OT: At least 22 Dead at Virginia Tech
 

Posted By: <b>peter chao</b><p>Ryan,<br /><br />I'm glad you called me on that post and I regret having made it.<br />I do apologize to the victims and their families. <br /><br />Peter

OT: At least 22 Dead at Virginia Tech
 

Posted By: <b>barrysloate</b><p>Most threads do digress off topic, especially the controversial ones.

OT: At least 22 Dead at Virginia Tech
 

Posted By: <b>barrysloate</b><p>Jeff- there are something like a billion Muslims in the world.<br /><br />Iraq represents a tiny portion of them, and perhaps not the ideal of what the religion is all about.

OT: At least 22 Dead at Virginia Tech
 

Posted By: <b>Jeff Lichtman</b><p>I'm not just limiting my comment to Iraq-and I don't think Cobby was, either, though he'll correct me if I'm wrong.

OT: At least 22 Dead at Virginia Tech
 

Posted By: <b>Cobby33</b><p>Jeff-<br /><br />Wasn't that "religion of peace" coined by, or at least adopted by, George W. Bush? I think that Islam, as with all religions (take away the radical factions), in their purest form, preach peace.<br /><br />At any rate, I'm not sure the problems in that area (correct, not restricting to Iraq), have been Muslim v. Muslim. For "thousands of years," (loosely speaking), the Middle East has been fought over by the Arabs (Muslims), the Jews and the Christians.<br /><br />This, of course, was aggravated post WWII when the U.N. Security Council (controlled mainly by Western countires)re-drew national boundaries, allowing Israel to be the sovreign state of the Jews. This, of course, didn't sit well with the "native" Arabs, who felt that a part of their native land was being taken from them. Of course, the Israel/Syira war didn't help matters either, but that's a different topic. <br /><br />So- my point was, this area of the world has been a hotbed for hundreds (maybe not thousands) of years and has only gotten worse in the last 60 years- certainly not something the U.S. can cure in a few years. Add to that the "radical" factions and it becomes almost an impossible task.

OT: At least 22 Dead at Virginia Tech
 

Posted By: <b>T E McMorrow</b><p>Paul, I said that you compared Bush to Lincoln, not that you said Bush was Lincoln...I was responding to that comparison...<br /><br />As far as going OT on this thread, this thread has wandered hither and yon across the American political landscape...<br /><br />Ryan, you're right, It is wrong, way off to compare American troops to the sicko in Va Tech. I'm sure that poster realizes that...<br /><br />The only apt comparrison to me with Va Tech is as I stated, that the Iraqis are experiencing a Va Tech a day, MINIMUM, despite being 1/10th our size...<br />

OT: At least 22 Dead at Virginia Tech
 

Posted By: <b>Jeff Lichtman</b><p>Cobby, I agree.

OT: At least 22 Dead at Virginia Tech
 

Posted By: <b>peter chao</b><p>Leon we finally agreed on something, it's time to lock the thread. <img src="/images/happy.gif" height=14 width=14><br /><br />Peter

OT: At least 22 Dead at Virginia Tech
 

Posted By: <b>peter chao</b><p>But seriously guys, I do think of the victims. To think that most of them were unmarried. I cannot imagine my life without my wife. To think that these youngsters will never have the opportunity to marry the person of their dreams and to never have the opportunity to start a family.<br /><br />Peter