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

Ah.. You realize of course that the Dumbland Security people are reading these posts right now.

"You realize of course that the Dumbland Security people are reading these posts right now" [Tumsup]

I'm very happy for them. They're reading eloquent discussions by intelligent, well-informed people. Reading our posts would be the kind of job that many people would love to have.

"our American presidents restrained themselves in the matter of assassinating foreign heads of state. I believe that this restraint has recently been lifted. I don't see the current president as someone who is likely to abuse the privilege"

I don't know about heads of state, but so far this president has made no secret of authorising the assassination of people like bin Laden. While there are those who would say "it's too good for him" or similar, there wasn't even a pretence of a trial, which used to be what distinguished "us" (the civilised people) from "them" (the barbarians).

This extends to authorising drone strikes on targets in foreign sovereign nations who are nominally allied.

Bin Laden wasn't a head of state. Frankly, I'm kind of intrigued to see the swelling of support for democratic government in the Middle East, now that Al Qaida has been weakened.

I'm not a fan of extremism. I would much rather have seen Bin Laden go on trial, as Saddam Hussein did. Maybe Bin laden could have been captured alive, though I would imagine that he might have committed suicide soon after capture. We'll never know for sure, though.

As for the U.S. being the world's most powerful nation, I regard it as a terrible nuisance, given that control of our government can so easily be assumed by electoral victories by the right wing. If you think it's bad now with relatively progressive people in charge, just think how much worse it can become once the less progressive people return to power. I read about statements that many of the Republican candidates have made, and I shudder.

Anyway, every year there are fewer and fewer people alive in the U.K. who can remember the days when Great Britain was the world's greatest power. The sun never set on the British Empire, or so it was said. Did people take Great Britain to task for the massacre at Amritsar? The passage of time allows Britain's past atrocities to be slowly forgotten, except by historians.

As for the bad things that the U.S. is doing, there is no shortage of criticism right in the U.S. itself. You've mentioned kidnapping of foreign citizens. Were you talking about rendition? How do you feel about waterboarding? There is a movie called "Rendition." The torture scenes are pretty graphic. Have you seen the movie?

The sun never set on the British Empire because god didn't trust them in the dark.

Or so I was told.

Seriously, extremism ebbs and wanes- in all political venues and in all governments. One has to expect a swing back of the pendulum eventually, hopefully in our lifetimes.

Oh, the 'Americans' in the title has been replaced since I am a North American but not part of the US. (Until Harper makes me otherwise.)

If you are not part of the US, you must be part of the THEM.

I'm always happy to point out that geographically our closest neighbour other than the U.S. is France, followed by Russia. And to mention that this year, for the first time in our history the U.S. accounts for less than 50% of our trade.

What, it is not Greenland (which would be Denmark then)?

Depends on who makes what claim on what islands in the Arctic. The three closest are France, Denmark and Russia after the U.S. We are currently building more icebreakers to strengthen our claims but Russia has already put markers on the sea bed to strengthen theirs.

A cold dispute as opposed to a cold war, if you will.

As for France-

http://saintpierreandmiquelon.org/

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Funny those Navy Seals haven't heard of tasers

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Unlikely as it would go against the Quran and no-one would believe the story if it was an "assisted" suicide

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We'll never know what he would have said in an open trail especially regarding those who assisted his rise to power.

Still it would have been fun to see all the conspiracy nuts back peddling when he boasted about his role in 9/11 etc. - although I suspect they would have claimed he was an actor or had been hypnotised by trans-dimensional blood sucking space lizards

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Doubtless there were pictures in Pravda of Putin karate chopping his way through the ice swimming to the abyssal plain and wrestling polar bears and orca in order to stake his claim

Och, I always forget how close St Pierre et Miquelon is to Canada

Not so dramatic, although it could have been Putin controlling the robotic arm!

http://www.robertamsterdam.com/arcticflag013108.jpg

And I changed the title again...

@paulh and other US citizens:

>> I read about statements that many of the Republican
candidates have made, and I shudder. <<

I felt that way when the first rounds of debates happened.
I mean, how could anyone support or elect such obviously
lunatic, heartless, mendacious and uninformed bigots who
clearly hold the masses in contempt?

But the answer is in the question.

The fact that no reasonable, rational or honest politicians have
come forward to oppose Obama tells me that it is because
in their hearts they know he is the only possible solution to
the current difficulties faced by America and the whirled. He
remains the great symbol of what America is meant to be.

He was elected on a platform of Hope and Hope springs eternal.

In spite of the blind, jackass opposition he has been met with,
including the sublimated racism against him personally, he is
still the only one who has the education and strength and the
basic human goodness with which to steer the ship of state.

Only fools and lunatics would think that the majority of US
citizens could reject what little Hope he can still offer when
the only alternatives being offered are on the lunatic fringes
of religious, racial and financial self-interest.

If the Partisan ranting is set aside and he gets some support
from Congress and the Senate there may yet be Hope and his
second term will continue to set things aright.


~jwf~

"The fact that no reasonable, rational or honest politicians have
come forward to oppose Obama tells me that it is because
in their hearts they know he is the only possible solution to
the current difficulties faced by America and the whirled. He
remains the great symbol of what America is meant to be" [jwf]

That is an inspiring statement. Thank you for making it. Obama is quite a deep person. I doubt that many people understand how deep he is.

Obama's administration has already assasinated without trial a US citizen (and, if I remember correctly, his fifteen-year-old son). He's definitely better than the available alternatives, but I'm still not particularly impressed.

TRiG.

Which one would that be? I never heard about it.

As for Bin Laden: Really? You're really going to complain about him? In an unprovoked war that HE started, you think it's unfair that he was killed? Granted it wasn't a traditional battlefield (and I want to point out here that "traditional" battlefields are now obsolete), but it WAS a battlefield and he WAS resisting capture with a weapon that he was going to use to kill his enemy, namely "us", as you put it. They would have gladly captured them alive if he hadn't been. And I think I should also point out that in every war ever it's always "us" and "them", that's what wars are. And in consequence, specific and directed attacks on high-profile targets like, say, the leader of the enemy, have always been carried out. Always.

And one more thing, the reason Saddam Hussein was captured alive and held on trial is because when they finally found him he yelled "don't shoot! I'm Saddam Hussein!" and surrendered. Bin Laden did not.