Rumsfeld says...
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Rumsfeld is an idiot, I'll admit, and I'm a staunch Republican - so is most of Bush's cabinet. But statistically he's right. Walking the streets of America is far more dangerous than taking a stroll in Baghdad. The manner of killing is less spectacular - beheadings are rather rare here - but the level of violence in the US is alarmingly high. We don't have much of a problem with that here in Arizona, since we're allowed to carry arms and shoot back, but the rest of the country is in dire straights. Crime pays, here, sadly... Marc Clifton wrote: learned a few things too! You, too? Shucks, I thought I was the only one who uses this site as a source of learning about the rest of the world and how they do things. "My kid was Inmate of the Month at Adobe Mountain Juvenile Corrections Center" - Bumper Sticker in Bullhead City
Roger Wright wrote: Walking the streets of America is far more dangerous than taking a stroll in Baghdad. It depends a lot on who's walking where. Americans strolling on the streets of Baghdad are more likely to be kidnapped and/or killed than in any US city, I'm sure. -- Suche gut gebauten Achtzehn bis Dreißigjährigen zum Schlachten. Der Metzgermeister
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Rumsfeld is an idiot, I'll admit, and I'm a staunch Republican - so is most of Bush's cabinet. But statistically he's right. Walking the streets of America is far more dangerous than taking a stroll in Baghdad. The manner of killing is less spectacular - beheadings are rather rare here - but the level of violence in the US is alarmingly high. We don't have much of a problem with that here in Arizona, since we're allowed to carry arms and shoot back, but the rest of the country is in dire straights. Crime pays, here, sadly... Marc Clifton wrote: learned a few things too! You, too? Shucks, I thought I was the only one who uses this site as a source of learning about the rest of the world and how they do things. "My kid was Inmate of the Month at Adobe Mountain Juvenile Corrections Center" - Bumper Sticker in Bullhead City
We don't have much of a problem with that here in Arizona Sorry to use facts to disabuse you of that notion, Roger, but Arizona has the highest crime index of any of the 50 states. Only the District of Columbia is higher. FBI Crime Index 2002[^]
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Roger Wright wrote: But statistically he's right. No he's not. The US population is almost 300 million, the Iraqi population is about 25 million (this from CIA factbook[^] If we factor population into the equation, Iraq's comparable # of murders would be more than 10 times higher. He's comparing apples and kiwis, as far as I'm concerned. Roger Wright wrote: but the level of violence in the US is alarmingly high. Yes it is. Which, when he made that idiotic statement, my second thought was "why the hell doesn't the Bush administration do something about our DOMESTIC issues!?!?!?" I think another thing to consider is the kind of violence. We don't hear too often about beheadings, kidnappings, car bombs, suicide bombers, people with RPGs, etc. And you can't tell me that the incidences of rape and other domestic violence are lower in Iraq--there simply isn't any information on those issues yet. Marc MyXaml Advanced Unit Testing
Marc Clifton wrote: If we factor population into the equation, Iraq's comparable # of murders would be more than 10 times higher. I think you should be looking at pure civilian deaths and exclude people wearing uniforms, or attacking people in uniforms. However putting such stats together would be a daunting task. Regardz Colin J Davies Attention: It's finally arrived, The worlds first DSP.
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Marc Clifton wrote: why the hell doesn't the Bush administration do something about our DOMESTIC issues Why don't any of our 'leaders' ever focus on domestic issues? The last two - Johnson and his War on Poverty, and Bush Sr in the War on Drugs - were such abysmal failures that any smart politician will go to any lengths to avoid discussing or addressing domestic problems. I think the problems can be solved, or at least alleviated, but it is much easier to distract the people with foreign adventures than it is to focus and motivate them on domestic matters. I'd really like, once in my lifetime, to see a President elected whose priority is to fix what's wrong with the US, rather than spend our energy (not to mention the lives of a few good men) trying to 'fix' the world. "My kid was Inmate of the Month at Adobe Mountain Juvenile Corrections Center" - Bumper Sticker in Bullhead City
Roger Wright wrote: I'd really like, once in my lifetime, to see a President elected whose priority is to fix what's wrong with the US, rather than spend our energy (not to mention the lives of a few good men) trying to 'fix' the world. I think its worse than that, the 'fix the world adventures' actually make the world a worse place for non americans in general. And occasionally these fixes come back to bite the USA. I'll get flamed for saying it but Sept 11, was directly related to past US foreign policy decisions. Regardz Colin J Davies Attention: It's finally arrived, The worlds first DSP.
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So I am happy I survived my last business trip!
we are here to help each other get through this thing, whatever it is Vonnegut jr.
sighist Fold With Us! || Agile Programming | doxygenpeterchen wrote: So I am happy I survived my last business trip! How did that go? Sorry I wasn't able to get down there, I tried calling you from my cell phone, but apparently my service does not include international numbers and I was afraid to attempt calling from my regular phone as I have no idea what international charges are (since I've never had to make an international call in my life, and I had no idea what charges would apply since your cell phone was located in the US. So, basically I was overwhelmed by the challange of dialing a phone number). In any case my schedule would have made it difficult getting down to Indy. "Benedict Arnold was a war hero too."
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Marc Clifton wrote: why the hell doesn't the Bush administration do something about our DOMESTIC issues Why don't any of our 'leaders' ever focus on domestic issues? The last two - Johnson and his War on Poverty, and Bush Sr in the War on Drugs - were such abysmal failures that any smart politician will go to any lengths to avoid discussing or addressing domestic problems. I think the problems can be solved, or at least alleviated, but it is much easier to distract the people with foreign adventures than it is to focus and motivate them on domestic matters. I'd really like, once in my lifetime, to see a President elected whose priority is to fix what's wrong with the US, rather than spend our energy (not to mention the lives of a few good men) trying to 'fix' the world. "My kid was Inmate of the Month at Adobe Mountain Juvenile Corrections Center" - Bumper Sticker in Bullhead City
I'd really like, once in my lifetime, to see a President elected whose priority is to fix what's wrong with the US, rather than spend our energy (not to mention the lives of a few good men) trying to 'fix' the world. A-Fucking-Men!!! In '92 I voted for Clinton in the hopes that something like this might happen. Ultimately I'm not sure if he was very successful. I do know that NYC (where I live) is MUCH safer now than it was 20 years ago. ¡El diablo está en mis pantalones! ¡Mire, mire! Real Mentats use only 100% pure, unfooled around with Sapho Juice(tm)! SELECT * FROM User WHERE Clue > 0 0 rows returned
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I'd really like, once in my lifetime, to see a President elected whose priority is to fix what's wrong with the US, rather than spend our energy (not to mention the lives of a few good men) trying to 'fix' the world. A-Fucking-Men!!! In '92 I voted for Clinton in the hopes that something like this might happen. Ultimately I'm not sure if he was very successful. I do know that NYC (where I live) is MUCH safer now than it was 20 years ago. ¡El diablo está en mis pantalones! ¡Mire, mire! Real Mentats use only 100% pure, unfooled around with Sapho Juice(tm)! SELECT * FROM User WHERE Clue > 0 0 rows returned
Jim Crafton wrote: I do know that NYC (where I live) is MUCH safer now than it was 20 years ago. Wasn't that due to the previous mayor, Gulliani (sp?), and his policy of putting a police officer on every corner?
Do you want to know more? Not getting the response you want from a question asked in an online forum: How to Ask Questions the Smart Way!
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peterchen wrote: So I am happy I survived my last business trip! How did that go? Sorry I wasn't able to get down there, I tried calling you from my cell phone, but apparently my service does not include international numbers and I was afraid to attempt calling from my regular phone as I have no idea what international charges are (since I've never had to make an international call in my life, and I had no idea what charges would apply since your cell phone was located in the US. So, basically I was overwhelmed by the challange of dialing a phone number). In any case my schedule would have made it difficult getting down to Indy. "Benedict Arnold was a war hero too."
I cannot say Indianapolis is a "charming" town, but that's just my european ego. I was surprised mostly about the liveliness of Indy downtown. Nice palce, don doubt! Beyond that, well, work and a few days of relaxing (good), an the usual travel incidents. In Phily a b*mb would have gotten through security with me.
we are here to help each other get through this thing, whatever it is Vonnegut jr.
sighist Fold With Us! || Agile Programming | doxygen -
How many beheadings are done in NYC per week? :) -- Suche gut gebauten Achtzehn bis Dreißigjährigen zum Schlachten. Der Metzgermeister
The only ones I've heard of were in Highlander. Oh wait, that's a movie isn't it? Maybe Rumsfeld hasn't realised yet... Anna :rose: Homepage | Tears and Laughter "Be yourself - not what others think you should be" - Marcia Graesch "Anna's just a sexy-looking lesbian tart" - A friend, trying to wind me up. It didn't work. Trouble with resource IDs? Try the Resource ID Organiser Visual C++ Add-In
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peterchen wrote: So I am happy I survived my last business trip! How did that go? Sorry I wasn't able to get down there, I tried calling you from my cell phone, but apparently my service does not include international numbers and I was afraid to attempt calling from my regular phone as I have no idea what international charges are (since I've never had to make an international call in my life, and I had no idea what charges would apply since your cell phone was located in the US. So, basically I was overwhelmed by the challange of dialing a phone number). In any case my schedule would have made it difficult getting down to Indy. "Benedict Arnold was a war hero too."
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Marc Clifton wrote: If we factor population into the equation, Iraq's comparable # of murders would be more than 10 times higher. I think you should be looking at pure civilian deaths and exclude people wearing uniforms, or attacking people in uniforms. However putting such stats together would be a daunting task. Regardz Colin J Davies Attention: It's finally arrived, The worlds first DSP.
ColinDavies wrote: However putting such stats together would be a daunting task Some are trying[^]
Fold With Us! "I hated going to weddings. All the grandmas would poke me saying "You're next". They stopped that when I started doing it to them at funerals."
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Marc Clifton wrote: why the hell doesn't the Bush administration do something about our DOMESTIC issues Why don't any of our 'leaders' ever focus on domestic issues? The last two - Johnson and his War on Poverty, and Bush Sr in the War on Drugs - were such abysmal failures that any smart politician will go to any lengths to avoid discussing or addressing domestic problems. I think the problems can be solved, or at least alleviated, but it is much easier to distract the people with foreign adventures than it is to focus and motivate them on domestic matters. I'd really like, once in my lifetime, to see a President elected whose priority is to fix what's wrong with the US, rather than spend our energy (not to mention the lives of a few good men) trying to 'fix' the world. "My kid was Inmate of the Month at Adobe Mountain Juvenile Corrections Center" - Bumper Sticker in Bullhead City
Roger Wright wrote: Johnson and his War on Poverty, and Bush Sr in the War on Drugs Weird how your presidents need to label their policies as "Wars". Roger Wright wrote: rather than spend our energy (not to mention the lives of a few good men) trying to 'fix' the world. I'm not sure isolationnism would not actually backlash to the US. The US has also interests to defend outside its borders. I also believe some foreign policy decisions are taken because of internal affairs, to unify the Nation and/or, as you mention, to create a diversion.
Fold With Us! "I hated going to weddings. All the grandmas would poke me saying "You're next". They stopped that when I started doing it to them at funerals."
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Roger Wright wrote: Johnson and his War on Poverty, and Bush Sr in the War on Drugs Weird how your presidents need to label their policies as "Wars". Roger Wright wrote: rather than spend our energy (not to mention the lives of a few good men) trying to 'fix' the world. I'm not sure isolationnism would not actually backlash to the US. The US has also interests to defend outside its borders. I also believe some foreign policy decisions are taken because of internal affairs, to unify the Nation and/or, as you mention, to create a diversion.
Fold With Us! "I hated going to weddings. All the grandmas would poke me saying "You're next". They stopped that when I started doing it to them at funerals."
Isolationism would certainly have damaging results, as we do have legitimate interests in the world. It's not an all or nothing proposition, though many here seem to think it would be that easy. Balance is generally preferable to extreme measures. I don't suggest that we pull out of world affairs, but I prefer the traditional tools of diplomacy - bribery, covert support, and outright lies - to going into battle. "My kid was Inmate of the Month at Adobe Mountain Juvenile Corrections Center" - Bumper Sticker in Bullhead City
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Isolationism would certainly have damaging results, as we do have legitimate interests in the world. It's not an all or nothing proposition, though many here seem to think it would be that easy. Balance is generally preferable to extreme measures. I don't suggest that we pull out of world affairs, but I prefer the traditional tools of diplomacy - bribery, covert support, and outright lies - to going into battle. "My kid was Inmate of the Month at Adobe Mountain Juvenile Corrections Center" - Bumper Sticker in Bullhead City
Roger Wright wrote: I prefer the traditional tools of diplomacy - bribery, covert support, and outright lies - to going into battle Rude, but IMO accurate.
Fold With Us! "I hated going to weddings. All the grandmas would poke me saying "You're next". They stopped that when I started doing it to them at funerals."