It looks like the war in the Gulf with another “coalition” being led by the ear into Iran will be on a rain-check at the moment. At least until the Bush administration finds another excuse to inflict upon us another of its failures and waxes lyrical about how Iran (or whatever country in vogue at the time) is the real axis of evil and should be exterminated.
Why? Simple. Their own Director of National Intelligence has released a simple 9 page report in which it convincingly ascertain that Iran’s nuclear weapons ambitions ceased in 2003, even though they continue to enrich uranium, ostensibly for peaceful purposes, generation of power is one of them.
I am glad they didn’t bring out the ILM-style smoke and mirrors to “convince” us with absolute certainty that the Iranians are dangerous and should immediately be attacked “in order to save the world,” and all that tired hogwash.
To be fair; though, let me put it on record that I – as a Gulf individual – am not happy that Iran is pursuing nuclear technology, nor am I thrilled that the countries on this side of the Gulf decided to act in an amateurish manner and initiate a dangerous and expensive nuclear energy race when all scientific indications suggest that covering just one third of the Saudi desert with solar panels can generate enough power to satisfy the world’s current energy needs! Add to that the state of education that this whole region suffers from and don’t even mention the inherent political instability and you would be mad to support such notions as nuclear energy in our area is “safe”.
Let me emphasise that I recognise and raise my hat to the DNI for having the courage to release such a report, even though their various intelligence agencies seem to have taken a strategic approach to not communicate with each other and to habitually inflate findings to be “aligned” with the administration’s plat du jour.
We can now breath a sigh of relief and enjoy the feeling as it might very well be temporary. Knowing this region, I am sure that we will either create a bigger problem to maintain our collective insomnia, or simply import one to keep us busy. We’re good at both.
Phew!
Comments
Mahmood, in the FIKR6 topic, you speak about how much we are lagging technology wise. But here we have Iran providing great education to their children, and leading ahead of us. They are still a part of the Middle East. And nuclear energy is not the only thing they are working on producing.
Iraq also has enough brains within it to create new technologies.
The only shame in Bahrain is that we have no government backing and support for such projects. Not unless you were the son of someone who knew someone who knew someone.
Lead the way Iran, and maybe, just maybe, the ass kissing Arab leaders will wake up and realise their mistakes, and start making the country dependent on itself rather on someone else.
BTW, check out how Bushy insists that Iran is still a danger and the world must be saved from it http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/12/04/iran.nuclear/index.html
America has a lot of supporters for its “War of Terror”
It looks like they’re going into Iran.
Damn, what a mess. What can be done?
It doesn’t help that Iran’s PR is so
abysmal. If I see another video of
villagers stoning a teenage “adulteress”
or other type of poor scapegoat to
death I’m gonna barf.
And then there’s that big talker
Aghmaghinejad. Jeez, his timing is
so bad, it’s as if he wants to feed
Neocon hysteria.
it is interesting point that YOU AS A GULF INDIVIDUAL do not like Iran to pursue nuclear technology. I am not quiet sure I understand this point: do you mean you do not like nuclear technology OR you do not like IRAN TO PURSUE NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY but it is OK if India, Pakistan etc research Nuclear technology.
We had one guy saying at one stage that we need to go to YEMEN if anything wrong happens to Bushir nuclear site BUT now YEMEN has decided to also pursue nuclear aspiration so can that gentelman tell us where to go? May be MARS.
In my humble opinion nuclear energy is pursued again by the Western countries and more attention is put on safety so it is no wonder that Ukraine (the place where chernobel occured) is investing more money into building new nuclear power stations.
Regarding your point that third of Saudi Arabia is enough for geneating electricity for the world current energy needs then I wonder why this project is not executed by US since it has resources and land to do this action more than any other nation on this planet.
I think the objective was met, various military contracts worth billions were signed between the US & Europe by our GCC Brethren in light of this superficial threat… Like the say, until further notice… The next administration will have to deal and play ball. Shame is a compliment, this is the pits of the pit. At least we can all breath a sense of relief to a certain extent. Lets not forget that Israel has always had nuclear technology supported by the West for the last 20+ years.
Just hold on to your horses Mahmood, it’s not even the end of the first half. Maybe Team Bush just don’t have the right people looking at this, from a WMD perspective that is….. look how’s making a comback:
http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/69552/
He’s well-qualified to handle this and turn it round.
I don’t believe the intelligence officer 😛
Mahmood, I would agree that this is good news, possibly averting another war for the time being, but I would flip the title of your post around: USA 1, Iran 0. Why would Iran suddenly stop pursuing nuclear weapons in 2003? Possibly the same reason Ghaddafi rolled over in 2003, and Syria started losing its grip on Lebanon? 😀
Precisely the threat of becoming the next Iraq may have been all the incentive they needed to halt their program. Meanwhile, Ahmadinijad has been talking tough, making cryptic threats for years to save face.
Mahmood,
Don’t you think you’re taking your prejudice against Bush awfully far when his administration publishes a finding that reduces the case for war and you castigate him for warmongering? If you recall, it’s not Bush who’s threatening to burn up his neighbors with fire, neighbors who have done nothing to Iran but worship a different god.
If anything, this NIE shows the American devotion to constantly reexamining our asssumptions and revising our position based on the best knowledge available. When has Ahmadinejad ever done that? When has the Muslim world ever done that?
And really, none of us Americans think we need to have a nuclear war that blows up all the Muslims so that we can get to heaven. Ahmadinejad publicly speaks in exactly those apocalyptic terms in terms of the non-Muslim world. That’s a trifle provocative, isn’t it?
You might also consider that no American savors sending our guys to the Middle East to fight. To be blunt, the average American on the street sees the Muslim world as a hopeless pit of mindless violence and would just as soon pull all of our boys out and let the Muslims kill each other. Unfortunately, we’ve learned that problems in the Muslim world can hijack our lives and slam into our skyscrapers with horrific result.
Something else to consider is that, according to this NIE, Iran gave up its atom bomb ambitions in 2003. By an odd coincidence, Libya gave up its atom bomb ambitions in 2003. Hmmm. What a coincidence! What could have made two tyrannies back off on their atom bomb programs in 2003? What event that year could have made them both take a more peaceful course? What? Who or what is responsible for that?
That said, I don’t really know that this NIE saying the Iranians are backing off their atom bomb development makes us any wiser when the previous NIE on Iran’s Bomb says the Iranians were pressing ahead on their Bomb development. Both can’t be right. Which is right and which is wrong? Or are both wrong?
I might point out that our intelligence community had no idea Saddam was making a Bomb back in 1991. It came as a surprise that the Iraqis had a Bomb except for the atomic fuel. The same US intelligence community got it wrong in 2003 when they were convinced that Saddam was still actively developing his Bomb when in fact the program was in hiatus.
Our intelligence service has not had a very good track record of accurately reporting the existence and progress of atom bomb programs in the Middle East or anywhere. They were taken by surprise by Pakistan’s Bomb, by Dr. Khan’s surreptitious distribution of Bomb technology. I also recall that our intelligence services were briefing we Air Force officers back in the 1980s about how robust and powerful the Soviet Union was, right up until it collapsed.
None of this gives me any confidence in any of the NIEs. We’re sitting in Plato’s cave, watching shadows on the wall and trying to make sense of the world from them. I believe the truth of the matter is that we have no idea what Iran is doing with its atom bomb program.
As for the intelligence strategy of not communicating with each other, you don’t really want your spies agreeing on a monolithic view of events. You want each spy agency to remain independent and pursue parallel lines of inquiry, uncontaminated by the prejudices and assumptions of sibling agencies. They’re developing intelligence here, not a common ideology. It’s best to have many different views of the elephant.
I’m not convinced that we will need to go to war with Iran. At most, if the worst case scenario comes true that Iran produces an atom bomb and wants to use it to coax the Hidden Imam to reveal himself, I see a limited air campaign of a week or less. However, Iran’s weakness is its weak and fragile economy due to the incompetent management of the mullah’s. Pressure can most effectively be placed there to calm Iranian bellicosity without any blood shed.
What I’d like to see from here is a stable and peaceful Iraq, leading to the assumption of security by Iraqis, followed by the departure of the bulk of our forces. Our military footprint should be drawn down to a couple air bases in Iraq to keep Iran, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia in check.
Mahmood, how sad it is to see that you equate the reduction of hostilities on the Iran nuclear situation with the US to a game. 1-0. It is this mentality of getting “one up” over others that intensifies bad feelings instead of diminishes.
Steve the American:
“To be blunt, the average American on the street sees the Muslim world as a hopeless pit of mindless violence and would just as soon pull all of our boys out and let the Muslims kill each other. Unfortunately, we’ve learned that problems in the Muslim world can hijack our lives and slam into our skyscrapers with horrific result.”
Untill now all muslim terrorists that have “hijacked your lives” were brought up in your own countries.
My advice: Stop blaming the muslim world, blame yourselves for turning your own against you!
Looks the US intelligence community doesn’t want to repeat the same mistakes in the run up to the Iraq war. No “smoking guns” this time round.
i actually find this a big chink in the armor of the US. they dont have much to defend in their ‘war against terror’ now. Invaded Afghanistan, yet no Bin Laden. Invaded Iraq, yet no chemical weapons. About to invade Iran, but hey, guess what, no nukes.
I think Bush has just about lost all credibility, especially with his statement of Iran still being a threat. I don’t think anyone really believes him now, or cares for what he says.
Steve; Sure, Iran threatens to ‘burn its neighbours up with fire’ and all. The US doesnt threaten, they just take over (ie, iraq, afghanistan, and a bunch of other examples in history)
I don’t think it’s safe to assume that Iran no longer poses a nuclear threat. In my mind this is Bush’s way of standing down due to the huge resistance he facing at home against another war. Also, someone else brought up a good point about his mission beinga accomplished which was to scare the crap out of Iran’s neighbors so that they would buy up a billions of dollars worth of his weapons. Overall, Bush’s presidency seems to be about lining pockets which he has been successful at however that’s the only thing! 👿
Steve the American has the best job among us. He gets paid “very well†just for writing in blogs like this.
Lucky bastard!
Steve The American, don’t flatter yourselves. by the time you learn from your “mistakes” and revise your assumption, millions of innocents are murdered, countries break up, civil wars consume everything, civilizations move apart, radicalism thrives, all in the wake of your “mistakes” and “assumptions”. so please, spare us your modesty.
BS: “Untill now all muslim terrorists that have “hijacked your lives†were brought up in your own countries.”
BS, you are aptly named. Please identify which of the nineteen Sep 11 skyjackers who were brought up in the US. Take all the time you need.
fa: “Steve the American has the best job among us. He gets paid “very well†just for writing in blogs like this.”
I’m still waiting for that check. I’ll take payment in twenties, though.
ammaro.com: “Invaded Afghanistan, yet no Bin Laden. Invaded Iraq, yet no chemical weapons. About to invade Iran, but hey, guess what, no nukes.”
That’s quite a lot of erroneous assertions for one paragraph. Bin Laden has been reduced to impotence by denying him his staging bases in Afghanistan. The US has also captured or killed most of his Al Qaeda leadership and spread its members to the four winds. When people debate whether Bin Laden is alive or dead, I’d say that’s a pretty good indication that he has been rendered ineffective by the US.
Actually, chemical weapons were found immediately upon the US arrival in Iraq and have been found ever since. The count was up to 500 as of about a year ago. Evidently, they don’t report that kind of news in your corner of the world.
A recent analysis of captured Iraqi documents concludes that Saddam destroyed about a quarter of his chemical weapons, kept another quarter, gave away another quarter, and had the Soviets remove another quarter.
I don’t recall Bush saying we were going to invade Iran. Could you give me a cite? Of course, you can’t. I don’t know anybody serious who advocated invading Iran.
ammaro.com: “Steve; Sure, Iran threatens to ‘burn its neighbours up with fire’ and all. The US doesnt threaten, they just take over (ie, iraq, afghanistan, and a bunch of other examples in history)”
If you recall, the Sep 11 attack was launched from Afghanistan. We went into Afghanistan to stop further mass murder of Americans. Everybody knows this. You might want to go look it up on the net because you seem to think we just pulled Afghanistan’s name out of the hat to attack.
Likewise, Iraq tried to car bomb the elder Bush, shot hundreds of surfact to air missiles at our jets patrolling the UN-mandated no-fly zone, and placed bounties for the death or capture of our military people, among other things. Those are what you might call threats. You seem to be unaware of these, too, huh?
And, it’s worth pointing out, in rather typical Arab Muslim fashion, you use the tu quoque fallacy in your lame rebuttal of the many flagrant and undeniable Iranian provocations. It’s quite impossible to reasonably deny that Iran is the aggressor here, isn’t it?
Steve, believe me. You and your government think that we are much more stupid than what we actually are!
but no worries,if your payment in delayed this moth too, its must be because of that war in Iraq. I hear its costing your bosses a hell of money ; – )
I don’t why the President Bush is obssessed in talking like a cow boy…
He says ” Iran is dangerous and will remain dangerous ” and how does he prove that ?
By saying – in meaning – that Iran stopping its nuclear activities is a sign, and since it has stopped it is capable of switching back again !
Are they still searching for those weapons Iraq ? Did they find them ?
Steve The American,
Are you trying to tell us that America is the peaceful country which does no wrong, and all the other countries in the rest of the world are evil and must obey what it says?
The American government is a dictatorship. Your president has the final say, which means he is a dictator. He can order anything he wants to take place, can’t he? Before you go around the world trying to solve others problems, solve your own! You sell guns to people, but don’t want them to use them. You sell weapons to people, but then call them a threat to the world?
America is the only country to have gone murdered millions of people in an attack. And the only county to have ever used an atom bomb.
The problem is, you get all your information from the CNN or other news broadcasters that are controlled by a group of people.
So tell me, why is it OK for Israel, a country that is murdering children and women every single day allowed to keep nukes, but other countries who have never harmed anyone, not? I would be more afraid of someone with a history of crime.
Or maybe because the USA wants Iran to buy nuclear energy from it instead of making its own?
You went into Afghanistan to stop a mass murder of Americans? But instead, you caused the death of mass numbers of Afghanis and Iraqis. But of course, you could not care less, could you?
America is so far up its own ass, it can’t even breathe.
Your wars have brought nothing to this world but misery and death.
But of course, you have declared a war OF terror.
Iran is going to kick your ass, and you know it. Big time!
Pingback: Global Voices Online » Bahrain: Iran’s Uranium Enrichment
Steve writes “and had the Soviets remove another quarter.”
Steve, you are such a cold war relic that you cannot get past the idea that the Soviet Union died out almost 20 years ago.
It is clear you cannot get your mind past the “us vs. them” mindset you developed.
I am glad you do not represent the rest of us Americans. Before you start spouting about what we, as a nation should do, you might want to learn even who the players are.
Tip……….the Soviet Union ceased to exist in the early 1990s.
With this type of outdated and wrong minded thinking it is no wonder why we are in the mess we are.
Hahhaaha
Imperialist. But you already knew that. 🙂
But those damn mooooslims keep plotting to kill infidels just.. well, … just because! How can a stable Iraq ever emerge from such crazy moooooslims running it? Oh thats right I forgot, your air bases.
… moooooslims!….. 🙄
-Ibn
Salman,
Stop being so pathetically pompous. If the US went all out with Iran, nothing would be left of the latter.
Thats the tragedy in the Arab/Muslim world at large. We cannot protect ourselves. It does no shame to admit we are weak. Admit it. The first step in finding a solution to a problem is to acknowledge the problem first. Our weakness is what was allowed foreign infestations to creep onto our lands from the Zionists, to the French attempt on Algeria, to the current US scatter of bases and carriers off our coasts.
Once political freedom is attained, business men will not take their business into foreign lands. This means the economy will grow in our lands. This in turn will severely curtail the heammorage of brain drain we currently face, because local Arabs will learn and at their home universities, and then apply and innovate that knowledge at their home industries. From here, a broad scientific and political intelligenstia emerges, and from it, a healthy military, capable of defending our lands from any one who would lay two eyes on it, and removing any cancer that currently exists within it.
Work towards that end. Let people like Steve The American bark all they want. Once youve heard him once youve heard him forever. Mooslim this mooslim that. Ok, yes, we are diabolical mooslims. Dont take that fantasy away from him. But in the meantime, work to better yourself, and contribute to the Arab world at large, so that our people will one day be liberated.
-Ibn
I thought that the Iranians had maintained that they never had or desired a nuclear weapons program. How can you claim confirmation that they, in fact, did have a program as any sort of a victory for Iran.
Author
Salman, you’re an embarrassment to yourself. THINK, please, before you let your fingers dance or open your trap.
Iran does not have the capability of hurting anyone but itself. With or without nuclear assets. But now that it seems to soon have nuclear power, I suggest you either stay safe where you are while I start a company specialising in building nuclear-fallout shelters in the Gulf.
I think the number of govts around the world that suffer from oxygen deprivation due to having thier collective heads up their asses is to many to cout…and the number of govts that have their heads up others asses is probably similar in number!
The moment everyone decides to come up for air…is the moment we might all be able take a breath of oxygen free of the taint of others stink….which could lead to actual progressive dialogue and not just ass kissing abd back slapping…with a few high fives for good measure. Just my opinion on that.
We might be witnessing the unity of the Middle Eastern nations for the first time, to form our own superpower. How much longer do you have to be bullied about by a bunch of rednecks? Can we not have our own say in what we do without having the approval of someone else? Instead of saying that you are going to start building nuclear-fallout shelters and sell them to people (which means that you are saying to everyone that Iran is going to have a Nuke war with the USA), why not support the safe use of nuclear energy and its advantages to take us ahead instead of lagging behind everyone.
For Gods sake Mahmood, we live in an Islan surrounded by water, and Bahrain is a tiny place as well, yet we have water cuts throughout the summer? And not to mention electrical cuts.
I have seen nothing but harm from the American government to everyone else, even to the American citizens themselves. No good has come out of that country, ever.
Like every emprire fell, America will fall. Under the hands of Bush might I add.
John: “Steve writes “and had the Soviets remove another quarter.â€Â
Steve, you are such a cold war relic that you cannot get past the idea that the Soviet Union died out almost 20 years ago.
A fair point, John. I was thinking Russian and typed Soviet. However, don’t you think you should thank me for giving you the opportunity to make such hay over a typo?
When you finish frothing at the mouth over this mistake, you might check out this analysis by John Loftus which states:
“The gist of the new evidence is this: Roughly one-quarter of Saddam’s WMD was destroyed under UN pressure during the early to mid 1990s. Saddam sold approximately another quarter of his weapons stockpile to his Arab neighbors during the mid-to-late-1990’s. The Russians insisted on removing another quarter in the last few months before the war. The last remaining WMD, the contents of Saddam’s nuclear weapons labs, were still inside Iraq on the day when the coalition forces arrived in 2003. His nuclear weapons equipment was hidden in enormous underwater warehouses beneath the Euphrates River. Saddam’s entire nuclear inventory was later stolen from these warehouses right out from under the Americans’ noses.”
fa: “Steve, believe me. You and your government think that we are much more stupid than what we actually are!”
I don’t see how that’s possible.
fa: “but no worries,if your payment in delayed this moth too, its must be because of that war in Iraq. I hear its costing your bosses a hell of money”
Excuses, excuses! Where’s my payoff for writing pro-American posts? I got Christmas gifts to buy.
“UN-mandated no-fly zone” — was it really mandated by the UN??? Would please let us know when was that???
Mahmood, r u saying that we should never think of that technology for we are not smart enough to run it and it is only your beloved westerners who have the brains while we don’t???
Steve the american, if the USA is that good, why would most of this stupid world hate it??
Ibn,
Congratulations on writing a post that is 90% sane. I had a fainting spell there in that first sentence when you were defending my position, but some smelling salts brought me to.
I agree with most of what you wrote, except for the part that the US covets Arab lands. We don’t. I can safely say that virtually every American would like our guys out of the Middle East. We only differ on the conditions.
The strident anti-Americans want us to retreat immediately and unconditionally. The hard-liners like me see the military deployment as a grim necessity and hope the Middle East will reform and stabilize itself so that a military presence is unnecessary.
However, I think we will develop a new energy source long before the Middle East settles down. I have more hope in the scientist who discovered how to burn the hydrogen in seawater this year than for Islam to reform itself into a peaceful and tolerant religion.
You’re on the right track with your advocacy of liberal reforms. When Arabs create democracies where people decide their own governments, have freedom of speech, property rights, and build up their infrastructure, the material success that will follow will make all things possible. Your need for military defense will be less than now, because democracies do not make war on each other. They do business.
Salman: “We might be witnessing the unity of the Middle Eastern nations for the first time, to form our own superpower.”
That’s what Zacarias Moussaoui said when he was convicted here in Virginia of participating in the Sep 11 plot: Muslims should be the superpower, not America! That’s the Islamist line, isn’t it?
Salman: “I have seen nothing but harm from the American government to everyone else, even to the American citizens themselves. No good has come out of that country, ever.”
The irony of your post is that you write it on the American-invented Internet with American-invented software in English.
Salman, why do you think so many people immigrate and study in the America from which no good has come, ever? You can’t swing a dead cat here in Washington, DC without hitting an Arab immigrant. Is this some kind of mass masochism on their part, going straight to the worst part of the world to join the suffering of Americans like me, so cruelly oppressed by our own government? Are they just moths to the American flame?
Salman: “Like every emprire fell, America will fall. Under the hands of Bush might I add.”
Bush better get busy, then. He only has a year to bring America down. In the meantime, I think I’ll have some egg nog and Santa Claus cookies before the collapse begins.
Author
The premise of Nuclear energy generation is safe is a misnomer; you only have to look at the inordinate disadvantage of using them in Chernobyl and the 3-mile island. Add to that the educational system that cannot produce good janitors, let alone scientists needed to run and monitor such an endeavour and you’ll get the picture of a mushroom cloud eradicating the whole region at the forefront of any sane person’s mind.
On a practical level, we have another source of untapped energy ready for the taking; it’s called the sun which is virtually shining every single day of the year and this region specifically is the best in the world due to the angle of the sun year-round to collect and harness its power. Scientists suggest that using current technology only a 300 square kilometer area is required to generate the whole world’s needs. Bahrain is 720 square kilometers. The Saudi Empty Quarter is thousands of times larger. I would rather use that than fart around with dangerous technologies no matter what Israel and America has.
We don’t drink sea water. It’s a bit too salty for my taste. So what has that to do with anything? And we don’t generate electricity from the sea either, the last time I checked. What’s the relevance?
Oh boy.
Salman, PLEASE, for YOUR sake, ditch those cretins around you whom you call friends. They are frying your brains and making you a useless entity. Get out of this ludicrous conspiracy theory-generating crap before you kill yourself with a haemorrhage.
Author
At this particular moment in time, YES. I am saying that.
Once you get your head our of your posterior, maybe you will list the number of qualified nuclear scientists we have in the Arab world who might be able to run such a facility, should it ever become a reality that is.
Author
Because of stupid people like you who’s only intellectual activity is to mimic tired and conspiratorial dogma.
Sorry for speaking for Steve. I’m sure he’s more than capable of addressing this issue himself.
Mahmood,
Just as I was about to pitch a fevered pro-American rant at Salman, you preempt my devastating rebuttal. While I appreciate that this is your blog, you’re kinda intruding on my domain. Who’s the Biggest Super Pro-American Wingnut on this blog, you or me? I was thinking it was me. Now, I’m not so sure. Are you trying to snag some of my propaganda propagation paychecks or what?
Bahraini: “Steve the american, if the USA is that good, why would most of this stupid world hate it??”
I’m hardly persuaded that most of the world hates America. If they did, there wouldn’t be such long lines for visas at the US embassies. When I was in Egypt last week, many of the conversations I had with ordinary Egyptians were about getting work in America. As I toured various sites, groups of school kids would ask me where I was from, introduce themselves, and say they loved America. Even I didn’t expect that.
The reason large sections of foreigners have a bad perception of the USA is due to disinformation from their own governments who seek an outside enemy to take the blame for their own blunders and consolidate the public. For example, Indira Gandhi once told drought-stricken farmers in India that the CIA had stopped the monsoon from coming. An Pakistani boy in a madrassa told a Wall Street Journal reporter that America had created dinosaurs to eat Muslims. Turkey made a movie illustrating the dopey Arab conspiracy theory that America invaded Iraq to harvest organs from Iraqis for transplant into Americans.
If you’re an ignorant and illiterate foreigner you lap up these lies because you don’t know any better. So should we flip the monsoon switch back on our giant world weather control machine here in Washington? Should we stop our dinosaur production? Should we stop warehousing all those Iraqi livers and kidneys? Would that solve the image problem the US has in the dishonest and wildly distorted foreign media?
After the 2004 tsunami, CNN interviewed an Indonesian woman in Banda Aceh who said that she always believed America was bad because the TV said so. She was surprised to find the American military helicoptering in aid after the disaster and said that TV stuff wasn’t true. That incident is a microcosm of the bad press America gets in many parts of the world.
Simply put, what bad image America has is largely a function of the anti-American prejudice of foreign media, not American deeds.
Steve, you are the best example of “how that’s possibleâ€Â
Mahmood, your last comment makes no sense. But I really like it when you talk about your garden and flowers though.
I don’t know if posting a link is possible here or not. But I kinda agree with this guy
http://theobserver.jeeran.com/archive/2007/10/363398.html
Author
Well, form a club and knock yourself out!
I’ll be watching from the balcony seat with much enjoyment, I assure you.
Beautiful. It’s finally been said.
Nuclear power has always been linked
to the production of nuclear weapons
wherever you find it, if I’m not
mistaken. One can blame nobody for
being suspicious of Iran’s intentions
in this area.
The cleanest (in all meanings of the
word) form of power is solar. And guess
what – you Khaleejis have more potential
grasp of this than anyone because of
all that desert of yours. Yet another
energy resource! Use it! Develop it!
Sell it to the world! You have loadsa
sun and gazillions of square kilometres
of virgin flat land with gigawatt upon
gigawatt of free sunshine pouring onto
it. Neither America, nor Israel, nor
Iran can turn the sun off (no really,
Salman, it’s true).
Why worry about dirty fast protons and
filthy neutrons messing up your home?
Choose fresh clean photons instead! The
whole world will love you for it, trust
me.
I can see your last seminar “Fiker†was very successful!
I am really happy for you. You can buy more flowers now.
I hope this will be an end to this talk of war, at least for the time being, but if the response of our slurping twerp of a Prime Minister was anything to go by, there’s some way to go yet. His first statement was to stress yet again that Iran still poses a threat. Blair had his wars and now lumpheaded Brown wants his too. On the plus side, Brown is rapidly becoming the least popular PM ever so he may not be around long enough to matter.
Ash,
Iran is still processing uranium that can be used for civilian or military purposes. That’s why Iran is still a threat. Making the radioactive fuel is the hard part of making a Bomb. We just don’t know how far along they are with that.
With all the oil Iran is sitting on, you’d think their first priority would be to build an oil refinery instead of refining uranium so they wouldn’t have to import gasoline to run the country.
Mahmood
Given all the political and environmental implications, nuclear appears to be the lesser of two evils. You also get a lot of output for the amount of input. The radiation that was released at 3-Mile Island was the equivalent of a chest x-ray. The containment tech did hold up properly. Chernobyl – well, the Soviets have always had a history of shoddy quality control (don’t know about Iran’s). France gets over half its power from nuclear and the Japanese get some percentage as well. The technology has improved immensely and accidents are less likely to happen now than in the past. I have my hopes staked on fusion power, -clean, little danger, with a fraction of the half-life of fission waste. But that’s going to take a while until the scientists beat out the technical problems.
It’s surprising that your desert countries don’t take more advantage of solar power.
Ash;
It’s interesting to note that Iran stopped its nuclear development in 2003, the year when the US invaded Iraq because of WMD. Maybe they just didn’t want to be next.
Salman writes
You have my pity. You are a small minded individual with your own small self-serving goals and whatever pathetic ideas you have obviously have no grounds in sane company. To have issue with our government is one thing but to imply that it harms us as citizens is laughable. Pull your head out of whatever rhetoric pit its stuck in and learn about the world at large.
Steve Continued:
And therefore, they shouldn’t develop themselves further, build more facilities, think about the future, or even breathe. They should sell all their oil now and america will provide their 70 million population with all their needs when that oil is consumed to the last drop.
I agree solar is an excellent source of energy in many parts of the world. Something very exciting has happened in the Hydrogen fuel cell arena recently as well.
I used to be skeptical of the idea of hydrogen fuel cells. It’s the fuel of the future, and it always will be, I would snipe. After all, it’s found in its elemental form only inside a star, and otherwise needed to be coaxed from water using electrolysis (requiring more energy input that it yielded), or from non renewable resources like natural gas and coal using steam separation and other processes.
I was mistaken.
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have built a hydrogen reactor based on the principle of electrohydrogenesis. Using common bacteria consuming orangic matter (anything from acetate to waste water) and excreting protons and electrons, a very small amount of electricity is added to catalyze the process and.. viola! hydrogen. Lots of it at staggering efficiencies of over 90%.
http://www.research.psu.edu/iro/events/tradeshows/nha/brochures/LoganNHCPresent3-8-07.pdf
http://www.pnas.org/cgi/reprint/0706379104v1
Let us have a look:
Japan 100 million people – designs and manufactures integrated circuits.
India, China – more people both design and manufacture.
South Korea, Taiwan. The USA, Britain, France Germany, even Italy.
So where are the Arabs? Studying the Koran.
Arabs are plenty smart and unfettered by the old country behaviors do well in American High Tech Research, Development, Production, and Sales.
So what is wrong with the Arab world? Bad government and bad culture. This all goes back to the time when Arab culture elevated belief over reason.
The West came to the conclusion that reason was superior about 500 years ago. The majority of the Arab world has yet to reach that conclusion. It is a big step. You give up belief and all you get in return is uncertainty. Doubt. You dont get the truth, only an approximation of the truth. Plus undreamed of wealth for everyone. In America something like 90% of the poor families own a car. About 50% of the poor families own two cars.
The day I realized this place was a joke and lost in reference to the Bahraini work force; when I realized there is a government mandate that you must hire a certain percent of the native population, hello is anybody awake force a bahraini to higher and employ a bahraini. This place will be the same ad dubai soon 90% kerala, low wages and slavery will prevail if there is a choice does any one care to debate me one this.
Realist
@ Aliandra – yes. On a matter of such seriousness, war has to be one of the cards in the Great Diplomacy Game. But it’s a card that should only actually be played when all other options are exhausted.
@ Steve – you always want to nuke everyone. I’m not a “pacificism at all costs” type by any means, but if we are going to go to war over anything short of ourselves being under attack then I want the arguments in favour to be compelling ones and I want other options to have been given a good chance first.
I thought your readers would be interested in looking at these energy technologies and EPS’s theoretic base for ball lighting.
Aneutronic Fusion: Here I am not talking about the big science ITER project taking thirty years, but the several small alternative plasma fusion efforts.
There are three companies pursuing hydrogen-boron plasma toroid fusion, Paul Koloc, Prometheus II, Eric Lerner, Focus Fusion and Clint Seward of Electron Power Systems
Vincent Page (a technology officer at GE!!) gave a presentation at the 05 6th symposium on current trends in international fusion research , which high lights the need to fully fund three different approaches to P-B11 fusion
He quotes costs and time to development of P-B11 Fusion as tens of million $, and years verses the many decades and ten Billion plus $ projected for ITER and other “Big” science efforts
Here are the links:
http://www.electronpowersystems.com/
U.S., Chilean Labs to Collaborate on Testing Scientific Feasibility of Focus Fusion http://pesn.com/2006/03/18/9600250_LPP_Chilean_Nuclear_Commission/
However, short of a Energy “silver bullet” like fusion , Here is a fully DOABLE technology
Time to Master the Carbon Cycle with Terra
Preta Soil Technology,Carbon to the Soil;
UN Climate Change Conference: Biochar present at the Bali Conference
http://terrapreta.bioenergylists.org/steinerbalinov2107
The integrated energy strategy offered by Charcoal based Terra Preta Soil technology may
provide the only path to sustain our agricultural and fossil fueled power
structure without climate degradation, other than nuclear power.
The economics look good, and truly great if we had CO2 cap & trade in place:
Terra Preta soils I feel has great possibilities to revolutionize sustainable agriculture into a major CO2 sequestration strategy.
I thought the current news and links on Terra Preta soils and closed-loop pyrolysis would interest you.
SCIAM Article May 15 07
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=5670236C-E7F2-99DF-3E2163B9FB144E40
After many years of reviewing solutions to anthropogenic global warming (AGW) I believe this technology can manage Carbon for the greatest collective benefit at the lowest economic price, on vast scales. It just needs to be seen by ethical globally minded companies.
Even with all the big corporations coming to the GHG negotiation table, like Exxon, Alcoa, .etc, we still need to keep watch as they try to influence how carbon management is legislated in the USA. Carbon must have a fair price, that fair price and the changes in the view of how the soil carbon cycle now can be used as a massive sink verses it now being viewed as a wash, will be of particular value to farmers and a global cool breath of fresh air for us all.
If you have any other questions please feel free to call me or visit the TP web site I’ve been drafted to co-administer. http://terrapreta.bioenergylists.org/?q=node
It has been immensely gratifying to see all the major players join the mail list , Cornell folks, T. Beer of Kings Ford Charcoal (Clorox), Novozyne the M-Roots guys(fungus), chemical engineers, Dr. Danny Day of EPRIDA , Dr. Antal of U. of H., Virginia Tech folks and probably many others who’s back round I don’t know have joined.
Also Here is the Latest BIG Terra Preta Soil news;
ConocoPhillips Establishes $22.5 Million Pyrolysis Program at Iowa State 04/10/07
Mechabolic , a pyrolysis machine built in the form of a giant worm to eat solid waste and product char & fuel at the “Burning Man” festival ; http://whatiamupto.com/mechabolic/index.html
Erich J. Knight
540-289-9750
shengar at aol.com
AshAsh: “Steve – you always want to nuke everyone.”
Pure nonsense. My posts in this thread are the best rebuttal to your bogus assertion. Your attempt to build a Nuclear Steve Scarecrow to knock down demonstrates the emptiness of your argument and undermines your credibility.
I recommend you actually read what I write and respond to that rather than inventing positions for me that are easier for you to rebut.
fa: “And therefore, they shouldn’t develop themselves further, build more facilities, think about the future, or even breathe. They should sell all their oil now and america will provide their 70 million population with all their needs when that oil is consumed to the last drop.”
Since when has Iran tried to develop itself under the mullahs? The mullahs know as much about economic development as pigs know about algebra. As V.S. Naipaul wrote in “Among the Believers: An Islamic Journey,” the Islamic reforms brought by Khomeni’s nutcase followers was pretty thin: Put Muslims in charge and everything will be better. The Khomeni crowd had not given thought to any instutitutions nor processes that would improve Iran, nor were they interested in maintaining such programs that had proven effective in supporting the economy.
Basically, Khomeni’s Muslims thought everything would improve because true Muslims were in charge. With Khomeni in charge, how could anything go wrong? Heh.
Building up your economy is not a mystery, nor is it rocket science. It is well known what works and what doesn’t. Capitalism works. Islam doesn’t.
It is the idiot mullahs who are keeping the Iranians down, not America. It is the mullahs who don’t let their subjects breathe, not America. It is the mullahs who let their infrastructure degenerate, rather than build it up. It is the mullahs who hold the Iranian people’s futures hostage, not America.
The ordinary Iranian on the street knows all this. Why don’t you?
You think by using this high level of speech I lose my mind and reply in the same way. Sorry Steve. Try harder next time.
But it’s good that you mentioned some staff that in fact reflects your and your employers mentality.
Mahmood,
Could you reference your:
Scientists suggest that using current technology only a 300 square kilometer area is required to generate the whole world’s needs.
Thank you.
Author
fa is a troll, I would encourage everyone to just ignore the twerp.
Author
Of course Joe. I’m still looking for it. I heard and saw it first in a session of the FIKR6 conference which recently concluded in Bahrain. I’ve got the session recorded (audio) and shall make that available as soon as I can.
Mahmood,
I have read other figures:
150000 square km just for the needs of the USA for 1 year:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/10/01/solar.energy/#cnnSTCText
300 square km for the whole world seems too good to be true!
@ Steve – “Your attempt to build a Nuclear Steve Scarecrow to knock down demonstrates the emptiness of your argument and undermines your credibility.”
There are few things more pathetic than forum big-mouths waffling on about other people and their “undermined credibility”. Idiot.
“I recommend you actually read what I write and respond to that rather than inventing positions for me that are easier for you to rebut.”
I’ve been reading what you write for several years. You are invariably histrionic about anything you feel vaguely threatened by. And let me make this very clear to you, tough guy: I am NEVER going to support a war just because some Bloke on a Blog thinks I should. Got it?
Well, Ash, for somebody against histrionics, you certainly are indulging in them. I don’t advocate nuking Iran, as you and your fellow provocateur seem to claim. That’s pretty clear from my posts on this thread and others. Both your attempts to build the Nuclear Steve Scarecrow do indeed undermine your credibility. What I actually recommend is only a few posts above. You might try reading it. All the sane posters have. Join them.
I have no idea what you’re talking about when you claim I’m trying to convince you to support a war. You seem to be so far off in your own private fantasy land that you are untethered to the conversation in this thread. It appears that you are debating the voices in your head.
@ Steve – “credibility” blah blah blah again. Get over yourself, will you. As for the “Nuclear Steve Scarecrow” – you have brought that upon yourself over a long period of time, with your endlessly belligerent and contemptuous comments. But what is most laughable about you is how you set yourself up as the Voice of America, when in fact – as we all know very well – America is a large country where every shade of opinion is to be found, of which yours is but one. Do you imagine that none of us know any Americans other than you or something?
Anybody who can read can see that I advocated an economic strategy against Iran in the posts above. Nowhere have I advocated nuking Iran, as you and your crazed sibling poster infer. It’s just that simple, no matter what the voices in your head say.
If you wish to complain about warmongering, I recommend you direct your attention to Ahmadinejad and Iran, or perhaps to all the Muslim crazies who want to take over the world, one suicide bomb at a time. I’ll be having milk and Christmas cookies while you do that. Maybe the reindeer ones with frosting on them. Mmmm. Cookies.
So Steve, if Iran is a warmongering nation, then what do you call the USA?
As far as we all know, the USA has invaded 2 countries recently and wrecked them to the ground and are sucking them dry out of their natural recourses. Is Bush not a warmonger?
As far as we can all tell, and I believe you know this too, Iran has attacked no one.
The USA is run by Christian fanatics, that is why it has been at war with every country not Christian, and attacks any country that does not do what it does not agree with.
Go ahead, fight for your “freedom”. And what freedom has been left to you, can you please tell us all?
I know someone who is a Christian, and I consider him my own father, and also love him and respect him as one. And through him, I met many Christians, who are great people, loving and caring, and want nothing but to coexist with everyone and live a peaceful life with all walks of life.
It is people like you, Steve, who bring a bad name to Christianity. People like you, and the warmongering government you support, are a disgrace to Christianity. Is this what Jesus Christ had preached to you? Is this what the bible says? Kill all whom do not believe in Christianity?
And speaking of Christmas, do you celebrate it for its true cause? Or just for the gifts and food?
America is a country that sells guns to its own children. So much for a peace loving and peace spreading country eh?
And speaking of democracy, just how much democracy do you have in the USA? Why does your president have the last say? Is that not dictatorship? You can vote and protest and shout all you want, and he can do whatever he wants, and you just go home and shut the fuck up and have a burger while watching American Idol and forget about it because there is fuck all you can do?
Nigga please!
A redneck idiot also once told a whole nation that a man in a cave on the other side of the earth is going to kill them if they don’t go and kill him first. And the ironic thing is, they actually believed him!
I was reading and following you just fine till the Nigga Please remark. If you want to listen to yourself talk go right ahead but if you want others to listen to you try to keep the racial crap out of your remarks.
A bearded idiot in a cave once told a bunch of kids to crash planes into towere full of people and they believed him.
Author
Salman, I stand by my earlier advice to you:
1. Ditch those cretins around you; your parroting their ideology without understanding it has been showing since you put your fingers to keyboard.
2. You’re young, go out and enjoy yourself. A hapless girl might even take pity on you and give you a cuddle to get some of the compassion you seem to certainly lack.
3. Racial remarks only indicate that you are a moron. A thing that has been confirmed countless times through your inane comments. Avoid it please.
4. Go get laid. It would do you good.
Sound advice, Mahmood. I think I’ll do the same.
Mahmood, here is my advice to you.
Do not judge and criticize people, when you yourself cannot handle criticism.
You claim to be a supporter of free speech, but yet, you fail to criticize the people who are the true cause of Bahrain’s suffering. Because you know that your “free speech” will have you sitting on a bottle. Don’t claim to be what you are not.
Stop talking out of your ass, and talk out of your mind.
Stop contradicting yourself.
Stop trying to act like the “moderate Muslim” who is living in his own little perfect world that does not exist in the midst of reality.
I mimic and copy no one. I speak the truth, and nothing but. I do not need anyone to tell me whats right and whats wrong (and you are the last person I would take any advice from). I see, and I hear, and I understand. I understand how people think, and how scams work. I stated facts and events that took place. I don’t speak of how things would be in a perfect world which only exists in your own mind. I speak of reality, and the effects of things, not how they should turn out.
I am older than your little friend who you just moaned about not being able to get his group recognized. Practice what you preach.
And to be honest with you, I have never known anyone who is so full of himself and thinks he is above all, smarter than all, and always knows better than all.
All you do is try to impress people with your skills of the English language. But, you also show how much of a hypocrite you are with the way you contradict yourself.
Your idea of freedom of speech is “Criticize anyone, BUT Mahmood Al-Yousef the infallible”
Now, its Mahmoods turn to take any criticism personally and to flame me with eloquent words.
Author
At least spell my name correctly for God’s sake! It’s with an “I” (phonetically ‘eye’) rather than the “E”.
Anyway, now that’s off your chest, I am sure that you will think (hopefully) a little about your situation and try to correct it before it completely destroys your soul. Hate is rather abrasive, couple that with gullibility and you get an uncontrollably incendiary combination. For proof, go look into any mirror.
Be good and have a wonderful day!
And what do you think of the very popular view by a leading Israeli analyst Obadiah Shoher? He argues (here, for example, http://www.samsonblinded.org/blog/america-arranges-a-peace-deal-with-iran.htm ) that the Bush Administration made a deal with Iran: nuclear program in exchange for curtailing the Iranian support for Iraqi terrorists. His story seems plausible, isn’t it?
Hey Salman haven’t you had enough of having to act like a crybaby preacher of hot air all over the internet?? I’m guessing the weather up in Bristol must have gone through your head and frozen whatever living cells existed.
Guys take no heed of him he’s a disturbed person who can’t get over the fact that he’s too perfect for anyone else here.
He can’t throw a positive remark on any issue because nothing that is being discussed about is worthy of his idea of free speech.
He is 19 but looks like frankenstein but without hair
With that point above he cannot really get laid unless in desperate situations or so
His ultimate dream is to have his own little corner of Ras Rumman.
He has a fetish with KIA’s for some reason he gets turned on by driving a POS that loses power when the A/C is turned on
Hope I didn’t leave out anything else but anyways I had to do this because seeing a timebomb like him disrupt a perfectly peaceful debate over this issue is disturbing beyond belief.
Oh and BTW Ahmedinajad is a bit like the Joker from Batman. He may look and talk stupid but has a few cunning tricks up his sleeve
I have lots of work, however, I couldn’t get my head out of this thread.. Interesting stuff out there..
Salman.. you must have lived all your life watching almanar..
Steve.. Seems like you’re a big fan of Fox and CNN, cable TV doesn’t give you much options! seems like you spend so much time in townhall.com
To Salman, I would say: You MUST visit the united states before putting such comments about its people.. They’r among the friendiest over this earth; I bet my life over this!
To Steve, I would Say: People in the United States just have little choices what it comes to channels of information to judge what’s right and what’s wronge in the world’s political issues.. USA’s foreign policies are way too troublesome to fit into average Amaricans’ daily interests. Knowing that the vast majorty of Americans have no access to news channels, other than those on Cable TV, that doesn’t exceed 3 at the most; those channels, you might disagree, cannot be compared to other international channels, such as BBC..
A week of watching Fox/CNN is enough to make you sick up your brain.. That is why most Americans are looked upon with pity, expecially from Europians, who enjoy better competition in terms of news broadcasting..
Monline;
That’s incorrect. There are hundreds of news channels available in America, TV (we get the BBC too), news radio, not to mention newspapers, news magazines, etc. Most Americans have access to computers and the Internet provides us with literally thousands of additional sources.
There is a problem with apathy among many, but accessibility, no.
Awww, how cute. Now, if this hasn’t helped you relieve some stress, get back to playing on your beloved XBOX360 to shoot some aliens and relieve your stress.
Maybe you could do yourself a favour by getting a life as well.
I hope you’re not referring to me coz you’re thinking of the wrong person then
Regarding the failure of US Intelligence services, here’s an article from the NY Times that comments on these, and finds reason for optimism in the future. I hope it turns out to be correct:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/09/weekinreview/09weiner.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&ref=weekinreview&pagewanted=print
On the broader topic or Iran’s government and people, I feel deep sympathy for most people there. Iran is full of young people, most of whom want nothing more than to thrive in a more open and modern society.
I don’t think Ahmedinijad is misquoted in his most bellicose statements. The best proofs are his holocaust denier conference and idiotic contest to make anti Semitic cartoons (the best answer to which came from an Israeli cartoonist who entered the contest claiming that nobody could be more anti Semitic than a Jew).
Iran’s leaders actively support terror against innocent civilians in Israel, the Palestinian territories, Iraq, and likely elsewhere. They have hugely valuable natural resources, but have so poorly managed the money (or spent it on murder), they can’t even refine enough gasoline to meet local demand, yet they continue to subsidize it heavily. If my friends and colleagues from Iran are any indication, there’s a huge amount of artistic, scientific, and entrepreneurial resource being suppressed. They have served their people very poorly.
War would be calamity for everyone and likely serve only to keep the despots in power.
I would beleive you’d have accessibility to BBC and other news channels if you pay more to an international package from the provider; which the majority of the population are not willing to! If you’r talking about the states, consider the vast span of land, where local providers in small cities do not have more options..
Newspapers? Yes, there are; again, majorty stress the local news i.e. weather, crimes, etc. International news are all giving a one-point-of-view.. I remember hating myself ones, because of sterio-types like arabs-being-bad reconfirmed over and over..
Those who have access might be in major cities, like new york and DC; but if you go to all over the bible belt, for example, you’d surely be bomparded with stupid questions like “Do you wear shoes in you country?” “How do u hock up to the internet in a tent?” “Do you have cars?”
Saying this from an experience..
Monline;
I get the BBC News FREE. I don’t have to pay for any TV package. Plus Canadian News, European Journal, etc .. FREE. I even get the Mosaic show, which is a summary of actual news clips from Middle-eastern countries (with translations) – FREE. And I don’t live in a major city either.
All these shows are available to the general public, if they are willing to watch. Go into any large American bookstore and mosey over to the magazine section. You’ll see at least half a dozen magazines devoted exclusively to politics, international affairs, etc
I’m sorry that some media give a bad sterotype about Arabs, although I hear the public stereotypes of Westerners and Americans in your media aren’t very favorable either. American travelers also get stupid questions from Arabs. Seems we both have some learning to do.
Alex: “what do you think of the very popular view by a leading Israeli analyst Obadiah Shoher? He argues (here, for example, http://www.samsonblinded.org/blog/america-arranges-a-peace-deal-with-iran.htm ) that the Bush Administration made a deal with Iran: nuclear program in exchange for curtailing the Iranian support for Iraqi terrorists. His story seems plausible, isn’t it?”
It only seems plausible if you’re writing a conspiracy theory comic book. The lesson America has learned is that you can’t make deals with Iran. First, the crazy mullahs are opposed to America, the Great Satan, and are not inclined to make deals. Second, the Iranian government is so disorganized, chaotic, and full of factional infighting, that even when you get something like a reasonable proposition from a moderate element in the Iranian government, they can not make good on it because they are ambushed by the radicals. The Iranians are not stable enough to make deals. I’m not convinced the Iranians are in command of themselves.
Monline: “Steve, I would Say: People in the United States just have little choices what it comes to channels of information to judge what’s right and what’s wronge in the world’s political issues.. USA’s foreign policies are way too troublesome to fit into average Amaricans’ daily interests. Knowing that the vast majorty of Americans have no access to news channels, other than those on Cable TV, that doesn’t exceed 3 at the most; those channels, you might disagree, cannot be compared to other international channels, such as BBC..”
Monline, you simply don’t know what you are talking about. The last time I lived in a three channel TV environment was back in the ’70s. Cable TV has brought me and most Americans 100+ channels since the 1980s. I can’t even count how many channels I’ve got on my TV. It’s more than 200. More than I could ever watch.
The idea that BBC is somehow superior to US TV news is absurd. Everyone knows the BBC is biased against America and thoroughly leftists. British sailors found it so annoying during the Gulf War they would not tune in to BBC on their ships. Even the BBC now acknowledges that it’s bias is out of hand.
Your advocacy of BBC strikes me as parochial and particularly lacking in self-awareness. The irony here is that you are erroneously condemning me for having a narrow view while promoting your own narrow and flawed Euro-leftist view as more cosmopolitan. It’s as silly as thinking America works on three cable channels.
Monline: “A week of watching Fox/CNN is enough to make you sick up your brain.. That is why most Americans are looked upon with pity, expecially from Europians, who enjoy better competition in terms of news broadcasting..”
Monline, what an absurd comment. BBC is a government media operation which forces every viewer with a TV to pay for its operation, whether they watch or not. BBC is a socialist monopoly which uses the government to suppress its competition in order to broadcast its tedentious one-sided view to a captive population. BBC competes in the same way Russia is a democracy. Again, your position shows an amazing lack of awareness of the world and a lack of comprehension of what the word “competition” means. Get thee to a dictionary!
Monline: “Newspapers? Yes, there are; again, majorty stress the local news i.e. weather, crimes, etc. International news are all giving a one-point-of-view.. I remember hating myself ones, because of sterio-types like arabs-being-bad reconfirmed over and over..”
Monline, the only stereotypes stemming from ignorance here are the ones being propagated by you in your post. The newspapers in America are mostly politically correct productions that omit ethnic references when it would offend lefty notions. It has become a joke that most of the liberal media will go out of its way to avoid mentioning the words “Islam” or “Muslim” when the terror plot of the month is uncovered. It is beyond parody when a terror cell composed of three Mohammeds and and an Abdullah are featured on the front page of a newspaper or lead story of the news and the reporter blithely states the motivation for the plot is unknown.
Most local newspapers don’t have the resources to cover international news. You get that from magazines and TV. I have yet to pass a magazine rack anywhere in the United States where every news magazine gives the same point of view of international affairs. You don’t seem to be very well read in American media. You seem to be passing off your own uninformed prejudices as fact.
BillT: “was reading and following you just fine till the Nigga Please remark. If you want to listen to yourself talk go right ahead but if you want others to listen to you try to keep the racial crap out of your remarks.”
Bill, you need to turn the sensitivity up on your BS detector. The whole post was one big triple decker crap cake, long before the racist cherry was planted on top.
Salman, you accuse the USA of invading two countries in recent years. Was it not the case that at least one of them attacked the USA first and without any warrning?