[WAR] Time's Slideshow

Jeremy Falcon

Interesting to see pictures... http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101030331/pix/[^] Jeremy Falcon "so be it, threaten no more, to secure peace is to prepare for war" - Metallica

Marc Clifton

For some reason, I'm having a hard time putting the pictures together with my concept of war. I guess I'm thinking too much of pictures I've seen of WWI, WWII, Vietnam. I'm not used to seeing pictures where cities still are recognizable as cities instead of bombed out shells, and it's hard to adjust to desert fighting instead of jungle fighting. Plus, like that 12th picture, the city and roads look just like they do here in the US, at least from a distance. Road signs, well paved roads, etc. I guess I'm having a hard time putting two and two together--what looks like a nice place to live compared with Saddam Hussein's tyranical rule, Bush's fanaticism, reports of this skirmish or that. I read today about some skirmish involving tanks on our side and pickup trucks with semi-automatic machine guns on their side. Pickup trucks, for Christ's sake. In some ways, I wonder why we're taking this whole thing so seriously. We're fighting half starved lunatics in pickup trucks. Sounds like something you come up against on a hooch raid in Louisiana. It's a joke. This isn't a real enemy. It's a farce. And it's a farce to see how "serious" everyone is about it, especially Bush. Anyways, sorry to ramble. Apologies if my viewpoints offend you. I just don't feel like we're getting the whole picture. Someone explain to me how this guy, with his pickup trucks and struggling economy, is a threat to anyone? OK, so he pays some suicide bombers in Palestine. Maybe he funds some terrorist organizations. Well, we're buying his oil aren't we? France and Russia and Germany have future oil contracts with Iraq, right? So who's really to blame here? We could cripple his country in a matter of weeks by stopping food aide. But no, that wouldn't be right. So instead we spend $75B to bomb the shit out of them and then help rebuild their country, while people in this country are out of jobs, hungry, uneducated, not getting the health care they should be, etc. Fucking Bush cares more about the fucking Iraqi's than he does about his own countrymen. There. Now I've gone and got myself pissed. Time to pile the family into my pickup truck and smash some mailboxes. Marc Help! I'm an AI running around in someone's f*cked up universe simulator.
Sensitivity and ethnic diversity means celebrating difference, not hiding from it. - Christian Graus
Every line of code is a liability - Taka Muraoka
Microsoft deliberately adds arbitrary layers of complexity to make it diff

Jason Henderson

Marc Clifton wrote: while people in this country are out of jobs, hungry, uneducated, not getting the health care they should be, etc The president really can't control the economy. Its a chaotic system with so many variables that its nearly impossible to predict. That being said, I'd rather not pay for everyone's healthcare through my taxes. IMO, it's not the role of government to distribute charity and I think the president would agree with that. That doesn't mean we don't care about people who can't afford healthcare, we just think there are other more viable solutions to the problem. BTW, the poor will always be among us. IMO, its the individual's job to help them through church or private charity.

Jason Henderson
"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." - Gandhi

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Paul Watson

Aren't photographs incredible? Thanks for those Falcon.

Paul Watson
Bluegrass
Cape Town, South Africa

Macbeth muttered: I am in blood / Stepped in so far, that should I wade no more, / Returning were as tedious as go o'er DavidW wrote: You are totally mad. Nice.

Marc Clifton

But the president directs policy. He proposes the budget, gives direction to Congress, etc. These issues have a direct impact on the workforce, on the stock market, etc. Yes, it's chaotic, but it is also under the influence of leadership, which, regarding domestic affairs, I think this president lacks. As for healthcare and the like, I think it IS society's responsiblity to care for the elderly, the disabled, etc. Otherwise, we're no better than our primitive ancestors that left the sick and dying behind while the tribe moved on. This country and the medical industry still hasn't figured out that prevention costs a lot less than cure. Besides, our tax dollars right now don't go into curing people, they go into a massive administrative and legal system. Totally ineffective. BTW, what are the more viable solutions? Yes, I can understand that it is an individual's job to help another through a church or private charity. I don't think that this society and its constituents are socially advanced enough to participate in this kind of a system. We like our cigs, our booze, our video games, our 500 channel cable TV, our expensive cars, and our kid's private school (that's me!) too much to help the poor kid next door. Ironically, if I weren't taxed so much, maybe I would give more. Hah. Probably not though, because I don't think I'm socially advanced enough myself. Besides, charity simply perpetuates the poor, and even worse, enables them to breed more poor. Education is necessary. Unfortunately, people being the way they are, you can lead a horse to water... And I guess explains why we have a government that sticks its nose into everything "for the good of the people [who don't know better themselves]" except that its all corrupt now. Lobbyists and corporations don't care about "the people". The only "charity" success stories I've ever encountered are those rare friends and coworkers that have participated in programs that help adults learn to read, etc. The "give a man a fish vs. teach him to fish" paradigm. Um, what was my point? Marc Help! I'm an AI running around in someone's f*cked up universe simulator.
Sensitivity and ethnic diversity means celebrating difference, not hiding from it. - Christian Graus
Every line of code is a liability - Taka Muraoka
Microsoft deliberately adds arbitrary layers of complexity to make it difficult to deliver Windows features on non-Windows platforms--Microsoft's "Halloween files"

Jason Henderson

Marc Clifton wrote: Yes, it's chaotic, but it is also under the influence of leadership, which, regarding domestic affairs, I think this president lacks. There have been a number of circumstances directly affecting the economy that the president had no control over (9/11). Also, the downturn started before he took office and was in fact recovering when 9/11 occurred. I just don't see how he can be blamed for this. At least not at this stage. Marc Clifton wrote: As for healthcare and the like, I think it IS society's responsiblity to care for the elderly, the disabled, etc. I think its societies responsibility too, but not the government's. Marc Clifton wrote: our tax dollars right now don't go into curing people, they go into a massive administrative and legal system. Totally ineffective. I agree. Health care used to be affordable. Insurance companies abuse the system, doctors abuse the system and patients abuse the system. Ins. companies must let the doctors decide on the care and they must put sownward pressure on prices. The doctors need help with malpractice ins. costs and we need to reform the AMA (its a monopoly, imo). Patients need to start paying for small procedures and stop going to the emergency room for piddly things. The gov't should try reforming tort laws, cutting down on bureacratic red tape in the medical industry, and break up the AMA. Marc Clifton wrote: BTW, what are the more viable solutions? Tort reform, medical savings accounts, medicare reform, etc. Trust me, we don't want the government running the hospitals. Marc Clifton wrote: Yes, I can understand that it is an individual's job to help another through a church or private charity. I don't think that this society and its constituents are socially advanced enough to participate in this kind of a system. We like our cigs, our booze, our video games, our 500 channel cable TV, our expensive cars, and our kid's private school (that's me!) too much to help the poor kid next door. Ironically, if I weren't taxed so much, maybe I would give more. Hah. Probably not though, because I don't think I'm socially advanced enough myself. Its got to start from the ground up. Maybe we should instill in our children the idea of charity. It also helps to have a family budget. When we finally started budgeting, we put church and charity at the top of the list and then budget

Jeremy Falcon

Paul Watson wrote: Aren't photographs incredible? Yup. Paul Watson wrote: Thanks for those Falcon. No problem Watson. :~ ;P Oh man, I sound like Sherlock Holmes now. Jeremy Falcon "so be it, threaten no more, to secure peace is to prepare for war" - Metallica