theloniusfleabag

Dear August1991, The feeling of the state haven't changed much toward the people, either. Isn't a totalitarian regime an example of focused greed? Nonsense, you are very close to the point of it all.

Dear Mr. Hardner, Any sort of religious movement is not allowed in China. Falun Dafa or Gong isn't too widelly understood in 'the west', at least I don't know too many people who could argue how close it was to Scientology, for example. Just another kooky religion, most would say. from the CIA world Factbook,

I have to go with Tawasakm's assessment...a deranged Dr. Seuss.

Dear Black Dog, Some, but I believe it is mostly for cooking and hair. That aside, should I take the abject lack of rebuttal to the hypocrisy of US foreign policy as a concession (on the collective 'yay'-sayer's part) that they are not in the Middle East on humanitarian grounds?

Dear Mr. Hardner, and from the link... For points 1 and 2, these are suggestions that run against the purposes of capitalism. The media willing entered the service of Mammon, and 'more meaningful contact', and 'traditions of journalism' would be treasonous against Mammon. For point 3, CBC gets nothing but scorn and derision from anyone right of centre, so our entire value system would have to shift left for these 'revival' things to happen.

http://news.yahoo.com/fc/world/nepal If the USA is claiming to be 'championing freedom and democracy', why do they not stand up for countries that actually want it and are fighting for it?

Dear FTA Lawyer, They do make economic sense, but the explanation is that they are not profitable. They are for the 'common good'. Only those that are devoutly capitalist would claim that doing anything for a reason other than turning or increasing profits is nonsensical.

Dear August1991, I think this is the main point you raise in your post, something FTA may have missed. You claim that 'greed is good', but I say you are mistaken to believe that, by extension, 'greed helps everybody'.

I have to agree here with FTA Lawyer and Hicksey, though they say different things. Per Hicksey, I agree that our justice system, especially our 'punishment system', needs to take a different tack. Jail should be somewhere that no one wants to go (within reason, of course). Per FTA Lawyer, our own falliability must be acknowledged and accounted for, but it must be tempered with reason, lest we lose the balance between timidity and tyranny. For example, a news article today on al-Jazeera: http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/DEF...166C6EB21FF.htm The 'right' to state executions has been abused in the past, and there needs to be more discourse as to whether or not there can be a difference between 'use and abuse'.

Dear geoffrey, He can't back down on the $1200 but he could have used the excuse that 'the house wouldn't pass it' rather than 'I dare you to bring me down'. Seems he's betting that the opposition wouldn't want to lose the votes bought with that $1200, so they won't oppose it and have people think that it 'got taken away' by those nasty Liberals (or whomever).August1991, They are free to choose the same actions, but will face drastically different consequences. If you wonder why punishment varies, (once upon a time, not so long ago, social ostracism was the norm for even unwed mothers) it is because most people don't equate 'the as of yet unborn' with the 42 yr old.

Dear August1991, Far below being arguable, I find this passage: (From Leafless' link...) objectionable.This quote here: this here's the pipe dream. This bit here is the seriously misinformed bit. Israel's economy is already way bigger than that. Their biggest industries are cut diamonds and technology, both for export. They don't want anything to do with the Arabs, (apart from make a profit off of them) and I don't see that changing.The rest about scientific advancements was arguably true, I'll admit. It is also, and more importantly, moot. Absolutely unimportant, at this time, to shaping the future of Islam. The only way it will die is if it is slain. I don't believe any other religions have ever died, especially not major ones. Of the lesser ones, there still exists; paganism, druidism, wicca, Jehovah's Witnesses, Scientology, etc. that a certain number of kooks will adhere to no matter what information you place before their eyes.

Shoop, you are wasting our bandwidth and our moderator's time. We all got the same e-mail you did, he has used the same tone with all of us, and if I may say, rightly so. 'Begging to be banned'? You bet you are. Like those idiots who have simple run-ins with the cops, but don't know when to shut up. They talk themselves into a jail cell and/or a beating. I suggest you stop bugging the cop, or it's off to the hoosegow for a different kind of buggery.

Dear Leafless, What a load of bunk. Whoever wrote that is seriously misinformed about the actual increase in the power Islam wields, and those predictions are 'pipe dreams of the ignorant'.

Dear lost&outofcontrol, Surely you jest. They both claim to be acting upon the literal word of God. The Jews are a little more aware that they are interpreting scripture for everyday use, but both have their dogmas written in stone.

Dear August1991, A list of Iran's nuclear facilities can be seen here,http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/iran/nuke-fac.htm Iran is within the strike capabilities of Israel. http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/israel/iran.htm In fact, Israel recently bought some 100 'bunker-busters' from the US with which to do the job.

Dear GostHacked, As Mr. Hardner states, al Qaeda was behind it, and more specifically, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. Krusty Kid, Au Contraire, Saudi Arabia is a hardline religious dictatorship, that believes in beheading homosexuals, etc. It is one of the beefs of Bin Laden and those opposed to US world hegemony that such a nasty country enjoys such unwavering and hypocritical support of the US. The US needs stable oil prices, and for now, Saudi Arabia basically controls world prices through production quotas. They are one of the few places that can readily gear up production (or slow it down) to make a huge difference in the price.

Dear August1991, You have also argued elsewhere that a deficit doesn't matter, and that spending without consideration of repayment is not an issue. By that standard, there can't be a classification of 'worse', only different. Reaganomics was all about creating growth with budget deficits (jerking off the dog to feed the cat), while Clinton tried to put the brakes on it and be fiscally responsible. Bush isn't a 'tax and spend democrat', he spends while saying he will cut taxes. Theoretically, that's even worse.

Dear Krusty Kid, They are both doing the exact same thing, albeit with different methods, but both believe in killing. Here, your words ring true. What is a possible solution that both will be forced to accept? UN soldiers enforcing a partition? One large, non-denominational state?

Dear Krusty Kid, I stand somewhat corrected, what I should have said was, "Not all Palestinians are suicidal hillbillies". Even if the majority were, they would have already wiped out the Israelis. From your link, it is the HAMAS with this 'covenant', not all of Islam, and bear in mind that Israel itself created HAMAS to try to reduce the influence of the PLO under Arafat and 'split the vote'.

Dear Krusty Kid, Um, Muslims and/or Palestinians aren't actually like that. Several countries in the region have populations of Christians, Jews, etc. and they aren't being killed off because of who they are. The biggest concern is the Jewish state and it's actions, not the Jews themselves.from: http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/sy.html Syria: Jordan: Lebanon: From the FAQ section on Palestine, Emphasis added by me

Dear August1991, It isn't much more than a factoid, I don't see why it would need to be hidden. Evidently Hitler was #7 in the NSDAP, and the party badgeswith low numbers became desirable, to show how 'faithful' one was to the party. Some of the lower numbers were saved and given out later to favoured Nazis. I don't think this is possible here, nor would it mean anything if it happened.

Dear Krusty Kid, Israel wants to expand even further than simply denying Palestine 'statehood'. They are not going to grant land to 'Palestine' for nothing. Therefore, terrorism is the only thing that will actually work for Palestinians, because Israel might be willing to trade peace for land. As you say, terrorism works.However, if Israel isn't going to budge, and continues to pursue policies such as collective punishment, etc., and is an equal cause of the problem, why should they receive any outside (western) support? They have nothing but contempt for the US, and for the 'goyim', so why do we continue to help them, if 'might makes right"? Shouldn't we let them fight it out? The winner was bound to be right.

Dear Krusty Kid, Both the pot and the kettle are black here, Palestinians don't want a Jewish state in their midst, and the Israelis don't want a Palestinian state. Both sides are killing each other, and some bystanders on both sides are cheering them on.

Dear Krusty Kid, This is what got them in the bad books with Osama in the first place. Not to mention those in the west that dislike the US funding and supporting dictatorial/and or 'religious fanatic regimes solely for money's sake.

Dear August1991, My comparisons aren't the issue. It is what the Afghanis think that matters, and I was merely pointing out that the ones we are fighting aren't making the same distinction that you and I are. Unless you are fighting for them, and their beliefs, then you are the enemy. And we are in their home arena. You may try to keep score, and even pretend that the score matters, but they don't. It doesn't matter if they are losing on the scoreboard, they are going to keep fighting to we leave their arena and go home (or elsewhere, but 'away' will be good enough). A couple of quotes from Vince Lombardi, former NFL coach and namesake of the Superbowl trophy... And, to hearten the troops,