Yeah, I agree, it was a psychological comfort but in real terms the masks didn't provide much actual protection. There's a fine line between sensible precaution and making the situation worse by over-reacting.
It’s nearly a year since American tanks began rolling across the Iraq – Kuwait border. The first anniversary of an event is a common juncture to indulge in a little reflection. My intention in writing this blog is both to reflect and to challenge. Specifically, I want to challenge the hawks to defend their war with the benefit of hindsight. Are you proud of your conflict? Do you still think it was right? It’s my belief that the anti-war camp h
It was around this time last year that Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) thrust itself onto the global consciousness. The killer, flu-like disease, which emerged in the Chinese province of Guangdong in November 2002, was by March of last year spreading rapidly across East Asia. The epidemic eventually killed thousands across the Pacific Rim and hurt the global economy as trade and travel were disrupted. However by June of last year SAR
OK, I suppose I'll stand up for the 12 stars. I agreed with some of Brad's article. Basically, yes, Europeans and Americans have very diffrent worldviews. Americans don't expect the govt to help them out which, I would concede, is a good thing. However the flipside of this is that the poor in America are left to rot in the inner cities. Americans would say "tough luck, if you worked hard like me then you could live in the suburbs too." Europe
Slightly cliched truism but I thought it was relevant here: When an American loks up to the big house on the hill he thinks: "One day, I'm gonna live in a place like that." When a European looks up to the big house on the hill he thinks: "One day, I'm gonna get that bastard."
Thanks Muggaz. My understanding of al-Qaida is that they have a number of short to medium term aims such as getting Uncle Sam out of Saudi (nearly got that one done incidentally). In the long term they want to impose Sharia law worldwide. Of course there's no chance of this happening as things stand. That's my point, they have the same "ambition" as the Nazis but they don't have the resources to pursue these ambitions.
"Well, duh. No one alive today remembers the Hundred Years' War or William of Orange. Why would I compare things to events that I read about in a book when I can go by events that I experienced and that I remember?" Do you remember the Second World War? Fair play, but the vast majority of us don't. The reason WW2 is so well known is because of both its scale and its comparative recentness (is that a word?). Sorry, should have made that clear.
I was listening to a British radio phone-in about al-Qaida last week. The rhetoric was embarrassingly clichéd. One gung-ho caller likened Bin Laden’s outfit to the Nazis, saying that they wished to destroy civilisation. The only solution, according to this particular hawk, was war to the end. Au contraire, retorted a left-leaning panellist, America with its “concentration camp” in Guantanamo, was the true heir to the Third Reich. Listening to this exch
The phrase “move on” has been very much in vogue in recent weeks. In some instances the term can have a positive connotation, as in to move on after the death of a loved one. In this case it articulates the need to get on with one’s life rather than wallow in the past. However, in the hands of some politicians, the phrase has taken on a negative undertone. When habitual liars like Gerry Adams or Tony Blair urge their opponents to “move on”, you know th
As we approach the tenth anniversary of the first IRA ceasefire, it’s easy to forget just how much things have changed over the past decade of relative peace. In particular the fortunes of Sinn Fein (SF) have improved dramatically in this period. It is strange to recall that, not so very long ago, the party was extremely isolated and unpopular. Back then, with their stablemates still at “war” (i.e. shooting people in their beds and blowing up high stre
"What crap on what crappy television are you watching to even be able to put John Kerry and "right-winged" in the same context?" He's a new Democrat, he's pro-NAFTA, pro-PATRIOT, pro-Iraq war. I consider that to be right-wing. He is certainly on the right of his own party. "The reason for a two party system is there isn't a third party worth noting" No, you're confusing cause and effect. The reason for the two-party system is, as I outlined, that your voting system e
Last week I wrote a blog urging American progressives to get behind John Kerry in spite of his right-wing tendencies. Should leftists hold their noses and vote for the unrepentant “new Democrat” from Massachussets in order to beat Dubya, or should they throw in their lot with some valiant no-hoper who better reflects their views? This has been a hotly-debated topic, especially since the great white hope of the anti-war movement started yelling out the
I must confess that I’ve always loved elections. I just can’t get enough of democracy in action: rallies, speeches, debates, knocking on doors, arguments, endless, endless arguments. Plonk me down in front of the TV when there’s an election on and I’ll be as happy as a junkie with a big bag of smack. Most of all though, I love Irish single transferable vote (STV) elections. The transfers, the intra-party battles, the tallymen, the recounts – this is po
It was almost forty years ago when the Irish Cold War showed the first signs of thawing. Appropriately enough it was a snowy day in January 1965 when Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Sean Lemass’ limo made its way up the long drive of Stormont estate on the outskirts of Belfast. By going to the seat of power of the Northern Ireland government to meet Prime Minister Terence O’Neill, Lemass entered the history books. It was the first ever official visit
You have this habit of making sweeping statements about "lefties" etc. doing this or that when you respond to my posts. You'll notice that I never compared anyone in the Bush administration to Hitler. I don't agree with placards saying "Bush=Hitler" in fact I find them rather crude. "If you looked at my analogy plainly, I was comparing Vichy France to Iraq -- to win the war against the Axis, the US had to go through Vichy France too. And like you said, they were effectively an ally of
There was a poll last year that said that 69% of Americans thought Saddam had a role in the attacks of 9-11. There also was/is a widespread belief that some of the hijackers were Iraqis. To be fair Bush did (eventually) explicitly say that Iraq had no hand in 9-11.
This is classic right-wing propaganda. First compare Saddam to Hitler, then anyone who speaks out against attacking Iraq is either a fascist or some naive Chamberlain figure. You're using the suffering of a past generation to justify a war of choice today. "You would have been one of the ones to let Hitler take over much of Europe in the name of avoiding war." This is just a meaningless jibe. I wasn't alive. I have hindsight, I know
Last year Belfast’s bus company introduced double-deckers to the city. What a wonderful innovation! Just pay your £1.10, climb to the top of the stairs and you have a wonderful view of a fucked-up society. This new elevated viewpoint allows one to peek over the many “peace walls” which segregate Belfast into Catholic and Protestant ghettos. On your way into town, rather than reading the paper or texting a fri
Just ran me eye over that link you sent. I feel like I want to go through it with a red pen (and I might do that later on). If Bush had tried to sell the war in these terms he would've failed miserably. It's a nakedly imperilaist document. Does the rest of America know what you neocons have planned? Endless war, more blood and treasure spent "chasing foreign monsters". The more you bomb people, the more they hate you. The more they hate you, the more d
Jill (if I may use first name terms), as far as abortion goes, I wasn't referring to anything Bush has done in his first term. I'm referring to what he could do in his second if he gets the chance to nominate a supreme court justice or two. "The real determination will be how many people will vote for Kerry because he isn't Bush. That is really all he has going for him." I pretty much agree with you, I'm no great fan of Kerry. In some areas, like the ones I outlined, having a D
"We were attacked. The US didn't start this war." Who attacked you? It wasn't Saddam, even Dubya admits that now. "I would like to know the magic mirror you looked into that told you that we would not have gone to war if Kerry had been president." The war against Iraq was undoubtedly a war of choice. The neocons had been pushing for war since well before 9-11: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article1665.htm Kerry refused to vote against war
The Genghis Khan remark was a jibe, you know, a joke. Dubya has a way to go before he's invaded as many countries as the man from Mongolia. It's a no brainer to anyone on the left/liberals/progressives that Kerry, for all that he's not much better than Bush, he is at least a little better. You obviously aren't going to vote for Kerry, I think that's clear.
This was the first of two books I read by American conservative journalist Robert Kaplan. It is far and away a superior piece of work than “Soldiers of God” his account of 1980s Afghanistan. Kaplan himself later admitted that he lost his senses of balance, such was his identification with the mujahadeen. His strong anti-communist beliefs coloured his view of the conflict in Afghanistan. His 1993 book “Balkan Ghosts” which examines another part of the “Evil Empire” is however much mo
So it seems that the die is cast; the next president of the United States will be George W Bush or John F Kerry. When the choice is presented in these stark terms, it’s a no-brainer for anyone to the left of Genghis Khan. All hail President Kerry! However, that’s exactly the problem. The only good thing about John Kerry is not what he is but what he isn’t. He isn’t George W. Bush. The Democrats have gone, so we’re told, for “electability”. Once again they’ve chosen a middle-aged whit
"Keep people well fed...and they will take about anything" So by your logic, African-Americans always had enough to eat until about 1956 when the food suddenly dried up. Hmmmmm.
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