Posts by Xander

61

Why I May Vote for Kerry

by roybatty in

jw
friends

i'm a registered republican but i have to admit that after looking at john kerry's web site, i may have to sway my vote his way.

what caught my eye is kerry's attention toward jobs leaving for overseas countries and how the government can at least stop encouraging (and rewarding)large corporations from doing this.

at bush's site, i don't see anything about this huge problem facing america.

Xander

What double standards, using the information the Heinz' Fat Cats spew out, are you a slave to their mantra?.
Sure, they are using Smoke & Mirrors to cover their agenda. Even if your claim is true (which it is not), why has not Kerry used his leverage with Heinz to stand against this outsourcing issue? Here are the facts to show who is really running the show...

Actually, ThiChi, my source is 'www.snopes.com' - a site dedicated to debunking urban legends, even if they do have a slightly conservative lean most the time. They just don't like disinformation, there. They have a lot of stuff debunking the various anti-Bush claims, if you are interested.

As to your 'anti-Kerry' agenda....I'm sorry, but the simple fact of the matter is that Kerry, regardless of WHAT else he might have done in his past, or his positions on issues, or HOW much money he married into, never gave orders to the US military to conquer and occupy a foreign country unprovoked.

In my book, that's an unforgivable offense regardless of anything else and why whoever is likely to defeat Bush will get my vote.

6

Trigun.

by Obviously Secret in

jw
friends

sorry to make another thread but i just had to make a comment about one of my favorite animes in the universe.. .

there's this anime (japanese cartoon) that tells a story about a guy that isn't much of a human, that goes by the name of vash.

he looks human and everything but he has special powers just hidden inside of him.

Xander

Oh, no, no, no. None of those are any good.

'The Big O'

Trust me, this pwns ALL other anime. It's not so much the theme (big robot fighting bad guys - pretty common), but the *style*. It's done in a very, VERY film noir fashion - the entire series! It just smacks of...I dunno, crazy style.

Plus, the interaction with Roger and Dorothy is just priceless.

(To be fair, I did some of 'Cowboy Bebop' - I did NOT like the kid, though. The stories centered on Spike and his background were VERY interesting, the rest of it was very 'meh'.)

8

wt cd rom paranoid or what

by littlemike in

jw
friends

am i totally paranoid or what.

i have been witing my life story on the computer and wanted to put some watchtower literature quotes in the story.

my wt library cd rom wont work on my computer.

Xander

What's the latest version of this, btw?

I think the most recent I have is the '99.

61

Why I May Vote for Kerry

by roybatty in

jw
friends

i'm a registered republican but i have to admit that after looking at john kerry's web site, i may have to sway my vote his way.

what caught my eye is kerry's attention toward jobs leaving for overseas countries and how the government can at least stop encouraging (and rewarding)large corporations from doing this.

at bush's site, i don't see anything about this huge problem facing america.

Xander

Why does his holdings in Heinz Corporation reflect his mantra? Heinz is one of the biggest offenders... They are the worse offenders....here is why......

Ah, ThiChi, good to see you haven't changed. If you had actually started researching your positions instead of spouting off neocon propaganda....well, I might get worried!

In
1995, Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts wed Teresa Heinz, whom he first met at an Earth Day rally in 1990. Born Teresa Simões-Ferreira in Mozambique to Portuguese parents, Mrs. Kerry was previously married for 25 years to Henry John Heinz III , who was a member of the founding family of the H.J. Heinz Company and represented Pennsylvania for twenty years in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate prior to his death in a plane crash in 1991. Mrs. Kerry inherited a Heinz family fortune estimated at over $500 million.

Although Senator Kerry has been critical of the Bush administration for rewarding "Benedict Arnold CEOs" who move "profits and jobs overseas," the above-quoted attempt to link Kerry (through his wife) with the very outsourcing he decries is flawed in two major ways. First off, Teresa Heinz Kerry does not "own the Heinz Corporation" ? she has no involvement whatsoever with the management or operations of the H.J. Heinz Company, nor does she own anything close to a controlling interest of the company's stock. According to Heinz itself, the Heinz family trust which Mrs. Kerry inherited sold most of its shares of Heinz stock back in 1995 and currently holds less than a 4% interest in the company:
Neither Mrs. Heinz Kerry nor Senator Kerry nor any of the Heinz trusts or endowments ? either individually or collectively ? holds a significant percentage of shares of the H.J. Heinz Company. In 1995 the Heinz Endowments and family trusts sold a large percentage of Heinz shares in a secondary share offering to diversify their holdings. As a result, their current holdings are under 4 percent.

There is no connection between any philanthropic programs of the H.J. Heinz Company and its Foundation and the Heinz family interests (including the Howard Heinz Endowment, the Vira Heinz Endowment, and the Heinz Family Philanthropies).
(A 4% stake in a company as large as Heinz still represents a considerable amount of money, but it isn't nearly large enough a share to give the holder any significant control or influence over the company's business decisions.)

Moreover, the Heinz Company's operations are not an example of the type of outsourcing that is currently a hot political issue (i.e., sending out work to offshore companies to provide services which a company might otherwise have employed its own staff to perform). Heinz is a U.S.-based global business which sells its products in dozens of other countries, and like other food companies it has to localize some of its production at factories located in its foreign market areas. (It makes little sense from either an economic or a freshness standpoint to be shipping fruits and vegetables and/or finished food products halfway around the world rather than producing them locally.) One wouldn't expect, for example, every can and bottle of Coca-Cola sold anywhere in the world ? whether it be Australia, China, or Portugal ? to be produced by U.S. bottlers.)

As the H.J. Heinz Company notes, well over half its sales come from foreign markets, and it therefore operates overseas facilities to serve those markets:
Currently, 60% of the sales of the H.J. Heinz Company are outside the United States and to accommodate those customers by providing facilities closer to those markets, the company maintains a number of overseas facilities that provide products for consumers in those markets. This allows Heinz to pack the freshest ingredients, tailor its recipes to local tastes and deliver the finished products in a timely and efficient manner. In the United States, Heinz makes its flagship ketchup in factories in Fremont, Ohio; Muscatine, Iowa; and Stockton, California.

60

Do NOT watch this...

by blacksheep in

i know i was warned.

i had to see for myself the berg video.

saw it at work this am.

Xander

From other boards:

Please keep replies intelligent, honest, topical, and free of slander against me. Debate the topic, not the person who brought it up.Sources for all my facts can be found at the bottom, they are labeled according to subject.

That having been said...

Many of you might remember that I started a thread on the day the video was released noting how "convenient" it was that the tape had come out, just as the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal was in full swing. Not only did this take the abuse scandal off of headlines, but it swayed public opinion back against "those ****ing Iraqis".

Evidence

1) Most people replied by asserting that the execution occured as retribution to the abuse photos that had surfaced, but you have to ask yourself - do these terrorists, who are clearly capable of brainwashing people to the point where they are willing to kill and be killed for their beliefs, really have no concept of political tact? Here they are, the whole world screaming at the US for hypocrisy and injustice over these pictures, and they perform and publish this execution right in the heat of the scandal. In other words, these masters of brainwashing and spin and deception release a video of a despicable act just as the US, their sworn enemy, is being globally grilled. Does this make sense to you?

2) Second, I wonder what the standard issue chair is at Abu Ghraib prison?

*cough*

3) Is it not interesting that the wall colour at Abu Ghraib prison is identical to that of the video?

4) Is it not also interesting that Berg is wearing the same orange jumpsuit worn by prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison? Sure, you say, perhaps he was kidnapped directly from the prison (as stupid as this sounds, anyway) - but then can you please explain (7)?

5) Is it also not interesting that the timecodes in the video jump back and forth?

6) Is it also not interesting that Berg did not exhibit any of the convulsions that typically accompany decapitation? http://www.ahsc.arizona.edu/uac/iacuc/rodents/avma.htm I am suggesting here that Berg was already dead when the decapitation occured (which accounts for 5). Before you go calling me crazy, please review the evidence; why did he not exhibit the convulsions that go hand in hand with decapitation (especially such an extended one)?

7) Is it not curious that the US denies contact with Berg, and yet his friends and family insist that he told them he was being held by the US? Huh? Why?

8) Another tape oddity - the men SPEAK RUSSIAN for several seconds. Not only that, but they speak Arabic with Russian accents. That's right, in the final seconds of the tape, one of the men speaks in Russian. Those here who understand russian (and have the stomach to view that final seconds of the video) can verify this. Those who speak Arabic will be able to verify that these men speak Arabic in Russian accents.

9) Finally (the physical evidence that will convince you in case you already aren't)...
You will notice, in watching the video, that 6 times, a gold ring flashes on the hand of the executioner. What is the problem? Islam completely and utterly forbids men to wear gold rings. This fanatical muslim, willing to kill in a gutwrenching manner, and be killed for his beliefs, is violating one of the clear prohibitions of his religion? Really? DOES THIS MAKE SENSE TO YOU?

edit:
Two more points:

10) Nick Berg understands Arabic, but sits calmy while statement is read, waiting to be killed. Hmm?

11) One of the executioners is wearing Air Jordans. WHAT?

edit 2:

12) The "terrorists" signed the video, yet they wear hoods and masks. Why?

13) The "terrorists" have lily white hands.

14) The video time is in US Military English. What the hell?

Conclusion
As many has suspected, but have not had the time to build a solid case for, the execution of Nick Berg was performed by coalition interests (most likely independent Russian mercenaries) in order to dwarf the abuse pictures and sway public opinion back against the Iraqis and in support of the war by taking advantage of the emotional reaction we all experience when hearing of such an despicable act. The poor production quality (all the "curiosities" I have pointed out) of this video can be attributed to the haste in which it was made after the order was given to distract the public from the abuse scandal, and is in line with my conclusion.

Again, before you attack my conclusion, attack my evidence. No matter how crazy you think this sounds, examine the evidence objectively and please try to deny a single thing I have said. If you cannot deny my evidence, you logically cannot deny my conclusion. Make your replies free of subjective opinions and ad hominem attacks or I will not reply to them.

Sources:

Chair, wall, timecode, and :
http://www.libertyforum.org/showfla...=-1#Post1469025
http://www.news24houston.com/conten...906&SecID=2

Berg was in US custody:
nn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/05/13/berg.friends/index.html" target=_blank>http://www.c nn.com/2004/WORL...ends/index.html
(you'll have to copy & paste this one since genmay blocks cnn links as you know)

Gold rings forbidden by Islam:
http://www.khilafah.com/home/catego...529&TagID=2
http://www.google.com/search?q=gold...-8&oe=utf-8

The execution video can be seen here (warning, extremely graphic): http://temp.eyecannon.com/iraq2vediom.wmv

While his conclusions are a little....well, quite a jump from the available 'evidence' - surely, it does appear suspicous.

And....

Looking back over the video I really can't see Berg making any convulsive movements and there was no blood spraying or splurting; just dripping into a pool on the floor and around his neck.

Odd, no? I mean, major arteries cut and so little blood? It would make more sense, of course, if he had been killed beforehand and his heart was no longer pumping blood...

Finally...

I think the problem is the sheer number of things wrong with this.

I mean, it's weird this guy was investigated in the 9/11 attacks, no? Apparently, one of the terrorists just sat down next to him on a bus and he let them use his laptop. (At least, that's what the investigation that decided his innocence concluded) Uhhhh.....riiiiight.

And then he's detained in Iraq this year...only the Iraqi military doesn't claim they detained him. In any case, he definately ends up in US military custody eventually. And they hold him for several weeks. In Iraq. Without charging him for anything.

THEN, he is 'released' on April 6th - only nobody can confirm he was released...or was alive when he was released. Then, on April 9th, terrorists somehow manage to kidnap him and execute him on a camcorder.

FINALLY....keep in mind, this guy is CIVILIAN....the body is found just a few days later on the 11th but the military won't return it to the family!

I mean, even excusing the massive number of minor mistakes in the video recording itself that are merely suspicious....the entire chain of events that led UP to this point is ridiculous!

Something is very, very wrong with this entire scenario.

Now, before somebody starts blasting "You America haters, blahblahblah" and "Why can't you see how evil the Muslim world is, blahblahblah" and "Why do you hate his family so much?" that I've seen posted on EVERY OTHER FORUM this topic gets brought up on...

Keep in mind:

Nobody is saying his death isn't a tragedy
Nobody is saying we wouldn't ALL be MUCH happier if it never happened
Nobody is saying that he deserved what happened, that ANYBODY deserved ANY of what has happened so often anymore

It's just that....well, a LOT about this particular incident just doesn't stack up and is extremely suspicious.

21

I have arrived! (Bend, Oregon)

by Xander in

jw
friends

well, folks, finally here!

actually, got here in february, but things have been insane trying to get the house finished.. we flew out in january, looked around, found a house we liked, bought it, flew back.. then, had to get here.

again, insanity!

Xander

As promised, more pictures.

Do keep in mind that cameras are AWFUL at taking pictures of mountains. Looking at these shots, you'd get the impression that the scene is dominated by the ground....but, in person....with the mountains stretching across the horizon from left to right....

It looks MUCH better than pictures can say.

First, my wife's drive to work (all of the 5 minutes it takes):

It's mostly downhill from our house, so you can see the river and mountains the whole way, basically.

Next....from the top of Pilot Butte. Looking....North:

And from the top...looking North-West:

And from the top of Pilot Butte...looking West:

From the top of Pilot Butte, looking....South-West:

From the top of Pilot Butte, looking....South:

South-East:

East:

And North-East:

21

I have arrived! (Bend, Oregon)

by Xander in

jw
friends

well, folks, finally here!

actually, got here in february, but things have been insane trying to get the house finished.. we flew out in january, looked around, found a house we liked, bought it, flew back.. then, had to get here.

again, insanity!

Xander

Wasn't really in that area - I was NE of Cleveland. Kinda between Cleveland and Erie.

Odd how weird that comment felt, by the way. I've already forgotten so much about it, and it's only been 4 months! HAH! Maybe there IS hope!! Leave for long enough and it really DOES go away!!!

(Naw, my town of Painesville I remember very well...but I never did get to Cleveland much, so it doesn't stick around very well. I already know Salem better than I ever did Cleveland, and am working on Portland - which is a MUCH bigger city, if only slightly more populous!)

21

I have arrived! (Bend, Oregon)

by Xander in

jw
friends

well, folks, finally here!

actually, got here in february, but things have been insane trying to get the house finished.. we flew out in january, looked around, found a house we liked, bought it, flew back.. then, had to get here.

again, insanity!

Xander

And is that an SUV I see you driving?

Yes, but it's a very tiny and fuel economical one! At least, for an SUV. Heh. We needed to haul 2 tons of stuff across the country, though. Options were that or a some old diesel-fuel-belching Ryder or something. I'll take the Liberty, thx.

I do want to get a nicer, smaller, more economical car soon, though. When this one is paid off, we'll see what we can do. As it is, I work from home (although I'd *like* to find an IT job in the area - nobody seems to be hiring, though) and my wife works all of 5 miles from home, so we don't use it much. She plans on biking to/from work all summer.

21

I have arrived! (Bend, Oregon)

by Xander in

jw
friends

well, folks, finally here!

actually, got here in february, but things have been insane trying to get the house finished.. we flew out in january, looked around, found a house we liked, bought it, flew back.. then, had to get here.

again, insanity!

Xander

I could have *sworn* their was a poster on the boards actually *IN* the area, though.

Dunno, maybe I'm delusional.

Anyway, is good to be here! I'll try to post more pics later. It's a nice spot!

21

I have arrived! (Bend, Oregon)

by Xander in

jw
friends

well, folks, finally here!

actually, got here in february, but things have been insane trying to get the house finished.. we flew out in january, looked around, found a house we liked, bought it, flew back.. then, had to get here.

again, insanity!

Xander

We don't downhill, either. But cross-country is usually pretty safe. And a MUCH better workout, to boot.