Thread: Organics found on Mars!

Crickets...

Well this sure has gone a long way from Mars still just being a rock...

But I must say, I like what I am seeing!

Originally Posted by mapleleafalumnus

Crickets...

Claiming that Bush is a murderer is on par with Godwin's law which usually heralds the end of a thread.

Adieu.

Interesting how many of the people that want to spend more on space exploration aren't the ones paying for it.

Originally Posted by honedright

The war was catalyzed by 911. Whether we were attacked by them or not is irrelevant. It was believed at the time by both the US and Britain that Iraq posed a severe threat.

How could that possibly be irrelevant?! In 1941 would it have made sense for the USA to respond to Pearl Harbor by declaring war on, say, Thailand?

It was believed by some in the US and Britain that Iraq posed a threat. Not by everyone. Certainly not by those who actually knew about Iraq and its relationship (or lack thereof) with Al Qaeda. Saddam hated them, they hated him. This was very well understood by many, but was a fact that was massively under-reported. But not un-reported. I lived in the UK at the time and remember reading all kinds of reports from a variety of sources that clearly and cogently analyzed the background as well as contemporary relationship between the two and came to the correct conclusion that they had absolutely nothing to do with each other and that Iraq most certainly had nothing to do with 911.

EDIT: apologies for straying yet further from the original intent of the thread. Mea culpa. Back to Mars - yes, benefits have resulted from space programs, but I do think it is legitimate to ask whether those benefits have warranted the cost. I'm one of those who don't have to pay for it (!) so my opinion should be taken with a grain of salt to be sure. However, when one is speaking of the amounts of $$ that are involved in space programs - even if that represents a small percentage of the total budget - I believe it is necessary to ask whether those dollars could have a greater positive impact on society if they were spent in different ways.

Let's not forget that congress declared war. I remember Hilary Clinton stating that war with Iraq was necessary.

Originally Posted by Endofab

To reinforce that point. One of the reasons popularized by the media was that the Iraq was friendly to terrorists. So the Philippines have a very high Taliban presence. Should we attack them?

They have Islamic separatists Abu Sayyaf - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia in the PI committing acts of terror, not the Taliban. Abu Sayyaf is probably getting funding from Al Qaeda.

Originally Posted by Endofab

"Should we attack them?"

If you only knew what is happening and where....

Originally Posted by dustoff003

They have Islamic separatists Abu Sayyaf - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia in the PI committing acts of terror, not the Taliban. Abu Sayyaf is probably getting funding from Al Qaeda.
If you only knew what is happening and where....

I have it on good authority that the PI terror network is linked to Al Qaeda..

I agree that what is happening is terrible but think of the genocide in Georgia.. We stayed away even during such atrocities!

If it does not directly effect us or our oil supply then we are hands off!

Originally Posted by Cangooner

How could that possibly be irrelevant?! In 1941 would it have made sense for the USA to respond to Pearl Harbor by declaring war on, say, Thailand?

If a preemptive attack on Thailand had made sense at the time, why wouldn't it have happened?

*slowly puts on a foil pirate hat*

Are we winning this debate? It feels like we are winning...


Joking aside, stats, references to previous moments in time, opinions of government officials, none of these normally sway the stances of most people when it comes to this topic. If you want to reach some folks, it is gonna take some information that no one is going to believe anyway... Sadly most of these topics go into my "conspiracy theory" folder.