Post #172,736
9/4/04 2:15:01 PM
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Two things I disagree with
4a. Putin did the second best thing possible by storming the place. For how he could have done better, see #2 above. For how he could have done worse, see #4 above. First one is wrong. Putin didn't storm the place. A bomb went off that wasn't intended to, (prematurely), and everyone panicked. Kids tried to flee, gunmen tried to shoot them as they fled, and the forces trying to negotiate shot at the gunment trying to shoot the kids. It was a mass chaos, not something that was intended to be caused. 5. Expressions of sadness and regret never helped anything. Talk is cheap, and hugs aren't worth much more. And I disagree here. Expressions of sadness and regret ALWAYS help the victims to deal with the tragedy. They also help those of us who are left behind, or who are too far removed to be of any help. Offering condolences and comfort is the one thing ANYONE can do, no matter how far away they are, or who they are. Talk is good too, it's something that helps people come to terms with things. And sometimes it's useful when trying to get a peaceable solution determined, but it isn't always cheap, sometimes you pay a heavy price for saying what you think to someone. And hugs, well hugs are always welcome, they are yet another thing anyone can offer both physically if they're close enough, or mentally if they aren't. I think you haven't been hugged enough, Marlowe. (HUG) :) Words may fail others, but not me. My concept space is better equipped to deal with such events. If something astonishes you, that means you've been clueless about something. I'm not so much as astonished, as well, stunned by the thought of such directed violence against young children. I'm certainly not clueless, I'm not one of those people who believes naively that "It can't happen here." It DOES and CAN happen anywhere, anytime anyplace, and that's something I never forget. One just has to wonder how those terrorists felt deep INSIDE about killing helpless fleeing children. Nightowl >8#
"A determined soul will do more with a rusty monkey wrench than a loafer will accomplish with all the tools in a machine shop." -- Robert Hughes, Australian Art Critic, Writer
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Post #172,741
9/4/04 3:02:06 PM
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172716/172736
A match made in heaven.
cordially,
Cthulhu for President. Why vote for a lesser evil?
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Post #172,742
9/4/04 3:05:01 PM
9/4/04 3:10:13 PM
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Sorry
I'm already happily married. :)
Nightowl >8#
Edit: Besides, I like my men to be a little less "fiery" ;)
"A determined soul will do more with a rusty monkey wrench than a loafer will accomplish with all the tools in a machine shop." -- Robert Hughes, Australian Art Critic, Writer
Edited by Nightowl
Sept. 4, 2004, 03:10:13 PM EDT
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Post #172,744
9/4/04 3:23:11 PM
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You misunderstand
I meant merely that in the owlet marlowe at last finds a foeswoman worthy of his steel.
and..."fiery"? There's far more smoke than flame to be had from the bot...think of a puddle of burning tar.
cordially,
Cthulhu for President. Why vote for a lesser evil?
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Post #172,745
9/4/04 3:25:37 PM
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Ah, sorry about that
I think I was just thinking of what the line usually means.
Thanks Rcareaga. :)
And yeah, you're right, he's mostly a puff of smoke here and there. ;)
Nightowl >8#
"A determined soul will do more with a rusty monkey wrench than a loafer will accomplish with all the tools in a machine shop." -- Robert Hughes, Australian Art Critic, Writer
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Post #172,923
9/7/04 9:12:59 AM
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I'll grant 4a, given latest info, but stand firm on 5
(Only the letter of 4a, not the spirit.)
Comforting words are a painkiller, not a remedy. Painkillers are addictive.
Give your condolences if you must, but be sure you know when to stop. The way to comfort the afflicted is to put paid to the affliction.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Kerry is a liar and he doesn't tolerate fights from others.
"All the news you wish would go away"
[link|http://www.angelfire.com/ca3/marlowe/index.html|http://www.angelfire...arlowe/index.html]
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Post #172,928
9/7/04 10:42:31 AM
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"painkillers are addictive"
So's hate. Maybe you should wean yourself off of that drug before you go pontificating about any other.
jb4
shrub\ufffdbish (Am., from shrub + rubbish, after the derisive name for America's 43 president; 2003) n. 1. a form of nonsensical political doubletalk wherein the speaker attempts to defend the indefensible by lying, obfuscation, or otherwise misstating the facts; GIBBERISH. 2. any of a collection of utterances from America's putative 43rd president. cf. BULLSHIT
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Post #173,546
9/10/04 12:45:39 PM
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Tell that to the Democrats, Islamists and the Left.
They're doing all the hating. All I'm doing is facing the facts.
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Kerry is a liar and he doesn't tolerate fights from others.
"All the news you wish would go away"
[link|http://www.angelfire.com/ca3/marlowe/index.html|http://www.angelfire...arlowe/index.html]
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Post #173,589
9/10/04 4:37:59 PM
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What about Chechnya?
You're noticably silent on that issue.
And Northern Ireland.
Peter
[link|http://www.debian.org|Shill For Hire]
[link|http://www.kuro5hin.org|There is no K5 Cabal]
[link|http://guildenstern.dyndns.org|Blog]
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Post #174,805
9/17/04 11:23:58 AM
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A proposal from S. Frederick Starr
[link|http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A27550-2004Sep16.html|Washington Post]: The peace plan on which Duma members and Chechen leaders agreed included the same formula worked out a year earlier: Chechnya's continued legal membership in the Russian Federation, but with firm guarantees that it would enjoy the maximum degree of self-rule and autonomy. Maskhadov was quoted as saying he would accept this outcome as the best way of preserving the ethnic existence of the Chechen people. This lay to rest the red herring of secession about which Putin preached to grieving parents in Beslan after the schoolhouse attack there. In Liechtenstein the two sides differed only on such secondary points as whether Russian or joint Russian-Chechen forces should guard the southern border or whether the rest of Chechnya should be demilitarized.
What happened to these initiatives? When asked at a news conference about the first meeting, Putin flatly denied that it had taken place. When word got out about the second, the Russian White House said it was a scheme devised by Boris Berezovsky, a dissident oligarch, to discredit Putin, even though Berezovsky was in no way connected with it. In short, Putin brushed aside the proposals.
[...]
It is no secret that there are terrorists among revenge-seeking Chechens and that there are radical Islamists among the desperate population of that land. But if Putin persists in painting all Chechens with the same brush of terrorism and Wahhabism, he will block the only remaining path to a peaceful solution and deny Russians and Chechens the only approach known to have the support of responsible figures on both sides. Putin's a big part of the problem, but it's not clear whether anyone is willing or able to stand up to him and force him to moderate his policies. Cheers, Scott.
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Post #172,943
9/7/04 12:25:22 PM
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Re: I'll grant 4a, given latest info, but stand firm on 5
(Only the letter of 4a, not the spirit.) Thanks. :) Comforting words are a painkiller, not a remedy. Painkillers are addictive. I agree there too, they aren't a remedy, they just help the victim cope. Give your condolences if you must, but be sure you know when to stop. The way to comfort the afflicted is to put paid to the affliction. Oh absolutely. If you coddle a victim too much, they'll never get past the issue, (ex: if you cater to a rape victim's feaar of going outside, they'll never do it etc.), so you do have to give condolences, but also know when to step back and let the person learn to live with their fears and pains again. Have a good day, Marlowe! :) Nightowl >8#
"A determined soul will do more with a rusty monkey wrench than a loafer will accomplish with all the tools in a machine shop." -- Robert Hughes, Australian Art Critic, Writer
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