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08/23/2007 02:39:28 PM · #51 |
Originally posted by Gordon:
what does this have anything to do with what I said ? |
was only in regards to the first two lines:
Ever serve your country Gordon?
If you haven't, then I can understand a bit better.
The rest was for shits & giggles and was aimed at no one in particular. |
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08/23/2007 02:40:19 PM · #52 |
Originally posted by Brad:
Originally posted by Gordon:
what does this have anything to do with what I said ? |
was only in regards to the first two lines:
Ever serve your country Gordon?
If you haven't, then I can understand a bit better.
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So if I'd served I'd understand the armed forces aren't political ?
I made a statement. The rest of it was as you say, completely unrelated.
Message edited by author 2007-08-23 14:44:01.
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08/23/2007 02:40:25 PM · #53 |
Originally posted by Simms:
So, did anyone else think it was a great picture as well? |
You betcha! |
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08/23/2007 02:41:10 PM · #54 |
Originally posted by Gordon:
Originally posted by Brad:
Originally posted by Gordon:
what does this have anything to do with what I said ? |
was only in regards to the first two lines:
Ever serve your country Gordon?
If you haven't, then I can understand a bit better.
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So if I'd served I'd understand the armed forces aren't political ? |
Never answered the question. |
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08/23/2007 02:41:59 PM · #55 |
Originally posted by Simms:
So, did anyone else think it was a great picture as well? |
It would be easier for me to appreciate the amazing symmetry and precision involved if I didn't have to scroll around on my small monitor :-( |
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08/23/2007 02:43:52 PM · #56 |
Originally posted by Brad:
Originally posted by Simms:
So, did anyone else think it was a great picture as well? |
You betcha! |
I want to say this without anybody thinking I'm anti-American or making a political statement. I don't think it's a great picture. Not even all that interesting. To me at least. It's sort of like a poster for the Navy type picture, and as such it works I guess, but I don't find it particularily interesting or beautiful. Oh well.
And, as a tiny, tiny not picture related statement, I think you can serve your country in many ways, not just in the military.
Message edited by author 2007-08-23 14:46:54. |
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08/23/2007 02:44:28 PM · #57 |
Originally posted by Brad:
Originally posted by Gordon:
Originally posted by Brad:
Originally posted by Gordon:
what does this have anything to do with what I said ? |
was only in regards to the first two lines:
Ever serve your country Gordon?
If you haven't, then I can understand a bit better.
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So if I'd served I'd understand the armed forces aren't political ? |
Never answered the question. |
Neither did you.
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08/23/2007 02:45:11 PM · #58 |
I think he's responding to the fact that you said: "Armed forces are implicitly and explicitly political, always have been"
Originally posted by Gordon:
what does this have anything to do with what I said ? |
But yes, I find the picture informative and interesting in the forced symmetry of the subjects. |
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08/23/2007 02:45:20 PM · #59 |
Originally posted by GeneralE:
Originally posted by Simms:
So, did anyone else think it was a great picture as well? |
It would be easier for me to appreciate the amazing symmetry and precision involved if I didn't have to scroll around on my small monitor :-( |
That's what Irfanview is for... |
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08/23/2007 02:46:40 PM · #60 |
I love this web-site ;)
Originally posted by Gordon:
Originally posted by Brad:
Originally posted by Gordon:
Originally posted by Brad:
Originally posted by Gordon:
what does this have anything to do with what I said ? |
was only in regards to the first two lines:
Ever serve your country Gordon?
If you haven't, then I can understand a bit better.
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So if I'd served I'd understand the armed forces aren't political ? |
Never answered the question. |
Neither did you. |
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08/23/2007 02:47:56 PM · #61 |
Originally posted by metatate:
I love this web-site ;)
Originally posted by Gordon:
Originally posted by Brad:
Originally posted by Gordon:
Originally posted by Brad:
Originally posted by Gordon:
what does this have anything to do with what I said ? |
was only in regards to the first two lines:
Ever serve your country Gordon?
If you haven't, then I can understand a bit better.
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So if I'd served I'd understand the armed forces aren't political ? |
Never answered the question. |
Neither did you. |
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Woo, we've made a plane.
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08/23/2007 02:51:47 PM · #62 |
Originally posted by Gordon:
Originally posted by Brad:
Never answered the question. |
Neither did you. |
ROFL as I nudge ya in the ribs with my elbow.
Just something I've noticed over the years, is those that haven't been in the military see the Armed Forces as a political machine, and those that spent many years in the service generally don't see it as that. Most often, civilians form opinions based on what the media wants you to think, never seeing the human factor on the other side - that's the side I defend. |
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08/23/2007 02:55:04 PM · #63 |
Originally posted by Brad:
Originally posted by Gordon:
Originally posted by Brad:
Never answered the question. |
Neither did you. |
ROFL as I nudge ya in the ribs with my elbow.
Just something I've noticed over the years, is those that haven't been in the military see the Armed Forces as a political machine, and those that spent many years in the service generally don't see it as that. Most often, civilians form opinions based on what the media wants you to think, never seeing the human factor on the other side - that's the side I defend. |
I grew up about 3 miles from a US sub base. The town I grew up in is a Navy town. Most of the people I went to school with were from naval families. I failed a medical for the RAF at 18. I was offered but turned down a job at GCHQ because of the security clearance requirements.
I don't have a big anti military chip. But they are a political tool. The various examples of when they aren't a political tool are probably a good illustration of why that's a good thing.
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08/23/2007 03:08:55 PM · #64 |
Originally posted by Brad:
Just something I've noticed over the years, is those that haven't been in the military see the Armed Forces as a political machine, and those that spent many years in the service generally don't see it as that. Most often, civilians form opinions based on what the media wants you to think, never seeing the human factor on the other side - that's the side I defend. |
I have a hard time understanding this - I served many years in the military, and served in the first conflict in Iraq. I always understood that the forces I was serving with were the sword in the hands of politicians. It's not like the military commanders up and decided to go there - we were sent. And I don't mean that in a negative way toward politicians, it's just a fact.
I never saw this as having anything to do with the camaraderie and personal bonds that form between soldiers, which is indeed a powerful thing.
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08/23/2007 03:18:58 PM · #65 |
Be nice to America, or we'll bring Democracy to your country. |
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08/23/2007 03:21:51 PM · #66 |
| I'm just waiting for the day when WalMart buys the military and all the soldiers have to wear those yellow smiley faces... |
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08/23/2007 03:27:18 PM · #67 |
My five year old loves airplanes. If it flies, he absolutely is enthralled. His favorite computer game is fligh sim, and he will sit and fly for hours. His landings are still a little bumpy, but he is getting better. :)
He loved the picture. He just saw it the airplanes and the carriers and whatnot and his jaw dropped. :) |
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08/23/2007 03:33:13 PM · #68 |
Originally posted by Brad:
Until you serve, you simply aren't equipped to understand the other side of it. |
I don't wish to denigrate the armed forces at all (after all, they have guns) nor your experiences.
However, from a debating point of view the counterpoint of course is that if you have served in the forces, your objectivity is severely compromised. This is not least because the armed forces rely very heavily on creating a mental framework within which you are conditioned to support your fellows unconditionally, like family, and without question. Shared experiences are often of the most extreme variety, and therefore the bond can be very strong.
Sometimes that makes ex-forces very sensitive to criticism, and that can make rational conversation very difficult. This is further compromised because one of the key tools of the propaganda machine is to dampen criticism of the state by casting anyone who criticises military action as unpatriotic.
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08/23/2007 03:33:18 PM · #69 |
Originally posted by ragamuffingirl:
Be nice to America, or we'll bring Democracy to your country. |
In the words of Leonard Cohen:
"Democracy is coming.....
to the USA."
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08/23/2007 03:34:54 PM · #70 |
Originally posted by ragamuffingirl:
Be nice to America, or we'll bring Democracy to your country. |
Hhahahah, reminds me of a quote from one of the US Generals (although it was taken out of context)
"We'll give the Iraqis their freedom even if it means we have to kill every last one of them."
Oobviously he was referring to the insurgents, but I kinda liked the way it came out.. |
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08/23/2007 03:38:05 PM · #71 |
Originally posted by Simms:
Originally posted by ragamuffingirl:
Be nice to America, or we'll bring Democracy to your country. |
Hhahahah, reminds me of a quote from one of the US Generals (although it was taken out of context)
"We'll give the Iraqis their freedom even if it means we have to kill every last one of them."
Oobviously he was referring to the insurgents, but I kinda liked the way it came out.. |
I coined a word for that: obliberation.
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08/23/2007 04:03:09 PM · #72 |
| man imagine all the coordination that would take to get that photo. |
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08/23/2007 04:04:26 PM · #73 |
Originally posted by routerguy666:
Originally posted by kolasi:
Originally posted by doctornick:
Originally posted by thelobster:
Sometimes it would be nice if people remembered that this site is not exclusively for the use of residents of the US and their European proteges. There may well be people visiting here from countries where these forces, or others like them, are presently involved in killing people. |
You always have the option of not reading it. It's a free world we live in. |
Another person could see this as...wow look at this amazing show of force, which cant even take over a dilapidated poor country like Iraq |
Another person might say, look at all the money they spend on that weaponry and they lack the will to fully exploit it... |
Or "look at all that money they spend on that weaponry and they lack" the ability to:
1) pay for a decent health care system to rise from having the lowest life expectancy of any industrialized nation
2) fund their public education system
3) maintain their deteriorating infrastructure
4) pay rswank enough to be the radical dude that he is
2 billions plus a WEEK in Iraq btw.
Message edited by author 2007-08-23 16:04:51. |
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08/23/2007 04:43:23 PM · #74 |
Originally posted by rswank:
Originally posted by Site Censor Elect routerguy666:
Another person might say, look at all the money they spend on that weaponry and they lack the will to fully exploit it... |
Or "look at all that money they spend on that weaponry and they lack" the ability to: |
Butter or Guns, Guns or Butter. All depends on your philosophy my man. If you think about it, using more guns leads directly to a need for less butter...
edit: definitely not wanting another rant, so this is all tounge in cheek.
Except for the part about me being Chief Site Censor.
Message edited by author 2007-08-23 16:54:10. |
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08/23/2007 04:51:44 PM · #75 |
Originally posted by routerguy666:
Except for the part of me being Chief Site Censor. |
having had that job for a while, you really don't.
Seen one horse pencil entry, seen them all.
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