theloniusfleabag

Dear takeanumber, Hate to be a naysayer, but the USA never had this. Throughout their history, perfidy was merely a tool, as is overwhelming force now.

Dear KK, While I sometimes do show insensitivity, it is a detached pragmatism rather than . In my opinion, anyone who would consider him a hero is a fool. I mourn his loss, to a certain degree, out of empathy with the sufferers of Alzheimers(as my father is in his last bit of time with stroke-induced dementia), but certainly not for his career. However, that being said, I have a strange relationship with 'The Reaper'. He makes me giggle. Life is but a fleeting glimpse of reality, however skewed by one's own place in it, and the short time we are 'given' is not meted out on merit.

In the Headlines this week, Bedtime For Bonzo Ronald Reagan Forgets To Breathe. His greatest acting role? Pretending to be the President of the USA. George Bush Sr. and his cronies did an excellent job.

Dear CanadianPatriot, The difference between 'right and wrong' is interesting indeed. The problem is that most people limit it within the bounds of humanity, while the true answer lies beyond man. It may seem like I am saying I know the answer, and indeed I do. One must look at the absolutes, and the meaning of life. 'Right' serves that meaning, and 'wrong' is that which works against it.

Dear Black Aquinas, As willy states, That is the problem with Islam and Israel, for they have taken scripture written millenia ago and make it law today.For the belief system of 'do unto others...' the NDP should be the logical choice, but I do not think that they represent themselves very well. Giving money away is not the answer. perhaps you should examine which party represents your value system, then join that party to urge them to follow what they say.

Dear Hugo, The communist system is key to western trade, for 'westernization' in China would ruin China. All of Nike's slave labour comes from there. Can you imagine the outrage Tiger Woods would have if those factories in China got 'Union' wages and benefits? I believe that the protesters wanted something trivial, called 'democracy'. Pres. Bush lifted many of those sanctions and China attained #1 favoured trading status. I also must admit a mistake in my fact recollection, The number of Chinese students who had their Visa extensions cancelled in the US after Tienamen was not 400, but 40,000.

Dear Liberal Krusty, Only a silly person could be an atheist, for it requires the same blind belief or empirical knowledge as the 'theists'.There are only a few 'Jihad Joes' out there who believe that Islam is under direct attack from the 'West'. I think that of all the calls for Jihad issued from those few have remained unanswered because the vast majority of the Islamic world also feel that the 'terrorists' spout nonsense.

Dear Hugo, Rather funny that. The Chinese Gov't does not want democracy, nor does the US gov't want the Chinese to have it. That is why the Chinese Gov't was rewarded by the US for Tiananmen Square. (Sanctions were imposed for the sake of appearances, then lifted. Further, some 400 Chinese students had their visa extensions cancelled in the US.)Dear Liberal Krusty, Your tongue-in-cheekiness does little for debate. By way of your cynicism, opposing oppression is aggression. The 'immovable object' becomes the villain. My guess would be that you don't actually like Liberals.

Dear Black Dog, Evidently not. The US Base in Cuba, it is argued by the US, is not covered by the laws and constitution of the USA. Further, it is on a US military outpost, so international laws do not apply (according to the US). The US (and Israel) recently announced that they are 'above the law' regarding 'war crimes', and their troops cannot be tried, nor held accountable, by anyone. So, human rights violations? Sure. Who has the power to arrest or penalize them? No one.

Dear August1991, Text means little compared to the philosophy, and the text is mostly comprised of what not to eat and tales of Mr.&Mrs. Whombegot.

Dear Argus, and all, The root of Islam is the Koran, and in it lies every rule and guideline for muslim life. Some children are brought up with the Koran being the only book they have ever read (and memorized). The notion of a 'reformation' would be anathema, for it would then doubt the word of God, the most unthinkable crime in Islam. To even suggest that the Koran may be 'erroneous' is to invite the death penalty in many countries. All religions must be 'put on trial' if the world is to ever become a better place.

Dear Argus, Yes indeed, I suspect we saw the same documentary. (Gwynn Dwyer). As for the US not using henious methods, it is almost correct that the US Army does not widely use such methods. Most often they are used by employees of the US, which is technically different. "Independent contractors" (what the heck is that, if one is at war??), dictators on the US payroll, and 'insurgent groups(doing the US' bidding) are often the main culprits. Mind you, they are funded and trained by the US, with US objectives, but rarely ever are they US citizens.

Dear all, The beheading of a person (on video, no less) is nothing less than murder. It cannot be associated with, nor justify, any cause or religion. Many, many muslims agree. With the murders in the prison by US soldiers, the atrocities do not differ. Listed in the news were some of the methods that were used to murder Iraqi prisoners, including strangulation. It takes way longer to strangle than to behead (or is that de-head?). I doubt too many people could even sit through the approx 5-10 min it takes to strangle or asphyxiate someone. Many, many westerners agree. Dear KK, It is the US military mindset, starting with the brainwashing in bootcamp, that all humans apart from those trained in the US military are inferior. Even their own civilians. All women are referred to as "Suzie Rottencrotch", for example.

Dear all, I suspect that while most of the world is not confident that the US is making the world a better place, they, too, are having doubts. Recently, the Bush admin. banned (or is trying to) the showing of coffins coming back from Iraq in the media. I believe that this is a very defeatist notion, and one that will backfire. When the cause is just, coffins represent true heroes, as painful as it is to see them. Many countries, (including the UK) have a populace which believes that the US is the most 'grave threat' to the world today. Freedom, equality, democracy, etc, are not just to be used for PR campaigns, but must be applied equally to thought and action. The US has a sordid history of applying these notions only when they see a profit in doing so, and helping squash these notions when there is a profit in doing so. The US simply does not have truth on their side.

Dear August1991, Speaking of land ownership, without the presence of humans, it belongs to no one (except God, if one believes such). It is just there for all to share. After that, animal instincts of territory rule the day. As it is now.

Dear all, The main problem is that both sides are acting directly on their perceived instructions (and promises) from God. Humanity has politicized it, as udawg points out Judaism and Islam are incidental to this, as one could insert any warring factions of mankind into this. Hutus and Tutsis, Pakistanis and Indians, etc.God must be placed in one's heart, not in one's muzzle.

Dear August1991, Where on Earth does this happen? Fantasyland? Americans are very bold-faced about the belief that all things should be in their favour, from trying to be the richest and most militarily powerful to the 'criminal infallibility' of it's people abroad.

Dear d4dev and NDP Newbie, After an 'off the record' discussion with a Chinese economic delagation I was privy to, I learned a few things about the Chinese. They are so used to the 'Chinese Way', they (the delegation) could not believe that Quebec could even entertain the thought of separatism. A notion like that would have been squashed, in no uncertain terms, by the military. Democracy is to be avoided at all costs by the Chinese Gov't. Their #1 trading partner status with the US would be at stake.

Dear all, The standard definition of terrorism is: (Party A has a problem with Party . Party A attacks Party C in the hopes that Party C will influence Party B to cease conflict with, submit to, or surrender to Party A. I should think that Hamas fits this description. Terror takes many forms, but the standard seems to be fear, specifically the fear of random death. Britain in WWII, under Arthur 'Bomber' Harris, thought that 'terror bombing', or the mass random killing of civilians, would cause the German people to cease abetting the Nazi war machine. He was wrong. Just as Osama, Yassin, Rantisi, Uzi Landau and Sharon are/were wrong.

Dear d4dev, The US allies itself with nations that will generate profits for the US. It will not change it's global policy in this aspect until the American individual is encouraged to worship something else besides his/her self, money and power.

Dear d4dev, I think August1991's point is that the 'innocent victim' definition is muddy. August1991 seems to be trying to discern between 'innocent victim' and those who willfully place themselves 'in harm's way'. Further, it is their motivation, be it noble or foolish (or selfish), that is the cause of this debate.

Dear August1991, You need to be clearer on what you are asking. Person X should have traveller's insurance. If they did, of their own volition, do something dangerous and perhaps, foolish, then Darwin rules. Person Y: I believe that education should be funded by all, for the benefit of all. Including the school bus or reasonable alternative. Not sure what you are asking here. Person Z. Gone to a war-torn country? The person chose to do so. The gov't should only aid if: a) the person was sent on behalf of the country b)the actions of the gov't imperilled the person c) the person went to genuinely (and only) save lives. Reporters or photographers do not have the plight of others as their raison d'etre. That is only the selling feature. They are there in difficult situations because the profits are greater. If the gov't is to bail them out then the gov't should have paid them not to go.

Dear KK, Well said. I am a big fan of democracy, and wish that we could see more of it, especially in Canada. I always vote, when I can. More voting on 'bills' like the US, for example, would be a good thing. If I may note, democracy seems to be the purest example of 'communism' (or socialism) extant. It serves all the people equally, all people are equal (and free, in the voting booth), and it is never meant to turn an economic profit. The profit democracy brings is social, it is shared equally, (even if it is a loss we share, like our Liberals!) with benefits far greater than anything money can buy.

Dear KK, If I may quote BlackDog, Marx claimed 'Religion is the opiate of the masses'. Now that the majority of N. Americans (and others) have ceased obeying the church, it is not too far a step to say "Popular Culture and Entertainment are the 'opiates' of the masses". Hence Chomsky's statement. Leftish, to be sure, but correct. I agree with you, KK, that Noam is one sided, but is that not inevitable when one is correct? Sure he focuses on America's faults, but it is a little to late to blame radical Khans or Hitler. America and it's wants are the largest factor in the world today. It's foriegn policy and actions are making the world a worse place. Chomsky merely points out how.

Dear August1991, Organizations like this do exist. They dictate individual response when the organization's interests (always) are at stake. In any company there is protocol to be followed, understandably, but individual response when queried must not deviate from the official company line, lest the individual be terminated.