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DominickVila

Listed below are comments made by DominickVila between Friday, 13th November 2009 and Monday, 23rd November 2009 (21 Hours Ago) .

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Britain: Putting the bite on the States 12:43pm on 23 Nov 2009 Ref 305, MAII

"Bringing the 9-11 terrorists on to American soil unnecessarily and allowing them what amounts to a civil criminal trial instead of a military tribunal is a very bad mistake."

We are either a nation of laws and true promoters of freedom and democracy, or we are no better than the thugs that attacked us on 9/11. I do, otherwise, agree with most of what you said. President Obama must focus on domestic issues such as fiscal stability, job creation, industrial modernization, infrastructure, healthcare and revamping our substandard education system or he may end up being a one term President.

Historically, whenever a party has control of Congress and the White House it loses seats during the mid term elections, but unless the rate of unemployment improves within the next six months or so, the Democratic losses may exceed the norm in 2010.

U.S. foreign policy is of great interest to folks overseas, for obvious reasons, but it is of little interest to American voters when compared to domestic priorities. I think it will be a mistake to disengage completely in the Middle East, but his focus must be at home not abroad.
Britain: Putting the bite on the States 12:30pm on 20 Nov 2009 Ref 221, Magic

"In the last several years the only movie I can recalled being banned by legal means was a documentry of Hillary Clinton. It was the left who blocked that release"

Hillary Uncensored was not "blocked" by the left. The reason that "documentary" was not broadcast by all major US media outlets - including FOX - was because the claims levied against her by the right wing when everyone thought she was going to be the Democratic nominee was because there was no evidence to support the claims being made against her. BTW, this piece of Swift Boat-style trash has not been censored and it remains available on some mediums to those willing to pay for Goebbels-style trash.

The US media, and corporate America in general, are very conscious of the possibility of libel suits and take great care to avoid them.
Britain: Putting the bite on the States 11:29am on 20 Nov 2009 I am not sure I agree with Mark on this one. Our stereotyped Briton is more often than not portrayed as a sophisticated gentleman, a classy seducer, or a stiff butler.

Similarities with Margaret Thatcher and vampires are purely coincidental and unintentional, although I can see how easy it would be to tie the two and come up with a pretty scary specimen worthy of the most horrific Halloween movie ever. Come to think of it, such movie would be enhanced with a character portraying Dick "college deferment" Cheney as a butler with a stiff upper lip.
US report on 'harm' of testing for cancer too young 11:14pm on 17 Nov 2009 I think it is important to point out that many doctors in the U.S. disagree with this recommendation, which gives carte blanche to the insurance industry to decline testing based on "medical advice" to reduce cost and increase profits.

Suggesting that self-examination may be counter-productive doesn't make any sense at all, and considering the fact that thousands of women between 40 and 50 years old develop breast cancer and many die, this recommendation seems to be another attempt help the bottom line.

It will be interesting to see how the public reacts when women request a mammogram and the insurance company rejects the request based on this recommendation. No wonder conservatives are so intent on "tort" reform, a euphemism used to deny patients protection or compensation under the law to help those guilty of malpractice. I see lots of law suits coming.
Too many questions? 10:41am on 16 Nov 2009 Seniority is very important in organized labor, and it is often a circumstance that elicits respect - as well as certain chores such as babysitting - at home, but in the real world it is almost insignificant when compared to equality, education, responsibility (personal and collective), honesty and determination.

As for squirrells, all I can say is that they eat most of my bird seed, but are not as destructive as the armadillos that keep digging holes in my lawn. Nevertheless, I do miss the postings of the grey squirrel and a few others though...

For whatever is worth, I enjoy your topics, your ability to generate interest and debate, the quality of your writing, and the objectivity and fairness of the BBC.
A triumph of justice? 3:50pm on 15 Nov 2009 Ref 179. IF

"No, I believe that the world trade center attacks took place because the AQ leadership had contempt for GWB and his unquestioning support for Israel."

I have nothing but contempt for the Bush Administration, and W in particular, but I have to disagree with you on this one. The 9/11 attack took place, in my opinion, because of our military presence near Mecca and Medina, because of our economic and socio-political influence in some Islamic countries, and because of our unconditional support to Israel. Bush just happened to be the man in charge at the time, the same way Carter was when the U.S. embassy was overrun by Islamic zealots.

Islamic fundamentalists, especially extremists such as the Wahhabists, are intent on preserving their values and traditions and will go to any length to keep us out of their homeland. Their goal is not to come here, but to keep us and our cultural influences out of their countries.
A triumph of justice? 11:41am on 15 Nov 2009 Ref 159, Illinoisan

"I believe this because they will spread radical Islam within and this disease will infect more."

Do you honestly believe Americans are going to be lining up outside mosques after listening to whatever KSM and the other suspects have to say about the blissful world of Islam?
A triumph of justice? 11:34am on 15 Nov 2009 Ref 167, AndreNY

"This will be one more reason for people to vote against incumbents."

A clear majority of Americans voted the "incumbents" out last November for precisely the opposite reason. We rejected, among other things, the abandonment of our laws and principles, including the indifinite incarceration of suspects without trial, the use of torture to extract information and confessions of little real value to our security or the application of foreign policy, and the use of illegal means to monitor the conversations and correspondence of Americans on US soil.

I doubt most of us will vote for a return to the world according to the GOP agenda any time soon.
A triumph of justice? 11:33am on 14 Nov 2009 Ref 54, KScurmudgeon

"I suggest that W and Dick and their supporters are really the cowards and enemies here - their lack of confidence in our institutions led them to abandon our precious traditions when they were under attack, and jump immediately to extraordinary and illegal means to 'protect' the country."

The decision to abandon our traditions and constitutional rights in favor of a facile solution to a complex political and social problem was influenced by fear, but there was also a deliberate move by our government to satisfy the thirst for revenge that most Americans felt after 9/11. In reality, the neocons used 9/11 to achieve goals that would have been difficult to accomplish with a semblance of legitimacy had it not been for that perfect excuse.

There are many that in spite of all the investigations and reports on the subject still believe Iraq was somehow involved in 9/11, and believe Afghanistan had a major role in planning and executing the attack. In reality, the overwhelming majority of the terrorists that attacked us, including the planners and financiers of that operation, were from Saudi Arabia, had no formal ties to any government, and members of the Wahhabist movement continue to benefit from our special economic relationship with Saudi Arabia.

Our reaction and determination to punish the Islamic world is further exacerbated by our inability - or unwillingness - to differentiate between a state-sponsored attack and a terrorist act carried out by a group of fanatics. It is also aggravated by our special relationship with Israel, and the influence of that country in US foreign policy. As a consequence, we see absolutely nothing wrong when our government decides to lash out against anyone that remotely looks or sound like the people that attacked us - regardless of how limited or tainted the evidence against them may be - to give the illusion that our leaders are intent in protecting the security of our country and preserving our way of life.

In reality, the decisions made by the ultra conservative elements that decided to invade Afghanistan and Iraq were simply designed to achieve socio-economic and political goals that would have been difficult to justify without 9/11. W was a convenient buffoon used by Dick Cheney and his neocons to pursue their goals, with the complicity of the US media and a naive and ill-informed populace inclined to believe anything our "leaders" tell us.
A triumph of justice? 7:05pm on 13 Nov 2009 These men are as good as dead, regardless of how good the evidence against them may be and how it was obtained. They are, in effect, guilty until proven innocent...which will never happen.

We need "closure", and the only way to achieve that in our society is to punish whomever was believed to be guilty of the crime. Punishing an entire culture on the premise that they are guilty by association is quite nebulous and does not satisfy everyone. The idea of seeing someone in a court room, sentenced, and heading to the execution room in a circus-like atmosphere to get his lethal injection is more consistent with the expectations of our "Christian" society.

The Romans understood the value of distraction and human sacrifice and built coliseums to satisfy their blood-thirsty crowds, and so did the Aztecs, we have evolved in the way we reach our means, but the end result remains the same.

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