h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

sorry, post 5820 was directed toward Analiese, not CPL.

Well I can assure you I wrote all that stuff myself, anyway.

Thought those who think oil is the cause may like to see this...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/2847905.stm

Yeah, doesn't it show?

Quote of the day and pertinent too I think,

Donald Rumsfeld often quotes a line from Al Capone: “You will get more with a kind word and a gun than with a kind word alone.”

Now, who says the mafia hasn't taken over?

Hey, I always love a well-reasoned argument. I hope you didn't waste too much time thinking THAT one up Stuart. Your mental ability clearly hasn't got too much spare capacity right now.

That piece is a little bit overburdened with assumptions itself, Fizzle.

FREE THE GREAT BASIN FROM THE EMPIRE OF EVIL!!!

Well, take it how you like. If I helped pay for weapons that are used in an illegal war, that makes me an accomplice to a war crime. We have an elected government that has dragged us into this mess. We are all guilty as f**k.

Tony & co will not in fact be standing trial anywhere. I'm talking about MORAL guilt here. For the first time in my life I am ashamed to be British.

You all probably know this but:

UN pulling all personel out of Baghdad
Bush to give ultimatum tonight
Robin Cook (British Cabinet Minister) resigns in protest

I'm not going to bother with links.

It certainly is, although logical assumptions... however, assumptions are all anybody on either side of this argument has seemed to make lately... say the last few thousand posts. And nobody seems to base anything they say on anything other than their pre-conceived notions they had before all this began... any reading to back-up and articles referred to only seem to cover the researchers personal bias... resulting in flippant throwaway comments such as yours...

I just thought it might be an idea if some of you read intelligent and logical arguments of the contrary viewpoint...

As long as we're stuck using your peculiar definitions of intelligence, I guess I'm stuck, Fizzle.

Your assumptions about the relative unimportance of controlling the second largest oil reserve in the world are hardly compellingly intelligent in my view, but if they are in yours, that's all that matters.

Just to show you how flippant I can be, do you know the difference between Bush and a lying, murdering, third world dictator other than the number of hired guns he's got?

Me neither.

You weren't ashamed to be British already? (I am in some ways)

It's not a war crime to wage an illegal war. It is the crime against peace of levying an aggressive war. I don't think that's a crime in English law (although violating the UN Charter, which the UK ratified, might be contempt of court, which has a maximum life sentence)--although it's illegal in Germany, with a maximum life sentence. (German Penal Code Special Part, Title 1, Section 80)*


Aggressive wars are against the UN Charter, which the US has ratified. According to the US Constitution treaties are "the supreme law of the land" so presumably levying wars of aggression is illegal in America--perhaps as contempt of court or the Constitution, or something like that.


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* See http://www.iuscomp.org/gla/statutes/StGB.htm#80
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I'm not convinced the war is inspired by oil- I think it's inspired by politics- Bush wants to be seen as a triumphant war leader and if he gets to wipe out daddy's old nemesis in the process then all the beter. Being a successful war leader will earn Bush more votes in the 2004 election than if he were to be judged by his domestic success.

Wasn't Robin Cook leader of the UK House of Commons and former Foreign Secretary?

Good for him.
(Although maybe he's just resigning so he doesn't get EVEN MORE innocent blood on his hands via command responsibility--or is that too pessimistic?)

Yes, Egon, but this thing just isn't about Bush getting reelected because he has other debts to pay before he gets the opportunity to snow the American public again.

CPL- yes.

What domestic success?

Democrat Clinton already almost completly destroyed America's closest equivalent to a Welfare system (according to Michael Moore's "Stupid White Men") as well as the Effectiveness of the Death Penalty Act 1996 which increased the federal capital crimes (apparentely it now includes drug trafficking) and stole many rights of appeal from prisoners on feaderal death row.

This just leaves Republican G.W. Bush to give tax breaks to the rich--who obviously deserve them for being so hard working --, and dismantle those pesky civil liberties and human rights that America's founding fathers were supposed to have fought and died for (e.g., the PATRIOT Act and internment of US citizens without even a law saying they can).

He must be so angry with Clinton, stealing all the reforms Bush probably wanted to make.

"What domestic success? "

kind of my point.

There was a very very good reader's letter in the german "The Spiegel" today mentioning that when they got Iraq as far as even having destroyed the cake knifes, they will still bomb them for not destroying the forks...

Wahey! Censorship is back in town > http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/hub/F94024?thread=258393