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

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I wouldn't go as far as saying I was looking forward to any of those things... However, any vestigial traces of pity I had for "The American People" has now completely vanished...

You could always claim that the last time you were mugged, you could always claim that last time he lied to you

- this time, you know what he's like, you know what he'll do - and you still vote for him? It beggars belief.

The next 11 September? Surely it's only a matter of time... I agree, next time it will definitely be a self-inflicted wound.

My personal favourite thing I heard on the radio news this morning was a Republican campaign worker, asked why they thought the party was doing better than expected. Their response was that the polls, which had suggested the candidates were neck and neck, had been skewed by a factor I have never heard of before in a western democracy - shame and cowardice.

Specifically, she said she'd had a LOT of people tell her that they were going to support Bush, but that they didn't want a bumper sticker because they didn't want anyone else to know.

Don't you just love that - "I'm supporting Bush, but I'm too ashamed to admit it." Way to go guys. Well done.

H.

i think its a case of "the hair of the dog that bit me"

bush f*cked up, now they elect him again to cure the hangover he left behind.

if that made any sense be sure to tell me

Actually, right-wing shame is a well known factor in UK opinion polls- they are often adjusted to take into account the that some people won't tell pollsters that the vote Conservative.

Oops, 'take into account the fact that some people', that should've been.

My God what a mess. Fundamentalist Christians at war with Fundamentalist Moslems. The biggest factor of these elections looks to have been the Evangelical vote. The only ray of hope I have found is an article in today's Indy by Mary Dejevesky. "..three supremely qualified analysists have independently reached the same conclusion" that America is declining and Europe ascending. Please God make it soon......

Like Whisky I hope that none of these things actually happen. But I think it's a fair bet that most of them will, and if/when they do it will be hard to avoid an attack of schadenfreude, and a "well, what did you expect,you stupid b**st**ds".

Noggin

As the rest, I don't look forward to a new 9/11, but they have it coming. The stupidity of man seemingly IS infinite, as a certain mr. Einstein suspected. I believe one of the defining factors in the election is the reluctance of voters to choose a different president when the country is at war. No matter that he lied to them about it. No matter that he started this war for exactly that reason. I heard several interviewed say that they might have gone for Kerry, but would vote Bush because they want to stay 'loyal'. As one guy put it: "I don't switch d*cks in the middle of a f*ck".

This is a sad day.

As it happens:

"I don't switch d*cks in the middle of a f*ck"

Appears singularly appropriate. Except that he missed 'up' off the end of the sentence.

F

I'm currently reading "How Mumbo Jumbo Conquered the World", by Francis Wheen. I couldn't resist buying it when it was advertised in Private Eye with these words: "It's not nice to make fun of people who are foolish and credulous. But it is funny."

Anyhoo, there's a part in it which talks about US defence spending. It turns out that the *increase* in the US defence budget in 2003 was bigger than the *whole* UK defence budget for the same year - over forty BILLION dollars.

This was told in the context of the fact that what is often referred to as the "military-industrial complex" is, in actuality, the military-industrial-CONGRESSIONAL complex. The first two are powerless without the latter.

A senior member of the US armed forces was quoted as saying that in the Cold War, they'd been in an arms race with the Soviets, and that now, in the absence of any credible outside threats, the US seems to be in an arms race with itself. The example given was the Boeing Osprey, a bizarre hybrid aircraft with tilting wings that can fly like a plane but take off and land like a helicopter - or, unfortunately as seems to happen with disturbing regularity, takes off like a helicopter and flies and lands like a sack of s**t, killing everyone on board. Tens of billions have been spent developing this machine over the last fifteen years, and yet it's still classed as "experimental". Similar criticisms could be levelled at the Comanche "stealth" helicopter, a beautiful looking machine for sure, but hideously expensive, and the F-22 Raptor, the proper stealth fighter (the F-117 is, despite the F designation, a bomber, not a fighter).

These enormously expensive and time consuming projects were initiated in response to a monolithic, identifiable, militarily sophisticated and well equipped enemy. That enemy has been gone now for fifteen years, but like some sort of retarded child doggedly pushing at a door marked "Pull", the US continues to finance these white elephants.

Good.

The Soviet Union fell, in significant part, because it participated in the arms race - it played the stupid game. Its economy could not support the massive expenditure that required. When it did fall, there was talk of the "peace dividend" - the money westerners would no longer have to spend on long range nuclear bombers, ICBMs, massive conventional forces, etc., given that there was no longer an "enemy" superpower. What defence spending there *would* be in future would be diverted to things like better individual soldiering equipment, in recognition of the fact that the new world order was one of isolated and fragmented threats from less well defined opponents.

Yet bizarrely, the US is now spending MORE on these sorts of pointless gadgets than it has ever done. And of course, its economy is faltering. With the EU and China in the ascendant, neither militarily threatening the US, can it be long before the US, with its ridiculous love affair with the technology of war, spends itself into collapse? Will the people allow that to happen?

Yesterday I would have said a resounding no. Surely, I would have said, whatever else you say about them, the people of the US are not *that* stupid.

Today... today I consider Americans to be turkeys voting for Christmas, and good luck to them. Sooner or later they'll get carved up, and it'll be us and the Indians and the Chinese doing the stuffing.

H.

Along the same lines the following marvellously absurd bumper sticker has been sighted in the US,

"Never change horsemen during an apocalypse"

Ohio news networks polling map is depressingly red, I officially have lost all hope for Kerry, unless the "computer voting is fixed" theory pans out which wouldn't surprise me but on the other hand would scare the life out of me

Wasn't the CEO of the company responsible for the voting machines in Ohio part of Bush's election campaign team? Or was that another time/place?

That's what many would like to have us believe but I've not seen anything official to confirm this, once again this wouldn't surprise me in the least. Could also be put down to desperate democrats clutching at straws as they realise that they are stuck with this madman for another 4 years.

Remember, they're not stuck with him necessarily. They weren't stuck with Lincoln, and they weren't stuck with Kennedy, and they very nearly weren't stuck with Reagan. A true patriot may yet do the world a favour.

On the other hand, that would put Cheney in the Oval Office, and I'm not sure whether that would scare me even more. I've come to the conclusion that Bush is the Man in the Shack anyway...

H.

Well at least they're going to get a man who represents the majority of Americans. Bush is an idiot, and so too is 51% of the American electorate.

The problem is that we in the rest of the world are stuck with him!

What still amazes me is the stupidity of the Bush - Cheney administration(s). Back in '96 the US oilpatch press was plotting the Iraq invasion to secure oil reserves as Saudi became more unstable, the American environmental lobby was restricting Alaskan exploitation and Russian and Caspian reserves were coming on line outwith of the control of the US of A. Oil companies and oil field service companies, like Halliburton, are powerful and knowledgable. Why then, knowing the history of invasion and occupation in the region, did they (a) invade and (b) invade in such an unprepared manner. Maybe it's me that is stupid as a second term looks likely. But it will be a long time before Iraqui oil flows.

Doh, oil price at record level, oil companies posting record profits, service companies posting record profits. QED......

A lot of people who died that day were not U.S. citizens. Can we not go there?

No, I'm not trying to argue your point. You have a right to be angry.
Hate the U.S. all you want, but please try to make your point without
using the death of others to do it.

They are dead. Let them rest in peace.

This doesn't make sense though. I've heard that the oil companies were actually against the war, as it would disrupt supply. The only reason I think why the companies are doing so good is beacause of the rise in demand for oil (e.g. from China).