[plug] [OT] Linux in Iraq, America (was: nukes)

[James Elliott]

Hi Leon

I previously wrote:
"They are a democracy after all";

and you replied:
"No, they are a Republic".

Sorry - you lost me there ... are you saying that because they are a
republic they are not a democracy?

James Elliott

----- Original Message -----
From: "Leon Brooks" <leon at brooks.fdns.net>
To: <plug at plug.linux.org.au>
Sent: Monday, February 03, 2003 4:25 PM
Subject: Re: [plug] [OT] Linux in Iraq, America (was: nukes)


On Monday 03 February 2003 10:48 am, James Elliott wrote:
> Why not advocate the use of Linux (as you suggest) in Iraq?  In fact why
> not use as many Internet resources as possible to break down international
> boundaries and increase dialogue and understanding among the peoples of
the
> world so that ultimately the peoples will not want to go to war with their
> cyber buddies, even if their governments want to?

I agree. The original point was that if Iraq is the dreadful monster that it
is painted to be, should we be improving *anything* for them?

IRL, most Iraqis don't want to become involved in the kind of international
stupidity that Sodomy Insane is advocating, so th obvious question to beg
is:
why not use a small, skilled strike-force to just take him out, promise to
do
the same to any violent successors, and see what happens?

> Remember - during the last war it was America who came to our aid when the
> Japs attempted to invade Australia, not our then "Mother Country" Britain

Yeah, like the country that got down to a mere 40 fighter aircraft in close
defense of their whole country had mobs of troops, ships and weapons to
spare
for somebody else?

> nor any of the other allies we were fighting side by side with in the
> Middle east and Europe.

> You wrote:
> "Agree, although the US Administration contains a lot of idealists, more
> dangerous in a way than outright assholes" which I regard as naive or
> conformist (conforming to the flavour of the day among the
> antiestabishmentarians ... right at the moment it is fashionable to blame
> all of the worlds ill on the yanks and very unfashionable to find anything
> good  about them at all - easy to go with the majority, isn't it -
> unpopular to disagree as I have done).

My stance is not intended to be conformist, nor do all evils originate from
`The Great Satan' as some Muslim extremists style America. But America is
not
the political golden boy that many Australians seem to assume, either.

> Those you called  "outright assholes" can and would press the proverbial
> button and nuke the USA and its allies if given the opportunity, just as
> easily as they blew up the night club in Bali.

When outright assholes rule a rational population, the problem is obvious
and
can be relatively simply addressed. When people claim to be (and often
believe themselves to be) good and doing good, a lot more damage gets done
before correction.

> No matter how extreme the
> American people you describe as "a lot of idealists" are, there is almost
> no chance that they could "press the button" themselves nor persuade their
> public to let their President do so.  They are a democracy after all.

No, they are a Republic.

> America is about the same age as Australia, give or take a few decades.
> Like us they originated mainly from British colonies with some Spanish and
> French ones in the South (Louisiana & Creole country).  Unlike us they
> kicked the Brits out and became the superpower they are today ... is it
> possible there is a bit of the tall poppy syndrome in the way we look at
> them, after all, why should their dollar be worth nearly twice ours - not
> fair is it?

For others, maybe. For me, no. Else I'd be rabidly jealous of, say, Japan.
(-:

Cheers; Leon