Kennedy

Same reason the US and UK were allies of the USSR in the forties; they had bigger problems. There are different levels of "allies," wouldn't you say? After all, the US is on good terms with India and Pakistan. They don't exactly love each other. The US works with Pakistan, but I don't think anyone other than a politician making a speech would call them trusted and true friends. As for the police force bit, I can't answer for Mark but I surely don't want the US to be the world's police force. We do too much of that already. And besides, cops gotta get paid. If the US keeps it up, they're going to need to start charging other countries for services rendered. witty subliminal message Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards. 1*

Nope. They're guerilla fighters who would not be entitled to Geneva Convetion protections. However, since they are involved in a conflict with their own government, that wouldn't be a concern anyway. They are using conventional weapons against military targets. The interesting part is that the Libyan governmen is hiring Tuareg mercenaries to fight for them against the citizenry. The Libyan military is split on whether to fight, turncoat, or try to hide from both sides. Terrorists, on the other hand, go after non military targets with the intention of putting fear into noncombatants, to affect change through fear. Guerilla warfare does not equal terrorism. Oh, I'm sorry, did I go and ruin your smarmy rhetorical question with actual facts? witty subliminal message Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards. 1*

Here's the part that really gets me: Power-hungry assholes, corrupt government workers, and charismatic psychopaths don't surprise me. What kills me is how hundreds of "normal" people fly into homicidal rage over the merest accusations of insults. Have the radical teachings just melted their brains? witty subliminal message Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards. 1*

You could make that argument, but to get traction you'd need to qualify it. I doubt you mean Abrams, Apaches, and A-bombs. If you put the qualifier of "infantry in the military," then I am 100% with you. But the easy sell is law enforcement. You want thumb print guns? I'll use them when cops do. You want GPS guns? I'll use them when cops do. Limited capacity magazines? I'll use them when cops do. And so on and so forth. witty subliminal message Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards. 1*

pancakes are yummy, but cupcakes are better. Besides, Andy knows I'm just giving him a ration of shit. Lawyers are about as evil as guns, cars, doctors, and physicists. Each can cause damage or be used for ill. witty subliminal message Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards. 1*

Not just that, but let's not forget that the Chinese believe in the trawling school of intelligence gathering, rather than the high value stalking school of thought. I wouldn't put it past them to monitor and snoop through the services the offer. witty subliminal message Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards. 1*

Wrong Naz. The one I mentioned is related to the simian Simeon in the preceding sentence. witty subliminal message Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards. 1*

Don't call them explosives. That might bring renewed interest from the ATF. You know, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, Explosives, and Really Big Fires. Even the professor dislikes them (unless they stick to fucking with gun owners only). witty subliminal message Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards. 1*

Guns are good, Muslims are bad. Guns are bad, Muslims are good. Guns are bad, Muslims are bad. Guns are good, Muslims are good. Pick your favorite and run with it. All four include the implied "lawyers are bad" section. witty subliminal message Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards. 1*

They're difficult for law abiding folks to obtain. For those in the business of smuggling and selling banned substances and items, it's not really all that difficult. Just ask the bobbies who've been shot. Or you could ask Simeon Henderson. I'd say you should ask Nasar Hussain, but unless you know a good medium or necromancer, that might be a bit difficult. Of course, the Brits are pros at making stats say anything they want. So, according to official reports, gun crime is going up or down, the number of illegal guns on the street is going up or down, and the number of people shot or killed is going up or down. Definitive, no? witty subliminal message Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards. 1*

Care to link to that for us? Because you sure get a lot of comments from other posters about how you change your position, or refuse to clarify your position. Can you show where they're wrong? I can show you mine. The Meaning of the Second Amendment Assault Weapons Ban Information And plenty of others. Can you show me yours? So what is your position on individual firearms rights in the USA? witty subliminal message Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards. 1*

At which point one must wonder just what they expect as a ROI. If there's money to be made, why outsource it? if you don't see money to be made, then look even ahrder at why the Chinese want to be involved. As an aside, London trains of the underground are noisy, but not nearly as bad as NYC, or the El trains in Chicago. In London the worst noise is other commuters and the damned speaker-voice. NYC and Chicago you ahve that plus the train and track noises. DC is just too pathetic a Metro system to even rate a comment. Concerning securrity, I don't see it as that big a deal. Your phone can be useful in noisy environments, if you are willing to shell out. I had [URL "http://www.swatheadsets.com/INVISIO%20M-Series.htm"]one of these[/url] for my two-way radio, but I hear they are even better for mobile phones. There are even bluetooth bone conduction ear pieces out there as well, though I haven't tried them or priced them. I can attest that wearing one of these you can hear them and they can hear you, even if you can't ear a damn thing else with background noise. witty subliminal message Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards. 1*

Yep, they're handy, no doubt about it, but I could never get into the tactical man-purse. Don't get ms wrong, on a long call holding a perimeter or crime scene I'm glad the other guy had it, but I prefer one to sit on my back rather than hip. If it's bigger than a fanny pack, I keep I between my shoulders. My go to pack is a mid size camelback with two liter reservoir and a couple small to medium pouches. It's not made anymore, but it's like a black version of the 2011 Ambush model. The nice part is the side entry pocket that's just right for stashing a medium frame and easy to grab (similar to a sob holster, but no jabs to the kidneys). witty subliminal message Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards. 1*

A good rule to evaluate any proposed gun control: will it apply to law enforcement? If not, we don't want it. witty subliminal message Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards. 1*

Maybe next they'll decide anything holding more than one round is "high capacity." It's just as arbitrary as ten rounds. And like the Dave said, these people need to understand the difference between full cap and high cap. Of course definitions are not their strong point: they can't tell a semi-auto from a full-auto. A good rule of thumb to apply to any proposed gun control: will it apply to law enforcement? If not, we don't want it. witty subliminal message Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards. 1*

I sat in on a webinar from the National War College on this very topic. No one doubts we can win in Afghanistan, but folks are asking why we should bother winning. (no I'm not military or even contracted to the Feds, but contrary to popular belief you don't have to be to learn at/from the NWC) People forget that the only lasting power in a place like that starts from the ground up. Family. Village. Valley. Tribe. Nation. And most of them never make it past "valley" in terms of giving a shit. If you can't claim the loyalty at each level, you can't claim any at all. Dotsun and Massoud managed To hold people together over larger areas, but they had the common enemy of the Taliban. Massoud was assassinated, and then we had 9/11. Then throw in that the corrupt little shit running Pakistan was responsible for sending troops weapons and aid to the Taliban, and you can see why that particular "ally" is about as trustworthy fighting the insurgency as an alcoholic tending bar. The USA leaving would precipitate an almost immediate reinstatement of the Pakistani puppet Taliban emirate, and all that entails. witty subliminal message Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards. 1*

Wow, one good example. Maybe next you'll mention that Byrd was KKK and filibustered the civil rights act (he's dead, denouncing him won't hurt the democrats). If you really stretch, you might condemn Charlie Rangel for his accounting misunderestimations. None of which changes the fact that you post leftwing something like 95% of the time. While less hateful in your tone than Jeanne, you seem to fall further left than she does. Again, your position doesn't bother me; your refusal to state your position does. Calling yourself a centrist doesn't make you one anymore than Feinstein or Demont doing so makes them centrist. If you dropped this "disinterested neutral trying to avoid redundancy" routine, we might be able to actually discuss some things. As it stands, there's no pion trying to discuss a topic with a dishonest sniping poster. You were a lot more interesting a few years ago. Now it's just sad. witty subliminal message Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards. 1*

I used to think so as well, until this incident. Then I realized that no matter what the law says, it only takes three assholes to send you to prison: one asshole to charge you, one asshole to prosecute you, and one asshole to find you guilty and send you to their chosen "pound me in the ass" facility. One can only hope that Mr. Aitken is pursuing proper legal channels to have his conviction overturned, have his commutation improved to a full pardon and expungement, or at the very least have his rights restored. Otherwise he still has a felony conviction on his record and no vindication. witty subliminal message Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards. 1*

"You, Marc, airdvr, gravitymaster and turtle already do such a great job of that, any effort I made would be redundant." Look familiar? Just swap in names like Amazon, jclalor, funjumper and Lucky for the names you used. I called him on this a week or two ago and got no answer. He didn't post in that thread again. witty subliminal message Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards. 1*

The most recent one was is Wendy's generic something stupid thread. I also don't claim disinterested neutrality. I'm happy to let anyone know that I believe in a constitutional libertarian viewpoint, with some conservative personal leanings. However, pretty much anyone who cares to search will find posts of me bashing morons and hypocrites from all parties. I'm no pot. Should we call you professor kettle? witty subliminal message Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards. 1*

I used to suggest folks transport themselves following federal law (unloaded, locked container, not accessible, etc) but ever since this incident I just tell folks to be careful and make their own decision. If you've got spare time and cash, you can consider having an FFL in your area ship it to an FFL in your destination area. That way they get there without you having to transport them, and without having to trusty them to Joe Teamster and his truck. witty subliminal message Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards. 1*

And we all know that's the only reason you're posting about it. For shit's sake, you live and work in or near a city that's synonymous with corruption, but we never hear a peep out of you about that. I don't care about you posting how you hate republican politicians anymore than I care about someone else posting about how they hate democrat politicians. But just come off it and admit where you are coming from. Your claims of disinterested neutrality are hollow, and just a bit sad. witty subliminal message Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards. 1*

According to SCOTUS, restrictions forbidding felons and whackos from owning guns are perfectly constitutional. TRY HARDER NEXT TIME. And those laws are already in place. So why do we need more? Did you get the idea that anything on that list is meant to affect felons and mentally ill obtaining fireams? Or are you just pointing out that no right is absolute, and then using that as justification to make that right so difficult and dangerous to exercise that it becomes more trouble than it's worth? And if you're not happy with current laws proscribing same, do you have any better ideas? Or should we punish everyone else, just in case? witty subliminal message Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards. 1*

Are you certain that's actually true? I'm not. Aside from the studies done by two federal bean counting organizations posted above, use your common sense. Consider the cost of providing every basic need for every serviceman sent anywhere. All food, clothing, shelter, weapons, medical, dental, training, transport, and assorted bureaucratic coats associated with a soldier. Now consider that a contractor costs a flat fee. That flat fee is a hell of a lot less. Then consider that contractors don't have GI bill, the VA, and all the other benefits of service. Injured contracted also cost a whole lot less than injured servicemen. If you look at cold hard numbers, the contractors are cheaper. They are also able to respond much more quickly than Fed, inc. New trouble in Shitholistan? Not sending in big green but you need security for government employees? They can be there next week. How long will the federal bureaucracy take to get people there? witty subliminal message Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards. 1*

The ATF upper eschelons may be goat fuck stupid, but the repost police are still fully operational. http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=4051886;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;;page=unread#unread witty subliminal message Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards. 1*