Hawaiian

Both France and the U.S. have a military presence in Djibouti. Why not negotiate for an anti-piracy strike force to be set up and headquartered there? If effective, surely money well spent.

Maybe you don't realize it but the coastline of Somalia is more than 3.000 km long.....THREE THOUSAND !!

To give you an idea: that's the distance between Malmo/Sweden and Malaga in Southern Spain...!! or from NY City to Clovis New Mexico....or from Melbourne/Australia to Cairns/Queensland and than you;re still not there...

As a U.S. Navy veteran I have been all over the Pacific. I know what distances are involved. The ocean off of Somalia is an enormous area to police. There probably is a plan in the works, but like you say until there is a serious loss of life no real action will be taken. As the "inventory" of seized ships and hostages grows, the more difficult the problem will become to avoid some casualties.

Years ago while staying at a 4 star hotel in Manila, I received an anonymous phone call inviting me out to dinner. The caller said we had met the day before. I politely declined.

Then I remembered that there was always the same group of several Filipino men sitting in the hotel lobby.

I spoke with the head of hotel security who confirmed my suspicions. He warned me not to go to the police as they were of no use and might be in on it. He mentioned a recent robbery in the elevator of a very well known 5 star hotel, indicating that this was a problem throughout the city.

So yes, do not accept invitations from strangers unless you are prepared for a an unpleasant

experience.

Both France and the U.S. have a military presence in Djibouti. Why not negotiate for an anti-piracy strike force to be set up and headquartered there? If effective, surely money well spent.

Shooting at women and children sleeping in their tents! Such brutality will surely bring the wrong results. I believe this will incite even more unrest in the Arab world. Now the Saudis have to worry about a Shia uprising within their own borders.

Nowhere in my post did I imply that the U.S. judicial system is perfect. In fact, I stated

that biased trials also occur elsewhere.

Not sure what actions in Pakistan call for the awarding of medals. For jihadists martyrdom seems to be bestowed in lieu of medals when they slay infidels.

There are members who support almost every undertaking by the USA and the West and others who condemn them in practically every post and try to justify and make excuses for their enemies' actions.

There seem to be very few regular posters that do not take one side or the other - although some do pretend to be neutral from time to time.

The U.S. is between a rock and a hard place. They will be condemned no matter what position they take. Pakistan does not have a very good record of conducting unbiased trials. Of course this could be said of other countries, too. The judge and lawyers will pay with their lives, and possibly their families' lives if the "wrong" decision is made. So if your life is on the line, better to sacrifice the life of the defendant than rather your own or your loved ones.

Sad, but true.

What morals? Strapping on explosives to brainwashed martyrs to be? Killing innocent people in the name of an ungodly religion? Bunch of sickos!

My expectation of what will transpire in Egypt is the military will run the government until such time as elections can be set up. Elections will be held with many candidates running and the most powerful party will be the Muslim Brotherhood. Candidates from the Brotherhood will be elected and Egypt will start down the road to full blown Sharia law and yet another Islamic Republic, threatening Israel with destruction and the Suez Canal with closure until chaos reigns in the Middle East.

The military wants a secular government and are feeling out what the outcome of free elections will be. Meeting with the youth groups is one way of determining what voter sentiment might be. In proposed changes to the constitution the military may stress an explicit guarantee of religious freedom and thereby outlawing Sharia law or at least most of it. Because these youth groups are being encouraged to form new political parties, it is hoped they will counter the more extreme elements. I would like to think that the young people do not want another Iran for their country. Only time will tell.

I quit smoking cigarettes in 1983, since then, I can't understand why people like to burn money (by spending money to pay for cigarettes,,,,)?

Cigarettes were 10 to 20 cents a pack when I quit smoking in 1961. The issue wasn't money. It was my health. After quitting my chest pains went away. So it was not a matter of living longer, but a choice of smoking or not being miserable.

as long as the military cant meddle too much and as they are in competition for pieces of pie at senior level and have junior officers and conscripts on the side of demcoracy that is liklely to be minimal.

Agree. That is what I meant about "dissension in the ranks."

The road to democracy can be a long and arduous one. The military will most likely let the process run its course as long as religion does not become an issue. The generals realize that they will be vulnerable if there are no real reforms.

Improbable as it may sound, there might already be dissension in the ranks. No one wants to be on the losing side in a mutiny.

Met a guy from Arizona who told me that there is a crime wave in Phoenix that is spreading to the surrounding areas. He attributed this to the influx of illegals coming over the border.

His family owns several large tracts of land which they prospect for semi-precious stones. He related incidences where trespassers have followed him for days at a time. According to him they were planning to rob him. So for now he has given up working his rock collecting.

BREAKING NEWS from CNN Television

Vice President now defacto President of Egypt.

Edit:

Egyptian Ambassador to the US:

"MUBARAK HAS NO POWER"

LaoPo

The ambassador should enter the "Biggest Lie of the Year" contest.

The next 24 to 36 hours will be very interesting. If the demonstrations turn violent what will the military do? Will the despised police be brought in again? What happens if the labor strikes spread and bring down the economy? What about the security of the Suez Canal?

Is there any member of TV that would care to predict (or speculate)? I for one hope that more lives are not lost.

This is what happens when religious fanatics take the law into their own hands. Hopefully, the authorities will prosecute everyone responsible for this heinous crime. All the more reason to be thankful for living in a country that has a separation of religion and state.

Puffer fish toxicity depends on where the fish are caught. I was told the coral that makes up most of their diet is the culprit. Some corals are more potent than others. A Japanese friend of mine used to prepare it for us and showed me how to clean the fish. He explained what part of the "guts" to discard. Of course he made the final inspection before cooking and serving.

Now that I am older and wiser I stay away from it. Not worth the risk.

Ciguatera is another matter. Unless testing is done there is no way to determine if a fish is dangerous. Because the toxin is cumulative it is the larger predator fish that cause the most damage. They feed on the smaller reef fish that eat the algae that contain the toxin.

While I had only mild effects, one of my fishing partners suffered a very severe attack from fish we had caught and eaten. He was advised not to eat any seafood for at least a year.

For the poster that did not know that seaweed could be toxic, try googling "red tide."

name='flying' timestamp='1297064948' post='4202643']

Oh yeah not like the US banking system which has thrown the US into what is arguably the worst crisis it has ever seen & has more potential than the great depression.

The difference here in the US is the thugs, thieves & despots as you call them wear suits & get job titles like Treasury Secretary or work for Goldman Sachs ...or in some cases worked for GS then became Treasury Secretaries .....

[/quote

The robber barons are back and this time they are in government setting policy and making and breaking rules.

Could this have anything to do with the tar sands in Alberta? Seems like someone wants to make it more difficult for oil hungry China to outbid the U.S.

Looking at last month's bill, I paid $246 for 663kwh which is 37 cents or about 11 baht per unit. Generation is from roughly 80% oil and 20% renewable energy. Renewable energy consists mainly of wind and geothermal.

Because of low population density on this island there are long stretches of transmission lines with no customers which add to power distribution costs.

In the works is a farm and processing plant that will produce biofuel from cellulose fibers. According to the engineers the process will involve microwave technology and will be cost effective. It is hoped this will replace most of the imported oil now used for electrical generation.

Also being explored are other hot spots for geothermal development and the possibility of undersea cables to export any surplus electricity to neighboring islands.

Just one of the high costs of living in "paradise."

Who really knows what the people want? Out of a population of approx. 80million all we have seen at most are perhaps a few hundred thousand protestors. The military aside from 450,000 uniformed personnel employs millions in its enterprises which include agriculture, commercial office plazas, multiple hotels and manufacturing facilities.

I would expect that there are millions upon millions of Egyptians that may support the Mubarek approach. This doesn't make his regime ok, but it is a misjudgement if one assumes that the people of Egypt are in agreement over the protest. Human nature being what it is, I would expect that there is a large portion of the population wants order, even if that means keep Mubarek on for some time.

We'll know in a few hours as my sources advise that the crackdown will come shortly. The US and other foreign governments have been begging/pleading/warning the Egyptian military not to kill civilians. If it does happen, the US will be forced to cut off military aid and I don't think the military machine doesn't want to lose $1billion.

We know what they don't want. A corrupt president who silences his opponents by brutality. A corrupt president who allows his cronies to monopolize certain sectors of the economy and stifle the competition. A corrupt president who

hires goon squads to commit acts of violence against political dissenters. The question should be how far are the Egyptian people willing to go. Seems like several hundred thousand or so are willing to put their lives on the line.

Has your source told Christiane Amanpour not to believe Omar Sulieman when he told her the protesters will be asked to leave and not be forced to leave if they choose to stay. On a second thought, maybe Sulieman is telling the truth. Quite possible the strategy is to surround them and starve them out. Either way, both men should not be trusted.

Does Hosni Mubarak really believe this? Then why appoint a vice president? Mubarak had a chance to prevent all of this from happening and underestimated the unrest his regime was fomenting. Five days ago I posted, "Too little, too late." The Egyptian people seem to agree. Time for a caretaker government.

In Hawaii people rarely take offense when asked about their ethnicity. Most are proud of their heritage and enjoy talking about it. It wasn't always this way. Today interracial marriages are quite common. It is difficult and foolish to discriminate against your relatives. Would you shun your grandchildren if they were of a ethnicity that you disliked or did not understand?

When I mention to someone that my wife is Thai they usually open up about how much they like Thai food. They never ask why did I marry a Thai woman.

I am often asked by newcomers, "How long have you been here?" They are usually surprised that I was born here and so was my mother. Perhaps it is because I do not speak pidgin to them and have taught my children to speak "proper english" in order to communicate with "foreigners."

When it comes to racial relations, Hawaii is light years ahead of the rest of the U.S. Of course there is racial tension, but not to the degree that is found in other states.

When I was growing up our family frequently attended parties at the homes of the employee's that worked with my father. Japanese food at New Years, Chinese food on Chinese New Years,

Hawaiian luaus for weddings and so on.

Both of my parents worked for the same company and they also managed the credit union. We still have photos from the 60's of the dinner meetings. At least seven or eight ethnic groups represented.

I grew up in this environment where even though there was racial discrimination it was mostly subdued and seldom overt.

Returning from military service, I worked as a carpenter in an occupation that was predominantly Japanese. In fact, sometimes I was the only white employee. That didn't stop

them from electing me their union rep. We oftentimes joked that I was the "token haole"(white man)on the union board.

Eventually I started my own construction company and am proud to say that I hired people for their ability and not skin color. During the years I had Hawaiian, Japanese, Chinese, Portuguese, Filipino, Mexican and Puerto Rican employees.

Happily, today people here are even more racially tolerant. When it comes to food that is a big plus. Most parties have a selection of almost every ethnic food you can think of.

Another hater full of stereotypes, prejudice and ignorance who cannot differentiate between some radical islamist terrorist and islam as religion.

Read the Koran. Don't hang on the earlier sections referencing peace, but stick to the later sections. Yes, there are conflicting passages. Westerners that approach the book with a western perspective just do not seem to grasp the concept of abrogation that characterizes the text. Therefore, it is nmost likely you that is full of stereotypes, prejudice and ignorance.

I am not a westerner.

Why dont meet some Muslims in person, talk with them face to face. They are not all suicide bombers.

On a long weekend visit to Trat and Koh Chang my wife's cousin was invited along with one of her coworkers. Upon returning to Bangkok I mentioned to my wife how polite and pleasant her cousin's friend was and her almost flawless command of English. I was curious why this young lady never ate much of anything until the evening meal. Come to find out she was fasting because of Ramadan. I recall visiting several temples and this Muslim joined the other Buddhists in paying their respects.

The point is, this Muslim made a good impression and probably did not approve of the extreme elements of Islam. Then again she might behave differently under different circumstances. Since the subject of religion never came up I really don't know what her personal views of her religion are. Incidentally, I don't recall her practicing any of the daily rituals that devout Muslims usually do.

Religion...... the root of all evil? I guess it depends what your definition of evil is.