...hi folks. I'm new to this list - how's everybody doing?
...I've been lurking for a while, trying to get the feel of what's
going on (very impressive for the most part, found some instructive
stuff yesterday).
> No, we should withdraw, and let thousands be slaughtered and
...for a list devoted at least in part to a discussion of memetics,
I've got to confess I'm a little bit apalled. Let's take a brief look
at this whole Hitler comparison, shall we. The disputes in Kosovar go
back hundreds of years and are based on complex interactions of
ethnicity, religion and the territorial imperative. The comparison of
Milosevic (sp?) to Hitler is specious and an obvious strawman,
fostered by the military-entertainment complex to lend surface weight
to the whole action. (anybody seen the latest TIME magazine - "the
...anyhow, I just couldn't let this pass.
> hundreds of thousands be deported and dispossessed, simply because
> we are not perfect and errorless warriors, therefore no better than
> the latest Hitler clone Europe has spawned!
...If the concern is really about preventing slaughter and
disposession of civilians then why hasn't action been taken in areas
where the same process has been going on for a much longer period of
time? The answer is simple - Kosovo and surrounding regions are a
historically unstable area of the world, the US has vested interests
in maintaining both regional stability in the area and good relations
with military/trade allies in the region (Turkey springs immediately
to mind). In areas where US military/trade interests are unlikely to
be affected by such actions ("ethnic cleansing" or whatever other
glossy soundbite memetic tag you'd like to put on the event) - eg.
Columbia, Laos - noone cares, a bline eye is turned and as long as
the cash keeps flowing it'll stay that way.
> and instructing the Tiger Brigades to accelerate their genocide and
...well of course he is. It wouldn't make much sense for him to tell
them to hold back now, would
> forced relocation programs, and that nothing short of a ground war
> will deter him.
The only way to deal with bullies is to royally
...let's assume this is true. Any suggestions on how we should go
about stopping the well-documented and extensive bullyboy tactics
employed by the United States?
> and regally kick their ever-luvin' asses, for the force meme is the
> only one which will sway them.
..."the force meme"... I don''t think Yoda would approve.
The longer we wait, the worse it'll
...technically, the sword of Damocles hands above, not ahead, but I
digress. Your metaphor is apt, but ill-applied - the lesson of the
swordof Damocles is that a wise ruler must carefully balance a range
of competing interests and agendas while maintaining a functional
environment. The way to do this is not by selectively targeting
atrocities inimical to governmental interests while pointedly
ignoring others. Balance requires a clear and consistent application
of principle, not a cynical application of force to serve selfish
interests.
> be. Let's do it and get this behind us, rather than having it hang
> ahead of us like a Sword of Damocles.
Sure, the medicine's bitter,
...granted that fascism is a current affliction of the "global body
politic" (which is itself an artificial memetic construction designed
to grant certain powerful bodies a facile means of excusing their
self-serving actions). Bombs do not, have not and probably never will
serve as an effective antidote. Fascism is not a physical complex, it
is an ideological complex.
> in terms of lives lost and money spent, but we'll feel much better
> when the global body politic is free of this fascist disease
peace.
psypher