John Prezioso

quote:posted by Wolferz: For your own edification I recommend a search on one name... William H Russell. Let me know what you find. I did a search but didn't find anything of any relevance - do you have a link?

quote:Nomads ability to understand chechen rebels actions does not mean he supports them. Could we PLEASE stop diluting the issue by calling them all REBELS? Those Chechens that have taken up arms against the Russian aggressors are rebels. The animals that slaughter innocents are TERRORISTS. By continually failing to make this distinction, you enhance the lie that serves to fuel terrorism. quote:There is such an hypocrisy when defining terrorism according to your political agenda, and when giving precedence to form instead of substance... There is no hypocricy; it's only that you refuse to see the obvious. There IS no political agenda when it comes to terrorism. You either condemn terrorism for what it is or you support it by making excuses for it.

My daughter will be more of a challenge! But seriously, for all those naysayers that claim the BC/UC games are just too impenetrable and complex - gimme a break... my son is 12, and he picked the game up in an hour.

Heh. I recently bought a second copy of UC for my son, since he had been watching me play it and thought it looked awesome. Every time I go in his room, he's playing it! I guess I'll be buying TWO copies of AWA!

Cruis in - for what its worth, I get what your trying to say about humility. Humility IS an admirable trait. As an (imperfect) Christian, I feel obligated to maintain an outward humility. But that does not mean I should shed my dignity. I subscribe to the "Talk softly and carry a big stick" mindset.

I have to say, I still am torn on this issue. One of the distinct differences between a libertarian stance (VERY different from a Liberal stance, by the way) and a conservative stance is that the libertarian view takes into account the individual alone, while the conservative stance encompasses the individual AND society. I usually err on the side of individual rights. Like a libertarian, I usually think that the rights of the individual take precedence. In the interest of consistency, I SHOULD be in favor of drug legalization. The trouble spot for me is two-fold. 1) I feel that the backbone of any society is the family unit. Nothing I have ever seen has the pontential to destroy a family the way drugs do. In essence the drug problem, in being destructive of families, is detrimental to society as a whole. The job of our legal system is to keep society reasonably capable of providing the opportunity to all Americans to pursue happiness. A society with a rampant drug problem significantly inhibits this. 2) As a conservative, I believe everyone is ultimately accountable for their actions. Having said that, I find it disturbing that some drugs are so powerful that they impair one's judgement so badly that, in many cases, they are compelled to do things that they NEVER would do normally. When I was a kid, I lived in a HUGE apartment complex in New York. My neighbors down the hall were pretty nice people, as I remember. One day, I saw the police milling about their apartment. To make a long story short, the woman who lived there had become a drug addict and got high one day and decided to boil her baby on the stove. To say that this left a mark on me is an understatement. Would she have done this if not influenced by cocaine and LSD? I can't know for sure, but I doubt it. Understand, I don't think that these reasons are definitive proof that drugs should remain illegal. But I think they illustrate the issue is more complex than it might seem at first. Well, for me anyway.

quote: But were I have to agree with you, is that it's soo easier to see the world in little white and black boxes. It's very convenient to compense the inability to see the whole picture... Ah, Nomad. How hard you try to confuse a very simple issue. I don't care WHAT their reasons are. Terrorists are bloodythirsty savages who need to be completely wiped off the face of the earth. I will say it again. THERE IS NEVER JUSTIFICATION FOR TERRORISM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If the Chechens are willing to fight the agression of the Russian military, then I say, more power to 'em. What I find hysterical is that you continue to defend terrorist atrocities by saying that the Russian military is wrong. This is wrong-headed and dangerous logic. If the Chechens want to fight for their independence they should target those who seek to stifle their independence - the Russian MILITARY. There is NO moral equivalency between the Chechens fighting the Russian troops for their freedom and the filthy animals who gleefully murder children. Keep telling me I see everything in black and white. I'll keep telling you you are making excuses for murder. The simple fact is that the Chechen resistance loses legitimacy with every terrorist attack on civilians. If they want freedom, the first thing they should do is cease all attacks on innocent civilians and focus their ire on those who are the real enemy. Until that happens, I frankly don't give a damn about Chechen independence.

With all due respect, Wolferz, that is an overly cynical theory that I can't subscribe to.

LOL! It took me a while to get the "renewable food source". Funny!

This is great news. May you have excellent sales, SC!

Nomad: You are trying to justify terrorism again and it still ain't working. I will not ask Chechen terrorists why they kill innocent men women and children. If I DID meet a terrorist, I would do my duty as a human and kill him. Think of all the lives I would save. I have no beef with Chechen REBELS. How many times do I really have to make this distinction for you to understand it? The assertion that Russian civilians somehow deserve to be blown to bits because their taxes fund a government's wrongful occupation is downright offensive. Frankly, coming from you, I find that rather shocking.

Yeah, I'll do all that and then get some blood-sucking vulture at ABC to interview me. That'll be FUN! Rebels I can handle. Terrorists are not rebels. They are murderers.

Nomad - I am not that interested in the Chechen war or their cause. I have always been vaguely aware of the conflict, and have always thought to myself that Russia should leave them alone. All I know is that through sheer audacity or an equally unfathomable talent at wreaking havoc, Basayev has been responsible for more high-profile acts of barbarism than any other Chechen alive - acts which have targeted civilians as well as soldiers, conscripts as well as professional military men. Basayev is well aware of the bad PR such attacks garner among Russians and even radical Chechens; he simply doesn't care. He is a terrorist. NOT a freedom fighter. I don't care about his cause when he murders innocents. You seem unable to grasp the concept that I despise terrorists and all who sympathize with their cause.

Nice one Soback.

Muddy the issue up all you want. All I know is that the media will gladly climb into bed with murderers to get a story.

I'd never thought I'd see the day when Russia was setting an example we should follow!

Wow. That's a whole discussion unto itself. You're exactly right about only criminals owning banned guns. It has an interesting parallel to the drug legalization issue, though.

RIGHT ON! I wonder if ABC will get the message. These bloodsucking journalists have no problem sitting down to tea with some of the world's most vicious killers. It makes you wonder...

It's crazy, no doubt.

quote: For some people being 'against' something is ample reason to piss away $$$billions$$$ of hard earned money from John Q Taxpayer. As long as you're making a statement, the results don't matter. No arguments here. And this is one of my biggest beefs with the "war on drugs". It's okay imo for a society to declare something detrimental to them and thus make it illegal, but throwing money without thought at a problem has never fixed a damn thing. Another problem I have is consistency. Can you really lump pot in with heroin and cocaine? Why is alcohol legal but marijuana isn't? Alcohol is WORSE than pot! With all due respect to my friend Nomad, I don't think you can compare what happened in Holland with what would happen here in the U.S.

Okay - you have GOT to be trolling, right? I mean, your not really serious, are you?

quote:Cruis.In and CC I also agree with your opinions, but it might help to understand that being in the military and being good at it requires this sort of bravado to survive. Unfortunately it tends to carry over into every day life and can be offensive to some. I don't like it much either, but that's the way it is. That's a really sound observation, Grizzle. The point about humility is good, too. But you must understand it's hard to be humble when your so damn good!!

I said "opinion based on fact or rational reasoning." Military "dudes" are not way too full of themselves - they are PROUD of what they do and have done. The fact that they have may been involved in questionable operations does not lessen their stature at all. And a soldier is all too aware that what the military does is not always perfect. But nothing is, my friend. A good soldier accepts what he can't control, and does his best by himself, his comrades, and his country. It is about belonging to something bigger than yourself; something that may not always do things perfectly but empowers you to make a difference in the world, and be a part of a group that is more than the sum of its parts. I think you need to lighten up.

Come on Cc. We don't want you to go! But rather than post something like that, post your opinion, and back it up with facts or rational reasoning. You can't always be in the majority. Anyway, debating from the minority is an excellent way to improve debating skills and it builds character, too!

Now THAT is cool. I hadn't read this before. (Go figure...) Thanks for posting it Jag.