Welcome home! Please contact lincoln@icrontic.com if you have any difficulty logging in or using the site. New registrations must be manually approved which may take several days. Can't log in? Try clearing your browser's cookies.
Okay, so again, that makes 2. Any balance from the many veterans in the military who are proud of their service?
It's not about being proud of the service or not on personal level from soldiers, it's about the reasons and motives for the military actions.
Soldiers do their job well and should be proud of what they did on a personal level, if they did courageous/honorable acts, no matter what.
Any balance from the many veterans in the military who can present the alternative point of view? well then go ahead, find some
find someone credibly explaining theses events from the other point of view and post them here. Would love to see this (seriously).
So you have Chomsky, hedge, Major General Smedley Butler and countless others on this side of the fence, who is on the other side? Cheney?
Pat, you have your anti-American view. Fine. Nothing I could say or post would deflect you from it. You don't want to provide any balance. All you want to do is spew venom.
America has its faults. No question about that. But we aren't exactly the Darth Vadar of the universe.
Being critical of US foreign policy doesn't necessarily mean one is anti-American any more than my criticism of Thailand's state-sanctioned sangha hierarchy makes me anti-Thailand. At most, it means they're anti-imperialist in their criticism of what they perceive to be the US military's role in preserving US hegemony around the world. So please, enough with the 'anti-American' label already.
well if you are not going to use logic then any conversation seems pointless indeed.
for those of you who may wounder what i meant by this,
obviously opposing policies doesn't equal opposing a country. doesn't even equal opposing the party from which the policy originated.
in fact, opposing policies would be more likely to be an indication of someone being a "pro" something rather than a "anti" something since the person care enough to express his concerns.
think of it this way, if you don't care about someone, you are not very likely to advise him on anything (think random drunk stranger in the street doing something stupid), but if you know and care for the person, you are likely to go there and voice your concern, trying to discourage him from doing that stupid thing.
"I think Micheal Jordan should have tried to shoot the 3 pointers instead of going for the dunk." obviously is no indication that this person have anti-Jordan views. More likely he is a pro-Jordan person since he wanted Jordan to do well during the game.
@vinylyn I have to say the venom comment is an example of the logical fallacy of ad hominem.
I don't mind when people are critical of the United States. There's lots to be critical about. But when someone says that the United States has "no integrity at all. murdering for $$ and stealing other peoples stuff while raping the natural world", that's hyperbole.
@vinylyn I have to say the venom comment is an example of the logical fallacy of ad hominem.
I don't mind when people are critical of the United States. There's lots to be critical about. But when someone says that the United States has "no integrity at all. murdering for $$ and stealing other peoples stuff while raping the natural world", that's hyperbole.
Perhaps, but two fallacies don't make a logical argument. (Sorry, bad joke. )
I don't think the worry is about terrorists launching a missle, its about a portable 'suitcase' nuke.
Yeah - they keep talking about this mythical suitcase bomb... its not a nuke though... it is a regular bomb with radioactive material in it - you dont need nuke tech to get your hands on radioactive material - also any country that has nukes is admitted to the club and the material is controlled - the only nuclear power that doesnt follow this is N Korea but theyre china'a militant arm so they wont do anything crazy...
Iran doesnt want the bomb for aggressive purposes - it wants the bomb because it was a regional superpower, it has every resource in the world and 30 years of sanctions and war have stymied its development...
Iran also does not support this new wave of global terrorism - al quaida and iran are oppossed - Iran does support hamas however in the resistance against the occupation of palestine - if that issue is ever sorted then peace may come to the region... though stealing resources is much tougher in peacetime...
0
personDon't believe everything you thinkThe liminal spaceVeteran
edited January 2012
Yeah - they keep talking about this mythical suitcase bomb... its not a nuke though... it is a regular bomb with radioactive material in it
That's called a dirty bomb, a suitcase nuke is an actual nuclear bomb thats small enough to be carried. Its not clear if there is one that would actually be small enough to be carried like a briefcase. There is the W54 developed by the US that could be carried by a person in a backpack.
0
personDon't believe everything you thinkThe liminal spaceVeteran
An Iranian university professor working at one of the country's main uranium enrichment facilities has been killed in Tehran, apparently the latest victim in what is widely seen as a covert war against the Islamic republic's nuclear programme.
Attackers riding on motorcycles are reported to have attached a magnetic bomb to a Peugeot 405 carrying Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, a 32-year-old chemistry expert from Tehran's Sharif University who held the position of a deputy director for commercial affairs at Natanz nuclear plant in central Iran.
According to the semi-official Fars news agency, Ahmadi Roshan's expertise was in making polymeric membranes for gaseous diffusion, part of the process needed for the enrichment of uranium. ...
In response to the attacks Iran has pointed the finger at Israel, the US and Britain. "Iran's enemies should know they cannot prevent Iran's progress by carrying out such terrorist acts," said Iran's vice-president, Mohammad Reza Rahimi, in quotes carried by the state Irna news agency.
personDon't believe everything you thinkThe liminal spaceVeteran
Iran threatened on Tuesday to stop the flow of oil through the strait of Hormuz if foreign sanctions were imposed on its crude exports because of its nuclear ambitions.
Western tensions with Iran have increased since a report last month by the UN nuclear watchdog saying Tehran appeared to have been working on designing an atomic bomb and may still be pursuing research to that end. Iran strongly denies this and says it is developing nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
Iran has defiantly expanded its nuclear activity despite four rounds of UN sanctions meted out since 2006 over its refusal to suspend sensitive uranium enrichment and open up to UN nuclear inspectors and investigators.
The United Nations' nuclear watchdog agency confirmed Monday that uranium enrichment has begun at a nuclear facility in northern Iran.
On Sunday, a fundamentalist Iranian newspaper with ties to the nation's supreme leader said the enrichment had begun at the plant, which is "immune to any military attack."
Security Clearance: Iran's underground program
"Based on reports we received yesterday, Iran has begun uranium enrichment at the Fordo facility at the height of the threats by foreign enemies," the semi-official Kayhan newspaper said.
Yeah - they keep talking about this mythical suitcase bomb... its not a nuke though... it is a regular bomb with radioactive material in it
That's called a dirty bomb, a suitcase nuke is an actual nuclear bomb thats small enough to be carried. Its not clear if there is one that would actually be small enough to be carried like a briefcase. There is the W54 developed by the US that could be carried by a person in a backpack.
Ah! Thanks for that... that is considerably more worrying that a dirty bomb!!! I'm still somewhat sceptical of the motivation for all this war... it feels like terrorism is just a scapegoat for the greedy agenda... maybe I'm just naive to the risks and assume that people could get along if we just made more of an effort to understand eachother and be supportive...
Ah! Thanks for that... that is considerably more worrying that a dirty bomb!!! I'm still somewhat sceptical of the motivation for all this war... it feels like terrorism is just a scapegoat for the greedy agenda... maybe I'm just naive to the risks and assume that people could get along if we just made more of an effort to understand eachother and be supportive...
I do have to interject that I don't really attribute it (or at least all of it) to greed.
There are very few societies in the history of mankind that have not traded what they had for what they needed. In the last couple of years, since I moved to Colorado, I've learned how much different Indian cultures in the West and Plains states traded amongst themselves and with traders along (for example) the Old Santa Fe Trail.
Trade is something mankind has done for most of its time on earth. And you and I do it, too...on a daily basis. And we all want the best deal we can get.
Yes, with power, the trading relationship always changes.
But, you also realize that the US is not always on the stronger end of things. For example, the world politics of rice is very interesting. At various times there appear to plots in the formation of a SE Asian rice cartel to better control the price those countries get for their #1 product. And who is the biggest importer of Thai rice? The U.S. And who has the upper hand in that particular market? Thailand.
Comments
obviously opposing policies doesn't equal opposing a country.
doesn't even equal opposing the party from which the policy originated.
in fact, opposing policies would be more likely to be an indication of someone being a "pro" something rather than a "anti" something since the person care enough to express his concerns.
think of it this way, if you don't care about someone, you are not very likely to advise him on anything (think random drunk stranger in the street doing something stupid), but if you know and care for the person, you are likely to go there and voice your concern, trying to discourage him from doing that stupid thing.
"I think Micheal Jordan should have tried to shoot the 3 pointers instead of going for the dunk."
obviously is no indication that this person have anti-Jordan views.
More likely he is a pro-Jordan person since he wanted Jordan to do well during the game.
Yeah - they keep talking about this mythical suitcase bomb... its not a nuke though... it is a regular bomb with radioactive material in it - you dont need nuke tech to get your hands on radioactive material - also any country that has nukes is admitted to the club and the material is controlled - the only nuclear power that doesnt follow this is N Korea but theyre china'a militant arm so they wont do anything crazy...
Iran doesnt want the bomb for aggressive purposes - it wants the bomb because it was a regional superpower, it has every resource in the world and 30 years of sanctions and war have stymied its development...
Iran also does not support this new wave of global terrorism - al quaida and iran are oppossed - Iran does support hamas however in the resistance against the occupation of palestine - if that issue is ever sorted then peace may come to the region... though stealing resources is much tougher in peacetime...
Attackers riding on motorcycles are reported to have attached a magnetic bomb to a Peugeot 405 carrying Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, a 32-year-old chemistry expert from Tehran's Sharif University who held the position of a deputy director for commercial affairs at Natanz nuclear plant in central Iran.
According to the semi-official Fars news agency, Ahmadi Roshan's expertise was in making polymeric membranes for gaseous diffusion, part of the process needed for the enrichment of uranium.
...
In response to the attacks Iran has pointed the finger at Israel, the US and Britain. "Iran's enemies should know they cannot prevent Iran's progress by carrying out such terrorist acts," said Iran's vice-president, Mohammad Reza Rahimi, in quotes carried by the state Irna news agency.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jan/11/iran-nuclear-scientist-killed
Western tensions with Iran have increased since a report last month by the UN nuclear watchdog saying Tehran appeared to have been working on designing an atomic bomb and may still be pursuing research to that end. Iran strongly denies this and says it is developing nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
Iran has defiantly expanded its nuclear activity despite four rounds of UN sanctions meted out since 2006 over its refusal to suspend sensitive uranium enrichment and open up to UN nuclear inspectors and investigators.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/dec/27/iran-oil-exports-hormuz-sanctions
The United Nations' nuclear watchdog agency confirmed Monday that uranium enrichment has begun at a nuclear facility in northern Iran.
On Sunday, a fundamentalist Iranian newspaper with ties to the nation's supreme leader said the enrichment had begun at the plant, which is "immune to any military attack."
Security Clearance: Iran's underground program
"Based on reports we received yesterday, Iran has begun uranium enrichment at the Fordo facility at the height of the threats by foreign enemies," the semi-official Kayhan newspaper said.
http://articles.cnn.com/2012-01-09/middleeast/world_meast_iran-nuclear_1_uranium-enrichment-fordo-nuclear-obligations?_s=PM:MIDDLEEAST
These two stories happened before the scientist was killed. I wonder if the attack was a covert retaliatory operation by Isreal or the US.
There are very few societies in the history of mankind that have not traded what they had for what they needed. In the last couple of years, since I moved to Colorado, I've learned how much different Indian cultures in the West and Plains states traded amongst themselves and with traders along (for example) the Old Santa Fe Trail.
Trade is something mankind has done for most of its time on earth. And you and I do it, too...on a daily basis. And we all want the best deal we can get.
Yes, with power, the trading relationship always changes.
But, you also realize that the US is not always on the stronger end of things. For example, the world politics of rice is very interesting. At various times there appear to plots in the formation of a SE Asian rice cartel to better control the price those countries get for their #1 product. And who is the biggest importer of Thai rice? The U.S. And who has the upper hand in that particular market? Thailand.