this is an incredibly over simplistic (and not to mention wrong in some places: ie: bush didn't give taliban cash Fact: The aid in question was humanitarian assistance, given through UN and nongovernmental organizations, to relieve famine in Afghanistan. [Various numbers are given for the amount of the aid, and some say several million went for clearing landmines.) way of looking at things.

I agree, this is unpatriotic, but that is okay, everyone is entitled to an opinion. Whats isn't okay is oversimplifying those opinions in an attempt to defile the US government and the governments of great nations like China. I have been to China and seen the slums there, eaten with poverty stricken people and discussed the politics of the PRC with its citizens. You may think that $75.00 a month to sew shirts together is slave wages, but that person lives as comfortably on that as someone making $25,000.00 a year in the US. And another thing...the people that do work for "slave wages" are not forced to do it; but in fact they work hard because it is in thier nature as a culture to do so and enjoy it - for they at least are fortunate enough to have a job and be proud of it. Pride - Get some!

Isn't it great that we live where we can make our own opinions known without worry that Fidel will have his mafia come after our parents or Saddam will torture us for our inflamatory comments about his mustache or the taliban will hurl a grenade into our children's room while they sleep.

I am no more a friend of war than anyone but it is often inevitable and as citizens of the United States it is our duty to stand behind our leaders and vote them out if they are out of line. That is democracy. This whole we can fix every problem that every peron has is a liberal dream and will never happen. But what we can do is help those in need - and if we decide who to help based on our own self interests then GOOD. Always look out for number 1. You can not look out for everyone else too. If along the way we can procure some oil and my gas bill goes down - Good; if I can buy furniture from China and wine from Afghanistan for cheaper -Good; if Fidel is not immortal and I one day can get a Cuban cigal legally - Good. And maybe along the way we help some folks too.

So, while we type on our $1,000.00 + computers next to our friends playing PS2 on the big screen while sitting on the futon and ordering Pizza...we still find the arrogance to criticize others whom we have no real knowledge about.

Be cosmopolitan but don't be ethnocentric. And remember there are more than two sides to every story...there is also the truth.

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Sigma Zeta 314

August and September passed by, no mass destruction weapons found, no Saddam captured, no Bin-Ladin behind bars, no law and order, no peace for the civilians in Iraq.
Todays figures at Iraqbodycount are min: 7378 and max: 9181 and also:

Over 1,500 violent civilian deaths in occupied Baghdad

The first definitive total of violent civilian deaths in Baghdad since mid April has been published by Iraq Body Count (IBC), an Anglo-American research group tracking media-reported civilian deaths occuring as a consequence of the US/UK military intervention in Iraq.

All this make me very sad. We also have to add losses. Counting the troops shows that more american soldiers died since Bush told us the war was over than during the war, in average about one dead every day, more are injured in different ways.

Afghan: A lot of prisoners are still held by U.S. at Cuba. They are treated in a way not associated with civilization. What goes around comes around and I see no stop to this. We for shure are suffering from weak leadership, at the same time we have the leaders we deserve. I see no hope for Earth, now going opening another bottle of whisky - Laphroig Extra Cask, the highest level of culture developed by human.

Uni


:(

Too bad King George W. never had such a discussion with his rich daddy when he was young enough to learn something.