Its difficult to find any topic worth conversing about in this forum without having to sift through every second or third thread being a cut-n-paste post by Cat Stevens. This used to be a lively forum in the globalisation section (I have been posting here for a year or so in one guise or another) but over time it seems to have become the cat stevens -"lets trivialise the middle east" forum. There is no sensible debate - they are merely propogandist postings and he (laughably) thinks this is doing damage to the wests military credibility. I want to come to this forum and have a rational discussion about these issues and not run in to a load of propogandist rubbish - about the middle east that is merely a cut and paste from some other website - which incidentally is plagiarism since it is most likely copyright material. I wouldnt mind if it was possible to get him to talk about these issues but the, frankly, smarmy replies that say nothing are indicative of the fact that he has nothing to say and says it.
I had a lot of trouble getting him to understand that I was backing him up in an argument. But eventually he turned it all against me and I was against him and for the terrorist America and Israel. I think everyone has their right to their opinion and this is the forum to express it, debate it, hell get foamin-at-the-mouth mad about it. But when your turn is over, it is someone else's turn. I have seen this type of thing from others here too btw. It gets to the point where the original thread is no longer being discussed and petty personal arguments start showing. So... the real question in my mind is... what is to be done about this so no one feels censored or targeted, but everyone else doesn't feel threatened so they can express their pov too.
Good question - on a few boards they are starting to say only a 50 word cut and paste and if its over that put in a link to the info. I mean I really dont mind what cat stevens opinion is - so long as it is an opinion and not some cut and paste that merely serves as some obscure propoganda. Its a waste of my bandwidth - I am not arguing against the idea that he can express views that arent his own - I am expressing my view that he is not contributing to the globalisation thread because what he posts is not a discussion he never discusses the arguments he raises other than with a quote from some islamic text or to defend against someone who objects in the same way I am objecting now- there just isnt any reasoning behind the posts
Some of us agreed with Cat early on, but any disagreement with him and he adds you to his ignore list. So lately he's basically been talking to himself or new folks.
I wouldnt mind but if I wanted to read eastern propoganda I would go to Eastern news sites. I choose to go to forums to have discussions with people, not to read some diatribe by a political journalist. I know nothing of what cat stevens thinks because his spamming means that we only find out what his sources of information think. I am fairly convinced anyway that he lives in the west and as such knows only as much as any other westerner. My sentiment is that if he does not agree with the policies of his government he should go to a country that recognises his sentiments against the west, but since most of those countries havent got a pot to p*ss in I rather think he hypocritically likes it here.
Maybe he's getting paid for each click he gets on his links. I for one am not bothering anymore. He used to talk with some of us here, now he just spouts his dogma. Most of his posts and threads should be over in the Political section, but they would eat him up over there.
They would eat him alive at Al Jazeera if they knew how much of their work he plagiarises Them and the other sources he takes from
I meant the political section here at HipForums, ever ventured over there Columbo? I don't get over there very often. http://hipforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=36
No I do not go to politics but I do not understand why this global thread isnt there anyway Also most of the rubbish Cat Stevens comes out with is schizophrenic as he seems to believe that his politics is intrinsically linked to his religion. Always a recipe for hypocrisy and a mistake the west hasnt made for 400 years. I dont go to religion threads either. If I did I would go there to talk religion not politics. Also I would go to politics if I did not want to be bothered by religious zealots. I do not come to the globalisation thread other than to read and talk about issues to do with corporate globalisation but whereas this forum used to be full of interesting and relevent threads its now full of Cat Stevens drunkenly asserting his superiority of ethics over the entire rest of Hip forums compare this page - page six of the hipforums globalisation thread with more recent pages - page 5 is interesting too but then as you get nearer page 1 it dissolves http://www.hipforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=34&page=6&sort=lastpost&order=&pp=20&daysprune=-1 the further back you go the more interesting the threads and the less of this "The west is shit" stuff from stevens SO LONG AS YOU IGNORE THE SPAM FROM SOLVE ET COAGULA
I think Cat found an easy place to post his venom and some of us agreed with him in the past. I think Skip has slowed him down some since your post. I definitely see what you mean and see names that have disappeared here recently, probably because of his tirades.
good, I really find it pungent to undermine any organisation whether from the East or West while they are fighting. It seems to me that those who are fighting are also the ones doing the dying. By comparison my feelings are and should be directed at the politicians, not at men brave enough to die for a cause, but people like you and I who sit here in the comfort of a nice well lit room in safety who do nothing other than voice an opinion. Cat Stevens pretends to advocate peace but is too one sided and advocates peace at the expense of lives, lives other than his own. If he is that interested let him pick up a gun and face the israeli army or fight the US marines, but until he does that he should shut his fucking mouth because He is advocating death and that to me is cowardice
That was my problem Columbo. He was saying peace, but he was preaching Hezbollah when I got into it with him.. As if being for peace means considering one child more important than another because of his parents religion. The other thing that really bothered me was he wouldn't make sense: what if I was holding you hostage would you be able to fight back? Yes I would fight back.. ok then Hezbollah should bomb the U.S. ummm... huh? That sort of thing. then there is the WHAT ARE YOUR SOURCES?!? and the number one thing that pisses me off.. I've seen others do it too.. take what you say sentance by sentance and respond to bits and peices of it under your one sentance quote. This is always how forums go, someone comes in and gets off topic or rants until no one wants to deal with it anymore. So here's to the folks sitting in the comfort of a nice well lit room in safety cheers
ok, curiosity got the better of me so I went to the forum where I ended up doing the old meet and greet wit Cat. Looks like he's been banned. That's what it says under his little bearded smiley face. I also found a perfect example of the sentance by sentance reply. If I were a savy hippie type guy I'd a put in a link. For now peace and love y'all
In all honesty and truth, if he has been banned I am sorry about that. It makes me sad to hear it.By saying such things as I said earlier in this and other threads I merely wanted to call him to reason. Merely wanted to speak to him than read what Al Jazeera had to say, and if he is banned then there is not that opportunity, but life goes on. He could have chosen to be a valuable source of knowledge about Eastern affairs, or the muslim perspective, instead he has chosen to become a bitter mouthpeice of Al Jazeera
I posted a thread exactly like this one about a year ago and most people disagreed on the premise that he was "harmless". Sometimes the smoking gun, really is a mushroom cloud.
