GEORGE W. BUSH
-
John Etherington
- Posts: 2605
- Joined: Sat Sep 18, 2004 10:17 pm
Hi Teratogen
I understand your anger...it is not disimilar in tone to some of the rage expressed in Leonard's mid-period writings. My own response to seeing a criminal elected to such a powerful position in the world, is the opposite to yours - namely depression. The cover of the Guardian 2 magazine today simply expresses the mood of liberal Britian - it is a plain black cover with the two small words "Oh God" in white. It seems that what was left of the new consciousness that emerged in the Sixties has all but evaporated. What we have now is the polarisation of two very dangerous forms of fundamentalism - which seemingly have very little to do with the teachings of Jesus Christ or The Prophet. These are truly apocalyptic times...The words of Leonard's "The Future" and "Democracy" have never seemed more relevant than today.
With my understanding of depression, as being anger turned inward, your emotional response to it is consistent, John. It seems the depression response has a sense of futility, where the anger and rage carry a feeling that something can still be done. The difference in ages between you and me and Teratogen is also consistent with that. With your mention of the Sixties, we saw the progress in thinking and various impacts that came with that. We've watched it disappear. Now, we have a Senate weighted to the Republican side. We also [even more impacting] have Justices that will be appointed to the Supreme Court, for their lifetime, by this President. We will see even more progress rolled back. The impacts are too likely to last the length of my own lifetime. We haven't even gotten to the war in Iraq, and those that are now yet to come around the world. I feel GWB hijacked 'love for G~d' and 'morality' and used them to manipulate the American people [at least the majority of those who voted] for his own purposes. He has perpetrated immoral acts, and mandated that others do, repeatedly over the past four years. Now, here come another four [and more, in lasting impact]. For me, that is depressing and feels futile.
~ Lizzy
~ Lizzy
That's the funniest thing I've heard in a long time.The cover of the Guardian 2 magazine today simply expresses the mood of liberal Britian - it is a plain black cover with the two small words "Oh God" in white.
I was just watching France2 --- it did me good to see all that existential despair.
However, Levy (the writer who has been traveling through America during this whole thing and was at the Kerry headquarters when the bad news was delivered) said not to be fooled by all the crocodile tears by the different EU diplomats over Kerry's loss. Bush's win means that they can maintain the status quo. If Kerry had won, they would have had to pony up, i.e. sending soldiers to Iraq, money, etc. So a lot of the leaders are not that upset over the win by Bush.
Me? I'm chair dancing.
I am delighted with the election results -
Tchocolatl
- Posts: 3805
- Joined: Wed Apr 02, 2003 10:07 pm
Regarding this election of B-U-S-H -S-H...Something strange, amusing yet reconforting happened to me this morning.
Everybody knows how to make things diseapper. You let them in your usual environment day after day and than, slowly they beginning to faded, and one day you just don't see them anymore. Now, please apply this theory to some of my books on the book shelve that facing my computer. This morging, I was opening the computer, thinking about the four years to come and the bad war-time-like-ghoul-mentalily it occurs to me, and poor democracy when all of a sudden I catched in the screen two piecing eyes in a determined face, smiling to me in a smart manner, that was for the less surprising. To say the truth I jumped a little bit. Yes, the sun acting like a music-hall magician, had suddenly beamed high and hard on the bio of Churchill behind my back and on this magnificent painted portrait of him on the jacket, making it materialised in a dramatic and beautiful way. How can I describe his expression on this portrait? Let say that it makes me think on the spot about all the people like him in the world.
Have a nice day.
Everybody knows how to make things diseapper. You let them in your usual environment day after day and than, slowly they beginning to faded, and one day you just don't see them anymore. Now, please apply this theory to some of my books on the book shelve that facing my computer. This morging, I was opening the computer, thinking about the four years to come and the bad war-time-like-ghoul-mentalily it occurs to me, and poor democracy when all of a sudden I catched in the screen two piecing eyes in a determined face, smiling to me in a smart manner, that was for the less surprising. To say the truth I jumped a little bit. Yes, the sun acting like a music-hall magician, had suddenly beamed high and hard on the bio of Churchill behind my back and on this magnificent painted portrait of him on the jacket, making it materialised in a dramatic and beautiful way. How can I describe his expression on this portrait? Let say that it makes me think on the spot about all the people like him in the world.
Have a nice day.
***
"He can love the shape of human beings, the fine and twisted shapes of the heart. It is good to have among us such men, such balancing monsters of love."
Leonard Cohen
Beautiful Losers
"He can love the shape of human beings, the fine and twisted shapes of the heart. It is good to have among us such men, such balancing monsters of love."
Leonard Cohen
Beautiful Losers
-
John Etherington
- Posts: 2605
- Joined: Sat Sep 18, 2004 10:17 pm
Hi Lizzy
Lizzy - you got it! Bush is a man with a huge inflation and extremely large shadow that he projects "out there" (albeit onto two appropriate hooks). With his parental complexes, he is also trying to please mummy and daddy. Add to this the issues around money and oil, and the bad name he is giving to true Christianity, and you've got an extremely dangerous cocktail.By starting an unjust war (against a nation that America originally supplied with weapons) Bush has shown a ruthless disrepect for human life. He should be tried as a war criminal.
reaction to Bush's election
This piece says it all. I want all to see it.
Wednesday, November 3, 2004 (SF Gate)
Wallow In Chaos, And Laugh
A pro-Bush outcome with one enormous bitter pill to swallow
and you without your vodka
By Mark Morford, SF Gate Columnist
Oh dear God please not again. Oh dear God please don't let it be all convoluted and depressing and messy and stupid and please don't let it all embarrass us on an international level all over again even more than it already has and even more than it already is and even more than we've endured lo these past four debilitating and soul-crushing years. Hello? Please? Is it already too late?
Why yes, yes it is.
And lo and behold, it was apparently another completely tortuous and
entirely knotted presidential election, unfinished until the wee hours and
reeking of E-voting suspicion and exit-poll miscalculation and it all came
down to, what? Ohio? Are you serious? What a thing.
??
And now Kerry's conceded and the white flag has been raised and we are
headed toward the utterly appalling notion of another four years of Bush
and another Republican stranglehold of Congress and repeated GOP chants of
"More War in '04!" Which is, well, simply staggering. Mind-blowing. Odd.
Gut-wrenching. Colon-knotting. Eyeball-gouging. And so on.
??
You want to block it out. You want to rend your flesh and yank your hair
and say no way in hell and lean out your window and scream into the Void
and pray it will all be over soon, even though you know you're an atheist
Buddhist Taoist Rosicrucian Zen Orgasmican and you don't normally pray to
anything except maybe the gods of really exceptional sake and
skin-tingling sex and maybe a few luminous transcendental deities that
look remarkably like Jenna Jameson.
??
It simply boggles the mind: We've already had four years of some of the
most appalling and abusive foreign and domestic policy in American
history, some of the most well-documented atrocities ever wrought on the
American populace and it's all combined with the biggest and most
violently botched and grossly mismanaged war since Vietnam, and still much
of the nation still insists in living in a giant vat of utter blind faith,
still insists on believing the man in the White House couldn't possibly be
treating them like a dog treats a fire hydrant.
??
Inexplicable? Not really. People want to believe. They want to trust their
leaders, even against all screaming, neon-lit evidence and stack upon
stack of flagrant, impeachment-grade lie. They simply cannot allow that
Dubya might really be an utter boob and that they are being treated like
an abused, beaten housewife who keeps coming back for more, insisting her
drunk husband didn't mean it, that she probably had it coming, that the
cuts and bruises and blood and broken bones are all for her own good.
??
And this election, it might be all be very amusing, in a Mel Gibsony,
blood-drenched hamburger-of-Christ sorta way, were it not so sad and
dangerous. It might all be tolerable and cute, in a violence-engorged,
sexist, video-gamey sorta way, were it not so lopsided and wrong.
??
This election's outcome, this heartbreaking proof of a nation split more
deeply and decisively than ever, it simply reinforces the feeling among
much of the educated populace: It is a weirdly embarrassing time to be an
American. It is jarring and oddly shattering and makes you rethink what it
really means to be a part of this country. The answer: It doesn't mean
much at all. Not really. Not anymore.
??
This is the common wisdom on the progressive Left. Those first four toxic
Bush years? A fluke. A phantasm. A stolen election. A gaff, a mugging, a
crime. But this? An election this close makes you reconsider. Maybe, after all, we aren't nearly as far along as we think. Maybe we're not all that sophisticated or nuanced or respectable a nation as we sometimes dare to dream.
??
Maybe, in fact, we're regressing, back to the days of guns and sexism and
pre-emptive violence, of environmental abuse and no rights for women and
an sincere hatred of gays and foreigners and minorities. Sound familiar?
It should: It's the modern GOP platform.
??
Here's the thing: For tens of millions of us, it is simply unconscionable
that we could possibly be led for another four years by a small and
spoiled little man who has very little real idea what he's doing and even
less of how the hell he got there. It would be funny, in a Adam Sandler,
toilet-humored sort of way, were it not so poisonous and depressing. And
yet it looks like we're stuck with it, like a shard of glass buried deep
in the eye.
??
And the rest of the world? Well, it can only watch us and shake its
collective head and wonder just what the hell is wrong with us, why so
many millions of us would even consider re-electing the world's most inept
and war-hungry and insanely inarticulate man to four more years of
unchecked power, why our much-hyped much-coveted supposedly ultra-superior
democratic system is so very deeply blotchy and knotty and spoiled.
??
So then, to much of Europe, Asia, Canada, Mexico, Russia, the Middle East
-- to all those dozens of major world nations who want Bush out almost as
much as the educated people of America, to you we can only say: We are so
very, very sorry. We don't know how it happened, either. For tens of
millions of us, Bush is not our president and never will be. That's how
divisive. That's how dangerous. That's how very sad it has become.
??
The GOP steamroller appears to be just too powerful, just too well-oiled
and blood soaked and fear inducing to be stopped just yet. After all, the
Right has been working on this master plan and building their takeover
strategy for about forty years. It's gonna take those of us working for
change and progress and raw spiritual juice a little more than one or two
to dissolve it away like the cancer it so obviously is.
??
Apparently, there are lessons yet to be learned. Apparently we must hit
some sort of new low between now and 2008, attain some sort of seriously
vicious status in the world before we will snap out of it. You think?
??
This much is clear: We are not, with a grim Bush victory, headed for
buoyancy and friendship and sincere hope for something new and refreshing.
We are not, with another four years of what we just endured, headed toward
any sort of easing of bitter tension, a sense of levity, or sexual
openness, or true education, or gender respect, or a lightness of spirit
and of step.
??
Maybe the best we can hope for, at this ominous and slightly sickening
moment, is one hell of a lot more patience.
Thoughts for the author? E-mail him.
Subscribe to this column at sfgate.com/newsletters.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright 2004 SF Gate
Wednesday, November 3, 2004 (SF Gate)
Wallow In Chaos, And Laugh
A pro-Bush outcome with one enormous bitter pill to swallow
and you without your vodka
By Mark Morford, SF Gate Columnist
Oh dear God please not again. Oh dear God please don't let it be all convoluted and depressing and messy and stupid and please don't let it all embarrass us on an international level all over again even more than it already has and even more than it already is and even more than we've endured lo these past four debilitating and soul-crushing years. Hello? Please? Is it already too late?
Why yes, yes it is.
And lo and behold, it was apparently another completely tortuous and
entirely knotted presidential election, unfinished until the wee hours and
reeking of E-voting suspicion and exit-poll miscalculation and it all came
down to, what? Ohio? Are you serious? What a thing.
??
And now Kerry's conceded and the white flag has been raised and we are
headed toward the utterly appalling notion of another four years of Bush
and another Republican stranglehold of Congress and repeated GOP chants of
"More War in '04!" Which is, well, simply staggering. Mind-blowing. Odd.
Gut-wrenching. Colon-knotting. Eyeball-gouging. And so on.
??
You want to block it out. You want to rend your flesh and yank your hair
and say no way in hell and lean out your window and scream into the Void
and pray it will all be over soon, even though you know you're an atheist
Buddhist Taoist Rosicrucian Zen Orgasmican and you don't normally pray to
anything except maybe the gods of really exceptional sake and
skin-tingling sex and maybe a few luminous transcendental deities that
look remarkably like Jenna Jameson.
??
It simply boggles the mind: We've already had four years of some of the
most appalling and abusive foreign and domestic policy in American
history, some of the most well-documented atrocities ever wrought on the
American populace and it's all combined with the biggest and most
violently botched and grossly mismanaged war since Vietnam, and still much
of the nation still insists in living in a giant vat of utter blind faith,
still insists on believing the man in the White House couldn't possibly be
treating them like a dog treats a fire hydrant.
??
Inexplicable? Not really. People want to believe. They want to trust their
leaders, even against all screaming, neon-lit evidence and stack upon
stack of flagrant, impeachment-grade lie. They simply cannot allow that
Dubya might really be an utter boob and that they are being treated like
an abused, beaten housewife who keeps coming back for more, insisting her
drunk husband didn't mean it, that she probably had it coming, that the
cuts and bruises and blood and broken bones are all for her own good.
??
And this election, it might be all be very amusing, in a Mel Gibsony,
blood-drenched hamburger-of-Christ sorta way, were it not so sad and
dangerous. It might all be tolerable and cute, in a violence-engorged,
sexist, video-gamey sorta way, were it not so lopsided and wrong.
??
This election's outcome, this heartbreaking proof of a nation split more
deeply and decisively than ever, it simply reinforces the feeling among
much of the educated populace: It is a weirdly embarrassing time to be an
American. It is jarring and oddly shattering and makes you rethink what it
really means to be a part of this country. The answer: It doesn't mean
much at all. Not really. Not anymore.
??
This is the common wisdom on the progressive Left. Those first four toxic
Bush years? A fluke. A phantasm. A stolen election. A gaff, a mugging, a
crime. But this? An election this close makes you reconsider. Maybe, after all, we aren't nearly as far along as we think. Maybe we're not all that sophisticated or nuanced or respectable a nation as we sometimes dare to dream.
??
Maybe, in fact, we're regressing, back to the days of guns and sexism and
pre-emptive violence, of environmental abuse and no rights for women and
an sincere hatred of gays and foreigners and minorities. Sound familiar?
It should: It's the modern GOP platform.
??
Here's the thing: For tens of millions of us, it is simply unconscionable
that we could possibly be led for another four years by a small and
spoiled little man who has very little real idea what he's doing and even
less of how the hell he got there. It would be funny, in a Adam Sandler,
toilet-humored sort of way, were it not so poisonous and depressing. And
yet it looks like we're stuck with it, like a shard of glass buried deep
in the eye.
??
And the rest of the world? Well, it can only watch us and shake its
collective head and wonder just what the hell is wrong with us, why so
many millions of us would even consider re-electing the world's most inept
and war-hungry and insanely inarticulate man to four more years of
unchecked power, why our much-hyped much-coveted supposedly ultra-superior
democratic system is so very deeply blotchy and knotty and spoiled.
??
So then, to much of Europe, Asia, Canada, Mexico, Russia, the Middle East
-- to all those dozens of major world nations who want Bush out almost as
much as the educated people of America, to you we can only say: We are so
very, very sorry. We don't know how it happened, either. For tens of
millions of us, Bush is not our president and never will be. That's how
divisive. That's how dangerous. That's how very sad it has become.
??
The GOP steamroller appears to be just too powerful, just too well-oiled
and blood soaked and fear inducing to be stopped just yet. After all, the
Right has been working on this master plan and building their takeover
strategy for about forty years. It's gonna take those of us working for
change and progress and raw spiritual juice a little more than one or two
to dissolve it away like the cancer it so obviously is.
??
Apparently, there are lessons yet to be learned. Apparently we must hit
some sort of new low between now and 2008, attain some sort of seriously
vicious status in the world before we will snap out of it. You think?
??
This much is clear: We are not, with a grim Bush victory, headed for
buoyancy and friendship and sincere hope for something new and refreshing.
We are not, with another four years of what we just endured, headed toward
any sort of easing of bitter tension, a sense of levity, or sexual
openness, or true education, or gender respect, or a lightness of spirit
and of step.
??
Maybe the best we can hope for, at this ominous and slightly sickening
moment, is one hell of a lot more patience.
Thoughts for the author? E-mail him.
Subscribe to this column at sfgate.com/newsletters.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright 2004 SF Gate
Lightning,
Nice. It's the sort of thing that makes fly-over people like me dig in their heels. But what can you expect...I'm not one of those educated people of America." I am not "sophisticated or nuanced or respectable." I live in a "giant vat of utter blind faith."
Must dash...have to go out and burn a few witches.
Nice. It's the sort of thing that makes fly-over people like me dig in their heels. But what can you expect...I'm not one of those educated people of America." I am not "sophisticated or nuanced or respectable." I live in a "giant vat of utter blind faith."
Must dash...have to go out and burn a few witches.
Hey they say if you can't have the one you love then love the one you're with.
(A wise man said that, wiser than Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan put together although, if the these guys had been as wise then I guess we wouldnt have all the great songs)
So here's wishing Dubya good luck but please...pretty please.... a couple of steps more to the center.
I don't think all world leaders are disappointed. Mr Putin and Mr. Koizumi (Japan head honcho) publicly preferred Bush to win even as Putin was anti-Iraq war. I also remember a BBC poll that showed India's public split 50-50 Bush- Kerry and Philippines something similar.
(A wise man said that, wiser than Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan put together although, if the these guys had been as wise then I guess we wouldnt have all the great songs)
So here's wishing Dubya good luck but please...pretty please.... a couple of steps more to the center.
I don't think all world leaders are disappointed. Mr Putin and Mr. Koizumi (Japan head honcho) publicly preferred Bush to win even as Putin was anti-Iraq war. I also remember a BBC poll that showed India's public split 50-50 Bush- Kerry and Philippines something similar.
I ALSO agree with the thrust and details of this article. However, in my endorsement, I don't suggest that people like Midnight are uneducated, unsophisticated; un-nuanced, unrespectable; or blind. So, how do I reconcile the quandary of that polarization 
? Is there no way to maintain/retain our regard for one another?
? Is there no way to maintain/retain our regard for one another?-
Byron
- Posts: 3171
- Joined: Tue Nov 26, 2002 3:01 pm
- Location: Mad House, Eating Tablets, Cereals, Jam, Marmalade and HONEY, with Albert
There is too much focus on personalities.
Once we can divorce the policies from the personalities, we can move on to a serious discussion. It is clear that American political preferences are split down the middle.
In this situation it would take the wisdom of Solomon to get either side of the opposing political viewpoints to meet half way. It won't happen.
Attacking the views and beliefs of the 'other' side will only cause more friction and deeper entrenchment.
We all have a personal view on the policies and result of the election. We have President Bush in Office for the next 4 years and we will be watching him and his team with interest.
Our hope must be for a concerted effort by his administration to join with other world leaders in discussing matters such as, Global Warming, the Palestinian Issue, the Middle East in general, the 100,000 civilian deaths in Iraq (this figure is not certain and is yet to be clarified) the gradual errosion of human civil liberties for those who are being kept in custody by U.S authorities.
All of the above matters are regular discussion issues in the world's press. The sentiments expressed by some contributers about their lack of respect for countries such as France needs to be curbed. The French suffered terribly in 2 world wars. The Americans came to their aid on each occassion for which the French people are eternally grateful. What seems to have been overlooked is that the Americans gave France their freedom, which the French are now exercising. One must be careful about giving gifts and then criticising the recipient for not using the gift in the way that the giver wants. Who would appreciate being given a Christmas present, only to be constantly moaned at, for not doing what the person who gave it to us, wanted us to do.
A further worrying issue for me, is that while millions of people around the world have been watching the American elections, thousands of refugees in Sudan have been scattered to the 4 winds, from their refugee camps, by the Sudan Government's police and army, at gunpoint. Wagons with machine guns mounted on them were used to terrify the refugees, who had to run for their lives, as bulldozers flattened their makeshift hovels. (There is no oil in Sudan )
Aid workers were held back at gunpoint as the military moved in, under cover of absence from our TV screens, because of the Presidential election. I cannot find any mention of a moral crusade on their behalf, from the White House. ( There's no oil in Sudan ) I hold my own country morally corrupt in allowing this to take place without a hue and cry.
So, talk and argue as much as you like, but remember that while our political issues seem hugely important to each of us, they don't amount to a hill of beans by comparison with what our leaders are choosing to sideline.
It is very difficult for me to accept the moral high ground that G.W.Bush has taken in pro-life, same sex marriages, stem cell research, etc., issues, when thousands are dying, who could be fed, sheltered and watered with just a tiny percentage of the vast sums of money spent on a highly morally based political platform from both sides. I do take these matters seriously. I belong to Amnesty International and Oxfam.
One can tell how civilised a country is by the way it cares for all of its sick, elderly, weak, impoverished, and unemployed. Speaking as a person who lives in the 'west,' and not as a Brit, European, NATO, Western Alliance citizen, I feel that I am not in any sort of state of grace. Appalling things are going on that our leaders could stop tomorrow if they wanted to. But what's a life here or there; a hundred lives here or there; a thousand lives here or there; a hundred thousand lives here or there?
We have a world that is dividing up into 2 fundalmentalist beliefs. Both claiming that G-d is on their side. Doesn't anyone in power read history any more?
Kush is correct to remind us that the decision has been made and we have to accept the next 4 years of Bush's administration. Having a go at one another will not bring results. Will not bring common sense. Will not bring 'reason' to our discussions. I like to think that we can express our views on this forum and although we sometimes get heated and climb aboard our high-horse, we do at least look at the facts. One line responses, to a posting which shows genuine concern, do not enter the realms of sensible debate.
The lack of clear debate and reasoned argument is what caused me the most concern, as I listened to 12 second 'soundbites' from GWB. I found his simplistic and folksie podium appearances to be an insult to the intelligence of the majority of his 'fellow citizens.' Ignoring the policy issues altogether, and putting them to one side, I believe that his presentations showed a lack of respect for his audiences. His personality is not an issue here. His demeaning attitude to educated Americans is.
Kerry needs a charisma transplant. He's intelligent and can argue his corner, but as a dynamic leader of the world's largest military and economic powerhouse, he would have had to go a long way to impress me, if he had been elected. It's a shame that out of millions of citizens, America could only come up with those two.
On Wednesday morning as I awoke to the BBC Radio 4 News, I had a heart-sink moment. Not depression. Not despair. Just a worrying, sinking feeling in my chest. The world got the worst of a poor choice.
This evening's news tells me that The Black Watch volunteers are now paying the ultimate price. (For a political decision made by men whose son's will never go anywhere near a battlefield)
Once we can divorce the policies from the personalities, we can move on to a serious discussion. It is clear that American political preferences are split down the middle.
In this situation it would take the wisdom of Solomon to get either side of the opposing political viewpoints to meet half way. It won't happen.
Attacking the views and beliefs of the 'other' side will only cause more friction and deeper entrenchment.
We all have a personal view on the policies and result of the election. We have President Bush in Office for the next 4 years and we will be watching him and his team with interest.
Our hope must be for a concerted effort by his administration to join with other world leaders in discussing matters such as, Global Warming, the Palestinian Issue, the Middle East in general, the 100,000 civilian deaths in Iraq (this figure is not certain and is yet to be clarified) the gradual errosion of human civil liberties for those who are being kept in custody by U.S authorities.
All of the above matters are regular discussion issues in the world's press. The sentiments expressed by some contributers about their lack of respect for countries such as France needs to be curbed. The French suffered terribly in 2 world wars. The Americans came to their aid on each occassion for which the French people are eternally grateful. What seems to have been overlooked is that the Americans gave France their freedom, which the French are now exercising. One must be careful about giving gifts and then criticising the recipient for not using the gift in the way that the giver wants. Who would appreciate being given a Christmas present, only to be constantly moaned at, for not doing what the person who gave it to us, wanted us to do.
A further worrying issue for me, is that while millions of people around the world have been watching the American elections, thousands of refugees in Sudan have been scattered to the 4 winds, from their refugee camps, by the Sudan Government's police and army, at gunpoint. Wagons with machine guns mounted on them were used to terrify the refugees, who had to run for their lives, as bulldozers flattened their makeshift hovels. (There is no oil in Sudan )
Aid workers were held back at gunpoint as the military moved in, under cover of absence from our TV screens, because of the Presidential election. I cannot find any mention of a moral crusade on their behalf, from the White House. ( There's no oil in Sudan ) I hold my own country morally corrupt in allowing this to take place without a hue and cry.
So, talk and argue as much as you like, but remember that while our political issues seem hugely important to each of us, they don't amount to a hill of beans by comparison with what our leaders are choosing to sideline.
It is very difficult for me to accept the moral high ground that G.W.Bush has taken in pro-life, same sex marriages, stem cell research, etc., issues, when thousands are dying, who could be fed, sheltered and watered with just a tiny percentage of the vast sums of money spent on a highly morally based political platform from both sides. I do take these matters seriously. I belong to Amnesty International and Oxfam.
One can tell how civilised a country is by the way it cares for all of its sick, elderly, weak, impoverished, and unemployed. Speaking as a person who lives in the 'west,' and not as a Brit, European, NATO, Western Alliance citizen, I feel that I am not in any sort of state of grace. Appalling things are going on that our leaders could stop tomorrow if they wanted to. But what's a life here or there; a hundred lives here or there; a thousand lives here or there; a hundred thousand lives here or there?
We have a world that is dividing up into 2 fundalmentalist beliefs. Both claiming that G-d is on their side. Doesn't anyone in power read history any more?
Kush is correct to remind us that the decision has been made and we have to accept the next 4 years of Bush's administration. Having a go at one another will not bring results. Will not bring common sense. Will not bring 'reason' to our discussions. I like to think that we can express our views on this forum and although we sometimes get heated and climb aboard our high-horse, we do at least look at the facts. One line responses, to a posting which shows genuine concern, do not enter the realms of sensible debate.
The lack of clear debate and reasoned argument is what caused me the most concern, as I listened to 12 second 'soundbites' from GWB. I found his simplistic and folksie podium appearances to be an insult to the intelligence of the majority of his 'fellow citizens.' Ignoring the policy issues altogether, and putting them to one side, I believe that his presentations showed a lack of respect for his audiences. His personality is not an issue here. His demeaning attitude to educated Americans is.
Kerry needs a charisma transplant. He's intelligent and can argue his corner, but as a dynamic leader of the world's largest military and economic powerhouse, he would have had to go a long way to impress me, if he had been elected. It's a shame that out of millions of citizens, America could only come up with those two.
On Wednesday morning as I awoke to the BBC Radio 4 News, I had a heart-sink moment. Not depression. Not despair. Just a worrying, sinking feeling in my chest. The world got the worst of a poor choice.
This evening's news tells me that The Black Watch volunteers are now paying the ultimate price. (For a political decision made by men whose son's will never go anywhere near a battlefield)
Byron has taken quite a rightious pose sitting there and lecturing of the ills and misfortunes of the world-making Mr.Bush responsible for all of that. It is very comfortable indeed, the best of all- it makes him feel so good about himself, so incredibly on the top of the mountain- observing all with a clear vision- almost like Moses.
He feels insulted by the folksie talk of GWB, he wants something inspiring- perhaps smth like M. Gandhi or Tutu? Too bad- Bush does not have that impression on millions who understand his thoughts quite well - but then again- they are not members of Amnesty International, not Moses on the Mountain, thinking days and nights about Sudan. Just taking care of the families of their own.
The liberation of France a Christmas present? That one fits very well for his extraordinary revolutionary mind-
What about the dirty dealings with UN and the nice chap from the ol' boy's club-Hussein himself? Perhaps that was a christmas present?- even better one what USA has given, but of course it is much better- cash is always useful.
He feels insulted by the folksie talk of GWB, he wants something inspiring- perhaps smth like M. Gandhi or Tutu? Too bad- Bush does not have that impression on millions who understand his thoughts quite well - but then again- they are not members of Amnesty International, not Moses on the Mountain, thinking days and nights about Sudan. Just taking care of the families of their own.
The liberation of France a Christmas present? That one fits very well for his extraordinary revolutionary mind-
What about the dirty dealings with UN and the nice chap from the ol' boy's club-Hussein himself? Perhaps that was a christmas present?- even better one what USA has given, but of course it is much better- cash is always useful.
bee
Is it so bad Byron? or you're talking about some other countries you've reacently visited as a gracious member of Amnesty Internationalthe gradual errosion of human civil liberties for those who are being kept in custody by U.S authorities.
Sure you take yourself very seriously, but as it happens people not that often share your views in this particular matter
bee