GWBush demo

domfjbrown,

For once I have to agree with Mick -- first you were moaning about not being able to give anyone a good "cockshafting" and now you are moaning about your boss doing the exact same to you.

Assuming you are speaking figuratively of course -- if you are talking literally then you may well have reasonable grounds for complaint. Although I am not a lawyer and it may be that you have signed a contract or something that gives your boss this unusual right. In which case you'll just have to grin and bear it I'm afraid.

Matthew

quote:

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I have been here longer than you, so you bugger off.

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Ha! Too true, Mick old bean. The good news is that your time will likely run out before mine. And may the sheer quantity and longevity of your contribution to the forum serve as your epitaph, because the quality has frankly been predictable, cantankerous nonsense.

So did Rasher decide to protest, or not?

This is Rasher's wife.
I know he wastes time here and so thought I should tell you that he is currently under arrest for throwing an egg, which he claims he was urged to do by members of this forum.
I hope you are proud of yourselves.
You should all grow up.

Ok...that was a joke

Rasher

I just saw a great one on Sky News: Dubya and missus have just landed up norf for their pub lunch, and one protester held a placard with "Bush You're Ace" on it, underneath a luvvly jubbly picture of our Katey, Magic.

Fritz :

Graham Ricketts

Just a few questions to those who are against the recent military actions:

Were the people of Afghanistan better off under the Taliban with no free speech, no right to protest, repression of women, no elections etc etc?

Were the people of Iraq happy under the Saddam Hussein regime? Happy to be murdered in thousands, attacked with chemical weapons if they protested? Their 'oil money' used to build lavish palaces whilst medicines were denied to the sick (even when sanctions were lifted to supposedly allow medical provisions through)?


At least both these countries now have a chance to improve their circumstances and in the medium term , establish some better form of government.

I thought the world had learned the dangers of ignoring/condoning oppressive dictators in 1939

Evil flourishes when good men stand by and do nothing....

Jo

That is a fair point Jo, but not the reasons we were given for going to war. We went to war on another bunch of reasons that have turned out to be lies. It's the principle and the way it was done which is the issue, irrespective of differing views on whether we should have kicked Saddam's butt or not.

A few questions for Jo Sharp:

Do you think kittens are cute?

Do you think its good to be nice to old ladies?

Matthew

A few questions for the "peace in our time" brigade.

Do you think it's right to go after Al Qaeda?
How about the people behind the bombings in Turkey and Bali?
Should we try to understand what motivates them?
Or should we hunt them down like dogs and kill the f*ckers?

Alan

Also a pointer for Wiltshire Jo, cos I think I know where you're coming from in
that you're mixing up streotype neat answers with confusion ? Please check (it's
on Public record - at last) how many long-term, unbelievably experienced and
therefore irreplacable (in the short term) British Service people resigned and
left ASAP after the Falklands War ? These people voted with their feet, as they
did when they initially joined up, or maybe you have other ideas on the subject
that don't fit into those neat comfortable solutions you seem fond of.

Fritz Von Sunreader²

Graham Ricketts

If there were any easy answers then we could all just discuss growing daffs or something, but there ain't, so we should all express our personal feelings - pro war - anti-war - without resorting to having a pop at each other......donchathink?

Rasher - feeling very grown up for a moment.

ps. If you feel the need to flame someone, use Domf...everyone else seems to....poor sod.

quote:

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A few questions for the "peace in our time" brigade.
Do you think it's right to go after Al Qaeda?
How about the people behind the bombings in Turkey and Bali?
Should we try to understand what motivates them?
Or should we hunt them down like dogs and kill the f*ckers?

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Alan,

Which part of the war in Iraq was "going after Al Qaeda"?

The point of understanding what motivates terrorists is that it might enable you to avoid motivating other people to become terrorists. Many people seem to think understanding is a dirty word. It's not the same as warming their slippers and making them a nice cup of tea.

I wouldn't particularly object to "hunting them down like dogs and killing the f*ckers" if I was certain that
a) You killed the right fuckers.
b) By doing so you weren't encouraging other fuckers to take their place. I would thought it was obvious that there was no shortage of people who are not afraid to die for this 'cause'.


It seems to me we (We! Ha! Why do I say We?) should be trying to remove the perception that there is a cause here that's worth killing and dying for. The first step would surely be to understand why so many people think there is.

David

David

Thanks for the reasoned response.

I wouldn't be quite so quick to dismiss the idea that war in Iraq had nothing to do with Al Qaeda.

I'm all for understanding the symptoms of a disease and preventing its recurrence. Meanwhile, eradicate it.

Alan

BTW,

I don't know how it looked over there, but from what I have seen in the news and read in the paper, the Bush trip looks to have gone pretty damned well. From my angle, the protests have been pretty minimal and muted. Certainly MUCH less so than those that took place in the lead-up to and just after the beggining of the war in Iraq.

I suppose it is possible that the news media on this side has decided to mute the reality of the protests over there. But, on second thought I find this unlikely. CNN, ABC, NBC and CBS are not ussually ones to gloss over anti-war protests (maybe Fox and Sky). Even the BBC has been relatively quite.

Is it possible that the visit went over better than expected? Is it possible the the British public is starting to soften?

No insinuations. Real, honest to goodness question.

Judd

Judd:

British interests were bombed in Istanbul. Maybe people are now considering the possibility that, even if the war in Iraq was for the wrong reasons, Bush and Blair are right about this whole war on terrorism.

Alan

Please do not think that the loud mouthed plebs who rant and rave here are typical of the British public. That rabble are the noisey minority who will protest against anything because it makes them feel superior.

The majoritory of us recognise that force was the only way to remove Saddam who would have lied and cheated to remain in power. Force is a last resort and Saddam was given plenty of chances.

You have every reason to be proud of your country and if the protesors don't like it ...then tough.

Regards

Mick

Mick,
talking of loud mouthed plebs who rant and rave to feel superior.
After your fairly recent climb down on the mana forum I was under the impresion that you had decided to keep quiet from now on . I see that it didn't last long, pity!!
Oldie.

I do keep quiet, I don't yell and bawl in the streets, achieving bugger all in the process.

Do you really think gives a tinkers cuss what they think.

Regards

Mick

Mick,
in short, yes, I do think what "they" think matters,its what we call dmocracy,where
people have the right to protest against what "they" and a large number of the British people think is wrong, without being insulted for their beliefs. I also beleive that "they" have already achieved, for want of a better phrase a "greatdeal" . It would be very wrong for the American people to be led to believe that everybody here in Britain is prepared to follow blindly behind the Bush/ Blair partnership.Everybody knows that Saddam was a monster, thats not in question, but if Bush and Blair had not funded, armed and suported him we may not have been in this position.
oldie.

You cannot have your cake and eat it.

Saddam played games with the UN for years and in the meantime thousands of people had no liberty and feared death just for looking in the wrong direction.

If we had not gone in, the same would be happening today.

It was a simple choice, go in and depose him or let him continue. This was one instance where diplomacey had been tried and exhausted.

I think summed it up better than me.

Regards

Mick

The same could be said for Burma, China, well most countries really. At least now you aren't arguing about WoMD which we all know was just an excuse to invade.

So where next?

Tom

Actively enjoying it all

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Originally posted by Tom Alves:
So where next?

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Kirriemuir!

Fritz,

I was in the UK Forces during the Falklands War - and I'm still in now......

I was also in Bosnia during the time of the Srebrenica massacre when the Dutch UN force sat on their arses and let the Serbs murder several thousand.

The UN force of which I was a part was not allowed to act - another UN cock up. Very frustrating. So I completely understand that if the UN will not sanction the use of force against immoral murdering regimes, then some nations will have to go it alone. Pity we didn't more often in the past.

Jo