Gen Clark to speak at Purdue U Jan 17

[judy from nj]

From The Exponent, Purdue's student newspaper:

One prestigious speaker is former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO forces in Europe and candidate for the 2004 Democratic Party presidential nomination Wesley Clark. Clark will come to start off the history department's Sears Lecture Series and will speak on "The Balkans: A Strategic Vision." The speech is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 17 in Loeb Playhouse. Free tickets are available at campus box offices and ticket-holders will be seated first. After 7:20 on the night of the speech, seating is open to the public. The lecture series also includes Pulitzer Prize winner Roy Gutman for a speech on the Taliban in Afghanistan on Feb. 15 and United Nations Special Representative to Liberia Jacques Paul Klein on March 7.

[BiggJawn]

1. The House was Full.

He gave a very good talk about how America has seemed to have lost it's "policy" in oh, the last 5 years...

We don't like being in NATO or the UN anymore, because that cramps BushCo's "go it alone" cowboy style.

We have lost our way in the World. The US is no longer viewed as that big friendly giant of the West. We're in danger of becoming who we used to be in a cold war with.

By going into Kosovo, we saved 1.5 million lives. NOT intervening in Africa was a mistake, but he had a plan to send 20,000 there and nobody in Congress wanted to hear it. "20,000? Good gawd, man, we just lost men in Somalia, and half my people at home don't even know where that is!"

China is becoming a Player to be reckoned with, NOT because they got a 20,000,000-man Army, but because of their economic power. Economically, they're where the US was 100 years ago.

He related a conversation he had with Wolfowitz right after the Berlin wall fell. Wolfie was ALL for going into the ME and "Cleaning it up...Get rid of all those ex-soviet client-states..."

Elections mean nothing in themselves. It's who the elections install that's important.

We have a wonderful system here in the US, but we're in danger of losing it because of APATHY. people can't tell you when we entered WWI, but they can tell you what's on TV this weekend.

Scuttlebutt going around the EU is that Bush will smack Iran. AND Syria...

And much, much more, but since I have little short-term memory, I won't remember most of it for a week or two.

Can't wait to hear Gutman.

[Phoebe_in_Sydney]

2. thanks for the report

love to hear more when the remaining memory chips kick in :-)

Love the point about not knowing when the US entered WWI, but knowing what's on TV this weekend.

[BiggJawn]

3. I have often said, without rebutal...

That your average Murkan Sheeple can't tell you who their congress-critter is, but they can tell you the name and date of EVERY person ever kicked off the fucking Island, AND can recite verbatim, Simon's insults to every person ever gonged on "The Gong Show II", uh, I mean "Murrikan Eye-DULL"...

What was that poster from the 70's? The one that showed a smiling Donna Reed-type saying "I don't care if there ARE pesticides in my Lettuce, just so long as it's CRISP!"

I spoke briefly with the General afterwards, and I asked him if he thought that the US found itself in an "Enemy Vacuum" after the USSR imploded, thus TWAT (The Wahr Agin' Terra) and he agreed that was a fair assessment.

Editorial follows:

In his talk, he made reference to being part of the "Duck and Cover" generation, the kids who were told to cover their heads and get under the school desk when the missiles were spotted (I guess so they couldn't see their death coming?). There was a fear factor involved with that. What was the best way to keep the people supporting the never-ending "Cold War" against the soviets? Make them afraid that they were going to vapourized in their beds by Khruschev. I was around for the Cuban Missle thing, but i don't remember it, even though I later had a girlfriend who was a few years older than me who went to parochial school and remembered the Nuns hustling everyone into the church for some high-powered Novena-saying.

Now we have this vague "War on Terror", and to keep the support of the sheeple high, and to keep them from questioning the Man Behind the Curtain, you keep them afraid.

And I think it's even easier this time, thanks to the indoctrination of the Masses by the RW-controlled media, especially AM Hate Radio. Don't question the President. Respect the Office. Support the troops. Anyone who criticizes our involvement in Iraq and Talibanistan is a traitor, and Ann Coulter said so. If we don't blindly support our government, then the magical 9-11 teddy bears on top of the Teee-Veee will cry, Jeebus will turn his back on Murka, and everyone's kid in the Army will come home in a box, because GAWD will be angry with us for not joining the Minute-Men Marching Club and the Bush Jugend.....