Gonna hang back a thread and watch 'JustMyView' shill for Obama a little longer.

re: #1 buzzsawmonkey

Odd how Obama and terror groups keep being paired by his supporters.

A menage a trois made in hell.

Gee, does he know something the mainstream media is refusing to tell us?

A win for BHO is a win for Hizballah!

How charming.

Bleh!

re: #1 buzzsawmonkey

Odd how Obama and terror groups keep being paired by his supporters.

If Obama had a pair...

Current western support for Arab dictators and the associated labelling of resistance movements as terrorist organisations may not be to its best interest.

Pop quiz for political idiots:

Which American political leader refuses to meet with dictators?
In contrast, which American political leader went out of her way to have a face to face meeting with one of the worst?

Which American political leader is calling for unconditional face to face meetings with these thugs?

What exactly is Hizb'Allah "resisting"?

What label is appropriate for a group that targets civilians for murder?

re: #2 ec marm

Gonna hang back a thread and watch 'JustMyView' shill for Obama a little longer.

I dropped out thinking I'd had too much caffeine but, my BP was rising reading his shit.

I am just enjoying the new thread smell. Like fresh-baked baguettes right out of the brick oven.

Interesting how these old leftists support "democracy" when they think it'll result in a triumph for Hezbollah or Hamas, but fall silent when the "Cedar Revolution", or the like, threatens to displace the forces of barbarism that seize power through naked aggression.

re: #5 jcm

A win for BHO is a win for Hizballah!

How charming.

Charming indeed.

...labelling of resistance movements as terrorist organisations may not be to its best interest.

Shades of Buchanan's Nazi whitewash?

Sen. McCain couldn't pay to get support such as this from Harb.

Current western support for Arab dictators and the associated labelling of resistance movements as terrorist organisations may not be to its best interest. Striking mutually beneficial deals with those that more closely represent Arab populations rather than with the corrupt dictators that rule them may have better long-term pay-offs.

I still can't tell -- are these people serious? Do they know they're lying, or are they just foolish in the extreme?

Surely he doesn't believe that, once Hezbollah seizes power in Lebanon, Nasrallah would voluntarily step down and allow fair elections to choose a new leader. He'd simply be the next Arab dictator.

Memo to Charles Harb: A "resistance movement" is nothing more than a dictatorship waiting to happen.

Haven't you read the history of the 20th century? Or were you too busy studying "critical theory" to notice the facts?

re: #10 MandyManners

I dropped out thinking I'd had too much caffeine but, my BP was rising reading his shit.

It's the same thing all the time. It's a slippery, slimy one. Somehow seems to avoid Stinky, though.

Striking mutually beneficial deals with those that more closely represent Arab populations rather than with the corrupt dictators that rule them may have better long-term pay-offs.

So he's advocating negotiating with terrorists. Lovely. And- I don't think he gets islam.

re: #9 looking closely

What exactly is Hizb'Allah "resisting"?

The idea that killing Jews or Christian might possibly be wrong...

Obama will usher inanera of peace?
How about he will usher in the new Caliphate?

More peaceful era with Barak Hussein? Unfortunately, if he is elected, I believe he will be "tested" and found wanting.

re: #19 opnion

How about he will usher in the new Caliphate?

Is an apostate allowed to do that? I haven't read the war manual koran fully.

There is a bit of racism in the expectations of the left. They have Obama all figured out as some kind of secret revolutionary. But should some one carciture that thought they go crazy because it impacts his electability. So which is it?

re: #12 quickjustice

Interesting how these old leftists support "democracy" when they think it'll result in a triumph for Hezbollah or Hamas, but fall silent when the "Cedar Revolution", or the like, threatens to displace the forces of barbarism that seize power through naked aggression.

Good point. I think the total lack of support from the Western left and left-supporting governments and media was at least partly responsible for the Cedar Revolution's failure.

re: #15 zombie

I still can't tell -- are these people serious? Do they know they're lying, or are they just foolish in the extreme?

Surely he doesn't believe that, once Hezbollah seizes power in Lebanon, Nasrallah would voluntarily step down and allow fair elections to choose a new leader. He'd simply be the next Arab dictator.

Memo to Charles Harb: A "resistance movement" is nothing more than a dictatorship waiting to happen.

Haven't you read the history of the 20th century? Or were you too busy studying "critical theory" to notice the facts?

I nominate zombie's memo to Charles Harb for new rotating title (or whatever the correct term for it is-I'm having pregnancy brain moments.)

re: #21 buzzsawmonkey

Hey, zombie, I saw your discussion of I Am Curious (Yellow) on last night's open.

You are aware, I trust, that there was a sequel, I Am Curious (Blue)--and that these colors are referenced because they are the colors of the Swedish flag?

Actually, I already saw (Blue) two months ago. I'm the only person ever to watch them in reverse order.

Yes, the reference to the Swedish flag colors is mentioned in the script, right at the beginning of the film.

(Blue) flopped because it doesn't have any sex! It's composed of the outtakes from (Yellow).

Note to leftist assholes, one mans terrorist is not another mans freedom fighter, there is no such thing as a freedom fighter.

The only way a peaceful era gets ushered in is if Hamas and Hezbollocks get to kill all the Israelis. What a bunch of bullshit. They don't want to co-exist, they want Israel and the Jews dead and gone. Fucking asshat leftist morons.

At this link is the most sophisticated take on BHO and his campaign that I've yet read. I have a sick hearted feeling it is on target:

[Link: cassandra2004.blogspot.com...]

re: #22 ec marm

Is an apostate allowed to do that? I haven't read the war manual koran fully.

What makes you sure he is an apostate? Taqiyya...........................

re: #15 zombie

Memo to Charles Harb: A "resistance movement" is nothing more than a dictatorship waiting to happen.

Exactly. The Left doesn't give a damn if the dictator is one of theirs. Like they ever complained of Castro's brutality...

re: #24 Spiny Norman

i think the cedar revolution is a failure because people in Lebanon are a bunch of jew hating bastards and like europe will do whatever they think it takes to wipe out Israel.

Even if it means destroying their own country in the process

The underlying problem with these jokers is that they see the US as the cause and terrorism as the effect, when it is exactly backwards... besides the intellegence level in the mid east is higher among the camels than the humans that reside there.

re: #21 buzzsawmonkey

You are aware, I trust, that there was a sequel, I Am Curious (Blue)

Actually, the filmmaker states to the audience that Blue is NOT a sequel to Yellow -- he says it's just the same film, from a different angle.

Blue's focus is "Down with the meritocracy!" It upset me greatly at the time -- I railed about it on some long-ago late-night thread.

re: #16 ec marm

It's the same thing all the time. It's a slippery, slimy one. Somehow seems to avoid Stinky, though.

Mr. Beaumont is a man of infinite patience and tolerance.

re: #32 Spiny Norman
Castro is one of their heroes. That is all you need to know about the "left".

So, this moron thinks that Arabs would be better off under terrorist-run regimes?

Hoo boy!

I wonder if it's plain stupidity, or if he's being intentionally blind.

re: #25 livefreeor die

I nominate zombie's memo to Charles Harb for new rotating title (or whatever the correct term for it is-I'm having pregnancy brain moments.)

Don't forget that our own beloved country began as a resistance movement.

I've just signed up - when my account activates, 'Charles War' is going to get both barrels..

re: #22 ec marm

Is an apostate allowed to do that? I haven't read the war manual koran fully.

I have to get back to following Robert Spencer's on-line weekly course on the koran. I took a break from it because it was hard to read its encouragement of murder and hatred among people and the claim that this is what God now wants.

re: #38 Shay4l

hes trying to soften his people for the blown when the islamists take over Not so great Britain

re: #39 Ford_Prefect

Don't forget that our own beloved country began as a resistance movement.

A "resistance movement" whose very guiding principle was the elimination of tyranny and the establishment of democracy. Rather a large difference from the "islamofascist" (in the original sense of the term) movements of today.

re: #15 zombie

Ack! Zombie beat me to it and said it so much more elegantly and eloquently

re: #39 Ford_Prefect

Don't forget that our own beloved country began as a resistance movement.

I hope that didn't come off sounding like I support this idiot...
I am just saying that resistance in and of itself does not lead to dictatorship. If the resisters are of good moral character then it can lead to the greatest country the world has ever seen.

re: #7 buzzsawmonkey

Maybe, since his real middle name is off limits, he should be called Barack Hamas Obama or Barack Hezbollah Obama.

Out of perverse loyalty to J. Danforth Quayle who NEVER got a break from the noise machine: Barack Hussein Obama is not off limits, it is his name. Rush is tracking the BHO speech code which needs to be defied on principle.

re: #44 Shay4l

Ack! Zombie beat me to it and said it so much more elegantly and eloquently

That's a hobby of mine.

re: #39 Ford_Prefect

Don't forget that our own beloved country began as a resistance movement.

But as a resistance movement against a dictatorship, not a movement to support one (I'm thinking of radical Islam as a dictatorship).

harb has no idea what freedom means.

This article doesn't mention Obama, so it doesn't seem exactly accurate to say that the author is praising him.

Harb doesn't bother to mention why Samir Kuntar was in prison.

re: #33 pegcity

i think the cedar revolution is a failure because people in Lebanon are a bunch of jew hating bastards and like europe will do whatever they think it takes to wipe out Israel.

Even if it means destroying their own country in the process

The Muslim population, certainly. I have a Lebanese Christian friend whose family in northern Lebanon were praying for Israel to destroy Hizb'allah. He's told me that sentiment is very common among the Lebanese Christian community... if not with the Christian leaders who've cut deals with the Muslims.

re: #29 Joan

"He speaks so calmly and polysyllabically that people fail to appreciate the Machiavellian ambition inside." This is the BS factor, not depth.
I would read some VDH for some offsetting perspective.

re: #52 jaunte

Harb doesn't bother to mention why Samir Kuntar was in prison.

He was a political prisoner, clearly!

/

re: #39 Ford_Prefect

Don't forget that our own beloved country began as a resistance movement.

Actually, the colonies that coalesced into our country tried for over a decade to use the system have their wrongs redressed. Parliament ignored their petitions until armed resistance was the only option left for liberty.

The Declaration of Independence was written as much to justify the resistance to other European countries as it was to inform the king.

That's why I get particularly incensed when some idiot compares terrorists to American Revolutionary freedom fighters.

re: #49 livefreeor die

But as a resistance movement against a dictatorship, not a movement to support one (I'm thinking of radical Islam as a dictatorship).

Even a resistance against a dictatorship requires moral character to avoid becoming just another dictatorship.

re: #55 buzzsawmonkey

His name, "Harb," is "war" in Arabic.

Odd coincidence, isn't it?

re: #51 JustMyView
"..looks forward to..."
"Perhaps the election of a new US president will usher a more peaceful era for the war-weary Middle East."

re: #51 JustMyView

This article doesn't mention Obama, so it doesn't seem exactly accurate to say that the author is praising him.

Perhaps the election of a new US president will usher a more peaceful era for the war-weary Middle East.

Do you think he's talking about Sen. McCain?

re: #51 JustMyViewSomehow I doubt that the author of this tripe has John McCain in mind when he speaks of a new U.S. President. Sheesh.

re: #12 quickjustice

Interesting how these old leftists support "democracy" when they think it'll result in a triumph for Hezbollah or Hamas, but fall silent when the "Cedar Revolution", or the like, threatens to displace the forces of barbarism that seize power through naked aggression.

Well Leftism is basically the old stone age practice of beating up people and taking their stuff with a really heavy layer of modernist makeup. So its not a surprise to see Leftists supporting other barbarians.

re: #57 goddessoftheclassroom

Actually, the colonies that coalesced into our country tried for over a decade to use the system have their wrongs redressed. Parliament ignored their petitions until armed resistance was the only option left for liberty.

The Declaration of Independence was written as much to justify the resistance to other European countries as it was to inform the king.

That's why I get particularly incensed when some idiot compares terrorists to American Revolutionary freedom fighters.

Very well put. I would expect nothing less from the goddess.

re: #55 buzzsawmonkey

His name, "Harb," is "war" in Arabic.

Could he be of Arabic extraction on his mother's side?

Can I go OT? Local Minneapolis "community radio" station is advocating violence during the Republican convention. Can they do that?

Thugs are like wolves. They smell weakness.

and Obama has quite an odor

45 buzzsawmonkey
re: #35 zombie
" Blue's focus is "Down with the meritocracy!" It upset me greatly at the time -- I railed about it on some long-ago late-night thread.

I remember reading some book years ago on the "rise of the meritocracy," which considered the notion of a meritocracy to be a bad thing. It's been some time since I read it, but the idea was that a "meritocracy" was a self-perpetuating club of self-regard, sort of like what the MSM has become today. Point being that if you let the people in power at any given moment determine what "merit" is according to their own criteria, you get a self-perpetuating oligarchy."

I think it was Christopher Lasch, author of The Culture of Narcissism, in his book "Revolt of the Elites" A strangely independent, iconoclastic writer from the left, I think, but very astute and greatly missed public intellectual.

re: #66 Dave the.....
What? If they are advocating violence over the airwaves that has to violate some federal law about incitement to riot. I would figure you could advocate sit ins, marches, etc... But actual physical violence? That has to be a felony.

re: #62 pingjockey

Somehow I doubt that the author of this tripe has John McCain in mind when he speaks of a new U.S. President. Sheesh.

He may not, but it still is not fair to say that he praises Obama, because that simply is not in the article.

re: #2 ec marm
Hey EC! See #51 above - you're wish has come true (which is an example of why "Be Careful What You Wish For" is so apt!).

re: #64 Ford_Prefect

Very well put. I would expect nothing less from the goddess.

:)

Anybody want to make some extra cash?
Announcing an ezralevant.com contest with $1,000 in prize money!

Here are links to some of what they are advocating...

[Link: www.kfai.org...]

re: #45 buzzsawmonkey

I remember reading some book years ago on the "rise of the meritocracy," which considered the notion of a meritocracy to be a bad thing. It's been some time since I read it, but the idea was that a "meritocracy" was a self-perpetuating club of self-regard, sort of like what the MSM has become today. Point being that if you let the people in power at any given moment determine what "merit" is according to their own criteria, you get a self-perpetuating oligarchy.

That's the main thrust of blue as well, and it's also a sub-theme of Yellow.

The lead actress goes around interviewing (real) random Swedes on the street, and asks them if they think it's fair that doctors and engineers earn seven times as much as manual laborers. Some of the respondants give surprisingly astute answers to refute her communist garbage, things like, "Of course it's fair. They spent 12 years in college studying hard, and have advanced skills. They deserve to earn more." And my favorite, "Some people are naturally more talented and intelligent. Shouldn't they be rewarded for that?" Her response is, "But doesn't that perpetuate the class system?" But here's what boggles my mind: in the DVD "extra feature" they discuss how it was the most popular film of the year in Sweden, and what made it so controversial over there was not the sex scenes but rather the "shocking callousness" of the interview subjects. Apparently, admitting that you agree with the meritocracy makes you a monster! Who knew?

re: #39 Ford_Prefect

Don't forget that our own beloved country began as a resistance movement.

The American Revolution was unique in that respect: "resistance movements" that have followed chose the French model. They prefer Robespierre to Washington.

re: #55 buzzsawmonkey

His name, "Harb," is "war" in Arabic.

Great catch!

re: #27 pegcity

Note to leftist assholes, one mans terrorist is not another mans freedom fighter, there is no such thing as a freedom fighter.

Except when they fight against freedom.

[Link: news.yahoo.com...]

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown demanded Sunday that Israel cease settlement construction and promised more money to jump-start the battered Palestinian economy.

You mean spend the hard-working over taxed British citizen's money on rockets and explosives for these lazy shiftless vermin?

I think that's what Gordon means

The resistance movement was able to liberate most of Lebanon's territory from a two decade-long Israeli occupation, conducted a successful prisoner exchange in 2004, broke the invulnerability myth of the Israeli Defence Forces in the 2006 war, and managed to return all Lebanese prisoners held in Israel this past week. Hizbullah's charismatic leader has argued that his movement has never capitulated to Israeli demands, and thus never been defeated in its 25-year history – "the era of [Arab] defeats is over".

And this is why you can't give these terrorists an inch. You can't work with them, you can't pull back your army to show "mercy", you cannot do deals with them- they ALWAYS consider it weakness. In their barbaric medieval minds, they win, you lose. Then it's propaganda time. And time to begin more aggressive attacks and maneuvers. It won't end until they're defeated absolutely.

re: #71 JustMyView

That's pretty weak.

re: #67 shug

Thugs are like wolves. They smell weakness.

and Obama has quite an odor

Yes, and hyenas are drawn to the scent of corruption. All this political expediency and opportunism is symptomatic of ruthlessness, vanity, lust for power and perks. I think he's a materialist like Ortega, a player.

re: #71 JustMyView
No one from the Guardian is going to endorse McCain. Period, end of story. You know who they're talking about. Don't be obtuse.

re: #84 pingjockey

No one from the Guardian is going to endorse McCain. Period, end of story. You know who they're talking about. Don't be obtuse.

What I believe is that it's important not to say things that aren't true, and there is no praise for Obama in that article.

Huh, money quote from the article itself:

"The festivities in Lebanon brought the flags of resistance movements from across the political divide: the "party of God" and the Communist party joined within the same crowd, highlighting the common denominator that binds all. This was also made clear by the diversity of nationalities and creeds associated with the 199 bodies Israel returned to Lebanon this day." [emphasis added, realwest]

re: #35 zombie

Actually, the filmmaker states to the audience that Blue is NOT a sequel to Yellow -- he says it's just the same film, from a different angle.

Blue's focus is "Down with the meritocracy!" It upset me greatly at the time -- I railed about it on some long-ago late-night thread.

Down with people who actually know what they're doing?

Yes, They're socialists alright.

re: #85 JustMyView
Okay.

re: #81 gop_patriot

And this is why you can't give these terrorists an inch. You can't work with them, you can't pull back your army to show "mercy", you cannot do deals with them- they ALWAYS consider it weakness. In their barbaric medieval minds, they win, you lose. Then it's propaganda time. And time to begin more aggressive attacks and maneuvers. It won't end until they're defeated absolutely.

I agree wholeheartedly.

i get the impression that these so called "reporters" would be kissing nazi ass back in the 1930's

re: #71 JustMyView

He may not, but it still is not fair to say that he praises Obama, because that simply is not in the article.

If you were any denser, it'd take a daisy-cutter to cut through your bullshit.

re: #54 rockdad

"He speaks so calmly and polysyllabically that people fail to appreciate the Machiavellian ambition inside." This is the BS factor, not depth.
I would read some VDH for some offsetting perspective.

Will do that. rockdad, what does vdh stand for--thnx

re: #71 JustMyView

He may not, but it still is not fair to say that he praises Obama, because that simply is not in the article.

Read: "That depends on what your definition of 'is' is."

re: #93 Ford_Prefect

Read: "That depends on what your definition of 'is' is."

Offhand, I'd say that if the guy's name isn't mentioned, it's not really plausible to claim that he is the object of discussion.

re: #85 JustMyView

What I believe is that it's important not to say things that aren't true, and there is no praise for Obama in that article.

The link in the article, "Perhaps the election of a new US president will usher a more peaceful era for the war-weary Middle East." There you will find 51 cites on that page for Obama, 11 for McCain.

re: #90 pegcity

i get the impression that these so called "reporters" would be kissing nazi ass back in the 1930's

Well, we do know they were kissing up to Stalinists for decades, weren't they.

re: #96 Joan

Well, we do know they were kissing up to Stalinists for decades, weren't they.

NYTimes got a Pullet Surprise for doing it too.

re: #94 JustMyView

You're Cognito's sock puppet, aintcha'?

re: #96 Joan

Well, we do know they were kissing up to Stalinists for decades, weren't they.

And winning Pulitzers for it.

re: #98 MandyManners
Mwahahahahaha!

What an insane Goebbelist tool. Hezbollah does not represent a sizable part of the Arab world, nor does it oppose dictatorship: It is a Shiite organization and it is a front for a non-Arab dictatorship.

These goofs seem to pick out ignorant liberal tropes from a vending machine or something and use them to push the buttons of the gullible media-slave population.

"Perhaps the election of a new US president will usher a more peaceful era for the war-weary Middle East."

Yeah, I believe that. Jimmy Carter did wonders for a peaceful Middle East.

re: #95 jcm

The link in the article, "Perhaps the election of a new US president will usher a more peaceful era for the war-weary Middle East." There you will find 51 cites on that page for Obama, 11 for McCain.

Big deal. That page is simply a set of links to articles about the election. That there are more links to stories about Obama than to stories about McCain doesn't seem to me to have much to do w/ Harb's point of view, which is what's at stake here.

re: #66 Dave the.....

Can I go OT? Local Minneapolis "community radio" station is advocating violence during the Republican convention. Can they do that?

Which one? KFAI?

re: #97 jcm
I like that! "Pullet Surprise". Hahahaha!

re: #79 The Other Les

wish you could be double pinged upward for that one! ;-)

re: #97 jcm

Beat me by 9 seconds.

Drat!

I'm getting a sick at the stomach feeling as this election nears.
There's so much dishonesty in voter registration.
There's so much slant in the media.
The fawning is disgusting.
And the supporters/fans/minions are immune to reason.

*sniff*
Do I smell a shill for Obama?

re: #94 JustMyView

Offhand, I'd say that if the guy's name isn't mentioned, it's not really plausible to claim that he is the object of discussion.

I would say that we all new who ecmarm was talking about without the name being mentioned.

re: #85 JustMyView

What I believe is that it's important not to say things that aren't true, and there is no praise for Obama in that article.

What was the point of that article?

re: #95 jcm

The link in the article, "Perhaps the election of a new US president will usher a more peaceful era for the war-weary Middle East." There you will find 51 cites on that page for Obama, 11 for McCain.

Beat me to it.

re: #96 Joan

Well, we do know they were kissing up to Stalinists for decades, weren't they.

Exactly, they had a choice. Since they were already with the left, it was easy to stick with Stalin rather than move to the newer socialist.

re: #84 pingjockey

Silly boy. Inference only counts when talking about "Right Wing Racism"

It should NEVER be applied to the left.

/S

- DRILL!

re: #110 debutaunt
To show that leftist of any stripe are brain dead idiots?

Profile
Professor Charles Harb teaches social psychology at the American University of Beirut

War-weary Middle East, eh? Are the Islamofascists going to cease being the aggressors?

re: #108 mean Gene

And the supporters/fans/minions are immune to reason.

They have the same blank look in their eyes that one sees in cult members.
Like cheap dolls eyes.

Eyes not connected to a functioning brain, yet ready to punch their Chad for change, not knowing one policy statement of the man

Frightening that a nation could fall victim to these foolish unwashed masses.

A nation rotting from within

re: #39 Ford_Prefect Well that's certainly one way to put it, that the American Revolutionary War was a resistance movement. However I do believe you are incorrect when you say America was a resistance movement - America was, by the written words of The Declaration of Independence and by the diaries and letters of the Founding Fathers, an experiement that had never before been tried in the history of the World: the idea that the governed should do the governing. To the extent that, at the time, the Western World was all governed by Monarchies who claimed their rights to govern had been given to them by God, then I suppose yes, the idea that the governed should do the governing was a "resistance" movement.

re: #113 Drill_Thrawl
Of course, how ignorant of me. Buncha Goddamn asshats.

re: #51 JustMyView

This article doesn't mention Obama, so it doesn't seem exactly accurate to say that the author is praising him.

Perhaps the election of a new US president will usher a more peaceful era for the war-weary Middle East.

What is the likelihood that this refers to McCain?

Les

re: #66 Dave the.....

Can I go OT? Local Minneapolis "community radio" station is advocating violence during the Republican convention. Can they do that?

Which one? KFAI?

Yep. Took a vaca day on Friday...flipping through the stations in midday and the lady was interviewing a guy who is planning attacks...not bombs (so far), but blockades of streets and highways, harassment of the delegates, that sort of thing. The KFAI interviewer was cheering him on and has invited him back.

Oh, the good news? Apparently rapes are a huge problem in the peace movement. So they are holding rape prevention clinics this month.

re: #118 realwest

Well that's certainly one way to put it, that the American Revolutionary War was a resistance movement. However I do believe you are incorrect when you say America was a resistance movement - America was, by the written words of The Declaration of Independence and by the diaries and letters of the Founding Fathers, an experiement that had never before been tried in the history of the World: the idea that the governed should do the governing. To the extent that, at the time, the Western World was all governed by Monarchies who claimed their rights to govern had been given to them by God, then I suppose yes, the idea that the governed should do the governing was a "resistance" movement.

Did you see my #57?
[Link: littlegreenfootballs.com...]

re: #120 Shiplord Kirel
Slim and none.

Apart from the monstrous ideological content, this article is also noteworthy for its hilarious bad English diction and style. "... clamoured to be the only Arab country to have done"? Did the Guardian editors simply suspend the rules for this guy?

His profile at AUB.

[Link: wwwlb.aub.edu.lb...]

Not a word on his ethnicity.

To add to my 121....the radio station has set up links to the domestic terrorists. They are in partnership with them.

re: #121 Dave the.....

Apparently rapes are a huge problem in the peace movement. So they are holding rape prevention clinics this month.

Behold the peaceful, respectful, empowering left! Grrrr.

re: #115 MandyManners
Um, I'm sorry for my ignorance here Mandy, but what the heck is "Social Psychology"?
Is that the thing where everyone sits around and says "I'm ok, you're ok"? Or in the "activist" wing of the Dem party "I'm ok, you're not"?!

re: #110 debutaunt

What was the point of that article?

The point of the article was to make claims about the achievements of what the author calls "resistance movements" in the Middle East and, in passing, to say that perhaps a new U.S. president will be more willing to engage with such movements. But that is only the author's hope. It has nothing to do with what may or may not happen.

And, again, there is no mention of Barack Obama in the article.

re: #120 Shiplord Kirel

What is the likelihood that this refers to McCain?

Why was such a vague article published?

Mid East Resistance Movements=Murderous vermin.

re: #121 Dave the.....

Les

Yep. Took a vaca day on Friday...flipping through the stations in midday and the lady was interviewing a guy who is planning attacks...not bombs (so far), but blockades of streets and highways, harassment of the delegates, that sort of thing. The KFAI interviewer was cheering him on and has invited him back.

Oh, the good news? Apparently rapes are a huge problem in the peace movement. So they are holding rape prevention clinics this month.

As I've said, Leftism is barbarism with a heavy layer of makeup.

re: #103 JustMyView

Let's reread looking closely's #9 again, since you obviously ignored it the first time:

Pop quiz for political idiots:

Which American political leader refuses to meet with dictators?
In contrast, which American political leader went out of her way to have a face to face meeting with one of the worst?

Which American political leader is calling for unconditional face to face meetings with these thugs?

What exactly is Hizb'Allah "resisting"?

What label is appropriate for a group that targets civilians for murder?

And then this:

Striking mutually beneficial deals with those that more closely represent Arab populations rather than with the corrupt dictators that rule them may have better long-term pay-offs. Perhaps the election of a new US president will usher a more peaceful era for the war-weary Middle East.

The Gruaniad's Charles Harb is referring to Barack Obama, whether you refuse to see it or not.

re: #129 JustMyView

Apparently you wouldn't know bias if it hit you in the face. The bias is so thick in this article as to qualify being a 4x8.

re: #66 Dave the.....

Can I go OT? Local Minneapolis "community radio" station is advocating violence during the Republican convention. Can they do that?

Incitement to riot is a crime, and advocating the violent overthrow of the United States government is a crime. I'm not sure web postings count, except as evidence of conspiracy if a crime is actually committed. Realize, however, that no matter what the violence that may or may not take place at the Republican convention will not be sanctioned. The hyenas want prey, and since they can't get it based on reprisals for failing to nominate Obama, they'll go after it as part of the rabid hatred for America that is the hallmark of our Democrat left.

re: #132 The Other Les

its all about feelings, and i guess some dirty leftists sometimes "feel" like raping a woman, no biggie right.

re: #128 realwest

Um, I'm sorry for my ignorance here Mandy, but what the heck is "Social Psychology"?
Is that the thing where everyone sits around and says "I'm ok, you're ok"? Or in the "activist" wing of the Dem party "I'm ok, you're not"?!

I have no idea. Sounds like mushy-headed crap to me.

What a disgusting piece of garbage.

OK - allow Israel to fight with no rules and see how the heroic (cowardly) Hizbullah resistance will last

re: #129 JustMyView

The point of the article was to make claims about the achievements of what the author calls "resistance movements" in the Middle East and, in passing, to say that perhaps a new U.S. president will be more willing to engage with such movements. But that is only the author's hope. It has nothing to do with what may or may not happen.

And, again, there is no mention of Barack Obama in the article.

AAAAIYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

I give up.

re: #118 realwest

I'm not endorsing any other kind of governance,yet the biggest problem with the governed doing the governing is when they figure out you can use the power of your vote to take the property of another citizen.

re: #57 goddessoftheclassroom

Actually, the colonies that coalesced into our country tried for over a decade to use the system have their wrongs redressed. Parliament ignored their petitions until armed resistance was the only option left for liberty.

The Declaration of Independence was written as much to justify the resistance to other European countries as it was to inform the king.

That's why I get particularly incensed when some idiot compares terrorists to American Revolutionary freedom fighters.

Madam Doctor Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has made that abominable comparison. She gave the keynote address to the American Task Force on Palestine Inaugural Gala on October 12, 2006. After verbose fawning on the virtues of Palestinians, their accomplishments and contributions to the well-being of American society, she gave this pledge:
"I know that sometimes a Palestinian state living side by side in peace with Israel must seem like a very distant dream. But I know too, as a student of international history, that there are so many things that once seemed impossible that, after they happened, simply seemed inevitable. I've read over the last summer the biographies of America's Founding Fathers. By all rights, America, the United States of America, should never have come into being. "

re: #120 Shiplord Kirel

What is the likelihood that this refers to McCain?

My point is not what may or may not have been in the author's mind. We can't know that. We only know what he said, and he did not say anything about Obama.

re: #134 FurryOldGuyJeans

Apparently you wouldn't know bias if it hit you in the face. The bias is so thick in this article as to qualify being a 4x8.

Not so much if you spin furiously.

re: #130 debutaunt

Why was such a vague article published?

To share the pious hope of various lefty tools that a new administration (Bob Barr maybe?) would be more friendly to their terrorist masters.

Dar-al-Islam...the world of Islam
Dar-al-Harb...the world of war and unbelievers
Dar-al-Charles Harb....the world of craven and abject dhimmi-wits

re: #142 JustMyView

My point is not what may or may not have been in the author's mind. We can't know that. We only know what he said, and he did not say anything about Obama.

What's on second?

Links to other articles by Harb.

[Link: commentisfree.guardian.co.uk...]

re: #94 JustMyView

Offhand, I'd say that if the guy's name isn't mentioned, it's not really plausible to claim that he is the object of discussion.

*sigh*
against my better judgment: the claim is plausible, it would not stand up in court of law.

very lawyerly parsing, #94

re: #148 debutaunt
I don't know is on third.

re: #145 buzzsawmonkey

Fawning on Obambi?

Say it ain't so!

Doe I need to say it? obambi is such a deer!
/

OT Padraig Harrington has a 4 shot lead with one hole to play.

re: #128 realwest

Um, I'm sorry for my ignorance here Mandy, but what the heck is "Social Psychology"?
Is that the thing where everyone sits around and says "I'm ok, you're ok"? Or in the "activist" wing of the Dem party "I'm ok, you're not"?!

From the Journal of Cross Cultural Psychology.

re: #153 VegasRick

Gaaaaah!

re: #142 JustMyView

My point is not what may or may not have been in the author's mind. We can't know that. We only know what he said, and he did not say anything about Obama.

If we can't infer what was in the authors mind by reading what he wrote, then what is the point of his having bothered to write his views?

re: #151 pingjockey

I don't know is on third.

Now how did I get on third base?

re: #156 pingjockey

Gaaaaah!

solly.

re: #152 buzzsawmonkey

"Darrell Harb" would be a good pseud.

I'm pretty sure he's at least one-half Arab.

re: #157 Ford_Prefect

If we can't infer what was in the authors mind by reading what he wrote, then what is the point of his having bothered to write his views?

YES!

Even more appalling than the article by Harb is this column, partially about the Harb article, by a purported Evangelical Christian, and given space on a conservative email list:

[Link: www.theconservativevoice.com...]

Does anyone here know this "Baba Ranganathan"?

re: #155 MandyManners
Well, I read the first paragraph and that told me it was bs.

re: #158 jcm

Now how did I get on third base?

bought her drinks?

From the comments to this piece of shit, from one JennM:

I don't see the released prisoner as a child killer - I see him as a person who, when he was barely 16, was caught up in a murderous folly for which he paid for with 30 years in prison.

"Caught up in a murderous folly"... don't you see? Kuntar is the real victim here.

/spit

re: #158 jcm
Today threw a wild pitch and Tomorrow missed it.

re: #165 sattv4u2

bought her drinks?

Git yer mind outta the gutter...
So I can float by.
;-P

re: #142 JustMyView

My point is not what may or may not have been in the author's mind. We can't know that. We only know what he said, and he did not say anything about Obama.

Sure. I didn't say that Harb is a lying terror tool in my earlier posts, or mention his name at all, but it would take a very dim bulb indeed not to infer that from what I did write. I will take responsibility for that view, too.

re: #159 VegasRick
Don't apologize, it is a sign of weakness. John Wayne.

re: #22 ec marm

Is an apostate allowed to do that? I haven't read the war manual koran fully.

Actually Barry is so way down with the Umma, that he gets a pass on the apostate thing.

re: #142 JustMyView

My point is not what may or may not have been in the author's mind. We can't know that. We only know what he said, and he did not say anything about Obama.

So you think a Hizballah supporter would be suggesting that a new U.S. President McCain would be a great thing for the "war-weary" Middle East?

Really?

Either you are being intentionally obtuse, or you are just seriously thick. Quit floating around in your little "if it's not spelled out for me in neon letters three feet high, I won't make a judgment" bubble, and read what Harb wrote. Harb, you know, the man who works in Beirut, likes Hizballah, and considers Nasrallah a "charismatic leader", not the murdering sack of scum that he is.

re: #169 Shiplord Kirel

Sure. I didn't say that Harb is a lying terror tool in my earlier posts, or mention his name at all, but it would take a very dim bulb indeed not to infer that from what I did write. I will take responsibility for that view, too.

That isn't just your view, though.

re: #157 Ford_Prefect

If we can't infer what was in the authors mind by reading what he wrote, then what is the point of his having bothered to write his views?

You can infer all you want, but, in fact, all he said was that he was hopeful that a new administration will usher in a more peaceful era.

The writer may very well be hoping for an Obama victory, but my point has nothing to do with his hopes. It has to do with a fair characterization of what was said. I am not definding him; I am criticizing the phrasing of the heading for this thread. Jt simply is not accurate to say that Harb praises Obama.

re: #163 buzzsawmonkey

He Arabs me the wrong way, for what that's worth.

I bow to greatness.

"Israel seems more likely to yield to the demands of resistance movements (Hamas, Hizbullah) than to friendly pleas and peace offers."

Friendly pleas and peace offers. I haven't seen those. Is that what we call rockets and suicide bombers now?

"Perhaps the election of a new US president will usher a more peaceful era for the war-weary Middle East."

So how is the US President gonna make the crazy bastards stop the attacks on Israel?

re: #143 buzzsawmonkey

re: #76 zombie

The book "The Rise of the Meritocracy"--I forget the author--was a poli. sci. book published by Penguin in one of their other "bird lines," Pelican I think. It long antedates Christopher Lasch, and was, if memory serves, a view-with-alarm following WWII over the idea that people who were actually trained for what they are doing should be so quickly supplanting the good old British class system.

The idea of a meritocracy is in itself, at first, reasonably attractive, if viewed objectively; who wouldn't want people running things who actually know what they are doing? The problem is that a "meritocracy," like any -ocracy, is self-perpetuating above all. If certain credentials--say, a degree from Columbia and from Harvard--come to serve as an imprimatur of merit irrespective of the person carrying those credentials (see Obama, Barack), or, worse, independent of what the course of study and the received wisdoms are in the institutions bestowing said credentials, then there is a problem.

You are correct, I'm sure. Christopher Lasch is still worth reading, and very likely he was indebted to the original work you identify.

re: #164 pingjockey

Well, I read the first paragraph and that told me it was bs.

Moonbattery of the first order.

Not surprising that an anti Israeli paper in Perfidious Albion would have a Beirut based Hezbullah columnist.

Goes well with their Prime Minister who believes that Israel is to blame and aid and more aid and more aid and loosening Israeli security will tame the beasts:

Visiting British Prime Minister Gordon Brown called on Israel on Sunday to stop settlement construction, and offered additional financial support and police training to the Palestinian Authority government.

The British leader said economic prosperity was the key to peace, and urged an easing of Israeli travel restrictions in the West Bank that have hindered commerce.

He promised British support in developing housing, industrial parks and small businesses.

Brown was speaking at a press conference with PA President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank town of Bethlehem.

[Link: www.jpost.com...]

re: #145 buzzsawmonkey

Fawning on Obambi?

Say it ain't so!

I saw a fawn (with its mom) last night while driving through Rock Creek Park. Awfully durn cute.

Now. Bracing myself...

I actually agree (just this once) with JustMyView; it's a stretch to say this article "Praises Obama". Yes, I think that's who he's thinking of with his "next US president" remark, of course. But the piece itself doesn't say so.

re: #166 Occasional Reader

From the comments to this piece of shit, from one JennM:

"Caught up in a murderous folly"... don't you see? Kuntar is the real victim here.

/spit

Bashing a little kid's head in is folly?

re: #174 JustMyView

You can infer all you want, but, in fact, all he said was that he was hopeful that a new administration will usher in a more peaceful era.

The writer may very well be hoping for an Obama victory, but my point has nothing to do with his hopes. It has to do with a fair characterization of what was said. I am not definding him; I am criticizing the phrasing of the heading for this thread. Jt simply is not accurate to say that Harb praises Obama.

This is death by 2,181 comments.

re: #174 JustMyView

You can infer all you want, but, in fact, all he said was that he was hopeful that a new administration will usher in a more peaceful era.

Well if the new administration would bomb the bejesus out of Gaza and the West bank, then maybe the more peaceful era could get started.

re: #180 Occasional Reader

I saw a fawn (with its mom) last night while driving through Rock Creek Park. Awfully durn cute.

Now. Bracing myself...

I actually agree (just this once) with JustMyView; it's a stretch to say this article "Praises Obama". Yes, I think that's who he's thinking of with his "next US president" remark, of course. But the piece itself doesn't say so.

Must it be written in stone for it to be obvious?

re: #163 buzzsawmonkey

He Arabs me the wrong way, for what that's worth.

I can always bet on buzzsaw coming up with a pun. Others bet to lose; I bedouin.

re: #180 Occasional Reader
No OR it doesn't spell it out in black and white. But come on, do you really think this guy was infering "any" next administration?

re: #185 Occasional Reader
Double gaaaah! I'll say this you punny guys are very quick.

re: #27 pegcity

Note to leftist assholes, one mans terrorist is not another mans freedom fighter, there is no such thing as a freedom fighter.

I don''t know about that, if Osama gets elected you just might end up being one.

re: #162 del

Conservative Voice is also one of the few outlets that publishes Pat Buchanan's trash. They are wackos.

re: #181 MandyManners

Bashing a little kid's head in is folly?

Why, sure. Youthful hijinks, "boys will be boys", etc. The usual stuff; tee-peeing someone's house, cow-tipping, smashing a little girl's head with a rifle butt after murdering her father... you know.

/
/spit again
/spit again and think fondly of my ammo supply and Kuntar's center-mass

I just finished David Bellavia's House to House about Falluja. Are these "resistance movements" the ones the Guardian is hoping Obama makes mutually beneficial deals with? Like what, oil for free reign to slaughter anybody who displeases them? Or, since Obama is anti - oil, I guess it is free reign to slaughter for nothing. Read this book (or download on audible and listen on your ipod) and you'll see the real resistors... drug crazed fanatics with pre-meditated rabies.

re: #140 n in wi Ah, actually no, not under our system or our constitution. If the government takes your property (leaving aside the important question of whether they should or not and for whatever purpose) they must pay you fair compensation for it.
In my 35 years of experience as a real estate attorney, I saw numerous cases of governmental takings where the government would say, for example, "We'll give you $1,000,000 for your property as that is what it is worth". Whereupon we'd produce an appraiser who would say the property was worth $3,000,000 and the court would
almost invariably give the property owner $2,000,000.

re: #174 JustMyView

You can infer all you want, but, in fact, all he said was that he was hopeful that a new administration will usher in a more peaceful era.

The writer may very well be hoping for an Obama victory, but my point has nothing to do with his hopes. It has to do with a fair characterization of what was said. I am not definding him; I am criticizing the phrasing of the heading for this thread. Jt simply is not accurate to say that Harb praises Obama.

Do you always take what you read or hear strictly at face value? just because someone doesn't say "I am an Obamaton" doesn't mean you can't tell that from what they do say. (Does that reflection in the mirror look familiar?)

re: #163 buzzsawmonkey

He Arabs me the wrong way, for what that's worth.

Are you casting as-persians?

re: #143 buzzsawmonkey

re: #76 zombie

The idea of a meritocracy is in itself, at first, reasonably attractive, if viewed objectively; who wouldn't want people running things who actually know what they are doing? The problem is that a "meritocracy," like any -ocracy, is self-perpetuating above all. If certain credentials--say, a degree from Columbia and from Harvard--come to serve as an imprimatur of merit irrespective of the person carrying those credentials (see Obama, Barack), or, worse, independent of what the course of study and the received wisdoms are in the institutions bestowing said credentials, then there is a problem.

What you are describing is not a meritocrary, just a new class system with a different name. A true meritocracy -- in fact the whole point behind a meritocracy -- is that social status, reputation, victimhood ranking and all the other false indicators of stature or quality are thrown out the window in favor of a system in which true objective merit is rewarded. If someone who's self-trained is a better math whiz than someone with a PhD from Harvard -- hire the self-trained guy!

The whole point behind a meritocracy is to get rid of any remaining inequities and ossification of society -- all classism, racism, ageism etc. is junked -- in favor of "meritism."

And it's a canard to think that the "ruling class" will flippantly decide what counts as merit on some nonenxistent subjective scale: most skill sets have objective measures.

re: #186 pingjockey

No OR it doesn't spell it out in black and white. But come on, do you really think this guy was infering "any" next administration?

Like I said, no. You and I both know that. And I'm sure if you sat down with him over sweet tea (to employ the usual Arab world trope), he'd drool all over the rug about Obama. But this particular article does not "praise Obama"; it just ain't there.

re: #195 zombie

zombie. you are right again. owning a small business you must operate on "meritism" or you will go down like Monica Lewinsky.

re: #185 Occasional Reader

I can always bet on buzzsaw coming up with a pun. Others bet to lose; I bedouin.

Well, just as long as you're nomad at us.

re: #193 Ford_Prefect

Do you always take what you read or hear strictly at face value? just because someone doesn't say "I am an Obamaton" doesn't mean you can't tell that from what they do say. (Does that reflection in the mirror look familiar?)

The title of this thread says that Obama was praised by a writer who supports terrorist organizations. He wasn't. It's that simple.

There has been endless commentary on this blog about Obama's problematic associations, no matter how slight the connection. If those things are going to be given so much weight, then it is important to ensure that he is not falsely linked to someone with such problematic views.

re: #196 Occasional Reader
OK. See your point. It isn't there. But IMO that is what this asshat is infering.

re: #190 Occasional Reader

Why, sure. Youthful hijinks, "boys will be boys", etc. The usual stuff; tee-peeing someone's house, cow-tipping, smashing a little girl's head with a rifle butt after murdering her father... you know.

/
/spit again
/spit again and think fondly of my ammo supply and Kuntar's center-mass

You forgot the flaming-bag-of-dog-poop trick.

re: #190 Occasional Reader

That commenter makes me remember that it's possible to stretch perspective so far it doesn't apply to the human condition any more. Which is an act of stupidity.

Boy I am ignorant......

OLD and ignorant.......................and lost

Anyone ever use that computer professors' stuff?
Will it help?

The Diz

re: #155 MandyManners
ROTFLMAO! I JUST KNEW IT! It's not a psychology class at all, it's sociology (apologies in advance to any lizards who majored in or are sociology(ists).
Just BABBLE. NOTHING BUT BABBLE!
And it still comes down to "I'm Ok, you're ok" or "I'm ok, you're not".
It continually amazes me that these people (not you, Mandy, but those in your link) think that if they use enough words (many of them made up on the spot) with enough syllables that SOUND right
then it qualifies as something believable. LOL!

re: #9 looking closely
What exactly is Hizb'Allah "resisting"?

I don't know about them, but Hamas, al-Aqsa and Islamic Jihad appear to be resisting Sbarro Pizza, hotels, restaurants, discos, and especially those oppressive buses.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Israeli_civil ian_casualties_in_the_Second_Intifada

re: #190 Occasional Reader
...
/spit again and think fondly of my ammo supply and Kuntar's center-mass

LOL Center head works pretty good too.

Project Better Place, the Israel-based worldwide electric car initiative, is making important steps. It is filling in the gaps in its model which will be tested in Israel and replicated in Denmark, Portugal, and other places as they become committed to the project.

[Link: www.globes.co.il...]

Israel Corp. (TASE: ILCO) and Project Better Place are considering bringing in fuel companies to the electric car project in Israel. The companies want to place battery recharging units for the electric cars at gas stations in strategic locations on the country's roads.

The collaboration model with the fuel companies might give a substantial boost to the deployment of the project's recharging infrastructure by eliminating the need to find and buy locations for the recharging points. This will avoid delays in licensing, land registration, rezoning, and so forth.

re: #199 JustMyView

"A writer who supports terrorists organizations hopes, vaguely, for a change in US administration which will favor the hopes of suicide-bombing, highjacking, child-murdering intransigents." That would be accurate, and sort of long for a headline.

re: #197 bellamags

zombie. you are right again. owning a small business you must operate on "meritism" or you will go down like Monica Lewinsky.

So true -- that's why the Left hates capitalism, because it is essentially the real-world application of economic meritocracy.

re: #199 JustMyView

The title of this thread says that Obama was praised by a writer who supports terrorist organizations. He wasn't. It's that simple.

There has been endless commentary on this blog about Obama's problematic associations, no matter how slight the connection. If those things are going to be given so much weight, then it is important to ensure that he is not falsely linked to someone with such problematic views.

Do you ride the "special" bus to school?

re: #203 Dizzy26

Boy I am ignorant......

OLD and ignorant.......................and lost

Anyone ever use that computer professors' stuff?
Will it help?

The Diz

the only way it would help me is if the puter professor showed up with the disk and did it all for me !

re: #75 Dave the.....

Here are links to some of what they are advocating...

[Link: www.kfai.org...]

Is KFAI a "Pacifica Network" station?

re: #210 VegasRick

Do you ride the "special" bus to school?

you shortbusaphobe, you

re: #205 Andopolis

What exactly is Hizb'Allah "resisting"?

I don't know about them, but Hamas, al-Aqsa and Islamic Jihad appear to be resisting Sbarro Pizza, hotels, restaurants, discos, and especially those oppressive buses.

Exactly. That and when Israel gives them land they like to destroy the old infrastructure and live in squalor.

JustMyView:
/fingers in ears/ "Nananananananana"

re: #195 zombie

A true meritocracy -- in fact the whole point behind a meritocracy -- is that social status, reputation, victimhood ranking and all the other false indicators of stature or quality are thrown out the window in favor of a system in which true objective merit is rewarded.

A coupla thoughts:

1) Way back when in college, I read a very interesting essay in my Government class that pointed out the downside of a "pure meritocracy". In a system that has transparent inequalities, someone who finds himself on the losing end of things at least has the solace of being able to think "I'm just as good as they are, it's the system that's unfair". In a hypothetical "pure meritocracy", that solace is unavailable. What would be the social effects of that? Hard to say.

2) Without getting all Derridan and whatnot... there's a lot to "unpack" in the phrase "true objective merit". In some cases, the input to that is so subjective/culturally driven that the "objective" part becomes meaningless. E.g., is a given rapper or opera singer "truly objectively" meritorious? The opera fan will thing the rapper's stuff is trash; the rap fan will find the opera singer ludicrous.

nyc redneck..... :)

love you, too.....

re: #185 Occasional Reader ROFL! Good one O.R.! But as far as any "serious" discussion of this article is concerned, I still think my #54 hit the nail on the head.

re: #204 realwest

I wonder how much of his study focused solely on Arab cultures.

re: #213 sattv4u2

you shortbusaphobe, you

I don't like clowns either.

re: #217 Ma Sands

Where you been?

re: #212 Colonel Panik

It looks like it's going to be a major fizzle, to me.

But who knows? Their fantasies of violence and rage might get played out for about five minutes.

re: #220 VegasRick

I don't like clowns either.

you don't/ And bere all this time I thought you liked me !

re: #122 goddessoftheclassroom Ah, no {goddess} I didn't see it before. Sorry!
But then again, not having read your post, GMTA!

re: #208 jaunte

"A writer who supports terrorists organizations hopes, vaguely, for a change in US administration which will favor the hopes of suicide-bombing, highjacking, child-murdering intransigents." That would be accurate, and sort of long for a headline.

An accurate headline might say, "Palestinian claims "resistance movements" are achieving political success; hopes new US administration will promote this trend." Still long for a headline, but it has the advantage of being accurate.

Really, all I am claiming here is that the title of this thread is problematic. I am certainly not saying anything favorable about the writer or the organizations he supports.

re: #225 JustMyView

"political success" is such a bland term for wiping out a country.

re: #206 Plumed Basilisk

...
/spit again and think fondly of my ammo supply and Kuntar's center-mass

LOL Center head works pretty good too.

Hey, why not both?

re#211 sattv4u2

Yeah, know what you mean...damn I fell old.....and dumb

Not like 4 years ago when I was young and bright as hell..
oh well.....lol
thanks anyway

re: #137 MandyManners

Ummm, social psychology is NOT mushy headed crap- though many of you, most of you, are apparently immune to some of its "charms"

One of the most misused misunderstood branches of sociology, it it the one most often used for the "dark side" of sociology. . .it is the study of meanings and symbols among individual humans in groups- symbolic interaction.

The dark side part, as you have already may have guessed, is the fact that once you learn about the symbolic meanings, you can craft a message of, say hope and change, and sell it to the masses. . .
My Master's thesis was in this realm, I examined how ads for women changed their messages after women entered the work force, from promising beauty to promoting the "relaxing" qualities of their use.

The marketing departments were/are light years ahead of sociologists in some regards, they saw women as feling more put upon and stressed loooooong before we did. . .

re: #225 JustMyView

What's this "Palestinian" you speak of?

re: #219 MandyManners
Well first we'd have to agree on the word "study" - I'd say it was pretty non-existent for him but, if he did "study" then I'd say ALL of it was on Arab "cultures".
It's just "junk science" if you ask me.

re: #216 Occasional Reader

2) Without getting all Derridan and whatnot... there's a lot to "unpack" in the phrase "true objective merit". In some cases, the input to that is so subjective/culturally driven that the "objective" part becomes meaningless. E.g., is a given rapper or opera singer "truly objectively" meritorious? The opera fan will thing the rapper's stuff is trash; the rap fan will find the opera singer ludicrous.

Let the marketplace decide. If the rapper can sell a million records -- he is rewarded with wealth. Simple as that.

re: #225 JustMyView

all I am claiming here is that the title of this thread is problematic

2 questions

1) Is the columnist praising terror groups, even indirectly?
2) Did the columnist praise Oabama?

If the answers are YES, then the title of the thread is accurate

re: #230 MandyManners

What's this "Palestinian" you speak of?

I'll leave that to your imagination.

re: #229 DisturbedEma

My apologies.

re: #85 JustMyView

I noticed on the previous thread you make a lot of assertions about Obama's intentions but don't provide credible citations to back them up. Did you intentionally leave this out of the discussion?

Obama in April 2007.

“Our country’s greatest military asset is the men and women who wear the uniform of the United States. When we do send our men and women into harm’s way, we must also clearly define the mission, prescribe concrete political and military objectives, seek out advice of our military commanders, evaluate the intelligence, plan accordingly, and ensure that our troops have the resources, support, and equipment they need to protect themselves and fulfill their mission.” [Emphasis added]

— Barack Obama, Chicago Foreign Affairs Council, April 23, 2007

Obama one month later, May 2007,

May 25, 2007 9:07 AM
…
Last night 80 Senators voted for a bill that will fund the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan without a timetable for US troop withdrawal.

Sen. Carl Levin, D-Michigan, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee who voted against going to war in the first place, voted YEA. “I cannot vote to stop funding our troops who are in harm’s way,” he said. “It is not the proper way that we can bring this was to an end. It is not the proper way that we can put pressure on Iraqi leaders.”
Clinton and Obama felt differently, though the decision was apparently not easy. Neither would discuss the vote before it was cast. Both were among the last dozen or so to vote; Obama slipped in quietly onto the Senate floor at close to 8:45 p.m., said hi to some colleagues, approached the desk, quietly said “No,” and left.

re: #231 realwest

Well first we'd have to agree on the word "study" - I'd say it was pretty non-existent for him but, if he did "study" then I'd say ALL of it was on Arab "cultures".
It's just "junk science" if you ask me.

I don't think that it's a science at all.

re: #234 JustMyView

I'll leave that to your imagination.

Jordyptians.

re: #226 jaunte

"political success" is such a bland term for wiping out a country.

Get used to nuance & revisionism. Barry never ever said what he said, if it is not helpful now, ever.
He never had the radical friends, that he had.
He never sat in a pew for twenty years and heard what he heard.

re: #233 sattv4u2

all I am claiming here is that the title of this thread is problematic

2 questions

1) Is the columnist praising terror groups, even indirectly?
2) Did the columnist praise Oabama?

If the answers are YES, then the title of the thread is accurate

As I and a couple of others have pointed out, the answer to (2) is no. Obama is not even mentioned, let alone praised. Thus the title of the thread is inaccurate.

Re (1), yes, he praises groups that we generally call terrorist groups.

re: #205 Andopolis

What exactly is Hizb'Allah "resisting"?

I don't know about them, but Hamas, al-Aqsa and Islamic Jihad appear to be resisting Sbarro Pizza, hotels, restaurants, discos, and especially those oppressive buses.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Isr aeli_civilian_casualties_in_the_Second_I ntifada

Don't forget their resounding victories against pregnant Jewish women and small children.

re: #229 DisturbedEma

That's really interesting.

Sociology as practiced by college professors, and sociology as practiced by marketers are different; the former is usually a way of excusing a victim group. The latter is about making money.

However, it's hysterical just how off a marketing department can be. Remember "New Coke"?

re: #229 DisturbedEma
Respectfully - "The marketing departments were/are light years ahead of sociologists in some regards, they saw women as feling more put upon and stressed loooooong before we did. . ."
Uh, are you sure the marketing departments didn't create that and then sell it to us?

Btw, we plainly don't have to know what is in a writer's or speaker's mind to understand what he or she is trying to tell us.
If we did, all written and spoken communication would cease to have meaning.

For instance, what might have been in Harb's mind when he wrote this?
"Damnation, the shit I have to do to keep those butchers from sending that video to the cops. How was I to know they were Hezbollah goats?"

Or Noam Chomsky when he finished writing his claim that the US plan was to starve 2 million Afghans to death during the "bitter Afghan winter" of 2001-02:
"Ha ha! I'll bet the glue-huffing babbitt-spawn swallow it whole! A bigger yacht for me!"

Claivoyance is not real, or at least not reliable. The spoken and written word is all we have, for better or worse.

Terrorists hope raised by the thought of a new US administration.
/Who sees McCain in this picture?

re: #227 Occasional Reader

Hey, why not both?

Only 3 rounds?
Just keep firing!

pegcity

Why don't you come here and insult my country to my face and watch me kick your spineless ass?

/composure

re: #240 JustMyView

Re (1), yes, he praises groups that we generally call terrorist groups.

Speak for yourself. There's no "generally" about it.

re: #242 Dianna
Hi Dianna! Please see my #243 - not as well put as was yours, but along at least similar paths! In fact I was going to use New Coke as an example! LOL!

re: #240 JustMyView

As I and a couple of others have pointed out, the answer to (2) is no. Obama is not even mentioned, let alone praised. Thus the title of the thread is inaccurate.

Re (1), yes, he praises groups that we generally call terrorist groups.

Please tell me what you think the author meant by "Perhaps the election of a new US president will usher a more peaceful era for the war-weary Middle East., in that one candidate is a strong supporter of the current mid-east policy, while the other professes change?

re: #217 Ma Sands

nyc redneck..... :)

love you, too.....

{MA SANDS}!

It's so good to see you here!

re: #236 ciaospirit

I noticed on the previous thread you make a lot of assertions about Obama's intentions but don't provide credible citations to back them up. Did you intentionally leave this out of the discussion?

Thanks for these citations. I know that Obama voted in favor of most of the "supplementals" that have been used to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but, as your quotes indicate, apparently not all. I'll have to check his record so that I can be accurate in any future discussions.

As much fun as this is, I've gotta run. See you later folks.

there is no possibility that harb is referring to john mccain as his choice for the new u.s pres. to usher in a more peaceful era for the war torn m.e.
mccain understands and uses the term islamic terrorism.
if peace comes to the m.e. it will be because mccain has the courage to take them on and harb most certainly doesn't happily envision that approach as suitable for the 'freedom fighters', he praises.
harb is a weasel.

re: #252 JustMyView

Thanks for these citations. I know that Obama voted in favor of most of the "supplementals" that have been used to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but, as your quotes indicate, apparently not all. I'll have to check his record so that I can be accurate in any future discussions.

As much fun as this is, I've gotta run. See you later folks.

You get nailed and then run away?

re: #254 MandyManners

I really wanted Just to answer my #250 ,,,, sigh !

re: #242 Dianna

However, it's hysterical just how off a marketing department can be. Remember "New Coke"?

And don't forget Clear Beer.

Miller beer that actually visibly reminds you that it's water. What could possibly go wrong?

re: #229 DisturbedEma

Ummm, social psychology is NOT mushy headed crap- though many of you, most of you, are apparently immune to some of its "charms"

One of the most misused misunderstood branches of sociology, it it the one most often used for the "dark side" of sociology. . .it is the study of meanings and symbols among individual humans in groups- symbolic interaction.

The dark side part, as you have already may have guessed, is the fact that once you learn about the symbolic meanings, you can craft a message of, say hope and change, and sell it to the masses. . .
My Master's thesis was in this realm, I examined how ads for women changed their messages after women entered the work force, from promising beauty to promoting the "relaxing" qualities of their use.

The marketing departments were/are light years ahead of sociologists in some regards, they saw women as feling more put upon and stressed loooooong before we did. . .

Have you read The Conquest of Cool:Business Culture, Counterculture, and the Rise of Hip Consumerism by Thomas Frank? He all but spells out that Doyle, Dane Bernbach created the "youth counter-culture" of the 60s. He also asserts that the 60s counterculture remains the dominant internal culture of advertising and media to this day.

re: #240 JustMyView

Re (1), yes, he praises groups that we generally call terrorist groups

There you have it.

re: #255 sattv4u2

I really wanted Just to answer my #250 ,,,, sigh !

He's slippery than otter snot, I tell ya'.

re: #255 sattv4u2
Not gonna happen. A couple of us asked that. Just was sticking to the point that the asshat writer never specifically mentioned obama.

re: #258 ciaospirit

There you have it.

As if they are terrorist groups only by virtue of how we define them.

re: #250 sattv4u2

Please tell me what you think the author meant by "Perhaps the election of a new US president will usher a more peaceful era for the war-weary Middle East., in that one candidate is a strong supporter of the current mid-east policy, while the other professes change?

Once again, the issue is not who the author is referring to. The issue is what the title of this thread says. There is no praise for Obama or any other U.S. politician in Harb's article.

BBIAW

re: #217 Ma Sands

nyc redneck..... :)

love you, too.....

hey, {ma sands} you have been so missed.
welcome back. love you. ploome and i were just lamenting you absence.