[LazyLightnin]

· Naomi Wolf's The End of America: A Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot will be published by Chelsea Green in September

yes Strummin' this is not an original writing by me. This is part of a book that was just published in sept. by Naomi Wolf a popular writer, feminist and socialist. (yes there are other people with other politcal beleifs)

I too after 9/11 got caught up in an attitude that rationalized the use of force against other nations,(i was raised by conservative athiests) but after a lot of reading and news watching i find myself with so much disdain for the current state of politics that ive almost lost faith in the system completely.

The notion that killing terrorists before they "get us" is so obsurd to me now. It is now my opinion that this kind of physical force, deadly or simply detaining should be absolutely the last resort. As for wanting to kill terrorists, the thought of killing anyone or anything sickens me to no end, as does picking up a gun for any reason.

better put, two wrongs will never make a right. you cant deny whats going on in our society.

for several years now ive had this feeling that i desperatley need to get the hell out of here :(

Wow! What a thoughtful and insightful post. I can't help but agree with you completely. In my opinion, the u.s. has long been operating under an imperialistic paradigm. the fact of the matter is that u.s. foreign and domestic policy has long been largely controlled by corporate interests, many of them multinational. This is why i take umberage when europeans insinuate that it is a U.S. problem, as most of the corporations that are fueling their economies are in fact the exact same ones that are calling the shots in Washington

well put my friend. if i ever fly to europe they'd have to physically force me onto a plane back, and then i'd just do it all over again.

Also it is taking all the strength I can muster not draft a point by point reply.

i'd like to see you try. in all fairness it would be beneficial to see your side a little more eloquently put then dropping "nazi and commie bombs"
we all know that the Communist states which existed in the last century were totalitarian dictatorships and had little to do with true socialism. so when you say communist or commie this is what the general public thinks of in their own mind, which can be directly related to steps 1 and 9 in this article.

[Django]

The years following 9/11 have proved a bonanza for America's security contractors, with the Bush administration outsourcing areas of work that traditionally fell to the US military. In the process, contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars have been issued for security work by mercenaries at home and abroad. In Iraq, some of these contract operatives have been accused of involvement in torturing prisoners, harassing journalists and firing on Iraqi civilians. Under Order 17, issued to regulate contractors in Iraq by the one-time US administrator in Baghdad, Paul Bremer, these contractors are immune from prosecution

Specifically Blackwater has been critizised recently for their security forces' overuse of fire power and the point was made that a typical Blackwater employee in this capacity gets paid at 6 times the rate of a U.S. Army seargent. This leads to the question of whether this extra money paid to someone other than the most qualified agent - the military, is the best use of our nation's resources.

[weedar]

I like this thread, it's good hear people's meanings,
I'd also like to see a criticism of that piece by
Wolf - if we only see one side of a discussion..isn't
that propaganda?

The Dead aren't as known in Europe, although I guess
many people who are into music know the name Jerry
Garcia or have heard the name. Out of all of the people
I've met who have know of the band, all of them have
either been "old" (40, or older) or more than averagely
interested in music. You have to consider that the
dead toured the US for almost 30 years, they were
the circus!

[steve]

having spent the last two months around and about the area, i feel i may contribute some to this thread..

so the month of august i spent in bratislava taking slovak courses. the program that i took part in had people from 29 different countries attending. often after classes would often be sitting outside of the institute playing some music and wearing one of the few t-shirts i brought with me (my grateful dead/steelers shirt). the majority of people, actually might have been all, saw it as merely a pittsburgh shirt with a strange, skull design.

i did, however, meet a few people from france that knew of the dead.

after the time in august i went to budapest (no one knew that i spoke with), sofia (same as budapest), and then to krakow. the people from poland whom i spoke to did not know of the dead, but it just so happens that when i went to the market one day with my friend i was staying with, she came up to me holding a 12" of bear's picks. i gotta say i was quite surprised by her find, and it only cost 8 zloty or so (~$3).

so after my experiences there i've come to the conclusion that the dead ARE known places, be it by a few or many.

[LazyLightnin]

Propaganda! lol that would be up to the eye of the beholder, and i guess that i'm sorta sorry that i posted that, this not being an appropriate application for such things to be seen.

I do know that there is a large Reggae following in Poland. Large festivals and stuff, so theres gotta be some Heads pokin' around in that scene. Online ive talked to reggae fans all over europe.

[steve]

yeah the people i was with in poland were into reggae


and LL, quality calvin and hobbes pic

[G'Dad]

The European Deadhead:

Is a rare beast that can be extremely illusive. Despite its often colourful plumage it can camouflage itself in any environment making sightings rare.

In my 27 years experience I have spoken to many people who know of the ’European Deadhead’ though more specifically of its patriarchs but few who truly understand it and are aware of its variety and depth of songs.

I have in this time experienced two gatherings of the ‘European Deadhead’ although without doubt there were some ‘Migratory Deadheads’ also present.

Both these times were when the ‘European Deadhead’ gathered for two of their patriarch’s rare appearances in the UK, both taking place in London and showing why the beast can be so elusive. The variety of plumage was staggering, from the brightly coloured dancers to the more sombre suited variety.

It has been known for the ‘European Head’ to appear outside the United Kingdom but it does seem even harder to find in other parts of Europe. Again the exception can be the ‘Migratory Deadhead’ who may be found across the continent.

Personal experience of living in France has proved fruitless for finding other ‘European Deadheads’ or even the ‘Migratory Deadhead’ although the search continues.

[st. stephen]

well said G'Dad, I'm on the search too...
I only know german Heads from the Internet, but never got the chance to meet one..

BTW the comment about Nazi Germany in such a thread is just very poor, I still don't see your point why you mentioned it

[Henry]

I second that. The topic of this thread has nothing to do with politics whatsoever.
Hey St. Stephen, I think we should get together someday.

[tigerstrat]

Godwin's Law (also known as Godwin's Rule of Nazi Analogies) is an adage formulated by Mike Godwin in 1990. The law states:

As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one.

[strumminsix]

I second that. The topic of this thread has nothing to do with politics whatsoever.
Hey St. Stephen, I think we should get together someday.

4th post in starts with politics.

I shouldn't have responded but it's too late now.

[Shooster]

"In my opinion, the u.s. has long been operating under an imperialistic paradigm. the fact of the matter is that u.s. foreign and domestic policy has long been largely controlled by corporate interests, many of them multinational"

You are correct in stating that the US has long been following an imperialistic agenda,but c'mon man, you can't attribute that just to multinational corporations.

The fact of the matter is that the US always has been an imperialistic nation(Spanish-American war, Teddy Roosevelt and the rough riders, Grenada, Vietnam, etc....) and you're selling it short blaming it only on "multinational corporations"

Now whether I think imperialism is a good thing or not is an entirely different topic.

This may seem like a hypocrisy after posting, but perhaps there should be a posting in the politics forum or something for this.

[steve]

politics again? preco......?

[maximinus]

I'm a deadhead in England (and have been all my life).

There are almost *no* deadheads in this area, and pretty much nobody of my age (34) who actually knows who the GD are.

I'm also the bass player in the Cosmic Charlies, so I actually get exposed to what little audience there is for GD music in this part of the world, and it's pretty small (and shrinking)

[mutant_dan]

I took alot of pictures while on tour in Europe. A bunch of the various 'on tour' European heads and their tour wagons.

Some really great tour busses and commercial type delivery vehicles outfitted very similar to what you would expect here in the states. Some were down right works of art.

I need to scan them and post them sometime soon.