Arrest him
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- Kuz0
actually Milosevic was an elected leader, so democracy was kinda already there.
Umm, the United States only went into Balkans (both Kosova and Bosnia - and lets not confuse the two) in order to expand Nato and deprive the Soviet Union of its underbelly of power.
Fleetwood fucking fact.
- Kuz0
sorry, did I say Soviet Union? i meant Russia
- CaP0
besides, the fact is that you can't "spread" democracy; democracy is something people achieve after long maturing, and adaptation to each country's culture. that is seen in these days when iraki rebels/terrorists (depends from the side you look at them) attack the stablished democratic power.
and besides, saying playinly and simply "it was needed for spreading democracy" is just saying that the end justify any means... and that's simply unnacceptable (and irak's war was not "just" for democracy).
- Cactus0
"sorry, did I say Soviet Union? i meant Russia"
a little nostalgic, Kuz?
- toe_knee0
Arrest the fucker for bad taste
Dubya's iPod listening revealed
By Elisabeth Bumiller
April 13, 2005 - 9:18AMIn between his return on Friday from Pope John Paul II's funeral in Rome and his meeting Sunday with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel, President Bush spent an hour and a half on Saturday on an 18-mile mountain bike ride at his Texas ranch. With him, as usual, was his indispensable new exercise toy: an iPod music player loaded with country and popular rock tunes aimed at getting the presidential heart rate up to a chest-pounding 170 beats per minute.
Which brings up the inevitable question. What, exactly, is on the First iPod? In an era of celebrity playlists - Tom Brady, the New England Patriots quarterback, recently posted his on the iTunes online music store - what does the presidential selection of downloaded songs tell us about Bush?
First, Bush's iPod is heavy on traditional country singers like George Jones, Alan Jackson and Kenny Chesney. He has selections by Van Morrison, whose "Brown Eyed Girl" is a Bush favorite, and by John Fogerty, most predictably "Centerfield," which was played at Texas Rangers games when Bush was an owner and is still played at ballparks all over America. ("Oh, put me in coach, I'm ready to play today.")
The president also has an eclectic mix of songs downloaded into his iPod from Mark McKinnon, a biking buddy and his chief media strategist during the 2004 campaign. Among them are "Circle Back" by John Hiatt, "(You're So Square) Baby, I Don't Care" by Joni Mitchell and "My Sharona," the 1979 song by the Knack that Joe Levy, a deputy managing editor at Rolling Stone in charge of music coverage, cheerfully branded "suggestive if not outright filthy" in an interview last week.
Bush has had his Apple iPod since July, when he received it from his twin daughters as a birthday gift. He has some 250 songs on it, a paltry number compared with the 10,000 selections it holds. Bush, as leader of the free world, does not take the time to download the music himself; that task falls to his personal aide, Blake Gottesman, who buys individual songs and albums, including Jones' and Jackson's greatest hits, from the iTunes music store. As for an analysis of Bush's playlist, Levy of Rolling Stone started out with this: "One thing that's interesting is that the president likes artists who don't like him."
Levy was referring to Fogerty, who was part of the anti-Bush "Vote for Change" concert tour across the United States last fall. McKinnon, who once wrote songs for Kris Kristofferson's music publishing company, responded in an e-mail message that "if any president limited his music selection to pro-establishment musicians, it would be a pretty slim collection."
Nonetheless, McKinnon said that Bush had not gone so far as to include on his playlist "Fortunate Son," the angry anti-Vietnam war song about who has to go to war that Fogerty sang when he was with Creedence Clearwater Revival. ("I ain't no senator's son/Some folks are born silver spoon in hand.") As the son of a two-term congressman and a U.S. Senate candidate, Bush won a coveted spot with the Texas Air National Guard to avoid combat in Vietnam.
Meanwhile, Levy sized up the rest of the playlist of the 58-year-old president. "What we're talking about is a lot of great artists from the '60s and '70s and more modern artists who sound like great artists from the '60s and '70s," he said. "This is basically boomer rock 'n' roll and more recent music out of Nashville made for boomers. It's safe, it's reliable, it's loving. What I mean to say is, it's feel-good music. The Sex Pistols it's not."
Jones, Levy said, was nonetheless an interesting choice. "George Jones is the greatest living singer in country music and a recovering alcoholic who often sings about heartbreak and drinking," he said. "It tells you that the president knows a thing or two about country music and is serious about his love of country music."
The songs by Jackson indicate that the president "has a little bit of a taste for hard core and honky-tonk," Levy said, adding that both Jackson and Jones "are not about cute and pop, and they're not getting by on their looks." And while Chesney "is about cute and pop and gets by on his looks," Levy said, "he's also all about serious country music."
McKinnon, who has downloaded "Castanets" by Alejandro Escovedo and "Alive 'N' Kickin"' by Kenny Loggins into Bush's iPod, said that sometimes a presidential playlist is just a playlist, nothing more.
"No one should psychoanalyze the song selection," McKinnon said. "It's music to get over the next hill."
Bush's Playlist
A sampling from President Bush's iPod; some songs were selected by Mark McKinnon, the chief media strategist in the 2004 campaign:
John Fogerty, "Centerfield"
Van Morrison, "New Biography," "Brown Eyed Girl"
John Hiatt, "Circle Back"
Alan Jackson
George Jones
Alejandro Escovedo, "Castanets"
Joni Mitchell, "(You're So Square) Baby, I Don't Care"
The Gourds, "El Paso"
Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, "Swinging From the Chains of Love"
Stevie Ray Vaughan, "The House is Rockin' "
James McMurtry, "Valley Road"
The Thrills, "Say It Ain't So"
The Knack, "My Sharona"
- New York Times
I never ceased to be amazed by what makes the news
- Kuz0
not nostalgic, just believe Russia's relationship with the west has changed little, different name, but US policy stll regards Russia as a threatening power that needs to be contained. As it has done for hundreds of years.
- _smk0
A civil war within European boundaries, fought between elected leaders and terrorists/freedom fighters (where does the definition lie? particularly relevent today) was pretty complicated to get involved in. It took too long and too may people died and was particularly shocking/moving being on our doorstep, but that complication and it's effects do not justify a war-friendly policy.
We have an ancient and bloody history in Europe and if any lessons are to be learned from that surely it's that war achieves nothing in the long term. Diplomacy and politics may drag on, but results can still arrive faster and cleaner that way than waiting for the dust to settle on something like this...my "your presidents war" comment was a bit below the belt - I wouldn't demonise anyone, it's too complicated to be so black + white. I am worried about my friend though and wonder whether that worry could have been avoided.
My twopence on an issue we could no doubt go on about forever with no result.
- _smk0
And I'm not calling Kosovans terrorists, just so you don't read that the wrong way and eLynch me :)
- fate_redux0
Amazing all the things Sadaam did for Iraq. He was probably our best chance for reforming the middle-east.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sad…
See: Secular state, conversion of an agrarian economy, massive education and civil liberties improvements.
- _smk0
not black and white. good post fate.
- JazX0
Haaaaa along with all those other dudeds you've tried over the years at the Hague right? Somehow I don't think the Secret Service men are going to let that happen, but I'd like to see the drama.
- unfittoprint0
Well_____
_there's always
ETA's 1973 solution.
arriba Franco
mas alto que Carrero Blanco.
- cybo0
'History is written by the winners - Alex Haley.'
'Fleetwood Fuckin Fact- Kuz'
:D
- CaP0
Well_____
_there's always
ETA's 1973 solution.
arriba Franco
mas alto que Carrero Blanco.
unfittoprint
(Apr 13 05, 05:27)++++
ha ha ha ha!! (although a bit extreme and not pollitically correct)...
- Cactus0
Kuz
Your reasoning about why the US intervened in the Balkans is flawed and cynical. Yes, it is in America's interest to contain Russia, as it was in its more rapacious incarnation, the USSR. But not in the cauldon of Balkan politics. The main reasoning was to prevent the war from spreading along with (yes) an undeniable humanitain aspect._smk
The moral relativism of your post is a stark reminder of Europe's malaise in regard to what happened in both Bosnia ans Kossovo. Not being able (willing?) to differentiate between good and evil leads to paralysis and inaction. How can one summon the strength to put one's life in jeopardy for a cause or an idea if plagued by such incertitudes. We, in western Europe, live in a post heroic societies. Geopolitically, this would not be a dangerous condition if it were not for the fact that the rest of the world is playing by different rules.
- CaP0
Cactus....
what you are saying is also very, very relative. we (as "westeners") only care of "peace" and "geopolitics" and "humanitarian effects" just -sadly- when there's another reason for that. call it politics, call it $$, call it whatever you want. check this out; some time ago, but still is very, very shameful.
- JazX0
Ahhhh, there you CaP, Rwanda. Smart man ansd yes very sad. Hell it's still happening on small levels throughout West Africa and Congo Kinshasa.
- Kuz0
oh shit Cactus, i'm sorry for being cynical. I mean fucking hell, yeah
woteva
If they were that concerned about humanitarian crisis, they wouldn't have allowed Rawanda to happen under their nose, or Sudan as it is happening now. But those are niggers, and who gives a fuck about Africans
My reasoning ain't flawed, you just got too much faith in your politricktions.
- _smk0
good point, (though I don't entirely agree) I'm very busy right now, but will attempt to add something a bit later :)
- _smk0
that was to Cactus btw.
//Kuz's talking shite obviously :)