From a US Marine in Bosina

[RedRed]

Sorry - I have been ofline for a while - I have a bit of trouble with my router.....

I dont have time to respond to all of the constructive discussion above - just one quick point of clarification -

Missile launch detection:

You can use radar and satellite data to track a missile back to its source, and many US allies have access and could verify the data. In point of fact a decent weather satellite can pick up the infra-red signature given clear conditions.

- Well doh! al Q or anyone else ISNT GOING TO USE A MISSILE ON New York.... It will be a warhead in a container/freighter/transit-bloody-van! - thats what I meant - and you knew it.

The figures I cant get my hands on at the moment - but please, supply the links! dont worry about the pie, just take them all form the IMF..... and I really do want to know.....

the 1 trillion dollars referred to counts almost everything- we dont t - Doh!

I DO know about the oil for aid programme in Iraq.... Wulfman & KeiFront did an excellent job responding to you, I feel. 1.1 Mbpd is the figure I have - less than half of Iraqs potential output (even with destroyed/damaged infrastructure, since the last war)

question - its already been asked, but there where no answers - How robust is this aegis crap anyway? How many missiles does a cruiser carry, armed and prepped to fire? How many missiles does it track? WHATS ITS SUCESS RATE? it would need to beat a patriot.... that was the wonder-toy of the gulf I, and it was a ineffective..... If N Korea was about to be invaded/attacked, dont you think it would be launching these things ALL AT ONCE.... by now it probably has more missiles than targets..... It wont be sitting by while the US pummells Iraq..... it will be building more and more of them.

nobody owns my ass but me! (and the wife )
RedRed

[SitFlyer]

goldstein, get real.

[Wombat]

Beating a Patriot wouldn't be that hard. They were more of a PR success than an actual success. Those missiles weren't designed to do that, and weren't really very good at it.

[Wombat]

There really isn't a rush to get to N. Korea.

They already have a nuke; two actually. Five nukes or fifty nukes, once they have a few, more won't matter that much.

[Dr Mordrid]

Patriots aren't what's being used now. It's a whole new generation of missiles that DO work and at high enough altitude that the debris doesn't come down on the missile battery. Witness the recent tests of SM-3, the Arrow and the laser based anti-missile systems in the ABL and MTHEL.

MTHEL was able to acquire, track and destroy 8 theater missiles concurrently, and that test was over a year ago.

As for container vessels those are a problem, but just because that threat exists doesn't mean we should forget about other threats...especially those missile threats that are offshore like those to our ships/bases etc. near N. Korea and Iraq.

Dr. Mordrid

[Corran Horn]

Originally posted by ElDonAntonio
LOL, the average american doesn't have a clue as to where Canada is...

Sorry, no. The dregs that Jay Leno digs up for those 'Jaywalking' bits aren't exactly the average American. Give us a little more credit than that, please.

[Dogbert]

Originally posted by goldstein
That's rich coming from you Anan. What are you, a chameleon now. Why don't you stick to threatening people or wishing them dead - at least you are more entertaining that way.

I'm not threatening peole and wishing them dead. It's personally against your kind of scum.
Speaking of, why are you still alive ? There's a human over population in this world, go away!

Oh, and leard to quote !

Originally posted by SitFlyer
goldstein, get real.

Nuff said.

[Wulfman]

Originally posted by Dr Mordrid
I'll compare the living stanadard of our 12.7% "poor" (if that figure is even correct) to those poor folks living in other countries any time.

The stats on the "have-nots" show that they're not missing much with most having TV's, cable service, cell phones, cars and even credit cards.

Ever hear of the term "Welfare Cadillac"? I've personally seen people pay for their groceries with food stamps and go to a car a whole lot nicer than mine, and this is NOT an unusual occurrance

Dr. Modrdid

the new york times magazines wrote about that on 20th october 2002 in "For Richer": http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstrac...A90994DA404482
(free german transcription on the whole text: http://www.zeit.de/2002/46/Wirtschaf...gmann.neu.html)

Zwar weist Schweden ein geringeres Durchschnittseinkommen auf als die USA, aber das liegt vor allem daran, dass unsere Reichen so viel reicher sind. Einer normalen schwedischen Familie hingegen geht es besser als der entsprechenden amerikanischen Familie: Die Einkommen sind höher, und die höhere Steuerlast wird durch die öffentliche Gesundheitsvorsorge und die besseren öffentlichen Dienstleistungen wieder wettgemacht. Und selbst schwedische Familien, die zu den 10 Prozent der Ärmsten gehören, verfügen über ein 60 Prozent höheres Einkommen als vergleichbare amerikanische Familien.

rough translation:
the higher average income in america is misleading because the really rich in the US arer earning a lot more than their swedish counterparts.
an average swedish family earns more money, the higher tax rates are compensated through public health care & better public service. even the poorest 10% of the swedes have a 60% higher average income than comparable american families.

mfg
wulfman

[Novdid]

That was basically what I was trying to get to. Thanks Wulfman.

[GT98]

Originally posted by Wulfman
rough translation:
the higher average income in america is misleading because the really rich in the US arer earning a lot more than their swedish counterparts.
an average swedish family earns more money, the higher tax rates are compensated through public health care & better public service. even the poorest 10% of the swedes have a 60% higher average income than comparable american families.

mfg
wulfman

But alsothat is misleading because someone can be making $40K a year in one section of the United States and be just scraping by, where as if he can make the same amount in an area with a lower cost of living like the midwest, they can afford a nice house etc. Theres a huge amount of varance in the United States for the cost of living depending on what area of the country you live. I would beleave that Sweden the swings wouldnt be as great.

[SitFlyer]

Compare Cost of Living between two cities in the USA

A Case Study: Gross Domestic Product - October 2002

[RedRed]

But alsothat is misleading because someone can be making $40K a year in one section of the United States and be just scraping by, where as if he can make the same amount in an area with a lower cost of living like the midwest, they can afford a nice house etc. Theres a huge amount of varance in the United States for the cost of living depending on what area of the country you live. I would beleave that Sweden the swings wouldnt be as great.

But that is the same all over the world, GT. My house (a 3 bedroom semi-detached (duplex)) cost me £130,000 pounds (??$200,000??). The same house forty miles away can be bought for $80,000. Its just that I dont want to live 40 miles away....

I am in the 'burbs' of Belfast. This house in a 'good area of Belfast would easily set me back £250,000! Its the same house...... that doesnt even take into account of the fact that if this hous was in London or dublin, withs its gardens and all, would be >> £1,000,000!!!! The costs of living vary erverywere..... its not a uniform thing accross countries, nevermind accross europe.....

Dr M - if the US takes ANY military action against N Korea, without absolute support form China - then I would NOT care to put my faith in a PR exercise.... As wombat says -

They already have a nuke; two actually. Five nukes or fifty nukes, once they have a few, more won't matter that much.

Jammrock - you say that the US wont get involved in africa unless something like somalia happens again - it hasnt finished! the country is still an ararchy - destabelising the entire region.... Those ground to air missiles fired in Kenya at the el al plane - thats where they came from !!!!

RedRed

RedRed

[Jammrock]

Jammrock - you say that the US wont get involved in africa unless something like somalia happens again - it hasnt finished! the country is still an ararchy - destabelising the entire region.... Those ground to air missiles fired in Kenya at the el al plane - thats where they came from !!!!

The missile was fired at an Isreali jetliner, not a US one. We're letting the Massad take care of that one.

Name one area of Africa, outside the northern muslim states, that is stable. South Africa is even more unstable now than it was with apartide (not that I agree with apartide, I'm glad it's gone, but things are really bad there now). The difference between now and then is that the warlords aren't stealing UN food aide and starving hundreds of thousands of people a month to death.

We don't mind any area with instability as long as two things occur: 1) They don't mess with US/UN aide, aide workers or military.
2) They don't mess with US installations.

In most other cases these days, the US will leave other countries alone. For example, the group responsible for killing 3 aide workers in Yemen will be receiving a visit from their friendly neighborhood smart bomb within the next 2-3 months

Jammrock

[goldstein]

Dogbert I pity you for the Village Idiot you truly are.


ps...You should congratulate me on becoming a Murcer.

[Dogbert]

In your funeral.