Vance's criticism of Senator Murray is idiotic, as is Vance's assertion that we can't learn a lesson from "a madman." The wise person (or nation) learns from enemies as well as friends. We learned a lesson from Hitler and Hirohito, which is to prepare to fight the *next* war (with its new tactics made possible by technological innovatations), not the previous war. We need to re-learn the same lesson from bin Laden and Saddam. -- Jason
----- Original Message ----- From: "kilopascal" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Saturday, December 21, 2002 5:31 pm Subject: [USMA:24162] Re: Mg, ton > 2002-12-21 > > Your comment about the US and Taliban reminds me of this article. > If you were a person of importance in the US and inferred that an > US institution resembled the Taliban, you would be forced to > resign and blacklisted. So much for democracy and free speech > > John > > Murray's bin Laden comments "outrageous," says Vance > Senator praises Osama, criticizes U.S. > > Seattle, WA - Today The Columbian newspaper in Vancouver reported > that U.S. Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) told a group of local students > that Osama bin Laden had done good things for Afghanistan and the > Third World, and asked whether the people of poverty-stricken > countries would have a better view of the United States if we had > followed bin Laden's example. > > Here's an excerpt from the Columbian article: > > " 'We've got to ask, why is this man (Osama bin Laden) so popular > around the world?,' said Murray, who faces re-election in 2004. > 'Why are people so supportive of him in many countries . that are > riddled with poverty? > > " 'He's been out in these countries for decades, building schools, > building roads, building infrastructure, building day care > facilities, building health care facilities, and the people are > extremely grateful. We haven't done that. > > " 'How would they look at us today if we had been there helping > them with some of that rather than just being the people who are > going to bomb in Iraq and go to Afghanistan?'" > > Chris Vance, chairman of the Washington State Republican Party, > said Murray's comments were not only offensive but untrue. > > "It is absolutely outrageous and despicable to imply that the > American government should learn a lesson from the madman who > murdered thousands of American citizens," said Vance. "I know > Senator Murray has a habit of sticking her foot in her mouth, but > this goes way beyond a simple gaffe. > > "Patty Murray sent the message to these students that the United > States somehow deserved or brought on the September 11 terrorist > attacks. I think all decent people can agree that we most > certainly did not, that this was an unprovoked attack of > terrorism. And where on earth does Senator Murray get the idea > that Osama bin Laden built roads, schools and day cares? He ran > terrorist camps in Afghanistan that trained the killers who > carried out the 9/11 monstrosities. It is the American government > and the American people who lead the world in helping people of > impoverished countries, not murderers like bin Laden. > > "If Patty Murray really believes what she said, she should think > twice about running for re-election. It's one thing for her to be > wary of engaging in war, but to say these kinds of outrageous and > untrue things is just beyond the pale." > > Vance called on Murray to immediately retract and apologize for > her comments. > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Mike Joy" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Friday, 2002-12-20 19:43 > Subject: [USMA:24158] Re: Mg, ton > > > > Carl Sorenson wrote in USMA 24111: > > > > | The problem would not be miscomprehension, but a total lack of > > | comprehension. If a newspaper article had the quantity 10 Mg, > the vast > > | majority of the public (at least in the U.S., and probably > most places) > > | would either have no idea what it meant or they would think it > was saying > > 10 > > | milligrams. > > > > You can blame this on your leaders of education. I personally > think it's an > > absolute crime to deny schoolchildren basic common knowledge of > the SI > > system in this day and age. No different from the Taliban > banning anything > > western to be shown, worn or even discussed in their own > country. That's > > how we see the US from outside the US. > > > > When I was a kid, even though there was no talk of converting to > SI, I was > > still taught that the small letter was used for units smaller > than the base > > unit and the capital letter used for those larger than the base > unit.> > > To learn that this was deliberately never taught in US schools > is the worst > > form of disinformation one can ever imagine. > > > > Definitely NO points awarded to the US Secretary of Education, > or to the > > states' version of this very important position. > > > > Mike > >
