Bump this thread whenever another rightwing douchebag calls for "another 9/11" to "unite us"

Americans have turned their backs because the war has dragged on too long and we don't have the patience for a long slog. We've been in Iraq for four years, but to some it seems like a century. In contrast, Britain just pulled its soldiers out of Northern Ireland where they had been, often being shot at, almost 40 years.

WTF??? This is a good example???

To unite America we need another Kennedy assassination.

To unite America we need to trap some more miners in a shaft.

This article seems to suggest that the real problem with the Iraq occupation is that it's kind of boring now.

Oh Jesus this is gonna be on the top of the new answers FOR-EV-URRR.

If we'd only stick it out with the occupation thing like Israel has, we might see some RESULTS. STICKTOITIVENESS PEOPLE!

Also, prominent formerly elected douchebags like Rick Santorum and(i think) Tom Delay have mentioned much of the same thing, that we really, really need another major attack to get things back together again.

Your search - "fire stu bykofsky" - did not match any documents.

Yet.

I think this is just made by the flag makers and ribbon sellers whose quarterly income projections aren't being met.

"In contrast, Britain just pulled its soldiers out of Northern Ireland where they had been, often being shot at, almost 40 years."

What a weirdly structured sentence.

Look, I've said it before and I'll say it again because it's true: we can never have peace again. Peace = millions of people in weapons/defense/etc companies losing their jobs, thousands of shareholders in those industries losing money = something no sane politician wants to be held responsible for.

(and then I mention "Why We Fight" because it's important that everyone sees it.)

(er... this was meant for the "so when ARE we going to bomb Iran" thread, but it kinda fits everywhere these days)

for those that don't know -- stu bykofsky has been the TV/film critic for the philadelphia daily news since, like, forever (or the late 80s, anyway). he's been a cranky jerk since @ least that long. he also fancies himself a "civil/human/animal-rights advocate" in his daily news bio -- to his benefit, he has nice things to say teh philly gays but also has fond rememberances about former mayor Frank Rizzo -- a guy who was, basically, rudy giuliani w/t the charm or education (as it were).

make of that what you will.

I haven't heard a lot of wingnuts explicitly wishing for another attack, but there is barely restrained glee when they say things like, "When we get hit again, the American people are going to demand that the gloves come off." I think Glen Beck says something like this every few minutes.

yeah, there's plenty of slathering for that, too

In contrast, Britain just pulled its soldiers out of Northern Ireland where they had been, often being shot at, almost 40 years.

Northern Ireland is IN BRITAIN you berk.

is it?

makes the united kingdom of great britain AND northern ireland a bit of a weird name doesnt it?

Great Britain is the name of the landmass consisting of England, Scotland, and Wales.

Great Britain and Northern Ireland are both part of Britain ("Great" = "largest bit of land in...")

wtf

I don't know if you've read the news in a few years...

("Great" = "largest bit of land in...")

This is what's most problematic. Of course most Northern Irelanders identify as British, not Irish. But don't you think that's a problem? "Great" = "biggest pile of shit"

waht

oh this is gonna be good

waht?

do you mean that britain is made of shit, and that great britain is the largest manure-heap in the allotment?

no no I was just responding to "Great" = "largest bit of land in..." which is kind of nonsense

although on a metaphorical level, britain is of course made of shit.

not as much as the united states, though.

'great' has the traditional meaning of size. hence 'greater spotted woodpecker' and 'lesser spotted woodpecker'; the 'greater' on isn't 'better', but it is, according to my field guide to the birds of britain and europe, 2 to 4 inches longer.

"Big Britain"

the "irish" half of my family was traced recently to a big nest of orangemen. I am as ashamed of this as my cajun french criminal slave-trading background. I'm half orange, half jean lafitte.

Great Britain and Northern Ireland are both part of Britain ("Great" = "largest bit of land in...")

no thats not correct. great does mean the larger part yes, but the smaller part is not northern ireland, but brittany in france

YOU ARE AMERICAN

nick, take a sedative

Use and nomenclature

Use of the term Great Britain

"Great Britain" is often used to mean the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" (UK). However, Great Britain is only the largest island within the United Kingdom, which includes numerous surrounding smaller islands, as well as Northern Ireland in the island of Ireland. In the introduction to his history book The Isles, Norman Davies explains how confusion persists about what "Great Britain" and the "United Kingdom" actually denote in even some eminent educational institutions.[5]

Terms associated with Great Britain – such as Britain or British – are generally used as short forms for the United Kingdom or its citizens respectively.

Great Britain may well be a translation of the French term Grande Bretagne, which is used in France to distinguish Britain from Brittany (in French: Bretagne), which had been settled in late Roman times by Romano-Celtic troops from Maximus' army and later by refugees from Roman Britain, who were then under attack by the Anglo-Saxons. Since the English court and aristocracy was largely French-speaking for about two centuries after the Norman Conquest of 1066, the French term may have naturally passed into English usage. The term "Bretayne the grete" was used by chroniclers as early as 1338[citation needed], but it was not used officially until James I proclaimed himself "King of Great Britain" on 20 October 1604 to avoid the more cumbersome title "King of England and Scotland". Sources such as the New Oxford American Dictionary (NOAD) define Great Britain as "England, Wales, and Scotland considered as a unit" and Britain as "an island that consists of England, Wales, and Scotland." Thus, Britain is the name of the island, while Great Britain is the name of the geopolitical unit. NOAD advises that while Britain "is broadly synonymous with Great Britain ... the longer form is usual for the political unit." However, in the United Kingdom itself, "Britain" is usually taken to be synonymous with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland [11].

northern ireland is not part of great britain, geographically

northern ireland is also not part of great britain, politically

thank you

However, in the United Kingdom itself, "Britain" is usually taken to be synonymous with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

while the names are often used interchangeably, this 'synonymity' is the kind of synonymity that leads to england and britain being used interchangeably by some. it is, in other words, incorrect

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/2b/Captbrit.jpg

people posting from irish ISPs are classified as "britishes" y/n

while the names are often used interchangeably, this 'synonymity' is the kind of synonymity that leads to england and britain being used interchangeably by some. it is, in other words, incorrect

o rly

OMG BRITANE IS HUEG!

WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY BEAUTIFUL THREAD

We'll need another 9/11 to get it back on track.

I would totally emigrate to all of this HUEG BRITANE

Watch out though, Northern Ireland and Great Britain have a Special Relationship.

I just like to call it all Paddington Country.

Sorry to continue w/the ruination of beauty Herr Kingfisch.

We'll need another 9/11Birmingham pub bombing to get it back on track.

Fixed.

where's combat 18 when you need them, eh?

To get back to the original article--what sort of unity does this guy think another 9/11 would bring? The presumption is that al Queda--which is reportedly headquartered in Pakistan--would be behind the attack. So the US people would demand that in response we send more troops to Iraq? I'm not sure we'd fall for that one again. We'd probably invade Iran just to be stupid in a different way.

The crowd outside the Simpson home chants.

Crowd: Two! Four! Six! Eight!
Homer's crime was very great!
"Great" meaning "large" or "immense",
We use it in the pejorative sense!

"Fox News' John Gibson went so far as to endorse Bykofsky's thesis on the air: "I think it's going to take a lot of dead people to wake America up."

Link.

It's going to take a lot of Americas to wake dead people up.

Now he says he was wrong, without, you will note, being too apologetic.

Good grief, people, we just did a whole British Isles / Great Britain / British thing like ... two weeks ago! We were going on at length about how Irish people are clearly living on an island chain called the "British Isles" but they won't admit it because of political pissed-offness at something referred to as "Britain" by, like, synechdoche! (Or is that metonymy?) Point being WE DID IT!

So possibly a better pedantic comeback to that post upthread is that there is not entirely such a thing as "Britain" -- there are "British Isles," and one of them is called "Great Britain," and there is a country called the UKofGB&NI of which Northern Ireland in indeed part, but there is not so much a Britain, unless you mean it as short for "Great Britain," which I suppose we usually do, when we call people "British."

Yeah, that apology is like, "I'm sorry all you people who e-mailed me are a bunch of fucking cranks."

We should cut & paste this thread & e-mail it to him. Maybe he'll illuminate this Great Britain question for us.

people posting from irish ISPs are classified as "britishes" y/n

-- El Tomboto, Saturday, 11 August 2007 20:19 (Saturday, 11 August 2007 20:19)

N!!!

people should definitely call us Great Brits and the Great British (no retarded 'es' at the end thx)

http://mediamatters.org/items/200708140001?f=h_latest

Audio of Gibson calling for it, and mocking Jon Stewart for tearing up on camera during the first Daily Show ep after 9/11