NO gas from CITGO in my vehicles!

[lindenengineering]

Ghostbear
Your diatribe comes over as a plea bargain by a not so competant public defender who is trying to save his luckless client from the gallows after having publically admitted his guilt in front of Congress.

Its a fact of life that here in the USA people like to re-write history after a blunder or two; You are not related to Bill Clinton by any chance?

Look its like this and the world knows it, in latter years the USA has a historical propensity to conduct itself with little regard to the long term consequences. The problem ends up in the lap of the population who have to deal with it long after the instigators have left office. So ordinary Americans are captured, held for ransom, executed and generally kicked around overseas for just being Americans. That's a genuine concern I have and for those young American servicemen who end up with the tip of their noses a half mile way from from their rectums, while singing Born in the USA.
Dennis

[M Wehrman]

We all say that kids now are spoiled. Is that no suprise form a Nation ( government) that promotes a "wants what it wants when it wants it" mentality? Like kids, our Country has a "I see it, I want it now, and if you bitch at me I will pout,innore,sanction you" attitude. We can't change all the World to our thinking and why should we? Where will it stop? The day when we all wear the same clothes and think the same way we will become the Borg! BTW, Dennis I appreciate your Worldly input to this topic,I have done some traveling and in many places it is almost a hard sell to convince everyday people like us that the average American is not pestulance, but as much a victim of politics as everyone else!
A Proud but concerned AMERICAN! TTFN,Mark

[lindenengineering]

Mark

Last year I took my family to the UK for a family reunion it lasted about ten days. I had a surprise at hand, and told the kids (6 of 'em) we were on a mystery tour and going to the beach.That surprise was a flight to Dalaman in Turkey.

My teenagers in the family weren't too impressed especially my eldest who was freaked out by mosques and MUSLIMS. I think she was expecting a terrorist around every corner. Staying in a beach side villa we strolled down the road to a local hotel for dinner. Dalaman is famous in the UK and has a lot of Brits and other Euros holidaying in the area. Once sat down the waiter asked "Where are you all from in England your accent is different than I am accustomed to"? "We are not, we are from Denver" came the reply. The waiter brought over the Maitre D, "We don't see Americans here", he said and moved us to a real nice table and we all got free cocktails as a welcome.
What teed me off was on our return trip back to Denver we had to go through Immigration at Gatwick. I walked up with a wodge of passports both Brit and US. The officer looked at my passport and then said "So what are all these Yanks doing with you"? I angrily retorted "Those Yanks as you put it are my family"!
So attitudes can surprise you and can be as varied as the people you meet when travelling. I suppose it pays to be street savvy.
Take care and happy safe travels
Dennis

[Ghostbear]

Ok, so now I am incompetent, sorry ‘less than competent’ was your wording. The comments I had weren’t so much bitter as they were harsh criticism in that the arguments presented were backed primarily by hearsay and un-substantiated accounts of your travels. So, it wasn’t really a diatribe, it was more a heated discussion.

I used examples to illustrate that your assessment of the nameplate could be as relevant as finding a napkin from a Dairy Queen in the middle of the Sudan, and I think that the examples did provide the ability to say there could be other reasons for the plate to exist where you found it.

So, while you are free to consider me less than competent, that is your prerogative. I don’t think I am going to make that change, and honestly I don’t really care what your assessment is of my

I will say that history has normally been written by the victor, and that trend will likely continue. Except in the United States where history is written by the liberals and that too will likely continue. But, that isn’t part of this conversation, but great example with the Bill Clinton and the re-writing history.

My contention in all of this is that you used your personal interactions, none of which can be proven or dis-proven, to base a contemptuous remark about the United States being in league with bad people. And without proof, the examples should have no interest to anyone. Back it with fact, back it with evidence, and back it with research. Anyone can make up a story about this or that, and without proof, that information should be held in no regard. It is great that you saw what you did, and you can form your own opinions about things, but, trying to say that a nation is corrupt because you saw someone that supposedly had permission from a high official selling rice from a humanitarian shipment in a town that 99% of the people here have never been to; just isn’t a good argument and shouldn’t have weight. But, alas, there are too many people that would put there belief in such stories over the truth any day, because it allows them to propagate the story as fact to bolster their less than factual assessment of the world. And no, I don’t think I know it all, nor do I claim to either. But, most of the people here wouldn’t take the time to research even if General Dynamics even made the Stinger Missile system in 1981. Let alone find out who else they sold them to.

But, hey it was nice ‘talking’ with ya.

[EuroPinz]

Luckily we have our Pinzgauer's to get rid of our stress and anger.

[PinzEOD]

<snip>and the re-writing history.<snip>

Speaking of history (well, add a little science), how about that whole "Pluto's not a planet thing?

[justfred]

<snip>and the re-writing history.<snip>

Speaking of history (well, add a little science), how about that whole "Pluto's not a planet thing?

Been there. No good bars, no hot women, and the beach sucks. Not a planet.

[PinzEOD]

At last a return to levity.

[David Dunn]

You're wrong Fred....you can't change it's standing in the middle of the game....

With the change, we won't be eligible for Planetary Foreign Aid.

[M Wehrman]

Of course Pluto is not a Planet ,You guys are really worring me about your intellect! Everyone knows Pluto is a dog and Mickey's friend. TTFN,Mark

[Anthony]

Pluto (Bluto) is not a dog he is Popeye the Sailor Mans arch enemy and rival for Olive Oil.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluto

Anthony
Wales
GB

[David Dunn]

Pluto is a dog in Disney... http://disney.go.com/vault/archives/cha ... pluto.html

Mmmm, I wonder if Pluto is named after the dog, or the other Pluto is named after Pluto, orrr ...

The whole thing is another form of coverup of Roswell ..

We come in peace. ..or is it " We come for a piece".... I always seem to mix that up?

Dave .."What world are you from" Dunn

[David Dunn]

justfred

Been there. No good bars, no hot women, and the beach sucks. Not a planet.

Fred , you must have gone in the 'off' season... the tourism season is Febuary 29th..... but call first, you'll need reservations

[Jimm391730]

You can always tell you are on Pluto from the trees. How? From the Bark...

[russ]

The dog is named after the planet:

Mickey Mouse's Dog?
Mickey's dog, though yet unnamed, made his debut in "The Chain Gang" in 1930 - the same year the planet made its debut to earthlings. Pluto, the Disney character, was named the following year, which leads Disney archivists to assume the dog took the name of the planet dominating the news at the time, said Disney archives director Dave Smith.

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/0 ... anniv.html