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The author's lesser known works include "It's only white powder" and "It's only a poppy derivative"

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That child looks like the product of miscegenation. Or however that's spelled.

I liked the cops the best.

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I just tell 'em it's my socks they smell. I think they're catching on though, 'cuz the youngest keeps making jokes about oaxacan socks.

Stability in the MidEast
 

Thanks.

We're going to need to replace our garage in a few years, so I'm hoping for a Dem to win the White House in '08!

Stability in the MidEast
 

Think this one through some more. If we can't have cars, we don't need garages.

So, Russia's going to sponsor a whole war . . .
 

Russia on Tuesday launched a satellite for Israel that the Israelis say will be used to spy on Iran's nuclear program.

The Eros B satellite was launched from a mobile pad at the Svobodny cosmodrome in the Far East, said Alexei Kuznetsov, a spokesman for the Russian military space forces.

About 20 minutes later, the satellite successfully reached orbit, Russian news agencies reported, citing the space forces' news service.

"The Israeli satellite reached its target orbit and has been transferred to the client's control," Kuznetsov was quoted as saying by the ITAR-Tass news agency.

Israel's Channel 10 TV reported that the launch was successful, but the satellite would not deploy its power panels for another day and a half.

The satellite is designed to spot images on the ground as small as 27 1/2 inches, an Israeli defense official said. That level of resolution would allow Israel to gather information on Iran's nuclear program and its long-range missiles, which are capable of striking Israel, he said.

Russia, which has developed ties with Israel since the collapse of the Soviet Union, is also a major commercial partner of Tehran and is building an $800 million nuclear power station in Bushehr, southern Iran.
But it insists that the transfer of nuclear technology to Iran will not endanger the non-proliferation regime and has rejected U.S. calls to abandon the project as well as halt military sales to Tehran. The Russian defense minister confirmed Monday that Moscow will go ahead and supply Iran with sophisticated anti-aircraft missiles.

At Belmont Club

So, Russia's going to sponsor a whole war . . .
 

Well, the Russians have essentially lost a rather large investment in Iraq, so it only makes good sense that they would start hedging their positions.

S_A_M

So, Russia's going to sponsor a whole war . . .
 

The Russians, except for the Israelis, should be the most concerned about Iran. The Chechens closest ethnic kin are the Iranians, and they are very close to eachother geographically. I guess it is a little crazy of me to think that Russia should act in its own self interest (instead of just trying to make a short term pecuniary gain or focusing on its jealousy of the United States) but you would think they would just show a little concern. On the other hand, I guess they are addressing this concern by giving the Israelis the means to take out the missiles. It is also a great way of keeping a customer. Every time Israel destroys the nuclear stuff they have to go back to Russia to buy some more.

So, Russia's going to sponsor a whole war . . .
 

Wasn't this the plot of that movie Nic Cage made last year?

So, Russia's going to sponsor a whole war . . .
 

Appropo of the Isrealis - Iran has now moved into the vacuum of the Lebanon side of the Lebanon-Israel border, setting up new fortifications in a joint move with Hezbollah. So, Iran and Israel, for all practical purposes, now share a border.

I'm guessing it all goes up within six weeks, which is how long it will likely take for Iran to get their short-range missiles set up along the line.

So, Russia's going to sponsor a whole war . . .
 

Of course, the only reason Israel uses a Russian launch site is to be able to launch eastward, against the spin of the earth (which is more efficient). If they launch from Israel eastward, well, one can surmise what would happen.

I don't like the idea of Iran having nuclear weapons, but it strikes me that on some level hoping that it won't happen is a little like hoping that Japan won't adopt firearms. Things might slow down a bit, but the technology has been around for more than a half a century now, and time marches on.

Buying a new Laptop
 

I just got an authorization to buy a new laptop. Has to be a PC. I want to go top of the line as it will be my main computer also. What is the latest operating system? Is it still XP? Hasn't that been around for six years?

What kind should I get?
Where should I buy it?

Buying a new Laptop
 

Do you normally work in a server environment, or are you normally disconnected from any network?

What five programs do you run most often?

Do you use lots and lots of graphics in your work? Photo-editing software? Tons of brand-new video games?

Or, do you use the computer mostly for mail, word processing, net browsing, and the odd spreadsheet or two?

Is battery life a very important factor, or just the usual "important" factor?

Are you one of those "it has to be the smallest phone/camera/laptop at the conference" guys, or is "medium" size and weight okay?

(have to know this stuff to know what you really need for hardware.)

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It appears to be "inmigrantes" not "immigrante." Just FYI, in a dtb kind of way.