open Democracy News Analysis - 50.50 - Comments

Sandgroper on "Psychoactive and Operation Cast Lead"

Sandgroper — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 09:03:25 +0000

You said: " Our colleagues persistently voiced their opposition to any form of attack on or killing of civilians, whether Palestinian or Jewish..."

Did they voice this opposition at any other time during the 8 years of rocket and mortar attacks on Israeli civilians ...or only after Israel attacked?

(I'm genuinely interested in an answer.)

Unimpressed on "Home truths in the Muslim family"

Unimpressed — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 05:51:28 +0000

Curb your enthusiasm, aspacia, RobPC is a bigoted moron high on the rubbish from hate sites like jihadwatch.Quoting verses in isolation from the Quran without any context is the standard tactic employed by these charlatans. Ethanll speaks of "honor killing"(claims its a Muslim thing, so care to explain why Hindus, Sikhs, Jains do it as well) yet denies that far far more women are murdered in his "civilized" culture on a daily basis. These childish cut and paste tactics only highlight the dishonest nature of western propagandists. Westerners with their primitive thinking process still cannot fathom that men and women are NOT the same, equality before the sight of God is not measured by some pathetic cretins inability to understand gender roles in the physical world. This is the reason western culture is inferior and in a downward spiral. No true culture, no family unit, no respect for the elderly, or compassion for the young. Is it any wonder that the most wretched inhuman ideologies originate from Europe? I think not!
Lets be brutally honest, if the Judeo-Christian cabal are not killing you with their bombs they send you a barrage of pompous intellectual dissertations, essentially informing you how to interpret your religion, your history and your culture, and that you are basically an animal and should be vanquished. Muslims have simply got to understand that these monsters have a plan. The plan is not only to murder, massacre and slaughter Muslims but degrade, humiliate and insult them and their religion, take over their countries, divide up their land, sell off their oil and resources and stoke up ethnic and religious hatred to keep the natives fighting and killing each other, while these beasts look happily on from well fortified turrets in 'Green Zones'. These filthy bloodthirsty hypocrites spent 50 years clamoring to bring the wall down in Germany and yet have eagerly built walls in Mexico, in Palestinian lands and now Iraq. They openly support each other’s viciously racist agenda. I wonder if succeeding generation of Muslims will be as complacent as their parents and turn the other cheek and grin and bear these outrages and this monsterously evil Judeo-Christian plan, which by the way has been termed by the Americans as the ‘New World Order’. One day this will all come back to haunt them.
Muslims are not like Westerners, crazy for power, whose motive is to dominate everybody else and who are very bad losers!
Islam is not about power. The West just CANNOT get that. It hurts to admit it - because of its blindness to its own manic obsession with power.
I liked the explanation given by the Edward Gibbon in the 18th Century for the unstoppable spread of Islam - its "moral authority".
I wonder where those Iraqi WMDs are....

Unimpressed on "Home truths in the Muslim family"

Unimpressed — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 05:42:54 +0000

Curb your enthusiasm, aspacia, RobPC is a bigoted moron high on the rubbish from hate sites like jihadwatch.Quoting verses in isolation from the Quran without any context is the standard tactic employed by these charlatans. These childish cut and paste tactics only highlight the dishonest nature of western propagandists. Westerners with their primitive thinking process still cannot fathom that men and women are NOT the same, equality before the sight of God is not measured by some pathetic cretins inability to understand gender roles. This is the reason western culture is inferior and in a downward spiral. No true culture, no family unit, no respect for the elderly, or compassion for the young. Is it any wonder that the most wretched inhuman ideologies originate from Europe? I think not!
Lets be brutally honest, if the Judeo-Christian cabal are not killing you with their bombs they send you a barrage of pompous intellectual dissertations, essentially informing you how to interpret your religion, your history and your culture, and that you are basically an animal and should be vanquished. Muslims have simply got to understand that these monsters have a plan. The plan is not only to murder, massacre and slaughter Muslims but degrade, humiliate and insult them and their religion, take over their countries, divide up their land, sell off their oil and resources and stoke up ethnic and religious hatred to keep the natives fighting and killing each other, while these beasts look happily on from well fortified turrets in 'Green Zones'. These filthy bloodthirsty hypocrites spent 50 years clamoring to bring the wall down in Germany and yet have eagerly built walls in Mexico, in Palestinian lands and now Iraq. They openly support each other’s viciously racist agenda. I wonder if succeeding generation of Muslims will be as complacent as their parents and turn the other cheek and grin and bear these outrages and this monsterously evil Judeo-Christian plan, which by the way has been termed by the Americans as the ‘New World Order’. One day this will all come back to haunt them.
Muslims are not like Westerners, crazy for power, whose motive is to dominate everybody else and who are very bad losers!
Islam is not about power. The West just CANNOT get that. It hurts to admit it - because of its blindness to its own manic obsession with power.
I liked the explanation given by the Edward Gibbon in the 18th Century for the unstoppable spread of Islam - its "moral authority".

Candace on "Emotional assistants: acquiring the latest skills"

Candace — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:00:57 +0000

Both of my bosses are women. I work closely with one and not so much with the other.The one who I am a personal assistant to is somewhat temperamental but
its always over with quickly. Having people yell at me doesn't faze me
either.

I haven't had any of the problems you mentioned with them. Come to think of it, I've had good experiences with the male bosses I've had in the past too. Work has been good to me.

The only time I've ever felt like I was required to manage the mood of who I was with or experienced sexism is when I was married and now if I want to get along with my family for being a single mom. If you're divorced, a single mom and not wealthy you must be an idiot; there must be something wrong with you, especially if you're committed to staying single. If I get to know anyone that is the default position everyone assumes.

It's disappointing. I wish integrity was important in real relationships with people but I know it isn't, flattery and money is which is probably why the relationships at work are the best to have because they don't know you well enough to feel comfortable sharing their judgements about you and they also don't shy away from straightforward questions which makes our environment consistently calm. But the more I've talked to people about this it seems I've been lucky that way.

As far as who is left to run things I dont think it makes a difference just as long as the standard isn't lowered because you're a woman (like with Sarah Palin)

JCBosma on "Psychoactive and Operation Cast Lead"

JCBosma — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 21:19:29 +0000

Great article.

I highly appreciate the work of Psychoactive and support them fully.

Michael Edwards on "No openDemocracy reader is alike – A tribute to Joan Burchardt"

Michael Edwards — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 14:32:10 +0000

What a wonderful piece - thank you Judith! I will have a smile on my face for the rest of the day. I wonder whether she ever met my Grandfather, Arthur Edwards, who worked at the Royal Aircraft Establishment in Farnborough between about 1913 and 1960 and was always inventing something for airplanes.

argentinian on "Psychoactive and Operation Cast Lead"

argentinian — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 13:03:37 +0000

As argentinian, concerned for a long time about WAR, I have read this article about the work of the net psychotherapists in Israel and Gaza operate to try to understand and cooperate with the FEARS both sides, feel as regards Cast Lead Op. I really feel they are trying to get some solutions. At least "listen" to people`s fears. It is SOMETHING !!! Please go on !!!
We are Doomed. Empire has decided long time ago to annihilate some "races" AND "RELIGIONS". Lets put it Freudian way, exterminate "DIFFERENCES", what makes us afraid. In Argentina 30.000 people are disappeared, because they were supposedly COMMUNISTS. Nazi ways....as israeli ways...

Not logged in on ""She was probably glad of the attention": tackling rape in the UK"

Not logged in — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 08:49:06 +0000

we should be aloud to wear want we want without men thinking they can shove their slimy dicks inside us and geting away with it.and how the fuck are women partically or fully fuckin responsible for being raped. we shouldnt be afraid of walking home by ourself. they should all have their dicks chopped off. if they cant use it properly then they shouldnt have one!!!!!!!!!!

Not logged in on "Iran: Players or Pawns?"

Not logged in — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 16:09:19 +0000

Pretty good analysis. these women in no shape and form represent the Iranian women. they are only devoted to the despotic regime of religious supremacy. majority of educated women in Iran are secular and believe in separation if Islam and state.

Najwa on "Women choosing to be"

Najwa — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 23:24:57 +0000

What proves that Hamas is also respecting people's will and rights is the fact that they came to power through a fair election, monitored locally, regionally and internationally. They won the election democratically, but the International community wants someone who could say YES SIR YES SIR... and that is not HAMAS!. So Rana whatever you try to show them, they will not recognize it or see it with regard to the strategic role of women in the society. I think, the best way is to go ahead. and achieve advancement and hopefully freedom and recognition.... The train has to move and the dogs can bark...

Najwa on "War-related rape: shortchanged at the peace table"

Najwa — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 22:38:00 +0000

I do agree with the finding and the report above. But, before UN is figuring out what to do and asking the Security Council to debate it, they should investigate the raping which is carried on by UN Peace Keep Mission in different part of the world. They should investigate it genuinely and openly and not requesting governments and investigators to cover it. UN Secretary General should put his house in order and conduct a serious accountability not in paper only but in reality. UN Secretary General should make a fair investigation to sexual abuse and harassment of women within the UN agencies “ If you don't have it, you can’t provide guidance and commit governments by clear rules to protect women and bring rapist into accountability

Priscila Pimentel on "The right to abortion: briefing from Brazil "

Priscila Pimentel — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 03:57:45 +0000

Thank you Celilia for your article. Im brasilian and im also from salvador-bahia. I share the same feeling about abortion. Im a Law student and this subject has been discussed in class. Your article helped me to elucidate my point of wien. Keep up with the good work and congratulations.

Lydia Perovic on "Emotional assistants: acquiring the latest skills"

Lydia Perovic — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 20:36:33 +0000

I know what you mean. Probably why women choose business attire in office environments even if it's not their preferred way of dressing.

I suppose there are areas of work that are becoming something of a pink ghetto, where you are likelier to have a female boss than the male one, and mostly female co-workers. I have been working in those kinds of environments. I expect as a sector or a position loses in power, it starts opening to women to take over.

This may sound naive, but I do miss female mentors and 'bosses' I can admire in my work life. My editor will disagree with me here, but I don't mind hierarchy altogether.

NYCartist on "Emotional assistants: acquiring the latest skills"

NYCartist — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 21:52:06 +0000

When you wrote "women running things: can we/they?", I was thinking of running governments,

such as women leading the Labor Party and gov't in Norway in a recent decade.

I've had office administrative jobs, and teaching jobs, and was a freelance office

management consultant to support my art career (after leaving teaching at age 25).

I had good women bosses and bad women bosses. But preferred women to men bosses. (I am a woman, now a "senior", and a feminist.) Perhaps one of the best things about being older (including becoming a wheelchair user) was men finally talking to my face, not my chest.

EmSalem on "Women choosing to be"

EmSalem — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 21:10:21 +0000

Rana ,,you made me proud having a friend like you , I think you are a newborn writer for upcoming glorious future.,,, Good step Rana,, wish u the best and wait the next,,,, Good luck