[MD] One for Platt & Ham

[Khaled Alkotob]

And the Oscar goes to......................

Well said Ron. I don't see us going on Indian reservations telling the
Indian nations to abandon their 'tribal' system. I don't see us telling
the Amish to get with he program and get electricity and telephones.

it's all about the Oil. Like you said the resources.

You know who I feel sorry for. The Israelis. Once the oil runs out, the
We won't be needing allies in that region. Democracy or not, we'll pack
our bags and leave, and let them duke it out.

Ignorance is what is fueling all this. Lacking a sense of the world's
geography, population and history, we are repeating the colonial mistakes
France, Belgium, Holland and Spain have learned, and England somewhat
learned.

Khaled

[Platt previously]
> So we're to blame for trying to stabilize and bring democracy to the
> Middle East? Maybe Arlo wants to feel guilty about our trying to 
> extend
> intellectual values. But, I don't, not for a minute.
> 
> 
[Ron]
> Extending intellectual values at gun point is another affair..the
> question is,are we trying to bring democracy and stability to the 
> middle east?
> (Ron getting on his soap box)
> I think the west is reaping the harvest of imperialism. it has met  an
> indiginous population it can not assimilate (it may be hard for
> westerners to understand that not everyone WANTS a mcdonalds on 
> their corner or drink coca-cola )   it would be convieniant for the 
imperial
> nations to have a neat little answer like it did for the  colonization
of
> the north america, "small pox". it only killed a specific racial 
group,
> descimating two thirds of  a "pesky" native population making it a 
> more managable problem.