9/11 6 months later
Robert
promise you that you better start acting like NORMAL human beings, or I will
drop a nuclear bomb on your PISSANT country and I will wipe you off the face
of this damn planet.
DEATH TO ARAB MILITANTS !!!!!!!!!
KILL THEM!
Adrian Smith
> Okay, Palestinian assholes, if I get in charge of this country,
[...]
Well, Dubya managed it, so your evident lack of understanding of
anything may not be the barrier it might once have seemed. Do you
happen to have dynastic connections to any previous Fratboys-in-Chief,
preferably with lots of money and connections to even more? It seems
to have been quite helpful in the case of the present incumbent.
HAND.
--
Adrian Smith
PF
<gold...@nightmail.com>:
>DEATH TO ARAB MILITANTS !!!!!!!!!
>KILL THEM!
For a practical demonstration of the outcome from this attitude, see
Israel and Palestine.
----------------------------
PF
Robert
when the planes slammed into the WTC, what was shown on TV, Palestinians
celebrating in the streets
Put me in charge of this country, they would have had about 30 seconds to
celebrate before the B52 with
a nuclear bomb on it obliterated every Palestinian asshole around.
So, what has America shown by our actions since 9/11?
1. If you're a Palestinian asshole, all you have to do is crash a couple of
planes into our buildings, and you
get what you want, we then try to get a peace between Israel and you
Palestinian jackasses.
The lesson that we should have taught those palestinian assholes that were
shown celebrating the attacks is this:
Celebrate attacks on the US (or any CIVILIZED country for that matter), and
you will be KILLED, period the end.
Instead, by our actions (or lack thereof against the Palestinian jerks) we
have now said, you want your way?, well no problem, just kill some Americans
and you will get it.
And let's take a look at the current violence between Israel and Palestine.
Hmmmm
60 Israelis killed
140 Palestinian assholes killed
looks like the Israelis are "winning" this battle by more than 2 to 1.
"PF" <De...@devce.SP*M.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:b7B1VGAq...@devce.demon.co.uk...
jeremy
wrote:
>Uh-huh, let's think back to 9/11
Looks like "thinking" may be beyond your capabilities, but feel free
to continue trying.
>when the planes slammed into the WTC, what was shown on TV, Palestinians
>celebrating in the streets
That may tell you more about the agenda of your TV station than it
does about the very small number of unpleasant people celebrating.
However, if your land had been taken from you, and your friends and
family killed by America's pet rottweiler, perhaps your perspective on
the WTC might not be so enlighetened.
>Put me in charge of this country, they would have had about 30 seconds to
>celebrate before the B52 with
>a nuclear bomb on it obliterated every Palestinian asshole around.
Could be interesting. Were you planning on targetting Jerusalem, or
Tel Aviv?
>So, what has America shown by our actions since 9/11?
Don't tempt me ...
>1. If you're a Palestinian asshole, all you have to do is crash a couple of
>planes into our buildings, and you
> get what you want, we then try to get a peace between Israel and you
>Palestinian jackasses.
Err ... were the planes crashed by Palestinians? No. Has the US made
any attempt to bring about peace between Israel and Palestine - not
unless you consider writing Israel a blank cheque to be used in the
armaments toyshop.
>The lesson that we should have taught those palestinian assholes that were
>shown celebrating the attacks is this:
>Celebrate attacks on the US (or any CIVILIZED country for that matter), and
>you will be KILLED, period the end.
>
>Instead, by our actions (or lack thereof against the Palestinian jerks) we
>have now said, you want your way?, well no problem, just kill some Americans
>and you will get it.
>
>And let's take a look at the current violence between Israel and Palestine.
>Hmmmm
>60 Israelis killed
>140 Palestinian assholes killed
>
>looks like the Israelis are "winning" this battle by more than 2 to 1.
Except that the outcome is not decided by the numbers of people
killed. I suggest you return to your history books.
J.
Alan Gore
>Err ... were the planes crashed by Palestinians? No. Has the US made
>any attempt to bring about peace between Israel and Palestine - not
>unless you consider writing Israel a blank cheque to be used in the
>armaments toyshop.
Only numerous peace initiatives in which the Palestinians get
sovreignty, that's all. Problem is, there are a substantial number of
Palestinians who want, not peace, but for every Jew to be slaughtered.
Whenever Yasser Arafat's organization or any other cohort of
Palestinians buys into one of the peace proposals, Hamas and Hezbollah
will fuck things up by indulging in more suicide bombings.
But you're right about the use of nukes in such a confined area being
impractical. I would go with fuel-air bombs on the "refugee" camps,
myself.
ag...@qwest.net | "Giving money and power to the government
Alan Gore | is like giving whiskey and car keys
Software For PC's, Inc. | to teenaged boys" - P. J. O'Rourke
http://www.alangore.com
PF
<gold...@nightmail.com>:
>Put me in charge of this country, they would have had about 30 seconds to
>celebrate before the B52 with
>a nuclear bomb on it obliterated every Palestinian asshole around.
And if we'd done the same when the USA sponsored the IRA?
On reflection, that would mean a small glowing crater in the US and a
nice clear view of Iceland from France.
----------------------------
PF
Robert
let's put the US in place of Israel.
do you honestly believe we would just want to "talk" if our public places
were being bombed on a daily basis.
"PF" <De...@devce.SP*M.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:C6SjleAi...@devce.demon.co.uk...
Jeremy
> jeremy <notmya...@deja.com> wrote:
>
> >Err ... were the planes crashed by Palestinians? No. Has the US made
> >any attempt to bring about peace between Israel and Palestine - not
> >unless you consider writing Israel a blank cheque to be used in the
> >armaments toyshop.
>
> Only numerous peace initiatives in which the Palestinians get
> sovreignty, that's all.
Name one.
Maybe you can refer in your answer to "water
supplies", "airspace", "Jerusalem", "return of refugees", "border
checkpoints" and "US voting record in the UN"
> Problem is, there are a substantial number of
> Palestinians who want, not peace, but for every Jew to be slaughtered.
> Whenever Yasser Arafat's organization or any other cohort of
> Palestinians buys into one of the peace proposals, Hamas and Hezbollah
> will fuck things up by indulging in more suicide bombings.
Likewise, there are a significant number of Israelis who want to
eliminate the Palestinians from the whole area. Some of 'em are in the
Israeli govt. And whenever peace seems near, the various gangs of
"settlers" and other nutters fuck things up.
> But you're right about the use of nukes in such a confined area being
> impractical. I would go with fuel-air bombs on the "refugee" camps,
> myself.
I think that's more or less what the 9/11 WTC "pilots" were thinking.
At least their colleagues managed to hit the Pentagon, which is surely
the most unambiguously military target in the world.
J.
Angus McIntyre
jeremy...@yahoo.com (Jeremy) wrote:
> ag...@uswest.net (Alan Gore) wrote in message
> > Only numerous peace initiatives in which the Palestinians get
> > sovreignty, that's all.
>
> Name one ... Maybe you can refer in your answer to "water
> supplies", "airspace", "Jerusalem", "return of refugees", "border
> checkpoints" and "US voting record in the UN"
The US voting record took a quite uncharacteristic turn recently, with
Resolution 1397, calling for the creation of a Palestinian state. This
resolution was _drafted_ by the US. I damn nearly fell off whatever it
was that I was sitting on when I heard that one.
It's ironic to think that even as US forces pound every last gopher hole
in Central Asia with thermobaric bombs in an attempt to interrupt Osama
bin Laden's daily date with his dialysis machine, the administration
should be working hard to fulfil at least one of OBL's original demands,
namely for some kind of improvement in the Palestinian situation. If
anything lasting comes of this, then the tactic of bombing skyscrapers
might seem to have paid off.
Of course it's not quite as clearcut as that. I have difficulty
believing that Mr bin Laden, whose foreign policy seems to be motivated
by equal parts of realpolitikal calculation, psychosis, and religious
wishful thinking, really cares much about the oppressed Palestinians.
But they make a nice pretext if you want to paint a picture of yourself
as a Muslim champion fighting the forces of Western injustice.
Of course the fate of the Palestinians probably doesn't rank terribly
high on the list of the US's most pressing concerns either. Still, if
you want to try to get the other Muslim nations to think kindly of you
while you make preparations to realize your _real_ political goals in
the region, speaking up for peace, love and understanding in the
Occupied Territories isn't a bad move.
In short, bin Laden cares about the Palestinians because he wants to
build little Wahabite theocracies all over the shop, and the US cares
about the Palestinians because they want to bomb the buggery out of Iraq
all over again.
Which is not to say that US help in resolving matters wouldn't be a good
thing. Even the Israelis and their lobby in the US may ultimately
realize that the creation of a Palestinian state will probably do more
for the security of the people of Israel than that imbecile Sharon can
do with tanks and death squads.
> > Problem is, there are a substantial number of
> > Palestinians who want, not peace, but for every Jew to be slaughtered.
>
> Likewise, there are a significant number of Israelis who want to
> eliminate the Palestinians from the whole area. Some of 'em are in the
> Israeli govt. And whenever peace seems near, the various gangs of
> "settlers" and other nutters fuck things up.
And in passing it is worth noting that many of the more enthusiastic
supporters and funders of the "colonists" are to be found outside
Israel. To use your wealth to fan the flames of a conflict from a safe
distance seems ultimately contemptible. If I had to drop anything on the
Palestinian refugee camps, it would probably be Irving Moskowitz.
I think it's reasonable to assume, given the choice, most Palestinians
and most Israelis would rather live in some kind of peace with each
other. It will probably take a long time before they actually _like_
each other, but most people would probably be happy with a compromise
that let them go out for a pizza without being blown to fragments, or
get through the day without having someone park a Merkava in their
bedroom. Unfortunately, a small number of murderous fuckheads who see no
reason to compromise until they have everything that they want can keep
a conflict going for a very long time. And, as has been observed
(separately) by Jeremy and Alan, murderous fuckheads are not exactly in
short supply in the region, on _both_ sides.
> > But you're right about the use of nukes in such a confined area being
> > impractical. I would go with fuel-air bombs on the "refugee" camps,
> > myself.
I love those little quote marks around the word "refugee", just to make
it clear that, of course those camps aren't full of ordinary men, women
and children, living in atrocious conditions because they have nowhere
else to go. After all, if we thought that were the case, then fuel-air
bombs might look just a little inappropriate. But since we know that
these so-called "refugee" camps are merely military barracks (run, no
doubt, by Al-Qaeda) and filled to bursting with bloodthirsty fanatics
who live only for the day that they can dynamite themselves on a city
bus, then bring on the daisy-cutters.
> I think that's more or less what the 9/11 WTC "pilots" were thinking.
> At least their colleagues managed to hit the Pentagon, which is surely
> the most unambiguously military target in the world.
I would think that an aircraft carrier was more unambiguously military.
Even the Pentagon has civilian employees. I'm unsure how much of a
difference 'civilian' status makes in such circumstances, but I know
that, other things being equal(*), I would feel marginally less guilty
about killing a soldier than a secretary.
Angus
(*) Exceptions are made, of course, for some secretaries of my
acquaintance, who richly need killing.
--
an...@pobox.com http://pobox.com/~angus
"I am here by the will of the people ... and I "Metrophage"
will not leave until I get my raincoat back." Richard Kadrey
Jeremy
> are you people this niave ?????
>
> let's put the US in place of Israel.
> do you honestly believe we would just want to "talk" if our public places
> were being bombed on a daily basis.
Or you could put the US in the place of Palestine. How would you feel
if in order to go to work, or visit your granny, you had to stand in
line in the sun at a checkpoint where you were abused and humilated by
Canadian soldiers. Or if Canadians decided that they liked your house,
so you had to move out and live with your in-laws? Or if Canadians
(armed and financed by beings from Planet Zog, I suppose) decided that
you all had to move out of your country and into a small area of Iowa?
To take the example of Northern Ireland, decades of war against the
IRA produced nothing except corpses. Sitting down and talking, and
accepting the idea that maybe Catholics had a right to vote, etc., has
produced quite a long period of (relative) peace.
For someone whose time horizon is closer than the end of their nose,
sending in the F16s to blow up peoples' houses, schools, churches and
hospitals looks a good idea. With a slightly greater perspective, the
solutions look different.
J.
Alan Gore
>Which is not to say that US help in resolving matters wouldn't be a good
>thing. Even the Israelis and their lobby in the US may ultimately
>realize that the creation of a Palestinian state will probably do more
>for the security of the people of Israel than that imbecile Sharon can
>do with tanks and death squads.
It's not necessary to invoke any conspiracies to understand why
America tilts toward supporting a culture that has given the world
thousands of years of civilized intellect over one whose entire soul
seems to be defined by blood feuds and ritual slaughter.
In particular, Americans hold in highest regard those who produce the
most humor. That's why you folks have Shakespeare, and we have Mark
Twain. Today, we get about ninety percent of our domestic consumption
from one particular Middle Eastern culture. We would be really
thrilled if there were one - at least just one - Palestinian comic.
jeremy
>Angus McIntyre <an...@pobox.com> wrote:
>
>>Which is not to say that US help in resolving matters wouldn't be a good
>>thing. Even the Israelis and their lobby in the US may ultimately
>>realize that the creation of a Palestinian state will probably do more
>>for the security of the people of Israel than that imbecile Sharon can
>>do with tanks and death squads.
>
>It's not necessary to invoke any conspiracies to understand why
>America tilts toward supporting a culture that has given the world
>thousands of years of civilized intellect over one whose entire soul
>seems to be defined by blood feuds and ritual slaughter.
And algebra, of course.
>In particular, Americans hold in highest regard those who produce the
>most humor. That's why you folks have Shakespeare, and we have Mark
>Twain. Today, we get about ninety percent of our domestic consumption
>from one particular Middle Eastern culture. We would be really
>thrilled if there were one - at least just one - Palestinian comic.
It's a bit unreasonable to blame all of the stupidity and
short-sightedness of US foreign policy on Jackie Mason, isn't it?
J.
Adrian Smith
> Or you could put the US in the place of Palestine. How would you feel
> if in order to go to work, or visit your granny, you had to stand in
> line in the sun at a checkpoint where you were abused and humilated by
> Canadian soldiers. Or if Canadians decided that they liked your house,
> so you had to move out and live with your in-laws? Or if Canadians
> (armed and financed by beings from Planet Zog, I suppose) decided that
> you all had to move out of your country and into a small area of Iowa?
Think you might be probing the outer limits of the boy's imagination
here. I mean, look at what he writes. I've seen more evidence of
intelligence from root vegetables. Still, go for reasoned debate if
you think there's some available.
--
Adrian Smith
Andrew Beals
> In particular, Americans hold in highest regard those who produce the
> most humor. That's why you folks have Shakespeare, and we have Mark
> Twain. Today, we get about ninety percent of our domestic consumption
> from one particular Middle Eastern culture. We would be really
> thrilled if there were one - at least just one - Palestinian comic.
There's one arab-american working as a comic in el-lay, fwiw.
But given the time, I'd rather go see El Viz or the Thai E-impersonator I
saw about five years ago.
Julian Macassey
>
> There's one arab-american working as a comic in el-lay, fwiw.
>
> But given the time, I'd rather go see El Viz or the Thai E-impersonator I
> saw about five years ago.
I went into a Westside Thai restaurant a few years ago.
The food was truly forgettable. The night was also ruined by the
four-foot-ten Thai Elvis doing a one man show.
There is a Thai restaurant/supermarket complex in
Hollywood that is a truly third world experience. A fascininting
glimpse of the Far East surrounded by Armenians and heroin
addicts.
--
Admittedly, these are lesbians (wearing comfortable shoes and all) but
they're still weepy manipulative females. - aemilia...@yahoo.com
M Holmes
:>It's not necessary to invoke any conspiracies to understand why
:>America tilts toward supporting a culture that has given the world
:>thousands of years of civilized intellect over one whose entire soul
:>seems to be defined by blood feuds and ritual slaughter.
: And algebra, of course.
And astronomy. Let's not forget astronomy.
But apart from algebra and astronomy, what have the arabs ever done for
us?
FoFP
Adrian Smith
> Angus McIntyre <an...@pobox.com> wrote:
>
> >Which is not to say that US help in resolving matters wouldn't be a good
> >thing. Even the Israelis and their lobby in the US may ultimately
> >realize that the creation of a Palestinian state will probably do more
> >for the security of the people of Israel than that imbecile Sharon can
> >do with tanks and death squads.
>
> It's not necessary to invoke any conspiracies to understand why
> America tilts toward supporting a culture that has given the world
> thousands of years of civilized intellect over one whose entire soul
> seems to be defined by blood feuds and ritual slaughter.
It's a little naive to suggest that American support for Israel stems
mainly from American appreciation of the Jewish contribution to world
culture, tho'. Some Americans (present company excepted, of course)
seem to view Israelis as hardy frontier spirits like Americans used to
be a century or two ago, and yet also as eternal underdogs despite
having one of the most powerful armies around. Cognitive dissonance or
simple pig-ignorance? Who can tell. It suits the Israelis just *fine*,
in any case. Americans identify with them - Israel even have its own
religious nutters - and believe that this is something other than a
colonial situation. Convenient or what?
> In particular, Americans hold in highest regard those who produce the
> most humor. That's why you folks have Shakespeare, and we have Mark
> Twain. Today, we get about ninety percent of our domestic consumption
> from one particular Middle Eastern culture. We would be really
> thrilled if there were one - at least just one - Palestinian comic.
This is just a stab in the dark, but there may not be that much that's
amusing about the current Palestinian experience. The Jews don't do a
lot of holocaust humour, AFAIK. That was a lot worse, sure, but what
do Palestinians have to laugh about ATM?
--
Adrian Smith
Jim Hill
Positional notation/place value.
Jim
--
"This place blows." -- David Letterman
Alan Gore
>This is just a stab in the dark, but there may not be that much that's
>amusing about the current Palestinian experience. The Jews don't do a
>lot of holocaust humour, AFAIK. That was a lot worse, sure, but what
>do Palestinians have to laugh about ATM?
It's not just the Palestinians who lack this quality, but Ay-rabs in
general, rich or poor. The Jews mine their centuries of European
poverty and New York tenement life for humor just as surely as they
do the JAP culture of Beverly Hills. Arabs have the same extremes of
experience, so why the massive humor gap?
Charles R. Tenney
Alan Gore <ag...@uswest.net> wrote:
>In particular, Americans hold in highest regard those who produce the
>most humor. That's why you folks have Shakespeare, and we have Mark
>Twain.
There are very few people that I would place on a level with Twain for
the a combination of humor and insight, sustained over a career. But I
wouldn't exclude Shakespeare from that group. Twain is easier to identify
with because he's more contemporary, and, for Americans, more, well, American.
>Today, we get about ninety percent of our domestic consumption
>from one particular Middle Eastern culture.
There's quite a lot of Jewish humor, though I doubt I'd rate it at 90%. But
I see precious little Israeli humor in the US. Jewish culture is, as a rule,
not Middle Eastern--at least for the European flavor we tend to get in the US.
--
Charles R. Tenney ten...@dec3.mc.duke.edu | What would Duke Univ. Medical
| Center want with my opinions?
"My karma ran over my dogma." | What would I want with theirs?
Andrew Beals
> On Mon, 18 Mar 2002 15:42:11 -0800, Andrew Beals <a...@cisco.com> wrote:
> >
> > There's one arab-american working as a comic in el-lay, fwiw.
> >
> > But given the time, I'd rather go see El Viz or the Thai E-impersonator I
> > saw about five years ago.
>
> I went into a Westside Thai restaurant a few years ago.
> The food was truly forgettable. The night was also ruined by the
> four-foot-ten Thai Elvis doing a one man show.
Well, the food must have been better when I was there.
But what about the Thai Elvis? Do you have a thing against Elvi [plural or
the Jewish Elvis?] or did you think this guy put on an awful show?
> There is a Thai restaurant/supermarket complex in
> Hollywood that is a truly third world experience. A fascininting
> glimpse of the Far East surrounded by Armenians and heroin
> addicts.
I just knew that there was a reason why I never bothered to go to H-wood.
Actually, I'd prefer to just plain avoid the basin all together, if I could.
Oh wait, I can! Golly!
> Admittedly, these are lesbians (wearing comfortable shoes and all) but
> they're still weepy manipulative females. - aemilia...@yahoo.com
Heh!
Andrew Beals
> In article <3c965f75....@news.qwest.net>,
> Alan Gore <ag...@uswest.net> wrote:
>
> >In particular, Americans hold in highest regard those who produce the
> >most humor. That's why you folks have Shakespeare, and we have Mark
> >Twain.
>
> There are very few people that I would place on a level with Twain for
> the a combination of humor and insight, sustained over a career. But I
> wouldn't exclude Shakespeare from that group. Twain is easier to identify
> with because he's more contemporary, and, for Americans, more, well, American.
Bierce and Mencken, for starters...
Julian Macassey
> Julian Macassey wrote:
>
>> I went into a Westside Thai restaurant a few years ago.
>> The food was truly forgettable. The night was also ruined by the
>> four-foot-ten Thai Elvis doing a one man show.
>
> Well, the food must have been better when I was there.
Or your standards for Thai food are lower.
>
> But what about the Thai Elvis? Do you have a thing against Elvi [plural or
> the Jewish Elvis?] or did you think this guy put on an awful show?
>
It was just bizarre.
>
>> There is a Thai restaurant/supermarket complex in
>> Hollywood that is a truly third world experience. A fascininting
>> glimpse of the Far East surrounded by Armenians and heroin
>> addicts.
>
> I just knew that there was a reason why I never bothered to go to H-wood.
Which sort of explains your taste in Thai food. The best
Thai is available in the East end of Hollywood, or Panorama City
(Which has no panorama) and North Hollywood.
You want good ethnic food? Go where the ethnics live and
eat.
> Actually, I'd prefer to just plain avoid the basin all together, if I could.
> Oh wait, I can! Golly!
Which is the way I feel about the Gay Bay.
--
Elaine Richards
Coffee.
Julian Macassey
Well apart from coffee, algebra and astronomy, Positional
notation/place value, soap and international trade, what have the
arabs ever done for us?
--
Julian, I tremble even to respond to one of your posts, you being a
net.legend and all, but geez guy: - Sherwood Harrington
Peter Stickney
jul...@tele.com (Julian Macassey) writes:
> On 19 Mar 2002 10:57:22 -0800, Elaine Richards <e...@idiom.com> wrote:
>> In article <a7716j$ail$1...@iruka.swcp.com>, Jim Hill <jim...@swcp.com> wrote:
>>>M Holmes wrote:
>>>>jeremy <notmya...@deja.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>: And algebra, of course.
>>>>
>>>>And astronomy. Let's not forget astronomy.
>>>>
>>>>But apart from algebra and astronomy, what have the arabs ever done for
>>>>us?
>>>
>>>Positional notation/place value.
>>
>>
>> Coffee.
>
> Well apart from coffee, algebra and astronomy, Positional
> notation/place value, soap and international trade, what have the
> arabs ever done for us?
>
--
Pete Stickney
A strong conviction that something must be done is the parent of many
bad measures. -- Daniel Webster
Dan Drake
wrote:
> Well apart from coffee, algebra and astronomy, Positional
>notation/place value, soap and international trade, what have the
>arabs ever done for us?
Demolished a couple of our tall buildings?
--
Dan Drake
Nathan Nagel
>
> In article <u9f3tcm...@corp.supernews.com>,
> jul...@tele.com (Julian Macassey) writes:
> > On 19 Mar 2002 10:57:22 -0800, Elaine Richards <e...@idiom.com> wrote:
> >> In article <a7716j$ail$1...@iruka.swcp.com>, Jim Hill <jim...@swcp.com> wrote:
> >>>M Holmes wrote:
> >>>>jeremy <notmya...@deja.com> wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>>: And algebra, of course.
> >>>>
> >>>>And astronomy. Let's not forget astronomy.
> >>>>
> >>>>But apart from algebra and astronomy, what have the arabs ever done for
> >>>>us?
> >>>
> >>>Positional notation/place value.
> >>
> >>
> >> Coffee.
> >
> > Well apart from coffee, algebra and astronomy, Positional
> > notation/place value, soap and international trade, what have the
> > arabs ever done for us?
> >
> Alcohol. (No, wait, that was the Sumerians.) Distilling.
Modern chemistry, pretty much.
nate
Julian Macassey
<p-sti...@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
> In article <u9f3tcm...@corp.supernews.com>,
> jul...@tele.com (Julian Macassey) writes:
>>
>> Well apart from coffee, algebra and astronomy, Positional
>> notation/place value, soap and international trade, what have the
>> arabs ever done for us?
>>
> Alcohol. (No, wait, that was the Sumerians.) Distilling.
though.
--
Bod
stic...@worldnet.att.net> writes
>> Well apart from coffee, algebra and astronomy, Positional
>> notation/place value, soap and international trade, what have the
>> arabs ever done for us?
>>
>Alcohol. (No, wait, that was the Sumerians.) Distilling.
Oil. Also digging wells for it, refining it, and using its heavier
distillates to make roads (the last in the C13th).
--
Bod (b...@erstwhile.demon.co.uk)
"One man can change the world with a bullet in the right place" ('If...')
Adrian Smith
> It's not just the Palestinians who lack this quality, but Ay-rabs in
> general, rich or poor. The Jews mine their centuries of European
> poverty and New York tenement life for humor just as surely as they
> do the JAP culture of Beverly Hills. Arabs have the same extremes of
> experience, so why the massive humor gap?
Well, Arabs aren't as homogenous as you seem to be implying. The
Saudis have one extreme of experience, the Palestinians another, the
Lebanese a third, and getting a joint group together to commission a
sitcom based in Ramallah might not be that easy. And I've taught
several Saudi students, and haven't noticed *any* deficiencies in
humour. Lovely guys, most of them. No girls, naturally. Pity.
Also, the Jewish exile and diaspora is kind of unique, with its
intertwining with Christianity and the oppression that produced. And
without going the whole Protocols-of-the Elders-of-Zion route they are
pretty well represented in the American and British media - I've seen
some of them attempting to conflate anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism
quite a lot in the Guardian and Observer recently, for instance - and
that sort of thing doesn't happen overnight. For an Arab comedian to
establish an Arab comic identity in the face of that would be quite an
achievement.
--
Adrian Smith