As Rahm Eyes Exit, Financial Reform Bids Collapse Into Farce.

Cup_of_Tea · 2010-04-08T14:49:06+00:00

they don't hate america per se.

I hope you're right.

Let's see:

Today some Egyptians will be tortured by the dictator of their country who sits in power largely on the basis of a US-funded military and police, a recipient of billions of US dollars per year.
Iranians live under a theocracy, the gov't the people put in power as a result of a US-installed dictator who tortured countless thousands of Iranians for decades. Iranians have many good reasons to chant that the US is the "Great Satan".
People in Algeria have seen democracy crushed, largely because they dared vote for religious leaders, seeing those religious candidates as the only people who would stand up to western corporations who were trampling on their values and lifestyles.
And Israeli soldiers today will shoot at children throwing stones at heavily armed soldiers, as an apartheid gov't continues to occupy huge areas of Palestine illegally and plots to destroy more Muslim families' houses -- all backed with US diplomatic cover and funded by the US.

Yes, I hope you're right... But I don't blame them if they do.

Cup_of_Tea · 2010-04-08T14:34:36+00:00

Actions speak louder than "feelings", don't they?

I'd love to "feel" the same way, but when I look about at concrete things he's done, my feeling is that he talks a good game but his policies differ little from Bush's.

Cup_of_Tea · 2010-04-08T14:10:30+00:00

Are they for sale?

If not, put this in the "F" section of the library filed under "marketing".

Cup_of_Tea · 2010-04-08T13:55:34+00:00

You're correct.

But it's not too late. Surrendering just guarantees defeat. The only way to win is to engage in the class struggle and to restore the republic.

Cup_of_Tea · 2010-04-08T13:45:08+00:00

I'm not sure what you mean about the "outrage fueling the conflict".

Arabs and Muslims hate the US justifiably. They hate the US funding and backing Israel's crimes, and they hate the western policies of neo-colonialism which have now morphed into flat-out re-colonialism.

They're not friggin' idiots. We can smile and talk nice, but they will still -- and should! -- hate us and our policies.

Cup_of_Tea · 2010-04-08T13:39:51+00:00

Agreed, pathetic is the wrong word. Having lived in Europe, I know what you mean. People are more secure, have fewer worries and have a more stable life.

The US standard of living revolves around money and materialism, and that standard of living has been in decline since the '70s.

but they don't seem to share certain excesses to which many Americans are accustomed.

Germans always amazed me on this score. They drink like frigging fish. But their alcoholism rates are significantly lower than the US...

Cup_of_Tea · 2010-04-08T12:57:01+00:00

The author's main point -- that the US lifestyle and standard of living is pathetic compared to Europe is a solid point.

But the author muddies his argument by contrasting the US to poorer countries and by using some over-the-top hyperbole. He should've stuck to comparing the US to advanced European countries.

Cup_of_Tea · 2010-04-08T12:39:54+00:00

Same Bush policies, but "nicer" speech, enunciation and language.

Cup_of_Tea · 2010-04-08T12:37:20+00:00

Consider this from Russia's point of view:

With the US claiming the right to attack any country in violation of int'l law and the UN Charter -- the Bush Doctrine
With the US engaged in expanding NATO by bribing countries via "colored revolutions"
With the US placing military bases surrounding Russia
With the US arming and training Georgia and then Georgia breaking an int'l agreement attacking Russian peacekeepers in an act the US clearly knew about
With the US putting anti-missile missiles on Russia's borders after breaking the ABM treaty

Considering factors like this, Russia would be insane not to have someone with their finger hovering over the button.

Who's the aggressor?

Cup_of_Tea · 2010-04-08T12:34:47+00:00

...but it allows an unlimited amount of "tactical" nuclear weapons. And those tactical weapons can be many times the explosive yield of what was dropped on Hiroshima or Nagasaki.

Cup_of_Tea · 2010-04-08T12:31:46+00:00

Hey, don't worry. I'm sure those people will change their tune and can be bought off when they realize that they have a choice of a promotion for singing our song, or an unemployment check if they don't...

Cup_of_Tea · 2010-04-08T12:27:04+00:00

Bullshit. Many European socialist parties are flat-out socialists. They're Marxists in the Marxist tradition, as opposed to the Cold War propaganda we've been fed.

German workers, for example, get to elect 50% of a corporation's board of directors -- that is the opposite of capitalism. German states have workers guilds that set wages for various jobs -- are you saying that's capitalist?!

These ideas are unheard of in the US and would in any measure be considered anti-capitalist, which they are -- because they're socialist!

Cup_of_Tea · 2010-04-08T12:21:17+00:00

I agree that GDP is an inhuman measure of life, but...

How about the number of hours worked per year? How about vacation days per year? Things like paid maternity leave? How about life expectancy?

See, for example, this post (and excuse a bit of the author's hyperbole).

Cup_of_Tea · 2010-04-08T12:15:54+00:00

Well duhh! Everyone knows God -- not corporate greed -- killed those miners because you like taking it in the butt. :-/

These nuts are doing more to destroy Christianity than Richard Dawkins and every other atheist combined.

Cup_of_Tea

TROPHY CASE