V For Vendetta

On 8/12/06, G@P wrote: Russ... Have you seen this movie yet? Excellent study in terrorism versus freedom fighting? Who makes the rules? Who controls? Who fights? Based on a comic, of all things. Excellent stuff...GaP ___________________________________________________________________ Russ wrote: Hi Gary! I did see "V for Vendetta." I agree that its a timely study and raises question about freedom fighting versus terrorism. In a piece on radio recently (it had to be NPR) a writer was talking about the biblical myth of Samson and Delilah. By killing himself along with the, who was is, evil Pharasis ... hell, I can't even spell it, the writer said that Samson was the world's first "suicide terrorist." History is written by the victors. Today we have serious criminal activities we deal with by bombing cities. We call it a War on Terror. In this latest scare are we to bomb London to take care of the criminals who grew up there? I've said for a long time that the best thing we can do is try to rid the world's social soil of the poison that allows the monsters to grow. We will not do that by engaging in a traditional war against a verb. War on poverty. War on drugs. War on illiteracy. They don't work. Today I'm in Detroit and feeling very low about the state of affairs. No hair gel, no toothpaste, no shampoo ... a smelly situation indeed. Where does it all end. When the bad guys raise the bar again, as they will, do we raise our defences yet higher? Does it end with each of us carrying nuclear counter measures in our car trunks? I spent all day yesterday onboard the most powerful warship in the world, the USS Theodore Roosevelt. It is a marvelous example of man's ingenuity and relative might. As will steamed along, powered by twin nuclear reactors, I thought how stupid it really is that we felt the need to build such a monster just to kill other people. The Teddy Roosevelt's nickname is "America's Big Stick." Today we are forgetting the part about "walking softly." Take good care, brother. And keep the faith. There must be a reason for all this. Russ ______________________________________________________________________________ Russ... Writing this from the lobby in AMS...Must make it quick. I don't think humanity will ever be ready for the rational, mature solutions until we hop up a rung on the evolutionary ladder or SOMETHING. Because history's lessons are NOT being heeded. So fuck it. Nuke the place...LEt some other species have a go at it. (Nihilism is VERY tempting...) Keep your faith, buddy...and I'll keep mine...GaP