Blatham
I've just noticed the similarity of the face in your avatar to Hitler not to mention the pose. Gracious, have you leapt from the far left to the far right?
perc
There is something quite valid in the notion that the secularity of the modern western civ has permitted us to investigate the world to a depth and breadth where, elsewhere, ideologies have often closed down such avenues of inquiry. But this isn't at all absolute (a thousand years past, the Muslim world was very much more advanced than we in this regard). And it isn't even close to absolute in terms of the modern American population and mythology. That Paul Bremer is acting in good faith is entirely questionable, which dys' post speaks to in one sense, and which Tartarin's note on Pat Roberts speaks to in another sense.
Blatham
You are quite correct about everything naturally with your penetrating analysis of all things not to mention the sizzling analytical contributions of Tartarin and Dys. That's why I tune in to this thread everyday just to keep my tiny brain straight.
Perhaps you will lend your genius to that gay activist PM of yours so he can tell us dummies south of the border how to fix our power outage problem.
perc
Actually, there is a distinct similarity, in face and in body posture, which I hadn't even noticed before.
Actually, as regards US and Canada cross-border advising...I'll send you twenty bucks for any instance you can find where a Canadian politican has gone down to the US and spoken to the press or some audience there and advised the US on how it ought to value certain social matters and how it ought to write it's laws and polices. Of course, you'll have to promise to do the same. How much money do you have available?
Blatham -- You're so right about Harper's Index -- it contains jewels. Here are two from the September issue which may not, however, go down that well:
Number of Canadian prison inmates who overdosed in March on fellow prisoners' methadone-laced vomit: 2
Number of inmates charged with drug trafficking for providing the vomit: 3
Blatham
Gee---I'm still the most misunderstood person on this forum----you interpreted my commen entirely wrong.
WE NEED THE HELP.
perc
I'm sorry.
Tartarin
Prison life. Ouch.
Well, Lester Pearson did speak out loudly against the Vietnam War . . . next time he met Ol' Lyndon, Johnson told him straight out: "Lester, you pissed all over my carpet." That Ol' LBJ was a pip . . .
Since we are are having (and had had last week) a couple of friends and in-laws staying with us, I'm not online (that much) the next days. (And wasn't last week.)
Despite that, I don't think, I will join threads that much again with one special member on it.
Walter - you are much too valuable and much too courteous to let one special member stand in your way. This discussion has taken an interesing new turn. After you and the friends and relatives have enjoyed each other, please do come back (and to other places).
Special people belong in special places - mostly hot.
Yes, Walter, I agree with mamaj, please do not let "one special member" keep you away from any forum on A2K. You are valued too much. c.i.
More and more I feel the Iraqi war is and will be the pivotal point upon which the defeat of the shrub and the miniature forest will rest.
There is so much tied up in it. Economic situations, deceit and cheating, useless waste of lives, a more and more dangerous situation, loss of respect and standing in the world, exposure of natures and ambitions best left under wraps - and our appearance of vulnerability in so many areas.
And the question really beginning to be asked now is why are we there? What was this about? What was said in the beginning - to bring peace and stability and democracy to the region - turned out to be just words. The theory that the idea would spread and take hold..... Democracy is really as each separate nation conceives it - built upon its own culture, history, geography, way of life. Our democracy is different from other countries, but other countries have very workable ways.
I think I feel the same as many other Americans - I want to be proud of our country. And I separate the country from the people/persons running it. I survived Nixon - but his was a domestic issue. As was Clinton. What Bush as done is taken us into a world he neither knows nor cares about, and is proud of his ignorance.
perception, there is an interesting book just out: Sleeping With the Devil, by Robert Baer, about our sleeping with the devil, Saudi Arabia.
Kara
Thanks for the reference "Sleeping with Devil". According to the reviews I've just read, Robert Baer does not make mention of the dangerous (IMO) sect of Islam known as Wahhabism whereas a companion book titled " Hatreds Kingdom" identifies a devils pact with Wahhabism by the Saudi Regime in order that they can stay in power. The author an Israeli (Bias to be expected) Dore Gold, points out that Bin Laden is/was a Wahhabi as were all nineteen of the Saudi 9/11 attackers. This info was gleaned from the reviews of these two books as I just don't have the time nor the inclination to seek a PHD in these subjects so my apologies if the books or the reviews are not 100% accurate.
mamaj, Unfortunately, many in this country still do not see the situation in similar fashion to the minority of us. I'm just wondering when this country is going to wake up and smell the coffee. c.i.
Walter
Please don't allow "special member" to inhibit your mannerly contributions to the forum. After all,you are the only representative from "Old Europe" and your excellent sense of humor as well as your perceptions or misperceptions,( as the case may be)of America and of us imperialistic Americans, are always valuable to me in particular.
Mamaj, more important than ' why are we there' is the question 'what has to occur' before we can get our loved ones back.
It makes my skin crawl to think that there are men that make money from death and fire and agony. We were at one time a nation of honor with no one to question our veracity. Now, in such a short perod of time we have become a laughing stock, the nation that couldn't vote straigt .... our democracy has been brought into question due to the the denial of the black vote in 2000 .... and we are to teach democratic values to anyone?
Why are our troops made to be targets?
Bring em on???
HELL NO!
BRING EM BACK ... NOW!!!!
Ge, did you read all of blatham's links? The Pitt article was excellent, and to a vets' group (of course, it was vets for peace....) I was heartened by his call to arms. If there is anything I could fight for, it is a return to what we have been respected and honored for, all over the world.
The second one (which was something like Why Everyone wants to live in America) was fascinating. It is 17 pages, from the Telegraph, well worth getting through. He starts with Hollywood and ends up at Harvard Business School in explaining why we are the most pervasive influence in the world. (There is one good laugh: When a Harvard B-school prominence pronounced that We invented the Old Boy network, the reporter inserted himself for the first time by an aside, Guess he never heard of Eton.)
I haven't read the third link, yet. Jeez, blatham, give us a break.
c.i.
