Constitutionalism vs democracy.....

[pkt]

Originally posted by civiltech
... I know it guarantees me a qualified person to interpret the law, and advise me of my rights, and successfully defend them if required! Like a professional association maybe? When you want a building, you hire a proffessional engineer....is he part of an "elite" group? Yes, but you need them. They go through rigorous testing, and studies, with experience to gain a specialized title saying "I can do this competently, and professionaly. Don't want your building to fall down right? What about doctors? and Lawyers!!

I will agree with one statement: Anytime you have to go to court, the only winners are the lawyers!

How did the saying go?
'He who defends himself in court has a fool for a client.'
something like that.

Notice that the word 'justice' was not mentioned in the last two postings...

--)------------

I live in a leaky condo. We're suing the architect and the engineer firms and the lot of them who are professionals who were involved in the building of the building.

The architects are the only ones who have insurance and they settled out of court...


PK

[civiltech]

Originally posted by pkt
How did the saying go?
'He who defends himself in court has a fool for a client.'
something like that.

Notice that the word 'justice' was not mentioned in the last two postings...

--)------------

I live in a leaky condo. We're suing the architect and the engineer firms and the lot of them who are professionals who were involved in the building of the building.

The architects are the only ones who have insurance and they settled out of court...


PK

It is doubtful that the contractor, or design consultants didn't have insurance. However, the game is "deflection." It isn't my fault! I am assuming, but it sounds like the Architect got caught holding the bag!

Would'nt mind knowing the specifics if you interested in sharing them!

[thebigriddle]

Civil, I read your bio, sounds very interesting. I come from a aristocratic blood line, but it doesn't matter much I believe in the principle that all men are created equal.

[135711]

Well, it appears this war isn't over in Iraq. Even though the press says the war is over, the army is still there, right now they're trying to 'rebuild' but believe it or not, I feel it's premature. What do you say? Here was have a few generals walking around acting like they're re-making a constitutuion for those folks, and at the same time did anyone see the photo of the clergyman with the rifle? I've always wondered why a member of the Clergy or even a leader of a nation, should be seen with a weapon in his hand.

This is something that no American leader or clergy ever does!

In order to bring about a completely new system, those people would have to do what Japan did, they would have to surrender Dorothy! and so far they look like they're getting ready for round two.

[pkt]

135711,

the US proconsul's main task is to rebuild Iraq in the US's image.

OTOH, with Shiites as a majority in the south guess who wants to shape the new Iraq in their own image too?

Imagine, in a poor country like Iraq, soon after the arms depot got blown up, the protesters had printed ENGLISH signs to wave about in front of the cameras.

This is organised protest at its best.

The question is then who organised the protests? The imans who have controlled S. Iraq cf Baghdad or the Iranians? Remember that the Iranians are also Shiites.



I learned a new word today: we all know about the fact that Iran is a theocracy. A columnist who writes for the French 'Libe'ration' contends that the US is not only a theorcracy, it is also a pathocracy.

http://www.liberation.com/

"The new Nero
By Francois de Bernard
"A new pathology is ravaging the city. It has taken control of the neurons of the empire. First it infected the emperor himself and then it was transmitted to his oligarchs.
...
"But the United States has also become a pathocracy, that is, a regime that is neurotic in essence, the leaders of which are, quite simply, psychopaths. I offer the hypothesis that the American president is personally suffering from a paranoid psychosis and that the quartet he has formed with Vice President Dick Cheney, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld constitutes a government that is both theocratic and pathocratic.

"Francois de Bernard is a philosopher and writer. Among his recent works are "La Pauverte durable" (2002) and "Parthenia 2050" (2003).

"This article was originally published in Liberation on March 26."

I have the article in English...can't find the article in this link...



So, 135711, you may be right to observe that "so far they look like they're getting ready for round two." Like my precious tag said about
"Now showing in the theatre of war called Iraq and soon coming to you another theatre of war:
The Madness of King George Dubya."

This is esp. true now that Syria got promptly out of the way of the US juggernaut and cooperated...


The US have gone to the expense of USD4 billion - of the requested USD7.5 billion budget submitted to Congress for the war - to get the troops there - remember that est. does not include sending the troops home - do you think Dubya / Rumfeld are going to pull them back that quickly, in spite of the proconsul's words?


The one thing you can be assured of is that like most red-blooded guys armed with a high powered car, they 'll be more than eager to test the machine.

PK

[daeceg]

You know, I love Bush proclaiming that removing Hussein from power is going to bring democracy to the Middle East.

Let's see what happens: In the Palestinian Authority, Bush made it clear he would not accept the results of any election which returned Yassar Arafat to power.

In Turkey, the latest elections brought fundamentalist Muslims to power in record numbers. They promptly vote to deny the US access to land bases.

In Iraq, Bush has declared that the Iraqi people can not choose to become an Iranian-style theocracy. He backs the corrupt leader of the "Iraqi National Congress", Chalabi, who most Iraqis view as a traitor and an American puppet.

Bush threatens Iran, even though they are a functional democracy.

He cozies up to the Pakistani dictator, Musharraf, the same man who overthrew the democratically elected prime minister.

He pushes the warlord Hamid Karzai into power in Afghanistan. (For more details, read "Taliban" by Achmed Rashid. It was published before Sept. 11, before most of our nation was aware of those guys)

He refuses to back the President of Venezuela against the (attempted) military coup.

Now, if Bush were serious about democracy, why is he so damn inconsistant? It's all about convenience, and rhetorical sound bites. He fails to even acknowledge the fact that sometimes, in a true democracy, our nation may not like the results. Dr. Samuel Huntington, in his work "Clash of Civilizations", does an excellent analysis of this phenomenon: in most areas of the world, democracy brings anti-American parties to power.

[thebigriddle]

here-here!

Like I have been saying lets wait and see!

[civiltech]

Originally posted by thebigriddle
Civil, I read your bio, sounds very interesting. I come from a aristocratic blood line, but it doesn't matter much I believe in the principle that all men are created equal.

Thank you.

I don't come from an aristocratic blood line. And I also believe that all men were created equally. (Except Newfys )

Simply stated = The King/Queen is God's emissary on Earth. This should be their principal role of all else, though not limited to that!

[civiltech]

I hear that the US has found suspicious materials in Northern Iraq!

Wow, I thought that was Kurdish area. Hmmmmm.....let's see what happens! I guess Iraw had WOMD after all. Way up in the North, in a safe zone, where the coalition would suspect them the least!

[pkt]

Originally posted by thebigriddle
here-here!

...

that's what one calls out when one calls one's dog.

What you menat to type is 'Hear, hear.'


I got into trouble correcting one of my g/f when she wrote 'as of' in a letter. I pointed out it is 'as if'. As if I know any beter now.


PK

[pkt]

Originally posted by civiltech
I hear that the US has found suspicious materials in Northern Iraq!

Wow, I thought that was Kurdish area.

Hmmmmm.....let's see what happens! I guess Iraw had WOMD after all. Way up in the North, in a safe zone, where the coalition would suspect them the least!

The finding of the letters linking Al Qaeda with the Saddam regime by a Cdn reporter was suspect too. If the CIA/Mil-int had been through that place an they didn't find these letters, and a reporter, a Cdn reporter, a 'unilateral' reporter at that finds the stuff...

hmmm

This proves the following:
1. Fire the CIA or Mil-intel for not doing their job.
2. The CIA/Mil-intel planted the stuff for the others to find to provide the 'impartiality' they so seek.
3. This 'impartiality' question is going to haunt whatever the US find in Iraq.
4. The UN weapons inspectors have the impartiality the US forces don't have.

PK

[veeco]

Originally posted by pkt

4. The UN weapons inspectors have the impartiality the US forces don't have.

Now, the UN weapons inspectors findings will be disputed by anyone who's opposed to the war anyway, because any finding will have the possibility that it has been planted by the US forces when they were there in Iraq. Any finding at this point is useless and can be used as an argument for both sides, so let's not spend time looking for WoMD as a mean to justify something that will not be possible to justify. Let's just get this over with and be done with it.

[thebigriddle]

This is messed up. Talk about no second amendment. Well, glad this did not happen in the US.


A SAMURAI sword, a relic of a Japanese prisoner

of war camp, has been surrendered to Strathclyde Police during a
weapons amnesty.

The two-handed one-metre weapon has a razor sharp blade, but
forensic examination showed it has never been used.

Detective Superintendent Stephen Ward said today: "In the wrong
hands this sword would have been a lethal weapon. It could have
inflicted horrific injuries."

It was handed in by an elderly retired Army captain, who had been
an interpreter at the prisoner of war camp run by the British in Asia
and who helped interrogate Japanese prisoners.

He was presented with the Samurai by Japanese soldiers at the end
of the war. It had belonged to a Japanese major, although the
elderly Scotsman had changed the colour of the tassel on the sword
to represent a captain.

Detective Superintendent Ward added: "The man is now in his 80s
and lives alone. He has no family and no descendants to leave the
sword to.

"He was becoming increasingly afraid of his home being broken into
and the sword stolen, ending up in the wrong hands.

"When he read of the amnesty he decided to surrender it and walked
into a police station at the weekend and handed it over. We are glad
he did.

"It had hung in its scabbard on a wall in his home for

nearly 60 years. It is in excellent condition."

There are only two days left of the amnesty, which started four weeks ago.

One of the most dangerous firearms to have been surrendered was a Kalashnikov AK-47 assault
rifle. The Russian-made weapon was handed in last week. A decommissioned anti-tank gun was
also handed in.

A total of 440 weapons have been handed in to Strathclyde Police as part of a month-long
amnesty.

In the last seven days 127 weapons and 4443 rounds of ammunition have been surrendered.

Across Scotland the amnesty has seen 1800 potentially lethal weapons surrendered to police.

With two days to go, handguns, rifles and shotguns are still flooding in, adding to the haul of
more than 400 other weapons, such as swords, bayonets, machetes and clubs.

Last week 564 firearms, 13,300 rounds of ammunition and 120 other items were surrendered to
Scotland's eight police forces.

Detective Superintendent Ward added: "The amnesty does not finish until midnight on
Wednesday and I am sure there will still be people with unwanted weapons that could cause real
problems if they got into the hands of criminals.

"I would urge everyone to take this final opportunity to hand in their weapons. It is the last
chance to hand in firearms while still free from prosecution."

Copyright © 2003 SMG Newspapers Ltd. All Rights Reserved
Terms of Use

[pkt]

I'd dearly love to have that samurai sword.

It is a sign of surrender to 'present' one's sword to one' enemy, isn't it?

PK

[Jupiter]

Ethnic Diverstiy and why not leave those regions alone?

An interesting viewpoint if it could be understood, doublespeak is never an easy language. One of the major reasons people from the middle east come to America [today!] is for freedom. Some kind of freedom that is lacking in their region. It could be

Freedom of religion - believe it or not, many Isalmic groups were suppressed;

Freedom of the Press, Freedom of Speech, Intellectual Freedom, to learn. So they came here for these freedoms.

America is certainly not perfect. As a group, we disagree about many things; but our constitution guarantees many things for us. So that eventually, should a wrong happen in government, there is recourse for the common person, the system of Checks and Balances has worked thus-far in the United States for many years.

One thing that worries me about a nation, is when you take a look at how many people flee from it, it tells you somethings going on there, that isn't all that great.

While we're in Iraq, I can only hope that the soldiers really really help and assist as many people as they can. After reading about the 15 civilians who were shot, I was very distressed. Even if those people don't agree with us, we should be able to contain things the way our student protestors are contained. The sight of kids running loose through the streets is terrible.

Another thing that upset me was the hatred that is being drummed up there. Everyone is burning portraits of Saddam Hussain. I don't think that's correct. As much as he may have erred in the past; and as the reports come in about more the way people were treated over the years, it's certainly called brain-washing, it will take many years to eradicate those things, so I'm hoping that America gives people time to adjust.

[Jupiter]

Ethnic Diversity is precisely what the middle east needs. It talks all the time about their great ethnicity, but it's only their ethnicity; no-one goes there to live and stay; there's no giant asian population there or am i completely wrong? I noticed that South korea is going as a show of support and they don't look too happy about it, but, if they go there and assist people in resuming normal life, and maybe a few thousand of them stay on and rebuild society, by raising families there, it would change the face of the world. The introduction of new ideas, thoughts and religions can only serve to assist people in their growth.

If I said, I only want "Pure" Buddhists to live on my block and systematically found ways to rid the entire area of everyone else but my friends, I would be a racists in a way. We have allowed ourselves to believe that it's okay to have a "pure" pot of broth in one area, as a "right", but what about the other million people who live in the same state? Do they have a "right" to think something different? Suppose they want to dye their hair green as a sign of fidility to a God, what of that? The Kurds were literally thrown from their homes and no-one remembered them. If it weren't for my friend being there and feeding them literally in the mountains, they would be forgotton people.

[civiltech]

Originally posted by Jupiter
Ethnic Diversity is precisely what the middle east needs. It talks all the time about their great ethnicity, but it's only their ethnicity; no-one goes there to live and stay; there's no giant asian population there or am i completely wrong? I noticed that South korea is going as a show of support and they don't look too happy about it, but, if they go there and assist people in resuming normal life, and maybe a few thousand of them stay on and rebuild society, by raising families there, it would change the face of the world. The introduction of new ideas, thoughts and religions can only serve to assist people in their growth.

If I said, I only want "Pure" Buddhists to live on my block and systematically found ways to rid the entire area of everyone else but my friends, I would be a racists in a way. We have allowed ourselves to believe that it's okay to have a "pure" pot of broth in one area, as a "right", but what about the other million people who live in the same state? Do they have a "right" to think something different? Suppose they want to dye their hair green as a sign of fidility to a God, what of that? The Kurds were literally thrown from their homes and no-one remembered them. If it weren't for my friend being there and feeding them literally in the mountains, they would be forgotton people.

Thats what I like about you yankees. Not only do you know whats best for everyone else, you make sure you go there and act on it.