I wasn't fibbing at all

[BoliverAllmon]

here is a pic of me taken yesterday. I am currently on two weeks leave from Basic due to the holidays.

[Derek]

Sweet. Go forth and kick ass, soldier!!!

[BoliverAllmon]

Without a doubt. I am just loving all the training.

[pianistimo]

you're like a thinner version of thal.  and here i thought...well (nevermind me, ok) i thought you were like 17 or something.  you have a strong look about you.  sometimes that alone works wonders, right. 

just played dodge ball again with my children - the only way they miss me is if i turn sideways really quick.  this will only work for you if you stay thin.  stay in shape.  stay alert.  and most of all - know we root for the team even if God decides which team wins.  i mean - the winning team is God's team - and that can be all sides.  you know what i mean?

[mephisto]

Cool!

[thalbergmad]

and most of all - know we root for the team even if God decides which team wins.  i mean - the winning team is God's team - and that can be all sides.  you know what i mean?

Religious infestation of unrelated thread number 501.

[pianistimo]

your mind is your best defense - but take a bible.  i hear that someone's life was saved because he stuck a hand held bible in his shirt pocket.  it covered his heart and took the bullet.  ps  you might have to sew the pocket on straight again to get this to work.

[arbisley]

Sounds to me like one of those cliches one so often sees in films, although it could be true of course. What's sure is that the person would not have been save by some dirty porn magazine, unless it happened to be hardback, which I doubt very much....

[prometheus]

Try to die as soon as possible.

Good luck

He can't be blamed. He didn't come up with this war. He is just either poor or stupid, neither things he can really be blamed for.


I hope nothing happns to him.


Root for the team and god, primitive thoughts. No, biblical thoughts.

All people that die in this war die for nothing. If god really exists she doesn't even dare to look at what the hell we are doing.

[wishful thinker]

He is just either poor or stupid, neither things he can really be blamed for.

What a nasty thing to say. 

[BoliverAllmon]

What a nasty thing to say. 

NAH that is nothing. You should read the original thread I posted about 3 months back or so when I announced that I was joining.

I am not dumb or poor.

Boliver

[wishful thinker]

I am not dumb or poor.

Boliver

I don't think you are; it's others here who make judgments.

It's a noble thing to serve your country; may God preserve you and Merrry Christmas to you, my friend 

[prometheus]

He may be officially serving his country but that's about it.

Ooh wait, God is invoked. No, you are right.

Jihad!

[thalbergmad]

You look in pretty good shape.

Maybe i need a bit of "basic"

Thal

[pianowolfi]

here is a pic of me taken yesterday. I am currently on two weeks leave from Basic due to the holidays.

It's good to hear from you! I often thought, how you may be and what experiences you may have made. Good luck!

Pianowolfi

[jpianoflorida]

I don't think you are; it's others here who make judgments.

It's a noble thing to serve your country; may God preserve you and Merrry Christmas to you, my friend 

yes. you are in my prayers.     And please ignore the posters who have no regard for life, country, other people, etc.    There are forum members who i think don't care about anyone except themselves.  I apologize for their rude comments. They are apparently very unhappy people who have to put others down to make themselves feel like they have some power.   

[jakev2.0]

Good luck Boliver. You have a lot of guts.  Stay safe out there.

[ada]

Well Boliver I've made my views on the US involvement in Iraq clear in the past, and this post isn't about that.

Suffice it to say I have found myself wondering about you since you left to join the army (yes, I know, I need to get a life ). I can't even begin to think what life in US military training is like. I wonder what the other recruits are like.

I just keep thinking Full Metal Jacket.

I wonder, do you know that Bush has acknowledged the US is not winning the war and that he's talking of a US withdrawal in the not too far future?  How does that make you feel?

Do you get to read the foreign press? I wonder if you have access to the same information as others about what's going on over there? I wonder what you're told, or what you're able to talk about?

How interesting it would be to be a fly on the wall of your life.

[prometheus]

There are forum members who i think don't care about anyone except themselves.  I apologize for their rude comments. They are apparently very unhappy people who have to put others down to make themselves feel like they have some power.   

Again you miss the point. We are talking about war. We are talking about half a million civilians that have been killed as a result of this war started by the US on the basis of an argument about the whole world rejected(except some governments).

We are worried about Boliver getting involved in this war that kills many people for no reason. All that die in this war die for nothing.

How can you even get the idea to cheer and root or to invoke god?

[BoliverAllmon]

Well Boliver I've made my views on the US involvement in Iraq clear in the past, and this post isn't about that.

Suffice it to say I have found myself wondering about you since you left to join the army (yes, I know, I need to get a life ). I can't even begin to think what life in US military training is like. I wonder what the other recruits are like.

I just keep thinking Full Metal Jacket.

I wonder, do you know that Bush has acknowledged the US is not winning the war and that he's talking of a US withdrawal in the not too far future?  How does that make you feel?

Do you get to read the foreign press? I wonder if you have access to the same information as others about what's going on over there? I wonder what you're told, or what you're able to talk about?

How interesting it would be to be a fly on the wall of your life.

yes, I did hear that Bush is thinking about withdrawal. I have mixed feelings about it. I would like to see us all get out of there, but if the process of us leaving causes a bigger fiasco then we shouldn't leave. I am not going to say what will or won't happen. I simply don't know. I would only be speculating.

I don't have access to any info really. During Basic they keep us free from all forms of outside influence. For 9 weeks straight we do nothing except train. In fact, I heard about the whole Bush thing once I got home. I do have 5 Drill sgts. with a total of 6+ years of Iraq service, so I get alot of first-hand knowledge of what is going on over there and how to prepare for it.

I do like the idea of expanding the army to help fight terrorism. I would like to see us stop getting bogged down in foreign countries and use our resources to fight terrorism.

Whichever way the army goes though, I will serve with pride. Putting on my uniform is something that makes me feel a sense of accomplishment in my life and makes me worthwhile. I have no regrets.

Boliver

[prometheus]

You can't fight terrorism with an army.


You do it with intelligence and police.


And of course prevention. The war in Iraq causes terrorism.

[BoliverAllmon]

You can't fight terrorism with an army.


You do it with intelligence and police.


And of course prevention.

how do you know?

[prometheus]

Which part?

[mad_max2024]

your mind is your best defense - but take a bible.  i hear that someone's life was saved because he stuck a hand held bible in his shirt pocket.  it covered his heart and took the bullet.  ps  you might have to sew the pocket on straight again to get this to work.

I think a titanium bible should be standard field equipment for all soldiers...

[rimv2]

You can't fight terrorism with an army.


You do it with intelligence and police.


And of course prevention. The war in Iraq causes terrorism.

You are absolutely right, prometheus.

Now please draw out a plan for ending terrorism once and for all, so we can get it done with.

[BoliverAllmon]

Which part?

all parts

[jakev2.0]

Chill. Prometheus is a goofy appeasement-loving European. I bet there's a pin-up of Neville Chamberlain over his bed.

[prometheus]

all parts

That the war in Iraq would increase terrorism was predicted by about every intelligene agency. It was also predicted by many middle east experts and terrorism experts.

Later they found out that the war in Iraq worsened terrorism even more than expected. THe war in Iraq has increased terrorism and helped organisations like Al Quada.


Second, you can't fight terrorism with an army. First off, you can never declare a war on it. That's just silly misuse of words. Like 'war on drugs', 'war on crime', 'war on christmas'. Americans are just silly and goofy like that. I bet they don't have a a pin-up of George Orwell over their beds.

But, terrorists are civillians that are hidden away. Then suddenly they will attack. How will you know if someone is a terrorist or not? Most of the time you will only know after thet blow themselves up.

Unless you infiltrate them or unless you wire-tap then. I don't understand at all how you cannot understand this. Do you know the definition of terrorism?

And what has Iraq to do with it? Wasn't Saddam so cruel that he kept all the possible terrorists in torture chambers?
No, most of the 9/11 terrorists came from Saudi Arabia. The people in Saudi Arabia are more cruelly oppressed than in Iran. Saudi Arabia is the oldest and most important US ally in the middle east.
The ones in the London attack came from Pakistan, another US ally, and illegal nuclear power. Futhermore, they supported the Taliban until the US bought them out. And presently they are protecting Osama Bin Laden. Great Job US!


Anyway, another essential think to do to stop terrorism is to stop participating in it. I know that the US only wants to stop terrorism against them and their economic allies. But even if you don't stop supporting and participating terrorism against others, terrorism against you won't lower as well.

An 'appeasement-loving European.'? How much heat have I been getting from bashing religion? Didn't religion cause 9/11. Didn't Bush claim that god told him to start the war in Iraq and Afganistan? Doesn't a major part of the Bush voters long for nuclear war? Because it means the end of the world and in their view the second comming?

'appeasement-loving'? The US and the UK supported Iraq all the way through their worst crimes. I don't understand what you are getting at.

I am anything but 'appeasement-loving'. If I was you wouldn't have called me 'appeasement-loving'. Let alone that you would have nominated me as one of the most annoying people on this forum.

You just don't get it. You don't understand how war and international politics work. Because you approach it the same way as you would approach rooting for your college football team.

Chamberlain, that implies that Iraq was a threat comparable to Nazi Germany.

If I lived in that time I would be fighting facsism in Spain against Franco long before WWII. Or at least I would be supporting that.

No, your comment is still based on the lies that were refuted even before they were told by Bush, Cheney and Rumsfelt and that caused about half a million deaths and the destruction of a nation. You still believe in those lies, apparantly.

[term]

goofy appeasement-loving European.

And what are you?

[jpianoflorida]

wow everyone! isn't it amazing that prometheus has ALL the answers to ALL your problems.   He is ALL knowing.   Gosh prometheus why do you think you know everything? you think you can solve all the worlds problems? wow. I'm impressed.  It's easy to sit back and criticize and say you have all the answers, isnt' it?

[prometheus]

I am just repeating what other people have discovered. For one, part of what I said was presented by the CIA to the US senata. And who knows how many middle east experts and terrorism experts we have seen on the media since 9/11.

Try to listen a little more to the middle east experts instead of to the ideology motivated hawkish military experts.
This was again very vivid during the invasion of Lebanon where many of the military experts put on TV didn't understand at all what all the violence was about.

I don‘t get it. This is just mainstream conservative stuff. I am just trying to inform you about it because for some reason this information never arrived to some people.


I don't have all the answers. I don't know how to stop terrorism. I doubt it is really possible. I do know you that there will no longer be any suicide attacks by either Christians or Muslims if there is no longer any religion.
Obviously when you are still forstering and sponsoring terrorism it will not stop. It is so obvious.

Just use google and check everything I say.

[thalbergmad]

I do know you that there will no longer be any suicide attacks by either Christians or Muslims if there is no longer any religion.

I agree with that.

[mad_max2024]

I doubt it is really possible. I do know you that there will no longer be any suicide attacks by either Christians or Muslims if there is no longer any religion.

I wish I could be so optimistic, I don't think religion is the cause for people killing each other, it's just the excuse.
We are animals, we are compelled to compete and destroy each other through evolution, it is in our nature.
We must always be in control, we must always be dominant, we must always destroy everything in our path that threatens the way we wish the world to be.
I don't think a world without religion would change human nature...


PS: But I must agree, there won't be any christian or muslim attacks then, they would probably be called something else

[prometheus]

That isn't what I said.

It requires a solid faith in an afterlife for one to be able to commit a suicide attack.


Religion is a tool politicians use to force war on their otherwise unwilling people.


Religion is part of human nature.

[mad_max2024]

It requires a solid faith in an afterlife for one to be able to commit a suicide attack.

That is true... I stand corrected

Religion is a tool politicians use to force war on their otherwise unwilling people.

Yes, but if they didn't have that tool, they would simply use another one

Religion is part of human nature.

Also true, I never questioned that... I was just imagining a world without religion

[prometheus]

Well, you said that a lack of religion won't change human nature. If religion is part of human nature then a lack of religion is a change in human nature

There are alternatives to religion. But they are often very similar. Look at North Korea, for example.

[mad_max2024]

Well, you said that a lack of religion won't change human nature. If religion is part of human nature then a lack of religion is a change in human nature

If you wish to be literal about it, then yes. But I think it would merely be substituted by something else and the effect would be pretty much the same
I think you agree with me on that considering the following statement. I'm not sure though since I don't know much about North Korean society

[prometheus]

Not many people outside N-Korea do.


But they do have a dogma which everyone has to support. And they kind of worhip their leader, though I think it was become a bit less recently. Also, supernatural abilities are subscribed to Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il. I think that when Il Sung Suddenly died everyone was shocked because they thought he was immortal. Though this may be exaggerated.

If you stack up all the claims made by the N-Korea minitery of information you get quite some mythology.

Anyway, the whole point has to do with dehumanising the enemy and ideological wars being much more cruel than wars fought out of greed.

I mean, if communism is evil then it is ok to kill 'communist children'. But if you are just robbing them from their grain you may as well let them alive so you can plunder them again next year.