Menchise

MultiView Combat and Trade Simulation

$iLk, which forum and which thread?

quote: FYI: The dancing green woman in TOS was Yvonne Craig. She also played Bat-Girl in the original Batman TV show, as well as appeared in numerous movies and shows throughout the 60's. That was another episode. Heh, I didn't recognise Yvonne Craig. quote: Not THAT Orion slave girl THIS Orion slave girl That was Susan Oliver.

The bowl of petunias strikes again.

quote:Count-Down to Release!!! I believe it was a famous and wise bowl of petunias that once said: "Oh no, not again!"

LOL!

quote: Not too bad for the premiere episode. Certainly measures up to TNG's "Encounter at Farpoint." Hehe. Encounter at Farpoint was kinda rough around the edges, to say the least. For one thing, Troi hadn't grown a personality yet, or a decent vocabulary ("I sense...a powerful mind!" (LOL! )). Most pilots and/or premieres are like that. Most pilots also have a funny way of indicating which characters are going to turn out better than others. In the case of Farpoint, those characters were Data and Picard. By the way, what's your favourite ST pilot out of the five ("The Cage", "Encounter at Farpoint", "Emissary", "The Caretaker", "The Night of Judgement")?

It works! YAY! Thanks, Badgerius. [ 09-27-2001: Message edited by: Menchise ]

Don't worry Admiral, I got the joke. quote: That reminds me of an old 70's game called "Match Game". I thought it was called "Password".

quote: And I agree, this better be good 'cause I really did not like Quantum Leap. I did. quote: Rest assured, if its bad he will leap back in time and fix what went wrong. BTW, isnt this guy the same one that played STARMAN long ago? Hehe. Are you talking about the Starman movie or the short-lived TV series? Not sure about the TV show (never saw it), but in the movie, the Starman was played by Jeff Bridges (he got an Oscar nomination for it too).

Anyone getting SPAM on their SMS yet? It's only a matter of time.

I have an issue with the Fleet Database that I've been meaning to ask about since I registered but I kept forgetting. Not this time! The issue is with my Asset Name (Lion's Mane). In the Fleet DB, there's no apostrophe in "Lion's". That's because the server kept returning a syntax error message every time I tried it, so I left it out. Do I need to put in the entity code for an apostrophe? If so, what is it? If not, is there another way?

Cute.

Active Worlds Browser 3.2 is now available as an update. What do you think of the new version?

quote: Ossama is angry because he considers us infidels and our military is on Holy land, Saudi Arabia, and he wants us gone. Doesn't matter to him that we were A: invited there during the gulf war, and B: have remained there to add a little stability to the region. Ossama wants the Royal family in Saudi Arabia killed and an Islamic regime installed, with us there, he can't do that. This is why he has declared Jihad, He wants us out of the middle East so that he can have a free hand. That doesn't explain why so many people support him, especially the millions of people in Pakistan who are not Saudis. quote: I think that this articel hits it right on the head. Read it please... Hatred for the US? Evil is as Evil does Server error.

quote: Its READY when its ready. Right now, its READY! YAY!!! YIPPEE!!! YIPPEEYAY!!!

Hey $iLk, when is the bar gonna re-open? I've been camping out for a glass of water for hours!

OK, three opinions have been given. It's question time. quote: Well, the primary reason is truly religion. If you read up on many of those nations, you'll see that most have "arabization" programs in place. Many of the citizen-leaders don't want ANYONE around that is not muslim in faith. The governments aren't the problem in this regard -- the people are, due to the attraction of militant factions (which can be easily correlated to the following of the Islam religious teachings by decent spin doctors). As a result of this, many factional-type militant governments have popped up, such as the Taliban. In that part of the world, religion is the greatest driving force so those who play to people's desire to practice faith are the ones who are heard. Unfortunately, the militants are the ones who scream loudest. Those militants, as a result, are HIGHLY anti-Jew in their sentiments. They do not want anyone in the area that does not share their faith, which is why Isreal must be well-armed. So you're saying that the anti-American sentiment is driven by fascist militants using their interpretation of a religion and a campaign of anti-Semitism as a uniting factor to increase their power, and they're after America because they support Israel (just clearing things up at the moment)? quote: Oil has little to do with ANYTHING in the area, as there are relatively few nations that actually produce any. Hmm...there's Kuwait, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iran (I think)...am I missing any? Anyway, while there are relatively few countries that produce it in the region, the amount that they produce overall is higher than in any other region in the world. quote: The West wants to protect the oil supply from Saudi, Kuwait etc. The presence of troops since the Gulf war helps maintain the stability and hence the supply and it is to the presence of these troops which many Middle East radicals object. Bin Laden has openly stated this. Bin Laden does have an issue with US troops in Saudi Arabia. Has he explained why? quote: Whether you sympathise with the Israelis, the Palestinians or neither, that fact of the matter is that many Muslims object to the US' support of Israel, or at least lack of any condemnation. Remember, Sharon (or was it Tracy ?) was Israeli Minister of Defense when they went into Lebanon. I think that sticks in the throats of many who support the Palestinians. This is the most common opinion that I hear about, but it doesn't really make sense to me in the current context. Why would Bin Laden mastermind an attack like this over the Israel-Palestine issue when he's not involved in the conflict (at least I don't think he is)? If this was the driving issue, then the act of terrorism would have come from Palestinian renegades (ie people who do not support Arafat's diplomatic approach). [ 09-25-2001: Message edited by: Menchise ]

Can you be more specific? [ 09-25-2001: Message edited by: Menchise ]

OK. My arguments have been rebutted quite well so far. So, could someone tell me their opinion on why there is so much anti-American sentiment in the Middle East, including millions of Pakistanis who are calling Bin Ladin a "great man"? So far, the only explanations that I recall at the moment are the statements made by Bush and Blair at the start of the crisis, which, in my opinion (if that still means anything ), are best described as "hot air".

quote: The fact that it's false makes it false. I was just illustrating the fact that you ALWAYS see those in power as wrong, rather than attempt to see who is ACTUALLY wrong. That's not a fact, it's an assumption. Questioning authority does not make me an anarchist. quote: Actually, their literacy rate is 94%. http://beta.encarta.msn.com/find/Concise.a...575422&cid=8#p8 It is up from less than 3% in the 1960s. Obviously some things are changing there, for the better. Check that link for current facts. OK, then. My statistics were out of date. quote: Actually, no. I assume NOTHING of no one, and derive my opinions from objective facts. I may assume a few things, but I don't ignore objective facts. Therefore, your statement that "there is no way the powerful can be good in my eyes" is not true. quote: If there is something that is powerful and popular that I see to be corrupt, I'll say it, hands down. So will I. quote: But I don't justify murderers in any sense Neither do I. I have said before that "the ends do not justify the means", but there is nothing wrong with pointing out what those "ends" are, and the "means" do not make the "ends" false. quote: Actually, they seem to point out an unfaltering pattern, which is why they are employed. Pointing out patterns in a debater's behaviour does not change the validity of a debater's opinions. Therefore, such points add nothing to a debate.

Hehe. Actually, Frankenstein was the name of the scientist, not the monster.

Hehe. I disagree, but that was bound to happen. I could start a huge debate about this (as if I haven't already), but I'm in the middle of another one at the moment. Some other time, perhaps.

quote: its sarcasm As in, all hail ceasar Oh.

quote: Not quite. That's an "anti-power" sentiment if I've ever heard one. It's an opinion. Calling it an "anti-power" sentiment doesn't make it false. quote: And we PAY for what we take, and our payment allows many of our middle-eastern friends to have very lucrative lives for their people. It also allows them to be independant in the fact that they do not have to rely on the mercy of others for needed supplies -- they can purchase those supplies from funds they achieve through their dealings with us. I never said that America didn't pay for it, and I agree that the Middle Eastern countries have more wealth because of it, but that does not make them independant, and the people of the region are not necessarily better off. Let's take Saudi Arabia as an example. Saudi Arabia is the world's second largest producer of oil. Therefore, one would expect its people to be well off. Even I was surprised by the fact that its literacy rate is less than 70 percent, it has 1 hospital bed per 400 persons, 1 physician per 800 persons, and its defense spending in proportion to GDP is twice that of the USA. Before you say so, I am NOT blaming this on the USA. I'm pointing out the likely possibility that the distribution of wealth in Saudi Arabia is very disproportionate. After all, it produces more oil than America does. In addition to the economic questions, there is the issue of the government, which is a monarchy with no constitution, no parliament (or congress), and restricted freedom, especially for women (not as restricted as in Afghanistan, but you get the idea). You're probably asking, what's my point? Here it is. In order for America to receive an undisturbed supply of oil from Saudi Arabia, a status quo needs to be maintained. Therefore, if the people of Saudi Arabia decide that they want a new government (I have seen no evidence that proves or disproves this), America would have to support the existing government in suppressing the dissent. If they don't, then the supply of oil is disturbed and the US government loses the support of the oil companies, which can be a serious problem when you're looking to fund the next election campaign. I admit that this is just a hypothetical situation, but similar situations have occurred before in places like El Salvador. quote: Not really. They were an attempt to feed the citizenry while not allowing Iraq to PROFIT from oil sales and be able to rebuild its military. It's possible. In any case (whether it was the goal or an added bonus), the programs would also have given control of the oil supply to America. quote: LOL! As soon as you find a way to make the desert fertile, please let me know... I don't need to. 13 percent of Iraqi land is arable. quote: You always assume the worst motivations of the powerful, don't you? If someone is powerful there is no way they can be good in your eyes, is there? You always assume the best motivations of the powerful, don't you? If someone is powerful there is no way they can be bad in your eyes, is there? Such comments, no matter who makes them, add nothing to a debate. quote: Uhm, RIIGHT. They've wanted to overthrough him for YEARS, even DURING the oil-for-food program... Then why hasn't he been overthrown? America is very capable of it, yet the efforts to get rid of him have been half-baked. Secondly, if America intended to overthrow Saddam, then why was the "Oil for Food" program proposed in the first place? [ 09-24-2001: Message edited by: Menchise ]