rgoper

that's not what i said. "Murphy's Law" is ever present and it's my thoughts that our enemies would sure have way more incentive to strike if we do, and if you think a few of our historical landmarks and populated amusement parks and fuel storage cells, etc...isn't on their hit lists i don't know what to tell you. you know, "it takes a bigger man to walk away, than fight" that's an old indian saying i just made up. another very important point i was trying to convey was, we need to be, as americans "united" because if we're not, then what exactly are "we?" in all seriousness, someone has to be the first to stop, who will it be? we'll see, because we are witnessing history in the making in the here and now. --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"

no. this man i'm referring to and thousands more just like him do the same thing for a living i do. and i can assure you, i live in no palace. the costs of living here are cheaper than the US. plus they live a much simpler life, they grow their own vegetables, lambs, beef etc...they're self sustaining. not every arab/muslim can afford this kind of home(s) but it is very commonplace here. the "average citizen" generally utilizes townhomes for their wives and families, but these are generally "urban dwellers" as we would call them. the same people who live in these nice homes don't even own vehichles, and don't even want one...go figure. by the way, my response was directed at Michelle's question about the arab/muslim culture and i thought this would provide insight, i tried to keep it pretty much balanced in terms of life in general here in saudi. one thing comes to mind while disscussing cultures, there was the post about narcs at the dz, and everyone was complaining about the poor fella who was held up, and kept from going about his way for whatever the reason. over here, this is no drugs, no alcohol no pork, no nothing. if you get caught with drugs or alcohol here you'll more than likely never see the light of day again. does this put anything into perspective for us? for me it does, i used to take my liberties for granted, not any more. i've heard complaints about dropzone.com being blocked in certain areas, think about living somewhere they didn't even allow internet unless provided by the nation you lived in, unless it's provided by the govt. my browser won't let me go a lot of places, it has "key" words it looks for, and if you try to access a place with a key word, the CPU will generate a log and send it to the webmaster. i'd say we take quite a bit for granted at home in the states. moral of story: be grateful for what you have and not what you don't have. --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"

i just went back and reviewed all of the posts in this topic, and carefully considered before posting this response. it serves no purpose for someone to constantly try to agitate a very serious issue with useless rhetoric and inuendos, ie: tic.. toc.. tic.. toc.... are we united? no, i think not. let's unite like real americans should. if we want to change something, let's carefully consider it, and be united as we proceed. enough of flaming and agitating, it doesn't help anything. it seems as if there are a select few in these forums who are frothing at the mouth to attack iraq, this is the wrong attitude, we as a nation are "bloodthirsty". and yet, these same folks are the ones who whined and cried about the arab nations dancing in the streets with joy after 09/11, what's up with this? are "we" any better? *notice* this is a "sidebar comment" has anyone given any thought about the catastrophe that would follow, let's say if hoover dam were taken out, maybe the golden gate bridge, disneyland i could go on, but it would serve no purpose. i'm not trying to incite fear, just trying to get a few to think about some of the things that may or could happen post war iraq. --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"

that would certainly help curtail the pain! makes me want to go break some ribs. *joking* ya'll take care up there!

Chris: my condolences for your loss, and for your familie's loss as well. good vibes from saudi --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"

ah, now we know the truth! it was SkyCat's fault, not Hook-n-Swoop's.

no problem. i wish i could take some jpegs, but they get nervous when an american whips out a camera. --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"

Michelle: good question. and the answer is a resounding YES. i'm german by descent, and in our culture, re: to the way i was raised is the family, starts as a family, and ends that way. but to answer your question, the arab/muslim culture is for the "head" of the family generally the father, when they build a home(s), they build a home(s) big enough for ALL of the sons, daughters, and their wives, husbands, children, etc as well as providing "apartments" for their parents until their demise. so ultimately the type of homes they build are not the type of homes we are acclaimated to, they are generally 3-4 story palaces, costing upwards of 750 million saudi riyal to build. (2 million US $$$) they build them sectional, because they are allowed up to 4 wives, and of course they have children with each of the 4 so you can imagine how many kids they wind up with. each wife and her (their children) will have their own "section" of the house. men and women are not allowed to comingle, even at social gatherings, they have seperate patios, and sitting rooms, bathrooms etc. each palace is equipped with marble floors, columns, gold plumbing, pursian carpets, swimming pools, saunas, etc, and the swimming pool area is generally on the first floor on the west side (entrance always on the east side) and enclosed so as not to allow anyone to view the area from above while flying overhead (they place a "domed roof" over the pools) or looking from another part of the home, which you cannot see the pool from the 2nd or 3rd floors anyway, because they intentionally do not put windows in them on the pool side for this specific reason. men and women do not share pool time, no men and women in the pool area, or sauna area together at the same time, ever, unless it's the "head" of the house having a little fun with one of his wives. there is also seperate dressing areas for the men and women as well. their culture is one of the most interesting i've seen, these guys get 4 wives! and even then, 90% of them take only 2, because in their culture you have to give each wife and child the equal amount of time, money, attention, etc...an arab/muslim that i work with showed me the plans for his "vacation" home just a couple of days ago, i couldn't believe it i was humbled, and all this time i thought i was living in the lap of luxury, NOT. by the way, he has 2 wives and 19 children, two sons in the US attending college and they raise arabian horses. just a sidebar...so if anyone wonders why the arab/muslims build "palaces" this is the main reason why. --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"

this is the most contradictory, ludricrous statement i've heard in a long time. you think we've seen terror yet? we haven't seen nothing yet. --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"

it is this type of logic/theory that may culmanate with our undoing.

you were wrong.

with the red, white and blue. no mas~ via con' dios --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"

is that "industrial haze" your falling through? congrats, and many more hundreds of safe jumps. --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"

This Should Clarify This Topic everything here is fact, not fiction, or made up bs, facts. when will we see we're actually "chasing our tails?" it's good to see someone out there has enough individual morality, and clarity to expose the truth, i couldn't have done it. --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"

Dave: you certainly added another perspective to my thoughts. but the political system was different under her regime there than it would have been in the US. i think the presidency couldn't be hurt any at all if it were to be co-ed. we've tried everything but that, and what we do have instituted isn't panning out well. we'll see! --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"

that makes two of us. personally i think we need a female voice in the white house to add another "perspective" on the chain of events that make the big blue marble go round and round. i posted here a while back that the democratic ticket next election will host lieberman/clinton (no, not bill) and i will vote that way, this could eventually lead to the election of our very first female president. --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"

there is a god!

i don't have the words ladies. i thought ya'll knew me better. if i didn't agree with what this young lady had to say, or her right to say it, i wouldn't have posted this, the perception of my post is all wrong. sorry ladies, i would like to explain further, the rest pm'd... please see my edit in original --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"

you are dead on, and 110% correct! --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"

i hope the men and women we have "protecting and serving" our nation right now are a bit more intelligent. but there are always the rogue waves. --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"

"PATRIOTISM INCLUDES QUESTIONING ACTIONS" very interesting indeed. i remember a time in history when women couldn't even smoke in public, or vote, let alone serve on jury panels. this reporter has gone too far. how dare SHE speak her mind in a puplic forum. Edit: these remarks were intended to expose the senility and ignorance of our forefathers and others present day who try to opress other's right to free speach, etc...the reference to historical events was made in an attempt to enlighten the fact that some of us have the potential to regress in certain matters, thus the reference to SHE. i have great respect and admiration for the female reporter. --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"

kutter...quitar...guitar...qutar...qatar..quatar...whatever. i've been engadged in several disscussions regarding this issue, over the spelling and pronunciation of this small but very vital country. no matter which world map you look at, it is spelled and pronounced differently in different parts of the globe, but you knew that already, right? been there lately? --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"

i do casing and wellbore design, manage drilling operations on the actual drilling site for the oil and gas industry to the highest bidder. current project: deep gas and oil division for Saudi-Aramco in saudi-arabia. i guess a simple answer would be to say i'm in charge of hydrocarbons aquisition and retrieval Frank Zappa --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"

well first that was 25 years ago and i kinda thought this statement was concise, guess not. (i'll make a special consession for you CT) i didn't want to come off as a hypocrite, thus my admission to having experimented with marijuana. i have never done anything else..ever. your rationale has always been way off, so this remark doesn't surprise me, being as it came from you. see above comment. i bet the sky divers who do get high would dissagree with this ludricrous statement. i think you've summed it up rather well with this zinger. i will say this, if i ever see you at a DZ, or any other sky diving event, i will leave the premises at once, because it is my decision not to skydive with people who i know in advance are going to use, or will use, or have the ignorance to use illegal substances during operations at a skydiving facility. if this makes me a "law abiding idiot" so be it, i'll out live you chief. --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"