Hildegard

Well I don't buy it.....that was back in 2001, times change....and would you really risk an open nuclear war with China over Taiwan? Anyways, Bush has a tendency making such statements given his 'cowboy' foreign policy, which is only counter-productive in this case over the China-Taiwan situation. US policy must be guided by a clear sense of achievable American national interests based on periodic appraisals of emerging relative peers; I think the US should pragmatically seek a favorable

Can somebody please post a link, if there is one, for music samples from Jeremy Soule. Thanks in advance.

Well it shouldn't be a public domain info and if anyone is determined to do such thing, sure they know already lots of things about WMD effects, but that program gets the insight on every major US city calculating all known variables in order to cause maximum damage and maximum casulties - that shouldn't be around no matter what, the White House memorandum clearly says so: No it doesn't, because your president doesn't give a rats ass about social changes in China. Current US-China trade is benifiting the ease of your budget deficit, that's all that matters - money before everything else because your goverment can't afford to change priorities in times like this and it ain't gonna change soon.....

I really thought that the Americans got some lessons after 9/11 regarding crackdowns on internet sites that may benefit terrorists and help design terrorist attacks, but I guess not..... Recently I did a research on WMD weapons, nuclear and dirty bombs mostly. After visiting many sites, I went to this highly prominent american site ( I won't name it - otherwise, the local 'patriots' will report me ) regarding space, weapons and science when I came across this program called -nuke a city-. So I started and it goes like this: * Input weapon yield ( in kilotons or megatons) - in other words choose weapon's strength * Pick an American city (I was like: WTF and there were only American cities) - I picked Chicago... * After that you get a satellite image of the city, then you pick a location of the blast in or around the Chicago depending on geographical configuration... * Then you get to choose the delivery method: car or an airplane....they're so nice, they think of everything * After all of that you get several graphic circles in different colours showing where the widespread fires will occure, where most of the people will get killed and where buildings will be destroyed, all of that is shown on the satellite image of the city, perfect way so the terrorist can enflict maximum damage - way to go Yankees * You also get calculated values of Thermal radiation radius (3rd degree burns), air blast radius (widespread destruction), air blast radius (near-total fatalities), ionizing radiation radius (500 rem), fireball duration and fireball radius (minimum, airburst and ground-contact airburst) * But that's not all folks, you even get the calculation how wind speed effects the fallout radiation and you can choose wind direction which then shows where and how the radiation spreads on the rest of the city - another way of helping cause maximum damage You know this all reminds on that US documentary film after the failed 1995 WTC bombing, where the experts were saying what the terrorist did wrong, onwards saying where they should have enflicted explosions to do maximum damage....it's absolutley ludcrious, how stupid can you be posting such information, back then those and now stuff like this?

Nice pic julianw ....here's a pic for Bastila fans I found on some site....

Why do I have a feeling that Nur Ab Sal's post will cause flaming? "

Nightwish: Elvenpath

No, it isn't.

Ever the sharp one. :D Although I did want to know if my guess was correct. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hey sharp one here's a little more info about the Musae (Musai) just to keep you 'sharp': Musae filiae fuerunt Iovis omnipotentis et Mnemosynes, deae memoriae. Omnis homo artem culturus eas colebat. Clio sermone soluto historiam hominum deumque narrabat. Calliope calamo in tabulis ceratis de gloria poetarum scribebat. Euterpe in tibiis canebat. Erato digitis fila premens modulamina fingebat. Thalia homines oblectatura, personam comicam portabat. Melpomene(GroinOfDespair ) persona tragica hominibus tragoediam agebat. Terpsichore lyra cognoscebatur, Urania sidera caeli spectabat. Polyhymnia pallio induta conspectu somniculoso errabat.

Yes.....musai - Muses in greek.

I can think of several: Mets and those like him, who inspire us to discuss; Kaftan and Jags, who inspire us to laugh; Epiphany and other trolls, who inspire us to anger; and the Mods, who inspire us to behave. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Good suggestion, although those aren't 9 of them, but never the less: TUM PECCET .....I wonder how our would be .....

Who would suppose to be the Musai around here?( no matter the gender)

Prima virtus est vitio carere - as a God trait. "

Nice wallpaper Zulu, great job ....mmmmm Bastila

The current constitution basicly reflects reality of nation it is meant to serve, creating loose federation that will be good deal for Kurds, Shiites and even ordinary Sunnis, the country is divided and we shouldn't delude ourselves otherwise. Drawing up constitution that would artificially bind three divergent societies together at this point would only polarize and create only friction, violence and civil war.... The new constitution must achieve the country's interests and bring democratic and political reforms. One of the main dangers is rushing into finalizing the document, by rushing into meeting its deadline on August 25th, the leaders had still not resolved substantive differences, hastening to finalize the draft constitution on a tight schedule while the different forces hold on to their demands could delay this step indefinitely. Rushing into endorsing a draft charter 'in the eleventh hour' will have dangerous results and it could only open the door to more violence and bloodshed, taking apart what is left of the political and constitutional institutions. One of the main problem lies in the US-sponsored January elections that were boycotted by the Arab Sunnis, or 20 percent of the population, and they are now politically weak. The Sunni support is vital for ending the growing insurgency, adding their fear was justified in losing out in a federal state envisioned by the country's Shiites and Kurds. As the Sunnis have a major role in the resistance against the country's 'occupation' by US-led foreign troops and the US-guided transitional government, the ongoing anarchy will not end quickly if an agreement or a compromise isn't reached with Sunni's and all sides, but this could easily qualify as 'mission impossible'. On the other side the new breed of pro-US Iraqi leaders will not be able to achieve a peaceful and stable Iraq by sidelining the Sunnis, whom have governed the country for decades, the new government can benefit from their experience ( I'm not talking here about Saddam's butchers but regural goverment officials and administration) instead of ignoring them, because let's not forget most of the Shi'it and Kurd leaders have little experience when it comes to governing a nation. When I see all the rush meeting the deadline to complete the constitution and the last-minute concessions it only shows it came to serve the American, not Iraqi interests, unfortunatly so. President George W. Bush was seeking to endorse this constitution through any means to tell his growing opposition at home that Iraq's political process and democracy is moving forward. I think draft charter will not save Bush nor stop his declining popularity at home, nor will it be a step towards his 'strategy to escape'( many predict Christmas 2006), because the war in Iraq for the US is like quicksand, the harded it tries to get out, deeper it will sink in the cycle of unstability and violence. The oponnents of the constitution argue that the draft charter is not preparing Iraq for a peaceful country, but for a possible civil war because in their opinion it consolidates the dictatorship of the majority in an ugly and unprecedented manner, they see it as a dictatorship based on the force of occupation, not on the basis of ethics and logic. The US must be very careful to evenly distribute power amongst all sides as much as possible, Meta said it pretty much all when it comes to the Kurds, but if too much power goes to the Iraqi Shi'it there is a credible danger of Iraq turning into an fundamentalist state because of their rather extreme points of view when it comes to Islam and because of strong influence of Shi'it Iran on the Iraqi Shi'it political party.....therefor Sunni must given an according amount of political power they deserve and also to be 'the safety brake' of the new Iraq so the things above wouldn't happen - it would be a complete fiasco and a disaster for the US to spend more then $200 billion dollars and more then 2000 of its troops so far to support a constitution that would in the end establish an Islamic fundamentalist state in Baghdad. There just isn't a clear and simple solution to this question, no matter what path they take there will certainly be many problems and obstacles in the way - my philosophy would be E doubus malis minus eligere oportet, but as I said it's not that simple - I sincerely hope when the time comes the people who are running the show will make the 'right' decisions....onwards we can only hope everything will turn out to be O.K.

Cease fire everyone damn it ! ! !

Charming as always...

Well, Aphrodite was the Goddess of Prostitution, and there is Fertility, etc. I was trying to find a Goddess that portrayed your stature on the forum. You are well respected a rule from a lofty perch. And I don't think there is a Greek Goddess of Emoticons. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Demeter was kinda boring, but she did ride on a chariot pulled by winged serpents. Or maybe Thoosa ... THOOSA was a HALIAS (Sea) NYMPHE loved by the god Poseidon. She was probably a goddess of dangerously swift currents. She was probably conceived as a mermaid-like woman with the serpentine-tail of a fish in place of legs, much like her sisters Skylla and Ekhidna. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Or maybe: NIKE - GODDESS OF VICTORY

So, you want to be Notos, eh? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I want to be THE ANEMOI : the Boreas, the Zephyros and Notos.

Actually the closest star in the Alpha Centauri system is Alpha Proxima. Sirius is the brightest star in the sky, not the closest, and is in the Canis Major system (larger Dog group), in the Southern Hemisphere, near Orion (which contains the etymological curiousity Betelgeuse and its brightest star Rigel). <{POST_SNAPBACK}> You're right.....I mixed up the the brightest star in Earth's nighttime sky with the closest. .... am I 'mixing' up things this evening, it's probably because I'm

I'm the cold breath of winter, the light breezes of spring and the rain-storms of late summer and autumn.

Enigma: Orinoco Flow

I mixed Calax's sig with your name, thought it was yours - sorry. I called you 'Alpha Centauri dude' because Sirius A is the closest star to earth located in the Alpha Centauri system, that's all

That's right and your 1st sig says it all Alpha Centauri dude <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Alpha Centauri? never played it and never know where it came from other than my brother.... <{POST_SNAPBACK}> My bad....... I mixed you up with Sirius.