Frenchy68

5 losses in the last 6 meetings with Argentina. WTF!!! 2 more games to keep the hope up though...

I reckon Krisanne's reply was tongue-in-cheek... "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

I can;t speak for him, but I reckon Mike is American, working in Kosovo. Not quite sure under which capacity, but I reckon it somewhat involves working with the US (or UN) troops there. And my location says China, my screen name says Frenchy, and I have a US passport. Hard to process, isn't it? "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

My guess: 2 steps forward, one step back for the next few years. We should never underestimate the importance of not losing face in Asian culture, and Pyong Yang will have to "bark" once in a while to give the impression it is in control. But hey, scoreboard baby. I'll take it... "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

As much as I may dislike his stance on some of issues dear to me, the fact he was pushed to resign is BS. Political PC in its lowest form. It reinforces my belief that in some societies, the democratic process is a luxury toy for spoiled grown up kids. He resigned because some politician lacking balls felt his sheeps will not cast ballots in his favor because of some non-issue on TV... "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

That's why I give him credits for doing what he is doing. Dying is the easy part, as you're not the one left behind dealing with the bullshit. I'd call most skydivers who claim they know the risks they are taking liars. Or naive at best. I don't hear too many people saying "hey, if I slam myself into the ground, end up in a wheelchair eating out of tubes and pissing into a bag for the rest of my life, that's cool! My friends and family won't mind, they'll think it was cool I was a skydiver". People do things for personal reasons. Whether skydiving or deciding to quit skydiving, it's a personal choice. Just live with it... "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

Lately, I tend to spend some time next to a pregnant woman... "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

Much like heroin, most people never quite recover from cigarette addiction. Some people may be clean for years, decades, sometimes forever, but the craving can last a long time, and more importantly, relapses are frequent. 9 weeks and counting, but I had "extra" motivation to help... "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

That's definitely one way to get to Oz. Another way would be to have your company send you there on a sweet expat package. You should try this, as it usually comes with a plane ticket, which may not have the same advantages as swimming when it comes to developing physical fitness, but does have a certain bourgeois je ne sais quoi nonetheless... "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

That depends, What country you looking at going to Ready for a good old Potty Mouthed Midget Ass Whoopin', Squeak? "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

Other than your obvious attempt at trolling with such statement, how did the poster state his opposition to freedom? And in the same vein, should he "trollingly" claim that your post acclaims the death of people who had the privilege not to be killed by Allied troops or Iraqis? I call troll! "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

If you can't run, I heard you should make yourself as big as possible and make lots of noise. It may scare it away... "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

Actually directed by Luis Buñuel I believe "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

Now the question is: what is "the job"? Saddam is history. WMDs are MIA. Nation building seems a totally different thing than what the original "job" was. And to compare with WWII: the liberated territories (France, Benelux, Scandinavia, Italy, etc...) were not marred by sectarian hatred and violence, which made for easier and clearer goals. "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

In that same vein, should AQ attack, say, the US Capitol. Would you turn into GWB and tell him to get out of Iraq, as you fear AQ will keep destroying US sites? Doubtful. You will more likely rally behind the leader, and call for payback. Why non-US citizens wouldn't do the same? Muslim will rally behind whomever they see as standing up to the people destroying their sites. And such entity is not our friend... "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

Not at all what I am saying. I am saying that AQ IS all about Islam. And AQ WANTS this conflict to be Islam vs the rest of the world. However, a huge percentage of Muslims are NOT following in AQ's footstep. If WE make it about Islam, we are not only doing exactly what AQ wants us to do, we are also forcing the silent Muslims to take a stand AGAINST US (based on bombing Holy Muslim Shrines, that is). Clearer? "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

I am aware of this. And I am also aware of that. But bombing Islamic shrines would certainly piss off AQ (I doubt it would piss them off to submission though, but hey, who knows...). In the process, it would really hurt tens, if not hundred, of millions of Muslims who have, so far, not gotten involved. That is the situation I would try to avoid. Unless you are implying, which I doubt you are, that every muslim by definition is a supporter of AQ (in which case, are the allied forces in Iraq helping AQ to build a strong a stable nation???). "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

Of course you can. Fight an organization (AQ and its followers), not a religion. That way, you narrow it down to to few tens of thousands, instead of, let's say, close to 20% of the world population. Indeed, but never a religion. A despot is an easy target. Put a name on a face, a face on a body, a body into a uniform, and an army around the uniform. Easy to identify, easy to target, easy to take down. Much harder fighting a "religion". Could you describe what a religion looks like? And if bombing Mecca would bring the Muslims into submission, would the destruction of an American symbol bring the American people into submission? I doubt it. in both cases, it pissed people off, and ensures there are more people wishing the destruction of the enemy. Making your enemy stronger has rarely been a winning strategy, and I doubt it would work in this situation. "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

No, the fact you've jumped with me is what makes you "cool". Now you're telling us! I've been cool all this time and didn't even know it... "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

The problem with going after Muslim holy sites is that you will force the huge quiet minority of Muslims who may not have taken sides to do so. And they will side with AQ. Blaming the silent majority is pretty pointless. The US didn't do squat against Hitler until December 1941. However, an event occurred which forced the US to make a stand. Destroying Muslim Holy sites would accomplish nothing in terms of "scaring" them, but would "force" the worldwide Muslim community to declare the US its enemy. As history should have taught us since the Vietnam war, the US can win pretty much any military battle, but can lose wars politically. We can debate how well things are going in Iraq against few tens of thousands of insurgents. However, I doubt it would be a close call should the war be fought against hundreds of millions. As much as it sometimes hurt the ego of some dick whipping politicians in Washington, there are wars which can not be won, and therefore should not be fought. Bombing Muslim sites puts the war at the religious level, which is EXACTLY what AQ wants us to do. I am sure we can try hard and start thinking with our brains instead of our muscles, and thus try and outsmart them... Edited to add: I am certainly NOT suggesting letting AQ get away with its action. I am merely hoping we will fight them smartly, understanding our and their strength and weaknesses, and acting accordingly. "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

You've already lost the war before you even starting fighting it... "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

You make it sound like that would be a bad thing. "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

That is also a very delicate and somewhat subjective issue. I live in a country where some people make $6/day working in a factory assembling motherboards. These same people made $3/day in their village raising cattle. Some will criticize the factory owner for using "slave labor". Shutting down the factory would send the workers back home to a $3/day life. Forcing the factory to pay $6/hour would probably take it out of the market by making its products too expensive to produce, thus shutting it down and sending its employees back home to a $3/day life. If by slave labor one means having workers chained to a table and working for free, I say shut it down. But if by slave labor one means people working under conditions that we, Westerners, would not work under, then I think we need to take a good look at ourselves, go live for a year or two in a slum in Calcutta or Manilla, and stop sipping bourbon while giving lessons to people and cultures of which we have little or no understanding. "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

Awesome! Did you pull a canonball in the pool? "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."