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Bikes Not Bombs?

A man just came into the place where I work wearing a Bikes Not Bombs t-shirt. I've seen this slogan around a lot and I have to admit I've always wondered what the heck it means. Since when are bikes a legitimate substitute for bombs??

PS. I'm being mildly sarcastic but if anyone has a logical explaination I'd like to hear it anyway.

people still under the impression we went to war over oil, thus suggesting that we ride bikes (every business day untill the war is stopped) as opposed to cars, thereby lessening the need for oil.

http://www.bikesnotbombs.net/

i'd never heard of it, i just typed it in google. They're so cute. They pedal for peace.

Ahhh, I should have thought of Google myself. Now I feel silly. Thanks for doing my work for me :D

you should have put him on the spot and asked him what it meant. perhaps if he were forced to actually explain what it meant out loud - he would have realized midway through how ridiculous he sounded and removed the shirt.

Then perhaps the sarcasm and love for biking might hit as well

Shit, its a shirt!

Quote:

Originally Posted by matthew330

Sorry Matthew330, you say the reasons for the Bush war are whatever you want (even change them every 6 months like Bush does) but the rest of us know colonialism when we see it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by matthew330

aw... fighting obesity and tyrannical rulers at the same time! how sweet!

Quote:

but the rest of us know colonialism when we see it.

Yeah we do know colonialism. That's how we got Guam, Puerto Rico, and most of the Western US. But sorry Iraq wont become a territory, which is... the definition of colonialism.

They can keep riding their bikes until they have heart attacks.

Just keeps the gas cheaper for me.

what is this snarkiness directed toward people who ride bikes about?
do conservatives have something against cyclists too?

Apparently they also take issue with optimism as well...

Apparently some can't see sarcasm.

Great comments though, makes me feel stupider for the day (or is it the hangover)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seaver

Yeah we do know colonialism. That's how we got Guam, Puerto Rico, and most of the Western US. But sorry Iraq wont become a territory, which is... the definition of colonialism.

Finally some honesty from the right. What makes you think it's not a territory right now?

In a word....Europe.

In another word....Kuwait.

and in a few more...the first Gulf War (i.e. - Iraq 14 years ago)

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/polit...-congress.html

thought you might enjoy this, matthew

I have the feeling that this thread is just going downhill from here. I'm checking it before I go to sleep tonight, and I want it to be discussion, not bickering

roachboy, that link is to a paid subscription article, can you please post text?

Er the actual registration is free to NYTimes but the article is here:

Quote:

Republican Congressman Says Iraq War Was Mistake
By REUTERS

Published: August 18, 2004

Filed at 10:02 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Breaking ranks with the White House and his Republican leaders in Congress, Rep. Doug Bereuter of Nebraska has said in a letter to constituents the U.S. military action in Iraq was a mistake.

The Iraq war was a "costly mess" with no quick way out, wrote Bereuter, vice chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and a senior member of the House International Relations Committee.

"I've reached the conclusion, retrospectively, now that the inadequate intelligence and faulty conclusions are being revealed, that all things being considered, it was a mistake to launch that military action especially without a broad and engaged international coalition," he said in the letter dated Aug. 6.

Republican leaders in Congress have supported President Bush's decision to invade Iraq on grounds that it had weapons of mass destruction that posed a danger to the United States. No stockpiles of such weapons have been found.

But Bereuter, who has resigned his seat in the House of Representatives to become president of the Asia Foundation, expressed dismay over the decision to go to war.

"The cost in casualties is already large and growing, and the immediate and long-term financial costs are incredible," he wrote, reflecting on his 2002 vote in favor of a resolution authorizing the use of force against Iraq.

"Our country's reputation around the world has never been lower and our alliances are weakened," he added.

"Now we are immersed in a dangerous, costly mess and there is no easy and quick way to end our responsibilities in Iraq without creating bigger future problems in the region and, in general, in the Muslim world."

The White House had no comment on the letter.

Charley Reese came out with an article attackign Bush also which is shocking to some given that he is a pretty staunch conservative

It's too bad we aren't really a colonial superpower. That would be pretty neat, a United States empire.