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Helsing
Aug 23, 2003

DON'T POST IN THE ELECTION THREAD UNLESS YOU :love::love::love: JOE BIDEN

Install Gentoo posted:

Oymandias is also a huge corrupt semi-randian businessman. Veidt Enterprises and its subsidiaries controls all kinds of things.

If you read the supplementary written materials that come with the graphic novel its very clear that he's a liberally minded social democrat who happens to believe that the end justifies the means. Keep in mind that Watchmen was writen in the 1980s when memories of Vietnam were much fresher. The American establishment back then was broadly Liberal very much in the way that Ozymandias was, but they were also ready to justify massive violence againt the Vietnamese people as part of a utopian project to free the world from communism. Like I said, the fact that Moore made a commited Liberal the ultimate villain, someone whose plans horrified the more Thuggish characters like Rorscrach and The Commedian, was one of the best parts of the comic book.

Jack of Hearts posted:

It's hard to regard most of that list as "fascist," though, in any meaningful sense. In particular:

Most scholars would consider those to be the defining characteristics of fascism. The only big ones I left out were leader worship (definitly present in 300) and the obsession with a big and powerful state that organically expresses the will of the community in a purer form than representative democracy.

None of these traits are unique to fascism, fascism is just what happens when those different strains of authoritarian thinking merge together in an industrial society.

quote:

To varying degrees, all this stuff was present in the classical world, and probably pops up in most cultures with a heavy martial slant.


This sort of exceptionalism also shows up repeatedly in history. But honestly I don't really think it was a big part of the movie. I remember the Spartans slagging off the Athenians, and Sparta wasn't grand enough to pass for a bastion of anything. My feeling of the movie's theme was not, say, "protecting light from darkness," but more like a Bravehearty "ARE FREEDOM!"

I distinctly remember the comic book describing the battle as the last chance to preserve democracy and "reason" from the forces of ignorance and barbarism. I mean I think those are almost the opening lines of the comic book, whether or not they ended up in the movie. I confess I wasn't even remotely sober when I watched the movie so my memories of it are a bit hazzier.

quote:

Yeah. I'm just a little pedantic about people projecting fascism two millennia backwards to describe the Spartans and the Romans. Neither Herodotus nor Livy were "fascist," no matter how much Mussolini wanted to sell Italians on Roman heritage.

We're talking about a late 20th century comic book and movie, not Antiquity, and Herodotus was a Hellene, not a Roman.

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Tacky-Ass Rococco
Sep 7, 2010

by R. Guyovich
I really think this is a fairly facile attempt to link 300 with "fascism." (For the record, 300 sucks. Herodotus had already crafted a story for the ages, Miller just messed it up and reduced its power.)

Helsing posted:

Most scholars would consider those to be the defining characteristics of fascism. The only big ones I left out were leader worship (definitly present in 300) and the obsession with a big and powerful state that organically expresses the will of the community in a purer form than representative democracy.

You're really diluting the meaning of "leader worship." Leonidas didn't control the state, and was only able to command 300 men. Yes, they were devotedly loyal, but so were Robin Hood's merry men. Are we going to compare the leader of a small military unit to Der Fuehrer and il Duce?

Helsing posted:

I distinctly remember the comic book describing the battle as the last chance to preserve democracy and "reason" from the forces of ignorance and barbarism. I mean I think those are almost the opening lines of the comic book, whether or not they ended up in the movie. I confess I wasn't even remotely sober when I watched the movie so my memories of it are a bit hazzier.

I looked it up, and it was "reason" and "justice." "Democracy" would have been an incomprehensible choice. And as shallow as Miller is, I'm not sure we're to take the propagandist narrator at face value.

Helsing posted:

We're talking about a late 20th century comic book and movie, not Antiquity, and Herodotus was a Hellene, not a Roman.

I phrased that sentence poorly, but yes, I know who Herodotus was. And inasmuch as 300 was very heavily based on Herodotus I don't see what your objection to my objection is.

Armyman25
Sep 6, 2005

Helsing posted:

Prizing violence as morally purifying and aesthetically pleasurable, portraying "the West" as a unique bastion of higher civilization in a world of barbarism, portraying anyone opposed to military solutions as effete, cowardly and corrupt, portraying a noble but doomed military expedition that has been "stabbed in the back" by traitors on the homefront, portraying the enemy as literally being subhuman monsters, using physical appearance as a crucial marker of moral character (ugly = evil, attractive = good), valorizing military sacrifice. Indulging in a homo-erotic celebration of the virile young male warrior. The list goes on and on.


This would be pretty typical of a story told by the Romans, to be honest.

Helsing
Aug 23, 2003

DON'T POST IN THE ELECTION THREAD UNLESS YOU :love::love::love: JOE BIDEN

Jack of Hearts posted:

I really think this is a fairly facile attempt to link 300 with "fascism." (For the record, 300 sucks. Herodotus had already crafted a story for the ages, Miller just messed it up and reduced its power.)

Like I said the elements that lead people to call 300 "fascist" are the same elements that go into most succesful Hollywood movies, and as Armyman notes they'd be pretty much at home in an ancient Roman ballad or poem. I'm not trying to argue that Miller is an actual fascist and that 300 is an actual piece of propoganda, I'm just pointing out that there are enough similarities in tone and style that the criticism isn't ridiculous.

Now The Dark Knight, by contrast, I would argue comes a lot closer to fitting the bill for actual fascist apologism, though even there we'd be stretching the definition a bit. Which is ironic, given that The Dark Knight was a much better movie.

quote:

You're really diluting the meaning of "leader worship." Leonidas didn't control the state, and was only able to command 300 men. Yes, they were devotedly loyal, but so were Robin Hood's merry men. Are we going to compare the leader of a small military unit to Der Fuehrer and il Duce?

I meant that the comic indulges in leader worship, which I think it clearly does. The fact that the noble king is denied sufficient funding and manpower for his war actually reinforces this narrative, especially given that historical fascists are almost universally obsessed with a conviction that internal enemies are undermining the home front.

quote:

I phrased that sentence poorly, but yes, I know who Herodotus was. And inasmuch as 300 was very heavily based on Herodotus I don't see what your objection to my objection is.

I'm not really seeing how 300 is heavily based on Herodotus. Both of them are about a battle that takes place at Thermopylae in 480 between a small force of Spartans and a larger force of Persians. I guess some of the specific details like the last of the Spartan's being pincushioned with arrows are reflective of Herodotus, but most of the movie really isn't.

The plot of a movie is typically one of the least significant aspects of that movie. What is more significant to me about 300 is the way its shot and the way the actors are characterized. Most of the movie is just slow motion images of people battling and throw away dialogue spoken between waves of attackers.

The movie also leaves out the naval battles that were going on, and it completely rewrites history at crucial points. For instance, the story is being told by the only Spartan survivor of the battle. Historically I believe two Spartans did indeed leave Thermopylae to warn the city that the pass had fallen, but they weren't greeted as heros when they got to Sparta. Instead they were shamed for leaving the battle and spent the rest of their lives in infamy because they were the only members of the expeditionary force who hadn't thrown down their lives (I'm pretty sure all of this is retold in Herodotus but maybe I'm confused on this particular point). The movie also glosses over the fact that there were none-Spartans at the battle and under rates their performance so that the 300 actual Spartans will look more heroic.

Cinnamon Bastard
Dec 15, 2006

But that totally wasn't my fault. You shouldn't even be able to put the car in gear with the bar open.
Letter to the Editor: From the Bowmanville, Ontario local paper.




10 years later, still coming up with new and exciting gimmicky things to blame for the WTC collapse.

ts12
Jul 24, 2007
What there are people who actually are pro-asbestos :psypop: What the gently caress?

Bel_Canto
Apr 23, 2007

"Pedicabo ego vos et irrumabo."

Helsing posted:

Like I said the elements that lead people to call 300 "fascist" are the same elements that go into most succesful Hollywood movies, and as Armyman notes they'd be pretty much at home in an ancient Roman ballad or poem. I'm not trying to argue that Miller is an actual fascist and that 300 is an actual piece of propoganda, I'm just pointing out that there are enough similarities in tone and style that the criticism isn't ridiculous.

That's not actually true at all. Roman poetry is rife with internal moral conflict about military endeavors and violence; I can't think of any poet who just straightforwardly goes for it. The fascists tried to paint Romans as all about the glory of the state and the cathartic power of conquest, but the sources are a whole lot more ambiguous.

Helsing posted:

The movie also leaves out the naval battles that were going on, and it completely rewrites history at crucial points. For instance, the story is being told by the only Spartan survivor of the battle. Historically I believe two Spartans did indeed leave Thermopylae to warn the city that the pass had fallen, but they weren't greeted as heros when they got to Sparta. Instead they were shamed for leaving the battle and spent the rest of their lives in infamy because they were the only members of the expeditionary force who hadn't thrown down their lives (I'm pretty sure all of this is retold in Herodotus but maybe I'm confused on this particular point). The movie also glosses over the fact that there were none-Spartans at the battle and under rates their performance so that the 300 actual Spartans will look more heroic.

Not to mention being homophobic as all poo poo even while being the closest thing to gay porn ever shown in mainstream cinemas. The hilarious irony is that the standard stereotype that every other city held about the Spartans was that they were all effeminate nymphomaniacs who loved to take it in the rear end; you see it all the time in any Aristophanes play that has even one Spartan character.

Cinnamon Bastard
Dec 15, 2006

But that totally wasn't my fault. You shouldn't even be able to put the car in gear with the bar open.

ts12 posted:

What there are people who actually are pro-asbestos :psypop: What the gently caress?

The best part is that he attributes the difference in the collapse time to the difference in the asbestos application.

And ignores that the asbestos was no where near the floors that were on fire (around 20 storeys below), and the huge difference in the number of floors above the impact point.

Oh, and also that they were two unique goddamn aircraft impacts, and so the damage to the structure of the building is going to be inherently different.


But no, totally, let's put loving asbestos all over everything. Because terrorists.

Cinnamon Bastard fucked around with this message at 01:23 on Nov 14, 2011

PeterWeller
Apr 21, 2003

I told you that story so I could tell you this one.

That guy is a real loving monster. He's blaming people who want to live in a world free of horrible cancer causing chemicals for the tragedy of 9/11. It's a ridiculous and thoroughly vile extension of the old, "things would be better if not for all the granola eating tree huggers ruining our country," line.

Chamale
Jul 11, 2010

I'm helping!



There is a point buried in that crazy piece. After the harm caused by asbestos was discovered, the upper floors of the Twin Towers were finished without fireproofing, which probably contributed to the collapse. It certainly doesn't mean we should start putting asbestos over everything, though. Asbestos-related diseases have killed far more people than 9/11. Many New York firefighters now have mesothelioma or neurosarcoidosis, conditions which can be caused by asbestos dust.

But let's put asbestos on everything because terrorism :bahgawd:

Mr. Funny Pants
Apr 9, 2001

Another thing is that the plane he says crashed into the Empire State Building didn't exist. He says it was B-52 instead of a B-17. The former is a gigantic multi-engined jet as opposed to a prop-plane that could literally be parked under one wing of the B-52.

But let's grant that it was just a typo. The comparison is still idiotic. The two planes that hit the towers had fuel capacities of around 24,000 gallons. The B-17 that hit the ESB had less than five thousand gallons. And the speed difference was massive, and the towers were nothing like the ESB structurally, and....

Riptor
Apr 13, 2003

here's to feelin' good all the time

Mr. Funny Pants posted:

Another thing is that the plane he says crashed into the Empire State Building didn't exist. He says it was B-52 instead of a B-17. The former is a gigantic multi-engined jet as opposed to a prop-plane that could literally be parked under one wing of the B-52.

But let's grant that it was just a typo. The comparison is still idiotic. The two planes that hit the towers had fuel capacities of around 24,000 gallons. The B-17 that hit the ESB had less than five thousand gallons. And the speed difference was massive, and the towers were nothing like the ESB structurally, and....

It was actually a B-25

EDIT: Betty Lou Oliver and the terrible, horrible, no good very bad day:

Wiki posted:

Oliver was working on the 80th story of the building on July 28, 1945. On that day, due to thick fog a B-25 Mitchell bomber crashed into the north side of the Empire State Building. The plane struck the 79th floor of the building. Oliver was thrown from her post and badly burned in the accident, though she survived, while 14 others did not.

When rescuers got to her they decided to lower her via the elevator, unaware that the cables had been weakened to breaking point. Once the elevator doors closed, the cables snapped and Oliver plummeted 75 stories to the basement. Oliver survived but again had to be rescued and was later treated at the hospital for serious injuries. The thousand feet of elevator cable had fallen to the bottom of the shaft, creating a softer landing surface. The rapid compression of the air also likely helped slow the elevator's fall.This descent still stands as the Guinness World Record for the longest survived elevator fall ever recorded. Five months later, Oliver returned with an elevator inspector, who complimented her "guts" in riding the elevators to the full height of the building on that visit.

Riptor fucked around with this message at 03:45 on Nov 14, 2011

Orange Devil
Oct 1, 2010

Wullie's reign cannae smother the flames o' equality!

Helsing posted:

Now The Dark Knight, by contrast, I would argue comes a lot closer to fitting the bill for actual fascist apologism, though even there we'd be stretching the definition a bit. Which is ironic, given that The Dark Knight was a much better movie.

This made me really curious. Could you elaborate on this point? Vigilantism, violating rights to protect from terrorists, maybe even torture apologism (although it does fail badly in the movie), I could see those. But fascism? I really don't see that in The Dark Knight. It's more Boondock Saints than Triumph of Will.

Mr. Funny Pants
Apr 9, 2001

Riptor posted:

It was actually a B-25

Hi everyone, I'm a loving idiot who corrected an inaccurate dipshit with another inaccuracy. Hurf durf.

Bruce Leroy
Jun 10, 2010

Helsing posted:

If you read the supplementary written materials that come with the graphic novel its very clear that he's a liberally minded social democrat who happens to believe that the end justifies the means. Keep in mind that Watchmen was writen in the 1980s when memories of Vietnam were much fresher. The American establishment back then was broadly Liberal very much in the way that Ozymandias was, but they were also ready to justify massive violence againt the Vietnamese people as part of a utopian project to free the world from communism. Like I said, the fact that Moore made a commited Liberal the ultimate villain, someone whose plans horrified the more Thuggish characters like Rorscrach and The Commedian, was one of the best parts of the comic book.

I agree that it was one of the more interesting features of the graphic novel, especially since the Comedian and Rorschach both explicitly talk about and basically revel in the thought of society devolving to the degree that everyone suffers and dies (e.g. "The accumulated filth of all their sex and murder will foam up about their waists and all the whores and politicians will look up and shout 'Save us!'... and I'll look down and whisper 'No.'"), but they are probably those most horrified by what Ozymandias wants to do. This makes it seem like even these cynical, basically fascist characters are far more empathetic and less cynical/nihilistic than they'd like to acknowledge.

Helsing posted:

I distinctly remember the comic book describing the battle as the last chance to preserve democracy and "reason" from the forces of ignorance and barbarism. I mean I think those are almost the opening lines of the comic book, whether or not they ended up in the movie. I confess I wasn't even remotely sober when I watched the movie so my memories of it are a bit hazzier.

What's puzzling about the film version of 300 (I haven't read Miller's original graphic novel), is whether Snyder is satirizing this position or not. There are elements that make it seem like the movie is strongly hinting at how awful the Spartans were and how contrary they were to the values most American probably hold, e.g. eugenics in killing the weak (including babies), ostracizing and demeaning anyone who isn't up to their ideals (like the way they treat the Arcandians and the "barbarians" employed by the Persians), etc. but it's certainly possible for people to be obtuse enough to not realize the Spartans aren't "good guys" or at least aren't morally superior to the Persians. If Snyder had made the movie more historically accurate and included the massive numbers of slaves and helots that Sparta relied upon on a day to day basis, then it would have been a clearer satire of jingoism and authoritarianism cloaked in propaganda about "freedom."

Armyman25
Sep 6, 2005

Bel_Canto posted:

That's not actually true at all. Roman poetry is rife with internal moral conflict about military endeavors and violence; I can't think of any poet who just straightforwardly goes for it. The fascists tried to paint Romans as all about the glory of the state and the cathartic power of conquest, but the sources are a whole lot more ambiguous.


What about Caesar's letters from Gaul, or the propaganda about Mark Antony and Cleopatra?

Bel_Canto
Apr 23, 2007

"Pedicabo ego vos et irrumabo."

Armyman25 posted:

What about Caesar's letters from Gaul, or the propaganda about Mark Antony and Cleopatra?

Point; I'll grant you that. I suppose it's not terribly surprising that the dude doing the conquering glorifies conquest. Still, straightforward gung-ho militarism is quite rare in Roman literature, and the fact that Caesar's commentaries are carefully-crafted propaganda pieces makes them, it seems to me, the exception that proves the rule. That's not to say that the makeup of Roman society wasn't militaristic to its foundations, of course; that was one of the things that made it attractive to fascists.

Bruce Leroy
Jun 10, 2010
I found this via Right Wing Watch.

quote:

November 10, 2011
Dutch Sheets: Watchman Alert – Call to Prayer

From the desk of Steve Shultz:

If I would listen to anyone intensely, it is Dutch Sheets. He loves our country and at this very time, in the next few days especially, he is calling for special prayer for protection. If we humble ourselves, God will show great mercy.

Steve Shultz, Founder and Publisher
The Elijah List & Breaking Christian News
http://www.elijahlist.com

*************************************

Dutch Sheets: Watchman Alert – Call to Prayer

I'm writing to make you aware of several warnings I've received recently concerning terrorist attacks against America, and to ask you to join me in praying for protection from these attacks. Within the last few months I have had several credible dreams presented to me about this, five of which have been within the last week. While warnings such as these are subjective in nature, and dreams always need careful discernment and interpretation, I feel that the dramatic and sudden increase of these warnings merits this call to prayer.

I don't feel it is necessary to give details from the dreams – suffice it to say that the attacks seen were worse than 9/11. For some time many of us have felt that more terrorism was possible for America. One need not be particularly prophetic to know this is planned by our enemies – indeed, our government warns us of this and encourages regular vigilance, and plots have on occasion been discovered and thwarted. But many intercessors and prophets have felt that something on a bigger scale is being planned and stands the chance of succeeding. This is what the recent dreams warn of, and the sense is that it could be imminent.

I'm asking you to join me – for the next few days especially, but also over the next few weeks – in interceding for God's protection over our nation. Yes, we as a nation have sinned against the Lord in many ways, and perhaps if we receive what we deserve it would be further judgment. But that is to be determined by the Lord and it is always appropriate to ask Him for His mercy.

• Pray that plots be exposed and the individuals involved be discovered and captured.
• Pray for the success of our law enforcement and protection agencies.
• Pray for sound leads to come to them and for the necessary wisdom to "connect the dots."
• Ask God to forgive and cleanse us of our wicked ways, and continue to pray that America receives a third great awakening.

Let's all do our part to ward off any and every attempt to bring violence and destruction to our land. Please help spread the word by forwarding this message about these warnings and the call to prayer.

Thank you for joining me in this watchman alert.

Dutch Sheets
Dutch Sheets Ministries
Email: ministryinfo@dutchsheets.org

Dutch Sheets is an internationally known speaker and author. He's written many books including the bestselling, Intercessory Prayer. He pastored for 18 years in Colorado Springs, and now travels extensively throughout the United States empowering Believers for passionate prayer and world-changing revival. His greatest passion is to see awakening in our day, and reformation in our lifetime. Dutch, Ceci—his wife for over 30 years—and children reside in Hamilton, AL.

I try not to be a smug, rear end in a top hat atheist, but it's like these people are intentionally trying to get me to say something mean and condescending.

sub supau
Aug 28, 2007

Bruce Leroy posted:

What's puzzling about the film version of 300 (I haven't read Miller's original graphic novel), is whether Snyder is satirizing this position or not.
I think the core problem with 300, Watchmen, and Sucker Punch alike is that Snyder's loving terrible at satire and yet keeps trying to do it.

Bruce Leroy
Jun 10, 2010

TetsuoTW posted:

I think the core problem with 300, Watchmen, and Sucker Punch alike is that Snyder's loving terrible at satire and yet keeps trying to do it.

He seems like one of those people that does things in earnest, hoping that people will agree with and like what they have done, but if anyone criticizes them, their backup excuse is that it's actually a satire, so you can't really criticize them for the poor production and execution, you have to criticize the themes, genre, and other topics they're lampooning.

:haw: "Hey guys, look at this awesome movie I made about badass Spartans at Thermopylae."
:colbert: "Are the Spartans supposed to be the good guys? They seem a lot worse than the Persians that are supposed to be the bad guys. Hell, they kinda seem like Nazis with spears."
:haw: "Um...No, wait, it's actually a satire of all those bad things those Spartans represent."

Pope Guilty
Nov 6, 2006

The human animal is a beautiful and terrible creature, capable of limitless compassion and unfathomable cruelty.

Bruce Leroy posted:

He seems like one of those people that does things in earnest, hoping that people will agree with and like what they have done, but if anyone criticizes them, their backup excuse is that it's actually a satire, so you can't really criticize them for the poor production and execution, you have to criticize the themes, genre, and other topics they're lampooning.

:haw: "Hey guys, look at this awesome movie I made about badass Spartans at Thermopylae."
:colbert: "Are the Spartans supposed to be the good guys? They seem a lot worse than the Persians that are supposed to be the bad guys. Hell, they kinda seem like Nazis with spears."
:haw: "Um...No, wait, it's actually a satire of all those bad things those Spartans represent."

Oh, so he's Troy Duffy.

Bruce Leroy
Jun 10, 2010

Pope Guilty posted:

Oh, so he's Troy Duffy.

Exactly.

I just saw Boondock Saints II a month or two back and it was surprisingly worse than the first movie. The entire scene at the docks with the forklift is a perfect example of what I was talking about with Zack Snyder. Duffy wants people to take his movies seriously (possibly in terms of Tarantino), but after how poorly the first movie was received, he threw in a joke scene so that he had something to hang his satire excuse upon.

I think my favorite part of the movie was how Reedus, Flanery and Benz kept losing their accents throughout the film.

Nintendo Kid
Aug 4, 2011

by Smythe

TetsuoTW posted:

I think the core problem with 300, Watchmen, and Sucker Punch alike is that Snyder's loving terrible at satire and yet keeps trying to do it.

It's pretty much this. Snyder's a poor man's Paul Verhoeven.

VideoTapir
Oct 18, 2005

He'll tire eventually.

Mr. Funny Pants posted:

Hi everyone, I'm a loving idiot who corrected an inaccurate dipshit with another inaccuracy. Hurf durf.

At least it wasn't anachronistic.

ts12
Jul 24, 2007
Charles Krauthammer: How Obama lost Iraq

quote:

Barack Obama was a principled opponent of the Iraq War from its beginning. But when he became president in January 2009, he was handed a war that was won. The surge had succeeded. Al-Qaida in Iraq had been routed, driven to humiliating defeat by an Anbar Awakening of Sunnis fighting side-by-side with the infidel Americans. Even more remarkably, the Shiite militias had been taken down, with American backing, by the forces of Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. They crushed the Sadr militias from Basra to Sadr City.

Al-Qaida decimated. A Shiite prime minister taking a decisively nationalist line. Iraqi Sunnis ready to integrate into a new national government. U.S. casualties at their lowest ebb in the entire war. Elections approaching.

Obama was left with but a single task: Negotiate a new status-of-forces agreement, or SOFA, to reinforce these gains and create a strategic partnership with the Arab world's only democracy.

He blew it. Negotiations, such as they were, finally collapsed last month. There is no agreement, no partnership. As of Dec. 31, the American military presence in Iraq will be liquidated.

And it's not as if that deadline snuck up on Obama. He had three years to prepare for it. Everyone involved, Iraqi and American, knew that the 2008 SOFA calling for full U.S. withdrawal was meant to be renegotiated. And all major parties but one (the Sadr faction) had an interest in some residual stabilizing U.S. force, like the postwar deployments in Japan, Germany and Korea.

Three years, two abject failures. The first was the administration's inability, at the height of American post-surge power, to broker a centrist nationalist coalition governed by the major blocs — one predominantly Shiite (Maliki's), one predominantly Sunni (Ayad Allawi's), one Kurdish — that among them won a large majority (69 percent) of seats in the 2010 election.

Vice President Joe Biden was given the job. He failed utterly. The government ended up effectively being run by a narrow sectarian coalition where the balance of power is held by the relatively small (12 percent) Iranian-client Sadr faction.

The second failure was the SOFA itself. The military recommended nearly 20,000 troops, considerably fewer than our 28,500 in Korea, 40,000 in Japan and 54,000 in Germany. The president rejected those proposals, choosing instead a level of 3,000 to 5,000 troops.

A deployment so risibly small would have to expend all its energies simply protecting itself — the fate of our tragic, missionless 1982 Lebanon deployment — with no real capability to train the Iraqis, build their U.S.-equipped air force, mediate ethnic disputes (as we have successfully done, for example, between local Arabs and Kurds), operate surveillance and special-ops bases, and establish the kind of close military-to-military relations that undergird our strongest alliances.

The Obama proposal was an unmistakable signal of unseriousness. It became clear that he simply wanted out, leaving any Iraqi foolish enough to maintain a pro-American orientation exposed to Iranian influence, now unopposed and potentially lethal.

Message received. Just this past week, Massoud Barzani, leader of the Kurds — for two decades the staunchest of U.S. allies — visited Tehran to bend a knee to both President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

It didn't have to be this way. Our friends did not have to be left out in the cold to seek Iranian protection. Three years and a won war had given Obama the opportunity to establish a lasting strategic alliance with the Arab world's second most important power.

He failed, though he hardly tried very hard. The excuse is Iraqi refusal to grant legal immunity to U.S. forces. But the Bush administration encountered the same problem, and overcame it. Obama had little desire to. Indeed, he portrays the evacuation as a success, the fulfillment of a campaign promise.

But surely the obligation to defend the security and the interests of the nation supersede personal vindication. Obama opposed the war, but when he became commander in chief the terrible price had already been paid in blood and treasure. His obligation was to make something of that sacrifice, to secure the strategic gains that sacrifice had already achieved.

He did not, failing at precisely what this administration so flatters itself for doing so well: diplomacy. After years of allegedly clumsy brutish force, Obama was to usher in an era of not hard power, not soft power, but smart power.

Which turns out in Iraq to be ... no power. Years from now we will be asking not "Who lost Iraq?" — that already is clear — but "Why?"

quote:

Welfare drug tests? Sensible

Regarding comments on Florida's welfare drug-testing law:

No law can arbitrarily deny an individual a constitutional right. To believe that requiring a drug test to qualify for taxpayer assistance violates a constitutional right, I interpret as a belief that the applicant has a constitutional right to the financial assistance available from the taxpayer. And no applicant has such a right to demand financial assistance from taxpayers. That clearly is a situation defined by legislation.

Many companies require drug tests, and there is no question of Fourth Amendment violation, because there is no constitutional requirement that a given company hire a specific employee. It's a matter of applying, qualifying and getting hired.

In the case of a needy person wanting taxpayer financial assistance, it is not at all unreasonable for the applicant to be required to pass a drug test, along with other requirements for demonstrating need and eligibility. That's common sense.

PeterWeller
Apr 21, 2003

I told you that story so I could tell you this one.

Yeah, I think it's more this:

Bruce Leroy posted:

He seems like one of those people that does things in earnest, hoping that people will agree with and like what they have done, but if anyone criticizes them, their backup excuse is that it's actually a satire, so you can't really criticize them for the poor production and execution, you have to criticize the themes, genre, and other topics they're lampooning.

than this:

quote:

It's pretty much this. Snyder's a poor man's Paul Verhoeven.

Snyder makes crappy, offensive movies, and to parry the criticism he deserves for making such garbage, he claims his intent was satirical.

redmercer
Sep 15, 2011

by Fistgrrl

PeterWeller posted:

Snyder makes crappy, offensive movies, and to parry the criticism he deserves for making such garbage, he claims his intent was satirical.

Anyone who's seen at least the first five minutes of Zardoz knows that that claim is ALWAYS bullshit.

a foolish pianist
May 6, 2007

(bi)cyclic mutation

PeterWeller posted:

Snyder makes crappy, offensive movies, and to parry the criticism he deserves for making such garbage, he claims his intent was satirical.

I felt like Sucker Punch was fairly impressive. He worked really hard to make every scene that would have, in another film, been exploitative feel really, really uncomfortable.

Nintendo Kid
Aug 4, 2011

by Smythe

a foolish pianist posted:

I felt like Sucker Punch was fairly impressive. He worked really hard to make every scene that would have, in another film, been exploitative feel really, really uncomfortable.

Well uncomfortable to most people at least. There's still tons of assholes who just thought Sucker Punch was "totally awesome and hot".

24-7 Urkel Cosplay
Feb 12, 2003

PeterWeller posted:

Yeah, I think it's more this:


than this:


Snyder makes crappy, offensive movies, and to parry the criticism he deserves for making such garbage, he claims his intent was satirical.

"It was actually satire, I swear!" is what the guy who made the Room now claims.

YoungBuns
Feb 13, 2009
I don't know that the Watchmen movie was particularly crappy but I thought it was a pretty straight take on the source material. Did anyone ever claim it to be a satire? If anything it seemed to be uncommonly true to the original.

24-7 Urkel Cosplay
Feb 12, 2003

YoungBuns posted:

I don't know that the Watchmen movie was particularly crappy but I thought it was a pretty straight take on the source material. Did anyone ever claim it to be a satire? If anything it seemed to be uncommonly true to the original.

Snyder's adaptations so far have been extremely faithful to the source material. Everything I've seen about his movies being satire has been people applying that after the fact, most often with 300, regardless of any sort of evidence of intent.

JoshTheStampede
Sep 8, 2004

come at me bro

YoungBuns posted:

I don't know that the Watchmen movie was particularly crappy but I thought it was a pretty straight take on the source material. Did anyone ever claim it to be a satire? If anything it seemed to be uncommonly true to the original.

Watchmen (the movie) was quite faithful to the original comic, with the exception of updating the time period and thus the politcal statement, and changing the ending to be more modern and less goofy.

300 and Sucker Punch were embarrassing but I think Snyder did a very, very good job with Watchmen.

Armyman25
Sep 6, 2005
Dawn of the Dead was pretty kick rear end.

Mr Interweb
Aug 25, 2004

What do some of you more economically more knowledgeable guys think of this. WWII was not the quintessential Keynesian miracle.

Bel_Canto
Apr 23, 2007

"Pedicabo ego vos et irrumabo."

Mr Interweb posted:

What do some of you more economically more knowledgeable guys think of this. WWII was not the quintessential Keynesian miracle.

Not an economist, but even on a general scholarly level, if you're referring only to your own work when making a contentious argument, it's pretty likely that you're a crank.

ts12
Jul 24, 2007

Bel_Canto posted:

Not an economist, but even on a general scholarly level, if you're referring only to your own work when making a contentious argument, it's pretty likely that you're a crank.

Or an Austrian economist.

Dr. Tough
Oct 22, 2007

Mr Interweb posted:

What do some of you more economically more knowledgeable guys think of this. WWII was not the quintessential Keynesian miracle.

Well the main problem is that he never really bothers to explain why WWII was not the quintessential Keynesian miracle, which is supposedly the entire point of the article.

Bruce Leroy
Jun 10, 2010

Mr Interweb posted:

What do some of you more economically more knowledgeable guys think of this. WWII was not the quintessential Keynesian miracle.

quote:

Almost immediately I saw that unemployment had disappeared during the war not because of the beautiful workings of a Keynesian multiplier, but entirely because about 20 percent of the labor force was forced, directly or indirectly, into the armed forces and a comparable number of employees set to work in factories, shipyards, and other facilities turning out war-related “goods” the government purchased only after forcing the public to pay for them sooner (via wartime taxes and inflation) or later (via repayment of wartime borrowing).

Honestly, this guy is supposedly an economist, but he doesn't understand how what he's describing here is basic Keynesian economics? Any college student in Econ 101 could easily identify that what Higgs listed in his article is an affirmation of Keynesian economics, not a refutation.

You could just substitute getting Americans to work on WPA projects for drafting them into the military and public works projects (e.g. the national highway system, dams and bridges, etc.) for war goods, and you'd have him describing the New Deal.

Nothing on any of Breitbart's websites should ever be trusted or regarded with any respect or credulity.

Also, the comments are worse than the article.

quote:

I'm all for going to War with and attacking all Muslim Nations to get the USA out of this new Great Depression.

Keeping said Nations after Islam is destroyed of course.

We are at War with Muslims, they (Muslims) started it, the USA should finish it.

quote:

I look forward to a Muslim Free World.

quote:

Not exactly mentioned in the article is an important fact: for the US, WWII lasted less than four years. The American people put up with conscription and rationing and censorship and military tribunals, high taxes and coerced purchases of war bonds, because the situation was desperate and the goal was total victory.

We are at war with Islamo-fascism, since at least 1979 and by some accounts since 1967. But there is no willingness at all to win this war. It will take another attack, a bigger attack, and even then I fear that too many people will still argue that we should try to understand our enemies, instead of killing them as quickly and efficiently as possible.

quote:

or as someone* once put it when asked what can we do to peacefully co-exist with islam? "As far as they're concerned, we can pack up and move to new planet."

*an author, whose name escapes me, who wrote a book a book about radical islam about 10 yrs ago.

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PeterWeller
Apr 21, 2003

I told you that story so I could tell you this one.

Dominion posted:

Watchmen (the movie) was quite faithful to the original comic, with the exception of updating the time period and thus the politcal statement, and changing the ending to be more modern and less goofy.

300 and Sucker Punch were embarrassing but I think Snyder did a very, very good job with Watchmen.

While Watchmen was very faithful to the comic, Snyder still seemed to miss the point by a country mile. He presented the cast as actual super heroes and not just crazies playing dressup. All the wall punching and bone breaking undermined what's supposed to be one of the most jarring moments in the story, where Ozy actually catches a bullet.

quote:

Dawn of the Dead was pretty kick rear end.

Dawn is so good, I often forget he directed it.

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