Midnight Oil

[Powderworks] Oils Fit

Jeff McLean jeffm@jeack.com.au
Sun, 23 Mar 2003 15:19:29 +1000


hi mike,

all i can say is that, on behalf of all the justifiably scared north koreans out
there, i hope they bomb the u.s. or britain or australia with a shock and awe
campaign - it is patently obvious that "our side" have a frightening arsenal and are
quite prepared to use it to defend their national interests.  before it's too late,
they must act.

let's hope  the number of peace loving korean civilians that die can be reduced in
the future.

joffa


Mike Blackwood wrote:

> On Wed, 19 Mar 2003 jccuneo@mail.bellsouth.net wrote:
>
> > For the Iraqi people "Bring on Change".  Hopefully once this is over there
> > will be no more gassing of citizens, or mass murder of political
> > dissidents, etc.
> >
> > For the US "Short Memory".  Those who do not learn from history are doomed
> > to repeat it.  It seems we have finally learned and are doing the right thing.
> >
> > Jacques
>
> I have to say that, though I find war and violence of any kind to be
> hateful, I agree with Jaques.  The policy of appeasement went horribly
> wrong in Europe 70 years ago, and that's not something we can afford to
> ever have a "short memory" about...
>
> As a Canadian I'm ashamed that we haven't "stood up to be counted" with
> our long-time allies and cultural cousins the Aussis, Limeys and Yanks,
> who are making the tough decisions and actions needed for the benefit of
> the free world.
>
> Yes, we in the west have our faults (many of them, some of which are
> scandalous, like the fact such a thing as poverty exists in our opulent
> societies), and some of our foriegn policies have directly and indirectly
> led to the problems we now face. However, no-one ever had to be morally
> perfect to use their right to self-defence, and we shouldn't expect that
> on an international level we can only react to threats when we are utterly
> blameless in their creation, and have been struck first in an open manner.
>
> Am I a war-monger?  NO, but I'm sure some people here will think so.  But
> for all the faults of the west in general, and the Bush government in
> specific, and all the less-than-honourable factors that probably
> influenced Bush's decision, I can see the (eventually) positive outcomes
> if this conflict.  The overall goal of liberating the Iraqi's from a
> genocidal man who automatically supports anything that he feels could
> hurt the West (just because they always start with America doesn't mean
> we aren't all on their hit-list as western democracies) is not something I
> can find fault with.
>
> When a parent sees a dangerous animal in the distance, they dispose of it
> before it reaches their children.  You don't wait until the snake has
> struck before you take action.  We in the "west" are in the unfortunate
> position of having to take that (crudely-phrased) analogy into the real
> world, with all the suffering that will entail, but in the end we know it
> was necessary.
>
> I know most here will disagree with my views, but that's part of why I'm
> so fervent about doing what it takes to defend my society from outside
> threats... I'm blessed to live in a world where protesters can get within
> spitting-distance of decision-makers, and turf them out on their asses
> every 4 years.  Our system may not be perfect, but with it we all have a
> chance to be heard, and with time make our nation what we want it to be.
> Remember, before you flame me, that in Iraq you'd be executed if you ever
> expressed a position contrary to that of the government.
>
> So, as much as it rips me up emotionally to think of the human
> devestation that war brings, I have to say I wish the U.S.-led campaign
> well. My thoughts and prayers are with all our troops and forces, and also
> with the civilian population of Iraq.
>
> Michael Blackwood
> Canada
>
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