Hi Sydneyjean! Hopefully your nephew will only be there for 6 weeks as planned. Training in cold water survival...HOW COOL!!! Alaska!
I`m freezing just thinking about it. If you don`t mind me asking, what unit is he with? If I recall correctly, you said he was in San Diego, right? And he`s with the SWCC? My brother`s unit left for Iraq not too long ago. This would of been my bro`s 3rd deployment to the region but he couldn`t go because he suffered an injury to his shoulder while jumping out of an airplane around Thanksgiving.

I know how hard it can be emotionally to have a loved one in a war zone so if you ever need to chat, I`m there for ya.

BTW, thanks for asking about my brother. These last few months have been difficult for him. He truly loves his job and serving his country is something he`s always wanted to do. He`ll still be serving, just not the same way.

If your nephew decides to make a career out of the military, it would be great. Probably the best thing he could do. He can go to college while still active and they will pay for it (that`s what my bro did) and once he recieves his Honorable Discharge numerous doors will be open to him for the rest of his life...and his children will benefit greatly as well.

quote:

Originally posted by Unique Dog:
It's been said that this World War, sometimes called the War On Terror, has an enemy that is difficult to define. Nothing could be further from the truth. We know who the enemy is in this world war: it is the savages who practice radical Islam.

Again, with the religious intolerance. Could we please use the term "terrorists" or "radicals" instead of focusing on the religion that in fact is merely a scapegoat used by extremists to justify their own agenda.

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We know exactly who they are and we know exactly where to find them: Iran, Syria, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the West Bank and Gaza strip.

Funny, if that's where they are that we would be spending so much time in IRAQ and spending so much money in IRAQ when you have listed so many other places we should be.

And what about North Korea? What about the nuclear threat there? I suppose "terror" only comes from Islam and not from the threat of nuclear war *insert sarcastic eye-roll*

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Let's also be sure to mention the Wahabbis of Saudi Arabia

A little thing called oil would prevent us from doing much to Saudia Arabia however. Seems we pick and choose who we want to fight our war against.

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and a good number of professors in American colleges and universities.

Professors ask people to think, they bring up both sides and ask people to question. I just can not understand how anyone would be against someone who encourages people to question. It sounds so much like the response to Socrates, or a communist attempt to control how people think.

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This isn't rocket science...it's never been more clear exactly who the enemy is and where to find them.

If I am not mistaken, we do not know exactly where they are, which is why people like Osama bin Laden continue to evade capture.

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So what should we do?

Well I think the most logical solution to any problem is to start a war and kill people, don't you think? I mean violence has solved so many problems in the past, I'm sure it will work this time, don't you?

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It's time for the United States, Israel and whoever else values freedom and our way of life to eliminate radical Islam once and for all.

Again I ask if you do not see the parallels in this line of thinking to the line of thinking of terrorists. They may be radicals, but so are you and your statement here proves it. All I have to do is replace our country with their's and it is the EXACT SAME. So if it is radical on their part, then it is radical on yours. Imagine Osama bin Laden saying this to his followers "It's time for US and whoever else values freedom and our way of life to eliminate the Western culture of sin, of capitalism and commercialism, once and for all." It's the EXACT same thought process as you, except they are "us" and we are "them".

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The time to speak of toleration, negotiations and appeasement is past.

There is never a "time" of toleration. It is never past. The minute you give up on tolerance, you accept hatred and violence. And that makes you just as bad as them.

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Israel tried this route, and we clearly see what it bought them. We`ve ignored the problem far too long. Nothing but misery and death at the hands of the wonderful, peaceful religion of Islam.

Okay. I want you to close your eyes for a minute and picture these two words in your head "Islam" and "terrorists". Now draw a box around each of those words and realize that they are NOT the same thing. Terrorists exist outside of the Islamic religion, and Muslims exist that are not terrorists. Do you understand that? Do you want me to draw you a Venn diagram?

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Radical Islam needs to be eliminated from the face of the Earth.

I object to this statement on two levels. One that Islam is included in the statement. I've already discussed the problem of looking at it as Islamic radicals though instead of just radicals, so I won't go into it again. But the second reason I do want to discuss.

Radicals are not necessarily bad. They can be certainly, but they are not innately bad. For example, Martin Luther King, Jr. was considered a radical, an extremist. And as I can not be so articulate as Dr. King, I will let him say why being an extremist is not always a bad thing:

"But though I was initially disappointed at being categorized as an extremist, as I continued to think about the matter I gradually gained a measure of satisfaction from the label. Was not Jesus an extremist for love: "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you." Was not Amos an extremist for justice: "Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream." Was not Paul an extremist for the Christian gospel: "I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus." Was not Martin Luther an extremist: "Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise, so help me God." And John Bunyan: "I will stay in jail to the end of my days before I make a butchery of my conscience." And Abraham Lincoln: "This nation cannot survive half slave and half free." And Thomas Jefferson: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that an men are created equal ..." So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we viii be. We we be extremists for hate or for love? Will we be extremist for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice? In that dramatic scene on Calvary's hill three men were crucified. We must never forget that all three were crucified for the same crime---the crime of extremism. Two were extremists for immorality, and thus fell below their environment. The other, Jeans Christ, was an extremist for love, truth and goodness, and thereby rose above his environment. Perhaps the South, the nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists."
http://almaz.com/nobel/peace/MLK-jail.html

So, I certainly can not agree with you that extremism or radicals need to be eliminated from the face of the earth.

I do believe that violence needs to be stopped. But I do NOTbelieve that blanket generalizations and calls for mass killings is an appropriate or moral way to stop that violence.

Perhaps your morals are different than mine however. Perhaps mass killings are okay to you.

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This must be done militarily, not through any more failed negotiations. Anything short of total annihilation of Islamic fascism is unacceptable.

Okay, I'm starting to wonder if you are being sarcastic. I just can't believe that a SANE person would advocate the annihilation of any group of people.

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The radical Islamic government in Iran should be toppled and its leaders exterminated. Same with Syria.

Okay, let's hypothetically accept this argument for a moment. If this argument is true, however, why do we barge into Iraq first?

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Israel should be fully unleashed and supported in an effort to eliminate Hamas and Hezbollah. It's time for them to breathe their last breath and be rewarded with their 72 virgins.

Okay, you are being sarcastic here, right?

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If you are an American, they want to kill you. Period.

Again, the psychic powers emerge. Really, I'm just amazed at your ability to read minds. Did it take you long to learn?

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One idiot protestor in Israel told a reporter "I think that Israel should negotiate with Hezbollah and Hamas and release Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the hostages. This way this story will come to an end." Yes --- Israel has it's share of leftist idiots too.

I have to admit, I am not well informed on the Israel issue. I'm not seeing the problem here. It sounds like the person is asking for a simple exchange of prisons. It seems that would save many lives, yet you call them an idiot. Why?

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This world cannot exist in peace and prosperity as long as we approach radical radical Islam with a politically correct, Mr. Nice Guy hand-off game plan. Israel realizes what's at stake here, Americans need to be reminded.

Yes, what's at stake is human decency and morality. You seem to be willing to throw that in the trash. I, however, am young an idealistic enough to still believe that violence solves nothing. Perhaps I am wrong however. Perhaps when my grade school teachers told me that punching the kid that punched me would not solve anything I should have said "you just need to be remined of what is at stake here" and ignored the teacher and socked that other kid in the teeth. Afterall, if I killed him he would never have hurt me again would he? And that's all that matters right? That I am fine- it doesn't matter that he is dead or that I am a murderer. I guess Jesus was full of cr@p with that "turn the other cheek" cr@p too. I suppose if Jesus was president he would say "kill the b@stards", afterall Jesus was always a proponent of violence to solve problems.

ANYONE WHO CLAIMS TO BE A SPOKEMAN FOR JESUS HAS SATAN IN HIS HEART. NO ONE NEEDS TO SPEAK FOR JESUS BUT JESUS. PERIOD. JMHO.


MAN MADE RELIGION IS NOT GODS WORD.

quote:

Originally posted by Unique Dog:
It's been said that this World War, sometimes called the War On Terror, has an enemy that is difficult to define. Nothing could be further from the truth. We know who the enemy is in this world war: it is the savages who practice radical Islam.

Again, with the religious intolerance. Could we please use the term "terrorists" or "radicals" instead of focusing on the religion that in fact is merely a scapegoat used by extremists to justify their own agenda.

We need to stop with political correctness BS and tell it the way it is.

--------------------------
If you are an American, they want to kill you. Period.
Again, the psychic powers emerge. Really, I'm just amazed at your ability to read minds. Did it take you long to learn?

It`s not my psychic powers at work, it`s a proven fact. One that any radical islamic will proudly tell you.
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In that dramatic scene on Calvary's hill three men were crucified. We must never forget that all three were crucified for the same crime---the crime of extremism. Two were extremists for immorality, and thus fell below their environment. The other, Jeans Christ, was an extremist for love, truth and goodness, and thereby rose above his environment.

Extremists? Two were theives and Jesus was crucified because others feared him and the miracles he had performed.
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There is never a "time" of toleration. It is never past. The minute you give up on tolerance, you accept hatred and violence. And that makes you just as bad as them.

That`s what FDR believed...go tell that to a Pearl Harbor survivor. Better yet, how about telling that to the families of the thousands of south vietnam people who were masacred after the forced American withdrawal.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Unique Dog,