Gitmo? What About Bagram?

[quote]Chushin wrote:
orion wrote:
Progress.

But, to clarify: Your perception of “abuse of powers,” even when said alledged abuse is against Americans (only), makes you angry? (Remember, I’m asking about your bitching about DOMESTIC issues.)

Yup that makes me angry.

I also saw a German tv magazine yesterday where the German tax authorities first ruined three entrepreneurs and, even though the highest court in these cases has ordered them in no uncertain terms to pay them back their fucking money, are STILL dragging their feet and trying to delay the process with procedural tricks.

All that in a time where the German government is pumping billions into the economy.

That makes me angry too.

OK, then I’ve got some questions:

  1. For all intents and purposes, your bitching is really only about the US. With all the govt. abuse in all the places all over the world, you choose to complain very loudly about the US (only). Why?
    [/quote]

I guess I could start a thread along the lines of “Terrible abuse of power by German tax authorities regarding the reimbursement of VAT after exports into EU member countries”

I think the problems are obvious.

Then, most other countries do not regularly start wars and open Guantanamo-esque lawless torture camps and kidnap other nations citizens.

As we have seen above when Americas government abuses its powers it does not stop at Americas borders.

That is not only true for the EU citizens that were kidnapped by the US government but also for the misguided US financial, trade and monetary policies that have, and continue to, destroy whole nations economies.

So, in fact, I am minding my own business.

Most of the things I write about are abstract concepts, ideas if you will, and I wonder what kind of “experience” I could have with them that would be good enough for you.

[quote]Chushin wrote:
orion wrote:
Chushin wrote:
orion wrote:

OK, then I’ve got some questions:

  1. For all intents and purposes, your bitching is really only about the US. With all the govt. abuse in all the places all over the world, you choose to complain very loudly about the US (only). Why?

I guess I could start a thread along the lines of “Terrible abuse of power by German tax authorities regarding the reimbursement of VAT after exports into EU member countries”

I think the problems are obvious.

Then, most other countries do not regularly start wars and open Guantanamo-esque lawless torture camps and kidnap other nations citizens.

Utter bullshit. There are an unlimited number of “government abuses” happening everyday in other countries that are not as absurdly obscure as your “example.” Most of them worse than what you choose to pick on in the US.

And I’ve said repeatedly that I was talking about DOMESTIC issues.

  1. Isn’t it really up to Americans to decide what is “abuse,” what they are willing to accept from their government, etc, etc? You may not be fomenting a revolution here, but your attitude is hardly consistent with the idea of self-determination.

Put more bluntly, you are clearly quite invested (one need only count your relevant posts) in something that has essentially nothing to do with you; perhaps you should mind your own business?

As we have seen above when Americas government abuses its powers it does not stop at Americas borders.

That is not only true for the EU citizens that were kidnapped by the US government but also for the misguided US financial, trade and monetary policies that have, and continue to, destroy whole nations economies.

So, in fact, I am minding my own business.

For the 10th time, I’m asking about DOMESTIC issues! And your argument that Americans don’t have the right to self-determination because their decisions affect other people" is patently stupid.

  1. Do you really trust the media enough to comfortably rant like an expert about life in another country, based on that media’s reports only? Do you feel no intellectual obligation at all to actually have some experience with what you’re (pretty incessantly) writing about?

Most of the things I write about are abstract concepts, ideas if you will, and I wonder what kind of “experience” I could have with them that would be good enough for you.

Most? Maybe, but not all. Tell me, how many times have you dealt with an American police officer? How many black Americans have you worked, played or grown up with? And yet you seem to know SO much about these things! How is that?

Sorry. Everything you’ve written here seems to be little more than an attempt to rationalize your anti-American biases.

There might be a lot of truth to much of what you write, but your anti-US agenda makes it ALL dubious to anyone with a brain.
[/quote]

What can I say, if you think that organized violence that kills millions aka “war” is an obscure example of how America affects the world and that the right to self-determination includes kidnapping our citizens we have a problem right there.

Then, I do not need to have been beat up by an American cop to know that their demeanor is literally unthinkable in Austria or any other nation I have ever dealt with cops.

You have lived in Japan, so tell me that that is not true.

Also, you do not determine anything yourself and your governments attempt to rob you blind can still all lead us into the Great Depression II.

Such things are no longer “domestic” issues.

I also find it a bit strange when an American, of all people, has a problem when his government is being criticized or when someone else interferes with the internal affairs of his country, as if that was something Americans would not ever dream of doing.

[quote]Chushin wrote:

I’m done with this discussion.
[/quote]

I am glad that it took you only 3 pages or so to re-affirm what you wanted to believe in the first place.

But let us turn that around for a second.

Let us say I hated America and everything she stands for from the bottom of my heart.

What follows?

If my arguments are factually wrong or logically inconsistent it should be no problem to show me where, how and why I go wrong.

If that is not possible it hardly matters what my feelings towards America are.

It seems however that some members of this board use my alleged anti-Americanism as an easy way out if they have a hard time dealing with my arguments.

Meaning, since there is little you can do to change my emotions and since your ability to reason will more likely be diminished by your emotions than mine, maybe you would benefit more from dealing with your own emotional biases.

Unless of course your fixation with my biases is an attempt to not deal with yours.