Viggo Mortensen’s Anti-War Views on Charlie Rose
Viggo Mortensen, who plays Aragorn in the LOTR movies, made some really fabulous statements in opposition to the U.S.’s current mania for dropping bombs on people during an appearance on the Charlie Rose show Tuesday night. I’d love to link to news coverage of it, but I don’t think any has made its way onto the Web just yet. Let me know if you run across some, okay? Thanks. Update: One of the obsessed fans sent a description of Viggo’s comments to theonering.net. That’s all I’ve been able to find so far. Later: More spoutings from the obsessives, as collected over at theonering.net. Still later: Another Movable Type blog (Lying Media Bastards) saw fit to mention the incident.
December 8th, 2002 at 10:36 am
You may try this link for Viggo on Charlie Rose:
http://archive.nu/bunniqula/vids/
A friend forwareded it to me – the Viggo interview is crtt120302a.zip and crtt120302b.zip
December 10th, 2002 at 4:30 pm
Idiotarian Viggo Mortensen , Strider in the Lord of the Rings, proved his witlessness on Charlie rose last week. Note the “No Blood for Oil” tshirt in the picture. Then be prepared for inane drivel in the transcript of the interview. you can get it all at:
http://www.houseoftelcontar.com/interviews/cr120302.html
Enjoy, but don’t forget your air sickness bag!!
December 10th, 2002 at 4:44 pm
Excellent. Thanks for the link. And in my case, at least, no airsickness bag required. This was one of the very few public statements I’ve heard with respect to the Bush Administration’s Iraq vendetta that DIDN’T make me ill.
December 12th, 2002 at 11:00 pm
I applaud Viggo for his guts in saying what he thinks about our US policies right now. Everyone is so gung-ho for revenge in this country that we have indeed forgotten that our nation was founded in rebellion against imperialist governmental controls. We need to remember that! Without people of intelligence to express other ideas and solutions we will revert back to the very thing we supposedly hate: lack of freedom. And greediness with the world’s resources, as though we are the only nation on earth that deserves a good way of life. If all peoples aren’t free, none of us are, not truly. It’s an illusion that we are addicted to, the same way in which we are addicted to petrolium for cars.
December 18th, 2002 at 11:08 pm
Thank you, Viggo, for saying to millions what I am only able to say to hundreds through my e-mail network. I read an article the other day that said Bush was a sociopath and passive serial killer. It delighted me that his mask is beginning to slip. But unless people of Viggo’s celebrity use their clout to spotlight the beasts in Washington, I don’t know how we will survive until we get a new, sane president.
December 19th, 2002 at 10:39 pm
Pathetic whiners such as your self (and Vigo) only contribute to the weakness of this country. The incomprehensible liberal propaganda that was spouted by Vigo has turned me away from seeing any movie that he has a role in.
The man compared the United States with Saruman for God’s sake. In one sentence he claimed to be a proud American and in the next he defamed his very country by comparing it to a psychopathic wizard driven by a hellish force.
In his inane ramblings he spoke about the bombing of innocents in Iraq. When exactly did this happen? Did he quote facts, or was he just spouting typical liberal propaganda? Where is this happening now? Our country, along with the United Nations mind you, decided that Iraq needed to be kept in check because of its rulers homicidal tendencies. We therefore patrol their skies in No Fly Zones, and bomb them when they attack us.
Hussein launched Mustard Gas on his own people. Women and children died horrible deaths at this man’s hands yet you sit there and call our own President a serial killer. Did Vigo address this? Did he even mention it? Perhaps you move to Iraq and try to voice your own free will there. I assure you the madman that leads that country would see that you meet a most terrible end.
Of course we aren’t the only nation in the world that deserves freedom, but the fact is that we bring freedom to other nations; we DO NOT take it away. Name a nation that we took freedom from. Name a nation that does not get aid from our very tax dollars. You would be hard pressed to do so. Afghanistan is a better place today because of our actions there. It’s not perfect, but years of oppression from a “real” enemy is hard to erase. Iraq itself is better off since the UN Resolutions. The quality of life there is better because of the Oil For Food program, not worse. If their leader would stop obsessing over weapons of mass death and actually be a leader, the world would not judge him so harshly. Sadly, the blood of thousands of innocent lives are on his hands… and he deserves the scorn he gets.
I see nothing wrong with Bush having something against Hussein. Not only did he try to kill his father, he tried to kill an ex-president of the United States. If this does not warrant some sort of action, then you are truly the weak minded liberal you seem to be. For a Liberal, Anti-Americanism is currently a way of life.
December 20th, 2002 at 9:20 am
[[The incomprehensible liberal propaganda that was spouted by Vigo has turned me away from seeing any movie that he has a role in.]]
What was incomprehensible about it? I found it extremely comprehensible. He spoke in complete sentences, chose his words carefully, and was, on the whole, an extremely articulate spokesperson for his position. Sort of the exact opposite of how President Bush typically expresses himself, actually.
[[The man compared the United States with Saruman for God’s sake. In one sentence he claimed to be a proud American and in the next he defamed his very country by comparing it to a psychopathic wizard driven by a hellish force.]]
As Mortensen said, any attempt to tie the events in LOTR to current events by matching up characters and nations or national leaders in some sort of one-to-one correspondence is stupid. But his point was, if you’re going to insist on drawing those kinds of comparisons, then the U.S. has much more in common with Saruman than with the plucky, outnumbered Fellowship and their allies. Which is perfectly true, though it doesn’t surprise me that someone with your limited understanding of both the Lord of the Rings and the realities of world politics doesn’t recognize that.
[[In his inane ramblings he spoke about the bombing of innocents in Iraq. When exactly did this happen?]]
What exactly is it that you think our missiles and bombs were doing during the 100 days of the air campaign in 1991? Surely you don’t believe that just because the Pentagon only released footage of smart bombs landing smack on bridges and military bunkers that that was the only sort of damage we were inflicting.
The truth is very different. Less than 10% of the weight in bombs we dropped on Iraq during the air war consisted of “smart bombs”. The rest consisted of conventional “dumb bombs,” dropped from high altitude onto what frequently were densely populated areas. The following is a nice source on the real costs to the Iraqi civilian population of the U.S.-led air war:
http://www.hrw.org/reports/1991/gulfwar/INTRO.htm
Yes, Saddam Hussein is an evil military dictator. In that sense he’s no different from dozens of other vile thugs that the U.S. government has been only too happy to train, equip, and support as they terrorize their own people. In Hussein’s case, he has become a liability to our political aims in the region, so now we make a big show of opposing him. To speak as if he’s unique in deserving to be ousted, or as if the U.S. is motivated in its efforts against him by any desire to help the Iraqi people, is stupid.
[[Of course we aren’t the only nation in the world that deserves freedom, but the fact is that we bring freedom to other nations; we DO NOT take it away. Name a nation that we took freedom from. Name a nation that does not get aid from our very tax dollars. You would be hard pressed to do so.]]
Wow. If we’re going to vilify people for dosing their own population with mustard gas, I think we need to take a similarly harsh line toward those who would spread these sorts of lies in the name of informing people about their country’s role in the world.
Listen: Rush Limbaugh is an ENTERTAINER. He does not represent a useful information source about how the world works. Open your eyes, and your mind, to the possibility that things are not quite as simple as you would like to believe. Then go look for some alternate sources of information. Here are a few links I came across in just a few minutes of Googling for the terms “U.S.”, “dictatorship,” and “democracy”:
http://www.house.gov/bernie/statements/1998-05-13-suharto.html
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/SOA/SOA.html
http://www.ilaam.net/Opinions/BushDoctrine.html
These sources are not without their own biases; no sources ever are. But until you are willing to look at information from multiple viewpoints, you haven’t even begun the journey towards truth.
That’s the REAL mental weakness.
December 20th, 2002 at 12:47 pm
Perhaps Todd should do a little catching up on his reading. Viggo Mortensen showed an impressive amount of knowledge on the foreign excursions of the U.S. government. Todd, do a little reading and you will see that the US has, indeed, been bombing innocent Iraqis for the past 11 years. You will also find that when Saddam Hussein was attacking his own people, the US was giving him money and weapons. In fact, we supported Mr. Hussein financially and strategically throughout his war with Iran. Then the Iran-Contra scandal came out and it turned out we were also supporting the Iranians. We are not so innocent as we seem.
I am an American and proud of it. I believe strongly in our Constitution and its integrity. However, I also believe that as Americans, we have a responsibility to ask questions. We have a responsibility to require our government to behave in a way that reflects our peoples’ ethics, integrity and morality. It is not American to blindly swallow the propaganda we are fed. Thinking is patriotic.
January 2nd, 2003 at 2:32 am
Viggo,
I applaud your sincerity, your beliefs and your courage in standing up and being counted in the world scheme of things. Viggo is Not an ignorant man- remember he studied Government as well as Spanish in his University degree. I am Australian and it saddens me to see the Bush agenda.We have experienced our own losses with Bali but Australians want peace..our Sydney Harbour fireworks finished with that sentiment. After Bali, Australian Red Cross raised over $15 million dollars. Millions were also sent to Bali for their hospitals, including 10’s of 1000’s of tonnes of medical supplies. Viggo we need more Renaissance men like you. Keep up the good work..you’re a wonderful man.
January 8th, 2003 at 11:18 am
Whether Viggo wants to admit it or not, I came out of LOTR Two Towers wanting to pick up my own sword/machine gun and go kick butt over in Iraqi-land. This movie is so completely pro-war, it reeks of propaganda–and I loved it! It is so right on with the times, and Saruman even looks like Osama Bin Laden. No matter what lame peace-nik crap Viggo adheres to, LOTR is a perfect war propaganda movie that gets the blood roiling. This movie completely glamorized war and makes the enemy into sub-human beasts. It’s like a 3 hour war-poster ad! Duh! So, enough on this feel sorry of Hussein bit–you peace niks probably felt sorry for Hilter to. I guess dictators and nuclear threats have to announce themselves at your doorstep before you take action against them, huh?! “WAR IS UPON WHETHER YOU WANT IT OR NOT!!!”
January 8th, 2003 at 3:46 pm
i saw Viggo on Charlie Rose and have also seen a quicktime clip
of his on the web. being a heart-throb to giggling girls,
speaking softly and issuing nothing more than platitudes about current
US foreign policy does not make his analysis better than the garbage it is.
but hey, at least he was “articulate” as someone pointed out (he is an actor
you know) i guess being articulate means more than having something substantive
to say. he lambasts people who make simple comparisons between the current
Iraq/Afghanistan situation to LOTR and then makes the same simple minded metaphor
(in reverse, no doubt!–he is a clever one)himself . he pleads with Charlie that
all he wants is for people to question what is going on while wearing a “no more blood
for oil” t-shirt. i guess he already has the answer to all those thoughtful questions
he wants us to ask and it’s printed right on his chest–maybe someone should tell him.
and in typical nay-saying fashion when Charlie starts to prod him about what he would have
done in Afghanistan after 9/11, he doesn’t give an answer but instead evades the question
by telling us what he wouldn’t do. i’ll tell you why he doesn’t answer it, folks–he
doesn’t have an answer. were it up to Viggo and and his ilk, we’d still be mulling
that one over. nobody likes a contrarian with nothing positive to say, even a pretty contrarian.
well, nobody except for all those giggling girls.
January 10th, 2003 at 12:08 am
It’s great to see people like Viggo and Elijah questioning and seeing through the lies behind the warmongerings of George W. Bush, the evil cowboy from Mordor (read: United States).
On that note, check out this re-edit of TFotR, The Fellowship of the Ring of Free Trade:
http://sf.indymedia.org/news/2002/12/1553281.php
Synopsis:
“Now, for the first time ever, the hidden prophecies of J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic epic, The Lord of the Rings, are decoded in this accurate re-edit of Peter Jackson’s blockbuster motion picture. Unknownst to many readers, The Lord of the Rings – once thought to be merely a story of archetypal struggle between good and evil – has been found to contain astute prophetic messages about the impending crisis of capitalist modernity.
Numerous scholars and linguists have already deciphered the main theme of The Lord of the Rings as being the freedom of ordinary people to be left alone from the ruling elites. However, Tolkien’s hidden messages about the disasters of capitalism and the insightful predictions about the current political climate have not been made public until now. The Fellowship of the Ring of Free Trade includes subtitles of the decoded dialogues in painstaking detail and the true identities that the story’s characters represent within the prophecy.
Hado i philinn!”
“Mordor is in our midst.” – J.R.R. Tolkien
January 10th, 2003 at 10:23 am
Just to make things clear to that guy up there who didnt think usa have done anything wrong. This is just an example: 11. of september 2001 was a bad day, wasnt it? but was it better when the CIA got rid of a legally elected president in Chile Allende on the exact same date in 1973? and replaced him with a dictator who wanted to cooperate with the USA? A dictator who later killed several times more people than died in the wtc? is this the perfect USA?
January 10th, 2003 at 11:03 am
Hahah that’s the thing no one ever said that the US was perfect.
Can’t please every one…
January 16th, 2003 at 10:44 am
As a European who opposes the impending war against Iraq, I do think in a way that Americans like John Callender, Catherine (and of course, Viggo) are, just like the Fellowship, the world’s only hope against the terrible doom that will be brought on by the war-mongering Bush Administration (and his allies in Europe). You are the only people who can stop this madness. There are many things you can do, but speaking up is not the least. I really feel conforted when I see there are Americans like you.
January 19th, 2003 at 7:46 am
I love
January 21st, 2003 at 10:57 pm
I thought Viggo’s remarks were a great use of his media exposure, candid, honest, with integrity, speaking where many fear to tread. He’s a mensch.
January 27th, 2003 at 12:23 pm
LOTR is not pro-war. I have read the books and have seen both movies many times, and never have I believed that any of the heroes went to war by choice. They would have preferred to live in peace but were, in all cases, forced to defend their world from an evil so vile that we have very few comparisons to it in our world.
No one possessing an ounce of intelligence ever wants war. Humans are capable of both astounding beauty and unimaginable evil. When evil rears its ugly head, we have no choice but to cut it off.
Hindsight is always 20/20. We can see now that Hitler should have been stopped when he started his evil campaign. The war would have been a lot shorter, covered less of the world in darkness and would have resulted in far fewer deaths, both civilian and military–but that’s the terrible thing about hindsight–it always comes too late.
I’ve heard people compare Saddam Hussein to Hitler and declare that we need to eliminate him before the war covers the world instead of only Iraq. That would seem like wisdom but for the warning in my heart. Frodo says something to that effect to Boromir in FOTR, and it rings true for me regarding this war. We should take Gandalf’s advise and not be too hasty to deal out death and destruction. We’ve been doing that for a long time, and we haven’t even come close to eliminating Saddam Hussein. Why are so many people convinced that we will have better aim this time? Saddam hides behind his people, so we will have no choice but to kill many civilians trying to ferret him out.
Did we kill Osama Bin Laden? We don’t know. Did we kill civilians? We did. That is a fact that only a fool would refute. Were they our targets? I will say no, because to think otherwise would be too horrible to contemplate. However, that doesn’t make them any less dead or the suffering of their loved ones any less painful. It also does not make the United States any less responsible because we chose to drop bombs that don’t have names on them on populated areas.
The heroes in LOTR have the advantage of knowing who their enemy is, and meeting him face to face in combat. This eliminates the accidental killing of innocents and makes the killing more acceptable because the heroes are in just as much jeopardy as the enemy. The war machine in Washington will fight this war from the safety of strategy rooms and the Oval Office, not from the front line. Their children will not be in harm’s way. It will be a bloodless war for them, so of course they have no reason for restraint.
It is the responsibility of all true Americans to question what is proposed and to look for and exhaust all possibilities for a peaceful solution before engaging in war. The only real power in the entire universe is the power to give life. Anyone can kill, but none of us can give life back once it is taken. The United States must be absolutely certain that there is no other solution and that the threat is real and immediate. Then we need to get the “job” done as quickly and with as little blood loss on both sides as possible. Take a deep breath, make sure you are right, and then kick ass.
January 31st, 2003 at 11:36 am
Mr. Mortensen has bravely stated his views on the current state of the world at the moment. True, his comments are indeed straightforward and may cause some people to raise their eyebrows but he speaks the TRUTH – WAR is NOT the answer. WAR is EVIL – and it should be stopped.
February 2nd, 2003 at 12:01 am
One actor in a sea of faces ready to say something.. congratulation on having a pair and not being afraid to wave them out in public.
Some actors play hereos.. some actors are.
February 4th, 2003 at 1:43 pm
Great line about heroes Loki. I’m glad Viggo had the courage to speak his mind. We all have the right to speak our minds concerning our government and it’s policies. That’s what being an American is all about… and just because his occupation is acting, doesn’t take this right away from him. He’s an intelligent, educated and well-spoken man who has questions about this war with Iraq like many Americans do. We just want some answers.
February 4th, 2003 at 7:26 pm
I am SO impressed that Viggo is using the celebrity he’s gained from the movies to make important statements about this idiotic campaign against Iraq. He gets attention, and his ideas get attention, and maybe, just maybe, some bloodshed can be avoided.
Thanks for the courage, Viggo!!! And thanks for waking me up from my hiding in the fantasy of the movies, and forcing me into some activism against this uncalled-for “war!
February 4th, 2003 at 7:26 pm
I am SO impressed that Viggo is using the celebrity he’s gained from the movies to make important statements about this idiotic campaign against Iraq. He gets attention, and his ideas get attention, and maybe, just maybe, some bloodshed can be avoided.
Thanks for the courage, Viggo!!! And thanks for waking me up from my hiding in the fantasy of the movies, and forcing me into some activism against this uncalled-for “war!
February 8th, 2003 at 3:37 am
I would like to think that none of us want war, but the voices of a citizen or citizens don’t matter,we say no war but the usa wants war, sorry is not usa as american people is usa because bush owns the country.he wants so badly no to save the planet from any coming catastrophy
that sadam hussein will be guilty of…if such thing will accure but yes is the Oil that is after only the Oil and friends any other non sense that he’s on about is a Big Lie, i believe that him and his team realy thing we all are a bunch of stupid people.
so when people like Vigo Mortensen have i say and guts to say so then I should say:
Gracias Vigo por arriesgarte y sobre todo por no ser uno mas de la manada que el presidente bush intenta guiar como el lobo guia a las ovejas, al matadero.
Please let us have peace.
February 9th, 2003 at 10:27 am
Here is a quicktime video clip of Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn) on the charlie rose show voicing his views on american involvement in iraq and afghanistan on the Charlie Rose show. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED MATERIAL :)
http://www.houseoftelcontar.com/video/rose-dec02-viggo02.mov
February 9th, 2003 at 10:27 am
Oops – didn’t care to realize that clips have already been posted. Oh well.
March 2nd, 2003 at 10:43 pm
I commend the actions of Viggo Mortensen. He has put a face to the opinion voiced by so many Americans today, and has spoken out against what he, like us, belives is a wrong war. Check the latest polls if you don’t belive me; it’s not just him saying “no more blood for oil;” it’s over 50% of the country, to say nothing of five or more members of the UN. Un-American? Since when is standing up for the rights of our people (specifically the young men and women who are being sent to die in the desert) not patriotic? I am not a citizen of George Bush; I am a citizen of the United States of America, and as such, I will be excersising my rights to free speech and voting against Bush next year.
March 6th, 2003 at 7:38 pm
Monica wrote:
“…[LOTR] is so completely pro-war, it reeks of propaganda–and I loved it! …No matter what lame peace-nik crap Viggo adheres to, LOTR is a perfect war propaganda movie that gets the blood roiling. This movie completely glamorized war and makes the enemy into sub-human beasts…etc. etc. ad nauseum.”
J.R.R.Tolkien would be disgusted by such an interpretation of his work.
In the foreward of Part One, Tolkien wrote, “As for any inner meaning or ‘message’, it has in the intention of the author NONE. It is neither allegorical or topical…
“The real war [WWII] does not resemble the legendary war in its process or its conclusion. If it had inspired or directed the development of the legend, then certainly the Ring would have been seized and used against Sauron; he would not have been annihilated but enslaved, and Barad-dur would not have been destroyed but occupied…
“Other arrangements could be devised according to the tastes or views of those who like allegory or topical references. But I cordially dislike allegory in all its manifestations, and always have done so since I grew old and wary enough to detect its presence…”
So, whether you agree with Viggo or not, this book is not pro-war. This book is a STORY. Not a form of beloved pop-culture to be abused by war-mongers looking for an ‘allegory.’
Personally, I agree with Viggo and applaud him for speaking his mind in the face of adversity. One can be proud to be American and yet, simultaneously, disagree with its current President and foreign policies. I am one of those Americans. Why am I allowed to by a patriot but disagree? Well, it’s a little thing called the First Amendment.
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
Now, as I have the right to speak out against America, I also respect those with opposite views. As Voltaire once said, “I may dissapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” I would expect only the same from my fellow Americans.
WAR IS NOT THE ANSWER!
March 16th, 2003 at 9:28 pm
Listen I think Viggo is incredibly brave considering he completely missed the point of the war. He wants to know why this war is unavoidable. I’ll tell him why. This war is because Saddam has chemical and biological weapons. He also has weapons of mass destruction. He has already used these on his own people. He WILL use these on neighboring countries given the chance. Saddam must know that his actions have consequences. It is the responsiblity of a larger stronger nation, like the U.S., to make sure that the people of the world is safe from this pscyopath. The only thing these actors are doing is embarrassing the U.S. Its almost as bad as the hippies who spat on the troops coming home from Vietnam. I’d be ashamed if I were them.
March 17th, 2003 at 4:21 am
I really respect Viggo for saying right thing. Bush is trying to attack Iraq only for the benefits of US, not for world peace. Americans are just stupid, not knowing that attacking Iraq is doing just the same thing as Saddam in that both are trying to kill ordinary people in Iraq. I’m so happy not to be American, because Americans are now looked down on all over the world.
March 17th, 2003 at 8:18 pm
I’m happy your not an American too.
March 18th, 2003 at 3:44 pm
Because I am American, I certainly respect Viggo’s Constitutional right to express his opinion even when I disagree, I respect everyone’s right to do the same. However, I find it amusing that people seem so much more outraged at Bush rather than Hussein and at Bush’s decisions rather than Hussein’s decisions. If you had to choose a leader for your country which would you prefer. Thank your god every day that you are here and not there. Most of the anti-war comments seem to be more anti-Bush administration and yet no one spoke out when Clinton bombed Iraq over 400 times in the 8 years he held office. Anti-war protesters call for a peaceful solution so that innocent children will be spared, perhaps containment which has been in place since the end of the Gulf War, and yet most people have no idea that the “peaceful” sanctions placed on Iraq since the Gulf War have resulted in the deaths of more than 5000 innocent children per month in that country. Over 60,000 children per year for many years now! Many feel that the US has chosen war due to oil interests and that somehow makes us evil and yet France has chosen to support and protect this dictator because of oil interests and no one speaks of it. FYI – France has been promised billions of dollars in oil contracts from the Hussein Regime and they have much to lose if he is replaced, all prior agreements would be null and void. Most of all – has everyone forgotten what it felt like to be attacked on September 11th? Do you all remember how you felt about the President and his administration on September 12th? Did any of the anti-war protesters lose a friend or family member that day? Did you? With rights come responsibilities and before people speak out on a subject they would do well to read up on it first.
March 22nd, 2003 at 5:31 am
YAY!!!!!! GO VIGGO!!!
March 28th, 2003 at 8:01 pm
I’m not surprised by you Viggo. From the moment my mom took me to see Lord of the Rings I knew there was something about you. At first I liked everyone in that movie, but you were different. You are the reason I am disgraced by my countries civilians who know absolutley nothing about war. Personally I believe that protestors are just toddlers in adult bodies; you just happen to be their leader. You don’t appreciate America. You DON’T deserve to live in a free country. I will only respect you again if you enlist and fight for the country that you are a citizen of. Well, I guess that means I’ll never respect you again. For ONE day I would like to see you protestors live in a third world country where you couldn’t protest against the government. If you all did, well maybe that would be nice. The world would have less shitheads around. You only want to make a name for yourself. I don’t give a rat’s ass whether you or any of the other idiots out there agree with me, because fortunately I don’t have to hold a civilized conversation with you anytime soon (as if YOU could hold one anyway…), but I know that I’m right and that’s all that matters. You should get a group together. Yep, you and Miss Natalie Maines, Martin Sheen, your ol’ buddy Ian Mckellan should all move to France where maybe they could remove the rods from your asses… But not before they take care of their own rods.
March 29th, 2003 at 1:02 pm
this is a response to Elaine’s comment.
I’m from England, and i’m only 14, but even I can see that you are totally biased and obviously are not capable of respecting people’s opinions which are different from yours.
first of all:
‘Protestors are just toddlers in adult bodies’. WHAT????? Why? Because they aren’t afraid to stand up for what they believe in? What you said is petty crap and you know it. Protestors are NOT toddlers in adult bodies, they are real people with the guts to express their beliefs and try to make a difference. And I think it’s good that Viggo Mortensen ‘happens’ to be their leader, because he is a well-educated person who knows what he’s talking about, and is capable of backing up his argument with facts, instead of stupid insults like you.
You seem to have a pretty good idea of how to get rid of all the shitheads in the world. Here’s mine:
there are too many people like you and George Bush in the world, so stubborn and up themselves that they are convinced they’re right without bothering to listen to what anyone else has to say. Perhaps you should get your heads out of your arses and take a look around!
Bush knows that the majority of his country (and the world) are against the war, and yet he still does whatever the hell he likes without considering how other people feel.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t support Saddam Hussein’s regime and I do think that he is an evil man who should be removed from power. I also want to say that I have nothing against America, but what Bush is doing is totally uncalled for. Yes, lots of Iraqi’s have been very badly treated by Hussein, so how does going in and bombing them help? Viggo Mortensen is completley right. Saddam hasn’t been removed from power yet, and the people who have been injured the most are the innocent civillians which the Americans are supposed to be helping! Why doesn’t Bush do what he’s said he’ll do and stop wasting hundreds of people’s lives needlessly!
Obviously,the reason we’re at war in the first place, is because George Bush wants control of Iraq’s oil supply, and is determined to get what he wants, no matter how many lives he destroys or how reckless he is in the process. And the only reason the world has to deal with that maniac(who is just as bad as Hussein, if you ask me) is that he was allowed in to power by people like you-greedy and arrogant.
Perhaps if there were more people like Mortensen running the world, and less people like you Elaine, they would be a lot smarter and we wouldn’t be in this mess to start with.
Finally, how can you stoop so low as to say that Mortensen doesn’t deserve to live in America? Thats just being ridiculous now. In my opinion, if anyone doesn’t deserve to live in America, it’s you. So why don’t you stop being so sadistic, because at the moment, you’re not doing the pro-war side any good with your useless comments.
Try and think up some better arguments for your response (if your brain can manage it).
March 29th, 2003 at 11:45 pm
john: [don’t forget your air sickness bag!!]
= knee jerk over-reaction
todd: [Pathetic whiners such as your self (and Vigo) only contribute to the weakness of this country]
= uninformed and insecure, defends ego by attacking contrary viewpoints – acidly attempting to refute Viggo’s point that U.S. strength lies in citizen’s freedom to express their disagreement with gov’t actions and policies
monica: [This movie is so completely pro-war]
= unsupportable conclusion: the movie is not finished. read the books.
anthony: [platitudes… articulate… lambasts… question]
= a thesaurus is no substitute for an education. get a dictionary and learn what these words mean before you attempt to use them. especially study the concept of questioning. you missed it.
miranda: [The only thing these actors are doing is embarrassing the U.S.]
= which actors? the Hollywood actors or the Washington actors? which one-liners convinced you?
[I’m happy your not an American too]
= i’d like to swap the two of you.
jane: [before people speak out on a subject they would do well to read up on it first]
= which translation do you recommend? you have some legitimate points… are you assuming that no anti-war demonstrators were sorely affected on Sept. 11? what about the New York residents who protest? how will the war in Iraq repair the damage done on Sept. 11? read up on it some more, the connection between twin towers and war in Iraq is in question. thank you for speaking civilly
elaine: [I would like to see you protestors live in a third world country where you couldn’t protest… I know that I’m right and that’s all that matters]
= princess… some day you will be the queen of that third world country, and we’ll truly believe how right you were. would you like to execute everyone who disagrees with you? is that what you want America to be? a dictatorship headed by Princess Elaine? (rhymes with Saddam Hussein) what happens when someone more powerful disagrees with you? as an expert on war, how many wars have you personally experienced? what have you done to deserve to live in a free country?
thanks to Viggo Mortensen for utilizing an opportunity to speak that has recently been denied to many Americans who oppose the manner in which our goverment is conducting itself in this matter. boo to those who would hold his convictions against him. even if you disagree with the things he said, think about them before you start typing. angry tirades only solidify an opponents position in their minds. hooray to those of you who write peacably and coherently.
March 30th, 2003 at 12:21 pm
sorry. I am aware that what I posted on here yesterday was very long, and this is probably due to how annoyed i was with Elaine and her arrogance concerning protestors and their right to speak up for themselves. i have calmed down a lot now.
I hope you reply, Elaine, because i’m really interested in what you have to say for yourself. Of course, looking at what you’ve already written, your best argument will probably be to tell me that i’m a stupid little kid and i don’t know what i’m talking about. Well- I DO.
If you don’t reply of course, i’ll assume that you have instead chosen to enlist and fight for the country that you are a citizen of, and that you apparently love so much. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA-not likely!!!!!
April 6th, 2003 at 2:19 pm
Saying that Viggo had “guts” to openly critisize Bush on TV is like saying that Peter Arnet had “guts” to criticize Bush on Iraqi TV, it required nothing more than vanity, arrogance and stupidity. Spouting freely in a democracy does not require guts,what does however is: considering the delicacy and complexity of a situtation, recognizing your own limitations in knowledge in such matters, and respecting other peoples’ time and opinions. Viggo has used his popularity and “power” to tarnish the message in the Lord of The Rings, if anything it is clear that he fell under its temptation.
April 6th, 2003 at 2:32 pm
so what if he used his popularity? He used it to try and get a good message out to people, instead of to make a name for himself! And yes, I think it does require guts to do that. But how much guts it takes depends on the person, wouldn’t you agree?
April 6th, 2003 at 6:55 pm
clearly NOT
April 6th, 2003 at 8:21 pm
He is an ACTOR for Gods sake, a pretty face tip- toeing on the surface of politics with a “holier than thou” focus on war, bordering on marxism, a “useful idiot” for the uneducated masses appealing in his views to “housewives”, emotional addicts,and mental gametes. In sum : emotinally charged in a mental vacuum.
His intentions maybe good, yet the way to hell is paved with them.
Lesons in etiquette: Considering the simple fact, if you want to present your view , use your $ and create a political fan club, do not vent on the air where people gather to see/hear LOTR. I am sure Mr. VM was paid handsomely for his appareance, but even if he wasnt and he wasnt, why bother associating a great story/flim with political verbiage?
I always thought Tolkien used Aragorn to represent honor lost in men through temptation, I am afraid poor Aragorn is being misrepresented.
April 6th, 2003 at 8:27 pm
forgivee the spelling i am not english and YES i do Support U S A and U K for its mighty courage and resolve, being from X totalitarian regime, i know what i am talking about, long live USA and UK!
April 6th, 2003 at 9:59 pm
No worries Elrond ‘the infidel was pleasing and usefull to our cause, hence we shall stone him quickly and mercifully’ and dont you dare forget that in those parts of the world , peace-is what you rest in.
Aside from that ‘I recognize that the critics of the war and the verbal defenders of our enemies fulfill a vital function in our democracy: giving a name to hate that we can actually pronounce.’
With all do respect to MR Mortesen, and his heartbreaking speech about the “nameless people” we bomb in the “thousands” comparing to our meager casualties, there is an untold truth to be told: a lot more die when the Stalinists/Sadamists/ regimes are in place and the casualties of inaction unfortunately are innumerable,(measured by no known liberal sensus)However history does hint that 60 million died in Soviet Union alone @ Stalins time. The rediculous UN sanctions all the while took their toll and the HOLY European countries (comprising of just FRANCE mind you) were gladly supporting the sanctions while dealing with iraqi regime in oil, telecommunications, and weapons->(russia + china), while in the meantime sadam was starving his own nameles, faceles, people and distabilizing the whole mid eastern region. Nobody is taking away anyones civil freedoms, nor trampling on any constitutional rights, criticism isnt against the law, how else would we differentiate between the ‘shiny pearls of wisdom and black velevet of stupidity’, if it isnt by comaprison.
But i believe care must be taken in a democracy to balance the freedoms with responsibility, and comapring LOTR to any particular unilateral political view is bilaterally tragic. VM however felt freely inclined to contribute to the the malarkey however sincerely and fullheartedly with all the best intentions.
April 6th, 2003 at 11:04 pm
LOL, i forgive your spelling too :P
April 7th, 2003 at 11:56 am
Erase the “NO” on your shirt Viggo and sign it …France
Tell your twin tower of dim, Martin Sheen, to change his to “GIVE TERRORISM A CHANCE”
April 7th, 2003 at 5:17 pm
This board is certainly no council of the wise. The one posting as Elrond is an imposter! For Elrond was a wise elf who chose his words carefully and weighed their meaning beforehand. Even in the heat of his wrath, the real Elrond wouldn’t stoop to ironic accusations such as “emotionally charged in a mental vacuum”. Why would anyone take a lesson in etiquette from someone who publicly labels others as “idiots” and “uneducated housewives”? That in itself is extremely impolite, besides being emotionally charged.
nat: [considering the delicacy and complexity of a situtation, recognizing your own limitations in knowledge in such matters, and respecting other peoples’ time and opinions.]
= good point, buddy! care to take your own advice?
Viggo did not give an in-depth lecture, he merely stated his opinions, as opinions, in a political forum. His commentary was brief and civil. How about being civil and brief in response? Labeling Viggo’s comments “borderline marxist” is weak and you have failed to prove your point with any facts, Elrond-fake. Both of you, nat & Elrond-fake, have used lots of loaded words but little factual data. Criticizing the actions of the U.S. gov’t is vain, arrogant, and stupid? Foolish maybe… Peter Arnett lost his job. The “delicacy and complexity” of this situation REQUIRES that we be presented with all available viewpoints. This is NOT being done by the American news media. Mortensen’s and Arnett’s input is just as valid and important as yours or mine. Please give them a little more respect, as you would wish them to respect you.
April 7th, 2003 at 8:27 pm
You gotta love this :
“His commentary was brief and civil. How about being civil and brief in response? ”
This is comming from a mental pygmy who took up more space than anyone in venting his pointless view, before you judge other peoples post that actually HAVE a point, try reading your excruciatingly LONG GARBAGE Jonas-
Aside from that, you and VIGGO have some thing in common you both waste other peoples time at other peoples expence, stick to what you know, Viggo to scripts, you to your homework, avoid using words you dont know and criticizing posts with more depth that you can excrete with the help of your entire retarded liberal minded species.
April 7th, 2003 at 8:36 pm
OH yeah BTW jonas you are a typicall american moron and ia mnot afraid to insult you since my name isnt elrond, Do you know what marxism even stands for? Here i am defending another post , since the clueless maggot who responede to it doesnt know the meaning of QUOTATION marks, ELrond didnt call anyone an idiot you fool, its a quotation from Lenin to describe cretins such as yourself. There is nothing more irritating than people like you spouting garbage without any knowledge of subject matter whatsoever, you belong in an actors studio along with Viggo , pretending that you actually understand historical allegory or anything at all for that matter
April 7th, 2003 at 9:44 pm
‘No question is so difficult to answer as that which the answer is obvious.’
First i am not a buddy, (perceptive as you claim to be, in your unrelenting criticism of other posts you fail to notice the obvious)
Second, As for my advice: I give it to you, freely.
Your posts would be somewhat amusing if you actually ‘conversed’ nearly as much as you ‘spoke’
Finally, Elrond in choosing his nick was precisely on the mark,in critisizing VM the so called Aragorn, but yet again as deadlib pointed out, you missed the point, this time the not so subtle irony.
April 8th, 2003 at 12:31 am
Thank you, deadliberal, for illustrating several points that I was trying to make. Natasha, I appreciate your response. That’s what I mean by “civil” – a reprimand instead of petty insults. I was too harsh on Elrond. But who can live up to the wisdom of the Elves? Sorry to have irritated you, deadliberal. What did Mortensen say that was Marxist? As a typical American moron, would anything other than an insult be too far over my head? Despite my low mental stature (I appreciate the diagnosis), your low-blows have failed to enlighten me. Liberate my liberal mind.
April 8th, 2003 at 2:56 pm
Read up on Marxist Leninist litearature you ll find striking similarities between communist thinking and todays leftist absurd criticism. Its a sad day when some of us see history repeating itself especially from the other side of the Atlantic. The absurd ideology is similar to the allegory that VM presents with LOTR, however poorly, the so called “working classes of the free people of middle earth” vs the “capitalistic powerfull all encompassing pressing Saurons”. All so fanatically clear and simple, but for the facts.
If i was to send you proof of my position you will be suffering from email overload that would make internet spam seem inviting. I ll just post a short note here and if you find it at least bit ironic that a person who has grown up in a free country would actually consider this anything more than inflammatory trigger of idealistic anarachists.
The building of railways seems to be a simple, natural, democratic, cultural and civilizing enterprise; that is what it is in the opinion of bourgeois professors, who are paid to depict capitalist slavery in bright colors, and in the opinion of petty-bourgeois Philistines. But as a matter of fact the capitalist threads, which in thousands of different intercrossings bind these enterprises with private property in means of production in general, have converted this railway construction into an instrument for oppressing a thousand million people (in the colonies and semicolonies), that is, more than half the population of the globe inhabiting the dependent countries, as well as the wage slaves of capital in the “civilized” countries.
“Private property based on the labor of the small proprietor, free competition, democracy, all the catchwords with which the capitalists and their press deceive the workers and the peasants–are things of the distant past. Capitalism has grown into a world system of colonial oppression and of the financial strangulation of the overwhelming majority of the population of the world by a handful of “advanced” countries. And this “booty” is shared between two or three powerful world marauders armed to the teeth (America, Great Britain, Japan), who involve the whole world in their war over the sharing of their booty.”
Admit it this is all your liberal thinking, and now guess who wrote it and when!
April 8th, 2003 at 3:18 pm
oOOoooOO, and we know where that strand of thinking led, dont we ??
he XE XE
April 9th, 2003 at 11:33 am
Great quotations, I wish more narrow minded young “proud” idealists such as the ones we see “protesting” today had any clue what the hell they were talking about. Same goes for Viggo, age apparently (in his case) is no sign of wisdom. He used his childish t-shirt and rediculous comparison, and sounded like one of the worst maniacs of our time in whose name the revolutions, and world wars were fought throughout the 20 th century.
As for so called respect for Arnet and Viggo: I had it, till they spoke out, and as far as them having respect for me I find that prospect as inviting as having the likes of stalin or sadam respecting me.
Al jahzeera was more critical of Sadam, than Arnet (french nazi collaborator-a gifted coward of epic proportions), god forbid he will ever shed his respect on me.
In case of Viggo, however its unfortunate that quet water did not run very deep.
April 9th, 2003 at 12:54 pm
April 9 th 2003, again liberals find themselves chewing their foot on the wrong side of history,
how does your foot taste “aragorn” ?
April 17th, 2003 at 11:04 pm
i believe that saddam was a good ruler. i mean he did a service to the world by killing all those people. the world has a pop. of 6 billion and no signs of slowing down. the more people saddam killed, the less pressure would be on the earth to support them.
April 19th, 2003 at 2:02 pm
morbid but somewhat accurate on April 17
April 27th, 2003 at 1:07 pm
if you support saddam so much then why are you so scared to even type your name? Or any name, for that matter!?
May 6th, 2003 at 6:40 pm
Wow, I would have thought Elrond’s spelling and grammar might have been better… Thank God for Viggo!
May 6th, 2003 at 6:41 pm
Wow, I would have thought Elrond’s spelling and grammar might have been better… Thank God for Viggo!
May 9th, 2003 at 12:07 pm
some morons are so full of themselves they have to post things twice
wtg idiot clan of viggo
May 9th, 2003 at 3:02 pm
(replace “nospam” with “hotmail” to reply.
I think Mortenson is a HERO for having the courage to risk hurting the movie financially to stand up to Bu$h and his senseless war.
While nobody misses the horror of Saddam, Saddam was like Shelob, while Bu$h is like Sauron himself and his corprate backers remind me of MORGOTH!
How is Bu$h like Sauron? First of all, he threatens one nation after anothr with war. It has been revealed that he considered going to war with Syria DURING the Iraq war and was talked out of it by Condoleeza Rice.
Iran has also been on the target list. Colombia also comes to mind, North Korea(with its nukes) probably not. In short, the only limit to the ambitions of Bu$h is what European cutomers of US corporations and young men targettted by military recruiters wil tolerate-plus the point at which teh rest of teh world forms a “lkast alliance” to stop him!
Another way Bu$h is like Sauron(also Saruman like Viggio said) is his militantly antienvironmental politics. That line in the movie about “the old world will burn in the fires of industry, the forests will fall, we will drive the war machine…” could well have come from Bu$h!
I suspect Tolkien may well have INTENDED this kind of environemental analysis, whatever he thought of anologies in general. He dispaired at teh distruction of his home town at the hands of developers. BTW, don’t expect to see “the scouring of the shire” in the movie version of ROTK!
May 9th, 2003 at 5:07 pm
LUKE you are a fucking moron, you just dont know it yet
May 21st, 2003 at 9:58 am
puke take a look in the mirror……
May 26th, 2003 at 11:37 am
jess, a mirror is your only friend
June 3rd, 2003 at 1:27 pm
puke, hey its one more friend than you…….
June 5th, 2003 at 2:55 pm
you are not only obtuse, you are also incoherent
June 6th, 2003 at 10:25 am
Viggo isnt a hero , he is a moron for taking up other peoples time to spout imbecilical rectal hogwash the likes of which you would expect from an ignorant american child of ignorant american liberal weed munching parents, yeah yeah blah blah “USA is evil empire and Bush is hitler” , you fucking morons dont know what the fuck you are talking about
and BTW i am IRAQI
June 6th, 2003 at 10:32 am
God gave you a HEAD to eat with, put it to that purpose
all you Viggo loving freaks of nature
July 10th, 2003 at 2:59 pm
Tu ‘aime le pep, demoncrat?
August 6th, 2003 at 4:40 pm
Message for Todd: You spelled Viggo wrong. It’s V,I,G,G,O. Not V,I,G,O. And Nat, how is that when someone against Bush voices their opinion that they’re arrogant, but when Bush voices his opinion about something people don’t say a word? It’s interesting that if the quality of life in Iraq is so much better than it was that some people who hated Saddam are thinking of getting a gun out and taking some Americans out. I wonder what the president thinks about his men being taken down in twos and threes each day. I think Viggo made a very correct statement that Bush is like the power hungry Saruman. He is. If you come at me with insults and a bunch of political shit facts (like the U.N. had anything to do with the war in Iraq) then it will only confirm my suspision that you are a very sad and misinformed man.
August 6th, 2003 at 4:40 pm
Message for Todd: You spelled Viggo wrong. It’s V,I,G,G,O. Not V,I,G,O. And Nat, how is that when someone against Bush voices their opinion that they’re arrogant, but when Bush voices his opinion about something people don’t say a word? It’s interesting that if the quality of life in Iraq is so much better than it was that some people who hated Saddam are thinking of getting a gun out and taking some Americans out. I wonder what the president thinks about his men being taken down in twos and threes each day. I think Viggo made a very correct statement that Bush is like the power hungry Saruman. He is. If you come at me with insults and a bunch of political shit facts (like the U.N. had anything to do with the war in Iraq) then it will only confirm my suspision that you are a very sad and misinformed man.
August 6th, 2003 at 4:40 pm
Message for Todd: You spelled Viggo wrong. It’s V,I,G,G,O. Not V,I,G,O. And Nat, how is that when someone against Bush voices their opinion that they’re arrogant, but when Bush voices his opinion about something people don’t say a word? It’s interesting that if the quality of life in Iraq is so much better than it was that some people who hated Saddam are thinking of getting a gun out and taking some Americans out. I wonder what the president thinks about his men being taken down in twos and threes each day. I think Viggo made a very correct statement that Bush is like the power hungry Saruman. He is. If you come at me with insults and a bunch of political shit facts (like the U.N. had anything to do with the war in Iraq) then it will only confirm my suspision that you are a very sad and misinformed man.
August 6th, 2003 at 4:41 pm
Message for Todd: You spelled Viggo wrong. It’s V,I,G,G,O. Not V,I,G,O. And Nat, how is that when someone against Bush voices their opinion that they’re arrogant, but when Bush voices his opinion about something people don’t say a word? It’s interesting that if the quality of life in Iraq is so much better than it was that some people who hated Saddam are thinking of getting a gun out and taking some Americans out. I wonder what the president thinks about his men being taken down in twos and threes each day. I think Viggo made a very correct statement that Bush is like the power hungry Saruman. He is. If you come at me with insults and a bunch of political shit facts (like the U.N. had anything to do with the war in Iraq) then it will only confirm my suspision that you are a very sad and misinformed man.
September 1st, 2003 at 11:27 pm
I wish people would espect other people views. We should be teaching tolerance not hate. I understand Viggo’s comments.I also aree about them. I am british and a soldiers wife. My husband was in the first conflict and so wish there never needed to be a second.
I am also a fan of LOTR have seen the films and read the books. For those of you that cant see the difference LOTR is FICTION. It has nothing to do with the conflict in Iraq or any other war.
It was written as a story just like millions of other fiction stories. Enjoy them for what they are.
I admire Viggo for having the balls to do and say what he did. But i’ll still support the men and women serving in Iraq and hope the come home safe and soon.
September 16th, 2003 at 9:22 pm
Bravo Monsieur Mortensen! Do you not already have the answers?
“Hope, compassion and wisdom born of experience are, for Middle-earth as for our world, the mightiest weapons at hand.” — from the Foreword by Viggo Mortensen – The Lord of the Rings: The Two Tower Visual Companion.
September 21st, 2003 at 6:55 am
Ok, I admit it. I’m an anime fan! ^^ You’re probably wondering what the hell anime has to do with Viggo Mortensen and the war sayings…but I think it has a lot! ^^ Well, in my favourite anime the hero is trying to achieve world peace, and I think it’s just dumb when people ( in this the USA) try to achieve peace by killing people. We don’t peace that’s been earned by puring blood of innocent people, do we? We all want revenge, sure, but when you get peace like THAT technically, it’s not peace…If you can’t get peace without killing innocent people,or even better, anyone at all, you shouldn’t get it all. Well…that’s just what the hero said….
November 30th, 2003 at 5:35 pm
i think viggo was so brave to speak out like that. to be on television and express his views like that. he is one extraordinary man, i respect him for that. he is one of a kind.
December 3rd, 2003 at 5:21 am
i just want to find out if VM has an email address ?
December 3rd, 2003 at 5:23 am
i just want to find out if VM has an email address ?
December 9th, 2003 at 8:31 am
None of you seems to recognize the fact that world has changed yet again. Many of you (including the makers of this site) are missing the new angle. Many of the powers-that-be desire to hear lively debate and opposition. But know this, the world has changed. The way in which we gather intelligence has changed. We may not know for 50 years how our government decides to take on the issues it chooses. What would you have done differently? None of you see or are a part of the daily, repeat daily, intelligence briefings that the president sees. So as much as it must frustrate you, the president is only person qualified to make the decision to go to war. Sure you may think the president less than intelligent, but you must be truly stupid indeed if you think that he makes the decision without counsel.
Sure innocents are being bombed in Iraq, but they are not being targeted. That’s why the US spends so much money on weapons that target with pinpoint accuracy so as to minimize collateral damage. It is not in the mindset of the American people to destroy Islam or innocent people in the Middle East. But got to Egypt, go to the Palestinian temples and listen to their prayers. They pray for the deaths of all Jews and Americans. Go! Go to the Middle East and listen to them! Think about it. Planes flown into the WTC. 3000 dead. Not a military target. Innocent civilians targeted en mass. Do you know why there was a northern and southern no-fly zone in Iraq? Do you really? Have you done your homework? Saddam Hussein did use chemical weapons on his ethnic enemies in both the northern and southern parts of his country. Middle Easterners are bent on the destruction of all Jews and all who aid them. Even the leaders in the PLO have said that women children and innocent civilians are fair game.
The US desires peaceful solutions and don’t say they rushed into Iraq. The war never ended in Gulf War 1 in 1991. There was a cease-fire contingent on Saddam Hussein submitting to UN weapons inspections. For 10 years he blocked inspections. “So they never had WMD. Ha Ha! George Bush was wrong!” You idiot, Saddam Hussein admitted to the UN in 1991 as part of the cease fire agreement that he had a biological and Nuclear weapons program. They still haven’t found Jimmy Hoffa, but I can guarantee that he existed. George Bush didn’t rush into Iraq. The lead-up to Gulf War 2 was 12 years in the making. It was the most talked about and debated and diplomatically exhausted discussion in modern history.
Guys, I know it must be fun to lay in you beds and giggle about how you have the whole deal all figured out and that you have the market cornered on insight and wisdom. But believe me, men are bred in schools in this world who have a trait called 3 dimensional thinking. None of you have demonstrated this attribute. Know that your leaders in the EB do possess these traits.
You’re entitled to your opinion, but I think it’s uninformed, uneducated and at best, 2 dimensional. And it’s that uninformed opinion that influences popular opinion.
Another attack is coming. And I know that I will rest well knowing that it wasn’t my uneducated banter that lead to the weakened foreign policy base that allowed that attack to happen.
Still think you have 3D thinking? Think about how you are helping the EB with what you are saying. This kind of rhetoric you spread really feeds the fears of Americans and drives their support of higher safeguards. Think about it. Really think. Don’t get mad at me. Stop and take a week and think about all the angles. So you think that what Bush is doing doesn’t make sense? So what’s the angle you’re not seeing?
Thiiiiiiiiiiink
December 12th, 2003 at 4:41 am
I applaude Viggo Mortensen for what he said on Charlie Rose’s show. You don’t necessarily have to agree with everything he said, but I respect him for it. I agree that one does have to ask what we are really doing in Iraq? Defending your homeland from terrorists is one thing, but the Iraqi’s must govern themselves. With Hussein stripped of power and no weapons of mass destruction found, I see no logic in the current U.S. occupation of Iraq. Naturally, after a while, one does start to think that the real reason is:($$$OIL$$$). I mean, wasn’t that the real reason for our first Persian Gulf War? You surely didn’t think our sole mission was to liberate Kuwait from the clutches of Saddam Hussein for humanitarian reasons.
December 20th, 2003 at 9:23 pm
If I hear one more time how “brave” someone is about making anti-war statements, I think I’ll throw up. Why is it all of a sudden “brave” to excersize free speech? Who’s going to ostracize Viggo for making anti-war and anti-American statements? Certainly not the Hollywood community. Listen folks – THERE IS NOTHING BRAVE ABOUT EXCERCISING YOUR RIGHTS. The term bravery ought to be reserved for those who defend those rights . . .
December 27th, 2003 at 9:45 am
You know why it is brave? It is because he went against popular opinion and risked incurring the same type of losses that the Dixie Chicks suffered for their anti-war views. When you speak out without worrying about the reaction once you did is brave.
Someone mentioned that we should live in a Third-World country and then see how it is like.
I live in Kashmir, in an area constantly affected by terrorist attacks and firing by Pakistani Troops. The US chooses to support the Pakistani Dictator in this 50-year-old war between our countries because it doesn’t affect the US citizens, but he chooses to remove Saddam from power even though he has not proved to be a major threat for the past 12 years.
You were shocked by 9/11? Indians have been suffering terrorist attacks for years while the US looked the other way.
What have you suffered because of Saddam? Nothing.
You want to weed out dictators? Good! Start with the Pakistani motherfucker called Pervez Musharraf. No? You want to kill Saddam only? That just shows how fucking unreasonable this war is.
When the UN didn’t support taking action, why did you do it? When the weapons inspectors were saying they got cooperation, why didn’t you let them complete their job? Because there was nothing to support the war. That’s why they finished it so fast.
And one thing. If Saddam was so unpopular in Iraq, why were there attacks on troops after he was toppled?
Even cameramen and reporters have been killed in Iraq by US troops because the DIMWITTED US soldier cant distinguish between a camera and a rocket launcher.
December 29th, 2003 at 12:25 pm
hey, to all guys in the us!
you may have democracy, you may have one of the most beautiful countries in the world and you may be one of the biggest unions in the world..
but the fuck stop playing world police!!!
how about including other countries’ opinions
into your decissions?!?!?!?
I completely do agree with Viggo!
and by the way I promise you:
if any other country in the world would act and behave like you, YOU were the first ones to critisize that!!!
and didn’t bush say that he had enough money to do a war lasting a year???
so if it was so, couldn’t he just invest that
money in new buildings in iraq?
why does he suddenly need other countries for that?
December 30th, 2003 at 5:40 am
The Dixie Chicks did not suffer one iota. Big Fat Deal, they lost some of their fans because people disagreed with their statements. That’s the risk you take when you exercise free speech – someone will disagree with you. I don’t consider myself particularly brave that I made the statements that I made, even though I knew of the anti-US sentiments that are expressed here. Am I going to lose my life? Am I going to lose my livelihood? Am I going to suffer anything (other than the vulgar rantings of a few)?
In the end, what have the Dixie Chicks and Viggo Mortensen suffered? People disagreeing with their views, and that is all. A knowledge that their views are unpopular with some. But if they had any shred of intelligence, they would have known that before they opened their mouths. The Dixie Chicks will still make millions from music sales, Viggo will still be making movies and may become a very popular star, in spite of his views. I still don’t consider him nor the Dixie Chicks particularly brave just because they expressed their views in a free country.
January 4th, 2004 at 4:44 pm
All of these “no war for Oil” hippies make me laugh. It was never a war for oil, it was a war to remove a sadisitc ruler who defied 12 years of UN sanctions.
If it was a war for oil, as the acid-burned hippies want you to think, then why are the oil fields in the hands of the Iraqi industries, and not the military?
Also only 20% of our oil imports come from the mid-east….the rest comes from South America, so why are we not invading them?
Also these ass-clowns did not seem to have a problem spanking Iraq, when Bill Clinton was leading the path
People will cry that GWB went against UN wishes, but so did Clinton….can we say Somolia? Can we say Serbia? Can we say Croatia?
Good, boys and girls, I knew you could.
Yes there are those who would oppose a free Iraq…. just like the Lefties of yesterday opposed a Europe free from Hitler.
January 5th, 2004 at 7:42 am
Ich wohne in Deutschland und wollte einfach mal sagen wie sehr ich Viggo bewundere. Einfach super wie er denkt und was er tut. Liebe Grüße
January 25th, 2004 at 4:00 pm
I applaud anyone who seeks the truth> if people really want to know the truth go read Deception by Diplomacy by John Coleman. Britain and Iraq have been fighting for years over Kuwait whey before the Gulf War and this so called war cause its really not a war, weve captured Hussein and still Iraqi rogues attack us from the back, believe what you want to believe. Also Bush is slipping in the polls. The hell with rebuilding Iraq and Afghanistan,build America’s infrastructure first.
February 26th, 2004 at 4:06 pm
Viggo Mortensen is like the hottest guy on earth
I totaly love him. You should come to helena, Montana some time soon. Well You are amazing. I love you
February 29th, 2004 at 6:58 pm
i think it’s great to read this whole thing from before iraq was a known target, then as it comes out people spewing the propaganda from the nightly news . . . “saddam has chemical and nuclear weapons” . . . then when it turns out to not be true “saddam was a ruthless dictator”
well here is rumsfeld shaking hands with him
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB82/
he was always a ruthless dictator. He didn’t all of the sudden become one in 2001. That didn’t stop Reagan or Bush I from selling him weapons.
As for oil in Iraq? Do you even read the papers?
All Iraqi state industries are being broken up and sold off to private companies. Oil included. Of course, only the “coalition of the willing” will be allowed to buy them up and of course the wealthiest firms (brit and american) will have the best shot at owning a majority stake.
It’s one of the reasons they’re having such a hard time with a constitution. The Kurds are demanding that they have control over all of their own resources. The Shiites are demanding the same.
but ohh yeah, saddam has weapons and he’s prepared to use them. That’s why he was captured with out a shot fired, in a hole in the ground, armed with two rifles and a pistol.
. . . oops
May 3rd, 2004 at 1:54 am
It seems that you have to be ‘liberal’ (socialist) in order to work in the movie business to start with. So his political leanings help him get work – conflict right there.
I wonder how he explains the ‘food for oil’ scam that is exposing the UN as nothing but a can of corruption.
The new world order is nothing more than global socialism (UN), which is cooperating with terrorism to destroy ‘capitialism’.
The UN has been responsible for the astonishing social changes seen throughout the western world, a staggering change in population dynamics – only “democracies” have been effected (any coincidence there folks)
Not that I believe that capitalism has any answers, but I really dislike the dishonesty and inconsistency of the “liberals” or socialist doctrine.
May 11th, 2004 at 7:34 am
Why is it so difficult to repect others opinion and open hearts and minds to new points of view.Or better said, to the same old good points of view, because what Viggo Mortensen is saying now is what John Lennon once said,and more recently Sting and Eddie Vedder, and all the others who did and do their very best to send a message of peace trough their images of public people.He is just saying “stop, let us think twice before we act,let us talk, feel, let us put our heads and hearts together and find a better way”. No one is totally good, or totally evil, live cant be seen in black and white.GIVE PEACE A CHANCE!
May 29th, 2004 at 9:47 pm
As an Arab, who live in the middle east, i would like to tell the American people that we do not blame them for thier gov’ bloody actions in islamic counties.
What Viggo said is what we all, as Arabs, believe in. the only reason that brought American army to the gulf it the gulf’s oil, and i just can’t understand how can anyone believe the lie that the us gov’ told about freeing the Iraqi people and improving thier lives. by what??!.. killing them , destroying thier homes and thier country, and now it the holy places being bombed .. for what?? a greedy man will always feel hungry for more..
please.. please .. All Americans.. the American people have the power to stand in the face of bush and stop the massacares that are being done to Iraq.
And, of course, i have to thank viggo alot for his position and his open mind.
June 2nd, 2004 at 7:36 am
Viggo has a right, as we all do, to voice his opinion. That is a freedom we enjoy in this country – to express differing opinons without fear of the “powers that be” hunting us down and killing us for speaking our minds. Remember though, with power comes great responsibility. Anyone in a position to influence others should take care and choose his/her words wisely. It is easy to criticize. The key is offering a viable solution. If a person has the ability and resources (financial and otherwise) why not provide some kind of humanitarian aid to those who are suffering? Sure, it is easy to talk about how things should be better. Why not take action and make it better?
Please, let’s all be civil about this. Resorting to calling names is immature. I don’t agree with Viggo, but I won’t insult him, either.
June 18th, 2004 at 7:25 am
The least a person can do is situations like war is to speak out his/ her mind. It does not have to be in a form in an action if the controlling power is beyond our reach.
So way to go viggo for your good and clean heart towards those who have been always looked upon as trash by most of the western world.
We Arabs have our rights just like Americans and Europe and America has no right to decide our affairs for us only because they call us the third world countries and act upon it.
July 20th, 2004 at 10:32 pm
For everyone that thinks we should’nt be in Iraq. what viable solution do you have for the war on terror? I heard a lot of comments on this page, but no solutions… There has always been shedding of blood for the freedoms we have enjoyed in this country. May I remind you of a man who died 2000 years ago to give us freedom.
Nobody in his right mind wants war.. but, some are neccesary.
While personally i don’t agree with Mr. Mortensen’s opinions, they are just that his opinions…. comments by Donna july 20, 2004
September 16th, 2004 at 9:16 pm
It’s the fact that Mr. Mortensen cares enough to pose the questions, that is more important here.
As Americans head to the polls this fall, I hope they drag at least 10 other people with them and vote with their hearts and their minds and reclaim their wonderful country. Take it back – reclaim your glory. The entire world is watching and may God bless and guide you all.
A loving neighbour.
November 3rd, 2004 at 10:47 am
Bush has been re-elected. I think I’m going to be sick.
November 7th, 2004 at 5:36 pm
I think Bush can create millions of jobs by employing americans who voted for him to build this great big wall around the Unites States which will help protect the U.S against terrorist. Then, all the world can unite and hold hands as they fill the big hole with water.
January 20th, 2005 at 2:44 pm
That’s a little harsh, seeing as how 48% of us (possibly more, depending on the miscounted votes issue) agree with the rest of the world and utterly despise the man and his dictatorial policies… he was re-inaugerated today, the thought makes me sick to my stomach. Please, all of you from other countries… please do NOT judge America or Americans by Bush’s actions. He does not represent American values, as I and many others see them. While I respect the rights of free speech and opinion, that does not entitle the neo-cons to their arrogant, uneducated, egocentric, intolerant rants. Here is my advice for any such people: take a trip around the world, spend a few years living abroad, visit “third-world” countries, meet interesting people, observe fascinating cultures, languages, and traditions, then see if you still think the U.S. is so superior. Or better yet, join the military YOURSELVES, and see how you like it. George W. Bush certainly didn’t find it much fun, judging by his military record. I am sick of listening to these hypocrites.
January 31st, 2005 at 8:03 am
I can not believe some of the comments made about Viggo sharing his oppinion. It is okay to disagree, but show some respect for other people and their point of view!
Personally I do not feel as strongly about it as Viggo Mortensen does, but I have a lot of respect for him. He is a very intelligent man, and I think that he has some good points. At least he has an oppinion, wich I highly respect as I think people with no oppinion on such matters are making a mistake. They do not have to be against the war, they do not have to support it, they do not even have to tell everyone else about their oppinion, but they should feel something when a war like this occur.
I also think that it is mean not to allow him to be a human being with emotions and oppinions like everyone else. Even though he is an actor, and an talented artist on so many other levels, he should not be ecspectet to have no individuality. I think it is great to see him show that there is so more to him than being a pretty face on the screen. All people should be alowed to do so without recieving so much disrespect as Viggo.
On the other hand it is uplifting to see the other positive coments supporting Viggo expressing his oppinion.
September 6th, 2007 at 9:02 am
To “NotAStupidAmerican””
What, exactly, makes you assume that all Americans are stupid? What makes you assume that we all support Bush? If you would take the time to read the comments here, you’d find that many Americans think Bush is a blundering idiot. Just because he might be, doesn’t mean the rest of us are. Don’t confuse the leader with the people. Yes, he got elected (barely), but there are a heck of a lot of people in the US who are neither stupid nor supportive of his policies toward the Middle East. If you’d think this one through (since you’re “not a stupid American”) you’d realize that equating American citizens with Bush is like saying that all Iraquis are like Hussein. So, should we rush out and get the following screen name: “NotASadisticIraqui”? No, you’re too smart to do that, right? You’re not a stupid American like me. Yeah, right. Get a clue!