bitflipper


...Iranian government is being run by a pack of raving loons...

When did that start?

...so if I were to say that the Iranian government is being run by a pack of raving loons...

a lot of folks say the same thing about the american government.
what's the difference?


it's a political statement.

Rothchild

I'm hoping to catch them at Cambridge & Norwich.

FBB drop me a note when you're heading down to the 'bridge and I'll buy you a beer.

Child

17th March I hope, it's a Thursday. I'll know for definite nearer the time once I get my work shifts sorted out. I may take you up on that and buy you one in return of course. Never realised you were from that neck of the woods. I used to live near St. Ives many years ago.

mike_mccue



I don't have any personal knowledge about Al Jazeera... but it seems to offer more detailed accounts of Mid East circumstances than many outlets available to western viewers. 

I watch the English service and the Middle East coverage is more ballanced than that of Western news channels or the local UAE news programs. There are a lot of ex CNN and BBC journalists working for them.

 
OK, I'll expound on my previous 'Wow' post (before we got into some serious discussion about The Stranglers )...
 
The OP is an uncharacteristic cheap-shot jingoistic slice of bull from one of the most respected (ever) forum members.
 
To be honest, I don't understand the motive for such a post.
 
It leaves the door open for anyone to post their views, serious or otherwise, on any government or ruling-system in the world. No doubt if this thread had begun by using the American legislature as its target, this thread would have gone south and got locked/deleted after just a few posts.
 
I've always respected Bitflipper but this tirade has certainly lowered my esteem for the guy a lot.
 
And yeah, I'm a hypocrite (I have more than my fair share of posts that I should be ashamed of) but this has automatic TOS violation written all over it.
 
Maybe if he'd gone the whole hog and used the word 'Muslim' in the OP we'd have all the bases for offence covered.
 
 
 

mike_mccue


Steve,

I will hope that you will launch a discussion about the USA if we ever get to the point where we are beating and torturing our own citizens simply because our citizens may someday request a democratic system that actually represents the citizens.

That is what I believe to be happening this week in Iran... and I believe it is worthy of comment.

very best regards,
mike

 
Mike, with all respect to you, that's completely irrelevant to the point I was making - I simply wouldn't entertain that as a topic of discussion for this forum.
 
 

Sorry, Steve, the two choices were "political" and "psychiatric". "Religious" was not one of the options.

I was thinking about the two German journalists imprisoned for interviewing the son of a woman who'd been sentenced to death by stoning. They just got let out after 4 months served and after paying a $100,000 fine.

OK, so the Iranian leaders only pissed off the Germans with that brilliant move. But the 47 other imprisoned journalists (26 in the last 2 months) represent many other countries, including the U.S., Britain and other Middle Eastern countries.

Nobody is that politically inept, which leads me to the obvious conclusion that they are indeed loons.

Is anyone listening to Kayan Kalhor these days?

Persian culture is amazingly refined and steeped in tradition... there's a lot of good stuff going on in Iran:

http://www.kayhankalhor.net/

It's just a coincidence that for the past 3 weeks I've been driving around with a pair of his CD's in my minivan. I've been sharing it with anyone who will listen.

I think it is incredible music.

best regards,
mike

I grew up in Stuart, Florida where many F14s were fitted with avionics at the Grumman plant. When I was in grade school it was routine to see them take off nearly vertical as they cleared the tree line.

It must have been incredibly exciting to fly one.

The idea of landing on a carrier seems terrifying.

:-)

mike_mccue


  When I was in grade school it was routine to see them take off nearly vertical as they cleared the tree line.

The last time I flew was out of LaGuardia in Queens back to Iowa. Anyone who has flown there knows it's pretty much the same deal, full throttle and straight up.

I swore I would never set foot on a plane again and I haven't, and never will.

I had the chance to go to Anapolis supposedly to fly F-14's.  I had all the aptitude requirements (physical and scholastic), with sponsorship from a famous commander and the governer of California.  Then I found out that there was a height limit and I was 6' 3"...  So I ended up attending local colleges in San Diego instead and, half-way thru my BSCIS, I found myself working for a defense contractor instead (at the ripe old age of 19).  The weird part is that this was right across the street from Miramar Naval Air Base where, of course, I got to watch someone else flying F-14's instead of me.  I had a base pass and, a couple of years later, found out that my cousin had been the base commander (I learned about that at his change of command ceremony when he "retired" to fly for Delta).  Oh well...

FastBikerBoy


Ah the Stranglers  - my all time favourite band. Touring the UK starting 4th March as well for anyone interested - I'm hoping to catch them at Cambridge & Norwich.

I can still remember being in the front row at West Runton pavilion in my early teens back in the 70s bouncing around to Toiler when JJ jumped off stage & kicked 3 shades out of someone in the crowd. Turned out it was someone from my schools 6th form. When asked at school why the guy said "I don't know why he done that  I only called him a W&nker" LOL.

They've calmed down a bit now but still got a sense of humour - last time I saw them at the UEA JJ said to someone holding and swaying with a lighter to "Princess of the Streets" - "I don't know why you've got a lighter the only thing a lighter is used for at a Stranglers gig is to burn the building down"

Hey, FBB, I saw them a couple of years ago somewhere in Bristol - great show!!

bapu

mike_mccue


Has anyone ever noticed that Wow spelled backwards is woW?

Pretty cool.

BowWowwoW!?

 
You're barking mad Eduardissipus Bapsimmipus
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
No C30 C60 C90 sung about
 
 

bapu

SteveStrummerUK

bapu

BowWowwoW!? 

You're barking mad Eduardissipus Bapsimmipus

 

Tis to be expected from an old dog, no?

 
You know what they say mate...
 
You can't teach an old dog a new Am note new tricks

bitflipper


I don't want to violate the TOS, so if I were to say that the Iranian government is being run by a pack of raving loons, would that be a political or a psychiatric observation?

Mass insanity always involves politics. But you could have used the word Moolah istead of loon and then it would have been religious.