sexual_chocolate

And one more point: What will the feelings on this board be if Spain now escapes any future "terrorist" attacks? (Would this be similar to Yemen escaping economic terrorism by catering to the demands of the US?)

I find it troubling that the focus has now, for some people, shifted to the "negative" effects Spain's elections will have on the "terror" problem, even going so far as to hold Spain's Zapatero supporters responsible for what is perceived to be coming (I believe this would be the logical entailment of Peter Puget's position). This seems to be in line with the mindset displayed by George Bush, which is to place blame on others whilst never taking a look at what one's own actions are fomenting. (Remember, we actually have a leader in place who has publicly (and proudly!) acknowledged his lack of interest in self-scrutiny!)

I don't quite understand your position above; most such attempts have been met with the most brutal oppression, be it in Saudi Arabia (our "ally"), or in Iraq (also our "ally", once upon a time). My point is that "popular movements" within such rigid police-states are incredibly difficult; that's part of the reason why bin Laden is looked upon favorably by 66% of pakistanis, and enjoys widespread popularity in many other (most?) "Islamic" countries.

Has anyone mentioned the route that to me seems the most sand-bagged of all time? Numbah Ten at 12a? Buahhahhahahahaahaha

oh pleaseasaur. stoopid stoopid americans will now swallow bush's cover that it was actually the fault of "intelligence", not his pressures on the intelligence community to give him what he wanted. stupid fucking morons.

By the way, my above sentiments do not discount the fact that many of us have had incredibly good fortune being born into the situations we have been born into. Most of us here have our health, decent basic living conditions, exposure to thought-modes that enable us to see the world and our lives as something worth living. Not everyone has been this....ummmm.....errrrrr.....well..... Lucky!

[quotAlliances change. Sad, but true. However, Ratko Mlodik(sp?) was our enemey at the time this photo was taken!! And Clark and he are jovially exchanging gifts! the only thing that matters to you is whether or not someone is an "official" enemy, regardless of their actions? That really sucks! (and whether or not they are "democrat".) By the way, in no way am I defending Clark. I know very little about the man, he has no public office history to judge him by; the fact that he's a career military guy does make me a little nervous though.

Man, Sharma got SOOOOO lucky redpointing Realization after so many tries! I got SOOOO lucky redpointing my proj's last year! Dude what is luck? I personally think that this word could be entirely removed from our lexicon, and then we'd have one less thing that we can use as an excuse for our successes and failures! Be open to change, keep your intelligence burning hot and your heart open, work hard and see what happens!

i've worked around union gigs before and i can't say i've witnessed what you describe. there is the inevitable protective attitude that unions develop around their particular trade, which i think is understandable, but i never saw it taken to the degree that you speak of. but regardless, the trades are a tough line of work, and asking for a living wage for the workers is hardly unreasonable. if we really want to talk about unreasonable compensation for work performed, let's start with politicians, doctors, and lawyers (and ceo's in major corporations). the costs for all of us are way higher because of these than because of the 25 to 35 an hour union wage earner.

klenke, i think you're barking up the wrong tree when you speak of union wages being too high; all union power has done is give its members living wages. What a novel concept, huh? As far as our defense spending being a justified number, well that's just insane. As tax-payers, we are simply lining the pockets of defense contractors, and helping to distribute arms to all our questionable allies. I truly believe a progressive tax system, with no protection for corporations under the guise of "individual rights", is the way to go: No one pays taxes for the initial, say, 15 grand; 15% for the amount made between 15 to 40 grand; 20% from 40 to 60 grand, etc etc. right now we live in a corporatist oligarchy,and i for one am tired of it!

(but I AM looking forward to your reply regarding what I see as your defense of Saddam's repression of Kurdish autonomy.)

Robbob, i'm not playing a game of "gotcha" here, just pointing out the ramifications of the views you hold! I'll leave sophistry to to the greeks and politicians; I much prefer using logical deconstruction and common sense to guide my arguments. By the way, happy christmas shopping, and happy holidays too!

Interesting. But it was the Kurdish insistence on autonomy that led to the conflict, culminating in the use of gas by Saddam to quell the uprising. It would seem to me then that you would be a supporter of Saddam's intentions to quell an illegitimate land-claim, opposing only the methods used?

I refuse to eat farm-raised for the reasons mentioned above. Plus, on a kayak trip in BC, I witnessed first-hand the stench and pollution emanating from these horror-shows. Dru's and Jim's posts pretty much sum it up.

Isn't this like saying "I apologise for calling you a wife-beater, since I've never met you or your wife, and have no idea who you are, but I just have this gut feeling from the tone of your posts that your violent nature is causing you to beat your wife more often now." ?? Brilliant! You are more astute than I initially gave you credit for! Right here: I would suggest that you brought "race" into it earlier, with your exasperation at my suggestion that a particular ethnic group had suffered, and perhaps had legitimate land claim issues. But, one more time: Do Turtle Islanders have as legitimate a land claim as do the Kurds? I await your answer....

You have been hoodood into being PC. Travel to Puerto Montt and take a close look for yourself at how the salmon are farmed. Are you saying then that Puerto Montt is the exception to the rule?

Insurance is really only for larger claims; 600 bucks no longer cuts it. welcome to capitalism and market forces at work!

Oh, and THEN what happened? Well, the borrowers left me a gift! They left me a couple of Outkast cd's(!) (stereo boxxx, the love below), a couple of n.e.r.d. cd's, ll cool j (!), black eyed peas, trick daddy, and linkin park (hmmm). But crap, I just realized this is a commiseration thread, and here I am being all happy and shit. Sorry. Always look on the bright side? When life hands you lemons, throw them at sexual chocolate? Maybe they were just borrowed. that's the way i viewed my van loss. I mean, can anything really disappear in this universe?

but before you use home-owners insurance (if even applicable), it might not be worth the cost. I've heard of people being dropped for even INQUIRING about making a claim (happened to my real estate agent!).

Sucky sucky. I had my van "borrowed" five weeks ago. But guess what? It's back! Got the call last night from SPD and there it was! Even had my table saw still in the back, although all the little stuff was gone.

Good morning robbob. I suppose that I may have been a bit careless as I began to sling accusations of racism at you during our argument yesterday; for this I'll apologize. While I don't agree with the overall tone or philosophies espoused by your arguments, and perhaps even consider them to be racist, I haven't spent enough time in your presence to come to any conclusion beyond a quasi-specious suspicion based on the racist views you hold. I believe the gassing of the Kurds was an atrocity beyond the comprehension of most of our personal emotional frameworks; I think it is for this reason it has made such a powerful propaganda tool for the current (and previous) administration. The inherent problem with the current administration's use of this atrocity as a propaganda tool is the fact that individuals involved in this administration were directly in the know at the time of the slaughters and did nothing to stop them. As a matter of fact, the UN made an attempt to condemn Hussein's actions, yet the US stepped in to protect what was at that point (mid to late '80's) an important asset, and over-rode the UN efforts. But to directly address your point: If you go back and read my question, it was very pointed and direct: Why do you think the Kurds have more of a valid land-claim argument than the Original People here on North America (Turtle Island)? One doesn't need an "antiestablishment prism" to sniff out racism! Common sense will do. Why is it that you always quote some damn capitalist propaganda spewer (sewer) who supports your adopted views, reducing all matters social, cultural, and political to capitalist tenets of production value? You're as bad as the Communists! At what time-value do you draw the line? The Kurds were gassed in the mid- to late-eighties, so a new generation of non-Kurds has cropped up on contested soil. Hmmm....this gets complicated! It wouldn't be fair to dislocate these people who had nothing to do with the gassing....And since, as you claim, it was Saddam personally who was to blame for all this, it should be he who atones for these crimes. How? Monetarily? In the form of land re-appropriation? Whose land and whose money? We can't use Iraqi money since that would be a form of collective punishment (your argument against reparations?), and again we can't repatriate, since innocents would be affected. Hmmm.... And again, since you still haven't answered: How do the Kurds have a better land-claim issue than the Original People here? Tell me where I brought race into it. I believe this whole to-do started when you disagreed with my stance that the Original People here have as valid a land-claim as do the Kurds in Iraq. Oh, which reminds me: How do the Kurds have a better land-claim issue than the Original People here? You used the word "success". This word can be defined in many ways, although your penchant for its use is firmly entrenched in its capitalist connotations. Mine isn't. I would think that the "keys to achievement" are not necessarily universal, since the notion of "achievement" itself is very much a cultural/social construct. Do you really think I personally would want to be a prisoner of your "success constructs"? Highly doubtful, after seeing what they consist of. In the same vein, I would suggest it to be highly immoral for you to so consistently impose your rigid world-views as universally inescapable truths, when all they consist of really are unconsciously adopted puritan/capitalist value-systems, protected now in the most emotive manner. Oh, and one more thing: Why do you think the Kurds have more of a valid land-claim argument than the Original People here on North America (Turtle Island)?

PLEASE clean that hairy ass of yours, PRONTO!

please go remove that disgusting tissue-paper from your disgusting hairy-ass monkey body. Do not even talk to me until you have done this simple thing.

Jesus Christ, SC, it's 100 years later. We've made most tribes rich with the gambling industry. At some point they are going to have to make the cultural decision to look toward the future instead of the past, deal with some of their demons, and go forth into the melting pot! Don't play games here; address my point. I simply state that Native Americans have as valid a claim to territory within the US as the Kurds do within Iraq. You seem to disagree. Care to explain why?

you hairy-ass monkey. Never again expose me to these disgusting personal data.