Rex Kickass

Lebanon has had its current government since last year. It was, previous to that, chiefly run by Syrian placed stooges. There had been movements to demilitarize Hezbollah in the state since the Syrians left last year, but with any nascent democracy, its power to do so was somewhat weak. The problem lies with communities of Druse and Christians squaring off against a large Shiite population. Lebanon has been in this place before, when Israel invaded in 1982, they were greeted as liberators. That changed fairly quickly.

QUOTE(Soxy @ Jul 20, 2006 -> 01:02 PM) How safe are cruise ships? More safe than a plane? I wouldn't say safer than a plane. People die on ships all the time. Some people get drunk and fall off their balcony... all sorts of things. But accidents are generally rare. There have been 11 accident-related deaths on cruise ships this year. In April, someone left a lit cigarette on a balcony on the Star Princess. The balconies caught on fire and were destroyed. One passenger died of a heart attack during the fire. Doctors say it might have been brought on by stress from the situation. Also in April, ten seniors who were on a tour (previous clients of my agency no less but didn't book this trip with us) died when the bus they were taking on a shore excursion in South America rolled off a cliff. It should be noted that the shore excursion program they took was not licensed by the cruise line itself and Celebrity had nothing to do with the actual accident, except that they were sailing on the ship.

BTW: I think the general election polls with a three way race are pretty meaningless at this point. With Lamont getting basically full support from the party as a standard bearer, Lieberman's poll numbers would tank as an independent without support.

Now Lebanon, the state sorta caught in the middle is getting ready to take sides. Here's a hint, it won't be with the country bombing Beirut.

They were in rough seas, but it was definitely a problem with the ship's rudder. The Cruise Line has admitted as such.

Can't cops use headsets too?

There are two or three Hot N Nows left in the world. The closest one to you would be Big Rapids, Michigan.

Frankly, I think its what Syria and Iran exactly want. If Israel launches a full scale invasion of Lebanon, then it kinda makes Damascus safe. I highly doubt any other country is going to come to the aid of Lebanon. Although I will say that an Israeli invasion of Lebanon suddenly makes Hezbollah go from terrorists to freedom fighters again. The Israelis better be damned sure what they're doing here, or Hezbollah will stay a thorn in their side for years to come.

Senator Mike DeWine ® running for re-election in a difficult environment in Ohio used an ad depicting 9/11 to portray his Democratic challenger in a negative ad. Turns out his pictures of the twin towers were doctored. http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles.../19dewinead.htm Cop slapper Democrat Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney is in a tight primary battle for her seat. (McKinney has not announced her intention to run as an independent if defeated in the primary.) The first primary round is over, and no candidate got 50%, so a run off between the top two candidates in the Democratic Primary on August 8th. John F. Coyne, III 5,249 8.5% Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. 27,496 44.4% Cynthia McKinney 29,143 47.1% NJ Senate Menendez (D, Incumbent) 38% Kean ® 37% Menendez replaced Jon Corzine when he became governor.

QUOTE(FlaSoxxJim @ Jul 19, 2006 -> 05:10 PM) That's a really good point. But I don't think it's one the US will care much about, since we're typically only interested in talking the talk, not walking the walk. That's a foreign policy trait we've kept for years.

Sonic advertises on national cable. The rates probably are cheaper than buying local tv in big markets so they do that and have the coverage that they want. That's my guess.

From "Slate"

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...6071800823.html Turkey now threatening to send troops into Northern Iraq. Seems the Kurds are using the "new Iraq" as a launching site for terrorist activities in Turkey according to the Turkish government.

http://www.tpmcafe.com/blog/electioncentra...epting_gop_line Apparently if Lieberman doesn't win as a Democrat, he'd consider running on the GOP line instead of the independent line.

There's no stained dress - that we're aware of - so it's perfectly fine. I think its awkward, but innocent. It's just a leader who wanted to bring "the grown ups back to D.C." realizing that politically, he and his administration are acting like awkward teenagers. It's just sad. Me thinks our President just needs a cuddle.

The fact that the administration has decided to delay a trip for Condi to go to the region is not encouraging.

It's one of the things where I've been shocked - and pleasantly - at the reaction of most nations in the region regarding the situation. Abject horror at both sides' actions and reactions. That, in and of itself, is progress in the Middle East. Be it the cause of reaction to an ascending Iran, or an Israel pulling out of Gaza, progress is still progress

So apparently the only cruise ship I've ever been on listed severely. Several people were injured. Not enough to tip the ship over but enough to empty out the pools and flood the gym area. The Crown Princess debuted last month, and they thing it was a technical error regarding the steering of the ship. It was traveling in rough seas.

I live in NY Metro area. For me its all about The Gay Blades. Like The White Stripes but with Talent.

Various polls out this week Congress - IN-02 (South Bend/Michigan City) Chocola (R, Incumbent) 38 Donnelly (D) 48 Arizona Senate Kyl (R, Incumbent) 52 Pederson (D) 40 RI Senate Primary (GOP) (Poll is from June) Chafee (R, Incumbent) 39 Laffey ® 38 RI Senate General Chafee (R, Incumbent) 41 Whitehouse (D) 46 Laffey ® 29 Whitehouse (D) 57 Angelina Jolie Job Performance (Thanks Rasmussen Reporting!) Approve: 46% Disapprove: 30%

This won't spread much past Damascus if it even gets that far. Although the fighting in Lebanon intensifies, the situation is stabilizing itself. Syria is making it clear that it wants no part in this mess - and without fighting spreading to Syria, Iran won't jump in. The stunning part about this is, how even in the region, states around the world seem to be recoiling in horror at both sides. Hezbollah for trying to provoke a wider war, and Israel for destroying a nascent democracy.

QUOTE(EvilMonkey @ Jul 18, 2006 -> 11:27 AM) You missed the best part, where he said Bill Clinton had 'moral authority'. That is just f'ing hilarious! No more so than implying our current administration does. And on this issue, Bill Clinton did have "moral authority." His administration actively sought peace in the region and could legitimately be seen as an honest broker for progress in the region. This implication of moral authority has little to do with stained dresses or unorthodox cigar consumption.

It should be noted that the previous administration had a special envoy whose job it was to put out any fires in the region as soon as they flare up. It did work with various degrees of success. The administration previous to that was famous for its shuttle diplomacy with James Baker - who probably spent more time visiting with foreign leaders than staying in D.C. Condi Rice hasn't left to go anywhere yet. If Democrats had been elected, this very well may have happened - but the US would have been much more active in trying to prevent escalations of warfare, and protecting civilian lives.

You can get a Scion for under 15K. The nice thing about Scion is that they aren't allowed to haggle, your credit score determines your loan and that's that. If you have something to trade in, you could conceivably get your loan under 10 or 12.