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Messages - alex

Pages: [1]
1
Politics & Religion / Re: Heat Less Illumination
« on: February 20, 2005, 02:37:49 AM »
Quote from: buzwardo
In a similar vein, I post to this list for reasons of growth I feel no obligation to explain to you. I derive nothing of value from tit for tat exchanges with the rhetorically challenged and so choose, for the most part, not to participate in them. There are folks on this list whose opinions I respect; I trust they?ll understand that my unwillingness to engage does not connote an inability to do so.



I'm not looking for a fight Buz, I just rather foolishly assumed that you post was for public consumption since you posted it in a public place. If you didn't want to defend that aspect of the article you only had to say "Actually I don't fully agree with what he said there" rather than acting like I'm behaving inappropriately by wanting to discuss parts of something you posted.

2
Politics & Religion / Re: Funny you should ask. . . .
« on: February 18, 2005, 12:12:32 AM »
Quote from: buzwardo
If that choice is based solely or primarily on race then I don't think it's an informed one. If the choice is based on context, experience, training, specific threat profiles, and so on, I think it's what officers are paid to do.


This is what he said:

Quote
if the profile of committed al-Qaida members
is Arabic, with little or accented English, late teens to mid-forties,
then it is understandable that good people who unfortunately fit
this profile come in for additional scrutiny


That is a profile based primarily on race.

Quote
But hey, like I said, I left my Ouija board at home.


You obviously felt some connection with this article or you wouldn't have posted it. If you didn't want to discuss the issues raised why post it in the first place?

3
Politics & Religion / We the Well-armed People
« on: February 17, 2005, 09:43:20 AM »
Why do you think the author believes the former is ?obviously unacceptable? while the latter is ?logical and reasonable??

4
Politics & Religion / We the Well-armed People
« on: February 16, 2005, 01:23:51 AM »
Quote
Similarly, if "profiling" is taken to mean stopping a motorist
because he is an African-American in a Caucasian
neighborhood, it's wrong. Victims call it "DWB": "Driving While
Black" or "Driving While Brown." That sort of profiling is,
obviously, unacceptable.

At the same time, if the profile of committed al-Qaida members
is Arabic, with little or accented English, late teens to mid-forties,
then it is understandable that good people who unfortunately fit
this profile come in for additional scrutiny, but the scrutiny is
logical and reasonable given the prevailing circumstances.


Why is the former 'obviously unacceptable' while the latter is 'logical and reasonable'?

5
Politics & Religion / Political Rants
« on: February 06, 2005, 12:27:08 PM »
Incindentally

Quote
Or perhaps American meddling merely demonstrates we are parochial dunces before the feces hits the fan,


That clearly is the attitude that some people hold. I just want everybody to know, I don't agree with it. The trend towards generalized labelling of a people and/or culture as one thing or another, frankly makes me sick.

I am a great admirer of many aspects of American culture and values, this European "Yanks are dumb" snobbery is for ignorant jerks.

6
Politics & Religion / Re: Sheesh. . . .
« on: February 06, 2005, 11:59:41 AM »
Quote from: buzwardo
Or perhaps American meddling merely demonstrates we are parochial dunces before the feces hits the fan, and hesitant fools if we wait for the sh*t storm to reach our shores.

Sheesh. . . .



Is that better than the logic which blames the whole of Europe for a world war which covered Europe, the Atlantic Ocean, Asia and the Pacific?

I do not blame the US for waiting until Pearl Harbour to realize the threat from the Axis powers. The fact remains that British and French soldiers and civilians were giving their lives to end the threat of National Socialism long before the Americans entered the war.

The current American trend towards citing European action pre-WWII as symptomatic of the same attitudes towards Iraq clearly ignore the fact that at best the US held the same "stick your head in the sand" attitude, but for longer - despite the fact that the threat from the Axis always DID include a direct threat to America, but from the West rather than the East.



This is not an attack on America for the action in Iraq. I can understand perfectly the logic behind the action. But I can also understand that people can disagree with the reasoning behind it without being Elitist-liberal Eurocowards, and referencing a war 60 years old fought under a totally different set of circumstances is a perfect example of an ad hominem attack on those who opposed this action in Iraq.

That's why writers always ignore Afghanistan when using this comparison - the fact that virtually every western nation supported the US in removing the Taliban (and still does in the hunt for Osama) makes a nonsense of the argument that Euros have some kind of character flaw dating back to 1933.

7
Politics & Religion / Political Rants
« on: February 06, 2005, 08:27:14 AM »
Quote from: Crafty_Dog
Appeasement cost millions of Jews and non-Jews their lives as England and France, allies at the time, negotiated and hesitated too long before they noticed that Hitler had to be fought, not bound to toothless agreements.


....


Appeasement? Europe, thy name is Cowardice



That's also an interesting twisting of the facts to attack the Euros. FYI WWII started in 1939 when France and Britain declared war on Germany in support of their ally, Poland. The US entered the war in 1941 only after being attacked by both Germany and Japan and with a formal declaration of war from both.


Maybe the US should feel guilty for having "hesitated too long".







I don't want to turn my own posts into Euro-centric rants either by the way. The last thing I want to do is disrespect you in your own forum, so maybe we should drop it.

Incidentally although I thought the invasion of Iraq was a bad idea to start with I firmly believe that now the damage is essentially done (in terms of the cost in military and civilian lives) our only course is to finish the job as intended - doing everything we can to help build an economically functional, democratic Iraq. It is the only way to get even close to the end justifying the means.

8
Politics & Religion / Political Rants
« on: February 06, 2005, 03:01:46 AM »
Quote from: Crafty_Dog


PS:  There is a reason this thread has the word "Rant" in its name :wink:



haha ok fair enough


Quote
Woof Alex:

That's pretty witty. :lol:   In particular the UK, Australia, and Poland have been good friends to us in all this, with the UK being especially noteworthy.  Point gladly acknowledged.

That said, there were quite a few voices out there on Afghanistan as VDH says.  That you didn't notice them speaks well of you :) so may I offer that his words be taken as a matter of "If the shoe fits, wear it"?

CD



In fact French Special Forces are still helping US troops in hunting for Osama Bin Laden. Most of Europe had troops in Afghanistan. Yet many people ignore that fact when labelling the French as traitors in the War On Terror, and Euros in general as lazy, corrupt, elitist bystanders.




Quote
Westernization, coupled with globalization, has created an affluent and leisured elite that now gravitates to universities, the media, bureaucracies, and world organizations, all places where wealth is not created, but analyzed, critiqued, and lavishly spent.


Quote
(1) live a pretty privileged life; (2) in recompense "feel" pretty worried and guilty about it; (3) somehow connect their unease over their comfort with a pathology of the world's hyperpower, the United States; and (4) thus be willing to risk their elite status, power, or wealth by very brave acts such as writing anguished essays, giving pained interviews, issuing apologetic communiqu?s, braving the rails to Davos, and barking off-the-cuff furious remarks about their angst over themes (1) through (3) above.


Those comments are pretty funny coming from a Fellow of Stanford University.

9
Politics & Religion / Re: The Toothless Teeth Gnashers
« on: February 05, 2005, 03:32:02 AM »
Quote from: buzwardo
Do we recall the successive litany of "you cannot win in Afghanistan/you cannot reconstruct such a mess/you cannot jumpstart democracy there"?


No, we don't. I recall an international effort by most of the nations that the author is attacking, to get retribution for a terrorist attack on America. Obviously that would get in the way of the "Euros and Liberals are all asshats" rant so never mind.

10
Politics & Religion / Re: The Contrarian Clause
« on: February 02, 2005, 01:38:46 AM »
Quote from: buzwardo
Be that as it may I'm pretty eclectic and eccentric so if you're looking to set your watch by my meanderings you'll most likely arrive early or late. Thumbing one?s nose at consistency and convention is one of the perks of being a contrarian and iconoclast; count on me to avail myself upon that perk frequently.



LOL!

11
Politics & Religion / We the Well-armed People
« on: January 30, 2005, 01:11:30 PM »
Quote from: buzwardo
All the murder rate comparisons in that article are with more or less 3rd World countries, so it's not really surprising they have high murder rates.

Finland, Switzerland, Israel, Russia, and the US are all cited; they're hardly third world, though I 'spose you could argue the point where Russia is concerned. My guess is that the citizens of Brazil would also object to the third world label.



Yes, in this context I consider Russia and Brazil third world, in that they have a high percentage of very poor people leading to high crime rates.

As for Finland, Switzerland, and Israel, you've missed the point: They are referenced in the article as having low murder rates, which you would expect them to have anyway given their social and economic situation.

We already debated this point on page 3 of this thread, where you cautioned me about comparing apples with oranges because I pointed out the UK murder rate is one quarter of the US rate. There are many significant social differences between the high- and low- murder rate countries in the article.




Saying that, I actually don't believe the US needs more restrictive gun laws, I'm just pointing out a flaw in this particular article.

12
Politics & Religion / We the Well-armed People
« on: January 29, 2005, 02:55:33 PM »
All the murder rate comparisons in that article are with more or less 3rd World countries, so it's not really surprising they have high murder rates. Why not compare with countries like Canada and the UK, which have murder rates around one quarter that of the US?

As you said earlier in the thread, Buz, it's better to compare regions that at have at least comparable social factors.

13
Politics & Religion / Re: Return to Reason?
« on: December 11, 2004, 07:45:08 PM »
Quote from: buzwardo
Though the headline is over the top, this article from the Daily Telegraph reports that a senior British police official acknowledges at least in passing that self defence is a human right. I think it's worth noting Sir Stevens is about to step down from his position; I wonder if the political climate is such that a tacit mea culpa can only be delivered on the way out the door.



Tony Blair just backed what Sir Stevens said

Quote
08 December 2004 - 14:23


Blair backs burglary law changes




Tony Blair has said that the government will be conducting a review into whether the law needs changing on the level of force an individual can use against an intruder.

Speaking at prime minister's question time, Mr Blair told MPs that in the light of public concern the issue would be re-examined.

The Conservatives have been championing a private members' bill that would seek to amend the existing law so that householders would only be prosecuted if they used "grossly disproportionate" force against an intruder. Currently the law allows a householder to use "reasonable force".


He's basically stolen the Conservatives' stance on the issue which I rather admire him for. It is pretty much what the majority of people want anyway.

14
Politics & Religion / We the Well-armed People
« on: October 23, 2004, 04:49:04 AM »
I've been examining the crime stats on nationmaster.com (which is a great website by the way).

Firstly I noted the burglary rate for the UK is twice that of the US. http://www.nationmaster.com/graph-T/cri_bur_cap



It's easy to find an explanation for that (in the context of this discussion): Burglaries are being prevented in the US by the criminals fear of (or actual contact with) a well armed population. (I have some other explanations with regard to the UK rate, but they aren't really relevant for now so let's keep it to guns vs. crime)


However the murder rate in the US is 4 times that in the UK. http://www.nationmaster.com/graph-T/cri_mur_cap


My question is, what is it about the murders that the arming of the population doesn't prevent them in the same way that the burglaries are prevented?

This ISN'T supposed to be a "HAHA! I proved joo rong!!!" or anything like that. I ask the question because we all know the stats don't tell the whole story and since you guys all live there you have a much better understanding of the full picture behind the stats.

15
Politics & Religion / We the Well-armed People
« on: October 22, 2004, 05:22:26 AM »
I believe there are other reasons for increasing crime in the UK. It should first be noted that crime rates were rising long before the firearms ban.

Secondly, and in my experience this is an strange concept for Americans given the gun culture that exists in the USA: People just don't carry guns for self defence over here. The gun ban had zero effect on the self defence capabilities of the average law abiding citizen, because even before the ban it would be unheard of for someone to carry a firearm in public.

It should also be noted that the firearms ban was clearly a knee-jerk reaction to a specific incident - name the Dunblane Massacre, in which around 20 schoolchildren were shot by a gun nut with a selection of legally owned weapons.

Personally I don't believe such exceptional events should be the basis for any legislation, rather than the general crime trends, but I do understand the thought process which led to that happening - If the perpetrator of the Dunblane Massacre hadn't been allowed to buy guns, those 20 kids would still be alive.

Just food for thought.

16
Politics & Religion / We the Well-armed People
« on: October 14, 2004, 04:44:54 PM »
No problem mate, by internet standards you weren't at all over the top

17
Politics & Religion / We the Well-armed People
« on: October 14, 2004, 05:43:01 AM »
Ok there is still some of her stuff out there

Here's her letter to the NRA, rather interestingly attacking them from the far-right rather than the left:

Quote
Nearly three years ago, I wrote the following Letter to the
 NRA :

When you decide to stop selling our birthright,
When you decide to stop supporting permits,
When you proclaim that each and every one of us is innocent until proven
guilty; that we need not subject ourselves to "background checks",
registration or bureaucracy,
When you refuse to tolerate evil,
When you are willing to call evil by its rightful name,
When you are willing to call genocide by its rightful name,
When you stop distracting yourselves and others with peripheral issues,
When you learn that a compromise with the devil is no compromise at all,
Then, and only then, will you have my support.




From the same article:

Quote
The NRA's business is gun control. Without gun control, the NRA would be
reduced to teaching firearms safety and use, hunter education, and
sponsoring sporting events. These are important and necessary functions, and
the NRA does a good job with these non-political tasks. But the big money,
the media attention and the glamor are in gun control. No gun control means
no million dollar contracts, no dinners with celebrities, no lavish expense
accounts, and no TV appearances.

The NRA needs gun control. So the NRA perpetuates gun control. They support
anti-gun politicians, and when those anti-gun politicians propose more gun
control, the NRA sends out more letters screaming for help, and another few
million dollars roll in. What a scam!


So the NRA is conspiring to covertly support gun control in order to perpetuate their own existence.



http://www.mail-archive.com/cypherpunks@algebra.com/msg02091.html

18
Politics & Religion / We the Well-armed People
« on: October 14, 2004, 05:37:20 AM »
Good reply Buz. Allow me to clarify a few things.




Quote
?3. Her stance and motivations on several gun control issues are, to me, highly questionable:?

I don?t have access to the source material that inspire the next several charges, and don?t wish to rebut them in a blanket manner, though I do have my quibbles.


Unfortunately her website therighter.com doesn't seem to exist anymore. It means firstly I'll have to try to remember her statements, and secondly you'll have to take my word for it that I'm accurately quoting what she said in her other articles. Thirdly it makes coherent rebuttal an almost impossible task for you as you can't refer to the articles.

Hmmmm. I know that's spectacularly unhelpful on an Internet Forum but there you go.


[my speling corrected :)]
Quote
?She believes gun deregulation is a prime concern because of a genuine risk of the next Anti-Semitic Holocaust occurring in America.?

Don?t know about the next holocaust, but there have been an awful lot of unarmed or under-armed people in America and elsewhere who have had to deal with all sorts of awful stuff because of their inability to defend themselves. There have also been many instances of armed communities resisting sundry forms of tyranny. Given the choice I?d just as soon have the ability to cause the bad guys to think twice, and can?t think of any reason to surrender that ability willingly, regardless of faith or circumstance.


I'm familiar with the arguments about self defence in general, especially with regard to making criminals think twice and so on, but that wasn't the purpose of her article in this case: The whole thing was a very specific warning to American Jews that the next Holocaust was coming, and they had better be prepared to meet it with force.

Quote
?She believes firmly that the 2nd Amendment should protect ALL weapons including fully automatic machine guns, artillery and WMDs.?

WMDs and artillery, eh? Is this reductio ad absurdum or is she really willing to issue battlefield nukes to all Americans?


Again you'll have to take my word for it (*sigh*) but her statement was very explicit. It ran something like "For the 2nd Ammendment to have any meaning whatsoever, it must be applied to all arms, including fully automatic weapons and Weapons of Mass Destruction."

My problem with her "Psychological" article posted earlier is that she really does believe that anyone who doesn't support total deregulation is in denial about the facts.

I've seen several "middle of the road" gun supporters (i.e. anyone who thinks any weapon regulation at all is in order) use this article to attack those who are more "anti gun" than they are. The key point is that as far as the author is concerned, she is talking about anyone who opposes TOTAL deregulation.

I really wish I still had her articles, because she really does think there should be no I.D. or background checks for purchasing ANY weapon. In her world, you've got the cash, it's yours, and basically anyone who doesn't believe like she does is a tool of the fascist oppressor.




I'll keep searching because I'm sure someone else will have her articles archived.

19
Politics & Religion / Re: Gun control
« on: October 13, 2004, 10:43:09 AM »
Quote from: milt
Quote from: Crafty_Dog

Raging Against Self Defense:
A Psychiatrist Examines The Anti-Gun Mentality
By Sarah Thompson, M.D.
righter@therighter.com

"You don't need to have a gun; the police will protect you."

"If people carry guns, there will be murders over parking spaces and neighborhood basketball games."

"I'm a pacifist. Enlightened, spiritually aware people shouldn't own guns."

"I'd rather be raped than have some redneck militia type try to rescue me."
How often have you heard these statements from misguided advocates of victim disarmament, or even woefully uninformed relatives and neighbors? Why do people cling so tightly to these beliefs, in the face of incontrovertible evidence that they are wrong? Why do they get so furiously angry when gun owners point out that their arguments are factually and logically incorrect?

How can you communicate with these people who seem to be out of touch with reality and rational thought?

One approach to help you deal with anti-gun people is to understand their psychological processes. Once you understand why these people behave so irrationally, you can communicate more effectively with them.


Something about this "analysis" has been bugging me for a while.  Can Ms.Thompson not argue the merits of gun ownership or whatever based on the facts?  The dismissal of opposing viewpoints by attempting to characterize "anti-gun" people as irrational or suffering for some sort of mental disorder is insulting and amounts to nothing more than an ad hominem attack.

It wouldn't be too difficult for someone to write an equivalent piece about how "gun-nuts" are mostly a bunch of weak, out of shape pussies who are unable to defend themselves without firearms.  They've seen too many "Death Wish" movies and suffer from paranoia and fear that they could be attacked by criminals and/or government black helicopters at any time.  To communicate with these people you must be careful not to bruise their fragile egos due to their small dicks which they compensate for by purchasing ever more and larger guns...

I don't neccessarily believe any of this, but you see my point.  That said, what sort of weapons restrictions are reasonable?  None?

Should anyone be able to buy rocket launchers, tanks, nukes, etc.?  Just where do you draw the line?

-milt



I agree with Milt. When I read this article a while ago on another forum it seemed very unlikely that this was a genuine attempt to psychoanalyse a group, rather that it was intended to support the author's position on gun control.

So, having read some of the author's other articles several things became apparent.

1. She is a staunch campaigner against gun control, not an unbiased psychiatrist offering an expert opinion.

2. She never practised psychiatry at all, in fact retired soon after qualifying for unspecified reasons to do with differences with the Psychiatric establishment.

3. Her stance and motivations on several gun control issues are, to me, highly questionable:

 She believes gun deregulation is a prime concern because of a genuine risk of the next Anti-Semitic Holocaust occuring in America.

She believes firmly that the 2nd Amendment should protect ALL weapons including fully automatic machine guns, artillery and WMDs.

She boycotted Glock for 'giving in' to gun control by providing free trigger locks with their handguns.



4. Bear this in mind: If you don't agree with any of the positions above it is YOU she is applying her 'analysis' to: Whatever reasons you might give for not thinking what she believes is rational, YOU are the one using those defense mechanisms she is talking about, not just anti gun lobbyists. When someone believes a gun manufacturer isn't doing enough to oppose gun control I really have to question their "professional opinion" on a group that opposes them.

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