Last Throes

[ACPlayer]

Having learned the Lebanon lesson, the Gipper would never have invaded Iraq.

He would have flattened them after the first WTC bombing.

Who would he have flattened? Iraq? Iraq had nothing to do with the first or second WTC bombing. After Bush's misadventure there it may actually have something to do with a next bombing of something.

[Zeno]

Too many questions [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

My undergrad degree was is Geology. No surprise in that.

I have since a very young age been an avid reader, something I learned by example from my parents. I have always been interested in a wide variety of subjects and have read widely and wildly. [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

My parents owned (which I now have by their consent) a full set of Encyclopedia Britannica (1958 edition), which I still love to browse through from time to time.


History is a subject that is useful and enjoyable to read about. Every scientist should be well versed in at least basic Western History. You should spend some time and read some of those 'old dead white guys' and what they had to say, and how they said it, and why they said it the way they did, and other interesting facts and fantasies.


Anyway, it is my opinion that everyone should become more knowledgeable about a variety of subjects and not just a certain specialty. And I think this is especially true for all scientists. I will explain with an anecdote. A certain someone (not me I stopped at an MS) was giving his PhD thesis defense. These are usually arduous and long and difficult. And the committee can ask any questions they feel touches on any aspect of the defense no matter how broad or remote. A committee member started to ask the candidate about what magazines and books etc he read outside of science. The candidate was taken aback and started to protest. At which the committee member chastised him in no uncertain words (paraphrased somewhat): A good scientist is knowledgeable about more than just his specialty or about his own particular scientific field, he is always seeking and exploring and keeping up with current news and events and also about past events, where we come from, our society and culture, to better know how his work effects everyone around him and society as a whole. Science is not just about some narrow field of knowledge; it is about much more than that and you should recognize that fact.

I have no idea if the above is true.

-Zeno

[shots]

[ QUOTE ]
Actually, even the military has admitted that there is a good chance that we are creating more insurgents then we are destroying.

[/ QUOTE ]

Individuals may make this claim but I doubt they could back it up we've been backing down and compromising for a long time, we even went into bosnia to protect muslims and what was our reward, 9/11. Now it's time to start kicking ass I don't really care if they like us they'll never like us but right now they don't fear or respect us either they think we're cowards who will tuck tail and run if it gets to rough and that encourages them to commit attrocities we have to show them that they're wrong and that won't be easy to do after what Clinton did in Mogadishu.

[ripdog]

I'm responding to wacki because I found the use of sanguine odd as well. I'm still wondering why wacki feels like an ass, though. I was going to change my location, but several posts in this thread have changed my mind. Still, I imagine that if Zeno were giving directions to his home, the instructions might read "go left when the road bifurcates". I offer Zeno a quote from Mr. Twain:

I notice that you use plain, simple language, short words and brief sentences. That is the way to write English--it is the modern way and the best way. Stick to it; don't let fluff and flowers and verbosity creep in. When you catch an adjective, kill it. No, I don't mean utterly, but kill most of them--then the rest will be valuable. They weaken when they are close together. They give strength when they are wide apart. An adjective habit, or a wordy, diffuse, flowery habit, once fastened upon a person, is as hard to get rid of as any other vice.
- Letter to D. W. Bowser, 3/20/1880

I'd have let sanguine slide if diaphanous had not occurred in the same paragraph. [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[andyfox]

How exactly would the libs and lib press stop him?

[kurto]

Read all of this guy's posts. (there's only four of them)

They're all the same. I think its a joke.

[ripdog]

[ QUOTE ]
I think we've finally gotten to the krux of the matter. You think that the US is responsible creating terrorists and if we were just nicer to everybody all the terrorists would go away. I on the other hand think that appeasement has never and will never work.

[/ QUOTE ]

The krux of the matter? Not even close. If we only think about situations in their own little box with no historical perspective, then your argument here *might* hold water. What pisses everybody off is that we claim the moral high ground when we have no right to it. I agree that appeasement will never work. We ought to try common decency instead.

[Zeno]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm still wondering why wacki feels like an ass, though.

[/ QUOTE ]

Me to. He shouldn't.

Thanks for the Mark Twain Quote. Always enjoyable to read the Great One. In return I will suggest two Mark Twain Gems: Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offences and Fenimore Cooper's Further Literary Offenses. Both are humorous and under that cloak Twain gives advice about how to write fit for the ages. Read and enjoy.

[ QUOTE ]
I'd have let sanguine slide if diaphanous had not occurred in the same paragraph.

[/ QUOTE ]

The undercurrent of certain word use in this thread is bordering on war. I used diaphanous as a tactical defense against Andy's use of anathema. A word he callously stole from me and now shamelessly abuses. That man must be watched. He has no morals at all and will flirt with and then steal and then toss away anything that catches his ear, like some street hussy with a John. [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

-Zeno

[shots]

In what way are we not trying common decency? Countries by there very nature are self serving, they exist to serve the intrest of their citizens. America is less guilty of this then most, if you want historical perspective look through history at every country that has become a superpower and see how they used that power in comparisson to how we use it. Also the fundamental beliefs of what each person thinks is the right path to go down in terms of keeping this country safe does very much go to the krux of this matter.

[wacki]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I'm still wondering why wacki feels like an ass, though.

[/ QUOTE ]

Me to. He shouldn't.


[/ QUOTE ]

My biggest problem is that I'm hyper critical of myself. It's a huge problem I have that is the result of overbearing and demanding parents. I'm working on it and so is my sister.

My thought process at the time was that the answer should of been obvious. Zeno was basically calling himself a sweet talking con and I couldn't figure it out even after some thought. To tell you the truth I'm still not happy I didn't figure it out. Oh well, what can you do.