marcinmoka

I warn you Jerry, I don't think it's a picture book, so brace yourself. Anyhow, yeah, Goldberg, of Bomb Canada : The case for war fame. Despite his 'credentials', I have unfortunately cast him off into the same group of arrogant loud mouths such as Anne Coulter or Al Sharpton. With squat to add to the genuine debate, they merely feed off one another in an attempt to make the loudest, most obnoxious and most often idiotic commentary and pass it off to some gullible fools as being valid, intellectually stimulating debate. But in a sense, I do admire them, but for their entrepreneurial skills, i.e. the ability to convince, with a straight face, some suckers to go out any buy their books.

No offense, but I take it you haven't spent considerable time abroad. Compared to every other region on earth, with the exception of the mythical though unfortunately imaginary Shangri-la, I would argue we have it quite good. Sure we need some tinkering here and there, but it's impossible to please everyone. All governments must make a few token concessions in the name of stability. Granted, we could constantly hold ourselves up to a mythical benchmark which never has, or never will exist, but why do so knowing it is unattainable. Its not as if they kept quiet! Partly out of vendetta, as I quietly rooted for him prior to Bush II. As per why? I respect someone with strong values, but is not afraid to speak his mind on pertinent issues, rather than giving into partisan mud slinging. Sure, he made some small concessions in the past few years ( seeking to 'atone' his sins with the evangelicals), but as mentioned above, you must make a few tactical concessions if you want to succeed with a winning strategy. Nonetheless, in my eyes, he has credibility as being fiscally responsible, socially aware and (almost cliche at this point, but incredibly important) understands the use of force, but does not discount the value of diplomacy and negotiation. Furthermore, you simply gotta respect someone who had the cajones to fight for his country and risk torture and death to save his fellow men, rather than 'having other things to do' in the safety of their suburbs. I think that shows a certain (and noble) admiration for their country. Who's your call for '08?

Except when they incur a loss by bailing out the banks, and the wider economy in times of turmoil. But we'll ignore that. p.s. Ever heard of EDC, BDC, CCC?

? Conspiracies aside, I'm sure the good folks at the ECB and respective treasury, finance and industry ministries are cursing at how the continental 'intellectual-left' has managed to permeate societal thought right down to text books of its youngest citizens. Than again, it is about starting them young. But this level of acceptance is even more surprising since they had witnessed the failings of such ideas so close to home, albeit severely whitewashed. The issue at hand now is how to bring this philosophical tug of war onto a more rational footing, which is obviously problematic with generations of citizens engrained with leftist ideals. There are reformers all across Europe..they need a little bit of help.

-

Wishful thinking. Humanity, as a whole has never been short on ideas in this culture of 'scapegoatism'. Our ingenuity at finding alternate, and often absurd sources as the cause of our malaise has never failed to amaze me.

Bump. They opened up the proverbial can'o'worms last night.

If 'children are the future', then God help us all! FOREIGN POLICY - EUROPE While this article is a tad too sensationalist, it does highlight the urgency of reform within the Franco-German educational system, with its inherent demonization of the system, which by and large, has made them rich. Granted, theirs had a bit more of mercantilist tinge. Perhaps the scariest element of this diagnosis is that reforms which are needed require a generation to come to fruition. For the time being, I have difficulty imagining the Che T-Shirt wearing, Kefiyah masked students hurling insults at myself and my baffled colleagues when we crossed their picket lines to attend class running that nation [France] nowhere else but into the ground. Or maybe it will be time for the students of Central and Eastern Europe's time to shine.

I'd suggest Valium or a similar anti-anxiety treatment, but somehow I don't think that idea would go down too well.

I double that yawn. We survived the reign of Curtis "Madman" LeMay, so I doubt this tough talk by generals planning for the worst is bound to change anything. Although it does provide a source of sensationalism for the historically challenged. And guess who refuses to give their most advanced weaponry to China ; Russia. And despite all the anti rhetoric, guess who is building up their southern and eastern defensive capabilities; Russia. The reality is that the Russian defense establishment needs exports to survive and to innovate, and China is obviously their biggest sole client. But they are not dumb enough to tie their own noose by out-arming their resource hungry potentially expansionist neighbor to the south. To echo Mr. Fortin's sentiments, the U.S and Russia are allies, they just realize that fact yet due to a little cold-war hangover of sorts.

Despite all the beverages I had access to, I still only drank my standard Starbucks Mild brewed drip coffee. And when I had to pay, I sure as hell was not gonna shell out $5 bucks for a diabetes inducing drink that I could ill pronounce. Tim Ho's was good.....for beginners, but you eventually grow past that age and wish for something more than a dashing of flavorless brown water in a sea of cream and sugar that many label as "real coffee"

I haven't read the book....but I did briefly work there part-time student. And in all honesty, this was the first company that actually seemed to have partly practiced what it preached in its corporate values, unlike most student gigs (anyone who has ever worked part time at a bank would certainly agree). Though I do re-call once I met some managers and guys from the corporate/finance side of the company, and told them that I thought Starbucks was growing too fast and risked being a commoditized, which was dangerous seeing as they rely on very premium pricing. They scoffed and shrugged me off. But as with all premium/luxury brands that become too ubiquitous, too much presence and growth will only bring diminishing returns. And it seems that the analysts agree with me. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/346...uxdonald08.html

In my humble opinion, I agree with the above normative statement, but I was asking about the potential run-off polls (although they mean squat in the grand scheme of things), but I would still be curious. Obama, while coming off as very genuine, still seems quite inexperienced, perhaps naive in the way Washington works. I understand his appeal, but being likable and intelligent (which he is) are not the only qualities one needs to run the most powerful nation in the world. And while Obama would cast a positive image of the U.S abroad, McCain seems the only republican candidate, who amazingly ( despite his well known security and international relations credentials) would do the same. Yes, and no. While one element is wishing to do so, you must not forget that Clinton and Obama are also the MOST SENSIBLE of the democratic candidates i.e with substance. After all, you didn't see Hollywood voting for Sharpton en masse, did you?

Question - is better defined as being less "materialistic"? I would argue materialism is merely an extension of humanity's will of survival. When food and other basics were scarce, we always wished to amass as many reserves as possible should the future be less certain. Now that food or shelter are not as scarce in our society, we still have that natural drive, although it manifests itself in the form of clothes, cars, entertainment, etc. Yet these items can also be related to our will to survive however oddly they derive from the basics we once needed. i.e. Ones buys expensive clothes in the belief that one will look more attractive, or to demonstrate a particular status, all with the intent of finding a mate, or to be more appealing in ones professional or social lives.

Wow. Looks like my wish for a McCain victory is seemingly closer to reality. Than again, I never imagined Huckabee's quick rise to prominance. Granted, I don't believe he will maintain the momentum he has carried so far in the larger states, which is why I would not be suprised to see Huckabee eventually throw his weight behind McCain in the final stages, and that would be a MASSIVE boon to McCain's tarnished credibility amongst the religious/rural voters. Anyone have any stats on what a McCain - Obama showdown would produce?

And yet I cannot help recall the awe of my grandparents as they described their first genuine sun filled vacation in the uniquely capitalist kitsch that defines the all inclusive resort, after having spent 60+ years in the "glory" that was the Soviet Union. ------- P.S. I gather you are writing this post from a relatively modern P.C. - Why? Afterall, I would expect you to lead by example.

Granted, so are mine every time I step into WalMart.

It seems that each generation, the world over, romanticizes the past and is overly pessimistic of the future. Unfortunately, I f too fall off guard on occaision and catch myself thinking the very same, illogical thoughts, so who am I to judge.

Google it. I had the (mis)fortune of checking out the site after it was suggested by one vitriolic MLW member that another, almost equally vitriolic member belongs on the that site. And so my curiosity peaked. And it was quite amusing, with threads ranging from "White Supremacist dieting tips" (i.e. egg whites sans yolk???), Aryan financial advice (saving up for that dream "compound" in Montana), to what is the proper style of clothing and footwear which should be worn by "proud whites", in which some argued for flak jackets and combat boots, while others posted links to the Ralph Lauren's ostensibly WASPy catalogs (and obviously missing out on the irony of their link).

No. I can resign from religion and survive. But I cannot do with w/money.

Your idea? Money always has, and always will be 'credits' for privilege, for power. Who cares what format. Afterall, gold hasn't any intrinsic utility value. --------------------- What I found a bit more disturbing in this article was this:

Was there anything in the original worth discussing...or even coherent for that matter? May I suggest you look to the first few posts, or even the 'aptly' named title of the thread. But to echo M.D's sentiment, why do you hate religious food?

While I firmly agree with this notion: But one thing you did in your post was fail to differentiate between the two 'western examples. Murderous western fathers (mostly) are very much unlike Robert Pickton. The one crucial difference with Pickton is that the behavior of the woman was relevant, i.e their all being prostitutes, with drug addictions. These were carefully targeted.

All whilst stocking up on Lipitor for the lenten period.

I found this article decent, but slightly at odds with itself. Followed by : Alors? The old system explicitly promoted exclusion on racial grounds. And the new system which followed in its wake implicitly promotes exclusion by simply diluting the requisites for 'belonging' [the lowest common denominator(s), i.e living within a specified boundary]. All this is fine and dandy, but what does the author suggest replaces these two 'flawed concepts'? Creating a sense of national identity from scratch is much easier said than done. ------- My real issue with this article is that it focuses on terrorism from the micro perspective. While yes, the 7/7 bombers may of had personal resentment with Britain and the western ideals in general, it ignores the bigger picture, that at its root, terrorism still is, and will be political. Those responsible for financing these pawns and funding the training camps and radical Wahabbist schools are doing so not out of "anger" and "frustration" at not fitting in, but purely for political reasons and a fear of loosing the power and influence they enjoy, or in certain cases, seek to gain.