Bin Laden's efforts to empathize with USA

[The idea]

Any news?

[Mr Manifesto]

No idea what you're on about. Mo Mowlam has suggested talks with OBL. Not sure what you mean by 'empathiz(ing) with USA'. Can you give any other info?

[The idea]

Originally posted by Mr Manifesto
Not sure what you mean by 'empathiz(ing) with USA'.
My question is:

Is there any news or information about any efforts that Osama bin Laden may have made to empathize with citizens or residents of the USA or their political leaders?

Presumably the concept of empathy is not foreign to Osama bin Laden. For example, he is probably capable of empathizing with people who suffer from a lack of food.

Originally posted by Mr Manifesto
Can you give any other info?
This thread is simply a request for info.

[Nyarlathotep]

Originally posted by The idea

My question is:

Is there any news or information about any efforts that Osama bin Laden may have made to empathize with citizens or residents of the USA or their political leaders?

Presumably the concept of empathy is not foreign to Osama bin Laden. For example, he is probably capable of empathizing with people who suffer from a lack of food.


This thread is simply a request for info.

Anyone who can order his minions to hijack planes and crash them into buildings full of innocent people is very lacking in the empathy department, as far as I am concerned.

I seriously doubt he would make any attempt to empathize with the US. He is a fanatic who sees us as the enemy and little else.

[Kopji]

Bin Laden Unveils Plans for Patty Murray Hospital
(2003-01-09) -- Usama Bin Laden announced plans today to build a new hospital in Seattle named after Sen. Patty Murray, D-WA.

The popular Islamic philanthropist said Patty Murray General Hospital would serve the poor and children for free.

Sen. Murray, in a speech to high school students recently, attributed Mr. Bin Laden's popularity to his humanitarian work in building hospitals, schools and roads in impoverished communities in Afghanistan and elsewhere.

"Of course the Senator is honored," said a spokesman. "She'll be at the ribbon cutting. She hopes to meet Mr. Bin Laden, who is the Mother Theresa of our generation."

A spokesman for Mr. Bin Laden said he wants no publicity.

"This is just who he is," said the spokesman. "Allah has blessed him, and he wishes to be a blessing to others. Sen. Murray impressed him with her vast knowledge, and sensitivity."

Mr. Bin Laden also plans to pay tribute to Sen. Murray by building a new airport in her honor in eastern Virginia.
http://www.scrappleface.com/MT/archives/000581

[gnome]

I think the implication here is clear--

The obvious conclusion is that Bin Laden and terrorist leaders have no empathy for Americans, so why should we seek empathy for terrorist leaders.

Stop me right here if I've totally misunderstood you.

But if we are to continue with this line of thinking, it comes down to a straw man argument.

First of all, suggesting that "empathy" be a part of our foreign policy is not a suggestion that the empathy be directed towards terrorist groups.

They already hate us and cannot be appeased by any reform in our policy.

The purpose of "empathy" in middle eastern (and world) relations is not to make terrorists less angry at us. To suggest so is to ignorantly misunderstand or to slander.

The purpose is to consider the impact of our foreign policy on the middle eastern PEOPLE, who nobody would argue are terrorists one and all. The goal is not the conversion of terrorists, but to reduce their effectiveness at recruiting new terrorists--to steal their thunder.

There are some that think this is not worth our time--but that disagreement need not take the form of ignorant accusations... disagree with it for what it is.

[Drooper]

I would think that discussions with OBL would go something along the lines of the conversation conducted with the alien in "Independence Day".

US: "So what is it you want us to do?"
OBL: "Die."

[The idea]

Originally posted by gnome
I think the implication here is clear--

The obvious conclusion is that Bin Laden and terrorist leaders have no empathy for Americans, so why should we seek empathy for terrorist leaders.

Stop me right here if I've totally misunderstood you.

But if we are to continue with this line of thinking, it comes down to a straw man argument.

First of all [...]
First of all, my paranormal powers failed. I was unable to stop you right there. ;)

Second of all, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar and sometimes a question is just a question.

[Luke T.]

Any news on how much orange juice stock Bob Hope owned?

[Luke T.]

Any word on how Jack Kevorkian feels about Golden Gate jumpers?

[The idea]

Originally posted by Luke T.
Any news on how much orange juice stock Bob Hope owned?
Sorry, I haven't even heard any news about whether or not Courtney Love or Faith Hill own any stock in Network Associates Incorporated (parent company of McAfee).

[The idea]

Originally posted by Luke T.
Any word on how Jack Kevorkian feels about Golden Gate jumpers?
I speculate that he would regret the loss of healthy organs that could have been donated to people who are waiting for organ transplants. Perhaps he would regret the loss of potential allies in his cause, depending on whether or not he thought that he could have recruited them.

[gnome]

Originally posted by The idea

First of all, my paranormal powers failed. I was unable to stop you right there. ;)

Second of all, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar and sometimes a question is just a question.

And sometimes it's loaded.

I smell a load...

[The idea]

Originally posted by gnome
And sometimes it's loaded.

I smell a load...
If you have had a nose job in the past, then does it necessarily follow that your nose is currently employed?

Scientifically speaking, there is a theoretically obvious risk that a rhinoplastic procedure could interfere with the sensitivity of your proboscis. Just a word of warning from one semi-evolved monkey to another. As to whether or not you claim to be a proboscis monkey, that is irrelevant and I will not make accusations directed against you personally, no matter how much you may provoke me with your groundless suspicions. God bless.

[epepke]

Originally posted by The idea
Presumably the concept of empathy is not foreign to Osama bin Laden. For example, he is probably capable of empathizing with people who suffer from a lack of food.

Doubtful. Bin Laden could probably replace Ted Bundy as an illustration in the dictionary for "sociopath."

[epepke]

Originally posted by gnome
And sometimes it's loaded.

I smell a load...

What's that I smell? It's the smell of straw.

[The idea]

Presumably the concept of empathy is not foreign to Osama bin Laden. For example, he is probably capable of empathizing with people who suffer from a lack of food.
Originally posted by epepke
Doubtful. Bin Laden could probably replace Ted Bundy as an illustration in the dictionary for "sociopath."
I hate to say this, but I fail to see the relevance of sociopathy.

An individual person's capacity for empathy is often extremely idiosyncratic and riddled with blindspots. For example, one person sympathizes with baby seals while the same actual (human?) person delights in giving mediocre marks to an intelligent and industrious young student, with the mediocre marks "justified" based on the most trivial "errors", such as matters of punctuation or grammatic tense. Now, as someone was saying....

Oops! C minus for that fool! "Now" signifies the present tense, but "was" signifies the past tense. Therefore the ideas are fatally flawed and meaningless hot air.

Next time the young student should say "Now, as someone is saying", but will there be a next time? You may have to move to a different district before your daughter can switch public schools or you may have to be comfortably middle-class so that you can afford a private school, or your daughter may be expected to suffer a serious illness or physical disability so that she may have a legally enforcable right to take public school courses by correspondence.

[epepke]

Originally posted by The idea
I hate to say this, but I fail to see the relevance of sociopathy.

An inability to feel empathy at all is the sine qua non of sociopathy.

Sociopaths can feel sympathy, but their empathy seems not to work at all.

[gnome]

Originally posted by The idea

If you have had a nose job in the past, then does it necessarily follow that your nose is currently employed?

Scientifically speaking, there is a theoretically obvious risk that a rhinoplastic procedure could interfere with the sensitivity of your proboscis. Just a word of warning from one semi-evolved monkey to another. As to whether or not you claim to be a proboscis monkey, that is irrelevant and I will not make accusations directed against you personally, no matter how much you may provoke me with your groundless suspicions. God bless.

That's fine, nor shall I direct accusations against your person. I simply doubt that it was a pointless, random question. I'll completely withdraw my comments as soon as you move on to whatever point you had.