Menchise

quote: So tell me Menchise, how do you think US should handle this? I have some ideas. First of all, I wouldn't take any risks with the Northern Alliance, even if they are supposedly kept in check by the king, because they would become another Taliban in five years. Secondly, I wouldn't request the support of Pakistan, because they would expect the lifting of military sanctions in return for their cooperation (remember the nuclear tests?). Thirdly, instead of issuing an ultimatum, which effectively limits the options, I would offer a deal to the Taliban that they are not likely to refuse. Hand over Bin Laden in exchange for military aid in the war against the Northern Alliance. If they refuse, then the military aid goes to the Northern Alliance (something they would never want to happen, which is why they won't refuse). If they accept, then advisors and consultants (employed by the CIA) are sent in to Afghanistan with two missions, one overt and one covert. The overt mission is to provide the military aid that was promised in the deal, in the form of US military equipment, but not the means of producing it. The covert mission is to organize and provide weapons and training to a new resistance movement in the south consisting of Afghan civilians, including a lot of angry women. While the Taliban are busy using their resources to destroy the Northern Alliance, the resistance in the south grows over time. When the Northern Alliance is destroyed, the military aid to the Taliban is ceased, and the Southern Rebellion begins its attack. With the intelligence gathered by the advisors and consultants during their dealings with the Taliban military, the rebellion knows exactly where and when to strike to gain a strategic advantage. Also, due to the end of military aid, the Taliban would no longer have the means to maintain and/or repair any of the US military equipment that they received and gradually became dependant upon. With a little luck, the Taliban would be overthrown, and Afghanistan becomes a free nation and a long term ally of the US.

Bad things always happen at malls. Long queues, lack of parking spaces, two drivers fighting over a parking space, overcharging at the counter, painfully generic cheerful musack, the list goes on.

The most fierce enemy is the one who has nothing left to lose. Imagine 30 million people (a hypothetical figure) without homes, in a barren wasteland littered with armed warheads that failed to explode on impact, and a family that's half as big as it used to be, then tell me how long the peace will last.

quote: You are talking to a veteran, and I am a veteran as well. When you start to defend a known mass murderer, Saddam Hussien, then we get a little upset. I get a little upset when people accuse me of defending mass murder.

quote: Ever hear of the "TALIBAN"? As I recall, this was supposed to be a war against the attackers of the WTC, not the Taliban. quote: Or do you support terrorist nations that suppress women and harbor murderers in the name of peace? You know what, Nick? I *DON'T* want YOUR kind of peace. I don't want a peace where people are violently oppressed. Hey. Stop telling me what I want. You're not a mind reader, you know. quote: If that is what YOU want, so be it. Do you really think that is what I want? quote: If you do NOT want that, but preferthe peace that I do, then continuing to condemn those who actually sacrifice for it is hypocritical. I don't believe that this war will achieve any kind of long term peace. Therefore, I'm not being hypocritical.

Hey Aramike, calm down. quote: Without provocation? Then what do you call firing SAMs at patrol aircraft? What do you call violating a surrender agreement with regards to WEAPONS inspections? Every two days? quote: Great job in painting a pretty face on the dirty canvas. I wonder what you'd say if the US started persuing similar interests. Perhaps we should lobby for an invasion of a sovereign nation and find out... Just pointing out a fact. Saddam was supported by the US and UK when he was fighting Iran. That's how he got chemical weapons in the first place. quote: So you're a Saddam Hussein backer, eh? Just pointing out a fact. Stop jumping to conclusions. quote: Do you REALLY think that Saddam Hussein's "reform programs" would help ANYONE? Can you prove that they wouldn't? quote: Besides, he had his chance. Then he invaded a sovereign nation with ZERO provocation. And you want the world to give THAT TYPE OF PERSON a chance to make MONEY? How would he be making money out of it? quote: Why the HELL do you think he doesn't want weapons inspectors in there, because he's making vegetable oil? Did I say that he should be left alone? No. Did I say that we shouldn't be suspicious? No. quote: He has had PLENTY of opportunities to feed his people, even post-Gulf War. That is NOT the person that will take care of his people if sanctions are lifted. If that's true then the US and UK should be providing support for the people to overthrow him instead of making him look like a victim by destroying everything in the country. quote: So, the solution would be to remove him from "office", and that would have to be by force. But you don't want THAT either. Another assumption. quote: Here's what YOUR logic would be likely to produce: we lift sanctions, Saddam has more money to produce weapons of mass destruction. Saddam Hussein has a HISTORY of aggressive action against neighboring states, INCLUDING the use of chemical agents, EVEN ON HIS OWN PEOPLE. Here is how my logic works: Offer to lift the sanctions on the condition that he cooperates with weapon inspectors. If he refuses, then expose his refusal to the Iraqis and they will question his priorities. If he accepts, keep an eye on him. If he does something else foolish, then withdraw the deal. If he doesn't, well then... quote: There's only one word for a stance that HISTORY proves to be not only unlikely, but near impossible: naive. Maybe I am naive on this issue, but your near-hysterical cap writing isn't helping. quote: So if Hitler's popularity increased when Germany was bombed you'd be pro-Hitler? Brilliant... A brilliant twisting of my words.

quote: She is in the game menchise. Its the female High Elf avatar. Oh.

quote: Social Justice? No such animal in this type of war. It is about to become what you would call destroy or be destroyed. We will either destroy them, or they will destroy us. Who exactly is "them"? quote: We are infidels, and therefore deserve to be destroyed as far as they are concerned. Well, We shall be the last ones standing, there can be NO social justice... Why are we regarded as infidels? I don't think it's because we're not Islamic. quote: Christians and Jews have not problem co-existing with Muslims. Not according to the beatings and arsen that occurred after the planes hit. quote: By the way Menchise, when osama desides to PURIFY Australia, I will turn on my tv and see the peace demonstrations put their arms together and welcome the first nuclear, biological, or chemical missle, or maybe a plane into their cities, I will not stand by and let that happen in the country where I live. Why do you assume that the peace demonstrators do not want to see Osama punished? War was never the only option, and the large scale sorties indicate that there is more to this war than simply punishing terrorists (which they have not done at all).

quote:Anyway the facts remain that in Iraq, and Afganistan, those countries leaders are responsible for the majority of deaths in their countries. Those who cheer inside that country are either indoctrinated from youth or made to at gunpoint. It's a backwards society, both leaders of each country hide their military equipment among hospitals and orphanages. We have the civility to at least use our military to defend instead of to terrorize. Our people are fighting for freedom. You ignored the facts that Iraq is bombed every second day without provocation, and 41 percent of the casualties are civilians. Here are some other facts for you: Iraq was not regarded as backward by the US until Saddam started pursuing Iraqi interests that contradicted with US interests. Secondly, the economic sanctions against Iraq (not to mention the constant bombings) prevent Saddam from implementing the social reform programs that he announced in the 1980s, which would actually help to improve the living conditions of the population. Is it any wonder that his popularity increases when Iraq is bombed? quote: We know within a 40 Kilometer square, EXACTLY where Bin Laden is. We are making darn sure that he can't go anywhere. Then why isn't that 40 square kilometer area being attacked instead of every major city in Afghanistan?

Well then, I guess it was prudent to separate the facts from the feelings, eh?

I'll bet that half of them still believe that the blonde elf is in the game, too.

quote: The reason for the war is we can't just go around their cities looking for osama and his buddies because then our people will be killed, therefore we kill the supporters and protectors of osama to get to him and other terrorists. You do realize that Osama has millions of supporters, don't you? Over 90 percent of them are civilians. quote: Now try and understand how stupid/damaging/ and embarassing those peace protests are. It's like part of the population is trying to protect the other part of the population that says "Hey, we want to be safe, but we don't want you to fight for our safety". I don't believe that the war does anything to improve anyone's safety. As long as the cause exists, there will always be terrorists. Wiping out one group only makes room for another, more fanatical group to take its place. It is an escalation of violence that will never end until social justice is achieved for both sides.

quote: Read this anti-American news story from Great Britain and dissect the feelings from the facts. How in hell is this guy anti-American? He spends just as much time criticizing Blair. He is anti-war. If that makes him anti-American in your eyes, then guess who's being emotional. You want to separate the feelings from the facts, fine. Here they are: The war against terrorism is a fraud. - Feeling After three weeks' bombing, not a single terrorist implicated in the attacks on America has been caught or killed in Afghanistan. - Fact Instead, one of the poorest, most stricken nations has been terrorised by the most powerful - to the point where American pilots have run out of dubious "military" targets and are now destroying mud houses, a hospital, Red Cross warehouses, lorries carrying refugees. - Feeling Unlike the relentless pictures from New York, we are seeing almost nothing of this. - Fact Tony Blair has yet to tell us what the violent death of children - seven in one family - has to do with Osama bin Laden. - Feeling And why are cluster bombs being used? The British public should know about these bombs, which the RAF also uses. They spray hundreds of bomblets that have only one purpose; to kill and maim people. Those that do not explode lie on the ground like landmines, waiting for people to step on them. - Fact, although cluster bombs are primarily anti-vehicle devices. If ever a weapon was designed specifically for acts of terrorism, this is it. - Feeling I have seen the victims of American cluster weapons in other countries, such as the Laotian toddler who picked one up and had her right leg and face blown off. Be assured this is now happening in Afghanistan - Fact in your name - Feeling None of those directly involved in the September 11 atrocity was Afghani. Most were Saudis, who apparently did their planning and training in Germany and the United States. - Fact The camps which the Taliban allowed bin Laden to use were emptied weeks ago. - Fact Moreover, the Taliban itself is a creation of the Americans and the British. - Feeling In the 1980s, the tribal army that produced them was funded by the CIA and trained by the SAS to fight the Russians. - Fact The hypocrisy does not stop there. - Feeling When the Taliban took Kabul in 1996, Washington said nothing. Why? Because Taliban leaders were soon on their way to Houston, Texas, to be entertained by executives of the oil company, Unocal. With secret US government approval, the company offered them a generous cut of the profits of the oil and gas pumped through a pipeline that the Americans wanted to build from Soviet central Asia through Afghanistan. - Fact A US diplomat said: "The Taliban will probably develop like the Saudis did." He explained that Afghanistan would become an American oil colony, there would be huge profits for the West, no democracy and the legal persecution of women. "We can live with that," he said. - Feeling Although the deal fell through, it remains an urgent priority of the administration of George W. Bush, which is steeped in the oil industry. Bush's concealed agenda is to exploit the oil and gas reserves in the Caspian basin, the greatest source of untapped fossil fuel on earth and enough, according to one estimate, to meet America's voracious energy needs for a generation. Only if the pipeline runs through Afghanistan can the Americans hope to control it. So, not surprisingly, US Secretary of State Colin Powell is now referring to "moderate" Taliban, who will join an American-sponsored "loose federation" to run Afghanistan. The "war on terrorism" is a cover for this: a means of achieving American strategic aims that lie behind the flag-waving facade of great power. - Theory based on previous fact and some common sense. The Royal Marines, who will do the real dirty work, will be little more than mercenaries for Washington's imperial ambitions, not to mention the extraordinary pretensions of Blair himself. Having made Britain a target for terrorism with his bellicose "shoulder to shoulder" with Bush nonsense, he is now prepared to send troops to a battlefield where the goals are so uncertain that even the Chief of the Defence Staff says the conflict "could last 50 years". - Feeling The irresponsibility of this is breathtaking; the pressure on Pakistan alone could ignite an unprecedented crisis across the Indian sub-continent. Having reported many wars, I am always struck by the absurdity of effete politicians eager to wave farewell to young soldiers, but who themselves would not say boo to a Taliban goose. - Feeling In the days of gunboats, our imperial leaders covered their violence in the "morality" of their actions. Blair is no different. Like them, his selective moralising omits the most basic truth. Nothing justified the killing of innocent people in America on September 11, and nothing justifies the killing of innocent people anywhere else. By killing innocents in Afghanistan, Blair and Bush stoop to the level of the criminal outrage in New York. Once you cluster bomb, "mistakes" and "blunders" are a pretence. Murder is murder, regardless of whether you crash a plane into a building or order and collude with it from the Oval Office and Downing Street. - Fact If Blair was really opposed to all forms of terrorism, he would get Britain out of the arms trade. - Feeling On the day of the twin towers attack, an "arms fair", selling weapons of terror (like cluster bombs and missiles) to assorted tyrants and human rights abusers, opened in London's Docklands with the full backing of the Blair government. - Fact Britain's biggest arms customer is the medieval Saudi regime, which beheads heretics and spawned the religious fanaticism of the Taliban. - Fact If he really wanted to demonstrate "the moral fibre of Britain", Blair would do everything in his power to lift the threat of violence in those parts of the world where there is great and justifiable grievance and anger. He would do more than make gestures; he would demand that Israel ends its illegal occupation of Palestine and withdraw to its borders prior to the 1967 war, as ordered by the Security Council, of which Britain is a permanent member. He would call for an end to the genocidal blockade which the UN - in reality, America and Britain - has imposed on the suffering people of Iraq for more than a decade, - Feeling causing the deaths of half a million children under the age of five. - Fact That's more deaths of infants every month than the number killed in the World Trade Center. - Fact There are signs that Washington is about to extend its current "war" to Iraq; yet unknown to most of us, almost every day RAF and American aircraft already bomb Iraq. There are no headlines. There is nothing on the TV news. This terror is the longest-running Anglo-American bombing campaign since World War Two. - Fact The Wall Street Journal reported that the US and Britain faced a "dilemma" in Iraq, because "few targets remain". "We're down to the last outhouse," said a US official. That was two years ago, and they're still bombing. The cost to the British taxpayer? £800 million so far. - Feeling, although I suggest that you find out how much it's costing American taxpayers. According to an internal UN report, covering a five-month period, 41 per cent of the casualties are civilians. - Fact In northern Iraq, I met a woman whose husband and four children were among the deaths listed in the report. He was a shepherd, who was tending his sheep with his elderly father and his children when two planes attacked them, each making a sweep. It was an open valley; there were no military targets nearby. "I want to see the pilot who did this," said the widow at the graveside of her entire family. For them, there was no service in St Paul's Cathedral with the Queen in attendance; no rock concert with Paul McCartney. - Feeling The tragedy of the Iraqis, and the Palestinians, and the Afghanis is a truth that is the very opposite of their caricatures in much of the Western media. - Fact Far from being the terrorists of the world, the overwhelming majority of the Islamic peoples of the Middle East and south Asia have been its victims - victims largely of the West's exploitation of precious natural resources in or near their countries. There is no war on terrorism. If there was, the Royal Marines and the SAS would be storming the beaches of Florida, where more CIA-funded terrorists, ex-Latin American dictators and torturers, are given refuge than anywhere on earth. There is, however, a continuing war of the powerful against the powerless, with new excuses, new hidden agendas, new lies. Before another child dies violently, or quietly from starvation, before new fanatics are created in both the east and the west, it is time for the people of Britain to make their voices heard and to stop this fraudulent war - and to demand the kind of bold, imaginative non-violent initiatives that require real political courage. The other day, the parents of Greg Rodriguez, a young man who died in the World Trade Center, said this: "We read enough of the news to sense that our government is heading in the direction of violent revenge, with the prospect of sons, daughters, parents, friends in distant lands dying, suffering, and nursing further grievances against us. "It is not the way to go...not in our son's name." - Feeling quote: I didn't really have to read much further. The Mirror is a notorious tabloid rag. Sensationalist journalism at its worst I'm afraid. Very clever though; a lot of WHAT he says is true, but you're right, a lot of sentimental crap and interpretation make it sound oh so heart-wrenching. Hell, he makes some points I agree with, just can't stand the sickening tone he makes them with. - Feeling quote:This guy has his head where the son don't shine. - Feeling quote:Bush is not OWNED by the oil companies, give me a break. He wants our domestic production increased, who cares if a pipeline goes through Afghanistan. - Feeling quote:Once we start drilling in ANWAR we will have a MAJOR source of Domestically supplied oil, then we open the Gulf of Mexico again, and then off the coast of California. This would supply us with about 50% of our energy needs in themselves. - Fact, although I'm not so sure about the 50% figure, and it would only supply those needs while it lasts. quote:As far as Iraq is concerned, we have allowed them Food for oil, but Saddam has refused. He doesn't care about his people, he cares about the publicity he gets when some moron like this says poor Iraqi people. Well if his people are suffering they should take out the person who is making them suffer, Saddam!! - Feeling. By the way, Saddam's popularity increases when Iraq is bombed or sanctioned against. quote:This guy is a peacenik of the worst sort, trying to make a conspiracy where ther is none. - Feeling quote:The only thing terrorists understand is Terror, and we are bringin it to them in Spades. Once the Taliban is overthrown, we are going to go into that godforsaken country and take out Osamm at our liesure, the Taliban is only our first target, once they are gone, then the terrorists will be taken care of. - Feeling quote:FEELINGS, NOTHING MORE THEN FEELINGS!! - Feeling quote:Three WHOLE weeks? And we haven't won yet? Why did we ever start this in the first place? I bet these are the same people who yell at the microwave oven after 30 seconds because dinner isn't done yet. - Feeling quote:Well, at the moment terrorist are probably laughing in some caves, whilst the few American misses and the Taleban perform all the propaganda they need. People who perform suicide attacks are not going to be afraid of some bombs which may miss them, and the Taleban have plenty of experiencce in combating super powers. Somehow I doubt that handing out terror in spadefuls is helping much. - I agree, but it's still feeling. quote:OK, one point at a time, Yes, they are hiding in Caves, but once we take out the Taliban, they will not be hiding for long, because then we will be free to go into those caves and get them. Taliban first, because they are protecting them, and then Terrorists. As long as they keep thier little heads in the caves, we will get them!! and as long as we are bombing, they will stay in the caves!! - Feeling. The US government can't even confirm that Bin Laden is still in Afghanistan. They have no idea where he is. quote:Now as far as taking on a Superpower is concerned, WHEN WAS THAT? Oh, you mean when the USSR tried to TAKE OVER the country. We are NOT trying to take over the country, we are helping the Northern Alliance and thier allies, take the counry from the Taliban. THAT IS ALL, we are not going to INVADE, so whatever experience the Taliban had is now moot. - Some fact, some feeling. quote:Once we have a friendly government in place, IE: the ex king and the Northern Alliance, then we go into the caves and kick some terrorist butt.... - Feeling. I suggest you find out more about the Northern Alliance before you declare them as Afghanistan's second coming. From what I've read, they're no better than the Taliban. quote:dissect the feelings from the facts. You asked for it.

Development of the Insurgent starbase has been resumed. I have started implementing plans for a Logistix area on the first level of the main building, and an underground Engineering section where Comtrack used to be. Ep5, your outpost never ceases to amaze me (I just saw the recent additions). Can't wait to see it completed.

quote:I agree. I can't wait to see how they address this in their December or January issue, seeing that they gave the 8500 a perfect 10 and called it the GF3 killer right on the cover of the November issue...using tainted benchmark scores. After watching an archived video of one of Jim Louderback's "Mac vs PC" comparisons, I don't trust benchmark tests anymore. Louderback demonstrated how benchmarks can be rigged to support any conclusion.

I have also heard that the word 'jihad' does not translate to 'holy war', it means 'struggle' or 'resistance'.

I found this post in the "Meaning of Islam" thread that helps to explain why many socialists regard the war as racist. quote: quote: Catholics and Protestants slaughtered each other in 1000s in the Middle Ages in Europe, in the name of God /quote They're still at it now in the form of IRA and Ulster Unionist. But these guys aren't true terrorrists as they are almost always released to continue negotiations for peace in Northern Ireland. Real terrorrists do not get to represent themselves in Parliment especially if they lie about weapon decomissioning. Real terrorists do not call up 5 minutes before detonating bombs in public during peak business hour. IRA are not terrorrists.....they are called Freedom Fighters regardless of any actions that they take. If the IRA were true terrorrists Northern Ireland would have been carpet bombed just like in Afghanistan. They would never have had a political party representing them and would never have been released from prisons. I'm assuming that Fendi was being sarcastic (duh!). Think about it. If a Western European based Christian organization had attacked the WTC instead of an Islamic group in the Middle East, would a large scale military strike have ever been considered? Think about it. Why did everyone instantly assume that the bombing in Oklahoma was done by Moslems and started terrorizing Moslems in the streets? Why was everyone so disappointed when the bomber turned out to be an American Christian? Because they knew that they weren't allowed to bomb American Christians. So, why does everyone believe that it's okay to bomb Middle Eastern Moslems whenever one of their kind decides to kill Americans when McVeigh committed the same crime, and he was given a trial? Why does America want Britain to negotiate peace with the IRA, yet America wants to send Al-Qaeda (sp?) into oblivion? It's called inconsistent behaviour, a classic sign of prejudice. This is not anti-American sentiment either; Australia is an enthusiastic supporter of the coalition. The protests in Brisbane were aimed more at Howard rather than Bush, because Howard has been contradicting himself regarding the refugee situation (he claims that Australia can't afford to take in refugees from Iraq and Afghanistan yet he is fully capable of sending military forces to help bomb those countries). I'll bet that if the refugees were Christians of European descent (including Australians and Americans), he would suddenly become able to afford it.

Parias, I believe the correct quote is "insect, cease your meddling...", not "stop what you are doing" (unless you're referring to the floppy disk version)! System Shock is #1!

The issues about why the war is regarded as racist are not that simple. In any case, I didn't bring up that article to argue those points. I brought it up as an example of peace activists in a peaceful protest in response to your article about peace activists being violent. Your response as well as Soback's, that every one of "those people" (including me since I was one of the 2500 protesters) should be deported to Afghanistan was disappointing, to say the least. None of "those people" are pro-Taliban, and none of them believe that the government is legitimate, so sending them to Afghanistan is pointless. It's a good thing that I'm not as "emotional" in debating things as I used to be, otherwise the moderators would have had to censor this entire post.

Try laughing like a maniac at this article. quote: MARCH FOR PEACE AND GLOBAL JUSTICE HUGE SUCCESS Despite CHOGM being cancelled, about 2500 people came out in Brisbane on Saturday and marched for peace and global justice. Protestors listened to a range of speakers at the Roma St Forum, before marching in high spirits through the city and chanting slogans, many against the US war on Afghanistan, the most popular being ÔÇ£One, two, three, four/We don't want your racist war/Five, six, seven, eight/We will not cooperate!ÔÇØ Another slogan promoted the plight of refugees seeking asylum in Australia and criticised John Howard and the Liberal government: ÔÇ£Make room for refugees/Send John Howard overseas!ÔÇØ The march paused outside the Defence Force Recruitment Centre in Edward St to voice opposition to Australian involvement in retribution against the [Afghan] people, then proceeded across the river to Musgrave Park. On the way through the city about 700 people joined the march. At Musgrave Park there were some musical performances and everybody took a break before more speakers addressed a range of issues, from GATS to the environment. Funkier protestors stayed for CHOGM Beats, a doof and hip-hop event, late into the evening. Emilie Awberry from the Stop CHOGM Alliance said, ÔÇ£I think it was really amazing that 2500 people came out to say no to the war. It was a fantastic victory. It's exciting that people are reacting very strongly to the war and to see that people are committed to staying involved and building the movement. A broad spectrum of people were represented. I was there, and I can say without a doubt that there was no violence at this event.

I'm back for a little while to respond to some stuff here. quote: Every religion does have it's dark side. The Jews have several passages in their holy books which are questionable, while Christians have had to deal with the Klan. Nevertheless Islam is focused on killing those who do not share your faith. It says it at least 20 times in the Koran as it says in the article up top. $iLk, I suggest you count the number of times that the Holy Bible mentions the horrific deaths of people who didn't follow the faith. Start with the entire book of Exodus, where a god (once described by a fellow student as a 'homicidal maniac') arranged for the death of every first born in Egypt for no reason other than the mere stubborness of a Pharaoh. quote: I think the whole point is that we learn from God and not from those who claim to be sent by God to teach us. It's impossible to learn from a god by reading religious documents like the Holy Bible because they weren't written by gods; they were written by people who claimed to know God's words. quote: I listen to ministers, and respect what many have to say, but the purpose isn't to be spoon-fed, it's to go home and read what the minister went over and draw your own conclusions. I believe that's how Christianity, Judaism, and Islam became organized religions that worship the same god. A wide variety of conclusions. It's a pity that nobody can look up God in the Yellow Pages and ask if any of the conclusions are correct. I guess we'll just have to draw our own conclusions about the conclusions we drew based on the conclusions of the writers of "God's words". Gotta go now. May the Force be with you.

I've sent two e-mails to BMT Micro regarding the possibility of using my bank keycard to order BCM (I do not have and never intend to get a credit card). The issue was that my card is part of the Maestro and Cirrus networks, but not Visa, Mastercard, or any of the other big names (at least according to the absence of their logos from the card). Their final reply to me was that they're "not sure", and that I could give it a try. Before I do that, I want to know if anyone here has had any experience with using BMT's Order Form with a similar card. Is there a chance, or am I wasting my time and should just mail a money order?

Linux users could try running it through WINE, but it depends greatly on what BCM uses at the system level of Windows. The biggest question mark is whether WINE can emulate the DirectX APIs (damn proprietary standards ).

I just HAD to reply to this thread despite my busy workload this week. After some consideration, overall, I think it was a bad protest. *$iLk faints in disbelief* However, it was not a bad protest because flags were burned, it was bad because the protesters had disrupted the opposing assembly. The first amendment points both ways: you can have a peaceful assembly (even one where flags are burned) but you cannot disrupt another peaceful assembly for the sake of being dramatic, which is what those 10 students did. That is where the annoyance should be directed. To say the least, I am puzzled by the fact that everyone is so blinded by the news that a US flag was burned that they didn't notice what these protesters actually did wrong. Finally, it is wrong to deport people just because they offended the feelings of nationalists or patriots. The US government is supposed to represent ALL Americans, including the ones who are ashamed to call themselves Americans. Deportation in that context would be a shameful and self-defeating act of cowardice and failure. America is supposed to be the "land of the free", not the "land of the free patriotic nationalists". [ 10-23-2001: Message edited by: Menchise ]

I'm going to be away from the forums for the rest of the week (busy busy busy with Java assessments and co-developing a web site for a band and 40% of subject semester marks). I might check in briefly from time to time. In any case, see ya later.