Indeed, I amn't dead after all. I disagree Jesse: they all jump the shark. Lieberman strikes me as evil, as a proponent of the restriction of freedom of speech (and crime against the Bill of Rights) known as 'censorship'. However, it doesn't particularly matter to me; so long as Bush continues to lay the smackdown in the polls against all ten democratic candidates, and with the donkeys as flagrantly divided as they stand, I can't see a liberal outcome for the Presidential Election.
Ah well. On the RIAA, I don't really have anything to say. I believe the best quote to address the situation is 'This is unprecedented... Suing one's best customers? The music industry seems to have irrevocably lost its grip on reality'.
What did everyone think of the Pledge? Does it abridge civil liberties? Is it a blatantly political move by a conservative government in the face of an upcoming presidential election? Your call, not mine.
Cheers,
Franson
Saddam Hussein WILL NOT GIVE UP POWER.
He has nothing to lose, EXCEPT HIS POWER.
Honestly, how can a U.N.-sponsored democratic election depose a man who has shown time and time again that he is more than willing to arrest, torture and kill suspected "enemies of the state" to protect his power? I say that he has to be removed from power by force. Whether or not this requires going to war is debatable, however, FORCE IS NECESSARY IN THIS SITUATION.
Some say that Saddam's transgressions against the Kurds are limited and/or insignificant compared to the harm we, the United States, are committing. Saddam has killed as many as 3.5 MILLION Kurds. That's more than half as many Jews as were killed in the Holocaust. Honestly, if you can just stand back and say that killing the equivalent of the entire population of the Twin Cities Metro area is alright, and you can live with yourselves, then by all means do so. I, however, believe that now (actually twelve years ago) was the time for action. Saddam and his fascist regime must be deposed, as he poses a direct threat to not only the people of Iraq and Kurdistan, but, depending on what he's hiding, the entire world.
First Poem in Ages
frigid existence
Eternal Sleep
mahogany box
love's price was steep
A life has ceased
wailing laments
show the Dying wails
herein entrenched
what once was laid here
has come to naught
through nothings of life
he does here rot
the knife to the neck
testimony
to long-forgotten
care for a dream
Death is herein come
on swift-winged steed
for when all is naught
life's naught, indeed
finest silken suit
the carrion wears
respect for the Dead son
the highest of cares
entreat these remains
to cold earth below
that spiritless life
be ended alone
so come now, Reaper
i entreat thee
with one fell swing
of thy blade decree
that another soul
hence forth walks with thee
glitter of metal
struggle to breathe
goodnight to life
sun rises on night
i bid thee fairwell
i bid thee fairwell . . .
~Anon
Nude protests are a double-edged sword. But wait just a second, Ben... Military strategy concerning a perceived enemy of the U.S. is "moronic and hateful"? Hmm... Must've missed the memo.
The U.N. isn't the best possible solution to world politics by any stretch of the imagination, yet its not the worst thing in the world either. I think that it could strengthen its stance on Iraq, as Iraq poses a significant threat to basically any world power, especially any European world power, as quite simply, it's easier to get a nuclear missile to Rome than it is to get one to New York. Andrew and Paul, you both have untenable positions. Andrew, you say that the U.N. is entirely in the right; is and should continue to be the end-all be-all of world politics and foreign policy. Paul, you say that the U.N. does nothing and might as well not exist for its lack of testicles visible to the naked eye. This is also wrong, as Gross cites. There's my bit, respond as you will, just don't lose perspective.
Anyone wanna talk about censorship? 'Cuz I wholly agree that 9/11 has been beaten beyond death.. Which 27 posts will do most of the time, by the way.
I hardly think Andrew is justifying the September 11th attacks. I quote: "Yes obviosly what Bin Laden did was horrific and unprecendented, and he had no right to do it". 2. Do you, Ben, honestly think that no innocent civilians have been killed in the war on terrorism? The killing of unarmed men, women and children simply because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time seems fairly random to me.
However, I've said it once, and I'll say it again: a war for the sake of retribution (or retribution behind the thin mask that "matters of national security" provides, as it may be) is not necessary at all. Innocent civilians need not forfeit their lives because of hatred they did not begin and do not intend to propagate. What is necessary is to round up members of Al-Qaeda and, with the help of an impartial jury, decide what (morally founded) action most benefits the world as a whole. I do not endorse killing anyone. Killing is immoral, as regardless of the scale or ends of murder, it is still murder. However, I believe in destroying Al-Qaeda. And there you have it.
Yes, I relearned how to type. Now then, morality. It's true that what Osama bin Laden planned and executed on September 11th was, by most moral standards, very wrong indeed. However, is it not also true that if we kill a similar number of people in the name of retribution, we become no better than the people who murdered over two thousand innocent civilians in one day? Honestly, do you think that we can end the pain inflicted upon the United States by bloodying our own hands? Do we end hatred by crippling a nation with a sample of our own? Look at Germany, post World War One. The Treaty of Versailles crippled the German economy, and as 2.5 million German soldiers lay dead on the battlefields, hatred for the old enemies of Germany rose. As a direct result of the harsh treatment of Germany post-World War One, World War Two claimed the lives of 61 million soldiers and civilians. The initial act of terrorism to set World War One in motion, the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and his wife, claimed the lives of two. Just another angle.
Alright, Fine
I'll post something soon. I've just been busy, as is evidenced by my utter lack of posts anywhere for the last two weeks, other than this one. That's all for now.
Ya know who burns more American flags than any other group on the face of the planet? The United States government. After all, burning is the accepted way to dispose of an old flag... Well done, Jesse and Andrew.
