1 Could you be more ignorant?

2 Too funny! Apparently the tolerant and thoughtful Jawa has banned Bull by the Horns from commenting or posting Trackbacks.

3 Banned, at least, from including my URL which is not "questionable content." Too funny.

4 Its time for some1 intelligent to take cntrol of the situation and try n make the world a better place. Who? Castro? Stalin? Militant Lesbians From The U.C. Berkeley Humanities Department? "Take control" almost always leads to "mass death". But to Skippy here who can't discern from genocide and opening a McDonalds, it's all Western evil. Rusty, do you want me to write something that searches and deletes posts with "Nostrand" in them. I can see why this buffoon grows tiresome.

5 Heh. While Professor van Nostrand seems to be a bit upset, there is truth behind what Rusty has written. It is a blame America first mentality that many on the Left share with those that lace explosives to their belts and cut off the heads of innocents. Sure, the Left wants change on different terms, however similar arguments appear from both Bin Laden and Howard Dean.

6 I have no problem with 'root causes,' as such. Looking into the root cause of things is quite useful and should not be discouraged. However, let the 'root cause' be true in its conceptualization -- if the root cause was taken away or did not exist (take Western Imperialism), would the "caused" results (take hostility from the Muslim world) be present? What the ultimate answer is may not be provable by any side, as it requires far too much speculation into the nature and interaction of nebulous concepts like history and culture. Regardless, one can make a pretty solid argument that so long as the West has more power than the Muslim world (controling for the exploitation factor, and for the sake of the hypothetical pretend that exploitation is zero), the Muslim would would have an inferiority complex and said complex could evolve into armed violence as a tool to lash out. In short, it isn't crazy for one to make an argument that the militants in the Muslim world are pissed off that the West has so much material power simply because they do not have the power and that imperialism is a red herring. What is not in question is that pie is yummy! Go pie!

7 VanN- Didn't ban you, just deleted one of your posts and MT banned your URL on it's own. Sorry about that. Don't know how to fix it. Isn't the line "you ignorant slut", though???

8 "Its time for some1 intelligent to take cntrol of the situation and try n make the world a better place. I cant believ how thick the ppl who voted for bush again r. Their the 1s who'v been brainwashed" Clearly that sonONE would not be YOu. Just because you're typing on a computer, doesn't mean you should butcher and cut up the English Language. How typical for a Lefty. They're ALWAYS looking to take the easy way out, whether it be giving in to Muslim scum, or not printing out a word in full. What wastes of life.

9 Given the heat you've been taking lately I'm trying to think what post of mine you could possibly have needed to delete. Regarding the substance of your post. I find it utterly laughable that you take this course of argument. By your logic The Bible, The Book of Mormon, heck any religious text, in addition to the Declaration of Independence (quoted extensively by Ho Chi Minh) are all responsible for terrorism, or at very least, actions that youdeem as "bad." Your line of argument is juvenile. And again, It's hard to take anything you say about Chomsky even slightly seriously given the fact you haven't read him.

10 You know that Noam Chomsky is a Zionist right?

11 Actus, is that directed at me or Rusty? I'm not sure what you mean by the statement in any case, because Chomsky in no way, shape, or form, represents the Zionist position as it is typically understood.

12 'I'm not sure what you mean by the statement in any case, because Chomsky in no way, shape, or form, represents the Zionist position as it is typically understood.' My mistake. It appears that Zionism is now equated with the founding of a Jewish state, rather than the idea that jews simply live in the holy land.

13 Rusty Your blind devotion to the leaders of your country and your country itself is highly admirable, but also highly questionable. You seem to accept everything at face value that the governement tells you without questioning their motives. People who question the government and disagree with its policies are castigated as lefties and traitors. Surely it is the right of the people to question their government? Why is it so inconceivable for you to accept that at times your country's policies are wrong? Surely a country as powerful as the USA is big enough to admit that it too is capable of making mistakes. The Uk, France Germany and most of the colonial powers of the 16th to the 20th century have at some time admitted their mistakes and expressed regret at some of their previous actions. Contrary to what you might think the US has made some horrendous decisions and its bull-headedness in pursuing its own interests without concern or regard for the rest of the world is alienating a good number of people on this planet. I do not believe that you can be so conceited as to say, "well we're right and anybody who disagrees with us, is against us". When I heard that comment from Bush or words to that effect, I thought to myself , well he can Fuck right off. For what its worth I think the Americans have been living in fear since the end of WW2. Communism was rightly demonised but the methods used were crude. Now Islam has been identified as the great evil, a clear and present danger since 9/11. That fear is propagated by the government and people like yourself. Fear can be a good thing but when it is used to terrify a people it begs the question, is there much difference between terrifying and terorising, and why would a government want to terrify its people?

14 JAMES'S Cowardice again comes to the surface. Just another wantnabe from a country facing the Islamic problem butt first and bent over.

15 The usial bunch of suspects watson and they all show signs of guilt and these eggheads show that they cant realy think and are just brainwash these collage kids with lies and half truths dont you think its time to take our collages back from these left?

16 Oh brother, seems James has come out of his Aussie woodwork again. Was wondering where the enemies have been hiding of late. Seems the blog has taken a vacation.

17 Thanks for the comments guys. Missed you too. I have come to the conclusion that my posts are skimmed over and that you haven't bothered to read them. Once you see the name "James" you launch a tirade of pure bilge. Looking forward to the day when you post something which actually makes sense, but not holding my breath. Like sheep you let yourselves be led by the nose. Moreover you fail to comprehend the big picture. Were it not for 9/11 the Middle East would mean nothing to you. Chances are that the only time you left your shores were for a two week vacation to Hawaii or Mexico if you have bothered to get a passport. Wake up, you are not the only people on this planet. Forgive me for digressing but are left/liberal and right/conservative the new buzz words of the day? They are bandied about as though they are recently discovered concepts and gives one a sense of identity.

18 "The usial bunch of suspects watson and they all show signs of guilt and these eggheads show that they cant realy think and are just brainwash these collage kids with lies and half truths dont you think its time to take our collages back from these left?" Hahaha, maybe you should go to college and take a few English courses. I've encountered off-the-boat immigrants with better grammar skills than you.

19 Welcome to the club. I have felt this way for 50 years.I heard and read the same Bu--Shi- before and after going to Nam. As a mater of fact a dishonorably discharged Naval officer made these same statements several times at rallies with the Fondas. You remember him? JFK lost the last election. Rod Stanton Cerritos

20 So, we didn't give a damn about the Middle East until 9/11? How about the leftwing asshats who screech about the Bush family's connections to Saudi Arabia? See, you can't have it both ways. You, like the UN, enjoy feeling that you have the perfect answer to world peace, and that if everbody would just let you or yours be in charge everything would be hunky-dory. Through the mists of your liberal fog, you look down your nose and see the great unwashed masses of conservatives clamoring to do the "wrong thing" every time. Here's a news flash: You and your ilk have never--NEVER--solved a single problem anywhere on earth in the entire history of mankind. You shiver in fear from your obligations to fight for the rights that you have and the riches that you possess. You claim that US citizens have been living in terror since the end of WWII. Are you an idiot or are you being 'nuanced?' I guess that we are best under pressure, since we have had steady growth and ever-increasing incomes since that time (oh, except for those years when that dumbass Jimmy Carter was running things). We as a nation are "living in terror" right this minute. Oh, except for those liberal idiots who think the world will end in the next four years of BushCo.'s reign. You liberals are entertaining, as long as you aren't in charge of anything important...then you just suck the life out of whatever you are in charge of, tuck and run, then blame everything on a conservative. "Left," "right," "liberal," and "conservative" are called "labels." No, they aren't new. In fact, they've been used for a long, long time to help describe the ideological differences between groups of people. That's another indicator of your own innate bias...you like to say that you avoid using labels, but if you do, you have to take every individual as they come. It is so much more handy to be able to say, "Any jackass who voted for JFKerry should get a complimentary ass-whooping," and know for a fact that people who voted for that professional shuckster have "been led around by the nose" (to use your colorful phrase). Your moral relativism is showing. Please cover it back up.

21 Skh......... I would suggest that the next time you decide to respond to a post with such vehemence, you actually read the bloody thing! My points were perhaps a little too subtle for you, not that they were directed towards you. In future I will be a lot clearer so there can be no ambiguity or the possibility of mis-in-ter-pre-ta-tion. God help me, it will be no easy task. Firstly, and be honset here. Do you honestly believe that you and the majority of your compatriots could have pointed out the Middle East on a map of the world, never mind its constituents. When I say constituents, I mean the individual countries and states that comprise the region. Having worked in the USA, I know for a fact that many people have great difficulty placing Britain on a map, or Ireland for that matter. If basic European geography is beyond you, never mind its politics, then how in the name of all that is sacred are you supposed to know anything about the Middle East or any other part of the world for that matter?!!! Lets face it only 10% of you have a passport of which only 5% have gone further than Mexico. Even your own President has has only recently ventured any further than Mexico. In other words you have lived in ignorant bliss up until 9/11. Why is this you ask. Very simply, the American media has concentrated on local news. Let's face it every town has its own TV station where emphasis is placed on local news and scant regard is paid to what is going in the rest of the world. Worse, people like it that way because they live in their cuccoon not wanting to know what is going on. Now, of course, post 9/11 a large number of people have an(ill informed Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld/Pearle/Wolfowitz highly spun government spoon fed) opinion. Accept it, you know I'm right but your pride prevents you from admitting so. Please dont tell me that you are a Geaogarphy or a History teacher (specialising in European history) because I will only die laughing! Many thanks for the definitions of left/liberal and right/conservative. Again you failed to read between the lines. I know what they mean. Clearly you do aswell. My point was that all of a sudden people were bandying these terms around as though they were recently coined. "labels". "Nuanced" another word overly used and generally inappropriately aswell!! Sorry Skh, but you have said nothing to me that makes me change my mind.

22 James, I do have an intimate knowledge of the Middle East, as I spent 6 glorious months there in 1991 whooping sheethead ass. One of the reasons that Americans have no need to hold passports is that our nation is large...much larger than the country that you reside in. Here, we can travel to south Texas and experience a Latino culture, go to Minnesota if we seek a Nordic culture, or tool (what an appropriate term!) on into SanFrancisco or Boston if we are seeking the atmosphere of curdled-milk munching "I give up!" monkies. Unlike you, we possess true culture within our borders; a true melting pot of the world's best and worst. The antithesis of homogeneity, our country has it all. And, unlike your marginally socialist utopia, we have no compelling reason to visit climes where our money goes farther since our money goes far enough right here, thank you very much. Indeed I read your screed. Did you read mine? Apparently not. You still reek of the leftist rot which infects your person. You think that you are superior? You think that you are "one up" on me because you travel to strange lands? (Even though you probably never have, being the short-sighted ass that you seem to be?) I've been around this world twice. I've seen the back-assward cultures that you (probably) admire so greatly. You are more than welcome to join them...if your government will let you. Go ahead. Move. Please. Make it a test of the moral and cultural relativism that you clutch so dearly. I hope it works out for you and you don't lose your shriveled brainstem. Really. But in the reality-based community, the Arabic sheetheads want nothing more than your empty skull, although you are trying so very hard to convince yourself otherwise. You can advocate your multi-culti bullshit all day and night long, but it won't change the fact that Islam is a culture that has been in decline for near a thousand years and is hurtling toward extinction. Do you want to be their errant knight? Whatever. Regarding the left/right/liberal/conservative terminology: You ask a rhetorical question, receive an unneeded answer, and wish to wax snarky? Whatever, once again. Do you suppose that your attempt at abstract thinking singles you out as a creature of superior intelligence? No, don't answer. Of course you do, because you are a liberal in the truest sense of the term: dedicated to your own intellectual inflation, you disregard refutations of merit to your inane points-of-view. Again, whatever.

23 Skh Your jingoistic diatribe has been noted. By all means stay in your country and never leave its borders. You would hardly be a great ambassador for your country and only lend credence to the view that some Americans haven't got a single clue as to what is going on in this world. If you think 6 months on a tour of duty in Iraq/Saudi gives you an "intimate knowledge of the Middle East" then think again. You are either delusional or have no idea of what "intimate knowledge" actually means. Its like sitting in on a medical operation and then claiming to be a surgeon. Perhaps you were traumatised in Iraq and are now mentally ill, it would explain a lot. Open your eyes and try to imagine that there is more to this world than your washed up, red neck one horse town. This is planet earth not planet America. Debating with cretins like you is next to near impossible because you have absolutely no ability to accept any view other than your own. How sad, that is. Do me a favour and just crawl back under the rock that you came from. Next time you decide to make a post, make it original. A tall order I know, but wonders never cease

24 I'm beginning a radical left list of universities at the attached URL, it is slow going, and I don't have lots of time to compile, but if you have some leads, I would appreciate the info. Thanks

25 James, how sad it is that foreign folks like yourself like to play the provincial playcard against the American ace of spades. Look, you can use your 50-cent words like "jingoistic," but it doesn't make you appear any more intelligent. Yes, Americans realize that there are around 6 billion humans on this globe...the fact is (and this is a fact that you have already grasped, miracle of miracles) that most of us don't care. Do you care about Ubangi tribesmen starving? Do your countrymen (your effete self would probably use the PC "countrypeople") care about the Ubangis? You'll probably answer "Yes! I most certainly do!" Well, then, go down to your post office and get some addresses, ride your bicycle home, and write some cheques (is that how you foreigners spell "checks?") I imagine that you are so entirely smug in your belief that you are morally superior to Americans that you already send most of your measley socialist-state wages to oppressed folks all over the globe. Huh. But then again, since you sound like an egotistical ass, you probably would rather that everybody else just do what you espouse. The US spends more in support of the global poor than any other nation. So take your highbrow tone and piss off. You apparently didn't read my post, James. Perhaps you are dyslexic. You probably are a 17 year-old pimply-assed idealist who lives with mommy. What part of "I've been around the world twice" did you not understand? Unless you travel for a living, I'm confident that you haven't seen the vistas that I've witnessed. Six months in the Middle East was just a temporary post. I've since seen asshats on 3 other continents. They sound a whole lot like you. "America is evil" seems to be the common theme in their desire to rationalize their personal failings. I imagine that is your reason for thinking somebody else is the root cause of your worthlessness. Whatever...yet again.

26 Skh. You have the temerity to call me a socialist when in fact I am not. Disagreeing with or disputing American foreign policy does not make one a socialist. Impossible to have a rational debate with you as you have no regard for anyone but yourself. It is the views of yourself and people like you who will fuel the fires of discontent around the world. You contribute nothing to society and represent the least attractive aspects of humanity. By all means call me an asshat, bleeding heart liberal, blah, blah blah, the fact remains that you are nothing but a complete prick. Fortunately your views are those of the minority.

27 Canadian not socialist???????????????? SKH: Cannot reason or get through to this America hating prick. Why try. He claims he knows it all while not knowing shit about anything. I sincerely doubt that he has experienced anything himself. As you put it, probably just a little shit still living with his mommy.