The News Thread

**Mysterious Dude** · 12-27-2007, 02:05 PM

Benazir Bhutto assassinated

This sucks. :sad:

**Milky Joe** · 12-27-2007, 03:44 PM

Why is it always the nice ones that get assassinated? Wait, don't answer that.

**Benny Profane** · 12-27-2007, 03:59 PM

Quoting Antoine (view post)

Benazir Bhutto assassinated

This sucks. :sad:

Didn't see that one coming.

So, are we better off with this country as our ally or what?

**shaun** · 12-27-2007, 04:04 PM

Not good.

This will most likely be traced back to the Pakistani military which our government currently has a mild alignment with. So if we take action against Musharraf and his ilk, Pakistan goes into chaos as there's no one else to take over and the military is, for better or worse, a stabilizing force.

If we look the other way, the country remains stable at the expense of public and international perception that we're supporting a dictatorship and assassination over democracy.

Bad.

**Rowland** · 12-27-2007, 04:14 PM

Quoting shaun (view post)

we're supporting a dictatorship and assassination over democracy.

Nothing new.

We need to relinquish our influence over Middle East affairs, period.

**Melville** · 12-27-2007, 04:23 PM

That's pretty depressing. Did anybody else get a perverse sense of being aware of history unfolding upon hearing the news?

**shaun** · 12-27-2007, 04:30 PM

We need to relinquish our influence over Middle East affairs, period.

Pakistan is Asia really, but yeah, in an ideal world, I'd love for us to be removed from the affairs of other nations. In practice though, the area can easily devolve into chaos because for some reason they're far too eager to relinquish control to extremists of all sorts.

Or maybe we back out and an extremist doesn't take over. Maybe they'll just get an incompetent, like Mugabe, who's managed to completely destroy a once fruitful country in 15 years.

The world ignores Zimbabwe though because they have little of value to offer. Obviously the Middle East and the world's energy needs have to be handled a little more delicately.

**Ezee E** · 12-27-2007, 04:38 PM

Quoting Rowland (view post)

Nothing new.

We need to relinquish our influence over Middle East affairs, period.

we're damned if we do, damned if we don't.

**Milky Joe** · 12-27-2007, 04:38 PM

Quoting shaun (view post)

Obviously the Middle East and the world's energy needs have to be handled a little more delicately.

Heh, "delicately" is one word that you will not find anywhere in the United States government's dictionary.

**shaun** · 12-27-2007, 04:53 PM

Snarky reply or not, it's the truth. You don't leave the most valuable resource outside of air and water in the hands of extremists if you ever want to see that resource again.

**Rowland** · 12-27-2007, 05:02 PM

Quoting shaun (view post)

Snarky reply or not, it's the truth. You don't leave the most valuable resource outside of air and water in the hands of extremists if you ever want to see that resource again.

Yeah, it sucks being the only country that relies on oil.

**shaun** · 12-27-2007, 05:37 PM

Yeah, it sucks being the only country that relies on oil.

It's obviously a global issue and not US-centric.

The rest of the industrial world, except maybe Russia since they're pretty self sufficient, should have just as much an interest in keeping the Middle East out of anarchy as the US. Leaving the region to fend for themselves is only likely to accelerate that process.

It all comes down to people being unable or unwilling to govern themselves. And we wouldn't have this interventionist foreign policy problem if the oil was underneath Belgium.

**Ezee E** · 12-27-2007, 05:43 PM

Quoting Rowland (view post)

Yeah, it sucks being the only country that relies on oil.

You've said some crazy things, but this one...

**Rowland** · 12-27-2007, 07:46 PM

Quoting Ezee E (view post)

You've said some crazy things, but this one...

It was sarcasm. I'm just tired of this notion that only the US has stakes in the oil crisis, and as such, it is our duty to go in there and control it. As far as I'm concerned, most of this radical extremist hullabaloo is a smokescreen. While we drain our resources and international goodwill over there, our nation is on the verge of an economic meltdown, with India/China/et al. poised to reap the benefits. If anything, our presence in the Middle East, choosing sides and intervening in various conflicts, is only exasperating the situation.

**transmogrifier** · 12-27-2007, 11:01 PM

I really, really, really hate people sometimes. Individually, they can be wonderful. Put those same people in a group, give them a doctrine (religious, political, whatever) that demonizes other groups, and they are worse than animals.

**Ezee E** · 12-27-2007, 11:02 PM

Quoting transmogrifier (view post)

I really, really, really hate people sometimes. Individually, they can be wonderful. Put those same people in a group, give them a doctrine (religious, political, whatever) that demonizes other groups, and they are worse than animals.

But where's the news?

**Benny Profane** · 12-28-2007, 04:34 PM

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5...4Pz91XcvoFenyA

The SUNROOF of the car killed Bhutto, not bullets. This is not a typo or an attempt at a joke.

**Milky Joe** · 12-28-2007, 04:47 PM

Mann, al-Qaeda is good.

**Scar** · 12-31-2007, 03:14 PM

Y'all be safe tonight.....

http://www.startribune.com/local/12937007.html

**Rowland** · 12-31-2007, 03:18 PM

Quoting Scar (view post)

Y'all be safe tonight.....

http://www.startribune.com/local/12937007.html

I'm satisfied after 6-7 drinks. These masochistic people who just keep going and going baffle me... I got over those sorts of drinking tendencies when I was 16.

**Scar** · 12-31-2007, 03:20 PM

Quoting Rowland (view post)

I'm satisfied after 6-7 drinks. These masochistic people who just keep going and going baffle me... I got over those sorts of drinking tendencies when I was 16.

My tolerance has dropped significantly over the past several months. Six beers, and I'm good.

**Ezee E** · 12-31-2007, 04:03 PM

I work at the firehouse tonight.

I wonder how many IVs I'll get to give since the Medics tend to let us new guys put IVs on the annoying drunks since we aren't great at it yet.

**chrisnu** · 12-31-2007, 10:09 PM

I found this tidbit on IMDb. Interesting...

Swinton Leading a 'Double Life'

British actress Tilda Swinton has confessed to leading an extraordinary double life following a spate of Internet rumors about an alleged affair. The 47-year-old admits to enjoying a romantic liaison with a "delightful painter" while still living with her long-term partner and their two children. Swinton, who is nominated for a Golden Globe award for her role in Michael Clayton alongside George Clooney, spends much of her time away from the family home in Scotland with a mystery partner. And despite having a new man in her life Swinton insists that she is still in a relationship with John Byrne, who is the father of her 10-year-old twins. She tells the Los Angeles Times: "We are the best of pals and adore being parents and are devoted to that project. We ostensibly live in the same house but I travel the world with another delightful painter. The arrangement is just so sane." Meanwhile, writer/director Byrne, who began his relationship with Swinton in 1990, tells Britain's The Mail On Sunday, "We're amicably living together in the same house, under the same roof. It's extraordinary. We love each other too, in an extraordinary way."

**Scar** · 01-10-2008, 07:05 PM

http://www.startribune.com/local/west/13677002.html

Fucking kids.

EDIT: I'd suspend everyone of those kids that walked out.

**Kurosawa Fan** · 01-10-2008, 07:30 PM

Quoting Scar (view post)

http://www.startribune.com/local/west/13677002.html

Fucking kids.

EDIT: I'd suspend everyone of those kids that walked out.

I'm with the kids on this one.

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