Artysim

Reply to TAXES, TAXES, TAXES! in US Domestic Stardock Forums

Moderateman, I do believe that there is a class system developing.... I'm not going to go so far as to describe the various levels of middle and upper class because quite frankly I don't know how to define those properly. But, there is definitely a growing permanent underclass. Many jobs that were once mill jobs or manufacturing jobs have been replaced with pizza delivery or wal-mart jobs. Yes, a few smart folks who work these jobs will always find a way here or there t

Reply to When Will Iraq's Tet Offensive Begin? in Politics Stardock Forums

Paladin [quote]Five years after WWII the Soviet Union was not funding insurgents, the nation surrendered and up to six years after the war troops were still being killed. In Iraq you have Iran funding anyone and everyone that will pick up a gun and that is not enough. So far we have captured three Iranian generals of the Special Forces as well as almost a battalion of Iranian troops. The Iraqis want peace and are not joining the revolution as planned. Remove Iran from the equation and

Reply to When Will Iraq's Tet Offensive Begin? in Politics Stardock Forums

[quote]Yes, the enemy has had successes, but we do our troops and our nation a disservice when we amplify the enemy successes and downplay U.S. and Iraq successes.[/quote] Fair enough. The question is, how much is being amplified and how much is being downplayed? I've always believed that the press should be as critical as possible.... as they say, the proof is in the pudding. Personally, I believe the news from Iraq has been about as pro-U.S as possible. No matter which way

When Will Iraq's Tet Offensive Begin? in Politics JoeUser Forums

Is the Surge really working? Although I am an unabashed liberal, I would like to ask the fine folks here to consider this article without political bias. I could care less whether a republican or democratic president was responsible for giving the order to go into Iraq. History does have a habit of repeating itself- so with that in mind I'm going to go ahead and ask if the surge is really working, considering previous occupations and how they ended... first, a little history.

Reply to The final word on global climate change in The Environment Stardock Forums

Oh Paladin.... the "final" word on climate change? That's about as ridiculous as hoping that there will one day be a final battle in Iraq. All actions have consequences. The collective actions of humanity have consequences, which successive generations (that's our children) will have to live with. The idea that we have no effect whatsoever on our planet, or that that effect is so small it's negligible, is bunk. At the turn of the last century (1900) there were approximately 1 billion p

Reply to Global Warming and evolution in Politics Stardock Forums

[quote] Yeah, the best guess is not a fact, my best guess is that they are wrong. My best scientific facts say they ARE wrong. The reports you site all base their findings on a flawed report,[/quote] Oh, okay. your assertion that all these organizations were hoodwinked by a single report is preposterous and ridiculous. These organizations have all had papers published by their own members over a span of many years investigating global warming and climate change. They did not all sudden

Reply to Global Warming and evolution in Politics Stardock Forums

[quote]Sorry, who are these people you speak of? I asked you for a list of them in another article but you have failed to produce one. I gave you quotes from a major scientific organization in Canada that begged the Prime Minister of your country not to fall in with the man made global warming hoax and you have not disputed it. [/quote] My apologies, been busy lately! Okay, as to your "major scientific organization" in Canada that sent the letter, it was no such thing. It was a

Reply to And They Built Bonfires to Beat Back the Darkness in Current Events Stardock Forums

[quote]No, the causes are many and varied. I think Artysim hit upon it (while being a bit over dramatic with it as well). 8 years ago, the dot come bubble burst, and we had a recession.[/quote] Drama is a good thing every now and then, no? I think everyone is in agreement that the U.S economy is due for a "correction" the question is, how much of a correction will it be, who will be affected negatively (who will stand to profit the most from it) and what will the landscape be af

Reply to Is Bush Going to Start Another War? in Politics Stardock Forums

[quote]They seem to believe it could be an effective tool against the western infidels. We just lucky they haven't gotten their hands on one yet.[/quote] So using nuclear weapons on an entire country, possibly killing millions of innocent people to get a handful of bad guys is justified? If anything using nukes to combat terrorism is just about the most laughable option available. It would actually contribute to terrorism's spread, and give countries and groups around the world no

Reply to Is Bush Going to Start Another War? in Politics Stardock Forums

[quote]We do have enough troops, do you not know the full scale of our military?[/quote] Actually, you don't! The US military has spent the last 5 years rotating through combat assignments in Iraq and Afghanistan and staffing the hundreds of bases located around the world to boot. This has left the U.S military in desperate need of replenishment, both in terms of manpower, equipment and training. To make up for this shortfall, the pentagon has come to increasingly rely on contract

Reply to Global Warming and evolution in Politics Stardock Forums

Draginol, Zealots find themselves in all walks and dispositions of life. There are indeed zealots in left wing politics, right wing politics, economics, etc. And yes, there are global warming zealots. I agree with you that global warming is just a hypothesis, it's not proven fact. I do however think that therre's a pretty good chance that hypothesis is true, due to the fact that the majority of credentialed scientists who have studied this have produced results and papers that s

Reply to Is Bush Going to Start Another War? in Politics JoeUser Forums

[quote]Not in the least, we have war time data less than five years old with actual weapons. I would suggest you watch the military channel you can see the unclassified stuff that will do most of the job without putting more than 30 people on the ground as opposed to the tens of thousands used against Hezbollah did you bother to watch the Gulf war? The operation Iraqi Freedom? the battles in Afghanistan? Any movie since the Vietnam War? Israel used Korean War tactics which is 90 generations b

Reply to Is Bush Going to Start Another War? in Politics Stardock Forums

[quote]I am very interested in knowing where you get your information.[/quote] Al Jazeera's pretty good actually. So are a lot of impartial investigative journalists- Seymour Hirsch, Chris Hedges come to mind. [quote]Having some small knowledge of the way military actions are planned, (been on the planning staff that planned all war scenarios that cover that part of the world during my tour of duty, every country west of the Rockies to the center of Tehran was our area of respon

Reply to Is Bush Going to Start Another War? in Politics JoeUser Forums

[quote]Their military kills our troops every day, and we sit around wondering "if" we'll doing anything about it.[/quote] So that is the question ParaTed, what should we do about it? Airstrikes? Tactical nukes?

Reply to Is Bush Going to Start Another War? in Politics JoeUser Forums

[quote]I love the fact that our Gov't is based on checks and balance yet somehow everyone in Congress and/or the Senate, including good ol' Hillary, are somehow clean of any wrong doing.[/quote] Well, after the dems took congress a while back I was expecting A) Articles of impeachment to be filed against Bush and Cheney (kucinich actually did do this but was shot down by his own people... several state governments have however voted to impeach Bush and Cheney) B) An en

Reply to Is Bush Going to Start Another War? in Politics JoeUser Forums

[quote]I'm upset Bush has not attacked Iran. How many troops does Iran have to kill, or how many weapons do they smuggle before we do something?[/quote] Fair enough. But the question has to be asked, what would the rammifications be of attacking Iran? If anything, Iraq and Afghanistan (and Vietnam) should have been lessons to us that you can't make all your problems go away by military action. The british learned this lesson through centuries of empire and changed their game accordingl

Is Bush Going to Start Another War? in Politics JoeUser Forums

Bush and Cheney have been chomping at the bit to go after Iran for a long time. Back in 2003, shortly after the proclamation that major combat operations had ended in Iraq, there was the widespread belief that most U.S forces would be out of the country within 6 months and available to continue the grand ol' march of freedom. One administration official pontificated that with the speedy fall of Hussein's regime in Iraq it was time to topple other undesirables in

Reply to Sodium...Damn Sodium in Health & Medicine Stardock Forums

jd, Really good response from Asaxy above, not too much I can add. Would like to say though, one of the big keys is to plan what you're going to eat ahead of time. Meaning, when you wake up in the morning you should already have your entire meal plan for the day (this includes snacks, soda pop, etc) planned out. Included in this plan needs to be the calorie count for everything you're going to be eating, as well as a ballpark figure of your sodium. While this may sound like a big

Reply to Jibber Jabber in Blogging Stardock Forums

Whereabouts in Alaska was home to you? Here in Yellowknife the arctic winter games are in full swing, with contingents from Alaska, Russia, Greenland and the like (and of course us canucks :) Enjoyed reading your woes with daylight, I know where you're coming from. I guess everyone's different though- some folks aren't bothered by it at all while others are driven bonkers by it. I found the key (in both summer and winter) was to get enough exercise that you'd be tuckered out regardless

Reply to The economy is one sick puppy in Current Events Stardock Forums

[quote]The economy is not "falling apart". If you listen to the media you would think rationing and bread lines are next. [/quote] Hee hee! I chortled when I read this. The MSM has been downplaying the seriousness of the situation for years. If anything they are liable for just how bad it's going to get, as for the last several years they've been peddling the lie that the economy can only go up, and that NOW is the time to invest! Bread lines are not next, however in the not too

Reply to Strategy games suggestions? in Strategy JoeUser Forums

[quote]Hey Arty, I know you came to JU for political funstuffs, but have you ever played Galactic Civilizations II, the game made by our gracious host, Draginol? Freakin' brilliant game, especially if you liked MOO2. The "Mega events" in GalCivII: Dark Avatar are huge, game-changing, and awesome fun.[/quote] Yup, I do indeed have both Galcivs. The AI on Galciv 2 routinely kicks my but on harder difficulty levels :) Looking forward to twilight and sins as well. [quote]Master of

Reply to i am back on this kick again in The Environment JoeUser Forums

[quote]The chicken littles get a lot of adulation by being chicken littles (until some sane person points out that the sky is not falling).[/quote] This is partly true- however I would state that while the sky is not falling, there are definite, serious problems with it that if not addressed will cause a whole lot of trouble for future generations of mankind down the road. Unless we get hit with a giant asteroid in a cosmic game of billiards, smashing our little ball of rock into lots o

Reply to i am back on this kick again in The Environment JoeUser Forums

Hi Paladin, First off, I notice that you enjoy making things personal, calling me ignorant etc. That's fine. I'm not here to get into a chest-beating competition, nor will I start making assumptions about someone whom I know nothing about (as you have done to me) I am however interested in debating this, my intent here is not to try and show you up or any such nonsense, only to get you to back up the claims you made in your original argument. You can make all the personal attacks and in

Reply to i am back on this kick again in The Environment JoeUser Forums

Oh and by the way- [quote]No one is going to pay for studies that prove we are not hurting the planet,[/quote] Exxon Mobil was actually caught red-handed offering 10,000 dollar grants to anyone who would produce scientific papers that would dispute global warming.

Reply to i am back on this kick again in The Environment JoeUser Forums

Oh Paladin. Yes, I see the light now. Global warming is all a big hoax pushed by a handful of evil conspirators, who have somehow managed to trick every government on the planet, and every credentialed scientific body to come to consensus that it is real. [quote]Super eruptions cause cooling because of the particulate matter ejected high into the atmosphere, billions of tons of ground up rock and volcanic glass so fine that it takes years for it to come out of the atmosphere, this