Dr. Shoe Posted January 22, 2003 Share Posted January 22, 2003 So what are you saying Jim? Are you saying that we should go out tooled up just because the other guy is? That is not what I believe we learn from the tragedy of Sept 12 2001. The twin towers had nothing to do with robbery, rape, burglary or car theft. It was a terrorist act. OK law enforcement isn't quite what it should be, particularly here in the UK at the moment and the police don't even bother investigating burglaries though if you shoot one of these c**ts you end up serving life. You fight for your car and YOU end up in the dock for assault- if you're lucky. Relax, it's only a thing. It's only a wallet. Don't get me wrong, I've had my car broken into on several occassions (I live in the second worst postcode for car crime) and every time I've been left feeling angry and frustrated, not least by the attitude of the police for only giving a "crime reference number" so that I can claim on the insurance. Most of the time the damage costs less to repair than my excess so I don't bother. I think that if I ever see anyone breaking into a car I will go for them. But I won't, because they will almost certainly have a knife or whatever and I like to keep my lungs or spleen intact. So what do I do? Report them to the police, give a description and look at some mug shots? Will it help? Or will that kid give a bleeding heart story claim that he came from a broken home and was abused? He'll end up water-skiing in the Carribean with a social worker! Besides, the owner of that car almost certainly saw who did mine and did he run the same risks for me? So what did sept 11th mean for me? What did Bhopal mean to me? What did the Guantamalan earthquake in 76 mean to me? Tragic? Yes. Affect my life? Not really. Even if it had been Canary Wharf instead it would not have affected me any more (unless I was anywhere near it of course), I had no relatives in them and it didn't happen to me. Do you know what I mean? Of course I feel sorry for the relatives and those seriously injured, but I would feel just as sorry if it had been a major pile-up on the M1 or a refinery exploding at Flixborough. The only thing I couldn't get my head around was the fact that anyone could hate the good people of the US enough to kill themselves taking out as many of them as possible. Graduate footwear designer able to advise and assist on modification and shoe making projects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Shoe Posted January 22, 2003 Share Posted January 22, 2003 R.Heinlein wrote:"The price of freedom is the willingness to do sudden battle anywhere, anytime and with utter recklessness" The other half of the R. Heinlien quote: "True freedom is not having the need to." The Number Of The Beast ISBN 0-450-04675-3. Graduate footwear designer able to advise and assist on modification and shoe making projects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bubba136 Posted January 23, 2003 Share Posted January 23, 2003 Hiluk wrote: Flamish separatists want their autonomy from the Walloons and want to split up Belgium. You know, Belgium wouldn't have that problem if Wellington hadn't defeated Napoleon Being mentally comfortable in your own mind is the key to wearing heels in public. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azraelle Posted January 23, 2003 Share Posted January 23, 2003 So what are you saying Jim? Are you saying that we should go out tooled up just because the other guy is? DUH! OK law enforcement isn't quite what it should be, particularly here in the UK at the moment... The understatement of the year from what I've been hearing--violent crime is now the highest in the civilized world in GB, coincidentally having shot through the roof after GB confiscated most of the meager guns then remaining in private hands. I wonder if the two could be related somehow?? (Like, does the would-be robber/rapist/? say to himself "Gee, what are the chances now of the citizen I'm about to mug of defending him/herself with a loaded gun?"). But I'm sure that such logic never enters the heads of the criminally derranged. Yeah Right! "All that you can decide, is what to do with the time that is given you."--Gandalf, "Life is not tried, it is merely survived -If you're standing outside the fire."--Garth Brooks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Shoe Posted January 23, 2003 Share Posted January 23, 2003 The understatement of the year from what I've been hearing--violent crime is now the highest in the civilized world in GB, coincidentally having shot through the roof after GB confiscated most of the meager guns then remaining in private hands. I wonder if the two could be related somehow?? (Like, does the would-be robber/rapist/? say to himself "Gee, what are the chances now of the citizen I'm about to mug of defending him/herself with a loaded gun?"). But I'm sure that such logic never enters the heads of the criminally derranged. Yeah Right! Yes, violent crime has been soaring but it is owing to the dramatic increase in the asylum seekers/illegal immigrants. Most of the violent crime in this country is perpetrated by Eastern Europeans and Jamaicans many of which have entered illegally or are claiming asylum (fact: Metropolitan Police Report Dec 2002). This has nothing to do with the confiscation of guns IMHO. The potential for victims to be carrying guns has never put robbers or rapists off for 2 reasons; 1. They usually prey on the more vulnerable members of society, elderly women, kids (for their mobile phones), etc. 2. It has always been illegal to carry a concealed firearm in any case. Another reason for the escalation of firearm offences is the almost total withdrawal of the exercising of "stop and search" powers by the police in the wake of the McPhearson Report which accused police forces of being "institutionally racist" and as 80-90% of all muggings and firearm related offences are perpetrated in areas with high black and eastern european populations or by people from those two groups then that is where the correlation is. Apparently, from talking to a policeman friend of mine, it was not unusual for the Met Police as a whole to confiscate 20 or 30 offensive weapons in a single day before the "McPherson Report". Besides which, this is off topic again!!! Graduate footwear designer able to advise and assist on modification and shoe making projects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j-turbo2002 Posted January 26, 2003 Share Posted January 26, 2003 I believe that there is more to the invasion of Iraq than meets the eye.................. Believe-it-or-not, with this one statement you have just answered all of the questions that I had about you! Thank you very much Dr. Shoe! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bubba136 Posted January 27, 2003 Share Posted January 27, 2003 Dr. Shoe wrote: I believe that there is more to the invasion of Iraq than meets the eye.................. Being mentally comfortable in your own mind is the key to wearing heels in public. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Shoe Posted January 27, 2003 Share Posted January 27, 2003 Believe-it-or-not, with this one statement you have just answered all of the questions that I had about you! Thank you very much Dr. Shoe! Such as? I guess it's just the cynic in me! Graduate footwear designer able to advise and assist on modification and shoe making projects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bubba136 Posted January 29, 2003 Share Posted January 29, 2003 For all of you naysayers out there, your idle more than agrees with GW. "If we fail to respond today, Saddam and all those who would follow in his footsteps will be emboldened tomorrow. The stakes, he says, could not be higher. Some day, some way, I guarantee you, he'll use the arsenal." Bill Clinton - 1998 Being mentally comfortable in your own mind is the key to wearing heels in public. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anita C. Posted November 17, 2003 Share Posted November 17, 2003 I lost someone, my Son was sent overseas, I travel by air ONLY when absolutely necessary. "Spike Heels . . a Pork-pie hat . . Have on the mend in no time flat . . Ten Minutes 'Till The Savages Come by Manhatten Transfer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azraelle Posted March 21, 2004 Share Posted March 21, 2004 Pardon me for resurrecting this thread. I received a garbled version of this yesterday in my e-mail from a firewalking acquaintance. I realize that it is a bit dated, and may have limited appeal to the majority on this board (as they aren't from the USA, if for no other reason), but it presents a timely message. Unfortunately, similar letters could be written (and probably have) regarding firemen, policemen, and schoolteachers. Subject: Airman's response This Airman's response to the Washington Times should be printed in all newspapers across America. Especially now when the President is calling up more Reserves and National Guardsmen. Get this response out to everyone you know. It's time for the Jane Fonda's & Sean Penn's of this country to wise up and support the troops that defend them. Military Pay Article: On Nov. 12, Ms Cindy Williams (from Laverne and Shirley TV show) wrote a piece for the Washington Times, denouncing the pay raise(s) coming servicemembers' way this year -- citing that the stated 13% wage was more than they deserve. A young airman from Hill AFB responded to her article. He ought to get a bonus for this. "Ms Williams: I just had the pleasure of reading your column, "Our GIs earn enough", and I am a bit confused. Frankly, I'm wondering where this vaunted overpayment is going, because as far as I can tell, it disappears every month between DFAS (The Defense Finance and Accounting Service and my bank account. Checking my latest earnings statement I see that I make $1,117.80 before taxes. After taxes, I take home $874.20. When I run that through the calculator, I come up with an annual salary of $13,413.60 before taxes, and $10,490.40 after. I work in the Air Force Network Control Center where I am part of the team responsible for a 5,000-host computer network. I am involved with infrastructure segments, specifically with Cisco Systems equipment. A quick check under jobs for Network Technicians in the Washington, D.C. area reveals a position in my career field, requiring three years experience with my job. Amazingly, this job does NOT pay $13,413.60 a year. No, this job is being offered at $70,000 to $80,000 per annum. I'm sure you can draw the obvious conclusions. Given the tenor of your column, I would assume that you NEVER had the pleasure of serving your country in the armed forces. Before you take it upon yourself to once more castigate congressional and DOD leadership for attempting to get the families in the military's lowest pay brackets off of WIC and food stamps, I suggest that you join a group of deploying soldiers headed for AFGHANISTAN; I leave the choice of service branch up to you. Whatever choice you make, though, opt for the SIX month rotation: it will guarantee you the longest possible time away from your family and friends, thus giving you full "deployment experience." As your group prepares to board the plane, make sure to note the spouses and children who are saying good-bye to their loved ones. Also take care to note that several families are still unsure of how they'll be able to make ends meet while the primary breadwinner is gone--obviously they've been squandering the "vast" piles of cash the government has been giving them. Try to deploy over a major holiday; Christmas and Thanksgiving are perennial favorites. And when you're actually over there, sitting in a foxhole, shivering against the cold desert night; and the flight sergeant tells you that there aren't enough people on shift to relieve you for chow, remember this: trade whatever MRE (meal-ready-to-eat) you manage to get for the tuna noodle casserole or cheese tortellini, and add Tabasco to everything. This gives some flavor. Talk to your loved ones as often as you are permitted; it won't nearly be long enough or often enough, but take what you can get and be thankful for it. You may have picked up on the fact that I disagree with most of the points you present in your op-ed piece. But, tomorrow from KABUL, I will defend to the death your right to say it. You see, I am an American fighting man, a guarantor of your First Amendment rights and every other right you cherish. On a daily basis, my brother and sister soldiers worldwide ensure that you and people like you can thumb your collective nose at us, all on a salary that is nothing short of pitiful and under conditions that would make most people cringe. We hemorrhage our best and brightest into the private sector because we can't offer the stability and pay of civilian companies. And you, Ms. Williams, have the gall to say that we make more than we deserve? Rubbish! A1C Michael Bragg Hill AFB AFNCC" THIS LETTER SHOULD BE APPLAUDED BY ANYONE WHO'S EVER SERVED OR HAD A FAMILY MEMBER SERVE IN THE ARMED FORCES! IF YOU AGREE, PLEASE PASS THIS ALONG TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE. THANK YOU. "All that you can decide, is what to do with the time that is given you."--Gandalf, "Life is not tried, it is merely survived -If you're standing outside the fire."--Garth Brooks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk4625 Posted March 21, 2004 Share Posted March 21, 2004 Given the tenor of your column, I would assume that you NEVER had the pleasure of serving your country in the armed forces. I was thinking of enlisting in the Marine Corps when I was 20. In the previous year I had been doing a lot of swimming to get into shape. But a friend reminded me that I would be living with 200 other guys and taking my showers with them. On the other hand if it had been 200 women all wearing spike-heeled thigh boots... Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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