helloooo :P. greetz from holland

Just writing to send my best wishes to you, Diana, during this little piss-storm your blog-stalkers are putting you through.

I am happier without moons and Jesuses and goddesses, personally, but any peaceful spiritual accord reached by a sincere person is fine by me, and I am certainly delighted that you have found that.

You have read Rebecca Wells, right? I hope so, the goddess you speak of appears in her wonderful novels.

So all the best to you and your great students.

Funny thing is I never would have heard about your blog had it not been for the nasty little news deal. Now you are going to be a must read.

Sincerely,
Scott

Ignore the fools. Be yourself, which seems to be a very interesting, and intelligent being.

Have a good one!

Y'know...maybe (and that's a HUGE maybe) if you taught 6th graders, this would matter(if you gave them your website address or had them take your pictures). You are allowed a private life, and you are allowed to express yourself however you see fit. Your pictures are not pornographic nor are they in poor taste. Carry on.

As my mom would say, "Don't let the turkeys get you down."

And, you've got Hugo Schwyzer in your corner. How cool is that?

http://hnn.us/blogs/entries/24944.html

Of all the bone-headed things for a stranger to whine about... I haven't seen the pictures (and probably won't; time is short), but I'm sure they're very nice breasts, and completely irrelevant to anything you have to say. Kudos for not taking the idjits seriously!

Thank you.
Thank you.
You are showing countless numbers of women how to stand up in the face of adversity and threat, and do so with dignity. Thank you for living your philosophies...the world needs more individuals like you.

I admire you so much for putting your feelings out there everyday. I feel empowered watching you go through these trials and tribulations with so much class. Funny how the critics never post there pics or put anything forward of themselves, just the fear and hatred they signed up for years ago. Stay the course Dr. Diana- you are gorgeous & smart & you rock!

Thanks again Doctor. Your acceptance of yourself and recognition of things beyond your control serve as a valuable example to me. I wish you continued happines.

Just for your information, real Pagans don't usually kneel. The Gods are our friends, not our masters.

Thank you for saving the lives of Iranian women, brave Doctor Diana. I hope all America will listen to your brave advice and leave my country, the mullahs, and my husband alone so that they can continue to beat me, cover my body, and humiliate me for the greater glory of Allah, peace be upon him.

I am so glad that you will help save our lives, blessed Dr. Diana. Too bad you were too late to save my sister-in-law Jamila, who was raped by a cousin and then murdered by her brother to save the family's honor. But, God willing, you are working on it, wise Dr. Diana ...

But anyway, thank God that by your brave, brave stance, O brave Dr. Diana, we women of Iran will be kept alive as chattel for the men of Iran.

What am I? Chopped liver?

O wise, brave, brave, brave, and -- need I add? --brave Dr. Diana, not to seem ungrateful or anything, but what do you and the moon goddess propose to do about the women of Darfur? The janjaweed aren't exactly what I'd call "inner demons."

Just askin'.

You are an incredible, powerful woman and truly a gift to us all!!! I am grateful for having the opportunity to read your thoughts and look forward to more! You have inspired me and likely thousands if not millions more!

Thank you for saving my wife's life. I will now beat her for daring to express an opinion without my permission.

I see the liars and the haters have come yet again. Peace to you. And for the good of the actual men and women of Darfur and Iran, I sincerely hope my country does not bomb them.

Personally, I thought your tits rocked. I saved the photos locally so I could look at them later.

So F the naysayers. You did good. And you have nice cans. That's what's important.

Chas - Dr. Blaine never claimed to be a "real pagan," in any traditional sense. She is following her own spiritual instincts, and is under no obligation to pray by anyone else's rules. Besides, "an it harm none, do as ye will," remember? Sheesh.

"The only beneficiaries of the war are people who sell arms. As a Muslim Iranian, I state here that I do criticize the government of Iran. But this does not mean that America has the right to invade Iran. And if America has not learned its lesson from Iraq and thinks of invading Iran, notwithstanding all of the criticisms we have of our government, we will defend our country to the last drop of our blood. And we will not let an alien soldier set foot on the land of Iran. If American speaks of globalization, this doesn't mean that the whole world is seen as one village and Bush is seen as the only sheriff of that village."

Shirin Ebadi

(Look her up, Winthrop)

Thanks for an enlightening perspective; I've recently believed in the Lennon credo, "I don't believe in x, I just believe in me". The only problem I find with that is that it is very difficult to overthrow the destructive power of the ego with this mindset, although it helps me in a lot of other areas. Your perspective is a good middle path, perhaps between traditional religion and my current views. You've at least given me something to think about, and for that I thank you.

I also enjoyed the pictures that created this firestorm. I understand the mindset in which you offered them, a mindset of surrender and acceptance, prepared for the worst the world can do to you. Do know that some people of the world think you are very beautiful, and nothing is more beautiful than your openness in taking them.

I read about you yesterday on NBC News.

And I noticed that some people seem to be afraid of your observations.

I don’t know your views yet nor am I sure that I will agree but nevertheless, congratulations on both counts. It is akin to having people ban or burn your books.

Since this seems to be an emotional subject to many people, it seems to me that you will be routinely attacked throughout your career.

I propose that you set a standard before you engage your time debating with people. Sooner or later, you will not have the time to argue with faulty premises. You need a standard now.

If an antagonist, especially one that should know better commits several nasty logical fallacies in their argument (Argumentum ad baculum, Argumentum ad hominem, Straw man, etc), don’t invest any of your time arguing with them. Simply suggest to the debater that their argument has too many fallacies and let them make the appropriate corrections before you invest your time.

As far as your students, regardless of what subject you teach, have your students understand logical fallacies. If you incorporate logical fallacies as a foundation, it may help your students cut threw the garbage and evaluate an argument. In fact, copy some of these arguments and let the students identify the flaws…real life experience.

Are people really complaining about a nude woman in academics? Get over it. I’ve accidentally walked in on a nude model right on campus at Watt and Harris Hall in a room full of students.

You are a beautiful person. But you didn't need to hear that from me. You already know.

Shame on those who would judge others.

911: Argumentum ad baculum, meet George Bush.

I think this is going to be the start of a beautiful friendship.

Diana,

As a woman who also is a feminist, an academic, a "pagan", and has topless pictures of herself on the internet, I wanted to say thank you for your strong clear voice and warm caring heart. Kudos. And your Zen-like calm is both remarkable and refeshing :-)

Great article. I enjoyed reading it, but disagree with everything you...WAIT A MINUTE! You're not THAT Dr. Blaine, are you?

Not the infamous emasculating feminist who hypnotises our youth and believes that all men are rapists & the only correct form of intercourse is with a flacid penis?

Oh no! You have contaminated my mind. I feel myself weakening. I suddenly feel the urge to read Sylvia Plath and listen to old Phoebe Cates albums. I've been wrong all along. Figure skating is quite atheletic & Dennis Kucinich is a bit too conservative for my taste.

You'll have to excuse me, I must write my resignation letter to the Young Republicans and join the Peace Corps. This is all your fault, you, you...Liberal!

Goodbye for now. I'm late for a Radio Pacifica fundraiser.

"Shame on those who would judge others."

-- Ummmm, so does that mean we shouldn't judge war-mongers? Or are they exempt from the "no judgment" rule?

Dr. Diana, you say "And for the good of the actual men and women of Darfur and Iran, I sincerely hope my country does not bomb them."
Tell me do you consider Darfur to be "peaceful" now? Or are your happy thoughts going to help them get there?

I ask these question with love in my heart and with sincere goodwill toward you and toward your mission to spread the light of love, peace, and positive body image across the globe.

"I see the liars and the haters have come yet again."

Which commenters are lying, exactly?

By the way, that word is so harsh, so judgmental, so attacking. Do you think it arises from your inner demons?

No, there's some people who are locked in their own pain and they have actually taken the guise of people from other countries and posted on this website to try and attack me. It's sad. And inappropriate. And hateful. And of course a lie, for women from Iran don't call themselves "woman from Iran." They actually have names.

And I hope we do not bomb them.

I just came here to see tits.

Same here. I need to see naked breasts!

Sorry guys. Contrary to all media reports, I don't have naked pictures on my web site. Weird, huh? Don't believe everything you read.

Blaine states: "Peace matters. It matters that we are killing people all over the world today."

This is a writing fallacy called a red herring. I learned it in my writing 340 class that I took at USC - the same class you teach. It is when the author diverts the argument away from the issue at hand because they cannot win the original argument.

The war in Iraq and Afghanistan has nothing to do with you having topless photos of yourself on this site. It also has nothing to do with the fact that you accused all men of being responsible for rape.

The issues spelled out:
http://cardinalmartini.mu.nu/archives/175847.php

"No, there's some people who are locked in their own pain and they have actually taken the guise of people from other countries and posted on this website to try and attack me. It's sad. And inappropriate. And hateful. And of course a lie, for women from Iran don't call themselves 'woman from Iran.' They actually have names."

-- Is that what counts as a reasoned response in your class? Weren't the comments from "Woman from Iran" and "Woman from Darfur" and "Husband of Woman from Iran" obviously *ironic*? Or have you transcended irony? And was Jonathan Swift really suggesting that people eat Irish babies?

Reason is probably also a category of male domination and oppression that you've transcended. Down here among us mortals, it comes in mighty handy. I take it you're not going to answer the question about Darfur, because that would spoil your happy thoughts.

Do you even know where Darfur is? Or will you have to google it?

Thanks for giving us another feminist to laugh at. If you ever get a real job, please let us know. However, given that you've never worked a day in your pampered, princess life, I doubt very much you'd recognize a real job if you saw one.

"Ph.D. philosopher"? Yeah, right. That you're a feminist merely confirms my assessment of your idiocy.

Good lord, woman, don't you know better than to criticize the fine young men of USC? The first alums of Los Angeles came out from Oklahoma in the 1800's, back when there was a good chance that slavery would be extended to California. Oh well, the weather turned out OK.

We are not called Trojans for nothing. Calling on men to take responsibility for rape? Are you kidding? It would be like calling for us to take responsibility for wage differentials, or government corruption, or war, or childbirth. Those are all of our responsibilities (except for childbirth), not just for those of us chosen to lead.

And you don't seem to be keeping up with the times. This is a post-modern world. College football players have to rape - they don't get paid - that's against the rules. Look at Florida State, University of Tennessee, Utah State, Colorado, Louisana Tech, and Arizona State. Paterno had it right - when a cute girl knocks on your door, what are you going to do? Hell, Navy just decided to court martial a quarterback - Annapolis must still be run by that Clinton appointee. You should thank USC for showing constraint. Come to think of it, some of those Duke lacrosse players might make decent LB's (at least on the practice squad). The AD should look into transfers.

Clearly your infantile mind cannot appreciate the tough decisions that men must make in the real world. Darfur? Bombing is the only way to clean up that mess. Women get too emotional when there are dead bodies around. But as we Trojans say, we all have to die sometime, so it might as well be the other guy.

And if you're going to post pornographic images, at least they should be worth the googling effort. 18-year old men aren't adults and they don't need to have their expectations and fantasies shattered by pictures of "real" women. Haven't you heard of Photoshop? We may get gentlemen C's and couldn't get into Stanford to save our ass, but there are at least a few of us that know something about advertising - find a graphic arts student to airbrush the pics.

And all this holier than thou about women in other countries. As the fine Trojans above have noted, you can't distinguish irony from idiocy, reason from ridicule, philosophy from philandering. The trustees must have been checking out the secretary when you came in for the interview.

Uhhhh . . . right, Men Hear Me Fart, that was, uhhhh, cute.

Still, neither you nor Diana nor the moon goddess has yet answered my question about Darfur. Let me grant, for the sake of argument, that force is not the only solution to the genocide in Darfur. What *is*? The only suggestion I've seen from you and Dr. D. is happy thoughts and moral preening.

If I were to take this post seriously, I might actually get offended at the notion that my solipsistic conquering of my inner demons could save the life of a woman from Iran. The women of Iran are not props for you to carry on stage when you want to demonstrate the heroine's (that would be the brave, brave, brave -- and need I add, brave? -- Dr. Diana) moral superiority.

Whether the U.S. bombs Iran or not, the women of Iran suffer and will continue to suffer terrible oppression. Do you think they're grateful that the brave, brave, brave -- and need I add, brave? -- Dr. D. exhorts us to "save their lives" by conqering our inner demons? Do you think they believe Dr. D. and her inner demons and her happy thoughts are going to give a flying squirrel what happens to them once the great Satan is no longer concerned with Iran? Or do the suffering women of Iran figure, quite rightly, that the brave, brave, brave -- and need I add, brave? -- Dr. Diana doesn't give a fig about their lives once they no longer offer an opportunity to score bargain basement rhetorical points against the "warmongers" while simultaneously congratulating herself for her moral courage?

Dear Dr. Diana,

Please, please, I need help. What matters to *me* is finding the answers to these profound questions:

Should I shave under my arms?
Should I get married?
Should I get plastic surgery?
Should I buy an SUV?
Should I watch The Bachelor?
Should I join a sorority?
Should I go to church?
Should I wear make-up?
Should I keep my boyfriend?
Should I go on a diet?
Should I douche?

I don't know where to turn. I need guidance. I must know how brilliant women (women like you!)down through the centuries have answered these questions.

Help me, Dr. D. You're my only hope.

Does the dateless computer nerd soon-to-be-expelled student writing the above posts believe we don't know he's posting under more than one name?

I *assumed* you knew I was posting under more than one name. Duh.

I finished college and grad school several years ago, so, thankfully, I'm not one of the brave, brave, brave -- and need I add, brave? -- Dr. Diana's students.

But this is fascinating. If I were a student, why would I be expelled?

And, of course, nobody has yet addressed my very fair point (about the moral preening involved in using the plight of Iranian women for the sake of a lame rhetorical flourish).

I'm also fascinated by the use of the term "dateless computer nerd." The attempt is to humiliate/degrade by suggesting one's interlocutor is unattractive and/or socially inept. One of the underlying assumptions is that one's attractiveness to others/to the opposite sex is a measure of one's worth or value as a human being. What would the brave, brave, brave -- and need I add, brave? -- Dr. Diana say about such blatant sexism?

http://cardinalmartini.mu.nu/archives/175926.php

What is the big deal? The only problem is how do you have time to read all the comments?

no muslim man or woman is goeng to lissen to a infidel woman who go around showeng her bodey....you are a ridiculus theng to be runneng you mouth..

another theng if you are not willeng to fite and kill and destroy evil and them that do evil than what good are you to aneybodey do you thenk pepel are goeng to just lissen to you and do what you say just becos you tell them you are rite and we all will accep that just on your say so....

no you shold shut up and keep you trap shut this is the reeson mans with aney sens do not allow thaer womans to hav a say in politics or runneng thengs you are a perfect exampel of how mess up the world wold be otherwises...

and what is this nonsens about godeses...are you a devil worshiper or just a crazey woman or both...get this thru you hed and get it thru you hed good...

THER IS NO GOD MANS....THER IS NO GOD WOMANS.....THER IS JUST ONE GOD....PEREOD!!!!!

I must say you are a brave woman. You are in the news in Brussels ( capital of Europe ) with your tits.

But your ideas are much more interesting.
Finally a woman with strong vision ...

All the Best !

Burt

Have this morning called the President of the University to complain --
that he needs to do all he can to keep and support Dr. Diana.

Here is one of the best voices I have heard out of USC in decades.

As a father of young daughters and sons, as the husband and son of women, I am hopeful that Dr. Diana is still there 10 years from now when my kids start our 4th generation at USC.

(As an aside, the "flap" drew me to the blog; the power of the ideas has earned it a place on the Favorites list to check back from time to time.)

What is the solution to Darfur?

As you grow up, you will find out that when certain problems go on for too long - there is no "solution". There are only choices between bad and worse. Unfortunately, Darfur, because the world has ignored the problem for so long is in that situation.

Sometimes all you can offer is moral support in whatever form it comes in and a commitment to do your best not to let it happen again.

If you don't believe that women in the Middle East support the efforts of women in the West to raise global awareness of their lives - you are simply an willfully ignorant individual - a very short tutorial on how to use Google is recommended.

If you don't think that these efforts have had an impact (while we can all do more), again you are just choosing not to inform yourself.

I understand why powerful women threaten a certain psychology of privilege - you can read it in the comments.

Anyway, keep posing your sophomoric logic problems - it demonstrates your unwillingness to engage with the real world and your willingness to marginalize yourself.

you do not know aneytheng abot darfur just what you hav be told you shold mind you own busnes....and how do you thenk that womans in middel east suports womans in the west most of them laff at womans in plases that thenk thay know thengs and do not know aneytheng....

even if you are rite when you say womans in muslim cuntreys are treeted bad what good is it doeng if you are too big a cowerd to fite and kill for them...that is why muslim womans laufs at you pepels becos thay know you are all talk...

are you a woman by the way..if you are ther is no man who want to heer you fart...if you are a man take the gerbel out of you buthol and be may you will not fart so much...

Hey, Diana, I surfed over here from Bitch PhD, who has just fallen in love with you. Glad to see you here. Just thought I'd say hi.

--Libby

I provide Men Hear Me Fart's reasoning in slightly modified form:

As you grow up, you will find out that when certain problems go on for too long - there is no "solution". There are only choices between bad and worse. Unfortunately, the Jew of Nazi Germany, because the world has ignored the problem for so long is in that situation.

Sometimes all you can offer is moral support in whatever form it comes in and a commitment to do your best not to let it happen again. [Oh, well, bye, bye, European Jewry -- better luck next time!]

....

If you don't think that these efforts have had an impact (while we can all do more), again you are just choosing not to inform yourself. [Which efforts are those exactly? The only efforts that the brave, brave, brave -- and need I add, brave? -- Dr. Diana has proposed are happy thoughts. Actually, "consciousness-raising" about a genocide that's happening NOW is simply a morally preening form of happy thoughts at the expense of those being slaughtered]

I understand why powerful women threaten a certain psychology of privilege - you can read it in the comments. [Actually, Dr. Diana makes me laugh if I don't think about her narcissism and her insult to Iranian women too long.]

Anyway, keep posing your sophomoric logic problems - it demonstrates your unwillingness to engage with the real world and your willingness to marginalize yourself. [In the *real* world, the people of Darfur aren't going to be saved from being slaughtered in a genocide because you're calling on people to offer them moral support. Offer them a choice of force against their enemies and moral support, and bet is they'll take force every time. How naive of me.]

I have no issue with you doing what you will with your body. It is yours to do with what you choose. I don't care what you think of religion, if you're your own goddess, if you harbor ill feelings towards one or the other, or if you are at peace with all religions.

One of the things that stood out to me is "One of my closest mentors reminds me often to be 'in the world but not of it.'

It is certainly obvious that you are 'not of it', or you would have realized the consequences of your actions.

One more thing that stood out is that you champion certain causes, the rights of women, peace, etc., and yet, you rail at the very forces that will eventually promote peace.

The Persian and Arab peoples do not need your kind of 'help'. The oppressed women of oppressed nations do not need your kind of 'pity'.

My family, many of whom are not able to flee from the oppressive country from which I come, will never be free, as long as people like you put your 'not of this world' concept of peace ahead of freedom and liberation. You and yours do more harm than good. Your bankrupt ideology only delays the inevitable, allowing the fever of oppression to persist, until strong and honorable leaders put the fear of mockery and shame behind them and do what is right.

Get out of the way, please. My people die while you spout platitudes, praising your own highmindedness and so-called liberal ideals, patting each other on the back for being so evolved.

The nation where my mother lives is about to gain nuclear weapons, and when they do, any chance of prying the door open and allowing freedom in will vanish, just like it did in North Korea.

Your ideology would allow it to happen, all in the name of 'peace', while my family watches the light grow dimmer and dimmer.

Love, peace, and understanding, only works with those willing to love, be peaceful, and understand. To tryants, love, peace, and understanding, is the delay that they need to smash your skull in with a rock.

Please, continue showing the world your breasts. Some good will come out of that, at least. Also, move to Iran or Syria. You can stay with my family. Don't be alarmed if they jump at every knock on the door. Our 'peace' is a little different from yours.

I read about the blog with topless photos and thought what's the big deal. Then I read you above post and realized what a silly, trivial, full of yourself person that you are. Remember that all that is needed for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing. You are willing to do nothing and recommend this course of action for others. You view women as victims and all men as victimizers, but you don't seem to have a clue about real victims in the world, such as many Muslim women, and almost all Black Sudanese Muslims and Christians. I know shame is an emotion you rail against, but you should be ashamed.

I think the knee-jerk neo-con writing all these comments under different names needs to get a life. First of all, Darfur and Iran and Afghanistan and misogyny are all connected. How we treat people in our community translates into how we treat people abroad, if we lack integrity and respect and self-reflection here, it will show in our bombign of Iraq or Afghanistan, or (hopefully not!) Darfur and Iran.
Cardinal Martini, grow up. Develop something meaningful in your life, become a leader, just like Diana. It may drive you crazy, but she is inspiring and innovative and supportive and sharp. You may disagree but it would certainly serve you and followers to take the time to articulate your opinions and develop a real argument against what for some reason you see as misconceptions. Instead, you continue to come off as a petulent child. And I certainly hope your mother knows how little you think of equal rights and access and opportunity for women. I mean, REALLY knows. You care far too much about what other people are doing. Just drop it if it disgusts you, and move on, but spewing vitriol and foaming at the mouth won't help anyone take you seriously.

I've been following this discussion on WMST-L and your blog, and I just wanted to post (as many others have) in your support. I think everything you have done has been done with integrity. That's more than I'd say for your "opponents."

I used my real name. I am a real person. Dismiss me and mine in favor of what you wish reality would be, Larkin. Ignorance is bliss.

My truth, my family's struggles, mean nothing to you and yours. All you wish is to sound like you are trying to help. Word- so much easier than action. War is only just when your party engages in it. Reality means nothing. Credit to you and yours is the objective.

Are we all 'neocons'? History will show that you, like the appeasers before you, allowed the greatest injustices to occur, all in the name of peace and justice. WWII, the Bosnian Conflict, and genocides the world over, oppression the world over, all ignored until it was too late. But then, it's always someone else's fault.

You are worse than blind. You pluck your own eyes out, and then tell me what I should be seeing.

FYI, Sayeg and Piper's Son are not me. I have posted under this name, and under "A Woman from Iran," "A Woman from Darfur," "A Man from Iran," "Husband of a Man from Iran," and "Dateless Computer Nerd."

Bravo, Sayeg. I am ashamed of the moral vanity of my some of my fellow Americans.

Blaise;

Dr. Blaines "opponent" is a kid trying to flame up interest in his own blog (cardinalmahoney.com). It's a wannabe preppy complaint forum about how how wealthy and smart he is and how no one likes him because he has bad skin and how he REALLY thought that was the mens bathroom at Walmart and besides, that little girl was asking for it.

He's also quite the daring anarchist because he was thrown out of "Prep School" (a local Catholic Jr high) after being born in "Zurich" (Van Nuys) and did a short stint in the "Peace Corps" (Cub Scouts).

We're all pitching in to buy him an account on Myspace.com where he can rant about the "D" he got in Dr. Blaines class for plagerizing his term paper (turning in a Noam Chomsky essay as his own).

Woman hear me roar;

Right. Whatever you say.

P.S. "Andrew Winthrop Cunningham III" is the pseudonym of Irving Yablonsky from Van Nuys, California. He is a 20 year old Freshman who was provisionally allowed to return to USC after flunking out in 2004. He is currently on academic probation.

More information to follow...

Sayeg, I did not address you at all. I am aware that you used your own name. I was addressing the person posting under names like "A woman from Iran," or "A Man from Iran." That would be why I addressed it to "the person posting under multiple names..." I did NOT address it to Sayeg. I didn't even address anything you said. Please read carefully and don't put words in my mouth. And if, as you say, we're giving time to tyrants who use it to smash our skulls, what are you suggesting? Hit them before they hit us? Because, historically (since you seem to love this frame of reference) pre-emptive strikes have always turned out SO well, haven't they? And I'd also like to point out that while I respect your position and others' opinions, you have no idea where I or anyone else here posting responses has been, or where we are from, or why we think this way. Arguing points in a format like this is nearly baseless, which is why I find it so interesting that you all seem to be hovering over your computers waiting to pick fights. This is the second, and last time I will be responding to this thread, since no one (re: "A Woman from Iran") seems to take this seriously anyway. It's turned into a line of finger pointing. Write a book if you feel this passionately, that's what Blaine did. Develop some credibility, not just a screen name.

I apologise, Larkin. I misinterpreted what you had said.

Write a book? What book have you written? I would like to get to know you better through your works.

I don't use a 'screen name'. I use my name and my email address.

I am not sure what you mean with your 'premptive strike' statement. You argue against a premptive strike, as if abuses are not already occurring. Will you survive a premptive strike from them where you are, or do you simply not care if Americans die first? You argue on the folly of a preemptive strike, as if it's better for a few bombs to go off first, for the enemy to get the first strike, so that you can puff yourself up with rightiousness now, and blame someone else when it happens.

I absolutely know where some of you have NOT been, because if you had been were I've been, one with the people of these nations that you're so 'concerned' about being hit by a stray bomb or two, you wouldn't think the way that you do. There is no way that you could.

Booking a flight with your friendly neighborhood university travel agency, and meeting up with your 'tour guides' in Damascus doesn't count.

Long, gentle, conversations with 'lucky' Iranian academics that are 'allowed' to tour your educational institutions, when others are being locked up in Tehran, and still others are under threat of a fatwa for speaking the truth to 'open-minded' so-called liberal Americans, who dismiss them as 'neocons', doesn't count either.

I don't understand how anyone can apply one standard of 'freedom' to themselves, and another to others.

You'll trade the oppression of millions, for the false platitudes of the fear of collateral damage. There are many who would die as collateral damage, so that their families could live with religious, sexual, and other freedoms that you already enjoy. You stay the hand of liberation for all, because war isn't totally bloodless, because innocents might be killed in the process, and yet, more people are killed in auto accidents than died innocently in Iraq.

Ban automobiles. Innocent people die because of them.

Or, it is all just politics, and we have to wait until a Democrat is elected, so that he can go on another Bosnian Crusade, free from the carping of those who once abhorred the idea of war, free from their whining over usurping the UN's role.

It is strange how that works.

America: The beacon of Democracy, but only when I get credit.

Larkin, when I say 'you' I don't really mean 'you' personally. It is the mindset that I speak against.

I'm finished. Typing English makes my head hurt. Peace be unto all of you, and if you disagree with me, then I hope that you would wish enlightenment upon me, and not be angry.

Again, Sayeg, thank you.

It's really mind-boggling to me that the brave, brave, brave -- and need I add, brave? -- Dr. Diana and her acolytes can't understand how offensive her self-serving reference to Iranian women was.

Yeah Sayeg, Woman hear me roar, dickhead, et al. Thank you for your sage advice and stunning example of how one individual can post as many and fool no one but himself.

Little Seaneen,

Are you like the Ed McMahon to Dr. Diana's Johnny on this site? She makes the idiotic jokes (I figure that's what this post about happy thoughts and saving Iranian women's lives must be, after all), and it's your job to go, "Heyohhhh!"

Nice little sidekick.

Thank you "Woman Hear Me Roar Small Penis." Heyooohhhh!

Seaneen,

Oh, come on, Seaneen, you had the perfect opportunity to make a Slauson cut-off joke, and you botched it.

Signed,

Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Roarer;

Sorry, I'll try for the Burbank reference next time. I'm working on my timing.

Seaneen:

What a nasty little piece of work you are. Look up the term, ad hominen attack, in the dictionary. Your picture may be used to illustrate it.
You are safe and free because others have died to make it so. You are also a silly trivial, person. Diana Blaine thinks she is so brave to show her tits on her website, when it's the type of juvenile stunt that I would have pulled at 15. At least she isn't a repulsive attack dog like you.

Just so you won't confuse me with someone else that argues agains passivity in the face of evil, here's my
name and e-mail.

Tom Fife
alipax@yahoo.com

People are making comments on your "national geographic breasts"?! You mean you have normal ones like the majority of women on this planet?! What's wrong with you?! Hehehehe!

You're getting a lot of comments from a lot of crazy people (or just a few under different names?)!!

Diana--

I think you rock and wrote about you in my new blog. I put your situation in a broader context that's really pissing me off. Stay proud of your online project; it's so important. Keep the faith, grrl!

http://blingfatih.blogspot.com/2006/05/protectionism-blogs-and-blind-faith_13.html

-Bling

Whatever pays the bills I guess. I can't tell if you are selling your soul or your body for a fast buck. That is the beauty of America and a Phd.--I guess. Hit middle age and and profit off of things you formerly rallied against.

Diana. I couldn't agree more with your sentiments. I only found out about your blog because of the photos but I'm pleased that I did. Keep up the good work!