tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post7906789266774205545..comments2024-03-28T13:18:56.534-05:00Comments on Althouse: Christopher Hitchens admits that he's one of "those men who were never really in battle and wished they had been."Ann Althousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01630636239933008807noreply@blogger.comBlogger71125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-31038316117761891962010-05-26T18:12:07.232-05:002010-05-26T18:12:07.232-05:00Fen,
Good call.
Semper Fi.Fen,<br /><br />Good call.<br /><br />Semper Fi.The Crack Emceehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08366101526773588864noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-62653756277521915512010-05-26T02:56:38.022-05:002010-05-26T02:56:38.022-05:00Deleted some posts. Regardless of how I feel, its ...Deleted some posts. Regardless of how I feel, its not right for me to be bashing Army in front of civies. <br /><br />Semper FiFenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16734571593963330215noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-19997930665480796182010-05-26T02:54:40.073-05:002010-05-26T02:54:40.073-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Fenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16734571593963330215noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-55293068515974364452010-05-25T20:38:05.741-05:002010-05-25T20:38:05.741-05:00That Deadwood clip was no big deal for me - I'...That <i>Deadwood</i> clip was no big deal for me - I've seen worse in real life. (I once held an asshole as my friend popped his eye out.) Y'all don't get out enough.<br /><br />One of my friends went to Iraq as a photojournalist for <i>Newsweek</i>. He called me one night, saying the war was lost. I asked him who he was stationed with and he said the Army. I told him, if he wanted to know how the war was doing, go hang with the Marines - the Army was cannon fodder. He called me back about a month later, saying I was right: he switched to covering the Marines and all was well. <br /><br />I don't know what it means exactly, regarding the debate here, but my money's on the Marines.<br /><br />As far as Hitch and religion are concerned, if you're not a believer, he doesn't seem so extreme, just a truth-teller. (There's no "there" there - and you're happy killing others over it.) He likes cathedrals, as do I, and thoughtful conversation on the topic, just as I enjoy my talks with TraditionalGuy. It's being trapped with the fallout of beliefs that's beyond annoying. The fact believers won't leave people alone. That they kill and get away with it. Destroying lives, taking money, etc. - just for their own happiness and comfort.<br /><br />In a just world, Hitch would be a national treasure.The Crack Emceehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08366101526773588864noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1697975122843690282010-05-25T11:25:28.908-05:002010-05-25T11:25:28.908-05:00The march of time certainly hasn't altered one...<i>The march of time certainly hasn't altered one thing about Hitchens, which is, alas, his unaccountable pleasure in word games of the most puerile variety. Page after page is devoted to the infinite hilarity derived by Amis, Rushdie, McEwan and Hitchens from substituting in the titles of well-known books, films and songs the word "dick" for "heart", or "fuck" for "love", or "cunt" for "man".<br /><br />"Oh, I know," he chortles, when I bring this up. "Shameful." He surely can't still find these jokes funny, can he? "Oh yeah, I do. I sometimes wake up laughing at them. Yup. Never get bored of it." And this from a man who once wrote that women weren't funny.<br /><br />"No, come on," he grins cheerfully, "you have to admit some of them [word games] are funny." Emphatically not. He giggles, looking boyishly delighted. "Sometimes I'm sitting on a plane and start laughing when I think of another. And then I email it to Martin."</i><br /><br />I cannot believe this ass of a writer would not tell us a joke or three so we could judge for ourselves whether they are funny. No, they censor the jokes. And insist they are not funny. Pathetic.Saint Croixhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17876368500159112781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-15466556757825448352010-05-25T11:08:37.191-05:002010-05-25T11:08:37.191-05:00Hitchens always stuck me as the type of atheist wh...Hitchens always stuck me as the type of atheist who is so anti-religion, that one day he'll just completely convert and go the other way. And the funny thing about Hitch is when he does, he will continually insist that he was right all along and he hasn't changed at all.Saint Croixhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17876368500159112781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-67164322452241366812010-05-25T09:09:50.631-05:002010-05-25T09:09:50.631-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Fenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16734571593963330215noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-24037378749383663452010-05-25T00:02:31.908-05:002010-05-25T00:02:31.908-05:00"Its the "men cant have an opinion on ab..."<i>Its the "men cant have an opinion on abortion" type of argument. It says that unless you have fought in a war you MUST come down on pacifism no matter what. That only the military should decide things such as war. I dont think you really want to go that direction.</i>"<br /><br />Not an original suggestion or necessarily a bad one. But, yes, certainly a suggestion that anyone making a chicken-hawk argument isn't going to want to make. <br /><br />Oh, though... that one actor in Britain... shoot... old guy, I think he played the Equalizer once upon a time? Maybe?.. IIRC he was just on record saying that disillusioned young men (gang members) should be conscripted for a smallish hitch of military training (not deployment) because of the way serving makes a person feel invested in the nation.<br /><br />I don't know that I'm overly fond of conscription, but what sort of affect does universal service have on attitudes of young people in Israel or Switzerland?<br /><br />In Starship Troopers service was voluntary and anyone who did volunteer had to be taken and given something to do, I think even handicapped people and others who were old or unhealthy had to be given some position of service (granted, they weren't overly worried about killing people in training in the book)... but a person didn't get to vote otherwise. No vote at all.<br /><br />Mostly though... what on gods green earth could be found for everyone to do? Even in wartime our military percentage of the population is single digits.Synovahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01311191981918160095noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-42356205438602284952010-05-24T22:17:38.353-05:002010-05-24T22:17:38.353-05:00Fen, what edutcher said. My son was in W/2/5 out i...Fen, what edutcher said. My son was in W/2/5 out in San Mateo and elsewhere during the roaring late 1990s so I understand the USMC stuff, well deserved credit where it's due.<br /><br />edutcher: Look at Winnie's India record, plus his experiences as a WC in the 2nd Boer War, He served in combat and that's much better than I ever had to do, thank God. So, my hat's off to that old guy.<br /><br />Really, the Brits called 'em <br />"Winnie?" Holy smokes, how rude of 'em. ./snark off.<br /><br />Having served with a whole of WWII and Korean vets during my beloved peacetime Cold War hitch, between conflicts, anyone who served in combat, even REMFs, deserves much credit. <br /><br />OBTW: Our Top had two mustard stains on his jump wings, one MSgt had four, both guys with the 82nd during WWII. A whole bunch had a star on their CIB. They would have chuckled at Hitchen's comments. The 82nd has always been top of the line.1775OGGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14855909337030182350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-87740565088961847872010-05-24T19:27:23.544-05:002010-05-24T19:27:23.544-05:00What unit in Iraq? I don't recall any Army uni...What unit in Iraq? I don't recall any Army units jumping in '91. An LZ is for heli-borne or glider units, not jumpers.<br /><br />As to Grenada, not sure which TOE you mean. From what I've seen over the years, it's stayed pretty much the same.edutcherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15589958656028023357noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-30411474619255693122010-05-24T19:06:51.845-05:002010-05-24T19:06:51.845-05:00Yea, something about that Deadwood clip is deeply ...Yea, something about that Deadwood clip is deeply affecting. It is slow moving violence and not all that gory, but the realism is creepy.bagoh20https://www.blogger.com/profile/10915174575358413637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-53145688362015502072010-05-24T18:51:40.704-05:002010-05-24T18:51:40.704-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Fenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16734571593963330215noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1677648536940915442010-05-24T18:44:29.713-05:002010-05-24T18:44:29.713-05:00Troop - That Deadwood clip, when I first saw it, g...Troop - That Deadwood clip, when I first saw it, gave me nightmares for a week. I'm not kidding. <br /><br />Please don't watch it, folks, if you're not the tough guy type. I'm serious.ricpichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01321511130788764861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-46037832564145636142010-05-24T18:16:26.901-05:002010-05-24T18:16:26.901-05:00Not sure what you're talking about, but I don&...Not sure what you're talking about, but I don't recall any Marines dropping into Sicily, Salerno, Normandy, Holland, New Guinea, Munsan-Ni, 'Nam, Grenada, or Panama. And they always brought their weapons.edutcherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15589958656028023357noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-26997118446030473412010-05-24T18:09:31.689-05:002010-05-24T18:09:31.689-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Fenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16734571593963330215noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-70367235265253566332010-05-24T17:13:41.048-05:002010-05-24T17:13:41.048-05:00Winnie was what the Tommies called him.
Doug Wrig...Winnie was what the Tommies called him.<br /><br />Doug Wright said...<br /><br /> <i>Winnie was certainly no stranger to combat. He was part of what some called the last charge of British Calvary, became a war correspondent (who carried a revolver), captured by the Boers, then famously escaping from Boers, and then during WWI served in the trenches after serving as the minister for the Royal Navy. So, he well understood combat and might have even welcomed it.</i><br /><br />Taking part in one charge at Omdurman, basically British artillery against dervishes on horseback, does not make him Armstrong Custer or Joachim Murat. His experience in the Boer War was as a correspondent. His time as First Sea Lord was at Whitehall; the few months with the Scots Fusiliers were his longest stint in combat and aren't that much more than TR's go at the Spaniards.<br /><br />Fen said...<br /><br /> <i>No. Your central point stands, but its the Marine Corps that does most of the work.</i><br /><br />Tell it to the 82nd Airborne, the Big Red One, First Cav, or Hell on Wheels. But you'd better duck afterwards.edutcherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15589958656028023357noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-17138362494433716362010-05-24T17:05:38.464-05:002010-05-24T17:05:38.464-05:00Esp Brazil. Imagine a 20th century without an Ame...Esp Brazil. Imagine a 20th century without an America. They'd be goose-stepping to Grosser Zapfenstreich.Fenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16734571593963330215noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-86567644945589332392010-05-24T17:02:03.608-05:002010-05-24T17:02:03.608-05:00Echo what Crack said.
this cultivated group
I wa...Echo what Crack said.<br /><br /><i>this cultivated group</i><br /><br />I was always amazed by the locals damning the US for our blindness and ignorance, while remaining oblivious to their own.<br /><br />Guns Germs and Steel. Those that cant lead... whine.Fenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16734571593963330215noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-34124470939245857162010-05-24T16:56:18.526-05:002010-05-24T16:56:18.526-05:00Jimbino,
I, too, spent part of my time outside of...Jimbino,<br /><br />I, too, spent part of my time outside of the U.S., listening to the grievances of "cultured" others, and discovering they know less than I did about their own country, and/or American culture and policies (or what led to certain policies): they only know what they want to know, ignoring the rest. I also found I'm more sympathetic to harm than they are - probably because we don't have the taint of war over-laying our emotions, making us (naturally) cynical - except for liberals, of course. As a matter of fact, I'd say most Americans are. Thus, I'm with DBQ:<br /><br />They can kiss my Red, White, and Blue ass.The Crack Emceehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08366101526773588864noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-66404301078404586712010-05-24T16:54:03.802-05:002010-05-24T16:54:03.802-05:00The point is the Winnie, like TR, did not see a lo...<i> The point is the Winnie, like TR, did not see a lot of action in his life and saw war as a giant movie.</i><br /><br />By "winnie" do you mean Winston? Because he was involved in combat actions in three different campaigns.<br /><br /><i>,understanding how it is the true soldiers - the guys in the Rangers, Special Forces, and SEAL Team - who do most of the work</i><br /><br />No. Your central point stands, but its the Marine Corps that does most of the work.Fenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16734571593963330215noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-2792657947643026712010-05-24T16:34:36.189-05:002010-05-24T16:34:36.189-05:00It is about the “millions of people in the third w...<i>It is about the “millions of people in the third world who are condemned to die under the American hegemony.”</i><br /><br />Oh bullshit. <br /><br />The next time anyone in the world is whining for help from the American hegemony to save their sorry asses from earthquakes, tsunamis, AIDs, malaria and famine, fanatical dictatorships....they can kiss my American ass.Dust Bunny Queenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13341429444562280127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-54470307760789178472010-05-24T16:24:53.364-05:002010-05-24T16:24:53.364-05:00Winnie was certainly no stranger to combat. He was...Winnie was certainly no stranger to combat. He was part of what some called the last charge of British Calvary, became a war correspondent (who carried a revolver), captured by the Boers, then famously escaping from Boers, and then during WWI served in the trenches after serving as the minister for the Royal Navy. So, he well understood combat and might have even welcomed it.<br /><br />Hitchens can say what he wishes but his statement reminds me of the peacetime soldier who boasts he’ll be a hero in battle; seldom works out that way.1775OGGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14855909337030182350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-67073636362360973032010-05-24T16:18:19.819-05:002010-05-24T16:18:19.819-05:00"Good point Rcocean the chattering class tend..."Good point Rcocean the chattering class tends to be populate by chicken hawks who find war oh so exhilarating. "<br /> <br />Actually, its a stupid point. Its the "men cant have an opinion on abortion" type of argument. It says that unless you have fought in a war you MUST come down on pacifism no matter what. That only the military should decide things such as war. I dont think you really want to go that direction.jeffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01892213227811281098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-72835823842628393582010-05-24T16:07:42.331-05:002010-05-24T16:07:42.331-05:00---continued--
Nobody among the friends is Muslim...---continued--<br /><br />Nobody among the friends is Muslim. Islam is of no importance to them. They go to Hollywood-films, they like Frank Sinatra, they buy Häagen Dasz ice cream. However, it is almost as if those insane fanatics have articulated, in the most brutal way, the dark sentiment of resistance that lives in the breast of the cultivated Latin American. <br /><br />“It is an attack on freedom,” says George W. Bush. “Nonsense,” the doctor says. “It is an attack on the USA.” And as Kissinger speaks -- the man who shares responsibility for dictatorships in Latin America -- nothing but disgust is registered in this cultivated group. <br /><br />Just the day before, Kissinger was accused of participating in the murder of a Chilean general unwilling to take part in a coup d’etat. Many would like to see him stand trial before a court of law. Now he is a world-strategist, speaking of “wiping out” Evil -- not with one single stroke of vengeance, but with a “systematic attack.” The doctor says, “That means war.”<br /><br />The longer they sit together before the TV, the more they share in their anti-Americanism. And in their fear they feel that, “one can only pray that Bush commit no egregious error.“<br /><br />The Brazilian daily of the next morning continues the protest bluntly. “This attack,” a commentator writes in the Jornal do Brasil, “is not surprising.” Thereupon follows the list of political failures -- Washington has brazenly quit the Kyoto climate agreement, ignores the racism in its own country and intervenes in the cultures of other nations. <br /><br />Even more heartless, another commentator, writes, “Pepper in the eye of another does no harm; it only burns only in one’s own.” The USA felt no sorrow for the victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Nor for the civilians in Vietnam. Nor for the victims of the dictatorships they supported in Latin America. There is even open schadenfreude: “This cowboy doesn't draw as quickly as he claims,” O Globo writes, “and he is vulnerable.” <br /><br />And it’s not only the absolutely “americanized “ colossus of Brazil that manifests these sentiments. In numerous press commentaries in Latin America, “solidarity” is more often denied than confirmed. The invitation to participate in common mourning is refused. <br /><br />In recent months, the new politics of the USA has reminded many folks of the old politics. The fact that Bush has recently filled key posts pertaining to his Latin American politics with old warriors from the Reagan-Contra Era has not escaped notice, but instead has aroused the old fears. <br /><br />The day of the catastrophe has also revealed that it is not just about fanatical Palestinian women, who pass through the streets trilling, while their sons shoot volleys of ecstasy into the air. Not just about discussion forums on Chinese websites that find understanding for the perpetrators. It is about the “millions of people in the third world who are condemned to die under the American hegemony.”<br /><br />No, the resentment against the USA exploits their darkest day as an occasion to give expression to long-suppressed sentiments -- and with it to counter the official rank-closing of the heads of state with the White House. <br /><br />And so one thing becomes clear: Their fear in beholding an injured cowboy, who in vengeance might pull off a wild shot. “One thing is sure,” one of the eight friends says this evening, “the 21st Century has begun and things look bad for our children.” <br /><br />MATTHIAS MATUSSEKjimbinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09684677214800358793noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-48685092464876420132010-05-24T16:06:34.249-05:002010-05-24T16:06:34.249-05:00Of course Hitchens is right.
When I saw the twin ...Of course Hitchens is right.<br /><br />When I saw the twin towers collapse on TV at a friend's house in Rio de Janeiro, it was from a perspective far different from that of my fellow Americans. I hate to throw a cold bucket on the vociferous grieving here in the USA, but the fact is that many of my fellow Latins still harbor bitter memories of Operation Condor and other recent American interventions in the internal affairs of Latin countries that led to deaths and "disappearances" of tens of thousands of Latins. Not only Castro, but other heads of state like Kirchner, Bachelet, Morales, Lula, and Chavez have good reason to despise American policies. My experiences of Latins' sentiments on that September 11 day is well summed up by an insightful article that appeared in the German magazine Der Spiegel four days after the attack. I quote it here in full, with credit to the original in German:<br /><br />The Mood turns against the Cowboy<br />“Stimmung gegen den Cowboy” Original in German -- http://www.spiegel.de/<br /><br />The attack at the heart of the USA causes not only mourning and horror. In Latin America, one also senses secret Schadenfreude. <br /><br />Actually, they had met for dinner. Then the eight Brazilian friends sat just like all the world before the TV and focused on the scenes of catastrophe in New York. <br /><br />Two doctors, an entrepreneur, a professor and a journalist were there -- educated, friendly, sophisticated people from Rio de Janeiro -- two of them with children who study in Boston. Like anyone, they were full of sympathy for the victims. However, that sympathy expressly excluded the USA. <br /><br />Maybe it was the pictures that reminded them of a trailer of “Independence Day” and satisfied the eyes more than the head: everything appears unreal, an alien attacks the earth -- the flame ripping up the tower, the dust that rages through the housing canyons of Manhattan and drives the people before it. Then come the politicians in their patriotic dress. By the time of the pep-rally speech by the president, the Brazilian friends had renamed the film they saw running there. It was now called, rather derogatorily, “Criminal Court.”<br /><br />The doctor says that the Americans she knows are helpful and nice -- and ignorant with respect to foreign countries, “They simply assume that all world loves them.” And her husband adds, “Now they are amazed that it is not so.”<br /><br />“Their politics is the problem,” the journalist offers while ex-Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger demands bombardment of Afghanistan, “Bush is an illiterate, and that makes him dangerous”. Murmur of agreement. It is all directed against TV-pictures that cause sympathy world-wide, but they brace themselves against the so-called solidarity.<br /><br />“They thought they were invulnerable,” the entrepreneur says not without malice, “and then a dozen people enter the country and explode everything into the air.” After which the group, not without head-shaking admiration, discusses the perfect logistics of the assassins.jimbinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09684677214800358793noreply@blogger.com