^ Yeah, no one that thinks it's funny does so because of landmines. Duh. It's funny because of the juxtaposition of...

You know what? If you need to have it explained to you, then you're kind of a lost cause.

mmm the juicy juicy screams.

For all the people who are taking it really seriously... It's a fake!

Does Benny Hill make actual landmines funny? no.... Does it make PSA ad's funny? yes, yes it does.

>> ^Sniper007:
I'm not sure which figure is more bogus. The 80 cents or the $1,000.


Neither figure is significantly exaggerated.

"Perhaps 110 million mines lurk in 64 nations around the world, and each year they kill or maim about 30,000 people, usually civilians. The heaviest concentrations of mines are in poor countries like Cambodia, Somalia, Bosnia, Mozambique, Afghanistan and Angola that have survived years or even decades of civil war. Five million new mines are laid each year, and only 100,000 are cleared. A new mine costs $3; uprooting one costs between $200 and $1,000."

But the numbers might have changed since this 1996 Time Magazine article. I don't know if the "butterfly" landmines that this man talks about are newer or cheaper then the $3.00 price that the 1996 article cites.

I very, very rarely downvote videos but this gets my downvote for a number of reasons.

The video and title mock a legitimate and very serious issue that plagues many of the war-torn regions of the past century, and largely in places marred by poverty. The victims of landmines are most often civilians and most incidences happen long after the conflict is concluded. Their use has been viewed as an attack on population rather then on military.

As much as the song often adds humor to otherwise mundane situations, it does not add humor to tragedy. You can comment on the quality of the video, of the acting or that such an incident in North America is essentially impossible, but in reality there is no more humor to the issue then that of rape, or other heinous crimes.

Adding Yakety Sax to a video of jews being marched into a gas chamber "to make it humourous" would be an insult to anyone who did not survive such horrors and even more so to those who did. It would be like saying that the atrocity is okay. It is not okay.


>> ^NordlichReiter:
Death is funny to me. Because its inevitable.

You can laugh at death, all you like. Hell, I do to sometimes. But this isn't about death. It is about life.

The things we do in life are more important then how we die. Arranging for a ten-year-old child, or anyone else, to have their legs ripped from their body (or worse) is a terrible thing to do to someone else, or the life the want to live.

Benny Hill does not make that funny.

Not funny.

Benny Hill might make topics that are ALOT less tragic than landmines or the Holocaust funny, maybe 911? even then maybe not funny, even if its less sad.

maybe nordlichreiter is less sensitive to landmines since it seems like he is an american, and America is one of the few countries left which still manufactures landmines; right along with Russia, China, Iraq, Iran, North Korea and India.

Land mines kill 7000 people each year, almost all casualties are civillians and the majority are children; so laugh it up.

>> ^CaptainPlanet:
rgroom1, where do you get your landmines? I've been paying upwards of $4 per mine, but i'm looking for a new guy.
if you wouldn't mind sharing, shoot me up at lmao@80centlandmines.org


I've got a hook-up south of the border. I've sent you the number.
fyi: I was quoting the youtube description, but the first source i found said $3 per mine, so you're still getting ripped.

rgroom1, where do you get your landmines? I've been paying upwards of $4 per mine, but i'm looking for a new guy.
if you wouldn't mind sharing, shoot me up at lmao@80centlandmines.org

The name of the tune is "Yakety Sax".

Plus Finland needs landmines to defend...

I'm with Kucinich on this bailout. I'm also in full agreement with the idea that the American auto companies need a huge wake-up call -- but if it's all the same to you, I'd rather not watch the big three unravel right when the economy is as unhealthy as I've ever seen it.

I don't think the Wall Street one was a good idea. I think something needed done, and something big, I just think the form it took, and the way it was handled was typically Bushian -- cling to ideology first, political maneuvering second, paying off friends in the industry third, and if there's time and money left over after servicing those, let's see if we can make a dent in the actual problem we're supposed to be solving.

From what I've read, Dems basically submitted to every one of Bush's demands in order to get him to not veto the bailout bill. That means this one is likely to be filled with bullshit landmines entirely designed to a) prevent the plan from working b) set back environmental and labor issues Democrats care about, and c) give congressional Republicans a chance to stand in opposition to a plan that Bush and Democrats agree on.

If I were just as evil as the average Republican representative, for political purposes I'd pray the Republicans block the damn thing, despite Bush ineffectually trying to convince them to vote for it. Then I'd have the Democrats say "call us when you grow up", and put the House and Senate on recess until Jan 20th. Then have them hit the talk show circuit to loudly gripe about how they tried their best to save the auto industry, but the Republicans stopped them from acting, and that they'll try again when they have more votes and a responsible President.

Part of me hopes that's how it'll play out...but I'd be really uncomfortable leaving things at an impasse like that, because I don't know that GM and Chrysler would make it, and I know their dying would not be good for the country.

I don't get the sense that Republicans give a shit about what's good for the country. If anything, they seem to actively want the American auto companies to die, and the Democrat-supporting UAW with it, impact on regular people and the economy be damned.

>> ^imstellar28:
"Obama is great with both reasoned policies..."
If this is true, you should be able to provide at least one "reasoned" policy along with an sound explanation as to why it is "reasoned".

Withdraw from Iraq. We never should have gone in, and now both the Iraqi people and the American people want us to leave. We can't afford the war, and it's not even close to being necessary for our national defense.

Focus tax cuts on people making less than $250,000, while increasing taxes on those making more to attempt to balance the budget (withdrawing from Iraq is a big help, too). Helps stimulate the economy, help out the people hit hardest by rising gas & food prices and will help move us closer to a balanced budget.

Focus energy policy on incentives for private development of alternative energy resources to permanently end America's dependence on oil, rather than focusing on land handouts to oil companies who already have leases on 68 million acres of land for drilling (including some offshore areas), while doing nothing to end the dependency on oil, just prolong it.

There's three, but I don't expect you to judge them reasoned. At which point I can contritely say "It's nice you have opinions, despite being hard of thinking".

"A very impressive speaker..."
If this is true, you should be able to provide a list of qualities which define an "impressive speaker" and then demonstrate how Obama fulfills these requirements in the video.

That's not actually a quote from me, but I'll take it...and then mock your need for a definition of impressive speaker.

In this case I'd probably say what's impressive is how he handles the situation through dialogue. He doesn't just signal for guards to eject the hecklers, or ignore them, or insult them (as McCain has done). Instead he asks them to be quiet, and promises to let them have a chance to ask a question later...and they do so.

When the question gets asked later, he's being shouted at, and interrupted, but still treats the guy with respect, and tries to respond to his concerns, while both explaining and defending his responses in the past.

But if you're looking for moving monologues from Obama where he speaks fluidly, I can show you quite a few from other circumstances.

Its nice that you have opinions, but how about framing them in a non-emotional context so that others can understand you?

Your words:

Transcript for the hard of hearing/thinking:

how to deflect attention from your ridiculous response, while trying to establish false credibility through past actions, in stutter

how to ineffectively cope with your questioner confronting the absurdity of your response, in stutter

This is true, if one only votes for the candidate who excels at politics, rather than the candidate who excels at reason.

I am inclined to agree that a candidate who forgoes rational thought in order to "play politics" is indeed unfit to lead this country...in a positive direction.

As well intentioned as the young man was with his question, his argument from a civil rights perspective is misguided--we derive our rights as human beings--not as members of a special interest group.

All of these statements are insulting, including the portion of your comment I'm responding to. Expect some emotion in response.

"What, to you, would have been a better response?"
My response is not really applicable because I disagree with Obama on the basic principles involved, as well as his alleged responses to the events when they occurred.
My response however, would be as follows:
"I have in the past, and will continue to, uncompromisingly protect the rights of the african american community. However, young man, you do not derive your rights as an african american--you derive them as an individual, as a human being--and I will guarantee that no citizen of the United States of America, african american or otherwise, will ever have his or her right to life, liberty, or the pursuit of happiness, compromised in any form--be it the excessive use of force in the arrest of Sean Bell, the 8th amendment violations in the Gina Six case, or the widespread 2nd amendment and property right violations in the wake of hurricane Katrina.
I hope that in the future, you will continue to defend your culture and heritage as proudly as you do today, but that you will see yourself not just as member of society, or any group therein, but as an individual whose rights should never be violated."

That's a pretty good response.

However, it doesn't really fit the tone of an informal townhall, and wait till the Republican party plays "I have in the past, and will continue to, uncompromisingly protect the rights of the african american community" out of context endlessly while spreading insinuations that he's just a new Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton, while Fox News brings the heckler on national TV to talk about how that's a load of bull.

You can nitpick about whether or not he "stuttered" in his reply, or whether the words he used comprised the optimal response or not, you can bring up your general distaste for his policies, your distaste for his supporters, and you can mock people who're offended by all of the above, but the fundamental difference on display here is the fact that he reacted to their protest by letting them speak, and giving them an answer that treated them respectfully (and avoided political landmines), while McCain has people like that escorted out by the Secret Service or local police.

[James Nichols from Bowling for Columbine]
Them people, law enforcement, if you want to call them that
were here and they were shaking in their shoes. They were physically
shaking, scared to death. Because certain people, said I'm a radical
I'm a wild man, I got a gun under every arm, if you say anything
I'll shoot you. If the people find out how they've been
ripped off, and enslaved, they will revolt with the blood
running in the streets.

Yo, Ticket to ride, the white crime, highway
Bring all the guns, the funds will come my way
Whether we deliverin' high grade
To the people in the pit of the tri-state
Or dabble in the hood like fly weights
Lock and load in the range with rock the globe
Made any aim possible
Til the leadbelly lost control
In the hold of the paper that fold
At one time was related to gold
Made many men lose their soul
To the price of the dice that roll
How can a light so bright make a man so cold?
So another man's plans unfold
Can you really see the truth til it happens to you
Its so severe what the hopeless will do

Ain't no pickin' your position to beginning your life
Not every man want to stand by his kids and his wife
Too many lost kids in the night
Hand on heat, grippin' it tight
Any man want beef could get it right
Followed by enough flame to put a permanent end
To the learning of men
Class session, too many the blast the last lesson
Often taught like the wars that are often fought
As old as mankind
Now outta his damn mind
Stand on the gunpowder landmine
Ready to blow at any second
I'm checking for the signs of the end
Of all-time, I figure its on time, my last thoughts forming the rhyme

Got me running through the streets
That reek of the dead, its more food to the wealthy
My niggaz on welfare, nobody givin' up healthcare
Nothing but heat, how you gonna tell me it ain't hell here?
George Bush having a swell year
Swingin' the gat, ready to clap, anything on the map
You done seen what they bring to Iraq
Now bring it back to the source, land of the physical force
Land of the gun, land of the gun, land of the gun, land of the gun!

This is the place where the cops rush in the building
Paramilitary death squads murder your children
Empty shell of a man rippin' shots in the air
Soldiers dying out there, but nobody cares
Prepare for the future but make note of the past
Or be condemned to live it again and get blast
Class warfare kept outta the news
Replaced by a corporation's political views
Cause this is where the guns are manufactured and sold
The land that was stolen stripped of all of its gold
Old timers on the death bed speakin' the wisdom
Immigrants crucified by conservative Christians
Now we all got freedom to die in the street
But the difference is more of us die in a week
Than they die in a year I made it clear
Where I stand when the line is drawn
But now the line is gone
And nigga anything goes
The land where the guns don't let anything grow
And what the fuck you niggaz know about living in hell
You not built like me you never lived in a cell
You never gambled with your soul
Fuck the ice on your hand, gun in your palm
But you got a niggaz life in your hand
Young man, just remember that slicing a gram
Is a bloody game, like throwin' mice in a fan
My words flow like the rivers thats west of Iran
The fertile crescent moon, with the star in the middle
I reveal the depth of history's scars when I scribble
I gave you the world, and I ain't even charged you a little
The martyr is crippled
The prophets are dead and buried, but the message is simple
And its not written down in holy books as a riddle

Now we running through the streets, starvin'
On that guerilla warfare
My people stuck in a guerilla warfare
Innocent children screamin' in tears
You actin' like the army ain't put hell here
Military industry havin' a swell year
Swinging a gat while lying in heaven
Living off a blank check after 9/11
But I'm have the truth brought back to the source
Fight for my land with physical force
Speak through music, the subliminal course
I need a tech and a clip, fuck a Jag and a Porsche
Land of the gun, land of the gun, land of the gun, land of the gun

It's unfortunate that victims of circumstance exist, however I trust that western powers use the utmost discernment in their actions and tread grievously into these difficult situations.

My apologies if you feel I did not get your point, NetRunner. Bottom line is that no matter how much you'd like other people to respect your "code of honour", you'll ending looking like a fool if time after time you get stabbed in the back. It's decidedly not enjoyable, but sometimes when you're dealing with dirt you've got to take off your white gloves and get your hands dirty. Not everyone lives by the pen.

Back to this particular case. Fifteen old Khadr, born and bred in Canada, definitely had the mental capacity to understand that his father was a Muslim extremist and he was certainly conscious of his decision to go to Afghanistan and wage a so-called "holy war". He was not abducted and seemed to rather enjoy laying down landmines. We're not talking about harmless teenage pranks. He fully intended to murder people.

@ Octopussy: Omar was offered a Combatant Status Review Tribunal a few years ago to determine if he had already been correctly proven to match the US administration's definition of an "enemy combatant." Participation by the captives was voluntary, and Khadr chose not to be involved in his tribunal.

Khadr's "Summary of Evidence Memo" summary alleges that he has admitted he threw a grenade which killed a U.S. soldier, attended an al Qaida training camp in Kabul and worked as a translator for al Qaida to coordinate land mine missions. In addition, he was accused of helping to plant the landmines between Khost and Ghardez (Which actions are caught on video), and having visited an airport near Khost to collect information on U.S. convoy movements.

The unfortunate thing is that he turned 16 before being taken to Guantanamo so he was treated as an adult. We should consider that all of his alleged offenses were committed when he was a 15 year old boy or younger. In my book, he deserves a little mercy for that.

So I have a jealous side. So? Let this sit like a landmine in your personal queue for a while.

It is also legal to install blades under your car that when triggered cut off the offenders legs. While you are at it get some child safe landmines to install in the front yard of your house. Yup, they do that too...