October 26, 2004
GIVE WAR A CHANCE
This paragraph was the first thing to catch my eye:
Many writers, to be sure, have offered apologies for war. Under the title "Give war a chance", Edward Luttwak wrote in the Summer 1999 edition of Foreign Affairs, "Since the establishment of the United Nations, great powers have rarely let small wars burn themselves out. Bosnia and Kosovo are the latest examples of this meddling. Conflicts are interrupted by a steady stream of ceasefires and armistices that only postpone war-induced exhaustion and let belligerents rearm and regroup. Even worse are UN refugee-relief operations and NGOs [non-governmental organizations], which keep resentful populations festering in camps and sometimes supply both sides in armed conflicts. This well-intentioned interference only intensifies and prolongs struggles in the long run. The unpleasant truth is that war does have one useful function: it brings peace. Let it."
I won't even pretend to be a good history student -- it's always been my weakest subject -- but the article by Spengler that springboards from this quote is very interesting. (via The Corner)
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As a former history major, i agree with the premise totally. Total victory is the only thing that leads to lasting peace, which is the lesson of the two world wars.
Posted by: annika at October 26, 2004 07:10 PM (zAOEU)
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Good point; however how does one wage an all out "war" on a "tactic" that is thousands of years old?? Yes the tactic of terror is thousands of years old, has never truly been defeated, and in all reality can only be "contained" at best.
I remind all of you the the Ceaser's practiced terror, not to mention Ghengis Kahn, Attila, Timor and countless others. So I ask again how does one "defeat" a tactic.??
Posted by: BUbba Bo Bob Brain at October 26, 2004 10:34 PM (n7PkD)
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So I ask again how does one "defeat" a tactic.??
You go after the countries that support or offer sanctuary to terrorists and make their lives very uncomfortable.
Posted by: Jack at October 29, 2004 03:04 PM (rAR0n)
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"You go after the countries that support or offer sanctuary to terrorists and make their lives very uncomfortable."
Only problem with that is we do not have the resources to go against every terror sponsoring nation all at once. You try to do it one nation at a time, and as soon as we leave a nation, a new batch of terrorists will arise. As I stated before the best we can hope for is "containment", at least until we are honest enough to address the "draining of the swamp of world poverty and injustice, that breeds the mosquitos that are terrorists"
Posted by: Bubba Bo Bob Brain at October 30, 2004 12:42 AM (n7PkD)
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October 22, 2004
SCARY
Woah.
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I love that site. I stumbled on it back in June and feel like these guys are my kids.
I'm so sorry he had to go through that but so grateful he had that training. He did fantastic, but how do you say that? How do you tell him that losing a part of himself is good?
I usually don't struggle with words of encouragement. But this time I'm speechless. If we were sitting in the same place and he told that story I'd give him a hug and buy him a shot. And then feel like I failed him.
What on God's Green Earth do you say to someeone that went through that?
Posted by: Tammi at October 23, 2004 09:50 AM (UOdfZ)
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TIP
Dear Bunker,
You should check out
this article that Hud links to. I mean, everyone else should too, but for some reason I kept wondering what Bunker would make of it. Interesting stuff.
Your pal,
Sarah
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I did see that. James is on my daily list. In fact, VDare used to be, but I got too wrapped up in links every time I read one of the articles there!
I remember well the Pilot portion of that test. If you've never flown, it will get you all twisted up. They give you diagrams of attitude indicators in various postions and you must decide what the aircraft's position is. Simple for me because I'd flown. Not so simple for many who hadn't.
I especially like the last conclusion about never being out-dumbed again!
Posted by: Mike at October 22, 2004 04:17 PM (ckYKs)
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I won't tell you what my IQ is, but I'll tell you I did better on the tests than either of them!
Posted by: Mike at October 22, 2004 04:20 PM (ckYKs)
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WEARY
"I canÂ’t wait to get this election behind me, so I can go on with my life."
Let's knock this crap off that "this is the most important election in our lifetimes"; they are all important. Just vote. Do a reasonably good job of knowing the issues, accept people who take a different view than you and then go take up rock polishing or go knit sweaters for the other 23 months in between the election season. Let's all go find a hobbies to keep us busy for Gods' sake.
Do blankets count? I've knitted a couple of those lately.
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YAY
My husband is the
happiest man in Iraq right now.
MORE TO GROK:
My mother-in-law emailed a Cardinals representative last week and the woman called her back. They talked a bit, and then the woman passed on the fact that there are two brothers in Iraq who are definitely rooting for the Cards. Legend has it that Pujols said that he would hit a homer for the boys...and his first at bat was a homer. Not too shabby.
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October 21, 2004
LINKS
My email is really backed up, so I'm wading through all of the links.
American Student Hides Support for Bush
I feel so sorry for that girl.
Get Out the military vote — now
I keep calling MO and my husband's absentee ballot still hasn't arrived. The woman who works in the office has been great, and we've been discussing different options to make sure that he can vote. But I'm getting nervous!
Pessimistic Kerry supporters predict Bush will be the victor
I hope these people are right!
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Went to the Orthopaedic Surgeon's office Wednesday, finished Franks's "American Soldier" while waiting. A couple with their college-age daughter were there (the daughter looks to already (!!) have a lower herniated disc), and I ran into them in the parking lot later, and saw the young lady's car with pro-Bush stickers, &c we got into a conversation, and she related how lonely it was attending a "liberal arts" college in this mid-Missouri city--the glares, stares, and overt hostility she experiences.
I see a few Kedwards bumper stickers on vehicles and hardhats at work, but I see an equal number of "Union Member for Bush" style stickers also.
Am proud of you, Sarah--keep on Russell's absentee ballot! (although it looks like W has Missouri).
Jim
Posted by: Jim Shawley at October 21, 2004 11:53 PM (PjHUb)
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October 19, 2004
SPIRIT
Baldilocks gives more examples of those who are Americans in spirit and those whose spirits are unaffiliated.
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October 14, 2004
FEAR
Whittle and
Green both have important thoughts to share today about fears for our future.
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October 12, 2004
NEW DEMOCRACY
I'm having computer problems, so I might be offline for a day or two. However, if you want to see what freedom looks like, if you want to see the most exciting photo I've seen in a long time, visit
Smash.
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You are a racist; that is why you can't separate Iraq from Al-Qaeda, can't critically examine the geopolitical fabric of the Middle East and see dozens of sovereign nations each with their own strategic interests rather than a single block of brown Islamic "thems" that you feel you need to fight.
Anyone who votes Bush for "security" is, in fact, a racist and a bigot who has simply transposed the old hatreds of African Americans and Jews onto a new, more socially acceptable stereotype-gestalt: Arabs. No, Bush is not fighting against the "forces" that attacked the United States (forces which were, in fact, little more than a rag-tag band of rebels that the machinery of Bush's government, in its arrogance, failed to sufficiently respect and swat away), he is fighting against any Semitic peoples he can find anywhere; of those with which we are currently engaged, virtually none had anything at all to do with Al-Qaeda and the WTC attacks. We're killing innocent men, women, and children, yet the conservative Christian (and fundamentally Aryan-supremacist) half of the American population sees every one of these innocent human beings merely as a threatening other, a part of some imagined (and notably brown-skinned) "freaking mess" of Islam that has been, in fact, conceptually constructed by Bush and his administration as a marketing tool for enriching the military-industrial complex.
You are sheep, and you have bought it.
Throughout history, the same simpletons and idiots cause all of the problems because they are doomed to repeat the same mistakes over and over again in fear of the ethnic and cultural other. The rest of us get dragged along with you to your silly wars and the imperialism and apartheid that result, and that history virtually without exception later decries.
Grow up and join humanity.
Posted by: Expat at October 12, 2004 01:22 PM (XBgAo)
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Expat, control your emotions, take a deep breath and then listen. I was once a liberal/socialist and I changed my ways when I controlled my emotions, took a deep breath and paid close attention to what my fellow liberals were saying. And so I end with a telling quote:
"In a word, I want an American character, that the powers of Europe may be convinced we act for ourselves and not for others; this, in my judgment, is the only way to be respected abroad and happy at home." --George Washington
Posted by: Moor at October 12, 2004 03:52 PM (g8OfD)
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Expat, you tired old nutcase. Could you froth somewhere else please, your spittle might contain all sorts of nasty germs. And how does showing a picture of Afghani women voting for the first time make Sarah a semitic racist? The opposite would seem to be true. Stop with the pitiful squeaking out of your puckered a-hole.
Posted by: Oda Mae at October 12, 2004 04:05 PM (R5mVL)
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Ditto, Oda Mae! Geez, Expat must be taking out all of his anger and frustrations on trying to grok. You're barking up the wrong tree if you think Sarah is racist. She has good friends of all different races, religions, and political views. Go find someone else to harrass!
Posted by: Nancy at October 12, 2004 08:31 PM (YuW6k)
Posted by: Sarah at October 13, 2004 03:23 AM (DNGgl)
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October 08, 2004
October 07, 2004
October 04, 2004
LINKS
Tanker sent some good links again:
3 Nations Reportedly Slowed Probe of Oil Sales (guess who!)
Iranian Citizens Trash Fahrenheit 9/11
And I'm sure by now that everyone has seen that ridiculous photo of Kerry reaching through his legs. I still can't figure out what the heck he's doing!
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"I still can't figure out what the heck he's doing!"
Neither can I. Too bad it's not a GREEN football.
One could use such photos as counterevidence against lamestream media pro-Kerry bias (unless they're taken by Vast Right Wing Conspiracy infiltrators). They're not very flattering. This particular picture is just mystifying.
Posted by: Amritas at October 04, 2004 11:51 AM (uOTUR)
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I really have to laugh at you for this. And you call yourself an American?
During WWII it was a commonplace routine when questioning suspected battlefield infiltrators to talk about baseball to determine their level of shared American experiences. If they didn't know who won the World Series they were likely to get shot.
Now we have you and your half-wit friends who cannot recognize a center snap. Any real American who played football growing up, even just watched their father and brothers play in the back yard, or on the streets, knows what a center snap looks like.
Do we have an enemy amidst our troops? Perhaps you should recieve a visit from FBI.
Posted by: dc at October 04, 2004 03:38 PM (s6c4t)
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If that's a center snap, it's the most awkward, ugly, un-athletic snap I've ever seen.
(And perhaps you should receive a visit from Miss Manners. Lord, you're nasty.)
Posted by: Sarah at October 04, 2004 04:03 PM (RtxzU)
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October 03, 2004
PHASE II
John Kerry's problem seems to always be the devil in the details. Deskmerc is constantly trying to
figure out what goes on in Phase II, this time with
Kerry's plan to give nuclear fuel to Iran.
Gnome 2: Phase I we collect underpants.
Gnome 1: Ya, ya, ya. But what about Phase II?
[Silence]
Gnome 2: Well Phase III is profit. Get it?
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October 01, 2004
SCREED
I really want to know what happened during the debates last night!
Lileks gave me a good taste to start out with...
HereÂ’s the thing. IÂ’d really like to live in John KerryÂ’s world. It seems like such a rational, sensible place, where handshakes and signatures have the power to change the face of the planet. If only the terrorists lived there as well.
Hey, Blue 6. If you have time, I think you might like this one.
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The debate last night was pretty much a draw. Which I see as a win for the President, he was leading going in and Kerry really didn't say anything that isn't already known. Even by the undecideds. If there is really anybody still undecided at this point I just don't know what to make of them. What are they waiting for?
Kerry really made an effort to look good for last night, his hair was darker, his complexion less orange, and his nails were manicured. I think he really believes that appearance is important. The last time there was a debate on foriegn affairs was the Kennedy/Nixon debate and the consensus is
that Nixon lost because he looked so bad. So Kerry made sure he looked good for the cameras. I do get an image of him as pres. getting his nails done while the country is falling apart or maybe I'm just a right wing wacko looking for anything to help my guy:->
Vodkapundit drunk blogged it and several others live blogged it and all of the usual suspects have an abundance of debate detail on their blogs. So you should be able to get up to speed pretty quickly. Someone is even linking a transcript of the debate, it might be LGF, but it will probably make your head explode if you try to read it.
BTW, do the right thing with the extra ballot. I'd rather lose than win crooked. Character is what you do when nobody is looking:-)
God bless you and yours.
Posted by: Pamela at October 01, 2004 02:38 PM (50GlF)
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