Image from cnet.com

Just to keep things in perspective, remember that Joe Biden voted for the war and for the Patriot Act.

I wish life were more simple, but I won’t pretend it is just because it’d be easier to fit into my belief system. Paul/Barr are the cleanest choices here in terms of non-muddied waters, but that line introduces a whole different set of problems.

Meh.:

Links

[ On the Issues: Joe Biden | ontheissues.org ]

One of my favorite writers is Christopher Hitchens. I came to know him through his latest book on religion, titled “God Is Not Great“. His writing in that book is purely spectacular; I’ve never seen anyone with such a firm mastery of English.

Anyway, Hitchens is a character. He recently attained his American citizenship and is, and think this is fair to say, a hardcore anti-fundamentalist. Given current world events this usually materializes as an anti-Islamist.

So one of his main arguments has been the fact that there’s a line between extreme interrogation and torture. Specifically he has argued that waterboarding, which is the act of forcible simulated drowning, is not torture. He has had many critics on this point and he finally agreed to solve the matter.

He agreed to be waterboarded. And he now agrees that it’s torture.

From the Guardian article:

The “official lie” about waterboarding, Hitchens says, is that it “simulates the feeling of drowning”. In fact, “you are drowning – or rather, being drowned”.


He rehearses the intellectual arguments, both for (“It’s nothing compared to what they do to us”) and against (“It opens a door that can’t be closed”). But the Hitch’s thoroughly empirical conclusion is simple. As Vanity Fair’s title puts it: “Believe me, it’s torture.”

I respect this change of heart tremendously, especially given what he was willing to do to convince both him and himself of the correctness of his position.

This is how I like to debate as well. Be forceful in your arguments, but be willing to throw it all away if you encounter better information. As I’ve always said, being wrong at the end of the argument is much more important to me than having my before and after positions match each other.

So, yes, three cheers for Christopher Hitchens.:

Links

[ Video of Hitchens Being Waterboarded | vanityfair.com ]

Hmm, a Naval blockade against Iran. Brilliant!

I’m not saying this is going to happen or anything, but I do know it sounds precisely like what I would be looking for if I wanted to go to war with Iran.

The ideal situation is one where the American people thinks we’re doing something within reason, but in fact we’re really twisting a dagger into someone’s kidney.

So what happens? They lash out.

“Oh! Did you see what they did?” (looking around for witnesses) “You guys saw that, right? Well, on to war it is then…”

And a good portion of our sorry ass population would fall for it, too. Depressing.

So I wonder if that’s the game. Put a blockade on them until they snap. I suppose it worked in WWII so why not try it again?

This is an extraordinary read. Please take the time.

[ The Road to War and Dictatorship ]

That seems to be the situation. — Jules, Pulp Fiction

[ A Brother Saying Goodbye to His Brother ]

I think we’re going to war with Iran, and I think it’ll happen this summer. I think it’s already been decided and all we’re looking for now is a way to motivate the American sheeple into getting behind it. Here’s a list of ways to do just that.

1. Another terrorism incident here in the U.S. with a link to a group supposedly financed out of Iran, e.g. Hezbollah. Faux News shows the dead Americans and runs video of Hezbollah training camps and our nation of mouthbreathers spins up into another war frenzy.
2. Iran “attacks” an American or Israeli military asset, e.g. plane, boat, etc. We respond by “returning” fire and the war starts when Iran defends itself.
3. We find “proof” that Iran is making nuclear weapons for the purpose of waging war. We show some mushroom clouds and pictures of Jesus and get the illiterates ready for battle.

Many of my intelligent and liberal friends don’t think this can happen. They think the country is already wise to how the administration works and that they’d never fall for such a thing.

I think they’re optimistic to the point of foolishness.

The Stupid Are Easily Manipulated

The depth of emotion-based stupidity within this country is terrifying. It’s true that the country currently feels some level of distrust for the Bush administration, but that can instantly be erased by any of the incidents above executed with Rovian precision.

Picture the guy with the 3-ton SUV with the yellow ribbon on it.

Mainstream Mouthbreather: “I don’t trust Bush. He’s in Iraq for oil. But I support the troops.”
Faux News: “Iran bombed an American shopping mall.”
Mainstream Mouthbreather: “Kill them all. Turn it into a glass parking lot. I’ve never trusted those A-rabs.”

This can, and very likely will, happen. The signs are very clear. The only question is, what can we do about it?

Thanks to David Harnasch for the link.:

According to victims, one of the newest groups to emerge is called the Rastas, a mysterious gang of dreadlocked fugitives who live deep in the forest, wear shiny tracksuits and Los Angeles Lakers jerseys and are notorious for burning babies, kidnapping women and literally chopping up anybody who gets in their way.

United Nations officials said the so-called Rastas were once part of the Hutu militias who fled Rwanda after committing genocide there in 1994, but now it seems they have split off on their own and specialize in freelance cruelty.

Honorata Barinjibanwa, an 18-year-old woman with high cheekbones and downcast eyes, said she was kidnapped from a village that the Rastas raided in April and kept as a sex slave until August. Most of that time she was tied to a tree, and she still has rope marks ringing her delicate neck. The men would untie her for a few hours each day to gang-rape her, she said.

[ They Do It To Destroy Women ]