tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12177833.post1653972117824498453..comments2024-03-21T02:16:25.967-07:00Comments on Freethought Weekly: Book Review: Superpower principles - U.S. Terrorism Against CubaDeltahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15708796218860983185noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12177833.post-61579681464364648652009-12-27T13:21:59.677-08:002009-12-27T13:21:59.677-08:00As always an excellent posting.The
way you write ...As always an excellent posting.The<br />way you write is awesome.Thanks. Adding more information will be more useful.<br /><br /> <a rel="nofollow">Bathmate</a>bathmatehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08828026417866333107noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12177833.post-46705345288787327542008-06-19T09:29:00.000-07:002008-06-19T09:29:00.000-07:00thank you nice sharingaraba resimlerithank you nice sharing<BR/><A HREF="http://maswey.blogspot.com" REL="nofollow">araba resimleri</A>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12177833.post-47535030105207500712008-01-29T10:26:00.000-08:002008-01-29T10:26:00.000-08:00sh,People feel powerless and marginalized and that...sh,<BR/><BR/><B>People feel powerless and marginalized and that's why they ignore the politics and history and avoid involvement</B><BR/><BR/>I agree that this is probably the heart of the matter. It's not that people don't care about politics, it's that they seem in many cases to not care whether or not they are informed because their decisions won't make a difference anyway. They can plainly see that there is little difference in their daily lives between having a Democrat or Republican in office so they make the natural conclusion that it doesn't matter. And if we restrict ourselves to these two possibilities, in some ways this sort of thinking is understandable, if not correct.<BR/><BR/><B>n the mean time we should support independent media as much as we can. Places like Democracy Now, emerging The Real News and other independent sources of information are in the forefront of education of our society on important issues.</B><BR/><BR/>I said the exact same thing a couple of weeks on another blog, so I agree wholeheartedly. I ordered a Democracy Now! mug last month to support what they do, and hope to contribute more to them in the future.<BR/><BR/><B>Maybe we need a blog-like software that would allow visitors to post on a more or less the same terms as the "owner" of the blog-thingy. So that comments and options of the visitors are not just hidden somewhere a few clicks away but featured prominently together with main posts. I don't know. This is an idea in progress... Any thoughts?</B><BR/><BR/>I think that sort of thing would be nice. Are you thinking of something along the lines of the Daily Kos website? Users can post 'diaries', although these do not generally get the same focus as the ones that are listed by the owner and his employees.<BR/><BR/>And I think you're just good at making excuses =) It's nice to see you around though.<BR/><BR/>mookie,<BR/><BR/>Nah, I didn't take your comment as antagonistic, and I think the reason that you state is an important factor as well. What do you use Java for? I program in Fortran and Python, mostly for scientific calculations, but occasionally to develop GUI applications to make my personal computer more convenient for my fiancee and I to use.<BR/><BR/>And you're welcome about keeping you active! I enjoy the discussion, even if we are all very like-minded to some degree ;)Deltahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15708796218860983185noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12177833.post-32885114056024459292008-01-27T11:16:00.000-08:002008-01-27T11:16:00.000-08:00Yes, people can lack knowledge of the outside worl...Yes, people can lack knowledge of the outside world and past historical actions of their government, which would hinder their ability to make comparisons between rhetoric and action. Suppose, though, that new information was outright rejected, denied ("history does not matter"), or filed away in separate folders, hidden from other knowledge. That is to say, what you and I attribute as the source of the problem are not mutually exclusive ideas. Indeed, education is of prime important, but not just about facts. If a person does not have the mental equipment to properly make use of this information, either because of their adherence to authority or mind-numbing patriotism/consumerism -- which all happen to distort or hinder understanding, then there is practically no difference between them and someone just plain ignorant of the facts.<BR/><BR/>I guess my first comment did appear a bit antagonistic. Pardon me.<BR/><BR/>I use Java.<BR/><BR/>if (person == ignorant || person == ill-equipped)<BR/>{<BR/> knowledgeRetained = false;<BR/>}<BR/><BR/>sh,<BR/><BR/>Nice to see you around as well. I can relate to your lack of desire to blog. I'm sure you have plenty of thoughts, some even worthy of a post, but...<BR/><BR/>At least, that's how it happens with me. Maybe when comments pick up, we'll become more interested.<BR/><BR/>Thank you, delta, for helping to keep us active.Mookiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04796691428737135749noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12177833.post-10731268711836999062008-01-26T13:37:00.000-08:002008-01-26T13:37:00.000-08:00Whether the people don't know what's going on (whi...Whether the people don't know what's going on (which is probably true for a majority of people anywhere) or they do know but somehow manage to avoid thinking about it for whatever reason, it's pretty clear that the solution in both cases would be to educate people on the facts, to present them with ways to think about these problems and to help them understand that the power to change things is in their hands. People feel powerless and marginalized and that's why they ignore the politics and history and avoid involvement. So perhaps the best we can do is to talk to people (in whichever media) and try to explain things the way we know and see them. I wish we could come up with more powerful ways to reach larger number of people with information. <BR/><BR/>In the mean time we should support independent media as much as we can. Places like Democracy Now, emerging The Real News and other independent sources of information are in the forefront of education of our society on important issues. <BR/><BR/>Blogging is still only reaching a small fraction of population and as someone pointed out recently, most of the blogs are not real conversations, they are mostly monologues to groups of the like-minded people. <BR/><BR/>Maybe there is a need for a bit of a different format. I was thinking about it today. Maybe we need a blog-like software that would allow visitors to post on a more or less the same terms as the "owner" of the blog-thingy. So that comments and options of the visitors are not just hidden somewhere a few clicks away but featured prominently together with main posts. I don't know. This is an idea in progress... Any thoughts?<BR/><BR/>P.S. Nice to see both of you, Delta and Mookie. I am sorry I haven't been blogging lately. I keep trying to come back to it but something always happens. Or maybe I'm just good at making excuses. ;-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12177833.post-19730415924502990202008-01-26T11:01:00.000-08:002008-01-26T11:01:00.000-08:00That may also have something to do with it as well...That may also have something to do with it as well Mookie. However, it seems to me that the average American doesn't know anything about the U.S. overthrow of Iran's democracy, Guatemala's democracy, Chile's democracy, etc.<BR/><BR/><B>!=</B> <---- what type of programming do you do? or is this symbolic logic syntax as well?Deltahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15708796218860983185noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12177833.post-10611046941950951112008-01-26T09:53:00.000-08:002008-01-26T09:53:00.000-08:00In such cases, it's a matter of compartmentalized ...In such cases, it's a matter of compartmentalized minds. Somewhere in their minds, people often do indeed have the notion that economic sanctions != democracy or freedom. But if the Big Men want to harass another country, especially in the cause and name of "freedom" and "democracy", then the previous definitions are overwritten by the latter, quoted versions.<BR/><BR/>Preventing this process of selective ignorance is part of the solution. At least, that's the way I see it.Mookiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04796691428737135749noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12177833.post-87640692104323227892008-01-24T23:23:00.000-08:002008-01-24T23:23:00.000-08:00Thanks sh, nice to hear from you! I just learned ...Thanks sh, nice to hear from you! I just learned about Bacardi's activities a couple of weeks ago myself and stopped buying their Rum in response. <BR/><BR/>I think the biggest problem that the American citizenry has is a lack of historical perspective. Knowing the history of your own government's actions makes it a lot easier to evaluate whether you should take the claim that they are fighting "a war on terror" or "for democracy" with a little salt or not. How can we get this type of information into the mainstream? I don't know, but I think it's worth trying to figure out.Deltahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15708796218860983185noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12177833.post-86895194170155528022008-01-20T18:02:00.000-08:002008-01-20T18:02:00.000-08:00Good post. Thank you. I did not know about Bacardi...Good post. Thank you. I did not know about Bacardi, not that I drink vodka anyway (yeah I know, very unRussian of me :-) ). This is the stuff most of Americans don't know about. Terrorism is terrorism, no matter who does it and for what reason. It is something we should reject. And when it's done by our government with our tax dollars we must speak out against it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com