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Home Front: Politix
Krugman is squashed in a debate with O'Reilly
2004-08-10
For those of you that missed it, you will want to find it on the web and watch it. O'Reilly beat him like a bongo drum with truth and facts. Krugman outright lied even when trying point about Afghnaistan! He claimed we moved our Arab linguist from there to work in Iraq. Paul, they speak FARSI in Afghanistan. Krugman was outclassed at every turn and looked like he would start crying any minute. My wife laughed at his 'shifty eyes' which made him look even more like lying weasel. He actually was quoting from all the favorite leftwing websites and presenting them as fact! Not a huge fan of O'Reilly but I have to give the man credit for slicing and dicing this professor of economics.
Posted by:Cyber Sarge

#17  Bomb-a-rama - Hmmm. I can't think of the last time I laughed at anything Franken did or said...

I can, it was on Saturday Night LIve in 1990 when he proclaimed that the 80s were the Al Franken decade and the ninties were his son's (whatever his name was) decade.

Still, that's the only funny thing I remember him ever saying. I never liked Stuart Smalley.
Posted by: Yank   2004-08-10 21:37  

#16  I used to be fluent in Arabic (Iraqi dialect) and German (The German still sticks) and picked up some Farsi over the past decade (don't ask).

As for Afghanistan: more Dari is spoken there than any other language - basically a dialect of Farsi (i.e. you speak Farsi, you can get along quite well in Dari). Dari is generally understood all over the country (thanks to the Soviets and their puppet regime).

Farsi derivatives are also spoken over the border in the 'Stans, although there its written in Cyrillic cahracters due to the old Soviet Union's influence over several generations.

Pashtu is also there in the other parts of Afghanistan, but more of that out in the boonies and the south.

As for Arabic in Southwest Asia Theater of Operations:

The only Arabic used in that region is Koranic Arabic - which bears as much resemblence to Modern Standard Arabic as does the Old English of Chaucer versus modern US English.

Dari/Farsi is about as similar to Arabic as English is to German - lots of similar sounds, and share most of the alphabet, but way different languages.

Hope that helps.
Posted by: Oldspook   2004-08-10 19:16  

#15  I was captivated by Krugmans shifty "Peter Lorrie at his most perverted moment" eyes. Disgusting.
Posted by: Sgt. D.T.   2004-08-10 19:04  

#14  (Though Al Franken, when he sticks to his profession, can be pretty darn funny).

Hmmm. I can't think of the last time I laughed at anything Franken did or said...
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama   2004-08-10 18:22  

#13  Personally I like Joe Scarbuagh.(excuse the spelling,please)
Posted by: Raptor   2004-08-10 16:57  

#12  jules - agreed.

I'm just tired of the ongoing Jerry Springer meme that these shows capitalize on. IMHO, It doesn't qualify as humor or commentary, it's just a p-nut throwing gallery for low brows and losers.
Posted by: B   2004-08-10 15:51  

#11   Compared to his interview with Michael Moore where he came off weak, I thought O'Reilly did pretty good in this debate. I mean how do you debate someone who pulls facts out of his butt and says their true?

O'Reilly is better debating when he's not also the moderator trying to look fair.
Posted by: yank   2004-08-10 15:33  

#10  Sarge: Paul, they speak FARSI in Afghanistan.

They speak Dari (a variant of Farsi) and Pashto in Afghanistan. The Pashtuns (or Pathans) speak Pashto and every one else speaks Dari. Urdu is just the northern Indian language of Hindi written in Arabic. (Arabic is an alphabet and in theory, every language could be written in Arabic, just as many nations have adopted the Roman alphabet, including Turkey, Vietnam and most of Southeast Asia).
Posted by: Zhang Fei   2004-08-10 14:32  

#9  I like Billy O', but I thought he needed to settle down and just beat Krugman w/the facts vice getting all animated. He tends to turn a lot of people off when he does that. BTW- f*ck krugman.
Posted by: Jarhead   2004-08-10 14:14  

#8  B-Did you ever see Trading Places, where he plays one of the train conductors? His role doesn't really fall into the "belittling others" category. And his Stuart Smalley skits on SNL? Hysterically close to a character I knew in Illinois, whose psychobabble, as far as I am concerned, is totally fair game for belittling.

However, I bet we would agree on his belittling antics in the presidential election, where he is just one in a line of celebrities whose opinions are valueless.
Posted by: jules 187   2004-08-10 14:14  

#7  My wife laughed at his ‘shifty eyes’...

Eww. This must've been the clash of the scary eyeballs. O'Reilly has squinty, piggy eyes like that really bitchy girl in 7th grade. The photo on Krugman's columns makes him look psychotic.

The Afghans speak Urdu and another language that escapes my memory.

CIA sez: Pashtu (is that an Urdu dialect?), Dari (Persian), Uzbek, Turkmen, other.
Posted by: Angie Schultz   2004-08-10 14:11  

#6  Al Franken doesn't deal in humor as much as he deals in mean-spirited belittling. It appeals to people who feel bigger by watching someone in "a position of power" bully others. Kinda sad statement about those who laugh, if you ask me.

If you get off on that kind of bullying, I suppose it's entertainment.
Posted by: B   2004-08-10 14:07  

#5  The Afghans speak Urdu and another language that escapes my memory. In the west, there are many people of Iranian origin who might speak Farsi, but they are rare.
Posted by: Brett_the_Quarkian   2004-08-10 14:00  

#4  I caught the last 1/2 of this debate; O'Reilly squashed Krugman like a bug, though he looked rather thuggish doing it. Since it was Krugman getting squashed, I let it slide.
Posted by: Raj   2004-08-10 13:56  

#3  I saw it, and for the most part, tho his points were good, O'Reilly just came off as hotheaded and reactionary, while the other guy, weasel though he was, just smiled and stayed calm. I hope in time O'Reilly will just let his anger about Franken et al dissipate; when he sticks to facts and focuses, he can make the arguments effectively and accomplish just what he wants: show them as spineless, clueless whiners. (Though Al Franken, when he sticks to his profession, can be pretty darn funny).
Posted by: jules 187   2004-08-10 13:53  

#2  My wife laughed at his ‘shifty eyes’ which made him look even more like lying weasel.

I was flicking through channels when I came across Krugman's mug, and I noticed that too. He seemed rather weaselly in his columns, and looks even more the part in person. Unfortunately, I only watched for about five seconds (I can't stand the guy), and as it turns out, not sticking around to watch the show was a BIG mistake. :)
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama   2004-08-10 13:50  

#1  I didn't see this, but saw the link from Allah.

I don't really like O'Reilly, but this was sweet.
Posted by: Anonymous4021   2004-08-10 13:12  

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