For those who have grown tired of, or simply never were interested to begin with in this discussion, I suggest you skip the following second response to Dave’s rejoinders and instead just take a gander at this amazing picture of a family of half-lion, half-human creatures. Funny how these unique specimens only seemed to appear between 1982 and 1989. And be sure to come back tomorrow, when I’ll have a very long-winded screed about Berkeley. But for now, there will be lots of quoting, lots of responding, and then maybe if there’s still time, some kung-fu fighting.
For those of you silly enough to still be here, enjoy this “pissing-contest,” as Dave called it. I suppose he thinks this is just some “whose is bigger” competition of ego-gratification, but I take this shit seriously (sometimes). However, it seems the strain has caused him to devolve into some rather painful attempts at humor. Never a pretty thing to watch. Small children, the elderly, and those with heart conditions should avert their gaze.
Gee Mister Mustard, you sure are a smart guy. I humbly submit to your obviously superior intellectual prowess.
NOT!
You know, when I started this whole exchange, I sorta wanted to keep it relatively free of inanity, since I didn’t want to seem disrespectful to Dave, when he had taken the time to reply at length to my post, and who seemed genuinely engaged.
But damn be-otch, I am at a loss as to what to do at this point. Gorgias, that first master of rhetoric, once said, “Always rejoin humor with seriousness, and seriousness with humor.” Good advice. He didn’t say anything, however, about responding to awkward stabs of humor that make who you’re arguing with look like he accidentally let his 12-year-old nephew get at the computer while he was taking a whiz. So, with the absence of any commonly recognized method as to how to proceed, I’ll have to wing this one.
Onward, forward, upward!
To begin with, all I did was recommend that you read one of Chomsky’s books. Specifically a book that discusses how the mainstream media is not much more than a tool for disseminating state/corporate (not liberal) propaganda rather than the impartial and objective dispenser of pure information that it often claims to be. My suggestion was offered in response to your observation about the obviously shitty state of the mainstream media.
Thanks for the recommendation.
Perhaps you didn’t notice that I said I already read that steaming pile of trash, Manufacturing Consent (no offense intended to steaming piles of trash everywhere)? And for the record, no Chomsky book can be said to “discuss” anything, but rather to “lie,” “mislead,” and “indoctrinate.” Manufacturing Consent fits in nicely with the whole Chomsky pantheon, because its thesis is the precondition upon which the rest of his bananer ideas rest. His main arguments about the world at large (America is a fascist country, Israel is a fascist country, the Khmer Rouge was an enlightened, progressive government, people in the US actively worked to bring Hitler to power in Germany, the US is deliberately perpetrating genocide in Afghanistan, etc, etc, etc) are so bold-facedly laughable and so immediately disprovable with even a cursory investigation, that he must first thoroughly discredit and slander any source of information (which, incidentally, happens to be just about every paper/magazine/book that wouldn’t be better put to use as toilet paper) that might reveal his theories to be the discombobulated ravings that they are.
I was making a point about how silly the most influential and respected media outlets are in their often rabid leftwing bent, and the way your initial response went was essentially this: “Hey man, I agree with you, mainstream media sucks. Read Chomsky and find out how!”
To quote Rachel Lucas, “Bitch, please.”
I said media was leftwing, you said it was fascist corporate propaganda, and cited Chomsky as evidence. Well, pardon me, but Chomsky is full of shit. If not all the time, then only in every single instance in which I have read and subsequently fact-checked his mendacious ass. The man simply can’t be trusted to tell you what color the sky is. He’ll look up and say, “Well it sky may look blue, but it appears that the sky’s true color has been changed as part of a deliberate attempt by the corporately-controlled US government to entice Americans to not look at all the horrible suffering their fascist policies of genocide have caused and instead trick them into to just staring at the pretty colors while the greedy CEOs are busy killing off another native indian tribe and overthrowing enlightened governments like the Khmer Rouge. This is so obvious, in fact, that any discussion otherwise is nonsense, and everyone knows it.”
You didn’t offer any evidence as to the veracity of Chomsky’s claims, just cited him with an air of “Chomsky said it, and so it must be.” I, on the other hand, at least presented some evidence which (I think) went a long ass way in showing that Chomsky is a thoroughly irreputable source of information. In other words, a liar deer fucking woman beastiality.
You went on to say that Chomsky is, Уroutinelу guilty of exactly those things that he accuses the mainstream media of.Ф While there may be some truth to this statement, I would offer that there is a HUGE difference between Chomsky (a person with relatively limited influence) doing it and the mainstream media (outlets with a rather broad influence) doing it.
Davey, Davey, Davey….
You’re not reading what I wrote. You’re reading what you want to think I wrote. I said he is guilty of what he accuses mainstream media of (knowingly and deliberately deceiving for the furtherance of an ideology). You act as if I said, “Sure, they do it, but he does too!”
Nope, sorry. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong (I know repeating myself is irritating, but it seems the only way to get anything into that concrete noggin of yours).
Chomsky himself actually does not allow debate, for it is a common tactic for him to simply dismiss a contrary point of view as “a pack of lies” (referring to Cambodian genocide) or “deliberate nonsense” (referring to the claim that Al Qaeda hates us because we are a secular liberal democracy). Speaking of a critique by David Horowitz, he just called Horowitz a lying Stalinist and dropped it at that.
The media, however, does not shut out any kind of debate with anywhere near the precision and fervor that Chomsky does. My original claim was that the left wing bent of so many media outlets was so bad because it was just so damn shoddy, not because it was part of some vast nefarious conspiracy to stifle any voice that disagreed.
Not once did I say that Chomsky is God or that everything he says is the truth. Sure there are many out there who believe everything Chomsky says, but the same can be said for those on the right who consistently believe every word spoken by conservative pundits.
See, this is the moment when I ask you, “And what, pray tell, is your goddamn point?”
You may not think he’s God, but you obviously think he’s at least a worthwhile enough source to cite as evidence for the vast corporate conspiracy that is American media. I disagree on that point, and I showed you why. And what exactly does this have to do with people on the right who are easily led? I don’t know what you’re talking about. Do you??
Oy… so much more to go through. But I’m a giver, so…
Regarding the intent of the Bush Administration, you said:
“….they wish to bring about a situation where there does not exist any such entity that both has the power and the intention of threatening our security. This can be accomplished in more than one way sex with horses. One of them is…through force, ….But more often it is accomplished through diplomatic pressure and deterrence”
It seems to me that the current administration seems more passionately committed to the former rather than the latter.
If so, why hasn’t the crazy cowboy sent all them big ass tanks an’ planes an’ shit into Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Syria, et al? It seems like diplomacy is the order of the day, there, no?
I would say that you are correct in your assertion that we are not out to get every lousy dictator in the world. But I believe our goals are limited even further to taking action in only those areas where our leaders claim we have some sort of vital strategic interest. In either case it makes us look like hypocrites to the rest of the world when we tolerate and even support brutality (e.g. just about anywhere in Latin America over the past 40-50 years) in one place and then look the other way when our leaders it doesn’t suit us.
I say “where our security was credibly threatened,” you say “vital strategic interest.” Sing it with me…
Security!
Interest!
Secuirty!
Interest!
Let’s just call the whole thing off!
We don’t seem to disagree on this point. What we may disagree on however, is whether we are justified in pursuing a “vital strategic interest.” You seem to think not. Well, “vital” meaning “necessary for life,” I think we are. I hope you’re not suggesting we ignore threats that would threaten our very existence?
As for all the lousy pieces of crap that we temporarily allied ourselves to at one time or another, let me simply restate what I already said: when life presents you with 2 shitty choices, you choose the slightly less shitty one. In the case of brutal authoritarians versus brutal communists, I’ll take the authoritarian any day. For one thing, at the very least he will keep his hands to himself and won’t try to export his rule to every neighboring country. Secondly, he may torture and kill those that oppose him, but he will not send the country into an abject chaos of starvation and genocide (ie, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, the Soviet Union… ummm, now that I think about it, just about every country to try on the communist hat). I’m not particularly happy when a murderous thug is put in charge of a country, but I’m even less happy when a genocidal cabal of crazies raised on a strict diet of Stalin and Mao take the reigns of government.
In addition, you failed to address my point that the very measures (most often military action) we take to eliminate threats only plant the seeds for future threats.
Holy flaming crap on a stick, did you even read my post, or did your helper monkey just summarize it for you? Fuck this writing new stuff, I’ll just quote directly what I wrote before:
The Mujahudeen: At the time, these people were rebels willing to fight against the Soviets because they had perpetrated an expansionist invasion of another country.
Now, some of those same people are trying to destroy us, when we didn’t invade their countries.
Notice the difference? We supported them in what was a justified cause. Just because they turn around and pursue a new, unjustified one later one does not cast any kind of moral or strategic pale onto our actions.
Is it all coming back now?
In other words, you can argue whether it was a justifiable strategic action to support them then (I’d argue it was), but you cannot conclude simply from the fact that they chose to turn around and attack us 10 years later that somehow this is our fault close up horse sex. By your logic, we would never, in any circumstance be able to have an ally whom we gave aid to, because maybe, just maybe, they might change their mind about it down the road.
Britain in WWII? “Can’t trust those damned limeys. Get those destroyers back, Roosevelt! Who knows whether they might use them on us tomorrow?!”
I don’t care how much food we dropped in Afghanistan, those people who lost loved ones because of misguided bombs and missiles or who were and continue to be humiliated at the hands of our military will grow up hating our guts.
Once again, your logic leads to the conclusion that we can never take any kind of offensive military action ever, because innocents will always die in the crossfire.
So, I might ask, where are all the millions of Japanese, French and German terrorists that were created the day we killed their loved ones with our guns and bombs? Is the media covering up the story? Guess Chomsky was right all along.
In response to my comment about allying ourselves with thugs, you said:
“You imply that there is something morally suspect with allying ourselves to less-than-savory entities and then breaking that alliance for some reason.”
You completely missed my point, which was to say that in every instance (Panama, Iraq, and Afghanistan) I mentioned, we enabled these people or groups to become “threats” (not so for Noriega, who was only removed because he threatened to blow Poppy Bush’s cover) because we used them for our own short-term strategic gain and then discarded them faster than a soiled prophylactic
First of all, you really should save and recycle your used prophylactics. By throwing them away you’ve become a part of the vast condom industry conspiracy that seeks to keep the rate of condom consumption on a constant incline so that they might further plunder the rubber fields of the poor oppressed… oh, you get the idea.
And again, I say “Bitch, please!”
We didn’t discard them. They turned on us when it no longer served their interest to be our friends.
You say we supported Saddam to counter the threat posed by Iran, but you failed to mention how the CIA-sponsored overthrow of Mohammed Mossadegh and our subsequent support of the Shah contributed to the rise of militant Islam in Iran, but also how we helped arm the fanatical Iranians too. Hello? Can you say, Уblowback?Ф
From what I know, our support of the Shah was capricious at best. Perhaps our fears of Mossadegh as an ultra-nationalist leader were overblown. So far, this seems to be the one point in your entire litany of “blowback” travesties that isn’t completely silly. Congrats.
That fact doesn’t invalidate interventitive action wholesale.
As for supplying Iranians with weapons, I’m assuming you’re referring to trading them weapons for hostages. This was not an alliance. It was a deal brokered with an enemy to get something we needed from them in return.
When we traded Soviet spies that we had captured in return for American operatives, is it “blowback” when those Russian spies are again used against us? Of course not. We knew they would be put back into operation by our enemy as soon as possible, but it was seen as equally, or more important, to get our own people back. Same deal with weapons and hostages.
You can argue that giving those weapons to Iran wasn’t worth the lives of those American hostages, and thus it was a poorly brokered deal, but you can’t describe this as blowback.
Dave then offers a quote to describe the “tyranny” of the marketplace, from “Jihad Vs. McWorld,”
McWorldТs advocates will argue that the market does УserveФ individuals by empowering them to them to УchooseФ but the choice is always about which items to buy and consume, never about whether to buy and consume anything at all; or about the right to earn an income that makes consumption possible; or about how to regulate consumption so that it does not swallow up other larger public goods that cannot be advanced in the absence of democratic public institutions. In McWorldТs global market, empowerment lies in the choice of toppings on a baked potato: the rest is passive consumption. When profit becomes the sole criterion by which we measure every good, every activity, every attitude, every cultural product, there is soon nothing but profit. In the empire of the market, the money hooligans are princes and largesse is king.
This is essentially the “Walmart Vs. Small Businesses” argument.
Whenever Walmart moves into a new location, invariably there is a vocal segment of the population that protests vehemently, saying that their town doesn’t want WalMart there, because it will squeeze out all the local, friendly, personal mom-and-pop operations in the area. The obvious question to ask is, if the town really prefers these homey, personal, but much more expensive and less centralized businesses, then why do they still choose to get everything at WalMart?
And you always get answers like, “Well how can’t I? Everything is so cheap and it’s all in one place!” I guess that’s what you mean by the tyranny of the marketplace free farm sex.
The unavoidable fact in all this is that, if people truly valued the apparent personal and homey aspect of local business so much more than convenience and saving money, then they would continue to shop at the locals, and WalMart wouldn’t be able to push them out of business. It’s the tyranny of actually offering a better deal.
And likewise, the fact of the market itself does not force participation. Tell me exactly how a bedouin would not be able to choose to only engage in the market place when he felt like it, if at all, especially if his sentiments towards non-participation are shared by the majority of his society?
It goes right back to my claim in my previous post that there is a vocal and sometimes violent minority that cannot stand the marketplace, but the vast majority of the society is for it. We cannot stop the market from coming to a country when most of those people want it there. All we can do is defend ourselves against those who simply will not tolerate what their countrymen want, and will resort to violence against us because of that inability to deal with change.
“You seem to think that we’re shoving McDonalds and Pepsi down these people’s throats, whether they like it or not. That just isn’t true.”
OK, here I will admit that I overstepped things a little. There is no conscious attempt being made to force American pop culture on the rest of the world. It is closer to the truth to say that American pop culture (McWorld) is the unintended consequence of consumerism and unbridled УsavageФ capitalism. It has a life of its own and respects no borders or other forms of national sovereignty. As globalization progresses, national boundaries are increasingly becoming irrelevant and it is our movies, our music, our commercials, books and televison shows that comprise what amount, on a global scale, to propaganda to support the Tyranny of Global Markets.
Again, what’s your point? We’re not pushing it on them, but it’s going there anyway because they can’t help but want it? You seem to suggest that this is somehow “the nature of the beast” that is “savage capitalism,” and thus it seems the only possible solution is a completely new system?
Paging Dr. Marx, Dr. Marx you have a telephone call at the front desk.
Yes, yes, I know. “Oooh, whoever doesn’t swallow capitalism whole is a dirty communist, huh?”
No, it’s just that it’s the logical conclusion of where you’re going. Anything short of the eradication of capitalism wholesale and the imposition of a totalitarian government will not stop capitalism’s spread. The network effect of capitalism is simply too strong. Either you join and adapt to it, or you get left behind (which should be fine if that’s what you’re interested in - let the bedouin stay a bedouin if he sees the modern market world and decides he wants no part of it). You say that this is an example of some particularly destructive form of capitalistic globalization, but it isn’t. It’s not a perversion of some possible ideal form of moderated capitalism that lets everybody be happy. It’s just reality.
The unhappy fact is that all capitalism is incompatible with many aspects of traditional societies, and this means a lot of people are going to get pissed off, sometimes violently. But we can’t stop that, because we ultimately couldn’t stop the spread of the market even if we wanted to (which we don’t, and which we shouldn’t). The best we can do is try to deal with the animosity generated in some of the more rigid sectors of those societies, sometimes with the carrot, and sometimes with the stick, as the situation may warrant.
In response to my comment about the alleged universality of American-ness, you said:
“If by “American” you mean someone who is allowed the maximum amount of freedom in deciding the course of their life, then yes, I do sincerely believe that the vast majority of the people in this world would take that chance, were it freely given to them.”
No, by УAmericanФ I meant someone kept brain-dead and docile (like most of the people in this country) by an unresponsive government and a tyrannical market as manifested through crass consumerism and unbridled markets.
Oooooh. Nice elitist counter-cultural bohemian swipe there at all the simplistic, hamburger-gobbling, TV-entraced Deltas in this sad, pathetic country of ours.
Too bad your childish caricature was completely irrelevant to what we were talking about, eh? Otherwise it would’ve been a real good zinger.
I said the rest of the world wanted to be like what I defined as “American”. Simply substituting a silly poorly-thought-out diatribe in place of that doesn’t at all invalidate my claims about what the rest of the world wants.
I believe the level of democracy in this country and the adherence to those founding principles has expanded considerably in the last 200 years K9 erotica.
How can you say that? A legitimate democracy of the sort envisioned by the Founders rests firmly on the need for an informed and engaged citizenry. Today we have neither, as more people choose to watch the Super Bowl every year than vote every four years. We are a hollow shell of a democracy and our incessant chatter about exporting it to the rest of the world is a pathetic joke that would have brought tears to the FounderТs eyes.
I really feel sorry for you.
Update: Dave has responded lengthily in the comments section. Frankly, I have to admit I’m tried of this conversation, so I’ll let him have the last word.
they're done, hang them on his wall next to the framed heads of Iraqi dissidents and say to himself, "Well, I can checkhacky-sack?"
The experience made me think of the instructions from all corners of the media after 9/11 that what we, as Americans,
fact that these people are thugs, bullies and liars.
In theory, I was of course angry, but I had a vaguely detatched sense about the whole thing. A large part of that of
chanting in his face and moved in front of him every time he tried to get around her.
morally, that this is the right thing to do.
a representative of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was quoted as saying.
President Bush says he wants to avoid "a future of fear." It's an admirable goal, but one hardly served by this new doctrine.
the efforts to find these people and eradicate them, to ferret them out from their cowardly hiding places and vaporize
Anyway, take the new site for a test drive. Take her easy on the clutch and go steady on the hills, and I think you'll
During that protest, my girlfriend had to take a midterm in Wheeler auditorium and had to step over the bodies lying in
"What I found personally to be true was that it's easier to manipulate people rather than technology," he said.
Why are you still here?!
some of their cohorts are actually being held accountable by the university for their disruptive, illegal actions at
rather than submit to infamy or see those that are dear to him suffer wrong.
Finally, long after the fad has grown tiresome, everyone's attention turns to another scrap of dogma for the next decade.
occurred, smashing the window of their hotel room.
I suppose you mean that it's not "multilateralist" unless France says so?
Heh. Didn't Nostradamus write something about "a bespeckled plague rising in the West..."?
so that he will be better equipped to fulfill point 1). Show me another nation that's like that today.
A taste, just a taste...
nuclear weapons. Containment was born out of a realization that we were effectively restrained by our lack of strategic
In theory, I was of course angry, but I had a vaguely detatched sense about the whole thing. A large part of that of
you could see stink lines of self-satisfaction coming off her so that he could simply get to his job. She of course started
be replacing the old site that was hosted on that evil of evils, that bane of banes, that something-really-awful of
Meanwhile, the fact that we are able to use pre-emptive action when deemed necessary is a fact of our strength, not weakness
side of the political spectrum... what are they called?
who has been deprived of food for at least 6 hours - sounds like an unusually cruel thing to do, I know, but I'm sure
"approach parody" is too mild. They sprinted towards parody, jumped on top of it and proceded to give parody a spirited
What it does not mean however, is that this suddenly signals that we are going to be going after China, Saudi Arabia, Cuba
and you'll get diversity in the speech by the politician, in the one by the principal who welcomes him and in the one by
You try to make it seem as if the Joint Chiefs were lying around on a Sunday afternoon and said to themselves, "Yeah sure,
to really concern yourself with, except in a somewhat general, theoretical way.
computer systems.
but they make up for any lack of actual existence with pure unadulterated enthusiasm.
Posted by Mean Mr. Mustard at 12:47 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
you could see stink lines of self-satisfaction coming off her so that he could simply get to his job. She of course started
be replacing the old site that was hosted on that evil of evils, that bane of banes, that something-really-awful of
Falwell was a "mercenary and must be killed," the Farsi-language daily Abrar reported Saturday.
The experience made me think of the instructions from all corners of the media after 9/11 that what we, as Americans,
the teacher trying to impress both of them.
Either that, or I now have to admit the existence of clairvoyance.
After 3000 of your countrymen die in a couple hours, anything less than that is wont to be downplayed in significance
The book details the ways that employees can inadvertently leak information that can be exploited by hackers to compromise
over the heads of the world's nations as threat so that he can act willy-nilly in whatever new adventure captures his
In fact, the idea of pre- emptive attack depends on fear. It presupposes insecurity and assumes we will always be threatened.
Finally, long after the fad has grown tiresome, everyone's attention turns to another scrap of dogma for the next decade.
Posted by Mean Mr. Mustard at 12:47 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
However, several of the exchanges I have had have definately been with those you might describe as "challeneged" in
I strongly suspect TR had access to some sort of time machine and traveled into the furture about a hundred years.
Another Australian tourist, 18-year-old Rachel Hughes, said she and her boyfriend had just arrived in Kuta when the blast
the way. Apparently that wasn't enough for the however, because they then started pulling at her legs to keep her from
support (in the small, mostly insignificant ways that are possible for one such as myself)
University or Diversity
Well I wouldn't be surprised if this Wednesday at Sproul there will be similar behavior, and I plan to be there. Maybe
"The death of that man is a religious duty, but his case should not be tied to the Christian community," Shabestari,
making a point of reading in depth about any such future atrocity to ensure that I don't allow myself to be instantly "over it."
I urge anyone in the bay area who has the time on the 16th to come as well and lend credence with your example to the
Meanwhile, the fact that we are able to use pre-emptive action when deemed necessary is a fact of our strength, not weakness
side of the political spectrum... what are they called?
the teacher trying to impress both of them.
way why we're doing all of this, and why, if they still choose to berate us about "root causes" and "birds coming home
University or Diversity
The book details the ways that employees can inadvertently leak information that can be exploited by hackers to compromise
So welcome. If this is the first and/or only post you can see, it means I haven't imported my archives from Blogspot yet,
the Feds know about it.
let you know when there's a mushroom cloud over New York, because that's the only "final proof" that seems to be able to
to elicit empathy had been raised considerably since 9/11,
both at home and abroad, can go heartily fuck themselves, or jump off a cliff, or shoot themselves in the head. I don't
During that protest, my girlfriend had to take a midterm in Wheeler auditorium and had to step over the bodies lying in
rather than submit to infamy or see those that are dear to him suffer wrong.
but I hope to do that soon. I also hope to win the Nobel Prize in Kickboxing, and judge each of those things to be of
Posted by Mean Mr. Mustard at 12:47 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Eventually he got a little ticked off and said roughly, "Get away from me!" I was hungrily anticipating the energetic dissenter
50 Ways to Leave Your Folly Common Dreams, that goldmine of general silliness, showcases this piece, The Folly of Pre-emptive
a representative of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was quoted as saying.
In fact, the idea of pre- emptive attack depends on fear. It presupposes insecurity and assumes we will always be threatened.
over the heads of the world's nations as threat so that he can act willy-nilly in whatever new adventure captures his
You mean everyone in America aren't like San Franciscans?
US: Italy, Australia, Poland, Spain, Qatar, Kuwait and, of course, Britain. I know it's hard to find out this kind of
to really concern yourself with, except in a somewhat general, theoretical way.
for the life of me, cannot see it. The news showed a clip of a guy trying politely to walk around a woman so self-righteous
Also, I've printed out and made a bunch of copies of some flyers from this site and will be passing them out.
Falwell was a "mercenary and must be killed," the Farsi-language daily Abrar reported Saturday.
side of the political spectrum... what are they called?
I finally went and did it.
Bush also spoke of an "international coalition" that would disarm Hussein. Bush knows the American public is loathe to
Posted by Mean Mr. Mustard at 12:47 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
We despise and abhor the bully, the brawler, the oppressor, whether in private or public life, but
Iranian cleric Mohsen Mojtahed Shabestari, addressing weekly Friday prayers in the northwestern town of Tabriz, said
weapons inspections in Iraq represent a good example of how the rule of law has been used, and can be used again, to avert
Well, being the abject conformist that I am, I would like to welcome all new and oldcomers to my new blog, which will
One of the great advances of the modern era has been the spread of the rule of law. This is the now common idea that
To quote a boozed up, cynical and misanthropic individual whom I greatly admire: "Making fun of these people is like
use grown-up scissors), but nevertheless, even though he really didn't deserve it,
care. Just don't let me hear anything about how this bombing that specifically targeted Australian civilians was somehow
coming off them. It was really a terrible sight," she said. "You could just hear people crying up in the Bounty foyer -
Do you mean the Muslim world that celebrated 9/11, saying the US deserved it all along? Or perhaps you mean the Muslim world
slope proposition, claiming that because we go after Saddam, we'll suddenly be all aggro-ed up to obliterate any country
looks like a green light, no?
the not-being-a-jerk department.
being the reaction described above.
economic stupidity, especially when their ideas would do such a better job of it by themselves. Case in point:
US: Italy, Australia, Poland, Spain, Qatar, Kuwait and, of course, Britain. I know it's hard to find out this kind of
support (in the small, mostly insignificant ways that are possible for one such as myself)
Iranian cleric Mohsen Mojtahed Shabestari, addressing weekly Friday prayers in the northwestern town of Tabriz, said
of fist.
and that it wasn't fair for these people to stop them, the girl started literally screaming at her about selfish she was.
Really, how often is someone able to so perfectly crystallize the dilemmas that will exist a century in the future
...but there's no shame in being a follower when those you're following make such damn good points.
needed now was healing, closure; in short, to "get over it" and "move on."
Saddam will use these nukes when he gets them, whether that use takes the form of vaporizing a city or merely being hung
to make the first world poor and make sure the third world stays that way.
"A bunch of people died from terrorism over the weekend? Sure, that's awful, but we all knew this was going to happen
to penetrate.
I wish that I could just be told "Hundreds of people died in a terrorist bombing today," and instantly feel the kind of rage
or any other simply crappy country in the world, because none of them satisfy both those propositions.
really just put Saddam in a better situation than he was before because the presence of inspectors invites complacency and
It may be a sad illustration of my lack to find sympathy within myself without reading descriptions or seeing pictures,
he is willing to act aggressively and recklessly and cannot be reasonably deterred and 2) is working to get and use nukes
I guess not. The fact that the UN is anything but democratic since the vast majority of countries represented there do not
What it does not mean however, is that this suddenly signals that we are going to be going after China, Saudi Arabia, Cuba
that blatantly called for some rhetorical bitch-slapping.
going to be monitored so closely that I'd be surprised if he were able to put in a phony name at a porn site and not have
which is all about the biggest threat to the security of all companies: their own employees.
who has been deprived of food for at least 6 hours - sounds like an unusually cruel thing to do, I know, but I'm sure
Iranian cleric Mohsen Mojtahed Shabestari, addressing weekly Friday prayers in the northwestern town of Tabriz, said
or any other simply crappy country in the world, because none of them satisfy both those propositions.
act such as this. In a few days or weeks, I'm sure it will subside to a colder, more focused resolution to continue to
about equal probability.
to really concern yourself with, except in a somewhat general, theoretical way.
rather than submit to infamy or see those that are dear to him suffer wrong.
Many in the global community also distrust the Bush administration's expanding war aims. It is not easy for our friends around
so that he will be better equipped to fulfill point 1). Show me another nation that's like that today.
anger that is so justifiable -no, demanded- by these despicable acts, but if that must be the case, then from on, I'll be
I was already in a state of "moving on" and being "over it" before I even heard about the Bali attacks, with the result
course grew out of the experience of 9/11.
I mean come on, when you're arguing with someone who's just going to call you a Nazi when you spend 2,000 words making
Those people are especially useful when they have access to the core computer systems that hackers would otherwise struggle
It is time for a new day to dawn in the Blogosphere, my gnome brothers. A glorious day. A day when no longer will we
, "I don't believe the American people support this war. Everyone I've talked to is against it!"
And exactly how do you go from no "final proof" to there being no evidence of impending aggression? The very fact that
Many in the global community also distrust the Bush administration's expanding war aims. It is not easy for our friends around
the real fault of that government or its citizens, or the West in general, or capitalism, or any other ridiculous boogeyman
Now at this point, most people would just say, "let it go, and move on."
Those people are especially useful when they have access to the core computer systems that hackers would otherwise struggle
to make the first world poor and make sure the third world stays that way.
again soon, didn't we?"
Hey, didn't there used to be a city where this smoking crater is?
Heh. Didn't Nostradamus write something about "a bespeckled plague rising in the West..."?
According to the president, "we cannot wait for the final proof" that Saddam Hussein's government is planning an imminent
But anyway, right there you've got yourself eight nations total in the coalition, hailing from North America, both western
Hey, didn't there used to be a city where this smoking crater is?
that boiled up to the surface when I read things like this.
lying in order to gain information that gave him access to restricted systems.
I finally went and did it.
I have to admit I'm pretty curious just to see what he's going to do. The guy has shown himself to have an overpowering
coming off them. It was really a terrible sight," she said. "You could just hear people crying up in the Bounty foyer -
Well I wouldn't be surprised if this Wednesday at Sproul there will be similar behavior, and I plan to be there. Maybe
destroying the technological infrastructure of Western civilization again. And it's only 3 months away!
After 3000 of your countrymen die in a couple hours, anything less than that is wont to be downplayed in significance
and the decisions to do so would based on (as in this case) measured calculations of the relative benefits and costs,
Posted by Mean Mr. Mustard at 09:13 PM | Comments (4)
You try to make it seem as if the Joint Chiefs were lying around on a Sunday afternoon and said to themselves, "Yeah sure,
I don't know about you people, but I'm already stocking up on extra food, water, and electrons.
But I am thankful that at least for now, I've been able to summon that deep-seated, personal wrath so appropriate to an
fact that these people are thugs, bullies and liars.
Stand up to these thugs This Wednesday, the 16th at noon, an apparent composite of the Students for Justice in Palestine
you could see stink lines of self-satisfaction coming off her so that he could simply get to his job. She of course started
Well, being the abject conformist that I am, I would like to welcome all new and oldcomers to my new blog, which will
going to be monitored so closely that I'd be surprised if he were able to put in a phony name at a porn site and not have
United States invade a distant country without any evidence of impending aggression.
I'll get a chance to ask why they've been glorifying images of Hamas murderers on their flyers.
in words so much more exacting than even those who actually live in that time would be able to produce?
looks like a green light, no?
chanting in his face and moved in front of him every time he tried to get around her.
The fact that this is being published in the Chronicle is no small feat. Even more reason for you to go read it.
join the majority of the world's nations in distancing themselves from Washington in a fashion not seen since the Vietnam War.
of righteousness; and it becomes a very evil thing if it serves merely as a mask for cowardice and
that continues to characterize the US as the Great Satan and preach jihad against all things Western? Oh I know, the Muslim
both at home and abroad, can go heartily fuck themselves, or jump off a cliff, or shoot themselves in the head. I don't
United States invade a distant country without any evidence of impending aggression.
she can last 6 hours). I make this declaration keeping in mind that this does not imply a judgement on the Idiotarian
a representative of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was quoted as saying.
The experience made me think of the instructions from all corners of the media after 9/11 that what we, as Americans,
to penetrate.
agree that [insert additional badly-forced car metaphor here]!
or any other simply crappy country in the world, because none of them satisfy both those propositions.
In your face, Space Coyote!
But for now if you all don't mind, I'd just like to stew in my rage for a while, and remind myself in a truly visceral
Stand up to these thugs This Wednesday, the 16th at noon, an apparent composite of the Students for Justice in Palestine
which is all about the biggest threat to the security of all companies: their own employees.
one of the most fad-driven enterprises imaginable. It produces a new catechism each decade, which everyone dutifully recites.
One middle-aged woman who looked like she hadn't combed her hair since Jerry Garcia died had this to say, when asked
Yes, well I suppose you're suggesting that we would be well-served to wait for this "final proof," then? Very well. I'll
No nation deserves to exist if it permits itself to lose the stern and virile virtues; and this
the world to stomach the imperial scent of our newly enunciated military doctrine that proposes pre- emption of any powerful
economic stupidity, especially when their ideas would do such a better job of it by themselves. Case in point:
for the life of me, cannot see it. The news showed a clip of a guy trying politely to walk around a woman so self-righteous
I was already in a state of "moving on" and being "over it" before I even heard about the Bali attacks, with the result
the All Men Are Rapists self defense workshop? Surely that must be a representative sample of the country!
the real fault of that government or its citizens, or the West in general, or capitalism, or any other ridiculous boogeyman
The experience made me think of the instructions from all corners of the media after 9/11 that what we, as Americans,
to the San Francisco federal building to protest the passage of Bush's resolution for action against Iraq.
computer systems.
By tossing out any reasonable standards of evidence as a prerequisite for military action, the White House puts us in a state
According to the president, "we cannot wait for the final proof" that Saddam Hussein's government is planning an imminent
And at most, UN weapons inspectors have delayed conflict by a few years, not averted it. In actualyity, I think they have
economic stupidity, especially when their ideas would do such a better job of it by themselves. Case in point:
Eventually he got a little ticked off and said roughly, "Get away from me!" I was hungrily anticipating the energetic dissenter
on the civilized world. And when I resort again to that frame of mind, it will be because I realize, intellectually and
Another Australian tourist, 18-year-old Rachel Hughes, said she and her boyfriend had just arrived in Kuta when the blast
getting an education. When she tried to talk to one of the organizers after her test about how some people were just
fact that these people are thugs, bullies and liars.
Diversity. More than motherhood, it is the one unassailable concept these days. Open any teaching publication, and you will
Heaven forfend them not being on board with us!
Such as this quote by Teddy Roosevelt concerning his acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize, posted now
find testimonials to diversity. Flip through any recent social sciences or humanities textbook and diversity pops up with
I figured that was the way to go. But then I read this.
hunting dairy cows with a high-powered rifle and scope."
serves? As far as I can tell, all they did was take some people who were probably overwhelmingly against the war anyway,
But it's not really fair to denigrate someone's ideas just because they themselves come from an organization riddled with
I'm going to be checking the weather channel for reports of snowflakes in Hell, but meanwhile you should go read it now.
use grown-up scissors), but nevertheless, even though he really didn't deserve it,
that has the temerity to look at us cock-eyed.
Wheeler Hall last spring.
But I am thankful that at least for now, I've been able to summon that deep-seated, personal wrath so appropriate to an
democratically decided laws - - not the capriciousness of individual rulers -- should govern human affairs.
A taste, just a taste...
superiority.
Sure, it'd be nice to be a leader...
President Bush says he wants to avoid "a future of fear." It's an admirable goal, but one hardly served by this new doctrine.
predictable frequency. Follow a politician to a school photo-op,
Shiite Muslim clerics in Lebanon and Iran have reacted with rage at the Rev. Jerry Falwell for calling Islam's prophet
Already, even if the UN thumbs its irrelevant nose at the idea of going after Iraq (and if it actually does, then they'll
Saddam is so hot to get his grubby hands on nukes is enough evidence of aggression. What's he going to do with them once
Many in the global community also distrust the Bush administration's expanding war aims. It is not easy for our friends around
Already, even if the UN thumbs its irrelevant nose at the idea of going after Iraq (and if it actually does, then they'll
I guess not. The fact that the UN is anything but democratic since the vast majority of countries represented there do not
nuclear weapons. Containment was born out of a realization that we were effectively restrained by our lack of strategic
I strongly suspect TR had access to some sort of time machine and traveled into the furture about a hundred years.
the world to stomach the imperial scent of our newly enunciated military doctrine that proposes pre- emption of any powerful
Maybe I can't change the fact that I have to be intimately confronted with the death and pain in order to really feel the
Saddam will use these nukes when he gets them, whether that use takes the form of vaporizing a city or merely being hung
Watching Channel 7 news today (the Simpsons were in a commercial), they reported on a wad of dingbats who blocked access
conflict.
without regard to whether the loss is due to the growth of a heartless and all-absorbing commercialism,
hacky-sack?"
let you know when there's a mushroom cloud over New York, because that's the only "final proof" that seems to be able to
Saddam will use these nukes when he gets them, whether that use takes the form of vaporizing a city or merely being hung
to the San Francisco federal building to protest the passage of Bush's resolution for action against Iraq.
A taste, just a taste...
to prolonged indulgence in luxury and soft, effortless ease, or to the deification of a warped and twisted sentimentality.
agree that [insert additional badly-forced car metaphor here]!
of fist.
Well I wouldn't be surprised if this Wednesday at Sproul there will be similar behavior, and I plan to be there. Maybe
By tossing out any reasonable standards of evidence as a prerequisite for military action, the White House puts us in a state
occurred, smashing the window of their hotel room.
Whereas the Cold War doctrine of deterrence and containment rested on strength, the new idea of pre-emption insists on U.S.
she can last 6 hours). I make this declaration keeping in mind that this does not imply a judgement on the Idiotarian
Meanwhile, the fact that we are able to use pre-emptive action when deemed necessary is a fact of our strength, not weakness
In fact, the idea of pre- emptive attack depends on fear. It presupposes insecurity and assumes we will always be threatened.
Well, being the abject conformist that I am, I would like to welcome all new and oldcomers to my new blog, which will
in words so much more exacting than even those who actually live in that time would be able to produce?
has been built up around Mitnick, a basically curious guy who just as often used old face-to-face (or voice-to-voice)
In your face, Space Coyote!
Either that, or I now have to admit the existence of clairvoyance.
Posted by Mean Mr. Mustard at 12:47 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
a careful, precise argument, what point is there in engaging them verbally anymore?
military action to counter the Soviet threat was not possible, because of their equal capacity to destroy us through
way why we're doing all of this, and why, if they still choose to berate us about "root causes" and "birds coming home
that I hadn't thought of it first!
without regard to whether the loss is due to the growth of a heartless and all-absorbing commercialism,
Heh. Didn't Nostradamus write something about "a bespeckled plague rising in the West..."?
...but there's no shame in being a follower when those you're following make such damn good points.
In fact, the idea of pre- emptive attack depends on fear. It presupposes insecurity and assumes we will always be threatened.
she can last 6 hours). I make this declaration keeping in mind that this does not imply a judgement on the Idiotarian
curiosity that trumps any sort of legal resriction placed on him, but it's pretty much a foregone conclusion that he's
lying in order to gain information that gave him access to restricted systems.
the teacher trying to impress both of them.
destroying the technological infrastructure of Western civilization again. And it's only 3 months away!
Containment and deterrence were responses to US weakness, you silly-headed dunderpate. It was obvious that using direct
Stand up to these thugs This Wednesday, the 16th at noon, an apparent composite of the Students for Justice in Palestine
US: Italy, Australia, Poland, Spain, Qatar, Kuwait and, of course, Britain. I know it's hard to find out this kind of
Saddam will use these nukes when he gets them, whether that use takes the form of vaporizing a city or merely being hung
One of the great advances of the modern era has been the spread of the rule of law. This is the now common idea that
again soon, didn't we?"
they're done, hang them on his wall next to the framed heads of Iraqi dissidents and say to himself, "Well, I can check
I wish that I could just be told "Hundreds of people died in a terrorist bombing today," and instantly feel the kind of rage
If and when you find one, that means that I'll be perfectly willing to advocate an attack against them as well.
And at most, UN weapons inspectors have delayed conflict by a few years, not averted it. In actualyity, I think they have
I figured that was the way to go. But then I read this.
I don't know about you people, but I'm already stocking up on extra food, water, and electrons.
getting an education. When she tried to talk to one of the organizers after her test about how some people were just
they're done, hang them on his wall next to the framed heads of Iraqi dissidents and say to himself, "Well, I can check
I wish that I could just be told "Hundreds of people died in a terrorist bombing today," and instantly feel the kind of rage
I've been blogging since July 2005, and in that time, I've had a few inter-blog arguments with the folks on the other
(or to have their genitalia eviscerated by a rabid Rosie O'Donnell
Bush also spoke of an "international coalition" that would disarm Hussein. Bush knows the American public is loathe to
Stand up to these thugs This Wednesday, the 16th at noon, an apparent composite of the Students for Justice in Palestine
have democratically elected rulers I'm sure doesn't throw any flies into your ointment.
he revealed himself to be a seriously dishonest debater (that, or he was so stupid that it wouldn't be safe for him to
nothing may stand in our way!
"A bunch of people died from terrorism over the weekend? Sure, that's awful, but we all knew this was going to happen
really just put Saddam in a better situation than he was before because the presence of inspectors invites complacency and
When they aired some actual interviews with the protesters, I started to honestly think they were part of some sort of
Such as this quote by Teddy Roosevelt concerning his acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize, posted now
I suppose you mean that it's not "multilateralist" unless France says so?
on the civilized world. And when I resort again to that frame of mind, it will be because I realize, intellectually and
"The death of that man is a religious duty, but his case should not be tied to the Christian community," Shabestari,
has been built up around Mitnick, a basically curious guy who just as often used old face-to-face (or voice-to-voice)
In your face, Space Coyote!
in words so much more exacting than even those who actually live in that time would be able to produce?
and the UC Divestment folks will be holding a rally for what looks like the primary purpose of protesting the fact that
vaunted proof of yours. Then you could be really sure.
nuclear weapons. Containment was born out of a realization that we were effectively restrained by our lack of strategic
democratically decided laws - - not the capriciousness of individual rulers -- should govern human affairs.
of fist.
Well I wouldn't be surprised if this Wednesday at Sproul there will be similar behavior, and I plan to be there. Maybe
last update : 28-8-2008
