Politics As Usual

[Sidd Finch]

Originally posted by bilmore
The idea of you, here, defending Mugabe, doesn't surprise me a bit.

Not a bit.

Oh, hurray, the Chief Intellectual Officer of the Wahhabi Repubs is here to speak TRUTH.

Please find where I "defend Mugabe." No such thing in my post -- instead, I made repeated statements about how destructive he has been.

What I said to Ty is, what would you do? When 4000 white farmers end up with 90% of the arable land in the country (I suppose you think that's just a coincidence), and the majority of the population is starving as it was in the 90s -- long before any land reform occurred (i.e., while Zimbabwe was still barred by treaty from land reform), how do you redress that? Obviously Mugabe has been a disaster, but merely saying that and yelling "Takings Clause!" does not provide a solution.

I know how you would redress the problem -- deny that any problem exists, then say that they should cut taxes, eliminate regulation of businesses, and invade Iraq. What I was asking for was the opinions of people who actually don't taste their own poo when they inhale.

Oh, and fuck you.

[Sidd Finch]

Originally posted by SlaveNoMore
FWIW, I didn't get the impression he was actually defending Mugabe.

Thanks, Slave. Proof that reading comprehension is still in vogue is always welcome.

[Not Me]

Originally posted by Sidd Finch
invade Iraq.

establish democracy in Iraq, but whatever.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by Sidd Finch
Oh, hurray, the Chief Intellectual Officer of the Wahhabi Repubs is here to speak TRUTH.

Please find where I "defend Mugabe." No such thing in my post -- instead, I made repeated statements about how destructive he has been.

What I said to Ty is, what would you do? When 4000 white farmers end up with 90% of the arable land in the country (I suppose you think that's just a coincidence), and the majority of the population is starving as it was in the 90s -- long before any land reform occurred (i.e., while Zimbabwe was still barred by treaty from land reform), how do you redress that? Obviously Mugabe has been a disaster, but merely saying that and yelling "Takings Clause!" does not provide a solution.

I know how you would redress the problem -- deny that any problem exists, then say that they should cut taxes, eliminate regulation of businesses, and invade Iraq. What I was asking for was the opinions of people who actually don't taste their own poo when they inhale.

Oh, and fuck you.

I think a good start would be to give Manhatten back to the Carnarsee Delaware. $18 of beads was not right. We can move West from there.

Originally posted by Hank Chinaski
I think a good start would be to give Manhatten back to the Carnarsee Delaware. $18 of beads was not right. We can move West from there.

I love this one. If there were enough American Indians still around to form Veterans' Armies, you could be damn sure they'd be getting most of Westchester at least. But we made short work of them, didn't we? The problem for the white landowners in Zimbabwe is that they didn't pursue an effective enough policy of genocide, like the white settlers did here.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by ironweed
I love this one. If there were enough American Indians still around to form Veterans' Armies, you could be damn sure they'd be getting most of Westchester at least. But we made short work of them, didn't we? The problem for the white landowners in Zimbabwe is that they didn't pursue an effective enough policy of genocide, like the white settlers did here.

Honey, Crazy don't play anymore once you start quoting little kid's books. I'm multi-forumed.

[The Larry Davis Experience]

According to this article from the LAT the admin will be revising the War on Terror scoreboard.

When the most recent "Patterns of Global Terrorism" report was issued April 29, senior Bush administration officials immediately hailed it as objective proof that they were winning the war on terrorism. The report is considered the authoritative yardstick of the prevalence of terrorist activity around the world.

"Indeed, you will find in these pages clear evidence that we are prevailing in the fight" against global terrorism, Deputy Secretary of State Richard L. Armitage said during a celebratory rollout of the report.

But on Tuesday, State Department officials said they underreported the number of terrorist attacks in the tally for 2003, and added that they expected to release an updated version soon.

Having spent a few late nights proofing docs at the printers in a past gig I really like this passage:

For example, the State Department report listed 190 terrorist attacks in 2003, including 169 "significant" ones. But Waxman said a review showed the report stopped counting terrorist incidents on Nov. 11, leaving out several major attacks, including bombings of two synagogues, a bank and the British Consulate in Turkey that killed 62 and injured more than 700.

Waxman said a State Department official blamed the Nov. 11 cutoff on a printing deadline.

It's not like the "printing deadline" cut off a couple of days around New Year's. It cut off seven weeks (yes I had to consult a calendar). Didn't somebody have to realize that the info they were giving was not for the whole year?

All in all I guess I should not be surprised at this point in the W admin to hear that a govt report was called "unduly influenced by political and economic factors." At least it's not an NIE.

Originally posted by Hank Chinaski
Honey, Crazy don't play anymore once you start quoting little kid's books. I'm multi-forumed.

Please. A thousand pages of Dr. Seuss qualifies me to opine on anything that passes for discourse on this board.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by ironweed
Please. A thousand pages of Dr. Seuss qualifies me to opine on anything that passes for discourse on this board.

Please you. Dr. Seuss hasn't written 1000 pages. He wrote 1 page 1000 times. It's like Ty's sexual history. You may be a brain surgeon, but that doesn't help my in-grown toenail.

[Not Me]

Originally posted by ironweed
I love this one. If there were enough American Indians still around to form Veterans' Armies, you could be damn sure they'd be getting most of Westchester at least. But we made short work of them, didn't we?

Who is this "we" you are talking about? I wasn't even alive back then. Were you? If not, why are you talking about what "we" did?

The majority of my ancestors were still in Europe back when all that was going on. They came through Ellis Island. The one who didn't come through Ellis Island was a Native American. None of my ancesters were slave owners, either.

So when I vote for taxing the Indian casinos and ending affirmative action I do so with a clear conscience.

Originally posted by Hank Chinaski
He wrote 1 page 1000 times.

Which is why he's essential reading for anyone trying to understand the PB.

And please yourself (I know you want to). As for your hangnail, I suggest changing into clean socks more frequently.

[ltl/fb]

Originally posted by ironweed
Which is why he's essential reading for anyone trying to understand the PB.

And please yourself (I know you want to). As for your hangnail, I suggest changing into clean socks more frequently.

Confidential to ironweed: it's not really a dirty sock issue, it's a weird fetish thing he has about using his big toe on himself kinda sorta like MR uses his tongue on his wife, but deeper. The dirty socks are just a side effect.


I wish to god I didn't know about this. I'm hoping that talking about it will help lessen the trauma.

[Sidd Finch]

Originally posted by The Larry Davis Experience
It's not like the "printing deadline" cut off a couple of days around New Year's. It cut off seven weeks (yes I had to consult a calendar). Didn't somebody have to realize that the info they were giving was not for the whole year?

Didn't the report also choose not to count suicide bombings and attacks on civilians in Iraq as terrorist attacks? That's awfully convenient; perhaps Israel will similarly claim that it has won the war on terror, after deciding to not to count all attacks by Palestinians.

[Sidd Finch]

Originally posted by Hank Chinaski
I think a good start would be to give Manhatten back to the Carnarsee Delaware. $18 of beads was not right. We can move West from there.

Last I checked, Indians didn't constitute 85% of the population of the US, and it was possible to support your family in the US without access to farmland.

Otherwise, excellent analogy. You sure you're not Fluffy?

[Not Me]

Originally posted by Sidd Finch
Last I checked, Indians didn't constitute 85% of the population of the US, and it was possible to support your family in the US without access to farmland.

Africa and other parts of the third world will continue to be unstable unless something is done to unconcentrate the wealth/land/resources. Too much is concentrated in the hands of too few.

I don't endorse what Mugabe is doing by nationalizing the land, that won't work for the long term. But some government enforced redistribution of resources/wealth has to happen in the the third world if there is ever any hope for them to have healthy economies, a viable middle class, and stable governments.

We can argue about what needs to be done and how it needs to be done, but there is no good argument against the fact that it needs to be done or most of Africa will continue to be the wasteland that it is.