posted 06-01-2001 20:53            

I'd like to begin by saying that I believe we should keep our noses out of other countries' business. I don't think we had any place in Korea, Viet Nam, Iraq or anywhere else our nation's brass have gotten us stuck in for the last 40 years.

WWI and II were a different story completely, regardless of the reason we got involved in Germany, it was necesary. People were being tortured by the millions because of their heritage and religion. Japan... well, I'm not all that informed on the history there, I slept through that class, and textbooks always end up making us look better than we were anyway. Hiroshima and Nagasaki were unnecessary, and millions of civilians died horribly so Hirohito would sign a piece of paper. I realize that they attacked us, and the bomb ended the war with far less casualties on our side and far quicker than otherwise, but I don't have to like it.

Other than that, we should mind our own business, but soldiers don't make those decisions. I spent time in the military, and I must say that my reasons weren't all that patriotic, and too complicated to go into here. The majority of the people I served with however, joined because they wanted to serve their country, not the politicians, the country. And you can't just pick and choose what decisions to support when you're in the service, you sign your individualism away, and accept what the leaders say to do whether you support the cause or not. The soldiers who were already in the service when Viet Nam began couldn't very well say 'thanks for the training and the M16, but I don't like this war, so I'm going home', and those that came after were drafted, they had no choice, you can say that they had the option of claiming conscientious objector status, but you'd be wrong, it's much more involved than saying 'I don't believe in this war'.

People join the military because they want to feel as if they're making a difference, it certainly isn't for the great pay and benefits. Sometimes they have to do things that they aren't all that proud of, and some people in the military are bad. For the most part they do what they have to do, and then they come home, or they don't. When they do come home we should always let them know that they are appreciated, whether we agree with the cause or not. We must remember that the soldiers are people too, and they may not have wanted to be there any more than we wanted them there, but they did it because it was their duty.

posted 06-01-2001 22:01            

Besides that guy from the princess bride, of course.

-Chris

posted 06-02-2001 05:33            

On an unrelated note, I would like to temper my earlier commendation of President Truman's actions concerning Hiroshima with a heartfelt "you SUCK" for relieving MacArthur from command in Korea. What a fucking PUTZ.

posted 06-02-2001 05:38            

• Choose the line (or course) of least expectation.
  
• Exploit the line of least resistance.
  
• Take a line of operations which offers alternative objectives.
  
• Ensure that both plan and dispositions are elastic, or adaptable.
  
• Don't lunge whilst your opponent can parry.
  
• Don't renew an attack along the same line (or in the same form) after it has once failed.

There you have it.

posted 06-03-2001 18:23            

Second, calling on the goverment to spend fuckloads of money on public works may sound like good policy, but I should inform you that it is also the bread and butter of Japanese fiscal thought, and Japan has been in a depression since about 1988.
The reasons, and there are many, are hotly debated, but they boil down to the fact that paying people to dig holes puts money in their pockets, but it doesn't create wealth, just holes. All you wind up with is a lot of incentive for corruption in the contracting process between the govt and industry, and at the end of the day you have bridges in B.F.E. where you didn't need a bridge anyway. I have lived in Japan's back woods, and ican tell you that the roads are excellent. But no-one uses them.

Finally:

quote:

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Originally posted by MightyMon:
...And as for third-world countries, honestly, who cares? Governments can not be run in any successful manner if they care about every other country in the world for humanitarian reasons. We went after Hitler because he was [b]attempting to take over Europe. Europe was and continues to be of vital interest to the US. Most of the third-world, however, is not. That's the fact, plain and simple.
[/B]

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Jesus, who the fuck do you think makes your shoes? Skilled artisans in Wyoming? I'm not saying that poor Malaysians and Ugandans are vital to our national interest but.. well, put it this way:

Imagine that you're a rich duke, or baron or something. You lie on a couch all day, and pay people to do everything from comb your hair to wipe your ass. They're all poor as fuck, and live in the gutter outside your mansion. They live in poverty EXPRESSLY so that you can live in luxury, and they have the added decency of not rising up and beheading you for being such a slob. Then one day a maniac breaks into the house and starts raping and slaughtering all the women who cook your food and clean your house and raise your children. What do you do?

Economically, the proper action is obvious-- wait until the maniac leaves, then hire a bunch of new servants to clean up the blood. If you got a bruise repelling the attacker, the doctor's bill would be more than the cost of hiring a hundred new ass-wipers, right?

So that's what we, as a nation, do every day. But that doesn't necessarilly make it right.

posted 06-03-2001 19:47         

quote:

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Originally posted by fenomas:
I just disagree really strenuously with his line of reasoning. And I like to cuss, because it makes me sound more strenuous.

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Well fuckin' A!

posted 06-05-2001 07:28           

Follow these simple instructions:

posted 06-06-2001 17:23            

Let's argue forever!

posted 06-07-2001 16:30            

quote:

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Originally posted by psyci:
Everyone who's been at penIs for a while knows how to kill a thread at any time:

Pie sucks! Cake rules!

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Man, I coulda sworn thread-killing was more easily accomplished with pointless name-calling. But maybe that's just me.

posted 11-18-2001 01:54            

Anyway... If anything this should make us watch other countries closer... although we should really look at the countries we have been helping in recent history.

In this particular case if we weren't involved in many of the worlds affairs we probably wouldn't have been a target. I hate saying it and I dont think it excuses the act of terrorism that was commited, but I believe its true.

I still feel that we need to be involved in the worlds affairs however. Perhaps we shouldn't back and send aid to a government entity just because they're the most likely to win... perhaps we should really look at how they treat their citizens.

posted 11-18-2001 16:05            

quote:

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Bitchgoddess
battin' .500 posted 09-25-2001 15:51
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Use me for 9 years, have children with me, and dump me for a 23 year old single mother with an incurable STD. Yup, I'm still alive. Pissed, but alive.

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From: http://www.penismightier.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/000322-10.html

gg memory