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Porcupine Tree — Stars Die
Album: Stars Die
Avg rating:
7.7

Your rating:
Total ratings: 2894









Released: 2002
Length: 5:01
Plays (last 30 days): 0
The moon shook and curled up like gentle fire
The ocean glazed and melted wire
Voices buzzed in spiral eyes
Stars dived in blinding skies

Stars die
Blinding skies

Tree cracked and mountain cried
Bridges broke and window sighed
Cells grew up and rivers burst
Sound obscured and sense reversed

Stars die
Blinding skies

'''Spoken:'''

"Hello, Neil and Buzz. I'm talking to you by telephone from the Oval Room at the White House, and this certainly has to be the most historic telephone call ever made from the White House. I just can't tell you how proud we all are of what you have done. For every American, this has to be the proudest day of our lives. Because of what you have done, the heavens have become a part of man's world. And as you talk to us from the Sea of Tranquility, it inspires us to redouble our efforts to bring peace and tranquility to Earth."

Idle mind and severed soul
Silent nerves and begging bowl
Shallow haze to blast a way
Hyper sleep to end the day

Stars die
Blinding skies
Comments (457)add comment
 rabaak wrote:

Saw their concert in Milwaukee in Sept 2022.  Drove 8 hours to see it and the concert was well worth cost and the drive.



You lucky duck.  I wish that I could have been there too!
Saw their concert in Milwaukee in Sept 2022.  Drove 8 hours to see it and the concert was well worth cost and the drive.
 marktberry wrote:

RP introduced me to Porcupine Tree, Steven Wilson and the later iterations of the same some years ago. I've been a subscriber ever since. Thanks Bill & Rebecca. Aloha!




RP has introduced me to a lot of artists.
 baggers wrote:

What a fab song. I'm not so keen on their more freaked-out stuff, but this has a great mlody and kind of happily-drunk-lying-in-the-garden-looking-at-the-stars feel to it. Or is that just me?



Nope, me too, but floating in the pool with the amazing Arizona sky. Happily!
Wow, this guy's good.  Thanks Rebecca &Bill. 
 marktberry wrote:

RP introduced me to Porcupine Tree, Steven Wilson and the later iterations of the same some years ago. I've been a subscriber ever since. Thanks Bill & Rebecca. Aloha!




I Agree!! Same Here!! ...PS: I wish I was also in Hawaii!!  
RP introduced me to Porcupine Tree, Steven Wilson and the later iterations of the same some years ago. I've been a subscriber ever since. Thanks Bill & Rebecca. Aloha!
I am listening to this and hearing Nixon saying that we should use the moon landing to double our efforts to bring peace and tranquility to the earth. Now we have a Russian Ukraine war on that could escalate. So much for those sentiments from Nixon.
SUPERB!!! Thanx RP!
Good Tune!
Hunter S Thompson on Tricky Dick Nixon.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ma...
Interesting teaser video up on Porcupine Tree's YouTube page this morning (28 Oct 2021) 
 Grayson wrote:


Done! (This week.) It's our duty, after all. Don't even wanna think of where I'd have been, this cray year alone, without our North Star light of RP + Rebecca & Bill. 
 
I  totally agree. I'm doing the same, where else can you get such quality and selflessness other than RP?
 marysclark wrote:
 the_jake wrote:
Could only give this tune a 7 because of the Tricky Dick sampling.
But, I am a huge Porcupine Tree fan. 
 yes indeed - but at least Dick could articulate a statement honouring someone other than himself

 
Maybe Roger Stone will get a larger than life tattoo on his chest of the face of the person who pardoned him to go with the Nixon one on his back.
 StfuDonny wrote:
Beautiful, methinks. Really appreciate a little P Tree in the mix.

Hey RP Tribe- gotta suggest showing Bill and Rebecca a little consideration by making a thoughtful donation to the machine  that keeps us all sane and connected by the music. Do it.
 
Every month... Bill and Rebecca rule!
10+

This hasn't diminished even the tiniest bit for me in the 18 years since it was released.
 jmsmy wrote:
good song - great song without nixon
 
"Don't switch dicks in the middle of a screw, vote for Nixon in '72" 
-- bumper sticker, circa 1972 

Reminds me of Pink Floyd...excellent👍
good song - great song without nixon
Marvellous band
It's the first time I hear this wonderful porcupine tree song on a radio station. Well done!
Everyone here knows what a freak musical genius SW is, right?
 StfuDonny wrote:


Hey RP Tribe- gotta suggest showing Bill and Rebecca a little consideration by making a thoughtful donation to the machine  that keeps us all sane and connected by the music. Do it.
 If I had  the money I would. Have , just getting pissed when people say I should  donate  to a radio station or this  one

 StfuDonny wrote:
Beautiful, methinks. Really appreciate a little P Tree in the mix.

Hey RP Tribe- gotta suggest showing Bill and Rebecca a little consideration by making a thoughtful donation to the machine  that keeps us all sane and connected by the music. Do it.
 

Done! (This week.) It's our duty, after all. Don't even wanna think of where I'd have been, this cray year alone, without our North Star light of RP + Rebecca & Bill. 
Beautiful, methinks. Really appreciate a little P Tree in the mix.

Hey RP Tribe- gotta suggest showing Bill and Rebecca a little consideration by making a thoughtful donation to the machine  that keeps us all sane and connected by the music. Do it.
 the_jake wrote:
Could only give this tune a 7 because of the Tricky Dick sampling.
But, I am a huge Porcupine Tree fan. 
 yes indeed - but at least Dick could articulate a statement honouring someone other than himself

Very kool and appropriate. 
Could only give this tune a 7 because of the Tricky Dick sampling.
But, I am a huge Porcupine Tree fan. 
What a great song.
Idle mind and severed soul
Silent nerves and begging bowl
Shallow haze to blast a way
Hyper sleep to end the day


About as nonsensical as Yes lyrics but far more beautiful.  
Im starting to listen to these guys more and more, so please keep playing more and more!
Beeaautiful!
This band is incredible, although this particular song is rather ordinary for them.
I work for the company. But don’t let that fool you; I’m really an okay guy. I’m glad to see you’re feeling a little better. They, uh, they tell me that all the weakness and disorientation should pass soon. It’s just natural side effects of such an unusually long hypersleep, or something like that
fantastic band—unfortunately undervalued !
 LowPhreak wrote:

Interesting how idjits like you never mention how big corporations like to suck on the rich, creamy public cock - as in subsidies they don't need whatsoever since they've been making record profits the past few years, (and before that as well). It's known as corporate welfare. Not to mention how the banks, hedge funds, insurance companies, AND 2 car companies got bailed out from that same creamy cock they sucked on in '08-'09. And they still have their lips firmly planted on the Big Johnson today.

Or is it the other way around? As Frank Zappa said: "...half a dozen of them woulda strangled from sucking on each other's dicks." Oh wait...that was about prison sex.

Not to mention that many corps don't pay federal income tax now. None at all. But individuals and small businesses like most of us here on RP do.

"Free market"? "Capitalism"? Ha-ha! Sure, as long as "socialism" is there to save it. It's actually a form of fascism - government in cahoots with corporations to the detriment of the public. All of those bastards should have gone out of biz and been doing a scene from "Joe's Garage" for the financial crimes they committed. But that would have meant a bunch of pols and punks in D.C., NY, and elsewhere would have had to answer for their complicity too, so it didn't happen.

Who do you think you're kidding, junior?

So...why would you have a prob with average people getting far less help in the same way? Do you have an agenda here, or is it just plain stupidity?

 
I bet you're a fun date.
Richard Nixon's voice.....  Am currently listening to all these NPR podcasts on the Watergate affair.

I did not know that the burglars were ex-CIA!  Missed that somehow.

Anyhow all the back 'n forth and I am thinking to myself that the over-the-top craziness of the Trump presidency is not without precedent.

I am thinking that America will persevere.  It better persevere 'cause we're countin' on it!!!
I am particularly fond of the days that RP plays not one but 3 Porcupine Tree songs!
 
This was one of the gateway songs.
 
Any fans of the To the Bone?   I adore it.   For the last 3 albums, Steven Wilson completely and utterly outdid himself.  
 hugogdt wrote:
I like to hear PT almost everyday on RP, really never get tired of it ...

 
Their music is exquisite and makes you feel and contemplate the universe.  Steven Wilson is a genius!
Quite like the bass on this though I don't usually notice it unless I crank the song up.
For me this record is one of the best. And this track ist awesome
I see taking a  linguistic string from blinding
psicodelia of 68-70

 
I like to hear PT almost everyday on RP, really never get tired of it ...
 CHuLoYo wrote:
Fantastic porcupink floyd tree!!  

 
porcupink floyd tears for trees
 lbaltz wrote:
That would be a real treat!
Hearing rumors that this fantastic band may be touring again in 2016. https://www.metalinjection.net/latest-news/rumors/is-porcupine-tree-coming-back-in-2016

 

 
Oh Please! Oh Please! Oh Please! Oh Please! Oh Please! Oh Please! Oh Please! {#Notworthy} {#Cheesygrin}

(Especially if Gavin is back behind the kit. His drumming is quite sublime in this context. Not quite Jaco on Hejira or Teen Town, but almost right there.)
Fantastic porcupink floyd tree!!  
That would be a real treat!
Hearing rumors that this fantastic band may be touring again in 2016. https://www.metalinjection.net/latest-news/rumors/is-porcupine-tree-coming-back-in-2016

 


 4merdj wrote:
Where were you when I put all the stars in the sky? 

  I like this painting... discovered it is Ancient of Days by William Blake.


Hearing rumors that this fantastic band may be touring again in 2016. https://www.metalinjection.net/latest-news/rumors/is-porcupine-tree-coming-back-in-2016


 1wolfy wrote:
Peace and tranquility to earth {#Meditate}            ..before it is recycled

 
2013....oh well, close to the bone
Twinkle, twinkle
little star
now I wonder
if you die

Where were you when I put all the stars in the sky? 
One of my favorite bands of all time!
 mona_hoysa wrote:

You must go see him.  He has evolved musically and has a great new album.  It's more PT than the last solo album, and the show was phenomenal. Plus who else plays in his bare feet? {#Wink}

 
One more week before he shows up in Vancouver.  Man am I excited.  

Wilson has hit it out of the park with the last two CDs.  He is the master of customized sonic space.  

For those that are curious, try listening to Boards of Canada's Tomorrow Harvest.  Techno ambient and not as easy listening as All India Radio.  He cited the Scottish band as an influence for the latest CD.  The name Boards of Canada is inspired by the National Film Board of Canada which in its zenith put out a lot of inspirational, cutting edge film.  

Not only has Wilson evolved musically, but you can describe his career as constant evolution.   
So so lovely...feels ethereal and wistful. 
 billybob123 wrote:
I see that Steven Wilson has a solo tour scheduled for later this year, including a show in my area.  Can anybody out there share any details about his solo shows?  I saw PT many years ago at this same venue and was very impressed, even before I was very familiar with their music.  So I'm intrigued with the upcoming Steven Wilson show.

 
You must go see him.  He has evolved musically and has a great new album.  It's more PT than the last solo album, and the show was phenomenal. Plus who else plays in his bare feet? {#Wink}
Saw him twice in the last two weeks.  Godlike performance of the new album.  He CAN do no wrong.

...and I'm NOT a crook! 
I really like the album cover! I first proposed this in 1972. But there were a lot of ideas like that floating around then.
 Piranga wrote:
Steven Wilson can do no wrong.

 

I got tickets to see SW in May
Steven Wilson can do no wrong.
 billybob123 wrote:
I see that Steven Wilson has a solo tour scheduled for later this year, including a show in my area.  Can anybody out there share any details about his solo shows?  I saw PT many years ago at this same venue and was very impressed, even before I was very familiar with their music.  So I'm intrigued with the upcoming Steven Wilson show.

 
I understand that they are great.  His solo band is composed of excellent musicians including Govan Guthrie who some believe is one of the best living guitar players in the world.

Wilson is coming to Vancouver, BC (finally!) and we are going. 
I see that Steven Wilson has a solo tour scheduled for later this year, including a show in my area.  Can anybody out there share any details about his solo shows?  I saw PT many years ago at this same venue and was very impressed, even before I was very familiar with their music.  So I'm intrigued with the upcoming Steven Wilson show.
Wonderful...
 raulman1 wrote:
I want to thank Bill & Rebecca and anyone who has uploaded Porcupine Tree songs to RP for turning me on to this wonderful band.

I also want to comment — when did the song comments become a forum for political discussion?  This is the second song thread I've seen in as many days that has been hijacked by political commentators.  Please let's use the comments on the songs to that—comments on the music/artwork/musical artist.  Please take your political comments elsewhere — the Web is full of more appropriate venues. {#Cool}

 
There is political wrangling in the majority of song threads - some of it has been there since the beginning.
this is one of the rare times i see a reason for having a 60 inch flat screen tv connected to RP 24/7.
I want to thank Bill & Rebecca and anyone who has uploaded Porcupine Tree songs to RP for turning me on to this wonderful band.

I also want to comment -- when did the song comments become a forum for political discussion?  This is the second song thread I've seen in as many days that has been hijacked by political commentators.  Please let's use the comments on the songs to that--comments on the music/artwork/musical artist.  Please take your political comments elsewhere -- the Web is full of more appropriate venues. {#Cool}
 LowPhreak wrote:

We really need a thumbs up sign here. 

Interesting how idjits like you never mention how big corporations like to suck on the rich, creamy public cock - as in subsidies they don't need whatsoever since they've been making record profits the past few years, (and before that as well). It's known as corporate welfare. Not to mention how the banks, hedge funds, insurance companies, AND 2 car companies got bailed out from that same creamy cock they sucked on in '08-'09. And they still have their lips firmly planted on the Big Johnson today.

Or is it the other way around? As Frank Zappa said: "...half a dozen of them woulda strangled from sucking on each other's dicks." Oh wait...that was about prison sex.

Not to mention that many corps don't pay federal income tax now. None at all. But individuals and small businesses like most of us here on RP do.

"Free market"? "Capitalism"? Ha-ha! Sure, as long as "socialism" is there to save it. It's actually a form of fascism - government in cahoots with corporations to the detriment of the public. All of those bastards should have gone out of biz and been doing a scene from "Joe's Garage" for the financial crimes they committed. But that would have meant a bunch of pols and punks in D.C., NY, and elsewhere would have had to answer for their complicity too, so it didn't happen.

Who do you think you're kidding, junior?

So...why would you have a prob with average people getting far less help in the same way? Do you have an agenda here, or is it just plain stupidity?

 


Idle mind..   {#Arrowu}    .  Your writing style says a lot about you.
Thanks LowPhreak for sharing so much about yourself.

You certainly confirm my bias that populism is populism be it Neo-Marxist guided populism popular in Latin America or righteous Republican populism or the ethnic-cleansing populism of Democrats. 

You don't know too much about ecology or political rent seeking do you now?

That's OK.  Rant on!  Rant on my friend.  It is a free country!  {#War} 
 westslope wrote:
And Americans--Republican or Democrat--are not socialists?

Even Cliven Bundy loves to suck hard on the rich creamy public breast.  

 
Interesting how idjits like you never mention how big corporations like to suck on the rich, creamy public cock - as in subsidies they don't need whatsoever since they've been making record profits the past few years, (and before that as well). It's known as corporate welfare. Not to mention how the banks, hedge funds, insurance companies, AND 2 car companies got bailed out from that same creamy cock they sucked on in '08-'09. And they still have their lips firmly planted on the Big Johnson today.

Or is it the other way around? As Frank Zappa said: "...half a dozen of them woulda strangled from sucking on each other's dicks." Oh wait...that was about prison sex.

Not to mention that many corps don't pay federal income tax now. None at all. But individuals and small businesses like most of us here on RP do.

"Free market"? "Capitalism"? Ha-ha! Sure, as long as "socialism" is there to save it. It's actually a form of fascism - government in cahoots with corporations to the detriment of the public. All of those bastards should have gone out of biz and been doing a scene from "Joe's Garage" for the financial crimes they committed. But that would have meant a bunch of pols and punks in D.C., NY, and elsewhere would have had to answer for their complicity too, so it didn't happen.

Who do you think you're kidding, junior?

So...why would you have a prob with average people getting far less help in the same way? Do you have an agenda here, or is it just plain stupidity?
 volnomad wrote:
Could we possibly get back to what a fabulous band PT are?

 

I'll second that volnomad and in particular this track from an excellent Album
<rant> History has shown again and again, we Americans only hate "socialism" for the little guys.  One look at our tax code, system of agricultural subsidies and military-media-industrial complex will show we are all for socialism for the "big men": rich landholders and oligarchs.  You see, socialism destroys the will to work in the poor, but that's ok for the rich.  They don't need to work, they just need to appear to be good "job creators" while paying others to champion their cause on Capitol Hill in order to stay on top of the heap!

Bundy is one of the oligarch landholders who has added another dimension by showing that if you have lots of friends with guns, you can defy the US government while continuing to "suck the public breast."  One more step toward the impending chaos if we cannot restore the Republic by, for and of all Americans, not just the oligarchs. </rant>


westslope wrote:
And Americans--Republican or Democrat--are not socialists?

Even Cliven Bundy loves to suck hard on the rich creamy public breast.  

 


And Americans--Republican or Democrat--are not socialists?

Even Cliven Bundy loves to suck hard on the rich creamy public breast.  
 oldsaxon wrote:

Feel free to ask the NSA to give a run down on my personal emails and texts....Come back when you have a democracy and we'll chat some more.

 
Wow, so USA is not a democracy?  Sounds like sour grapes oldsaxon. You live in a monarchy, and I feel very sorry for you for that.  It must be very difficult not to know what it is like to live in a democracy.  You would not know one if it hit you in the face.  Oh wait, I forgot, you do not believe in democracy.  You are a socialist.  A loser, in other words.  Your party gets .000000001 percent in our open elections.

Oh, and BTW, the UK is well known for its surveillance state, much much more than in the USA.   It is well documented.
Ahh great song with a great quote by an even greater man!
Could we possibly get back to what a fabulous band PT are?
 rdo wrote:


I am sure you believe that, but history is not on your side.  The facts are overwhelmingly against you here.  I am sure you, oldsaxon, do care about social justice.  Spreading hatred against the US is not serving that purpose.  Quite the opposite.  I don't think you are a hater, just wrong.  But you do yourself and your cause an injustice when you tells lies on comment boards.  The US ideology is liberal democracy.  I have never met anyone who call themselves a "Capitalist" in the way you call yourself a Socialist.  It's a smear, and beneath you.  

 
Feel free to ask the NSA to give a run down on my personal emails and texts....Come back when you have a democracy and we'll chat some more.
Porku Pinetree, I likey velly much with kimchee and soju.
 rdo wrote:

 {#Arrowd}  KCAR: Vietnam is still not a democracy, and it will not be any time soon.  It is, and will remain, an impoverished backwater for many years to come, until the time when their dictatorship is replaced by democratic government and their citizenry is liberated.  I blame Ho and the communists for the Vietnamese dead in the war.  South Vietnam could easily be like South Korea today.  I like South Korea, as do the South Koreans - very much so indeed.  North Korea is similar to Vietnam.  If given the chance, virtually all North Koreans would leave their prison and come to the US.  Most Vietnamese would too (though it is not as bad there).  That’s all the proof I need to know our cause was just.




I like South Korea, as do the South Koreans - very much so indeed.

In Blowback: The Costs and Consequences of American Empire Chalmers Johnson shows very clearly how the US flooded vast resources into the viciously autocratic regime of South Korea, molding it into the wonderfully subservient satellite we see today.


South Vietnam could easily be like South Korea today.

Well ... of course!  IF the US hadn't abandoned them, or if the US had recognized, early enough, that anti-colonialism becomes pro-communism ONLY when stomped on.

If you do not believe this, you can hear it straight from Robert McNamara in The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara (2003), starring Robert McNamara himself.  He states categorically that the US failed to understand that the Viet Cong sought support from Russia only after having been forced into civil war.  They were freedom fighters first and foremost (variously against the French, Japanese and USA), and sought aid from whomever would extend it.  There's a short YouTube interview where he talks of related aspects :  Robert McNamara admits Vietnam War a mistake


That’s all the proof I need to know our cause was just.

rdo, I can understand how badly you want to believe that the USA is a "liberal democracy".  I believe you are gravely mistaken.  With the creation of the Federal Reserve and the IRS in 1913, the absorption of ex-Schutzstaffel into the CIA in the late 40s, and lawmaking since 9/11, the US of A of 1776 has been utterly subverted from within.  It is a "Corporatist Empire" masquerading as a "liberal democracy". To understand how this happened you can watch America: Freedom to Fascism to get a quick overview or read Super Imperialism: The Origin and Fundamentals of U.S. World Dominance by Michael Hudson, to really get at the nuts and bolts of what happened.

The American people supported the war.  Why?  If it was not for the stated purposes of stopping Stalinism then what was it for?  Kick and giggles?

How about:

 - Keeping the US citizens fearful and seeking security

 - Boosting incumbent popularity, polarizing voters for the 2-party system and distracting them from realities at home with pseudo-causes

 - Military promotions

 - Armaments industry profits (and pork to politicians)

 - Keeping loose cannon psychos busy killing overseas, rather than in the streets at home.

(b.t.w. no implied promotion of Amazon here by me, but maybe RP gets a commission when people checkout the links)






 oldsaxon wrote:

You could blame America's undying need to destroy any non-capitalist idiology...but you couldn't, could you? I have a few friends who have toured in Vietnam recently, lots of photos of happy people eating well and making great art and food. You could be wrong, you know...just throwing that out there. Your comment regarding what you think "most" North Koreans want is conjecture and coloured with media spin rhetoric. I will admit the leaders there seem as mad as a box of frogs but you just don't know that most of them want to leave. All we get out of North Korea is what we read in the propganda net. I'm sure it's awful, but that's as much to do with sanctions as internal politics, isn't it? We punish them because we don't like their politics and that's just petty, isn't it?

 

I am sure you believe that, but history is not on your side.  The facts are overwhelmingly against you here.  I am sure you, oldsaxon, do care about social justice.  Spreading hatred against the US is not serving that purpose.  Quite the opposite.  I don't think you are a hater, just wrong.  But you do yourself and your cause an injustice when you tells lies on comment boards.  The US ideology is liberal democracy.  I have never met anyone who call themselves a "Capitalist" in the way you call yourself a Socialist.  It's a smear, and beneath you.  
 rdo wrote:

 {#Arrowd}  KCAR: Vietnam is still not a democracy, and it will not be any time soon.  It is, and will remain, an impoverished backwater for many years to come, until the time when their dictatorship is replaced by democratic government and their citizenry is liberated.  I blame Ho and the communists for the Vietnamese dead in the war.  South Vietnam could easily be like South Korea today.  I like South Korea, as do the South Koreans - very much so indeed.  North Korea is similar to Vietnam.  If given the chance, virtually all North Koreans would leave their prison and come to the US.  Most Vietnamese would too (though it is not as bad there).  That’s all the proof I need to know our cause was just.



 
You could blame America's undying need to destroy any non-capitalist idiology...but you couldn't, could you? I have a few friends who have toured in Vietnam recently, lots of photos of happy people eating well and making great art and food. You could be wrong, you know...just throwing that out there. Your comment regarding what you think "most" North Koreans want is conjecture and coloured with media spin rhetoric. I will admit the leaders there seem as mad as a box of frogs but you just don't know that most of them want to leave. All we get out of North Korea is what we read in the propganda net. I'm sure it's awful, but that's as much to do with sanctions as internal politics, isn't it? We punish them because we don't like their politics and that's just petty, isn't it?

 {#Arrowd}  KCAR: Vietnam is still not a democracy, and it will not be any time soon.  It is, and will remain, an impoverished backwater for many years to come, until the time when their dictatorship is replaced by democratic government and their citizenry is liberated.  I blame Ho and the communists for the Vietnamese dead in the war.  South Vietnam could easily be like South Korea today.  I like South Korea, as do the South Koreans - very much so indeed.  North Korea is similar to Vietnam.  If given the chance, virtually all North Koreans would leave their prison and come to the US.  Most Vietnamese would too (though it is not as bad there).  That’s all the proof I need to know our cause was just.


 rdo wrote:


{#Rolleyes}  I did not deny Cambodia was bombed, and was in secret.  Well, what exactly is the implication, Fred? That has been quite elusive with you.  Why do you come here and spew hateful rants against the US?   The American people supported the war.  Why?  If it was not for the stated purposes of stopping Stalinism then what was it for?  Kick and giggles?  
    

  

 
The American people supported the Vietnam War up to the Tet Offensive which started in late January '68. LBJ's approval rating fell 16 points to 47% by the end of February. 

We could argue all day about the domino theory, its relevance to Vietnam's domestic and international relations and the level of contemporary popular belief in it amongst the American public. I firmly believe, however, that the US government misled Americans about the immediate causes of the war (the Tonkin Gulf incident), the level of support even amongst South Vietnamese for a government largely led by a Catholic French-speaking elite, and the very real doubts that American leaders had about the winnability of the war.

When I say leaders, I include SecDef Robert McNamara (as early as '65) and LBJ himself.

The real tragedy is that there is now evidence that we could have reached an understanding with Ho Chi Minh and his advisors that could have avoided much of our military involvement there.

This last bit is from a lecture for a George Mason University course, found here: 


https://chnm.gmu.edu/courses/122/vietnam/lecture.html

Ho Chi Minh had been educated in Paris and in the Soviet Union. He was an avowed communist, but also a believer in western style democracy and the American virtues of free speech. At heart he was a nationalist land reformer, primarily concerned with restoring Vietnam to the Vietnamese. Under colonial rule, land typically belongs to foreigners--to the colonizers. The profits from farming go disproportionally into the hands of foreign rulers, and native people are generally reduced to working as laborers for the colonial government. To nationalists--that is, people with a strong sense of their "nation" or culture--colonialism is inherently unfair and exploitative. Communist revolutionaries like Ho Chi Mihn typically focused on land reform--on getting control of land away from foreign corporations and investors and back into the hands of the local people. 

In Cuba, for example, the bulk of the nation's real estate had been in the hands of foreign investors since the Spanish Amerian war. Fidel Castro focused his revolutionary campaign on this issue of land. Castro had been educated at Columbia University in New York, where he had pitched on the baseball team. He initially looked to the US as an ally, but soon came to suspect that the US government was likely to favor the interests of the old colonial regime he had helped to overthrow.

During W.W.II, the French were expelled from Vietnam by Japan, which occupied Vietnam for most of the war, until the US victory. Ho Chi Mihn and his allies assisted US army intelligence in the war against the Japanese. Ho Chi Mihn was regarded very highly by US military personnel for his commitment to freedom and liberty and for his pro-American attitudes. Ho saw, or claimed to see, the US as an anti-colonial power which would be willing to help his people gain permanent independence. At end of W.W.II, Ho Chi Mihn was strongest in the Northern part of Vietnam, which was poorer but also less "colonized." After the Japanese were defeated, speaking from the northern city of Hanoi, Ho Chi Mihn declared Vietnamese independent of French rule. At a ceremony declaring this independence, Ho quoted Thomas Jefferson while the Star Spangled Banner played and American planes flew overhead. The new Vietnamese constitution drafted by Ho was based on and strongly resembled the US Constitution. Ho declared he looked forward to intimate and friendly relations with the US. He offered the US naval bases and promised that Vietnam "will be a fertile field for American capital and enterprise". 

Ho Chi Mihn was a communist, but he was also a practical politician, interested in what was best for Vietnam. He was friendly to the US, admired much of American politics, and preferred the US to the Soviets as an ally.



 
What the most recent posts said…
For me, so far, the last of the truly great bands. 
Never too much PT.   
Never 
Peace and tranquility - a worthy goal indeed.
Peace and tranquility to earth {#Meditate}            ..before it is recycled
 fredriley wrote:

Fiction, huh? Ok, try reading William Shawcross's Sideshow: Kissinger, Nixon and the Destruction of Cambodia (1979), which was widely praised at the time and goes into forensic detail about Nixon and Kissinger's secret war against Cambodia. The bombing of Cambodia really happened, 00s of 000s were killed and maimed, Agent Orange poisoned the land and the people for generations, and all this paved the way for the Khmer Rouge and their murderous regime. Shawcross was a liberal and is now an arch-conservative, so in tune with your thinking I'm sure. If you want to accuse him of writing fiction, go ahead. I'll happily watch and LMAO whilst you're taken to bits.

My post didn't even mention "lucre" and "wealth", so plainly you've got some hobbyhorse you want to ride that has nothing to do with me. Read what folk write, not what you think they write. And the next time you accuse anyone of lying, prove it or retract and STFU.

This reminds me of the famous Tom Lehrer quote: ""Political satire became obsolete when Henry Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize."
 

{#Rolleyes}  I did not deny Cambodia was bombed, and was in secret.  Well, what exactly is the implication, Fred? That has been quite elusive with you.  Why do you come here and spew hateful rants against the US?   The American people supported the war.  Why?  If it was not for the stated purposes of stopping Stalinism then what was it for?  Kick and giggles?  
    

  
 fredriley wrote:

Fiction, huh? Ok, try reading William Shawcross's Sideshow: Kissinger, Nixon and the Destruction of Cambodia (1979), which was widely praised at the time and goes into forensic detail about Nixon and Kissinger's secret war against Cambodia. The bombing of Cambodia really happened, 00s of 000s were killed and maimed, Agent Orange poisoned the land and the people for generations, and all this paved the way for the Khmer Rouge and their murderous regime. Shawcross was a liberal and is now an arch-conservative, so in tune with your thinking I'm sure. If you want to accuse him of writing fiction, go ahead. I'll happily watch and LMAO whilst you're taken to bits.

My post didn't even mention "lucre" and "wealth", so plainly you've got some hobbyhorse you want to ride that has nothing to do with me. Read what folk write, not what you think they write. And the next time you accuse anyone of lying, prove it or retract and STFU.

This reminds me of the famous Tom Lehrer quote: ""Political satire became obsolete when Henry Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize."
 
I'm not quite sure where this conversation thread began, as I originally came here just to post something about the musicians, and happened to notice the rhetoric. But after reading - especially the post that seemed to 'slam' the others, I felt compelled to offer a little concrete information.

I can assure you, as someone who was actually there, that the U.S 'did' in fact try to eliminate Cambodia. The destruction, as well as, the prolonged - and calculated  genocide was real, and horrific.  As for the brief comment, referring to "gooks", I can assure you that these "gooks", as you called them, bled the same as we did, suffered horrifically - as any other human being would suffer, and died in as much pain, and fear, as any other human being. Keep in mind, also, that it was 'their' country that was being invaded. They were not invading us, nor were they even provoking us. What Nixon, and Kissinger, did - as well as many others in power, was very un-American. And many Americans died for these agendas, as well - and just as needlessly as those throughout southeast Asia.
 fredriley wrote:

Fiction, huh? Ok, try reading William Shawcross's Sideshow: Kissinger, Nixon and the Destruction of Cambodia (1979), which was widely praised at the time and goes into forensic detail about Nixon and Kissinger's secret war against Cambodia. The bombing of Cambodia really happened, 00s of 000s were killed and maimed, Agent Orange poisoned the land and the people for generations, and all this paved the way for the Khmer Rouge and their murderous regime. Shawcross was a liberal and is now an arch-conservative, so in tune with your thinking I'm sure. If you want to accuse him of writing fiction, go ahead. I'll happily watch and LMAO whilst you're taken to bits.

My post didn't even mention "lucre" and "wealth", so plainly you've got some hobbyhorse you want to ride that has nothing to do with me. Read what folk write, not what you think they write. And the next time you accuse anyone of lying, prove it or retract and STFU.

This reminds me of the famous Tom Lehrer quote: ""Political satire became obsolete when Henry Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize."
  Although I am not all that keen about a music-based site that veers into political discussions and digressions, the weight of evidence and honesty about the past lies with fred. The indisputable facts are that the US did conduct a hideous and unjustifiable war (secret, they thought)
in Cambodia that laid that impoverished country waste, and that this war and its attendant fallout did indeed lead to the rise of the Khmer Rouge. And indeed it was the esteemed Dr. Kissinger (beware those who insist on this honorific) along with the disgraceful and disgraced Nixon who, along with many sycophants, conducted this war. And, yes, the US has a great deal of responsibility for subsequent disasters that fragmented Cambodian society. Of course, it was Cambodians who did the evils on their own, so one cannot lay all the blame on the US.
 rent The Deer Hunter..make u undastand..kingart wrote:

WHAT? 
 

 westslope wrote:
.Gooks. Lots of dead gooks.
 
WHAT? 
.Gooks. Lots of dead gooks.
 rdo wrote:

One of many priceless gems by you, Fred.  The implication being of course that Nixon (and the US citizenry, by extension) did not really care about world peace.  Instead, we were after all that lucre in Cambodia, and the extraordinary bounty of wealth we wanted to extract from SE Asia.  Are you sure instead of history you shouldn't be writing fiction?  You are a pretty good fiction writer.  Yeah, American citizens support indiscriminate killing for no purpose except to line our pockets.  That's the story of Vietnam.  Uh huh.  {#Liar}{#Rolleyes}
 
Fiction, huh? Ok, try reading William Shawcross's Sideshow: Kissinger, Nixon and the Destruction of Cambodia (1979), which was widely praised at the time and goes into forensic detail about Nixon and Kissinger's secret war against Cambodia. The bombing of Cambodia really happened, 00s of 000s were killed and maimed, Agent Orange poisoned the land and the people for generations, and all this paved the way for the Khmer Rouge and their murderous regime. Shawcross was a liberal and is now an arch-conservative, so in tune with your thinking I'm sure. If you want to accuse him of writing fiction, go ahead. I'll happily watch and LMAO whilst you're taken to bits.

My post didn't even mention "lucre" and "wealth", so plainly you've got some hobbyhorse you want to ride that has nothing to do with me. Read what folk write, not what you think they write. And the next time you accuse anyone of lying, prove it or retract and STFU.

This reminds me of the famous Tom Lehrer quote: ""Political satire became obsolete when Henry Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize."
'because of what you have done
the heavens have become part of man's world' 

RIP dick
 cShaggy wrote:
..like the cover art..anybody know if the plastic wrap look is an actual effect on there?..curiously yers.. ..ps: 8 >> 9 (with 10 coming quickly into view)..


No, somebody just scanned the package with the wrapper on it.
..like the cover art..anybody know if the plastic wrap look is an actual effect on there?..curiously yers..

..ps: 8 >> 9 (with 10 coming quickly into view)..
Just tune in and I only heard the last notes of this song... Too bad! PT is my new find!
 ShaunJ wrote:

There is a killer version of Stars Die on the new cd Octane Twisted{#Bananajam}
 

Looking forward to getting that one. I saw The Incident tour 3 times (Cincy, Cleveland, and Ashville). I'm not a huge fan of that album, but I have lived and died by PT since 1996. I'll definitely be buying it in the next couple of weeks. I recently bought SW's Get All You Deserve- and it's just great. SW is having a blast with these session guys.
 Deadwing wrote:


Obviously, we haven't even begun to scratch the surface of all the myriad possibilities of the Universe.
We did take a first small step.
That in itself ended some of the mystery.   
 
There is a killer version of Stars Die on the new cd Octane Twisted{#Bananajam}
 Imkirok wrote:

I think we're still a long way from the universe being demystified.  In fact, considering the best we've done so far is to take pictures from telescopes and haven't even sent a person to the nearest planet, I don't think we've even scratched the surface.
 

Obviously, we haven't even begun to scratch the surface of all the myriad possibilities of the Universe.
We did take a first small step.
That in itself ended some of the mystery.   
 Deadwing wrote:

From what I understand Stars Die refers to the demystification of the cosmos. The day we started knocking golfballs around and planting flags on the moon the mystery became a parking lot.

 
I think we're still a long way from the universe being demystified.  In fact, considering the best we've done so far is to take pictures from telescopes and haven't even sent a person to the nearest planet, I don't think we've even scratched the surface.


 fredriley wrote:
I think that there's more than a touch of irony in quoting Tricky Dicky Nixon's famous self-aggrandising phone call to the Apollo astronauts, particularly the bit about "redoubling our efforts to bring about peace on Earth", when this is the same guy who carried out a secret war against Cambodia that killed hundreds of thousands of civilians and devastated the country. Nice going, Tricky.
 
One of many priceless gems by you, Fred.  The implication being of course that Nixon (and the US citizenry, by extension) did not really care about world peace.  Instead, we were after all that lucre in Cambodia, and the extraordinary bounty of wealth we wanted to extract from SE Asia.  Are you sure instead of history you shouldn't be writing fiction?  You are a pretty good fiction writer.  Yeah, American citizens support indiscriminate killing for no purpose except to line our pockets.  That's the story of Vietnam.  Uh huh.  {#Liar}{#Rolleyes}
Love Porcupine Tree!
 westslope wrote:

Received the live Blue-Ray/DVD disc set — Anesthetize yesterday.

Amazing. 

 
Ah yes, that truly is one amazing DVD!  I've watched it so many times now I can't keep track anymore.  One of the best live performances captured on film.  I use it as a reference for my HT set-up.  Unlike other live DVD's, the movements of the band always match and sync perfectly with the music.  I can't tell you how many times I've seen other DVD's where you see the drummer out of sync with the music or playing a fill that doesn't match what you're hearing.  It's just sloppy editing, but it's far too common.  Steven Wilson no doubt was behind the production of this gem - making sure it was flawless.  If you like PT than you will love Anesthetize.  Highly Recommended by this Tree Nut.
 Deadwing wrote:
...
From what I understand Stars Die refers to the demystification of the cosmos. The day we started knocking golfballs around and planting flags on the moon the mystery became a parking lot.

...
 
Rings true.  Most of us look better with our clothes on.
RIP Neil Armstrong....
the sounds of love...............{#Daisy}

Received the live Blue-Ray/DVD disc set — Anesthetize yesterday.

Amazing. 


Love, love, love me the PT!  {#Angel}
Heard this song once on RP fell in LOVE:
Both with the person I was with and the song :-) 
 westslope wrote:

Sweet.  Never got organized to attend. :-(   

 

Please report back!  And enjoy!!!

 

I definitely will enjoy!!! 
 stub30 wrote:
Heading over to Seattle tonight to see Steven's Grace for Drowning show at the Showbox. 
 

Sweet.  Never got organized to attend. :-(   

 

Please report back!  And enjoy!!!


Heading over to Seattle tonight to see Steven's Grace for Drowning show at the Showbox. 
 cohifi wrote:
Hey!  Is this PT for everyone else, too?  Good
 
Welcome to one of the gateway songs.   Dangerous stuff. 
Lovin' this!!