Snares... either by spell or melee/range attacks, what is the smurfin problem with giving it to every single careers in WAR. In RvR because of snares you can't get away from a zerg even if you sprint, everyone seems to be stuck to the confine of the same places in the scenarios, or almost. I think a snaring ability is a bad thing for a RvR game where mobility means a lot. The game would be a lot more interesting if there was more squirmishes, hit and run, instead of a big melee in the same old spots, Nordenwatch anyone? But since a runner WILL get snared 80% of the time, there is no reason to run really, you only gives the ennemy an easy kill.

Now I am not against a root for a couple careers, like the nukers, they do need a chance to get back in range or run, but that's about it. I am not ranting because I was too many time victim of a snare, I HAVE that skill also on my action bar and I use it all the time, but still think it makes the game too predictable where unpredictability should be ruling and thus keep the boredom away, repetitive things do get boring fast.

A possible solution I think would be taking out the snares from the game. It would open up more strategies for the RvR players. Another idea is to make that snare on a moderately long timer so it cannot be spammed by those running after you.

Pulling back to get healed or go to a better location to squish those ennemies between two fronts should not be made so difficult. Snares should not be a must have, an I WIN button like it is right now. Stop making even the RvR easy for everyone, please stop it with that new generation mentality.

Now, the rumours were false, or well, not totally accurate. Make no mistake, WAR IS a big PvP game where the forces or Order clash against Destruction, but the questing and exploring PvE aspects are immensely rich and interesting. A girl can find her niche in this game! But I will discuss that another time. For now I want to talk about... the dreaded OMG-what-to-play curse!

Some of you will have followed the development closely, or played the wargame with miniatures armies and will maybe already have a good idea of what career and race to play. But me, I only have a Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay experience behind me. I do like fashion though and my first character created was a witch elf. Dark elves are just gorgeous and their clothing (or sometime lack of) pretty nice! But after 6 levels I had to try the Disciple of Khaine and a squid herder for the fun and a magus on the nifty floating demon-disk and... you get the point. Same thing on another server for Order; witch hunter, then an archmage and a shadowblade and  a white lion. I have a big problem, maybe like many other players, I suffer from Alt-osis, that dreaded disease where you cannot find a single class, or two, that really makes you go: awesome! and stick with it.

But what does it means? I see it in a very positive way: WAR careers are fun and interesting and all are playable in both pvp and pve. It's hard to stick only with one character unless you are the hardcore player type who wants to join a good guild to pile up those levels and enjoy the end game soon. What I am looking for it the perfect career for my playstyle but since all careers are cool, it's so smurfin hard to make a decision!

It would be a lot easier to find a career for PvP and another for PvE but Warhammer just doesn't works like that. It drags you in RvR and before you can realize it... you love it! I NEVER liked the PvP aspect of online games, I am more of a socializer/quester. For the first time in my gaming life, I am hooked! In other games I played necromancers and hunters and reavers, good classes to tackle everything the game had to offer in questing and exploration, now I have to choose with RvR in mind because pvp is just great in WAR.

So here I am, after a few weeks of playing WAR and still without a main hahaha! Totally pityful I think, but since I have fun exploring the careers on both side I guess it's cool. For now, after trying healers and melee dps I am trying ranged dps with a sorceress, a bright wizard and a squig herder! Overall, Warhammer Online is a fun game with fun classes and everyone will find (yes even me eventually) a career to their liking.

What about you, any difficulties and white hairs about choosing a career to play? Or a side?

Disinformation is one of the most powerful tools our government and politicians use to control us. It is a grossly inarguable fact that some people go about distributing information that is blatantly false or alter true information in order to better their own position.  While I think it is a dirty tactic, I would gladly take part in it as soon as I had evidence of its use against me by an opponent.

Most disinformation takes a marginally true fact and then adds to it, takes it out of context or falsely expounds on it. The most recent example is the McCain campaign (more specifically, Sarah Palin) attempting to connect Obama to a 60's extremist and then going a step further to say Obama was "associated with terrorists". Clearly a ridiculous notion attempting to take advantage of today's public's fear of anything associated with terrorism (which ironically didn't exist at all prior to the Bush administration- despite global plane hijackings, embassy bombings and other major at-home disasters like the Oklahoma City bombing).

I promise that whatever disinformation the other side is emanating I can generate at twice the speed, with twice the absurdity and have 10-times the impact.

ME: I associate with terrorists?

Funny, because as my team was doing research on your background we discovered that when you ran for senate you had a surplus in your budget that, after the election was not properly appropriated. The funds were suspiciously lost and unaccounted for. We have reason to believe that on your June 200X trip to Europe you gave this surplus to X, a know terrorist and human trafficker.

Them: That's absurd and you have no proof.

Me: Have you been to Europe?

Them: Yes

Me: Do you know who X is?

Them: Yes, but-

Me: Do you see where this is going? You've finally trapped yourself in your own lie!

Them: That's absurd! It's not true. I've never met X.

Me: So you handed the money- the AMERICAN PEOPLE's (you always want to keep things about the people, otherwise they may lose interest)  money to a cohort or henchman of X and not X himself? That's just as bad!

Them: I didn't hand anyone that money!

Me: So you kept it? That might explain why you have that fancy house in X.

Them: What? No! I didn't keep it!

Me: I have an inside informant (who does not wish to be identified) who claims that you still have the funds!

and so on...

Absurd arguments can be perpetuated indefinitely. I should have Karl Rove's job. Moving on, the issues: no one can remember who has said what about the basic issues. Here are my stances should I ever find myself running for an office.

Healthcare: Total Free-for-all. You want health insurance? fine. You have to pass a rigorous medical exam and genetic testing. We're going to weed out the weak, so in the future we won't need health care. That's right... My plan will rid us of the NEED for healthcare.

Poverty: Are you homeless? Not anymore! You are part of my new government program! We will shelter and feed you (3 squares a day! Just like Leavenworth or San Quinton). In return you will be responsible for all manual labor projects covering infrastructure, preservation and management/maintainence of utilities. No pay, but food and shelter are free.

Education: European education plan. You'll have the equivalent of an associates when you graduate high school. Everyone will be tested from 6th to 10th grade, every year to chart their academic strengths and students will be strongly encouraged to follow academic paths in accordance with their strengths.  Those choosing vocational education will begin in 10th grade and will graduate with a certificate in their respective field in addition to their associate degree.

Government Spending: Simple. Reduce the size of government. Anything that can be handled by the states should be. Why have duplicate institutions at state andfederal levels? Cut military spending. Give them the necessities, but no new projects. No new tanks/planes/boats/subs/guns/etc. Our biggest enemies right now are working with military tech. from the 80's or earlier. We don't need 22nd century tech to beat them. Dissolve Nasa or privatize. There are so many spin-off products from the space program they could definitely keep themselves afloat on the sale of those products. While we're at it, let's dramatically cut foreign aid, raise taxes on imports (slightly) and invest the money we've saved on infrastructure and research for alternative energy and transportation. Solar Powered bullet train anyone? Grant citizenship to all illegals as long as they file necessary papers. They will then be taxed on the income they make in our country. Tax revenues will rise noticeably.

The War: Leave Iraq. Station 1/8th of our troops there to prevent anarchy or a coup. Everyone else goes to Afghanistan. Pakistan, we don't want to hurt you, but if you get in the way we will bomb you day and night for a year.

International relations: Europe- sorry we've been such a dick. What can we help you with? Africa: sorry for ignoring you. We'll send our national guard to Darfur, gun's blazing. That shit will be straight in a week. I promise. If anyone puts up a fight I'll have the green berets, navy seals and army rangers there in a heartbeat on a special mission to kill the leaders in charge of the genocide. Ya dig? Russia, look- we like you, but you're being kind of a dick andyou're doing things behind our back and we're hearing about it from other people. What do you want? Maybe we can work out a deal. If you wanna get loud about it, we don't need troops to take you down a notch. But we'd much rather just have you over for dinner. SouthAmerica. You need help stabilizing yourselves. We'll send you some of our best city planners, economists and we'll even allow some of our corporations to have a plant or two in your countries... however, the flow of drugs out of your borders WILL cease. The illegal migration WILL cease (we need our tax dollars). China, our clean energy tech is your clean energy tech. Stop polluting our west coast. Japan... you are more than welcome to rebuild your army should you so choose. Your tech grows faster than ours and we can't be bothered with defending you should N. Korea flip its lid. Go build a gundam or Godzilla or something. Austrailia- keep doing what you're doing.

The stance on Roe V Wade will stand. And we won't talk about it anymore. As for sex ed... Let's just say that Human Anatomy is now one of the required courses in the 6th and 7th grade curricula. Reproductive systems will be covered.

Conservation: Suburban sprawl will cease. You must build up before you can build out. If you choose to build out before building up, there will be a 40% government real estate tax on the property to be developed figured at the property's market value. $2500 tax credit for families driving vehicles that get 30+ mpg. $3500 tax credit for those driving alternative fuel cars.

Firearms: All handguns will be considered Class III weapons. Proper permits will be required for use or ownership. Rifles and shotguns will remain as they are. No more concealed carry permits for handguns.

If there's anything else you'd like me to cover, let me know and I will gladly add on.

This may sound kind'a like "Saving Private Ryan" theme but its quite different than the movie per se.

This morning, while having coffee in my office cubicle, I happened to come across a particular article on Digg about US military threatening to kill a dog that is befriended by a soldier while she is on duty on Iraq. At first, I thought the article was too dramatic to be true but when I googled it, it was in fact, turned out to be HORRIBLY real.

The article revolves around the story of Sgt. Gwen Beberg who befriended a pup orphan during her active duty in Iraq. She named the pup Ratchet. I know the hardships of being a military personnel, coming from the experiences of my father who happens to have an experience in the military too. The horrible atrocities of war, the violence, surviving against the vicious attacks from the enemy lines - all of these are faced by soldiers everyday of their active stay in one of the battle-devastated areas in the world - Iraq.

I give credit to the heroism, bravery and patriotism of the soldiers out there in Iraq and in other battlefields today. They serve their country well and they deserve proper treatment when they return home - weary from the battle. However, in this case (and in so many others), most of the soldiers are not being treated very well by the government and main agency they serve - even resorting to the fact of killing a precious innocent life of a DOG.

Well, yeah. You read it right. A dog's life. I know too, the importance of human life. But a dog's life is also life. From my own perspective, the military - the soldiers are trained to protect and preserve life. But I dont know what kind of perspective did the military have in this case.

The article discusses the life of Sgt. Beberg in Iraq and how Ratchet, the dog, became her lifeline and provided a more sane side of her life during her stay. Unfortunately, because of the stop-loss, Sgt. Beberg was forced to stay longer than her agreed duration period over there. Ratchet provided something for Sgt. Beberg - that in life there is still hope. Ratchet was able to get accepted on Baghdad Pups, an organization that help in the transportation and logistics of befriended dogs of other soldiers. According to one article from getfreshminds.com, the dog will be shipped to Minnesotta to Sgt. Beberg's family who will take care of Ratchet. Unfortunately, the dog's journey was halted by Sgt. Beberg's Commanding officers, confiscated the dog and sentenced it to face certain death. On the other hand, Sgt. Beberg is now under military investigation just for - befriending a dog in Iraq.

According to the military, there is a regulation against soldiers befriending animals in enemy terrirtory or from battle lines and soldiers who happen to break this particular regulation will be court-martialed.

Honestly, I find it ridiculous. Why? The military does not refer to a particular section in the rules and regulations about this matter. This is the first time I've ever heard of this. I dont understand why they are more willing to punish a soldier (who want to keep her sanity during her hurrendous stay in Iraq) for JUST BEFRIENDING a dog than court martialling the rowdy soldiers who kill thousands of innocent civilians in Iraq, rape their women, destroying their cities etc. etc. There's even a case of a soldier having fun while throwing an innocent pup over a cliff!

I am a dog owner too. And I empathized with Sgt. Beberg. I understand the atrocities all the soldier have gone through. All those atrocities are enough to make them insane, afflicted with war shock and even commit suicide when they gone home. Ratchet helped keep the sanity of Sgt. Beberg. So it is naturally devastating for her to see or hear if Ratchet got killed by the commanding officers she loyally served - not only the commanding officers but for the main agency, government and the COUNTRY she loyally served.

Jesus, I cant imagine why they would like to do atrocities even to their own soldiers. I thought the military is there to protect and preserve life. All forms of life, from what I understand. I dont want to see the military turning into heartless terminators - that they are trigger happy to kill any life - whether its human or canine.

I hope the military would do something about this. The military SHOULD uphold the highest ETHICAL behavior, the proper ways of engaging during a combat, to defend its country, to protect and preserve life. And that particular article on Digg is now at the top of the front page topics will almost 4,000 diggs and hundreds of comments. Man, are the military and its generals have GONE INSANE too? ARE THEY THAT TRIGGER HAPPY TO KILL EVEN A DOG?! The military should establish a program for this matter. They can set up clearing (screening), logistics and transporting stations for the befriended pets of the soldiers. In a psychological point of view, this will be REALLY helpful in keeping the sanity of the soldiers in the lines.

Right now, I am hoping that Ratchet would arrive safe and sound to Minnesota. I hope that Sgt. Beberg will be cleared from the investigation. I hope the military and its concerned authorities will get their sense of justice correct. If there is any particular regulation about befriending animals in the battlefield, they SHOULD explain what it is and why it is needed. I just hope that the soldiers like Sgt. Beberg would get the proper treatment they deserve.

The manner of treating even the simplest form of life reflects how you will treat the higher form of life - the way you treat a dog, a cat or any other animal life - domesticated or not - will surely reflect or give a psychological hint on the way you treat human life  and handle interpersonal relationships.

I ask every reader of this blog to pass this to your senators, to everyone else. Let this be known to the rest of the world. The rowdy soldiers who killed innocent civilians, shot their dogs, raped their women, orphaned their children should be the ones COURT MARTIALLED rather than the ones like Sgt. Beberg who protected and preserved life in any form, and who duly served their country.

Here are the main articles that you can refer to: (PLEASE ALSO PASS THIS!)

http://www.getfreshminds.com/2008/10/baghdad-pups.html

http://www.spca.com/press/item/56

You can also go to Digg to digg this article: http://digg.com/political_opinion/US_Military_threatens_to_kill_pet_of_deployed_US_Soldier

You can also go to the Baghdad Pups website: http://www.baghdadpups.com/

To Sgt. Beberg,

I'm keeping up the best hopes for you and Ratchet. I hope you will overcome this dark episode of your life. I'll pray for you both. God bless!

As I was click click clicking away, half-reading guild chat, I get a /tell from a name I didn't recognize, asking if an officer from the guild is on who can invite people to the guild. As a guild founder, I've got lots of privileges that I honestly haven't used. In fact, I hadn't actually added anyone to the guild before last night. There are usually officers on who are quicker on the draw than me, and since Casualties of War closed recruiting a couple weeks ago, I didn't even think we were accepting new members.

When I got the /tell, I started asking questions, because I know there's a process to follow, and I didn't want Genda mad at me because I was inviting people willy-nilly. There's a cap on the number of people you can have in a guild in WAR, and I know we've got a ton of players toward that cap. New applicants are supposed to apply on the forum, and when they get moved to Invite status, they're supposed to get a pass phrase that lets other officers know they're cleared for an invite. This person didn't know the pass phrase, but they said that Genda said it would be no problem.

Ok, that could be...I figured I'd check the guild forums and see if Genda left a note, or to see if I could find the applicant's name. Nope, couldn't find anything there, so I started into my spiel about how recruiting had closed, and I didn't think I could add anyone without checking with Genda.

The person asking for the invite was polite, but persistent, and I started to get the feeling that they weren't making up the story. I asked in Guild chat if anyone knew the character's name from Thorgrim, the CoW Destruction server. Nope, nobody recognized the name, and when I said the applicant didn't know the pass phrase, most people thought I should wait to add them. That made sense to me, and I was about to tell the applicant that, when he asked if this was the guild of bloggers. I said yeah, and he said his real name was Brent, and Heartless would know about this also.

It seemed like too much of a coincidence, so I asked if he was a blogger too. Yep, he was. I asked for his blog address.

The reply came back "Virginworlds.com".

Nice! I just spent the better part of 15 minutes torturing the person who is responsible for a ton of traffic to my site, as well as a lot of the other CoW bloggers, and MMO bloggers everywhere. I'm sure I'm off the feed list today!

My apologies, Brent. We're happy to have you with us, even if WAR is dead on arrival. If it's any consolation, future newbie CoWs will benefit from your travails; I have a much better sense of how to manage the in-game Invite process now :) To make things worse, it was Alt night last night, and a lot of Destruction folks were asking to add their alts so they could run T1 scenarios together. After Brent's torture, three or four Thorgrim folks had their Averheim alts added. I was imagining him thinking "Look at all these other people getting guilded! Why the hell did he put me through the wringer?".

He's playing an Archmage. I'd bet there's a "Oops! I didn't quite get to heal you time!" in my future :)

The next map clearly shows the destruction inflicted on certain very specific areas of the country, namely the areas populated by ethnic Muslims:

And yet, every day, millions in NASCAR Nation and beyond are reminded about what really matters. Take, for instance, the story of the Rajaram family of the San Fernando Valley. On Monday morning, this family of six was found dead, apparently from a murder-suicide perpetrated by the MBA husband and father who had been unemployed for months and had simply lost hope. Among the dead were his wife, their three sons, including the 19-year old Fulbright Scholar at UCLA, and his mother-in-law.

Or what about the sudden rise of parents in Nebraska who are using the newly-passed Safe Haven Law, dropping off their children and tweens because they simply cannot handle the financial pressures anymore?

And what of the brave men and women headed off to their second, third, and in some cases, fourth tour of duty to Iraq, only to return with physical, mental, and emotional scars, often too painful to share with those who love them best?

Remember when you could go to the store, pick up the staples for breakfast, and it did NOT cost $20? Now, the price of milk is often more than the price of gas-and neither is below $3.50 a gallon.

We are facing one of the greatest financial crises in generations, and our political commentary is coming from a Castaway of Survivor? REALLY? SILLY SEASON BE DAMNED-WHAT'S GOING ON NOW IS A SERIOUS MATTER, AND DESERVES DEEP, LOGICAL, AND CRITICAL THOUGHT, not, as Soul Brotha #1 used to say: Talking Loud and Sayin' NUTHIN!

So, loyal reader, as you settle in tonight to watch the debate, reflect on the following: which of the two candidates on stage tonight has exhibited the poise, grace, and demeanor needed to make the tough choices? How have they behaved under pressure-reflectively or reflexively? What does their VP selection say about whom they will govern with? Which one seems to get what really matters?

We were weak, pushed around and eaten by those stronger than us. We were the lowest of the low, bottom of the food chain, trying to scrap out a living amongst the dangerous world. We would survive by our wits and by our teamwork, but the loss of our family and friends would strain our minds of revenge and hatred for those who were strong.

Eventually after making a name of ourself, we reached the top and began life a new. It was peaceful, during these times. We would befriend our neighbors through songs and gifts, visiting their villages and helping out. We were a happy community, isolated from what was to come from the skies.

I..I do not recall what exactly motivated us to be faithful. Perhaps it was because we finally found paradise at that time, after our brutal past of killing and surviving amongst the harshness of the world. Perhaps that was what made us faithful, perhaps we saw the past as a test by some unknown power and that we were finally heading towards salvation. It mattered not at that time, we were happy and when the time came, our little community became a city, ruled by a leader who was faithful to the powers that be.

When I look back now, it may have been blindness that drove our leader to the path we take now. 

To see other cities with different views was abhorrent to us, to them. I tried to understand their ways, but our leader reprimanded me that what I was thinking was against the scrolls of faith. I was asked to keep my thoughts to myself and to stay away from their rule. I stayed by the side, silently watching our progress as we took over many cities by our ideas, by our religion. The statement was "Follow our path or be destroyed." and many did in fear of our growing power, yet there were the few who opposed our doctrine.

War was inevitable and I was asked to serve our country to fight against the unbelievers. 

I killed many, destroyed whole villages and destroyed ideas. Ideas were important to me for I believed that no single idea was the right. It was defilement of the sentient will as I thought if one would destroy an idea.

But loyalty to my country was important. After all, it was our teamwork that made a name for us in the first place. It was our idea and brotherhood that kept us alive, I knew that in my heart but my thoughts betrayed me as it often did.

I ran from the war, to the deep jungles were I knew I would be hidden. A hermit I acted and I watched as the sky was reddened with smoke, oil and war. I heard the warning sirens as cities were lost or destroyed, villages were consumed into our society and those who opposed us were destroyed.

I stayed low for years in the jungle, in a cave where I seemingly reverted to animalistic ways. I relearned the skills that were lost to us, how to create fire by simply striking a branch amongst flint, how to hunt animals by traps and primitive tools, how to face the fury of the elements without a shelter above our heads. It was a humbling experience for me. Over the course of our country, our empire's growth we became arrogant yet faithful, believing that we were blessed by external forces, powers above that govern the skies and stars. I knew this was wrong, all an illusion molded into reality. I prayed though, I remained faithful not to any power but to myself that my comrades, my people would be humbled as well, to remember that we are small in the grand scheme of things.

My prayers would go unanswered though, as I heard the sound of our anthem buzzing through the clouds. It was inevitable, and our empire finally fired their brainwashing signal of faith across the skies of our planet. Cities were turned in an instant, there was no struggle, there was no fight, the war was over and we had won.

As the song waned, I came out of the forest for the first time. I was found by my commanding officer who recognized me despite of the makeshift trappings I wore that I woven from animal skin and leaves. I was taken to a medical facility were I was reintegrated to our society. 

It would be best to describe how these things are done.

I was made to sit in a room, a huge screen before me beamed images of the right and the might of our empire. The goal of ultimate peace through the one way, the philosophy of faith as they called it. To know that all people must follow the one path of faith, for without it there is no meaning to life.

If it were not for my years in the jungle hiding, I would have been turned like the rest, but my willpower was strong. I played along the facade of lies they projected at me. My ideas, the things I learned in the jungle was intact, still buried deep into my mind.

Eventually I was trained again, for I had a special mission as my commanding officer said. 

With the our empire encompassing the whole world, the whole planet, it was time for us to go to the unknown, to explore the vast void that lay above us.

As he told me about the empire's plan, I gazed at the sky above me. The stars filled the night sky and perhaps it was this light that urged my people to go to the heavens above. Perhaps to see if their faith was true and that the powers above would welcome us to paradise.

So, I was to lead this campaign of theirs by flying the first ship away from home. 

Space, the unknown region that lay above our heads.

So they constructed a ship, a spacecraft that clearly reflected our nature; faithful and merciless.

The spacecraft was simple yet elegant, even I was awed by its seemingly holiness. A small ship with spires encircling the cockpit, behind it wings of white and gold adorned the rest of the body. Sleek, elegant and utterly radiant, the name Seraphim was bestowed upon it. A fitting name for a holy yet powerful weapon.

So I was to fly this spacecraft, this weapon into the unknown. The first missions were simple, procedures that taught me of the ship I was flying, of how powerful this weapon could be. We found a ruined world destroyed by an unknown force, other beings that were alien to us and that had to be taught the one true way. Allies, enemies, and planets that my empire perceived rightfully belonged to us. I was to see all of these. Perhaps it was a lesson that I should have not escaped my purpose before, to serve the country, to serve the empire.

As I lay waste to enemy cities, converted other races and fired the brainwashing signal that I avoided for years, my heart sunk low and I became devoid of purpose. 

I became a puppet of a very cruel empire that I called home.

As I said before, there is nothing much to be said about the job I have. It is a cruel, necessary job as my superiors taught me. It makes us strong so they say, the hardships, the pain, the torture to be seen is a test so that our whole race will never forget that brotherhood binds us and  faith encompasses all we know.

My hands twitch as my fingers slowly approach the button that would initiate contact to the race we heard of in my travels. My superiors said that they would be the gods themselves, the powers that be that granted us our power. As I initiate contact, it was more of a demon than a god.

The image was a perversion of what we saw was normal. Their asymmetry was disgusting and their insults were powerful but in my mind, this was the god that my people followed. 

It is not a god who creates the believer but the believer who creates the god. I smiled as I relayed the message to my homeworld, perhaps my people would see the error in their judgement of others.

I mockingly salute the demon and make my way back home. I know in my heart things will change, perhaps for the better.

I will be watching the debate and either have a report later tonight or tomorrow night depending on my schedule and how I'm feeling.

But let me just state right now...if you are undecided at this point in time as to who you are voting for, this second debate will more than likely help you make up your mind.

I predict that tonight will bring a lot of muck raking, act calling, and a lot of accusation from both podiums...but only one of the candidates will win out tonight if they focus in on the most important issue that America is facing right now...and that is a lagging ( almost fatal ) economy.

While the subject of Iraq will surely be touched upon, this is not a major election issue at this particular point in time and if both candidates waste time on this issue, than the candidacy will all of a sudden become a toss up between two out of touch candidates rather than just one.

Watch the debate tonight, I guarantee it will be interesting and possibly even a bit explosive. :)

An Iranian news agency said on Tuesday that a U.S. military aircraft had unintentionally violated Iranian airspace and been forced to land in Iran, but later allowed to leave.

The semi-official Fars News Agency did not say when the incident happened or give a source for the report, which comes at a time of tension between Tehran and Washington over Iran's disputed nuclear program.

The news agency said five senior U.S. military officials had been interrogated at an Iranian airport and released a day later after it became clear the plane had not entered Iranian airspace intentionally.

"After it became clear that they unintentionally entered Iran's air space and their destination was Afghanistan, they were allowed to leave Iran for Afghanistan," Fars said.

In Washington, the Pentagon said it was unaware of any U.S. warplanes being forced to land in Iran and that all U.S. aircraft in the Gulf region were accounted for.

In an initial report, Fars described the aircraft as a warplane. But later it simply called it a "Falcon," giving no further details.

1. Dire economy
2. Iraq/Afghanistan
3. Over-stretched military
4. Unstable Pakistan (w/ nukes)

= Fall of Rome?

To be fair, maybe not. But the effects would be horrible — a draft, war spreading into Russia and perhaps Europe, and bada-boom, World War III seems not so far away.

Hm.

I don't have a personal link to the Great Depression. My parents were trying to survive the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the players who filled the vacuum (not just the Third Reich, but I'll spare all the history lesson). My mother's family were well-to-do (I don't think "middle class" works in that milieu) Jews as the Austro-Hungarian aristocracy was being interred in the graveyard of history. My father was following the centuries-long traditions of his folk by embarking on a military career, with the added "bonus" of a civil war in the making. I doubt most people in their neck of the world paid much attention to dust bowls.

At the risk of being awarded the Broom of Sweeping Generalizations, I see one major difference between the 1930s and now. It is based on reading, and listening to those who do have the personal links I lack.

1930s: I have earned and must continue to earn what I need to live.

1990s* to the present: I am entitled to what I can grab, it is mine whether I have actually paid for it or not, and my government must protect me from its loss.

Analysis and reasoned speculation are all fine and good, and there are some voices around to whom we should be listening closely. But, in the end, it is that psychological shift that defines our times when compared to the past, and it sets the scope and focus of the lessons we should learn from our recent and upcoming mistakes.

I call it the cult of entitlement. It is the nature of cults that they hang on tenaciously, and rarely die a quiet death.

* From my POV, the shift took on a life of its own during the 90s. I welcome other points of view on that.

Ah, Crassus. One of the ten richest men of all time, a man so greedy that his name has come to symbolize ostentatious wealth. He was one of three co-rulers of republican Rome, along with  Pompey and future dictator Julius Caesar.  One of Crassus's methods of acquiring wealth was owning his own fire department...and the price for putting out a burning home? Sign the deed over to him. Nice guy eh? Not content with his great wealth and power, and jealous of Pompey and Julius Caesar's military accomplishments, in 53 BC Crassus set out to win military glories himself. He raised an army, allied himself with the Armenians, and marched on the Parthian Empire, a great nation that encompassed modern Iran and bordering regions from 238 BC until 226 AD.

Crassus was advised by the Armenian King to march through Armenia where Crassus's troops would be supplied by friendly locals, and they could combine forces to invade Parthia. Crassus ignored this sound advice, in fact ignoring sound advice appears to be a hallmark of his military campaign. He marched straightaways from Syria into Parthia, expecting to meet up with the Armenian army there. Of course the Parthians had no quarrel with the Romans, and they were understandably a bit annoyed by this. Unbeknown to Crassus, the Parthian King led the main part of his army into Armenia, and left a large cavalry force under a general Surena to harass Crassus. There would be no Armenian army marching into Parthia to meet up with Crassus.

So into Parthia Crassus went. His advisers urged him to follow a river, so that his men would have access to water, and one of their flanks would be protected. Crassus would have none of this, and led his army straight across a desert. He had a fine army, maybe four times the size of the Parthian force of 10,000 sent to harass him. The Parthians had 1000 cataphracts (pictured above) and 9,000 horse archers. Yes, the horse archers of "Parthian shot" fame. These superbly trained archers could feint a retreat, then while riding away, turn in their saddles and shoot arrows behind them. Still, one would think that 35,000 armoured legionaries with 8,000 cavalry could deal with a force a quarter their size.

In his defence, Crassus was deceived by a fake turncoat into taking the desert route. Still, it showed poor judgement. After crossing the desert, the Romans spotted the Parthians. His men were tired and needed rest, but Crassus deployed for battle and marched toward the smaller Parthian army.  First the Parthians tried to impress the Romans by concealing their cataphract's armour and revealing it all at once. The Romans were unimpressed. So Surena had his thousands of horse archers start showering the Roman army with arrows. Crassus had his men form up a defence and they waited for the Parthians to run out of arrows.

And waited. And waited some more. When the Romans saw camel trains arriving and unloading vast quantities of arrows, Crassus realized that something must be done. He ordered his son to lead a force of cavalry to drive away the Parthia bowmen. And this they did, chasing them quite a distance from the Roman army. Crassus then ordered his troops to form up into the "turtle formation" and proceed. The turtle formation is where a group of men form a solid square. The men on the outside of the square hold their shields to protect the sides, the men in the middle hold their shields above their heads. Thus a mass of men can move forward and be basically impervious to arrow fire. It's a neat trick. It's also exhausting, slow moving, and not a very good way to fight hand-to-hand.

At this point the Parthian horsemen returned and began hammering the Romans again. What had happened to the Roman cavalry and Crassus's son? Once away from the Roman army, they had been surrounded and killed by the Parthians. Turned out that the Parthian cataphracts made mincemeat of the far more lightly armoured Roman cavalry. The Parthians paraded Crassus son's head on a pike for Crassus to see. At this point one suspects that Crassus was beginning to doubt the wisdom of his plan, and after the day's disasters he agreed with his generals that retreat was the only option.

That night the Roman army abandoned its wounded and headed home. The remaining Roman cavalry said "Great idea, we'll meet you in Rome" and rode off in a cloud of dust. The army managed to make it to the safety of the town of Carrhae. The next morning the Parthians slaughtered the abandoned Roman wounded. And Crassus, one again fooled by a Parthian spy, ordered his army out of the safety of the city. Soon enough the exhausted and demoralized Romans were once again surrounded by skilled horsemen shooting arrows. The Roman legionaries had an idea...Crassus was told to go to Surena and sue for peace...or his own men would kill him.

It's not exactly established what happened to Crassus at that point. The Parthians may have killed him and sent his head to the Parthian king, who had it used as a drinking cup or a prop in a play. Alternately, knowing his great fondness for gold, the Parthians had molten gold poured into Crassus's mouth. In either case, Crassus did not survive the parlay. His last words are not recorded, in fact I can't find any quotes by him, apparently he was not a man of memorable words.

What happened to the rest of the Roman army? About five thousand of them managed to stick together and fight their way free of Parthia. About thirty thousand were killed or captured, including the loss of several legionary battle standards. The Battle of Carrhae was a minor disaster for Rome, it more or less permanently soured relations with Parthia, and was a source of great national shame. It took decades of diplomacy to get the standards back. Another result of the battle was that Romans saw silk for the first time, the Parthians flew silk banners in the battle. Interest in trade with the east was piqued, and this was  part of the beginning of the silk road and eventual contact between Rome and China. Many captured Roman soldiers were used by the Parthians to guard their eastern frontier, some may even have been then captured by the Chinese and were some of the first westerners to see China and the Chinese.

And Surena, the brilliant Parthian general who had destroyed Crassus with only a small cavalry army, what was his reward? The Parthian King Orodes II, jealous of Surena's great victory and fearing he might become a rival...had him executed. Makes swift-boating look downright civilized in comparison.

(The above image of  Parthian Cataphract is claimed as Fair Use under US copyright law. It is not being used for profit and is central to illustrating the post. It's also being legally used in accordance with the terms and conditions set forth by the copyright holder: Circle of Ancient Iranian Studies copyright © 1998~ CAIS. Oddly enough the cataphract idea caught on, was adopted by Rome and other armies,  and eventually evolved into the classic medievil mounted knight.)

(pic comming soon)

Pic of me on the new mount...

Her carefully crafted all-white image with all-white populist rhetoric to match was eerily familiar to those of us who ACTUALLY lived through the 60s in the South, and the reaction of her carefully constructed crowd of conservative admirers criminally predictable.

Palin herself of course, living in her own carefully constructed reality-free Palinworld, shows no fear that her character assassination politics may provoke ACTUAL assassination -- the clearest sign yet of how dangerously ignorant and devoid of ACTUAL RESPONSIBILITY she really is?

All she needs now is the hood.

"Now it turns out, one of his earliest supporters is a man named Bill Ayers," Palin said.

"Boooo!" said the crowd.

"And, according to the New York Times, he was a domestic terrorist and part of a group that, quote, 'launched a campaign of bombings that would target the Pentagon and our U.S. Capitol,'" she continued.

"Boooo!" the crowd repeated.

"Kill him!" proposed one man in the audience.

Believe it or not, past mentions of WoW on this blog weren't coming from a complete "hater" perspective, but rather a player who truly loved that game and, in the long run, became unsatisfied with the direction it took -- and wanted it to return to the source of what made it great in the first place. But you probably don't come to WAAAGH! for WoW-bashing (you come for the potpourri, thanks, I made it myself), and since I've made the oath up there in the first sentence, you now know that what I post next isn't an attack on Blizzard, but an observation as to the connection between the Blizz and the Myth. Ic.

Massively linked to this post by Blizzard CM Tigole about upcoming changes and plans for their PvP system, including this interesting little quote:

We're also planning on improving some Battleground and PvP features in general. For example, we want to give you the ability to queue for Battlegrounds from anywhere in the world. We're also going to explore EXP gain through the PvP system as well as low level itemization to support that.

Of course, my initial kneejerk reaction was "Warhammer much?" But that's pretty much like beating a dead horse at this point, and since I'm a new post-oath man, I wanted to look at this from a different angle. What if, I thought, what if what Blizzard and Mythic and all these other MMO companies claim is actually true: that competition is great for the lifeblood of the entire industry? What if that isn't just a line they spew when trying to look magnanimous toward lesser titles or "buddy buddy" with the big boys?

I mean, it's obvious that Blizzard owes a huge past debt of inspiration/plagiarism to Games Workshop and the whole Warhammer IP. And unless you're truly blind, it's hard to deny that several of the planned changes coming in Wrath of the Lich King are specifically designed to answer the call of competition put out by Mythic: the achievements system, the open-world PvP zone, and now this quote concerning leveling via PvP XP and anywhere-anytime battleground queuing.

It's also pretty obvious that Mythic owes a huge present debt of inspiration to Blizzard for being the "iron that sharpens iron" in urging them to try harder, think bigger and polish like a madman with Warhammer Online. Mark Jacobs even said so, especially following the Burning Crusade's release, when Mythic further delayed the game to make sure that it met the higher bar that WoW set in 2007. I won't deny that several of the innovations and streamlined features that WoW made so prominent are liberally present all over and through WAR.

The axiom of "when companies compete, consumers win" appears to be proving true here in the MMOscape. As the bar is set ever-higher by MMOs and single-player titles alike, players demand more for their buck, refusing to settle for what was "pretty good" in 2000 or 2005. Despite the high frequency of developing MMO failures, companies keep trying their hardest to produce that hit product, because it really does turn into a cash cow that they can milk monthly for a decade, two decades, or even more.

No MMO is a 100% original work; they borrow and build on what came before, and add on what they feel will push their game (and as a byproduct, the industry) above and beyond. If a feature from another game would be appreciated by a company's playerbase and would fit within the framework of their title, really, why wouldn't they want to implement it? It doesn't take the feature away from players of game #1, and it has the potential to please players of game #2. Sore feelings only come into play when either there is true intellectual property theft (which is hard to prove in this industry) or when players get in the mindset of wanting their game to "win" at competition against other titles.  I'll admit it -- it's easy to feel that way, much like rooting for your favorite sports team (the Ny Mets are my favorite squadron) and glaring daggers at the opposing team, even though without that tough level of competition, your team would be nowhere near as good.

My greatest hope for Mythic is that they'll never stop looking at the competition -- ALL of the competition -- and trying their best to challenge themselves to cull the best features and ideas out there that would work well in WAR.  Some of these have become the industry standard, some are a little more cutting edge, but I think we all would agree that WAR has room to grow, especially if it's not too proud to look at the field and say "Hey, that's a pretty dang good idea... maybe we should look into it."

[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8653788864462752804]

Why we fight

[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=9219858826421983682]

Here's what he says just now - it's worth repeating in full:-

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Death's homework

I've been diagnosed with cancer - a treatable kind, but still I'm ruminating on God and mortality

All comments (31)

• PJ O'Rourke
• The Guardian,
• Tuesday October 7 2008
• Article history

I looked death in the face. All right, I didn't. I glimpsed him in a crowd. I've been diagnosed with cancer, of a very treatable kind. I'm told I have a 95% chance of survival. Come to think of it, as a drinking, smoking, saturated-fat hound, my chance of survival has been improved by cancer.

I still cursed God, as we all do when we get bad news and pain. Not even the most faith-impaired among us shouts: "Damn quantum mechanics!", "damn organic chemistry!", or "damn chaos and coincidence!"

I believe in God. God created the world. Obviously pain had to be included in God's plan. Otherwise we'd never learn that our actions have consequences. Our cave-person ancestors, finding fire warm, would conclude that curling up to sleep in the middle of the flames would be even warmer. Cave bears would dine on roast ancestor, and we'd never get any bad news and pain because we wouldn't be here.

But God, Sir, in Your manner of teaching us about life's consequential nature, isn't death a bit ... um ... extreme, pedagogically speaking? I know the lesson we're studying is difficult. But dying is more homework than I was counting on. Also, it kind of messes up my vacation planning. Can we talk after class? Maybe if I did something for extra credit?

Why can't death - if we must have it - be always glorious, as in The Iliad? Of course death continues to be so, sometimes, with heroes in Fallujah and Kandahar. But nowadays, death more often comes drooling on the toilet seat in the nursing home, or bleeding under the crushed roof of a teen-driven SUV, or breathless in a deluxe hotel suite filled with empty drug bottles and a minor public figure whose celebrity expiration date has passed.

I have, of all the inglorious things, a malignant haemorrhoid. What colour bracelet does one wear for that? And what slogan is apropos? Perhaps it can be embroidered around the ruffle on a cover for my embarrassing little doughnut buttocks pillow.

Furthermore, I am a logical, sensible, pragmatic Republican, and my diagnosis came just weeks after Teddy Kennedy's. That he should have cancer of the brain, and I should have cancer of the ass ... well, I'll say a rosary for him and hope he has a laugh at me. After all, what would I do, ask God for a more dignified cancer? Pancreatic? Liver? Lung? No doubt death is one of those mysterious ways in which God famously works. Except, on consideration, death isn't mysterious. Do we really want everyone to be around for ever? I'm thinking about my own family, specifically a certain stepfather I had as a kid.

Then there's the matter of our debt to death for life as we know it. I believe in God. I also believe in evolution. If death weren't around to "finalise" the Darwinian process, we'd all still be amoebas. We'd eat by surrounding pizzas with our belly flab and have sex by lying on railroad tracks waiting for a train to split us into significant others.

I consider evolution to be more than a scientific theory. I think it's a call to God. God created a free universe. He could have created any kind of universe He wanted. But a universe without freedom would have been static and meaningless - the taxpayer-funded-art-in-public-places universe.

Rather, God created a universe full of cosmic whatchmajiggers and subatomic whosits free to interact. And interact they did, becoming matter and organic matter and organic matter that replicated itself and life. And that life was free, as amoral as my cancer cells.

Life forms could exercise freedom to an idiotic extent, growing uncontrolled, thoughtless and greedy to the point that they killed the source of their own fool existence. But, with the help of death, matter began to learn right from wrong - how to save itself and its ilk, how to nurture, how to love (or, anyway, how to build a Facebook page), and how to know God and His rules.

Death is so important that God visited death upon His own son, thereby helping us learn right from wrong well enough that we may escape death for ever and live eternally in God's grace. (Although this option is not usually open to reporters.)

I'm not promising that the Pope will back me up about all of the above. But it's the best I can do by my poor lights about the subject of mortality and free will.

Thus, the next time I glimpse death ... well, I'm not going over and introducing myself. I'm not giving the grim reaper fist daps. But I'll remind myself to try, at least, to thank God for death. And then I'll thank God, with all my heart, for whiskey.

• PJ O'Rourke is a correspondent for the Weekly Standard and the Atlantic

© Los Angeles Times

We demand the world human rights activists specially in USA to help Dr. Aafia in getting justice and freedom.

We strongly condemn the un-just ruling by the US court and demand justice for Aafia and her children.

US court’s psychiatric evaluation of Dr Aafia slated

By By our correspondent 10/7/2008

Karachi Dr Fouzia Siddiqui, sister of Dr Aafia Siddiqui, expressed shock over the ruling of Judge Berman in which he ordered the transfer of Aafia to Carswell Psychiatric Centre in Fort-Worth, Texas for psychiatric evaluation along with a ‘Use of Force Order’. In a hurriedly called press conference at the Karachi Press Club on Monday, Fouzia said that her sister detained by the US authorities was already diagnosed with ‘Chronic Depressive Psychosis,’ which is understandable under the circumstances in which she has endured horrific mental and physical abuse. “This diagnosis was a beacon of hope for the family as it meant that Aafia will get the required treatment and will eventually be freed or repatriated to Pakistan,” said Fouzia. She added that the transfer of Aafia to this notorious horror centre means even worse abuse and solitary incarceration for an unlimited period without further due process and without further trial. “There is no justification against Aafia to keep her in prison anymore, this is a new tactic of the US government to keep her in detention under the pretext of psychiatric evaluation, which is commonly used against inmates when government lacks evidence for holding them,” explained Fouzia. “The question arises as why the prosecution is so keen for her psychiatric/ mental evaluation?” She has already been diagnosed by American doctors and was supposed to be followed by requisite treatment, she added. “Is this evaluation just a pretext to affect her memory and bring it in line with something they have concocted about the past five years?” Fouzia urged for the best treatment and care for Aafia. She also advocated for Aafia’s immediate repatriation in order for her to acquire a sense of security that she has been deprived for so long. It will raise the morale of our nation and strengthen our democratic claims. She thanked the current Government of Pakistan for all its cooperation in this regard but said that the Siddiqui family needs an official pledge of financial assistance for a legal team of their choice. So that they can start a vigorous defence while the repatriation is in process. “I fear Aafia may not have long to live,” she lamented. Fouzia says that her sister’s salvation lies not in locking her in a psychiatric institute, putting her through dehumanising strip searches, chaining her to beds, floor hooks or walls, rather, she should be reunited with her family. “It seems that these “intelligence” or “investigative” agencies have been scheming to sculpt a story in the international media to show that she is mentally unfit and whatever she says now can be easily dismissed as the ravings of a lunatic. If they are successful then the horrors that Aafia, her children, and many others have been put through will go un-noticed,” she said. “The struggle to have Aafia’s true story told and her health improved is the duty of everyone who believes in human dignity,” she said. The torture now is sophisticated, invisible, subliminal and mental. For example, she was shown a glimpse of her brother and then no more. She was given hope to call her family but it was delayed and eventually taken away. This is completely unnecessary, uncivil and out of order. We believe that a competency examination of Aafia should not be undertaken until she is treated for her obviously incapacitating mental illness and healing of gunshot wounds. The current Pakistan government has assured the family that they have already approached the US authorities officially and expressed the hope that Aafia will be repatriated. Iqbal Haider of Human Rights Commission of Pakistan was also present on the occasion.

"We see America as the greatest force for good in this world. Our opponent though, is someone who sees America, it seems, as being so imperfect that he's palling around with terrorists who would target their own country."
-Sarah Palin speaks about Senator Barack Obama at a Colorado fundraiser (CNN)

Gosh dern it, Palin, you can sure bet yer adorable face I don't like them terrorists.  I just can't stand their anti-American, Joe-six-pack hatin', scare-you-into-things-you-don't-wanna-do idealisms.

With the presidential debate closing in and a gap in the polls with the GOP on the losing side, we can all understand their outreached cry for votes, but do we really want to see a repeat of the current administration's willingness to terrorize the American people into a vote they wouldn't cast?

As quick reference, here's a definition of terrorism from Merriam-Webster:

"The systematic use of terror (inspiring fear) especially as a means of coercion."

If Barack Obama isn't "palling around with terrorists," then I would like to point out that Palin is systematically inspiring fear into people to gain their vote.  This would fit the definition of terrorism and actively put Sarah Palin into the category of "terrorist."

So, lets take a peak at the facts.  The following information was pulled from a CNN Political Ticker.

• Palin cited, in two of her recent speeches, a front-page article in The New York Times that detailed the "working relationship" between Obama and Ayers.
• Ayers was a founding member of a "domestic terrorist group" that carried out bombings of federal buildings in protest against the Vietnam War.  These bombings included including the Pentagon and the U.S. Capitol.  This group is now defunct.
• FBI misconduct in gathering evidence against them caused all charges brought against them to be dropped.
• Ayers, 63, is an education professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
• Obama's Chicago home is in the same neighborhood where Ayers lives.
• Beginning in 1995, Ayers and Obama worked with the non-profit "Chicago Annenberg Challenge to raise $50 million" in grants to improve public education.
• From 1999 through 2001 both were board members on the Woods Fund, a charitable foundation that gave money to various causes.

CNN's review of project records found nothing to suggest anything inappropriate in the volunteer projects in which the two men were involved.  If working for non-profits and charities to raise money for education and various causes is terrorist activities, then Palin is sadly mistaken.

Furthermore, the two have not spoken by phone or exchanged e-mail messages since Obama came to the U.S. Senate in 2005 and last met more than a year ago when they encountered each other on the street in their Hyde Park neighborhood.

CNN's verdict?

False. There is no indication that Ayers and Obama are now "palling around," or that they have had an ongoing relationship in the past three years. Also, there is nothing to suggest that Ayers is now involved in terrorist activity or that other Obama associates are.

There you have it folks, Palin is a terrorist.  That means that not only does John McCain pal open to palling around with terrorists, but he's comfortable enough to put one on his GOP ticket.  The only thing she can do to remove herself from the claim of being a terrorist is to swear under oath that she didn't understand what she was talking about.  Of course, everybody knows that she really doesn't, but it would be good just for the record.

Also, on a side note, have you ever noticed how McCain/Palin signs always have Palin's name completely capitalized?

Freedom Notes: We chose this video because of the controversy and emotion that it stirs in people, "good", "bad", or otherwise. It is powerful and affecting. Some people will be very angry, others will swell with agreement, and others simply will not know what to think. Freedom in this context means the Freedom of Speech, which we all cling to so desperately and yet do not value for the sake of others often enough. But it is even more than that. It is so much more.

We wanted to acknowledge the Freedom which she possessed during the making of this tape. The honesty and courage it took her to create this moment as an expression of her own mind and heart, regardless of weather or not you agree or disagree, it is this point which should be seriously considered.

This is what making Art is about, and I am not sure why Musicians so often get the weak end. We treat them differently than visual Artists because they make themselves so personally available. We judge them for their honesty and inability to hide behind an image. 

We don't do this to a visual Artist, EVER, in any regard. We do not say the things we say about Musicians, for instance, about Van Gogh or Dali! And yet their work is just as wrought with political, emotional, mental and spiritual upheaval, including disparity of opinion, as any writer or performer. 

It is our goal to achieve a level of conviction and effectiveness here at Pheakkley, and we admire anyone who expresses themselves with such purity and lack of reservation. We do so hope that in whatever way you are affected, that you will turn your search inward, to find what truly lies within your own heart and soul this morning. We hope that you will face these thoughts, own them, and release them in whatever way suits your own creative needs, because that is what Art is supposed to do. It is supposed to serve as a mirror in which to face yourself.

We are all one, and we all have our own voice. Judging it as otherwise does not change anything, it just makes you feel as if you are separate, when you are not. Please allow the same Freedom to Exist for others that you desire for yourself.

If we are afraid of controversy, then we are afraid of one other because of our differences, and this means we are afraid of ourselves. That is the definition of discrimination. 

With Peace + Love, Rachael and Jake Ehrlund

-

Video of Sinead O'Connor Performing War Live on YouTube

Lyrics:

Until the philosophy,
Which holds one race superior
And another inferior,
Is finally and permanently
Discredited and abandoned,
Everywhere is war.

Until there is no longer first class
Or second class citizens of any nation.
Until the color of a man's skin,
Is of no more significance then
The color of his eyes,
I've got to say "war".

That until the basic human rights,
Are equally guaranteed to all,
Without regard to race,
I'll say "war"

Until that day the dream of lasting peace,
World-citizenship and the rule of
International morality will remain
Just a fleeting illusion to be pursued,
But never obtained.
And everywhere is war.

Until the ignoble and unhappy regime
Which holds all of us through,
Child-abuse, yeah, child-abuse yeah,
Sub-human bondage has been toppled,
Utterly destroyed,
Everywhere is war.

War in the east,
War in the west,
War up north,
War down south,
There is war,
And the rumors of war.

Until that day,
There is no continent,
Which will know peace.

Children, children.

Fight!

We find it necessary.
We know we will win.
We have confidence in the victory
Of good over evil

From last week's Spectator:-

According to Rod Liddle, these are some of the words and phrases banned by the Guardian:

active homosexual; career women; Third World; blacks; Asians; Australasia; Bangalore; primitive African tribes; crippled; in a wheelchair; hare lip; ethnic minorities; handicapped; spinster; committed suicide; gypsies; Bombay; illegitimate daughter; air hostess; Siamese twins; Calcutta; deaf ears; illegal asylum seeker; province of Northern Ireland; grandmother; bachelor.

Full article:

http://www.spectator.co.uk/the-magazine/features/2189336/part_3/why-has-the-word-grandmother-been-banned-by-the-guardian.thtml