rickjump1

That is why Israel is saying they have no plans to attack Iranian nuclear facilities. For the moment I believe they will sit tight and go through all the diplomatic hoops of restraint to impress the rest of the world, particularly the US. When the UN fails to rein in Iran, things may get hot. Want to know how Israel views things? Click this Israeli site. (with Falxori's consent of course). http://www.debka.com/ Do your part for global warming: ban beans and hold all popcorn farts.

From the immortal words of John Belushi, "Over? It's not over. Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?" Got this from a character development training film Do your part for global warming: ban beans and hold all popcorn farts.

Maybe the ultrasound machine will be included in strong education programs. 79% of the women who viewed their baby on an ultrasound machine decided to keep the baby. Focus on the Family is trying to equip Pregnancy Resourse Centers with these machines.http://www.family.org/pregnancy/ultrasound/ Do your part for global warming: ban beans and hold all popcorn farts.

[reply To me, it's like saying "OK, the patient is having trouble breathing but, rather than diagnose him, let's just start giving him random drugs"... Is there any doubt that polluted air and water are not good for life? I understand that nature sometimes pollutes the air, and we have little control over that. Do your part for global warming: ban beans and hold all popcorn farts.

I voted yes. Can I change my vote? My little granddaughter gave me a hug before she went to bed last night after I voted. I felt a little selfish. Do your part for global warming: ban beans and hold all popcorn farts.

Expansionist tendencies? They have already moved their sphere of influence right into our backyard without a fight. China is really controlling the Panama Canal. This is old 1999 news that a lot of people don't know. Goggle China and the Panama Canal and China/ Long Beach Pier. Rowan Scarborough THE WASHINGTON TIMES -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott recently wrote to Defense Secretary William S. Cohen that a Chinese shipping company is gaining broad authority over the Panama Canal and could deny passage to U.S. ships. "It appears that we have given away the farm without a shot being fired," the Mississippi Republican said in the Aug. 1 letter requesting Mr. Cohen's security assessment. It was the first time a congressional leader has raised questions about growing Chinese influence over one of the world's most strategic waterways. Until now, warnings were being raised primarily by a handful of conservative lawmakers, led by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, California Republican, who plans a fact-finding trip to Panama on Monday. The focus of concern is Hutchinson Whampoa Ltd., a giant Hong Kong-based shipping firm with ties to China's leadership and its armed forces, the People's Liberation Army (PLA). Under circumstances the U.S. Embassy in Panama called unusual, the government in 1997 awarded Hutchinson a 25- to 50-year contract to run the two major ports on the canal's Atlantic and Pacific entrances. Moreover, conservatives assert that Panama gave Hutchinson broader powers in legislation known as "Law No. 5." Al Santoli, an aide to Mr. Rohrabacher, said the law enables Hutchinson to assign the pilots who take control of ships and steer them through the canal. He also said the Chinese company can block passage of ships to meet its business needs. This contention was challenged by a spokesman for the Panama Canal Commission, a panel of five Americans and four Panamanians who run the waterway. The Panama Canal Commission spokesman said the treaty gives the United States the right to intervene militarily to protect access. Mr. Lott wrote to Mr. Cohen, "This administration is allowing a scenario to develop where U.S. national security interests could not be protected without confronting the Chinese communists in the Americas. U.S. naval ships will be at the mercy of Chinese-controlled pilots and could even be denied passage through the Panama Canal by Hutchinson, an arm of the People's Liberation Army. "In addition, the Chinese Communist Party will gain an intelligence information advantage by controlling this strategic chokepoint. It appears that we have given away the farm without a shot being fired." The senator sent the letter based on an article in Insight magazine, a sister publication of The Washington Times, that detailed Hutchinson's ties to the PLA. The Times first reported in 1997 that Hutchinson had gained control of the port of Balboa on the Pacific and Cristobal on the Atlantic. The United States is the No. 1 user of the canal that carries 13,000 ships per year. The U.S. military is abandoning bases in Panama under a 1977 treaty, signed by President Carter, that gives canal ownership to Panama, effective Dec. 31. Mr. Santoli said the canal is part of a Chinese strategy to move into countries abandoned by the United States and the former Soviet Union. In Cuba, for example, Chinese intelligence officials are helping Cuba build a communications facility, he said. "They're using Panama as a staging area for the region," Mr. Santoli said. "They're doing a massive amount of construction, a lot of investment. Literally hundreds of mainland Chinese are moving into Panama at all levels." The Miami Herald on Monday quoted Panama's ousted intelligence chief as accusing his country's president, Ernesto Perez Balladares, of personally demanding visas for 140 Chinese immigrants. The newspaper said the U.S. Justice Department is investigating a scheme in which Chinese immigrants paid $15,000 each for visas to use Panama as a staging area for illegal entry into the United States. The Panama debate comes amid broader questions about China's strategic intentions and criticism of President Clinton's pro-Beijing policies from both Democrats and Republicans. Military experts say a pattern of Chinese actions reveals a long-range strategic plan to dominate Asia and exert influence worldwide. The moves include its forays in Panama, its failed attempt to take over the old Long Beach, Calif., naval base, its suspected spying at U.S. nuclear labs, its illegal injection of campaign cash into Democratic Party coffers and its increased military spending, especially on nuclear weapons. Reporting on a trip he and outside experts made to Panama in June, Mr. Santoli wrote in a report, "The delegation was concerned about the growing presence of communist China directly at the canal and in the region. Panama has become the central base of operations for communist China in Latin America." Mr. Santoli said a Hutchinson subsidiary in Panama, Panama Ports Co., is partly owned by China Resources Enterprise, the commercial arm of the Chinese Ministry of Trade. The Senate Governmental Affairs Committee has identified the Ministry of Trade as a conduit for "espionage -- economic, political and military -- for China." Mr. Santoli said Li Kashing, chairman of Hutchinson, has served as a middleman for PLA dealings with the West, including satellite purchases from Hughes Corp. Some downplay potential problems with Hutchinson's role in canal operations. For example, a former staffer to Sen. Jesse Helms, North Carolina Republican, issued a report in 1997 dismissing the company as a security threat. Do your part for global warming: ban beans and hold all popcorn farts.

Don't forget the Red Chinese will seal the Panama Canal when war breaks out and black mail us with all those nukes they have or will have stored in abandoned US Navy Bases in the Canal Zone. Do you think all those ship containers going through Long Beach contain trinkets for Walmart? By then, if not already, they will have nukes or some kind of bio weapons distributed. They might shut us down without firing a shot. Do your part for global warming: ban beans and hold all popcorn farts.

You are a true sportsman catching and releasing that beautiful fish. Do your part for global warming: ban beans and hold all popcorn farts.

Night carrier landings? Did some in WW Nam. We Army helicopter pilots would put all the tables together with a nice coat of beer and do (nonprecision) approaches (all we had was an ADF). If somebody got their first hit, they were required to drink a "green mother fucker" (shot of everything on the bar plus two shots of creame de menthe); don't remember anybody keeping it down. All of this transpired after a safety meeting in the mess hall with the usual warnings about too much drinking. Alas, times have changed. Do your part for global warming: ban beans and hold all popcorn farts.

I think they are very brave to make these statements. Hope they are prepared for reprisals. Do your part for global warming: ban beans and hold all popcorn farts.

I'm riding a Harley Roadking Classic. Color is real teal. Beautiful and yours? Do your part for global warming: ban beans and hold all popcorn farts.

I'll do the short ride to town at about any temp without precip. I'm a wimp otherwise unless it's in the 50's. Riding in ice and snow? No way. My feet are barely flat at a stop as it is. This big sob is hard to pickup if your feet slip. Lowering it 1.5 inches and a custom Corbin seat has helped. Do your part for global warming: ban beans and hold all popcorn farts.

Man, thats what I get for being an innocent bystander/lurker? Do your part for global warming: ban beans and hold all popcorn farts.

I believe Tennessee just passed a bill protecting hunters rights. Some thought it was silly to even think that hunting could be endangered in the state that produced Davy Crockett. Do your part for global warming: ban beans and hold all popcorn farts.

No cigar: go fishing. I heard they did have the best bass fishing in the world. Do your part for global warming: ban beans and hold all popcorn farts.

We don't want to move them. We want to buy them. Until that happens, they could use a revolutionist like you. Have at it. Do your part for global warming: ban beans and hold all popcorn farts.

"The dog ate my homework" generation just won't go away Do your part for global warming: ban beans and hold all popcorn farts.

No kidding, and it started with a republican visiting China to get rich Do your part for global warming: ban beans and hold all popcorn farts.

Does that mean a fetus will get a social security number and be a tax deduction? Until that happens, I don't accept a fetus as a member of society with the same rights as those that have been "delivered" into society by the mother. As a father of four, I also do not believe men have any say in how a pregnancy proceeds until men get pregnant themselves. Obviously, you don't think the unborn are entitled to the right to life guaranteed to all persons. I can see there is no argument here. As a father of four, can you honestly tell your children, "It's a good thing mommy loves you, otherwise I would have sat idly by if she wanted to kill each of you before you were born". Do your part for global warming: ban beans and hold all popcorn farts.

Bill, they are trying to pass a Life at Conception Act in the US. Do your part for global warming: ban beans and hold all popcorn farts.

Is he from Earth? If he pukes a lot, does that mean he drinks alot? Do your part for global warming: ban beans and hold all popcorn farts.

I do like it, since perpetuating the threat-counterthreat cycle is the only thing that keeps my defense stock shares appreciating in value. Plowshares aren't lucrative. God, I almost sound like a Texan. I don't think China is perceived as part of the threat-counterthreat cycle to US business now. I would hope you have oil stocks too; not just to make you sound like a Texan. Do your part for global warming: ban beans and hold all popcorn farts.

Quote Shooting your neighbor's pets (or your neighbors) is bad juju!..... Have an old fashioned kat snatch and have him neutered and safely returned. Do your part for global warming: ban beans and hold all popcorn farts.

Lets hope there is no deal to retain these security agencies. Kelpdiver is correct that sensitive material need not be passed if it's safeguarded. I guess this is Mao's "modern guerilla warfare": attack your enemy without firing a shot; simply buy him out. Do your part for global warming: ban beans and hold all popcorn farts.

The problem with land mines isn't so much their use, but the tracking and disposal of them later. The U.S. knows where theirs are, and will deactivate and dispose of them the day peace comes between North and South Korea. Many of the warring countries around the world simply sow randomly and forget, much to the maiming of citizens months and years later. We certainly sowed randomly and forget in SE Asia. They can't understand why we come back sifting through the dirt looking for bone fragments while they loose lives and limbs plowing. Do your part for global warming: ban beans and hold all popcorn farts.