Casurf1978

If we were to attack every group or nation that was "planning" an attack, damn huge list. We have limited resources to fight terrorism and the threats should be ranked accordingly. We just cant go off and start invading every nation we think is "planning" an attack. How much of our man power, money, intel and other tools are being used in Iraq when they could be employed else where. Just out of curiosity I would like to see what percentage of our regular forces are in Iraq as well as special forces too. How many billions of dollars are going into Iraq when that money could be used to better train our military, intel community, etc to better deal with AQ and other splinter groups.

You mean your opinion is no. Don't confuse fact with your warped views. Not everyone's pumpkin lurks in the far left field. Warped? Just stating some simple truths. Did Saddam every meet with any AQ or OBL? Did Saddam or Iraq actively help AQ or OBL? You still didnt anwser my question. Why would Saddam help a man who wanted to fight him in 1991 and kill him? OBL even offered to form an anti-Saddam Hussein Arab coaltion in 1991. Or is that a fact you didnt know. Also in which is prob the most comprehensive book on OBL and AQ, Rohan Guneratna only mentions Saddam Hussein once and he even states AQ aproached Iraq, but Iraq didn't reply. Now in your part of the world that might be a link. If you want to talk about connections, look at Pakistan, Sudan, and Saudi Arabia.

The heart of this "link" is if Saddam could've or would've helped OBL and AQ attack the USA. Answer is easy, no. Why would Saddam help a man who wanted him dead and who was willing to fight him in Kuwait back in 1991?

if your not capable of figuring out one of the most universal GUI's on the planet (in nearly any language) perhaps you shouldnt be travelling in the first place? it would seem there is alot you should have learned at home first Ever tried using a Japanese ATM? Trust me ATMs worldwide are not universal. Hell when I was in Hungary each bank had a different setup and thank God that they had English on there. Even here they differ.

Fine, dont force people to learn the language, if that is going to be the case then lock them in their home and do not allow them to socialize or interact with the english speaking public. This will prevent them from getting jobs at fast food windows, screwing up my order and then acting as though I AM the idiot for not understanding what THEY are saying...its hard enough to understand somebody speaking english through those damn speakers, last thing i need when i am hankering for a wendys double is some non-english speaking idiot asking me to repeat my order 5 times.... Some people do learn English and still have an accent. Try learning a second or third language as an adult and speak it w/o an accent. It aint easy.

Good points Kallend. Also OBL offered the Saudis 5000+ of his AQ trained troops to fight of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1991. OBL also offered them plans to kill Saddam. Saudis turned him down and went with the USA. Hard to believe Saddam would team up with a man who wanted to kill him.

Hey is anyone watching Croc week these last few days? I just saw the episode where his friend got bit by a salt water croc and they showed some of the wounds. Man these guys are nuts. I think the one tomorrow night has the Croc hunter going after Tiger sharks near the reef.

Spanish and English are head to head as to which is the second most widely spoken language world wide. I work for an Intl finance firm, mainly deal with Europe, but many times I've been called into a confrence, asked to speak to a client or help out with a document since I know spanish and enough french. This also happened when I did an internship at a small business here in Cali. Knowing a second language does not only make a "well rounded" person but it's almost a necessity in this world. That is unless you want to spend the rest of your life state side and not see what's out in the world. I lived abroad for almost half of my life, very few times did Americans try to learn the local language and many of them lived in these countries for years. They just thought the locals would have to learn English. It's a two way street, you wanna live and work in a foreign country learn the language, as should foreigners who want to live and work here. I think the same applies to travellers, at least make an effort to learn the local language. I know a lot of you are or were in the military and stationed abroad. How many made the effort to learn the local language?

Hey I like it. Whenever I call 411, Credit Cards, etc and they put me on hold in English I'll press the 1 and bust out the Spanish. Get faster service. I'm thank full they have ATMs with option in different languages. Especially when traveling in Europe, Asia, etc. Main question in my book is why the hell dont we teach a foreign language to kids before highschool.

How true. The bowlingfortruth is pretty slanted, especially on Mossedaq. He makes Mossedaq look like a commie reformer, when he does not take into account the whole picture of what was going on in the Iran of the 1950s.

This year is the biggest crop in over 20 years. Most of its going to Europe and then making it's way here. FYI, about 30 years ago Herion was 5-8% pure and you could get some for about 30 bucks, now it's over 80% pure and under 10 bucks. If you get a chance HBO has a special on it, a few years old but still pretty current and scary. Black Tar Herrion I think it's called.

Does it count if it was my Mom? - topher ...you mean like "I brought you into this world, and I can take you out of it?" Why I've NEVER uttered something that horrible, when the remains of my $45 moisturizer was strewn across my master bathroom, and foot-printed into my bedroom carpet, then smeared into my pillow and all over a brand new treadmill...and the toilet water was sudsy with hair conditioner and body shampoo, and the sink was stopped up with Q-tips and over flowed with hot water that drained the hot water tank and then leaked down into our living room... ...uh, I mean, 'no'. DAMN, now I know what I put my poor mom through. Though "I brought you into this world and I can take you out" sounds more threatning in Spanish. I know I was in real trouble when she would bust out the native tongue, then I was like "oh shit. this is it, I'm a goner" But in all seriousness Law, take all the necessary precautions. This guy might be full of hot air, but better err on the side of caution.

Totally agree. INXS was a great band, I dont think any of those singers could touch Hutchence.

Saw it too and loved it. You know they're filming HP and the Goblet of Fire right now, due out next year. Also on the board is HP and order of the Phoenix some say maybe 2007 for that one. As far as I know only Lucious has signed up for it.

USA, UK and a few hundred other troops aint an international coaliton. More like a group that needs to settle an old score. Plus I like what Chirac said to Bush in France. He basically said the US and France have been and will always be friends, but a true friend stands up to you when you're about to make a mistake. Did you even know what Chirac and France did this last week to vets from WW2 and what he said to Bush?

I'm not sure if you're being sarcastic or not, but we did similar things to the Japanese during WWII. Shameful behavior on our part, but still, it's something we did. Ciels- Michele I agree very shameful and ugly part in our history. Fear does something to people though, perfect example is EO 9066. I should have clarified the difference between concentration and interment camps.

Yeah we sent the Japanese to camps, but did we gas em, did we seperate the woman children and men. Yes it is sad part on our history, but we sent the Japanese to interment camps, not concentration camps like Mauthausen. That is if you use Mauthausen and other as the definition of concentration camps. As I recal we did not have a Kristalnacht in US history, on a national scale that was "supported" by our Gov. Did a US president ever support a national day of boycotting any establisment because the owner were XYZ race or religion. Did a US president ever pass any laws similiar to the Nurember ones? Please enlighten me on my US history.

and this is why we need those laws: http://www.aaregistry.com/african_american_history/925/Black_man_dragged_to_death_in_Jasper_TX A message has to be sent out to people that do this type of crime, all hell is gonna come down on you. And what they did to this poor man is not the same as robbing a 7/11 and pulling the trigger and killing someone or getting into a bar brawl and beating the crap out of someone. It boils down to motive. Also before comparing any European nation to the USA read up on the history over there. When in our history did we ever have a Kristalnacht, or deport certain groups to concentration camps, write "Jude" on Jewish owned establishments, forced certain groups to wear pink triagles or other symbols on their lapels.

Hey Darci!! Yeah I agree, huge part is Ego and the refusal for some people to listen. I've also noticed that in this sport there are limits to what one can do with a given exp level. In my case at 50 odd jump wonder I will only jump with 2 others max, more than that I dont think I'm ready for. It's hard for people to realize their limitations and say "Ok that's over my head" or "maybe I shouldnt jump in these conditions" or "my canopy skills suck, I need to work on HPs instead of sit flying etc" In my view experiece, knowledge and wisdom are all related. Knowledge comes from exp (or learning from others' exp), and wisdom is applying that knowledge.

He was a good Pres, but not the greastest of the 20th century. FDR, Truman, Teddy. You're talking giants here. I was way too young too when he was Pres, but I will always remember his Challenger speech especially this part: "And I want to say something to the schoolchildren of America who were watching the live coverage of the shuttle's takeoff. I know it is hard to understand, but sometimes painful things like this happen. It's all part of the process of exploration and discovery. It's all part of taking a chance and expanding man's horizons. The future doesn't belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave. The Challenger crew was pulling us into the future, and we'll continue to follow them..." Yeah I know he had speech writers, but from what I understand the orginal speech was 20 pages long and he weeded it down to a few paragraphs.

Very true. On a lighter note my hist prof in Uni always said "If youre asked what happened in xyz century, a safe and accurate answer would be, England and France were at war." Also what many American forget is that France helped us greatly in the Revolutionary War. Yes they had vested interests, still pissed about the French Indian war. I still think w/o their supplies and open support after the battle of Saratoga the out come of that war couldv'e been different.

So then a crime is a crime regardless, then all crimes should be treated equal. Murder is murder period. Regardless of circumstances. Me getting into an accident and killing someone is completely different than me thinking about, planning and executing the same person. Person is still dead, so should the punishment be the same? Someone comes into your house at night to rob you, you shoot and kill him. Should you go to jail because you killed him? A robber doesnt care if youre white or black or asian. He just wants to mug the person. Now if you specifiaclly say "lets go find ourselves xyz race etc and beat the crap out of them" how can that be on par with simple altercation or assualt between two people.

BFD if Chirac's not going to be there. What I find more disturbing is not allowing either Clinton or Carter to say something. It would be a nice genuine gesture to have the current pres, and the remaining past ones say something about Reagan. Think about it for a second, to have your former adversary i.e., Carter say something at your funeral. Reagan had class and dignity. When the Iran hostages were released on his inauguration day Reagan sent Carter as his special envoy to great them. Reagan could've taken the credit, but he didn't. The man had class and dignity.

So youre telling me that if I get in a brawl with lets say a black person its simple assualt, me sitting with a bud and saying "I really wanna go out and pick up the nearest black person and beat the crap out of them" and then going out and doing it are the same. To me the latter is far more severe. Any reason as to why they should be viewed as the same crime?

Before attacking the French read up on your history. They've been fighting terrorism, and actually caught who they were after, long before we got involved in this game.