canyondweller

For sure! Didn't make it into any of mattp's pics.

Oooh! Can't wait to meet archenemy. Is she as pretty as they say? Is she a girl? What surprises!!!

This is one of the most irresponsible statement I've seen on this forum in some time (which is saying a lot since Dave Schuldt posts here). I hope you have an appreciation for your freedom to be so loose-lipped. Carry on.

Embassies are sovereign territory of a given country. I'm not sure you were alive, at the time, but there was a little thing back in '79 where our embassy was attacked and hostages were taken. I'd consider that an attack on our country; you may not, but you'd be wrong. noliquidity - Maybe you missed the part where GWB sent a letter imploring Pelosi to abandon her pursuit of this resolution, at this time. Further, Nancy Pelosi is not one to go helping the Republicans (remember her little visit to Syria?).

Many people have considered the timing here, including eight former secretaries of state who have implored Nancy Pelosi to desist from pursuing this resolution. What Pelosi, in effect, is doing is taking informed action to DE-STABILIZE a currently stable region. Turkey is one of our best allies in that region, not to mention a treaty-bound NATO ally (2nd largest standing army in NATO, after the U.S.) Pursuit of this resolution puts American soldiers at greater risk. For what? Ending, or greatly curtailing, the war in Iraq is small potatoes here. Pelosi is taking steps to actively isolate the U.S. from a strong ally. Another, unconfirmed source has said that the Armenian Lobbyists aren't even pushing this resolution at this time. Makes it even more odd.

How do you see 48,000 PAID mercenaries to be volunteer? Just in case you actually need an answer to this question, I'll spell it out to you. Each of these men made a choice to take the job. Whether they get paid, or not, is immaterial; likewise, how much they get paid is a non-issue. No one press-ganged any of these guys into service. Many of them left other jobs to take this one. Does that make it clearer?

Which “small man on the ground” are you referring too? The troops that are forced to have 5 repeat duties……and are forced to go…..or the PAID mercenaries making butt loads of cash…… Your rhetoric aside, I think this applies to all parties:

A couple of hazy stats, wrapped up in someone's misguided opinion. My only problem with it is, I wasted 15 seconds reading it. Carry on.

That pretty much supports my point. Strengthening your core does little to remove the layer of fat covering your abdominal and oblique muscles. Not having the "pack" doesn't mean the strength isn't there.

True enough. My point was, diet is an important component, in addition to core exercises. Many people do thousands of crunches, and the like, hoping to get that look but never change their diet (or do not change it correctly); consequently, they fail. Good luck.

Abs, and the elusive 6-pack, are more a function of diet than exercise.

I thought is was sex.....or lack of. Thats why people have affairs. Or at least why men have affairs. Dude, women have just as many affairs as men. True, but for different reasons. I love it when suddenly a man pretends to understand women's motives. It makes for a good laugh. Obviously, everyone has their own motives. However, speaking statistically, based on anecdotal evidence, I believe he is correct. Rules of thumb apply, disclaimer that, blah, blah, blah. Bottom line is, IN GENERAL, a woman's motives for an affair seem to differ from a man's motives.

Major props to Ellen for getting into the ring! Two things I noticed, though. She needs to keep her guard up when throwing combinations, and she needs to move (i.e., circle and create angles). Good job, though. P.S. I see my abs (all of them) every day.

I'm not tossing my autographed Hans Florine 'Nose Speed Record' poster.

I expect that you know, better than I, how lethargically the Government moves. I don't think the DSS, or the DoS, could produce fully trained agents in the timeframe necessary.

Now THAT'S refreshing! Thanks.

You post a quote, which is grammatically correct, and comment with a sentence fragment. Hmmm...yep, keep the training wheels on.

There are no dots to connect, as Serenity implied. You cut and pasted a picture from an on-line news article, based on an 'Iraqi Government preliminary report...' [underline mine] Blackwater was not involved. Thus, you are attempting to draw a connection where none currently exists, while the rest of us are working on having an intelligent conversation (virendra7 excluded).

I don't know, that post would probably land him a job with the NY Times; 'discernment' is not their watchword.

Nice try, junior. Keep the training wheels bolted on for a few more weeks.

You are drawing the wrong comparison. As Serenity said, Blackwater's contractors have a different mission profile than the average soldier on the ground. Blackwater contractors provide diplomatic security and, in order to be factual, need to be compared to similar in grade: Source

Beautiful pics! Thanks.

Actually, I wasn't comparing to "a typical gym". You can get off the 'true fitness and good health' high horse, too. I can see you're drinking the KoolAid. Look, I didn't say it wasn't a good program; I've been to the Eastside location to check it out. I'm just saying it's a little pricey, in MY opinion. Yours obviously differs.

$150 a month is a little steep, IMO.

Well said, my young friend. I'm glad to see you back home, and safe. CD