What to do about North Korea...?

If it's so bad, why are we delivering it to the rest of the world?

Democracy is a terribly corrupt and inefficient system.

It's also the best system we've yet devised.

This still doesn't give us, the new kid on the block, the right to force
it down the throats of others at gunpoint, sacrificing the lives of OUR
CHILDREN in the process.

Jose
--
The monkey turns the crank and thinks he's making the music.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

Racine? Kenosha? Major inner cities... not!

Small by comparison to Chicago, true enough -- but still places that
most Americans (at the very least) aren't welcome, nonetheless.

If Joe Sixpack Americans had ANY idea what was really going on in
American inner cities, they would be completely appalled -- and (I
suspect) far less concerned about the continuing spate of violence in
Baghdad.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Jay,

Let's see...how long were our troops stationed in the Axis countries
after the end of World War II... Oh, wait -- you mean they haven't
left YET? I think the fools who got us into that never-ending mess
should be held accountable!


Have you totally lost it? Your troops are still there not because they
are needed to maintain peace and freedom, but because forward bases
close to (what used to be) the enemy can't be had any cheaper than in
previously occupied country. Man, you really need a reality check...

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

Have you totally lost it? Your troops are still there not because they
are needed to maintain peace and freedom, but because forward bases
close to (what used to be) the enemy can't be had any cheaper than in
previously occupied country. Man, you really need a reality check...

Thomas, we are giving them back, slowly, aren't we?
We realize the Europeans no longer need our help and assistance in
returning to prosperity
We've are moving on now. We have made new friends in the Middle East
recently. We are now helping them regain their prosperity. They have
generously granted us access to rebuild their airfields, and
infrastructure. Once they have achieved an appropriate level of success,
we will find new friends who want our help.

(Very tongue in cheek!) ;-))

Jay, I just thought that I would point out, that you are doing the
'wrestling with the pig" bit. You get all dirty, and the pig likes it.

There is no point you could make, that would change his mind.
--
Jim in NC

In article ,
"Morgans" wrote:

Jay, I just thought that I would point out, that you are doing the
'wrestling with the pig" bit. You get all dirty, and the pig likes it.

There is no point you could make, that would change his mind.

Jim, be fair.
We (USA) do strong-arm our friends, depending on which way the winds are
blowing. It's called "national interests".
I really enjoy "diplomat speak" and trying to figure what they really
mean when they say something.

On Fri, 07 Jul 2006 13:53:29 +0000, Jose wrote:

If it's so bad, why are we delivering it to the rest of the world?

Fortunately, we're not - at least not deliberately. So I find myself
surprised that people still use the term "democracy" as if it either (1)
describes our system of government or (2) would be useful for other
nations.

Iraq is, in fact, a good example of a nation that would be destroyed by
democracy. Much of the trouble there recently results from Shiites - the
majority - taking actions against minority groups. Why bother? When
"democracy" is established, they can just vote that all Sunnis should have
to work for free, or move to one city, or be dead.

Of course, we've been pressuring the Iraqi government to be less than
completely democratic in this respect. And good thing that, too!

The Palestinian territories serve as a good example of democracy in
action. What should the world do if a population's majority wants to be
lead by terrorists? By religious fanatics? By nut jobs? By illiterates?
By people in the pocket of one special interest group or another?

For all our use of this buzz word "democracy", what we really need to be
spreading around the world is the concept of "respect for rights". Only
when a society protects the rights of individuals, including individuals
that are in some minority, can a democracy (or even a democratic republic)
serve a worthy goal.

If a society awards all people the right to live, then we don't have to
worry about a democracy voting killers into office. If a society awards
all people the right to freedom, then we don't have to worry about a
democracy voting for ethnic cleansing.

Sadly, we've our own religious fanatics in this country setting a poor
example. How can it hurt my marriage if a pair of guys or gals is
permitted to marry? What they do couldn't possibly hurt me. Yet rather
than show the world what "respect for rights" means, we've in fact shown
just how narrow a meaning "rights" can have, even here.

No, democracy isn't the answer - at least by itself. If we don't manage
to export a respect for the rights of our fellow humans (regardless of all
those many criteria by which we can divide ourselves), then "democracy" is
just going to put more groups like Hamas into power.

So where is this on our national agenda?

- Andrew

John,

I like your style ;-)

Thomas, we are giving them back, slowly, aren't we?
We realize the Europeans no longer need our help and assistance in
returning to prosperity
We've are moving on now. We have made new friends in the Middle East
recently. We are now helping them regain their prosperity. They have
generously granted us access to rebuild their airfields, and
infrastructure. Once they have achieved an appropriate level of success,
we will find new friends who want our help.


In short: The Russians are gone, the Arabs are here. And Japan and Korea
turn out to have just extended their useful life.

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

On Fri, 07 Jul 2006 12:51:39 -0700, Jay Honeck wrote:

Think India, 1938-ish, British agents inciting Hindus versus Muslims.
(And, yes, eventually the British left, but that doesn't mean their
tactics didn't work for a long, long time.)

No, if you sit back and view the thing from a cold, analytical, long-range
strategic point of view, what's going on in Iraq is pretty close to what
needs to happen -- and this whole thing about "creating a breeding ground
for terrorists" is just blather. They are killing EACH OTHER now, and I
think that's been part of the plan from the start.

Um...what you're writing is that having a nuclear arms race between India
and Pakistan is a Good Thing? That Pakistan therefore was able to sell
nuclear technology to various nations including Iran and N. Korea is
pretty close to what needed to happen?

Is it a Good Thing that Iraq is providing so fertile a training ground for
terrorists? Recall that Afghanistan was Bin Laden's training ground. How
will the US suffer in future decades from the terrorists being trained
today?

Personally, I believe that you're giving our intelligence services more
credit than they deserve. Though, admittedly, it would be pretty easy to
incite violence in Iraq today.

But I think it pretty clear that the animosity between Muslim and Hindu in
south asia has served the world badly, and there's no reason to expect
better of Sunni/Shiite animosity.

- Andrew

On Fri, 07 Jul 2006 11:39:14 +0000, Neil Gould wrote:

Hey, that's how we knew they had them. However, our accounting was flawed;
we couldn't accurately subtract those that they used from those that they
had.

Ah ha! *Another* Accounting scandal.

Why can't I get one of these wunderkinde to be *my* accountant? Then I
could hear how easily I could afford my own plane instead of just
listening to "tsk tsk tsk" and watching a shaking head.

- Andrew