[Sedona]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('JayHMorrison', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Sedona', '
')Think of what would happen to the dollar if that took place.

[Sedona]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Aaron', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'd')emocratically elected Chavez administration.

[backstop]

Dear Soft landing,

again your analysis of US strategy fits like a glove over a goal of destabilizing the middle east in order to advance Peak Oil.

Am I right in thinking that Simmons works for Bush, or has worked for Bush ?

If so, just what filters should I bear in mind for the information he releases ?

Dear Sidona,

about '93 I learned that roughly half of developing counties' total foreign currency earning went to pay for fossil fuel imports. I wonder if you can tell me what the present percentage is ?

My interest is in trying to size up the impact on the dollar of nations shifting to sustainable energies which will greatly increase energy-self-reliance.

regards to you both,

Backstop

[Sedona]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('backstop', '
')
Dear Sidona,

about '93 I learned that roughly half of developing counties' total foreign currency earning went to pay for fossil fuel imports. I wonder if you can tell me what the present percentage is ?

My interest is in trying to size up the impact on the dollar of nations shifting to sustainable energies which will greatly increase energy-self-reliance.

[Leanan]

Unnoticed because it came out the same week as the Republican convention, the tragedy in Russia, and Hurricane Frances:

The Royal Institute of International Affairs, a British think tank, predicts that if things keep going the way they are going in Iraq, the most likely result is a civil war that could destabilize the entire Middle East, including Saudi Arabia:

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtm ... ID=6145759

Imagine what that would do to the price of oil.

Reading between the lines, I think things are worse in Iraq than we're being told. Now the U.S. military is saying that some parts of Iraq won't be allowed to vote in the elections because of the unrest. What kind of democracy is that? It will not only throw the legitimacy of whoever is elected into doubt, it will really tick off those who are excluded. This smells like a desperation move.

[Yavicleus]

From a PO point of view, chaos in Iraq & Saudi Arabia is great news.

Chaos will artificially drive up the cost of oil, forcing the "markets" to respond with innovation far before they would have in the event of an actual supply peak.

It's sad, but I'm actually hoping for all out civil war in Iraq & Saudi Arabia because of that.

[stepka]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'C')haos will artificially drive up the cost of oil, forcing the "markets" to respond with innovation far before they would have in the event of an actual supply peak.

It's sad, but I'm actually hoping for all out civil war in Iraq & Saudi Arabia because of that.

[gg3]

I second Stepka here.

And tonight, the USA war-dead total hit 1,000. And God knows how many civilians caught in the crossfire by now.

No civil war, no more entropy, no, no, a thousand times, no.

A close friend of mine is over there. And probably most of us know someone who's over there.

We need someone competent in charge, this has gone so far out of control it's sickening.

[MonteQuest]

When asked recently if he believes his administration is responsible for fueling the recruitment of al Qaeda through some of its policies, particularly the invasion of Iraq, Bush responded, “It is a ridiculous notion to assert because the more the United States is on the offense more people want to hurt us.”

This statement alone underscores Bush’s ignorance of the depth of Arab nationalism and the subtle zephyrs that blow through the region. In the words of one Iraqi exile, “Getting rid of Saddam Hussein is one thing…but you won’t find any self-respecting Iraqi prepared to cooperate with an American puppet regime.” When we were attacked on 9/11, we had the world’s support against a common enemy. We have now turned sympathy into suspicion, and we are quickly losing friends who fear our new aggressiveness. And when your friends fear you, you are in deep, deep trouble.


A Western journalist, Thomas Freidman, had some perceptive thoughts on postwar occupation of Iraq a few days before the start of the war on March 19, 2003: ”Then we will know if the hawkish dreamers of the project [Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wofowitz, Richard Perle] have indeed taken over U.S. foreign policy. How they remake free Iraq will tell us whether they plan to remake the world. It’s after victory that the most enduring impact will be felt, whether it be a hated U.S.-led occupation, sparking a fresh round of global terrorism, or the sudden release of Iraq’s lethal, internal tensions which Saddam has kept pent-up for 35 years. Kurds could fight Turks for their own state in the north; Shias might team up with Iran for control of the south; everyone may turn on the hated Saddamite Ba’athists in a frenzy of revenge. Iraq will not be like 1940s Japan and Germany, the occupations fondly remembered by the U.S. commentariat. Those were coherent nations; Iraq is an artificial fusion of antagonistic tribes. Victory may be rapid and easy - but that’s when the real troubles could start.”

“Although peaceful political change by elections rather than coups, and peaceful merger of adjoining countries by plebiscite rather than invasion might be a nice way to go, it's not the way things have been done in this part of the world—ever. A country that has suffered the Mongols is not afraid of Americans; George Bush is no Tamerlane. We suffered under Saddam and we hate him, but we would put him in our hearts ahead of a Christian or a Jew - because he is a Muslim. We are a warrior people, and you forget that only at your peril. We have the stomach for mass violence. Do you?” —Ahmed, an Iraqi insurgency leader on the prospect of democracy.

[stepka]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'W')e are a warrior people, and you forget that only at your peril. We have the stomach for mass violence. Do you?

[MonteQuest]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('stepka', ' ')
No Monte, as a nation we don't. We can't even fathom the way these people think. We're stupid if we think we can press democracy on them, but I don't think the warhawks are trying to press democracy, as they say. The truth is much more cynical than that.

BTW, Monte, you are a real asset to this forum. I hope you keep posting. And Leanan, I love to read the articles you dig up.

[stepka]

Absolutely. Not even a 10 foot snowstorm will keep me from voting this time around. My new motto is: "Kerry is a douchebag, but I'm voting for him anyway!" (I ripped that off some website--sorry whoever you are)

[pofan]

At least Kerry has a 96% lifetime LCV record of protecting the environment. We will need someone who considers the environment as part of the picture when TSHTF. It would be so easy to pollute the water, air, etc. and make everything that much worse when oil gets scarce. Can you picture Mexico City style haze covering our whole country?

[stepka]

Pofan, the great thing about PO is that we will no longer be able to pollute as effectively as we have done. The downside is that it will be much harder and more expensive to clean up after ourselves--the mess we have made already. All these pro nuclear folks have yet to convince me that it's a good idea, because we still don't know where we're going to put the waste, long term. You don't hear much about that these days do you? And now our window of opportunity is closing. So I guess it will just sit there in pools for the next how many thousand years. I sure hope the owners of these things will create some kind of "Priesthood" to tend these pools, because they have a responsibility to ALL future generations.

Monte, I don't really consider Kerry to be a d-bag, but when I saw that slogan, it tickled my funny bone. I just hope he has some sane plans for Iraq. I think if he sent Mickey Mouse over there, it would make more sense than what is going on now.

Also, I am in the SE of MO. The whole other corner.

[MonteQuest]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('stepka', 'A')lso, I am in the SE of MO. The whole other corner.

[cador]

http://outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20041220&fname=fallujah&sid=1

"The enemy is on the run.They are in fear of a resistance movement they can not see nor predict.We, now choose when, where, and how to strike. And as our ancestors drew the first sparks of civilization, we will redefine the word 'conquest'. Today we write a new chapter in the arts of urban warfare"

50,000 American soldiers have been "medically evacuated" out of Iraq since March 2003. From a purely military strategic point of view, a wounded soldier is just as good as a dead soldier.

I remember watching the movie _Red Dawn_ (starring Patrick Swayze) on TV a few months ago. In this movie, young American teenagers use guerilla tactics to fight against Soviet/Cuban forces who have occupied Southwestern US. I see many similarities between the fictitious American "freedom fighters/terrorists" and the current Iraqi "terrorists/freedom fighters".

[Anti]

I feel so badly for these guys sent by King George to conquer that land.

Of course, I can't imagine the pussies in this country fighting such an invasion with such ferosity, were some foreigners to invade here. I am sure at least 1/3 of you would be sucking Sadams dick were the tables reversed and Iraq invaded the USA, just like you are sucking Georges dick now. Of course another 1/3 of you wanted to suck Kerry's dick, so I guess that tells a lot about the good old USA.

[Taskforce_Unity]

I wouldn't take that news item too literally. I read it too and it has some major errors on the weapons presiding in iraq. Ofcourse there is a core of truth in it. They can't keep the road to baghdad safe, they can't secure the area etc.

I don't feel sorry for the soldiers. They are soldiers, they chose to go to war, there is a risk of dieing in vain. Since war always is a stupid cause in my opinion this makes it no different of a "justified" war. War is never justified

[Specop_007]

"Heroic Iraqi freedom fighters"



"Despicable cowardly terrorists"

Fixed that for you.

[0mar]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Specop_007', '"')Heroic Iraqi freedom fighters"



"Despicable cowardly terrorists"

Fixed that for you.