Syria/Iraq

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Vrede too
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Re: Syria/Iraq

Unread post by Vrede too »

O Really wrote:
billy.pilgrim wrote:
O Really wrote:Find a time in history where that region was ever peaceful.
Other than perhaps relatively short periods of time when those we might refer to as "ruthless dictators" ran the place.
Are you saying it is a DNA or some race based factor that prevents them from living peacefully

or could it possibly have something to do with Europe and great Britain and more recently the US and israel constantly invading or proping with the ruthless dictators
I'd say it could be the latter, except it's been going on for long before there was a US or Israel. Real answer - not DNA, but cultural. Mamas don't let their babies grow up to play well with others.
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Re: Syria/Iraq

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American "principles":
Invade a nation based on hundreds of lies.
Enrich Halliburton and other vultures.
Destabilize a region and benefit Iran.
Cause hundreds of thousands of deaths and millions of refugees.
Enable a repressive and exclusionary Shia government.
Act surprised when the Sunnis revolt and form ISIS.
See 14 killed here - an abomination and tragedy, sure, but 1/10000 or less of what we visited upon Iraq, and we're still more likely to be killed by an American white, con, often Christian terrorist.
Chicken Little freak out like the world is ending.
Smear the refugees we largely created and exclude them.
No wonder some of them hate us. You would, too, if you were in their shoes.
Always be yourself! Unless you can be a goat, then always be a goat.
-- the interweb, paraphrased
1312. ETTD.

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O Really
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Re: Syria/Iraq

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Vrede too wrote:American "principles":
...
No wonder some of them hate us. You would, too, if you were in their shoes.
True that. Actually I'm not so fond of the perpetrators of all that myself. I certainly didn't vote for any of it.

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rstrong
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Re: Syria/Iraq

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O Really wrote:
Vrede too wrote:American "principles":
...
No wonder some of them hate us. You would, too, if you were in their shoes.
True that. Actually I'm not so fond of the perpetrators of all that myself. I certainly didn't vote for any of it.
It doesn't matter. They know that American is a democracy, and that electing "the perpetrators" was the collective will of the American people.

And to remove any doubt, AFTER the invasion, AFTER it was shown that invasion was done under false pretenses, AFTER it was shown that America had been turned into a torture state, the American people re-elected them by a wider margin.

And just to drive it home, once everyone else got their way and elected the other party, there were no consequences, legal or otherwise, for "the perpetrators."

Meanwhile, Canada produced Nickelback and Justin Bieber. :cry:

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Vrede too
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Re: Syria/Iraq

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I probably did more than most to oppose the invasion, including facing 2 years in prison (eventually acquitted) . . . but I could have done more. Then, from the perspective of the victims, we all paid for it whatever our feelings were about it.
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Re: Syria/Iraq

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Vrede too wrote:I probably did more than most to oppose the invasion, including facing 2 years in prison (eventually acquitted) . . . but I could have done more. Then, from the perspective of the victims, we all paid for it whatever our feelings were about it.
Whoa damn that's crazy. What happened? Well you probably can't or don't wanna talk about it so that's cool. That's nuts.
You aren't doing it wrong if no one knows what you are doing.

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Re: Syria/Iraq

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Opps, in reviewing the details for my private reply to JTA I guess I would have maxed out at 9 months in prison, though others with me could have gotten up to 5 years. There were a couple of convictions, but nobody went to jail. Sorry for the erroneous post.
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Re: Syria/Iraq

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Email from another state:
Dear friends,

In 1948, the United Nations dedicated December 10 as a day to celebrate a Universal Declaration of Human Rights – freedom from fear, freedom of speech, freedom of worship and freedom from want for all people. These are the ideals we work toward in a world troubled by hatred and fear of what is different and unknown. The latest targets of this fear are Muslims, refugees and those fleeing the conflicts of the Middle East. As the media confronts us daily with mass shootings, escalating wars and racial injustices, it is tempting to lose hope, to be discouraged, to lash out at fearmongers or to distract ourselves. Focusing on what is wrong in the world weakens us, but so does ignoring it. Our strength lies in keeping true to the peace and hope we want for the world.

This month a local group will submit an application to open a refugee resettlement office here. It will be critical for us to support this effort and the human rights inherent in it. We cannot fix everything that is wrong in the world. But each of us can do small things every day to minister to some part of this broken world. Let’s all commit to taking small, daily steps toward universal human rights -- finding ways to reduce someone’s fears, empower someone’s speech, encourage someone’s worship or reduce someone’s want. Maybe it’s a letter to the editor, maybe it is a kind word or act, a nod of support, a handout to someone in need or a donation to a cause you believe in. All these small things we do will add up to the critical mass we need to shift our world.

In hope,
In a parking lot today a white haired women said to me, "I like your bumperstickers."
I thanked her and said, "It's Hendersonville, someone has to be a hippie."
She laughed and said, "You got that right."
Always be yourself! Unless you can be a goat, then always be a goat.
-- the interweb, paraphrased
1312. ETTD.

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homerfobe
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Re: Syria/Iraq

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rstrong wrote: It doesn't matter. They know that American is a democracy, and that electing "the perpetrators" was the collective will of the American people.
Like the same way liberals, atheists, and queers blame the religious people for all their ills. It's called guilt by association.

And to remove any doubt, AFTER the invasion, AFTER it was shown that invasion was done under false pretenses, AFTER it was shown that America had been turned into a torture state, the American people re-elected them by a wider margin.
The cry of patriotism is a loud cry, isn't it? You know how it is, sheep can't be driven, they have to be led.

And just to drive it home, once everyone else got their way and elected the other party, there were no consequences, legal or otherwise, for "the perpetrators."
Whatever that means.

Meanwhile, Canada produced Nickelback and Justin Bieber. :cry:
But the US let them cross the border.

It's pitiful, amazing, and funny how the typical US citizen gets his or her ass in a sling over politics. Having been led, driven, prodded, or whatever it's called, I've gotten my fill of it all. Come January 15th. I hang up my illustrious and envied commission and tell the world to kiss my ass. I have my own little spot totally away from the US mainland all bought and paid for, no TV, no cell phones, very little contact with the outside world until one day someone finds my bones bleaching in the sun. You all can have your queers, fags, transgenders, gender confused, twat twinkies, lovers of the same, liberals, conservatives, Democrats, Republicans, or whatever lunatic fringe like Trump, Carson, Clinton, and the like that decides they're this country's answer for whatever ails them. Oh yeah, Nickelback and Bieber too. So here's where I say Vrede, I've been harsh on you. Some I regret, much I don't. But I didn't give you anything any worse than the horseshit you handed out. The difference being you weren't man enough to take it, you put me on ignore because you didn't want the shit like you dished out to be heaped on you. You and O Really have fun on your little paddling run, maybe Mrs. O Really will let you have some time to yourselves.
Proudly Telling It Like It Is: In Your Face! Whether You Like It Or Not!

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Re: Syria/Iraq

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Always be yourself! Unless you can be a goat, then always be a goat.
-- the interweb, paraphrased
1312. ETTD.

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billy.pilgrim
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Re: Syria/Iraq

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Vrede too wrote:American "principles":
Invade a nation based on hundreds of lies.
Enrich Halliburton and other vultures.
Destabilize a region and benefit Iran.
Cause hundreds of thousands of deaths and millions of refugees.
Enable a repressive and exclusionary Shia government.
Act surprised when the Sunnis revolt and form ISIS.
See 14 killed here - an abomination and tragedy, sure, but 1/10000 or less of what we visited upon Iraq, and we're still more likely to be killed by an American white, con, often Christian terrorist.
Chicken Little freak out like the world is ending.
Smear the refugees we largely created and exclude them.
No wonder some of them hate us. You would, too, if you were in their shoes.

What he said
Trump: “We had the safest border in the history of our country - or at least recorded history. I guess maybe a thousand years ago it was even better.”

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rstrong
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Re: Syria/Iraq

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Yup. The airlift is getting started. A flight carrying 163 Syrian refugees landed in Toronto on Thursday. Another with 161 refugees arrived in Montreal on the weekend. A flight this morning brought 214 to Toronto. Once they get the kinks worked out they'll start ramping up the numbers.

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Re: Syria/Iraq

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rstrong wrote:Yup. The airlift is getting started. A flight carrying 163 Syrian refugees landed in Toronto on Thursday. Another with 161 refugees arrived in Montreal on the weekend. A flight this morning brought 214 to Toronto. Once they get the kinks worked out they'll start ramping up the numbers.
1200 refugees have arrived now. They're ramping up to 600 a day.

500 staff from various government departments are in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey carrying out health exams, security screening and up to 800 visa interviews a day.

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rstrong
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Re: Syria/Iraq

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The campaign promise was 25,000 Syrian refugees by the end of December. After the election that got changed to 10,000 by the end of December, and 25,000 refugees by the end of February.

Now that the pipeline is up and running the plan is for 35,000 to 50,000 Syrian refugees by the end of next year.

I mention this only as a placeholder because some news services are only reporting the higher number, 50,000. Somehow I have little doubt that they'll call it a broken promise if we only reach 35,000.

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Vrede too
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Re: Syria/Iraq

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We Won: US Senate Votes to Welcome Refugees

On January 20, Democrats in the Senate blocked a vote on H.R. 4038, the so-called SAFE Act. This dangerous bill would have prevented innocent Syrian and Iraqi refugees from entering the United States. The US Senate wisely chose to offer refuge to people fleeing persecution, torture, and terror. Instead of politics-as-usual, America showed the world that a welcoming America is a strong America.

Learn how your Senators voted ...
Always be yourself! Unless you can be a goat, then always be a goat.
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Vrede too
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Re: Syria/Iraq

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Last weekend marked 25 years since the first U.S. vs. Iraq War, one that never really ended. George Orwell was right. :(
Always be yourself! Unless you can be a goat, then always be a goat.
-- the interweb, paraphrased
1312. ETTD.

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rstrong
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Re: Syria/Iraq

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rstrong wrote:The campaign promise was 25,000 Syrian refugees by the end of December. After the election that got changed to 10,000 by the end of December, and 25,000 refugees by the end of February.

Now that the pipeline is up and running the plan is for 35,000 to 50,000 Syrian refugees by the end of next year.
CBC: Federal government likely to hit target of 25,000 refugees this week

Of course resettlement isn't running 100% smoothly; some refugees have had to get food from local food banks. But a resettlement that large from a standing start just a few months ago - in addition to our regular immigration - was never going to be problem-free. Early on there were plans to house some on military bases in barracks, not exactly a preferred situation, but it hasn't come to that.

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Vrede too
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Re: Syria/Iraq

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:clap:

Getting free food is the same as terrorism here.
Always be yourself! Unless you can be a goat, then always be a goat.
-- the interweb, paraphrased
1312. ETTD.

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Re: Syria/Iraq

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Vrede too
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Re: Syria/Iraq

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The US is talking about a measly 17,000 over 2 years, and we may not even come close to that target. Disgusting, especially given our major role in creating the crisis.

During First Day Of Syrian Truce, 'Cessation Of Hostilities' Mostly Honored

Could fail tomorrow, but it's nice to see hope when it's been missing for so long.
Always be yourself! Unless you can be a goat, then always be a goat.
-- the interweb, paraphrased
1312. ETTD.

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