Warin

Dont take this as a flame, because it's not meant to be one Neither you nor I can even remotely understand what the 'average' Korean might feel in this regard. Â I suspect pretty much every Korean person has parents and grandparents who had horrific things happen to them at the hands of the Japanese only a few decades ago (60 years really isnt a long time in the grand sceme of things). Â If we were in a similar situation, I am not sure we could be as 'forgive and forget' as you seem to be.

The Japanese were as brutal and cruel to people in occupied territories during WWII as the Germans ever were. I'm not saying that the Japanese of today are like that, but old hatreds and fears die very slowly.

Possibly. But I dont see the SK government asking the Japanese for help.. I could be wrong, but I think there are still a lot of resentments left over from WWII.

I can understand why the Japanese might be a little paranoid about NK possesing nukes. But considering the track record of the Japanese military on the asian continent, I think the worst thing they could do is send troops, unless the SouthKorean government specifically asked for the help. Considering the role of the Japanese in Iraq (ie: Totally non-combatant), I dont think this is as much of a problem as you might think. But hten again, I am not 100% sure of exactly what prohibitions the Japanese have for use of their military outside of the islands.

When you ignore local customs and culture, and act however you want, according to your own priciples... then seem surprised when you get a negative reaction, you are in essence expecting them to follow your values. I agree that there is a difference between saying 'This is how you will live your life' and just ignoring local custom in favour of your own. But both are an imposition of your mindset on people who believe differently.

It looks like there is at least one person who feels uncomfortable with the way post-war Iraq is being managed. And he was invited by the US to participate... Broken promise: Why I quit Iraq

Basically, they got involved with local politics and prejudices without even attempting to understand the dynamics of the situation. They put a price on Aidid's head, thinking that the Somalis would turn on him. Tribal loyalties in most of Africa are insanely strong. Look at countries where rivalries result in genocide... Then they antagonized the local population to a great degree, and basically flew around in Blackhawks making trouble. (From the point of view of the people of Mogadishu Have you read the Bowden book that BHD was based on? It gives a lot of time to interviews with Somalis, who saw the Rangers and Delta as cowboys, wheras they all seem to have a lot of respect for the Marines (Who were mostly concerned wiht humanitarian relief). I am not slamming any of the US forces. I am pointing out that some policies were very poor, and implemented in a way that antagonized an already leary population.

The problem wasn't with the troops, it was with mission creep. Â When the objective changed from providing security for humanitarian relief to going after the warlords, that's when things went haywire. Â Considering the nature of the mission the Rangers and Delta were, if not the best men for the job, at least as good as anyone. Of course, the warlords were the reason for the famine so IMO they should have been targeted. Â I think it's fairly obvious we lost our political will too early after taking relatively light losses during a successful snatch mission. Semper Fi I agree to some extent. However, it's another case of not looking at local traditions, and attempting to do as little as possible to offend the sensibilities of the locals. I am not saying you have to go in and become muslims to do the job. I am saying that when you try to impose western values and ethics on a distinctly foreign culture, you run into problems. I think the key to 'humanitarian' missions is to go in, do protective duty, and avoid trying o reform the country into some sort of western ideal, which I think is a trend in a lot of cases.

I think a good point was made... The Marines did a bang up job in Somalia. It only went to hell in a handbasket when the Rangers and Delta came in and declared 'war' on MF Aidid. It's good to see that Shrub has woken up and sent troops to a place that has asked for them, for the right reasons. After all of the UN mistakes in Africa (Rwanda as an example), it would be good to see a coherent and systematic plan for military aid and support in Africa to make sure genocide doesnt happen again. I saw an interview with Romeo Dallaire, and there is a man that could do a lot to help with understanding of how tribal warfare can degenerate to genocide. I wonder if he is in a position where he could be helpful...

Wow. The MARPAT is significantly better than the others, at least in those photos. I wonder if anyone has done that with the woodland camo sets... I am going to be looking for camo gear soon, as I am picking up an Airsoft rifle in September some time. Just have to sell off some stock in Telus first

Just my opinion here...I have no facts Camo works by breaking up regular shapes (like the lines of a human body) so that your eye isnt automatically drawn to them. CADPAT and MARPAT are (to the best of my knowledge) designed to be optimum in this task. From what I recall, they used computer pattern recognition to design the best possible pattern for the camo. Too bad Assault is gone, we could ask him about CADPAT

I think it is. I dont see a conspiracy theory here, just an insensitivity to the third world, coupled with a squeamishness towards 'our' people. Like Denoir, I find it a little distressing. Mostly because its an awfully hypocritical way of doing business.

Let's tar and feather this anti-American terrorist!!! Anyway, don't look at this as celebrating a death of 4 people. Â Look at it as celebrating one more step towards peace in Iraq. I see you are still making hte assumption that the only people in Iraq still fighting are disaffect Ba'athists. I dont think that has been proven yet to anyones satisfaction. I'll believe that Iraq is moving forward when there is water and power in all of baghdad, and people arent shooting at Americans every day. I hope these were Saddam's sons. While I would rather see them tried and convicted of their crimes, I wont weep if they are no longer with the rest of the living world tonight. Everything I have read or seen has pointed to them being rather brutal bastards. The world is truly better off without them. But like Denoir said, lets wait for some actual proof. This wouldnt be the first time that initial reports have turned out to be false.

there isvirtually no advantage to 8X over 4X. So dont sweat it. There is a funky new interconnect on it's way that will replace PCI and AGP at some point, so you're likely good till that trickles out starting sometime next year

time for Definition Man!!! He is a satirist. He holds up vice and folly and exposes it with his trenchant wit Does a rather fine job, I must say!

That too. I think that whole speach could be subtitled: We lied about Iraq, quick lets make something up and hopefully freak the voters out and distract them from the truth until after the 2004 elections!

Georgie Porgie is back on the warpath... Iran and Syria get warned... Again! This guy is the biggest threat to world peace. Every time he opens his mouth, I wait for him to blurt out that God is telling him what to do. A hypocrite, a liar, and a lunatic.

Carry a couple extra charged packs? Man, I am so jonesing for an Airsoft gun! We'll see what i can afford this fall.

I've heard good things about the AUG as well, but I just dont like how it looks I am also looking at an AK or an M4. But it will depend on what I can afford.

I am thinking of buying a TMG36c this fall. Anyone had any experience with it?

Is it just me, or is the '34 deaths' only the combat related ones? What is the total if you include accidents in there? I am not out for American blood, I just find it disgusting that the military and administration may marginalize those who die serving their country... but die in an accident rather than in combat.

This is the one MMORPG that I really thought I would buy the moment it came out. The people that I know that are playing it are telling me how cool it is, but also that I might want to wait till there is a lot more content. A few of them play Everquest as well, and say that SWG lacks the really cool quest system and dungeons that EQ has. I also want a freighter or a an X-Wing. So I might wait till next year when the Space add on is complete. Or I will just buckle under and get it once there is more content

It will still be limited to 640x480 res for regular TV's, and if they have a super duper Hi Def mode, you MIGHT get 800x600 or 1024x768. Far less than a PC will be able to do. The XBox was a great machine 3 years ago when it was first designed. But a modern PC running plain jane OFP will totally blow OFP XBox out of the water, no matter what they have done to it. I could be wrong..but looking at the specs of an XBox coupled with how OFP would perform on a similar PC, I am not holding out a lot of hope

Why on earth would you buy an Xbox to play OFP? I'd rather wait the extra months to get OFP2. I doubt Microsoft will let OFPXB interoperate with OFPPC, so you wont get the wealth of add-ons and the ability to play with PC OFP users. ANd you have to play with a game pad. ICK. The reasons I dont like the Xbox have nothing to do with it being an MS product. The ergonomics of the controllers are horrid, and most of it's best titles are PC games that MS has bullied the publishers into dropping onto the XBox first (Anyone remember when Halo was a PC Project before they absorbed Bungie. Or Knights of the Old Republic..)

Of all the consoles, the PS2 is likely the one I would buy for myself. Gamecube is my second place choice. PS2 just has a HUGE library of games.