[geeks] FYI: CompUSA is offering OS X 10.5 for $99 (after rebate)

[Shannon Hendrix]

On Oct 30, 2007, at 2:01 PM, Phil Stracchino wrote:

> Shannon Hendrix wrote:
>> Modern terrorism is fairly young, starting in the 1600s, and the US
>> got involved when the terrorists first started attacking us in the
>> 1700s, hitting our commercial shipping in the Mediterranean Sea.  We
>> didn't cause that, it happened because the islamic people believed
>> that they had a right to attack and steal from anyone who wasn't
>> islamic.
>
> To be fair, just about every nation of any significant strength in
> Europe apparently believed for most of the history of western European
> "civilization"[0] that it had a right to attack and steal from  
> anyone it
> could get away with attacking, whenever it felt like it.

Sure, but that's greed and competition, which is a little different.   
Wrong, but not the same thing.

Besides, they got a proper cassius belli so what are you complaining  
about?  :)

A more direct analogy would be European Crusaders, who while not  
terrorists, had much the same motivation: you don't believe as we do,  
therefore your sorry butt is ours.

Of course, just like the modern islamic terrorist, a lot of them were  
not religious at all, but just used that as an excuse to go wreak havoc.

I've always marveled at people who shout "Deus lo Volt!" and then  
proceed to be as ungodly as possible, no matter which religion they  
adhere to.

Anyway, Europe has quit doing that for the time being, at least openly.

The islamic terrorist is not just dangerous, he is mentally screwed  
up.  Their world view, even if they managed to get what they want, is  
simply not possible.

Hopefully the younger generation will just not go for it.  I read an  
article about Iran not long ago that suggested that things are not  
quite what our news media tells us over there, and that much of the  
youth is not quite as bloodthirsty and loyal as we've been told.

You never know.

I think the best way to help other nations is to simply do business  
with them and help them out with no strings attached.

We will do more to change them and help them that way than we ever  
will by forcing it on them.

We also need to stop treating enemies of our enemies as friends.  Our  
alliances should be based on the truth, not just because they are a  
lesser evil.

If you study history, that's usually when everything worked out the  
best.


-- 
"Where some they sell their dreams for small desires."