On Sat, 19 Jun 2004 07:06:16 GMT, Gunner wrote:



snip

Welcome back, Gunner.

I had no doubt at all.

Nor do I see any need to coddle a tough son-of-a-bitch like you:


That rifle hanging on the wall of the working-class flat or labourer's
cottage is the symbol of democracy. It is our job to see that it stays
there.
- George Orwell


No. Rifles are the symbol of brutal conquest, which is just a fancy
term for armed robbery on a large scale.

Ballot boxes are the symbol of democracy.

There are a WHOLE lot of people with a LOT of weapons that
don't have any democracy...Not a ballot box in sight.

Duh.

:-)

Does America's violence around the world create democracy? Try
this little quizz:

It consists of one (1) multiple-choice question. Here's a list of the
countries that the U.S. has bombed since the end of World War II,
compiled by historian William Blum:

1. China 1945-46
2. Korea and China 1950-53
3. Guatemala 1954
4. Indonesia 1958
5. Cuba 1959-1961
6. Guatemala 1960
7. Congo 1964
8. Peru 1965
9. Laos 1964-73
10. Vietnam 1961-73
11. Cambodia 1969-70
12. Guatemala 1967-69
13. Grenada 1983
14. Lebanon 1983, 1984
15. Libya 1986
16. El Salvador 1980s
17. Nicaragua 1980s
18. Iran 1987
19. Panama 1989
20. Iraq 1991-2003
21. Kuwait 1991
22. Somalia 1993
23. Bosnia 1994, 1995
24. Sudan 1998
25. Afghanistan 1998, 2001-2004
26. Yugoslavia 1999
27. Iraq 2002-2004

Q: In how many of these instances did a democratic government,
respectful of human rights, occur as a direct result?

Choose one of the following:

(a) 0
(b) zero
(c) none
(d) not a one
(e) a whole number between -1 and +1
(f) zip
(g) squat
(h) nada



AC