One of my pet peeves is the design of highways where the on ramp comes right before the off ramp, forcing cars to crisscross. Why can't you allow cars to exit first, thereby clearing the right lane?
I agree with most of the points that shadesofgrey makes above. A study of the history of the Middle East will show that Jews and Arabs have peacefully co-existed more than they have fought. Based solely on the Koran, Jerusalem has no intrinsic value to Islam. In fact, upon failing to convert the Jews that lived in the area in his time, Mohammed ordered that Muslims NOT face Jerusalem during prayer. Despite overwhelming force of arms,
Jose Luis Zapatero was elected just days after the terrorist bombing killed 200 Spanish citizens, in large measure because of his promise to withdraw Spanish troops from the multi-national force in Iraq. Yet today he seemed angered at charges of cowardice. At a Socialist Party conference today, the Prime-Minister Elect said ""No Spanish government has given i
Thank you both for commenting. Regarding the use of children and women (usually young as well) the first thought that comes to mind is that both groups are not held in the same esteem in the Muslim world as is the case in Western society. In many Islamic countries, it is fairly common for women to be brutalized or killed for bringing "dishonor" to their husbands. An article dealing with the role of women in Islamic society is at http://members
Terrorist attacks by Hamas have taken a new and ugly turn, with unwilling Palestinian children having bombs strapped to their bodies. In two separate incidents in Israel, the bomb carriers have been teenage boys who were terrified at what they were being forced to do. Near Nablus, Israeli soldiers stopped a 14-year old boy with a bomb vest strapped to his bod
Koop, your mind works in mysterious ways, my friend You think I have a mind? That would only be a handicap in sales!
A while ago I wrote a light-hearted tribute to Scottish skinners, and to my friend Hippy in particular. Many people (well, mostly my family) said that it was pretty funny. I believe that no good deed goes unpunished, so I have written a sequel over at my blog. It was inspired by the news today that none other than Elvis Presley has his familial origins in the land where men wear skirts. In a manly way, of course. You may ask what this has to do with WinCustomize.Few people know
A while ago I posted a humorous (well, I always think that I am funny) article on WinCustomize entitled "Och, aye, Scotland." It was a tribute to my good friends in the skinning community - Hippy and Voodoo Freak. If you are not familiar with their works of art, get over to WinCustomize and check it out. Wait! Finish reading this first (I need the points!) To
You make some good points, although I do not agree completely. O G San, the greatest problem that I have with current Israeli tactics is that they don't work. The terrorist attacks are able to completely disrupt any peace initiatives, which is their goal. Strapping two bomb belts on to teenagers and sending them to Ashdod costs Hamas little, yet can completely sidetrack the peace process. Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia were supposed t
Thank you all. I was a little afraid to post this, that it would be taken the wrong way. Glad that I trusted my community! :)
By the way, the list of American philanthropists is well-worth looking at. Here is the link again: http://slate.msn.com/id/2078472/
But first....a joke. Two men walk into a laundry owned by a Chinese family. The first man asks for his shirts, but is unable to provide the ticket that he received when he dropped them off. The laundry owner explains that without the ticket, there is no way to determine which shirts belong to the fellow. Upon exiting the store, the first man says to
I am not a Christian, but I will say that I was moved my GemCityJoe's post. It was touching and his warm and caring nature comes through. Whether or not you believe that prayers will be answered does not in any way detreact from the comfort so many obviously receive from them. The warmth and comfort that those who have faith derive from this simple act is indisputable. You keep the faith, GemCityJoe, and if the spirit moves you, say a
Excellent post, Russell! I am off to update my bookmarks! Thank you!
JeremyG said "But god bless the guy, he still found some way to make a living off it!" You do know that he is Jewish, right? Born in Queens, NY, he worked as a stand-up comedian in the Borscht Belt before finding his "true calling." See http://www.salon.com/april97/media/media2970402.html Another blow against stereo-types!
The Dictionary.com definition of Prejudice is as follows: 1) An adverse judgment or opinion formed beforehand or without knowledge or examination of the facts. 2) A preconceived preference or idea. "Pre" meaning before, and "Judice" coming from judge. Essentially, the act of being prejudiced means you think you know, before you know. And most people who are prejudiced not only don't know the facts, they don't WANT to know the fa
I'm not sure that I agree with Israel that the response will be effective, but the attack was response for last week's attempt by Hamas and the Al Aqsa Brigade, an arm of Arafat's PLO. Exactly what Israel said it was going to do and what I quoted in my article last week: http://kupe.joeuser.com/index.asp?AID=10426 It is very simple. After a terrorist attack, such as the attempted bombing of the chemical storage area at Ashdod, Israel will find
A good, thought-provoking post. Thank you. But let me raise a few questions, if I may. 1) Other countries practice protectionist policies. For example, Japan used to pose strict tariiffs relating to importation. Sweden's airlines were government financed. China currently practices policies that are unfair by any standard. Aren't a certain number of protectionist laws needed to "level the playing field?" If Country A taxes the importation of US
A very insightful, well-conceived article. Thank you.
In an online document, Al Qaeda posted their plan to use terrorist acts to influence the Spanish government and force a withdrawal from Iraq. This document was posted months before the bombings last week. What is astonishing is that Al Qaeda was able to execute the plan to perfection and get exactly the desired results. Posted in December on a message board, the Al Qaeda document predicted the Spanish reaction to terrorist acts: "We t
The French Communist party has leveled new allegations of the use of torture by the French in Algeria. In what has become for most of the world a forgotten war, France is widely believed to have used Nazi-style torture techniques in it's war against Algeria. Algeria was once occupied by France and France fought a war against Islamic rebels from 1954 to 1962. Current French President Chirac was a captain in the French army there. Recen
This past Sunday, just days after the bombing in Madrid, two Palestinian teenagers armed with bombs attempted to detonate the toxic chemicals stored in the Israeli port of Ashdod. The terrorists fell short of their goal, setting off their bombs prematurely, but managed to kill 11 civilian workers at the dock. The story was overshadowed in terms of media coverage by the carnage in Madrid. Before news of the mission's strategic failure had sprea
RaynerApe, sometime in the 1960's the theory was put forth that all warlike or aggressive actions can be explained by "poverty." It was really an extension of the old Marxist dialectic that all history is the story of class struggle. It was not true then and it is not true now. Bin Laden's family is among the wealthiest in the world. The countries of the people that oppose us sit on vast seas of oil. They do not believe in sharing the wealth i
GemCityJoe, this has been said before but bears repeating. Thank you for organizing this. It is a WONDERFUL contribution to the community and is greatly appreciated. Good work and thanks again!
3/10/04 minus 9/11/01 equals 911. Just checked via Excel. As of today, the Basque separtist group ETA has denied responsibility and a militant Islamic group has claimed that they commited the act. While we investigate, I am willing to accept these claims at face value. It is not hard to establish that terrorist organizations support each other. Sherye, I do not believe that it is possible to take away hate. Poverty is not a root cause
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