Karl: Sorry and right you are. For some reason, recently when I've thought of you and replied, I've had this mental image of Mike at our office, who is our Project Coordinator. Or as we call him, The Project Coordinator From Hell. Seriously, a nice guy. But he thinks everybody should live their life according to a Gantt. Isn't Larry Hagman a self-confessed drug addict? Seems I recall watching a Biography on him where he stated that when he died, he wanted to be put through a wood chipper. The remains would then be used to fertilize a field of pot and everybody would get high "thinking" of him. jay jay
I did not know that, but THAT gave me a great laugh! fwiw, contrary to the implication made here, I am pretty anti-drug. never smoked anything, and have only been buzzed twice in my life (due to simply beer which I think tastes like shiayat!); September 1992, and September 1995 (Wth is it about September?). I use his avatar simply because I LOVE his character on Dallas! h34r:
A perfect complement to the cover photo on your My Space web page, to which you post a link in your signature line: Mr. E. Squid.
Yup, it all fits... I love talking to new people everywhere I go, some of which, I've actually said, "You know, there are only TWO things you need to know about me... ONE... TWO!" a-la-Stone-Cold-Steve-Austin style! **sound of glass shattering** B)
That's fine...more for me. Likewise the sushi. Too bad I'm not a real man that can show his middle fingers on a web page and think it makes me cool....that and a hummer and I'd truely be a man....guess I'll just have to be content as something less....
Why all of the apologists on here. Why do some of you insist that the United States is inherently guilty of something?
There is an old saying about the teapot calling the kettle black. Nobody said anything about inherent guilt.
My wife's family is always complaining about the US and its relationship with the world. I am superimposing their tone onto some of your comments. Reminds me of the upcoming Holidays, I spend the evening defending the United States. Aren't in-laws grand!
Last time I checked, NATO comprised more than the U.S. A little give and take on the political scene works wonders with good PR, good relations, happy citizens, etc. Start with vaguely threatening remarks and insults/jabs, don't be surprised if the folks you counted on suddenly turn their backs on you. As an example, the Iraq war. Let's face it, Canada doesn't really have a military to speak of, certainly not anything capable of encountering serious armed conflict. The population and relatively peaceful existence of the country doesn't require a heavy duty military. So at the most, Canada could only have been involved in Iraq as a token gesture. Say in a logistics or support role, such as currently provided in small amounts in the Gulf. But once the insults started to fly, all bets were off. The illegal softwood lumber tariff was started April of 2001. This was before the Iraq war, and was one of the primary reasons then-PM Chretien refused to get involved in it. When a single cow tested positive for BSE, all Canadian beef imports were rejected, the American response. You'll notice both of those reponses benefited American suppliers. It really had nothing to do with trade "fairness" as the WTO determined. Now we have the issue of energy. You may not have realized this, but of American oil imports, the largest single source is Canada at 17%. http://www.gravmag.com/oil.html Let's not forget natural gas and electricity, those power lines crossing the border from Manitoba into South Dakota aren't there for scenic value. No single country is fully self sufficient. It takes everybody to get along, solve problems, and generally make the world a better place. Once you start rhetoric like "with us or against us" folks tend to look elsewhere for friends.
And why the mindless defensiveness that whatever the US does is the right thing? To me that's probably the greater of the sins....if you consider what our forefathers thought and did anyway. And as goes France and Germany...I, for one, think those are big losses. Germany in particular...I agree France has been pretty wishy-washy for a long time, but I'd still rather have them on our side than not. I'm a very proud American, but I'm not a stupid one who'll defend things we do wrong--like invading soverign nations who are no threat to us. And before you start on the terrorism and murder of their own citizens and all that....Sure, that's true, and it's bad, but it is now the excuse being used to justify the actions not the reason we went in. And if it's an adequate excuse I guess China better watch out since the crimes they commit against their citizens is just as bad or worse...likewise N. Korea....and let's not even start on Africa. I'm proud to be an American who's not blind the many problems America has and who's willing to stand up and say they exist and to fight to resolve them. To my mind that's a far more patriotic thing to do than to stand there like some sycophant saluting whatever rag my country waves in front of me.
