The main article made the key seem previously more popular on the internet than it actually is. Sure, you can do a search for it all spaced out separated by pairs, but after you get through the first hundred or so, most of the Google results are completely unrelated.
Any and all governments not elected by the people are illegitimate.
That's an opinion, not a fact. The authors of the Declaration of Independence also had opinions, but there is nothing sacred about their opinions. I have great respect for figures such as TJ, but remember that everyone has his/her own agenda. You can research the motives of the "founding fathers" further to find out more.
In western democracies, people are bombarded over and over again with why democracy is good, and why it's the best form of government; this brainwashing is not really different from the kind people governed by what you would consider lesser forms of government receive.
No. That's why I did not say that. Not explicitly, but you implied it when you said: If the Chinese people, at least the Chinese people in Beijing and other large cities, value prosperity more than their freedom, we should walk away until they come to their senses. Saying that "we should walk away until they come to their senses" would imply that "we" are "in our senses".
The purpose of a democratic government is to protect and sustain the freedoms of the governed.
Again, this is an opinion. I disagree with that opinion.
To make it a fact, it can be better phrased as: "The purpose of a democratic government, as stated by that government, is to protect and sustain the freedoms of the governed."
I don't necessarily disagree with you, but I think it's extremely important to sometimes maintain a more removed perspective not subject to direct government propaganda. I am a Chinese citizen currently living in the U.S., and I've heard the schpiel from both sides.
Why does it matter that China is not a "real democracy"?
Do you really think people in the U.S. "value prosperity more than their freedom"? What would the people vote for if given the choice between tax cuts plus less "freedom" and tax hikes and more "freedom"?
I put "freedom" in quotes here because remember that the purpose of any government (and any organized institution such as most religions) IS to control people and reduce their freedoms. Some are more overt, and some give people the illusion of being "free".
While I don't necessarily agree with your accessments about China's motivations, I congratulate you for managing to squeeze "great leap forward" in there;)
what the fuck are you smoking? wtf does the green party have to do with jews? how dare you slander ralph nader and the green party. what we should do is bomb your tight little asshole.
Slashdot Mirror
The main article made the key seem previously more popular on the internet than it actually is. Sure, you can do a search for it all spaced out separated by pairs, but after you get through the first hundred or so, most of the Google results are completely unrelated.
Separated by dashes, there are 222 non-duplicated results.
A search for the full key, without spaces, yields just 32 results.
Its license. Its.
Seriously...
Any and all governments not elected by the people are illegitimate.
That's an opinion, not a fact. The authors of the Declaration of Independence also had opinions, but there is nothing sacred about their opinions. I have great respect for figures such as TJ, but remember that everyone has his/her own agenda. You can research the motives of the "founding fathers" further to find out more.
In western democracies, people are bombarded over and over again with why democracy is good, and why it's the best form of government; this brainwashing is not really different from the kind people governed by what you would consider lesser forms of government receive.
No. That's why I did not say that.
Not explicitly, but you implied it when you said:
If the Chinese people, at least the Chinese people in Beijing and other large cities, value prosperity more than their freedom, we should walk away until they come to their senses.
Saying that "we should walk away until they come to their senses" would imply that "we" are "in our senses".
The purpose of a democratic government is to protect and sustain the freedoms of the governed.
Again, this is an opinion. I disagree with that opinion.
To make it a fact, it can be better phrased as:
"The purpose of a democratic government, as stated by that government, is to protect and sustain the freedoms of the governed."
I don't necessarily disagree with you, but I think it's extremely important to sometimes maintain a more removed perspective not subject to direct government propaganda. I am a Chinese citizen currently living in the U.S., and I've heard the schpiel from both sides.
Why does it matter that China is not a "real democracy"?
Do you really think people in the U.S. "value prosperity more than their freedom"? What would the people vote for if given the choice between tax cuts plus less "freedom" and tax hikes and more "freedom"?
I put "freedom" in quotes here because remember that the purpose of any government (and any organized institution such as most religions) IS to control people and reduce their freedoms. Some are more overt, and some give people the illusion of being "free".
While I don't necessarily agree with your accessments about China's motivations, I congratulate you for managing to squeeze "great leap forward" in there ;)
Only if you believe that we had rights to begin with.
Where do we receive these magical "rights" come from? Jefferson says God. Some think we've always had them.
It's all a matter of sociocultural context.
what the fuck are you smoking? wtf does the green party have to do with jews? how dare you slander ralph nader and the green party. what we should do is bomb your tight little asshole.
not if they think you're hide hide C-4 in your mashed potatoes...