Subject: Re: Solar Energy

From: [email-masked] (Nick Pine)
Date: 2 Nov 1995 08:18:34 -0500

Carl J Lydick <[email-masked]> wrote:
>[email-masked] (Andy Holland) writes:
>> [email-masked] (Jonathan R Barnes) writes:

... By some accounts, we killed 100,000 human beings in Iraq in the Gulf war,
... directly. And another 500,000 people, mostly women and children, died
... after US troops left the area, as a result of starvation, homelessness,
... poor sanitary conditions and lack of medical care.

==>Has this thread wandered a little ?

==Nope, as your government had a hand in this situation, it's part of
==the cost of using so much foreign oil.
 
>And the fact that Iraq had both a nuclear weapons program and a missile
>program in progress had absolutely nothing to do with it, right moron?

So does France. Perhaps we should invade France, because they are harming
our friends the seagulls in the South Pacific, and they do not bathe
so often as we do...

I think that should be "right _,_ moron" above, unless you are referring to
the learned Mr. Gingrich or his ferengi friends. 

Nick

---

From: [email-masked] (Nick Pine)
Date: 2 Nov 1995 14:57:32 -0500

Oz <[email-masked]> wrote:
>[email-masked] (Nick Pine) wrote:

 
>I suppose it's too much to expect rationality from all sides
>in this discussion.

I think it is... 

>Comparing France to Iraq really does
>show some remarkable ignorance of world affairs.

It seems to me that world affairs are sometimes fairly sordid, and we
could do worse than attempt to respect the borders of sovereign nations,
no matter how they choose to behave inside those borders, or what they
are like as people. Sort of like "equal opportunity" for nations, no?
Who can be the ultimate, absolute judge of national behavior? Nobody. 
 
>I suppose by the same token that the US shouldn't import oil,

It seems to me that importing oil is fine, among consenting nations.
Killing people is not. Is that such a peculiar idea?

>the US shouldn't export wheat, say.

This logic baffles me.

>Now I wonder what effect that would have?

We would up with a lot of moldy wheat, and end up being invaded by a lot
of starving people, a la Chinese revolution? US farmers would complain?
French and Canadian farmers would be happier?
 
>It is indeed fortunate that some of those in this discussion
>do not actually have to produce anyone's foreign policy. At
>least I hope not.

It's a dirty job, but nobody has to do it.
I suppose the golden rule would be a start... 
Except for masochists, who also have a right to live.

Nick