Text 18643, 100 rader
Skriven 2005-12-14 03:11:00 av FRANK SCHEIDT (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av MICHIEL VAN DER VLIST
Ärende: [2/2] [1/2] [1/2] Sociopa
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-=> Quoting Michiel Van Der Vlist to Frank Scheidt <=-

 >> I don't think so.  I've long believed we should make decisions
 >> based on what we *know*,

 MVDV>> Of course, there is no other choice.
 
 > Many people make decisions on pure guesswork.

So?  That doesn't mean Harry Truman made the decision to bomb 
Hiroshima and Nagasaki based on mere "guesswork".  Truman was a 
very open, honest man -- quite unlike most politicians.

 MVDV> If the knowledge is unavailable and a decision has to be made
 MVDV> nevertheless, taking a gamble is what remains...
 
 >> take action then not look back.

 MVDV>> One can not learn from mistakes if one never looks back. To
 MVDV>> learn from mistakes one should look back and *admit* when a
 MVDV>> decision was a mistake in hindsight.
 
 > OK ... no argument there ... the bombing decision, of course,
 > was a wise and humane one -- even considering it sixty years
 > later.

 MVDV> No, it was not.
 
I'll pretend you didn't say that and simply move on here ...

 > The only thing that bothers me is that August 5-7 isn't
 > considered a national holiday in celebration of the act which
 > ended the hostilities in the Pacific.

 MVDV> You want the people of Japan to *celebrate* the drooping of those
 MVDV> bombs?! What a hearthless thijg to say! And you think it is *envy* that
 MVDV> maked the world turn against you? Djeez...

I speak of an *American* celebration much as we celebrate 
Independence Day, the Fourth of July.  Do you think the British 
celebrate that?  I don't think so.  Similarly why should the 
Japanese celebrate their own defeat?
 
 >> That's obviously what Harry Truman did.

 MVDV>> And if you were honest you would admit that in hindsight
 MVDV>> the decision was wrong.
 
 > I *am* honest.  The decision was *right*.

 MVDV> Only in your mind that can not accept that even the US sometimes makes
 MVDV> wrong decisions.

Huh?  What gives you *that* idea?  The US has made *many* wrong 
decisions.  Declaring war against Spain well over a century ago, 
for example.  Sending Lend-lease to Britain and Russia before 
we entered WWII, for another example.  Our blind financial and 
military support for Israel, for example.  I could cite *many* 
such examples!

 MVDV>>>> Killing a lot of people to terrorise is the mark of the terrorist.
 
 >>> True ... so?

 MVDV>>> That is what happened in Hiroshima and Nagasaka. By today's
 MVDV>>> standard it was an act of terrorism.
 
 >> If that's the case, we certainly need to adjust those strange
 >> "standards" ...

 MVDV> Yes, we need to do that so thet it *also* includes acts by the US and
 MVDV> others on your side. Israel comes to mind...

But Europeans give knee-jerk support to the Arabic enemies of 
Israel. Why?  Because the Arabs have oil, and the Europeans fear 
losing their supply.  Anti-semitism, of course, is also alive and 
well in Europe.

 MVDV>> If you amend to standards to exclude Hiroshima and Nagasake
 MVDV>> it would also 9/11 as an act of terrorism.
 
 > But 9/11 was *clearly* an act of terrorism.

 MVDV> And so was dropping the bombs and Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Not so.  I've explained the difference.  Eventually I think 
you'll agree ...
 
 > We were at peace with the world,

 MVDV> That is not how others looked upon it.

Rather looks like "others" had better get their "thinking" 
re-thought, don't you think?

... "Prague:  Czech it out!"; Travel Ad

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