How’s this for a cool way to enter the office each day?
Apparently this is the the Headquarters of Red Bull in London. Pretty brilliant huh. See more images here. (via PureProfile’s blog).
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Yesterday I had the privilege of listening to Phillip Goodman speak at the offices of E&Y in Melbourne. Goodman is the owner of clothing manufacturer/retailer Rivers. Wow. What a story. He talked for 30 or 40 minutes about how he started and built the company. Totally brilliant story. I invited him onto G’Day World as a guest for our “Melbourne’s Leaders” series but he declined. Apparently he avoids the press and prefers to stay under the radar, which I kind of understand. But if you ever get a chance to hear him speak, grab it. I can’t begin to tell you how many terrific anecdotes this guy has. It inspired me for the rest of the day.
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Yesterday I listened to Thomas Friedman’s recent talk at POPtech about “why this isn’t your parent’s energy crisis”. It’s brilliant. He explains how the USA is funding BOTH sides of the “War On Terrorism” by continuing to buy ever-larger energy purchases from countries in the Middle East who then donate large chunks of the money to Islamic fundamentalist organisations who, in turn, attack the US and US interests. He suggests that the only way to break the back of this addiction is to move as quickly as possible to green, renewable sources of energy.
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This image of Cho Seung-Hui from the video he sent to NBC is pretty interesting. Anyone else see a John Woo homage? I also love Cho’s rationale for his killing rampage:
“Thanks to you, I die like Jesus Christ to inspire generation of the weak and the defenceless people.”
How many times have I said here that Christianity was a violent religion that inspired (even justified) violence? The fact that the media is carrying this quote from Cho and everyone just accepts his rationale is interesting in itself.
“Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.â€
Matthew 10
But you have to admire the resolve of the NRA in situations like this. Despite the rest of the world thinking the US are completely frakking NUTS for allowing the amount of guns they have on the street, the NRA obviously enough photos of US Congressmen and women engaged in sexual congress with furry mammals that they just breeze through situations like this.
Did you see that they are actually GIVING guns away this week in Virginia?
They are calling it the “Bloomberg Gun GiveAway”. On Thursday two gun shops in the state of Virginia will stage a prize draw. Anyone spending more than $100 in either Bob Moates’ stores or Old Dominion Guns and Tackle will be entered, and the first prize a free handgun or rifle worth $900.
(link)
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Yeah…gotta luv the US of A, eh?
Handguns have only one purpose in life…to shoot other human beings. So, uh, why would you be letting people have them? Duh. The whole “right to bear arms” thing? Uh…no.
“The fact that the media is carrying this quote from Cho and everyone just accepts his rationale is interesting in itself.”
I think that the media accept the fact that this is one man who was mentally ill. I am not an expert, however I have had some training in psych and these individuals often have delusions of grandeur and think themselves like a “god”. Clearly from the limited knowledge that can be obtained from the media this individual demonstrated many types of delusions and symptoms of a severe psychiatric illness.
Based on that premise I would suggest that to equate “rationale” with a decision/s that this individual made is inaccurate. He was by no means rational in any sense of the word.
I therefore think that his words and the quotes that the media decides to give us without context or psychiatric analysis can be used as evidence for your argument to equate Christianity with violence.
More Guns, Less Crime
by: John Lott
Book Description
Lott’s conclusions are backed by evidence – that concealed-weapons permits reduce crime, and do so at a lower cost to society than increasing the number of police or prisons–are important ones that should be considered by policymakers.
And as far as Christianity goes – religion is made up of HUMAN BEINGS…imperfect at best as we are – evil exists and distorts religion as it can anything else. Combine guns, evil, mental illness, and you have VA Tech. Last time I checked, Christians are not having 12 yr olds behead people on videotape, blowing up women and children in marketplaces. Regardless of history – this is 2007. We have to move on.
The right to bear arms is a right held dear to many Americans and the fact that lunatics kill people…keeping guns away from them will not always work. If someone wants to commit murder they will do so. Govt regulation govt govt govt – more government is NOT the answer. Cradle to the grave welfare states FAIL. Just my two cents – but this is more socialist drivel aimed at doing through the backdoor what the Soviet Union failed to do through imperialism (TRUE imperialism – not the crackpot imperialism the US is currently accused of).
By the way Cameron, as usual I have to qualify my strong statements with the fact that I’m not trying to be a bomb-thrower on here – I know my conservative views seem to be in the miniscule minority on your blogs – I just wanted people to know there are about 50% of us here in the United States that also have different, and just as valid views, as the left.
As regards to Napoleon – I still cannot equate how you could be such a fan of the Emperor as I am :)…yes, in his day he was a progressive, liberal force. Today however, he most assuredly would be attacked by the left as people such as Noam Chomsky as much, if not more than any George Bush or Dick Cheney. I always tell people I am a classical, traditionalist, liberal. I believe in constitutionalism, republicanism, free trade, private property, freedom of religion (NOT FROM religion :), and a meritocracy. I’m just not a marxist/socialist like many modern “liberals”. Again, just lettin my thoughts flow – I’m never bored with either the podcasts OR your blog!!
-Mike
Mike, and you’re always welcome to share your views here! This is, after all, about MORE conversation, not about my views.
Regarding US guns laws – how do you account for the stats that countries with tighter gun control, such as Canada, Australia and the UK, have THOUSANDS fewer gun-related deaths every year? Are we just nicer, more balanced people that Americans?
Regarding Napoleon – I’m a fan because he did an amazing job and was a genius on several fronts. If he was born today, I believe he would still have been a genius, but I’m sure he would have put his genius to work in different ways to how he did in 1796.
He did the things he had to do to protect freedom and liberty. I’m a big fan of the US but unfortunately today it is reducing freedom and liberty in many countries, including it’s own, and is losing the respect of the world that it once enjoyed.
And, as China and India start to take over from the US as the world’s leading economies, the US needs to seriously think about the way it wants to be treated by the international community. You can’t bully your way around forever without it coming back to haunt you. That’s what 9/11 was all about. Bad karma coming back to you.
I, like you, believe in constitutionalism, republicanism, free trade, private property, freedom of religion and a meritocracy. I may believe that religion is the refuge of weak minded people, but that doesn’t mean I don’t believe people should be free to believe in it if they so choose.
Gun laws (to get back to the issue) is not about “the right to bear arms”. We have a police force. We have a military. We pay squillions in taxes to have those forces there to protect us.
Allowing hundreds of millions of handguns on the street is just insane. And that’s why tens of thousands of Americans unnecessarily end up dead from them every year.
Dave – “these individuals often have delusions of grandeur and think themselves like a “godâ€.”
Don’t you worship a guy who fitted that description exactly???
Wouldn’t you agree that he, also, was “by no means rational in any sense of the word”??
Thanks Cameron!
No, I completely understand where you are coming from, and truth be told, at times I do think that people in Canada, Australia, and the UK may, overall, be more civilized and nicer/more balanced than what has happened here in the United States. I’d be the first one to point out the moral decay and increasing violence in our culture. Maybe we do need to take a look at our gun laws. Almost as if we need someone like an Augustus Caesar in ancient Rome to retore virtue and order.
It is this hedonism that at times makes me understand why Middle Eastern countries don’t want any part of American democracy or culturem, they’re own backwards, and barbarous treatment of women, gays, and non-Muslims aside. However, I would STRONGLY disagree that we had 9/11 coming…there is a world of difference between US foreign policy (flawed as it may be) and what those evil radical Jihadists did on 9/11. To me the war with the extremists is all about religious fanaticism and POWER (something I would think you would definitely identify with).
I wouldnt call all the financial and material aid we give (billiions of my tax dollars annually) “bullying” the world. What do you think Red China or Russia would do if they were the only superpower? Hardly the humanitarian efforts the US puts foward I would think. Also, as an American living in America, I have not had one drop of my freedom taken away from me since 9/11. If anything, I feel more secure. The internet has exploded with debate, rants, blogs, etc…something that could not happen in a clamped down society.
As far as the US decreasing freedoms in other countries. I also would disagree here – too few troops and ridiculously awful peace planning aside, Iraq and Afghanistan today are hardly “less free” than under Saddam Hussein or the Taliban. Sometimes I very strongly identify with the armies of the French Revolution, fighting to liberate Europe from feudalism and superstition. As we saw in Spain, it did not always work.
I often feel as if the USSR were around today, to counterbalance the US influence, the world would not have half the issue it does with America (as Britain did once with France). I also blame an intensely anti-American world media for much of the portrayals we see.
Finally, with Napoleon – I didnt mean to imply that you of all people shouldn’t be a fan and admirer – just that most times when I hear someone with world views such as yourself they usually portray Napoleon as a tyrant, fascist, and generally evil little dictator.
Glad we agree he was such a progressive force!
Anyway, thanks for the great conversation!
That’s my rant for today 🙂 !!!
Mike – The CIA trained Osama Bin Laden and then abandoned him once the Russians were no longer a threat. Do you honestly think he wouldn’t feel used and betrayed by the USA? While few people think the terrorists did a good thing, the rest of the world outside the USA was not altogether surprised that people hate it so much, but this does seem to be a surprise to American citizens.
As an example, an Australian has been detained in Guantanamo Bay now for years, without charge and without what Australians (and the United Nations) would call a fair trial. These actions erode the credibility of the US that it is trying to do the right thing. Why hold prisoners in a country that hasn’t signed the Geneva Conventions, unless you have something nasty in mind?
America does a lot of good things, but it also does enough bad things or suspicious things to make people question it’s motives and it erodes trust. Trust is not something that should be wasted between countries, as it leads to war.
Well said Scienta!
And anyone who reads Chomsky or Pilger understands that the US has had a deliberate policy since ’62 to use the CIA, UN, World Bank and WTO to subvert foreign governments, particularly in third world countries, and bend them to the US’ purposes. It’s economic warfare and it isn’t a conspiracy. They are VERY out in the open about it. Listen to my interview with Noam Chomsky for more detail.
Foreign policies of EVERY industrialized nation do the same thing – bend policies of statellites to their purposes. Now I’m not making excuses, but to single out the USA in my opinion is both dishonest and unfair. Throughout history foreign policies of superpowers has often been misguided, one decade supporting one power, another decade at war with it. When the USSR was the major threat, the US did what was in its best interest. Yes, some moves were dumb as hell (i.e. Vietnam, supporting Saddam, but it was against Iran, who was supported by Russia), but that is what happens when dealing with major international affairs. I guess I am just a proponent of Realpolitik and not an idealist. Hell, we were allied with Stalin in WW2 to fight Hitler, and he was just as big a mass murderer. Should we have not done that? I’ve read some Chomsky (very little I admit) and find him to be very slanted against the United States and also very unrealistic in his critiques of the US (from a very left wing/socialist libertarian point of view). Maybe I have some of my own moral issues to work out, but I would gladly take all the “bad” the US has done and put up with it for all the benefits my country has brought to the world. If the US did not exist, flawed as it is, from WW2 on, the history of the world would be very different indeed.
And regardless of feeling used and betrayed – Bin Laden is an evil, sick individual who murdered thousands of men, women, and children because of religious fanaticism and the desire to create an Islamic caliphate – no different than a Lenin, Hitler, or the US being a capitalist constitutional federal republic vs. Bin Laden’s idea of world domination, yah, not gonna jive too well together. He would have turned on the US regardless of our policy towards him. Speaking of trust – you would apply “trust” to nations like Syria and Iran??
This may be controversial, but I honestly believe many people in the US have a completely different outlook on the world than people elsewhere – much the same as the people of Rome saw the world in a different light than say the people of Carthage, or Germania, or Britain, or Persia. I always grew up learning and believing in what we call “American exceptionalism”, and this is not to say that we are better or superior than other nations, but that we do indeed have something special and great to offer the world. With all our drawbacks, all our flaws, I really believe America is the best chance the world has of retaining freedom and prosperity, and I don’t believe for one instant that what we are doing is somehow, drawing on Star Wars here, some great plan to concoct wars, have global domination, and elect our very own Sith Lord Emperor 🙂
Sorry, I get very worked up over this subject, because I see our own leaders, Democrats and Republicans, putting party interest and factionalism over the good of our nation.
By the way, Cameron – who is Pilger?
Mike, we aren’t SINGLING OUT the US, we are DISCUSSING the US. Mainly because the US is currently the largest economic and military force on the planet BY FAR and also likes to style itself as the defender of democracy and freedom. Meanwhile it is funding, training and supporting murderers and dictators around the world. Meanwhile, it is preemptively invading sovereign nations, without the support of the United Nations, without justification, and, in the process, leading to the death of 650,000+ innocent civilians. Meanwhile, the actions of the US (and, I add, their allies, like the UK and Australia) are escalating the religious fundamentalist feelings of Muslim people around the world who, rightly, feel that their countries are under direct threat by the US.
Is bin Laden a bad guy? Or is he a freedom fighter for the Arab people? And what does he have to do with Iraq? Nothing. For 5.5 years the US, the mightiest power on earth, have been supposedly trying to catch him. And they have failed. They can’t catch one man. Who rides donkeys and lives in caves. And by the way… how much do you know about bin Laden that you weren’t told by your media? The same media that was convinced Saddam had WMD? How do you know everything they tell you about bin Laden isn’t also a complete fiction? Just a thought.
Meanwhile, 650,000+ innocent civilians are “collateral damage” in Iraq.
This idea that Americans are somehow “exceptional” is going to be the downfall of your country Mike. Instead of using your power for good, you are using it for evil. As did Rome. As did the British. And it caught up with both of them. And now it’s catching up with the US.
And I think its a great tragedy. America had it all. Wealth. Lifestyle. Power. Respect. 50 years ago, the US was the world’s bread basket. And today, unfortunately, the US is the world’s basket case. Consumerism run rampant. Addicted to destroying the world’s environment. Running rough-shod over other countries to get what you want. No sense of international diplomacy.
Chomsky was recently voted (by 200,000 people) the world’s leading intellectual. You should read his work more thoroughly if you truly want to understand what’s going on. Even if you don’t agree with him, you owe it to yourself to understand what the world’s leading intellectual thinks is going on.
Pilger is John Pilger, much-awarded Australian journalist, mostly living in England, who has written many books and made many documentaries over the last 40 years, exposing atrocities committed by America, Australia and the UK in third world countries, which 99.999% of the people in those countries remain blissfully unaware of, because they are fed a media diet of sugary rubbish and believe the hyperbole fed to them by their politicians about “freedom” and “democracy”.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Pilger
Thanks Cameron…yeah, I actually went to wikipedia right after I read your last post to find out more about John Pilger. I’ll definitely read more Chomsky to educate myself as well, however……and it’s a big however 🙂 !!
As far as everything you just said – I guess we’ll just have to agree to disagree 🙂
I just couldn’t disagree more with almost everything you put in there. Interesting, definitely worth thinking about and analyzing, but like I said, I just have a COMPLETELY different take on world events, politics, the US role in the world. I respect your opinions greatly, I just think you are 100% wrong and misguided in your thought process with all of it. (except for the fact that 99.999% of most Westerners are blissfully unaware of politics, world events, real news, etc) Like I said before though, do you not see the parallel between what I believe and the role of the French Revolution/Napoleon in the early 19th century? Europe resisted at first, but within 50 yrs the world had changed. Much the same thing I see happening with US efforts to being democracy to the rest of the world. I dunno, my brain is starting to overheat, lol.
Hey, at least we here are talking and debating though right?
I didn’t really want to get so in depth with all of this, but now I’m glad we did – I love the exchange of ideas like this. So thanks!
Looking foward to more blogs and podcasts,
Respectfully,
-Mike
by the way, way back you asked about what I do – this is what I do back in the States…
Not the Marines, Green Berets, or Delta Force by any means, but my small part in serving my country for the past 12 yrs – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/215th_Army_Band
Mike, ever thought that perhaps you disagree with me because you haven’t done enough research to make an educated opinion? If you havent read Chomsky, Pilger, et al, what kind of research have you done? I don’t think this is the sort of issue we can just dismiss. The fate of the planet might rest on it.
I think the parallel between the US and Napoleonic France is probably the US from 1900 – 1950. They did great things to secure peace through two world wars and the collapse of the British Empire. Unfortunately, the US as a force for good peaked around 1950 and has been in decline (morally and ethically, if not financially) since then.
Cameron,
My question would be – who do you think is the “force for good” in the world today? Surely not the United Nations, what was once a legitimate force for progress and international cooperation. It has become a den of thieves, scoundrels, and petty dictatorships in my opinion if ever there were any – an organization that uses billions of my hard earned AMERICAN tax dollars to undermine freedom and provide a platform for anti-Americanism in my own country. Next time there is a huge natural disaster or humanitarian crisis in the world – I’d love for the U.S. to “sit one out”…tsunami, earthquake, etc. When there is flooding or wildfires or a hurricane in America, I don’t see Iran or Indonesia putting on telethons to help out. I’m not saying the U.S. shouldnt be the force for good I believe it is, but perhaps we are providing too much aid to the rest of the world and should retreat behind our Atlantic and Pacific “walls”, and not ride “rough shod” over other countries.
International cooperation is one thing – getting slapped around and insulted as a nation and then saying “thank you” is quite another. I just don’t see the appeasement of terror states and rogue regimes to be beneficial to the future of our planet. I see it much as history views Neville Chamberlain in 1939-40.
As far as “illegal” war. Last time I checked when I serve in the Army I wear an American flag, not UN or EU patch on my arm. I also believe the U.S. Constitution to be the supreme law of the land here, not the UN Charter or any other internationalist organization. Not that they shouldn’t be respected, but in the United States we are guided by our “bible” – the Constitution. Under which, the invasion of Iraq, however anyone may disagreee with it, or how “right’ or “wrong” it was – was perfectly legally done.
This book by Eric Shaw tells it like it is about what the United Nations has become:
http://www.amazon.com/U-N-Exposed-Sabotages-Americas-Security/dp/1595230335/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3/002-7723921-0349665?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1177848765&sr=8-3
http://www.army.mil/-news/2007/04/24/2842-veterinary-mission-morphs-into-lifesaving-rescue/
http://www.army.mil/-news/2007/04/27/2877-soldiers-want-to-accomplish-mission-in-iraq/
by Paul R. Hollrah
The Barbary Pirates: Lessons Not Learned
April 27, 2007 03:00 PM EST
In a recent Townhall.com essay, titled Jefferson Versus the Muslim Pirates (April 26, 2007), Christopher Hitchens paints a picture of Jefferson and Madison’s conflict with the Barbary pirates that should serve as an object lesson for western political leaders of today.
In 1784, Barbary pirates of Morocco and Algiers captured three American merchant ships. After six months of negotiations, the United States signed a treaty with Morocco. A $60,000 ransom was paid and our hostages were released. Those captured by the Algerians didn’t fare so well; they were sold into slavery. As the Wikipedia Encyclopedia tells us, “Christian slaves were preferred… (They were) forced to do degrading work and treated harshly so letters would be written home to prompt the payment of a bigger ransom.â€
In 1786, Thomas Jefferson, then ambassador to France, and John Adams, then ambassador to Britain, met in London with Tripoli’s ambassador, Sidi Haji Abdul Rahman Adja. Jefferson and Adams asked by what right the Barbary States preyed upon American shipping, enslaving crews and passengers.
Adja replied that the actions of the Islamic nations were “… founded on the Laws of their Prophet, that it was written in their Koran, that all nations who should not have acknowledged their authority were sinners, that it was their right and duty to make war upon them wherever they could be found, and to make slaves of all they could take as prisoners, and that every [Muslim] who should be slain in battle was sure to go to Paradise.â€
As the Founding Fathers debated the terms of the U.S. Constitution, the outrages of the Barbary pirates were never far from their minds. Many sounded like Republicans of today, making the case for war against Islamic fundamentalism, while others sounded like Democrats of today, urging surrender and appeasement.
James Madison insisted that only a strong union could guard America’s maritime capacity from “the rapacious demands of pirates and barbarians.†While on the opposite side of the issue, much like Democrats of today, John Adams argued that it was far better to pay the tribute… that it was cheaper than the loss of trade, and that to fight a war against the pirates of Islam would be “too rugged for our people to bear.†He said, “We ought not to fight them at all unless we determine to fight thm forever.â€
Meanwhile, Hitchens notes, “…the level of tribute demanded began to reach ten percent of the American national budget… while from the dungeons of Algiers and Tripoli came appalling reports of the mistreatment of captured men and women. Gradually… public opinion began to harden in favor of war.â€
There is little chance, today, that the voices of those enslaved or threatened by radical Islam can drown out the shrill voices of the anti-war radicals who now control the Democratic Party. Short of divine intervention, our nation may soon find itself confronting the worldwide onslaught of radical Islam with a Democrat in the White House and with Democrats in control of Congress. They will have it no other way and they will do literally anything to accomplish that end.
The current administration has been forced to fight the war against radical Islam in much the same way that Jefferson was forced to proceed in his day. Hitchens tells us that, “Jefferson took a shortcut through this (congressional) thicket in 1801 and sent the Navy to North Africa on patrol… with instructions to enforce existing treaties and to punish infractions of them. He did not inform Congress of his authorization of this mission until the fleet was too far away to recall.â€
And when the Pasha of Tripoli, Yusuf Karamanli, declared war on the United States in May 1801, the port city of Tripoli was heavily bombarded by our Navy, crippling one of the Pasha’s most important ships. But even this defeat was insufficient to deter the Muslims. Finally, in February 1802, Congress consented to a permanent naval presence in the Mediterranean, which equated to a declaration of war.
In the decade that followed, the Barbary States attempted to exploit Anglo-American hostilities, both before and during the War of 1812. However, in 1814, President James Madison asked Congress for permission to send a naval force to “pacify†the Algerians, and the Algerians soon found their harbor filled with heavily-armed American ships.
Madison’s words on that occasion could have been the words of Ronald Reagan or the words of George W. Bush in the days following 9/11. He said, “It is a settled policy of America, that as peace is better than war, war is better than tribute. The United States, while (we) wish for war with no nation, will buy peace with none.â€
Those words are an affront to Democratic policy of today. Unfortunately, it appears that the American people will be forced to endure yet another 9/11, or more, before they are convinced to rise up and “throw the rascals out.â€
Mike, there is little doubt that the UN has troubles and that the USA are part of that. But the USA likes to use the UN when it wants to and abuse it when it doesn’t. Don’t forget – the invasion of Iraq was justified by Bush using Iraq’s supposed non-compliance with UNSC Resolution 1441.
In a world of civilized nations, there is the concept of international law. American law is fine if you stay inside your country – as soon as you start invading other countries, you are subject to it, whether you like it or not. If you start flouting international law then the USA is, by definition, a “rouge nation”.
In my opinion, launching a pre-emptive invasion of a sovereign nation, without the authority of the UN, gives the USA and their allies rogue status.
Even America’s own Richard Perle and Tony Blair’s Attorney General Lord Goldsmith have both conceded that the invasion was probably illegal.
And despite your contempt of the UN, guess what? They were right. Saddam *didn’t* have WMD like the USA claimed. So the UN’s weapons inspectors were right. There WAS no justification (using 1441) for invasion.
So – 650,000+ Iraqi civilians are now dead. Their blood is on your hands. On all of our hands. How do you feel about that? This is a deliberate act of genocide. It’s a holocaust.
I often wondered how the Germans living in 1939 could allow acts of genocide to be committed by their government.
And now I wonder how history will judge us.
Cameron,
I just do not agree that the ULTIMATE arbiter of what is illegal and what is legal is the UN – no matter what. In my opinion Bush is weak willed and inconsistent. I believe that as an American our Constitution comes before any international law. And although I feel terrible about any civilian casualties in war and admit mistakes were made, they are still in the long run going to be far better off than under Saddam Hussein. 20,000 civilians died in France during the invasions of Normany – hundreds of thousands of innocent Germans died in fire bombings during WWII. I would still do it all over again. War sucks. However, I think your description of it as a holocaust is ridiculous and to equate it with Germany 1939-45 is a perversion of facts. By definition it is sure as heck not a deliberate act of genocide (the US wants to exterminate all Iraqis??? Hardly).
I still believe there were WMD’s to some extent and that many were moved to Syria and the Bekaa valley in Lebanon. Either way, I am a realist, we are there now, and cannot just pull out and leave the region this way. Even though already a messed up state thanks to Saddam and the Baathists, yes the West (just ask France and Germany), and also the former Soviet Union, after the invasion, we broke it, we have to at least attempt to fix it. We owe that to the people of Iraq and the world.
If the US was interested in genocide and conquest, Iraq could have been pacified in about 3 wks – in the style of the Roman Empire – ignoring all rules of engagement, the power the US wields is immense and the reason it is not exercised fully is precisely to avoid that horrors that would accompany it.
I also wonder how history will judge us and in my heart I truly believe in the nobility of our actions, however crazy I may sound.
As Napoleon once said – “He who saves a nation, violates no laws.”
Mike, how do you think the US is fixing it? Is it getting better or worse the longer you are in there? Are the casualty rates increasing or decreasing? If the Coalition casualty rates are anything to go by, it’s getting WORSE, not BETTER.
http://tinyurl.com/5um2d
The ULTIMATE arbiter on International Law is the ICC. How can American law preside over International law when it comes to international matters? That makes no sense at all to me.
This air of American superiority and “we can do whatever we want” is, imho, the root cause of your problems. It’s a “might makes right” argument which isn’t an attribute of a civilized country and disgraces your fine people and your important role in the history of the rise of democracy.
The definition of genocide is:
“..intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, as such: killing members of the group; causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life, calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; and forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.”
I think this pretty much describes what is happening to Iraqis at the moment.
When one country deliberately and pre-emptively invades another country, with no declaration of war, without the approval of the UN or any other international body, and kills hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians in the process, what else do you call it?
>
American law can preside over international law when it comes to America’s right to create and act upon it’s own foreign policy as a free and sovereign nation. I guess I would just state that if the ICC wants to put American political and military leaders on trial, and they think that would be of benefit to the world, then I guess they should mobilize their army and navy and come and get them. I mean, I don’t mean to be sarcastic here, and sound like a conspiracy theorist, but it almost reminds me of that obscure movie – Megiddo:The Omego Code 2 with Michael York (very bad acting by the way speaking of Zombie movies!)…a new World Union with 10 “democratic” world zones aimed at erasing borders and the nation-state, totalitarian rule under the guise of promoting international peace and cooperation.
Also, I do not at all dispute your definition of genocide – however, we cannot possibly be watching the same war taking place in Iraq, as nothing in that definition applies to what the US Army and Marines are doing there right now. We’re trying to destroy an ethnic group? Um, wouldnt that be the radical Jihadists? Preventing births purposely? Pretty good PR front then that we have put on with veterinary clinics, schools, and dentist offices opening up. Cameron, I don’t even know where to begin with this. To compare American efforts to democratize Iraq, even if it IS to create a stable satellite for the US in the region, to compare this to Nazi Germany’s “final solution” is just ridiculous.
Pulling out now would create an even greater power vacuum in the region, that Iran would quite easily fill. Something arguably not in the best interests of the United States or the world.
If the US were to leave tomorrow here is what could very likely transpire:
— Within months, an immediate upsurge in vicious sectarian violence fomented by Iranian intervention on behalf of Shiite militias and Wahabbi-supported, Al Qaeda-affiliated terror groups. As U.S. forces retreat to a half-dozen staging areas for retrograde through Kuwait and Jordan, American casualties will dramatically increase as suicide bombers seek “martyrdom” in their victory.
— Inside of 18 months, the fragile democratically elected government in Baghdad will collapse, precipitating a real sectarian civil war and the creation of Taliban-like “regional governments” that will impose brutal, misogynistic rule throughout the country. The ensuing flood of refuges into Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Turkey and Iran will overwhelm relief organizations, creating a humanitarian disaster making what’s happening in Darfur pale by comparison.
— The Kurds in northern Iraq are likely to declare an autonomous region that could well result in Turkish, Iranian and even Syrian military intervention.
— In the course of withdrawing U.S. combat brigades and support units, billions of dollars in American military equipment and ordnance will have to be destroyed or left behind. More than $40 billion in reconstruction projects for schools, health-care facilities, sanitation, clean water, electrical distribution and agricultural development will be abandoned. Plans to exploit the new West Qurna oil field in southeastern Iraq will be forsaken.
— The governments of Kuwait, Jordan, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain, intimidated by Iranian boldness in acquiring nuclear weapons, will likely insist on the withdrawal of American military bases from their territories. Such a move will jeopardize U.S. naval operations in the Persian Gulf and logistics, intelligence collection and command and control facilities supporting operations in Afghanistan.
— As Iraq becomes a battleground for the centuries-long Sunni-Shia conflict, radical Islamic terror organizations will use the territories they control to prepare and launch increasingly deadly terror attacks around the globe against U.S. citizens, businesses and interests.
Well Mike, I was prepared to have an intelligent conversation with you on the subject, but now that you’ve resorted to just plagiarizing OLIVER NORTH (of all people) without even giving him due credit, I guess the conversation is over.
http://tinyurl.com/2rp5a7
Mike –
No country should be considered above the law, or to have laws that are more important than international law. It’s arrogant and selfish for any country to think they are more important than every other citizen in the world. If you really believe in democracy, you’ll have a think about how democratic the “US above all others” attitude is.
I honestly think your perception of the good outweighing the bad is widly different from those outside the US. When none of the US leaders want to take any responsibility for violating Geneva Conventions, state-sponsored torture and the consequences of their actions.
It’s all well and good to say the good balances that stuff out, but you’d have a hard time convincing the tortured and raped from Abu Graib, those held without charge in Guantanamo Bay and those who are left to clean up the mess that the US is leaving in it’s wake.
The US sat out hurricane Katrina, so we know this isn’t a one off issue. There seems to be very little strategic planning being done by the US, with even less attention on a Plan B or exit strategy.
No – I fully apologize for that Cameron, it was truly unintentional. I realized this morning when I was checking my posts this that I had copied and pasted the bottom half of Oliver North’s article from my myspace page onto here as I wanted to get those talking points in t there, and skip the top half of the article about Vietnam, I just forgot to copy and past the link at the end…so here it is (from http://www.theconservativevoice.com).
Again, I apologize to you and Mr. North – that was definitely NOT my intention.
Here is the full article…
http://www.theconservativevoice.com/article/24665.html
-Mike
Scienta, as I had said to Cameron a few posts back- I guess we’ll just have to agree to disagree. I find you accusations, while valid, completely off base and exaggerated and I believe many in the US (myself included) just view the world differently than some of you in other nations. I still have not gotten any answers however as to who should step into and fill the role of the US, what other superpower, or international organization can help? The UN and EU are either woefully unequipped, ill-suited, or do not have the political will to take care of things on their own. It is very easy to bash and criticize, but I would hasten to say, solutions are very few and far between.
-Mike
And just so I can clear up the whole plagiarism thing – here is another article I happen to agree with, this time from Christopher Hitchens on Slate.com
http://slate.com/id/2165269
heh okay Mike, you’re forgiven (by me, at least, but you should apologize directly to Ollie as well 🙂 ).
>>American law can preside over international law when >>it comes to America’s right to create and act upon >>it’s own foreign policy as a free and sovereign >>nation.
Sure, you can set your own foreign policy. But when that policy is “we can invade whoever we like, whenever we like”, then you are, in the eyes of the international community, a rogue nation. That’s the definition of a rogue nation – one who doesn’t abide by international opinion on international affairs and who is a danger. Just like the accusation the US currently makes of Iran.
>>I guess I would just state that if the ICC wants to >>put American political and military leaders on trial, >>and they think that would be of benefit to the world, >>then I guess they should mobilize their army and navy >>and come and get them.
This is the same problematic attitude. You don’t want to play nice with the other kids in the playground. The USA is developing the reputation of the global bully. I’m pretty sure that wasn’t the vision your founding fathers had.
>>Also, I do not at all dispute your definition of >>genocide – however, we cannot possibly be watching the >>same war taking place in Iraq, as nothing in that >>definition applies to what the US Army and Marines are >>doing there right now. We’re trying to destroy an >>ethnic group? Um, wouldnt that be the radical >>Jihadists?
The USA is in an Arab country, and, as a direct result, Arabs are dying in the hundreds of thousands, perhaps even as many as a million people, as a result. Was this carnage happening BEFORE you invaded? No. And, let me ask you – how many people is Saddam Hussein alleged to have killed during his decades in power? Is it anywhere NEAR the number that have died since 2003?
>>Preventing births purposely? Pretty good PR front then >>that we have put on with veterinary clinics, schools, >>and dentist offices opening up.
I wasn’t suggesting this criterion fits, but, then again, is 600,000 – 900,000 people have died since your invasion, what do you think has happened to the birth rate as a result?
>>Cameron, I don’t even know where to begin with this. >>To compare American efforts to democratize Iraq, even >>if it IS to create a stable satellite for the US in >>the region, to compare this to Nazi Germany’s “final >>solution†is just ridiculous.
Setting up a puppet government isn’t democracy, Mike. Whether I’m right or not, you need to understand that much of the world, rightly or wrongly, sees the USA’s invasion of Iraq as 100% about control of the oil reserves. We see that the whole WMD / ties to Al Qaeda thing was a bullshit campaign. George Tenet’s book seems to tell the same story. There was never any doubt in the minds of the Bush administration that they were going to invade Iraq. It had and has NOTHING to do with “bringing democracy” to the country. It is all about one thing and one thing only – control of oil. And hundreds of thousands of people, INNOCENT people, are dying as a result.
>>Pulling out now would create an even greater power >>vacuum in the region, that Iran would quite easily >>fill. Something arguably not in the best interests of >>the United States or the world.
This argument is about as flimsy as you can get. Continuing to commit a crime because you have been committing it for four years is just plain absurd. That’s the equivalent of Germany, in 1944, saying “Well we’re in France now, we should probably stay here until it’s rehabilitated otherwise there will be a power vacuum.”
The USA has been trying the “we broke it, we should fix it” justification for three years. How’s it going so far?
Just to conclude, I am a big fan of the USA. I really am. I get tears in my eyes whenever I visit Liberty Statue and I think back to what it meant. I love NYC, LA, SF, SEA, Nawlins, Lou Reed, Van Halen, de Niro, Pacino and Tony Soprano. And I believe that the USA still has a chance to pull itself out of this downward spiral. But at the moment it reminds me too much of Rome in the late 2nd century. I guess that makes Bush the reincarnation of Commodus. 🙂
Fair enough Cameron – you have some really good points there – I actually have some work to do :), so I’ll definitely respond later.
I did want to say we seem to have the same taste in music (HUGE Van Halen fan, even Van Halen III. I had the honor to perform with Gary Cherone on a couple of occasions a few years back in Boston – he came on stage with my band and belted out a couple of Extreme and VH tunes ). Eddie definitely has some new chompers or some kind of treatment going on with those pearly whites!
As far as actors go – you don’t beat the Godfather movies (I-II of course!) and Meet the Fockers! Big Russel Crowe fan as well. Don’t forget Borat either. See? International cooperation!
By the way, you mentioned cities you loved in the US. Have you ever been to Boston’s North End or Providence’s Federal Hill when visiting the Northeast? (GREAT Italian food). I’d love to see Australia some day. One of my best friends lives in Auckland, NZ and wants my wife and I to come for a visit. So one day I’d love to see that part of the world.
Thanks for allowing the conversation to continue…although I just can’t see President Bush fighting as a gladiator in the Colloseum against dwarfs and disabled people and pouring hot lead down the throats of the condemned!!
Oh man. The VHIII tour was the ONLY time they ever came to Australia. It was great to see Ed, Mike and Al live. Gary… not so much. Don’t get me wrong – great voice on that dude. And it would be awesome to jam with him, I’m sure. Just NOT the VH I grew up with. That said, I prefer him to Sammy. 🙂 Saw DLR on his 89 solo tour with Vai. Only time Dave’s been out there as well. The downside of living on the other side of the planet man!
Never been to Boston but have heard many great things about it. Would love a reason to go there someday. Maybe I’ll drop in on my friend Noam at MIT the next time I’m on the east coast. 🙂
If you ever get down here, I’d love to be your tour guide sir. And we can continue to conversation f2f. That’s what this is all about – more global conversation about where we want the human race to go.
Hey one more thing – I think you’ll find that after Katrina, the Venezuelan government sent lots of free oil, food and humanitarian aid to the victims for keeping their lamps burning. And I bet you’re a Chavez hater, right?
Oh and now Bush has vetoed the withdrawal bill in Congress. The will of the people put the Dems into power in the House and STILL Bush is doing what he wants.
Bring in the dwarves.
why can’t i write anything here
oh, now it works. Here goes.
it’s a war for resources.
*****************From:
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=nation_world&id=3620531
ExxonMobil, the worlds’ largest privately owned oil company, earned nearly $10 billion in the third quarter. Raymond was joined at the witness table by the chief executives of Chevron, ConocoPhillips, BPAmerica and Shell Oil USA.
Together the companies earned more than $25 billion in profits in the July-September quarter as the price of crude oil hit $70 a barrel and gasoline surged to record levels.
***********************
well, now, BP, ExxonMobil, Chevron and Shell are setting up the infant Iraqi Parliament with 30-year contracts to suck up all of Iraq’s crude.
$25 Billion in ONE quarter.
And why are our troops there? To protect.
$25 Billion in ONE quarter.
This is not an opinion, this is fact.
$25 Billion in ONE quarter.
BTW – Cam have you seen Noam in the film, “Waking Life”
Awesome film.
clockwork – you are totally on the money with the “follow the money” stuff. That’s a LOT of hooch. And no, I haven’t seen Waking Life yet, but I really should as I’m a big fan of Linklater’s work.
Question – I see you put infowars up as your URL? How areyou related to Alex? I’m a big fan of his work as well and would love have him on gdayworld as a guest.
Yeah, I saw Extreme reunite in Boston last June for a radio benefit concert and it was a GREAT show – actually a very tight band, and unlike many of the fans I saw there, they actually knew it was 2006, not 1986! Very underrated. Nuno Bettencourt was on fire!
I thought as a band the VH3 tour was the most on top of their game Van Halen had ever sounded, but like you said – without Dave or Sammy (who I tend to prefer and grew up with) it just wasnt the same Van Halen. I also saw Dave and Sammy together back in 02 and although there is nothing like classic VH, DLR was not looking good. He seems to have it together more today. And I actually liked his radio show that had replaced Howard Stern for a bit!
As far as the tour guide offer – hey if we ever make it down there, I’d love to take you up on that – that’s very gracious of you – thanks!
I just checked out the wikipedia article on Alex Jones and I must say I’m blown away…some very interesting stuff. Went to infowars, and did a google search as well, both on just Jones himself and then on other’s opinions, good and bad, on him. I gotta say, I don’t know what to make of all of it! Some really out there claims. I don’t have an opinion either way though. As you always say Cameron – gotta be skeptical of EVERYTHING right? Really really interesting though. Everytime I find something new, it leads me to more and more questions. It’s like two sides of my brain or fighting over whether to take him seriously or dismiss him as a conspiracy theorist crackpot. Very weird.
Either way, he’d be a great guest to have on. One thing he isn’t is boring!
Yeah Alex is out there, but what I admire is that he has built himself into a brand and he is tireless. Produces an amazing load of work with his team that challenges EVERYTHING. I used to listen to the podcast of his show but haven’t got to it in a while.
Nuno… man, I have a love/hate thing with that guy. I loved him as a guitarist and produce, but hated him cuz he married Suze DeMarchi, lead singer of one of Australia’s very few exciting bands in the 90s, the Baby Animals, and they then broke up. Damn you Nuno!! He is the Yoko of the Baby Animals. 🙂
I think the funniest clip I saw on You Tube was one of Alex and Joe Rogan just walking down the street on Sunset Strip in LA and then going into a Starbucks to buy a coffee. Especially after I had just watched a clip where he was going off about Illuminati symbols being everywhere, including Starbucks and Nickolodeon!
No real point to it, but the entertainment value was well worth it.
I had forgotten that Nuno married Suze DeMarchi…
wow – it’s quarter past three in the AM here on the east coast of the us f’n a.
i just got home from surgery at the hospital this afternoon and I am on oxycontin and cannot frigging SLEEP!
Isn’t this stuff supposed to make you TIRED???
anyway it seems to have managed to completely ERADICATE any pain, but has left me as wired as a Starbucks Junkie…illuminati symbols and all!!!
I did not mean to infer any relation to Alex nor his property, I just wanted to list a cool-ass website. I have nothing to do with it. Just a fan.
Alex, you gotta take him as he is. Whatever you think of him, he doesn’t lie, he’s an honest guy. No matter how crazy the content is, you can rest assured he believes it, and he is not trying to mislead you. The reason I like Alex is because he is not afraid to challenge, to ask questions, and to even throw the proverbial *dung* at the fan and see what happens. That’s commendable.
Here’s Alex’s cameo from “Waking Life”
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3991944840671892429&q=alex+jones&hl=en
Hey Mike, I think it’s strange that you believe in freedom of religion but not freedom from religion, yet you also believe in Constitutionalism.
Amendment I – Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion (that’s freedom FROM religion), or prohibiting the free exercise therof (that’s freedom OF religion).
The Constitution perscribes BOTH.