BARACK OBAMA BERLIN SPEECH: 'A WORLD THAT STANDS AS ONE'
THURS JULY 24 2008 12:58:02

Thank you to the citizens of Berlin and to the people of Germany. Let me thank Chancellor Merkel and Foreign Minister Steinmeier for welcoming me earlier today. Thank you Mayor Wowereit, the Berlin Senate, the police, and most of all thank you for this welcome.

I come to Berlin as so many of my countrymen have come before. Tonight, I speak to you not as a candidate for President, but as a citizen -- a proud citizen of the United States, and a fellow citizen of the world.

I know that I don't look like the Americans who've previously spoken in this great city. The journey that led me here is improbable. My mother was born in the heartland of America, but my father grew up herding goats in Kenya. His father -- my grandfather -- was a cook, a domestic servant to the British.

At the height of the Cold War, my father decided, like so many others in the forgotten corners of the world, that his yearning -- his dream -- required the freedom and opportunity promised by the West. And so he wrote letter after letter to universities all across America until somebody, somewhere answered his prayer for a better life.

That is why I'm here. And you are here because you too know that yearning. This city, of all cities, knows the dream of freedom. And you know that the only reason we stand here tonight is because men and women from both of our nations came together to work, and struggle, and sacrifice for that better life.

Ours is a partnership that truly began sixty years ago this summer, on the day when the first American plane touched down at Templehof.

On that day, much of this continent still lay in ruin.Ê The rubble of this city had yet to be built into a wall. The Soviet shadow had swept across Eastern Europe, while in the West, America, Britain, and France took stock of their losses, and pondered how the world might be remade.

This is where the two sides met.Ê And on the twenty-fourth of June, 1948, the Communists chose to blockade the western part of the city. They cut off food and supplies to more than two million Germans in an effort to extinguish the last flame of freedom in Berlin.

The size of our forces was no match for the much larger Soviet Army. And yet retreat would have allowed Communism to march across Europe. Where the last war had ended, another World War could have easily begun. All that stood in the way was Berlin.

Ê And that's when the airlift began -- when the largest and most unlikely rescue in history brought food and hope to the people of this city.

The odds were stacked against success. In the winter, a heavy fog filled the sky above, and many planes were forced to turn back without dropping off the needed supplies. The streets where we stand were filled with hungry families who had no comfort from the cold.Ê

But in the darkest hours, the people of Berlin kept the flame of hope burning. The people of Berlin refused to give up. And on one fall day, hundreds of thousands of Berliners came here, to the Tiergarten, and heard the city's mayor implore the world not to give up on freedom. "There is only one possibility," he said. "For us to stand together united until this battle is wonÉThe people of Berlin have spoken. We have done our duty, and we will keep on doing our duty. People of the world: now do your dutyÉPeople of the world, look at Berlin!"

People of the world -- look at Berlin!

Look at Berlin, where Germans and Americans learned to work together and trust each other less than three years after facing each other on the field of battle.

Look at Berlin, where the determination of a people met the generosity of the Marshall Plan and created a German miracle; where a victory over tyranny gave rise to NATO, the greatest alliance ever formed to defend our common security.Ê

Look at Berlin, where the bullet holes in the buildings and the somber stones and pillars near the Brandenburg Gate insist that we never forget our common humanity.Ê

People of the world -- look at Berlin, where a wall came down, a continent came together, and history proved that there is no challenge too great for a world that stands as one.ÊÊ

Sixty years after the airlift, we are called upon again. History has led us to a new crossroad, with new promise and new peril. When you, the German people, tore down that wall -- a wall that divided East and West; freedom and tyranny; fear and hope -- walls came tumbling down around the world. From Kiev to Cape Town, prison camps were closed, and the doors of democracy were opened. Markets opened too, and the spread of information and technology reduced barriers to opportunity and prosperity. While the 20th century taught us that we share a common destiny, the 21st has revealed a world more intertwined than at any time in human history.

The fall of the Berlin Wall brought new hope. But that very closeness has given rise to new dangers -- dangers that cannot be contained within the borders of a country or by the distance of an ocean.ÊÊ

The terrorists of September 11th plotted in Hamburg and trained in Kandahar and Karachi before killing thousands from all over the globe on American soil.Ê

As we speak, cars in Boston and factories in Beijing are melting the ice caps in the Arctic, shrinking coastlines in the Atlantic, and bringing drought to farms from Kansas to Kenya.

Poorly secured nuclear material in the former Soviet Union, or secrets from a scientist in Pakistan could help build a bomb that detonates in Paris. The poppies in Afghanistan become the heroin in Berlin. The poverty and violence in Somalia breeds the terror of tomorrow. The genocide in Darfur shames the conscience of us all.

In this new world, such dangerous currents have swept along faster than our efforts to contain them. That is why we cannot afford to be divided. No one nation, no matter how large or powerful, can defeat such challenges alone. None of us can deny these threats, or escape responsibility in meeting them. Yet, in the absence of Soviet tanks and a terrible wall, it has become easy to forget this truth. And if we're honest with each other, we know that sometimes, on both sides of the Atlantic, we have drifted apart, and forgotten our shared destiny.

In Europe, the view that America is part of what has gone wrong in our world, rather than a force to help make it right, has become all too common. In America, there are voices that deride and deny the importance of Europe's role in our security and our future. Both views miss the truth -- that Europeans today are bearing new burdens and taking more responsibility in critical parts of the world; and that just as American bases built in the last century still help to defend the security of this continent, so does our country still sacrifice greatly for freedom around the globe.

Yes, there have been differences between America and Europe. No doubt, there will be differences in the future. But the burdens of global citizenship continue to bind us together. A change of leadership in Washington will not lift this burden. In this new century, Americans and Europeans alike will be required to do more -- not less. Partnership and cooperation among nations is not a choice; it is the one way, the only way, to protect our common security and advance our common humanity.Ê

That is why the greatest danger of all is to allow new walls to divide us from one another. The walls between old allies on either side of the Atlantic cannot stand. The walls between the countries with the most and those with the least cannot stand. The walls between races and tribes; natives and immigrants; Christian and Muslim and Jew cannot stand. These now are the walls we must tear down.Ê

We know they have fallen before. After centuries of strife, the people of Europe have formed a Union of promise and prosperity. Here, at the base of a column built to mark victory in war, we meet in the center of a Europe at peace. Not only have walls come down in Berlin, but they have come down in Belfast, where Protestant and Catholic found a way to live together; in the Balkans, where our Atlantic alliance ended wars and brought savage war criminals to justice; and in South Africa, where the struggle of a courageous people defeated apartheid. Ê So history reminds us that walls can be torn down. But the task is never easy. True partnership and true progress requires constant work and sustained sacrifice. They require sharing the burdens of development and diplomacy; of progress and peace. They require allies who will listen to each other, learn from each other and, most of all, trust each other.Ê

That is why America cannot turn inward. That is why Europe cannot turn inward. America has no better partner than Europe. Now is the time to build new bridges across the globe as strong as the one that bound us across the Atlantic. Now is the time to join together, through constant cooperation, strong institutions, shared sacrifice, and a global commitment to progress, to meet the challenges of the 21st century. It was this spirit that led airlift planes to appear in the sky above our heads, and people to assemble where we stand today. And this is the moment when our nations -- and all nations -- must summon that spirit anew.

This is the moment when we must defeat terror and dry up the well of extremism that supports it. This threat is real and we cannot shrink from our responsibility to combat it. If we could create NATO to face down the Soviet Union, we can join in a new and global partnership to dismantle the networks that have struck in Madrid and Amman; in London and Bali; in Washington and New York. If we could win a battle of ideas against the communists, we can stand with the vast majority of Muslims who reject the extremism that leads to hate instead of hope.

This is the moment when we must renew our resolve to rout the terrorists who threaten our security in Afghanistan, and the traffickers who sell drugs on your streets. No one welcomes war. I recognize the enormous difficulties in Afghanistan. But my country and yours have a stake in seeing that NATO's first mission beyond Europe's borders is a success. For the people of Afghanistan, and for our shared security, the work must be done. America cannot do this alone. The Afghan people need our troops and your troops; our support and your support to defeat the Taliban and al Qaeda, to develop their economy, and to help them rebuild their nation. We have too much at stake to turn back now.

This is the moment when we must renew the goal of a world without nuclear weapons. The two superpowers that faced each other across the wall of this city came too close too often to destroying all we have built and all that we love. With that wall gone, we need not stand idly by and watch the further spread of the deadly atom. It is time to secure all loose nuclear materials; to stop the spread of nuclear weapons; and to reduce the arsenals from another era. This is the moment to begin the work of seeking the peace of a world without nuclear weapons.

This is the moment when every nation in Europe must have the chance to choose its own tomorrow free from the shadows of yesterday. In this century, we need a strong European Union that deepens the security and prosperity of this continent, while extending a hand abroad. In this century -- in this city of all cities -- we must reject the Cold War mind-set of the past, and resolve to work with Russia when we can, to stand up for our values when we must, and to seek a partnership that extends across this entire continent.

This is the moment when we must build on the wealth that open markets have created, and share its benefits more equitably. Trade has been a cornerstone of our growth and global development. But we will not be able to sustain this growth if it favors the few, and not the many. Together, we must forge trade that truly rewards the work that creates wealth, with meaningful protections for our people and our planet. This is the moment for trade that is free and fair for all.

This is the moment we must help answer the call for a new dawn in the Middle East. My country must stand with yours and with Europe in sending a direct message to Iran that it must abandon its nuclear ambitions. We must support the Lebanese who have marched and bled for democracy, and the Israelis and Palestinians who seek a secure and lasting peace. And despite past differences, this is the moment when the world should support the millions of Iraqis who seek to rebuild their lives, even as we pass responsibility to the Iraqi government and finally bring this war to a close.

This is the moment when we must come together to save this planet. Let us resolve that we will not leave our children a world where the oceans rise and famine spreads and terrible storms devastate our lands. Let us resolve that all nations -- including my own -- will act with the same seriousness of purpose as has your nation, and reduce the carbon we send into our atmosphere. This is the moment to give our children back their future. This is the moment to stand as one.

And this is the moment when we must give hope to those left behind in a globalized world. We must remember that the Cold War born in this city was not a battle for land or treasure. Sixty years ago, the planes that flew over Berlin did not drop bombs; instead they delivered food, and coal, and candy to grateful children. And in that show of solidarity, those pilots won more than a military victory. They won hearts and minds; love and loyalty and trust -- not just from the people in this city, but from all those who heard the story of what they did here.

Now the world will watch and remember what we do here -- what we do with this moment. Will we extend our hand to the people in the forgotten corners of this world who yearn for lives marked by dignity and opportunity; by security and justice? Will we lift the child in Bangladesh from poverty, shelter the refugee in Chad, and banish the scourge of AIDS in our time?

Will we stand for the human rights of the dissident in Burma, the blogger in Iran, or the voter in Zimbabwe? Will we give meaning to the words "never again" in Darfur?Ê

Will we acknowledge that there is no more powerful example than the one each of our nations projects to the world? Will we reject torture and stand for the rule of law? Will we welcome immigrants from different lands, and shun discrimination against those who don't look like us or worship like we do, and keep the promise of equality and opportunity for all of our people?

People of Berlin -- people of the world -- this is our moment. This is our time.Ê

I know my country has not perfected itself. At times, we've struggled to keep the promise of liberty and equality for all of our people. We've made our share of mistakes, and there are times when our actions around the world have not lived up to our best intentions.

But I also know how much I love America. I know that for more than two centuries, we have strived -- at great cost and great sacrifice -- to form a more perfect union; to seek, with other nations, a more hopeful world. Our allegiance has never been to any particular tribe or kingdom -- indeed, every language is spoken in our country; every culture has left its imprint on ours; every point of view is expressed in our public squares. What has always united us -- what has always driven our people; what drew my father to America's shores -- is a set of ideals that speak to aspirations shared by all people: that we can live free from fear and free from want; that we can speak our minds and assemble with whomever we choose and worship as we please.

Those are the aspirations that joined the fates of all nations in this city. Those aspirations are bigger than anything that drives us apart. It is because of those aspirations that the airlift began. It is because of those aspirations that all free people -- everywhere -- became citizens of Berlin. It is in pursuit of those aspirations that a new generation -- our generation -- must make our mark on history.

People of Berlin -- and people of the world -- the scale of our challenge is great. The road ahead will be long. But I come before you to say that we are heirs to a struggle for freedom. We are a people of improbable hope. Let us build on our common history, and seize our common destiny, and once again engage in that noble struggle to bring justice and peace to our world.

You're very ignorant if you think that everyone has the same rights and opportunities. And degrading attitudes about women still exist today. The stereotypes that label men as rational, strong, decisive, and protective and women as emotional (irrational), submissive, weak, and nurturing are still very much alive. Just look at the top sifts of all time:
1. A very talented MAN playing the ukelele
2. Two talented BOYS' well-made lightsaber video
3. Autistic BOY being awesome at a b-ball game
4. Talented MALE robot dancer
5. Prairie Dog, generally accepted as MALE. Thus: Drama KING
6. Very clever rant about Pachebel. Again, a talented and clever MAN.
7. FINALLY, an intelligent WOMAN with integrity. But, wait! She's also very beautiful. Do you think this would be the #7 sift if she hadn't been so gorgeous? I don't think so. Listen to some of the comments:
"Plus, uhmm - she's like a hot Christiane Amanpour. But I like her integrity too."
"She's 40% Kylie Minogue and 60% Naomi Watts."
"...Plus, shes hot."
"Is there anything better than a hot, articulate, angry blonde ... I don't think so."
"Lara Logan is hot. Not only is she drop dead pretty, she is smart, she has an acerbic tongue and she tells the truth. Lately, she has been wearing tight tops with a push-up bra that really make her tits looks great. More Iraq stories, please............"
"shes hot and reaaaaaaly intelligent..."
"I want this woman to have my children."
"Lara Logan, will you marry me?"

I give major props to the guys of videosift for focusing FAR more on her integrity, intelligence, and how articulate she is. They really were very good about that. But I really, really think that a lot of those votes had everything to do with the COMBINATION of brains and looks. If this had been an ugly woman, it would not have received NEARLY as many votes, I'd bet you anything. Moving on.

8. Awesome commercial. The wind is a tall MAN doing funny things. Love this sift.
9. Drug spiders. MALE spiders (Mr. Crack Spider, etc.), Male narrator.
10. Quantum Physics narrated and explained by a MALE scientist.
11. Clever prank, talented FEMALES. (Yay!) All old/overweight women are the ones being tricked, all beautiful and young females are the tricksters. Some sample comments:
"...also, they were hot."
"Those twins could prank me in the bathroom anytime."
"Twin hot German chicks in a bathroom is guaranteed to make #1."

Again, the majority of the comments had nothing to do with the way the girls looked, but on the prank itself. Cool. Movin on.

12. Jon Stewart (MAN) being funny and clever and awesome.
13. A pretty GIRL with a great bod doing something pretty cool. Comments:

"She can spin on my escalator any day she likes."
"This is cool and I think it's pure science. For example, it would be interesting also to rub her down in various oils and see how it affects the results. Or underwear versus no underwear for example. What would happen?"
"She's a hottie."
"oh and this is *nature too because humans are part of nature.
and *sexuality because those tight jeans make her look sexy to me."
"I predict a chubby girl stuck between the glass railings of a shopping mall escalator near you."
"Indeed, perhaps she will leave a trail of freshly erected posts behind her as she spins her way from town to town."
"I suspect she already left a trail of freshly erected posts, both at the original venue and among some of the male sift viewers judging by the comments."
"Videosift seems to have an immense fondness for rotating women."
"You males are all full of bull putty. If this was a 15 year old pimply faced fella doing this it have about 20 votes and an eia tag immediately."

14. Dolphins blowing bubbles
15. Cool music video. MALE band, MALE hands.

Most people see the world through the eyes of a man and they don't even know it. Men look, women are looked upon.

Top Box-Office Movies of all time: (I'm going to point out the gender of JUST the main character (protagonist).

Titanic (1997)- As far as I can tell, not having seen the movie, the MALE/FEMALE share the main character spot.
Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) - Male
Shrek 2 (2004) - Male
E. T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)- Male
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) - Male
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) - Male/Female?
Spider-Man (2002) - Male
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)- Male
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)- Male
Spider-Man 2 (2004) - Male
The Passion of the Christ (2004)- Male
Jurassic Park (1993) - Male
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)- Male
Finding Nemo (2003) - Male
Spider-Man 3 (2007) - Male
Forrest Gump (1994) - Male
The Lion King (1994) - Male
Shrek the Third (2007) - Male
Transformers (2007) - Male
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) - Male
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) - Male
Iron Man (2008) - Male
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) - Male
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007) - Male
Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) - Male
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) - Male
Independence Day (1996) - Male
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) - Male
The Sixth Sense (1999) - Male
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) - Male
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) Male/Female
Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) - Male
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) - Male
Home Alone (1990) - Male
The Matrix Reloaded (2003) - Male
Meet the Fockers (2004) - Male
Shrek (2001) - Male
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) - Male
The Incredibles (2004) - Male
Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) - Male

I could keep going, but I think you get the picture.

In reply to this comment by Shepppard:
Alright, this is a video of someone doing what they love.
I don't understand the controversy. Just because I watched this doesn't make me think of a woman as an object. I see her dancing, and I see her doing something she loves to do. I'm not sitting here thinking "I'd hit that so hard she'd walk funny for a week" I'm actually sitting here enjoying it because it's a dance.

People need to seriously reconsider what they want to pick fights with. Society on the whole has come to terms of equality. Black, White, Yellow, Purple, brown, male or female, everybody has equal rights and opportunities.
No race is better then the other, and same goes for the Sexes.

People don't treat women as brainless objects anymore. You can vote, you can drive, you can work, the only thing you can't do is pee standing up. People have accepted that women are NOT objects anymore, and therefore can actually watch something like this and appreciate it as art.

Because we (at least not all of us), don't have our head in the gutter anymore and can accept it.

Whenever you have a discussion with someone, you should ask yourself if you're in it to get your point understood, "win" or just rant. Generally speaking, I like to get my point understood. I feel I have done so in this discussion but you just want to rant. Rant away.

In reply to this comment by MINK:
you're saying my point isn't worth discussing, and yet you keep coming back to discuss it.

you say these "empirical trends are to be expected". Well, cool, we agree. Nations turn into empires (if they're lucky) and then try to dominate other countries unfairly, eventually causing their own destruction with their arrogance.

Which is exactly what America is doing.

In the context of millions of americans supporting this self destruction, voting for leaders that continue it, and denying that there is a problem, i think my point is relevant.

Seeing as america was founded with a very definite aim to avoid monarchy and empire, it is especially ironic (in the case of america) that she has formed basically a shared monarchy and an empire. Other countries at least admitted what they were doing (British EMPIRE the clue is in the title). America came along as the bright new hope, with a great constitution, but then over time reverted to the traditional "Leader is the decider and we need to preemptively attack other countries" system.

if you don't think it is relevant, silence might be a more appropriate response.

If you are "defending america" then i wonder... why?

And by the way, in case you are assuming this is some kind of transatlantic rivalry thing, i fucking hate Britain too.

In reply to this comment by smibbo:
Exactly; your point that America "developed" the bad characteristics they wanted to get away from is debatable in the context of time. Being as empires rise and fall and usually in similar ways, the "decline" of America may or may not have anything to do with its attitude. Being as its been over 200 years since its inception, any movement that reflects typical "empirical" trends is to be expected. Paint it "u terbul amerikkans" if it makes you feel all warm and squishy or perhaps you prefer snide and hopeless? Whatever. I was only saying that implying America has pagentry and "royalty" because its somehow tainted with nasty ickyness in its deep-rooted culture is kind of silly. America is over 200 years old, its bound to have similiarity with many older cultures. Big Fucking Deal. Why not discuss cultural problems that are a direct result of the people?

In reply to this comment by MINK:
"debatable" ?
you can go and debate the theory that empires rise and fall, in cycles spanning hundreds of years, with any historian you like, and see what they tell you.


In reply to this comment by smibbo:
eventually developed the bad characteristics of that which it replaced.

uh, more than 200 years later. Considering context of time, I think your point is a bit errant and very debatable.
what July 4th stands for is independance from the British. That's it. Any other meaning is personal. If you want to romanticize American independance just so you can bemoan its dilution... have fun.

In reply to this comment by MINK:
I never said "Americans" hate "The British".
I suggested the founding fathers hated the way the british ran the colonies and founded a nation of their own, that eventually developed the bad characteristics of that which it replaced.

Americans aren't big on subtlety? So now I have to adjust every post on the internet to take this into account?

Every country has "royalty" and propaganda parades... and yes it is shameful, especially in the context of 4th July and everything the young america was supposed to stand for.

Hope that clears things up for you.


In reply to this comment by smibbo:
1) We Americans do not hate the british. I don't think you know much American history.
2) What is this video supposed to "show"? If you've got something to say, spit it out. Most Americans aren't real big on subtlety.
3) Every country has its "royalty" regardless of their title. People like a bit of pagentry. Is that supposed to be shameful?

In fact, here's a hint: it's "discussions" like yours (AKA spiritual verbal abuse) which creates backlash. I've no interest in that. You make some interestin points I agree with and some points I'd be willing to discuss. "America Sucks Because the American People Suck" is not one of those points.

In reply to this comment by MINK:
you're saying my point isn't worth discussing, and yet you keep coming back to discuss it.

you say these "empirical trends are to be expected". Well, cool, we agree. Nations turn into empires (if they're lucky) and then try to dominate other countries unfairly, eventually causing their own destruction with their arrogance.

Which is exactly what America is doing.

In the context of millions of americans supporting this self destruction, voting for leaders that continue it, and denying that there is a problem, i think my point is relevant.

Seeing as america was founded with a very definite aim to avoid monarchy and empire, it is especially ironic (in the case of america) that she has formed basically a shared monarchy and an empire. Other countries at least admitted what they were doing (British EMPIRE the clue is in the title). America came along as the bright new hope, with a great constitution, but then over time reverted to the traditional "Leader is the decider and we need to preemptively attack other countries" system.

if you don't think it is relevant, silence might be a more appropriate response.

If you are "defending america" then i wonder... why?

And by the way, in case you are assuming this is some kind of transatlantic rivalry thing, i fucking hate Britain too.

In reply to this comment by smibbo:
Exactly; your point that America "developed" the bad characteristics they wanted to get away from is debatable in the context of time. Being as empires rise and fall and usually in similar ways, the "decline" of America may or may not have anything to do with its attitude. Being as its been over 200 years since its inception, any movement that reflects typical "empirical" trends is to be expected. Paint it "u terbul amerikkans" if it makes you feel all warm and squishy or perhaps you prefer snide and hopeless? Whatever. I was only saying that implying America has pagentry and "royalty" because its somehow tainted with nasty ickyness in its deep-rooted culture is kind of silly. America is over 200 years old, its bound to have similiarity with many older cultures. Big Fucking Deal. Why not discuss cultural problems that are a direct result of the people?

In reply to this comment by MINK:
"debatable" ?
you can go and debate the theory that empires rise and fall, in cycles spanning hundreds of years, with any historian you like, and see what they tell you.


In reply to this comment by smibbo:
eventually developed the bad characteristics of that which it replaced.

uh, more than 200 years later. Considering context of time, I think your point is a bit errant and very debatable.
what July 4th stands for is independance from the British. That's it. Any other meaning is personal. If you want to romanticize American independance just so you can bemoan its dilution... have fun.

In reply to this comment by MINK:
I never said "Americans" hate "The British".
I suggested the founding fathers hated the way the british ran the colonies and founded a nation of their own, that eventually developed the bad characteristics of that which it replaced.

Americans aren't big on subtlety? So now I have to adjust every post on the internet to take this into account?

Every country has "royalty" and propaganda parades... and yes it is shameful, especially in the context of 4th July and everything the young america was supposed to stand for.

Hope that clears things up for you.


In reply to this comment by smibbo:
1) We Americans do not hate the british. I don't think you know much American history.
2) What is this video supposed to "show"? If you've got something to say, spit it out. Most Americans aren't real big on subtlety.
3) Every country has its "royalty" regardless of their title. People like a bit of pagentry. Is that supposed to be shameful?

no, I said your point that America is in decline is not worth discussing in the context of overal perspective. We both agree. You want to skew the view so that the reason why America is in decline towards an empire is because of its people's attitude. Yet you agree that such movement is inevitable for any country. I don't care to sit around bashing America with someone who takes such great pleasure in pinning it all on the "arrogant americans". Being snide and contemptuous doesn't change or help. I'm an American. What? Because my country has serious problems (and I haven't met an American yet who isn't ready and willing to admit that and discuss it) I'm supposed to sit around beating my breast and hanging in my head in shame? What would that accomplish? Yes, millions are allowing this to happen, but millions also are perfectly aware of it and trying to do something about it. You could discuss how even though decline towards empirical attitudes has been shown to be historically inevitable, there is sstill a large faction of Americans trying to like hell to resist that decline, but you'd rather focus on the people who live in ignorance and fear. Its a matter of perspective and if I thought like you did about my own country, I'd probably give up entirely and become a hermit or another greedy "I got mine, jack" asshole.

In reply to this comment by MINK:
you're saying my point isn't worth discussing, and yet you keep coming back to discuss it.

you say these "empirical trends are to be expected". Well, cool, we agree. Nations turn into empires (if they're lucky) and then try to dominate other countries unfairly, eventually causing their own destruction with their arrogance.

Which is exactly what America is doing.

In the context of millions of americans supporting this self destruction, voting for leaders that continue it, and denying that there is a problem, i think my point is relevant.

Seeing as america was founded with a very definite aim to avoid monarchy and empire, it is especially ironic (in the case of america) that she has formed basically a shared monarchy and an empire. Other countries at least admitted what they were doing (British EMPIRE the clue is in the title). America came along as the bright new hope, with a great constitution, but then over time reverted to the traditional "Leader is the decider and we need to preemptively attack other countries" system.

if you don't think it is relevant, silence might be a more appropriate response.

If you are "defending america" then i wonder... why?

And by the way, in case you are assuming this is some kind of transatlantic rivalry thing, i fucking hate Britain too.

In reply to this comment by smibbo:
Exactly; your point that America "developed" the bad characteristics they wanted to get away from is debatable in the context of time. Being as empires rise and fall and usually in similar ways, the "decline" of America may or may not have anything to do with its attitude. Being as its been over 200 years since its inception, any movement that reflects typical "empirical" trends is to be expected. Paint it "u terbul amerikkans" if it makes you feel all warm and squishy or perhaps you prefer snide and hopeless? Whatever. I was only saying that implying America has pagentry and "royalty" because its somehow tainted with nasty ickyness in its deep-rooted culture is kind of silly. America is over 200 years old, its bound to have similiarity with many older cultures. Big Fucking Deal. Why not discuss cultural problems that are a direct result of the people?

In reply to this comment by MINK:
"debatable" ?
you can go and debate the theory that empires rise and fall, in cycles spanning hundreds of years, with any historian you like, and see what they tell you.


In reply to this comment by smibbo:
eventually developed the bad characteristics of that which it replaced.

uh, more than 200 years later. Considering context of time, I think your point is a bit errant and very debatable.
what July 4th stands for is independance from the British. That's it. Any other meaning is personal. If you want to romanticize American independance just so you can bemoan its dilution... have fun.

In reply to this comment by MINK:
I never said "Americans" hate "The British".
I suggested the founding fathers hated the way the british ran the colonies and founded a nation of their own, that eventually developed the bad characteristics of that which it replaced.

Americans aren't big on subtlety? So now I have to adjust every post on the internet to take this into account?

Every country has "royalty" and propaganda parades... and yes it is shameful, especially in the context of 4th July and everything the young america was supposed to stand for.

Hope that clears things up for you.


In reply to this comment by smibbo:
1) We Americans do not hate the british. I don't think you know much American history.
2) What is this video supposed to "show"? If you've got something to say, spit it out. Most Americans aren't real big on subtlety.
3) Every country has its "royalty" regardless of their title. People like a bit of pagentry. Is that supposed to be shameful?

>> ^oxdottir:
OK, I admit, I watched the other one a while ago, but I detect no difference
Where is the parody?


all of the things that lucas had wanted to put in A New Hope, but couldn't, that was then inserted into the Deluxe Edition.

most of them are represented here, including:

brighter lightsabers, to match the look of the later films.
jabba's appearance, in the hangar, just after the cantina.
stormtroopers on dewbacks.
more spacecraft in the battle of yavin.
a bigger explosion for the death star.

"Started on the streets of Chicago protecting the working people"-hope for a struggling new nation, within a nation-
Race baiting, is a way to get elected, Willie Horton or will he not get elected on TELEVISION, the drug of the Nation, breeding ignorance and feeding radiation......

Cast from the mould of many great gangsters, windbag from the windy city, new hope for Nuevo Nacion....fuuuuuuuuck!

Considering the original New Hope made more internationally than in North America, finding people who know what Chewie (who wouldn't be re-dubbed) sounds like would be easy.

I saw 'A New Hope' as a seven-year old, in 1977; the biggest summer of Hype ever, with a carload of my friends. My buddy's Dad said we had to see this movie,and took us all one Saturday.The rest of the summer we built crazy Lego and swung from ropes in trees with swords. Utterly blew our little minds.

I almost downvoted this because it is the clip that Lucas bastardized. Not with the new special effects, but if you remember from the original, right after Biggs says the line "I'm going to cut across the axis and try to draw there fire...", the X-Wings plunge down to the surface while John Williams' score erupts to life. I got shivers down my spine in the theater and every time watching that scene in later years on video. Then Lucas fucked it all up by approving the increased engine whine of the X-Wings, drowning out the music. Unfortunately I can't find a clip of the original for comparison, but trust me, it blows that he made that change. As well as the other audio blunders (Tarkin's scene with Leia) that were in A New Hope, version 3.0
I used to stick up for Lucas as he sank a majority of his money into ILM after Star Wars and each successive SW film; he really is the father of modern special effects you see today. But post-1998, he is a cash whore, no doubt about it.

Tags for this video have been changed from 'Family Guy, Star Wars, The New Hope, Blue Harvest, Stewie Griffin' to 'Family Ban, Ban Wars, The New Ban, Blue Ban' - edited by silvercord

They are amazing live. Seen em twice, once as Jimmy Wilson group in New Hope.
Thanks for the update folks

I have seen another documentary about Russia where they said that they are experiencing a low birth rate and have a large population suffering from aids. It seems like such a double edged sword...on one hand they need more people to keep the economy going, yet no one wants to have a child in such conditions. It's really sad when you look at everything that is going on there maybe Kasparov will bring new hope.

It would be really cool if they could clean up these scenes and somehow work them into the new Star Wars TV show they are working on. Maybe have them in the series finale, linking it up with A New Hope.

Ween playing as the Jimmy Wilson group in New Hope..tiny club. Great covers of Papa was a Rolling Stone and Bag of Weed.
weenradio