Well I'm not sure about them, but many times when God "speak" to me, it is not always what I want to hear, rather the opposite... But then, I'm just an ordinary guy, who never want a high office... And also learned well to not use Gods name in everything and nothing..
And I also have always been rather supectius about politicians who play that ball, and try to tell that God let them to go for office. To me this is just bullshit, and a outright lie.. Or that the fellow is mentally unstable, and should have no place near the US government...
It all started with the Patriot Act... The downward spiral, where the freedom, liberty and everything else the US have been standing for for more than 200 year, is slowly been turning to ashes.. This National Defense Authorization Act is just another nail in the coffin of the old republic.. who once was the greatest country that most nations in one way or another wanted to emulate as best as they could.. The result is that even in the most remote parts of the world,you can discover a coca cola box or two.. Or other trinkets from the great USA...
And, now you also have the National Defense Authorization Act, who can, and possible will be used to arrest and detain many, without proper cort appeals, and the use of proper legal presence... NDAC is indeed a sad act, who can end in horror, for so many civilians, if not challenged in cort..
How low hasn't the united states of america really fallen the last decade or two..
Left handed for all my life, and thankfully never really forced to learn how to write right handed. And today I write as a little child with my right hand, and have a more "grown up" left handed writing...
I don't think you are radical at all. i think you just are a decent man, who have founded your purpose, and are intended on making things better for the future... All your writing here on DU, have just been a good way to understand how things are "over there" for me, and I have followed you, now and then for a long time.. When you write, people should read, and listen to you...
You madfloridan, are just an decent guy, who are doing what you think is right.. Nothing more, nothing less.. It is not radical to want to get a better Florida than before... It is decency
Yeah, he did a "great job" as ambassdor to the UN.. That was worse enough If you ask me.. As Secretary of State, he might speak US into open warfare with the rest of the world if he had a bad day... And that is a war even US canot win even with the nuclear arcenal US have today..
Cronyism, corruption, and a all out of ballpark spending on military hardware, in a contest to try to outgo the US, was some of the reasons USSR was falling apart.. The issue of nationality, was also part of it all, and a whole other cases who in the end was able to make it impossible for USSR to continue even after the "outer empire" of Eastern Europe slept away in 1988-89..
And as a foreigner, who know little about history, it is absolutely sad to se the same thing happening in the US, even tho it is still hope for US to reform, and to wake up to the reality of things.. US are still a democratic country, where everyone (in theory) are the same in front of the Law. And if US had the will, all of this cronyism, and corruption who are starting to be rather rampant in the US this days, would be something of the past. Because the evidences are there, clear as the day is bright, it just need some Justice to get it all up in the day...
But, the powers, doesn't want, or doesn't dear to get it all up in the days as it would tear the whole fabric of the country from each other I guess... And the few times someone really wanted to do away with cronyism, and corruption, they often ended up in a gutter, or killed outright.. So many of your greatest presidents, or politic ans, have been killed, by "unknown"....
What Killed of the USSR in the end?.. To mutch spending of ressorses on the military system...
And it looks like US are going the same road, even tho they should know something from the history bins what become of nations who use to mutch ressorses on defence...
What can the police do - when the tents are running away from them, or running around them.. And the whole affair is looking more and more silly.. The best is to get along, be in good spirit, and just tell politely that they wanted the tents removed. Withouth violence and force.. Most police officers are in fact polite, when you are polite to them - at least outside the US.
True, US is one of the country's I have on my list "to do" before I die.. At the moment I'm not exactly in the position to travel to the US, but hopefully I'm able to save up some money in a couple of years, and be able to visit your amazing country and at least look at some of the marvels US are so rightfully known for... US is absolutely a country worth visit.
And yes, long before I'm visiting your country, I would have been "screened" both with the visa thing, and at the home airport "who are Gardermoen".. And them maybe even in another airport on the way over, it all depend of which airport I'm flying from to US I guess.. It goes direct link from Gardermoen every summer, so I guess that will be the not a lot of hassle at least..
Well, our nature I think you will love to visit, but we are one of the more expensive country's to visit, and the US currency is not what it one was worth.. I think it is at 5.50 for each Dollar at the moment.. When i started to look at US currency a decade ago, it was almost 8.0 NKR for each dollar.. So either have the US dollar lost a lot of value, or the Norwegian currency got a lot stronger... I'm not sure But even with the less value of the US currency I belive you can get a decent vacation here in Norway too. And most of us, know at least english good, with, or withouth an accent.. The younger generations tend to be better in english than I am (yeah Im starting to be old )
But, even with all the exaggerations it is a scary thing to se, and I have the misfortune of having a bullsize on my, who says "border agents, please take him in for further check".. Even tho I never have any thing other than maybe a bottle of whine to much in my luggage ore some rather stinky socks.).. At one time when I arrived home I almost got the full 9 yard at the border, as the custom officials was rather intrusive (and that was Long before sept 11 2001) but thankfully it was hot she who had the upper hand, as the senior officer understood that I was not an drug currier from Sweden Oh, well, I got home in one piece then in the end, without the "bend over please" But it was not exactly funny to be in a tight spot. And it sounds like TSA is far worse than our own border agents in doing uncomfortable things with wisitors... It is sad, that many who might have visit your country, choose to visit other nations, rather than go true the TSA proses.. I can understand why US wanted to be more secure after sept 11, no problem to understand it at all..But I fear that the TSA was going little over board in their willingness to keep illegals out of the country - or people who wanted to to your harm.. Even my old, little gray heared foster mother who never had so much as a driving ticket to show for, was almost denied aces to US a couple of years ago - as TSA was not able to "read" her passport, they doesn't had the right tool for reading this new passport they demanded all to have, if they wanted to visit US. The whole group she was in, was detained in a room for more than 4 hours, before they, without as much as a apology was granted access to the US.. She was, without a say, rather annoyed been kept in a small rom for more than 4 hours, because TSA doesn't had the right tool to read the passports.. And, even tho some of the histories about TSA is been overtelling to make a statement, it is to many stories about outright misuse of the TSA power to just say "it dosent matter": When the agents ar frisking a 5 year child, who are absolutely NOT comfortable been tutched from a forreigher (it was a big case a year ago around thanksgiving/cristmas) then they might be little to strict in their "understanding"..Common sense tell that a 5 year old child are not a danger to the airport, or to the airliners as a whole, they are for the most part pottytrained and able to go to the bathroom on their own when needed. And for the most part act properly when not tired or irritated, or both. Even the bulgarian secret police was not frisking us, when we was wisiting their country in 1986, even tho they had all the tools to do so, and I was maybe 10 when we first wisited the "other side of the iron curtain" first time!.
Good for India - bad for Walmart I guess... India is a country of more than One milliard customers. And I guess Wal-Mart and the rest of the big retailers would love to get a hand on that marked...
Wow, now they are after the Muppet's.. One of my favorite show when I was little.. And one I in fact cherished to the point, that I was willing to do almost anything, to get to se the 30 min long show... Yea, I loved Kermit, Ms Piggy and all the others..
And, thanks to you tube, you can find the treasures online. And I have to say, even tho the show is little old, they are still pretty funny to look at. Specially at 4-5am when you are little down on the sleeping, and most things are funny... Not to say, all the different artist they have on the show over the years...
But, liberal bias?.. I'm not sure what liberal bias means in the US anymore, but common decency, and be good with each other is maybe "liberal bias" this days.. I don't know..
In some cases I think US of today, is worse than the old USSR of old, At least in the USSR, they know they was under surveillance, and they also know, that they had a security system who kept them under surveillance under "state security"..
The same was the case in the East European nations between 1945 and 1989/91 where the also had their parts of security, who was pretty strict in large parts of the history after 1945... But they did know it, and even tho they had to accepted it, they had many inventive ways to go true the system, and many even managed to get around the systems... Or to leave for West-Europe over, under, and between the wall who divided Europe for more than 40 year... I remember, in the 1980s, when we was wisting Bulgaria at holyday mostly (I believe it was in the late 1980s, between 1986 and 1991) who strict it was to came in, a lot of guards (with weapon), strict pass control, and all the trimmings of the old East block. But even there, it was not as special as in the US for the last couple of years.. But we all know it, and accepted it as part of been able to have a Holiday. As Bulgaria was not exactly a democracy yet.. But I belive the old east block would be envy by how mutch US have to offer, when it came to survilance this days.. Even Honecer whould have something to say about US border control this days... In Envy for the most part..
I'm not sure if US are going into Paranoid Schizophrenia, even that US after 11 sept 2001 have acted in ways I doubt was believable just a couple of years before - when US was seen as one of the more easy country to fly in, specially if you had the paper in order... Last time I was in US, and it is a long time since, in 1992-93, it was a breeze to get true at Miami Int (KMIA) I was surprised how easy it was, just a custom officials, who looked at my passport, that everything was in order, and then Welcome to the US... And in i went.. Today I'm not sure if I even want to visit your amazing country - not because most of th 300 mill population, but mostly because of the hassle at the border... I can visit many other nations, fare more easily than US, and not even have the same hassle at the border to boot... I doubt even Syria or Iran have the same paranoia when it came to visitors this days... (And that say a lot as they do have their issues with the rest of the world this days)
In some cases I think US of today, is worse than the old USSR of old, At least in the USSR, they know they was under surveillance, and they also know, that they had a security system who kept them under surveillance under "state security"..
The same was the case in the East European nations between 1945 and 1989/91 where the also had their parts of security, who was pretty strict in large parts of the history after 1945... But they did know it, and even tho they had to accepted it, they had many inventive ways to go true the system, and many even managed to get around the systems... Or to leave for West-Europe over, under, and between the wall who divided Europe for more than 40 year... I remember, in the 1980s, when we was wisting Bulgaria at holyday mostly (I believe it was in the late 1980s, between 1986 and 1991) who strict it was to came in, a lot of guards (with weapon), strict pass control, and all the trimmings of the old East block. But even there, it was not as special as in the US for the last couple of years.. But we all know it, and accepted it as part of been able to have a Holiday. As Bulgaria was not exactly a democracy yet.. But I belive the old east block would be envy by how mutch US have to offer, when it came to survilance this days.. Even Honecer whould have something to say about US border control this days... In Envy for the most part..
I'm not sure if US are going into Paranoid Schizophrenia, even that US after 11 sept 2001 have acted in ways I doubt was believable just a couple of years before - when US was seen as one of the more easy country to fly in, specially if you had the paper in order... Last time I was in US, and it is a long time since, in 1992-93, it was a breeze to get true at Miami Int (KMIA) I was surprised how easy it was, just a custom officials, who looked at my passport, that everything was in order, and then Welcome to the US... And in i went.. Today I'm not sure if I even want to visit your amazing country - not because most of th 300 mill population, but mostly because of the hassle at the border... I can visit many other nations, fare more easily than US, and not even have the same hassle at the border to boot... I doubt even Syria or Iran have the same paranoia when it came to visitors this days... (And that say a lot as they do have their issues with the rest of the world this days)
It is not excactly news for everyonw who know little about Afghan history the last couple of centuries... The early 1990s was one hell of a sivil war, who just ended when Taliban got the upper hand - and even then parts of Afghanistan keept out, and was fighing the Taliban...
Now, a decade after US invanded the country - and gave the whole thing to NATo, so they could get their hands on Iraq, they want to leave the area, and if they do that, old enemies, would of course came back, to get a second, round to make their power feelt for everyone...
And again, the sivilians in Afghanistan wil pay the price when the Warlords of old was coming to kill their enemeis... again refugees from Afgahnistan wil overwelm Pakistan, and the rest of the whole area...
But even with the less value of the US currency I belive you can get a decent vacation here in Norway too. And most of us, know at least english good, with, or withouth an accent.. The younger generations tend to be better in english than I am 
)
