Sir Bandelot

"The United States has spent more than $220 billion since the U.S.-led invasion of 2001, plus billions more toward aid and development projects. By the United States' own admission, much of the aid money was wasted." US General: Taliban force troop shifts Bush_Cheney, time to take your hard earned money out of the bank, and give it to Mr. Gates et al... to feed the black hole some more. enjoy

Votes? Choose one from column A, or one from column B... I don't see it so much as a response out of fear, as trying to cause damage to the GOP by using her against them. She is the currently popular rallying point for the party, and they want reasonable Republican voters to be turned off by her craziness. They probably don't have to work too hard.

"One for each other, and all for one Three brave Amigos are we... Brother to Brother and everyone, A brave amigo. Fighting for justice and liberty where ever you find is where we will be for the three brave amigos are we. We are the three Amigos! We are the three Amigos! We are the three Aaaaaaaaaaaaaa... ... migos!" This one popped into my head while reading a news article. So I couldn't resist adding to your bogus thread!

If he truly loves Canada then he wouldn't go to the US for the sake of making more money, but work here and help elevate the standards of education in a Canadian university. This wil be just one more nail in his political coffin. He won't make Prime Minister. Easy pickins.

McChrystals report shows some more bad news: US commander says Taliban gaining upper hand: report The top US military commander in Afghanistan says the Taliban have gained the upper hand in the country. General Stanley McChrystal told the Wall Street Journal in an interview the militant group was moving beyond its traditional strongholds in southern Afghanistan to threaten formerly stable areas in the north and west. The militants are mounting sophisticated attacks that combine roadside bombs with ambushes by small teams of heavily armed militants, causing significant numbers of US fatalities, the general said, according to the report. Some US military officials believe the Taliban have taken advantage of the US offensive in the northern Helmand province to infiltrate the southern city of Kandahar and set up shadow local governments and courts throughout the city, The Journal said. Sounds like Obamas strategy of putting more emphasis on defending civilians is not working, and has only exacerbated the problem.

Socialism can also involve transactions without money. But keep thinking, In your case it's probably a platypus.

It's a fine theory, but I've been paying my taxes for years and still waiting to have the roads fixed. Instead, they gave the money to bail out their business friends and the banks.

Which says more about the American electorate than it does about Canadians. They're either deluded, or desparate.

When you ask a serious question, I'll try to give you a serious answer.

It does not particularly matter to me that this statement came from Palin. If it were said by any other politician I would highlight it in just the same way. I do not suffer from Palin-mania. I have criticized Bush's ideas, I criticize hers, and Obamas, or any politician who says something I disagree with. She is entitiled to have her say, in a democracy. And she is entitled to be criticized, and to pay the price if she says something stupid. Which unfortunately for her is now part of her record. It's too bad because, sadly she poses more of a threat to Republicans than to Democrats. Obama does not use words like "evil" to describe his political opponents ideas, nor raise images of his children being euthenaized by shadowy state beaurocrats. Organizing community rallies is not the same as incensing the public with baloney about eithenasia of the handicapped. But hey, let them all eat out their own guts... my main criticism was and is that this is an example of the kind of counter-productive abuse of media and free speech. Democracy is too liberal in allowing such a level of debate. Too many nut jobs can get on the podium and have their five minute sound bite. It shows how it's easy to create distractions and destroy the process of rational discussion and decision making. By mere use of ignorance...

Nope... I made the humanitarian argument earlier. This is politics now

What a callous assessment. Of course I was speaking from a rational and humanitarian view, but not only that. A president should not be concerned about the effect of his media sound-bites, running a country involves making decisions for future, in the best interests of the nation and its people. In war there are real problems that cannot be ignored forever, they WILL come up and get you if you pretent they don't exist. In these times of fiscal restraint, it is simply stupid to continue pouring money into the black hole that is Afghanistan, when there is no outcome of any value whatsoever to the people of our western nations. If this was about revenge for 9/11, we have made our point now and can quietly go home. But to stay the course regardless of facts on the ground, or to play it out a bit longer for making good political appearances is not only foolish but inhumane. Afghanistan expected to cost US dearly As the Obama administration expands U.S. involvement in Afghanistan, military experts are warning that the United States is taking on security and political commitments that will last at least a decade and a cost that will probably eclipse that of the Iraq war. Years to come’ Military experts insist that the additional resources are necessary. But many, including some advising McChrystal, say they fear the public has not been made aware of the significant commitments that come with Washington's new policies.

Theres no conflict in my statements. I'm saying, the way that these attacks by unruly mobs take place, exposes a weakness in democracy. As does the inflammatory political debate we are watching now. In the end nothing can be achieved, either way. Democracy only works when everyone is willing to play along, but there are clearly ways to undermine it and sabotage the entire democratic process- by use of the uneducated masses, easily manipulated by lies and half-truths, fear, and religion. She has stepped into the debate and is rallying her people, the nationalist quasi-religious rural conservative middle class. With the invocation of words like "evil", her involvement in this situation is quite clear. She raises abortion to the issue, and she even offers up images of her own child afflicted with downs syndrome as threatened by the reform plans. With her inflammatory statements, she is fueling those very flames of sabotage. Does that help bring it all together for you?

Other- No, but I wish he would

No doubt that the people from these unruly mobs, are all Palin fanatics. Palin brands Obama Health Plan as 'Evil'

Democracy is your holy grail, not mine.

David Gergen: "This is very discouraging to those who want to see democracy work." It sure is, it sure is...

The irony is that despite the losses in life and huge amounts of money wasted, the trend now is increasingly headed towards a stand down and political negotiations with the Taliban. The government of Afghanistan and most of the principle players involved agree that this is the way to go. It's just a matter of timing, the Taliban are the ones refusing to negotiate, probably because they feel they are winning this war and have nothing to gain by cooperating with us. They want victory, not reconciliation. The strategy now is to put the Talban in a position where they are WILLING to negotiate, not even to defeat them. That seems to be out of the equation, militarily. Taliban will eventually have representatives in the government (as if they don't already now..?), harsh sharia laws will continue to be implemented as per the will of the Afghani people, democracy will be looked upon as un-islamic, and we will have achieved jack squat for all our efforts, lives lost and money spent. The smartest thing Obama should have done would be to cut and run. I suspect he would have done that. I suspectg there's lots Obama wants to do but cannot because he does not really have the power. I suspect Obamas legacy as president will be, The Emperor has no Balls.

Latest polls show support by the US public is dropping. Thu August 6, 2009 A new national poll indicates that support among Americans for the war in Afghanistan has hit a new low. Forty-one percent of people questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey released Thursday say they favor the war in Afghanistan -- down 9 points from May, when CNN polling suggested that half of the public supported the war. http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/08/06/pol...stan/index.html Obama has to handle things carefully if he is to enjoy being commander in chief over this war to its fullest extent.

The Wrath Of Obama Obama authorizes more Predator drone attacks than Bush ever did- In 2009, the frequency of Predator strikes in Pakistan has continued to trend upwards. There have already been 31 Predator strikes in Pakistan this year (as of July 18) – nearly matching the total of 36 strikes for all of 2008. If airstrikes continue at the current rate, the number of strikes in 2009 could more than double the dramatic increase in Predator activity seen in 2008. http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/200...r_strikes_3.php There is evidence that these strikes are planned by using electronic transmitter chips covertly planted on so-called high value targets- Mysterious 'chip' Is Cia's Latest Weapon The CIA is equipping Pakistani tribesmen with secret electronic transmitters to help target and kill al-Qaida leaders in the north-western tribal belt, in a tactic that could aid Pakistan's army as it takes the battle against extremism to the Taliban heartland. These strikes are easy for Obama to execute wihout causing distress to the US public, because they result in no American casualties. Yet their effectiveness in the overall strategy is questionable. Only a small percentage are successful in hitting the intended target. Reports show that the casualties for 2009 under Obama already exceed those of the entire 2008. Using low-end estimates of casualties (including Taliban, al Qaeda, and civilian) from US strikes inside Pakistan, we have determined that airstrikes resulted in 317 deaths during 2008. Already, the airstrikes in 2009 have surpassed that total, with 365 killed in 2009 as of July 18.

Operation Cyclone Following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December and installation of a more pro-Soviet president, Babrak Karmal, Carter announced, "The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan is the greatest threat to peace since the Second World War". To execute this policy, President Reagan deployed CIA Special Activities Division paramilitary officers to train and equip the Mujihadeen forces against the Red Army. Reagan's Covert Action program has been credited with assisting in ending the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. A Pentagon senior official, Michael Pillsbury, successfully advocated providing Stinger missiles to the Afghan resistance, according to recent books and academic articles. The program relied heavily on using the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) as an intermediary for funds distribution, passing of weapons, military training and financial support to Afghan resistance groups. Along with funding from similar programs from Britain's MI6 and SAS, Saudi Arabia, and the People's Republic of China, the ISI armed and trained over 100,000 insurgents between 1978 and 1992. The U.S. offered two packages of economic assistance and military sales to support Pakistan's role in the war against the Soviet troops in Afghanistan. The first six-year assistance package (1981–87) amounted to US$3.2 billion, equally divided between economic assistance and military sales. Quartermaster at Fort Bragg would hardly have been enough for them.

Houston, we have a problem... Dying Star Has Deadly Potential Wolf-Rayets are fiery, hot, dynamic stars, but WR 104 also has a sinister side... it could explode as a gamma-ray burst. Not only that, but recent observations of the system suggest it is facing right at us. If that thing blows, and it fires a deadly beam of gamma-rays in our direction, it could do serious damage to our planet. Alright, so who can sleep well at night now, hmm?

-Deleted- sb

Despite all the hype we sometimes hear in the news about bad old socialism, it's not a bad thing. A little socialism is good for you... in moderation. And aint that what its all about, all the time? The middle road... boring! To me what is needed is not a complete authoritative police state, with government intervention into all aspects of society but instead a safety net, one that sets the bottom line... you can't fall below this point. And I think anyone can clearly see what unchecked capitalism results in. We need SOME regulations, only so far as to create fairness. Laws that protect the system from its own collapse, makes complete sense. This is self preservation of our economic system. If it goes down the toilet, we all go with it. Else there, but for the grace of my creditors go I...

Maybe Bush will come and save you... don't hold your breath.