mikkey

Uh huh. It's our fault that people are running around killing innocent civilians. That makes sense. I put the responsibility on the suicide bombers, their sponsors, and those Iraqi's who allow this to happen. That is exactly where it belongs, I believe. - Jim You might be right but the important point is that Iraqi religious leaders (who are very important) are starting to blame the US and that could spell big trouble.... --------------------------------------------------------- When people look like ants - pull. When ants look like people - pray.

Saw the news about the latest massacre in Iraq and thought about how the US administration claims how much better off the Iraqis are now. Some Iraqis do not agree, from the wires: " THREE Iraqi Shiite Muslim leaders have blamed the United States and its security policies as the occupying power for the devastating attacks in Karbala and Baghdad. "We put the responsibility on the occupation forces both directly and indirectly," said cleric Sayyed Ahmed Saffi, a spokesman for Iraq's most influential Shiite religious leader Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. "Until now, it is the occupation forces responsibility because they are dealing with the Iraqi police in an unsuitable way," Saffi said, without saying whether Sistani endorsed his comments. "The existence of the occupation encourages such attacks," he added. At least 112 people were killed and 235 wounded in Karbala in a suicide attack backed by mortar fire and bombs detonated at roadsides leading to the Shiite holy city south of Baghdad. In the capital, at least 70 more people were killed and 321 injured when suicide bombers blew themselves up simultaneously at a mosque, while Shiites were commemorating a revered martyr. "We put the responsibility of ensuring security in the country and of protecting sacred Shiite sites on the occupation forces because they have left our borders open to infiltrators," Grand Ayatollah Bashir Najafi said. "In the meanwhile, these forces have spent their time pillaging the riches of Iraq," he added in a statement from the holy city of Najaf, 160km south of Baghdad, warning "the patience of Iraqis is not without limits." Somebody remind me of Rumsi & Co's past comments how easy it will be to establish a peaceful and democratic Iraq.... There is a real risk of civil war and a real risk of Iraqis in large numbers blaming the US and joining the resistance. Catching SH did not solve the problems (another failure to understand the real issues at hand) The problem is that the US acts without understanding the region and the culture. GWB's "white hat vs. black hat" approach is going to backfire big time. Hope the US learns quickly and reviews its approach. (Maybe by January) --------------------------------------------------------- When people look like ants - pull. When ants look like people - pray.

If this is just remotely similar to the original "Kingdom" by Lars von Trier (which it supposedly based on) then you are in for a fascinating but weird ride. I enjoyed the original one immensely. --------------------------------------------------------- When people look like ants - pull. When ants look like people - pray.

A couple of points: According to what I read (some time ago) – in the opinion of legal experts the prisoner had to be treated according to either: a) Afghani law (the country they were captured in) b) US law (the country of their capturers / territory held in) c) Geneva Convention (if seen to be POW and for some you could interpret point 2 as being reasonably applicable) d) International Law for treatment of war criminals (the Hague tribunal) What the administration did was to ignore all of that (except for a prisoner from the US who was treated differently and according to US law – by this making the situation even more messy). Instead they invented a new status and kept people in a legal limbo with no rights for years. (BTW note that a number of prisoners have been released after 2 years detention without any charges). The only legal status applicable in this situation (if the US did not want to charge and treat the prisoners under either Afghani or US law) is as POW under the Geneva Convention. Inventing a new status that suits the purpose and leaves the prisoners with no rights what soever for years is a breach of about every international law and convention. In regard to the second question: AFAIK Detaining people indefinitely without legal rights/representation, without access/contact to family and (AFAIK) only very limited access to the Red Cross is in breach of the Geneva rules for starters. While some of the physical conditions and treatments have improved, they were at least at the start not in compliance with POW rules. I am sure there is a whole laundry list. Key point still remains – you can’t choose/disregard the laws and conventions that suit you, even if the objective is honourable. The US has opened up a Pandora's box with this. --------------------------------------------------------- When people look like ants - pull. When ants look like people - pray.

Depends. Taliban fighters were the official Army of Afghanistan.. Like it or not. The US invented the "status" to be able to keep the perisoners in limbo. If not the Geneva Convention, other International or US laws should have applied in regard to their status and rights. Again - no problem you going after these guys, big problem making up new "rules" as you go along. It will backfire... --------------------------------------------------------- When people look like ants - pull. When ants look like people - pray.

Right here Darling, living under false name down under. Want a date? --------------------------------------------------------- When people look like ants - pull. When ants look like people - pray.

You are just proofing my point. The phrase/definition was invented by the administration in order to avoid applying the Geneva Convention, International Law, US Law etc. Current international law / conventions (as well as your own constitution) did not "suit" the administrations purpose so they ignored it by inventing a new "status" and ship the prisoners to "no mans land" in Cuba. No one has a problem with fighting terrorism – but a lot of people have a problem with applying international laws like the Geneva Convention selectively when it suits your purpose. It will be interesting to see what happens if there is a regional conflict in Asia, the US sends Marines to help a local ally – some get captured by the other party and treated as “illegal combatants” not covered by the Geneva Convention (claiming the precedent set by the US) because they were from a third country. --------------------------------------------------------- When people look like ants - pull. When ants look like people - pray.

Well, yes and no. You are right the US has adhered to the point regarding ammunition, but it has at least "bent" the convention in regard to Camp X-ray. There seems to be a general tendency within the current administration to follow international agreements and conventions selectively. GWB has made a habit of that: International Court, Kyoto etc. etc. etc. The US has lost a lot of credibility in the last few years. Always demanding nations to "behave" (eg. China) or complaining about "unfair" trade, but when the international "rules" do not suit the US and that goes from Trade rules (the US has some of the worst trade barriers / subsidies in e.g. Agriculture and Steel) to international law - then it demands to be above it all. --------------------------------------------------------- When people look like ants - pull. When ants look like people - pray.

Try the Geneva Convention. Well that is no good reason at all then. The Geneva and other international conventions are only applicable if and when they suit the current US administration (think camp X-Ray) --------------------------------------------------------- When people look like ants - pull. When ants look like people - pray.

Defining Left vs. Right depends also in which "culture" you live in. Whats is seen as "left" in the US might not bee seen as such in other countries. In some countries being a "liberal" actually means you are to the right side of politics (confused?). Example, where I live I see myself more to the right / conservative (and the the conservatives are called the Liberal party) if I was an American I probably would be on the other side and vote for the Democrats. So these "left", "right", "liberal", "conservative" tags are really quite useless. I also think you can be to the "left" when it comes to "social / cultural" issues and to the right when it comes to economic policies etc. --------------------------------------------------------- When people look like ants - pull. When ants look like people - pray.

It is from a Danish site, but it is Norwegian. "Boksmaal" (or something like that) the traditional Norwegian is very similar in spelling to Danish, whilst "Ny-Norsk" (New-Norwegian) is very different. Disappointed you did not spot this Santa... --------------------------------------------------------- When people look like ants - pull. When ants look like people - pray.

The atmosphere in Iraq is nothing like any of the areas John mentioned, not even when the occupations of those places started. For one those places were all basically ethnically and religiously homogenous. Iraq is not. It's going to be a lot more difficult to try and get the Kurds and Sunnis and Shiites, etc etc ad infinitum to play nice. Interesting that one of the French' strongest argument against rushing to war was exactly above point and they were ridiculed by the US administration... --------------------------------------------------------- When people look like ants - pull. When ants look like people - pray.

I actually tend to disagree with Bill there. I for one am happy that Saddam is gone (actually met some Iraqis and can appreciate what they have gone through over the years). The problem I have is: 1) Misleading people about the reason (urgency) for war 2) Clumsy diplomacy that stopped a broad coalition being built (even if that could have taken a year or two) and preparing post intervention policies. People might want to study some of the arguments the French put to the US when warning against rushing to war. One of their main concerns was the knowledge that Iraq as a “State” was only being held together by the brutal regime. The tensions between ethnic and religious groups have always been great. The French were directly warning against civil war like conditions and instability in this strategic country. The current situation is getting close to the prediction and there would be full-blown civil war without the Americans present. --------------------------------------------------------- When people look like ants - pull. When ants look like people - pray.

I am not familiar enough with the facts to discuss in detail. However, I agree in principle that the media should be more careful in regard to communicating "rumours" - it is not fair on anyone. --------------------------------------------------------- When people look like ants - pull. When ants look like people - pray.

I have not been following the Bush ANG service issue closely. I read somewhere that the reason for the "questions" is mainly that they can not find people who actually remember serving with GWB during the period in question. People wonder why, the Bush family was well known even back then. Not sure what the facts are. --------------------------------------------------------- When people look like ants - pull. When ants look like people - pray.

If we follow your thinking anyone can post any smear on the Internet and even if all parties state that it is untrue then we still should believe that there is "smoke"? Makes is too easy to perform dirty tricks campaigns.... Most (decent) journalists demand 2 independent sources before they print anything for just this reason. --------------------------------------------------------- When people look like ants - pull. When ants look like people - pray.

Interesting how rumous and innuendo can spark a huge thread. Expect more to come. These statements have been released: A statement released Monday by Alexandra Polier, who has been the subject of rumors linking her to Sen. John Kerry: "For the last several days I have seen Internet and tabloid rumors relating to me and Senator John Kerry. Because these stories were false, I assumed the media would ignore them. It seems that efforts to peddle these lies continue, so I feel compelled to address them. I have never had a relationship with Senator Kerry, and the rumors in the press are completely false. Whoever is spreading these rumors and allegations does not know me, but should know the pain they have caused me and my family. I am in Kenya with my fiance visiting his family, and we ask that the press respect our privacy and leave all of us alone." A statement by Terry and Donna Polier, the parents of Alexandra Polier: "We have spoken to our daughter and the allegations that have been made regarding her are completely false and unsubstantiated. We love and support her 100 percent and these unfounded rumors are hurtful to our entire family. We appreciate the way Senator Kerry has handled the situation, and intend on voting for him for president of the United States." --------------------------------------------------------- When people look like ants - pull. When ants look like people - pray.

If you look around the world and investigate which economies have been stable and consistently growing, you will find that they have certain characteristics: - low inflation - low to moderate interest rates - budget near balance or in surplus This does not mean that you have to have extreme low spending and low taxes as long as there is a balance. The other key factor is what I would call “low volatility”: It is very bad for business if certain factors like exchange rates, interest rates, regulations etc. change a lot and quickly. In order for business’ to grow they need to be able to plan. You might think it is good for US exporters that the $ is weak, but that is not necessarily the case if the situation is volatile. If the US $ is now say 30% lower against the EURO then a couple of years ago, then it might be back again in 2 years. We have seen this kind of currency Yoyo before. It is difficult / risky to establish trade and company infrastructure with this kind of uncertainty and business’ will not invest in export opportunities if there is a big risk. The US economy is anyway more consumer goods driven then most other economies – this makes it already more volatile then others. If you employ economic policies that induce great fluctuations in e.g. exchange rates (and the current administrations policies has contributed to this), you are just going to shoot yourself in the foot. Steady predictable policies that respect the ground rules of: low inflation, low interest rates and a balanced budget are the pillars of sustained growth. --------------------------------------------------------- When people look like ants - pull. When ants look like people - pray.

Yes Merry X-Mas everyone. It is already Boxing Day here down under. I am currently packing my gear and will be off jumping for 3 days.

I just picked up the follwoing on the news wire - that does not look good for the US farmers: --------------------------------------------------------- When people look like ants - pull. When ants look like people - pray.

I agree we have to always be aware of the stabilizers if we exit a plane from a side door no matter which plane. We had a fatality in Australia this year where a Japanese visitor hit the tail of a Caravan in Perth on a solo jump. The jumper died of his head injuries in spite of wearing a helmet. (Cypres activated reserve) --------------------------------------------------------- When people look like ants - pull. When ants look like people - pray.

You just triggered my memory. When the whole BSE thing "blew up" in Europe a few years ago there was talk about that the spread of it from animal to animal was caused by the feed companies using animal material in the feed and the spread to meat for human consumption was blamed on contamination of the meat in the abattoirs. --------------------------------------------------------- When people look like ants - pull. When ants look like people - pray.

You seem to know a lot about BSE so a serious question: If it only spreads through brain and spine, why did so many Brits get the Kreutzfeldt syndrome (human BSE) ? The cases have been directly correlated to the increase in BSE in the UK some years ago. --------------------------------------------------------- When people look like ants - pull. When ants look like people - pray.

My first thought was that Rumsfeld had a blood test... --------------------------------------------------------- When people look like ants - pull. When ants look like people - pray.