Hurlshort

Uh, those quotes don't say anything about war Volourn. About the only real point made in those small excerpts is that Muslim communities by and large do not separate church and state. Which is a very important point to remember when the US enacts foreign policy in Muslim countries. If the US goes into a country like Saudi Arabia and says "yo, you need to separate your religion from your government" then they are only going to exacerbate the differences between the two nations. The US needs a different approach in the Middle East, and with latest talks just starting up, hopefully they will find it. Hey, I'm a huge civil rights guy and I realize that most Muslim countries are horrific when it comes to that. But the US can't go in and topple every government in an attempt to change the Middle East. None of that really has anything to do with building a community center in Manhattan, though. Here is a pic of where it is supposed to be built: Here is a blurb about the center itself:

The Koran doesn't say anything about killing innocents in the name of Islam. Rauf has consistently denounced radical Islam and terrorism as well. Are you looking at his actual words when you make these determinations, or are you taking other people's interpretations as the truth? Because you are a smart guy, and if you are looking at the primary sources here, I have a hard time believing you would have those opinions of Rauf.

I got along with my roommate in college well enough, but we had little in common. I ended up joining a Fraternity and moving out by Spring Break. I know you are a bit older Calax, but don't write them off completely. There are all sorts of different Fraternities, and actually most of the guys in my house were in their mid-20's.

There is a very large difference between criticizing the US and criticizing US foreign policy. Just look at the history of Afghanistan, the US has created two problem for every one they have solved there. Look, I'm not saying any of this is intentional, I think the US typically has good intentions when it comes to foreign policy. But there is a major disconnect here. Since Osama was brought up, I think it is safe to say we all can agree he is an evil guy. But when did he become evil? Was it before or after he received US support in the Soviet Afghanistan war? What about the war in Kuwait? Could we have done something differently there? We need to answer these questions so we can try and prevent this from happening again. The US has made it easy to stoke fear in the hearts of less-educated Muslims. We had a diplomat from the State department speak in our classroom last year, and he said his biggest job is just correcting the misinformation that is spread about the US. Children in Iran are raised under the beliefs that Islam is illegal in the US, that someone caught praying will be stoned to death. It sounds crazy, but then you have the very real images of US forces rolling into Iraq and Afghanistan. It doesn't matter that the US intentions are good, what matters is how a radical can spin those images to create fear in others. Now we've got protests against a Muslim community center that has legally obtained funding and building permits. This is not a way to create bridges. It is a stupid protest that will only add fuel to the fire.

One of Rauf's major goals for the US is to reduce the threat of terrorism by altering its Middle Eastern foreign policy. Here is an example of a quote given when he was asked directly if the US deserved 9/11: "I wouldn

Yeah, that is all made up stuff. You see, what happens is rauf gives a speech, and then yahoos like Michael Savage take a sentence here or there with no context and run a smear campaign. It is called hate and fear mongering, and it is great for ratings but nowhere near the truth.

600 yards is a very long block! And Imam Rauf is a well respected religious leader who has always preached peace and tolerance. Where are you getting this information from, GD?

Brilliant!

Actually, yes. And there is. No president gets elected without an insane amount of their personal life going public. That is why this is laughable, Obama is not even close to being a Muslim. Happy Ramadan to everyone, by the way.

Well, we all know JFK was just a patsy for the Pope!

How does one make Jagged Alliance gameplay into a mmorpg? Each gamer controls their own merc? Each gamer has their own set of mercs and fights every one elses? A bunch of different merc armies fight the same AI? While I'm not sold on this being a good thing, I understand the concept. Did you ever play JA: Deadly Games? Basically you had your team, you had a certain time to move, and then the other player moved. It's like Chess with a clock. There are a couple different strategy MMO's that are somewhat successful, Company of Heroes Online is apparently pretty good. The idea that you can choose your team, train them up and equip them, and then pit them against other people does have some appeal to me. It sounds like it will be a pretty light game though, it is browser based. Who knows, I'll keep an eye on it.

I've played through the demo a few times and there are a few things that bother me. First off, what is the actual point of causing mayhem? It just feels rewarding in games like Saints Row 2 and GTA, they keep track of all the crazy stats, and SR2 even flashes points up. Just Cause 2 also did that and it was satisfying. I went off a nice jump in the demo and over the freeway, but nothing really happened. Also, I'm not finding a lot of stuff while I explore. I know there are a few dirty mags around, but I've yet to find any other than the one in my house, and when I climb to the top of buildings there is never any reward. Are there going to be other collection stuff? Crackdown had me totally hooked on just collecting orbs for hours. Maybe this stuff is in the full game, but it is a bit concerning.

How is it that you are paying for the meds? I would think that would be a pretty extreme basic! Does the school have a health plan you can join? They usually offer something for students at a very low price, at least my school did. Maybe it is only offered to full time students? Still, I'm excited for you Calax, it sounds like a great time. Going away to college was huge for me, it really helps you discover yourself.

I didn't come close to finishing GTA IV either, and I still got quite a few hours of fun out of it.

Yeah, freedom and open-ended game play is soooo last year.

I believe this was in the DS3 forum because Llyranor wants DS3 to be more like Icewind Dale.

I really liked the characters they used in RE2. That is one of the reasons RE3 was so disappointing, they kill off two of the main guys from RE2 super fast and in pretty lame ways.

I'm still a bit worried there will be no preload option from Steam, and I'm thinking I might try and cancel my pre-purchase if that is the case. I wish they would be more clear about that stuff. My connection is way too slow to try and download it on the day of release, I'm better off swinging over to Best Buy and purchasing a store copy.

I never played Desperado's, but I enjoyed Robin Hood.

The different origins made a huge difference, and it is ridiculous to state otherwise. Not only did you have a unique first hour of gameplay, the areas you came from reacted differently when you returned. You had unique relationships with characters. You even had different endings available. Seriously, what more can you expect? Six entirely unique games?

Cradle of Filth isn't "the new sh**" anymore. The marketing department knows that DA2 needs to be more collar-grabbing, intense and EXTREME experience in order to reach a wider audience. I think that Behemoth are new enough for the cool kids. We should not forget either that they wish aswell. I think they are going to go in a different direction and focus on making it appeal to teenage girls. DA: Twilight

Given that Steamworks if Free DRM for publishers to use, I would be expecting a lot of new releases to go with it. I mean it makes no sense to pay for DRM software with the Steam option, and I doubt publishers are going to just abandon the DRM model, so such is life.

Preseason is underway, so I thought I'd start the new thread. I also read this and found it very interesting. http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=lc-s...ondchance081210

I am playing the original right now. It's kinda not that great. It's a little fun to drive around in a bunch of early auto's, but the control is a bit unwieldy. Ah well, something to occupy my time until Mafia 2 is released.

Exactly my feelings about Two Worlds too. It must be one of the most underrated games ever. I'm glad I gave it another shot. I say Alpha Protocol deserves that title, but Two Worlds definitely had its charm.