jimbarry

>Miyasato speculated that he may have been picked because >his skills as a truck driver and refueler are in demand in Iraq. I can't imagine that the POL driver MOS requires such high degrees of "skill" that they'd need to dig someone out from the bottom of the IRR to come back in and do. >He told reporters he did the same work as that done by a >group of Army reservists who refused to deliver fuel along >a dangerous route in Iraq last month. Sheesh. Don't you just love when newswriters, who are supposed to report facts, thinly veil their own backhanded commentary into the story through creative emphasis? This, as if to say, "Army: 'Well, soldiers are refusing our stoopid suicide missions, so we need to go back into the IRR and see if we can find someone who we *can* kill.'" Which is over course b.s. in more ways than one.

Chicken parmigiana on a lightly toasted italian roll. edited to add: Damn, almost forgot KALUA PIG SANDWICH. Don't go to Hawaii without trying one.

"During the next few months he made three requests for transfer to airborne training in Fort Benning, Georgia. And he was finally accepted. Airborne? He was 38 years old. Why the fuck would he do that?" Willard on Kurtz, Apocalypse Now

At least 5 books a year. I wish it were more. As for magazines, regularly: Wired ESPN the Mag Newsweek National Review Entertainment Weekly So I guess that means that I read about 400 pages of magazine advertisements per month. And whenever I'm in an airport traveling: Rolling Stone and USA Today. Don't know why I don't read those at home. Only on the road. Almost forgot Parachutist. Just got my second one.

Well sure, because that's where more of the people are! Ok, so it's more important that the needs of lightly populated rural states have more of a vote?? But it's not important at all that with our current system 40 some-odd non-swing states, including CA, NY, IL, TX are ignored because they're "in the bag"?? In just those 4 states alone, there are close to 25 million eligible voters who's votes simply don't count in the electoral college system because they happen to vote in that state's "losing" party. While there are only 7 million eligible voters TOTAL in the smallest 10 states combined. So sure. Let's ignore the votes of 25 million so that we're sure we don't count out the desires of 7 million. --Signed, a California Republican who's vote doesn't count.

The brits are great! Their country is great (albeit expensive) to visit. Although the BBC is so weighted to the left, I can't watch it anymore without falling over. Need an equal dose of FOX just to balance out my system. As for Skyrad's "limey" thread I still think the Guardian fabricated most of those so called "letters from americans". Pretty easy to see: spelling, slang, phrases, etc.

Sounds cute, but it's probably not that conspiratorial. The US wants to buy Iraqi oil, not steal it militarily, otherwise why didn't the US steal it in '91, '92, '03, '04? Sounds to me much more likely that in order for Allawi to begin to lead his country and win over the respect of his people (and win the upcoming election), he needs to find reasons to disagree with Bush, blame Bush, regain control of areas/resources from Bush. Show that he's a world leader and is capable of governing. If he just bends to whatever Bush wants at this stage of the game, his people will never follow him. If the Bush Admin. is smart, they'll let him have these power struggle "wins" so that the place can stablize and we can get the hell out of there.

Let's hope. But unfortunately, history has shown that anytime the leader of either side of this conflict makes concessions or in any other way softens or moves to the center, they lose control of many of their own people. Or worse, get themselves put in a box. (like Rabin)

FAKE ALERT What do you think? Doesn't reading these sound suspiciously like they were written by a brit and not at all by an american. are an ornery sort and don't take meddling well (sounds like a brit wrote that) ... try not to sell your sovereignty out to Brussels and Berlin (do hardly any americans even know that Brussels is the seat of the EU?) ... bag the lot of you (sounds brit to me) ... We live in a globalised (z?) ... than having patronising (z?) ... folks from Ohio to do the same in Oxfordshire (what american even knows that Oxfordshire's a place?) ... the Guardian is sponsoring a service (sponsoring a service? brit!) ... We all enjoyed this at work. Cheers. ("cheers"? that means "thanks" in brit-speak yeah?) ... I shall endeavour (extra "u" in there) ... have a say in the selection (would an american say this?) ... While I empathise (z?) ... people to empathise (z?) ... all western civilisation (z?) It's a rag paper pandering to the anti-americanism in britain, that's all.

48. You should literally knock yourself out to ensure that you use the word "literally" only to contrast a statement from its figurative meaning.

Agreed. And, if Gore had only won his own state of Tennessee, there wouldn't have been an election to "steal". But somehow the republicans had a crystal ball to know that Florida would be the place to stage their conspiracy. The SupCt "appointed" Bush? No, the Supremes forced Florida to follow their own law and not change it in the middle of an election process. Would a court appointed mostly by Dem presidents have allowed Florida to break its own election law? Is that what the Dems really think was the better option? Change the rules as you go if you don't like the results? Isn't that what they don't like about Bush? Ahhhem. Enough about 2000.

I guess that the thousands of experienced California software people that can't find jobs are just uneducated slackers. I'd have to disagree with you there (even though I "got" your sarcasm). I pass no personal judgments on people I don't know. All I can talk about is what I see. And I see a job post go out for advertisement and see 4 out of 10, 2 out of 10, and sometimes none out of 10 coming from US citizens and green card holders. And those outside the US most often have resumes which completely blow away those from inside the US with similar education and years of experience. I wish it wasn't so, but it is. I can't make people apply, and I can't make them qualified. Yes, I know all about "the law". If you want to talk about BS, that is the biggest sham that I have ever seen. Don't be so sure. The legal liability is too great. It would only take one or two US citizens qualified for these positions to bring suit (it happens) and give a company a headache which detracts from core business. Plus, for your groundless blindly cynical view to be true would mean that a company would rather spend many $1,000s more and wait months to hire someone on a visa than hire someone down the street right now? Provide an example of your "sham".

Thanks for backing me up frenchy. I thought I was going to be out here all by meself. My point I made above summarizes as this: Show me a qualified US citizen when we've got an open position, and I'll recommend hiring them in a second. They're cheaper to hire (logistics of hiring I mean, not salary), quicker to hire (a week or two, versus 3-9 months for a visa candidate) and of course, it's the law. But as it is, half of my staff are on work visas. This isn't my opinion or my desire. It's simply a fact.

Ok, let's blame mommy government whenever someone lacks motivation and personal responsibility? Education in the country is available for all who seek it. Community colleges are a very affordable start, finish at a 4-year state school after that if you want. Scholarships, loans, grants, and working while you study are options for higher education that many hundreds of thousands use each year to push their lives forward. Or maybe we should encourage kids to target *themselves* for achievement. Set goals, learn, push through adversities, reward themselves for true successes, and not waste one moment waiting for someone else to make things "fair". Take advantage of the opportunity our forefathers/mothers designed, fought, and died for, and contribute toward making society that much better for the next generation. Then we wouldn't need so many H-1B visas. You should see these people I interview from Canada, India, China, Nepal, Lebanon, Australia, knocking themselves out trying to get here and take advantage of the opportunity that many of those born here already have and don't even know it.

Yep, that's exactly how it works. Can't hire an H-1B candidate until the US citizens (and green card holders) have been interviewed and determined to be unqualified. That's what the lawyers tell us to do, and the liability is too great to risk doing otherwise. I would like it a great deal to hire no one but US citizens, but I can't make them apply, and I can't make them qualified. We've got a business to run. If the best we can find need H-1B's (or TN's for Canadians), then so be it. A shame, but you play the cards you're dealt. (ed: spelling)

My first hand experience is going to have to send a "bullshit" vote on this one. The software company I work for has 4,000 employees. I'm a department head of 40 people. HALF of them are here on H-1B visas. Why? Because we cannot find enough US citizens who are nearly as qualified as the immigrants. And when I do recommend the hire of a US citizen, it's most often in an entry-level role. We advertise in the right newspapers, industry-related job boards, and such, and when the resumes come flowing in, 7 out of 10 are from non-US citizens. Cheaper to hire them, "bullshit" again. The visa alone costs about $7k and involves the work of a retained immigration law firm. The salary we pay visa holders is at least $5 an hour higher than we pay equivalently hired US citizens due to "minimum prevailing wage" charts which are out of touch with reality. Then you often have to move them and their family from somewhere in another hemisphere at great expense. Where are the qualified programmers, database admins, and web developers who are US citizens? The only time (by law) we can hire someone on an H-1B is if we can prove that we cannot find similarly qualified people here in the states. And for my 10 years with this company, this is always easy to do.

So your opinion makes the law? Read the UCMJ first, then weigh in. Because quite simply, well, you're wrong in black and white. It's not within soldiers' discretion to try to determine whether or not an order is "stupid". He has neither the duty, nor the authority, nor even all of the information needed to attempt to make such judgments. A "suicidal" mission is personally unfortunate, but, like "stupid", is absolutely unconnected to whether or not that order is lawful. Opinions like yours are most probably formulated from deep within the haze created by a generation or two of american cultural affluence and what appears to be a complete misunderstanding of what service, duty, and sacrifice mean. One tool for defending a nation is a strong military. A military works by functioning as a unit, not as a collection of individuals. But, the more free and more affluent a society becomes, the more distant these "me first" progeny drift away from truly understanding this. And you get responses such as "How dare you tell me to do something I think is stupid. How dare you send me on that suicide task that helps accomplish the unit's mission. And if I don't like what you're doing, that must make it unlawful." When soldiers do what they're told, that saying is correct. But it's funny that somehow you applied it in an opposite context. And yes, I've been a soldier, and an officer, and in harm's way.

Heh. More wheel spinnin' and tax money wastin' for the american gov't trying to regulate something that isn't american. I wish each time some idea about controlling the internet pops into some politician's head, they'd stop to remember what the first two w's in "www" stand for. Move the server/app/db outside the border, and bam, millions spent writing laws rendered useless. Can you hear the tax toilet flushing? I can. As for Speakers Corner, it's fair and balanced. For every Ron there's a PhillyKev, and so on, and so on...

In the split screen view, for the second half of the debate, both podiums were visible at the same height, and the space above each of their heads was the same. The only way to accomplish that is to zoom in much closer on bush and zoom out on kerry. But the first half, the zoom is the same, kerry's podium is not visible, and bush's is practically the bottom 1/4 of the screen. Trade offs. Like they were experimenting as they were going. Y'think they woulda figured it out ahead of time. So what did they say? I wasn't payin' attention.

Because to republicans, the way for people to make a living for themselves is education, not more federal handouts. Yeah, like the gov't can "create" a free market job. Because republicans feel that the federal gov't's job is to ensure that every american has the opportunity to achieve, then get out of the way. Gov't doesn't and shouldn't (and can't) guarantee outcomes. Very generally speaking, republicans appeal to those who want to work to make their own way, and democrats appeal to those waiting for gov't to give them something by taking it away from those who don't "deserve it". To republicans, this free society is open for anyone to succeed who really wants to. Sure, some start at the bottom, and some have a head start, but everyone can make it as they see fit. But to democrats, well, "hope/help is on the way." Just vote for us, sit back and we'll fix what ails you. Nice... Sounds like the american spirit to you??? Yes, just one more part of the fed gov't which should be pushed back down to the states. Money has a better chance not to be wasted when it stays as close to the problem as possible. Not when it shoots to WashDC, has a chunk of it sucked out, and whatever's left over trickles back down.

Anything by PJ O'Rourke. Especially Holidays in Hell. And yes, yet another vote for Douglas Adams.

And that my friends is just about the scariest 6-word sentence in the english language. Very glad to hear it. "chiropractor" != "real doctor" Personal experience and personal opinion only. But lots of it.

My first parachute jump ever (round, MC1-1B) was out of a Huey, and it rocked. I'm still a student of course (on hiatus; start over), but when i'm up and running, YES, 5k at $20 south of Indianapolis sounds great, theoretically.

Uh oh. Edwards better check himself before he wrecks himself... -clip- "In Nov 2003, in a speech to a Palestinian advocacy group, Sen. Kerry openly came out in opposition to the Israeli-built wall, dubbing it a “barrier to peace,” and criticizing Israeli leadership for “derailing” the peace process."

So what? That's pretty damn insulting to insinuate that poor kids are too stupid to know that military service is dangerous. The forms I signed when I joined at 17 said a lot of things but three things in particular were bold or highlighted quite clearly on the papers. I've got a copy right here. 1) In three separate places, in ALL CAPS and bold it said "The agreements in this section and the attached annexes are all the promises made to me by the Government. ANYTHING ELSE ANYONE HAS PROMISED ME IS NOT VALID AND WILL NOT BE HONORED. Initial Here" 2) The word "WAR" is mentioned not less than 10 times (I stopped counting.) 3) "I will be..." (4) Required upon order to serve in combat or other hazardous situations." The NCO sitting in front of me at the MEPS made me read that fucker out loud three times. In fact, if people want to throw out sweeping generalizations, I might even go so far as to say that poor kids have seen more screwed up life in their short few years to be even MORE wary of the smooth hucksters in the recruiting bunch than spoiled rich kids would be. Anyone poor or rich, who has ever seen a movie, read a book, or even watched the teevee knows that soldiers fight and soldiers die. So please, come back to us from the michael moore brainwashing. You volunteer to serve your country. You don't get to pick your wars. If you can't handle that level of sacrifice then go to Burger King or go to college.