I was reading through this thread again and realized I didn't fully answer or reply to your statement.
Here's a better example of why I am skeptical: his i an excerpt from a report from the Center of Comparative Immigration Studies.
"There is no evidence linking immigrant (legal or illegal) to higher crime rates.... incarceration rates among Mexican immigrants are not notably different than similar age groups".
This comes from a scientific study done on immigration and crime and refutes one the many statistics provided concerning crime and illegal migration.. I'll send you the link if you like.
The point, as I mentioned earlier is that we need to be careful when we place our trust in biased organizations that proport to have "our" best interests in mind. The only thing those sites/rags are capable of doing is entertaining, skewing the facts and/or bringing out the worst in humanity. Just look at the rantings and ravings on this site for proof.
You make a good arguement and what you say makes sense. I have a different perspective than you on Osama but we pretty much agree on the need to take a good hard look at the way our policy is developed. Special interest groups and lobbyist are not necessarily the people we need to be listening to.
Hopefully we're not too deep but I fear this is going to get much worse and a lot more people will be dead before it subsides.
I think you have a good point but wouldn't it be nice to know exactly who we're dealing with. There are so many splinter groups, corrupt "governments" etc.. that there seems to be no one with which to negotiate.
Even if we succeed in establishing relationships history has shown that it consistantly blows up in our faces. We worked with Bin Laden to help them, We worked with Saddam to help him and we have been killing ourselves trying to broker a peace between Israel & Palistine. Each of these three examples has resulted in nothing more than us being looked at as controllers, aggressors and war mongers. I have to wonder where it will all stop but unfortunately I think I already know the answer to my own question.
I am sorry for your loss, truly sorry. I don't know what the circumstances were in your relationship but the military is normally very good about telling family members the circumstances. If you were not a relative, spouse or someone mentioned in a will the information released would be a lot different to protect privacy. Again, I don't know what your personal relationship was but I'm sorry it happened regardless.
I'm honestly confused as to why the tape was relevant. The family did know about the circumstance surrounding the death of their son. The cause of his death was known, the people involved immediately disclosed the information and it was all over the news shortly after it happened. Perhaps the US should have allowed it to be shown at their request but I'm sure they had what they believed to be a good reason for not releasing it.
Hopefully it's all just saber rattling but given their coorporate sponsorship and ties with terrorist organizations it would not surprise me if something else did happen. This is why terrorism works. They will attack some neutral country where there is a US presence and kill a bunch of people which will in turn cause that government and their people to see the US as the bad guys.
Iran is in a position to really become a leader in that region but they appear to be letting their hate of Americans, Israelis and Muslim cousins blind them. May not happen today or tomorrow but they continue, they are going to end up getting a lot of innocent people killed in the name of religeon.
I can't see how this tape being viewed by the family does anyone, any good nor do I believe the USG was trying to cover anything up. According to the reports I saw on CNNI, the tape in question was handed over to the British government with the understanding that it not be released further. Now, how does this equate to cover up? The USG never denied their involvement in the death of this young soldier. If they had been hiding it or denying involvement, how would this coroner have known about the tape?
Since they have been showing this tape on the news it should be clear that nothing has changed. The solder is still dead and the US is still responsible. So what really was the point of parading this young mans death over the airways? The only thing we have accomplished is dragging these pilots through the mud and the muck, and allowing these parent to see the horrible death their son was subject to. The simple fact is there were mistakes made and it cost a life. I think those involved have and will continue to suffer enough all by themselves without the press hounding them for the rest of their lives.
On second thought maybe there was one tiny bit of value gained by that video being released. I served to rufute your earlier statement about the "evil regime" and its motives to cover things up.
Seems to me it's going to have to get worse before it gets better.
Terrorism is a weapon of the weak used to influence governments to change policy/action to suit their needs. The more governments fold under these pressures the more we reinforce their behavior. We see this everyday with our children. They do whatever works until they determine that their behavior no longer works. This is basic human behavior/Pavlov's Dog stuff to me.
We can try to placate them by making policy changes, compensations, etc.. but eventually it will come to a point where we can no longer do that. We're all in for a hell of a mess if we continue to let this fester.
Wow! That seems pretty bad. Do you believe it to be accurate or could the facts and figures be skewed to fit the agenda. Sorry, but I'm often skeptical of sources and would like to look at the Author. Do you have a name or was it authored by the California Coalition for Immigration?
There is no doubt however that this is a problem. I think we should send em back to where they came from especially when they are involved in criminal activities in addition to their illegal immigrant status. Let's treat them with dignity but let's send them home. There's a process for migration and everyone needs to follow the rules or at least make an honest effort to wade their way through the process.
I say do it and let's make some tax revenue. Perhaps it wouldn't be such a bad idea with some of the other drugs as well. We've already lost the so called war on drugs and continually dumping billions annually into a failed strategy which stops maybe 10% of the drug trade is crazy.
However, marijuana smokers will soon join the cigarette smokers in that they will not be allowed to smoke in public places, bars (in some cities) etc...
Leatherman, I understand where you're coming from. Some of the sites you mention can be really convincing. I for one gave this a real close look when the film Loose Change along with some of the others came out. It was a nice presentation but the facts were wrong which is why there are several corrected versions of the same thing. I would have thought this would have gone by the way side once they released the film footage from that gas station surveilance camera near the pentagon. It clearly showed an aircraft not a missile hit the pentagon. I also would have thought it would have gone away once popular mechanics shot the theory of explosives in the WTC buildings. Everytime something or someone refutes the findings of these theorists another version comes out.
I would think that a more viable conspiracy would have been that the people in charge of security in the US knew of the plot and let it happen in order to get the people of the US pissed off just like they theorize about Roosevelt knowing about Pearl Harbor well before it actually happened. This would be much easier to comprehend or believe. Of course I don't believe that either but I would like of cut of the royalties if anyone starts promoting my joke as a valid idea.
In all, seriousness, please don't take my ramblings as anything personal. As wrong as I believe you may be, you are at least engaged in what's happening in the world which is more than I can say for most.
Real people died in those attacks and I think we soil their memory blaming the innocent for the sake of making a dollar. Those people that create these lies should be ashamed of themselves for making a dishonest living off the dead.
Thanks... Sometimes I think I should stay away from the political talk but I think there has to be a voice from the other side if for no other reason to make people think.
No, the point I made is the US, with all its abilities, resources, money, etc.. is not capable of pulling off something like this. Even if people could do it they would never be able to keep their mouths shut. Just give that some thought. The pentagon, white house and congress could keep a plumber busy forever trying to repair the leaks coming out of those places.
You make the point people profitted from the attack and the war(s) that followed. Perhaps so but isn't that the same thing these conspiracy authors are doing? They make money everytime you click on their web page.
Makes for great entertainment but when we start taking the word of people like this guy David and some of the other snake oil salesmen running these sites then we are in trouble. I would laugh at it if it were not such a negative reflection of the gullibility of some of its subscribers. People say we should watch our politicians yet we turn a blind eye to this kind of thing. Makes me wonder where our society is really heading.
There really were no planes? They were holograms made to look like planes?
Please tell me this post was purely for entertainment value. If it isn’t then the 911 conspiracy theorists have not only sunk to a new low but have brought into question the intelligence of those believing this junk. Can we really believe the government, CIA, FBI, Military could or would conduct this type of operation against their fellow citizens? And, even if they did would you expect this stuff to stay a secret for as long as it has. It’s well known the legitimate press lives and breathes for this type of story. Isn’t it odd that not one legitimate journalists has joined in on this and other great conspiracy theories?
I think some are just so pissed off at or scared of the government and president that they have let their hate and distrust blind them from real logic. These so called experts in the mean time are raking in millions from their web sites and will happily continue to feed those that want to consume their rhetoric
You're absolutely right and I'm sorry to hear about that. A good clean debate is sometimes fun but they can get rather nasty at times. Do you know the reason for the latest banning(s)?
I wouldn't say that. It's almost unchartered territory but I think we would adjust to a woman president and/or black president. Just look how well Secretary Rice has done in the middle East. People may not agree with her political stance but she gets things done and people treat her with the respect of the office she holds.
Unfortunately, for Hillary there are just too many questions and nasty little jokes about her integrity both personally and professionally. I can already see the mud slinging on the political talk shows and the campaign trail. The new, personable Hillary wont fool too many and a nomination from the Dems would more than likely result in defeat.
On the other hand, I believe Barack Obama is a damn good prospect for the Dems. He's clean and doesn't have that cloud of BS over his head. He would be my bet for 2008 unless he does something really stupid (Like Kerry).
Once I got used to driving on the opposite side of the road it wasn't so bad. Unfortunately, Now, when I go on vacation I find myself getting into the passenger side.
You're right about the off-road vehicle. I bought a Pajero Jr when I got here and very glad I did. The road conditions in some areas as well as the flooding on the route I take to and from work make having it worth the extra money.
Hey Wed, I nominate you for Pres but only if you take Smoky as your VP. ViceVersa would be fine as well. You guys are already running things pretty well so we may as well make it official.
No cheating while married or in any other serious relationship but I've been on the receiving end and wouldn't want to treat someone I cared about in that fashion.
I believe people aren't thinking about their partners when they do such things because it's really rare to find someone who is evil enough to intentionaly put that kind of hurt on another.
Jerry53531 Forum Posts (410)
RE: Space diapers
Sometimes the jokes are too easy and they just work... Glad you guys enjoyed it...