egypt... where misogyny is an integral part of local folklore and public gang rape a popular past time... Definitely towards the top of a long list of shitty places I'd never want to visit.
That's a nice sentiment but U.S policy makers serve at the behest of the American people
Tell that to Snowden...
I'm not sure what you're referring to, but if it's the fact that Americans are shocked -SHOCKED! - that the NSA is logging their phone calls, I would attempt to draw your attention to a number of laws passed in the aftermath of 9-11 under President GW Bush, when the vast majority of Americans thought it was the right thing to do, that are currently being enforced by another dully elected president in Mr. Obama who enjoys significant support among supposedly intelligent and well-informed Americans.
egypt... where misogyny is an integral part of local folklore and public gang rape a popular past time... Definitely towards the top of a long list of shitty places I'd never want to visit.
What an ignorant and racist thing to say. That's like saying anti-Semitism is an integral part of the folklore in Germany or commiting genocide is a popular past time in your country. I know better to think otherwise but at least Egypt didn't murder six million Jews despite being enemies with them.
egypt... where misogyny is an integral part of local folklore and public gang rape a popular past time... Definitely towards the top of a long list of shitty places I'd never want to visit.
What an ignorant and racist thing to say. That's like saying anti-Semitism is an integral part of the folklore in Germany or commiting genocide is a popular past time in your country. I know better to think otherwise but at least Egypt didn't murder six million Jews despite being enemies with them.
You're confusing past and present.
Besides of that, antisemitism is still very common in Germany today, only one of the reasons why I have a very low opinion of the vast majority of my own countrymen just as of people in general. That's misanthropy and has nothing to do with racism or ignorance but much rather with experience and having been many places.
Not knowing or denying that misogyny and has reached a very disturbing and globally unique level in modern day Egypt much rather indicates ignorance on your part. Where else are female protesters subjected to virginity tests by police and where else are female journalists gang raped in public places?
U.S policy makers serve at the behest of the American people
Tell that to Snowden...
I'm not sure what you're referring to
He's the easiest, flavour of the moment example I could think of, a shorthand if you will, for GTFOOHWTBS.
Unless of course I was missing some dry humour, in which case I apologise.
I mean, I am not wading into this discussion with any real amount of interest or seriousness, but I'm looking for an example of how our government, in all its idiocy, dysfunction and hubris, is not the result of elections in which Americans, ignorant and distracted as we are, vote.
People who say "it's the US government that sucks! Americans are cool!" don't get it. We're not cool, on the whole. There's a segment of us that are. But we are not the ones determining US policy and if you look at something like NSA wiretaps, or military aid to Egypt, support for Israel.... there is a substantial amount of support, perhaps even a duality or majority, that wants the government to do these things.
People who say "it's the US government that sucks! Americans are cool!" don't get it. We're not cool, on the whole. There's a segment of us that are. But we are not the ones determining US policy and if you look at something like NSA wiretaps, or military aid to Egypt, support for Israel.... there is a substantial amount of support, perhaps even a duality or majority, that wants the government to do these things.
We get the government we deserve.
What most people don't understand about America (Americans included) is that we are a literal composite of everything the world and humanity has to offer, and as a result, we represent everything from the best to the worst. And our political representation is decided by a constant internal battle between countless opposing impulses. We're essentially what humanity looks like when it's given as much freedom as you can give it without the place becoming a bloodbath.
Ahh c'mon, everyone knows that politicians get in promising one thing, and deliver something else entirely. I think it's one of the conditions of being a politician.
if Americans asked, or demanded that their media ask, tough questions of candidates for office, we'd be able to have honest discussions about this stuff. As such, we don't, and so politicians can coast into office promising the world and never once being asked how they're going to deliver.
egypt... where misogyny is an integral part of local folklore and public gang rape a popular past time... Definitely towards the top of a long list of shitty places I'd never want to visit.
Well you should, because its a great country/people and the reality is far away from how you portray it.
btw West Africa doesnt have any misogyny, apparently. Only the arabs do.
egypt... where misogyny is an integral part of local folklore and public gang rape a popular past time... Definitely towards the top of a long list of shitty places I'd never want to visit.
What an ignorant and racist thing to say. That's like saying anti-Semitism is an integral part of the folklore in Germany or commiting genocide is a popular past time in your country. I know better to think otherwise but at least Egypt didn't murder six million Jews despite being enemies with them.
You're confusing past and present.
Besides of that, antisemitism is still very common in Germany today, only one of the reasons why I have a very low opinion of the vast majority of my own countrymen just as of people in general. That's misanthropy and has nothing to do with racism or ignorance but much rather with experience and having been many places.
Not knowing or denying that misogyny and has reached a very disturbing and globally unique level in modern day Egypt much rather indicates ignorance on your part. Where else are female protesters subjected to virginity tests by police and where else are female journalists gang raped in public places?
I understand your viewpoint but think you're overgeneralizing a bit. Like the other dude said, in West Africa there's also misogyny. The overwhelming majority of the population in that region still practises female genital mutilation, it's even deeply ingrained into their traditional religion (like the Poro/Sande societies). But I would not necessarily view these countries as shitty places I would never visit for that reason. There are people in those countries who oppose this practise just as there are Egyptians who abhor the mistreatment of women in their country.
egypt... where misogyny is an integral part of local folklore and public gang rape a popular past time... Definitely towards the top of a long list of shitty places I'd never want to visit.
What an ignorant and racist thing to say. That's like saying anti-Semitism is an integral part of the folklore in Germany or commiting genocide is a popular past time in your country. I know better to think otherwise but at least Egypt didn't murder six million Jews despite being enemies with them.
You're confusing past and present.
Besides of that, antisemitism is still very common in Germany today, only one of the reasons why I have a very low opinion of the vast majority of my own countrymen just as of people in general. That's misanthropy and has nothing to do with racism or ignorance but much rather with experience and having been many places.
Not knowing or denying that misogyny and has reached a very disturbing and globally unique level in modern day Egypt much rather indicates ignorance on your part. Where else are female protesters subjected to virginity tests by police and where else are female journalists gang raped in public places?
I understand your viewpoint but think you're overgeneralizing a bit. Like the other dude said, in West Africa there's also misogyny. The overwhelming majority of the population in that region still practises female genital mutilation, it's even deeply ingrained into their traditional religion (like the Poro/Sande societies). But I would not necessarily view these countries as shitty places I would never visit for that reason. There are people in those countries who oppose this practise just as there are Egyptians who abhor the mistreatment of women in their country.
Female genital mutilation commonly called "female circumcision" was first mentioned on an ancient Egyptian papyrus dated 163 BC. The abomination spread from there to South of the Sahara.
egypt... where misogyny is an integral part of local folklore and public gang rape a popular past time... Definitely towards the top of a long list of shitty places I'd never want to visit.
What an ignorant and racist thing to say. That's like saying anti-Semitism is an integral part of the folklore in Germany or commiting genocide is a popular past time in your country. I know better to think otherwise but at least Egypt didn't murder six million Jews despite being enemies with them.
You're confusing past and present.
Besides of that, antisemitism is still very common in Germany today, only one of the reasons why I have a very low opinion of the vast majority of my own countrymen just as of people in general. That's misanthropy and has nothing to do with racism or ignorance but much rather with experience and having been many places.
Not knowing or denying that misogyny and has reached a very disturbing and globally unique level in modern day Egypt much rather indicates ignorance on your part. Where else are female protesters subjected to virginity tests by police and where else are female journalists gang raped in public places?
I understand your viewpoint but think you're overgeneralizing a bit. Like the other dude said, in West Africa there's also misogyny. The overwhelming majority of the population in that region still practises female genital mutilation, it's even deeply ingrained into their traditional religion (like the Poro/Sande societies). But I would not necessarily view these countries as shitty places I would never visit for that reason. There are people in those countries who oppose this practise just as there are Egyptians who abhor the mistreatment of women in their country.
Female genital mutilation commonly called "female circumcision" was first mentioned on an ancient Egyptian papyrus dated 163 BC. The abomination spread from there to South of the Sahara.
So did civilization spread from Egypt to Greece and from there to Rome. From there it spread to the barbarian hordes of Western Europe.
It was Pythagoras who first introduced music theory into Europe after having been initiated in the Egyptian Mystery cults.
...civilization spread from Egypt to Greece and from there to Rome. From there it spread to the barbarian hordes of Western Europe.
It was Pythagoras who first introduced music theory into Europe after having been initiated in the Egyptian Mystery cults.
You call it civilization, I call it the mid-eastern plague.
Ancient history aside. The Muslim Brotherhood already under Mubarak had goon squads patrolling parks and public places to attack women who dressed too provocatively and to beat up couples who dared show their affection in public as in sitting on a bench and kiss. There have been hundreds of sexual attacks on women during the anti Morsi protests during the last few weeks and to illustrate that this is a widespread problem that exists all through egypt society and in all political camps: The military behind the current coup is responsible for the abomination of these so called "virginity tests" performed by military doctors on arrested female protesters. That's the military that just ousted a democratically elected leader because the Muslim Brotherhood apparently turned out to be a Islamist group who took the country hostage... what else did their voters think their agenda would be? The problem with democracy is that a people always ends up with the government they deserve.
JP i hear what you're saying(i think the apathy of most American people might be our biggest problem) but as it turns out, the supreme court has determined that corporations are "people" and have the same rights to "free speech" that actual people enjoy(citizens united v. federal election commission). their donations are looked upon as free speech and they seem to be able to exert limitless influence on our political system. basically, it's not quite as simple as saying: 'the people get the government they deserve or want.' for the corporations, elections are more like auctions and with this much untraceable money involved, the government is becoming significantly less beholden to the interests of the actual people as opposed to the corporations.
a better explanation from the mediaconsortium.org:
As Harvard University Law School Professor Lawrence Lessig explains in an interview with The Nation???s Christopher Hayes, the Citizens United v. FEC decision represents one of many ways that corporations buy political favors.
Prior to the ruling, companies couldn???t spend money to directly advocate the election of a particular political candidate during election season. They could form Political Action Committees (PACs) to support or attack specific candidates, but those PACs had to be funded by individuals who worked for the company and couldn???t be funded from the corporation???s treasury directly. The executives of Goldman Sachs, for instance, could band together to form GoldmanPAC and spend their money on whatever candidates they wished???and many corporate employees exercised that right and spent freely on elections through their corporate PACs.
Now corporations can spend as much as they want and actual corporate funds???not just organized individuals???can also be deployed, making massive amounts of corporate cash eligible for political purchasing.
But the scariest part of Citizens United, as Lessig emphasizes, is the money that isn???t spent. That is, if a firm makes it known that they are willing spend millions of dollars to fight any politician who opposes them on a particular policy issue, representatives and senators might begin changing their voting behavior in Congress before the company actually has to put up the cash.
And ultimately, Citizens United didn???t just legalize unlimited corporate expenses on elections. It also allows those expenses to be anonymous. If companies launder their political cash through a front group, that third-party spender doesn???t have to disclose who its donors are.
JP i hear what you're saying(i think the apathy of most American people might be our biggest problem) but as it turns out, the supreme court has determined that corporations are "people" and have the same rights to "free speech" that actual people enjoy(citizens united v. federal election commission). their donations are looked upon as free speech and they seem to be able to exert limitless influence on our political system. basically, it's not quite as simple as saying: 'the people get the government they deserve or want.' for the corporations, elections are more like auctions and with this much untraceable money involved, the government is becoming significantly less beholden to the interests of the actual people as opposed to the corporations.
a better explanation from the mediaconsortium.org:
As Harvard University Law School Professor Lawrence Lessig explains in an interview with The Nation???s Christopher Hayes, the Citizens United v. FEC decision represents one of many ways that corporations buy political favors.
Prior to the ruling, companies couldn???t spend money to directly advocate the election of a particular political candidate during election season. They could form Political Action Committees (PACs) to support or attack specific candidates, but those PACs had to be funded by individuals who worked for the company and couldn???t be funded from the corporation???s treasury directly. The executives of Goldman Sachs, for instance, could band together to form GoldmanPAC and spend their money on whatever candidates they wished???and many corporate employees exercised that right and spent freely on elections through their corporate PACs.
Now corporations can spend as much as they want and actual corporate funds???not just organized individuals???can also be deployed, making massive amounts of corporate cash eligible for political purchasing.
But the scariest part of Citizens United, as Lessig emphasizes, is the money that isn???t spent. That is, if a firm makes it known that they are willing spend millions of dollars to fight any politician who opposes them on a particular policy issue, representatives and senators might begin changing their voting behavior in Congress before the company actually has to put up the cash.
And ultimately, Citizens United didn???t just legalize unlimited corporate expenses on elections. It also allows those expenses to be anonymous. If companies launder their political cash through a front group, that third-party spender doesn???t have to disclose who its donors are.
Thank you, well said.
Which brings us to our democracy. The only thing that allows choices in candidates is that some business interests prefer different policies than other interests. ie Natural resource extraction v high tech.
Comments
Good point.
Give us the billions of dollars our policy makers gave you back.
Tell that to Snowden...
Source?
"El-Sissi, the defense minister appointed by Morsi"
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/national_world&id=9160869
I'm not sure what you're referring to, but if it's the fact that Americans are shocked -SHOCKED! - that the NSA is logging their phone calls, I would attempt to draw your attention to a number of laws passed in the aftermath of 9-11 under President GW Bush, when the vast majority of Americans thought it was the right thing to do, that are currently being enforced by another dully elected president in Mr. Obama who enjoys significant support among supposedly intelligent and well-informed Americans.
RACIST!!!!!!!!!!!!
What an ignorant and racist thing to say. That's like saying anti-Semitism is an integral part of the folklore in Germany or commiting genocide is a popular past time in your country. I know better to think otherwise but at least Egypt didn't murder six million Jews despite being enemies with them.
You're confusing past and present.
Besides of that, antisemitism is still very common in Germany today, only one of the reasons why I have a very low opinion of the vast majority of my own countrymen just as of people in general. That's misanthropy and has nothing to do with racism or ignorance but much rather with experience and having been many places.
Not knowing or denying that misogyny and has reached a very disturbing and globally unique level in modern day Egypt much rather indicates ignorance on your part. Where else are female protesters subjected to virginity tests by police and where else are female journalists gang raped in public places?
He's the easiest, flavour of the moment example I could think of, a shorthand if you will, for GTFOOHWTBS.
Unless of course I was missing some dry humour, in which case I apologise.
We get the government we deserve.
What most people don't understand about America (Americans included) is that we are a literal composite of everything the world and humanity has to offer, and as a result, we represent everything from the best to the worst. And our political representation is decided by a constant internal battle between countless opposing impulses. We're essentially what humanity looks like when it's given as much freedom as you can give it without the place becoming a bloodbath.
Either way, fuggit, the tennis just re-started.
It all went tits-up when they got tinned.
Well you should, because its a great country/people and the reality is far away from how you portray it.
btw West Africa doesnt have any misogyny, apparently. Only the arabs do.
I understand your viewpoint but think you're overgeneralizing a bit. Like the other dude said, in West Africa there's also misogyny. The overwhelming majority of the population in that region still practises female genital mutilation, it's even deeply ingrained into their traditional religion (like the Poro/Sande societies). But I would not necessarily view these countries as shitty places I would never visit for that reason. There are people in those countries who oppose this practise just as there are Egyptians who abhor the mistreatment of women in their country.
Female genital mutilation commonly called "female circumcision" was first mentioned on an ancient Egyptian papyrus dated 163 BC. The abomination spread from there to South of the Sahara.
So did civilization spread from Egypt to Greece and from there to Rome. From there it spread to the barbarian hordes of Western Europe.
It was Pythagoras who first introduced music theory into Europe after having been initiated in the Egyptian Mystery cults.
You call it civilization, I call it the mid-eastern plague.
Ancient history aside. The Muslim Brotherhood already under Mubarak had goon squads patrolling parks and public places to attack women who dressed too provocatively and to beat up couples who dared show their affection in public as in sitting on a bench and kiss. There have been hundreds of sexual attacks on women during the anti Morsi protests during the last few weeks and to illustrate that this is a widespread problem that exists all through egypt society and in all political camps: The military behind the current coup is responsible for the abomination of these so called "virginity tests" performed by military doctors on arrested female protesters. That's the military that just ousted a democratically elected leader because the Muslim Brotherhood apparently turned out to be a Islamist group who took the country hostage... what else did their voters think their agenda would be? The problem with democracy is that a people always ends up with the government they deserve.
a better explanation from the mediaconsortium.org:
As Harvard University Law School Professor Lawrence Lessig explains in an interview with The Nation???s Christopher Hayes, the Citizens United v. FEC decision represents one of many ways that corporations buy political favors.
Prior to the ruling, companies couldn???t spend money to directly advocate the election of a particular political candidate during election season. They could form Political Action Committees (PACs) to support or attack specific candidates, but those PACs had to be funded by individuals who worked for the company and couldn???t be funded from the corporation???s treasury directly. The executives of Goldman Sachs, for instance, could band together to form GoldmanPAC and spend their money on whatever candidates they wished???and many corporate employees exercised that right and spent freely on elections through their corporate PACs.
Now corporations can spend as much as they want and actual corporate funds???not just organized individuals???can also be deployed, making massive amounts of corporate cash eligible for political purchasing.
But the scariest part of Citizens United, as Lessig emphasizes, is the money that isn???t spent. That is, if a firm makes it known that they are willing spend millions of dollars to fight any politician who opposes them on a particular policy issue, representatives and senators might begin changing their voting behavior in Congress before the company actually has to put up the cash.
And ultimately, Citizens United didn???t just legalize unlimited corporate expenses on elections. It also allows those expenses to be anonymous. If companies launder their political cash through a front group, that third-party spender doesn???t have to disclose who its donors are.
Thank you, well said.
Which brings us to our democracy. The only thing that allows choices in candidates is that some business interests prefer different policies than other interests. ie Natural resource extraction v high tech.
The mid-eastern plague? Not saying you're a racist but usually that's terminology used by islamophobes or anti-semites.
Unless you refer to the spread of Christianity, I could agree on that.