tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5760993.post115789176656756696..comments2024-03-17T10:32:01.495+02:00Comments on From the Rock: Highlanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16532761296990891687noreply@blogger.comBlogger62125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5760993.post-1162757866349905942006-11-05T22:17:00.000+02:002006-11-05T22:17:00.000+02:00One thing that struck me as odd in the days after ...One thing that struck me as odd in the days after 9/11 was Bush saying "We will not tolerate conspiracy theories [regarding 9/11]". Sure enough there have been some wacky conspiracy theories surrounding the events of that day. The most far-fetched and patently ridiculous one that I've ever heard goes like this: Nineteen hijackers who claimed to be devout Muslims but yet were so un-Muslim as to be getting drunk all the time, doing cocaine and frequenting strip clubs decided to hijack four airliners and fly them into buildings in the northeastern U.S., the area of the country that is the most thick with fighter bases. After leaving a Koran on a barstool at a strip bar after getting shitfaced drunk on the night before, then writing a suicide note/inspirational letter that sounded like it was written by someone with next to no knowledge of Islam, they went to bed and got up the next morning hung over and carried out their devious plan. Nevermind the fact that of the four "pilots" among them there was not a one that could handle a Cessna or a Piper Cub let alone fly a jumbo jet, and the one assigned the most difficult task of all, Hani Hanjour, was so laughably incompetent that he was the worst fake "pilot" of the bunch. Nevermind the fact that they received very rudimentary flight training at Pensacola Naval Air Station, making them more likely to have been C.I.A. assets than Islamic fundamentalist terrorists. So on to the airports. These "hijackers" somehow managed to board all four airliners with their tickets, yet not even ONE got his name on any of the flight manifests. So they hijack all four airliners and at this time passengers on United 93 start making a bunch of cell phone calls from 35,000 feet in the air to tell people what was going on. Nevermind the fact that cell phones wouldn't work very well above 4,000 feet, and wouldn't work at ALL above 8,000 feet. But the conspiracy theorists won't let that fact get in the way of a good fantasy. That is one of the little things you "aren't supposed to think about". Nevermind that one of the callers called his mom and said his first and last name, more like he was reading from a list than calling his own mom. Anyway, when these airliners each deviated from their flight plan and didn't respond to ground control, NORAD would any other time have followed standard operating procedure (and did NOT have to be told by F.A.A. that there were hijackings because they were watching the same events unfold on their own radar) which means fighter jets would be scrambled from the nearest base where they were available on standby within a few minutes, just like every other time when airliners stray off course. But of course on 9/11 this didn't happen, not even close. Somehow these "hijackers" must have used magical powers to cause NORAD to stand down, as ridiculous as this sounds because total inaction from the most high-tech and professional Air Force in the world would be necessary to carry out their tasks. So on the most important day in its history the Air Force was totally worthless. Then they had to make one of the airliners look like a smaller plane, because unknown to them the Naudet brothers had a videocamera to capture the only known footage of the North Tower crash, and this footage shows something that is not at all like a jumbo jet, but didn't have to bother with the South Tower jet disguising itself because that was the one we were "supposed to see". Anyway, as for the Pentagon they had to have Hani Hanjour fly his airliner like it was a fighter plane, making a high G-force corkscrew turn that no real airliner can do, in making its descent to strike the Pentagon. But these "hijackers" wanted to make sure Rumsfeld survived so they went out of their way to hit the farthest point in the building from where Rumsfeld and the top brass are located. And this worked out rather well for the military personnel in the Pentagon, since the side that was hit was the part that was under renovation at the time with few military personnel present compared to construction workers. Still more fortuitous for the Pentagon, the side that was hit had just before 9/11 been structurally reinforced to prevent a large fire there from spreading elsewhere in the building. Awful nice of them to pick that part to hit, huh? Then the airliner vaporized itself into nothing but tiny unidentifiable pieces no bigger than a fist, unlike the crash of a real airliner when you will be able to see at least some identifiable parts, like crumpled wings, broken tail section etc. Why, Hani Hanjour the terrible pilot flew that airliner so good that even though he hit the Pentagon on the ground floor the engines didn't even drag the ground!! Imagine that!! Though the airliner vaporized itself on impact it only made a tiny 16 foot hole in the building. Amazing. Meanwhile, though the planes hitting the Twin Towers caused fires small enough for the firefighters to be heard on their radios saying "We just need 2 hoses and we can knock this fire down" attesting to the small size of it, somehow they must have used magical powers from beyond the grave to make this morph into a raging inferno capable of making the steel on all forty-seven main support columns (not to mention the over 100 smaller support columns) soften and buckle, then all fail at once. Hmmm. Then still more magic was used to make the building totally defy physics as well as common sense in having the uppermost floors pass through the remainder of the building as quickly, meaning as effortlessly, as falling through air, a feat that without magic could only be done with explosives. Then exactly 30 minutes later the North Tower collapses in precisely the same freefall physics-defying manner. Incredible. Not to mention the fact that both collapsed at a uniform rate too, not slowing down, which also defies physics because as the uppermost floors crash into and through each successive floor beneath them they would shed more and more energy each time, thus slowing itself down. Common sense tells you this is not possible without either the hijackers' magical powers or explosives. To emphasize their telekinetic prowess, later in the day they made a third building, WTC # 7, collapse also at freefall rate though no plane or any major debris hit it. Amazing guys these magical hijackers. But we know it had to be "Muslim hijackers" the conspiracy theorist will tell you because (now don't laugh) one of their passports was "found" a couple days later near Ground Zero, miraculously "surviving" the fire that we were told incinerated planes, passengers and black boxes, and also "survived" the collapse of the building it was in. When common sense tells you if that were true then they should start making buildings and airliners out of heavy paper and plastic so as to be "indestructable" like that magic passport. The hijackers even used their magical powers to bring at least seven of their number back to life, to appear at american embassies outraged at being blamed for 9/11!! BBC reported on that and it is still online. Nevertheless, they also used magical powers to make the american government look like it was covering something up in the aftermath of this, what with the hasty removal of the steel debris and having it driven to ports in trucks with GPS locators on them, to be shipped overseas to China and India to be melted down. When common sense again tells you that this is paradoxical in that if the steel was so unimportant that they didn't bother saving some for analysis but so important as to require GPS locators on the trucks with one driver losing his job because he stopped to get lunch. Hmmmm. Further making themselves look guilty, the Bush administration steadfastly refused for over a year to allow a commission to investigate 9/11 to even be formed, only agreeing to it on the conditions that they get to dictate its scope, meaning it was based on the false pretense of the "official story" being true with no other alternatives allowed to be considered, handpicked all its members making sure the ones picked had vested interests in the truth remaining buried, and with Bush and Cheney only "testifying" together, only for an hour, behind closed doors, with their attorneys present and with their "testimonies" not being recorded by tape or even written down in notes. Yes, this whole story smacks of the utmost idiocy and fantastic far-fetched lying, but it is amazingly enough what some people believe. Even now, five years later, the provably false fairy tale of the "nineteen hijackers" is heard repeated again and again, and is accepted without question by so many Americans. Which is itself a testament to the innate psychological cowardice of the American sheeple, i mean people, and their abject willingness to believe something, ANYTHING, no matter how ridiculous in order to avoid facing a scary uncomfortable truth. Time to wake up America.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5760993.post-1158686543054216462006-09-19T20:22:00.000+03:002006-09-19T20:22:00.000+03:00Programmer Craig :)No it was not a Freudian slip b...Programmer Craig :)<BR/><BR/>No it was not a Freudian slip but a misconstructed sentence:<BR/><BR/><I>"As much as you are horrified by the Basiji you have to remmember that these are Iranians -Shia, and so cannot project their mentality on Muslims or Arabs. "</I><BR/><BR/>I meant here that Curt or other Westerners cannot project the mentality of the Basiji on the rest of the Muslims or on the Arabs. <BR/>But thanks for pointing that out - I should be less hasty in replying next time :)Highlanderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16532761296990891687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5760993.post-1158550403841945552006-09-18T06:33:00.000+03:002006-09-18T06:33:00.000+03:00"Al-Qaida warns Muslims:Time to get out of U.S. A...<I>"Al-Qaida warns Muslims:<BR/>Time to get out of U.S. <BR/>Afghan terror commander hints<BR/>at big attack on N.Y., Washington<BR/>--WND"</I><BR/><BR/>www.wnd.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5760993.post-1158537135323936362006-09-18T02:52:00.000+03:002006-09-18T02:52:00.000+03:00"Who (in the ME) is going to stop them? Egypt? Egy...<I>"Who (in the ME) is going to stop them? Egypt? Egypt has a large population and a respectable military but it is no match for the kind of regional shia alliance that is currently forming."</I><BR/>This is exactly why I'm afraid that we will one day be forced to nuke the entire region or face annihilation ourselves. Once these death worshipers get nuclear weapons, they won’t hesitate to use them. We cannot afford to invade and occupy every country in the Middle East and sit on them until they join us in the twenty first century. So our options are fairly limited. <BR/><BR/>If some to these knuckle draggers get their hands on nukes and use them on us They are toast! The really sad thing is that they can never hope to even find any of our ballistic missile submarines let alone destroy them. That means that any nuclear attack on us is truly a suicide maneuver. It gets really scary if, as I said in a previous post, they succeed in killing most of our current leadership. There is a very good probability that after something like that, an extremist and hard core militant leadership would take power in the US and wipe out the entire Middle East. “Kill them all and let God sort them out.”Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5760993.post-1158523027952318202006-09-17T22:57:00.000+03:002006-09-17T22:57:00.000+03:00Oh! The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps has been...Oh! The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps has been working with both the major shia militias in Iraq as well. So, soon Iraq will have it's own Iranian sponsored terrorist groups/militias - if it doesn't already. <BR/><BR/>My best guess is that if they aren't stopped by an outside power (like the US) that the shia will be completely dominant in the greater middle east in the coming years. <BR/><BR/>The Shia already have Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, the Gulf States, they have Syria under their thumb even though it's not (yet) shia... Iran is also the p[rimary sponsor of HAMAS and Ilsamic Jihad in the occupied territories, at this point in time.<BR/><BR/>Who (in the ME) is going to stop them? Egypt? Egypt has a large population and a respectable military but it is no match for the kind of regional shia alliance that is currently forming. <BR/><BR/>I guess I'm saying that I believe there's a pretty good chance arabs are going to be shia in the coming years. Or at least, under shia rule.programmer craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17566950406349754166noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5760993.post-1158509545729681692006-09-17T19:12:00.000+03:002006-09-17T19:12:00.000+03:00I understand your frustration Curt and your gracio...I understand your frustration Curt and your gracious apology is accepted even though you were simply venting your anger. As much as you are horrified by the Basiji you have to remmember that these are Iranians -Shia, and so cannot project their mentality on Muslims or Arabs. I'll probably write more another day but today I'm too tired.Highlanderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16532761296990891687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5760993.post-1158469032254117002006-09-17T07:57:00.000+03:002006-09-17T07:57:00.000+03:00The human wave tactic was implemented as follows: ...<I>The human wave tactic was implemented as follows: the barely armed children and teenagers had to move continuously forward in perfectly straight rows. It did not matter whether they fell as canon fodder to enemy fire or detonated the mines with their bodies: the important thing was that the Basiji continued to move forward over the torn and mutilated remains of their fallen comrades, going to their deaths in wave after wave.[8] The tactic produced some undeniable initial successes for the Iranian side. “They come toward our positions in huge hordes with their fists swinging,” an Iraqi officer complained in Summer 1982, “You can shoot down the first wave, and then the second. But at some point the corpses are piling up in front of you, and all you want to do is scream and throw away your weapon. Those are human beings, after all!”[9] By Spring 1983, the Pasdaran had sent some 450,000 Basiji in shifts to the front. After three months, whoever survived his deployment was sent back to his school or workplace.</I>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5760993.post-1158467940012669482006-09-17T07:39:00.000+03:002006-09-17T07:39:00.000+03:00Highlander, I apologize for my language in the pre...Highlander, I apologize for my language in the previous post. I almost never use this kinds of language on line. But when I read that post on Iraq the Model, it reminded me of the stories about how the Iranians would send children out to clear mine fields with plastic keys to heaven placed around their necks made in China. Basically, I simply did not want to believe that it was true at the time. Now I know that it is. The death cult that these monsters worship does not even spare the children. In fact, it preys upon them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5760993.post-1158466337450119282006-09-17T07:12:00.000+03:002006-09-17T07:12:00.000+03:00"Before entering the mine fields, the children wra...<I>"Before entering the mine fields, the children wrap themselves in blankets and they roll on the ground, so that their body parts stay together after the explosion of the mines and one can carry them to the graves."</I><BR/><BR/>I'd like to tie up this raving asshole in a blanket and stuff him face first into a land mine. Those were children you fucking monster! Children! I just hope that you have an immortal soul and that there is a hell foul enough to receive it. It's bad enough when children are killed in the general chaos of war. You are so far beneath contempt that you would need a telescope to see it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5760993.post-1158402647807409612006-09-16T13:30:00.000+03:002006-09-16T13:30:00.000+03:00Heres a comment that someone posted on Iraq the Mo...Heres a comment that someone posted on Iraq the Model. Death cult indeed:<BR/><BR/>Ahmadinejad's World<BR/>http://mail.google.com/mail/? vie...0db2d87e07c9326<BR/>http://tinyurl.com/kvh3w<BR/><BR/>excerpts:<BR/><BR/>[The semi-official Iranian daily Ettela'at assured its readers,] "Before entering the mine fields, the children wrap themselves in blankets and they roll on the ground, so that their body parts stay together after the explosion of the mines and one can carry them to the graves." The children who thus rolled to their deaths formed part of the mass "Basij" movement that was called into being by the Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979.]<BR/><BR/>[Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, Chair of the Guardian Council,<BR/>goes so far as to describe the very existence of Iran’s<BR/>nuclear program as a triumph of those Iranians who<BR/>"serve the Basiji movement and possess the Basijipsyche<BR/>and Basiji-culture."<BR/><BR/>...in one of his first television interviews, the new President<BR/>enthused: "Is there an art that is more beautiful, more divine,<BR/>more eternal than the art of the martyr's death?"<BR/><BR/>The Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, held up the war<BR/>against Iraq, on account of the fearlessness of the Basiji,<BR/>as a model for future conflicts.]Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5760993.post-1158366569960034632006-09-16T03:29:00.000+03:002006-09-16T03:29:00.000+03:00Highlander, I agree with Curt's questions. In fact...Highlander, I agree with Curt's questions. In fact, I had similar thoughts even before he wrote that comment. After carefully reading your post and remembering your older posts, I realized that I'm happier than you. I fear that my side will lose and because I'm a born pessimist, sometimes I estimate this probability to be 90%. (Of course this doesn't make me doubt my cause, I'm not of those folks who vote for the party supposed to win and so feel winners for a day.) But you find yourself stuck in a lose-lose situation. You fear that any attempt to Westernize the Arab world would destroy its culture. But you don't like our enemies, either. So you will be unhappy, no matter which side wins.<BR/>I don't know why you are so much transcended by Islam. It has so little cohesion with your views. I repeat my guess: Islam was introduced to you when you were very young (most likely you don't remember when - that means before 3).Maya Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10877457709995369246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5760993.post-1158365272823004882006-09-16T03:07:00.000+03:002006-09-16T03:07:00.000+03:00"I always wonder when I hear the epithete "world p...<I>"I always wonder when I hear the epithete "world policeman" being used as an insult. Don't people imagine what would it be to live in a district without police?"</I><BR/><BR/>I love this line. If the US is hit hard again, there's a good chance that we will go back to the "Fortress America" mentality that we had prior World War One and Two. Then the Neo-Stalinists in Russia can be your new world policemen. I'm sure you'll like their enlightened view of world politics much better. So long and thanks for all the fish.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5760993.post-1158364125769073432006-09-16T02:48:00.000+03:002006-09-16T02:48:00.000+03:00"And Curt, Iraq. Iraq now is a large lawless land....<I>"And Curt, Iraq. Iraq now is a large lawless land. It has become a tremendous recruiting ground for wannabe jihadis."</I><BR/><BR/>Sounds like the same could be said for just about every Muslim country in the world. They already want to slit our childrens throats. We cetainely wouldn't want to piss them off any further, right?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5760993.post-1158345181315878762006-09-15T21:33:00.000+03:002006-09-15T21:33:00.000+03:00”They are unhappy because they think the US respon...<I>”They are unhappy because they think the US response has been too little. And in the case of Iraq, misguided. (I disagree with you about Iraq)</I><BR/><BR/>Craig, I agree. Most of the people here in Houston mostly keep to themselves on the Iraq war issue, but if you press them you usually get something like “Those people will never change. We should just get out and let them slaughter each other.” Or “Why don’t we just bomb them back to the Stone Age and have done with it.”<BR/><BR/>As for the question of what I personally think about the Iraq situation, I was actually surprised by the almost total lack of cohesion that this society has displayed. It goes way beyond any thing we have ever seen in any of our European or Asian adversaries in the past. At no point did I think that a modern, Western style Democracy would instantly spring up. However, the sheer, murderous brutality of these people towards each other is simply breath taking.<BR/><BR/>I still think that one of the main reasons that we went into Iraq in the first place was that it has come down to two basic scenarios in the Middle East. Either we drag these people into the twenty first century (kicking and screaming) or there will be nuclear war. And no Highlander, I don’t mean you or people like you. But admit it. You are scared to death of these sixth century barbarians. Folks like Sand Monkey and yourself stay anonymous for a very good reason. These savages would hack your heads of with rusty kitchen knives for your apostate views, all the while screaming Allah Akbar at the top of their lungs.<BR/><BR/>Let me end with this Highlander:<BR/><BR/>Do you think that it’s OK for your husband to beat you for being “disobedient”?<BR/><BR/>Do you think that the man should have the last word in family decisions?<BR/><I>Actually, I floated that balloon past my wife one time and she threw an ashtray at me.</I><BR/><BR/>Do you think that women should be prohibited from driving?<BR/><BR/>Do you think that women should have to be escorted every where they go by a male relative?<BR/><BR/>Do you think that women should be forced to wear a tent when they go out in public?<BR/><BR/>Do you think that it's a good idea to mutilate a woman's genitals to keep her chaste? I've heard that a high percentage of girls in Egypt have undergone this quaint little proceedure. Shudder<BR/><BR/>Do you think that a woman should be buried to her waist and stoned to death for cheating on her husband?<BR/><BR/>Do you think that women should be denied an education or married off to a much older man she has never met?<BR/><BR/>If you do, then welcome to Afghanistan or any number of other countries practicing Islam around the world.<BR/><BR/><BR/>And in advance, I know, It's not in the Koran. So why do you guys put up with it. You can see why we in the West are not overly eager to experience the peace that is Islam.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5760993.post-1158340420605134092006-09-15T20:13:00.000+03:002006-09-15T20:13:00.000+03:00"You literally say that every sovereign nation can...<I>"You literally say that every sovereign nation can judge others nations and every sovereign nation can remain un-judged :00 Pretty unclear what you mean."</I><BR/><BR/>No contradiction here Adam. Every nation can and does judge every other nation. Your country for instance can judge the US to your hart's content. This does not mean that Americans have to give a flying flip about what that judgement is.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5760993.post-1158307161603932262006-09-15T10:59:00.000+03:002006-09-15T10:59:00.000+03:00Bulgarian humor is conquering the world.:DSorry, M...<I>Bulgarian humor is conquering the world.</I><BR/><BR/>:D<BR/><BR/>Sorry, Maya, but that was pretty good :)programmer craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17566950406349754166noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5760993.post-1158265298389572032006-09-14T23:21:00.000+03:002006-09-14T23:21:00.000+03:00Maya M said...I guess Arabic and Farsi are also di...Maya M said...<BR/><I><B>I guess Arabic and Farsi are also difficult languages :).</B></I><BR/><BR/>Hilarious. Bulgarian humor is conquering the world.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5760993.post-1158259981944180122006-09-14T21:53:00.000+03:002006-09-14T21:53:00.000+03:00Ok Craig:If you say you don't hate America I guess...Ok Craig:<BR/><I>If you say you don't hate America I guess I have to accept that.</I><BR/>Thank you. Because I really do not, and that was the point I was trying to make. I do think there is a huge difference between bashing governments, and a whole nation. <BR/><BR/>As for Michael Moore, I do not particularly like him. Sometimes he has sort-of-a point but he is a clown. And when he writes about US poverty from his fab Central Park view he is a greedy hypocrite. I mentioned him as an extreme example of a non-US-hater. I suppose I should have found a better example. I think such exist…<BR/><BR/><I>Seriously, you talk about the US the way I talk about my enemies, Adam</I><BR/>No, I do not think so. Yes, I have used such words about <I>another country’s</I> actions and leaders. Also, I have spoken of historic atrocities of many European nations. Has maybe your memory superimposed LW’s words and mine?<BR/><BR/>Also, you must have noticed that my commenting style is quite different now. Discussing with you makes me think real hard, before I make the sort of explosions I did initially. And I did apologize for my latest re-lapse. Look, you changed me. <I>Well... just slightly: ) </I>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5760993.post-1158237254638529492006-09-14T15:34:00.000+03:002006-09-14T15:34:00.000+03:00I guess Arabic and Farsi are also difficult langua...I guess Arabic and Farsi are also difficult languages :).Maya Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10877457709995369246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5760993.post-1158208944069795252006-09-14T07:42:00.000+03:002006-09-14T07:42:00.000+03:00I have real trouble figuring out why Europeans are...I have real trouble figuring out why Europeans are so anti-American. <BR/><BR/>Without the Yanks they would have been learning Russian right now and Russian is a difficult language to learn. They should be grateful.<BR/><BR/>Having said this it is even more amazing how Americans can be anti-American (Moor/Chomsky and the like). <BR/><BR/>Perhaps some people just can't forgive the US for winning the Cold War.BHChhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08178467606233596591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5760993.post-1158207658725221962006-09-14T07:20:00.000+03:002006-09-14T07:20:00.000+03:00"I am highly critical of American foreign policy y...<I>"I am highly critical of American foreign policy yes. So is Michael Moore."</I><BR/><BR/>Michael Moore is a fat Marxist charlatan who has made a fortune with his anti American bile spewage. Europeans along with the far unhinged left in America are his primary audiences. Virtually every charge in his vapid videos have been debunked by folks on the Internet, but that doesn't stop the left from both idolizing him and at the same time distancing themselves from him come election time. He mostly reminds me of the character Worm Tongue from Lord of the Rings.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5760993.post-1158199082883144212006-09-14T04:58:00.000+03:002006-09-14T04:58:00.000+03:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.programmer craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17566950406349754166noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5760993.post-1158198251463377792006-09-14T04:44:00.000+03:002006-09-14T04:44:00.000+03:00Adam,I am highly critical of American foreign poli...Adam,<BR/><BR/><I>I am highly critical of American foreign policy yes.</I><BR/><BR/>I'd go a lot further than "highly critical" Adam, since you've basically accused the US of wholesale slaughter of the innocent, fascism, war crimes, crimes against humanity, unlawful imprisonment, massive human rights violations and such other silliness like that. <BR/><BR/>Highly critical. Ok, fine. I guess I'm merely "highly critical" of Hezbollah and Al Qaeda too, using your standards :P <BR/><BR/>Seriously, you talk about the US the way I talk about my enemies, Adam. Just something to think about. If you say you don't hate America I guess I have to accept that. I'm pretty sure what I said was that you bash America anyway, which you do. And just because Michael Moore bashes America, too, doesn't mean Americans have to think it's ok when you do it. We don't. At least, I don't. It might be marginally justifiable if your criticisms were valid, but most of them seem to be fiction. And no, I don't want to re-hash the issue. When I first ran into you on this blog I spent a great deal of time pointing out that the claims you were making were factually in error. You responed with more inaccurate accusations. So, lets leave all that be, please?<BR/><BR/>At least you haven't been trying to pretend it's only the Bush Administration you have a grievance with, since I busted you ranting about things that happened back in the 60s, 70, 80s and 90s, under multiple administrations of both political parties. Thanks for at least being that fair-minded.<BR/><BR/>Anyway, I attempted to load that article, but I'm not a subscriber so I couldn't. Based on the blurb, it appears to be a reprint of an article that was published in London , no? And the article was complaining government safety regulations that the author thought was silly?<BR/><BR/>Lets say for the sake of argument that the article originated from an American journalist and not a British one, even though I don't think that's the case. You think that's hate-mongering, Adam? <BR/><BR/>You're going to have to do better :)<BR/><BR/>Or we could just drop it. I don't really have an interest in proving who hates my country and who doesn't, and so on and so forth. It's important for you guys in EUrope to know how much ground you're losing in american public opinion, though. If you care. We see and hear what you say and write. We're not stupid. Believe it or not. Hatemongering works both ways, as always.programmer craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17566950406349754166noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5760993.post-1158190283318088072006-09-14T02:31:00.000+03:002006-09-14T02:31:00.000+03:00Craig! I should get offline, to get some sleep, (i...Craig! I should get offline, to get some sleep, (it seems you are familiar with that feeling), but my wheels are spinning. <BR/><BR/><B><I>Let me ask you, Adam... when was the last tiem you ever saw American media doing a hatchet job on the Brits?</B></I><BR/><A HREF="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/13/world/europe/13britain.html?_r=1&ref=europe&oref=slogin" REL="nofollow"> September 12 in the New York Times, my favorite US daily :)</A><BR/>Personally, I do not consider this UK-bashing. But you consider anything negative in Euromedia as US-bashing. You mentioned the BBC on obesity. So if "US Obesity" is US bashing then, by the same measure, so is "UK Cowardice":<BR/><I> LONDON, Sept. 12 - One of the received wisdoms about British life is that it is full of picayune rules that are meant to prevent injuries and accidents but are in fact patently ridiculous. Antigovernment newspapers delight in promoting the notion of a country ruled by what they call "political correctness gone mad," describing how, for example, a fire department in Devon removed its traditional firemen's pole last year, apparently on the grounds that it is safer to use the stairs.</I> <BR/><BR/><B><I> Do Europeans hate America as uch as Americans hate France, Adam?</I></B><BR/>I do not know, I do not hate America. Ask someone who does. I am highly critical of American foreign policy yes. So is Michael Moore. & Why not read what <A HREF="http://moby.com/journal" REL="nofollow"> Moby,</A> the musician says on his blog. ( sep 10 ):<BR/><I>dear president bush,<BR/>stay out of new york.<BR/>you don't like us and we don't like you.<BR/>90% of us voted for john kerry in the last election. we don't trust you, and we believe, based on your record, that you've been a terrible president.</I><BR/><BR/>They, like me, are able to be highly critical without hating the nation.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5760993.post-1158186721157719172006-09-14T01:32:00.000+03:002006-09-14T01:32:00.000+03:00Other later but now on the Laws of War Craig:Wikip...Other later but now on the Laws of War Craig:<BR/><BR/>Wikipedia on ”Laws of war” (Excerpt):<BR/><B>Conduct of warfare</B><BR/>Among other issues, the laws of war address <I>declaration of war,</I> acceptance of surrender and the treatment of prisoners of war; the avoidance of atrocities; the prohibition on deliberately attacking civilians; and the prohibition of certain inhumane weapons.<BR/><BR/>Wikipedia on “Declaration of war” (Excerpt):<BR/><B>Declaration of war</B><BR/>A declaration of war is a formal declaration issued by a national government indicating that a state of war exists between that nation, and one or more others.<BR/><BR/>So war according to the Hague Conventions, “war” is by definition between nations. Sure you may declare war on stupidity, war on obesity, war on illiteracy, war on mass poverty or war on terrorism. You may fight those wars. But the Hague conventions do not apply.<BR/><BR/>So what remains is morals. And morals are subjective. And <I>subjective matters should be open to discussion.</I> The US may say: “<B>We</B> do what we bloody please…”, but what boils the blood is when you continue: “…and <B>you</B> Europeans just shut up”.<BR/><BR/>NB expressed a fine point a month ago it went something like: “We may agree on the goals, but disagree on the means”.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com