"Whiz,
You have posted some very intelligent and thoughtful remarks, but you need to study your history and current events much more. I would strongly suggest that you pick up your daily paper and read the news. You don't have to read all the articles, but scanning the headlines and reading the first paragraph or two will give you a much better idea of what is going on in the world.

For example, you question about Hussein shows a real lack of following even the highlights of what is going on. The trial has been prominently featured.

Karl Marx and Frederick Engels were Germans. When they wrote the Communist Manifesto, it was not for any specific country, but rather as the blueprint for a social revolution. The Manifesto was written in 1848 more than 50 years before the October Revolutions. It was adopted by radical Russians, seeking to overthrow the Tsar that ruled Russia but it was never written by Marx for Russia.

Communism as a political system was corrupted by the Russians. And it failed because it really goes against human nature.

As to pulling out of Iraq, I'm afraid your naivete is showing. I have been vocal about the mistake that was made in getting involved in the first place. But the fact is we are stuck. For us to just pull out at this point would be to destabilize the situation and just make things worse. yes we need to withdraw, but it needs to be done right to maintain the stability of the region.

Scott<>"

First, Scott where were you last year when I was taking world history, lol. But more to the point, Iraq I believe is a lost cause, many times I think we shouldn't be over there at all, but we should help these people who are suffering. I also think that just because we are a super power doesn't mean we should play world policeman. I think in the future when an incident like this happens again and it will, we should try to force more countries to help and get more UN involvement. I agree that pulling out entirely right now without fixing or stabilizing the region would mean that many soldiers would have died in vain. I just hope that we start focusing more on our own problems than the worlds, in washington's farewell address he wanted americans to avoid entanglements with foreign powers, which I believe is something that we should try to reinstate in to America's thinking. We should help, and we will I know we will, but it would be nice for us to not be the only ones.
A Whiz divided against himself, cannot stand.

Maybe if you had spent more time studying and less time gaming, you would have done better at World History ;)

But I totally agree with your feelings about Iraq.

Scott<>

Let me bring this up before anyone else does.
http://wcbs880.com/local/NYC--Pregna...rces_news_html

The gist of this is a unmarried teacher at a catholic school was fired when she informed the school that she was pregnant. The grounds for the dismissal was guidelines in the teacher's handbook. The NYCLU is charging discrimination because enforcement is skewed against females (How do you know a man is having sex out of wedlock?).

And yes I think this goes too far. IF the woman was raped, that might be one thing. But if it was consensual sex, then she made her own bed and now must lie in it (sorry bad pun). I believe that religious school teachers sign a contract and I'm sure the contract has a morals clause. I think the school is within their rights to dismiss her. Given that's it's a religious school, a think having an unwed pregnant teacher kind of sends a message they are within their rights to not want to send.

Personally, I think it would be better to suspend her (without pay) until after the birth, but that's just me.

Scott<>

Whether they should fire her or suspend, I'm not going to discuss, BUT it's a private school. I'm sick of these people trying to punish private organizations for having guidelines and enforcing them.

I won't say I'm "sick of it", but I do agree, that they are within their rights by having and enforcing the guidelines.

Scott<>

Unfortunately because I am too old, married w/kids and probably not even physically qualified for military service anymore, having packed on the extra pounds of "middle age" lol ; not exactly the type of guy Uncle Sam wants for the military.

I saw him in an interview, and I thought his justifications were weak in the first place. If he had said, I made a mistake, I wasn't cut out for the military, I could understand that.