i don't think the photograph is pornographic at all. i think it's pornographic (well NOT pornographic, but i'm making a point) this child died the way she did (i believe she was a girl child) .

i for one thank the goddess every day for somehow directing me to your blog. i love your writing, i love your strength, i love your activism, i love your depth (i will stop for now so you don't get a big fat head)

 

Egads. Some folks, evidently, have serious obstructions in the cloacus (of the reptilian sort).

I'm pretty sure it was Friedman of the NYTimes who said that "iron-fisted" stuff. What a little moustached turdlet that guy is.

Anyway--the next time some goof flings that sort of nonsense at you, try sending them here:

http://www.therationalradical.com/misc/headupass.htm

 

George Orwell on pacifism:

"Pacifist propaganda usually boils down to saying that one side is as bad as the other, but if one looks closely at the writings of younger intellectual pacifists, one finds that they do not by any means express impartial disapproval but are directed almost entirely against Britain and the United States.... Pacifist literature abounds with
equivocal remarks which, if they mean anything, appear to mean that
statesmen of the type of Hitler are preferable to those of the type of Churchill, and that violence is perhaps excusable if it is violent
enough." (From Notes on Nationalism)

Saddam Hussein is a p-o-s and unlike the left, I'm glad millions of people will be now able to live in a democracy. Yes, Western governments helped Hussein in the 1980s, but only because we didn't want the insane Iranian regime to successfully export its revolution. There is no reason to apologize for this.

Unless of course, you hate the west.

 

jeez

1. I never said i was a pacifist
2. Orwell was anyting but a right-winger. i find it odd that people so selectively quote him
3. you appear to be suggesting that fascism with friends is ok but fascism with enemies isn't.
4. the millions of people you refer to now HATE the west because we keep bombing them. civilians and all. at least 100,000
5. i am trying to stop the west from doing things that leads to the situation whereby everyone hates us.
6. you missed out any mention of sauid, algeria etc. the 'insane' iranian regime, and insane it is, is not as bad as the internal repression there has been in Saudi. why are they ok?

 

also, did you forget that this whole thing was originally (officially and in the press anyway) not about regime change and democracy. it was supposed to be about disarming iraq.

 

and if it is all about democracy will you condemn US involvement in the Chilean coup with Pinochet? and nicaragua? el salvador?

the CIA operations in italy and greece after WW2 to stop the socialist winning democratically. do you condemn all these actions?

 

these things are terrible no matter if it is done the your friends or your enemies
shitheads administrations like to make people think otherwise
thank god there are people who see through the lies, hopefully people will choose peace before ignorance and fear

 

This:

"I'm glad millions of people will be now able to live in a democracy. Yes, Western governments helped Hussein in the 1980s, but only because we didn't want the insane Iranian regime to successfully export its revolution. There is no reason to apologize for this."

is almost as idiotic as the "antiwar protesters advocate recklessness because the hate the west" comment from the post.

Jason, how, in your wildest of imaginations, is Iraq a democracy? And who could possibly be happy to live there after the US/UK invasion and occupation which killed tens of thousands and created the situation they are in today where several thousand have died in the last week?

How is an illegal invasion and occupation the foundation of a "democracy?" What is a democracy in your view? That would be an interesting question for you to answer.

Does the US have to apologize for the sanctions it laid on Iraq during the 90's that were directly responsible for the deaths of 500,000 children?

I could go on and on, but I am assuming your only response will be that I hate the west...what an argument!

 

GIVE"m Hell Thumper....what a turdlett....can't believe he is still here- what a pest...I guess the afterschool activities were cancelled at the Jerry Falwell Academy....

We love you...and KNOW that you write about What matters, and that you speak the Truth...the song reminded me over at Huffington Post "No Bravery"( Matthew Blunt)- the video that goes with it is amazing....as amazing as the song here....

Blog on Brother....Blog on...

 

One of the things the pro-war, pro-mutilation, pro-ripp off crowd likes to do is to diminish the protester. At one Peace protest, some turdster yelled, Cry Baby! I went back the next time with an enlargment similar to the photo you show and sure enough the turdster showed up and I shoved it in his face. Do everything you can and if you Jason unhappy - great work!

 

Hey all, enough with the flaming. Jason the self-described center-rightist brings up some important issues to be addressed. For example, what unites the people who support the multiple war crimes that constitute the invasion and occupation of Iraq? There is a clear rejection of any hint at "universality" from this camp, but dealing with that, and changing the minds of those on the more moderate end of the "center-right" (!) would require locating the source of the rejection. Do these people believe that the corporate-military takeover of Iraq is derived from cultural superiority, or spiritual superiority, or is it racial superiority? Maybe it's a macho thing---"take no prisoners" (!), "no holds barred", "go for the jugular", "survival of the fittest".

So out with it Jason, o spokesman of the center-right. Help us isolate the facets of the West we "anti-war protesters" hate. Failing that, why not consider putting your ass where your mouth is and signing on for a tour of duty?

 

jos --

Iraq is a Democracy because Iraqis rule through a system of representation involving free elections. I don't know why the left thinks a free and democratic is the worst thing in the world, but the left likes socialist tyranny, even if it be Baathi style, better than liberal democracy these days.

The claim that 500,000 Iraqi children died as the result of the sanctions is false. We can pursue this further at your pleasure.

michael --

No one should apologize for stomping Castro wannabes in Latin America. The West won the Cold War, and the world is a better place as a result of it. The same applies for Communists smacked down elsewhere.

Iran is a threat because the people in charge now want to go on the final jihad to bring the return of the 12th Imam. Their leader denies the holocaust and has promised to wipe Israel off the map. Others like Rafsanjani have made comments about how Islam can survive a nuclear war-- Allah willing, as always.

 

Let's not forget the ongoing genocide of America's original democracies (which, not surprisingly were more effective at "representation". See Haudenosaunee).

So "your world" might be a better place because of the US' brown-shirt stompin' but 'round these parts, cowboys and girls, we're still told Thanksgiving was a day Puritans and Injuns set aside their differences and ate punkin pie.

Who was it that said: "People wonder what the world would be like if Hitler had won. I say: take a look around"?

The U.S. can't even live up to its own promises here at home--how on earth are they going to establish "democracy" abroad?

Mama, don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys...

 

Should have read:

"not surprisingly were [and still are] more effective at "representation". See Haudenosaunee".

And it was Ward Churchill that said that about "look around". So there's a golden opportunity to use Churchill as a prime example of "America Hating" or "wanted 911 to happen" or any other silly thing that can be used against what was stated (call it a preemptive strike).

 

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

 

Calling Iraq a Democracy at this point in its history takes the very concept of democracy and stands it on its head and pisses all over it. There is no such thing as an occupied democracy. Democracy does not exist at, behind or beyond the business end of a gun.

And, as I have pointed out once before here, your quoting Orwell is out of place since he was talking not about pacifists in general but about pacifists in countries that suffering the brunt of German aggression. Do you think he would have said the same about German pacifists?

What do you think he would have said about Iraqi pacifists? (Probably just what you quoted him saying.)

Perhaps Iraq is better off without Saddam perhaps not. Perhaps it is on the road to democracy, perhaps not. But let's ask ourselves, why does it matter? Why do we care? Is it out of the kindness of our hearts that we have killed women and children, destroyed cities, poisoned the land and water. Are we saving them from a fate worse than what we have provided, a fate worse than death?

 

Justin makes a good point.

orwell really is quoted a lot by the right. kind of funny the right is so influenced by jesus, considering he was a pacifist. he said if someone strikes you turn the other cheek, not if you think someone might strike you, blow up their entire country.

 

Justin--

The allies occupied Japan and Germany for some time after WWII. They're democracies today. When the same happens in Iraq, all of you people will claim you were for it all along.

When this happens, know it is because of the goodness of the United States and her allies, not because of the French and the terror-loving "peace" crowd.

Hussein loyalists and militant jihadists nostalgic for the Caliphate are now waging war against the Iraqi security forces. It would be criminal to let the security forces fight them alone, especially when the leadership is asking us to stay.

But then again, I'm talking to people who think America is the Reich and Saddam Hussein represents liberal democracy. (See 'Guerrilla' above.)

 

REAL DEMOCRACIES DON'T HAVE OCCUPIERS AND DEAD PEOPLE PILED IN THE STREET DAILY....
OH, THAT'S RIGHT THE BROKEN CHARADE DEMOCRACIES THAT ARE FORCED UPON A REGION BY BOMBING THEM FOR "PEACE" AND "FREEDOM"....IT IS A DIFFERENT KIND OF DEMOCRACY....
THE KIND BASED ON A LIE.

I don't think the little girl or her grand-dad in the picture were asked if they Wanted This Democracy.

 

I'm not sure what produces the historical revisionist take on America and the west that the "Jasons of the world" subscribe to. Is it selective amnesia about the U.S.; our propaganda-driven educational system; chemicals in our urban water systems? Whatever the hell it is, I'm concerned that it's not isolated to some small pocket, but probably comes close to representing a healthy slice of our country, particularly the area affectionately called, "the red states."

With the narrow spectrum of stories represented by M'stream news outlets, I'm not optimistic about our chances moving forward. I'm thankful for the blogs, alt news sites and other resources for objective information (or at least something that falls short of most of the jingoistic propaganda that masquerades as news) that exist. The challenge is getting people like Jason and others, to let go of their need for ideological cheerleading and recognize that the U.S. has a clear record of imperialist behavior and is no friend of "democracy." It doesn't take alot of work to trace that history back, either. Any library, even in the remote outbacks of rural American probably have a copy of Zinn's "A People's History of the United States." I might suggest Jason (and others who subscribe to his blinkered view of American exceptionalism) start there.

 

Jason--

If you had read what I wrote, had an inkling of the past 500 years, remembered that the US is an occupier within its "own" borders, and at the very least attempted to put yourself in an Indian's shoes, you might look at the present situation slightly differently (i.e. realistically).

First off, I never said that Hussein or pre-occupation Iraq represented a democracy. If you took the time to type "Haudenosaunee" into Google, you'd get something far from Iraq.

Moreover, I'm talking about the genocide that's going on HERE. I'm talking about the continued dispossession and destruction of entire NATIONS within the US's own borders. Just because you might not be aware of it (i.e. in denial), doesn't mean it isn't happening (this part, dear readers, is when the word "casinos" begins to flit about in most Americans' heads).

My point was (why this wasn't clear is sort of obvious) that how in hell can the US establish "a democracy" anywhere else when its still has yet to live up to its own obligations at home?

So the US considerably similar to the Reich--particularly if you're on the receiving end of its Blitzkrieg and living in concentration camps (i.e. "reservations").

So let's all dance around the issue here--it's worked so far! The very fact that the US has destroyed plenty of democracies here, and continues to attempt to destroy them with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and other nefarious means translates into the fact that the US is not friendly at all to democracies.

And by the way, when someone is critical of the US, it doesn't mean they like Hussein. Nor does it mean that they don't like the US. Where does this simplistic thinking come from?

 

i didn't say i thought 9/11 was a lie

as for the rest of it...!