Gas Bandit's Political Thread

[Zonker]

http://www.merip.org/palestine-israel_p ... rimer.html

It's a pretty fucked up idea of "civil disobedience" that involves throwing molotov cocktails. The whole idea of civil disobedience is not to give the ruling power any legitimate excuse to kill you. Either all your protests are nonviolent or none of them are.

 

[Iaculus]

http://www.merip.org/palestine-israel_primer/intifada-87-pal-isr-primer.html

It's a pretty fucked up idea of "civil disobedience" that involves throwing molotov cocktails. The whole idea of civil disobedience is not to give the ruling power any legitimate excuse to kill you. Either all your protests are nonviolent or none of them are.

I don't think there's ever been a major campaign of civil disobedience in that sort of situation that was uniformly nonviolent. Civil Rights had the Black Panthers an their affiliates, while India had... well, quite a lot, really.

 

[GasBandit]

Caroline Kennedy - Senator Extraordinaire
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAgI4AS1NVg:13wc3u10][/youtube:13wc3u10]

If you're flying out of San Francisco you can visit a kiosk and buy some carbon offsets to assuage your environmental guilt for taking that flight.

This story says that 2008 might be the year when this absurd nonsense over man-made global warming was finally debunked. Let's hope so.


My old buddy Neal Boortz weighs in on the Hamas stuff -

This is really so completely ridiculous. For days the Muslim Hamas goons in Gaza launch rockets at Israeli civilians. The "Arab world" is quiet. Then Israel retaliates and the "Arab World' suddenly goes nutso. How long do we tolerate this asinine double standard?

Where was the Arab world when those rockets were being fired at innocent Israelis? Sitting on their butts and shutting the hell up, that's where .. and the same goes for much of the oh-so-enlightened European Union. Then Israel retaliates and the world is coming to and. Everybody tells Israel to be careful about causing civilian casualties. Do any of you remember "the world" telling Hamas to be careful about where they aim those rockets? Did "the world" warn Israelis about civilian casualties among the so-called "Palestinians?"

Hamas tells Israel that if they don't stop their assault then Hamas is going to resort to suicide bombings. Are you believing this? Hamas feels free to fire rockets indiscriminately into the Israeli civilian population. They're telling Israel that if it tries to stop them from playing with their rockets, they'll move on to suicide bombs. In other words ... the message is that Israel just has to endure the rocket attacks and do nothing in return.

Israel is to be admired here. They have a civilian population to protect, and the hell with world opinion. When "the world" shows as much concern for innocent Israelis dying under Hamas rocket barrages as it does for Palestinians, then maybe Israel will listen.

Israeli troops are reportedly massing at the border. Send 'em in to clean out these Muslim Hamas goons once and for all.

 

[Iaculus]

My old buddy Neal Boortz weighs in on the Hamas stuff -

This is really so completely ridiculous. For days the Muslim Hamas goons in Gaza launch rockets at Israeli civilians. The "Arab world" is quiet. Then Israel retaliates and the "Arab World' suddenly goes nutso. How long do we tolerate this asinine double standard?

Where was the Arab world when those rockets were being fired at innocent Israelis? Sitting on their butts and shutting the hell up, that's where .. and the same goes for much of the oh-so-enlightened European Union. Then Israel retaliates and the world is coming to and. Everybody tells Israel to be careful about causing civilian casualties. Do any of you remember "the world" telling Hamas to be careful about where they aim those rockets? Did "the world" warn Israelis about civilian casualties among the so-called "Palestinians?"

Hamas tells Israel that if they don't stop their assault then Hamas is going to resort to suicide bombings. Are you believing this? Hamas feels free to fire rockets indiscriminately into the Israeli civilian population. They're telling Israel that if it tries to stop them from playing with their rockets, they'll move on to suicide bombs. In other words ... the message is that Israel just has to endure the rocket attacks and do nothing in return.

Israel is to be admired here. They have a civilian population to protect, and the hell with world opinion. When "the world" shows as much concern for innocent Israelis dying under Hamas rocket barrages as it does for Palestinians, then maybe Israel will listen.

Israeli troops are reportedly massing at the border. Send 'em in to clean out these Muslim Hamas goons once and for all.

Ooh, nice incoherent rant. I especially like the way he uses 'Muslim' as an invective. The huge honkin' generalisations are good, too - note to author, putting them in "speech marks" does not help.

 

[Cuyval Dar]

My old buddy Neal Boortz weighs in on the Hamas stuff -

This is really so completely ridiculous. For days the Muslim Hamas goons in Gaza launch rockets at Israeli civilians. The "Arab world" is quiet. Then Israel retaliates and the "Arab World' suddenly goes nutso. How long do we tolerate this asinine double standard?

Where was the Arab world when those rockets were being fired at innocent Israelis? Sitting on their butts and shutting the hell up, that's where .. and the same goes for much of the oh-so-enlightened European Union. Then Israel retaliates and the world is coming to and. Everybody tells Israel to be careful about causing civilian casualties. Do any of you remember "the world" telling Hamas to be careful about where they aim those rockets? Did "the world" warn Israelis about civilian casualties among the so-called "Palestinians?"

Hamas tells Israel that if they don't stop their assault then Hamas is going to resort to suicide bombings. Are you believing this? Hamas feels free to fire rockets indiscriminately into the Israeli civilian population. They're telling Israel that if it tries to stop them from playing with their rockets, they'll move on to suicide bombs. In other words ... the message is that Israel just has to endure the rocket attacks and do nothing in return.

Israel is to be admired here. They have a civilian population to protect, and the hell with world opinion. When "the world" shows as much concern for innocent Israelis dying under Hamas rocket barrages as it does for Palestinians, then maybe Israel will listen.

Israeli troops are reportedly massing at the border. Send 'em in to clean out these Muslim Hamas goons once and for all.

Good 'ol Boortz. Always good for when who want to hear an honest to god opinion w/o a lot of BS.

 

[Espy]

Good article. Nice to see someone with some sense about the bullshit going on about Israel defending itself against murderous terrorists.

 

[GasBandit]

Ooh, nice incoherent rant. I especially like the way he uses 'Muslim' as an invective.

He does that because the mainstream media apparently is allergic using the word. Remember in the paris riots when it was "ethnic youths" reported in every media source, and nobody wanted identify the one thing they all had in common?

 

[Espy]

Ooh, nice incoherent rant. I especially like the way he uses 'Muslim' as an invective.

He does that because the mainstream media apparently is allergic using the word. Remember in the paris riots when it was "ethnic youths" reported in every media source, and nobody wanted identify the one thing they all had in common?

Or you are probably just racist like Boortz cause he uses the "M" word. Am I right Iaculus? *high five*

 

[Iaculus]

Ooh, nice incoherent rant. I especially like the way he uses 'Muslim' as an invective.

He does that because the mainstream media apparently is allergic using the word. Remember in the paris riots when it was "ethnic youths" reported in every media source, and nobody wanted identify the one thing they all had in common?

You mean apart from (in this case) coming from a certain part of the Middle East, rebelling/fighting (hard to delineate with Gaza) against Israel, and being governed/ordered around by a certain former terrorist group that hasn't even bothered to bleach its underpants? Let's go for a descriptor that wouldn't apply to 1.5 billion people here, eh? Honestly, what does it add to affix 'Muslim' there? Is 'Hamas goons' not good enough? Not precise enough? I assume that he always refers to 'those Christian Republicans' and 'those godless Democrats' as well?

Look, I always saw major areas of conflict as the result of sociopolitical factors. Religion is an exacerbator, yes, but not nearly to the extent that militant atheists or adherents to other faiths might assume, and it is never the primary reason for a conflict. Nope, not even that one.

[/rant]

Oh, and just to indulge my inner pedant - espy, Islam is a religion. What does racism have to do with anything? Now, if I'd been complaining about him referring to them as Arabs, yeah, I can see that, but Muslims? How is that racist?

 

[Calleja]

I had a choice.. either stand up and get something from the kitchen since the threads I'm currently watching are inactive... or post here.

I decided to post here, just in case you were kept wondering.


Carry on.

 

[Covar]

Oh, and just to indulge my inner pedant - espy, Islam is a religion. What does racism have to do with anything? Now, if I'd been complaining about him referring to them as Arabs, yeah, I can see that, but Muslims? How is that racist?

technically it could be considered anti-Semitic.

 

[Iaculus]

Oh, and just to indulge my inner pedant - espy, Islam is a religion. What does racism have to do with anything? Now, if I'd been complaining about him referring to them as Arabs, yeah, I can see that, but Muslims? How is that racist?

technically it could be considered anti-Semitic.

Only in the religious sense, assuming there are practicing Jews in Hamas (which I was unaware of, and would certainly consider quite surprising). Since Islam is a religion, though, and not a racial group, I fail to see the relevance.

 

[Kitty Sinatra]

I had a choice.. either stand up and get something from the kitchen since the threads I'm currently watching are inactive... or post here.

I'm faced with a similar dilemma, only my choices were view porn or post here. For some weird reason I chose to post here.

Continue.

 

[Espy]

Oh, and just to indulge my inner pedant - espy, Islam is a religion. What does racism have to do with anything? Now, if I'd been complaining about him referring to them as Arabs, yeah, I can see that, but Muslims? How is that racist?

No worries, I just thought we were being ridiculous.

 

[Iaculus]

Oh, and just to indulge my inner pedant - espy, Islam is a religion. What does racism have to do with anything? Now, if I'd been complaining about him referring to them as Arabs, yeah, I can see that, but Muslims? How is that racist?

No worries, I just thought we were being ridiculous.

Don't worry - I may be a bit of a weenie sometimes, but I'm not that bad.

 

[Futureking]

Alright. Alright.

Now you get to hear the opinion of someone who actually LIVES in an Islamic country.

The newspapers here report one side of the story, portraying Israel as Satan. Its all "Israel's attacking Palestine. Poor Palestinians are dying". Oh gee, so how about the poor Israelites dying from the war? There HAS to be both sides of the coin.

Here. In a poetry recital which was themed on peace, where kids write and recite their poems, the poems about evil Israelites killing Palestinians gain plenty of applause, with everyone condemning the evil Israelites. At some point, its sickening.

Israelites love their children too. (Sting reference ftw)

 

[Covar]

Oh, and just to indulge my inner pedant - espy, Islam is a religion. What does racism have to do with anything? Now, if I'd been complaining about him referring to them as Arabs, yeah, I can see that, but Muslims? How is that racist?

technically it could be considered anti-Semitic.

Only in the religious sense, assuming there are practicing Jews in Hamas (which I was unaware of, and would certainly consider quite surprising). Since Islam is a religion, though, and not a racial group, I fail to see the relevance.

Semite
-noun
1. a member of any of various ancient and modern peoples originating in southwestern Asia, including the Akkadians, Canaanites, Phoenicians, Hebrews, and Arabs.
2. a Jew.
3. a member of any of the peoples descended from Shem, the eldest son of Noah.

 

[GasBandit]

So what's Cynthia McKinney up to these days? Trying to break the Gaza blockade.

A handy guide to bailout acronyms. [pdf]

A study shows teens that take abstinence pledges are just as likely to be sexually active as those that don't and they are less likely to use birth control. Bristol Palin is unavailable for comment.

Disney appears to be trying something different with their Bambi II marketing.

Troops fighting in the Middle East could lose custody of children because they are "unfit parents."

It's not just first hand and second hand smoke that can be a problem...here come's third hand smoke!

 

It's not just first hand and second hand smoke that can be a problem...here come's third hand smoke!

And if you breastfeed, the toxins will transfer to your baby in your breastmilk. Winickoff notes that nursing a baby if you're a smoker is still preferable to bottle-feeding, however.

Guess it's not that bad if it's still healthier than bottled milk.

 

[Wahad]

Oh FFS! Really, people? Third-hand smoke? Why in the name of all that is holy do we keep finding new ways to say: "smoking is unhealthy, don't do it."? Next they'll go 'quit smoking, the fourth-hand smoke kills kids by infecting pollens with tobacco particles that get processed into honey.' It's driving me nuts the way they're crusading against smoking. We know it's unhealthy by now. You don't have to say it in a bazillion different ways. Hush.

 

[Troll]

Oh FFS! Really, people? Third-hand smoke? Why in the name of all that is holy do we keep finding new ways to say: "smoking is unhealthy, don't do it."? Next they'll go 'quit smoking, the fourth-hand smoke kills kids by infecting pollens with tobacco particles that get processed into honey.' It's driving me nuts the way they're crusading against smoking. We know it's unhealthy by now. You don't have to say it in a bazillion different ways. Hush.

Reminds me of a certain South Park episode.

 

[Espy]

Oh FFS! Really, people? Third-hand smoke? Why in the name of all that is holy do we keep finding new ways to say: "smoking is unhealthy, don't do it."? Next they'll go 'quit smoking, the fourth-hand smoke kills kids by infecting pollens with tobacco particles that get processed into honey.' It's driving me nuts the way they're crusading against smoking. We know it's unhealthy by now. You don't have to say it in a bazillion different ways. Hush.

Seems like these anti-smoking people will never be happy until they make everyone as miserable as the seem to be. So many of them come off as the most self-righteous and angry group of people I have ever met. See the troll's SP episode for further reference (good one by the way Troll).

 

[Armadillo]

Coleman balks at many rejected absentees

You know, maybe it's just me being WAY too logical for my own good, but it seems to me that if an absentee ballot was rejected improperly, that means it was cast properly. If a ballot is cast properly, and there's no disqualifying problem with it, the logical thing to do would be to COUNT THE FUCKING THING!!!

Why are we allowing the campaigns to decide which ballots they want counted? Isn't that why we have a Canvassing Board? Did I miss something?

 

[ElJuski]

Oh FFS! Really, people? Third-hand smoke? Why in the name of all that is holy do we keep finding new ways to say: "smoking is unhealthy, don't do it."? Next they'll go 'quit smoking, the fourth-hand smoke kills kids by infecting pollens with tobacco particles that get processed into honey.' It's driving me nuts the way they're crusading against smoking. We know it's unhealthy by now. You don't have to say it in a bazillion different ways. Hush.

Seems like these anti-smoking people will never be happy until they make everyone as miserable as the seem to be. So many of them come off as the most self-righteous and angry group of people I have ever met. See the troll's SP episode for further reference (good one by the way Troll).

I fucking hate those vigilant anti-smokers with such a passion. I know its unhealthy, jackass. Let those people have their fucking vice. Everytime somebody whines about smoking, it makes me want to take it up even more so I can angrily pollute my own little pocket of life.

 

[Troll]

Gov. Blagojevich appoints a well qualified black man to Obama's vacant senate seat, which is nothing unexpected. Due to the scandals about selling that seat the senate is vowing to refuse his confirmation, as anything Blagojevich does is seen as tainted. This was also expected.

What's unexpected?

Rep. Bobby Rush of Illinois accuses the Senate of trying to "lynch the appointee" and is calling on Blagojevich's choice to be confirmed anyway. Lovely.

 

[Armadillo]

Gov. Blagojevich appoints a well qualified black man to Obama's vacant senate seat, which is nothing unexpected. Due to the scandals about selling that seat the senate is vowing to refuse his confirmation, as anything Blagojevich does is seen as tainted. This was also expected.

What's unexpected?

Rep. Bobby Rush of Illinois accuses the Senate of trying to "lynch the appointee" and is calling on Blagojevich's choice to be confirmed anyway. Lovely.

That's just stupid.

Of course, if I was Burris, I'd put out a release saying, "Thanks but no thanks."

 

[Troll]

Gov. Blagojevich appoints a well qualified black man to Obama's vacant senate seat, which is nothing unexpected. Due to the scandals about selling that seat the senate is vowing to refuse his confirmation, as anything Blagojevich does is seen as tainted. This was also expected.

What's unexpected?

Rep. Bobby Rush of Illinois accuses the Senate of trying to "lynch the appointee" and is calling on Blagojevich's choice to be confirmed anyway. Lovely.

That's just stupid.

Of course, if I was Burris, I'd put out a release saying, "Thanks but no thanks."

It would have been better if that stupid ass Blagojevich hadn't tried to appoint anyone and resigned, like everyone with half a brain told him to do. Now he's even more of an embarrassment.

 

[GasBandit]

The US Border patrol is having trouble dealing with all the illegal crossers.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5_RkYXlmXE:2lvqar4y][/youtube:2lvqar4y]

Chip Saltsman might have trouble getting the Republican Party Chairmanship because of a CD he sent out to the Republican National Committee.

The Schools Led by Obama's Education Secretary Designee Failed the No-Child-Left-Behind Standard for Five Years. Not that NCLB is a good thing.

Sure to cause riots in the streets - Time Warner Cable says no more spongebob. Or Colbert.

 

[Armadillo]

The US Border patrol is having trouble dealing with all the illegal crossers.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5_RkYXlmXE:yelau0xo][/youtube:yelau0xo]

More proof that the addition of Yackity Sax can make ANYTHING a million times funnier than it already is.

 

[GasBandit]

9 Muslim passengers got kicked off a jet, allegedly for making comments about airport security and the placement of the engines.

Foreign Journalist? Want to go into Gaza? Israel says NO SOUP FOR YOU. I guess they saw what happens when journalists tag along into a war zone by how the US got treated in Iraq.

Arizona, Arkansas, Missouri, Utah and Nevada aren't leaving things up to the imperial federal government. They're already looking to pass state laws preserving union secret ballot votes and kicking the "card check" unionization by intimidation act to the curb. It reminds me of how several states (my own Texas included) passed laws protecting private property from government seizure for financial reasons after the Kelo vs New Haven debacle.

Egypt is getting it from both sides over this Gaza thing.

"I am profoundly troubled that the call of this council, issued nearly four days ago, for an end to the violence has gone unheeded," UN Secretary-general Ban Ki-moon said with a straight face.

"He looked like he had had a few drinks and decided to do a late-night break in, but he hadn't counted on the God of Thunder living here"

 

"He looked like he had had a few drinks and decided to do a late-night break in, but he hadn't counted on the God of Thunder living here"

Approves, even though the picture is terrible.

3 fake points to the person who gets the reference.

 

[Shakey]

"He looked like he had had a few drinks and decided to do a late-night break in, but he hadn't counted on the God of Thunder living here"

Approves, even though the picture is terrible.

3 fake points to the person who gets the reference.

Adventures in Babysitting

 

"He looked like he had had a few drinks and decided to do a late-night break in, but he hadn't counted on the God of Thunder living here"

Approves, even though the picture is terrible.

3 fake points to the person who gets the reference.

Adventures in Babysitting

And here I thought it would be harder than that. *sulk*

Take your freaking fake points!

 

[Shakey]

"He looked like he had had a few drinks and decided to do a late-night break in, but he hadn't counted on the God of Thunder living here"

Approves, even though the picture is terrible.

3 fake points to the person who gets the reference.

Adventures in Babysitting

And here I thought it would be harder than that. *sulk*

Take your freaking fake points!

You did have the title in the link to the picture, but the sad thing is I actually remembered the movie. I watched that movie wayyyy too many times when I was younger.

 

[makare]

"He looked like he had had a few drinks and decided to do a late-night break in, but he hadn't counted on the God of Thunder living here"

Approves, even though the picture is terrible.

3 fake points to the person who gets the reference.

Adventures in Babysitting

And here I thought it would be harder than that. *sulk*

Take your freaking fake points!

Can I get some points for knowing offhand that that is Vincent D'Onofrio from Law and Order CI?