Glad to see Belafonte calling Powell a slave who has decided to compromise his own opinions to live in the master's house. Sad to see a guy who at least APPEARED to have some moderation and principles bow down to the goosestepping policies of the zealot illegally occupying the White House. If ANY OTHER nation was trying to change leadership in a sovereign nation that HAD NOT INVADED ANYONE in over a decade, Powell would be raising holy hell. Just imagine if it was a communist government threatening to invade a democratically run country. But when Sapling threatens Iraq WITH NO EVIDENCE WHATSOEVER other than 'oh, he MIGHT have weapons of mass destruction and he MIGHT do something with them', all of a sudden Powell goosesteps with the rest of the war mongers. BTW, Sapling, better keep the military strong so that no one can invade THIS country for having weapons of mass destruction, being willing to use them (Sapling has said he would not rule out a first strike nuclear attack), and is so insane and incompetent that no one knows what this buffoon will try next. Belafonte calls Powell for what he is
How do you (or any of us) know that Bush has no evidence? Do you expect him to share all top secret information with the general public? If we have info from an inside source that the revealing of that information could get that souce killed. Bush privately reveals secret information to members of congress (from BOTH parties). Many of these congressmen (from BOTH parties) have now said they understand that there IS as real thread from Iraq, and sorry they can't reveal the top secret details to the general public.
I think it's a bit dishonest to proclaim that "Bush has no evidence, whatsoever." We have Iraqi defectors who tell us of Saddam's biochem stockpiles, and his campaign for nukes. I don't see how any ethical person could applaud analogizing Powell to a slave. The comparison is reprehensible. Powell is not only a man of means who could walk away at any moment and have a comfortable life, he could also have been a star in the Democratic Party if that had been his choice. It seems to me that Belafonte is unhappy that Powell has a brain to make a choice. Belafonte's analogy makes light of the institution of slavery, and is an insult to the memory of millions of American men and women who had to carry the yoke of their white masters.
To quote another member, TigerSaint, from another board: " these remarks are sick. Comparing the 1st black Secretary of State to slaves spits in the face of every human being on earth who has ever been enslaved. His very remarks are evidence enough that this privileged black man hasn't a clue what slavery was like." Why do Americans care what famous people think about topics that they know nothing about? No one cares what Colin Powell thinks about the latest pop music hi, the new fall fashions, or who should win the academy award. Why do we put stock in what celebrities think about politics? Colin Powell is the first black Secretary of State. He is a leader and role model for all Americans.
>>How do you (or any of us) know that Bush has no evidence? Do you expect him to share all top secret information with the general public? If we have info from an inside source that the revealing of that information could get that souce killed. Uh, IF he had ANY evidence on Iraq not shared with the public, he would have shared it with heads of state in private. So far, Russia, Japan, Canada, Germany, France, the rest of NATO other than Great Britain, all the Arab states, etc. have repudiated his desire to attack Iraq. I love how the last refuge of not being able to substantiate is "oh, we have evidence, but national security keeps us from disclosing it." That is the same load of crap that Sapling tried before his invasion of Afghanistan. He just LUCKED OUT that a videotape was found AFTER the invasion that did indeed incriminate Bin Laden. Also, the news organizations found SOME circumstantial evidence, but Powell said that "the evidence would be laid out for all to see" -- IT NEVER WAS. Sapling laid out nothing that other people didn't discover, and he had NO IDEA that it was forthcoming to begin with when he made the statements accusing Bin Laden. >>Bush privately reveals secret information to members of congress (from BOTH parties). Many of these congressmen (from BOTH parties) have now said they understand that there IS as real thread from Iraq, and sorry they can't reveal the top secret details to the general public. ROTFLMAO!!! That is a joke. I have heard of NO ONE who has changed their mind. In fact, Democratics senators and representatives IN GREAT NUMBERS are continuing to say NOTHING NEW has been disclosed to them in private. The ONLY reason the resolutions might pass at all is due to 9/11/2001 and even if they pass, there will be restrictions about waiting for inspections to be tried again. Sapling has produced NOTHING of note, and NO ONE has changed their mind from their original stance.
>>We have Iraqi defectors who tell us of Saddam's biochem stockpiles, and his campaign for nukes. That is his "evidence". Let's see -- they most likely filtered out the opinions of the captives who said nothing was going on and released the CLAIMS of guys who are literally a captive audience. Thanks for the laugh. There is NO EVIDENCE that has been presented that says that Hussein is planning anything. In fact, yesterday, some government agency of this country agree with that -- I believe it was the CIA. The reasons for Sapling's little vendetta is the POOR STATE of the economy and him trying to get retribution for his daddy. Those are the reasons, pure and simple. He has NOT connected Iraq to September 11th AT ALL, and funny how he didn't advocate attacking Iraq AT ALL before the economy tanked. Belafonte's statement is valid. Powell starts out disagreeing on many issues, and ends up giving the reasons why the policies are right. That is someone who has clearly been sold to the highest bidder. He either toes the line against his principles or he is out of his job. Belafonte's statement is right on the money. He is nothing more than a turncoat to his own beliefs who is bowing down to keep his job (or as Belafonte says, "to stay in the master's house")
This quote is laughable "Colin Powell is the first black Secretary of State. He is a leader and role model for all Americans." Uh, first, being the first black Secretary of State means nothing if he does a poor job. To judge otherwise is racist, i.e. giving him credit simply BECAUSE HE IS BLACK. And as far as being a leader and a role model, ROTFLMAO!!!. Turning your back on your own principles is NOT being a leader or a role model. It is being a fraud and a phony, since you implement policies you know to be wrong. A leader or a role model would RESIGN since he disagrees in substantive ways on most administration policies.
Now you're changing your tune. <i><b>"There is NO EVIDENCE that has been presented that says that Hussein is planning anything."</b></i> I don't know anybody in the Bush administration that has proclaimed that Saddam is planning anything. That's not the basis of their position. You might not like the evidence of Iraqi defectors, but the fact is that it's evidence, whether you choose to discard it or not. Yes, Bush has major problems on the domestic front. Yes, it probably has spurred an eagerness to wage war against Iraq. No, it doesn't disqualify the Iraqi action as unjustified.
>>I don't know anybody in the Bush administration that has proclaimed that Saddam is planning anything. That's not the basis of their position. Actually, it IS one of the basis of their position, and they have said so. They have said that if Saddam Hussein acquired a nuclear bomb that Israel would be a potential target. So I have no idea what news or papers you have or haven't been reading, but this is NOT news to anyone who has kept up with the situation. It is nonsense to attack someone IF you believe someone is NOT a threat either now or in the future. >>You might not like the evidence of Iraqi defectors, but the fact is that it's evidence, whether you choose to discard it or not. Have you ever heard court cases when the credibility of the witnesses has made testimony unreliable. You don't think Iraqi defectors have a VESTED INTEREST in lying to try to get Saddam Hussein out of power BY ANY MEANS, do you? Nah, it couldn't be that. And once again, a bad economy is not an EXCUSE to goosestep around the globe. "Wag The Dog" wasn't a good movie from what I've heard and neither is putting American lives in danger because Sapling's handling of domestic affairs has been horrendous.
