parcheesi with rats until further notice; and if he finds himself tearfully, pants-wettingly grateful for the intervention of Amnesty International in securing his deserved release–would that mean he’s a hypocrite (and a cry baby)? Sadly, yes. But so what? It’s “a hypothetical”! It didn’t really happen (to him). So, really, in a sense, everybody shut up.
Robert Green said,
June 25, 2006 at 0:11
Hollywood is just a bunch of jews who want to poison your brains with liberal claptrap. at least, it was, although it may employ a few goyim now.
Not Brit Hume said,
June 25, 2006 at 0:18
Harvard is just a few Puritains who formed a divinity school to push their liberal agenda. At least that’s how they started, though perhaps they may delude a few more people now.
ahem said,
June 25, 2006 at 1:15
Coca-Cola is just a guy from Georgia who cooked up some syrup in his back garden and sold it to soda fountains to make a bit of extra cash. At least that’s how they started out, though perhaps they employ more people now.
ahem said,
June 25, 2006 at 1:23
By the way, is that a Coupling reference? If so, kudos.
fish said,
June 25, 2006 at 2:57
Thomas Edison created a small business called Edison General Electric to peddle some of his crazy new inventions. At least that’s how GE started but perhaps they employ more people now.
windy said,
June 25, 2006 at 3:23
Humans are just a small bunch of apes from Olduvai Gorge that started putting arbitrary sounds together to further their views. At least that is how they started out, though perhaps there are a few more of them now.
guachi said,
June 25, 2006 at 5:36
“Al-Qaida, literally ‘the database’, was originally the computer file of the thousands of mujahideen who were recruited and trained with help from the CIA to defeat the Russians.�
I know you got this quote from a Guardian article, so I’m not criticizing you, but that isn’t exactly what Al-Qaida means. The word literally means base, not database. The word is used for a military base, for baseball, and also for base of support – just like in English.
I guess the word *could* have been derived from its use referring to a database, but one of my Arabic teachers said that it was a reference to the organization being a grassroots organization and not from the elite. Of course he could have been wrong.
Dan Someone said,
June 25, 2006 at 16:26
The universe is just an almost infinitely tiny and dense soup of pre-matter at incredibly high temperatures. At least that is how it started out, though perhaps it has cooled and expanded and formed a few galaxies, stars and planets by now.
Adam said,
June 25, 2006 at 17:25
Scientology is just the product of a science fiction writer who wanted to get rich through religion. At least that’s how it started out, I’m sure there are more whackos now.
Marq said,
June 26, 2006 at 0:24
Gary Ruppert once had a teeny weenie. He then ran across ads online that said, “Gain INCHES the all-natural way–GUARANTEED!!!” Not allowing himself to be dissuaded by the fact that using all-caps in the ad possibly indicated that the ad writers were deranged, he ordered the product (a vacuum pump device) for $29.99 plus $8.79 shipping and handling, and in two and a half weeks, it arrived. Even the horoscope that Jerome Armstrong had done for him was favorable! He followed the instructions in the device’s box to the letter, and five weeks later…
…he still had a teeny weenie. But, bruised!
M.Sphinx said,
June 26, 2006 at 1:40
Guachi:
Yeah, I just lifted the quote directly from an article written by Robin Cook, former British Foreign Secretary. I have to admit I usually hear Al Qaeda translated as ‘The Base’, but I figure it was an interesting quote to throw in there.