[Miki]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('eric_b', 'W')ell, I don't know.

My opinion is Iran would never seriously consider nuking Israel, and I consider the current presidents current stance little more than shit-talk. However the article does stress there's a cultural component to things - they've got their own version of armageddon.

As far as preemption, partially to get their oil... I consider that lunacy. I have trouble imagining how any nuclear exchange wouldn't end in disaster.

[Jack]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Miki', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Jack', 'B')ut Miki - I perceive advantages in such a policy. There is a reason for my "imperialist neocon government" to seize resources - that being, to keep the U.S. economy strong for a time. Thus, from my perspective, it really is desirable.

[Jack]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('ElijahJones', 'I') am convinced that Jesus never intended for any wars to be fought in His name.

[seahorse2]

Oh Jack,



I understand what you're saying about this "might makes right" thing; its a jungle out there, and you are a product of it. In the jungle, its all about might isn't it? nothing else matters. And you're the mythical Tarzan, raised with no help, no social structure, no hugs and kisses, no emotional support, and you don't need them. You don't need anything but yourself, a real man's man. You don't need the police or the courts, to hell with calling 911; employment contracts? social security? its all for sissys; the Constitution? a worthless piece of paper; thousands of years of history, plays, movies, all a waste of time, you just handle business man to man, your own way, all you need is yourself, literally, not even a woman for "emotional" support if you know what I mean - and I know you do, bc you're very smart.

Jack, guys like you have no worries in a dark parking lot, or a subway, you don't lock your doors at night, you have no fears. You need nothing. Except? . . . except a multitrillion dollar defense industry to enterain you on the evening news. You do find some satisfaction in that don't you? watching the bombs drop. It makes it even more satisfying to watch bombs drop and then log onto the internet and play with the the pain of people like Miki in Lebanon, literally typing messages to her and watching the news at the same time, watching those bombs drop as you type. It feels good telling her, "that's just the way life is, and that's okay." "Might makes right." Makes you feel good because it makes you feel tough. I've been watching and reading your posts Jack, and that's pretty tough talk Jack. Makes you feel kind of good to talk tough like that, to be so hard, to inflict emotional pain on someone- just like Arnold rolling off his one liners in some tough guy movie.

But you know what Jack? You're not as tough as you talk - you're only Tarzan in your own mind, sitting behind your computer. The small dogs like you always yap the most, but they don't bite very hard. Despite all that tough talk, I can see you now, sitting at that computer, feeling all secure, your doors safely locked at night, I know you fear, you're no Tarzan.

Miki has nothing to worry about from you or from us. America is going broke, "civilized" Rome is crumbling, the world is headed for a new dark age, the hun are passing the unguarded border to our south, and you and I my friend, we will get a chance to see just how tough we are- and I don't think, when our time comes, a door lock or 911 will do any good. You're computer may not even be operable, if it is, someone may take it from you.

I see the dark clouds on our horizon Jack. If you look out your window, I'm sure you can see them too. So good luck Jack, may the best man win, and I hope its not Rodney King. Watch RedDawn tonight, it may provide some useful lessons. In the meantime, don't burn too many bridges with our Lebanese friend Miki, she may be able to provide us with some useful lessons - our Lebanese friends are writing the book as we speak on the PO oileggedon.

[Miki]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('ElijahJones', 'T')he Muslim Calendar my dear is 800 years behind ours, they start theirs from Muhammeds birth in 689 or something like that. But you could have found that out by googling "Muslim Calendar" in about 15 seconds.

[Miki]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Jack', '[')Sounds like a mission statement for subversion to me.

[Miki]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Jack', 'I')'d control my emotions. Anger, sorrow, and other feelings are counterproductive. Only after I brought myself under control would I be fit to deal with an enemy.

[venky]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Miki', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Jack', 'I')'d control my emotions. Anger, sorrow, and other feelings are counterproductive. Only after I brought myself under control would I be fit to deal with an enemy.

[Miki]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('seahorse2', ' ') It makes it even more satisfying to watch bombs drop and then log onto the internet and play with the the pain of people like Miki in Lebanon, literally typing messages to her and watching the news at the same time, watching those bombs drop as you type.

[Jack]

My goodness, Seahorse, you do make lots of assumptions. We know where assumptions lead, don’t we?

I most certainly am not a Tarzan, mythical or otherwise. Nor do I wish to be. You refer to such things as 911 and the police, as examples – in my city, a frantic call to 911 will result in an officer being dispatched within 30 minutes or so. Unless one is like the two young women who called during an attempted home invasion, and whose call was simply ignored. That event got the dispatcher a day off without pay. Courts issue orders routinely, which are regularly ignored; people sometimes die as a result. And now you imply that it’s something special to adopt a dubious view of such institutions?

That doesn’t get into the darker matters, such as the realities of city revenue. Illegal gambling machines are a case in point. Haven’t you ever wondered why some unlawful establishments are raided while others are not? Have you thought about the implications when a police dispatcher is arrested for possession and distribution of illegal drugs? Have you considered what it means when a (now ex) jail guard commits murder?

The U.S. Constitution is, largely, exactly as you describe it – a scrap of paper, largely ignored and generally subverted. The rest of the items you mention can be amusing diversions, but they’re hardly necessary. None of this is representative of “toughness” intrinsically; it is realism. Seeing the world as it is.

Be assured that I lock the doors at night. I am alert in parking lots. I take different routes to and from my various destinations, avoiding patterns. I check my rearview mirror often. Fear is a most useful tool – understand it, control it, and subordinate it to will, and it serves well. Those who claim to be without fear are (mostly) liars. Those few who are not liars are fools, and they will be dead soon enough.

One’s toughness – or lack of it – is indeterminate over a computer. So is courage. It is thus for you, for me – and, for that matter, for any other poster. It is hardly useful to speculate on the subject; though I suppose it as no greater waste of time than the plays you mention.

You come back to door locks or 911. They don’t work today. Why anyone would assume these artifacts of our society would work tomorrow beggars belief. Last month, a Mexican (Mexican national) police commander was shot and taken to the hospital in Nueva Laredo, about 150 miles south of where I live. The criminals then returned to the hospital and pumped 37 rounds from an AK-47 (a real one, not a semi-auto) into him. Do you think that I believe a lock or the local police could stop that?

I saw Red Dawn, many years ago. It was silly.

Since you were kind enough to offer me some suggestions, I will extend the same courtesy. You, Miki, and others think the festivities in Lebanon are some great disaster. They are not. Not so long ago, a tsunami killed something like 200,000 people. Within weeks, the efforts of various dedicated amateurs replaced the losses. Today, nobody speaks of it. Nobody cares. So, 1,000 people died in Lebanon. I think those losses will be replaced too. Is that wounding? Perhaps. But it is also the truth.

You – more so than Miki – read this site and, I suppose, understand the implications. While Lebanon may be the spark that lights a fuse, leading to the oilgeddon you refer to, it does not rate a chapter – it is worthy of a paragraph at most. I think you and she would be well served by reflection on what’s coming. You would also be wise to ask yourself whether your beliefs in any of the institutions or other accouterments of our present civilization are well founded. Your post leads me to believe that you have yet to embrace reality fully. The time grows short.

Oh, and Miki - I wouldn't be shaking like Jello if my country were being bombarded. I would simply depart. When the going gets tough, the smart people take a vacation. Costa Rica is lovely, you know.

[firestarter]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Miki', '
')May I know why you feel so threatened by immigration? I can't make sense of that.

[seahorse]

Jack,

Well said. I agree with everything you said except the part where I have not fully subscribed to the most doomeristic aspects of all this crap building up. However, I will never believe that might makes right - its the Don Quixote thing, I hope you understand, to dream the impossible dream, to believe that there is virtue in this world, in people, worth pursuing and protecting. Chasing windmills.

[rwwff]

I don't much like the "might makes right" phrase.

Better I think :

Might makes IS.

[Jack]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('rwwff', 'I') don't much like the "might makes right" phrase.

Better I think :

Might makes IS.

[Miki]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Jack', 'T')hat doesn’t get into the darker matters, such as the realities of city revenue. Illegal gambling machines are a case in point. Haven’t you ever wondered why some unlawful establishments are raided while others are not? Have you thought about the implications when a police dispatcher is arrested for possession and distribution of illegal drugs? Have you considered what it means when a (now ex) jail guard commits murder?)

[seldom_seen]

psilocybin?

I like it. Everybody eats some mushrooms and just mellows for a while.

Especially those jihad nut jobs. Way to f'in serious. No sense of humor.
I can see why some of them commit suicide. I'd rather be dead too, then listen to those imams spout jihad all day. Do they have jokes? Do they tell jokes to each other? Does anyone know a good islamic joke?

[seldom_seen]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Miki', 'I') don't know if you've heard but the roads to Syria are all broken and are constantly being hit, we're blocked by sea, and *all* the airports are blocked or destroyed.

[seldom_seen]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Miki', 'A')s a bonus, it is extremely hard to get a visa and *every single* country that we may leave to with the exception of Syria requires a visa.

[Miki]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('seldom_seen', 'p')silocybin?

I like it. Everybody eats some mushrooms and just mellows for a while.

Especially those jihad nut jobs. Way to f'in serious. No sense of humor.
I can see why some of them commit suicide. I'd rather be dead too, then listen to those imams spout jihad all day. Do they have jokes? Do they tell jokes to each other? Does anyone know a good islamic joke?

[Miki]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('seldom_seen', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Miki', 'I') don't know if you've heard but the roads to Syria are all broken and are constantly being hit, we're blocked by sea, and *all* the airports are blocked or destroyed.