kmcguffee

IMO, labs are the best dogs to have as pets if you have the yard space for them. I've owned three labs, none were pure bred, all were "rescue dogs". All had a little "mystery dog" in them but they were great dogs. I will continue to go with the "rescue dogs"/mixed breeds because of the price and the decreased chance of hereditary ailments. If you decide on a pure bred then do the research and get a really good breeder. "Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do." Ben Franklin

Sounds like your friend isn't a very nice guy. I mean, he might hurt someone with all of that bombing and stuff! I'm sure he is with some competent Army Rangers that will take care of him though. Tell him great job if you get to talk to him. "Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do." Ben Franklin

So, by this argument we should only accept procedures that are 100% infallible. That doesn't make any sense. It is a lot harder to get a sharp edged weapon or a bomb on a commercial plane since the new procedures were put in place......period. No system will ever be infallible, but that doesn't mean we should throw our hands up and do nothing. "Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do." Ben Franklin

Don't celebrate too soon. The lawyers haven't gotten ahold of this one yet. They will make it into a circus. Hopefully this man will make it out unscathed. "Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do." Ben Franklin

China has the US in its cross hairs. They are determined to be the next super power. We can keep the North Korea issue cool with diplomacy because China won't let them get too wild. Our big opportunity right now is with Iran. They have a revisionist president, Kherzai I believe, who wants to re-engage the West. He is being stopped by their religious leader, Khomeini, who says re-engagement would be defeat. Now the younger generation is rising up against the religious caste. Improving relations with Iran isn't something that can be done in the next two to three years but, five to ten years down the road, maybe. After my recent two week journey through Europe and Asia I was completely amazed at how anti-US the BBC is. I didn't hear one positive comment about the US from them. There was one positive story about the UK's handling of a criminal investigation where the BBC intentionally left out the US's contribution to solving it. It is like they are intentionally trying to turn world opinion against the US. Have they got an agenda or did we piss in their Wheaties? Now I'm not so suprised that many former BBC journalists work with Al Jazeera. Anyway, just an observation. "Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do." Ben Franklin

You're right. They can use certain "exceptions" to normal search procedures. They do random checks on luggage and people. They also conduct searches based on "probable cause" generated by the x-rays. "Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do." Ben Franklin

Exactly. If the LEO has a legal right to be where he/she can see the item and a legal right to be where he/she can seize the item then it is a legal seizure. It doesn't matter if the item seized was the initial reason for the seizure or not. There must be an initial reason though. They have to show probable cause that evidence of a crime is at a certain location and that it will be present at that location at the time of the search. A suspicious object discovered during the x-ray can give the government probable cause to conduct the search of your luggage. "Probable cause" is required for the search to be considered "reasonable". The constitution requires searches to be "reasonable". In a situation where the safety of civilians or LEOs are at risk then the threshold for "reasonable" is reduced from "probable cause" to "reasonable suspicion". "Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do." Ben Franklin

I just returned from Bangkok yesterday and saw this procedure. The problem with it is they don't screen your carry on at the same time. If I wanted to plant a bomb on the plane I could initially place it in my carry on until my checked bags are screened. Then, since I still have control of my carry on and checked luggage, I could transfer the bomb to my checked luggage. They place a little piece of tape on your luggage to prevent you from opening it but it was only covering one opening on my luggage. I could still have done it. There was a better procedure in Warsaw, Poland in the Lufthansa section. They screened everything, including you, before you checked in for the flight. If it needed to be opened then they asked your permission and did it in front of you. If you didn't give permission you didn't get on the plane. "Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do." Ben Franklin

Several of us seem to throw the unconstitutional word around a lot when referring to the detainees in GTMO. Have you ever read this: Notice it doesn't say "when serving in the US military only". It also says "in time of war or public danger". No war is required to be declared. The US government is considering members of terrorist organizations, like Al Quaida, to be members of a "land force". Since these "forces" are not considered legitimate forces, as recognized by the Geneva Convention, they also do not get the rights of the Geneva Convention. Also, since the different rights are all included under one ammendment, the "military service" exemption is understood to apply to all of the rights. Therefore they do not have to get any of them including the "due process of law". This is all according to the constitution guys. "Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do." Ben Franklin

Based on the Geneva Convention, we can treat organized groups of foreign origin (freedome fighters) as POWs as long as they carry arms openly, have some type of identifiable insignia that they wear, and have a clear command structure with one person ultimately responsible for their actions. Al Qaida does not meet this criteria. Here is a link to the Geneva Convention Text http://193.194.138.190/html/menu3/b/91.htm. They could also identify with a foreign power which would eliminate all of these requirements. Their actions place them squarely in the "unlawful combatants" category. "Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do." Ben Franklin

They didn't declare war but they did pass a resolution in support of the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. So, they agree with our actions, as a body, but have not enacted the other actions that occur when a war is declared. The reduction of civil rights has usually been justified by labeling members of terrorist groups as enemy combatants. We didn't give Nazi or Vietnamese POWs access to lawyers during WWII or Vietnam either. No other countries have ever given POWs access to lawyers. "Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do." Ben Franklin

How would you solve all of these terrorism problems? "Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do." Ben Franklin

Here is a link to the Geneva Convention so that you can determine why terrorists are terrorists and why Special Forces are not terrorists http://193.194.138.190/html/menu3/b/91.htm a kid planning to spit on a soldier becomes a legal target as well (yes, body fluids are legally life threatening is some states) "Civilian buildings are lawful targets if they are being used to support the war effort". Members of other militias and members of other volunteer corps, including those of organized resistance movements, belonging to a Party to the conflict and operating in or outside their own territory, even if this territory is occupied, provided that such militias or volunteer corps, including such organized resistance movements, fulfil the following conditions: (a) That of being commanded by a person responsible for his subordinates; (b) That of having a fixed distinctive sign recognizable at a distance; (c) That of carrying arms openly; (d) That of conducting their operations in accordance with the laws and customs of war. Members of the armed forces of a Party to the conflict as well as members of militias or volunteer corps forming part of such armed forces. *** Now, if some country would claim Al Quaida as being a member of their armed forces then they would become lawful combatants. We would also have the ability to declare war on that country and attack it. "Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do." Ben Franklin

So if you're proud of the US you are a slave to the views of the government? The only open minded people are the ones who bash the US and complain about all of its policies. I've never seen you say anything good. You were correcting someone who was saying why they were proud of the US. So I'm average huh? Because I have different opinions than you I have a closed mind? Man, you are so much more enlightened than me. I can barely stand to be in your presence. You are almost glowing! Try basing your opinions on reality and you will get a lot more respect. Just having opinions because they are different from the mainstream does not make you enlightened or non-average. Bashing someone elses positive opinion of the US on the 4th of July does not make you open minded. "Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do." Ben Franklin

***The shock effect worked for Kiss with music. Why not try it in politics.

So is it now politically incorrect to feel good about ourselves? New rule: Don't say anything good about the US because it might offend another country or some of our self loathing countrymen. Also, be tolerant unless it is someone expressing views based on religion. "Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do." Ben Franklin

Arabic. I'm currently learning Arabic (Lebantine dialect). It is not on the list though. "Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do." Ben Franklin

I get it every now and then. Usually in the morning just as I'm waking up. It is a feeling like I need to wake up now but I can't seem to move. I can hear things going on around me but I can't control my body. It is usually associated with some weird noise that I think I should go investigate. No aliens yet.

I am a former Army Company Commander and I can tell you this is coming from a local commander, not the Army. The Army has some rules on skydiving but they do not dictate that you can't skydive. I'll bet you have a skydiver in your COC somewhere. Figure out who he/she is and get this policy brought to their attention. "Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do." Ben Franklin

Depends on the department. Some departments have extremely strict hiring policies with very detailed background investigations. Others hire who they can get. It depends on the pool of candidates they have to choose from. You would be surprised at the education and experience of some of those lowly cops. "Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do." Ben Franklin

My guess, if everything else was the same, would be that you would have a dead white guy in a business suit and no news story. "Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do." Ben Franklin

In my department, which is fairly large and well respected, you shoot until the threat is eliminated. You always shoot at least twice. In stressfull situations cops only hit one out of five shots when aiming at center mass. Aiming for an extremity is Hollywood crap. Your chances of hitting are low unless you are away from danger and in a stable firing position ie a sniper. They are well trained to react in a certain way under stress. You shoot until the threat is eliminated. "Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do." Ben Franklin

I was a Six Sigma Black Belt with General electric for a year and a half after getting out of the Army. I found another job as quickly as possible. It can be a great tool. It is not the "language of leadership" as GE likes to call it. Six Sigma uses sound statistics to find the root cause of problems. It is usually done half assed and without real committment to investing the money, people, and resources to fix the problem once it is found. When you do it half assed it is a monumental waste of time. "Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do." Ben Franklin

If the person wants to call themselves a skydiver and feels comfortable with it after only doing tandems then why shouldn't they? Is "skydiver" some kind of status symbol? Is it a badge? Or is it something you do because you enjoy it? Do you consider yourself "better" than non skydivers? You have a license that shows you can do it by yourself. A tandem passenger does not. USPA is not giving licenses for tandem jumps so your pilot comparison makes little sense. Is an Army Paratrooper a skydiver? They freefall for 3-4 seconds. If they have a malfunction they even deploy their own chute. Jumping from 800ft in a mass tac is considerably more dangerous than skydiving on the weekend. Are you better than them? IMO, if you willingly jump out of a plane for fun, you are a skydiver. Breaking everyone down into little groups does little to promote this sport, inspire new participants, or create a fun environment at the dropzone. "Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do." Ben Franklin

Looks to me like the system worked. This article is comparing statistics between people of different races. The death penalty is decided based on the facts of the murder ie a home invasion murder is more likely to draw the death penalty than a murder over drugs, etc. They are going to have to add a little more detail to the article to make it valid. I'm not saying there isn't a difference, just that this article doesn't prove it. You can make this comparison across the country and find that it is the same if the population of different races is comparable to Louisiana. Before I became a cop, I would have agreed that this was an unjustified shooting. Since becoming a cop and finding out how quick decisions on the street have to be made, I think this was a justified shooting. Race had nothing to do with it. The only times these incidents become newsworthy is when they are white cops shooting black suspects and hindsight shows there was no danger to the officer's lives. The problem is, the officers don't get the benefit of hindsight. They have to decide immediately. If you ever get the chance, get into a FATS trainer. It is a realistic computer game that law enforcement uses to train officers in these types of situations. You will only have to do it once to understand. "Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do." Ben Franklin