So I am just about 1 week from returning to Iraq for 6 months to a year

[dahunan]

Originally posted by: Condor

Originally posted by: dahunan

Originally posted by: Condor

Originally posted by: HalosPuma
Yeah, ponder these things:

Oil is the lifeblood of modern civilization, especially for Americans. We eat food which was shipped by trucks buring diesel which were transported by planes burning fuel which were harvested by machines buring diesel which whose metal ore was mined from the ground using other machines burning diesel, etc. Without oil our entire civilization would collapse.

So then, isn't it amusing that the liberal anti-war protesters who say "no blood for oil" actually use a tremendous amount of oil every day of their lives?

Further, why did Putin nationalize Yukos? What are the global effects of China, with it's 1.x BILLION people, now being the world's #2 importer of oil behind the United States? What are the global effects of India, with it's 1.x BILLION people, moving from using bicycles to mopeds and small cars? What natural resources will these 2.x BILLION people be competing for with the rest of the world? What is the demand for energy, food, water? Can we Americans continue with our way of life with the resources that we have, or do we need to secure foreign sources?


Thank you sir for serving America by securing Iraq's oil fields which will allow our civilization to continue forward. Don't let the others misguide you - without oil, many, many millions of Americans will die. It's ironic that they can cry over the dead tsunami victims, but have no clue on how many Americans will perish without oil.

Good post! I think the liberals who disagree with the war for oil, should stop using petroleum products right now in protest. No petro based fuel for anything, no petro based plastics, etc.

I would be interested in seeing posts from any of you who believe strongly that the war is wrong for the wrong reasons that declare your personal boycott against any petro based products! Put your comfort where your mouth is!

I would be interested in seeing the Republicans who want the war for oil to sign their fat asses up for duty and sign up their children ..

Check your facts - 6'5" and 230 lbs. How about your fat ass?

So, you are a representative for ALL Republicans?

 

[dahunan]

BTW, you don't anger libbies .. you just make them feel pity for you

 

[imported_Condor]

Originally posted by: Engineer

Originally posted by: alchemize

Originally posted by: Engineer

Originally posted by: alchemize

Originally posted by: Engineer

Originally posted by: alchemize

Originally posted by: BarneyFife
Condor and HalosPuma are desktop patriots. They talk a big game but they are too pussy to sign up for anything.

When are you going to be a human shield, or are you just a desktop anti-war activist?

That deserves a too!

Does it? Why is one argument valid, but the other isn't? Your deserves a .

So being pro-war over a big ole lie (WMD's) is just fine, but being anti-war because of a bil ole lie (WMD's) is not? Ah, I get it.

What do WMD's have to do with it?. But let's stick with your logic. If your premise it correct (that WMD's were a lie), all the more reason why the rabid leftists should be over there as human shields. If it is a war based on lies, why aren't they heading over by the busload? Why aren't your convictions as strong, or even stronger, as the expected "pro-war desk jockeys"?

Or, why aren't you conducting a revolution to overthrow our corrupt government? Bunch of desktop-anti-war activitsts, that's all.

I'll go on record that I'll agree with you on this one...for both sides. 99.9999999% of this forum are desktop activists. Both sides sit and try to out do the other, with very little swaying. An occasional constructive thread with discussion is thrown in for good measure. At this point, I have the right to disagree with what out governement does (as do you to approve). I write my Senators and Reps regularly to approve or disapprove of their job and I vote. If enough people disapprove of the war and aren't using other issues to decide their vote, it will eventually take care of itself.

Either that, or the apathy from most of the people in the country, who don't care about much else then their own personal status, will win out as it usually does.

Not trying to be argumentative, but I believe the recent election was anything but apathetic!

 

[Martin]

Originally posted by: HalosPuma

Originally posted by: Martin
keep in mind that the vast majority of oil is used for energy. If it were used only for petro based product, it would be no different from iron or copper. When was the last time peopel went to war over copper?

The free-market will bring those alternative energy sources to the forefront when it is economically possible. And guess which corporations will the leaders in the alternative energy sources? Big Oil.

For example, look at the "paper" company, Xerox. They made copiers and heavily relied on a paper-based economy. However, decades ago the executives at Xerox knew that computers would displace a lot of paper and their current business model would suffer. Thus, they created the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center which gathered a group of the smartest computer scientists to invent things that Xerox could use to replace their paper business. Out of PARC came such inventions as the ethernet, the GUI, etc.

My point is that the executives at Big Oil are not stupid, they know that we are approaching or have already reached Peak Oil and that in order to keep their profits flowing, they will need to invest in other forms of energy. Government will not, and should not, get involved in developing new forms of energy - most of the money will go to bureaucratic waste. What government should do, however, is make the business environment conducive to developing alternative energies such as tax breaks, etc.

It has always been and will always be government's job to provide basic scientific research. This being the kind of research which is too expensive and/or risky for companies to pursue. The path goes like this: The government prodives research grants/chairs etc. Academics then do said research and when they come up with something substantial, they (or their colleages) leave academia for the business world (startups) or they patent the technology and licence it to business (which provides more money for scientific research). This is the way it works today, and simply accelerating this research will not change anything.

So the question remains: Why waste money on wars and not invest in relevant scientific research?

 

[imported_Condor]

Originally posted by: Martin

Originally posted by: Condor

Originally posted by: Martin

Originally posted by: Condor

Originally posted by: HalosPuma
Yeah, ponder these things:

Oil is the lifeblood of modern civilization, especially for Americans. We eat food which was shipped by trucks buring diesel which were transported by planes burning fuel which were harvested by machines buring diesel which whose metal ore was mined from the ground using other machines burning diesel, etc. Without oil our entire civilization would collapse.

So then, isn't it amusing that the liberal anti-war protesters who say "no blood for oil" actually use a tremendous amount of oil every day of their lives?

Further, why did Putin nationalize Yukos? What are the global effects of China, with it's 1.x BILLION people, now being the world's #2 importer of oil behind the United States? What are the global effects of India, with it's 1.x BILLION people, moving from using bicycles to mopeds and small cars? What natural resources will these 2.x BILLION people be competing for with the rest of the world? What is the demand for energy, food, water? Can we Americans continue with our way of life with the resources that we have, or do we need to secure foreign sources?


Thank you sir for serving America by securing Iraq's oil fields which will allow our civilization to continue forward. Don't let the others misguide you - without oil, many, many millions of Americans will die. It's ironic that they can cry over the dead tsunami victims, but have no clue on how many Americans will perish without oil.

Good post! I think the liberals who disagree with the war for oil, should stop using petroleum products right now in protest. No petro based fuel for anything, no petro based plastics, etc.

I would be interested in seeing posts from any of you who believe strongly that the war is wrong for the wrong reasons that declare your personal boycott against any petro based products! Put your comfort where your mouth is!

In today's money, it cost about 400B to develop the atom bomb. How much has been spent, so far, on this little war?

See, some (rational) people would look at this whole situation and say "Hey, why not invest that into renewable energy research, yielding an almost limitless supply of energy, less pollution, and no dependence on foreign oil".

Others look at this and say "Hogwash, we need to invade a country and kill thousands!" But don't worry, there is no need to explain your irrational views, we've all seen the way you guy get when talking about your military. A lot like Wilhelm II - you just have to play with your toys, no matter what.

And before you set your pea sized brains to the momumental task of repling, keep in mind that the vast majority of oil is used for energy. If it were used only for petro based product, it would be no different from iron or copper. When was the last time peopel went to war over copper?

Well, after 8 years of Clinton, there was no handy dandy renewal energy solution in the offing. How much work have you done on that? Like I said, boycott petro products and use those renewal sources of energy! You shouldn't miss the oil at all.

Let me search my original post for "Clinton", hold on.....no, I don't find any mention of clinton in there. Why do you bring it up?

But nice try at trying to skirt around the question. Perhaps I should ask again: Why do you support wars, but not scientific research?

Throughout history, war has been the seed of most scientific research. Facts aside, war is a terrible thing and I think this one was started by the other side as a religious war with oil not the objective. I think our President (most of these liberal replies are bash Bush postings, aren't they?) did what had to be done and I think that the Arab states were being used to shield the terrorist who still move like mercury from one to the other. I think focusing the whole mess in Iraq ia a plan that is far better than any that Gore would have attempted. If I thought these postings were purely about energy, I would be a little less agressive. I don't, I think it is just more bashing of the President and respond in kind.

 

[Engineer]

Originally posted by: Condor

Originally posted by: Engineer

Originally posted by: alchemize

Originally posted by: Engineer

Originally posted by: alchemize

Originally posted by: Engineer

Originally posted by: alchemize

Originally posted by: BarneyFife
Condor and HalosPuma are desktop patriots. They talk a big game but they are too pussy to sign up for anything.

When are you going to be a human shield, or are you just a desktop anti-war activist?

That deserves a too!

Does it? Why is one argument valid, but the other isn't? Your deserves a .

So being pro-war over a big ole lie (WMD's) is just fine, but being anti-war because of a bil ole lie (WMD's) is not? Ah, I get it.

What do WMD's have to do with it?. But let's stick with your logic. If your premise it correct (that WMD's were a lie), all the more reason why the rabid leftists should be over there as human shields. If it is a war based on lies, why aren't they heading over by the busload? Why aren't your convictions as strong, or even stronger, as the expected "pro-war desk jockeys"?

Or, why aren't you conducting a revolution to overthrow our corrupt government? Bunch of desktop-anti-war activitsts, that's all.

I'll go on record that I'll agree with you on this one...for both sides. 99.9999999% of this forum are desktop activists. Both sides sit and try to out do the other, with very little swaying. An occasional constructive thread with discussion is thrown in for good measure. At this point, I have the right to disagree with what out governement does (as do you to approve). I write my Senators and Reps regularly to approve or disapprove of their job and I vote. If enough people disapprove of the war and aren't using other issues to decide their vote, it will eventually take care of itself.

Either that, or the apathy from most of the people in the country, who don't care about much else then their own personal status, will win out as it usually does.

Not trying to be argumentative, but I believe the recent election was anything but apathetic!

In actuality, most people are apathetic to issues other than those that directly (or they think directly) effect them (i.e. tax cuts, possible abortion overturns, gay marriage bans, etc.). That's why older people and the AARP are gearing up to fight SS reform. Even though SS reform won't effect the current generation of retiring or retired people at all, they THINK it will and therefore will take notice, and possibly vote on the issue.

No arguing, just clearing up what I meant by apathy.

 

[imported_Condor]

Originally posted by: dahunan

Originally posted by: Condor

Originally posted by: dahunan

Originally posted by: Condor

Originally posted by: HalosPuma
Yeah, ponder these things:

Oil is the lifeblood of modern civilization, especially for Americans. We eat food which was shipped by trucks buring diesel which were transported by planes burning fuel which were harvested by machines buring diesel which whose metal ore was mined from the ground using other machines burning diesel, etc. Without oil our entire civilization would collapse.

So then, isn't it amusing that the liberal anti-war protesters who say "no blood for oil" actually use a tremendous amount of oil every day of their lives?

Further, why did Putin nationalize Yukos? What are the global effects of China, with it's 1.x BILLION people, now being the world's #2 importer of oil behind the United States? What are the global effects of India, with it's 1.x BILLION people, moving from using bicycles to mopeds and small cars? What natural resources will these 2.x BILLION people be competing for with the rest of the world? What is the demand for energy, food, water? Can we Americans continue with our way of life with the resources that we have, or do we need to secure foreign sources?


Thank you sir for serving America by securing Iraq's oil fields which will allow our civilization to continue forward. Don't let the others misguide you - without oil, many, many millions of Americans will die. It's ironic that they can cry over the dead tsunami victims, but have no clue on how many Americans will perish without oil.

Good post! I think the liberals who disagree with the war for oil, should stop using petroleum products right now in protest. No petro based fuel for anything, no petro based plastics, etc.

I would be interested in seeing posts from any of you who believe strongly that the war is wrong for the wrong reasons that declare your personal boycott against any petro based products! Put your comfort where your mouth is!

I would be interested in seeing the Republicans who want the war for oil to sign their fat asses up for duty and sign up their children ..

Check your facts - 6'5" and 230 lbs. How about your fat ass?

So, you are a representative for ALL Republicans?

Nope, just pointing out that we aren't from cookie cutters. Asumptions just don't always work. I think if you checked both parties for fat asses, the scales would be balanced. A bog problem in America these days!

 

[imported_Condor]

Originally posted by: dahunan
BTW, you don't anger libbies .. you just make them feel pity for you

Keep feeling it. From the return postings, I get some production every day!

 

[3chordcharlie]

Originally posted by: Condor
...

You're unbelievable, and so is HP.

I use oil every day. Since we're supposed to believe so strongly in an open market, which is why outsourcing is okay (I'm fine with that; I don't mind controls to slow the pace of change for stability reasons, but I see no reason to restrict world trade).

But now I'm supposed to also believe that 'securing' foreign resources by illegal actions is okay, at the same time? American (or any other) corporations are free to sign guaranteed contracts for oil if they have any takers; then both parties can plan based on the long-run price of oil, and whatever company signs the contract will control the resources. Stepping in as a military, and simply taking the resources, or signing coerced accomplishes the 'same' thing, except without any respect for anyone.

Absolutely a ridiculous post by HP and I'm surprised at you for complimenting it.

 

[imported_Condor]

Originally posted by: 3chordcharlie

Originally posted by: Condor
...

You're unbelievable, and so is HP.

I use oil every day. Since we're supposed to believe so strongly in an open market, which is why outsourcing is okay (I'm fine with that; I don't mind controls to slow the pace of change for stability reasons, but I see no reason to restrict world trade).

But now I'm supposed to also believe that 'securing' foreign resources by illegal actions is okay, at the same time? American (or any other) corporations are free to sign guaranteed contracts for oil if they have any takers; then both parties can plan based on the long-run price of oil, and whatever company signs the contract will control the resources. Stepping in as a military, and simply taking the resources, or signing coerced accomplishes the 'same' thing, except without any respect for anyone.

Absolutely a ridiculous post by HP and I'm surprised at you for complimenting it.

With some of the negative feedback I've been getting lately, I'm surprised you are surprised! I don't actually take the assumed approach every time and just thought his post was pretty good. The oil fight, if that is what this is, is something that will go on until the world runs out of population, alternative energy sources are found and accepted, or we simply run out of energy. I think civilization has or is reaching a crucial point in history. Maybe not, only time will tell.

 

[HalosPuma]

Originally posted by: 3chordcharlie

Originally posted by: Condor
...

You're unbelievable, and so is HP.

I use oil every day. Since we're supposed to believe so strongly in an open market, which is why outsourcing is okay (I'm fine with that; I don't mind controls to slow the pace of change for stability reasons, but I see no reason to restrict world trade).

But now I'm supposed to also believe that 'securing' foreign resources by illegal actions is okay, at the same time? American (or any other) corporations are free to sign guaranteed contracts for oil if they have any takers; then both parties can plan based on the long-run price of oil, and whatever company signs the contract will control the resources. Stepping in as a military, and simply taking the resources, or signing coerced accomplishes the 'same' thing, except without any respect for anyone.

Absolutely a ridiculous post by HP and I'm surprised at you for complimenting it.

To assume that the entire world operates on the free-market and that every single nation will sit by and watch their population die off as other nations buy oil on the open market is naive as best. As I stated in my first post, both Russia and China are moving to secure oil. Russia nationalized Yukos to keep the oil from the open market. China has expanded into Canada to get their oil. The world's superpowers are jousting for position.

For my fellow Republicans, you are sorely naive if you think we are in Iraq for "liberation" or WMDs. For the Democrats, you are sorely naive if you think every nation in the world will come together in peace and that no other nation is doing what we are doing and securing oil supplies for the future of their people.

For the free-market to work on a global scale every superpower nation has to play by the rules. When they don't, we have war. That is life. That is reality. That is the world we live in. Deal with it. And if you're smart, make money off of it.

 

[Engineer]

Originally posted by: HalosPuma

Originally posted by: 3chordcharlie

Originally posted by: Condor
...

You're unbelievable, and so is HP.

I use oil every day. Since we're supposed to believe so strongly in an open market, which is why outsourcing is okay (I'm fine with that; I don't mind controls to slow the pace of change for stability reasons, but I see no reason to restrict world trade).

But now I'm supposed to also believe that 'securing' foreign resources by illegal actions is okay, at the same time? American (or any other) corporations are free to sign guaranteed contracts for oil if they have any takers; then both parties can plan based on the long-run price of oil, and whatever company signs the contract will control the resources. Stepping in as a military, and simply taking the resources, or signing coerced accomplishes the 'same' thing, except without any respect for anyone.

Absolutely a ridiculous post by HP and I'm surprised at you for complimenting it.

To assume that the entire world operates on the free-market and that every single nation will sit by and watch their population die off as other nations buy oil on the open market is naive as best. As I stated in my first post, both Russia and China are moving to secure oil. Russia nationalized Yukos to keep the oil from the open market. China has expanded into Canada to get their oil. The world's superpowers are jousting for position.

For my fellow Republicans, you are sorely naive if you think we are in Iraq for "liberation" or WMDs. For the Democrats, you are sorely naive if you think every nation in the world will come together in peace and that no other nation is doing what we are doing and securing oil supplies for the future of their people.

For the free-market to work on a global scale every superpower nation has to play by the rules. When they don't, we have war. That is life. That is reality. That is the world we live in. Deal with it. And if you're smart, make money off of it.

And just what happens when the world finally has enough and steps up and busts your ass?

 

[HalosPuma]

Originally posted by: Engineer
And just what happens when the world finally has enough and steps up and busts your ass?

World War III

 

[Engineer]

Originally posted by: HalosPuma

Originally posted by: Engineer
And just what happens when the world finally has enough and steps up and busts your ass?

World War III

YOUR answer doesn't suprise me.

 

[OneOfTheseDays]

Originally posted by: HalosPuma

Originally posted by: Engineer
And just what happens when the world finally has enough and steps up and busts your ass?

World War III

idiot

 

[3chordcharlie]

I don't assume the whole world works on a free market system at all - but the 'free market' advocates are interested in free mobility of capital (to take advantage of cheap labour) on the one hand, and in securing resources regardless of pesky things like international law, on the other.

I would imagine that everyone really knows Iraq was about oil, some just claim otherwise because they think it looks better politically (frankly, I think 'we want to steal their oil is much more justifiable than the lies the Bush administration has told instead, but that's just me).

If and when oil becomes too expensive to use like we use it now, there won't be any difficulty changing to alternative energy, or conserving what is available now; we could easily triple the fuel economy of the automobile, overnight, if people were motivated to accept different vehicles. I would expect a great deal of violence WRT energy resources in the next 10-20 years though. I don't support any of it; if my lifestyle is unsustainable, then it needs to change, rather than sacrifice lives to prop up that lifestyle for perhaps 1-2 generations (only for the 'winners' of course).

 

[tnitsuj]

Well this thread is another example of why you guys suck

Sorry it took so long to reply, but my Thinkpad died on my last night.

Alchemize is right. I am going over for adventure and profit. That probably makes me a bad person but wtf.

I don't care any more. The last 4 years have turned most of the basic assumptions about my country around and I gravitate between annoyance and outright contempt for most people back home.

I do have great respect for the Americans in Iraq and get along great with them although they all have thier flaws as you will have in any group of people . Sad I need to go to Iraq these days to feel truly American, but that is the way I feel.

As to how things are going in Iraq. Of the probably 100 or so Iraqi police I was involved in training up, probablyt 75% are dead, injured, missing, or otherwise gone, and 3 people on my contract quit in the last two weeks since the Mosul bombing due to family pressure. So in my estimation the secuity situation has gone from pretty bad to really bad and getting worse.

 

[DragonMasterAlex]

Originally posted by: tnitsuj
Any questions you would like me to think about/answer as I go back..since Iraq is the main topic around here?




BTW: the discussions about Iraq here never fail to help me lose a little more faith in America each time I read a new thread.

Good luck, and know that I, at least am in full support of your work and the sacrifices you and the rest of our servicemen make. I understand your loss of faith in Americans; the majority of us are a bunch of hypocrites who love to talk about freedom but aren't interested in helping other people get it. I'm glad that you're not like the rest.

Take care, and come back in one piece.

Jason

 

[ericlp]

Originally posted by: Condor

Originally posted by: HalosPuma
Yeah, ponder these things:

Oil is the lifeblood of modern civilization, especially for Americans. We eat food which was shipped by trucks buring diesel which were transported by planes burning fuel which were harvested by machines buring diesel which whose metal ore was mined from the ground using other machines burning diesel, etc. Without oil our entire civilization would collapse.

So then, isn't it amusing that the liberal anti-war protesters who say "no blood for oil" actually use a tremendous amount of oil every day of their lives?

Further, why did Putin nationalize Yukos? What are the global effects of China, with it's 1.x BILLION people, now being the world's #2 importer of oil behind the United States? What are the global effects of India, with it's 1.x BILLION people, moving from using bicycles to mopeds and small cars? What natural resources will these 2.x BILLION people be competing for with the rest of the world? What is the demand for energy, food, water? Can we Americans continue with our way of life with the resources that we have, or do we need to secure foreign sources?


Thank you sir for serving America by securing Iraq's oil fields which will allow our civilization to continue forward. Don't let the others misguide you - without oil, many, many millions of Americans will die. It's ironic that they can cry over the dead tsunami victims, but have no clue on how many Americans will perish without oil.

Good post! I think the liberals who disagree with the war for oil, should stop using petroleum products right now in protest. No petro based fuel for anything, no petro based plastics, etc.

I would be interested in seeing posts from any of you who believe strongly that the war is wrong for the wrong reasons that declare your personal boycott against any petro based products! Put your comfort where your mouth is!

We could start by Cracking down on the #1 selling trucks and SUV's in america and call them what they truly are. GAS GUZZLERS. Talk to the EPA and ask them why truck and SUV's that are getting less then 15 mpg are not classified as such? WHY are we WASTING oil?

Why can't we have huge tax write offs for installing solar power hot water heaters? I bet you didn't know that heating up your hot water requires NO solar cells at all it cost less then 500 bucks for parts and installation. All it is a black box about 5' by 5' with copper radiator tubing and piece of glass to keep the wind from cooling it down.

Why don't we get HUGE tax break when we buy a car that gets 50MPG? Instead if your SUV or Truck is over 5000 lbs, you get to do a TAX write off.

Shouldn't your president make a stand and have said we want higher quality Low Energy appliances here is a tax write off incentive if you buy these? Did you know if you buy a high efficiency washer/drier you going to save NOT only water, but the cost of energy to HEAT the water too? Plus a front loader will spin the cloths faster drying them out more to use less drying time in a dryer.

Shouldn?t we be investing mega loads of money in LED Lighting technology? I think Compact Florescent Bulbs are a good thing but many people are still buying the old 75Watt Light Bulbs. It?s time to make a change.

The ONLY way we are to make Progress is with a President/Leader that will do these other wise???. We need a president with some balls and a brain to say we can survive with smart houses that no longer need to be connected to the grid and actually make power and put it back on the grid for a price. We need cars that will go 60 MPG and beyond. We need to reward people for doing the RIGHT things and NOT the WRONG things. We need to start recycling more. Aluminum / Steel etc?etc?. Then maybe, just maybe we can start moving jobs back to USA and stamp the quality name on out products. But it?s never going to happing with an IDIOT at the helm.

Nor will it happen when we keep FLUSHING Billions of dollars on Iraq, when we could be spending that billion for the next engineer to design and build high efficiency low cost products. Not what we have now. Everything made in overseas, with the LOWEST quality you be lucky if your heater you bought for 25 bucks lasts a year just so you can throw it in the land fill. When that same heater made in the USA could have provided a JOB HERE and a brain for someone to Make a HIGH efficiency heater to save on power so we wouldn?t need to be relying on oil so heavily to keep it all going.

 

[dahunan]

Originally posted by: tnitsuj
Well this thread is another example of why you guys suck

pressure. So in my estimation the secuity situation has gone from pretty bad to really bad and getting worse.

Bad Answer

AND... Nothing wrong with following the almighty dollar if that is what you want to do... A bit suicidal if you ask me but... to each his own...

So, would it Americans make you more proud if we all went to the recruitment stations and asked to be sent to Iraq to die for Iraqi Freedoms?


Or if we decided to invest our money in Haliburton and sieg heiled every radio address from Mr. Bush?

 

[conjur]

Originally posted by: tnitsuj
Well this thread is another example of why you guys suck

Sorry it took so long to reply, but my Thinkpad died on my last night.

Alchemize is right. I am going over for adventure and profit. That probably makes me a bad person but wtf.

I don't care any more. The last 4 years have turned most of the basic assumptions about my country around and I gravitate between annoyance and outright contempt for most people back home.

I do have great respect for the Americans in Iraq and get along great with them although they all have thier flaws as you will have in any group of people . Sad I need to go to Iraq these days to feel truly American, but that is the way I feel.

As to how things are going in Iraq. Of the probably 100 or so Iraqi police I was involved in training up, probablyt 75% are dead, injured, missing, or otherwise gone, and 3 people on my contract quit in the last two weeks since the Mosul bombing due to family pressure. So in my estimation the secuity situation has gone from pretty bad to really bad and getting worse.

And that, to me, spells out in no uncertain terms how ill-prepared this administration was when it decided to wage war for whatever reason (oil, protecting Israel, mandates from God, etc.)

Invading Iraq is probably one of the biggest mistakes ever committed by an American president.


But, to you, I wish you the best and hope you don't become another casualty statistic.

:beer:

 

[imported_Condor]

Originally posted by: ericlp

Originally posted by: Condor

Originally posted by: HalosPuma
Yeah, ponder these things:

Oil is the lifeblood of modern civilization, especially for Americans. We eat food which was shipped by trucks buring diesel which were transported by planes burning fuel which were harvested by machines buring diesel which whose metal ore was mined from the ground using other machines burning diesel, etc. Without oil our entire civilization would collapse.

So then, isn't it amusing that the liberal anti-war protesters who say "no blood for oil" actually use a tremendous amount of oil every day of their lives?

Further, why did Putin nationalize Yukos? What are the global effects of China, with it's 1.x BILLION people, now being the world's #2 importer of oil behind the United States? What are the global effects of India, with it's 1.x BILLION people, moving from using bicycles to mopeds and small cars? What natural resources will these 2.x BILLION people be competing for with the rest of the world? What is the demand for energy, food, water? Can we Americans continue with our way of life with the resources that we have, or do we need to secure foreign sources?


Thank you sir for serving America by securing Iraq's oil fields which will allow our civilization to continue forward. Don't let the others misguide you - without oil, many, many millions of Americans will die. It's ironic that they can cry over the dead tsunami victims, but have no clue on how many Americans will perish without oil.

Good post! I think the liberals who disagree with the war for oil, should stop using petroleum products right now in protest. No petro based fuel for anything, no petro based plastics, etc.

I would be interested in seeing posts from any of you who believe strongly that the war is wrong for the wrong reasons that declare your personal boycott against any petro based products! Put your comfort where your mouth is!

We could start by Cracking down on the #1 selling trucks and SUV's in america and call them what they truly are. GAS GUZZLERS. Talk to the EPA and ask them why truck and SUV's that are getting less then 15 mpg are not classified as such? WHY are we WASTING oil?

Why can't we have huge tax write offs for installing solar power hot water heaters? I bet you didn't know that heating up your hot water requires NO solar cells at all it cost less then 500 bucks for parts and installation. All it is a black box about 5' by 5' with copper radiator tubing and piece of glass to keep the wind from cooling it down.

Why don't we get HUGE tax break when we buy a car that gets 50MPG? Instead if your SUV or Truck is over 5000 lbs, you get to do a TAX write off.

Shouldn't your president make a stand and have said we want higher quality Low Energy appliances here is a tax write off incentive if you buy these? Did you know if you buy a high efficiency washer/drier you going to save NOT only water, but the cost of energy to HEAT the water too? Plus a front loader will spin the cloths faster drying them out more to use less drying time in a dryer.

Shouldn?t we be investing mega loads of money in LED Lighting technology? I think Compact Florescent Bulbs are a good thing but many people are still buying the old 75Watt Light Bulbs. It?s time to make a change.

The ONLY way we are to make Progress is with a President/Leader that will do these other wise???. We need a president with some balls and a brain to say we can survive with smart houses that no longer need to be connected to the grid and actually make power and put it back on the grid for a price. We need cars that will go 60 MPG and beyond. We need to reward people for doing the RIGHT things and NOT the WRONG things. We need to start recycling more. Aluminum / Steel etc?etc?. Then maybe, just maybe we can start moving jobs back to USA and stamp the quality name on out products. But it?s never going to happing with an IDIOT at the helm.

Nor will it happen when we keep FLUSHING Billions of dollars on Iraq, when we could be spending that billion for the next engineer to design and build high efficiency low cost products. Not what we have now. Everything made in overseas, with the LOWEST quality you be lucky if your heater you bought for 25 bucks lasts a year just so you can throw it in the land fill. When that same heater made in the USA could have provided a JOB HERE and a brain for someone to Make a HIGH efficiency heater to save on power so we wouldn?t need to be relying on oil so heavily to keep it all going.

Well, so much for a brainless, Bush bashing rant. When you started with SUV's and trucks and never got to any of the real energy problems, the posting was pretty easy to classify. When you mentioned the "Idiot" at the helm, it clunked right into the slot! Energy has been an ongoing issue since way before this administration and no other administration has done anything effective to tackle it. While it is true that we need someone with "balls" (your word) to tackle it, I haven't seen anyone running for anything important with an effective platform for energy. Clinton did some tree hugging, but no real effort and Gore wasn't about to do anything except fulff up his scale reading. Kerry was very hot on becoming President, but had no plan beyond that. On top of that, his record of 20 years in the Senate without doing anything worthwile seemed to take the fog out of that particular crystal ball. I hope that the next set of nominees will have some effective plans. Meanwhile, this president is doing as well as can be expected with a war to run and more Americans than terrorists to worry about. By the way, you should check the facts. Most SUV's get from 17 to upwards to 30 mpg. Only the super big ones get less than that and there aren't that many Hummers,Surburbans and Navigators on the road. Check out the gas mileage of the limo that your favorite politician rides in and use that in your calculations. Show me a politician who rides an efficient ride and I will agree that maybe he/she has something going for energy!

 

[imported_Condor]

Originally posted by: Condor

Originally posted by: ericlp

Originally posted by: Condor

Originally posted by: HalosPuma
Yeah, ponder these things:

Oil is the lifeblood of modern civilization, especially for Americans. We eat food which was shipped by trucks buring diesel which were transported by planes burning fuel which were harvested by machines buring diesel which whose metal ore was mined from the ground using other machines burning diesel, etc. Without oil our entire civilization would collapse.

So then, isn't it amusing that the liberal anti-war protesters who say "no blood for oil" actually use a tremendous amount of oil every day of their lives?

Further, why did Putin nationalize Yukos? What are the global effects of China, with it's 1.x BILLION people, now being the world's #2 importer of oil behind the United States? What are the global effects of India, with it's 1.x BILLION people, moving from using bicycles to mopeds and small cars? What natural resources will these 2.x BILLION people be competing for with the rest of the world? What is the demand for energy, food, water? Can we Americans continue with our way of life with the resources that we have, or do we need to secure foreign sources?


Thank you sir for serving America by securing Iraq's oil fields which will allow our civilization to continue forward. Don't let the others misguide you - without oil, many, many millions of Americans will die. It's ironic that they can cry over the dead tsunami victims, but have no clue on how many Americans will perish without oil.

Good post! I think the liberals who disagree with the war for oil, should stop using petroleum products right now in protest. No petro based fuel for anything, no petro based plastics, etc.

I would be interested in seeing posts from any of you who believe strongly that the war is wrong for the wrong reasons that declare your personal boycott against any petro based products! Put your comfort where your mouth is!

We could start by Cracking down on the #1 selling trucks and SUV's in america and call them what they truly are. GAS GUZZLERS. Talk to the EPA and ask them why truck and SUV's that are getting less then 15 mpg are not classified as such? WHY are we WASTING oil?

Why can't we have huge tax write offs for installing solar power hot water heaters? I bet you didn't know that heating up your hot water requires NO solar cells at all it cost less then 500 bucks for parts and installation. All it is a black box about 5' by 5' with copper radiator tubing and piece of glass to keep the wind from cooling it down.

Why don't we get HUGE tax break when we buy a car that gets 50MPG? Instead if your SUV or Truck is over 5000 lbs, you get to do a TAX write off.

Shouldn't your president make a stand and have said we want higher quality Low Energy appliances here is a tax write off incentive if you buy these? Did you know if you buy a high efficiency washer/drier you going to save NOT only water, but the cost of energy to HEAT the water too? Plus a front loader will spin the cloths faster drying them out more to use less drying time in a dryer.

Shouldn?t we be investing mega loads of money in LED Lighting technology? I think Compact Florescent Bulbs are a good thing but many people are still buying the old 75Watt Light Bulbs. It?s time to make a change.

The ONLY way we are to make Progress is with a President/Leader that will do these other wise???. We need a president with some balls and a brain to say we can survive with smart houses that no longer need to be connected to the grid and actually make power and put it back on the grid for a price. We need cars that will go 60 MPG and beyond. We need to reward people for doing the RIGHT things and NOT the WRONG things. We need to start recycling more. Aluminum / Steel etc?etc?. Then maybe, just maybe we can start moving jobs back to USA and stamp the quality name on out products. But it?s never going to happing with an IDIOT at the helm.

Nor will it happen when we keep FLUSHING Billions of dollars on Iraq, when we could be spending that billion for the next engineer to design and build high efficiency low cost products. Not what we have now. Everything made in overseas, with the LOWEST quality you be lucky if your heater you bought for 25 bucks lasts a year just so you can throw it in the land fill. When that same heater made in the USA could have provided a JOB HERE and a brain for someone to Make a HIGH efficiency heater to save on power so we wouldn?t need to be relying on oil so heavily to keep it all going.

Well, so much for a brainless, Bush bashing rant. When you started with SUV's and trucks and never got to any of the real energy problems, the posting was pretty easy to classify. When you mentioned the "Idiot" at the helm, it clunked right into the slot! Energy has been an ongoing issue since way before this administration and no other administration has done anything effective to tackle it. While it is true that we need someone with "balls" (your word) to tackle it, I haven't seen anyone running for anything important with an effective platform for energy. Clinton did some tree hugging, but no real effort and Gore wasn't about to do anything except fulff up his scale reading. Kerry was very hot on becoming President, but had no plan beyond that. On top of that, his record of 20 years in the Senate without doing anything worthwile seemed to take the fog out of that particular crystal ball. I hope that the next set of nominees will have some effective plans. Meanwhile, this president is doing as well as can be expected with a war to run and more Americans than terrorists to worry about. By the way, you should check the facts. Most SUV's get from 17 to upwards to 30 mpg. Only the super big ones get less than that and there aren't that many Hummers,Surburbans and Navigators on the road. Check out the gas mileage of the limo that your favorite politician rides in and use that in your calculations. Show me a politician who rides an efficient ride and I will agree that maybe he/she has something going for energy!

By the way, I did know a politician who did ride an efficient ride. He drove a Vanagan. He also coined the term "Reaganomics". Unfortunately, he seems to be out of the game these days. Another thing, some of your posting was very on target and excellent. While I am not so sure that LED lighting is there yet, the florescents are excellent and I use them extensively. If more people used those (as you stated) it would go a long way toward energy efficiency and they last forever too. That means that they are somewhat environmentally friendly. I think better gas mileage in cars is really a false goal. What we need is a means of personal transportation that doesn't use gas at all and has comfort and safety. Safety is a large issue and every improvement in gas mileage seems to decrease the safety of the vehicle.