Discussion (60)¬

1. Chris says:

   January 21, 2008 at 11:43 pm

   Chris,

   Did you also think they had a religious excuse for saying “offence” instead of “offense” in the US?

   Indeed I did! Is there anything that cannot be excused by religion?

   Now if you’ll excuse me, the color of my tires is a bit odd; I may have to replace the aluminum in my carburetor.
2. Hobbes says:

   January 22, 2008 at 4:40 am

   Thanks, Poor Richard, I’ll add that to my collection of famous quotes.

   And, thanks to author for maintaining a high level of civility on this board.
3. JoJo says:

   January 22, 2008 at 10:29 pm

   HOBBES: On the matter of defining fascism, I am confident I have the last word. In my high school (UK) politics class we asked our very liberal leaning teacher for a proper definition of fascism. We argued that the word is bandied about far too much and it was difficult to pin down an academically accurate definition of the type you could use in an essay without looking silly. “That’s easy,” he said leaning back in his chair with a grin. “A fascist is someone who kicks your teeth in when you call him a fascist.”
   I hope this is an end to the matter.

   
4. Hamidreza says:

   January 22, 2008 at 10:46 pm

   Don – … keep it pithy and urbane”

   You mean at the expense of content and substance? You mean in favor of petty letters and linguistic games to the detriment of meaning?

   You gotta be kidding, ey?
5. Hamidreza says:

   January 22, 2008 at 11:09 pm

   As explained once, and which has since been deleted, the ultra-left and the ultra-right meet in substance (but not in style) at the limit point of fascism.

   Fascism is a scientific political movement, and it should not be discounted and taken so lightly. Fascism is far more than the reductionist “kick your teeth in” thing. The US kicked Saddam’s teeth in, but it did that in defense of liberalism.

   How is it that the neo-Nazi skinheads of Germany vote for the German Left party that is so ostensibly supposed to be diametrically opposed to the neo-fascists, according to some leftists? Or the Respect party break bread with the ultra-right wing members of Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist Sharia demanding racist and supremacist organizations?

   For example, the support of Ahmadinejad and Khamenei by the western left. Or Michael Moore and Juan Cole calling Al-Qaeda death-squad fascists as “freedom fighters” and supporting them? And there are many more empirical observations as well, which I will not bore.

   And then we have religious fascism or Islamo-fascism, which is being denied by the postmodern and postcolonial left, due to their newfound romance with Islamic intolerance. State socialist economy and placing the group identity (national identity or religious identity) ahead of liberties, is the definition for fascism. Tell me what is about the Islamic Republic of Iran that does not meet this definition? And yes, the jackboots of the Islamic Basijis are very effective in killing all dissent in Iran. But of course the western self-hating anti-enlightenment postmodern selective bleeding heart leftists and lefto-fascists have their eyes, ears, and mouth shut.

   If Lancet is correct and 600,000 innocent Iraqis have been murdered by the Islamic death squads of Mahdis and Wahhabis, and all of this while the western leftists were cheering them on, and demanding more power to them, then the left has a lot of ‘plaining to do. Shame on the anti-human rights and pro-identity rights post-colonial lefto-fascist.
6. Hobbes says:

   January 23, 2008 at 4:14 am

   JO JO: “A fascist is someone who kicks your teeth in when you call him a fascist.”

   That was very inadequit. I’m not sure I would want to take a course under someone who blows off a serious question. Obviously, there is a lot of confusion concerning the definition. I’m beginning to think it’s a lot like “religion.” Some even call secular humanism a religion. However, if any school of social thought can be called religion, then the word is so watered down that it no longer has meaning. But, that’s another area of argument, for now, best left alone.

   Hamidreza: Thanks for your response.

   “The US kicked Saddam’s teeth in, but it did that in defense of liberalism.”

   Not so. The U.S. attacked Iran as a means of establishing a military force there in order to secure the region for the continued westward flow of oil. This was the second oil war, and the one that was sought after by the Neo-cons since the early 90s. “liberalism” had nothing to do with it. In fact, most liberals in the US were doing whatever they could to stop the invasion.

   “neo-Nazi skinheads of Germany vote for the German Left party”

   Although I don’t keep up with German politics, a quick check on the Web seems to show most voted for the NPD in the elections of 2004 in Saxony. That some might have voted for a liberal party could be true, but since you haven’t provided evidence (statistics from a reliable site), I cannot add more without more research.

   The Respect party talking with the Muslim Brotherhood and like organizations? That’s exactly what I would expect from a true liberal organization. A liberal believes in talking and trying to come to common ground with opposing organizations, and attack only when attacked.

   As an uninformed teen, I once attended a KKK rally and even shared some of their views. Now I am a member of a liberal organization (Americans United for the Separation of Church and State). Although I no longer share the opinions of the KKK, I would welcome civil debate with them. Would talking to them make me a radical right winger?

   “support of Ahmadinejad and Khamenei by the western left.”

   The “left” in the U.S. gives Ahmadinejad tacid support because there is at present nothing else holding back the Islamist extreemests from taking over a nation with nukes. That’s pragmatic. It is the Right in the U.S. that gives him weapons and free reign. You seem to be getting the distorted information usually put out by our neo-fascist (right wing) government.

   I do wish you would give reference to your “quotes.” We don’t know in what context Al-Qaeda members were called “freedom fighters.” And, in actually, that’s what they are to the fundamentalists Muslims. Bush was wrong (as usual) when he said they attacked us because they “hate our freedoms.” They attacked us (and gave us warning), because we had military bases on their “holy soil,” and for blind support of Israel at the expense of the palistanians.

   Lastly, “600,000 innocent Iraqis have been murdered by the Islamic death squads of Mahdis and Wahhabis, and all of this while the western leftists were cheering them on.”

   You must be getting your information from some radical right source. You need to listen to the left, perhaps Air America Radio, and understand what the American left is really saying, in context. One thing you will find out is that the left understands that we killed far more Iraqis than the ongoing civil war caused by our destabilizaton of the country.

   The figure you gave, “600,000″ caused by Muslim radicals is misleading. See: http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2006/images/10/11/human.cost.of.war.pdf. You seriously need to open up to more reliable sources for your information.
7. JoJo says:

   January 23, 2008 at 8:45 am

   Actually, it was a bit more subtle than perhaps you realise.. but hey..
8. Regal says:

   January 28, 2008 at 6:42 am

   It’s funny cause it’s true…. haha
9. Berto says:

   February 20, 2008 at 9:37 pm

   I just found your site, and I can’t stop laughing!
   Keep up the great work!
10. Naboo says:

    July 14, 2009 at 12:51 am

    Ohoh! Anybody thinking Scientology here???

    “We’ll sue you and your boss’s ass!!!”