Free Republic

Have we forgotten that Al Queda, Iraq, Iranian mullahs, and the PLO have publicly declared war on the US?

I don't forget anything, unfortunately. I also recall that the US invested in all of these political entities/regimes in some fashion over the years enabling them to become what they are now. And given cause and effect, what is your point then now? Maybe that we were misguided from the get go?

Only hardcore leftists or harder core libertarians would get flustered over a foreign policy that hopes to eradicate central asia of these threats to the western world.

Nice try. I'm not flustered. There are no seals on my eyes. So, given your failure to pigeon hole me "politically," what's your next best shot? HINT: I'm not partial to terrorism of any stripe.

Boy, have you opened a can of worms or what? LOL I give you credit for having a brave pair of brass balls though. All these questions deserve serious answers and not just the usual lame mantras you'll be hearing in result. So, hang in there. Someone had to do it.

He admitted 'the approach and style were wrong' and Norway, a member of the security council, says it is being treated like a 'second-class country'.

LOL. If the shoe fits .... ! Besides, until these dinky countries start committing resources like America has, we shouldn't give a damn as to what has hurt their feelings.

Indeed. If the shoe fits, stick it in your mouth so we can all have a good laugh. As for "dinky countries," yes they are such worthless little things aren't they? It's the arrogant, condescending big bullies accomplished at so much ruckus making we most admire. As to "committing resources," what about the huge contribution of "resources" that we made to setting up this Frankenstein monster called Saddam over many years? Any silly thoughts about that sort of thing? Hmmm? Perhaps that's what this big flap is all about - showing in detail what Pandorra's Box actually contains. I bet that could prove most interesting.

Nah. The quote wasn't that memorable.

Oh, but it was.

Did you hit your head as a kid?

Listen up, stinkspur.

The original poster expressed some legitimate concerns that many have in a manner which was not suggestive of any spite of country, which some of you ARE strongly suggesting was his motive. Not only that, but now you are using crass invective and calling this person names because you don't care for his views about things. What next would you do if he stayed and stood his ground which, so far at least, is his birthright as an American? Be he right or wrong in my estimation, I'll be there defending his position to speak his mind on the matter. I might do the same for you as well if your attitude was different.

You just wait and see! After the commission issues its report we'll see some real reform just like the real reform we saw after the Grace Commission delivered its report!

Indeed. At which time, however, we will have a very nicely matched pair of winners - the Grace Commission and the DisGrace Commission....

Reichsfuhrer Karzai, Caesar of the Pamirs, will stamp out this threat with an iron fist!

The real Caesar would have pre-empted "the Kahn." But no matter. It is, after all, Afghanistan.

What's with your sobriquet "Born on the Storm King?" Is this a reference to Storm King Mountain just north of West Point? I see you are Army. Is that the connection?

I need a flowchart. I cannot keep up.

No s**t, Sherlock! That's hysterical!! Cursed by our existential complexities.

Would you say it was as much of a surprise as 9-11?

To some, 911 was not a surprise at all. In any event, there were clear harbingers. For most people it was a development beyond their scope of awareness not to mention it was their desire not to believe such things could ever happen. There are no surprises, only people lacking in awareness of circumstances. It's an old game, by some well played. Most people choose not to participate.

MR is a conman, a charlatan, huckster and a fraud.

Oh, I didn't know he was a big politician also. How interesting.

Palestinians are Semites, genetically virtually indistinguishable from Jews, both Sephardic Jews and Ashkenazi Jews.

I don't believe being of Semitic origin is true of a great many of the Ashkenazi who were actually Caucasians and who had adopted Judaism for largely political reasons during the period of the Khazari kingdom.

The Khazars lived in the area of the southern steppes of Russia down through the Caucuses region, almost to Turkey. It was from this population that the large percentage of European Jews originated genetically, not from the Semitic peoples of the Middle East and North Africa. Hence, the same non-Semitic Khazari Jews' [Ashkenazi] descendents would appear to have no legitimate "genetic" claim to some "Semitic homeland" in that region at all.

The Sephardic Jews, being historically Semitic, would. However, it seems that they are not really that much into Zionism. This situation is discussed further here below in addition to other places: Khazari Jewish History

The disgusting animals who are assualting the woman in this photo should be identified and charged. This is a pornographic picture of a crime! It should be used by the police to arrest the criminals not given an award.

That this photo was chosen over the heroic images of 9-11 is an abomination and speaks volumes about how the biased liberal media is contributing to the decline of our society.

Yup. Correct on all counts. However, the barbarians aren't just at the gate, they're inside and they've arrived in force. This is photo proof of that.

I believe that is a black woman groping a breast in the top middle portion of the screen..these people in the photo should be identified and thrown into jail along with the camerman.

Looks like you may be right about that. What's more, there's this "politcally incorrect" observation... I count at least thirteen persons of color in this melee. The honkie count seems to be three, possibly four. That excludes the groped victim, of course. Fascinating.

Part 1: "As an Academy grad, would you speak to the question of ignored violations of the honor code. It seems to me that if these many were guilty of drug, and related charges..then a great many more had to know about it. This type of activity doesn't exist in a vacuum. And the honor code, as I understand it, specifically requires that this activity and those who indulge be reported. So doesn't that make the failure more widespread."

Technically, you are correct. However, this sort of policy also becomes a trap of sorts in result of which innocent awareness of something places a cadet in a very awkward situation. Only an ideal system can avoid this conundrum. This is not an ideal world and service academies and all who make up their identity are, in reality, not ideal things but political things. In result, shit happens and it can get stuck on innocent people making their lives something of a nightmare with no closure.

Part 2: To your question of how the honor code (or honor concept if you're at USNA) applies -- as I said in a post just above, I'm not clear on how it does. If you know your neighbor is smoking pot (and I strongly agree that that stuff doesn't exist in a vacuum), your neighbor isn't lying, cheating or stealing. So, to me the only way the honor code can get you is if you're asked if you know anything about your neighbor smoking and you lie about it.

Not necessarily true. The honor code can be manipulated in very unusual ways. That's sad, but true. I know how these things can occur from experience. Having numerous relatives who are academy graduates including two sons, I have seen some pretty strange and troubling situations to include cases where innocent cadets have been purposely targeted under highly suspicious circumstances. Some didn't survive, some luckily did. These episodes aren't common necessarily but most of them are well known to all who would have been around at the time. In short, in these particular instances the honor code failed the innocent and benefitted the truly guilty. Again, sad but true. It would not be unfair to compare this sort of "political dynamic" to what happens in other societal institutions such as business and academia. If people believe it can't happen they are simply deluded. If you are somehow different or even ethically superior, you can be singled out by certain elements for "specialized attention." Fortunately, in most cases, the greater weight of group probity and rectitude eventually steps in to sort things out properly. But not always.

Of course, at USAFA if you know your neighbor cheated (lied or stole) and you don't report him, you're just as guilty as the cheater.

That's true, but note my tempering remark above.

At USNA the honor concept wouldn't make you just as guilty and subject to the same penalties as the cheater.

I'm not that familiar with honor policy at Annapolis but this would seem somewhat more fair considering that cadets feel very uncomfortable having to snitch on their fellow cadets. This owes, I think, to some feeling of esprit de corps at the cadet level hinging on respect for their peers as brothers in arms. Even the worst cadets deserve a shred of that consideration in the eyes of their compatriots. It's a tough deal to work out sometimes, but that is how things are generally viewed. Just as with a football team, it's a team consciousness and even the jerks on the team share the bond the team develops. And who knows, the jerk may still one day become something quite other than what he is now. After all, we are all fallible but potentially corrigible humans, are we not?

I interviewed with the AFOSI commander at Osan, an AF 0-6...who was a West Point grad that had reclassed to the AF! Ultimately, my chain of command, "convinced," me I didn't want to attempt an interservice transfer...

Well, yes... LOL Changing your branch of service can be a "fun-packed dilemma" in a variety of ways. They don't especially like you switching your shirt.

...I've since found my calling in the private sector.

I see that, down in Cajun country no less! How's the boudin these days? Are you a patron of Comeaux's? That's some mighty fine eatin' stuff they put together.

VERY impressive home page. Thanks for your service, and of course, the poem!

Likewise, from BigStick. I lost one child the difficult way, and one son to God's way. But aren't all ways difficult ways? Two sons I still have, now grown men. Both were military, one a West Pointer and the other a USAFA graduate. The latter cross-commissioned into the Army with the 82nd Airborne and spent some time with the Rangers. The elder was an Abrams tanker. I see you, too, did some swingin' in the air!

Stay well, Joe.

"if the monkeys disappear on 'The Rock', so will the British."

But, of course. Makes perfect sense....

No, no, no. That saw won't work. There's no plug on it! Perhaps a utility knife would work in a pinch.

I don't mean to sound insensitive, but...

Then shut up.

We are at war. We shouldn't drop everything and turn all of our attention to a single death like this. Such behavior emboldens our enemy. They see us get exercised over a single casualty and think "Look at the Americans. See how they weep and wail over a single man? They have no stomach for a fight. We can strike them and they will be afraid to strike back."

I beg to differ.

A single trooper's death, while the end of the world to his family, should be a non-news event to the rest of us.

You really do need to shut up. Every man's life counts, even to me. It should be so for everyone else otherwise we become just like them - the ones having no regard for human life. Have I made myself clear?

What Happened to Breaking News?

It got broke. No warranty applies.

Does anyone know sources of info about al Qaeda?

Here's one opinion from Johnson's Russia List today:

***********

Date: Sat, 13 Oct 2001 23:39:15 -0400 From: Dmitri Gusev Subject: Article for the JRL: Author of bin Laden's "Mein Kampf" Russian-born?

A couple of weeks ago I asked a friend of mine, Russian writer and Afghan war veteran Vladimir Grigoriev to find out if "The Foundation", a 1951 sci-fi bestseller by Isaac Asimov, a well-known American author and scientist, was translated and published in Arabic, and if so, under what title? Yesterday, I learned that my friend contacted his former professor Olga Frolova, currently the Chair of the Arab Philology Department, School of Oriental Languages, St. Petersburg State University, and she confirmed that the book was published in Arabic as "Al Qaeda", the title matching the name of the international terrorist network founded and headed by Osama bin Laden. (The Western media usually translates "Al Qaeda" back as "The Base", as if a base of terrorists were been referred to.

This peculiar coincidence would be of little interest if not for abundant parallels between the plot of Asimov's book and the events unfolding now. The central character of "The Foundation" named Seldon, the pioneer of a new scientific discipline called "psychohistory", predicts that the Galactic Empire is about to fall. While the process of disintegration cannot not be stopped, Seldon decides to send an expedition to a remote place on the outskirts of the Galaxy and establish The Foundation, which is to become the nucleus of the next Empire. Even though the Old Empire tries to destroy The Foundation with its superior military might, Seldon's plan eventually works despite many predicted difficulties and occasional random hiccups. Seldon does not live long enough to see the triumph of his cause, but he leaves videotaped messages at a machine timed to broadcast them to his followers and instruct them at the turning points of The Foundation's history, as his forecasts are coming true.

I think the public would be relieved to realize that the internationally feared Terrorist No. 1 is trying to mimic a scenario from his favorite science fiction novel. I also believe that the study of "The Foundation" (along with its sequels and prequels) can help the decision makers around the globe to better understand what they're up against and what the ultimate objectives of Osama bin Laden are, much in the same way a study of "Mein Kampf" would have benefited Adolf Hitler's counterparts a great deal if they bothered to read the book and paid attention to what it said.

Isaac Asimov, a famous Jewish-American author and researcher, was born January 2, 1920, in Petrovichi, Russia, on the territory of the present day Belarus. He died April 6, 1992, in New York, New York, several months before the first attack struck the World Trade Center on February 26, 1993.