Hmmm....last I checked, if someone was determined enough in their wishing, a "mere mortal" could wipe this entire planet clean of all surface life......some nukes have been dismantled, but I betcha there are plenty enough left to accomplish the task.
I've mentioned my extreme method solution before, but it bears repeating. Put a tiny capsule of pigs blood in every US bullet and there will be no more problems with Islamic extremists. For Islamics, pigs blood is unclean to touch. Pig blood bullet means you die unclean with NO time to "get clean". Unclean means no heaven, no 77 virgins. Similar tactics have ended Islamic extremist uprisings in the past (circa 1900) so why ignore the lessons from history.
How about roadside pig blood bombs. Once they are covered with unclean pig blood we can pick'em off while they are jumping around screaming. You might have something here LD. Email the troops and let them know of your method.
Personally I must say the two MOST dangerous things any of us will ever face are (1) organized government and (2) organized religion! Everyone in any position of power has an agenda that they will play out over time. Propaganda and fear are political tools used on a daily basis throughout the world. I would suggest, if one can not read between the lines, it would be best to quit reading. It is the SAME crap played out, over and over, since recorded history began and the people KEEP falling for the same century after century! Take for example, every time someone burps or passes a little gas it is an excuse for the gas and oil companies to raise rates? Why? Because the fools of the world will pay it! No different than tickets to a concert or sporting event. Keep raising the prices as thousands will work their butts off just to attend one of our events? This mentality is slowly helping destroy the middle class, which is part of the rich agenda. The filthy rich who have ruled the world from the beginning of recorded history didn't stay there by being stupid. The average citizen is stupid when all along they have, and continue to have, the ability to change what they want and WON'T do it. Take for example, a nationwide boycott of one single gasoline chain, say for 60 days. You would cause a huge glut and bankrupt countless stations across the nation. After you are done with them move on to the next. Don't buy gas, food, pop or even use their restrooms. DON'T even stop there! After you wipe out a few things would change. Same goes for outrageous sporting event and concert prices. QUIT going for one year and see what happens. This I got to have it now mentality is being played on daily by those in power filled with greed and corruption. Millions, who could change things, sit by quietly will one man, who is not afraid to talk, stirs hate and anger in millions of others? One man can, with a few stirring words bring supposedly religious people to randomly kill with out any remorse and if need be, kill himself while doing so? The power of the spoken word or written word is tremendous and as I said, everyone in power has an agenda. Learn to read between the lines as there is MUCH more going on in the world than we all can imagine and what I see coming is NOT better. This will be my last comments on this subject as I come here to relax and enjoy the world of coins. I will not come here to argue religion, government, power, greed, anger, hatred or fear. If I need that I can just read the newspapers or watch TV! My coins, and you my friends, are an escape from all that! Have a good day!
I agree totally but I'm not sure your arguement really backs up your initial statement. You're right that if we stopped buying the Wal-mart inspired plethora of crap we all seem not to be able to live without, we'd all be richer and the upper middle-class to the societal elites would soon be hurting. The supposed health of the economy only props the wealthy up and keeps the rest of us spending and broke.
A quote from Lincoln: "You can't make the poor rich by making the rich poor" The top 50% wage earners are responsible for over 96% of the income collected (Source C.B.O.). 33% of all wage earners have NO tax liability, that is they pay no Federal taxes after they receive their refund check. NONE...ZIP...NOTHING. You can't have employees without employers first. Somebody takes the risk, invests, and works harder than those watching Jerry Springer every afternoon while dialing the "have you been hurt or injured" attornies for a quick extortion payoff. So go ahead and play the class warfare game. Make the rich pay 100% of everything they earn. You may think that is a good idea but remember, you can only do it once. Why work the next year if you are going to take all of it! People are not stupid you know. If you want change, support the flat tax which would be fair to all. If you make ten times more, then you should pay ten times more taxes. Anything else is pretty much socialism at its best.
I believe that it costs the Saudis about $4.00 to produce a $70 barrel of oil. The Standard Oil geologist that actually discovered the Arabian fields got a $15 per month raise. These are factoids which I believe, but may or may not be true.
They for the most part do not even work those oil fields. It was all given to them. Go figure that one out especially when one considers that most Saudi's at the time were nomads and their population was pretty low back then. Go figure.
"Originally Posted by crystalk64 Personally I must say the two MOST dangerous things any of us will ever face are (1) organized government and (2) organized religion!" I would agree with that for the most dangerous thing about a government is when the government forgets it is about the people and not it. I would agree with that for the problem with organized religion is the people who decide that we all should follow their idea of organized religion. However, we need government and we need religion. It is a very delicate balance that can only be achieved with education that is not biased.
I don't think anyone is saying, "Eat the rich", but rather don't be an irresponsible consumer. When you end up living paycheck to paycheck, you are saving nothing for the future. My wife's grandfather saved a half a million dollars working in a canning factory over his lifetime. He is my inspiration to save. I have nothing against wealthy people whether they've worked for the money or inherited it from a relative. Some very good friends of ours are currently building a 10 million dollar house near here and they became wealthy through hard work and ingenuity. They deserve every penny they've earned and, in my opinion, no one should look at them with greedy eyes. There are also multi-billion dollar corporations out there that pay nothing in taxes. I'd be in favor of a flat tax for everyone, corporations and ordinary citizens alike. If it helps businesses, that's great. If it helps the average Joe, even better.
terrorists in my humble opinion terrorists come from all countries and peoples . be it muslum famatics ,,street gangs,KKK,tree huggers who spike trees,skin heads ,or anyone who preaches an i am better than you idea. an act of terrorism is anything that invokes terror or fear. isreal/palestine,the basques/spanish,cuba/usa,the tribes of africa/the tribes of africa,caucasian/african americans. one person or a nation it doesnt matter both sides see them self as right and cannot see the others rights as humans .two sides of a coin never to meet ,always to be opposites.i personal dont hate anyone because they are muslim ,jew, black,or what ever .it all confuses me and makes me wonder how mankind has survived so long HEADS or TAILS there is always some beauty in both sides of the coin you just have to look beneath the crud and scratches.lets slab it before it becomes G. humbley submitted for your musing.
ejwalters I respect your viewpoint but I view your viewpoint as to general in nature and a viewpoint that is used often as an excuse for inaction or to excuse evil. Yes bad exisits where there is good. But read the Koran and you will see a blue print to destory Christianity and Judaism. So if you want to live in a closed minded society where only one religion and one viewpoint on that religion exisits, go ahead and hide your head in the sand for we are at war, a war that started with the birth of Islam. For a briefer example just look up the Saudi flag and what the sword stands for and the writing on the flag.
So you believe that it's us against them. Our religous view of the world vs. their religous view of the world. I for one, certainly believe that there are some people of the muslim faith that want nothing more than to destroy the west and everything it stands for, but, I think you attribute too much to yourself if you believe that they are all out to get you. If I go over to Saudi Arabia and blow myself up in the middle of Mecca or Medina, does that mean that all westerners are out to get Arabs? No, it means I acted for my own reasons and did what I thought was right in my mind anyway. Would they see my actions as simply everyone in the west hating people in the Middle East? Probably. Does that make it true? Obviously not. Perception is reality if spun well enough. My view is that religions should never be the dominant power in any culture. They should serve only as a check and balance on a society. Nothing more.
To say the people who believe in islam and the koran are out to remove christianity and judaism is a strong statement to make just because you have read the koran .in all thing we see what we wish to see . does not the bible have conflicting messages ( an eye for an eye , and turn the other cheek) we see what we wish to see and interpret what we wish.
To answer the responses yes I have read the Koran, I have spent time in mosques and I have spent time in the middle east. I find it strange that people who have not done any of the above can state that Islam is a religion of love or that the conflict issues of the Christian, Buddist, Jewish, and Hindu nations can be worked out with Islam by giving up land or bridging an understanding. Basically with the Koran and Islam there can be only one religion and that is the will of Allah. Luckly for the rest of the world's religions, Islam is divided between two different major fractions or we would all be under the rule of the lslam already. Now it could be easy for me to say that the world is beautiful and everything can be worked out but that is idealism and the world really is a brutal place outside of a few nice areas. So unless a person does not mind giving up all of their freedoms which includes freedom of thought, I suggest they study those who wish to make not just the middle east, not just Africa, not just Asia, but the whole world an Islamic State. Salam thru Jihad. Oh by the way it does not matter who the terrorist leaders are for the Koran is an how to book as well, it has its "Art of War" elements.
Can you read Arabic? Did you read an English version of the Koran? There are many translations out there from Arabic-English, and Arabic to other languages. While I have not read the Qu'ran myself, I have spoken to a few moderate Arabs (Bahrainis) who warn of badly translated versions - some of which have open insults toward Jews and Christians, which they say are not present in the Arabic versions. Also, from what I have been told, and if I remember the conversations correctly, many Muslims believe Jews and Christians to be of the same religion, since they worship the same God, and that the Qu'ran specifically does not allow resistance to anyone who follows the one God. That was Muhammed's purpose - to spread the word of God to the tribal, idol-worshippers of the region - not to the Jews and Christians, since they already worshipped God. I do not consider myself to be an expert on the subject, in fact I am far from it, but I have asked questions to Muslim friends about things like this - and they are always glad to answer. You also have to realize that these Middle Eastern countries do not have the security & stability that we enjoy as Americans. That's why extremism often rears its ugly head. If the United States were as weak as some of these nations, we'd be seeing the likes of David Koresh or Pat Robertson reaching absolute power & ruling with iron fists. One more thing. Some of the blind anger expressed in this thread and others may be driving away potential Islamic coin collectors, who could provide valuable information on Muslim & Middle-Eastern coins (an example). I have not seen this person after he made his second post - and I fear that he read parts of this thread & decided he would have nothing more to do with this community. Imagine someone creating a thread titled "Jesus is a liar and a fraud!". That's how some of the comments in this & other threads might read to them. I am all for having your own opinions and ideas about some things, but sometimes expressing exactly how you feel about them in an online community (open to people all over the world) about a completely unrelated hobby is beyond disrespectful. To me, it's worse than dropping a string of f-bombs. Faith in all forms is something that is very near & dear to people's hearts, and disrespect of faith is not something people will stick around & tolerate. I visit a lot of message boards on a lot of different topics, and some of the views expressed here are among the worst I've seen. Moderators on those boards wouldn't hesitate to break out the ban stick. If this is to be a family-friendly message board, I don't think slanders toward religions should be allowed, even if this is a general discussion message board - regardless of whether or not you think they are the truth, or what you say you've seen with your own eyes. People from all walks of life collect coins, and I feel that discussions like this keep many away from what would otherwise be fruitful & insightful numismatic conversations. Anyways, those are my two cents, agree or disagree, and I'm leaving this thread since it makes me feel too icky.
There is nothing in the world more dangerous than organized government and organized religion. They are propoganda machines churning out there hate and fear on a daily basis in the name of all things good. More people have died at the hands of organized religion than any other reason in the history of the world and it continues today. Seems like, at least to me, intelligent people would finally catch on? We have all seen prejudice all over the world and each and every one of us was taught the same when we were young and eventually everyone has to deal with it in his/her own way. The media today is one of the biggest propaganda machines ever created and they keep stirring the pot! I will NOT be taught to hate and fear as for every bad man/woman in the world today there are thousands of honest, respectful, hard working individuals who want the same things we all want! Peace and the opportunity to live our lives free, with family and friends, to the fullest! Hopefully someday we all will get along and live in harmony with one another with due respect.
Dang, I must have missed it. Is Pat Robertson hacking off Muslim heads over at the Christian Broadcasting Network again? That guy!