Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : 2026 TeoTwawKi ... 2032 Darkest Interregnum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jacob Snyder who wrote (73201)	5/2/2011 12:21:26 AM
From: Jacob Snyder	4 Recommendations Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 217591

Killing civilians, to show that killing civilians is wrong: ...NATO bombed Moammar Gadhafi’s family compound in an attack officials said killed the leader’s second youngest son and three grandchildren, ages six months to two years. washingtonpost.com Remember how this started? Does anyone still remember the noble goals, the high ideals, stated when we began launching salvos of our humanitarian missiles? From the UN authorizing resolution: Demanding...an end to the current attacks against civilians...crimes against humanity... ...authorized...all necessary measures to protect civilians under threat of attack... Speaking after the vote, representatives who had supported the text agreed that the strong action was made necessary because the Qadhafi regime had not heeded the first actions of the Council and was on the verge of even greater violence against civilians... They stressed that the objective was solely to protect civilians from further harm.... un.org This is the slippery slope: First, we convince ourselves, our motives are noble (protecting civilians, defeating evil regimes, defending the Free World, Bearing the White Man's Burden) Second, in the midst of the crisis, we decide the Ends Justify The Means, and any methods are OK: "can't make an omelette without breaking eggs" Next, we are confused, about why our noble intentions seem to be costing so much blood and treasure, and taking so long, and seem to be achieving the exact opposite of our stated goals: "destroy the village to save it." Or, we just forget about it, and move on to the next crisis, or the next entertainment. Here's a Lady Gaga song and video, the "circuses" part of bread and circuses: youtube.com Finally, at the end of a long, gradual process of moral erosion, we find ourselves making excuses for killing 6-month-old children. Pete Seeger sings about these same excuses. Who killed Davey Moore: youtube.com “Not me,” says the man whose fists Laid him low in a cloud of mist Who came here from Cuba’s door Where boxing ain’t allowed no more “I hit him, yes, it’s true But that’s what I am paid to do Don’t say ‘murder,’ don’t say ‘kill’ It was destiny, it was God’s will” Americans think of our military, as if it's a Universal Tool, a kind of Swiss Army Knife with 10,000 pull-out attachments, one for every contingency: swissknifeshop.com For any problem anywhere, send in the Marines, they'll make it right. But really, a military is a specific tool. It can do a couple of things really, really well. An army, air force, or navy can kill people, and break things. That's it. That's all that tool can do. If you want to achieve anything else, you need to use a different tool. It is no excuse, that Gadhafi is a criminal. We killed his grandchild, as surely as if we pulled the pin on a grenade and rolled it into the baby's crib. "NATO", or some other huge vague faceless organization, didn't do it. Means and ends must match. Use evil methods, it's inevitable, it's predictable, the results will also be evil.