My 2cents... That was an outstanding, and funny article. Thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Didn't necessarily agree with everything, but with all that was said, no one can claim 100% agreement. Still a great article.
Now onto a question... awhile back I saw people starting to use head gear to play games. I figured, this has to be a new deal in gaming, and wondered why it never took off. Talk about immersive capability... you have complete control over what the user sees, and for a couple bucks, you tack on some headphones to boot and you've got audio as well. No more hunching over a screen, wishing like hell that your roommate would turn off the light behind you. You start building the turn and look capability into the headset, and now you've got more overall control (meaning some combination of finger work + mouse + fractional head movements for glancing around) Anyway, I always thought headsets with 3d style viewing would be the wave of the future... apparently I was wrong... Anyone out there know why headsets never took off?
I'm personally of the opinion that I like the conviences of home more so because of the fact that I can't bring my own drinks into the movie theatre. I'm frustrated that theatres charge $7 for a 'large' (aka -- medium size) drink, and another $5.50 for a small popcorn made in a machine never cleaned, with a gallon of something-resembling-butter on top. I like sitting on my own couch, watching it at my pace (pause to go to the bathroom whenever I want) and being able to have friends over to watch it. If I want the 'big screen' effect... I can buy a $200 projector and blast it at a white wall with surround sound speakers plugged into the player. I don't intend to waste the time downloading the movie, and will more than likely end up paying the massive price to watch it in the theatre, but there is something to be said for getting ripped off by your local theatre. Although if I have to read many more posts with people bitching and moaning about BTor and how we're all just a bunch of pirates, I may just download the movie, just to piss those people off;-)... but don't worry, I'd like to see the movie, not a mod'd version of it from a download...
Let us not forget the huge natural gas explosion caused in Russia by booby-trapped American software.
What the hell are you talking about? Seriously, this is one of the most idiotic things I've read tonight... Thanks for filling my 'morons on the net' quota...
Folks, I've read a lot of comments related specifically to the 'fear of backdoors' arguement. I'm not sure that China actually believes any of that considering that neither the US nor any other nuclear government run their silos with MS Windows products... Actually, the more important and relevant point to the article is pointing to the fact that wars aren't necessarily fought on battlefields anymore but in board rooms. Economic dominance is purported to be battlefield that the next major war is fought on nationally. I'm not so sure that there is anything the US can do other than try and get back to it's 'roots' within what's left of the current economy. China has been buying up large amounts of metal (not just raw materials, but scrap metal) within the US. US manufacturing plants have already made major moves to Chinese/oriental soil. Jobs are outsourced to foreign nations. Meanwhile, back on the home front (US) we're being told that we're a 'service oriented economy' (though for the life of me, I can't remember ever asking the Chinese if they wanted fries with their order of the US economy...) We haven't built a single new oil refinery, and our refineries aren't exactly up to date (do a simple google search and look at what middle eastern refineries are capable of). We're using up our natural resource, while China sits back and watches, and encourages us to continue. The reality as I see it, is that we cannot sustain the current environment, and that the US is headed for a major fall. I've heard the same dooms-day folks say the same thing, and always thought -- whatever. But you have to admit, there is only a finite amount of oil on this rock. There are only a finite amount of resources. There is only a finite amount of land... We're eating ours up like there's no tomorrow, while China is sitting on some of the most undeveloped land left on this planet. Might be time to take more of a hardline approach to China.
I voted for Bush both elections because I liked his conservative stance. I have to admit though that I'm starting to get rather annoyed with the way Bush is acting lately. Repercussions for voting a certain way is simply nonsense and should not be tolerated. Lately I'm beginning to wonder if I should have voted the other way, and have seriously considered doing just that to even the playing field in politics. I don't like the power plays that are going on in Washington DC now that reps are in control (admittedly though I am a republican...) I'm sick of the strong arm tactics that are going on, and I'm getting fed up with the way these people are conducting business. I think next election I'll vote democratic... (yikes...)
Don't turn your backs just yet...
on
SCO On the Rocks
·
· Score: 1
I'm not sure if anyone else has said this... In movies with bad guys, just when you think the guy is dead, he pops up for one last attempt. I think SCO is in a fight for it's 'life'. I would highly suggest that folks not ignore what SCO is doing, and consider the SCO suit a done deal. With their backs against the proverbial wall, there's no telling what they might pull to win this case, or 'prove' that code has been copied. To the IBM/Linux community, now is not the time to turn your backs on the SCO case!!
I don't care anymore what North Korea has. As an American, I have no intention of paying a dime in extortion money to that psycho-midget. The psycho has starved, suppressed, and brutalized his own people in order to obtain nuclear weapons. I'm tired of playing 'who blinks first' games with the world, and I'm even more tired of some moron overseas making light of 9/11, and making statements about how Bush is 'evil'. Frankly I'm pretty damn happy we went after Afghanistan, and even more so that we went into Iraq. To hell with you people who said that Iraq would be like Vietnam -- what a load of crap; they just voted for the first time in over half a century. To hell with you people who indicate that Bush is making things worse... for the first time there's real potential for Palestinian/Israeli talks working out. To hell with the nay-sayers who are more pissed off that the world is actually being pushed into cleaning itself up. Personally I'm just tired of paying for the rest of the worlds incompetence. The US doesn't OWE the world a DAMN thing. We don't OWE foreign nations money to assist with banking, or monetary woes. We don't OWE the world foreign aid. We don't owe the damn world a thing and yet we still take on the worlds problems. We're still the first place the world turns whenever there's a major problem that needs to be cleaned up. I mean honestly... why the HELL do we need to be sitting at a table with North Korea?? OH that's right... because North Korea doesn't give a damn about China, South Korea, Japan, or any other nation in the area. They know the only nation worth a damn is the US. If europeans who're content to sit on their butts watching the US work think they can do it better... please, by all means go ahead and pay that psycho midget for more of his lies.
This is one of those times, you hear something so stupid it makes you want to commit a crime. I actually hope someone cracks the yahoo site and grabs this families fathers emails for them. This is beyond nonsense. This man was fighting for our country and Yahoo has the audacity to say no?? I'm really friggin pissed off right now with this nonsense. Who the hell does Yahoo think they are? YAHOO... HAND OVER THE FATHERS EMAILS TO THE FAMILY YOU BUNCH OF....
Well, another one of those dilemas... On the one hand I like not paying a lot of money for software, and while I was in college (long time ago) did dabble in the black-arts. Unfortunately, I'm seeing today that HL2 is not, comparatively speaking, priced high enough for folks to complain about. What am I talking about you might ask? Well... I've noticed since leaving college that the cost of programs used in professional work environments make gaming costs look like pennies. Considering the number of people using the software in the professional environments, companies have to charge more... but in gaming there are millions of folks who are going to buy the software, so the total cost is relatively small. Suffice it to say, I've learned that paying the $50 and moving on with my life is better than surfing the "z" sites for the random crack, and all the potential virii that come with it. Maybe it's just me though.
I'll admit, I laughed at your comment. Actually though the FCC clears the flight range over the Pacific from all commercial aircraft, and I believe boats in the area are warned to leave. If you can't make the window of time the FCC has cleared the airspace then you technically have missed your window. Flying without cleared airspace would endanger folks on the airlines in the area.
Would you prefer that after investing 230 million on a research vehicle, booster, ground crews, engineers, scientists, studies, etc. etc. etc.... would you prefer that NASA hurry the project up and launch a vehicle that wasn't 100% functional? I support NASA's decision to scrub for the day, and I look forward to watching the news tomorrow and see how the Mach 10 flight went. Good job NASA!
I don't want to take anything from Burt and his groups achievement, but... taking the words from Simon on 'American Idull' -- "So what?". Burt used technology almost 40 years old, on a moderately novel design concept, popped the cork on his booster and stuck his nose into the lowest possible altitude, considered low earth orbit, for about 5 seconds total, and then came plummeting back to earth in a glider concept reminiscent of early shuttle designs. So what? I think that a private company with enough money should be able to achieve at the very least a low earth orbit altitude... I'm just surprised it's taken so long considering the technology available. In all honesty, NASA is yawning at their 'achievement'... put a man on the moon, land a rover on Mars... put a space station into orbit, and put people on it! Then lets get excited about Burt & Co. Personally I'm glad they did it, but put the success on the scale it deserves, and give credit to NASA for the amazing achievements that most folks never get to see. Hell... 90% of what NASA does feeds into US products in one form or other... anyone who'd like to challenge this feel free to... but first take a look sites like www.beowulf.org, or how about all the composite materials designed? There are tons of spin off products in your homes that you never knew got their origins in work done at NASA... and probably will go on living your lives never knowing about. But please, feel free to bash NASA and the work it does in the same ignorant fashion. I'm not going to bother modding what you wrote as troll... it would be a waste of mod points when there are so many interesting commentaries out there.
It is totally autonomous. There is not ground to research vehicle commands being sent. The sequence is pre-programmed.
NASA has been kind enough to provide numerous videos explaining the technology and what X-43A is about. Don't tell me you're too lazy to click the button on the webpage, and watch the 2 minute clip?? That would be pathetic...
Partially correct. Leading edges do get hot, but you actually want the oxygen moving fast enough to produce heat, which basically occurs at 'hypersonic' speeds, which allows the scramjet to function.
The other nice thing about scramjets is that unlike rockets which account for almost exactly 1% of the entire earths polution for every 100 rockets (shuttle launches actually), the scramjet has basically a byproduct of water. Hrm... environmentally friendly?
You're right, currently no plans on the books for post Mach 10 flight funding other than some research money to look over the data, write reports, and hope that congress isn't in a continuing resolution and can cough up some money for X-43A.
I find myself caught between two desires. I love the OSC, what it stands for, and the desire to see Microsofts monopoly crumble. On the other hand, I love that I live in a country where I don't get paid $240 a month for the work I do, and I realize that Microsoft and the other companies that hold patents on drugs, and other exportable goods, bring in the money to keep the US employees... well... employed. Inherently I loath the restrictions of big companies on what I want to do with goods I've purchased... for example -- on my ability to create an MP3 from a CD that I purchased. Or rip a DVD to have on my computer in digital format instead of hard copy... if for no other reason, than because I choose to. When it comes to health care, and what hurts people, I believe in, and support, Brazils move to 'bite their thumbs' at big companies in defense of the Brazilian population. I just worry that things have gotten so far out of wack within the US in terms of patent, that people can be sued for coming up with the same idea in two different locations, and in two different ways, independently, and the person who gets to the patent office first wins... what mess. Sometimes I guess you just have to take a couple steps back from the nonsense, and use common sense instead.
Actually you're right about one thing, the name I used was wrong. It's actually the "werewolf" organization that I was referring to, not the 'wolfpack'. These were guerilla outfits which caused widespread terror immediately prior to the fall of the Third Reich, and there were reports of continued activities until late 1947. So yes, there is actually a direct parallel between the activites of the 'werewolf' organization and what is happening in Iraq. Despite the German desire to rewrite history, the organization did exist, and did cause widespread terror throughout Germany following the collapse. Read: http://www.discovermilitaryhistory.com/dmh8/085052 5136AMUS253017.shtml
Many good points. A couple comments though from an American to Europe. Please don't generalize the commentary of a few Americans stating that you should be glad we saved you from yourselves, when the truth is that prior to our assistance in Europe, we received assistance in our war of independence from Europe... There wouldn't be an America if not for French assistance. While we don't necessarily see eye to eye on the middle east, you can't blame us for being a little gun-shy about nations which promote terrorist activities, have a history of using WMD's (ala -- gassing the Kurds in the 80's), and an almost never-ending cat-and-mouse game going with the UN and security councel resolutions (ala -- we will allow inspectors in. we now kick the inspectors out. we now allow them back in, and then kick them out... etc.) In short, I still support the invasion of Afghanistan, and the continued invasion of Iraq. Following 9-11, the simple notion that we could trust that terrorists weren't being trained/supplied by Iraq (openly) is rather a joke. I do agree though that there isn't a 'winnable' situation when it comes to religious fanaticism. I do believe that the hope of the US is to introduce 'freedom' to the peoples of Iraq. I draw direct parallels to what's happening in Iraq to what happened in Germany after the collapse of the Nazi regime, where in Germany there were years of bombings, murders, and widespread terror spread by the 'wolfpack' (Nazi reminants which act very much like the insurgents in Iraq are acting now) I believe the hope of the US is that the peoples become tired of the never ending insurgency of the 'wolfpack' (or in Iraq's case the actual insurgents) and start to govern themselves by putting out public edicts, and organizing widespread marches denouncing the acts of the 'wolfpack' (or the insurgents). I hope that there can still be a lasting, and working relationship with Franch and Germany in the years to come, but for myself, I continue to support our troops and the decision to go into Iraq, independent of the fact that both those nations lost billions in contracts in Iraq in the process. I wish the world would see the actions of the insurgents (beheadings, bombings, kidnappings, etc.) not as military actions, but as terrorist actions which should never be bargained with (ala -- Spain withdrawing troops). The truth is that if you give quarter now, where will you stop? How much of your liberties (in whatever political manifestation they exist) are you willing to sacrifice because someone wants so desperately to strap a bomb to their chest and become a martyr? Thank you to all the nations which have stood by the US, if only verbally through this 'war'. Just my thoughts...
Normally I hate the idea of replying to my own post... but it just occured to me that things are getting rather pathetic in the gaming world... instead of going out and meeting people irl, we buy a game where the purpose is to hook people up... art imitating life or vv?...or just a pathetic time/phase for online gaming, and PC gaming in general? Never thought I'd say this, but have we by any chance taken PC gaming a little too far in general? The other day the makers of GTA were complaining about their next version of GTA being stolen.... this coming from the makers of a game where stealing/killing/anti-social behavior is something to aspire to... a little ironic don't you think? I guess I can understand folks who want to pretend to be wizards and knights, even marines or hero's, but virtual worlds which you have to work in... I mean really... what is that about?? What's next? The add-on pack, where you have to graduate a virtual high school? and then in later versions of the game do you have to attend virtual college so you can get a virtual job after going through a virtual interview, and then do virtual work in a virtual cubicle??... virtual stupidity... imho.
Slashdot Mirror
My 2cents... That was an outstanding, and funny article. Thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Didn't necessarily agree with everything, but with all that was said, no one can claim 100% agreement. Still a great article.
Now onto a question... awhile back I saw people starting to use head gear to play games. I figured, this has to be a new deal in gaming, and wondered why it never took off. Talk about immersive capability... you have complete control over what the user sees, and for a couple bucks, you tack on some headphones to boot and you've got audio as well. No more hunching over a screen, wishing like hell that your roommate would turn off the light behind you. You start building the turn and look capability into the headset, and now you've got more overall control (meaning some combination of finger work + mouse + fractional head movements for glancing around) Anyway, I always thought headsets with 3d style viewing would be the wave of the future... apparently I was wrong... Anyone out there know why headsets never took off?
I'm personally of the opinion that I like the conviences of home more so because of the fact that I can't bring my own drinks into the movie theatre. I'm frustrated that theatres charge $7 for a 'large' (aka -- medium size) drink, and another $5.50 for a small popcorn made in a machine never cleaned, with a gallon of something-resembling-butter on top. I like sitting on my own couch, watching it at my pace (pause to go to the bathroom whenever I want) and being able to have friends over to watch it. If I want the 'big screen' effect... I can buy a $200 projector and blast it at a white wall with surround sound speakers plugged into the player. I don't intend to waste the time downloading the movie, and will more than likely end up paying the massive price to watch it in the theatre, but there is something to be said for getting ripped off by your local theatre. Although if I have to read many more posts with people bitching and moaning about BTor and how we're all just a bunch of pirates, I may just download the movie, just to piss those people off ;-) ... but don't worry, I'd like to see the movie, not a mod'd version of it from a download...
Let us not forget the huge natural gas explosion caused in Russia by booby-trapped American software.
What the hell are you talking about? Seriously, this is one of the most idiotic things I've read tonight... Thanks for filling my 'morons on the net' quota...
Folks, I've read a lot of comments related specifically to the 'fear of backdoors' arguement. I'm not sure that China actually believes any of that considering that neither the US nor any other nuclear government run their silos with MS Windows products... Actually, the more important and relevant point to the article is pointing to the fact that wars aren't necessarily fought on battlefields anymore but in board rooms. Economic dominance is purported to be battlefield that the next major war is fought on nationally. I'm not so sure that there is anything the US can do other than try and get back to it's 'roots' within what's left of the current economy. China has been buying up large amounts of metal (not just raw materials, but scrap metal) within the US. US manufacturing plants have already made major moves to Chinese/oriental soil. Jobs are outsourced to foreign nations. Meanwhile, back on the home front (US) we're being told that we're a 'service oriented economy' (though for the life of me, I can't remember ever asking the Chinese if they wanted fries with their order of the US economy...) We haven't built a single new oil refinery, and our refineries aren't exactly up to date (do a simple google search and look at what middle eastern refineries are capable of). We're using up our natural resource, while China sits back and watches, and encourages us to continue. The reality as I see it, is that we cannot sustain the current environment, and that the US is headed for a major fall. I've heard the same dooms-day folks say the same thing, and always thought -- whatever. But you have to admit, there is only a finite amount of oil on this rock. There are only a finite amount of resources. There is only a finite amount of land... We're eating ours up like there's no tomorrow, while China is sitting on some of the most undeveloped land left on this planet. Might be time to take more of a hardline approach to China.
"I got screwed by Hillary" -- I like the sound of that bumper sticker...
I voted for Bush both elections because I liked his conservative stance. I have to admit though that I'm starting to get rather annoyed with the way Bush is acting lately. Repercussions for voting a certain way is simply nonsense and should not be tolerated. Lately I'm beginning to wonder if I should have voted the other way, and have seriously considered doing just that to even the playing field in politics. I don't like the power plays that are going on in Washington DC now that reps are in control (admittedly though I am a republican...) I'm sick of the strong arm tactics that are going on, and I'm getting fed up with the way these people are conducting business. I think next election I'll vote democratic... (yikes...)
I'm not sure if anyone else has said this... In movies with bad guys, just when you think the guy is dead, he pops up for one last attempt. I think SCO is in a fight for it's 'life'. I would highly suggest that folks not ignore what SCO is doing, and consider the SCO suit a done deal. With their backs against the proverbial wall, there's no telling what they might pull to win this case, or 'prove' that code has been copied. To the IBM/Linux community, now is not the time to turn your backs on the SCO case!!
Linux
I don't care anymore what North Korea has. As an American, I have no intention of paying a dime in extortion money to that psycho-midget. The psycho has starved, suppressed, and brutalized his own people in order to obtain nuclear weapons. I'm tired of playing 'who blinks first' games with the world, and I'm even more tired of some moron overseas making light of 9/11, and making statements about how Bush is 'evil'. Frankly I'm pretty damn happy we went after Afghanistan, and even more so that we went into Iraq. To hell with you people who said that Iraq would be like Vietnam -- what a load of crap; they just voted for the first time in over half a century. To hell with you people who indicate that Bush is making things worse... for the first time there's real potential for Palestinian/Israeli talks working out. To hell with the nay-sayers who are more pissed off that the world is actually being pushed into cleaning itself up. Personally I'm just tired of paying for the rest of the worlds incompetence. The US doesn't OWE the world a DAMN thing. We don't OWE foreign nations money to assist with banking, or monetary woes. We don't OWE the world foreign aid. We don't owe the damn world a thing and yet we still take on the worlds problems. We're still the first place the world turns whenever there's a major problem that needs to be cleaned up. I mean honestly... why the HELL do we need to be sitting at a table with North Korea?? OH that's right... because North Korea doesn't give a damn about China, South Korea, Japan, or any other nation in the area. They know the only nation worth a damn is the US. If europeans who're content to sit on their butts watching the US work think they can do it better... please, by all means go ahead and pay that psycho midget for more of his lies.
This is one of those times, you hear something so stupid it makes you want to commit a crime. I actually hope someone cracks the yahoo site and grabs this families fathers emails for them. This is beyond nonsense. This man was fighting for our country and Yahoo has the audacity to say no?? I'm really friggin pissed off right now with this nonsense. Who the hell does Yahoo think they are? YAHOO... HAND OVER THE FATHERS EMAILS TO THE FAMILY YOU BUNCH OF....
Well, another one of those dilemas... On the one hand I like not paying a lot of money for software, and while I was in college (long time ago) did dabble in the black-arts. Unfortunately, I'm seeing today that HL2 is not, comparatively speaking, priced high enough for folks to complain about. What am I talking about you might ask? Well... I've noticed since leaving college that the cost of programs used in professional work environments make gaming costs look like pennies. Considering the number of people using the software in the professional environments, companies have to charge more... but in gaming there are millions of folks who are going to buy the software, so the total cost is relatively small. Suffice it to say, I've learned that paying the $50 and moving on with my life is better than surfing the "z" sites for the random crack, and all the potential virii that come with it. Maybe it's just me though.
I'll admit, I laughed at your comment. Actually though the FCC clears the flight range over the Pacific from all commercial aircraft, and I believe boats in the area are warned to leave. If you can't make the window of time the FCC has cleared the airspace then you technically have missed your window. Flying without cleared airspace would endanger folks on the airlines in the area.
Would you prefer that after investing 230 million on a research vehicle, booster, ground crews, engineers, scientists, studies, etc. etc. etc.... would you prefer that NASA hurry the project up and launch a vehicle that wasn't 100% functional? I support NASA's decision to scrub for the day, and I look forward to watching the news tomorrow and see how the Mach 10 flight went. Good job NASA!
I don't want to take anything from Burt and his groups achievement, but ... taking the words from Simon on 'American Idull' -- "So what?". Burt used technology almost 40 years old, on a moderately novel design concept, popped the cork on his booster and stuck his nose into the lowest possible altitude, considered low earth orbit, for about 5 seconds total, and then came plummeting back to earth in a glider concept reminiscent of early shuttle designs. So what? I think that a private company with enough money should be able to achieve at the very least a low earth orbit altitude... I'm just surprised it's taken so long considering the technology available. In all honesty, NASA is yawning at their 'achievement'... put a man on the moon, land a rover on Mars... put a space station into orbit, and put people on it! Then lets get excited about Burt & Co. Personally I'm glad they did it, but put the success on the scale it deserves, and give credit to NASA for the amazing achievements that most folks never get to see. Hell... 90% of what NASA does feeds into US products in one form or other... anyone who'd like to challenge this feel free to... but first take a look sites like www.beowulf.org, or how about all the composite materials designed? There are tons of spin off products in your homes that you never knew got their origins in work done at NASA... and probably will go on living your lives never knowing about. But please, feel free to bash NASA and the work it does in the same ignorant fashion. I'm not going to bother modding what you wrote as troll... it would be a waste of mod points when there are so many interesting commentaries out there.
It is totally autonomous. There is not ground to research vehicle commands being sent. The sequence is pre-programmed.
NASA has been kind enough to provide numerous videos explaining the technology and what X-43A is about. Don't tell me you're too lazy to click the button on the webpage, and watch the 2 minute clip?? That would be pathetic...
Partially correct. Leading edges do get hot, but you actually want the oxygen moving fast enough to produce heat, which basically occurs at 'hypersonic' speeds, which allows the scramjet to function.
The other nice thing about scramjets is that unlike rockets which account for almost exactly 1% of the entire earths polution for every 100 rockets (shuttle launches actually), the scramjet has basically a byproduct of water. Hrm... environmentally friendly?
You're right, currently no plans on the books for post Mach 10 flight funding other than some research money to look over the data, write reports, and hope that congress isn't in a continuing resolution and can cough up some money for X-43A.
Yep. It is off topic, but still absolutely correct.
Basically it is... the tungsten is actually to ballance the vehicle out.
I find myself caught between two desires. I love the OSC, what it stands for, and the desire to see Microsofts monopoly crumble. On the other hand, I love that I live in a country where I don't get paid $240 a month for the work I do, and I realize that Microsoft and the other companies that hold patents on drugs, and other exportable goods, bring in the money to keep the US employees... well... employed. Inherently I loath the restrictions of big companies on what I want to do with goods I've purchased... for example -- on my ability to create an MP3 from a CD that I purchased. Or rip a DVD to have on my computer in digital format instead of hard copy... if for no other reason, than because I choose to. When it comes to health care, and what hurts people, I believe in, and support, Brazils move to 'bite their thumbs' at big companies in defense of the Brazilian population. I just worry that things have gotten so far out of wack within the US in terms of patent, that people can be sued for coming up with the same idea in two different locations, and in two different ways, independently, and the person who gets to the patent office first wins... what mess. Sometimes I guess you just have to take a couple steps back from the nonsense, and use common sense instead.
http://www.command-post.org/oped/2_archives/007763 .html
This is an excellent read on the subject. Thank you.
Actually you're right about one thing, the name I used was wrong. It's actually the "werewolf" organization that I was referring to, not the 'wolfpack'. These were guerilla outfits which caused widespread terror immediately prior to the fall of the Third Reich, and there were reports of continued activities until late 1947. So yes, there is actually a direct parallel between the activites of the 'werewolf' organization and what is happening in Iraq. Despite the German desire to rewrite history, the organization did exist, and did cause widespread terror throughout Germany following the collapse. Read: http://www.discovermilitaryhistory.com/dmh8/085052 5136AMUS253017.shtml
Many good points. A couple comments though from an American to Europe. Please don't generalize the commentary of a few Americans stating that you should be glad we saved you from yourselves, when the truth is that prior to our assistance in Europe, we received assistance in our war of independence from Europe... There wouldn't be an America if not for French assistance. While we don't necessarily see eye to eye on the middle east, you can't blame us for being a little gun-shy about nations which promote terrorist activities, have a history of using WMD's (ala -- gassing the Kurds in the 80's), and an almost never-ending cat-and-mouse game going with the UN and security councel resolutions (ala -- we will allow inspectors in. we now kick the inspectors out. we now allow them back in, and then kick them out... etc.) In short, I still support the invasion of Afghanistan, and the continued invasion of Iraq. Following 9-11, the simple notion that we could trust that terrorists weren't being trained/supplied by Iraq (openly) is rather a joke. I do agree though that there isn't a 'winnable' situation when it comes to religious fanaticism. I do believe that the hope of the US is to introduce 'freedom' to the peoples of Iraq. I draw direct parallels to what's happening in Iraq to what happened in Germany after the collapse of the Nazi regime, where in Germany there were years of bombings, murders, and widespread terror spread by the 'wolfpack' (Nazi reminants which act very much like the insurgents in Iraq are acting now) I believe the hope of the US is that the peoples become tired of the never ending insurgency of the 'wolfpack' (or in Iraq's case the actual insurgents) and start to govern themselves by putting out public edicts, and organizing widespread marches denouncing the acts of the 'wolfpack' (or the insurgents). I hope that there can still be a lasting, and working relationship with Franch and Germany in the years to come, but for myself, I continue to support our troops and the decision to go into Iraq, independent of the fact that both those nations lost billions in contracts in Iraq in the process. I wish the world would see the actions of the insurgents (beheadings, bombings, kidnappings, etc.) not as military actions, but as terrorist actions which should never be bargained with (ala -- Spain withdrawing troops). The truth is that if you give quarter now, where will you stop? How much of your liberties (in whatever political manifestation they exist) are you willing to sacrifice because someone wants so desperately to strap a bomb to their chest and become a martyr? Thank you to all the nations which have stood by the US, if only verbally through this 'war'. Just my thoughts...
Oh man... I laughed so hard I almost peed myself... thank you for the laugh!
Normally I hate the idea of replying to my own post... but it just occured to me that things are getting rather pathetic in the gaming world... instead of going out and meeting people irl, we buy a game where the purpose is to hook people up... art imitating life or vv? ...or just a pathetic time/phase for online gaming, and PC gaming in general? Never thought I'd say this, but have we by any chance taken PC gaming a little too far in general? The other day the makers of GTA were complaining about their next version of GTA being stolen.... this coming from the makers of a game where stealing/killing/anti-social behavior is something to aspire to... a little ironic don't you think? I guess I can understand folks who want to pretend to be wizards and knights, even marines or hero's, but virtual worlds which you have to work in... I mean really... what is that about?? What's next? The add-on pack, where you have to graduate a virtual high school? and then in later versions of the game do you have to attend virtual college so you can get a virtual job after going through a virtual interview, and then do virtual work in a virtual cubicle?? ... virtual stupidity... imho.