Soback

Good prices? Yeah right, let me know if you find a new one at all. It's hard to find good games if they have been out for more than a year.

ROFL, ooops, I was also thinking of Neverwinter Nights at the time I posted that. I've been thinking about it for the last 4 days. Wanted to re-install and play it, but can't find the CD, not even the box, which is kinda weird since I keep them all in one place.

Forget that game. Oblivion is coming out pretty soon, and it's from Bioware, proven company, proven franchise, good games. And I just got that powerleap upgrade for my motherboard. When I get time, I'll just get a better 3D card and some more ram. Good to go.

Animals don't kill for revenge or out of stupidity. They only kill for food or if threatened. Maybe the only animal that would apply is rabbid dog. Those are the only ones that attack just because you pointed at it. Wonder what the animals rights freaks would say if you killed a rabbid dog. ROFL, Lets say a mountain lion wondered into a small town, started killing people and the sheriff put it down. Imagine the outcry of the animals rights morons, "That mountain lion was just doing what it was supposed to do naturally, it's just a poor animal, if we could understand it better, be more humble, and not encroach on it's habitat, it wouldn't attack us". We can draw a paralel to the situation we have now, the liberals and the terrorists. "Terrorists are people too. They are just doing this because we are the bad guys, drawing cartoons about their religion, encroaching on the middle east, buying their oil, drawing them into the 21st century. If we just would be more humble, understand them better and appologise for our way of life, things would be better. They are just doing what their religion tells them to do naturally." My muslim friends tend to dissagree. They HATE those freaks that disgrace their religion by murdering and taking life. Those barbarians, and those murderers offend them just as much as those cartoons offend those protesters, criminals and terrorists.

You mean Mohamed. The same guy that had his brother divorce his wife so HE could marry her. The same guy that was sleeping with 8 year old girls. They are rioting because people printed cartoons about that guy, but they are not rioting the rape of little girls, looting of others property, and murder of innocent people, all the CRIMES COMMITED BY HIM? "In studying the life of Mohammed in an unbiased, factual way free of blind adoration for the man, we see that Mohammed did not fit the description of a man keeping himself pure before God. In fact, his whole life was that of a man living to fulfill his lusts and desires, living a self-centred life at the expense of those who got in his way. This is perhaps not more clearly shown than in his manifested weakness for women. The Qur'an in Surah 4:3 limits a man to four wives, but Mohammed went well beyond this limit. Mohammed took to himself 16 wives through formal marriage. In addition, he kept two women as slave-concubines, and had four devout Muslim women who "gave" themselves to Mohammed as acts of devotion. The complete list of Mohammed's women is below." "Some notes ought to be made concerning some of these women. His first wife, Khadija Bibi, was his employer while he was still a caravan driver. She was his senior by 15 years, and many indications seem to show that she proposed to him, unusual for Arabian society at the time, but less so when the man was in an inferior social and economic situation to the woman 35. His sixth wife, Zaynab of Jahsh was originally the wife of his adopted son, Zayd. However, Mohammed became smitten with Zaynab, and Zayd offered to divorce her so that she could marry Mohammed. This was carried out, and caused great scandal among the early Muslim followers until Mohammed had a timely revelation." "Behold! Thou didst say to one who had received the grace of Allah and thy favor: "Retain thou thy wife, and fear Allah." But thou didst hide in thy heart that which Allah was about to make manifest: thou didst fear the people, but it is more fitting that thou shouldst fear Allah. Then when Zaid had dissolved with her, We joined her in marriage to thee: in order that there may be no difficulty to the Believers in marriage with the wives of their adopted sons, when the latter have dissolved with them. And Allah's command must be fulfilled." (Surah 33:37) Poof! Problem solved, and it suddenly became acceptable for men to marry the wives of their sons. Interestingly, it is in this same surah that Mohammed was given a special exemption from the four-wives limit imposed earlier (Surah 33:50)." "Perhaps most disturbing of all of Mohammed's relations with women is his taking of his third wife, Ayesha. She was six years of age when he "married" her, nine when he consummated the relationship, and she remained his favourite wife throughout the rest of his life. When he died at the age of 62, she was a mere 17 years old. This episode in Mohammed's life points to very distressing paedophilic tendencies in the man." "Muslim men are promised 72 young virgins for perpetual enjoyment. For the sake of propriety, I won't include the quotes, but this all is right there in the Qur'an, in Surat 37:40-48, 44:51-55, 52:17-20, 55:56-58, 70-77, 56:7-40, and 78:31. Additionally, sodomy with young boys plays a role in the Muslim paradise (Surat 52:24, 56:17, and 76:19) with these boys being described using much the same language as was employed to describe the virgins. Of course, Islam's paradise has plenty of wine, wealth, and food for the enjoyment of those who have passed on. Mohammed was a man for whom the fulfillment of bodily pleasures was of paramount, and some would say, consuming importance." "In 623 AD, Mohammed's career in caravan piracy began. Late in that year, several of his Muslim followers, acting upon his orders, ambushed and looted a small Meccan caravan. In this raid, one Meccan was killed, two others taken as slaves, and a sizeable amount of booty captured 38. Emboldened by this success, Mohammed next personally led a raid on the main caravan of the Meccan Quraysh tribe, returning from Syria. In this raid, he led 305 men and was engaged in battle at Badr by a Meccan force of 800-900, with the outcome being a Muslim win. While this Muslim victory was a comparatively small fracas, it is heralded as one of the greatest victories in history by many Muslim historians. The Muslims considered it a miracle from Allah, and viewed it as giving sanction to their piracy." -----Mmmm. Yeah. We killed 800 people with our 300, so must be because God is OK with us murdering and looting. Lets go do it some more. It was at this time that Mohammed finished the expulsion of the several Jewish tribes from Medina, and expropriated their lands and properties for himself and his followers. During the course of all this fighting and raiding, Mohammed and his Muslim followers developed a love for fighting and loot which came from the life of piracy. Mohammed was a violent man. As with other pagan war leaders of his day, it was not merely enough to defeat and control an enemy. After defeating one Jewish town, Mohammed ordered the beheading of all the adult males in the place, numbering anywhere from 700-1000 individuals. The women and children were sold into slavery, and the town looted 43. Muslim tradition also recounts that upon taking Mecca, Mohammed ordered the death of a poetess of the city, Asma daughter of Marwan, who had ridiculed him and who had pointed out that some of the material in the Qur'an had actually been stolen from her father, also a poet, and used by Mohammed. The traditions relate this story as follows, ÔÇ£The Apostle of Allah said, 'Who will rid me of the daughter of Marwan?' ÔÇ£ Upon hearing this, the Companion Umair ibn Udaj went to her house and killed her, reporting back to Mohammed of the deed the next day. It is then recorded, ÔÇ£Then in the morning he was with the Apostle of Allah and said to him, 'O Apostle of Allah, verily I have killed her.' Then (Mohammed) said, 'Thou hast helped Allah and His Apostle, O Umair!' ÔÇ£44 Thus, this "prophet" ordered the death of a woman because of personal vendetta and to protect himself from charges of plagiarism! ------- http://www.studytoanswer.net/myths_ch5.html ------------- Is there anything left to mock? Muslims should be outraged at the TRUTH about Mohammed, but they seem to be more upset at caricatures and fictional cartoons then at the mans actions, which tells us a lot when the people praise, follow and reveer this child molester, looter, thieving criminal. Christianity teaches to forgive, to not be envious and jealous of others success, Islam teaches to loot, steal and kill, as is proven by Mohammeds actions and "revelations". [ 02-03-2006, 09:06 PM: Message edited by: Soback ]

Direct translation means uncultured. Can be applied to rude, obnoxious, bad behaved, bad mannered individual. Like if someone is pushing through a line of people, or someone who is dissrespectfull. Barbarian would pretty much sum it up too. Nomad is not here because he is not against such behavior. In his mind their actions are fully justified. He would go into some twisted tirade about how they take their religion very seriously and by making light of it, the civilized world is wrong, free speech doesn't apply to making fun of muslim religion. He already told us how heavily he is influenced by the middle eastern culture, and the whole processing of information about it in dozens of languages, it needs to be taken very seriously and respected, or more heads might roll. ROFL The reason he hasn't done so, is because if he were to plainly state that, then even the most lame person would see him and what kind of logic his socialism breeds. Who knows, maybe he will post and be able to confuse the ignorant with a jumble of words that disguise the meaning behind the statement, something to the extent of "I understand the actions of the muslims, however I don't condone it, but they are right in killing, shooting, abducting and threating free speech in defending their faith. Also, I read their informational news and also view their televized broadcasts, some even send by satelite with un-altered signal, from original and documented destination, in original language. So you can't udnerstand their reaction because you can't understand their language, and the commandments of their faith. You would be able to if you could process it in German, Spanish, English, Spanglish, Russian, Italian, Indian, and Arabic." However, that wouldn't work in this case because even the most lame person in the world can understand that shooting, killing, maiming, abducting, threatening, ect... someone for expressing their views is WRONG. Of course, in his attempt to blur the distinction of differences between the civilized world and middle east, he would point out that in US (almost exlusevly by the way) liberals and democrats are often threatened and sometimes killed for expresing their views. Which would be a blatant lie, and as I will point out, in the civilized world those kinds of incidents/crimes are exceptions commited by a lunatic. Much unlike in the middle east where such actions are MAINSTREAM.

quote:Originally posted by nomad: The only real & previsible threat to the US, both on geostrategic and economic fields, comes from China. But China doesen't have a drop of oil on its own and must import almost all of its consumption. So whoever take forward positions who may interfere or influence Gulf's business isn't limited to military action or economic sanctions anymore when opposing China, in case should matters take the wrong turn. I guess it's too much asking members here to document themselves on the whole array of measures adopted by China to diversify the panorama of its oil suppliers in order to insure a minimal strategic oil flow as soon it was clear that the US would maintain a strong presence in the Gulf for an undetermined time. Also, the new chinese doctrine who implies naval power projection isn't solely related to the conflict with Taiwan, but includes de facto the capacity to protect and maintain critical maritime oil flows open. That's what is behind your noble cause, conveniently draped into your country's flag, given that there's always a share of the population who automatically shut its brain off as soon the patriotic chord is played... Yeah, most people don't know that Saudi's, our "friends and allies", were negotiating with China last month on an oil for missles program. Violating the missles prolifiration treaty. It's in US interests, not to mention Europes interests too, that we have a military presence in the middle east, to protect and secure our nations future, which depends on the oil coming out of that area, and also to stabilize the region once a war breaks out, be it between China and Europe (China looking for resources if the global economy goes into depression), China and Russia (If China will want oil from the North, why do you think US is buying up interests in Russian oil fields), or China and middle east (one of MANY reasons US military presence in the middle east). What is Europe doing to protect and secure their future and the lives of their people and children? NOTHING but YAPPING, relying solely on US to protect them, while at the same time hindering and interfering with US's actions. You think US population is going to be symphathetic when (not if) Europe is going to need our help? I doubt it. We just might let Europe burn just to weaken the enemy it will be fighting. I know that English is your second language. But you are at least expected to know the defenitions of the words you are using when making a post. So, to clear it up, let me sum up patriotic for you. To protect your country is Patriotic. To protect your country's interests is Patriotic. To insure your country's future and security is Patriotic. To do what is best in the interest of your country, to make sure it survives when things go bad, lives and prospers after, is patriotic. Seeing how the war in the middle east is securing US's future, protecting it's interests, and bolstering it's stand if a major global conflict were to flare up, it's PATRIOTIC to support the war, support the troops and support the President. It's UNPATRIOTIC to bash the president when he is trying to make sure your kids will live long enough to have kids, it's unpatriotic to bash the troops labeling them killers and court marshaling them for killing an Iraq in a conflict zone that might or might not have had a bomb, it is unpatriotic to go protesting in the streets of San Francisco, stopping the economy and keeping people from earning money for a day. The same money that goes towards your social programs and wellfare checks so that you can waste a day protesting. People who are patriotic, don't shut off their brains. They know exactly that Americas future, security and interests are at stake. That's why they are patriotic. On the other hand. People who protest the war, are against Bush, against the troops, are unpatriotic, and ARE shutting off their brains. They are too stupid and ignorant to see that that loaf of bread they are buying in the store for $2.99, with their food stamp, is $2.99 because oil is flowing into US, and that food stamp in their hand is there because someone has a job, because there are people with money, a company, or a smart person, and a good economy that allows them to have a job. That same war in Iraq that is securing US interests and future, means that 15 or 20 years from now, they will be able to walk into a store and buy that loaf of bread for $4.99 instead of $499, and hopefully with their own money. That's why you need to understand and learn the difference between patriotic and unpatriotic, and which ones shut their brains off. The animal rights freaks that can't see past the US farms conditions, see how China, South America treats whales, farm animals and pets, or the developed country's farmers, who want their stock to be prospering and healthy, thus taking care of them (obviously not good enough if you are one of those animal rights freaks, from which you don't hear a single complaint about South Amirica or China). The human rights freaks that protest US building a fence between Mexico and US. Claiming it't inhumane. While you don't hear a peep out of them about how China treats their prisoners, their own people, or how Middle east treats their women. Or the people in US that say care about how illegal immigration affects the lives and rights of THEIR children. Which ones are shutting their brains off? Or how about the enviromentals that subotage and protest big bussinesses, and are for clean energy, while at the same time wanting the wind farms torn down because some birds die when hitting the blades. Sound logical right? Or how about in this case. Which ones turn their brains off. The ones that can't see farther then the next presidential ellection of Democrat good Republican bad, or the ones that want to make sure laws get passed for the next 20 years that will guarantee low taxes, prosperity for bussinesses, jobs, and Americas interests in the world are protected. Now tell me, what majority of people make up which party. [ 01-31-2006, 01:25 PM: Message edited by: Soback ]

I have Rebellion installed right now, with all the hints and a mod with better graphics (pictures). You can't beat Rebellion, well you could, but Empires at War is just not it. Will it make money? Sure. Will it be played 7 years later like Rebellion is right now? No. It's easy to tell which games are good. Just take a look at Vampires Bloodlines. The company went under, so players took up the responsibility of making patches, they are on patch version 2.0 now (the official patch was 1.2). Then there's Freelancer, still being modded and added to on www.lancersreactor.com And then there's the Neverwinter Nights, HUNDREDS of player added items, quests, creatures, ect....Hearts of Iron I/II, Silent Hunter 3, IL2 Surmovik, Falcon...All those communities alive and playing those games. Empires at War seems like just another RTS with a little bit of spice thrown in. Kinda like those other RTS games came out where you could fight on the surface and under ground. That novelty waned real fast.

Conservatives: 124 seats, 36% popular vote Liberals: 103 seats, 30% of the popular vote

What they are trying to do is create another layer of beurocracy and this is their ticket inn for INTERNET TAX. What they want to do, is make a case that commercial and free/shareware internet filters do not work, and as such, they will want to create a government controlled "internet safety team/board" to protect our children from offensive online material, of course. So they are trying to collect data to make and prove their case. Then, to pay for that board, they will argue that internet users will have to pay a "minimal" tax, lets say 1cent per subscriber. And that way, general population doesn't suffer, because only those that use internety pay that tax/fee, and the fee itself will be so small, who can object, it's for our childrens safety. That's how income taxes got started. They used to be 3%. Today, with all the fees and taxes (social security, CA disability, medicare, federal, state) it ammounts to almost 45% of your income. Not to mention that when you go out and use state or federal parks, you have to pay yet ANOTHER FEE and supposedly forget the fact that the federal or state taxes were collected to cover that park in the first place. That's why they are starting with all this. They already tried instituting an internet tax, and failed. Now they are looking for the way around a plain blunt tax by just wanting to create a "internet police board", and how best go about it than by taking data from search companies to make their case. Damn this fricking politicians and berocrats. Working hard on turning United States of America into the next China. May they burn in hell forever. When the government tries to control their citizens, it's a sign that they have already made it past the point of return on a road to collapse. The more they tighten their control, the closer to collapse they get, and yet the harder they try. All you have to do is study history and run the paralel of signs from the past into the present.

A young woman was about to finish her first year of college. Like so many others her age, she considered herself to be a very liberal Democrat, and was very much in favor of the redistribution of wealth. She was deeply ashamed that her father was a rather staunch Republican, a feeling she openly expressed. Based on the lectures that she had participated in, and the occasional chat with a professor, she felt that her father had for years harbored an evil, selfish desire to keep what he thought should be his. One day she was challenging her father on his opposition to higher taxes on the rich and the addition of more government welfare programs. The self-professed objectivity proclaimed by her professors had to be the truth and she indicated so to her father. He responded by asking how she was doing in school. Taken aback, she answered rather haughtily that she had a 4.0 GPA, and let him know that it was tough to maintain, insisting that she was taking a very difficult course load and was constantly studying, which left her no time to go out and party like other people she knew. She didn't even have time for a boyfriend, and didn't really have many college friends because she spent all her time studying. Her father listened and then asked, "How is your friend Audrey doing?" She replied, "Audrey is barely getting by. All she takes are easy classes, she never studies, and she barely has a 2.0 GPA. She is so popular on campus, college for her is a blast. She's always invited to all the parties, and lots of times she doesn't even show up for classes because she's too hung over." Her father asked his daughter, "Why don't you go to the Dean's office and ask him to deduct a 1.0 off your GPA and give it to your friend who only has a 2.0. That way you will both have a 3.0 GPA and certainly that would be a fair and equal distribution of GPA." The daughter, visibly shocked by her father's suggestion, angrily fired back, "That wouldn't be fair! I have worked really hard for my grades! I've invested a lot of time, and a lot of hard work! Audrey has done next to nothing toward her degree. She played while I worked my tail off!" The father slowly smiled, winked and said gently, "Welcome to the Republican Party."

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Sunday lashed out at the country's only Cardinal, who used a major religious ceremony to accuse Chavez of acting despotically and endangering one of South Americas's oldest democracies. Chaves demanded that the country's Roman Catholic hierarchy formally distance itlself from the accusations that Cardinal Rosalio Castillo Lara made Saturday before hundreds of thousands of people attending the procession honoring the "Divine Shepherdess" in the city of Barquisimeto. Castillo, 83, told worshipers that Chavez administration "has lost its democratic course and presents the semblance of a dictatorship." "Insults, hate... it was shameful for the Catholic Church," Chavez said on his weekly television and radio program. "It was undoubtedly a provocation." More than two-thirds of Venezuela's 26 million people are Catholic. ------------------- http://www.securisk.com/alerts/alertdispla...untry=VENEZUELA VENEZUELA 9/26/2005 Chavez Vows to Push Ahead with Land Reform Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on September 25 vowed to accelerate a contested land redistribution program as his government set up a state agrarian project on land seized from a private cattle rancher. Speaking from the La Marquesena farm authorities recently ruled as state property, Chavez urged ranchers to negotiate with the government as it carries out a land reform campaign that has stirred fears over private property rights. "We can't stop with the Marquesena, we have to accelerate all of this," Chavez said during his regular Sunday television broadcast. "We are not carrying out an expropriation, this belongs to the nation, to the state." Redistribution of rural land to state-backed farm cooperatives is one of the central and most disputed reforms introduced by Chavez, a former soldier elected in 1998 promising to fight poverty in the world's No. 5 oil exporter. -------------- 9/27/2005 Government Seizes Food Plant from Private Company Venezuela on September 26 expropriated a processing plant belonging to one of the country's top food producers in the latest state takeover in President Hugo Chavez's social reforms. Lawmakers in Barinas State decreed the corn silos owned by Alimentos Polar could be controlled and managed by former workers in a state-backed cooperative under a law allowing the government to seize idled factories for public use. A campaign by left-winger Chavez to take unproductive farms and abandoned factories has been applauded by supporters for helping the poor, but critics say his government is ignoring property rights in a rush to copy the communist model of his ally Cuban President Fidel Castro. Alimentos Polar, one of the country's largest private sector manufacturers, had said the plant was mostly active and challenged in the Supreme Court what it called an illegal seizure when workers took over the plant earlier this month. Attorneys for the company did not return a call seeking comment on the seizure. ------------- VENEZUELA 10/26/2005 Venezuela Sentences Chavez Plotters A military court sentenced three former Venezuelan military officers and 27 Colombians to prison terms ranging from two to nine years on October 25 for an alleged plot to kill President Hugo Chavez, the state news agency reported. The court also found 73 other Colombians innocent and ordered they be freed from prison, where they have been held for more than 17 months, the state-run Bolivarian News Agency, or ABN, reported. The freed Colombians arrived on October 25 at the Simon Bolivar border crossing on the outskirts of the Colombian town of Cucuta and were taken by authorities to have their fingerprints and photographs taken. ÔÇ£Those who don't have any criminal cases against them can go home,ÔÇØ said Mauricio Rosales, the head of Colombia's DAS secret police in Norte de Santander province. The cases stem from the May 2004 arrest of 118 Colombians at a ranch outside Caracas. Venezuelan authorities said the Colombians were wearing military uniforms and described them as suspected members of a paramilitary group that was plotting to sow ``chaos'' in the country and to assassinate Chavez. Charges were dropped against 18 of the Colombians and they were released days after their capture. Six Venezuelan military officers, both active and retired, were later arrested on charges of military rebellion linked to the case. Three of them were convicted early on October 25 and sentenced to prison terms between two and nine years, ABN reported. Three other former officers were acquitted while 27 Colombians were sentenced to six years in prison. ------------ 11/4/2005 Opposition Groups to Boycott Elections, Hold Multiple Protests On November 3, opposition groups created the National Command for Resistance, to organize protests on the political and grassroots level. The NCR opposition politicians announced that they planned to boycott the December 4 elections for all 167 seats in Congress, to highlight alleged government manipulation of the electoral process. The decision that could allow government allies to increase their slight majority, as some of Venezuela's larger parties plan to participate. The NCR also announced that it planned to organize decentralized protests around the country, under Article 350 of the Constitution. This article protects the right to reject any regime opposed to democracy. The NCR aims to denounce the government through thousands of nationwide protests, too numerous for security forces to repress simultaneously. The group also announced a march against President Hugo Chavez on November 6 in Caracas. ---------------------- 11/7/2005 4 Suspects Detained in 2004 Murder of Prosecutor Venezuelan authorities ordered the detention of four people, including an outspoken journalist, an opposition-aligned businessmen and a Cuban dissident, saying they orchestrated the 2004 assassination of a leading prosecutor. A Caracas court ordered the four detained without charges, a statement from the Information Ministry said. Danilo Anderson, a prosecutor who strongly supported President Hugo Chavez's government, was killed November 18, 2004, when a bomb exploded in his sport-utility vehicle in Caracas. He had been preparing a case against nearly 400 people who backed a short-lived coup against Chavez in 2002. Among the four accused of masterminding his killing is Patricia Poleo, the director of El Nuevo Pais newspaper, who has been a vocal critic of Chavez and was investigating allegations that Anderson had links to an extortion web along with other state authorities. Also accused was Nelson Mezerhane, a prominent local businessman and co-owner of private broadcaster Globovision closely aligned with the country's opposition. The third person accused was Salvador Romani, a leading Cuban dissident based in Venezuela, while the fourth accused, Eugenio Anez, is a retired general in the Venezuelan military. ----------------- 11/15/2005 Mexico, Venezuela Recall Ambassadors in Diplomatic Row Mexico recalled its ambassador from Venezuela on November 14 after Caracas said it would withdraw its top diplomat instead of apologizing after President Hugo Chavez warned Mexican leader Vicente Fox: "Don't mess with me, sir, because you'll get stung." Fox said in a television interview that he would meet with Foreign Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez to decide what to do next. Tensions between Fox and Chavez spilled over after this month's Summit of the Americas in Argentina, where Fox defended a U.S.-backed proposal for a Free Trade Area of the Americas while Chavez proclaimed the idea dead. In the interview with CNN en Espanol, Fox promised to keep the debate with Chavez from becoming personal but added "we can't allow people to offend our country." Mexico said earlier on November 14 that it would kick out Venezuelan ambassador Vladimir Villegas and recall its own ambassador to that country at midnight unless Chavez's government apologized for the remarks. But in a news conference in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, Foreign Secretary Ali Rodriguez said his country would not accept Mexico's demands and considered the ultimatum "unjustified." "The immediate return of ambassador Vladimir Villegas has been ordered," Rodriguez said, adding that a charge-d'affaires would be in charge of the embassy. "This situation is entirely the responsibility of President Fox." Fox responded by saying he was going to continue to fight for free trade - the topic that sparked the dispute between the two leaders. Fox spokesman Ruben Aguilar stressed that withdrawing ambassadors wouldn't mean severing ties completely with Venezuela because business and cultural relations would remain intact. -------------- 11/18/2005 US Warns Venezuela Democracy at Risk Democracy in Venezuela is in grave peril because President Hugo Chavez is trying to concentrate power in his own hands, a top State Department official said on November 17. Newly appointed Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Shannon, in charge of Latin American affairs, told a congressional committee that Chavez's government was "subverting democratic institutions by using them to restrict the rights of those who disagree with it, slowly undermining economic freedoms and rejecting the opportunities of globalization." Shannon's remarks were the latest in a verbal battle between the Bush administration and Chavez. At this month's Summit of the Americas, Chavez led a protest against U.S. policies and opposed President Bush's efforts to win support for a hemisphere-wide free trade zone. The Venezuelan government did not immediately respond to Shannon's comments. Chavez, first elected in 1998 and up for re-election next year, insists he supports democracy and accuses the U.S. government of falsely branding him authoritarian because it disagrees with his socialist policies. He has close ties with Cuban leader Fidel Castro. Shannon said Chavez was centralizing power in the executive and politicizing the judiciary. --------------------- 12/2/2005 Opposition Parties to Boycott December 4 Elections Most of Venezuela's main opposition parties are boycotting legislative elections on December 4 that could allow President Hugo Chavez to consolidate his self-proclaimed socialist revolution. Accusing election officials of favoring Chavez, opposition parties fell into disarray just days before the election after struggling to compete with the president who has spent billions in oil revenues on health and education for the poor. "We believe that a true, autonomous and independent electoral judge would not subject the people to elections in these conditions," Justice First party spokesman Gerardo Blyde said announcing his party's withdrawal. Chavez, an ally of Cuba who has become one of Washington's fiercest critics, blasted the opposition boycott as a U.S.-backed propaganda move meant to strip the vote of its legitimacy and stoke tensions against his government. "Venezuelans, like all people, have a right to free and fair elections," said U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack, rejecting the charges of U.S. meddling. "We are concerned that this right is increasingly in jeopardy." Polls show Chavez is Venezuela's most popular leader and the opposition boycott could hand lawmakers supporting him the majority to pass reforms that critics fear will strengthen his hold on power before 2006 presidential elections. Confident of victory, pro-Chavez lawmakers say they want to begin working on constitutional reforms starting next year that would put an end to limits on presidential elections and take more state control over the Central Bank. "It is clear now the government will get over two-thirds of the National Assembly, perhaps more," said Luis Vicente Leon, director of local polling firm Datanalisis. "This is a disaster for the opposition." --------------------- 12/7/2005 US Voice Concern on Election Results Allies of Hugo Chavez rejected U.S. and opposition concerns about an election victory that gave the Venezuelan leader full rein to pursue his socialist economic model for the oil-rich South American nation. The December 4 congressional elections were expected to put Chavez's party and its allies in control of all 167 seats in the National Assembly. But just 25 percent of eligible voters participated after leading opposition parties boycotted the ballot, saying they could not trust the results. The low turnout was a disappointment for the government, which had denounced the boycott as a ploy to sabotage legitimate elections and implored Venezuelans to go to the polls. "The direct consequence of having carried out transparent elections ... is a calculated attack, scorn, insults and finger-pointing," said Jorge Rodriguez, president of the National Electoral Council and a Chavez ally. The election has further polarized Venezuela, already deeply divided by Chavez's "revolutionary" rhetoric, his leftist policies and his increasingly close ties with Cuba's Fidel Castro. Pedro Lander, a newly elected congressman, said Monday the new National Assembly will aim to "deepen the revolutionary process more and more." The victory would give Chavez's party the two-thirds majority it needs to amend the constitution, something Chavez's Fifth Republic Movement party hopes to do with the aim of extending term limits. That change would allow Chavez to stay on as president beyond 2012 - the current limit if he is re-elected next December. Polls suggest he remains popular and has no formidable challenger. ------------------------ 12/14/2005 Anti-Chavez Union Leader Jailed A Venezuelan labor leader who helped organize a strike against President Hugo Chavez three years ago was sentenced on December 13 to more than 15 years in prison for civil rebellion. Carlos Ortega, one of Chavez's fiercest opponents during months of political turmoil, is the first top opposition leader jailed for the two-month-long strike that failed to topple the president. Hundreds of business and political figures are under investigation for supporting the failed 2002 coup against Chavez that preceded it. The government says opposition leaders who supported the coup and the strike must face rebellion charges for wrecking the economy and sabotaging the country's oil industry in an effort to oust Chavez. Opponents of Chavez say the former soldier is cracking down on political foes as he drives Venezuela closer to the authoritarian model of his ally Cuban leader Fidel Castro through control of the courts and other key institutions. "From prison, I'll keep working, I'll keep fighting to preserve the freedom, democracy and unity of the people," Ortega told Globovision news station by telephone. "I'm no conspirator or coup plotter and I didn't betray my country." Ortega was captured in March in a Caracas nightclub after he returned to Venezuela from asylum in Costa Rica. His attorney said the trial violated due process and that Ortega planned to appeal. Ortega was sentenced to 15 years and 11 months for civil rebellion and instigation charges. ----------------------- 12/16/2005 Opposition March Planned in Caracas Opposition groups will march in Caracas on December 17, beginning at 10 a.m., to decry political persecution. The march is in response to the imprisonment of Carlos Ortega, a union head who led a strike that paralyzed the country from December 2002 to January 2003. The protest march will lead from Plaza Altamira Square in eastern Caracas to the union headquarters in the downtown area. As in past rallies, security forces may forcibly disperse demonstrations. In addition, government supporters may call a counter-march, especially as December 17 is the anniversary of the death of Simon Bolivar, a regional independence leader. --------------------------------- 1/12/2006 Expropriations Overshadow Property Rights, Rule of Law The mayor's office in Caracas expropriated seven abandoned buildings by decree on January 9, to provide housing for displaced people in the city. The legality of the expropriations is in doubt, especially following the invasions of 32 properties in Caracas since January 6. These developments highlight growing uncertainty over the protection of private property rights and the rule of law. ----------------------

Edward Cashman, Scumbags contact information: He serves at Washington District Court. Address: 255 North Main St. Barre VT. 05641, Ph: 802-479-4252 Also, 476-4797 is the phone number to find out the information on when this scumbag (I mean thd judge) will have his next court case appearance. Couldn't find out the area code, but it might be 802 or 800 number. In any case, you could also call the 802-479-4252 number above and find out. Do your job as a citizen and hold those who are paid by your tax dollars accountable. PS, by the way. This judge has quite a history. In one of his earlier rape cases. He told the woman rape victim that she has seen the brutal reality of life and now needs to deal with it. Will see if I can dig up an article about that, kinda doubtfull considering how long ago that was. That's how these scumbags (politicians included) hide by the way. They cause their damage a little bit at a time, waiting for time to "heal" (more like hide) their crimes.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article....RTICLE_ID=48219 "Claiming he no longer believes in punishment, a Vermont judge issued a 60-day sentence to a man who confessed to repeatedly raping a girl over a four-year period, beginning when she was 7 years old." --- Is that "judge" following and upholding the law he has SWORN to uphold? I've said it before, and I will say it again. American people will continue having their country, freedoms and values taken away, violated and abused, TILL, we ALL stand up and DEMAND that politicians are to be held LIABLE and accountable for their crimes. It is a CRIME to violate the laws you have sworn to uphold when taking office, it is a CRIMINAL ACT, and it needs to have a harsh sentence imposed on those that violate it, prison time, all their benefits taken away (that includes the benefits that get passed on to their spouses, through their office positions) and their assets seized. Only then will we see improvement in this country. That type of accountability is inherent to other professions. In aviation, if you have an accident, cause damage, lost lives, even you yourself die in that accident. The people, those who were either involved or affected by that (even kids, relatives, ect...) bring a law suit against the pilots estate. Usually in most cases, the pilots estate ends up going to the plaintiff, regardless if the accident was pilot caused or not. Which means the pilots wife, kids, ect... can end up with NOTHING. Why is it different for politicians that literally mess with our lives and cause us damage with their illigitimate rullings and laws. By the way. The only thing people of Vermont have done, is introduced a resolution, calling for that judge to resign. THAT'S ALL. The worst thing that can happen to that criminal "judge" is that he no longer will have to work, and can stay home, collecting his retirement and medical care for life.

Yes there is. I don't have the systems screen in front of me, but it's either the hangar bay power or some other system, read their names and see if any of them have to do anything with either the hangar bay or interceptor/fighters. I will get back to you on that one by tomorrow evening, once I fire up the game. The intercetor number on the right should turn blue (I think), when it's charging.

You have to charge it. Basically wait and then wait some more.

ROFL. It gets deleted because you probably posted in support forum without a signature. That's why you gotta read the rules. Is it in space, and you need it onboard? Then tracktor beam is your friend. If it's onboard and you mean you can't get it online after it's been damaged, you have to fix it first, and make sure it's batteries are charged. In BCM series, the steps you would need to take if this Sci fi setting was real, is the steps you take in game. So once you start thinking about it, it will be like "Hey, why didn't I realize that before". [ 01-05-2006, 09:46 PM: Message edited by: Soback ]

"Blowhard feels the need to present his credentials before entering the fray - even if they are irrelevant to the discussion. For example, in a movie forum conflict he might attempt to settle the matter by saying, "As a Ph. D. candidate in particle physics I believe I can say with some authority that the 'Beavis and Butthead' movie represents the emergence of a new cultural paradigm." Huh?" ROFL - http://redwing.hutman.net/~mreed/warriorshtm/blowhard.htm That's from the other section in our forum http://www.3000ad.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?u...c;f=38;t=000270

http://www.atr.org/content/pdf/2005/dec/12...lecomTaxRes.pdf A Resolution Requesting the Congressional Delegation of the State of _______________ Support a Repeal of the Federal Excise Tax on Telecommunications WHEREAS, the federal excise tax on communications was enacted in 1898 for the purpose of funding the Spanish-American War; and WHEREAS, the tax was introduced as a ÔÇ£temporaryÔÇØ luxury tax; and WHEREAS, telephone service is no longer a luxury, but rather a necessity for consumers of all income levels; and WHEREAS, the federal excise tax is regressive, as low-income Americans pay a higher percentage of their income for telephone services than high-income Americans; and WHEREAS, telecommunications services are the infrastructure upon which new technologies including the Internet depend, and therefore the telecommunications excise tax discourages expansion of both the telephone infrastructure and new technologies; and WHEREAS, the federal excise tax on telecommunications flows into the general fund, rather than being earmarked for a specific purpose; and WHEREAS, both Houses of Congress passed a repeal of the federal excise tax on telecommunications in 2000, which was vetoed by President William Jefferson Clinton; be it therefore RESOLVED, that the Legislature of the State of __________________ requests our Congressional Delegation to support a repeal of the federal excise tax on telecommunications. If you have any questions about this sample resolution, please contact Tom Readmond or Aric Nesbitt at Americans for Tax Reform at (202) 785-0266.

Alright, so a couple of weeks ago I bought a new video card. GeForce 6200, BGF or PNY, one of them. But it doesn't matter. It was an impulse buy and later on as I read about the card I realized I should've just done more research and bought a 6600. So, a couple of weeks later (I've been busy and couldn't exchange the card), I am looking to buy a new one. Now my motherboard is Asus P4T, it supports P4 up to 2Ghz, which I will be fixing by getting an addapter from socket 423 to 478 from www.powerleap.com that will bring it up to P4 2.8 Ghz. Also, the motherboard supports AGP 4x, but I've read around and it seems like even if you get an 8x video card, it will still run in a 4x slot. Here's my choices. I like Asus, my motherboard is Asus, and I am set on GeForce. Brand and manufacturer loaylty if nothing else. I like Asus manufacturing quality and GeForce brand. Choice 1: http://stores.tomshardware.com/search_tech...asterid=6717936 Asus 6600/TD, 256 mb, Core clock speed 300, effective memory speed 500, 4x AGP OR Choice 2: http://shop.upgradesource.com/product_info...oducts_id=99212 Asus 6600GT/TD, Core clock speed 500, Ramdac speed 400, Memory core speed 900, BUT it only has 128 mb, and also is an 8x AGP So, now obviously the 128 mb card will run a little faster, but also not to it's full potential so those clock speeds will be reduced due to my 4x AGP. The 256 mb will run a little slower, but it's a 4x which will run to it's full potential in my motherboard and also has 256 as opposed to 128 mb. Lets put it to a vote shall we. What do you guys think?

LOL< notice how even the expropriation of that factory turned around and bit them in the ***. The workers used the government to loot the factory and forcefully take it from the RIGHFULL owner, and then used a loophole in their constitution to appropriate the factory from the society. ROFL. Socialism is a mental disorder. They are nothing but criminals, living off of the labors of others, looting others, and using others as slaves.

Here's the last couple of months time line http://www.coxandforkum.com/archives/000661.html September 07, 2005 Hugo Chavez From the The Washington Post: Socialism a Hard Sell for Some Venezuelans. The shopping mall is a blur of Guess jeans, Louis Vuitton purses and Motorola cell phones, a temple of consumerism in a country that is supposed to be on a path toward socialism. So popular is the Sambil Mall that "Sambil society" has become a derogatory term in the Venezuelan socialist vocabulary. Reject it and build a fairer Venezuela, President Hugo Chavez urges his nation of 25 million people. "We're capitalists, consumers by nature," said 26-year-old Marbelys Gonzalez, strolling through the mall with two friends, carrying a shopping bag filled with five pairs of designer jeans. ... Chavez says capitalism created Venezuela's poverty, and a "new socialism of the 21st century" can end it. "It's the search for social justice, for equality," Chavez said recently. "The capitalist model is perverse. It favors a minority and expropriates from the majority." In his nearly seven years in power, Chavez has presided over a society increasingly divided by his politics and sometimes shaken by spasms of street violence pitting his supporters against his enemies. It remains unclear what sort of socialism Chavez may achieve, but his latest moves provide hints _ raising taxes on foreign companies pumping oil, setting up stores to sell cheap food to the needy, subsidizing farming and industrial cooperatives, and handing over some wealthy ranchers' lands to poor farmers. ... "Every day it looks more like the communism of Fidel Castro," says Jesus Garrido Perez, an opposition congressman. "The economic disaster has begun." ... Some opponents accuse Chavez, a former army officer elected in 1998, of planning an assault on private property, pointing to his land reform program as a starter. But Chavez has insisted private property will be respected and business encouraged. So far, his sharpest attacks on the wealthy have been verbal. "It's bad to be rich," Chavez said in one speech. "Those who have a lot of money should donate it." ... "You have to strip yourself of individualism," he urged listeners in one televised address. "You have to strip yourself of the yearnings for personal wealth. You have to strip yourself of egotism. You need to be, simply, useful." See the writings of Ayn Rand for a refutation of such collectivism. In other Chavez-related news: Heinz Calls on Venezuela to Give Back Seized Ketchup Plant. Posted by Forkum at September 7, 2005 04:44 PM -----How his verbal attack progressed http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1362159/posts CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuela plans this week to take land from four private farms, including a British-owned cattle ranch and an eco-tourism reserve, as part of President Hugo Chavez's agrarian reforms for the poor, authorities said on Sunday. National Land Institute director Eliezer Otaiza told Reuters the government would take parts of El Charcote farm, run by British meat producer Vestey, and the Hato Pinero reserve to develop state-sponsored agriculture projects. "The land is going to pass over to us now," Otaiza said in an interview. "Tomorrow starts the rescue process." Chavez says the agrarian reform campaign will respect private property rights, but his aggressive call for land redistribution has stirred fears that authorities will ignore due process and carry out illegal land grabs. Otaiza said the state would take control of the land, because the four farms had failed to prove ownership, but they had 60 days to appeal to the courts. Agroflora, the local Vestey representatives, were unavailable for comment, and the owners of Hato Pinero could not be contacted. The 2001 land law allows the government to take land ruled as belonging to the state and expropriate private farmland judged idle or unproductive. The land law was one of several reforms that triggered three years of conflict between the populist Chavez and his opponents, who say he wants to copy Cuba's Communist model. The decision on the four farms follows weeks of land inspections, begun at the start of this year when Chavez ordered regional authorities to speed up the agrarian reform after he won an August referendum. Otaiza said the state would take around 12,350 acres of the 32,000-acre (13,000-hectare) El Charcote farm and "80 to 90 percent" of the 198,123-acre (80,212-hectare) Hato Pinero farm reserve. But he said the measures were not expropriations because the land was public. The government must pay compensation at market price for any land it expropriates, but not if the land is judged to belong to the state. Chavez, a former army officer elected in 1998 promising to use the country's oil revenues to fight poverty, has said he wants to redistribute hundreds of acres of idle farmland nationwide to farm cooperatives. -----That was the SCUM BAGS looting land, here's an article about the scum bags looting industry http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news.php?newsno=1605 Caracas, Venezuela, April 28, 2005ÔÇöVenezuela's President Hugo Ch├ívez announced the expropriation of the Constructora Nacional de Valvulas (CNV) in a ceremony at the Presidential Palace in the capital Caracas, yesterday. CNV makes valves used in the oil industry and was a long-time associate of the state oil company PDVSA until it closed in 2003. Labor minister Maria Christina Iglesias and a group of former-CNV workers were also present at the announcement, where Ch├ívez signed a decree expropriating CNV. The National Assembly had previously declared it to be of ÔÇÿpublic utility,ÔÇÖ a legal prerequisite to expropriation. CNV is only the second company to be expropriated by the Venezuelan government and is to be run under a system of shared worker-state co-management. VenezuelaÔÇÖs first expropriation, last January,ÔÇöof the paper factory VenepalÔÇöwas announced as part of a nation-wide endogenous development campaign called ÔÇ£made in Venezuela.ÔÇØ The campaign seeks to promote national industrial and agricultural development in an attempt at diversifying VenezuelaÔÇÖs oil-dominated exports, and reducing dependency on imports. In December 2002, the then main labor federation, the Confederation of Venezuelan Workers (CTV) and chamber of commerce federation Fedecamaras jointly declared a nation-wide ÔÇ£general strikeÔÇØ aimed at ousting President Ch├ívez. The most destructive aspect was the near-total shutdown of the oil industry, accompanied by sabotage resulting in billions of dollars in damage and losses. In many cases, including both Venepal and CNV, employers locked workers out and shut down production for the entire 2 month strike. As reported by Jorge Martin, writing for the Hands Off Venezuela campaign, the closure of CNV for the duration of the strike left over 100 workers without income. With the end of the strike/lock-out CNV owner Andr├®s Sosa Pietri refused pay promised back-wages to workers, provoking a group of workers to begin agitating for radical change at the factory. In May 2003 workers decided to occupy the entrance to the factory in an attempt to prevent Pietri from moving machinery out and closing down the factory. The occupation was declared illegal by the Venezuelan courts, and workers were eventually convinced to abandon the occupation. But the expropriation of VenepalÔÇönow the Endogenous Paper Industry of Venezuela (Invepal)ÔÇöearlier this year inspired workers around the country to renew their efforts at their own factories in the hope that they would be the next Invepal. On February 17, 2005, 63 former-CNV workers re-occupied CNV, this time taking over the entire factory, rather than just the entrance. Back in January, at the signing of the decree to expropriate Venepal, Ch├ívez sent a warning to the Venezuelan land-owning class: ÔÇ£TodayÔÇÖs expropriation of Venezuela is an exception, not a political measure. We arenÔÇÖt going to steal your land; if itÔÇÖs yours, itÔÇÖs yours. But to the factories that are closed, and abandonedÔÇöweÔÇÖre coming for you. For all of you. For the rescue of the industrial fabric.ÔÇØ Speaking to workers at yesterdayÔÇÖs expropriation of CNVÔÇönow the Endogenous Valve Industry of Venezuela (Inveval)ÔÇöCh├ívez reiterated this statement, warning that other companies that abandon their factories should be taken over and turned into ÔÇ£Inve-no-se-que-cosaÔÇØ (Inve-whatever). Pioneering Venezuelan Co-Management The expropriation of Venepal and CNV, and the advancement of co-management in state run enterprises such as the electrical company Cadafe and the Aluminum factory Alcasa are not only a product of the governmentÔÇÖs ÔÇÿMade in VenezuelaÔÇÖ strategyÔÇöthey also represent hard-fought battles by workers all over the country. But the business of worker-management is complex, and as a Venezuelan trailblazer, the pressure on Invepal to feed the hopes of workers at factories throughout the country is high. While it remains unclear exactly what is going on at Invepal, recent developments suggest a deviation from workersÔÇÖ earlier goals. At a recent forum on co-management, a former member of the executive of VenepalÔÇÖs now defunct union and current member of the directorate of Invepal, Alexix Ornevo, noted that since they no longer had any bosses, they longer needed a union, as workers were now grouped into a cooperative (Covimpa) to run the company. And as a cooperative, Ornevo was quick to point out, they got several benefits including Constitutional relief from paying taxes. Also thanks to the 1999 Bolivarian Constitution, CovimpaÔÇöcurrently owners of a 49 percent share in InvepalÔÇöwere legally entitled to increase that share up to 95 percent. OrnevoÔÇÖs presentation caused serious concern among many in the audience, who worried that the model of co-management and worker agency in the country was setting the stage to become a model for capitalist cooperatives. ÔÇ£As we saw in [the] presentation on Invepal,ÔÇØ said Federation of Electrical Workers (Fetraelec) president Angel Navas in an interview, ÔÇ£they are having some serious problems, they seem to be thinking as managers.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Eight-hundred workers will be sole owners of the company. And if it becomes profitable, are these workers are going to get rich? This is a company that is supposed to belong to the entire country; my company canÔÇÖt only belong to the workers, if we make profits they belong to the entire population. This is a responsibility that we all have,ÔÇØ said Navas.

US missed an opportunity to dissarm North Korea? How about EU. What has EU done in the last 50 years? Zilch that's what. So don't try to say that we are missed an opportunity to act on North Korea by getting involved in the middle east, what we do is our bussiness, and considering that EU hasn't done anything but stew like aged *****, and considering you are live in EU, the last thing you can do is go around talking about what US should do concerning world involvment. Second, Chavez IS a scum bag. It doesn't matter if he was elected or not. He is CONFISCATING other peoples land and property. If majority voted to take your house away, does that make it right? I guess when the time comes, and EU will vote that there is NO such thing as private ownership (hey, they already voted that there is no such thing as certain intellectual property by refusing certain software patents rights), you will be ok with them confiscating everything you worked your whole life for, expropriating it all for "the good of the people". No matter who and how many voted for such wrongs, doesn't matter, for it is WRONG and CRIMINAL. So, Chavez being a scum bag is not just my opinion, it is a FACT. As far as Belorussia goes. I hate the country so much that if there was ever a war and U.S. chose to invade it just like it did Iraq, to overthrow those criminals in power, and set up a REPUBLIC, I would support U.S. and fight for it. I came to U.S. when I was 11. I didn't jump the fence, and I didn't violate any laws. I haven't accepted any social programs, including government grants for education. I paid taxes since the age of 15. If you compare my track record to some of U.S. BORN citizens, you will understand that a word CITIZEN should mean more than just being born on a certain side of the border. Unfortunatly it doesn't, that's why U.S. is in the shape it is now, because those "citizens" and illegals think U.S. owns them, liberals have granted those people a sence of entitlement, the right to rob, loot, and live off of your neighbors labors. So, as far as me just talking instead of acting, I am acting. When I told you that the BEST way to fight socialism is to STOP working to the best of your ability and stop supporting it, I wasn't kidding. It destroyed North Korea, those people DO NOT want to work for the government, without even realizing it, they know enough to feel that it's simply not worth it, they don't want to be slaves, and THAT'S why the country is in the shape it is. It also destroyed Russia, people, smart, skilled, intelligent people, stoped applying their skills, smarts and intelligence. They stoped working for the benefit of the society, because it wasn't benefiting them. Russia collapsed. So, like I was saying, me, I am working, to support myself. When I make enough to never work again, I will not continue making more and giving the socialist scum the benefits of my labor, my inventions, and my intelligence. I will take my money and live off of it the way I chose, and maybe I will even be able to convince others, interpenuers, inventors, capitalists to do the same. Once they listen and understand how the scum lives off of them, and gaining that extra million will not do anything for them beyond what they already have, nothing but feed the scum and the looters, maybe then they will STOP. How long will the leeches last without us Nomad? LOL, How long will you be able to feed them? How long will you be able to give out wellfare, to support all the scum, leeches and looters, how long will your socialism last when the slaves revolt and REFUSE to work?

North Korea's Block and Food Aid Reflects Regime push for control Seoul, South Korea - North Korea's move to ban international humanitarian assistance starting on Saturday is part of a campaign to regain control over food distribution, limit outside contracts and avert possible urban unrest. Since famine killed an estimated one million North Koreans a decade ago, the communist regime has accepted foreign aid to alleviate chronic food shortages. But North Korea says it no longer wants food aid from private charities and the United Nations' World Food Program. Insted, it is seeking development assistance for projects such as power plants - which it is unlikely to get as long as it pursues nuclear weapons. The stark about-face comes in conjunction with another decision from Pyongyang: to ban free-market sales of food grains inside the country and revive its socialist ration system. The moves suggest North Korea is increasingly concerned about the threat to political stability posed by potentially restive urban populations. That group has suffered from high unemployment and skyrocketing inflation as the government has worked to refashion its ailing, centrally planned economy. North Korea seems to be picking up "signs of frustration and discontent," says Rudiger Frank, an economist and North Korea expert at the University of Vienna in Austria. "They felt they had to pull the emergency brake" on moves toward freer markets that were helping farmers at the expense of the city dwellers. The moves are a big gamble for a country where food is in chronically short supply. But this year, North Korean farmers had what is believed to be their best harvest in a decade. The country, which objects to what it considers intrusive monitoring by aid agencies, also received large food donations - with few strings attached - from its neighbors, South Korea and China. Aid officials and economists question, however, whether Pyongyang can repeat this performance in 2006. If crops fail or Seoul and Beijing are less generous, the country could slip back into famine, they say. Asked for comment, a diplomat at North Korea's mission to the U.N. in New York reiterated earlier statements that the ammount of outside food aid is small and isn't needed any more. The World Food Program, which last year helped feed more than a quarter of North Koreans, has been talking to Pyongyang for months to keep up food deliveries. The agency's executive director, James Morris, went to Pyongyang earlier this month for talks, but left without an agreement. The agency is consulting donors to see if they will support the kind of program that North Korea wants. World Food Program officials haven't made public details of Norht Korea's demands. But Richard Ragan, head of its North Korea operations, says, "One of their key objectives is to limit the international presence in the country." The agency now has more than 30 foreign staffers monitoring food deliveries across North Korea. North Korea also has told private aid groups they must end humanitarian - assistance programs by early next year. Some already have pulled out. Catholic charity Caritas, for instance, closed a food aid - monitoring office it ran with other non - government organizations, though the group says it wants to remain "engaged" in North Korea. Monopolizing rice and grain distribution gives Pyongyang an important tool of control over its people and the economy. Limiting the number of foreign aid workers in North Korea will restrict the already - meager flow of information about conditions indside the isolated nation to the outside world. U.S. and South Korean officials say that they haven't detected any signs of serious dissent or instability in North Korea. Leader Kim Jong II appears firmly in control. But, they say, Mr. Kim's regime has been moving to tighten its grip, banning cellphones and reinstating stricter limits on internal travel. It also is reversing liberalizing steps taken starting in the summer of 2002 that were designed to increase the role of markets in its socialist economy. Wages were increased and state enterprises were instructed to focus on profitability. Decison - making was decentralized and private sales of food and manufactured goods was legalized. *DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT SOCIALISM IS? Private sales of food and manufactured goos was ILLEGAL, the Government DECIDED HOW MUCH FOOD YOU NEEDED TO LIVE, and WHAT GOODS YOU COULD HAVE* Much of the focus was on agriculture. Collective farms had to deliver a portion of their output to the state - run Public Distribution System for sale to citizens at subsidized prices. But the rest could be sold at higher prices in the market. Farmers also were permitted to till private plots and sell produce in small markets that had sprung up around the country. All this appears to have helped boost food production, augmented by big grain shipments from China and South Korea. By last year, many North Koreans were obtaining much of their food from the market, while the government's distribution system was withering. But recently, the government abruptly changed course. Soldiers were deployed to guard fields and monitor the harvest to make sure all rice and other grains ended up in government warehouses. Aid workers say the government purchased the grains at prices well below those prevailing in the market. *Yeah, right, "purchased"* The apparent goal is to revive the reation system, say aid workers and experts. Instead of going to the market, women now queue up in food - distribution centers *kinda like slaves*, where officials behind a bank teller - like window dispense grain through a chute, aid workers say. People are allowed to purchase a fixed ammount of grain at subsidized prices. Gerald Bourke, a spokesman for the World Food Program in Beijing who recently visited some distribution centers in North Korea, says rice was on sale for far less than the prevailing market rate before the recent changes. North Korea says the average daily ration for adults has doubled under the new system. The government hopes the shift will help ease the pain of people in they cities, where the collapse of industry has left many unmeployed *so they make slaves out of the rest of the population and farmers to feed all* and without enough money to buy adequate amounts of food in the market *hence the reason the government looted the farmers by "purchasing" their grains under market prices, to give their grains to the rest of the people*. It likely reflects concern that further hardship could lead to unrest in cities and towns, analysts say. The revival of the ration system also gives the government an important tool to control the population. "The government's influence over its people has diminished with the rise of the market," says Lee Young Hoon, an economist who tracks North Korea for South Korea's central bank. "The government doesn't want to stand by and let this happen." Under the current system, says Mr. Frank, the University of Vienna economist, people who are employed receive larger rations than those who are unemployed, a sign, he says that the government is using food in an effort to prod people to return to state - run factories. Many have largely abandoned their jobs in the centrally planned system in order to earn a living by trading and working in the informal sector. "They're very uncomfortable. They want to have people back in the system," says Mr. Frank. Taking control of food sales also allows the government to clamp down on flows of money that have created rival power centers. "Some in the elite started making money. And power groups started to form around the flow of cash," says a senior U.S. official involved in North Korea policy. "There is a high level of discomfort with the redistribution of wealth *from the SCUM to the people who ACTUALL EARN THE MONEY, and the SCUM in power is UNCOMFORTABLE* and the new loyalty groupings that have been forming around people with access to money." *That's why in Socialism, money is linked to power, and power linked to evil. To perpetuate the thoughts that only the government and it's officials should have money/power, because they know better than you, they know how much food you need, and how many goods you need to live, and will take care of you* Many aid officials and ecnomists question whether North Korea will be able to keep the ration system going in the long term. The sudden change in the government's social contract may undo the incentives that helped boost food production in the first place. "You can do that once," says Marcus Noland, an economist and North Korea expert at the Institute for International Economics in Washington. "But one has to assume that farmers will revert to their old coping mechanisms, harvesting crops early and hiding them in farming secret plots." The University of Vienna's Mr. Frank, however, says Pyongyang's plan could succeed if it curbs the hyper - inflation that has hobbled the economy. If the North can then attract foreign capital to get some of its industry operating again, market - opening efforts could resume. -----> Coming up in the next couple of days, The Ugly Face of Socialism part II. An article about how the Venezuelas scum bag Chavez is expropriating "idle" industry and land. US HAS to lock down it's borders and STOP accepting any and ALL emigrants from third world coutnries. Maybe those people that hate socialism enough to pick up and more thousands of miles away, changing their whole life, in many cases move illegaly, putting themselfs in mortal danger, will actually stay in their native countries and FIGHT TO DESTORY socialism, to make their own countries better.

Mmmmmm, people stop posting when discussion ends, in other cases people stop posting when they can't make a coherent reply in answer to another post. If you track Nomads posting record. He can stop posting in the middle of the thread when someone makes a post full of facts and logic that disproves, dissagrees and counters his point, and picks up 10 posts later, from where he left off, like the previous posts never took place and people can't remember. It happened in the France riots thread, it happened in Socialism thread and multitude of other threads. Whenever someone makes a logical point backed up by facts, and he can't counter it, he dissapears and comes back later, posting like it never happened.