MigL

I have to ask... What's a VB ? And thanks for being honest; nobody likes work. Otherwise they'd call it 'partying'.

If Beecee and Peterkin are conscientious workers, and like working so much, how come they're always online whenever I log on ? 😄 😄

I'm sure you'd feel much safer living next to Russia or China. Ukrainians and Taiwanese have nothing but good things to say about their neighbors. But why bother with evidence when you can just make cute quips about foxes and hens ...

Really ??? The US has been protecting your ass ( and all other Canadians ) for the last 75 years, and shouldering the vast majority of the burden. Through NATO, it has been protecting Europe ( who don't seem able to do anything on their own; remember Kosovo ? ), and expanding that protection to states that have cast off Soviet oppression, again shouldering most of the burden. Through SEATO, it is protecting South East Asian/Oceanian states. It maintains a presence in South Korea, after 70 years, as well as air bases in Japan and the previously mentioned European air bases. These allies seem to be doing great under the 'bus'. All we ever get from Canadian Liberals ( other than useless elections and fawning admiration of oppressive regimes like China and Cuba ) is talk about withdrawing from NATO. Secure in the knowledge that the US will protect us, no matter what stupid decisions we make. Elections are not freedom. They are simply the way we choose a representative government. ( which is an aspect of freedom ) I would think a better metric of freedom for an Afghan family, is whether their daughter can drive the car to school or place of employment, without having acid thrown in her face.

Most western nations were once ruled by tyrants and oppressive regimes, sometimes even overseas regimes in the case of the Americas. And the hard choices were made, at great cost of lives, in cases like the American Revolution, the French Revolution, two world wars for other European countries, etc., to throw off the yoke of oppressive regimes and ideologies. The Afghans haven't had a taste of 'free society' long enough to develop a taste for it, so they have chosen the easy way, and gone back to the status quo. Maybe next time ...

I should have known you were a pessimist, Peterkin, when you posted the status update "Behind every opportunity is a disaster waiting to happen" 😄 😄 Having spent most of my life close to the American border, I have been exposed to, and come to know many Americans. I, being an optimist, choose to see the 'good' Americans have done. You ( and a lot of other Canadians ) choose to see the 'bad'. Now, don't get me wrong, I realize there has been 'bad', but I don't attribute it to nefarious reasons, simply poor planning. And sometimes, the incompetence of those in charge.

Because 9/11 gave them the 'excuse' o do so.

Loved this ... Nobody else understands either.

It is non-sensical to talk about a photon's past, present, or future from their frame of reference, as they have no valid frame. Sometimes, knowing a little science, keeps you from embarking on 'flights of fancy' that quickly crash to the ground when presented to those who know science. ( I mean Swansont, not me )

The same situation which is unfolding now. And which everyone is worried about; the fate of women, minorities and human rights.

No, I simply presented different options, depending on your level of commitment. One option would have been to do nothing, ignore the situation and stay out. A second would have been a nuclear 'show of force' to gain fear and respect ( as their own leaders do ). The third, and most expensive, would have been a commitment for the long run, giving Afghans a taste of a free democratic society, and ensuring they don't go back to the old way. The Americans have spent a sizeable portion of the third option ( in money and lives ) to get the results of the first option.

Even if we were to attribute some tangible quality to the notion of space-time, if space is removed by Back Holes when they compress matter, why is the expansion of space not evident near Black Holes ? In fact, why is it only evident at large astronomical distances ( galactic cluster scales ) ? Does 'space' move through space to go cause expansion at a different location ? And what could possibly compell it to move ? I'm not sure I understand your definition of Dark Matter either, but what you state doesn't agree with accepted theory or observational evidence.

Exactly. Almost 80 years after WW2, the US still has 6 Air Bases in Germany, as well as bases in Japan and Italy. You obviously believe they shuld either stay out, or, once they've made the commitment, they should see it through, and not pull out before the job is done. And obviously 20 years is not long enough to get the job done. I'm convinced, Peterkin, but someone needs to let CharonY know ...

I am comparing the situation to Iraq after the first Gulf War. The Coalition Forces pulled out rather quickly, leaving Saddam Hussein in power, and he quickly re-established brutal control by gassing a couple of towns that had been spurred to revolt by the Americans. Iraq became quite stable after that event; at least until George Jr. decided to stir it up again 20 years later..

Oh no, you didn't ... Unlike Star Wars, and the 'force', at least Star Trek gives a nod to accepted Physics, and mentions such things as 'inertial dampeners' and 'Heisenberg compensators' to deal with problems like accelerations and transporters. They just don't explain how these things work. But if they did it wouldn't be fiction.

War is brutal and inhumane. The Afghan people understand brutal and inhumane. That is why they fear the warlords and the Taliban; they have no respect for Americans who try to avoid killing, and if they do, apologize for it. Peacekeeping and nation-building are concepts lost on them. America will never win another war with half-hearted attemps; no matter how much money it throws at the problem. It started with Vietnam and televised war. People at home are not willing to be brutal/inhumane enough to actually win the war, so why go in in the first place ? you cannot win half-hearted war, so don't even try. I have often said, after 9/11, the US should have air-dropped leaflets over a large mountain in Afghanistan telling people to leave in 24 hours, at which time they should have delivered a Thermonuclear bomb large enough to level that mountain. Afterwards they should have announced " you attack us again, we will do this to the rest of your country." That is something the Afghan people, warlords, and all others involved would understand.

I was born in a little town called San Angelo dei Lombardi, with nearby ( at higher elevation ) Guardia dei Lombardi. Bot were established by the Lombards, before the turn of the millenium, close to their Duchy in Benevento. And I get my 'history' of the Roman Empire from my books by E Gibbon The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire - Wikipedia

Did you even read my post, or just the first two lines of it ? How is your post a rebuttal of the fact that we are born with just instinct and no concept of social/community interaction ?

This is all fine and dandy, and I recognize some of those articles you posted from Wikipedia, however ... The best explanation we have for mass ( gravitational or inertial ) is an interaction of fermions, and some bosons, with the Higgs field, due to a broken symmetry as the universe dropped to a lower ( vacuum ) energy state. An interaction produces the property of mass; no interaction produces nothing, i.e. particles remain massless. What exactly would produce negative mass ?

That is often stated by 'apologists', but is not always true. The Roman Empire was sacked. and conquered, by many Northern and East European tribes for several hundred years, yet it was the Roman culture, law, and way of life that assimilated the 'barbarians; not the other way around. The 'barbarians' in effect, became Romans; Roman citizens did not become Goths, Burgundians, Lombards, Francs, or even Huns.

Why do people always use the example of the poor person who steals food to feed his kids ? What about the mass murderers, the rapists, and other who 'get off' on the suffering they cause to other people ?What about the rich people who are just plain greedy, and cheat others out of their life savings ? Do they not need to be separated from a safe and orderly society ? That does not hold true for the large percentage of criminals who re-offend. No-one who is incarcerated for life, or who gets the death penalty, has ever re-offended. Do I need to cite references for this statistic ?

A lot of imagination. Very little knowledge, and no observational evidence.

Or maybe you're just old, and going senile, like the rest of us ...

Last I checked, that Justice woman is holding scales, signifying a 'weighing' of circumstances, and a sword, signifying some level of punishment for one's misdeeds. Bad outcomes seem to be the esiest method to teach someone the error of their ways, but easiest isn't always best. If we care about someone, like our kids, we try to teach them, and hope they don't actually have to experience that bad outcome, to learn. A compassionate society tries to do the same with those who break the law; and calls it rehabilitation.

Lettuce is for rabbits. But I did like that video you posted. Someone should let Dimreepr know that, at last for those two, the competition is NOT 'just a game'.