The Hall of Fire

Whatever else it is, it's boring, badly written, largely incomprehensible to an English reader reading what could have been a crappy translation. Most of what I remember (read it many years ago) I recall as truly being the tedious ravings of a more or less loony guy. A mish mash of various kinds of...

I'm confused, too (still) since I have absolutely no idea what GbG is talking about. Is "Cordon Sanitaire" the name of a book? A book that has been annotated? A German book? I don't even know what to look for in order to become more informed. I feel like I must have missed an explanatory ...

GBG, even if one accepts the existence of a propaganda assault against Islamism, it would not mean that all criticism of Islamist political developments is propaganda. Agreed. And I wonder; do you accept there is a propaganda assault against Islam? In some quarters - and the more serious commentato...

GBG, even if one accepts the existence of a propaganda assault against Islamism, it would not mean that all criticism of Islamist political developments is propaganda. Agreed. And I wonder; do you accept there is a propaganda assault against Islam? The proposed legislative assault on (hard won and ...

If you want to discuss "censorship, propaganda and indoctrination" that "transcends national boundaries", you should perhaps bring up some since this case doesn't seem to qualify much. Define "much"... :D If there is no recourse to "censor", "propagandiz...

I'd just like to point out that the "self-defense" thing was a mistranslation. What he actually claimed was "principle of necessity". Most of the arguments made here still apply, though. I don't see the problem with having a long, thorough trial in this case. Many people want to...

River wrote:Wouldn't most of those questions would be best directed at some actual Germans? It being their country and all?

Censorship, propaganda and indoctrination transcend national boundaries. Don't they?

Wouldn't surprise me. Sounds like standard propaganda ( those people do gross things and they like it!) It is possible to be skeptical of this particular story but still concerned about the Islamist tendencies of Egypt's new government. Obviously women's rights will be one major issue, but there ar...

Exactly. I am happy to discuss, but GBG, you have to put forward a credible, thought-out argument of your own for people to consider and respond. In other words, you can't stand on the sidelines, toss a ball into the crowd, and expect us to all run around and start playing basketball while you stan...

Are some books so dangerous that they can only be published in annotated form?

James Lovelock, author of the "Gaia hypothesis", has been one of the most vociferous 'champions' of AGW. For this reason, I think it is interesting to note his recent equivocation on the issue, confessing he has been 'alarmist'. Here he expresses his surprise at the divergence between atmo...

My youngest son is going to be in Oslo during this trial, or at least part of it. He's going to be staying with relatives. He's going to be there for a shooting match - many of his fellow competitors will be military and police from all over Europe. I'm looking forward to hearing what he has to say...

Not so much ambiguity as illustrating the number of issues involved, and timing (and its conjoined twin certainty) not the least. Stopping an inevitable attack immediately before it happens is never going to have the moral stigma attached to it that stopping a likely attack months before it happens...

If I still have to drive them around because they can't drive themselves, they're still kids. ;) Then my mother is still a kid! However, where I may disagree is on the relative "indefensibility" of the examples cited, and the concomitant opprobrium each example deserves. As I said, people...

The problem with defensive pre-emption is that it's a matter of degree, not kind. Attacking someone who has the capability of being a threat someday, and with whom you have poor relations (aka Iraq) strikes me as morally dubious (as it did at the inception of hostilities). That isn't the same as, s...

I've been to Scandanavia a few times. When people over there freak out about multiculturalism, it's a code-word for "people who don't look like us." The crap I was referring to is Breivik's claim that he acted in self-defense. You are, of course, free to take my comment personally if you ...

Since when did scratching heads over the Norwegian system equate with championing the US system? Is Norway even a common law country? Could Breivik make his defense in another common law country? Apologies. My off topic aside was a response to the introduction of " American due process" I...

I can't speak for Norway, but in America "due process" does not require allowing a defendant to assert a defense that does not exist. I agree that even the worst of the worst alleged criminals need to be given every opportunity to avail themselves of the judicial process, including compet...