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Message from a Time Traveler
Dan Simmons - Official Web Site ^ | April 1, 2006 | Dan Simmons

Posted on 04/06/2006 4:33:24 AM PDT by Mr170IQ

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To: Clique

The names of three of his grandchildren. The clue is farther up in this excellent short story.


81 posted on 04/06/2006 6:59:18 AM PDT by BenLurkin (O beautiful for patriot dream - that sees beyond the years)
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To: Mr170IQ

So who's going to win the Super Bowl and World Series this year. I have a few thousand dollars I'd like to invest.


82 posted on 04/06/2006 7:01:38 AM PDT by TruthWillWin
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To: Mr170IQ
Technically, the Time Traveller's last 3 words were:

"is coming soon"

83 posted on 04/06/2006 7:02:32 AM PDT by Tokra (I think I'll retire to Bedlam.)
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To: Tokra

"You will die."


84 posted on 04/06/2006 7:04:53 AM PDT by Tench_Coxe
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To: Publius6961
Islam is no where near uniting, who or which country will they unite under.

Which Islamic movement is strong enough to unite the Islamic people.

Military they are negligible.

Even when united well armed with Soviet Equipment, advantage in numbers and surprise Israel beat them time and time again.

They can only strike back with terrorist attacks and most of those are ineffectual.

The out breeding us in our own country.

Most of there youth is dissatisfied interested in the trappings of wealth, most are talkers few are walkers.

There Active Service Units are unprofessional badly organised, in Europe we have been quietly dismantling there organizations, breaking there bank accounts.

Arresting there members.

In fact targeting Islamic extremists has become the number one priority of the European intelligence services.

Hell even on here you post threads about networks being uncovered and arrested.

In Iraq you post threads about Iraq tribes turning and arresting or killing foreign Arabic fighters.

Why are we determined to see it as black black.

85 posted on 04/06/2006 7:05:24 AM PDT by tonycavanagh (We got plenty of doomsayers where are the truth sayers)
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To: tonycavanagh; MikefromOhio; Allegra
Someone pleases explain to me how they get to take over the world unless we eradicate the Islamic population.
It's akin to the "global warming" lobby saying we must give the government control of the economy. The Islamophobes have a goal they wish to achieve, and they claim a crisis will happen unless it's achieved. But the goal came first.

I have yet to encounter anyone who's spent time in Afghanistan or Iraq who shares this bizarre viewpoint.

-Eric

86 posted on 04/06/2006 7:06:31 AM PDT by E Rocc
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To: Mr170IQ

Phobos, kerdos, and doxa BTTT . . .


87 posted on 04/06/2006 7:08:39 AM PDT by BraveMan
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To: nw_arizona_granny; DAVEY CROCKETT; Calpernia; Cindy; SlowBoat407; JellyJam; null and void; ...

Chills and shivers ping.
Well written - a must read.


88 posted on 04/06/2006 7:09:21 AM PDT by Velveeta
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To: tonycavanagh
I have heard that argument before, about the Asians an Blacks when they first came to my country. What happened the children of the immigrants decided that they were more interested in the trappings of western society rather than settling down and breeding like there parents.

These aren't asians or blacks. It takes 2.1 children per couple to keep a population steady. France is producing barely 1. The muslims are producing 6. Nobody is suggesting we wipe out Islam, but our approach to the problem of terrorism is pure idiocy...as a country and as a civilized society. We KNOW the countries of Syria and Iran...among others, are state-sponsoring terrorists. If this is a global war on terrorism and we are serious...Those countries should be cinders. Palestine? Hamas? Cinders. They are terrorists. That's how you deal with an enemy that is sworn to kill you. At every turn...and every time some cleric makes a statement about killing someone for being an infidel...you take them seriously and get to them first. You simply say: "Well...you said this was a "Holy War" and a war is what you wanted...so war is what you got." You do that...and guess what...you won't have to worry for long about countries like Iran and Syria.

Not trending fundementalist? Having studied Islam, I can tell you you are off...way off. The rise of sharia law is unmistakable. The rise of Islamic fundementalism in Iran and Saudi Arabia is remarkable. It has NOT always been that way. My college proffesor was from the middle east, Lebanon to be exact. He was a member of the Tiger militia. Yes he is biased, but he was THERE when the change began to take place, and that is the point. He was there when decades old relationships were shattered because of changes in religious thinking...and not on the part of the Christians or Jews, but on the part of the Islamics. The LMN and the PLO to be exact. If you think there has not been a change in Islamic thinking in the region or in Islam in general, ask him. He would give you a much better histoy lesson on the rise of Islamic fundementalism than I. Yes, Islam has always been fundementalists...but there has been a change. The trend is NOT our friend.

89 posted on 04/06/2006 7:09:35 AM PDT by NELSON111
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To: E Rocc
But our enemy is not all of Islam, but a small part of it.

Repeating inanity has never made it reality.

That "small part of it" would be powerless and ineffectual without the overt and covert support of the "larger part of it".

90 posted on 04/06/2006 7:09:47 AM PDT by Publius6961 (Multiculturalism is the white flag of a dying country)
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To: Bear_in_RoseBear

Drink...Your...Ovaltine.


91 posted on 04/06/2006 7:15:39 AM PDT by andy58-in-nh
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To: Mr170IQ

Very interesting.


92 posted on 04/06/2006 7:16:52 AM PDT by rattrap
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To: andy58-in-nh

Three words:

Three...Two...one..


93 posted on 04/06/2006 7:17:20 AM PDT by CygnusXI (Where's that dang Meteor already?)
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To: tonycavanagh

Thank God. A common sense response. I was starting to wonder....


94 posted on 04/06/2006 7:19:35 AM PDT by billbears (Deo Vindice)
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To: Mr170IQ

Best short Sci-fi I've read in a while. Hadn't heard of Replay but it is going on the list now.

Great post, chilling extrapolation from history. BTTT...


95 posted on 04/06/2006 7:19:39 AM PDT by T-Bird45
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To: Mr170IQ

bookmark


96 posted on 04/06/2006 7:21:06 AM PDT by Double Tap
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To: Mr170IQ

bump


97 posted on 04/06/2006 7:22:12 AM PDT by Tribune7
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To: NewJerseyJoe

That's what I got out of it.


98 posted on 04/06/2006 7:22:14 AM PDT by rattrap
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To: E Rocc

bttt


99 posted on 04/06/2006 7:23:43 AM PDT by Calpernia (Breederville.com)
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To: tonycavanagh
I would be interested to hear your views on what methods we are using that are weak and what methods we should be using and where. I am happy to correspond privately so we don't discuss it in the public domain

Well that says a lot?

We discuss this sort of thing in the open on this forum every day. There is no reason to be private, as it is a current debate.

It is my view that the fundamentalist problem is one of our own making, and more the fault of our predecessor governments of Europe who dominated this region for decades and then left it is chaos.

Looking into our tool box, we see many things we can use to correct the error, but it all takes time....a great deal of time.

I don't think that in this day and age of instant gratification, that many people seem to have the foresight to let time and the use of a combination of nation building, diplomacy and military force to encourage reforms in the religion of Islam. But we have to try.

If we use the final option, which so many here seem to advocate, it must be understood that the destruction needs to be total. We cannot eliminate this problem by bouncing the rubble or killing just the adults. In order for 100% military answer to work, we must eradicate over a billion people, it's religion, writings and history to be effective and say it is over.

That option can alway be employed down the road, but I don't see it happening any time soon. It is far too distasteful to contemplate, so we must use all the tools we have to prevent the final option from being used as a necessity yet keep that option on the table..

My estimated time line is about 200-300 years to achieve reformation. It took at least this long to reform Christianity and other religions as a result of outside pressures, so there is historical road maps for this, but this Islamic problem is even more difficult. It requires new religious text, the elevation of a prophet and the demonization of another, and a rewrite or "New Koran" and the related religious teachings.

This totally depend on allowing moderates who are currently suppressed, to regain control of their own religion and begin a long process of reformation that allows for secular government and and free society.

Lofty goals.......yes.

But we have started the process, and we will we involved for generations to come. Many, many generations.

We need to look at a very big and extended picture. This is not easy for some to do. But we must.

100 posted on 04/06/2006 7:26:50 AM PDT by Cold Heat
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