astrov

oh wait scott, you might be pointing out a Russian human rights abuse .... I'm sure the US would have gladly told Stalin to knock if off, if only the NYTimes had been honest.

"Am I not allowed to feel sorrow for those in the World Trade Center because I was from Seattle?" You just said you didn't live in Sudan, so you couldn't sympathize with that disaster.

do you live in Grozny?

Mabe to you, and possibly everyone else in the world but for me, I find it attrocious that someone would target and murder naked women and children. You may be a callous asshole, but that doesn't mean that the rest of us are not. Are you so paranoid to think that everything in this world has to do with money? If it really does, you are a worthless piece of shit like the other 99.9999999999999999999999999999999999999% of the people on this earth who do not hold the cards. I choose to believe that people can be good and can do things just because they have honor and decency. No, I think you should calm down with the soap-box righteousness. I don't think you got too upset when millions (that's right) millions of people faced death in Sudan. True, I haven't read every post of yours, but I didn't see you hurling your body against the fence outside Ft. Lewis begging for US intervention. My point is, don't take the "I'm a big-chested, deep-feeling humanist" line of defense to explain your anger. You should be aware that you are upset about this conflict because it dovetails nicely with our present Christ-fueled rage for people with dark skin, and that at another time we would have supported the separatist movement because it coincided nicely with our broader political aims. All beer-swilling Americans did; it was seen as a sign of patriotism. Remember the banner "Hey Soviets, get the Puck out of Afghanistan" in the hockey movie "Miracle"? The Afghans were remorseless fighters, as we now know jihad-style fighers to be, but at the time our interests matched theirs. I just want to hear you yell from your soapbox that the Russians haven't committed any human rights abuses of their own, and that you'd enjoy being dominated by them. Try to be more cognizant of events and not so angry, and maybe we'll get somewhere. Taking this incident out of context and beating your chest about it is a little silly.

Greg, Please wipe off the screen and restate the question. You seem like a great humanist; probably a member of Amnesty International. Then surely you know that in the Chechnya conflict human rights violations are bilateral. Last time (Afghanistan), our great nation sided with the Muslims. This time, we side with our new capitalist friends, the Russians. It's economy, not ideology. But I'm glad to see you're excited because you think this conflict is about the latter. Now, being a humanist, go worry about Sudan.

I think they tried diplomacy.

There’s another correlation, I think all these guys graduated from kindergarten too...Hum? Hitler had a few close calls getting off'ed I bet there are a lot of dead people who wish his lights went out a lot sooner then 1945. When is it expedient to get rid of a monster? When does the cost out-weigh the benefit? Maybe the USA is stepping back and taking a different approach. Look at the recent happenings in Venezuela. Maybe the USA is violating international law, i.e. The Geneva Conventions, in which we agreed not to assasinate leaders of other nations. And another point you're confused on is that we have created the monsters that need "offing". And sure, it would be expedient to get rid of them. And I am not sure what you mean by Venezuela. If you mean, democracy in action, free from CIA interference, I agree, it's a miracle.

bigfoot gears up

to those who believe the US doesn't sponsor terrorism, I suggest reading a history of South America before coming to that conclusion, and taking special note of the School of the Americas of Fort Benning, Georgia. "Among the SOA's nearly 60,000 graduates are notorious dictators Manuel Noriega and Omar Torrijos of Panama, Leopoldo Galtieri and Roberto Viola of Argentina, Juan Velasco Alvarado of Peru, Guillermo Rodriguez of Ecuador, and Hugo Banzer Suarez of Bolivia. Lower-level SOA graduates have participated in human rights abuses that include the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero and the El Mozote Massacre of 900 civilians."

The correlation between being Vietnamese and being Republican is probably less significant than the one between being a recent immigrant and being Republican. That is, it's spurious to say that being Vietnamese leads one to be Republican when you ignore the fact that immigrants generally tend to be republican.

So last wednesday, the Forest Service closed the road 8040 because of the conflagration up ther ... and they reckoned it won't be open until next weekend. I'd like to get up there early this week, is it possible to drive through the Yakama nation to bird creek camp ground and then hike 3 miles or so west to where the slog normally starts? Who would I call to get a permit, I wonder.

nice people. I reccommend shopping w/ them. If they are still available, the BD Shrike Ice tools are in great shape.