Matt Damon Is Very Outspoken

Read an effin book people! Says:
December 17th, 2006 at 3:49 pm
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You sound seriously delusional. The decline of all the great Empires have been the arrogance of those in control, thinking they are superior and have a complete dominion
over “lesser” beings. Whether we were on good terms with Iraq at the time or not we do not have the “RIGHT” to tell others how to live unless people were in immediate danger. There are other, more productive strategies in combating terrorism. Violence always begat violence although in some cases I fully acknowledge that there are no other choices but war. We had choices in this situation and in my estimation made the wrong ones. I think the President and the Congress who voted to send our troops to Iraq owes them, their families and the American public an apology for deceiving us and putting our hard-working, faithful soldiers in harms way unnecessarily. I do understand that soldiers are prepared to give their life to their country. But we as citizens should value the lives of our troops who protect us and the country more than sending them to dangerous situations when we have not thought out the consequences of our actions. I agree that we have to do something to clean up our mess over there, because it is our mess. But the President seems to be incapable of coming up with a strategy. He should have realized that any middle-eastern intervention would always be rife with complexity. Just ask Israel and Palestine. You seriously need to re-think YOUR blind faith in the President. I for one am not willing to follow anyone blindly.

RAT Says:
December 18th, 2006 at 8:14 am

I like Matt Damon, he’s a good actor. But if he truly believes in what he is saying, why doesn’t he carry his ass over to Iraq to fight. Why don’t these actors think about what they are saying before they say it?
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Why don’t you do the same?

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My apologies to Read an effin book people! After re-reading several of the instances of posters above it is as I suspect. We all agree on certain parts of the debate about the War and military just not on the whole. You could even call this a microcism of how it is in the world at large. We have commonality of parts but not the whole.

We have extremist on each end with the majority of us being firmly in the middle, if not together. For Rabid pooch, rat, Jan and other extremists out there; muslim extremist/Israeli extremist/(Insert here Extremist), thinking of the world in terms of us against them is what starts most conflicts in the first place. The other cause of conflicts is poverty and dispowerment. This is a fertile breeding ground for extremist and terrorism. It is these things that we must foster, (understanding, prosperity and self-empowerment) in order to cut terrorism off at the knees. If these needs are not fulfilled then hatred, poverty, fundamental extremist and terrorism will continue to breed and consume the world.

I respect your viewpoint, me too…but, you are living in a popsickle land of enchantment…with fulfill their needs etc..I lived in a moslem country…and the only thing they want from you..is to get the hell out of their land and let them make your country muslim…they actually love things about America=blue jeans, cigarettes, girly mags, movies, make-up…but, on their terms. It is their religious duty to kill the infidel unless he converts. Period. You are in a Holy War whether you like it or not..and it will last many years..They have tried 3x to do this..and we are now in the 4th caliphate…and unless we send them back into the desert…they will continue until they win what they see as their duty to Allah…they are patient…
10 days, 10 week, 10 years, 100 yrs..whatever it takes..

I keep reading that this is “President Bushs’” war.

I wasn’t aware that a sitting US President could just go off on his own and start a war.

I wonder why it wasn’t voted on in congress?

jan Says:
December 18th, 2006 at 9:05 am
rabid pooch….you are the only blogger that “gets it”….
There are over 750 new mosques in this country funded by the Wahabi sect (home of the 9/11 terrorists). They are demanding prayer rooms in airports; microphoned calls to mecca equal to church bells pealing..to name a few intrusions..they are infiltrated the world..Europe is now called: Eurabia..France, Germany and England are inundated. English friends of mine in Birmingham told me they are not allowed to fly the English flag called ** George as it would offend the Muslims…and all of you bloggers that have all the answers………..
There is only one country that stands in the way….America..and that is why they are attacking us..they don’t hate us…they want you all to be Muslims…or die..simple..as a ABC…read the Koran.
They want to scare the world into submission…appeasement.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I really have to say something about this. STOP DEMONISING MUSLIMS. I have lived amongst muslims virtually all my life and some of my dearest friends are muslims. They are humans, just like you and me.

It is a tragedy of the muslim world that so many muslim countries, except those who have oil, are poor, corrupt and have a population which is largely illiterate. However, that doesn make Muslims all demonic. The poor education means that many have few means to access information, few tools to think through issues. They therefore are easily led. But really most muslims are just reaching.

What is the something they are reaching for?? Well, most muslims want to live in peace. They want what you want, money to spend, a nice home, good schools for their children, hospitals for the sick, a future for themselves and their children. And they want to see some sort of settlement in israel because Israel has become the symbol of the oppressor and the Palestinians the symbol of Muslim disenfranchisement in the world. America, as israels biggest supporter, also gets much of the blame from the muslim perspective.

so this is not a “war” that George Bush can ever win with arms. He has to win the hearts and minds of the average muslim. And the Israeli issue must be settled, together with Jerusalem. I absolutely support the right of israel to exists. I absolutely support the right of Palestine to exist as a viable state. And i absolutely think that if Jerusalem is the sticking point to the peace settlement as it has been, then Jerusalem needs to be made some sort of international territory. Simplistic, but a real start.

Having said the above, your point about bending over backwards to accommodate Muslims in countries such as the UK and France isn’t going to help. I don’t have a problem with the call to prayer (so long as there is a large muslim community surrounding the mosque and they dont use loud speakers) but I do have a problem with other things like muslim women wearing the burqa. I fully support the view that that should be banned. If I go to Saudi Arabia and I’m expected to wear the full burqa, I will do so, cheerfully, as I respect your customs. If you come to my country, then I expect to see your face, even if you cover the rest of your head and body. because in my country, to hide your face is sinister.

I also believe that Muslims have to question themselves more closely. They have to accept that there are aspect of their religion are totally reprehensible and contrary to the concept of Islam as a religion of conscience and peace, such as the crime of apostasy (ie a muslims converts to another religion) is in some countries, punishable by death. They have to ask themselves, what aspect of their religion, is keeping their own countries, backward, corrupt, illiterate. that’s not because of the western powers. One only has to look at Confucian/Buddhist based countries China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Hk and protestant based countries such as Scandinavia, Germany, Canada, Australia, etc and Catholic based countries such as those in South america, italy, spain etc, to see that there are cultural and religious values which keeps certain societies back ward and allow others move forward more rapidly.

Every society has to go through these sorts of soul searching. Just as you have demonised Muslims, so have muslims started to DEMONISE America. Instead of getting defensive, ask yourself instead why are muslims so angry with America, why do the muslims not like america. What happened? having lived in South East Asia most of my life, surronded by muslims, I can tell you that up until the late 1990s, America was looked up to and admired, by muslims and non muslims. Since the late 1990s, there’s been a sea change in the attitudes of most muslims and also non muslims, towards America. And not just in South East Asia but also in Europe. and this change is not positive towards America. Attitudes towards America have turned negative. Why is that. This is a question American must ask themselves or else America will be as boxed in as the muslims.

I’m not anti american. I have many American friends, worked with a great American MNC, been to america many times. I find Americans to be on the whole, sincere, genuinely non racist in the work place, generous. My best mentors are American. Most people still prefer to work for American companies because they know that in an American company, your race is less important then your performance. These are great things about America and Americans. In europe and America, it may be a bad thing to be an multinational but trust me, in Asia, most people prefer to work for an American MNC because the working conditions are better then the local ones.

However, george bush has squandered (yes, SQUANDERED) this bank account of goodwill built over the years by Americans who live abroad. I DONT LIKE GEORGE W BUSH, his unilateral ways (starting with Kyoto Agreement), his NEO cons, and I do think George Bush and his team wanted to see what they wanted to see and refused to acknowledge a different opinion about iraq and WMD. Consequently, they mis-led my country to participate in a war.

Now I know, George Bush ISNT America. That America is diverse. But just as you don’t distinguish between the fanatic muslim and the average muslim, then most people dont distinguish between American and its president. Yet, Jan, as a harvard graduate, please, make the emotional effort to make distinctions. Quite literally, world peace depends on people like you and me, making the distinctions so that we don’t throw out the baby with the bath water, so that we don’t tar a nation, or a religion, with the actions of a few fanatics, or even its democratically elected government.

But on the brighter note, I ADMIRE America, for having systems that prevented the Bush administration from manufacturing evidence of WMD in Iraq. If it were another country, it is very possible evidence could be manufactured.

I think America has many things going for it but from an international policy perspective, George bush and his neo cons have badly damaged America’s standing in the world.

OMG, I’ve never read such rubbish. Sure are a lot of know it alls on here that actually don’t know jack ****.

errrrrrrrrrr…….Christians have done their fair share of disgusting acts through out history was the point…..not haven’t.

RabidPooch Says:
December 18th, 2006 at 11:10 am
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The problem with your view is that these should be HUMAN RIGHTS issues
not simply targeting and profiling a particular RELIGION. HUMAN RIGHTS are violated by all countries and YES, even sanctioned and supported by various religions. The Roman Catholic church has yet to explain why it continually shields it’s priests, who are known pedophiles. These are acts which should be exposed for the CRIMINAL ACTS that they are, not used to target a particular religion. Am I to accuse all Catholists for letting this to happen? Or all Mormans for encouraging polygamy? These issues should be taken out of the religious realm and put into the realm of HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS.

“Am I to accuse all Catholists for letting this to happen? Or all Mormans for encouraging polygamy?”

Mormons do not practice polygamy in this day and age. They would be excommunicated for doing so. A “fundamentalist” sect of the revised mormonism religion practices polygamy.

And you are confusing the issues. These are religious issues becasue they are tied to being a devout believer and following the rules of their religion by interpretation.

The priest molesting children is not a sanctioned practice of the Catholic church or interpretted to be a moral right because of Catholic teaching.

Honor killings are a sanctioned practice by fundamentalist followers of the Islamic faith.

And are moderates responsible for the actions of fundamentalists? Absolutely. The only difference between the moderate and a fundamentalist is that religious moderation is a prduct of secular knowledge and scriptural ignorance. The moderate of religion today has edited their beliefs with a modern understanding of ethics.

Let us be honest here. If Christians were following the letter of the law from the bible there would be more blood shed from them as well.

Read Deuteronomy 13:7. …..it tells you to KILL anyone who tells you to serve another God.

The difference is moderates and fundamentalists is the f undamentalists do not EDIT the ethics. They take their “books” at their words. The reason we have no many more Islamic fundamentalists is possibly two fold. The first is a general lack of overall education and the second is that unlike other religions, they have not had revivals (or basically formal updates) that have been encouraged and edited by modern thinking and ethics.

But know that because of moderates, fundamentalists of any religions survive more successfully.

In my mind this is absolutely NO acceptable reason to kill a human being over conflicts of religious beliefs, but the pratice has been and continues to thrive through out history.

I think Bush may have graduated from Yale but I can’t remember. Love Matt Damon. I really like the fact that he doesn’t get too involved in the Hollywood lifestyle. And in terms of war, most of them throughout human history are not justifiable. And killing certainly is not ever justifiable in my book. People need to learn to solve their problems without violence.

Hebrews were on the land in Israel before there was a group called Palestinians.
Jordan kicked the Palestinians out
Everyday peoples all over the world want to eat,sleep, love and be happy; Including Jews and Americans. The people in the Towers went to work one morning and never have been seen since. We have been at war a long time..and only realized it 9/11. The bombing of the Kobar Towers; the bombing of The USS Cole, the Spanish Subway; The London Subway, The recent London plot, Indonesian Nightclub, Israeli resorts, .etc. I could go on and on…
WE HAVE BEEN AT WAR A LONG TIME….if you refuse to believe it then that is your problem. If you continue to think that everyone is wonderful and loving then that is also your problem. The active terrorist groups laugh at our stupidity..and they count on the
Americans that don’t “get it”…BTW George W Bush graduated from Yale. History will deal with Iraq and who/what and when.
This blog started over Matt Damon…it would be nice if we could stick to the subject. I am over and out.

“You can never say too little if innocent people are going to be murdered in their own country.”….drainbreath…

9/11

okay……back to the topic……MATT DAMON IS WRONG.

the military often affords the average person opportunties they would not be able to otherwise afford.

case in point…..my brother in law…..he is considered “middle class,” served in the marines and recently spent a year in iraq flying helicopters in the reserves.

he saved his nickels to take flying lessons and get his pilot’s license, but had he not joined the military (and most recently been sent to iraq as a reservist) he would never have been afford the experience (the military paid for) to fly choppers (which he loves to do).

upon return he was also afforded the opportunity in a job flying helicopters at the border ………a job which is paying him $250 a week MORE than the the regular job he held prior to being deployed to iraq ($13,000 ADDITIONAL A YEAR !!!!).

you certainly don’t hear celebrities talking about the people’s lives who have been upgraded by serving their country. wonder why.