[OT] Cr*ppy Belgium

[primitive]

Originally posted by Phoenix-D:
Ruatha, mines in and of themselves aren't a problem. It is not cleaning them up once you're done that causes problems.

Kyoto was quite flawed, in that it exempted several nations from any limits at all. Why should the US sign a treaty that would hurt its economy if everyone else isn't going to play by the same rules?

Phoenix-D

Bull's eye.

This is the reason USA is slowly turning itself into the new MEE.

The very idea that just because you don't like something you can just ignore it.
The rest of the world don't have that freedom We are forced to interact with our neighbors, USA just steamrolls them.

[Thermodyne]

Let’s sum this up real quick. The US needs Arab oil, at least until the oil in the South China Sea comes on line. We do not choose to continue to fund terrorism through the purchase of Arab oil. So we will have a war in the Gulf. Also, this *** tried to have Bush Sr. assonated after GW1. If it was your dad, wouldn’t you be a little hard nosed about all of this?

Several European countries have a very profitable trade situation with a certain Arab country. Would you want to have your cash cow attacked? Also, the same European countries produce some of the finest medical equipment in the world. Equipment that will become stories in the New York Times after the war gets under way. Would you want to have to explain how this stuff got to the Middle East, and what it was being used for? It’s a loose loose situation for some people.

We could just do this in a court, drag his raggedy *** in and prosecute him for crimes against humanity. Last time I looked, the Kurds were people too!

[DavidG]

Re: anti personel mines. How Can anyone defend the production of a weapon that maims 22000 civilians every year?? (and I sure that number includes a ton of children) Sure the problem may be not cleaning them up but frankly I think the world could avoid a lot of problems if those selling weapons cared a little more about how and who would be using them.

Re: Nation bashing. Well American bashing is a popular activitiy for many up here in Canada. Then at the same time they'll go off to see a Hollywood movie, buy fresh US vegetables in the middle of winter and convieniently forget Canada's huge trade surplus with the US.

[Phoenix-D]

"The very idea that just because you don't like something you can just ignore it.
The rest of the world don't have that freedom We are forced to interact with our neighbors, USA just steamrolls them."

The Kyoto treaty isn't interaction. It's simply an unfair treaty. If the goal is to control carbo dioxide emissions, then -everyone- who signs the treaty should have to limit them. That isn't how the treaty was.

Phoenix-D

[Sinapus]

Originally posted by DavidG:
Re: anti personel mines. How Can anyone defend the production of a weapon that maims 22000 civilians every year??

How can anyone support production of a device that kills 50,000 civilians every year (and maims many more) in the United States alone?

Or is it only bad if it's a weapon that maims people, while objects that you might find useful are okay, even if people die or are maimed by them?

(and I sure that number includes a ton of children)

Which only gives a more trauma-inducing bloody shirt for people to wave so people will blindly flock to their cause. Me? I find crying out to blunt our swords in the name of humanity to be foolish at best.

Sure the problem may be not cleaning them up but frankly I think the world could avoid a lot of problems if those selling weapons cared a little more about how and who would be using them.

I don't know whether to laugh or weep.

[Ruatha]

Originally posted by Phoenix-D:
Ruatha, mines in and of themselves aren't a problem. It is not cleaning them up once you're done that causes problems.

Phoenix-D

Hmm, yes I see. The atombomb over Nagasaki and Hiroshima didn't kill people, it was the one dropping the bomb who killed people.

(In US many says " it's not guns whoo kill people, people kill people", yeah, five year olds who find's their dad's gun!)

You US people never stop to amuse me.
Don't get me wrong, I really like you. Close by you are really nice people, I lived 5 weeks in a tent in florida a couple of years ago, real fun.
But alot of the US citizens are really naive, and I should now what I'm talking about as I'm quite naive myself, for a swede atleast.

(Not strange I guess, there are quite alot of US citizens to choose from).

[ February 13, 2003, 16:51: Message edited by: Ruatha ]

[dogscoff]

Which only gives a more trauma-inducing bloody shirt for people to wave so people will blindly flock to their cause. Me? I find crying out to blunt our swords in the name of humanity to be foolish at best.

Your metaphor is inadequate, because a landmine is not a like sword in any way. A sword kills the person you point it at. A landmine kills anyone who happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, sometimes years and years after the conflict is over. Most countries manage to defend themselves perfectly well without them, so I don't think there's any sensible argument for their continued production.

I don't think any government would be wise to throw away every weapon it has and dismantle its armies, but I do think certain weapons should not be produced, owned or used anywhere by anyone, ever. Landmines are one. Nukes are another.