Respect : Something the USA does NOT have

[ledhed]

I wish we would get the Australian Fords . Maybe then Fords stock would be better than junk. We get Volvos.We get SUV's that cost 80.00 to fill up.
@ pms relax dude its friday..I get to make a pointless post or two on fridays .
If we had better cars we might not be so grumpy.

 

[Solid Fro]

I don't know about Canada, but in the U.S., there's a chance that your McDonald employee might not be too bright.

P.S. Any Burger joint employee reading this, please don't spit in my burger!

I'll make sure to hang a Post-It to remind me the next time you stop by.

 

[James2097]

Yeah did you get that from bowling from columbine? 👍

Yes I did. I figure if we can trust George to tell us where he thinks WOMDs are, then I can trust Michael Moore about some basic statistics, right?

sorry I was serious though... this headache is killing me. I dont' know why I get them after hockey now, never did before.

Your excused, got a note from ya mum? My advice - drink a gallon of water and take a Panadol if its real bad.

Ps... No I'm not canadian but I sure as hell wouldn't mind living there and playing hockey during summer! :tup:

Cool man Sounds like a plan. The only problem is you won't want to move back to the states after summer! Sure it gets cold in winter, but thats an excuse to stay inside and get busy with some nice girls!

 

[Solid Fro]

Yes I did. I figure if we can trust George to tell us where he thinks WOMDs are, then I can trust Michael Moore about some basic statistics, right?

I guess we can trust the UN as well.

Same old story, rinse and repeat.

 

[a6m5]

I'll make sure to hang a Post-It to remind me the next time you stop by.

I said "chance". A chance he/she might be not too bright.

Your excused, got a note from ya mum? My advice - drink a gallon of water and take a Panadol if its real bad.

VipFREAK:
When I was in my mid 20's, I started to get headaches after playing basketball during summer. Today, I still get it after my weekly B-Ball sometimes. I just try to hydrate myself before playing, and again before hitting the shower. If I still get a headache, I take Excedrine - Extra Strength. Good stuff.👍

 

[James2097]

I guess we can trust the UN as well.

Same old story, rinse and repeat.

Its all okay, Kofi has that missing money in his sock. He'll give it back, honest...

Actually I wouldn't be surprised if the US government staged the whole UN corruption thing, blackmailed Kofi Anan (whose rep was second to none prior to this), to discredit the UN so America can just do what it feels like without having to talk to the UN. I think George would love the UN to be disbanded and fall apart, lose relevance. He's "the man" and he won't have these nancy-pansy countries like France telling him he can't smash stuff.

 

[VIPFREAK]

Yes I did. I figure if we can trust George to tell us where he thinks WOMDs are, then I can trust Michael Moore about some basic statistics, right?

I've been really freaked out by "micheal moore" type of stuff because he's right I'm panicing, nervous and it does create a fear of EVERYTHING.

Your excused, got a note from ya mum? My advice - drink a gallon of water and take a Panadol if its real bad.

Well I don't take anything unless I absolutely have too. The water sounds good though!

Cool man Sounds like a plan. The only problem is you won't want to move back to the states after summer! Sure it gets cold in winter, but thats an excuse to stay inside and get busy with some nice girls!

**** I LOVE cold weather, I use to go to Tahoe every year! I know Canada is going to be colder is still all good. :tup:

 

[VIPFREAK]

I said "chance". A chance he/she might be not too bright.

👍 Good thing I don't eat fast food.

VipFREAK:
When I was in my mid 20's, I started to get headaches after playing basketball during summer. Today, I still get it after my weekly B-Ball sometimes. I just try to hydrate myself before playing, and again before hitting the shower. If I still get a headache, I take Excedrine - Extra Strength. Good stuff.👍

Yeah I have a feeling it also has to do with sleep and the fact I haven't been in shape for awhile. But thanks for the tip. :tup:

 

[Solid Fro]

I said "chance". A chance he/she might be not too bright.

Under estimated, didn't you?

Its all okay, Kofi has that missing money in his sock. He'll give it back, honest...

Actually I wouldn't be surprised if the US government staged the whole UN corruption thing, blackmailed Kofi Anan (whose rep was second to none prior to this), to discredit the UN so America can just do what it feels like without having to talk to the UN. I think George would love the UN to be disbanded and fall apart, lose relevance. He's "the man" and he won't have these nancy-pansy countries like France telling him he can't smash stuff.

Wow, I didn't know anyone could get more looney than Wellyrn.

 

[James2097]

Wow, I didn't know anyone could get more looney than Wellyrn.

Who's Wellyrn? I wouldn't want my wacko conspiracy theories credited to someone else...
But yeah I don't think it was a set up, but George wouldn't be too concerned with the poor rep of the UN at the moment, for obvious reasons. Imagine if America didn't have to 'prove' their intelligence to anyone?! They could go take out Iran straight away. Carpet bomb them and build a terrorist themed amusement park there, where little terrorist dudes pop up from the shooting gallery, that shout Derka! Derka! Gihad Gihad!, and every hour or so a dodgem car comically explodes! 👍

Someone please make me stop before I get too silly!

 

[Solid Fro]

But yeah I don't think it was a set up, but George wouldn't be too concerned with the poor rep of the UN at the moment, for obvious reasons.

Maybe George is concerned about where our money went during the Oil for Food scandal. Maybe he is worried about how UN countries had oil and weapon deals with Saddam.

Someone please make me stop before I get too silly!

No, I'll let you keep digging your hole.

 

[blargonator]

James: I agree with most of your takes. However, racism is not as bad as you think. It's seen as a big taboo in the States. Admittedly, racism toward the illegal immigrants(Mexicans) are still around, but not too bad. It's probably not an good enough excuse, but way I see it, by coming into the U.S. illegally, they are asking for it(I'm not an racist).

Many of the illegal immigrants are criminals. Where I live, many sex related crimes(kidnapping, rapes) are by the illegal immigrants. What's really frustrating is after Mexican nationals are arrested, they get sent back to Mexico. Guess what, they just illegally cross the border again into the States. Los Angeles Police Dept. reports that 90% of the outstanding arrest warrants are for illegal immigrant criminals. Illegal immigrants really are serious problem here.

that is just foolish, illegal immigrants are doing the jobs "we" are too lazy and proud to do. yes, they do waste quite a bit of money going to hospitals, but so do the homeless, where do we send them? back on the streets to allow them to go into a downward spiral. most people don't know that going to a emergency room costs thousands of dollars (by the day) and the homeless and immigrants go there because they are allowed to reach the point where they have to. what is better? spending 50 dollars on medicine? or spending thousands on expensive testing, medicine, and doctors? free clinics are something that should be built in many cities.
no one ever deserves to be treated in a racist manner, ever, period.

Vietnam, Japan, Guatemala, Iran, Iraq, Cuba, Russsia, the French pretty much over everything, Panama, Colombia, Nicaragua, Somalia, Sri Lanka— just to name the ones off the top of my head.

i can't wait till Castro is dead anyways, yeah the U.S. made quite a mess in nicaragua too. they should have done more. thanks to the poor quality help many people lost everything, my mother's entire family had to leave everything, the buisness they had created, their home, everything. my Grandfather is from Cuba and he was actually room mates with casto, he said he was insane. they all ended up coming here for political asylum, now all are U.S. Citizens except my mother, she is not willing to give up her past <8- )

Sorry for the long post, i am in a typing mood
James, i totally agree with you, we really need to relax here in the U.S.

 

[PS]

Heh, Canadians see Castro slightly different (and we don't make his cigars illegal—some stupid/silly American grudge thing) over here. Castro was not only friends with Pierre Trudeau, but he was also at his funeral!

But while I don't condone his actions, you gotta respect the guy. He's been in power for a helluva long time and still hasn't lost his sense of humour.

And what was that bit about hockey in Canada in the summer?

 

[James2097]

that is just foolish, illegal immigrants are doing the jobs "we" are too lazy and proud to do. yes, they do waste quite a bit of money going to hospitals, but so do the homeless, where do we send them? back on the streets to allow them to go into a downward spiral. most people don't know that going to a emergency room costs thousands of dollars (by the day) and the homeless and immigrants go there because they are allowed to reach the point where they have to. what is better? spending 50 dollars on medicine? or spending thousands on expensive testing, medicine, and doctors? free clinics are something that should be built in many cities.
no one ever deserves to be treated in a racist manner, ever, period.

The American medical system is SCREWED. Healthcare should simply be a bonus for living in a civil and moral society, in the richest country ever to have existed in history. Thats not too nuts is it? I mean we've got Medicare here in Australia which is pretty much "health insurance for everyone" we pay a bit of tax and never have to worry about $$$ if we need an expensive operation/hospital stay etc. We also have kick arse hospitals. I have a really serious heart condition (had 3 open heart surgery operations) and I haven't had to pay any more than my little share of tax. Its awesome. Same with university, the government pays for us to go if we get good enough marks and we pay back some of the cost when we're working later on. (When we start earning over $21,000 per year). I swear we have a much more civilised system of EVERYTHING here in Aus, the British style of parliament has really worked well. Elections are about issues, not personality, or who won purple hearts in Vietnam LOL!

my Grandfather is from Cuba and he was actually room mates with casto, he said he was insane.

Sounds like my kinda guy! Can I have his phone number?!
P.S. America, your being a bully, let Cuba have some new cars for ****sake! Havana kicks arse, they have cool music. The nice, fun, but poor people don't deserve such a harsh trade sanction still in place... America isn't one to forgive lightly eh? Cuba poses zero threat to anything these days! No Russian missile silos etc! LOL!

Maybe George is concerned about where our money went during the Oil for Food scandal. Maybe he is worried about how UN countries had oil and weapon deals with Saddam.

I have already covered this. Kofi has the money in his sock. Got it?
Now, Saddam was initially America's puppet to get good oil prices and a consistent deal... Saddam got the taste of evil dictatorship and he needed to be replaced. That process took ENTIRELY too long. Bush Senior should've finished the job. A lot of Iraqis would still be alive if it had gotten sorted earlier... Ho hum.
Of course Bush was worried about how UN countries had oil and weapon deals with Saddam. Thats exactly why Bush would like to eradicate or at least prove the UN irrelevant to what his agenda is. Bush was obviously pissed at the UN when all he wanted to do after 9/11 was to drop some nice daisy cutters on Saddam's palace, cause he couldn't find Bin Laden. Second best is good enough. If you actually believe for a second that at ANY stage, Iraq posed a military threat to the USA, you've got to be insane, or the hardest of the hardcore unquestioning republican. The whole WOMD thing has been proven by now to be a joke. Yes I condone Saddam getting the arse, but not under any false premise of WOMD or a direct link to 9/11, which is just nuts. Bottom line: He was a really bad dictator who committed some seriously bad war crimes. Surely thats enough reason to screw him over, along with the oil? I just don't like the (proven to be rubbish) premise Bush was pushing. "He may be capable of launching a nuclear missile in as little as half an hour from his order!" said Bush, in a bit of a propaganda frenzy. That was, and is, total crap. Austalia just went along with it because we generally thought Saddam getting the boot was still a good idea, and we needed to insure strong military ties with the USA, which we need if anyone ever threatens Australia. We'd be screwed if the USA didn't help us out.

Btw, I'm not crazy, its just easier to cut through all the fear mongering, crazy American news reports and get to something more closely resembling the truth, if your not in America amongst the media hoo-haa and patriotism.

 

[a6m5]

that is just foolish, illegal immigrants are doing the jobs "we" are too lazy and proud to do.

I don't know about that. You are saying, it's ok to cross the border illegally, if they are going to take jobs that nobody wants? How is this ok? You do realize that by not protecting the borders, you are opening the doors for smugglers and terrorists? If it's ok for the Mexican people to ignore the procedure and just walk right into the U.S., how is it fair for the immigrants from other countries. Rules somehow doesn't apply to Mexican immigrants?

yes, they do waste quite a bit of money going to hospitals, but so do the homeless, where do we send them? back on the streets to allow them to go into a downward spiral. most people don't know that going to a emergency room costs thousands of dollars (by the day) and the homeless and immigrants go there because they are allowed to reach the point where they have to. what is better? spending 50 dollars on medicine? or spending thousands on expensive testing, medicine, and doctors? free clinics are something that should be built in many cities.
no one ever deserves to be treated in a racist manner, ever, period.

I never said they should be treated in a racist manner, I said that they are "asking for it". I'm an minority myself, why would I support prejudice in America? On medical care, you are missing the point. If you are here illegally, you are not supposed to be here. If you are escaping religious/political prosecution, it makes total sense for you to come to the U.S.(like the people of Cuba). Illegal immigrants from Mexico is not running from those types of circumstances. And again, many are criminals(did you read my post about the LAPD?).

P.S. It's perfectly fine, if you don't agree with me, but please don't call me foolish.

 

[PS]

Yes, especially since the LAPD is so trustworthy and reliable. Definately the LAPD alright.

 

[a6m5]

Yes, especially since the LAPD is so trustworthy and reliable. Definately the LAPD alright.

Oh, stop it. I'm sure the figures are close. Even if it's off by 50% or something, it's still a lot.

Edit: Come to think of it, it was from a rightwing media radio show, so ............... it could be off by 50% or so(it's still a lot).

 

[James2097]

...from a rightwing media radio show, so ............... it could be off by 50% or so(it's still a lot).

The Rush Limbaugh programme by any chance? This guy is insane. He should be the definition of 'capitalism' in the dictionary.

 

[a6m5]

The Rush Limbaugh programme by any chance? This guy is insane. He should be the definition of 'capitalism' in the dictionary.

No, it was a local radio guy, Lars Larson. He is "sane", but he is starting to go national and is slowly starting to turn into Rush, I think.

 

[blargonator]

P.S. It's perfectly fine, if you don't agree with me, but please don't call me foolish.

sorry, i guess i just went a little over-board. i am not saying it is ok to cross the border illegally, but we should allow more people to obtain work visas.

james~ my grandfather can speak very little english, im guessing maybe 20 words <8- P

P.S. America, your being a bully, let Cuba have some new cars for ****sake!

yeah, but those cars they have there are sooo cool i wish i could own something like that. hehe, someday i want to own a DeSoto, but nothing newer than 1955

 

[Solid Fro]

Now, Saddam was initially America's puppet to get good oil prices and a consistent deal... Saddam got the taste of evil dictatorship and he needed to be replaced.

Really? Got any facts to back up your claims?

If you actually believe for a second that at ANY stage, Iraq posed a military threat to the USA, you've got to be insane, or the hardest of the hardcore unquestioning republican. The whole WOMD thing has been proven by now to be a joke.

Maybe you should go back and read UN Resolution 1441.

 

[James2097]

Really? Got any facts to back up your claims?

History lesson 101. Watered down for a misguided American:
If you aren't old enough to know your history, then I mean no offense. If not, you're really misguided. Saddam was once in close alliance with the US, before things turned sour (Saddam got too big for his boots). This is plain jane historical facts, nothing even worth debating. You are just very selective with what you WANT to remember happened, or the American media just isn't very good at the truth. For obvious reasons, this commonly known fact was swooshed under the carpet big-time by the republicans, coming up to the Iraq campaign. It simplified the bad-boy image of Saddam, which is what the American people needed to support the campaign more readily. Its not up to me to prove this, its just part of what happens when nations change over time, and the way the media works. Saddam wasn't always unwelcome in the White House...
You've a lot to learn, me laddy. Go do some research, if you don't agree after that then you've got no hope.

Maybe you should go back and read UN Resolution 1441.

You don't even know what this does/n't prove right? It isn't valid regarding my original point in ANY way! The paper was drafted almost entirely on the now 'proven to be a bit too "creative"' intelligence of the USA. Its dated Nov 2002 and was thought to be correct at the time. If you assumed the 'intelligence' was correct, of course it put forward a credible case for action, but no one knew just how contrived the 'evidence' has proven to be.
It doesn't change the obvious facts that Iraq didn't actually pose a REAL military threat to America, and the danger of any supposed WOMD programmes were far from being an actuality. Tony Blair apologised sincerely about the whole intelligence and WODM thing being speculative rubbish (very sheepishly I might add), Bush just lacks the courage to do so, taking into account the pandora's box he'd open in the media etc.

Its not up to me to prove I'm right, as its in fact you with the defiantly illogical and limited understanding. They are just facts, understood EVERWHERE but a republican party convention. Obviously, you guys don't like to be reminded of the past 'closeness' with Saddam, or the now debunked intelligence of the US governement.
If clear, neutral logic, coupled with intelligent reasoning gained from a position of well informed neutrality (Australia), is 'crazy', then your whole perception of reality is so selective its laughable.

 

[ledhed]

+

History lesson 101. Watered down for a misguided American:
If you aren't old enough to know your history, then I mean no offense. If not, you're really misguided. Saddam was once in close alliance with the US, before things turned sour (Saddam got too big for his boots). This is plain jane historical facts, nothing even worth debating. You are just very selective with what you WANT to remember happened, or the American media just isn't very good at the truth. For obvious reasons, this commonly known fact was swooshed under the carpet big-time by the republicans, coming up to the Iraq campaign. It simplified the bad-boy image of Saddam, which is what the American people needed to support the campaign more readily. Its not up to me to prove this, its just part of what happens when nations change over time, and the way the media works. Saddam wasn't always unwelcome in the White House...
You've a lot to learn, me laddy. Go do some research, if you don't agree after that then you've got no hope

Get a clue 101...
Saddam was used as a tool of US policy to be a counter to the influence of the Iranians . He was never an ally . The US did what it could to keep the fool from being destroyed by Khomeni after he invaded Iran. It was felt that the country that kidnaped and held the Americans hostage for a year was not a good choice to have in controll of that part of the middle east. When Saddam in all his wisdom decided to just invade Kuwaitt instead of paying back his war debt to them , he was stopped . Just like France , Brotain and Israel were stopped when they attempted to take the Suez cannal away from Egypt.
You really should learn your facts before you attempt your propaganda raids. Or could it be that you are just not interested in anything that wont meet your preconcieved notions of the US ?

 

[James2097]

+
Get a clue 101...
Saddam was used as a tool of US policy to be a counter to the influence of the Iranians . He was never an ally . The US did what it could to keep the fool from being destroyed by Khomeni after he invaded Iran. It was felt that the country that kidnaped and held the Americans hostage for a year was not a good choice to have in controll of that part of the middle east. When Saddam in all his wisdom decided to just invade Kuwaitt instead of paying back his war debt to them , he was stopped . Just like France , Brotain and Israel were stopped when they attempted to take the Suez cannal away from Egypt.
You really should learn your facts before you attempt your propaganda raids. Or could it be that you are just not interested in anything that wont meet your preconcieved notions of the US ?

I assumed we all knew this. Hence my really simple way of putting it.
You took me the wrong way, and obviously my post didn't infer quite as clearly what I was trying to say. "Alliance" was probably not the most accurate word to use. However, I never said America was best chums with Saddam, but tried to infer that America used him for strategic gain, turning a blind eye to Saddam's agenda early on. There was a dialougue between him and America. My point is that in Saddam's rise to power, to say that the US can deny even a small part of responsibility is nuts.


Its so funny when people assume I'm anti-US! Thats hilarious.
Here's a help. Me having one or two beefs with specific problems in America -OH MY GOD!- doesn't necessarily reflect ANYTHING about my overall views on the country. Thats just you enjoying putting someone down you don't know.
Hey I know I'm guilty of this from time to time, but I admit my faults. I get annoyed and call people names when they don't deserve it. Americans aren't good at apologies. Hence why they are such bad sports, and sore losers. They cannot apologise in my experience.

Realise that someone is gonna stir the pot to provoke discussion. That sentence just there should inform your replies more than anything else I've said... if you're intelligent at all you'll realise my real position is... I'm not going to tell you, you can work it out.

I'm gonna laugh so hard if I get another really earnest humourless reply.

 

[a6m5]

sorry, i guess i just went a little over-board. i am not saying it is ok to cross the border illegally, but we should allow more people to obtain work visas.

No sweat. I think the work visas would be an excellent idea. 👍

Maybe you should go back and read UN Resolution 1441.

I still have problem with this argument. Yes, Hussein violated obligations that was set after the gulf war. But look at that name of this "resolution" again. If the United States was going to invade Iraq, based on U.N. anything, they should have worked closely with the U.N. before start blowing things up in Iraq, IMO. Going in Iraq with so few allies, really hurt the U.S. Our troops are tired, military is spread thin. Financial part hurts us, also. It's very expensive(can you imagine spending all those billions of $$$ in economy, social reforms and schools, instead?). To those of you, who might say that U.N. are corrupt and can't be trusted because of the recent scandals; then why are the U.S. referring to the "U.N." Resolution?

Having said all that, I think the U.S. had every right to take Sadam Hussein out. Hussein put himself and his country into that position by playing silly games with the WMD inspectors. I was 100% sure that there were no WMD threat in Iraq, and even if they did possess WMDs, that they were not capable enough to threaten the U.S.(maybe Israel, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, but not U.S.) I even thought that Bush Administration might try to plant one there. But all that had absolutely nothing to do with Iraq/Hussein's obligation to allow the IAEA(I think?) inspectors to do their work, it's still Hussein's fault for causing the war. President Clinton didn't help either. By not spanking Saddam, he let Saddam think it's ok to screw around. Just my opinion.

 

[Solid Fro]

No sweat. I think the work visas would be an excellent idea. 👍
I still have problem with this argument. Yes, Hussein violated obligations that was set after the gulf war. But look at that name of this "resolution" again. If the United States was going to invade Iraq, based on U.N. anything, they should have worked closely with the U.N. before start blowing things up in Iraq, IMO.

Ten years and 17 resolutions are not enough? Besides, countries like France, Germany, and China were not going to do anything, because... they never do. I think it's amazing that the US got the countries that it did.

Going in Iraq with so few allies, really hurt the U.S. Our troops are tired, military is spread thin.

The military, in general is not spread thin, only the Army and Marines are the ones spread thin. I don't know the exact number, but I recall that it was somewhere around 80%. To cover a county the size of California is quite a challenge.

Financial part hurts us, also. It's very expensive(can you imagine spending all those billions of $$$ in economy, social reforms and schools, instead?).

No, I can't. The money would have been wasted. Just take California for example, I see it every day in college.

To those of you, who might say that U.N. are corrupt and can't be trusted because of the recent scandals; then why are the U.S. referring to the "U.N." Resolution?

It's not the UN itself, but the countries who participate in it.

But all that had absolutely nothing to do with Iraq/Hussein's obligation to allow the IAEA(I think?) inspectors to do their work,

No, the IAEA is the International Atomic Energy Agency. They go around keeping countries like Iran in-check with it's nuclear standards (but they don't do a good job...). It was the UN itself that had the weapon inspectors.

it's still Hussein's fault for causing the war.

Something the Liberals/Anti-Americans will never understand.

 

[a6m5]

Ten years and 17 resolutions are not enough? Besides, countries like France, Germany, and China were not going to do anything, because... they never do. I think it's amazing that the US got the countries that it did.

I didn't know there were 17 resolutions, I guess that's a lot. I do think something had to be done with Hussein, but I still think Bush acted too hastely. On France, if they did nothing, it would've helped, actually. By violating the embargo, they were actually helping Hussein. I am deeply dissapointed in France for that. If Germany also are guilty of the same like it was rumored, then I'm dissapointed in them as well. China...... don't even get me started on China. They are almost as bad as Hussein(They've both killed millions of innocent people), maybe worse. Way they bully Taiwan makes me sick. 👎

The military, in general is not spread thin, only the Army and Marines are the ones spread thin. I don't know the exact number, but I recall that it was somewhere around 80%. To cover a county the size of California is quite a challenge.

I think you might be right about that, but I still say the U.S. military is spread thin. I wouldn't be so sure about the Navy either. I just hope Bush won't invade Iran. What a mess that would be.

No, I can't. The money would have been wasted. Just take California for example, I see it every day in college.

How about more teachers, so kids(little ones, not you ) can have smaller classrooms. More prisons, so the criminal won't be able to go around the "revolving door" procedure. Social Security, Foreign aid/investment, etc. This list can go on forever.

Something the Liberals/Anti-Americans will never understand.

It is very frustrating. I'm not a fan of Bush, but I like the Liberal Democrats even less. I still believe their President(Clinton) was partially to be blamed for Iraq. If he actually kept Hussein in check, war could've been avoided, IMO. I don't blame people from other countries, who doen't like President Bush. Like I've said, I don't he acted smart. It still doens't change Hussein was the cause. Country like France didn't help, opposing the war(they just needed show the stance), because they wanted to keep Iraq's business.

 

[James2097]

I think it's amazing that the US got the countries that it did.

Me too, considering the intelligence was so murky. Mind you, Australia would follow you guys off a cliff, the way we rely on America's support, should anything happen in our region. Not that you helped out in East Timor. We asked, you guys declined. Still, we pretty much jump when America says 'jump'. We recieved a free trade deal out of Howard's close relationship with Bush so I suppose thats some payback for our services.

The military, in general is not spread thin, only the Army and Marines are the ones spread thin. I don't know the exact number, but I recall that it was somewhere around 80%. To cover a county the size of California is quite a challenge.

Yeah you need lots of ground troops as you have to be careful what you do and don't break! If the idea was just to kill people and break things, in a less accurate and considered way, you could get away with less dudes actually on the ground.

No, I can't. The money would have been wasted. Just take California for example, I see it every day in college.

Nice positive "can do" attitude! Are you saying Ahnold is bad at economics?
We actually heard surprisingly good things about how Arnie is doing a good job and is well liked...
How is he going these days?
ARNIE FOR PRESIDENT! (after he gets the rule changed so he doesn't have to be born in the US). This sort of thing could ONLY happen (or even get talked about) in America!

No, the IAEA is the International Atomic Energy Agency. They go around keeping countries like Iran in-check with it's nuclear standards (but they don't do a good job...). It was the UN itself that had the weapon inspectors.

So whats the IKEA? What? Oh they sell furniture. My bad.

(About Saddam causing the war...)
Something the Liberals/Anti-Americans will never understand.

I absolutely agree with this, and have never inferred otherwise. Saddam was gonna get taken out sooner or later, he had it comin'. Does this mean I'm still anti-American in certain people's eyes? I don't think so. Sorry, but I don't fit a neat American catagory of either anit-US foriegner or liberal wacko. I just wonder about the WOMD thing needing to be invented to get a strong enough case (for the American public to agree) for action. IMO Saddam didn't need fictitious WOMDs to deserve sorting out.

On a side note, I can play the Star Spangled Banner all crazy like Jimi Hendrix on my Strat, with all the cool bomb falling/blowing up sound effects etc. Awesome fun, not sure if people will see this statement as anti or pro American! Its up to the interpretation I suppose.. 💡