Hard News: Unhappy Birthday
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This annoys heaping helpings of women, apparently, if recent discussions in my LJ circle are anything to go by.
Well, I'd respectfully suggest that if anyone started addressing me as 'Craig-y' around here, they'd be told to pull their heads all the way in. It's a diminutive, and in the semi-formal, semi-public space of an online forum it just seems polite to address everyone -- regardless of gender -- according to their expressed preference. Or am I over-thinking thing here?
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And it must be a generational thing (Cheney seems OK with it), but I know of no Richards who can stand being called Dick.
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Okay, but seriously, and back on topic:
As I've said for many years ... the fiasco in Iraq is so bad I'm convinced it has to be by design. So it's been 5 years so far, so what? Republican nominee McCain has made it clear that it aint gonna be over anytime soon if he's elected. Bushco were given plenty of advice prior to invading Iraq that it would be a quagmire, yet they went in anyway. And it became a quagmire. And now in order to extricate themselves from that quagmire some think invading Iran (via an air/missile war) is the solution. And top military brass who disagree are finding themselves taking early retirement.
It took decades before the real truths emerged about US interventions in South America - I wonder how long before we learn of the real reason they invaded Iraq? Some would say we already know why - oil. But does 'America' benefit from this intervention or do the multi-national oil companies (and oil producers)?? I would suggest it's the latter, but paid for by the taxpayers of the former.
I just watched Blood Diamond on the weekend, which puts forward the idea that the wars/conflicts in Africa are financed and run for the benefit of the multi-nationals who derrive their income from the resources (oil, gas, diamonds) those countries contain. It seems spooky to think that a country as big as the USA could also be led by the nose by those global interests, because if I believe that then maybe I'm going to have to also accept the idea of wearing a tinfoil hat. Yikes!!
But tell me again ...
who did Cheney work for, before becoming VP ...??? -
Oh and 'Bin' got a lot of play. Ozzies would fall to the floor laughing at that. But the only name that gets on my goat is Benjamin.
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I/O I like it.
Bush is oil money so he brings his corp cronnies into an unwinnerble war to raise oil revenue. The war is paid for by US taxes & Iraqi blood.
In so doing destroys the US/World economy and can buy up great swathes of Industry it at bargin prices to dominate the world economy even further. -
meh. grow up being called chy, chu, ch-ee, shoe, shy, or other tries. often i'd settle on shane and leave it there.
then handle having to say, "che. see, haych, ee" and have every receptionist from here to new orleans spell it, s, h, e.
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Grant McDougall wrote :
I can't wait for that American bloke to turn up with his deluded reasoning why the war has been such a raging success.
Che Tibby responded :
i say if cheney actually turns up, we take him out back and give him a thorough whaleoiling.
I think Grant was referring to James better-to-play-an-away-game-than-a-home-game Bremner rather than that Dick Cheney.
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IO, what biz did Bush work in? Before he became a full time arsehole that is. The only thing you need a tinfoil hat for is to protect yourself from the obvious. Nowadays he's not even hiding the fact that he just doesn't give a shit about looking after the US - the economy is melting down and all he has to say is ... nothing.
That Blood Diamond is a real bumout. <spoiler warning>Even with the fairy tale sugar coating (I knew it would happen the moment I saw the Warner Brothers logo at the start) of the poor African guy getting his family back. Good to see Leo DiCaprio back where he belongs, getting killed at the end of his movies.</spoiler warning> His African accent was probably the best attempt I've ever heard an American make.
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I just watched Blood Diamond on the weekend, which puts forward the idea that the wars/conflicts in Africa are financed and run for the benefit of the multi-nationals who derrive their income from the resources (oil, gas, diamonds) those countries contain.
Um, I guess it would be a little more comfortable for Leo than suggesting to his latest bit of arm candy that she might want to give a shit where her bling comes from, and his celebrity pals might want to stop giving outfits like Harry Winston free publicity every awards season until they clean up their acts. Markets don't work without demand.
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His African accent
He practised it making The Power of One.
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__we take [Cheney] out back and give him a thorough whaleoiling.__
That is surely illegal in this country?Besides which, anything done to Cheney should be done without benefit of lubricant. And using a shrubbery. And a hedgehog.
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it just seems polite to address everyone -- regardless of gender -- according to their expressed preference.
Absolutely. When I made that remark I was thinking of the 'not being able to get title and surname right', which I'm pretty sure is a bigger issue for women than men.
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his celebrity pals might want to stop giving outfits like Harry Winston free publicity every awards season until they clean up their acts
Oh, Craig. Don't you know that 'men grow cold as girls grow old, and we all lose our charms in the end? But square-cut or pear-shaped, these rocks don't lose their shape...'
(Got a tiny diamond wedding ring before I knew about any of this stuff; feel bad about it now; wouldn't get another.)
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actually, I take back my remark above; it'd be cruelty to hedgehogs.
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then handle having to say, "che. see, haych, ee" and have every receptionist from here to new orleans spell it, s, h, e.
That's bizarre. I mean, there was this guy, he's quite famous, you might have seen this picture of him on wannabe revolutionaries walls.
Maybe you should just get the t-shirt and point at it. "Y'know. Same as this dude."
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Bush is oil money so he brings his corp cronnies into an unwinnerble war to raise oil revenue. The war is paid for by US taxes & Iraqi blood.
In so doing destroys the US/World economy and can buy up great swathes of Industry it at bargin prices to dominate the world economy even further.Yeah, sounds far-fetched doesn't it? But why do I have a gnawing feeling in my gut?
That Blood Diamond is a real bumout.
Yup. I realise in hindsight that the Diamond Industry PR team did a great job in diluting any positive buzz for the film when it came out. Of course it had a bit of 'sugar' but that's because it's a mainstream Hollywood picture. Better that a LOT of people see it because it's got some action and adventure and Leo in it than a few people see it cos it's a 'worthy' expose/lecture on the inequity of the diamond trade. But as I recall, when the film came out there were many column inches devoted to lauding how the industry had already changed, Leo had a crap accent (not too bad actually since his character was a global traveller), Africa doesn't need Hollywood to fight for it's rights, the filmakers were patronising etc etc.
My wife has always had an__ If-I-Win-Lotto__-type aspiration to own a big-ass diamond ring. As the end credits rolled on this film she said "shit, I don't want a diamond anymore..."
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Say it loud, say it often: say the name of James Bremner. With any luck his Google Alerts will pick it up.
I liked it when he posted. This bizarre parallel view on the world just sort of opened up before you on the screen.
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RB - I have a vague recollection you also criticized the god-awful baby-on-strings-threatened-by-a-pair-of-scissors ad that Labour ran early in the last election campaign. I don't see/hear the designer of that abomination crying buckets of tears a few years after your rebuke. ;-)
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Markets don't work without demand.
Yes, but I think it's been established that the diamond market is controlled by a few players who buy up all the diamonds, stockpile them, and only dribble out enough to keep the price high. The same thing is done by OPEC (oil). Imagine if the same thing was done by food producers? Oh, right ...
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@Andrew Smith - " I still think the outcomes of this war will need judged 10 years on. It's still too soon."
What's your view on the French Revolution? Too early to tell?
If we're talking long game, I doubt we'll know how things are shaking down for a lot longer than 10 years. By the time a whole bunch of hopefully only regional conflicts have played out and the borders on various maps have been re-drawn - Iran/Iraq/Kurdistan/Turkey and possibly Israel - and there is some form of regional stability where enough time has passed for all involved to have recovered to the point of cordial relations with their neighbours, we ain't talking 10 years.
How long did it take Vietnam/Cambodia/Laos to even start picking themselves up?
And if we're not talking long game, then I think quite enough time has passed for us to make a FUBAR assessment.
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I liked it when he posted. This bizarre parallel view on the world just sort of opened up before you on the screen.
Me too. I might disagree with 99% of what he says, but he does turn the echo off, and he's polite in doing it. He actually reads a lot like a PR guy.
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More like the palm oil chaps, I thought. They were fun!
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And two of the leading contenders for POTUSA come out with equally vacuous and "selfish" comments from opposite ends of the argument.
Clinton wants to be out of this "civil war that isn't ours" in 60 days - christ lady who do you think kicked off that civil war? No responsibility huh?
And McCain thinks that as soon as you leave "Al Qaeda have won". Excellent mate, way to play up that Al Qaeda link again.I know it's a mess, I know the answers aren't easy, but blanket rubbish like that is even worst.
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we take [Cheney] out back and give him a thorough whaleoiling.
well... i was actually suggesting that we rough him up a bit, then file an assault chagre against him when he starts to fight back.
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Oh, Craig. Don't you know that 'men grow cold as girls grow old, and we all lose our charms in the end? But square-cut or pear-shaped, these rocks don't lose their shape...'
OK, Hall of Shame moment. Last time we were in Sydney, Dave and I walked past this store, with takeout coffee in hand, and just couldn't resist staring in the window while crooning 'Moon River'. God, they must get sick of dizzy queens having moments of Audrey worship and scaring off the paying trade. :)
What's your view on the French Revolution? Too early to tell?
Well, that was reputedly the considered assessment of Zhou Enlai - who have have known a thing or two about revolutions. :)
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