kamui

Hahaha, I guess you don't realize that you sound like your partents who warned not talk to hippies, and who told you that Jimi Hendrix, the Doors e.g. were pure evil and all who listen to them will burn in hell. :content:

Defeating the Dems in the midterm elections and defeating Obama are two very different matters, especially since the GOP can't offer an alternative to him. But I guess you know this anyway.

The current GOP candidates are either wingnuts, losers, or completely incompetent, or even all three together. Does anybody really believes that they can win over the center and the independents?

I am not permitted to comment on this. :content:

You mean, only US citizens are able to read and comment on US crime statistis? I did read it anyway :content: and just copy the content without a comment, since it speaks for itself: Quote: "A comparison of the rates, relative to population, at which blacks and whites are sent to state prison for drug offenses offers what may be the most compelling evidence of the disparate racial impact of drug control policies: [color:red]the black rate (256.2 per 100,000 black adults) is ten times greater than the white rate (25.3 per 100,000 white adults).[/color][76] Disaggregating these rates by gender reveals that black men were sent to prison on drug charges at 11.8 times the rate of white men and black women are sent to prison on drug charges at 4.8 times the rate of white women. As Table 1 reveals, blacks are sent to prison on drug charges at greater rates than whites in every state for which the data are available." "According to the 2006 surveys conducted by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), an estimated 49% of whites and 42.9% of blacks age twelve or older have used illicit drugs in their lifetimes; 14.5% of whites and 16% of blacks have used them in the past year; and 8.5% of whites and 9.8% of blacks have used them in the past month.[42] [color:red]Because the white population is more than six times greater than the black population, the absolute number of white drug offenders is far greater than that of black drug offenders.[/color]" Race, Drugs, and Law Enforcement in the United States

Yep...I think that there is an ideological aspect. Goes back to permisiveness ("I'm ok, you're ok") and failing to hold people accountable. HH Come on. Liberal crime laws in the USA? Like the strange three strike law or the largest number of prisoners per capita in the world? And is it liberal that blacks are jailed 10x more often than whites for drug offenses, despite the fact that "that whites engage in drug offenses at a higher rate than African-Americans.†Link And here today's news in regard to individual freedom in the USA: F.B.I. Agents Get Leeway to Push Privacy Bounds

Because GWB diverted the military, resources, intelligence and money to Iraq.

The reserved table at Tilac? :content:

Full repeal of health care law fails in Senate Republican efforts to repeal the health care reform law died a quick death in the Senate Wednesday, with a united Democratic caucus voting down a GOP repeal bill that cleared the House last month. A procedural vote ended the repeal effort, 47-51, as expected. Democrats framed the Republican amendment as an attempt to take health benefits away from Americans. .... Politico

VAT is 19%. Extremely bad for our (international) business.

Strange that in Germany everybody has to have health insurance and we have medicare (for the unemployed, the poor, e.g.). And it seems that we pay much less, don't have coverage caps (no family goes bankrupt when one family member get cancer e.g.) and we don't have such a severe preexisting condition clauses - and we pay less and it is working well more or less. Of course our system isn't perfect, there seems to be a lot of corruption and waste as well, but nevertheless.

I guess, that's why Germany is doing so bad with just 3,3% grows, the lowest unemployment rate since the unification, with health care, unemployment insurance, labour unions, e.g.

We had this kind of boarder within Germany: Patrols, German shepards, razor wire, spring guns, guard towers, e.g. This kind of border is mostly used by dictatorships...

Voter education? It won't happen anytime soon. The US state in the absolutely worst shape, Arizona, is moving more and more to the radical right. Voters support those politicians most who put the whole state into deep shit. That the politicians are responsible for the collapse of the state doesn't really matter to the voters as long as the politicians represent a pure anti-government ideology. Interesting read: Tea Party in the Sonora: For the future of G.O.P. governance, look to Arizona PS: reading the article explains McCain's recent flip-flops and his move the radical right. He is under threat by the Tea Party and fears that he won't be reelected.

"Same Same but Different" About a German backpacker who goes to PP and falls in love with a BG (Some Germans can be really stupid... ) and later learns that she is HIV positive. Great movie. Highly recommended. I just posted some additonal info in the culture sub-forum: Rink 6VjZSx6bjqk

It must be real for this amount of money: [color:red]SHORT TIME (up to 2 hours) $ 219[/color] Bon voyage.

Maybe you should do more short times. :content: BTW, I might arrive on the 26th for a two weeks stay...

Me too!

JS wrote his last post in August 2009...

I am staying with a cold at home and downloaded some DVD rips in the last two days (I have a 25MBit VDSL connection now ) The Proposal: Was ok. Woudln't pay for it District 9: An intersting Sci-Fi movie. A new plot story in Sci-Fi genre. My recommendation! Star Trek (2009): Typical Stark Trek story with a new twist. A lot of action. Needs to be watched in a movie with huge sceen and good sound system. G.I. Joe: A movie for 14 year old boys. Stupid story. Typical, uninspiring action and fight scenes.

Thailand's zero-sum tourism By Anthony Allison HUA HIN, Thailand - Thailand will step up efforts to prevent Chinese tourists from being cheated by so-called "zero-dollar tours", the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) announced. That's the good news. The bad news is, this statement was made in August, 2000. So when Thai authorities recently stated that they would "discuss the problem and draft measures to address the problem", a strain of skepticism was inevitable. "Zero-dollar" tours derive their name from package tours sold mainly in China, and to a much lesser degree in Korea, which include free air fare and low-cost accommodation. But once the incredulous (and gullible) tourists set foot in the Kingdom, the scam begins. The groups are herded from one expensive jewelry shop to another, from pricey entertainment joints to expensive restaurants. Not being able to speak Thai, and virtually imprisoned within the group, they are ripped blind. Unscrupulous tour operators (both Thai and Chinese) and their selected outlets in Thailand reap handsome rewards - one estimate puts the loss to the legitimate tour industry at as much as US$400 million a year. Officials claim that about 90% of Thailand's inbound operators specializing in Chinese tourists are of the "zero-dollar" kind. Full story at Asia Times

Actually I thought that she is the same.

I wouldn't have posted it otherwise...

Here are two vids of her: vid1 vid2 I presume it's the same girl, but I am not sure.

The only problem is that general statistics don't apply to individuals. It can always hit YOU, regardless how small the probability is.