Issodhos @aol.com wrote:

>>  You're absolutely right that Issodhos is an apologist for this appalling
>> system we live under,
>>  and that this list is a strange place for his apologias. But we should be
>> glad that he's wasting
>>  his time and energy here, where nobody will be influenced by his
>> propaganda, rather than
>>  someplace where people might actually be fooled by his nonsense.
>
>    Jonathan, you are free to show a single instance in which I act as an
>apologist for the death penalty.  I assume you will not interpret my
>presenting facts which make it possible for others less familiar with America
>to put the topic into perspective.  I understand that truthful statements
>would upset someone such as yourself who must rely on propaganda and
>hyperbole in your callous exploitation of capital punishment in your crusade
>against America's socioeconomic system.

I would agree. Capital punishment is an evil, but it is obviously not an
evil which can be attributed to the capitalist economic system. It is
demonstrably possible to abolish capital punishment within the context of
capitalism, because it has in fact been abolished in all the civilised
capitalist jurisdictions.

>
>    As to my being on this list, might I point out that the list is not
>restricted to those who wish to engage in a personality cult type worship of
>the "Chompman".

Actually, those who suggest that it is inappropriate to put forward views
not conforming to the popular (on this list) wisdom are the ones who would
offend Chomsky the most. I seem to recall that this is one of the dominant
themes of Chomsky's writing, the inability to allow dissenting views.

>Yours,
>Issodhos
>p.s. By the way, some would argue that in the counting of prisoners one
>should include all of the citizens of communist North Korea and communist
>China, as well as communist occupied Tibet.

And citizens of Mexico too, though they would have to be added to the US
prison tally, since it is mainly US immigration policies which keep them
prisoner in Mexico. Sorry mate, but you can't very well condemn states
which lock people in, without also condemning states which lock people out.
If you think people should have the right to leave a country, then
preventing them from entering another country infringes that right as
effectively as preventing them from leaving their country of origin.

>  By the way, my position is that
>a prison should for the most part hold only those people who have
>committed a violent crime or have threatened to do so.;-)

That is not viable under capitalism though, because property crimes must be
punished at least as sternly as crimes of violence in any society where
private property is more important than the right to life.

Bill Bartlett
Bracknell tas