[thechat] West v. East (was: civilized vs uncivilized)
Martin
martin at members.evolt.org
Tue Sep 25 16:17:07 CDT 2001
Erika Meyer wrote on 24/9/01 8:19 pm
>I certainly have issues with US conduct during WWII. Hiroshima.
>Nagasaki.
While I recognise (albeit disagree with) the PoV that says that
Hiroshima was a necessary evil, I really do not think that Nagasaki
was necessary for the Japanese to get the point.
>I also realize that when someone like Hitler comes to town,
>something seriously needs to be done.
Although the full extent of the evil of Nazi Germany wasn't
known until afterwards.
>OTOH, it was the aftermath of WWI that enabled Hitler... so you could
>say that WWI caused WWII..
Yes - the sense of national humiliation, coupled with economic
meltdown made a perfect environment for the rise of extremist
organisations, particularly those who could think of handy scapegoats.
There was a strong Communist movement in Germany in the early
30s too.
> and the it was the aftermath of WWII
>which brought on the Cold War and the Cold War which brought on the
>Vietnam War and so on.
Do you think that the likely sponsorship of the Afghan Northern Alliance
is storing up future problems?
>3. Criticizing US actions doesn't automatically mean one condones the
>Taliban or Bin Laden's actions.
Charles Kennedy (leader of what's rapidly becoming the main opposition
party here) to his party's conference this week:
"But what is so striking now is the remarkable degree of spontaneous
unity right across America. A unity of understandable anger. But the fear
that can flow from that can be dangerous. That's where a candid friend
comes in. Standing shoulder to shoulder, but always there for the
occasional cautionary tap on the shoulder."
(longer extract: http://www.independent.co.uk/story.jsp?story=95823 )
Cheers
Martin
_______________________________________________
email: martin at easyweb.co.uk PGP ID: 0xA835CCCB
martin at members.evolt.org snailmail: 30 Shandon Place
tel: +44 (0)774 063 9985 Edinburgh,
url: http://www.easyweb.co.uk Scotland
More information about the thechat
mailing list