cbacon

by gawd, what are you implying? That he lacks little knowledge of what Vietnam actually was, apparently. I guess fighting an actual country is the same as fighting an insurgency, considering that the NVA caused far more damage than the VC ever could have hoped for. Actually, I was drawing a parallel between ideologies, rather than comparing military aspects. As evident by Deon's reply, many view the elections as a turning point for the end of the war/occupation, which is clearly not true. Nor should this be seen as point for war apologists to claim "See! The war was worth it after all!", considering Iraqi liberation wasn't even a reason for going to war, but that's a different argument, yada yada. The elections were a watered down version of democracy. No international observers were allowed so the legitimacy will be in question, there were large parts of the country that could not vote, the election wasn't without it's casulties (44 I believe) and many of the candidates were unknown as not only could they not campaign, but some were encouraged not to reveal their identities. That said, it is good Iraq is now able to have some semblance of democracy in a post-Saddam society and it's better that they had them then not (by comparison to the previous regieme). Although it's unlikely that true democracy can flourish in such a heterogenous society, but that remains to be seen. Iraq will still remain a war torn nation for the rest of the year, the body count on both sides will continue to mount, and the 'threat' of terrorism will still linger in the minds of many, which will continue to complement the need for the past 2 years of reckless chaos.

That was just for the live crowd I assume. Hopefully we actually get brackets this time around for the tournament

A few friends and I made an agreement to fly out to Calgary for the show, if this turns out to be true.

k-os. Fine Canadian rapper.

>

I'm splitting it with some friends. The Rumble and WrestleMania are the only PPV's I order.

I wonder how long it'll take for any criticism of this guy to suddenly become "You're calling him anti-American". I mean, if saying that Kerry's war protests might have been over-the-top = "You're questioning my patriotism", God knows what can be misconstrued here. But, it could be worse --- he could be called an idiotic liar --- you know, like the Dems are doing to Condi Rice. -=Mike She IS an idiotic liar though, well a liar at any rate. Sadly, that "idiot" is infinitely more intelligent than you've ever dreamed of being. I could toss her resume up for you, letting you get a glimpse of what fucking intellect ACTUALLY looks like, you insufferable twat. But, as expected, you can't trust those of a darker hue, right INXS? They all have to be liars, right? -=Mike Hitler was an intelligent man. No, i'm not equation Condi with Hitler, but rather acknowledging the fallacy in such an argument. And I think you should give the race card a rest, especially considering your countries recent attitude towards Arab Americans.

80%. Oh, Mike.

Anyone who thinks that having elections under a county being occupied by another, while under martial law, is looking for an easy justification for invading and clearly naive if they believe this will bring stability to the country. They'll vote in in a Shia majority. I don't believe Allawi falls under that banner. Either way, it won't end this mess.

Not to mention: Jack Fairweather reports for the Telegraph from Baghdad on a meeting held by the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) that instructs candidates on how to survive the elections. He writes: "The instructions are simple - avoid public places and do not reveal your identity, the cleric advised. Most candidates should stay at home as much as possible, he added."

I'd like to see a London/Benoit exchange, if only for half a minute

Wow... Although this part was pretty awesome: "The detainee looked up and spat in her face, the manuscript recounts"

Hopefully a torrent of this becomes available. Speaking of torrents, for those inclined the BBC recently produced an excellent 3 part. documentary detailing the rise of Islamic Fundamentalists and Neoconservatives from the Cold War era to present. "The Power of Nightmares" it was called. Hippie Bullshit

Given the Abu Gharib scandal as well as human rights violations in Guatanamo Bay and other facilities in Iraq, why are you so easy to dimiss this as bullshit? I'll give naysayers the benefit of the doubt until there's concrete proof although I'm sure we'll be seeing footage of such violations and more wonderful abuse scandals as this war wages further. Considering this all falls under the an explicit chain of command and all...

Hypocritical????? Are you suggesting the U.S. is a tyrannical, terrorist state? Oh boy. Simply put, yes, I am suggesting that. See: Latin America, Middle East, Asia from the 70's to present. But we've had that argument in dozens of other threads so I won't reiterate unless you'd like to bump an older thread or start an entirely new one.

After 3 long years, Family Guy finally has a return date: - 411mania.com

That made no sense. Wait, wait, i'll fill in the next reply for you KKK, "just like your posting!" OLOL

I'm not going to go through everything in this thread right now but i'd like to point out that: First, Bush specifically linking Al Qaeda to Iraq numerous times is a downright deplorable tactic to mislead Americans into thinking there was a link between the group and 9/11. Tugging on the fragile heart strings and what have you. Second, McHaggis mentions that the 'side bar' reasons for going to war involved Iraq violating one of the UN's 17 resolutions. Of course it's absurd for the US to use this excuse, yet at the same time defy the UN's stance for heading into an 'illegal war' and especially when UN inspectors did report substantial evidence of WMD's. The UN is a great asset for United States foreign policy issues, when it's convenient of course. The 'fighting terrorism and tyranny' fall under the same hypocritical and totally unbelievable vain. A convincing argument for such a stance simply cannot be made.

Unlikely, since the fan base is MUCH larger than before it was cancelled and it seems it will have a steady 9pm slot on Sunday nights all summer.

A pretty interesting inteview with Seth in which he discusses the show, The Simpsons, and a second Bush term: link

Benoit's length in last years rumble should be in that list of factoids. I'd also like to see a top ten of Royal Rumble "iron men" Anyways: - Favorite Royal Rumble match? 2004 - Favorite Royal Rumble event? 1994 - Favorite non-Royal Rumble match? Angle/Benoit 2003 - Favorite WWE Championship match at the Rumble? Angle/Benoit 2003 - Favorite non-WWE Royal Rumble entrant? Mil Mascaras, I guess. - Who will win the 2005 WWE Royal Rumble? John Cena

Why is this in current events? *scratches head and leaves*

American Progress would like you peruse the cost of this week’s coronation… “A look at this week's festivities by the numbers: $40 million: Cost of Bush inaugural ball festivities, not counting security costs. $2,000: Amount FDR spent on the inaugural in 1945…about $20,000 in today's dollars. $20,000: Cost of yellow roses purchased for inaugural festivities by D.C.'s Ritz Carlton. 200: Number of Humvees outfitted with top-of-the-line armor for troops in Iraq that could have been purchased with the amount of money blown on the inauguration. $10,000: Price of an inaugural package at the Fairmont Hotel, which includes a Beluga caviar and Dom Perignon reception, a chauffeured Rolls Royce and two actors posing as "faux" Secret Service agents, complete with black sunglasses and cufflink walkie-talkies. 400: Pounds of lobster provided for "inaugural feeding frenzy" at the exclusive Mandarin Oriental hotel. 3,000: Number of "Laura Bush Cowboy cookies" provided for "inaugural feeding frenzy" at the Mandarin hotel. $1: Amount per guest President Carter spent on snacks for guests at his inaugural parties. To stick to a tight budget, he served pretzels, peanuts, crackers and cheese and had cash bars. 22 million: Number of children in regions devastated by the tsunami who could have received vaccinations and preventive health care with the amount of money spent on the inauguration. 1,160,000: Number of girls who could be sent to school for a year in Afghanistan with the amount of money lavished on the inauguration. $15,000: The down payment to rent a fur coat paid by one gala attendee who didn't want the hassle of schlepping her own through the airport. $200,500: Price of a room package at D.C.'s Mandarin Oriental, including presidential suite, chauffeured Mercedes limo and outfits from Neiman Marcus. 2,500: Number of U.S. troops used to stand guard as President Bush takes his oath of office 26,000: Number of Kevlar vests for U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan that could be purchased for $40 million. $290: Bonus that could go to each American solider serving in Iraq, if inauguration funds were used for that purpose. $6.3 million: Amount contributed by the finance and investment industry, which works out to be 25 percent of all the money collected. $17 million: Amount of money the White House is forcing the cash-strapped city of Washington, D.C., to pony up for inauguration security. 9: Percentage of D.C. residents who voted for Bush in 2004. 66: Percentage of Americans who think this over-the-top inauguration should have been scaled back.”

She did actually. She referenced past presidential inaugerations during war time and how she would have personally planned the ceremony. They were discussing the inaugeration initself, so bringing up the way the vasts amount of money was spent on it is justifiable.