MistTiger

Ethreon, Thank you for your reply. That is the crux if the problem. As an example, if i am on a mod page reading the comments and I see a link provided by a member, sometimes that link takes me right back to the mod that I am currently on. Looking at the format that you provided; notice that there is no mod title. The ID number is the only frame of reference. If you can't get the link to go to the page, then you will never know the title of the mod unless the post identifies it. Another little annoying issue is that some mod authors refer to their file by the name "Main". Looking back through old downloaded mods is very difficult if they are all named "main" with a file ID that has no reference. I am currently hand pasting the titles to anything that says "fix" or "main"". Titling their mod is at the discretion of the author, so the little extra needed is not a big issue. I would still like the capability to search for mods by the ID number. Its a database query, but since I am not familiar with the structure of the Nexus database, I am not sure how much work it will be to incorporate the query and the needed GUI input fields. That said, I am patiently awaiting comments from the nexus site managers on my request. Cheers!!!! V/R MistTiger

Hi, I have been looking through the requests, and have not found this particular request. If it has been requested previously, I apologize for taking up your time. I have been downloading mods and reading comments. Sometimes those comments have an embedded link to another mod. Unfortunately, most of the time that embedded link takes me right back to the mod that I am on even though there is a different file ID. I would like the capability in advanced search to search for a mod by file ID number. I realize that you probably use file IDs again if the original file is removed, but I think that would still be a handy capability to have in advanced search. Thank you in advance for any time spent considering my request. Cheers!!!! V/R MistTiger

I thought I was going to get out of this and watch the fun, but I keep getting pulled back in. This thread is like quicksand. Maharg67 quote: The fear is that the leadership of North Korea is unable to see what is really going on, has become paranoid and delusional, has begun to believe too much in its own rhetoric, and that this will form the real basis for any decisions it makes in future. This is very true. It's called "Drinking your own cool-aid" among the masses and "groupthink" among those who consider themselves intellectuals. It hard to be realistic when you believe your own delusions. BerialLord, Don't know real where to start. It's history time, Once upon a time, A country called the US decided to support and promote a man named Noriega in a small central American country called Panama. After a time, Noriega decided that he would do things the way he wanted and started thumbing his nose at the directions of his puppet master the US. The US got tired of the antics of their puppet Noriega and he went away. Wow, sound familiar. 1. The PRC is the latest incarnation of a country that has existed in various forms for thousands of years. They are strategic thinkers. The leaders of the PRC have weighed for years the benefits of a NK buffer vs. closer relations with SK and the economic benefits resulting. They will show no loyalty to NK if they decide that a united Korea on their border is a greater benefit. In a world where communications link people in the blink of an eye and weapons can move the entire world in less than a day, the idea of a physical buffer is becoming less and less important. 2500 PGM cruise missiles will speak a lot louder than 25000 ground troops and be a lot more effective. It is true that ultimately, you need to occupy an area with ground troops. But its a lot easier to walk over the wreckage than to fight through it. Ever wonder where all those Iraqi troops in GW2 went to before the US moved north? Where were the huge battles predicted? 17000 PGMs. Think about the importance of a physical buffer in today's world. Plus, one cannot discount the added benefit that all those US troops will really have a greatly reduced reason to be in the region. the PRC will also be considering their ability to lessen the influence of the US in the region by removing the reason that they are primarily there. Would US citizens, in the grip of economic crisis, support to large amount of men and resources in the north Asian region without a NK? Think about that. The PRC could kill two birds with one stone by eliminating a trouble makeing NK. 2. NK is a puppet of the PRC. Even more so than Panama was of the US. Panama just had much longer strings and more freedom of movement than NK does. The PRC will weigh NK actions and decide when they reign in their puppet. Regime change in NK is not that difficult and it would be spun in a way to keep the NK in line. A closed society is very easy to manipulate. The PRC doesn't have to cut of the NK, they will just change the head on the puppet. 3. I am thoroughly amazed at how people are hung up on the now primitive artillery capabilities that the NK possesses. The Paul Donner bridge outside of Hanoi was attacked for years and stood solid despite large attacks from US aircraft until one day when a handful of F-4s used laser guided bombs and dropped the bridge in a single strike. Unguided weapons are now like shooting a shotgun in a dark room. History shown us again and again, that precision is much more important than numbers. Look at the effectiveness of the allied bombing campaign against Germany in WW2. The strategic bombing survey proved it was not decisive in winning the war against Germany. Germany's highest levels of production were just prior to its surrender. It is interesting reading. SK has been preparing for this for years. They are not some cardboard target that will absorb whatever is thrown at them. The important areas of the city are hardened. We need to realize that 100 or 1000 dead are not huge figures. look at some of the floods in China where tens of thousands are killed. Is the survival of a country worth 1 million dead? That is up to the country. If the survival of the US is at stake, will we wipe out the world to preserve ourselves. We have a large arsenal of nuclear weapons for just that purpose. It all comes down to will of the leaders and the citizens. Think about it. SK has to decide if the price they pay in Seoul is worth their capitulation to NK demands or even their surrender. No one else gets to play. Besides, the SK could just ask the US to stand aside and take care of the problem themselves. They are more than a match for NK just by themselves. Is the PRC willing to enter a war on the NK side and bring in the US? Is the Korea problem even worth bring nuclear weapons into it? 4. Now, according to plowshare.org, a nuclear weapons watchdog, the NK has less than 10 nuclear weapons. Just how have they went from a primitive nuclear power into a country capable of firing nuclear artillery rounds? Come on, can the NK even mount one of their crude nuclear weapons onto a missile. BerialLord, the key to any debate is good research. What are your sources that NK has missile or artillery capable nuclear weapons? A good researcher has to back up their statements with sources. We have went from Nk raining 1000s of artillery rounds onto Seoul to NK firing nuclear artillery at Seoul. That is wild and unfounded at this point. I politely ask that you please prove your statement. If you can't, its no big deal. I seek the truth, even in debate. A nuclear weapon is no good if you cannot deliver it to those who aggravate you. It is a hollow threat. A discussion of nuclear capability has to include the means to put it where you want. A missile capable of reaching the US from NK is pretty pointless if its payload capability is a tennis ball. We tend to forget this in the hysteria of the knowledge that someone has a better mousetrap. Furthermore, any exchange will include the total annihilation of any NK nuclear capability as a high priority. Frankly, I would be a lot more concerned about NK using dirty bombs as a final retaliatory action than them capping off a true nuclear weapon. As for their artillery threat, Sure, they are going to kill some people, but that is what war is really all about. The NK puppet will not act unless the PRC puppet master agrees. Unless, of course, they are insane. In that scenario, the PRC will have to decide if their actions are justified and respond in the best interests of the PRC. It's only logical. There is one final scenario that no one is discussing. If the NK attacks, Why would the PRC not just move 20 miles into Nk and take that area as a buffer zone. Wow!!! Problem solved with troublesome, disobedient puppet and they still have a buffer from SK. Kill or displace all NK citizens from the 20 mile wide BZ and everything is well with the world. The PRC, SK, and the US, all have a lot of options in this shadow play. The NK, on the other hand, is painting themselves into a corner with their increasingly wild rhetoric. The NK does not have a lot of options if SK and the US call their bluff. The SK know they are still at war, they have been at war since 1950. This is not news to them. The rest of the world seems to think that there is no war going on, but they are mistaken. How wide this war becomes depends on the PRC. If they stay out, it will be localized. If they come in, it will get interesting. History shows us that the NK would not even exist today if the PRC had not intervened. The question is not in how dangerous Nk is, as they have proven that they are a rabid dog. It is how much the PRC will allow NK to do before they discipline their puppet. Control of a puppet is a direct reflection on the abilities of the puppet master. An unruly and uncontrollable puppet makes the puppet master look weak and unskilled. Remember Panama. Think about it. Just my opinion. Cheers!!!! V/R MistTiger

Quote: @MistTiger Our system is similar to yours, if you live a constituency that always votes overwhelmingly for the same party your vote is basically worthless. Jim_uk, you are quite right in that context. However, in the US this is really not the case. Votes are very critical now. There a sharp division of nearly half the voters entrenched on each side with a small minority that floats back and forth depending on the issue and who is giving away the most free stuff. The final popular vote Talley paints a far different picture of how America voted 65,899,660 for Obama-Biden (51.1%) and 60,932,152 (47.2%) for Romney-Ryan. that has been overshadowed by the lopsided electoral college vote. Now you can see why I am LOL when people on this topic are screaming about the demise of the GOP. The numbers do not agree. A five million vote margin in an election in which 125 million voters cast ballots, is hardly a landslide for the Dems. It is not a mandate. It is a sharply divided country. The 60 million voters who voted GOP are NOT going to become Dems overnight and desert their party. The thoughts of a lot of people preaching the GOP is extinct is wishful thinking. Much like "we beat you, now you can never challenge us again". The Dems and GOP will be going at it again in 2014. The problem is that the battleground of congress is much different from that of the president in that local issues predominate and national issues are marginalized. In 2012, despite what the Dems wished, the local issues in the states voted the GOP into power in the house. That fact is indisputable. The GOP kept control of the house in which every seat was up for election. The GOP must have had some message that the voters approved of or they would have all been replaced. Now the way that the Dems are hoping that they will get the vote to move their way is to grow it by actual population demographic change. That is a possibility. That is why they are so aggressive in getting demographics that support them to vote while at the same time spewing propaganda that the GOP is dying hoping that those voters will think like you do that their vote doesn't count. Get enough opponent voters that will not vote because their vote "doesn't count" and you will win elections. That is the true strategy. Demoralization of your opponent. You automatically win if they don't fight. Now, everyone in the GOP that has done an autopsy on the 2012 presidential race has the same conclusion. The GOP ground game to motivate voters in 2012 sucked. Hopefully, that will not happen again in 2014 & 2016. There are enough controversial issues in the US to fire up and P@## off the GOP voters. The 2014 races will be very entertaining and very intense. Candidates are not going to be able to hide behind the broad issues of the US and point fingers at others, they will have to face their voters on their records in the context of local issues. A candidate advocating a popular national position that has no support in his voter area will not be elected because someone in another state wants them to vote a particular way. Isn't America great? We all don't have to vote like California, Texas, or Ohio, does on any issue. (Not that those states have done anything good or bad, they are just examples. i could have picked any three states.) WE get to vote like we want without regard to the opinions of those in other states. That has to be very frustrating for the radicals on both sides to know that they cannot direct those in other states to vote like they do. LOL Just my opinion. Cheers!!!! V/R MistTiger

HeyYou, good thoughts on the subject. Yes, there will be an amount of life lost in Seoul which covers 234 square miles of land. NK has had plenty of time to range the most important targets in the city. Just as SK has had plenty of time to harden their important areas in Seoul against artillery attack and to range the NK artillery positions. It is a pointless game of spy vs. spy. Undirected artillery is much less effective than directed artillery. the NK has cold war tech. Directed artillery fire in conjunction with artillery tracking radar is a lethal combination against undirected artillery. Naturally I would take out all rocket launchers and large caliber artillery first. They might survive a couple of minutes at most. UAV spotting and cluster bomb munitions would be absolutely lethal to exposed non self propelled artillery and all rocket units. The goal in counter battery is not necessary to destroy the weapon but to neutralize its capabilities. No weapons crew is a great way to do that. Cluster munitions would also leave behind a persistent deterrent to future use of that asset by NK forces or from civilians attempting to gain military hardware. Wow!!! your own instant minefield. Small enough for even UAVs to drop. Self propelled assets would have to be targeted with anti-armor artillery rounds and might last a little longer if they shoot and move quick enough. The leaders in NK are basically threatening a spite mission against SK which will not have a huge effect on SK as a whole and probably contribute to a huge number of atrocities against the the NK army and civilians when SK pushes north. Would you take prisoners of those who just killed your family members in Seoul in a senseless act of spite? It is going to take a high level of discipline in the SK army not to just kill every NK citizen they happen on. Having worked closely with them, I think that they will act in an appropriate disciplined manner in response to the Nk terror tactics. There are a couple of much better ways to damage Seoul than an artillery attack. Blowing the dams on the upper Han river is a much more damaging option. Why not just use their nukes on Seoul. As you can see, a country like NK with little better than cold war technology is not going to be terribly effective against the south. People in the military do not equal victory. Many PRC mass charges in the Korean war were stopped cold by a small number of UN troops using the machine gun, and my all time favorite, a 25 lb keg of nails with a couple of sticks of dynamite in it. WoW!!! Instant bloodbath. Instant end of charge. When the NK runs to the PRC for help to save themselves, the PRC will have a difficult time justifying their support after a senseless terror artillery attack on Seoul which has little military objective value considering the military targets that surround Seoul and are north of it. I believe the Nk sole object in their current activities is to get the west to buy them off again. At some time in the near future, It will be a lot easier to just wipe them out as they are a nuisance that is taking valuable time from more important things. That's harsh and the NK citizens will suffer greatly. But, after a while even the most careful child will cut themselves if they are allowed to play with knives. Having a nuclear weapon does not make a country important. It makes them a target. If anyone doesn't believe that in a general nuclear exchange between the "superpowers" that every country that possesses nuclear weapons will not be hit also, they are naive. If I possess the capability to destroy the world 39 times over already, I am going to make sure that some little country is not going to have the means to influence events in the war's aftermath. But, I digress. In the final analysis, I don't put much credibility in any threats NK makes against SK concerning artillery attacks against Seoul. It is a spite mission by people who would be be hunted down and executed for that action. Making war against civilians without military objective is called a war crime. What excuse will the leader of NK make at his war crimes trial when he orders NK artillery to attack civilian targets in Seoul in areas where there is no military objective. A hospital comes to mind. And if he is really short-sighted and uses NBC weapons on Seoul, the war crimes trial will be very short. Bottom line: Artillery strikes against Seoul civilians is a bluff and an attempt at extortion of the west. Just my opinion. Cheers!!!! V/R MistTiger

HeyYou, Jim_uk, you both make great points. I am glad that my money, what little that I have, is not in an area that the politicians can dip their hands into it. If I were in any country in the E.U. with fiscal difficulties right now I would be pulling out my money. Banks have to be above this or no one has confidence in them and the whole concept fails. This is the type of underhanded move that made the great depression worse and contributed to the establishment of the FDIC. The US will not solve its jobs problem. Its economy is shrinking and pay and benefits must shrink to match. Just look at the steel and car industries. When others produce things that outsell their US counterparts, US workers cannot expect to continue to have the same level of pay and benefits when their products do not sell. It's basic economics. We need to find products that we have the advantage in and train our workers to produce those products. If we do not, then we will fail as a nation. We cannot continue spending at the same rate that we have in the past. Many countries that were great world powers in the past have went through this and survived. Their influence on the world is greatly reduced from the grandiose position they held when they ruled the world. There are really quite a lot of countries in this category. The US will join them if we don't stop giving away free stuff. Our influence has already greatly diminished from its height in 1945 when we basically were the most powerful country in the world. Our economy was huge, our military unmatched, and we held the atomic bomb. We are no longer there. Sad, but true. The GOP is just like any political party that got their nose bloodied in a political duel. I look back at the pasting that the Dems took in 2010. The GOP wasn't soul searching then, but the Dems sure were. Now the shoe is on the other foot. If anyone thinks that suddenly nearly half of all US voters in 2012 who voted GOP are going to disappear, they are sadly mistaken. Gosh, a six million vote margin in the presidency is hardly a landslide or a rousing vote of confidence considering the number of people who voted. The GOP does need to get its house in order for 2014 and 2016. They probably will. The Dems have failed in 2012 to reverse the stomping they took in the house in 2010. The difference is now that there are a lot of very emotionally charged, divisive issues facing the US now. The GOP needs to advocate the position of their supporters first before they start reinventing themselves. However, they probably need to figure out what that position is before they start advocating it. You are both right in pointing out that neither of you seem to trust your governments. All journeys start small. I have always thought that the electoral college concept was now obsolete. The founding fathers feared mob rule. I think that rewarding candidates based on their percentage of votes garnered in each state now makes every state important. As it stands now, there are solid blue states that are ignored just as there red states that are ignored leaving a situation in which only a handful of states decide who is president. I believe in "One Citizen, One vote". Bring all states to a percentage electoral college option would bring the US closer to direct election of its president. If I were a Dem in a red state, or a Rep in a blue state, I would be unhappy that my opinion was marginalized by the electoral college. I think that the first step in taking back control of our country from political parties, special interest groups, and lobbyists lies in changing the electoral college. There, we have now come full circle and are now back on topic. BTW: I fully support term limits for the US congress of 24 years total for both house and senate service together. No retirement benefits until serving over 10 years. And NO running for office if the end of the term exceeds the 24 year point. That's gives someone a chance to serve their country for a good amount of time, but not become senile in office. Just my Opinion. Cheers!!!! V/R MistTiger

HeyYou, my thoughts, 1. according to the US constitution, provided below for your perusal: Section 2: House of Representatives Clause 1: Composition and election of Members Section Two provides for the election of the House of Representatives every second year. Since Representatives are to be "chosen... by the People," State Governors are not allowed to appoint temporary replacements when vacancies occur in a state's delegation to the House of Representatives; instead, the Governor of the state is required by clause 4 to issue a writ of election calling a special election to fill the vacancy. Don't believe me. Look it up. 2. You are correct in that we have limited choices in our selection of representatives. However, if they do not vote to do what we want, then we always have the option to replace them in the next election. continuously revolving elected officials have little chance to establish that long term power base. It is all about how determined the voters are to get what they want. I agree that most people know little about their representatives. Most have no idea how they voted or even how much they were at work. the uneducated/ uncaring voters are the friend of any controlling minority. perhaps we should force candidates to swear under oath that they would vote they way they promised. Fail to vote as promised. Go to jail for perjury. Interesting concept but very confining. 3. Unfortunately, we live in a global economy. The US produces more of some items than they consume. They have to be sold globally and have to compete against goods produced by those of a lower standard of living. That is reality. If our products are not vastly better, then they will not sell and they will not be needed. Companies do not continue to produce more product than they can sell very long before they go broke. Hence, fewer jobs, lower pay, less benefits. Service/people jobs are even worse. Lets say I need an English speaking telephone operator to take international orders in a call center that support 50 international corporations. Why would I, as a CEO pay 10000 Americans 10.00 per hour to man that call center at a cost of $800000 per day when I can go to an English speaking foreign country and hire 10000 of their citizens to work for 10.00 per day at a cost of $100000 per day. And that doesn't even bring into account required US benefits. I, as the CEO, have now lowered my operating costs by $700000 per day, which I can now take as increased profit and offer more companies use of my call center for far lesser rates than my American competitors. I am going to get a big bonus for saving the corporation a huge amount of money and increasing profits. Unlike other areas of the world, Americans cannot be forced to buy goods and services from only Americans. This is not a closed system. We are going to LOSE unskilled and semi-skilled job overseas. It has happened, It is happening, and it will happen in the future. That is reality and you can do nothing to stop it. We have priced ourselves out of a job. Free-trade agreements are not the demon you think they are. If I told you that you were going to lose an item no matter what you did, but then offered you a chance to gain an edge in selling me an item that would put your competitors at a disadvantage in competing with you, would you agree? Think about it. America has always used its economic power in the world to force others to do what we want them to. Sad fact. Our current policies of demonizing the rich and business has driven both away. Free stuff is an illusion just like health care. Everything has to be paid for. What happens when those who you want to pay simply move or move their money where it cannot be touched. You don't get to have it. If you can't pay then you have debt. Debt is not good. Debt does not inspire confidence. Debt is self-destructive. We are now in serious economic debt and that translates into a decreased ability to influence others to buy our products and do what we want. You are spot on on the stock market. The strength of the stock market is that weak, dead wood companies, have been wiped out and replaced. The only thing that the stock market shows is the willing of people to risk their money in only those corporations on the stock market. There are, of course, external factors such as tax rate, which affect that investor willingness. Only the most naive of people would tie the success or failure of the government's economic policies to the growth of the stock market. The only unemployment figure that I would believe from the government is one calculated against the manner in which the great depression unemployment numbers were calculated. Their current numbers have zero credibility with me. Since everyone is keen on how much better we are than under G. Bush. Maybe we should use the same number he used in say 2002 to calculate. Or maybe even 1984 number calculation from the Reagan era. Just one calculation that doesn't change. If I am capable of work, and am not working, I am unemployed. period. How's that. simple. Look that up for a good laugh on the comparable current figures. The answer is hard, but simple. Stop spending on things not critical to the US. Stop giving away free stuff. if it is not in the US or state constitution, You have no right to it. IT is CHARITY. I know that many of you have flown on commercial airliners and might have even listened to the flight attendant give their briefing on oxygen. When the oxygen mask comes down, you put your own mask on first. You don't put the mask on the 5 year old setting next to you first or the 65 year grandma sitting on the other side. You put your own mask on first. If you don't, depending on the size of the hole in the aircraft, you may only have seconds before you go unconscious and die. At that point you are no help to anyone. The US is in an economic rapid decompression and some hard choices have to be made. Just my opinion. Cheers!!!! V/R MistTiger

Gotta get in on this. As a avid student of history and its lessons, here are some thoughts. 1. Belligerence and intolerance are NOT a product of labels. Labels are a tool. It really just comes down to the basic primitive survival instincts of the prehistoric humans. This has always been about survival, in a situation where resources are limited, the strong will usually take from the weak to survive. If they don't, then the weak will not be as capable to survive as their stronger counterparts who have sacrificed themselves. If there are only enough resources for one human to survive and there are two humans, one will die. Now expand that. If I have resources but are not the strongest, it only makes sense that I band together with other of the same thinking as myself to protect my resources from those stronger than myself. This is the evolution of society from groups to tribes to nations. Together, we are stronger than we are alone. Now, why would i want someone in my group who does not think and act with the best interests of the survival of the group and its use of resources? It comes down to assets vs. liabilities. If you are an asset to the group, you have more leeway in dissenting from the group. If you are a liability to the group, at some point you will no longer be welcome in the group. Groups must have a way of identifying themselves to each others and to outsiders. This is a "Label". Labels can be symbols, words, items, even colors. Labels are not good or bad, they just are. They are tools. As a tool, they can be used for good or bad, just like everything else. I can use a fork to eat with or to stab someone to death with. Does that make the fork bad or evil? Should I now ban forks because they might be used for bad? Now, we try to ban labels that will believe are used for bad. Does that stop the group from adopting another label to identify themselves by. No, it is self-defeating and short sighted as it focuses the bad on the label and not the group. Wow!!! We showed that Hate group!!! We banned their symbol. Look. See. Problem solved. They have disappeared because they have no label anymore. LOL!!!!! GET REAL and wake up. That hate group is still there and if they are clever, they will hijack a new symbol from something common or important to everyone to thumb their noses at those who thought they could control them by taking away their symbol. What happens when some hate group starts using the copyright symbol as their label? 2. I love reading philosophers and their broad pronouncements on the meaning of life that others should follow and heed. Because those deep thoughts would not be possible without the protection of others and access to resources guaranteed by others. I have read Krishnamurti's statements several times and have come to the conclusion that it is a "statistic". A coach once said, I can't remember which which one, Winning and losing are the only tings that matter, statistics are how losers console themselves in defeat. Krishnamurti has just repackaged the message that the weak deserve to get what the strong worked for without working for it. If we don't label. If we don't group. Then there is no way to decide how to divide the resources and everyone gets a share. It's just communism restated. Same song, different tune. That commitment to mediocrity has been tried over and over in schools across the US. let's average everyone's test scores so that every will get the same grade and be equal. In the end, everyone always gets a failing grade. Without the incentives and benefits from scoring high grades (college, good jobs, success, etc.) there is no drive to succeed which leads to mediocrity and lethargy. Why should I put in the hours to study score an "A" on the test when the drug using deadbeat failing the class sitting next to me and I are going to get the same grade? There are a lot of you going to school out there, how do you feel about your grades being averaged and you getting an average job paying minimum wage just like the students in your schools partying through life? WoW!!! No labels, no division, we might as well be robots. Since a few of you probably still don't get it, I will simplify. Under Krishnamurti's statements, I who have posted no mods or pictures on this site, will now share all credit equally with those of you who spent hours working on your mods and pictures. Just remember, we are all the same and should have no labels of any kind. Remember to endorse me every time you endorse the author. WoW!!!! A new concept has arisen. According to Krishnamurti's statements, It is wrong for the moderators to ban anyone from using anyone else's content and putting their name on it. We can't label people as authors or posts, that would diminish mankind. I can now claim anything anyone has done ever as mine as we are all the same. I hope you see where this is heading. I am now laughing so hard it is becoming difficult to type. 3. I look as his statement and see the arrogance of the philosophers in that they get to define the universe. Why limit it to mankind. What if we meet aliens? They might not be nice. Mankind itself is a "label". The man contradicts his own statements as mankind would now be a label to identify humans. There are some that think that aliens will be some sort of beings that have transcended their petty concepts and are out to spread benevolence and peace across the galaxy. What if they are not? Warhammer 40K comes to mind. Why can't we just sit down and talk out our differences with those aliens. Why don't we just dispense with labels and call ourselves citizens of the universe. That will solve all of the problems in the warhammer 40K universe. There, problem solved. No more need for warhammer 40K mods as all is at peace because we have removed the labels that separated us. Yeah, Rigtht. I have some swampland...... 4. The whole thrust of Krishnamurti's statements is to eliminate winners and losers. Those who have and those who don't. If I am a citizen of the world, I identify with the whole group. i will not deny others of my group resources as we are all of the same group. A naive and dangerous concept if everyone in the entire group does not share that exact sentiment. This goes against thousands of years of human experience and even our genetic makeup to survive. It is hard to assimilate all of the data surrounding you in your environment simultaneously. We group like things and experiences automatically into their own areas so we can process data more efficiently. we compartmentalize and group to survive. I used to do a very dangerous job. When I showed up to do that job, everything else, family, finances, friends, all other issues, were brushed aside and completely ignored. We called it "compartmentalizing". Depending on the level of danger, My entire concentration could be now focused on that job and surviving. Groups and Labels are not bad, they are tools to aid us. Just like everything else, they can be used for good or evil. We have to decide how we are going to use those labels, for good or for evil. This conversation is a lot more serous and sobering than many of you are taking it. Think about it. Just my opinion. Cheers!!!! V/R MistTiger

NK does have resources, of the mineral variety. There's an estimated $6 trillion sitting under that country-- they just lack the ability to get at it efficiently. The problem with this is that NK is in such economic bad shape that any country that tries to reform them has got to have a very strong economy to weather the first period of aid. SK isn't big enough to support that kind of undertaking. NK would immediately tank their economy if they tried to incorporate. Ahvaren, I bow to your superior knowledge concerning NK natural resources. Doing what any good researcher should have done before writing I checked out your comments with three independent credible sources and you are correct. Goes to show you that looks and appearances are deceiving with regards to NK. The insular policies and aggressiveness of NK have hindered them in developing their natural resources. Thanks for the correction. I value truth over pride. I also believe that you are correct that SK will have a difficult time absorbing NK into its economy. The SK will have their hands full fighting the war after the war as they will be trying to change 65+ years of indoctrination against them and non-communist values. Would not expect full integration for several years. Thanks again!!! Just my opinion. Cheers!!! V/R MistTiger

The ultimate problem however is that when all is said and done, it's unlikely that anyone will want to clean up the remnants of what would be left of NK should they actually do anything. Unlike the Middle East, there isn't anything in NK that anyone could really care about to try and lift the country through what is bound to be a very difficult regime change. Sure, 70% (or more) of their military really only enlisted because it meant an easy (if however strict and fanatical) and well-paying job, but a determined, brainwashed population will usually respond to any sort of attack with a battle of attrition. I can see a good number of special interest groups protesting already. Vagrant0, You are right. Most people fail to realize that when you go to war. You really fight two wars. The actual war and then the war after the war. Just as the US learned this painful lesson after GW2, History is plain that anti-allied factions in Germany and Japan did not just quit and go home after their countries were conquered. They continued to actively resist and impede allied efforts in their countries. The only thing different post WW2 was the US ability to control the press releases that its citizens saw. The sad fact is that the NK population will have to be taken care of while their country is rebuilt and they will not all welcome the victors with open arms. SK will have a long hard road to incorporate NK. NK does seem to have a marked lack of resources valuable to anyone that would spur other countries into aiding them. The task will fall to the victors. Just my opinion. Cheers!!!! V/R MistTiger

Wow, almost hate to intrude on this Colorwheel & Sukaban hugfest. Time for a history lesson. 1. It is up to the individual states to determine how they apportion their electoral votes and that is done by the duely elected state legislatures. if the citizens of that state don't like the way their legislatures are passing laws, they can replace them by duely electing new legislaters more in tune with their majority beliefs. If I am a citizen of state "A" and I want to change the way my state apportions the electoral college delegates, then I could care less how a non-voting citizen of another state thinks about what I am going to do. Politely, mind the business of your state and stay out of mine. I am perfectly capable of electing my own representation without your inputs or opinions. 2. It is time for reality to intrude. The house of representatives is reelected every two years while the senate terms are for 6. If the GOP is so dead, why are they still in control of the house? Why are they in control of any state legislature? Why are there GOP governors? Obviously, someone is voting for them. According to your hugfest, the House should now be solidly democrat as the GOP is dying. Amazing!!! How could this happen? Want an interesting statistic. Look up how many of the "Tea party" members elected in 2010 were reelected in 2012. Surprising, isn't it. 3. Now the final reality. America only owes you the rights granted in the constitution. Nothing else. America does not owe you a job, health care, a house, or a check every month. Everything not granted in the constitution is CHARITY and is subject to change. The voters of the US elect representatives to determine how the US spends its taxes and governs itself. That is all subject to change bounded only by the US and state constitutions. That is why voting is so important in the US and why any voter caught voting more than once should be convicted of a felony and lose the right to vote. Multiple voting is cheating and a betrayal of the very foundations of American democracy. A second felony conviction should result in expulsion from the US and loss of citizenship. That is what I want my representatives to vote in. My one vote, my right, guaranteed by the constitution. BTW, History check, the US supreme court upheld voter ID in April 2008 in a case involving Indiana. Therefore, Voter ID is not unconstitutional. Sorry, but your facts are wrong if you said anything different. No photo ID where I vote, no voting. Simple. Get it at the local DMV. 4. Sadly, there is no such thing as a free lunch. Someone has to pay for it. Obamacare and national defense are not free. If you spent as much energy holding your duely elected representatives of the representative democracy accountable for how they spent the money they get in taxes, as you do in bashing political parties, then America would be a far better place. It is time to start judging and discarding our representatives by how they waste our money, not by their political party. There will come a time when all the promises of free stuff will fail and the reality of own reduced fiscal means will be undeniable. You don't lose weight by buying more food, you lose weight by reducing caloric intake and changing your lifestyle. American is about to go on a fiscal diet. We cannot be affected. History tells a different story. Look at the current fiscal woes of Greece, Cyprus, Spain, and Portugal. Why is this happening? Free stuff? maybe, maybe not. Take a look at why these countries are having problems and then take a good look at America's fiscal woes. That will never happen to the US? We are paying higher wages and benefits to our workers along with higher corporate taxes than some of our goods are worth on the world market. Other countries are offering goods and services to the world of comparable quality for lower prices. We complain about job losses when global companies are not going to pay higher prices for US unskilled and semi-skilled workers that they can get in other countries for a lot cheaper. We have simply priced ourselves out of a job. Happens all the time in US capitalist industry, why shouldn't it happen globally. Covered a lot of ground on this one, but considering the vast majority of this thread has been about bashing political parties and not about the electoral college, I feel justified and exonerated. Just my opinion. Cheers!!!! V/R MistTiger

MY two cents. I will NEVER pre-order a game. The best parallel to that behavior is writing someone a blank check. The one time when I had a fit of temporary insanity and payed $55 for a true "gem" of a game it was called Master of Orion 3. Went platinum with just presales. It sucked so bad that I now look at the developer credits and avoid anything that is worked on by any prior member of the "Quicksilver" team. The only thing faster than quicksilver was how fast they disappeared with their piles of money offering almost no support for the disaster that would have looked bad on a old Nintendo. A million plus copies at 55.00 each. they should have be charged and prosecuted for felony fraud. It hit the $9.99 software pile so fast that I thought it was a mistake. I hope and pray there is a special area in a very hot place down below for those developers who mislead their faithful with trash like that. That is how strongly I feel about their betrayal of a game series that I loved to play and looked forward to continuing. Furthermore, Here are two excellent reasons for not pre-ordering. 1. Pre-ordering rewards the poorer developers with money before they have to produce results. How many people get their money back when the game is a dud. I'm sure all of those dissatisfied with Colonial Marine got return checks. Whoa!!! Take the money and run!!!! If pre-ordering were stopped, I believe that the overall gaming industry would improve because there would be no running with peoples' money when it rapidly becomes apparent that the game sucks. Pre-orders promote and encourage false advertising. Several people that I work with are always bragging about their pre-orders and getting their hands on a game first. Funny how they don't brag when they pre-order a dud. I personally will not purchase a game until it has been on the market for 6 months. That's just me. But, my track record on not wasting money on dud games is now 100% and I have contributed $0 to underachieving developer teams. I am not part of the problem. I enjoy the games I play and can be patient while I watch others curse and pray that the developers will fix the bugs in the games they have just paid top dollar for. 2. As was pointed out above, there is also a credibility issue among gamers when a dud is released that some hapless pre-order gamer has purchased and is now defending. Are you going to treat an individual who is defending a pre-order that was a disaster as a game success with the same credibility they might have had earlier. Heh, Heh, Trust me that game is great. It only has a few bugs. Hey, have you heard about that pre-order for that great new game "AAAAAA"? WE gotta get in on that. They have such cool pre-order bonuses. Yeah, Right. The best paint job in the universe will not make a car with a broken engine move. Bottom line: If you pre-order, you get what is coming to you. It's sometimes good and sometimes bad... like gambling. You are enabling the few bad apples in the gaming industry to continue operating. They just disband and reform under another name after they have took your money and ran. As you can probably tell from my post, I feel very strongly about this issue. I have been a victim too. I won't be fooled again. Just my opinion. Cheers!!!! V/R MistTiger

Yota71, Check out "My Utility World - MUW - v3" by freddy_farnsworth. That gives you the Xcalibr shop. Cheers!!!! V/R MistTiger

HeyYou, I seriously doubt that the SK army is going to stand by and let the NK army pummel anyone with massed artillery. the SK have about 60% of the number of heavy artillery capability of NK but their targeting and counterbattery fire is going to be devastating to the much inferior aimed NK artillery. As the Iraqis found out in GW, the US can pretty much wipe out any prepared positions. Also, Thermobaric weapons are designed specifically to kill everything inside tunnels and prepared positions. Will there be a great loss of life in Seoul? Yes. It is doubtful that the aging NK armor will even penetrate into SK and the NK capture of Seoul scenarios collapsed by the late 90s. So, In your scenario, NK unleashes a firestorm of artillery and rockets at the south which the SK retaliates from their prepared positions. The fighting will rapidly devolved into vicious artillery duels until both sides exhaust their ammunition stores. At the same time, SK and US airpower starts the systematic destruction of every LOC and LOS for the NK military. All NK military C2 centers are destroyed and the NK has no where to maneuver as all choke points such as bridges and rail intersections will be destroyed. SK artillery units will resupply as they will not have to worry about air attack or anything from NK other than Spec ops forces. the NK will be pinned down by SK and US airpower and will be unable to resupply. The old days of long lines of people hauling supplies south to the NK army will come to a swift halt with the first application of artillery and airborne clusterbomb units. Or mines, nothing like sowing a half million mines across southern NK. And if the US is feeling nasty, the application of several environmentally friendly neutron bombs will create instant deserts in areas of NK that piss us off. Ever wonder why the Iraqi army never put up much of a fight during GW2. PGM. Look it up. For relatively little cost compared to other PGMs, every US dumb bomb can now be a GPS guided JADAM. The paralyzed NK army will die in place. If I were the commander in SK, I would sow mines and clusterbombs across the entire southern area of NK at the first round of artillery heading south. Last time I checked, NK artillery needed live people to fire it. They can't shoot when they're dead. The only option NK will have at this point is to beg for PRC intervention. Hey, it saved them the last time, and they are definitely creatures of habit. You bring up a lot of good points. But, the NK threat has steadily diminished over the years from credible military to an attempt at extortion through the artillery terror weapon. But, As always Just my opinion. Cheers!!! V/R MistTiger

Wow, a debate on the debt ceiling that has half of the comments bashing one political party of another instead of discussing basic economics. Now let's talk. 1. The debt ceiling is your credit card limit applied to the US government. Can you exceed your credit limit. Get real. Everyone is screaming and ranting about balancing the budget. Hit the debt limit and guess what you get. You can now only spend what you take in. It doesn't matter how much money you print, you can't spend more than you take in. 2. Governments are not efficient. There is not the accountability and responsibility for finances that individuals must exercise. Why? Because you can always blame the problem on someone else. The ultimate expression of this in the US.....Sequestration. The president and congress did not have the sand to make cuts in the budget as it would cost votes so they started a game of chicken in which no one had to take responsibility for any crashes. It wasn't my fault jobs where lost and cut....The President and Congress to voters. 3. People like free stuff. President Obama was elected because he promised Americans free stuff. Do you refuse free stuff? Who cares about who has to pay for health care if you get it free. No one getting free stuff is concerned about the debt limit as long as they keep getting free stuff. If they were they would be not taking the free stuff as it contributes to the debt. There is a feeling in America that America owes its citizens; that is wrong. The only thing America owes its citizens is what is in the constitution. Everything else is not a right; it is charity. Charity contributes to the debt; just like everything else. 4. Because of the way the US collects taxes, the rich will always be rich. Individual taxes are based on income. If I am a billionaire and I make no money, I pay NO taxes. I am still a billionaire. Taxing the rich is self defeating. Every country or group that has tried has failed. Unless one can force them into an area where they cannot go somewhere else, they will just move so they can continue to be rich. Going after the rich will not solve the debt problem which is really to inability of those in office to curb their spending. Reduced spending will solve the debt ceiling, not more taxes. 5. Finally, the debt problem in the US is a symptom, not the cause. The sad fact is that we have priced ourselves out of the world market by paying wages and benefits out of proportion with what we produce and sell. Why would I pay 100 dollars for a pair of jeans sewed by an American when I can by the same quality sewed in Mexico for 30 dollars. WE tried the "Buy American" campaign in the 90s and it was a dismal failure. Don't think so; why are so many companies leaving the US if the Americans are so fervent in buying only from American companies. When equivalent or near same quality goods are offered by foreign markets to Americans, they are not going to spend extra. Every green or environmental item or service in the US seems to cost a lot more than its non-green counterpart. A great way to promote protection of the planet....charge more for it. Bottom line: The US can solve its debt problem before the world bank steps in and shuts off its credit cards. The answer is quite simple. The voters need to stop electing officials that promise them free stuff because there is not such thing. The voters need to stop electing officials that spend money on useless things that do not protect America or strengthen its economy. The voters need to stop electing officials that think that the US's problems can be solved by higher taxes or more spending. The voters need to hold each member of congress and the President accountable for EVERY dollar spent on ANYTHING by the government. Sadly, none of this will happen. Why? Because most of America's voters don't take the time to learn about what the government is really doing with their money and get their information from some late night talk show. I just have to read most of these other posts to see how little people know about basic economic reality and principles. Having checks in the checkbook does not mean that I have money to cover the checks. WOW!!!! OMG!!! All we have to do is eliminate the political party that we despise the worst and RAISE taxes on those evil rich people and all of our problems will be solved. I have some prime swamp land on a sandy beach to build your dream house on that I want to sell you at premium prices because its such a good deal if you even remotely believe the previous sentence. Study history and you will see that the downfall of every great empire not caused by cataclysmic natural disaster was from cutting defenses and giving people free stuff. Don't believe me. Study history. Is this the end of the US? No, the US's center of power is capitalism and any movement away from capitalism has created disaster. Capitalism is much like the animals that flee a forest fire. After the crisis in the US burns itself out, the capitalists will be back to rebuild because most of the smart ones are already moving out. Without incentives to create success, the result is always mediocrity and lethargy. Just my opinion. Cheers!!!! V/R MistTiger