>> ^rottenseed:
Anybody who has been to an average school let alone the "best" would know that quoting wikipedia as a source of your argument is a NO-NO.


Why? It's about as accurate as any other encyclopedia and certainly more up to date.

Would it have been better if he said the quote was from orwell.ru?

This idea that Wikipedia is useless is ridiculous. Read it with some skepticism, as you should with any encyclopedia, and check the source citations, which may not be an option with a traditional encyclopedia.

>> ^bluecliff:
wow. calling burqas fascist really tells you went to the best schools. Just a scare word for idiots to flock about.
wikipedia:
The word ‘Fascism’ is almost entirely meaningless. In conversation, of course, it is used even more wildly than in print. I have heard it applied to farmers, shopkeepers, Social Credit, corporal punishment, fox-hunting, bull-fighting, the 1922 Committee, the 1941 Committee, Kipling, Gandhi, Chiang Kai-Shek, homosexuality, Priestley's broadcasts, Youth Hostels, astrology, women, dogs and I do not know what else... almost any English person would accept ‘bully’ as a synonym for ‘Fascist’. – George Orwell, What is Fascism?. 1944.
And Orwell knew this in 1944!

Pot, meet Mr. Black Kettle

Anybody who has been to an average school let alone the "best" would know that quoting wikipedia as a source of your argument is a NO-NO.

>> ^bluecliff:
wow. calling burqas fascist really tells you went to the best schools. Just a scare word for idiots to flock about.
wikipedia:
The word ‘Fascism’ is almost entirely meaningless. In conversation, of course, it is used even more wildly than in print. I have heard it applied to farmers, shopkeepers, Social Credit, corporal punishment, fox-hunting, bull-fighting, the 1922 Committee, the 1941 Committee, Kipling, Gandhi, Chiang Kai-Shek, homosexuality, Priestley's broadcasts, Youth Hostels, astrology, women, dogs and I do not know what else... almost any English person would accept ‘bully’ as a synonym for ‘Fascist’. – George Orwell, What is Fascism?. 1944.
And Orwell knew this in 1944!


True, the word "fascist" gets used far too often, but when it comes to describing Islam, it's pretty accurate.

FYI, fascism is defined as: a governmental system led by a dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism, [...] and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism and often racism.

It's not exact, but it describes Islam pretty well... then again, it describes Christianity too...

wow. calling burqas fascist really tells you went to the best schools. Just a scare word for idiots to flock about.

wikipedia:

The word ‘Fascism’ is almost entirely meaningless. In conversation, of course, it is used even more wildly than in print. I have heard it applied to farmers, shopkeepers, Social Credit, corporal punishment, fox-hunting, bull-fighting, the 1922 Committee, the 1941 Committee, Kipling, Gandhi, Chiang Kai-Shek, homosexuality, Priestley's broadcasts, Youth Hostels, astrology, women, dogs and I do not know what else... almost any English person would accept ‘bully’ as a synonym for ‘Fascist’. – George Orwell, What is Fascism?. 1944.

And Orwell knew this in 1944!

fantastic netrunner!
seen all except terror storm.
might i suggest a few more:
http://www.videosift.com/video/Orwell-Rolls-In-His-Grave
and
http://www.videosift.com/video/No-End-in-Sight
and
http://www.videosift.com/video/Peace-Propaganda-the-Promised-Land-1
and
http://www.videosift.com/video/The-Power-of-Nightmares-part-1
and
http://www.videosift.com/video/The-War-On-Democracy-by-John-Pilger
and maybe a little arundhati roy to top it off
http://www.videosift.com/video/We-Featuring-the-Words-of-Arundhati-Roy
to name a few really excellent documentaries.

Well, of course Canada has no First Amendment. You see Canada is a whole different country from the U.S., and has its very own laws. However, the rights guaranteed in the US First Amendment (freedom of speech, religion, etc) are guaranteed to Canadians under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Charter_of_Rights_and_Freedoms). It doesn't even end in North America - there are countries around the globe that also guarantee these rights.

Please don't compare your leading brand Charter to the Constitution, as the former is woefully inadequate for a people that value freedom.

You can be arrested in Canadia for preaching that homosexuality is wrong. Big fans of Orwell, eh?

I apologize to those who have qm ignored for quoting.

Please add yourself to the list. Your limited commentary services are neither requested or required.

Orwell's vision is coming true. How else can you explain why stating the completely obvious is considered "controversial"? Next on Fox News: "the Sun: the liberal media says it is a burning ball of hydrogen and helium. What do they have against gods who ride across the sky in glowing chariots?"

Assuming all the negative stereotypes of atheists can be discounted ("criminal behavior, rampant materialism, cultural elitism")

Instead of adressing the two first of these apparent stereotypes, I'm going to focus on the third: "cultural elitism". cultural elitism.. What exactly is that, and why is it a "negative stereotype"?

To answer this, I cant help bringing up Animal Farm, the book by George Orwell. In this book, the animals, lead by the powerhungry, greedy Pigs, are staging a riot and decide to throw out the farmer and run the farm all by themselves. I guess we've all heard the story, seen a movie or atleast gotten the gist of this story, but the particular part of the story I'm thinking of is the story of the Sheep. The sheep, being not-to-bright, illiterate and easy to lead, are quick to find their place and purpose under the more and more pig-driven "all animals are equal" regime. Their job is to repeat the ever-simpler slogans of the new farm. Starting with a list of 10 or so rules written on the barn wall, it gradually boils down to "Four legs Good, Two Legs Bad".

FOUR LEGS GOOD, TWO LEGS BAD!

The sheep keep repeating the phrase, singing it, again and again, as if saying it proved a point in itself. But while the phrase is catchy, simple and easy to remember, the most important thing about it is of course how utterly EMPTY and MEANINGLESS it is. The sheep and all the other animals are fooled by this illusion that this phrase actually means anything.

CULTURAL ELITISM!

Equally empty, equally meaningless, quantomushroom is a hapless sheep, repeating nonsensical bullshit like this, likely after hearing it from leading sheep like O'reilly and limbaugh and Hannity and Glenn Beck, as if it meant something.

Is Obama an ELITIST?!!! We're just asking, here on FOX!

Meaningless, empty babble. What does it even entail, this mysterious "elitism", is it that these darn elitists have read books? that they listen to classical music? that they are not rednecks? that they are "out of touch" with the common guy?

I thought so. when you think about this stuff for longer than the 2 seconds FOX give to till commercial break, you discover that if "cultural elitist" even means anything AT ALL, why the fuck does it matter? Isnt the important part here, what people actually DO?

Being against Government policies makes one an extremist... how progressive.

Orwell was off by a century.

^ I love Lord of the Flies! Great story. It uses fear quite well to demonstrate human nature is willed toward control and authority in a democracy. I wonder if Simon would still be alive if he had a gun to protect himself instead of relying on the power of the group to do so? Probably so seeing how it was the group that killed him during their ritual rites that everyone was forced to partake in (force is democracy in action).

Also, a good Constitutional Republic would've helped those poor boys out. A nice writ of law (If only Ralph was Madison!) to protect individual rights to life and property, but also one that is limited enough where democracy (51% telling the other 49% what to do) cannot affect it.

But, I suppose that wasn't the point of the story, was it? Thanks for the Libertarian example.

(Fun fact: George Orwell was also a Tory-Anarchist where the term 'tory' is synonymous with Conservative.)

^I see your Animal Farm and raise you a Lord of the Flies.

(Trivia fun fact: George Orwell was a socialist.)

"...the word ‘Fascism’ is almost entirely meaningless. In conversation, of course, it is used even more wildly than in print. I have heard it applied to farmers, shopkeepers, Social Credit, corporal punishment, fox-hunting, bull-fighting, the 1922 Committee, the 1941 Committee, Kipling, Gandhi, Chiang Kai-Shek, homosexuality, Priestley's broadcasts, Youth Hostels, astrology, women, dogs and I do not know what else ... Except for the relatively small number of Fascist sympathisers, almost any English person would accept ‘bully’ as a synonym for ‘Fascist’. That is about as near to a definition as this much-abused word has come."

-George Orwell

http://runningclam.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/placa-de-george-orwell.jpg

"We shall abolish the orgasm. Our neurologists are at work upon it now. There will be no loyalty, except loyalty towards the Party. There will be no love, except the love of Big Brother. There will be no laughter, except the laugh of triumph over a defeated enemy. There will be no art, no literature, no science. When we are omnipotent there will be no need of science. There will be no distinction between beauty and ugliness. There will be no curiosity, no enjoyment of the process of life. All competing pleasures will be destroyed. But always—do not forget this Winston—always there will be the intoxication of power, constantly increasing and constantly growing subtler. Always, at every moment, there will be the thrill of victory, the sensation of trampling on an enemy who is helpless. If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—forever." George Orwell, 1984

Dune - Frank Herbert
The Divine Comedy - Dante
Paradise Lost - Milton
1984 - George Orwell
The Little Prince