A different perspective
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http://archive.salon.com/comics/tomo/2002/09/23/tomo/index.html[^] cheers, Chris Maunder
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http://archive.salon.com/comics/tomo/2002/09/23/tomo/index.html[^] cheers, Chris Maunder
If the US were a person, it would be a fat schoolyard bully who beats up the brown-skinned kids and cajoles the rest to take his side. If only he had been born handsome, and with at least an average sized dick. X| _____________________ "So in the interests of survival, they trained themselves to be agreeing machines instead of thinking machines. All their minds had to do was to discover what other people were thinking, and then they thought that, too." Breakfast of Champions, Kurt Vonnegut
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If the US were a person, it would be a fat schoolyard bully who beats up the brown-skinned kids and cajoles the rest to take his side. If only he had been born handsome, and with at least an average sized dick. X| _____________________ "So in the interests of survival, they trained themselves to be agreeing machines instead of thinking machines. All their minds had to do was to discover what other people were thinking, and then they thought that, too." Breakfast of Champions, Kurt Vonnegut
Daniel Ferguson wrote: If the US were a person, it would be a fat schoolyard bully who beats up the brown-skinned kids and cajoles the rest to take his side. If only he had been born handsome, and with at least an average sized dick. After being subjected to arrogant, childish comments like this it's no wonder most of us (Americans) here (at CP) have chips on our shoulders. Grow up.
Mike Mullikin :beer: You can't really dust for vomit. Nigel Tufnel - Spinal Tap
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Daniel Ferguson wrote: If the US were a person, it would be a fat schoolyard bully who beats up the brown-skinned kids and cajoles the rest to take his side. If only he had been born handsome, and with at least an average sized dick. After being subjected to arrogant, childish comments like this it's no wonder most of us (Americans) here (at CP) have chips on our shoulders. Grow up.
Mike Mullikin :beer: You can't really dust for vomit. Nigel Tufnel - Spinal Tap
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Now, if the world was a schoolyard who would the US be? btw. what is "chips on the shoulders"?
Auch den Schatten will ich lieben weil ich manchmal lieber frier' Rosenstolz [sighist]
peterchen wrote: what is "chips on the shoulders"? Kindof like "Holding a grudge" Regards, Brian Dela :-)
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Now, if the world was a schoolyard who would the US be? btw. what is "chips on the shoulders"?
Auch den Schatten will ich lieben weil ich manchmal lieber frier' Rosenstolz [sighist]
peterchen wrote: Now, if the world was a schoolyard who would the US be? The world is not a schoolyard, it has never been a schoolyard and it will never be a schoolyard. The schoolyard ultimately has teachers, parents or even police that children need to answer to. Children may act aggressive or timid or anywhere in between, but in the end they know (or will learn) they have to answer to a higher authority. Sometimes a child needs to be punished to learn a lesson. Sometimes the child even needs to be removed from the schoolyard because they simply cannot be trusted near other children. Such is not the case in the international community. The UN (the closest the world offers to a higher authority) is currently (IMO) a joke. They offer "resolutions" without "consequences". If things get really bad they send in "peacekeepers" with their hands tied. The UN has had plenty of opportunities over the last 50 years to really stand-up and do something and has failed in most instances due to politics and individual agendas. Every major member of the UN (US, UK, France, China, Russia, etc...) has screwed up on occassion (pushing for their own agenda rather than doing the right thing). Every major member has defied a UN resolution when it didn't suit their own agenda. In the instance of the US/Iraq situation and the current UN stand I'm not sure what to think. Should the US invade unilaterly? Probably not. Should the US be part of a UN invasion? Maybe not. Is Saddam Hussein a lose cannon with truly evil tendencies? Yes, I believe he is. Should the UN do something? Definitely. Will Iraq ignore any/every UN resolution? Yes. Does the UN have the will to do anything of any consequence? Doubtful. I don't have a problem with Daniel or anybody else being critical of the US (it's culture or it's policies). Criticism when presented intelligently is almost always a good thing. I just found his comments in this particular thread to be arrogant and immature and more devisive then helpful. peterchen wrote: btw. what is "chips on the shoulders"? I'm not sure of the origin, but it basically means you are particularly sensitive to a specific issue due to past history or conflict.
Mike Mullikin :beer: You can't really dust for vomit. Nigel Tufnel - Spinal Tap
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peterchen wrote: Now, if the world was a schoolyard who would the US be? The world is not a schoolyard, it has never been a schoolyard and it will never be a schoolyard. The schoolyard ultimately has teachers, parents or even police that children need to answer to. Children may act aggressive or timid or anywhere in between, but in the end they know (or will learn) they have to answer to a higher authority. Sometimes a child needs to be punished to learn a lesson. Sometimes the child even needs to be removed from the schoolyard because they simply cannot be trusted near other children. Such is not the case in the international community. The UN (the closest the world offers to a higher authority) is currently (IMO) a joke. They offer "resolutions" without "consequences". If things get really bad they send in "peacekeepers" with their hands tied. The UN has had plenty of opportunities over the last 50 years to really stand-up and do something and has failed in most instances due to politics and individual agendas. Every major member of the UN (US, UK, France, China, Russia, etc...) has screwed up on occassion (pushing for their own agenda rather than doing the right thing). Every major member has defied a UN resolution when it didn't suit their own agenda. In the instance of the US/Iraq situation and the current UN stand I'm not sure what to think. Should the US invade unilaterly? Probably not. Should the US be part of a UN invasion? Maybe not. Is Saddam Hussein a lose cannon with truly evil tendencies? Yes, I believe he is. Should the UN do something? Definitely. Will Iraq ignore any/every UN resolution? Yes. Does the UN have the will to do anything of any consequence? Doubtful. I don't have a problem with Daniel or anybody else being critical of the US (it's culture or it's policies). Criticism when presented intelligently is almost always a good thing. I just found his comments in this particular thread to be arrogant and immature and more devisive then helpful. peterchen wrote: btw. what is "chips on the shoulders"? I'm not sure of the origin, but it basically means you are particularly sensitive to a specific issue due to past history or conflict.
Mike Mullikin :beer: You can't really dust for vomit. Nigel Tufnel - Spinal Tap
you afraid of the question? Or do you associate in a different way? To old for mind games? ;) He's not alone in linking US behavior to a schoolyard bully (in the absence of police and teacher). And not a very polite one, so to say. Mike, i fully understand that you would run the UN differently, as would most people. Me too, but I would start with things you probably wouldn't appreciate. So the idea of the UN was to act on agreement of the members - and the US plays as much stalling games as everyone else.
Auch den Schatten will ich lieben weil ich manchmal lieber frier' Rosenstolz [sighist]
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you afraid of the question? Or do you associate in a different way? To old for mind games? ;) He's not alone in linking US behavior to a schoolyard bully (in the absence of police and teacher). And not a very polite one, so to say. Mike, i fully understand that you would run the UN differently, as would most people. Me too, but I would start with things you probably wouldn't appreciate. So the idea of the UN was to act on agreement of the members - and the US plays as much stalling games as everyone else.
Auch den Schatten will ich lieben weil ich manchmal lieber frier' Rosenstolz [sighist]
peterchen wrote: you afraid of the question? Or do you associate in a different way? To old for mind games? No the analogy is just plain wrong, for reasons I've already stated. As far as I'm concerned you might as well compare countries to fruits or automobiles. peterchen wrote: He's not alone in linking US behavior to a schoolyard bully (in the absence of police and teacher). And not a very polite one, so to say. So? A bad analogy just the same. peterchen wrote: So the idea of the UN was to act on agreement of the members - and the US plays as much stalling games as everyone else. Agreed. As I said in my previous post "Every major member of the UN (US, UK, France, China, Russia, etc...) has screwed up on occassion (pushing for their own agenda rather than doing the right thing). Every major member has defied a UN resolution when it didn't suit their own agenda." As long as the UN lacks teeth and it's own members disobey it's "resolutions" it is a waste of time and money.
Mike Mullikin :beer: You can't really dust for vomit. Nigel Tufnel - Spinal Tap
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peterchen wrote: what is "chips on the shoulders"? Kindof like "Holding a grudge" Regards, Brian Dela :-)
but with more salt and vinegar -- Help me! I'm turning into a grapefruit!
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Now, if the world was a schoolyard who would the US be? btw. what is "chips on the shoulders"?
Auch den Schatten will ich lieben weil ich manchmal lieber frier' Rosenstolz [sighist]
peterchen wrote: btw. what is "chips on the shoulders"? A person with a chip on his shoulder is someone who is looking to provoke a fight. Originated (coincidentally) in schoolyards where bullies would put a chip of wood on their shoulder and dare you to knock it off. If you made an attempt, the bully punched you and the fight began. If you elected not to try, you were branded a coward. Chistopher Duncan Author - The Career Programmer: Guerilla Tactics for an Imperfect World (Apress)