rhubroma said:You should have read the part about sarcasm in the post that followed. You do get sarcasm, don't you? No need, therefore, to get all bent out of shape.
bwhaaaa.....you gotta be careful with them rhubroma..
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rhubroma said:You should have read the part about sarcasm in the post that followed. You do get sarcasm, don't you? No need, therefore, to get all bent out of shape.
Astana1 said:I read back through this thread and saw this comment and it irked me as well. The Mormon comment is clearly a bigoted one. The rest is just anectodotal BS evidence used to generalize an entire population.
rhubroma said:Ha! It's truly exquisite that I get accused of bigotry, when referring to a Mormon as a bigot. That just takes the cake!
If anything you should have accused me of racism.
Theirs, the whole of it, is a ridiculous cult of imbecility. So, there, guess that makes me a racist.
If you have something more informed than my BS, anecdotal evidence then please inform us.
So the US armed forces aren't these days made up of steroids and stupidity? With a strong dose of "divine calling" and "faith" within its shared world view? Like team prayer in the half-time locker room at the Rose Bowl?
The Hitch said:So wait. You look at the US Israel and Britain, since forever, but Russia only in recent years???
How about we look at the last 90 years for Japan vs the last 20 years for the US. Conclusion- Japan is far more dangerous than the US
I dont care what period you look at last 100 years, last 50 years last 10 years. The US nor any of its allies come close to what Russia does. Not even close.
Russia never went on the wane. They started right where they left off. It took them 5 years to start a full scale conflict where the actions of Russian soldiers make the US look like humanitarians.
Even if you were to count something like America sending troops to Haiti to help repair earthquake damage as a full scale military invasion (as Chavez did) the US still doesnt come close to interfering in other countries affaris like Russia does.
Also France has a far worse history than Britain ever had. then again, france doesnt have a "special relationship" with the US, so maybe that clouds your judgment.
redtreviso said:Steroids and Stupidity----check
club gitmo tshirts
Astana1 said:Actually I posted before you decided to call the Mormon a bigot. I actually called you a bigot, which you are. Your whole post is just laced with hatred and generalizations, one has to wonder what your real problem is.
You're the one making the accusation that Soldiers are culturally blind. The burden of proof is on you buddy. You took some of them and their families on some USO tours and that somehow qualifies you to comment on all of them.
If you don't see the ridiculousness of your generalization then there is no way we'll have a rational discussion.
Steroids and stupidity? I thought we were talking about the US Armed Forces not Pro Cycling.
rhubroma said:What do you mean by "dangerous" and about "interfering with countries' affairs"?
How can you gauge, precisely, the tragedy which followed Russia's conquest of the Balkans, as set against that of US involvement in managing and/or conditioning the daily lives of the Middle East, Africa, Central and South America and South Asia in terms of the lives that were either ruined by the dictators and regimes we supported against communism or those adversely affected by our corporate and economic interests? What about working the worlds financial markets?
Then, when you also consider the arms trade, the US clearly remained ahead of Russia which was not at able to generate the same capital for such investments?
I don't think that the crimes of the communists, in the final analysis, when set against those made under capitalism, can be viewed in light of such a lopsided and opposing viewpoint as yours.
Astana1 said:So a few idiots buy some tasteless T-Shirts and that means the whole group is stupid. That doesn't compute dude.
That would be like generalizing liberals as being pro communist because a few misinformed left wing students wear Che Guevara T-Shirts.
Astana1 said:I don't think you understand what a Neoconservative is and you certainly don't know the Neocon view of what the US's role in Libya ought to be.
Neocons would prefer to see guys like Mubarak and Qadafi stay in power. Ultimately they are user friendly to Israel, they are secular and they keep the radical Muslims in check. If you don't believe me then go read what that Victor Davis Hanson is writing on his site.
Which is a pretty stupid point of view when you consider Libya was already the World's # 3 provider of foreign fighters to the various fights going on around the world. It's not like Libya could get any worse.
Personally I believe that we're better off with a democratic Middle East even if it isn't composed of puppet states.
But I am sick and tired of wasting blood and treasure that cause. Giving any sort of aid to the Middle East is like giving money to a bum on the street. You get nothing in return.
redtreviso said:Steroids and Stupidity----check
club gitmo tshirts
Glenn_Wilson said:I am not sure what the shirts were for. It looks like some type of reenlistment ceremony. You can see two of them taking an oath or something on the right side of the picture. We have no idea what the T-shirt color represents. Unless you have some link to a story etc.
This is an Engineering Battalion in the US Army Reserve. Basically a bunch of POG’s who are tasked with construction and maintaining rear echelon supply duties. This is not a Gitmo unit of any sort. THEY are not in Gitmo for this picture....NOTICE THE DESERT UTILITIES THEY HAVE ON. Redtreviso you are misrepresenting this picture. You should acknowledge as much or take it down.
After I quoted it I noticed you went to the Lumbaugh site to get that picture. Nice work. Did they have a story for the picture or is the steriods / stupidity and Gitmo link something you come up with on your own?
rhubroma said:No not every soldier, however, and especially since Vietnam, let us say that many, if not most, have an inadequate preparation to be even capable of appreciating the nuances and customs of the local societies in which they are placed. I have been told for example that our forces in Iraq refer to the local masses simply as "the idiots."
Yet you don't want soldiers being too sensitive about anything, correct? Lest they not be capable of doing their jobs without asking too many moral questions. In other words, you don't want the armed forces made up of questioning and critical souls that tend to see things in a myriad assemblage of gray shades.
This kind of makes it difficult when engaging in wars that "aren't" really wars, but code names like Enduring Freedom, for which the objective is to merely effect a regime change and set up the transition toward the new State; in terms of having people on the ground who are good soldiers and conscious guests of the culture with a vested interest in the local populations. Especially when a part of that population either wants you to go home right away or else dead. The Afghanistan stories, thus, in no way surprised me.
Well the Mormon comment was actually quite tame, because it is merely frightful that the army has placed the guy in Israel to study the possible solutions that our government hopes will likely determine the fate of the Palestinians.
redtreviso said:bwhaaaa.....you gotta be careful with them rhubroma..
redtreviso said:seriously??? You know exactly what is going on here..
The Hitch said:Your attempts to present yourself as someone who knows about more than the US and perhaps Italy is failing.
This was shown in your race metaphor post.
No one who knew the first thing about Russian imperialism, in Eastern Europe and the Caucuses (no, not the Balkans) could make such a stupid post as the one where you said that Britain and Israel "finished 2 minutes" ahead of Russia in the race of destabilizing other states.
My first response was slightly less judgmental because your OP was so stupid i figured there was a chance you had made a mistake.
Seriously Israel and Britain above Russia. lol. what a joke. Condemn America all you want but i suggest you should widen your reading material if you want to start making comparisons with other countries.
And like i said France is far worse than the UK but then again, France isnt the US's main ally so in your eyes, its not bad.
rhubroma said:Ok, Hitch, set the time differences as you like. But I'm not with you on the "commies eat children" campaign, while the governments of the "free world" have less hanging over their consciences, nor that they have influenced less the affairs of foreign states. Perhaps the weight of absolutism makes the Russian campaigns merely more evident, though the democratic powers, in the end, have brought the world closer together under its economic system than ten Russias put together.
Yours is a propaganda that I've never entirely bought. And I was simply talking about the actual influence over the forces of globalization America and its allies have been able to achieve vs. Russia and its affiliates.
Unless you believe the Leninist revolution is still a threat to Western values and interests globally. I don't. There are other issues and they are not surprisingly largely centered on the conflicts and interests caused by Western imperialism.
The US has dropped the rest of the field in this, it must be admitted, with a sensational performance. At 1:30 arrives Britain, followed by Israel at 1:38, followed by Russia and China at 3:40. Germany crosses the line at 5:10 from the winner.
The Hitch said:WHo said anything about Communism????
Whats my propaganda? Dont project any views on me, im merely pointing out that your comment is wrong. This comment.
Britain ahead of Russia. Your having a laugh. Take look at Russias foreign policy over the last 15 years.
Its got nothing to do with Lenin or Marx or Commies. Just normal modern day Russia with its foreign policy.
Saying Britain is worse than Russia is like saying that doping is a worse crime than genocide.
Glenn_Wilson said:I know for a FACT it is not Gitmo and I know for a FACT this particular unit is not the type of unit that would be on duty in Gitmo.