ErricoMalatesta

That's provably false, and it is clear you must've formulated that opinion in some way outside actual observation of the show. Provably false if I leave it as literal and don’t correct my broad statement to mean he talks over, and yes sometimes yells AT and OVER any guest with a dissenting opinion against the one that the large demographic of his viewers would hold. Another false statement. O'Reilly has credibility simply due to the fact that many millions of people from all walks of life assign it to him. No he doesn't. In any journalist or academic circle of any serious nature he has none, he is an entertainer. The credibility of himself, his show, his associates, and the entire network are zero on any journalistic or academic level. That is not my opinion that is a widely accepted fact for anyone with half a brain in either of those lines of work. I myself actually find him hilarious and a good watch. Wow, it's suddenly clear to me that if you watch O'Reilly, it must be impossible to get news or perspective from any other source or medium. If you had followed a previous conversation between the person I was addressing my comment to and myself you would realise it is not impossible to get news from other sources, I have never said that, I advocate doing just that, and it is irrelevant to my comment. You would also realise that is comes as no surprise to me (as I already said) that the person I was addressing watches fox news as a credible source to try and understand the world while arguing about the basics of American "free press" and pasting Zionist websites. Fox news is essentially the echelon of the propaganda model for western societies and the only reason you should be watching it as news amongst all the other news sources, which you have made note can be accessed, should be to contrast and laugh at the results.

Well now your views on Israel and free press have been cleared up. Are you watching the same show as everyone else? because he shouts down every single person he disagrees with. O'Reilly is an entertainer, he is not a credible "political commenter" in any way, shape or form and his show is not news. He may or may not believe even half the things he says, he acts out a role that generates a large viewing audience and subsequently money, from a badly educated (given they are watching him for serious news) conservative demographic. It is also disheartening (as a fellow skydiver) that you watch this show for serious journalism and consider yourself to be informed about free press or news coverage. The majority of the world who don't get fox news on their TV tune in on pay-tv or youtube for good humor. It actually puts one of my friends in stitches

Well for one look at your signature within the context of your beliefs and the beliefs of the person you are quoting. - Orwell was critical of imperialism - You are in an imperial armed force - Orwell was critical of representative democracy - You fight for a representative democracy with the exact faults Orwell was critical of - Orwell fought with Marxists and anarchists - You fight with the U.S army In effect his quote speaks of the exact opposite to what your views on war are and what your job is

None of those countries even comes close to the diversity .. especially in raw numbers to the diversity you find in the US. Some of them like the UK and France have some significant numbers of ethnic minorities from former colonies... but NOTHING like the influx of peoples from all over you find here...and YES I have actually travelled to every one of those countries so I have a bit more of a perspective on it than getting my information from the internet. I have travelled thruout the US.. to all 50 states and to all of the provinces of Canada as well... I travel quite a bit. Most of those you list are fairly homogenous in their ethnic makeup. Congradulations you are slightly more diverse White US 74% UK 85% AUS 92% All the countries are in the same bracket of diversity and attitudes towards immigration with the exception of you guys wanting that big wall

Like I said, big business doesn't work on ethics. You raise a good point and I think a strong case could be made for never showing any of it which would in effect not have him win that final bit of his plan. That isn't how it goes but From watching a friends pay-tv/cable-tv I got the impression you also got a solid three weeks of Anna Nicole Smith too. If you want news you will have to look for it, if you want propaganda keep the TV on.

1 - he's calling life experience "brainwashing" in order to ellicit the negative connotations (look at how it was finally explained) I already said it was a buzzword. You can call it what ever you like, indoctrination, conditioning, brainwashing, at the end of the day joining an institution like the military will result in this. Both on an active level and on a subconscious level, for example being trained to kill and subordination to power structures respectively Wrong, I would use that term for anyone who joins a power structured closed society like the military. About the only other is organized and evangelical religion, and I will point out that is very different from simply being religious. Probably because it wasn’t very noteworthy at all, off the top of my head… Canada France Britain Sweden Switzerland Netherlands Denmark Australia New Zealand None of which are planning to build a giant wall…

You don’t have to experience first hand something to understand something. You can study skydiving or the military and have a complex understanding of both without needing to feel the rush of air or bullets passed your head. I work on objective analysis and to do so I unfortunately have to read a fair number of books for all sides of something so as to arrive at my own opinion OR to wash away bullshit from fact. An amusing testament to being a product of your environment is the American ability to bring all arguments back to irrelevant hypotheticals about the Second World War. Let me try to answer this question anyway 1. If we are talking about utopia the U.S military wouldn’t exist just like all military. 2. There are a number of reasons why the U.S “rebuilt Europe” and none of them have anything to do with self sacrifice or protecting the freedoms of Western Europe from Stalin. The main reasons for the Marshall plan include; Prevention of economic collapse which would further the influence of worker and peasant based organizations and communist organizations and to rebuild Western Europe’s state capitalist economies both of which simply boil down to implementing the geopolitical goal of economic dominance. 3. The nations that received the most aid grew the least and the nations who received the least grew most, and 4. Economic growth in many of the countries started before the of U.S. aid arrived We can also touch on things like the U.S essentially paying for the Netherlands and France to go on colonial murder sprees in Indonesia and other parts of Asia. Where by the amount of “rebuild” money going into the Netherlands and France was roughly equal to the amount siphoned from their treasuries to buy U.S weapons and commit violence in Asia. Also the fact the vast majority of the money given was from the U.S tax payer and the vast majority of the money received was the European private sector which essentially set the stage for the U.S private sector to invest in Europe later on creating the basis of transnational corporations which much of the world are now displeased with the existence of. And finally for the very last part of this hypothetical, what would my life be like now? Well I am not European so probably much the same as it is. I don’t know about Europe though… perhaps there would have been economic collapse and the development of communist or socialist states, perhaps Europe would all become part of the USSR, perhaps and most likely as evidence shows European countries would have eventually re-developed their economies. Please no more hypothetical parallel universes they hurt my brain.

Please enlighten us. 30+ Somalian peasants "Al-Qaeda" suspected of bombing U.S African embassy in 98 are suspected of hiding in rural Somalian villages -> U.S send in $190 million dollar gunship and shoot the place up -> 30+ dead civilians and no Al-Qaeda -> All under the green light given by Somalian "government" Now this raises questions in itself Where is the fabled delta force and Chuck Norris who throughout the 80s and 90s to our viewing pleasure tactically brought terrorists to justice? AND What right do the U.S, the beacon of justice, have to blow the shit out of suspected terrorists without a trial. The cynical answer being they are in rural Somalia so no one gives a fuck and justice goes out the window Of course given the thinking of many people they find it hard to see how this was state terrorism, especially with the approval of the Somalian “government”. However this is clearly a very good example of the U.S committing terrorism. Here is some contrast… Swiss terrorists suspected of bombing Canadian – European embassies in 98 are suspected of hiding in small town USA -> Canada send $190 million dollar gunship and shoot the place up -> 30+ dead U.S citizens and no Swiss terrorists -> All under the green light given by the U.S government If that happened I don’t you could find an American from the gun loving Muslim hating to the hippy weed smoking that would not consider that a state terrorist act by both the Canadian government and their own against the people of America. But Somalia is full of mostly black African Muslims so who gives a fuck right?

So - anyone from a lower population density area than you is defined as "bubba and cletus" It was a contrasting joke to your "urban area" aka inner-city poverty stricken blacks.

Your question is based on ethics and that isn't how NBC work so the question is pointless. They air it like they air anything that’s entertaining, for profit.

horseshit - we didn't come remotely close to a significant fraction, and we certainly didn't start either of the two big wars. Who said anything about starting them and yes you did a significant amount, namely through carpet bombing civilians. Unless there is a source this quote seems (because I have read it before) invented to bolster the swelled heads of Americans who need to own every type of high powered assualt rifle on earth. Europeans have very little faith in their government just as all people the world over do (and should) and if you look at grass roots organizations, socialist/communist/anarchist organizations and the ability for mass protest and rioting in Europe at the drop of a hat you would not even need to ask wether to take the quote seriously.

this is a good point - maybe the solution is to outlaw gun ownership on those born and raised in urban areas. They don't really seem to have the personal judgment or responsibility to own weapons. Nor a very good grasp of psychology That will leave all the guns in the hands of bubba and cletus!

One facet of a society is not a measuring stick and for the majority of those countries with the exception of the turn of this century and the anti-nazi like fever towards radical islam, those laws have never been used to any serious effect All western countries have just as much free speech (with the possible exception of some countries tolerance towards 'hate speech' i.e neo-nazism and jihadic islam) as the U.S and most of them don't even have it written into constitutions or any laws at all. The U.S free press is probably more usless compared to most other countries anway, considering the majority don't use it. Some other things to look at would be Jail populations Crime Drugs Punishment Democracy You guys do pretty poorly in those areas

Exactly I guess the irony is you guys got to have the guns but still have a fairly repressive government

I can only go on what you say and what you have said is pro war, pro troop surge, pro occupation, pro U.S military(naturally) and pro heroic america saving the day. Example being.. Brainwashing is just a buzzword. You are indoctrinated or conditioned to think like a soldier because you are a soldier. You may not think so but have a look at your own words because you summed it up nicely, military "culture". You are free to hold your own opinion but you are not free give it nor act upon it, you take orders from a hierarchical power structure which you are not allowed to disobey. You don’t need to be sat in a char with eyelids pried open to be brainwashed, an example would be modern consumerism and advertising. Nor do you have to be stupid or a zombie as you are obviously a smart person. But claiming there is not a certain level of conditioning when you join a society like the military, especially one with such distinct power relations, I think is wrong.

I make claims without knowing you and then you say things like this... The numbers are taken from several world health organizations and research institutes including NGO Emergency and co-founder Dr. Gino Strada. The ONLY war of the 20th and 21st century that breaks this rule and has a 2:1 ratio of combatants to civilian deaths is the great war. Considering you play an active role in war I wouldn't be surprised if you have further misunderstandings about how wars work. Modern warfare is pretty easy to research so I suggest you do some instead of listening to your employment hierarchy or taking my word for it. 90% of the casualties of war are civilian

What is the point of this question? What is the relevance of this question to the discussion? You have served in the U.S armed forces and I have not, does that magically undo the fact the U.S army is a tool for U.S economic and power interests, at the expense and exploitation of millions of people world wide? No. Further more you equate my opinions of world affairs to being selfish in my day to day life? Where is your justification for this? But seeing as you are so interested in sly personnal remarks about selfishness instead of counter arguements to my opinion of the U.S as the global super power and the subsequent role of its military force... I have worked with youth for several years, including homeless and kids in lockup, I'm qualified as a high school teacher, I taught English in Africa as a volunteer and one time I gave a homeless guy $10 I hope this satisfies your curioisty

I think most of the whiners also forget that we are indeed one of the few countries in the world that is composed from people from literally EVERY country on the planet...believe me somethimes I think...just pull all of our interests within.. and let everyone fuck themselves.. look at how good of a job they kept doing that for the entire existence of this country.. but after WWII... we have stayed engaged.. and geee... so far.. no more global wars in 60 years. No global war? you have pretty much waged global warfare... The U.S has been at war with one country or more at a time post-WW2.

The brainwashed claims come directly from everything you say Being part of the military is conditioning in itself You claim that soldiers know more about current world conflicts then people sitting at desks with objective observation - Not only is that completely wrong but military people ALWAYS say this, you are defiantly not an individual with this claim You claim the extremist media are against you when the media and government action are so interlinked it is almost inseparable But the number one telling bit of indoctrination is the fact you think the world's super power uses an army for the betterment of other people's lives out of the kindness of its own heart I am not trying to troll you or personally attack you but you really need to sit back, hopefully quit the military and read some books about your role in the world

I actually meant to say "safer country". I do agree that Saddam was an evil bastard and needed to be taken out but the aftermath of doing so only strengthen Al Quida and made the world a far more dangerous place. Prolonging what is already lost only makes more people turn against the US. We are not seen as "liberators" but invaders prone to attack any country at any time. I do believe that the Iraqi people were much safer and happier with Saddam in charge. They knew the law and knew not to step out of line. Hell, they had schools, hospitals, water, electricity, food, medicine, jobs, money, security. Today, they have nothing but fear. It was also boarderline first world country, now its a third world battlefield

No that is not the underlying job of a U.S soldier. The job of a soldier is to kill. The job of a U.S soldier historicaly has been to give his life for the economic and power interests of his nation. The aggressor in war is responsible for all subsequent events, you invaded a country and you are the reason all this is happening. On top of which it isn't up to you to decide what is right for the Iraqi people it is for them to decide and 70% want you out yesterday and 85% want you to set a date for withdrawel "Win" thats priceless

Exactly you have spent 8 years in army, what would you know? The answer is not much after that much indoctrination. I have said nothing about the individual atrocities committed by soldiers or the mind set of soldiers and I am not only sure but know there are smart and kind people in the military. However I am not talking about that at all I am talking about the U.S military as a whole, its role and the function it serves. The U.S armed forces is an imperial army, the army of the world’s only super power and for the last century and before you have cost the lives of MILLIONS of people and if you think it was for their freedom and fighting “bad guys” I suggest you leave the brainwashing military complex and pick up a history book. Winning? In recent history you invaded two countries and have killed thousands of people for no reason other than the expansion of U.S interests. Yeah how narrow minded people are with these irrefutable facts documented thoroughly through out the last century of U.S imperialism. What don’t you get about the U.S being the only world super power and exploiting and killing the majority of the world for its own economic interests? It is the ONLY function of your “military culture”. You think you are the first nation to spread love with a giant army? All the other nations throughout history with the biggest army were used for death and destruction but you guys are the magical exception spreading peace and democracy and fighting the “bad guys”? I guess I just misunderstand your “military culture” right? Because 9 out of 10 deaths in war are non-combatants and 3 out of 10 are children, but if that’s the price for “winning” against “terrorists” you will pay it out of the goodness of your heart.

It was the batshit crazy wasn't it...

Planning to publish your revolutionary thoughts on the "monkeys" (Arabs)?

On the one hand chuteless makes gross generalisations and is argueably batshit crazy for being a fundamentalist but on the other hand we have you guys that are or were part of an imperialist army visiting death and destruction down on innocent people. It is a lose/lose situation in this thread