jcd11235

Apparently, the teen should have shot the cop instead of running from him. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

What indications would you expect to see if they had been infiltrated at such high levels? I think that the need to be discreet in order to retain the position infiltrated would be extremely high. Care would be taken to keep indications or evidence of infiltration at such levels minimal or non-existent. Thus, the higher the level of infiltration, the less likely it would be to find indications of the infiltration. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

Not according to Admiral Mullen, who said just last week there is "absolutely no provision or discussion" of putting any U.S. troops in Pakistan. There is support personnel there, which was at the request of the Pakistani government, to train their own troops. Perhaps our troops' presence in Pakistan is not intended to be public knowledge, then. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

Right, yet Exxon benefits FAR more than MS or Apple. Actually, the customer pays the sales tax. Retailers are entrusted to collect the taxes on behalf of the government(s). Even if you considered it a tax on Exxon, Apple would also be considered to pay sales tax on their sales. You must have missed the news: The Iraqi Oil Ministry said [November 5, 2009] it awarded a consortium led by Exxon Mobil Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell PLC the right to develop the West Qurna-1 field in southern Iraq, representing the first American-led team gaining access to Iraq's oil patch. … For Exxon and Shell, two of the largest publicly listed oil companies, the deal grants entry into a country that boasts one of the world's largest reserves of petroleum. Like most of the oil-rich Middle East, the country has long been off limits to Western firms. … West Qurna-1 is believed to have about 8.7 billion barrels in oil reserves. You don't seem to understand what risk means. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

One of my former roommates had just returned from Iraq before he moved in. He couldn't stand to watch war movies, because they reminded him too much of his time in the sandbox. But, he had no issues playing HALO. I always thought that was kind of strange. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

I've heard (but haven't verified) that a felony arrest, even without a conviction, can preclude one from obtaining a CCW. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

If you're claiming Factcheck.org is significantly biased, then you're only demonstrating that you don't really understand what media bias is. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

We've recently had troops in Pakistan. I suspect that we still do. I doubt that they're there without the knowledge of the government of Pakistan. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

We need to be able to vote for multiple options. There are three non-exclusive options (i.e., options 2, 3, 4) that I could choose. More to the point, until our primary tactics are projections of soft power instead of hard power, the WOT is a lost cause, drones or not. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

I refer you back to the SECOND sentence of my reply. Unfortunately for your argument, those things have not been shown to happen, despite what you might read on some right-wing blog ranting about "Climategate." Don't believe me?

I find it interesting how two branches of government were mentioned in my post, yet you felt the need to reply in order to criticize the third, unmentioned branch. ODS? Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

Please read this section again: I know you like to think certain people are guilty till you say otherwise, but the legal system says otherwise and the background check confirms that. If someone has been arrested and subsequently acquitted for a capital felony, e.g., first degree murder, can they get a CCW permit in your state? What about most other states? Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

That's correct, in the same sense that a bridge is not engineering. OTOH, AGW is a product of (valid) science, just as a bridge is a product of engineering. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

That's a tired argument that doesn't withstand scrutiny of SCOTUS case law. Congress has the necessary authority to get involved in healthcare under the general welfare clause of Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution. In my experience, those who cry such things the loudest have the least understanding of the document. Edit to add: I posted an excerpt from the relevant case law here, when you made the same erroneous assertion. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

No, they aren't. What is Exxon's tax rate? What is Apple's tax rate? Who receives more benefit from the newly accessible supply? Exxon & other oil companies are paying the same rate, but receive a disproportionately large benefit. You really don't get it, do you? That doesn't matter. Any way you look at it, the expense of accessing the additional Iraqi oil is being subsidized by taxpayers. It doesn't matter if oil is $30 per barrel or $300 per barrel. If you think that Exxon, et al. aren't benefiting from OIF, you're living in an alternate reality. Do you really think Exxon faces higher risk than Apple or Microsoft? What planet are you living on? Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

That we weren't welcomed with open arms was my first clue. The documented cases of murder and torture by US military personnel also offers a hint that some civilians might feel the need to protect their families from US troops. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

Where can I sell $2 bills for $10? I can get all the $2 bills I want for two bucks each; I'll be all over that arbitrage opportunity. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

I'm saying that OIF opened up a supply side market for Exxon and other oil companies. That offers disproportionate benefits to companies in the oil industry (e.g., increase in supply with constant demand results in lower prices for oil), without charging members of that industry higher tax rates, i.e., it is a subsidization. You apparently misunderstood my point, but it's worth noting that if prices go up and margins remain constant, profits increase. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

Often, we shouldn't be involved (e.g., Soviet War in Afghanistan, OEF, OIF). Sometimes, when our involvement is necessary, military intervention is a poor choice. Since it was our invasion that led to the war, we are the party responsible. It seems like only yesterday that you were posting about the US having developed "weapons systems that are surgical in nature." Oh, wait, it was only yesterday. Perhaps the weapons systems to which you referred aren't as precise as you would have had us believe? Sometimes, the presence of civilians makes engagement of the enemy a bad idea. If the mission requires winning the hearts and minds of the locals, especially when the enemy has the support of a significant portion of the local population, then use of hard power is usually a poor choice. By using soft power, it becomes possible to win over the locals and neutralize the human shield factor. I did supply some of the numbers in my previous post, such as those in OIF (conservative estimate). For what US national security interest did those innocent people die? We know now (and knew before the invasion) that Iraq posed no threat the US or even to her neighbors. The different ethnic groups coexisted relatively peacefully under secular rule. We have the benefit of hindsight to know with certainty that OIF was a mistake. We should be apologizing for the deaths, injuries, and infrastructure damage that we took upon ourselves to cause. To refuse to accept responsibility is cowardly in my view. (I am curious about which historical references to which you are referring.) I'm not sure we can claim a difference between not intentionally targeting them, and targeting "enemies" who we know to be among a disproportionate number of civilians. Okay. I'll concede that by the definitions set forth by the Geneva Conventions, even violence committed in self defense eliminates one's status as a non-combatant. But, I'm not sure you want to use definitions from the Geneva Conventions and acknowledge their application. From Common Article 2: The Convention shall also apply to all cases of partial or total occupation of the territory of a High Contracting Party, even if the said occupation meets with no armed resistance. Fair enough, we are now an occupying force. To what kind of inspections are you referring? Was information being sought from civilians? Were they held at gunpoint during the inspection? I have no doubt that some of them are exactly that. It would be naïve to believe otherwise. Remember, there's no shortage of Geneva Convention Articles that have been violated by US forces in OIF and OEF (e.g., torture, murder). Considering the unlawful actions of some troops and units, it is not unreasonable to expect some civilians to be afraid for their safety when US troops are nearby. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

A statistic showing handgun owners per 1K (or per 100K) would be much more relevant. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

Does the threefold increase in gun ownership which you previously mentioned refer to a 300% increase in the number of guns,300% increase in the number of guns per 100,000 residents, 300% increase in the number of gun owners, or a 300% increase in the number of gun owners per 100,000 US residents? Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

Not when you know as well as I do that there are no numbers available that would support or disprove my assertion. It isn't something that has been sufficiently studied quantitatively. Edit to add: Just for you, here are some numbers and other info: OIF OEF Violations of the Laws of War by NATO during Operation Allied Force (Kosovo) In Panama: [T]he "surgical operation" by American forces inflicted a toll in civilian lives that was at least four-and-a-half times higher than military causalities in the enemy, and twelve or thirteen times higher than the casualties suffered by U.S. troops. By themselves these ratios suggest that the rule of proportionality and the duty to minimize harm to civilians, where doing so would not compromise a legitimate military objective, were not faithfully observed by they invading U.S. forces. For us, the controversy over the number of civilian casualties should not obscure the important debate on the manner in which those people died. It appears that you're simply trying to avoid addressing the issue because you know you can't offer a supportable opposing argument. That's pretty typical of your debate tactics, in my experience. ***The only difference is that I had used figures to back my assertion. Yes. But you made a quantifiable assertion for which there is data that can be used to support or disprove it. I did not. Do you not understand the difference, or are you being disingenuous? Bullshit. If you are going to paraphrase me, do it accurately. If you had read my posts, you would know that what I have referred to is exactly what our military and propaganda refers to as "collateral damage." Putting a PC name on killing innocent civilians doesn't make their deaths any more justifiable than when our own civilians died in terrorist attacks. Both cases are tragic. The aggressors in both cases feel justified in their actions. Then why are you afraid to answer the question about the number of civilian lives lost in US military interventions? Civilians are not soldiers. Acting in defense of their self, their family, or their community when those things are attacked by foreign aggressors does not make them non-civilians. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

Not submitting or not making it through the peer review process is not the same as being blocked. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

Out of curiosity, has the data upon which those assertions rely been corrected for population density and drug related crime? Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

The Bible also speaks out about male bisexuality (Leviticus 18:22, 20:13), so what conclusions are we to draw? Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!