I wasn’t saying I prefer Chinese culture. I prefer western freedoms. What I’m saying is that if any culture is going to replace the west in dominance then realistically China looks like the strongest candidate.
slimboyfat
JoinedPosts by slimboyfat
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143
Good Guys VS Bad Guys: Facts Nobody Wants to KNow
by TerryWalstrom infacts we don't want to know.
the purpose of war is to kill humans.. .
which humans?.
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143
Good Guys VS Bad Guys: Facts Nobody Wants to KNow
by TerryWalstrom infacts we don't want to know.
the purpose of war is to kill humans.. .
which humans?.
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slimboyfat
There's no doubt we can imagine a dominant world power that would be a lot worse than America, such as if the Nazis, or imperial Japan had won Second World War.
At the same time it is surely possible to imagine, and hope, that America (and its allies) could be a much better influence on the world, by not exploiting the resources of weaker nations, propping up tyrannical dictators and regimes, and overthrowing governments.
China is the most realistic and relevant alternative. Which is scary from a western perspective because they don't seem to share our notions of individualism and freedom. But this doesn't mean they are without values. In the place of individualism they seem to value community, collectivity and authority.
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68
Diane Abbott XD
by LoveUniHateExams indiane abbott has often given me moments of amusement throughout the years.. whenever i'm feeling depressed, 30 mins of watching her varied gaffes on youtube usually cheers me up.. the following is a clip from this week (feb 2008) in which she seems to wonder out loud whether mao did more good than harm.
it's great to hear michael portillo's initial reaction ("whaaat!
") and then watch him and andrew neil belly-laugh at diane abbott's comments at the end of the clip.. perhaps she'd been at the blue nun xd.
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slimboyfat
Wealth doesn't seem to be an explanation here. Her father was a welder and her mother was a nurse. She went to a grammar school and got there by merit.
I don't think that being poor on TV or radio means you are not intelligent.
In other words, I think it's easier for an intelligent person to look stupid on TV than it is for a stupid person to get a degree from Cambridge. Neither is impossible. I'm just talking about likelihoods.
Basically what I find objectionable is the lazy or conceited assumption that someone who has views you disagree with must be unintelligent.
In all the years watching Portillo with Abbott I've seen him make fun of her and talk about their time at school together. I don't recall him implying she is unintelligent.
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68
Diane Abbott XD
by LoveUniHateExams indiane abbott has often given me moments of amusement throughout the years.. whenever i'm feeling depressed, 30 mins of watching her varied gaffes on youtube usually cheers me up.. the following is a clip from this week (feb 2008) in which she seems to wonder out loud whether mao did more good than harm.
it's great to hear michael portillo's initial reaction ("whaaat!
") and then watch him and andrew neil belly-laugh at diane abbott's comments at the end of the clip.. perhaps she'd been at the blue nun xd.
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slimboyfat
I think that opposing the Iraq war, even when it was a minority view, is a considerable achievement. It's only in hindsight that it's taken for granted. Like a lot of positions on the left, at first they are ridiculed, then taken for granted. Opposition to the Iraq war is one, Nelson Mandela in the 1980s, minimum wage in the 1990s, and so on. Universal basic income - watch this space.
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68
Diane Abbott XD
by LoveUniHateExams indiane abbott has often given me moments of amusement throughout the years.. whenever i'm feeling depressed, 30 mins of watching her varied gaffes on youtube usually cheers me up.. the following is a clip from this week (feb 2008) in which she seems to wonder out loud whether mao did more good than harm.
it's great to hear michael portillo's initial reaction ("whaaat!
") and then watch him and andrew neil belly-laugh at diane abbott's comments at the end of the clip.. perhaps she'd been at the blue nun xd.
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slimboyfat
I didn't say anything about not questioning her public statements. I was addressing the claim that she is not intelligent. I suggested that getting into Cambridge is a better indication of intelligence than making a fool of yourself on TV or radio. (Or being a loudmouth on an Internet forum for that matter) Is there an alternative explanation for how someone from her background got to Cambridge and completed her degree? I'm actually interested to know. In the absence of another good explanation I think I'll proceed on the basis that she's probably intelligent.
Eric Hobsbawn was a senior historian who defended the Soviet Union. I don't think even his critics would argue he was stupid. His books are brilliant. You don't need to lack intelligence in order to hold strange opinions. In fact intelligence is the root cause of strange opinions in some cases, as intelligent people can devise ingenious ways of justifying odd opinions.
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68
Diane Abbott XD
by LoveUniHateExams indiane abbott has often given me moments of amusement throughout the years.. whenever i'm feeling depressed, 30 mins of watching her varied gaffes on youtube usually cheers me up.. the following is a clip from this week (feb 2008) in which she seems to wonder out loud whether mao did more good than harm.
it's great to hear michael portillo's initial reaction ("whaaat!
") and then watch him and andrew neil belly-laugh at diane abbott's comments at the end of the clip.. perhaps she'd been at the blue nun xd.
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slimboyfat
It's nothing to do with appeal to authority. The claim was that she lacks intelligence. She certainly doesn't interview well, but not all intelligent people do. Getting into Cambridge, and competing a degree there is probably a better indication of intelligence. I gather she didn't come from a wealthy background. If she's not intelligent then I'd be really interested to know how she pulled it off.
Another comment was that she is unfit to be an MP. I simply pointed out that if there were more MPs like her we would have avoided the Iraq war one of the biggest mistakes in our lifetime. This observation does not require that Iraq is the be all and end it. It's an indication of good judgement, which is surely important. If Portillo was taken in by Blair's lies then that indicates poor judgement. And none of these observations necessitates viewing Lib Dems as a group as good or bad. From what I recall they opposed the war only because the UN didn't sanction it. I think that was one good reason but there were other good reasons as people like Alex Salmond, Diane Abbott, Claire Short, Robin Cook and others argued at the time.
if you are a regular viewer of The Week, do you remember the episode where Portillo came out backing the vote to leave the EU. He said that even if we vote to leave the EU it won't happen because they will negotiate a new settlement? Well it's not looking likely at the moment.
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68
Diane Abbott XD
by LoveUniHateExams indiane abbott has often given me moments of amusement throughout the years.. whenever i'm feeling depressed, 30 mins of watching her varied gaffes on youtube usually cheers me up.. the following is a clip from this week (feb 2008) in which she seems to wonder out loud whether mao did more good than harm.
it's great to hear michael portillo's initial reaction ("whaaat!
") and then watch him and andrew neil belly-laugh at diane abbott's comments at the end of the clip.. perhaps she'd been at the blue nun xd.
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slimboyfat
What's worse expressing an odd opinion about Mao, or voting for an illegal war that has led to the deaths of millions?
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68
Diane Abbott XD
by LoveUniHateExams indiane abbott has often given me moments of amusement throughout the years.. whenever i'm feeling depressed, 30 mins of watching her varied gaffes on youtube usually cheers me up.. the following is a clip from this week (feb 2008) in which she seems to wonder out loud whether mao did more good than harm.
it's great to hear michael portillo's initial reaction ("whaaat!
") and then watch him and andrew neil belly-laugh at diane abbott's comments at the end of the clip.. perhaps she'd been at the blue nun xd.
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slimboyfat
Abbott doesn't interview well that's for sure. But how many of the people questioning her intelligence got into Cambridge I wonder?
On the two most important decisions of our generation she got them right, particularly on Iraq which she opposed strongly from the start. If only we had more like her in Parliament we might have avoided the worst mistake in decades.
Portillo seems a nice guy but he's all over the place. I think he supported the iraq war before he opposed it. And didn't he say he voted to leave the EU because he thought it couldn't happen and would be renegotiated? And remember Andrew Neill promoted the idea that AIDS wasn't caused by HIV.
Abbott may not intereview well but she's had better judgment than those two when it counts.
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68
Diane Abbott XD
by LoveUniHateExams indiane abbott has often given me moments of amusement throughout the years.. whenever i'm feeling depressed, 30 mins of watching her varied gaffes on youtube usually cheers me up.. the following is a clip from this week (feb 2008) in which she seems to wonder out loud whether mao did more good than harm.
it's great to hear michael portillo's initial reaction ("whaaat!
") and then watch him and andrew neil belly-laugh at diane abbott's comments at the end of the clip.. perhaps she'd been at the blue nun xd.
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slimboyfat
Correct Labour is responsible for the Iraq war. And of course I wouldn't vote for the red Tories, as Labour is known around here.
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68
Diane Abbott XD
by LoveUniHateExams indiane abbott has often given me moments of amusement throughout the years.. whenever i'm feeling depressed, 30 mins of watching her varied gaffes on youtube usually cheers me up.. the following is a clip from this week (feb 2008) in which she seems to wonder out loud whether mao did more good than harm.
it's great to hear michael portillo's initial reaction ("whaaat!
") and then watch him and andrew neil belly-laugh at diane abbott's comments at the end of the clip.. perhaps she'd been at the blue nun xd.
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slimboyfat
Diane Abbott - voted against the Iraq war in in 2003 and to stay in the EU in 2015
Michael Portillo - voted in favour of the Iraq war in 2003 and to leave the EU in 2015
So what's better? A perfect grasp of history, or a record of contemporary good judgement? I know who I would trust.