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I like to use a Monty Python "Life of Brian" analogy here..
"Whatever did the British do for us?"
"Whatever did the British do for us?"
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We also brought colonial rule, tribal warfare, and racism dontchaknow. Oh, and scattered indentured Indian workers across the world, thousands of miles from their homelands. Divided up the world according to how easy it was to rule, not what the people we ruled wanted. Forced our way into countries. Backstabbed, intimidated, and harrassed foreign leaders and, usually, brutally crushed any attempt at self-rule among colonial populations (until relatively recently when our heart just went out of it).Exult in your existence, because that very process has blundered unwittingly on its own negation. Only a small, local negation, to be sure: only one species, and only a minority of that species; but there lies hope. [...] Stand tall, Bipedal Ape. The shark may outswim you, the cheetah outrun you, the swift outfly you, the capuchin outclimb you, the elephant outpower you, the redwood outlast you. But you have the biggest gifts of all: the gift of understanding the ruthlessly cruel process that gave us all existence [and the] gift of revulsion against its implications.
-Richard DawkinsComment
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I watched his comments live, and this thread certainly takes his comments in a different tone than they were stated. He was asked about US capabilities should Britain, for some unknown diplomatic reason, not be able to participate. What is he supposed to say? The US has zero capabilities? or that the Brits are part of the Axis of Evil if Blair decides that they need to change course? Of course not. I am no Rummy fan, but he handled the questions today fairly well.Be the bid!Comment
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That's what I was thinking... why was this blown up as a "Rumsfeld insults the British" thing?
-Arriangrog want tank...Grog Want Tank... GROG WANT TANK!
The trick isn't to break some eggs to make an omelette, it's convincing the eggs to break themselves in order to aspire to omelettehood.Comment
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Well I won't argue with you on these points because you are correct. I just maintain that the benefits of British Colonial rule out weighed the negatives. Don't get me wrong...its time has definately passed.Originally posted by Starchild
We also brought colonial rule, tribal warfare, and racism dontchaknow. Oh, and scattered indentured Indian workers across the world, thousands of miles from their homelands. Divided up the world according to how easy it was to rule, not what the people we ruled wanted. Forced our way into countries. Backstabbed, intimidated, and harrassed foreign leaders and, usually, brutally crushed any attempt at self-rule among colonial populations (until relatively recently when our heart just went out of it)."I am sick and tired of people who say that if you debate and you disagree with this administration somehow you're not patriotic. We should stand up and say we are Americans and we have a right to debate and disagree with any administration." - Hillary Clinton, 2003Comment
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Why indeed? (check the source...it was the Guardian)Originally posted by Arrian
That's what I was thinking... why was this blown up as a "Rumsfeld insults the British" thing?
-Arrian"I am sick and tired of people who say that if you debate and you disagree with this administration somehow you're not patriotic. We should stand up and say we are Americans and we have a right to debate and disagree with any administration." - Hillary Clinton, 2003Comment
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If the journalists troll it, I guess it sells newspapers... You'd think that Poly posters would understand trolling!Originally posted by Arrian
That's what I was thinking... why was this blown up as a "Rumsfeld insults the British" thing?
Be the bid!Comment
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Yeah, I do, the question was rhetorical. The answer was obvious (thanks for stating it, though )
-Arriangrog want tank...Grog Want Tank... GROG WANT TANK!
The trick isn't to break some eggs to make an omelette, it's convincing the eggs to break themselves in order to aspire to omelettehood.Comment
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This thread just shows that even the intelligent posters on the board are starting to lose their minds. I'm getting really sick of this "rush" to war...KH FOR OWNER!
ASHER FOR CEO!!
GUYNEMER FOR OT MOD!!!Comment
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Geez, the Guardian is reading way, way too much into this. I just watched the press conference and it was so innocuous that you have to wonder whether some people are trying to stir up trouble.
I came upon a barroom full of bad Salon pictures in which men with hats on the backs of their heads were wolfing food from a counter. It was the institution of the "free lunch" I had struck. You paid for a drink and got as much as you wanted to eat. For something less than a rupee a day a man can feed himself sumptuously in San Francisco, even though he be a bankrupt. Remember this if ever you are stranded in these parts. ~ Rudyard Kipling, 1891Comment
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The Guardian doesn't even try to be objective. We've known that for a long time.Try http://wordforge.net/index.php for discussion and debate.Comment
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BTW does anyone have a link with the Rumsfield's original words without the third party interpritations?Try http://wordforge.net/index.php for discussion and debate.Comment
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I watched it too, and it looked like a major foot-in-the-mouth scenario.Originally posted by Sten Sture
I watched his comments live, and this thread certainly takes his comments in a different tone than they were stated. He was asked about US capabilities should Britain, for some unknown diplomatic reason, not be able to participate. What is he supposed to say? The US has zero capabilities? or that the Brits are part of the Axis of Evil if Blair decides that they need to change course? Of course not. I am no Rummy fan, but he handled the questions today fairly well.
He could have said something like, "There is no reason to believe that the British will be unable to participate at this moment."
Man, even a rookie like me could have done it better.(\__/) 07/07/1937 - Never forget
(='.'=) "Claims demand evidence; extraordinary claims demand extraordinary evidence." -- Carl Sagan
(")_(") "Starting the fire from within."Comment
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Rummy should limit what he says about things not pertaining to the military. He has already said so much that even if he might not "mean it", it will get printed as a slur of some type. Once you establish a tract record, don't expect it to go away too soon.
The question is how far will the Us and Uk push this vote this week? till friday? Perhpas they will have to change the March 17 deadline to March 24 (they rule out beyond March). Man this, war just keeps getting pushed back and back.If you don't like reality, change it! me
"Oh no! I am bested!" Drake
"it is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong" Voltaire
"Patriotism is a pernecious, psychopathic form of idiocy" George Bernard ShawComment
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This is a journalistic troll, pure and simple.
Sensationalist soundbites to get people to turn their heads and say, "oh I can't believe that."
Secondly the damn article quotes the GUARDIAN of all sources.
This is like when newspapers come out with articles with crap like, "US plans to invade Canada," and then we find out that the Pentagon has a contingency plan for invasion of any country on earth. **** there are probably plans to invade Florida or some ****.
Rumsfeld did fine.We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution. - Abraham LincolnComment
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