[TeemFilla]

Everything about me is consistent. I value life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness - regardless of context (given specific considerations) and in that order.

Pro-life:
Anti-abortion, anti-capital punishment and ecocentric vegan.

Pro-liberty:
Equal rights for everyone and foreign intervention.

Pro-pursuit of happiness:
I'm totally happy.


ps. I was not in Vietnam. I was a paratrooper from 90-94; I joined after the war started and it was over before I finished training, with almost the shortest training contract possible - just infantry and airborne. So after a few years of fun but mundane peacetime, I took my GI Bill/College Fund and went back to college (I'd left an elite, private institution to join the war and returned to community college due to disillusionment with the elite of the ivory tower).



I've known where I stand politically, intellectually, philosophically and spiritually for 20 years and I'm entirely consistent.

Are you for real?

[freddyujnf]

Do you eat beans?

[unsamiSlini]

Erm...yeah...obviously, our father is jewish

You is got the snip.

[jabader]

We save more lives than we take. The evidence, from the last three decades:

80's: Saddam wages horrible war against Iran that includes the use of chemical weapons.

Late 80s, Saddam kills ~200,000 Kurds in chemical genocide against towns of 10,000 people at a time.

Early 90s, Saddam invades a neighboring country and releases oil intentionally destroying all of the newly discovered deep-water coral reef in the Persian Gulf.

Mid 90s, Saddam drains the land of the Marsh Arabs, committing genocide to the tune of 50,000 people.

Late 90s, Saddam diverts 'oil for food' products to sale for cash in neighboring countries resulting in the malnutrition deaths of 400,000 children in his own country.

This speaks nothing of the state-sanctioned murder of opposition and the state-sanctioned rape of countless girls by Saddam's men. Or of the other atrocities of State Islam (FGM, honor killings, capital punishment for gays and discrimination against women that is no longer legal).


Civilian deaths in the US-Iraq war: ~400,000.

Greater good.

how do you know Saddam would have killed 400,000 Iraqis since 2003 if we hadn't invaded? I guess if you strongly believe that you know Saddam would have killed that many, you can call your beliefs consistent...

[ordercigsnick]

We save more lives than we take. The evidence, from the last three decades:

80's: Saddam wages horrible war against Iran that includes the use of chemical weapons.

Late 80s, Saddam kills ~200,000 Kurds in chemical genocide against towns of 10,000 people at a time.

Early 90s, Saddam invades a neighboring country and releases oil intentionally destroying all of the newly discovered deep-water coral reef in the Persian Gulf.

Mid 90s, Saddam drains the land of the Marsh Arabs, committing genocide to the tune of 50,000 people.

Late 90s - 2000s, Saddam diverts 'oil for food' products to sale for cash in neighboring countries resulting in the malnutrition deaths of 400,000 children in his own country.

This speaks nothing of the state-sanctioned murder of opposition and the state-sanctioned rape of countless girls by Saddam's men. Or of the other atrocities of State Islam (FGM, honor killings, capital punishment for gays and discrimination against women - that are no longer legal).


Civilian deaths in the US-Iraq war: ~400,000.


Greater good, liberty is just a bonus (hopefully).

Who backed the Ba'ath party's rise to power in the 60s? Who supported Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq war. Who overthrew the democratically elected Iranian government in 1953 and replaced with an autocratic King.

If you actually think our post-WWII foreign policy revolves around helping oppressed people, you are blind to reality. No Arabs or Iranians think the U.S. has their best interests in mind.

[Bejemoelemymn]

I guess they give PhDs to anyone these days. Way to avoid every point I made.

[seervezex]

Yes, let's blame everyone except the genocidal dictator. That works great.

The genocidal dictator we sold weapons to?

[Gooracouppy]

The genocidal dictator we sold weapons to?

We sold agricultural anthrax for the vaccination of cattle. If we did not provide the vaccinations, we would have been responsible for the starvation of thousands. Saddam weaponized the vaccine and let people starve.

Now, what is inexcusable is our suport of Iraq and Iran according to whoever was losing, for the purpose of destabilizing the region during the early and mid 80s; however, recently our policy has changed to one of stabilization instead (thankfully).


ps. I actually don't feel bad for this double-post.

[Qualarrizab]

To be honest, I'm not real concerned with your criticism. I'm just one of the guys here.


And yes, I'd better get working.

[Anykeylo]

I'm taking it to become a good developing world farmer (and teach a little public highschool before I go [to give back, again]).

You see, I didn't know I wanted to be a developing world rural farmer until I was in my late 20s, and I didn't grow up on a farm... so I had alot to learn and it seems a PhD is a good way to learn alot in a small period of time (BA, MSc, PhD cand. took ~10 years).


I walk my talk (politically, militarily and intellectually). I'm entirely consistent. To end world poverty (politically and economically), we must reverse the brain drain - a Neoexodus. Go unto those in need and pay them respect.

[mv37afnr]

I'm taking it to become a good developing world farmer (and teach a little public highschool before I go to give back, again).

You don't need a degree for that. I can summarize farming for you:

Step 1: Place seeds in ground.
Step 2: Add water.
Step 3: Wait until harvest.
Step 4: Collect government subsidy.

[Bgfbukpf]

There was never a sanction that prohibited food or medicine trade.

The people starved because Saddam took the goods from 'oil for food' and sold them to pay cronies. The 'food for oil' was not a substiute for food-aid (or food-trade in the open market), but an additional method of trying to help common Iraqis - which he subverted, resulting in the direct deaths of 400,000 children, just by quantifying the food he diverted.

Wouldn't sanctions hurt Iraq's economy? Saddam definitely is more responsible for the deaths but it seems like the US messed up.

[VUzgOhgv]

The only limits placed via sanction were on selling Iraq weapons or providing Iraq with military technology.

They are an oil state, not a military one. They don't make their money off the military.


There were no sanctions for civilian stuff. It's not like Cuba.

[Vapepreab]

The only limits placed via sanction were on selling Iraq weapons or providing Iraq with military technology.

They are an oil state, not a military one. They don't make their money off the military.


There were no sanctions for civilian stuff.

Why the food for oil program then? If he had been free to sell oil and buy food, there would have been no use for that.

[adolfadsermens]

Kuci is the guy I always confuse with Kidicious. One of them is a socialist, the other one is a born again Christian. Also, Kuci is the guy with soft waffles on his avatar.

I'm sorry what? Born again christian? Socialist? I don't think Kuciwalker is either of those. Now I'm confused.

[Ikrleprl]

Of course we never lifted the (military) sanctions, Saddam never satisfied the IAEA inspectors who, including the final brief before invasion, admitted that he was obstructionist and they did not know what was going on.

In fact, shortly after that resolution (1990), Saddam committed genocide killing 50,000 Marsh Arabs. Do you really expect us to retract military sanctions after we pass them... then he commits genocide kicks the IAEA and Human Rights inspectors out for 10 years??


After those 10 years, all he did was kill 400,000 children and further obfuscate.



But he's not to blame?!

[gariharlj]

Yes, and didn't teh US have sanctions on Iraq while thousands of children starved?

That's "collateral damage" according to Ecofag.

Are you retarded?

It's fairly established that he is. It explains why he's a dirt farmer in Kenya.