Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Zaratustra]

McCain now is both the politician you already know and the politician that will bring change to Washington. Someone tell him it's not nice to bogart all the viewpoints.

[Kazz]

Nah, Obama can go "You don't know me, but everything will stay the same!"

[Thad]

WaPo: Democratic Primary Boosts U.S. Image Around the World

"This is close to a miracle. I was certain that some things will not happen in my lifetime," said Sunila Patel, 62, a widow encountered on the streets of New Delhi. "A black president of the U.S. will mean that there will be more American tolerance for people around the world who are different."

[...]

"The primaries showed that the U.S. is actually the nation we had believed it to be, a place that is open-minded enough to have a woman or an African-American as its president," said Minoru Morita, a Tokyo political analyst.

[...]

"Obama is the exciting image of what we always hoped America was," said Robin Niblett, director of Chatham House, a London think tank. "We have immensely enjoyed the ride and can't wait for the next phase."

[...]

"Our fortunes as the people of Kenya are certain to change. Obama knows our problems and I'm sure he has them at heart," said Salim Onyango, 32, a shoe shiner in Kisumu, Kenya. "When he becomes president, he will definitely put in place support for us in Kenya."

Sam Onyango, a water vender in Kisumu, said, "Obama's victory means I might one day get to America and share the dreams I have always heard about. He will open doors for us there in the spirit of African brotherhood."

Obama also has strong support in Europe, the heartland of anti-Bush sentiment. "Germany is Obama country," said Karsten Voight, the German government's coordinator for German-North American cooperation. "He seems to strike a chord with average Germans," who see him as a transformational figure such as John F. Kennedy or Martin Luther King Jr.

[...]

"It could help to reduce anti-U.S. sentiment and even turn it around because of what he represents," said Kim Sung-ho, a political science professor at Yonsei University in Seoul.

"For an African-American candidate to compete and perhaps win a presidential election is a strong reason for people in Asia to reconnect with the U.S.," Kim said. "This is such a contrast to the image of the United States as presented through its wars in Iraq and Vietnam."

Foreign policy credentials indeed.

The whole article is not that rosy, but this makes a good reminder for the historic importance of where we are in this moment.  And again, it's easy to miss the forest for the trees.

[Brentai]

That is... way bigger news than it's made out to be.

Do you know what this means?  America is back.  The ideal of the Great Free Country is back.  We're actually an ideal again, and not just a country full of dumbfuck rich people.

Holy... holy fucking shit on a shit sandwich with a little piece of shit stuck on a toothpick made of shit.

I need to lay down.

[Classic]

That is... way bigger news than it's made out to be.
...
I need to lay down.

This calls for some unduly raucous partying  followed by a sincere and focused plan to not be a bogeyman anymore.

[Royal☭]

I wonder if people are starting to like us not just because of Obama, but because the Penguin won't be in office anymore.

[Thad]

...Bear in mind that he still has to win the general election.

And assuming he does that, he also has to, you know, start actually doing all these things that people expect of him.

I know, I'm a buzzkill.

[Arc]

I wonder if people are starting to like us not just because of Obama, but because the Penguin won't be in office anymore.

Why not both? And yes, I could make a word filter for Cheney = The Penguin.

A heartening article that I intend to forward on to my Obama & Clinton supporting friends. On to the concerns of Israel & China. Obama's AIPAC performance went off swimmingly today, the best highlight coming at the end when he referenced the history Jewish Americans and African Americans held together during the Civil Rights movement. That bond was lost during the Black Power movement, but could be rekindled in a big way, starting with this campaign.

Asian Americans point out that China has been enormously successful during the Bush II era, and it will be Obama's job to contextualize that the current economic model is neither sound nor able to sustain.

[Kazz]

So, I watched a documentary about the modern white supremacist Neo-Nazi culture in America today.

Just... you know...

...

So, how effective is the Secret Service?

[Thad]

On to the concerns of Israel & China. Obama's AIPAC performance went off swimmingly today, the best highlight coming at the end when he referenced the history Jewish Americans and African Americans held together during the Civil Rights movement. That bond was lost during the Black Power movement, but could be rekindled in a big way, starting with this campaign.

A sign of things to come as he reaches out to the Latino community, too.

[Brentai]

...Bear in mind that he still has to win the general election.

And assuming he does that, he also has to, you know, start actually doing all these things that people expect of him.

I know, I'm a buzzkill.

Oh sure, we can drop the ball in so many ways right now, but still.  We have the ball.

I'm pretty sure we haven't had the ball for as long as I've been an adult.

[Shinra]

So, I watched a documentary about the modern white supremacist Neo-Nazi culture in America today.

Just... you know...

...

So, how effective is the Secret Service?

The secret service is so effective that they found out a grade school teacher in middle america had photocopied the US dollar, reprinted her picture on it, and handed it out to her class as class currency, within 72 hours of her doing it.

They also stopped at least five attempts on bush's life that we know about.

if the entire government acted like the secret service this would either be the most crime-free country ever, or the scariest fucking police state ever.

[Brentai]

Technically you can be both.

[François]

In fact I doubt you can truly achieve the former without putting in place the latter.

[James Edward Smith]

That is... way bigger news than it's made out to be.

Do you know what this means?  America is back.  The ideal of the Great Free Country is back.  We're actually an ideal again, and not just a country full of dumbfuck rich people.

Holy... holy fucking shit on a shit sandwich with a little piece of shit stuck on a toothpick made of shit.

I need to lay down.

See, as a Canadian, I don't remember when you ever actually had the "ball". I guess when people wanted to move to a peaceful nation they always just thought that Britain was too crowded and they still remembered when they fought against them for independance, Australia was too dangerous and didn't want them if they weren't white and they'd never heard of Canada PLUS we didn't want them if they weren't white either.

But other than that, I don't really understand why people see America as a great place to live or I should say, a better place than any of the logical alternatives. I mean, as far as TV and movies have shown me, first you acted like you won WW2 all by yourselves, then you killed a bunch of people in Asia fighting the reds, then you killed a bunch of people in South America fighting the reds, and then you just started killing people for the hell of it as far as I can see. All while encouraging a self destructive car-based culture on the rest of the western world.

Not that Canada is much better. We are just as racist and greedy but apparently you're a better country because there's more of you and you're better at being greedy, or something.

[Mongrel]

Don't forget that we're actually more wasteful per capita. And of course, no one knows how to destroy beautiful things through mediocrity and apathy quite like Canadians do.

YES, GO US! 

[Büge]

And AND we've got no national subsidized housing, our track record of mistreating natives is appalling, and our glorious leader is a wax dummy.

[James Edward Smith]

Don't forget that we're actually more wasteful per capita. And of course, no one knows how to destroy beautiful things through mediocrity and apathy quite like Canadians do.

YES, GO US! 

I thought we only wasted water that badly, or at least 4 times as much as Americans do. I don't think we waste EVERYTHING more though. Well, maybe gasoline too but we have lots of that as well as water so it's fairly expected.

But you're right, other than good healthcare, we do take pretty poor care of our impoverished in general. Oh and all that stuff about the natives but you have to remember that we were only in the position to be horrible to them because we didn't systematically wipe them enough.

[Niku]

Well, maybe gasoline too but we have lots of that

YEAH, WELL, THAT'S WHAT HUMANITY SAID!     

 

 

 

 

[Mongrel]

Don't forget that we're actually more wasteful per capita. And of course, no one knows how to destroy beautiful things through mediocrity and apathy quite like Canadians do.

YES, GO US! 

I thought we only wasted water that badly, or at least 4 times as much as Americans do. I don't think we waste EVERYTHING more though. Well, maybe gasoline too but we have lots of that as well as water so it's fairly expected.

But you're right, other than good healthcare, we do take pretty poor care of our impoverished in general. Oh and all that stuff about the natives but you have to remember that we were only in the position to be horrible to them because we didn't systematically wipe them enough.

Sadly, it's not just water (as if that alone would somehow be excuseable). Our per-capita across-the-board energy consumption is less efficient than the US and (tellingly) we also produce more trash per capita than the US.