Posted on 12/26/2001 6:34:07 AM PST by tberry
I don't see a lot of people making fun of Spew's name, but I do see a lot of apt descriptions. ;-)
That statement alone is evidence that Mr. Peirce is not a frequent visitor.
Since some of you are no longer making contributions to the intellectual exchange here, instead just complaining about what FR is, or has become as you say, why don't you simply do as the earlier malcontents did and go do your own thing elsewhere?
As far as the 'intellectual exchange'... I still enjoy the threads on the unified theory or Nietzche's last thoughts. So... I'm part of that.
If you are confusing 'intellectual exchange' with the so-called political discourse slash humor, I did make a significant contribution yesterday on a thread dealing with Heraldo and FNC. Needless to say, the thread disappeared.
(GMTA)
"Maybe it's time for nations that are not Muslim theocracies to agree with this and outlaw Islam on the grounds that it is not a religion but a subversive political belief, an imperialistic, international terrorist conspiracy designed to overthrow democratic governments. Western democracies can and should hault immigration of Muslims and outlaw the practice of Islam on these grounds."
3 posted on 12/26/01 5:18 AM Pacific by Savage Beast
=================================
Sometimes, mean people are just mean people. ;-)
Actually, I think it was the other way around, if you know what I mean. Start a fight here to try to drive up the hits at your own site. Is Lucy.com still around?
Don't know, don't care. I get all I need right here. If that ever stops I will not complain about it, I will just stop coming here. I doubt that will ever happen. Too many good posts to let the complainers get the best of me.
My memory is a little fuzzy about who came first, FR or LC. I learned of FR first, I think, but now i am not even sure about that. :-)
Well, I don't suppose that you need to be reminded that Jim Robinson still runs the show here, and as a result, FR is continually outgrowing itself while the spin offs aren't doing too well. Since some of you are no longer making contributions to the intellectual exchange here, instead just complaining about what FR is, or has become as you say, why don't you simply do as the earlier malcontents did and go do your own thing elsewhere?
--------------------------------------
You forget that prior to leaving in a huff, the coven were playing their power games with the benign approval of the FR-PTB. -- To my mind, much the same game is being played now, and some of the present authoritarian crowd may even be the same players.
I wish someone would/could say it isn't so, with a explanation of why it sure looks that way.
Instead of mind-numbing 'love it or leave' suggestions.
Arab World Poverty -- Whose Fault?
[CAPITALISMMAGAZINE.COM] "I don't have the knowledge to blame a government," said Bakhtiar Khan, an Afghan man in his mid-twenties. "I don't know about politics, but for our problems I blame the world community. All humans should be equal, but we are not. You ask me who is to blame. You find out who is to blame."
Khan, according to a recent New York Times piece on the origins of Islamic extremism, earns a subsistence level income making bricks in a pit outside the city of Peshawar, an Afghan city of 2 million, nearly 50 percent refugees. When asked about his life, he says, "Life is cruel. You can see for yourself. You wear nice clothes and are healthy. But look at us. We have no clothes to wear and we are not healthy. Your question is amazing."
So, who is to blame?
A recent story on Afghan schools described a teacher who holds up a wealth pie chart. America, she shows her students, controls this huge slice of the pie, leaving a tiny sliver for us Afghans. The not-so-subtle point? Afghans suffer poverty because of America's disproportionate wealth.
But no, Khan lacks the "knowledge to blame a government." For, through knowledge, Khan would discover that his poverty stems from corrupt, dictatorial governments, the absence of capitalism and free trade, and the lack of individual rights and the rule of law. But who, in the Arab world, spreads this message?
Dr. Muqtedar Khan, director of International Studies at Adrian College in Michigan, challenges American Muslims to set the masses straight: "While we loudly and consistently condemn Israel for its ill treatment of Palestinians, we are silent when Muslim regimes abuse the rights of Muslims and slaughter thousands of them. Remember Saddam and his use of chemical weapons against Muslims (Kurds)? Remember Pakistani army's excesses against Muslims (Bengalis)? Remember the Mujahideen of Afghanistan and their mutual slaughter? Have we ever condemned them for their excesses? Have we demanded international intervention or retribution against them? Do you know how the Saudis treat their minority Shiis? Have we protested the violation of their rights? But we all are eager to condemn Israel; not because we care for rights and lives of the Palestinians, we don't. We condemn Israel because we hate 'them.'
"Muslims love to live in the U.S. but also love to hate it. Many openly claim that the U.S. is a terrorist state but they continue to live in it. Their decision to live here is testimony that they would rather live here than anywhere else. As an Indian Muslim, I know for sure that nowhere on earth, including India, will I get the same sense of dignity and respect that I have received in the U.S. No Muslim country will treat me as well as the U.S. has. If what happened on Sept. 11 had happened in India, the biggest democracy, thousands of Muslims would have been slaughtered in riots on mere suspicion and there would be another slaughter after confirmation. But in the U.S., bigotry and xenophobia has been kept in check by media and leaders ...
"It is time that we acknowledge that the freedoms we enjoy in the U.S. are more desirable to us than superficial solidarity with the Muslim World. If you disagree, then prove it by packing your bags and going to whichever Muslim country you identify with. If you do not leave and do not acknowledge that you would rather live here than anywhere else, know that you are being hypocritical.
"It is time that we faced these hypocritical practices and struggled to transcend them. It is time that American Muslim leaders fought to purify their own lot."
But only a few weeks ago, Arab leaders condemned Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi for calling Western civilization "superior" because it "guarantees respect for human rights and religion." Harsh criticism forced him to recant his "racist" statement. But if we call Berlusconi's remarks "racist," in what category do we place the statement made by Abdulrahman Awadi, formerly a high-ranking official in Kuwait? When Kuwait learned that Sulaiman abu Ghaith, a Kuwaiti citizen, had become a top lieutenant with Osama bin Laden, Kuwait revoked abu Ghaith's citizenship. Awadi said, "This is a wake-up call that we have to be very careful with freedom. Democracy and freedom of choice may be good for Western cultures, but for the Gulf countries, those are dangerous things. These people are using freedom to achieve their ends."
Who is to blame?
Countries like Saudi Arabia and Egypt suffer double-digit unemployment rates, estimated as high as 25 percent. Grinding poverty and religious zealotry, wrapped around a blanket of government-led scapegoating of Israel, the United States and the West -- all combine to form a dangerous and deadly Third World victicrat mindset. Blame triumphs over enlightenment, and anger defeats reason.
CREATORS SYNDICATE COPYRIGHT 2001 LAURENCE A. ELDER
The problems you are alluding to came from two sources - the initial reaction to the events of 9/11, and the growing pains of creating a moderator system. If you look around the forum today, there isn't much moderation going on - just look at the number of Lew Rockwell and Antiwar posts in place today - so how can there be such horrific censorship? Just because some posters say these articles shouldn't be here, it doesn't mean that FR is censoring...
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.
I consider blame-America ideology to be just that - a screed.
You just want to keep pretending to be a libertarian while hiding behind the governments skirts
And now you resort to the clasic ad hominem attack approach. Libertarianism isn't even the issue we are debating here. Let's get back to Elder's core premise:
Countries like Saudi Arabia and Egypt suffer double-digit unemployment rates, estimated as high as 25 percent. Grinding poverty and religious zealotry, wrapped around a blanket of government-led scapegoating of Israel, the United States and the West -- all combine to form a dangerous and deadly Third World victicrat mindset. Blame triumphs over enlightenment, and anger defeats reason.
That's a shot right in the middle of your attempts to pin the attacks on American foreign policy, and it's telling you resorted to a pointless attack rather than address the debate. Later, I've got no more time to waste on the likes of you.
You forget that prior to leaving in a huff, the coven were playing their power games with the benign approval of the FR-PTB. -- To my mind, much the same game is being played now, and some of the present authoritarian crowd may even be the same players.
I wish someone would/could say it isn't so, with a explanation of why it sure looks that way. Instead of mind-numbing 'love it or leave' suggestions. - #51
Well, first of all, if someone mashes the abuse button, the moderators do not get information about who sent the abuse, which was done intentionally to minimize any personal preferences coming into play. Second, the moderators can't patrol all the threads, so if there is flaming going on and no one tells them, they may not see it. And third, there is still a degree of individual judgement on the part of the moderators, so what is acceptable to one may constitute abuse to another when the flaming is right on the line of acceptable insults. But there has been a concerted effort to apply less moderation to FR over recent weeks.
Same here DFU. After 911, it has been time to separate the wheat from the chaffe and for people to step up to plate and lead. I have heard the rantings of libertarians and especially, that idiot Harry Browne, blame America for everything. Browne is the person who really turned me off.
It may look that way to you but it doesn't to all of us. There must be rules else chaos and self-destruction result. When there are rules someone must be in charge of enforcing them. Noone enforcing the rules will be able to please everyone, especially in a freewheeling forum such as this. Apparently the monitors have the approval of Jim Robinson to act in his stead. Therefore, the only practical choice is the one I suggested - going elsewhere if you disapprove of how FR is being run.
My advice would be to continue to enjoy FR, continue to make your constructive contributions, and stop expecting FR to be perfectly to your taste. If we all agreed it would truly be a dull site to which few of us would return on a regular basis, much less become addicted.
It is still the best conservative clipping service in the world and we know our opinions are often heeded because we see them in print or hear them on radio and TV all the time. The freepers who came up with the various ideas may not get credit but they are having an effect, which is what we really want anyway. I hope you and your likeminded freepers continue to add your ideas to the brew.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.