GunboatDiplomat

I don't see it as a non-sequitur. If you find that quote offensive in some way, you presumably approve of the Talibans treatment of women.

> After the US et. al. cut off fuel and oil trade. They don't teach you that part in school.

And do you know why we did that? Was that mentioned? Did they talk about Japan's war of conquest in China or the Rape of Nanking, among a thousand other atrocities?

> Don't think the US didn't do everything it could to antagonize the enemy. Japan was repeatedly slapped in the face until it had no choice but to respond to protect its honour.

Is that what it's called when we objected to Japan's war of conquest against China? Antagonism? Fine, let it be so. Japan brought doom on themselves.

Does it not matter that we were running those maneuvers largely in response to Japanese aggression in China and the Pacific? Does it matter that the reason we were in tension with Japan was their murder and conquest spree in China?

Does any of it excuse the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor?

I think the answer is no, despite my great respect for General Butler.

I don't think so. Benjamin Franklin is probably the prototypical self-made man. And you would never claim that "he did it all himself." He wouldn't have claimed that either. It's clear from his Autobiography that there were many people who helped him along his path to success, but that doesn't change the fact that he was a self-made man.

So can you identify no situation in which killing someone is appropriate?

Think Sears is bad, try KMart.

Yes, and?

Well, you're entitled to eat whatever you can afford to eat. If that's meat, it's meat.

>Slavery was more stable: lasted millenia.

And slavery required less violence, per capita, to maintain? I don't think so. Innumerable slave revolts. Wars of conquest to capture slaves. Slave raiding. The daily violence needed to enforce slavery. Sexual violence perpetrated on slaves.

Capitalism is a rock of stability, from a civil society perspective, in contrast. When was the last time a developed capitalist nation had a civil war, or even a major violent revolt?

>the notion of striving for equal individual ownership of goods as a spark to action is nonsense.

Well he didn't say that. But you would do well to remember that during the Russian Revolution and subsequent years, those who were somewhat prosperous among the peasantry were purged, punished, sent to Siberia because of their prosperity. Their prosperity meant they were capitalist oppressors, you see.

>If they refuse or tell you how evil buying glasses online is, get a new optometrist.

It's truly hilarious how defensive they get over online glasses purchases. I've been using Zenni for over 5 years now, and there's no way in hell I'd go back to using a local optometrist for my glasses.