TampaYankee

How did Snowden get all these UK secret docs from the NSA?

I call being forcibly detained being under arrest. Anyone who says differently is being disingenuous. ar·rest (-rst) v. ar·rest·ed, ar·rest·ing, ar·rests v.tr. 1. To stop; check: a brake that automatically arrests motion; arrested the growth of the tumor. 2. To seize and hold under the authority of law. 3. To capture and hold briefly (the attention, for example); engage. v.intr. To undergo cardiac arrest: The patient arrested en route to the hospital. n. 1. a. The act of detaining in legal custody: the arrest of a criminal suspect. b. The state of being so detained: a criminal under arrest. 2. A device for stopping motion, especially of a moving part. 3. The act of stopping or the condition of being stopped.

Epi, Thanks for sharing such wonderful and informative experiences with us. You are exposing us to new saunas, new cities, with respect to detailed reports. Great photos too.

It seems that Daddy's dark days are behind him. Good for him. Economic downturns are brutal experiences.

Anton, Yes, there comes a time when one must move on. Your comments about work history are on point. I know your clients have enjoyed your company and will miss you. Good luck and best wishes in your new career.

Unfortunate for us but less so for you. I remember Jason Markus from that evening. Amazing how some images just stay with us. It was great meeting you and the others -- of all ages. Truly one of the social highlights of my 'mature' life. Thanks for coming and for bringing Jason.

Lookin' I sympathize with your point of view and in a perfect world there would be no killing with malice. However, the world is not perfect, and based on observation it never will be as long as humans walk its face. Killing goes back to Cain and Able metaphorically and that means since there have been humans. Our desires to the contrary do not seem to change that. Many people have decried why worry about the death of 1400 when we ignored the death of 100,000 over the last two years or so. What's the big deal? The big deal is what Weapons of Mass Destruction do -- mass destruction. Gas warfare can kill 100,000 people in a week easily, and more indiscriminately than any conventional weapons. And for little more than a Happy Meal costs in the scale of things. Imagine what Syria would look like if Assad went full scale with gas weapons. You open the door a little, then next time a little wider and the next time still wider. Nobody does anything. Ok, lets end this thing once and for all, he says. Aleppo is wiped free of life. The outskirts of Damascus are made a no mans land. Who knows what else. The next war may see the Kurds gassed or one crazy African tribe gases another. Ten thousand dead in a day, maybe more. Who knows? Weapons of mass destruction are ideal for wars of genocide which we have seen several in our lifetime, thankfully without WMD. The point is gas is cheap, light thus easy to transport, and very effective at killing tens of thousands indiscriminately -- men women children, farm animals and honey bees. This is what the world embraces, now and in the future, if it does not take a definitive stand against these weapons. Imagine Rwanda or the Balkans with gas warfare. Bosnia and Kosovo would have been wastelands. We learned this lesson in The War To End All Wars. Neville Chamberlain also taught us that ignoring it does not make it go away. It really is true that those who forget history are condemned to repeat it.

Saw an interview with former Senator and Secretary of State Wm Cohen yesterday or the day before. I very much support his stand. He says we cannot let the use of gas happen with impunity, that we should strike but it should not be rushed. First, make sure that Congress and the nation is fully briefed with the intelligence. Then he wants Obama to haul Russia, China and Syria into the UN Security Council and present the proof that Assad used Seran gas on his people and then let them take a stand in support of a country that has been shown to use gas warfare on its people. The other countries on the Security Council can stand up and be counted as well after seeing the proof. All of this a-la Adlai Stevenson/Cuban Missile Crisis. Also, that when strikes are made they must be substantive and damaging to future ability to carry out gas warfare. Not a regime changing result but much more than a feckless 'formal' response that will do more harm than good.

If only BK would bring back the flame broiled burgers with or without the fries. THe present fare sucks. As for McD's chicken wings with bones, this may be the first thing they have served that wasn't conjured up in a food chemist's kitchen... unless it has been cloned.

Refreshing truth teller. Not too many media sites would have been so candid. Most would have wrapped it in 'social relevance' doublespeak.

The chicken legs don't go with the guns.

She is not in remission. The treatments have stalled the advancement of her tumor, somewhat exceptionally. Her doctor says it is not a question of if, but when, her tumor becomes resistant to that treatment. She says it is enough to be alive a day at a time. There is a story on the Huffpost recounting an interview with her and her doctor on GMA.

The western countries need to take a very public stand against this, one with teeth.

One needs to own a bank in order to afford a weekend in NYC.

I'm not quite sure I get all the hostility in this thread. Aren't you guys being just as judgmental as the late Jerry Falwell and his present day living brethren are about us? Demeaning guys for being who they are. I might understand if this was all a big put-on by Davey but I don't think so. Is that what you guys are saying? If not then I think it reflects poorly us, who have been on the receiving end of being reviled for who we are, to dish it to others of us just for being who they are.

... sort of.

There are always those willing to game the system. Too damn many. BTW they come in rich stripes as well as poor stripes and in-between spots too. Would that we could easily rid ourselves of these blights. However, throwing the baby out with the bathwater is not the solution. That only creates other problems.

It seems pretty well established that the chemicals were delivered by missiles that the rebels just do not have. That is why Clapper should have been fired. He has no credibility whether he speaks the truth or not.

Maybe, maybe not, but this is not political assasination. That would be an attack on Bashir himself. I did not advocate that.

It seems that the Canadians, Brits, French and Turks are ready to join us in this action. It is also clear that while we cannot count on Russia and China to join in or even give moral support, they have publicly recognized that Syria did use gas thus denying any illegitimacy to our concerns or actions. Being unable to bring themselves to authorize an attack on an ally they choose to argue for a tongue lashing while wringing our hands. As for China, they want no outside interference in their own affairs and choose to bolster that view by not interfering with others, unless, of course, it is Taiwan, Tibet, India, the South China Sea states. Also, it was reported today that Assad's brother may have ordered the use of the gas. If so then he should be placed on the target list if his whereabouts can be determined.

This gives the LOL's something to chatter about. They are always ready to be outraged when they can find the fodder. Rather than ignore it and let it pass quietly in the night like a bad chinese meal, they piss all over it with their bladders full of gasoline to demonstrate their moral rectitutde. Who gives a shit about them or Miley, any of it. You are right, that is what the VMAs are for, at least partially. And that is what young celebrities do, many anyway, incuding Miley and Bieber. They make some bad choices in chasing celebritydom. That comes with youth. You might think that Robin Thicke, if that is his name, might be a little more mature in his choices. I guess he is chasing the teeny boppers too.

Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico seem to corner most of the stats in this list.

This goes way beyond 'who wins'. This goes to what are acceptable methods of making war, going forward to other places, other times. Gas warfare cannot be tolerated in Syria or anwhere, as well as biological and radiation warfares. It must be stopped there and now. As for the tactics, they should be narrow, definitive and substantial, that leave no doubt that gas warfare ever will be tolerated. I would like to see a half dozen high-value targets destroyed including air bases and high command HQs. If the commanders get the message that they will pay with their lives then that will be a deterrent that speaks to the decision makers.

This is a Hobson's Choice. To let the use of chemical weapons go unchallenged with impunity is a road that the civilized world cannot take. There must be a community of nations (with or without Russia and China) coordinated response that makes clear that such weapons will not be tolerated. Once it starts it will spread and it will come back on us eventually.

I believe Frisco was coined by B-movie mobsters long ago.