Bacchus

Republican reelection maybe. I think there's a lot of personal interests that are ..."politicaly represented" in US politics. And the republican hard political line is tailored to profit them. If some of you find it hard to believe that waging war and stuff can be justified by something as "triffle" as democracy, just have a look throughout history...it wasn't democracy maybe, but it was human leaders making war because they had personal interests that neede to be fulfilled. Same as anybody, i don't think the human spirit have changed very much. I usually agrees with those "idiots"....and they are the one discussions are made of. I need them so do you btw

political wild card maybe... Keep the search going for as long as you can, if public opinion backs you for 6 months, a year, 2...good, you're a winner. Use this freebie time as you wish, question the captive, etc, etc. When the polls shows that the public needs a little extra show..feed them bs. and sensationalism. Perfectly tuned, prepared and accounted for information. With nothing compromising, no leaks, etc. This was a media bomb, was there something worth of interest like a democrat speech or gathering? a law or amendment about to go out? a reported mad cow case maybe...

I think that this is precisely what a terrorist wants to do, no? change our occidental minds, eradicate our way of thinking and living. I just recalled a thought by M. Moore, it was basically saying this: When someone bombs us by surprise killing innocents, we call him terrorist. When we launch precision bombs killing innocent we call it collaterals. What i asked wasn't a political paper Ail. I asked for sources, material i can relate to in order to better understand your point of view...not necessarily agree with it. You see, i'm prepare to share ideas even if they are different than yours...whereas you seem to think that since i won't agree you won't loose time on me. Well, this is arrogant and presomptuous. oh well...anyway...

I personally wouldn't lose time "patching" !@#$%^&*umptions. Since you can't forward any sources or related links, and since your post present nothing that i can hook upon for further research (i certainly could but if you think we're too lazy and/or doesn't worth the job anyway, i can't see why i would do you the favor of digging deeper in your ideas), the only viable option i see is to file it under "rubbish".

That's mad's point scruff Anyone with objectivity and a little wits can easily find out that Bush Jr. isn't very gifted. The man was implicated in a couple of frauds, have spelled failure for any Co. he directed, etc. Hence he needs advisors more than anything else. I read your post Ail. And as Mad said, you're !@#$%^&*uming a lot. Do you have any sources related to what you're saying? Living out of US of A i may need more analytical input..you present some arguments like if they were common sense and i must say that my common sense is rebuked. Please, sources and/or related facts that i could use like way point...Nin's last post is a good exemple; i know what he's talking about or i can find info about it, very easily. I may not agree with all he says but at least i can see that his analysis sprung from something else than gross prejudice and misinformations.

Post it, i'll read it. I'd like someone to show how "big" the scope of US gov is. because quite frankly, I saw nothing but twisted and -*BAD WORD*-ed up arguments about democracy, poverty, freedom and duty...as if those ideas were american inc. property.

They find Saddam, great. WMD, the war justification, are still nowhere to be found. True, Saddam is a bloodthirsty murderer but from my point of view anyone justifying the killing of 6 playing children by "collateral dmg", "intel misinterpretation, "intel flaw", targeting system error, and so forth is not only a murderer...it's a complete and utter moron. WMDs? I'll tell you where they are: US depleted uranium bombs in Iraq are a source of cancer, pneumonia, etc. US sanctions have killed hundreds of thousand of innocent people since 1991 to catch one man in a hole...and some of you feel like heroes? You're out of your -*BAD WORD*-ing mind. US patriots and radical muslims are of the same stuff. they're both very dangerous, armed to the teeth and willing to die killing their ennemies. they're both defending twisted ideals and/or faiths and they're both refusing to negociate. They are both very annoying.

agreed

Not quite. It's not whining...i'm not calling to unfairness or "lag". US won't go down anytime soon, i'm merely acknowledging (spl) the fact that US is influencing or is about to influence my way of life and i feel threatened about that. If you can't respect that then fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck u. now, US won't be nuked, bombed attacked or else. Life will go on...i suspect though that there will be civil unrest and corruption. More than nowadays and that's what will get the better of it....but not while we're living. We won't see the blazing downfall.

US is far from being rundown...it's still the most powerful nation in the world and this isn't about to change very soon. but: it's rise to power is tainted by interventionism and illegetimate action. It is clear that the present administration don't give a -*BAD WORD*- about other neighboring/allied nations thoughts on any matters whatsoever. US is strong, it's so big i'm scared by it....i also have no respect whatsoever. I just feel that someday, it will come for us and there's nothing i can do about it. US "american dream" isn't my dream and still US is ramming it down my throat (and a lot of other ppl) with no respect for cultures, dreams, beliefs, etc. Yea, US is strongest...that doesn't mean i'll agree or love it for that. And i'd rather be respected than feared, rather loved than hated. Might sound cheesy, but that's how i feel about US.

ok.. 1) i'm drunk 2) it's QUITE late 3)where tf do you find all these arguments??? Wtf does that come from? What makes you think that germany would like (as if it was their only interests...) to have "their hands on England nukes"??? Anyway, you won't agree, i will disagree, you'll answer back, i'll quote til i die, you'll answer back...whatever i'm off to bed, have a nice day, bye.

What makes you think that? I wonder about your premises (spl) underlying your last statement.

I understood "survival" in " will it become stable enough to have perennity or will it crumble to small federate economy before achieving maturity". If EU achieves maturity, it's existence is somewhat guaranteed til something "ex-centris" destroy or threatened it, like war, disaster etc.

yea, but that holds only if you consider only england's history...France (and European countries) share their lot of achievements, and don't forget that england "Lingua franca" was french (or a derivative...whatevr the word) until the norse came in. Also, History favors the winner/conqueror and that depends on the fighter point of view...some of them fighters won't admit that they lost or are losing (ok, i could name some but i'll refrain ) The point is, EU will survive wether England is in or not.

They found letters with explicit references to sex and how they loved the boy or something. Off course, those letters wont be published atm so there's no telling what they mean by" explicit ". MJ bail was paid by his lawer, which is also related to mafia or so it seems. Hooray CNN for cheesy news!

Yea i know, i tried to have his context in mind while reading through the speech hence the :" it's only peripheral" very good speech nonetheless

I only "quick read" the speech but I must say that it's still very actual considering what's going on in Iraq and the current political quagmire. I think the Buddhist Leader wasn't far from the mark... Although the constant inference about religion is a triffle annoying, i think it's only peripheral. and even if MLK adress to communism is obsolete, his ideas about "revolution" and mankind political/social stance about it are still up to date though idealistic. But that is idealism is the stuff MLK and others like him are made of.

Marketing mind trick!! :eek: MWUAHAHAHA! :edit: double post.

ok, i'll try Considering bretton woods; when was it...? in 46' or 47'. Anyway, since GATT a lot changed; New technologies appeared (internet as an exemple) and those sometimes opened new markets which influenced geopolitics. With the advance of new communications techs, the time span needed to understand an economical current was greatly diminished. This had repercussions on the way investors understood the market and currency exchange. New analytic tools were developped and with them new strategies. briefly, GATT (Bretton woods offspring so to speak) was quickly overwhelmed and obsolete and "ALENA" ( french abbreviate for free exchange between US and CAN...) came forth. Some markets were standardized to offset the currency differences, etc. Balance was achieved and north americans countries survived and prospered. Euro is strong for now, it will fluctuate i think (as anything else) but it will endure. France links with African countries aren't representative of EU health i think. Countries where France was implicated (west african, sub saharian countries like Mali, Niger, Mauritania, Senegal, etc) already have their own banking system based on CFA (1 CFA = 100 old francs) but those were separated if i'm not mistaken and anyway wasn't worth anything. I'm not sure it will influence EU in any ways....but i'm no specialist. Rejection by the brits.... Well, i think that in this particular case, england will be the one suffering the most from not being in the EU. England economical power isn't strong enough to stand up to 400 million customers. even if they had a sky rocketting export rate and interior product (which isn't the case i think) it couldn't resist the wave for a long time... German inflation-hatred... mmh, i'm not sure how it will influence economy. EU isn't about cultural consensus...it's about economical levy. I'm not sure yet what influence it will have on society as a cultural body. Russian... Russia instability is slowly sinking into place i think...but then again, that's one subject i know practically nothing about. I think though that it will "federate" itself in the next 20 years. slovakia, Czechs etc...i know nothing about... US as an exemple... Well...it is surviving an onslaught of hatred and critics. US reponse seems to be one of protectionism..which in the long term isn' that good imo. and long term is what counts when we are speaking of countries. US stance seems to be one that closes in on itself whereas EU is in the opening stage. In fact, i think a lot of ppl looks toward the EU to balance US power trip...which isn't good either imo. If you ask me...EU will survive, US will survive also...the question is what will survive the fight between these two? Give EU 50 years and US will have a real challenge coming its way...not some crazy, backwater country dictator with alleged WMD, but real live economical war with no political ties other then money. A war where customers possess real power and where Marketing-mind-tricks rules...MUAHAHA! Yea, EU will survive.

ok, i have one more question: Wtf were waiting for posting this -*BAD WORD*-!? thk you both (poop particularly) for all this input, this is very edifying. I read all this -*BAD WORD*- and the chronology (read history...contingency...) helped a lot. note: Plz refrain from quoting each other...quotes aren't legal in -*BAD WORD*- posting contests. tks. seriously though, i'd like links and backgrounds on those posts...some sources (for personal curiosity) would be great. Thks in advance. Bacc

It's not necessarily used by separatists (or nationalists), it's also commemorates the basic fact that we shouldn't forget our french heritage. Since culture is a temporal phenomenon...hence " i will remember" as opposed to Canada " from coast to coast" which refers to space. We can still be a part of Canada from coast to coast and still use "i will remember".

If i remember correctly US was arguing that they had proof that Saddam had wmd and that knowing the dictator's stance toward US, a pre-emptive strike was justified. Thus, they brought the subject to the UN security council. They tried to back their say with proof which were not recognized by other countries on council as "hard evidences". Hence the council splitted in 2 factions: US and allies (mainly Brit) and the European front, mainly represented by France. I saw Villepin criticized US foreign policy and condemning the fact that US was rushing the process. Then those against a military action tried to present other options, which were refused by US who was still pressing the matters onto a vote. They lost 9 to (i forgot), but the council majority was against it. Then the US announced that they were going at war with Iraq. England quickly followed. This unilateral decision was deemed as an error (and an outrage for a lot of ppl) and was proof that the US were implementing a policy which was endangering world peace balance. Canada didn't approve because the it was respecting the council decision. We even tried the diplomatic avenue. US was non-negociable. I have never see or heard France condemn or openly criticize US way of life alhtough they voiced their disagreement quite strongly...which is okay imo. Then US changed french fries for freedom fries (wow, 5 f in a row) and threatened France with economical sanctions. The rest is well known and if i can add one more thing: They haven't found any WMD's to this day. US troops are being attacked everyday, there's civil unrest in Iraq and US still won't listen to anyone. Iraqis included. US road map in Middle east is miserably failing and the present administration is being criticized by domestic representatives from both end of the political spectrum as much as world wide. :roll: :?

You're kidding me, right? Tell me it's a taunt, not your actual thoughts. Ok, i'll go on and naively think you're baiting me into a long rant about US expansionism, paternalism, etc.

I'm from Quebec (Canada's french province for those not knowing /and/or caring to know) and i'd like to correct some things: It's "Je me souviens" not "je me souvenir" but nice try, it was a verb thing :wink: and "voici les clés à ton bonheur", although it was phonetically sound you just said:" there's the keys to your good hour" And although i don't have any problem honoring the dead, i personally don't think I would honor their sacrifice correctly if i wanted to have more tools to have more people honored as dead. ok, not sure it makes sense.... I mean, we don't need more army. Why would we? defense? from who? our most dangerous foe would be our neighbor, US. And even if we had to defend ourselves, it would take a long time (i'm not sure it would even be possible) to have enough military ressources to be any real challenge. More so, Canada's territory is too big to defend atm. More military wouldn't change anything in the short or medium terms. There's more pressing domestic matters i think. Peace missions are great, though it looks like a peace missions are implemented following geopolitical decisions...but that's another story

You're talking about life like it was a scientific experiment with measurable parameters... You can't just go on appraising life's weight in that way...this FLO thing might be more credible if we could foresee a human being life but since we cannot how can you manage to decide wether or not a "creature" have a future at all? anyway...i'm pro-choice and i think an anti-abortion law discreminate women's rights. ALthough abortion should off course be discouraged and women urged to reconsider the choice is ultimatly theirs to make (in a perfect world a father shoudl have something to say also but i saw too many cases of abuse...). I think that abortions could be adressed in a more social way. Anti-abortion is too coercitive and it's a law based on gender, hence it's stripping women from dignity (sovereignty of body). Granted, this law isn't universal yet (as in no abortion whatsoever), it's setting a limit...but that's for now...it's creating precedent. And precedents is what ethics are made/change on. In other words, it'S opening the door to more drastic measures.