Heavy Z

If you're tired of opinionated peacenik handwringers, here's what 7 highly-experienced retired Generals have to say about Iraq: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/_/id/6593163?pageid=rs.Home&pageregion=single7&rnd=1100666488500&has-player=true&version=6.0.12.872 Also, General Smedley Butler from back in 1933. An exerpt: "I helped make Mexico, especially Tampico, safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefits of Wall Street. The record of racketeering is long. I helped purify Nicaragua for the international banking house of Brown Brothers in 1909-1912 (where have I heard that name before?). I brought light to the Dominican Republic for American sugar interests in 1916. In China I helped to see to it that Standard Oil went its way unmolested. During those years, I had, as the boys in the back room would say, a swell racket. Looking back on it, I feel that I could have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents." http://www.fas.org/man/smedley.htm Awarded two congressional medals of honor, for capture of Vera Cruz, Mexico, 1914, and for capture of Ft. Riviere, Haiti, 1917 Distinguished service medal, 1919 Retired Oct. 1, 1931 Republican Candidate for Senate, 1932

"Throwing money at problems doesn't solve them, it just makes people feel like they are doing good without getting their hands dirty." By that rationale, you must be upset to see us spend as much as the whole world combined on defense. Another point, consider that in real dollars foreign aid from the G7 to poor countries is only half what it was in the 60's. A new report says 45 million children will die over the next 10 years because of this. 45 MILLION PEOPLE that we can get on our side or just say "oh well" and lay the seeds of (expensive)wars to come. Remember dollar diplomacy? China is doing rather well with that strategy in Asia and South America right NOW. Afghanistan's GDP is around $20 Bil a year. How could you be sooo sure that we could'nt have given them one hell of a Martial Plan and not spent much less than we have so far? I know you are pessimistic in that regard, but has our military investment payed off? Now Afghanistan is supplying 3/4 of the world's opium on our watch. I wonder what Nancy Reagan would say now that the war on terror has castrated the war on drugs? We learned an important lesson 30 years ago about insurgencies, it's too bad that some have forgotten that lesson and then desperately say the other side doesn't have any ideas. LOL.

http://www.indiadaily.com/editorial/11-10-04.asp

I will now be known as Akira Akimoto (bright autumn book), thanks for the link.

Like gnosez said there is something personal going on in this case. Here is a clip of the California content standards for the 5th grade: 5.5 Students explain the causes of the American Revolution. Understand how political, religious, and economic ideas and interests brought about the Revolution (e.g., resistance to imperial policy, the Stamp Act, the Townshend Acts, taxes on tea, Coercive Acts)... As for Christian history being discussed in the classroom, here are some of the standards for the 11th grade: 11.3 Students analyze the role religion played in the founding of America, its lasting moral, social, and political impacts, and issues regarding religious liberty. Describe the contributions of various religious groups to American civic principles and social reform movements (e.g., civil and human rights, individual responsibility and the work ethic, antimonarchy and self-rule, worker protection, family-centered communities). Analyze the great religious revivals and the leaders involved in them, including the First Great Awakening, the Second Great Awakening, the Civil War revivals, the Social Gospel Movement, the rise of Christian liberal theology in the nineteenth century, the impact of the Second Vatican Council, and the rise of Christian fundamentalism in current times. Cite incidences of religious intolerance in the United States (e.g., persecution of Mormons, anti-Catholic sentiment, anti-Semitism). Discuss the expanding religious pluralism in the United States and California that resulted from large-scale immigration in the twentieth century. Describe the principles of religious liberty found in the Establishment and Free Exercise clauses of the First Amendment, including the debate on the issue of separation of church and state. http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/hstmain.asp

I know someone who is gonna be pissed when you blow his doors off: Congrats!

Sorry for the news. Your post is touching in that you tell much of why we are here. I'm not sure of your age, but your father was able to give you things that will be well used over time. Also, you'll feel close to him when you're working on projects, every build another monument to your dad's teachings. Good luck. Brett

Yes, WCT5's came in '88 up on gm V8s. It took me almost 2 years to break the NWCT5 in my 327Z, I got a WCT5 and installed a countergear stabilizer from 5speeds.com to help minimize the chance of 5th gear failure. So far so good. McLeod makes a nice HD clutch, and I've got an extra 10 1/2" clutch disk from them I'll sell for half price if you're looking for a HD unit.

I just checked and according to this we're both wrong, sbc 575 lbs and olds 455 at 605 lbs. 30 lbs for an extra 105 cubic inches of muscle, nice tradeoff. http://carnut.com/specs/fengdim.html Thanks for the caddy heads-up, and the info on the mounts.

Yesss, the caddy 500 and the olds 455 are the wave of the future.* Good luck! *a very biased pitch, I just want to see one done.

Sterling Heyden at his finest... Do you happen to have a good definition of terrorism from our end? The one I saw was vague, and I figured you might have one handy. Did you hear the news that Bill Clinton is after Kofi Anon's job?

Better, stronger, faster...a great car for sure. With that said, I was kinda hoping GM would lose their conservative design team and make a '63-'67 retro. IMO they'd sell at least twice as many. Oh well, maybe next time.

Heh, I just added "No biggie, just a minor observation" to my last post and this is what I click back to. Thank you for supporting your views.

1. I'm seeing commies on the left and facism on the right. As the multi-color chart I posted shows, tyrants appear in both flavors. Also, as John C said countries can swing from temporary anarchy right across the scale to tyranny on your chart as well, so obviously swings can happen. 2. I kept at it never to question any part of your reasoning aside from that you took part of the chart above and part of the other chart and spliced them as if they were compatible, which they are not. No biggie, just a minor observation. Yep, that's what I was getting at in my last post.

Amazing. How does he shift? Amazing. Is the engine up front for impulse power and the caddy for warp drive? Amazing. That's definitely one lucky Yugo.

Even though this is now beyond my original point, you're absolutely right about the problem. Those charts are both hypothetical. I can't help but look at them as such, and that is why I thought we were talking about abstracts. Now you bring up reality as if it is some sort of key issue here. Do you think your chart deals with reality, honestly? Can you name a country that has pure anarchy as a form of government? The real world does not follow our rules, and I never supposed the charts were any more than a tool to help understand trends. If you want to discuss reality, posting charts like these is a good way to go in the other direction, seeing as we both enjoy discussing the world we live in. JohnC, I agree. the Soviet Union lacked the infastructure that Marx said was necessary, although as you indicated some have done better. History has proven that people can't just take over everything and expect it to work.

Nice definition. Stalin was a good example of a totalitarian, but his system was a perversion of Communism and not even close to what Marx envisioned. Communism according to Marx advocated a people's revolution, culminating in a system where the people rule as equals. That is not dictatorship. On the other hand, the Vanguard established by Stalin was tyranny, which is why he was included in the definition you cited above.

Let's look at your chart again... Again, it's not about satisfying me. If I added my own intro to the Declaration of Independence, I'd expect you to call me on it. By that rationale, I don't see communism mentioned up there in the chart, do you? Do you think the person that made this chart would mind if it was arbitrarily added? Don't you think they might, since this chart is about power and not any particular governmental system, and furthermore that communism and totalitarianism are quite different? I thought my point was obvious, now it's a dead horse for sure.

Not at all JMort, that is the last thing I'd want to do. Quite simply, you mixed parts of two different philosophies to make a statement and I called you on it. Your statement should've used totalitarianism rather than communism or socialism, so what is the beef here if I point out an error? As for the chart, no it isn't mine, I was trying to help answer your question. The first chart I linked should also help you in understanding how right-wing dictatorships come about. Very good article John, thanks for the link. I stand behind my position on that CFR article. No matter how you slice it, getting something reliable from the CFR on outsourcing is as likely as finding a pro-Kerry message on Bush's website.

That's not what I took issue with you on. My point was that in the above you spliced two different theories together, like splicing a torque curve from 0-3000rpm with a hp curve from 3000-6000rpm. That's what prompted my response, not any doubts about a particular theory over another. As for your question, here's another chart:

Nice answer, A.G. JMort, as for your charts: This chart... ...and this chart... ...are not interchangeable. Your original post came from using the first chart's left with the second chart's right. These two charts measure different variables. Thank you for showing where the confusion came from. BTW, The first chart would be long gone if you were right about it being just a scare tactic. Here's an expanded version that may be helpful: http://www.pages.drexel.edu/~garfinkm/Spectrum.html JohnC, your link is published by the CFR, which as you probably know includes on its board many of the biggest business interests in the US. To think these guys are honest about the outsourcing answer is like putting a wolf in charge of a roomful of chickens. I'm in no way shocked or impressed by their assessment. Here's something short for you to check out on this week's rip-offs: "...legislation enacted this week is worth $137 billion in tax cuts for corporations. One company alone -- General Electric -- will receive over $8 billion, despite earnings last year of over $15 billion. Many companies -- Microsoft, Oracle, Hewlett-Packard, Eli Lilly, among others -- have been parking profits overseas rather than bring them back to America where they are taxed. So Congress has now blessed them with a one-time "tax holiday" during which they can bring home the bacon at about one-seventh of the normal tax rates." http://www.commondreams.org/views04/1015-02.htm

Yes, I thought you meant the line theory in your last post. I'd love a link to a political line spectrum with anarchy at the far right, as I've never seen one without autocracy/dictatorship/fascism at the right. Anarchy can occur in any form of government, provided there is enough stress. Anarchy evokes the absence of government, therefore doesn't fit into the political equation. It advocates nothing except that there shouldn't be a government. In conrast, everything within the political spectrum, left or right, deal with differing forms of governance.

I'd like to chime in on a couple statements above: Far right is not anarchy but dictatorship, communism is left of socialism. This should read - Always remember, Republicans opposed slavery on economic grounds, also opposed blacks moving into their states for fear it would drive down wages while Southern Democrats supported it and Democrats supported the civil rights initiatives while Republicans opposed them. Speaking of conservation, Republican president Teddy Roosevelt bitterly fought his own party to became the undisputed heavyweight of all time, setting aside 230 million acres in total. I'm sure he'd be pissed to see the cavalier attitude many have these days. As for your question, it sounds a little loaded. I'll differ to something Vonnegut said a while back as sounds like the angle you're looking for: "Thanks to TV and for the convenience of TV, you can only be one of two kinds of human beings, either a liberal or a conservative. If you want to take my guns away from me, and you’re all for murdering fetuses, and love it when homosexuals marry each other, and want to give them kitchen appliances at their showers, and you’re for the poor, you’re a liberal. If you are against those perversions and for the rich, you’re a conservative. What could be simpler?" Cyrus, If you're serious about your query, read some T. Jefferson. He's the one who got that school of thought rolling. Good luck.

Very cool D , I've been keeping an eye on your progress as a 377 may be in my future too. Please keep us posted and have fun!