Hobitbob, I love your signature line. That is surely one of my favorite movies. (sorry to interrupt)
But also, Craven. I agree about the selfish thing. Freud agrees too.
mamaj, Good article. I've about came to the same conclusion, and I'm no expert on Iraq. It continues to amaze that this administration's so-called experts can't see through all the problems they've created. We heard about the sunnis, kurds, and shiites long before the war started. This administration must be throwing at dart boards to make their decisions. c.i.
If only their decision making process was so rational, c.i.
Oh it is rational Lola. It's just a rationale that any decent human being finds profoundly repulsive, inhumane or at the very least incredibly stupid.
voted most likely to irritate
was it good for you?
I've been away awhile but it appears to be that the new line amongst the pro-Americans is "Let's forget about all those messy and inconveniently absurd or down-right false reasons for the war in Iraq and focus instead on the possibilities of having a democracy of our very own making right in the middle of the middle East." (Not counting the other one in Israel because that situation is working out so well.) Talking about possibilities has that squishy liberal taint on it, conservatives, I thought, only dealt in realistic thinking and too, that dreamy possibility thinking runs counter to the comments of George W. Bush himself, who during the election campaign, spoke of only going to war for the right reasons. Having dispensed with that criteria early in their administration, the bushidos have used another when trying to decide whether or not to engage in a conflict, for example Liberia or North Korea, that being "Will this be good for Haliburton?". The problem comes from thinking no further than the "Will this be good for Haliburton?" mantra as in 'How do you intend to keep the peace amongst 300,000 former Saddam fighters and the millions of Iraqis with a long history of at least doubts about any infidel's motives and at most an intense mullah-driven hatred of all non-believers?."
I've asked this question, not here, elsewhere, suppose the Iraqis don't want to be free, suppose they just want to be led?
Joe
There was a very good programme on BBC Radio4 last night, and because I was in the car I couldn't follow all of it, but it will be in the website, and part of what they were saying was;
Is democracy the goal? Westerners think of it almost as a panacea and a must-have, before all else. But is it?
Seems to me that there's a lot has to happen in Iraq before a recognisable democracy can take shape.
And, our own so-called democracy is far from perfect, and is becoming less democratic.
Excellent points McTag.
My worry is that in the UK we are caught between the rock of the EU and the hard place that President Tony is rapidly creating for us. Our taxes are shooting up, Community charge up 20%, no pensions worth a light, no say in whether we're in the EU and god help us if we end up in the Euro. Most keen observers have seen this as just another excuse to round prices UP, just as happened with decimilisation.
Bring back £'s, s and d and lets disinter Lord Beeching. I'll be proud to be called a Luddite M'lud
Don't get me started on the dumbing down of society either or I'll be here all day
InfraBlue, McTag, you would find interesting the article on Manifest Destiny in the Economist that I recommended a few pages back. Empire vs Democracy. The article is thought-provoking.
Ge, your post of last night refers to G. Who wrote this post and what does it mean?
hiama, I have always been pro-euro but could understand Blair's problem with the mind of the people and the historic British pound sterling.
Anent your comment about the rounding up of prices, that is what I saw in Ireland when they changed over to the euro last year. Suddenly, everything was more expensive but we were all told that it was because of the conversion rate between the punt and the euro. It reminded me of decimaliz(s)ation, as you point out. Anyone who could get away with a price rise, did so.
Morning K...................
Salam Pax wrote the piece....I should have highlighted
'
But I used to feel safe when around them, if it looked like trouble go stand by the Americans but now I don't feel this safe anymore. I hated myself for having the same feelings and fear when I was being detained by the Americans as when I was being detained by the Iraqis. I was worried about the space they would put me in and was hoping someone I know would come by so that I don't just disappear.'
G. is a freind of Salam's....
G. my friend got beaten up by US Army last night, he was handcuffed and had a bag put on his head. he was kicked several times and was made to lie on his face for a while. All he wanted to do was to take pictures and report on an attack, he works for the New York Times as a translator and fixer. He got more kicks for speaking english.
his sin: he looks Iraqi and has a beard.
story will be told, I need to get him drunk enough to get the whole thing out of him he doesn't want to talk.
I recommend very much reading Thomas Friedman's latest column Power and Peril. quite good. I met him when he was in baghdad for a couple of days, he is thinner than that picture they have on the site and he is very nice. Everybody was going to roll out the red carpet and stuff but he was very down to earth. and he got that moustache thing going on.........blends right in, you could mistake him for an Iraqi.
Excuse my slopy wrk ...
Just washed my hands and can't do a thing with them
Well, I won't make any suggestions. :wink:
What the hell ..... the thread has been closed for less ... goferit
Okay .... feathers it is..........
