| | Marotta, you completely missed the point;
1. John Armaos's comments could have been more insightful and less crude. I realize that he was angry. Let's leave it at that and take the lesson. Yes they were crude. They were intended to be humorous as I don't really think government officials are monkeys that fling shit. (It would be too denigrating to monkeys to compare them to government officials anyways) I was trying to lighten up the forums around here. Sorry I like crude humour.
2. Government misinformation is nothing new. So?
3. The Pentagon's presentation was, within the limits of its context, truthful. The video clip apparently was displayed for propaganda purposes. The wider context calls much into question. LOL, you didn't even follow the news story. The Pentagon said it was a mod. It was not a modded game, it was an officially liscensed add-on pack from Electronic Games. They also said in this mod, insurgents could kill American marines. Except that pretty much describes the offiicialy released add-on pack from EA games that allows you to play as an insurgent. The analyst even said you had to "pay 20 dollars to download the mod and register on the terrorist website" except, that's what describes the EA DOWNLOADER the official program from EA Games that let's you download and play the add-on pack for a fee. (They were so misinformed, that a 30 second google search would've proven every assertion they made wrong)
As far as the clip, as Michael Dickey points out, it was done by some gamer as a joke (it was only footage from the videogame), and dubbed TEAM AMERICA voices over the clip. How can anyone possibly construe that as a propaganda movie? You know TEAM AMERICA, the guys that do SOUTH PARK? They claim they found it on terrorist websites, but after their erroneous analysis they offered no proof of this.
5. The United States is at war, a war, which, if I am not mistaken, John Armaos and others here support. You cannot make an omlet without breaking eggs. During World War I, the government sent a man to prison for distributing printed leaflets against the draft -- and the conviction was upheld by the Supreme Court. During World War II, the US government put citizens in concentration camps because they emigrated from a nation which with the US was now at war -- the importance of that was not lost on my family, I assure you. During Vietnam, so-called "Hard Hats" (labor union toughs) busted up peace marches by wading into the crowds and fighting, a paramilitary action against lawful protests by the Nixon administration. That's war, here at home -- and I am grateful that it has not been any worse. Completely irrelevant! This was not a protest against the government. It was a joke, made by a gamer, from a game that was an officially liscensed game from a company that trades publically on the stock market.
By the way, just because I support a war on Islamic fascist terrorist groups and their state sponsors, doesn't mean I approve of every and any tactic the government uses. I can still criticize the tactics used and not have to forfeit my support for a war. It doesn't mean the war should be thrown out. Similarly, just because criminals sometimes get away with their crimes due to government incompetence, doesn't mean we throw out the government (which is exactly the line of thinking from anarchist Libertarians) . It's not zero-sum.
It's not a false dichotomy between no war, and the war the way our current government is waging it.
Chris Baker wrote:
I am surprised by John's comments, too. If you look at other comments he has made, you will get the impression that he really loves the US Government and acts as if it can do no wrong. He criticized me when I referred to George Bush as a "worthless drunk who later found Jesus." Chris, at the risk of sounding condescending here. Are you even paying attention when you read my posts? Or are you just trying to sound stupid? (Sorry I just can't help myself) My original comment on that other thread was in reference to Israel's right to self-defense, and you brought up Bush's drinking problem before he was President as a response. I said it was completely irrelevant, which it is. I didn't say I love Bush, or that I think the Government can do no wrong. I was only making an argument for war.
Chris, go to this link and learn a few basic logical fallacies here before you bother engaging anyone;
http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/
(Edited by John Armaos on 7/20, 8:37am)
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