That only seems to address the option of a military strike. What of the deployment of chemical weapons against Syrian civilians? The evidence from the UN report seems to remove any doubt to the fact that hundreds, maybe better than a thousand died in the chemical attacks on Aug. 21 alone. The evidence even further shows the trajectory from several craters point towards one of Assad's military bases. If the previous evidence had not already been sufficient, surely the conclusion can at least be made that the burden of evidence clearly suggests that Assad's forces committed the attack. That evidence as well is about as strong as it could possibly get. Even videotaped evidence of Assad's forces loading and firing said rockets would be hard to be declared more conclusive. After all, maybe it's just fake footage by America, or has been misrepresented or some other possible fault.

My trouble when speaking to the next generation is how exactly do you tell them that yes, Assad is a dictator deploying chemical weapons to maintain his hold on power, but the good and moral path is for us to not get involved with anything but words. Why? Well, because we might make the situation for Syria's civilians even worse. I just don't subscribe to the world view that ignoring in all but word such a dictatorship is the 'right thing'. When a dictator is deploying chemical weapons to hold onto power I support and advocate for the use of force against that dictator, and the absence of such by the entirety of the UN is to me a crime as well.

Hello again,

Just commented to a video and later noticed it was one of yours. Would've just commented to you instead had I noticed first. I have to say I still don't entirely understand where you come from in all this. Plainly and rightly you mistrust any American claims of humanitarian concern. However, in my view you seem to be misreading Obama's cues. If anything he's appeared very reluctant to go into Syria, as it'd be domestically very unpopular. As far as the Kissinger type pushers in America go, seeing Al Qaida sponsored rebels bleeding themselves out against Russian and Iranian backed Syrian military forces and even Hezbollah forces seems like a dream come true. I can hardly see cold hearted long game analysts in America wanting anything but to just grab popcorn and enjoy the show as their enemies mop each other up. I also see Obama's reluctant attitude as exactly what is being read by Assad and Putin in their responses and almost willful scorn for Obama's red line and apparent giddy eagerness to abandon the threats he'd tied to it. I just don't see the eagerness and enthusiasm for a march to war from America that you do. With an agreement to remove chemical weapons from the area, America is freed of the only possible concern it had about anything happening in the area. That seems evidenced by America's seemingly eager acceptance of it, and tacit recognition of Assad's control of the country out into 2014 in order to implement the agreement.

As for the angle I care about, what is your assessment of the UN inspection and their report? Unless you count them to be on the take of Western powers, or duped and stooged within the war zone where somehow America managed to influence them more than Assad I don't see any ambiguity to the findings. Samples from rockets, soil, and victims alike all tested positive for Sarin gas. The rockets found with Sarin on them had Russian engravings and the craters they could project trajectories from pointed towards a Syrian military base. I'm not sure how you reject all of that by pointing at 'counter evidence' gathered and presented solely by Syrian and Iranian sources.

I agree with you on many of your points, but the United State's misdeeds don't make Putin any better of a person or politician. Russia Today is certainly pro Putin and he does have a great deal at stake in Syria in terms of arms agreements and military bases. I wouldn't exactly be quoting him as a voice of reason in the world.

Even Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had valid points about US policy's when he visited the UN. Anyone can do that as you well pointed out. I just don't think Putin's motives are as altruistic as he would have us believe.

'the Russian military said: 'Docking at the beach is a normal event. What people were doing at the beach on the territory of a military base is unclear.'

Uhhh, they wanted to party like rock stars??

@Kofi / @Yogi

I agree with what you are both saying. I'm sure you guys are aware of the origins of Al Qaeda both in the context of (1) their Mujahideen origins in Afghanistan propped up by the US against their Soviets and (2) their inception during the radicalisation of the Muslim Brotherhood movement in Egypt through the government's imprisonment and torture campaign while supported by the US.

However, by the time of 9/11, I'd argue Al Qaeda was long detached from any of its original goals (partly as a result of US actions that radicalised them) and had lost its idealism and was an organisation seeking power and global recognition.

That's also why I think the situation visa vi the US/Middle East has destabilised to a point that even were the US to withdraw from its military bases, propping up of dictators and disentangle itself from Israel then Al Qaeda would still target the US simply because those actions have replaced its initial aims and have become its raison d'etre.

That's not to say the US shouldn't get out of the Middle East because continued presence in this way is creating more groups that grow from local conflicts to global war with the US but I'm more saying, that it would be naive to expect organisations such as Al Qaeda to dissapear were the US to do this. Their existence is predicated on opposition to the US and were the US to disengage, they would simply manufacture reasons to continue their own global jihad. It's a bit of a Catch 22, damned if you do, damned if you don't at this point.

Really? So if Iran had a military base in the US would it just be about the threat to the US governments power or would there be a principle of non-interference, autonomy and, I hate to say it, national pride at stake?

Besides, it is now impossible to differentiate Al Queda from the exclusive entity it was pre-911 to the inclusive, against-the-West-and-you're-in animal it has become. Until 2003-4 it had no stance on Israel until it needed to recruit more people and used it as propaganda to get more people on board. With Saudi Arabia it had very achievable and pragmatic demands pre-911- get US forces out. In 2007 all but 20-40 troops exited. I feel that even with the complete withdrawal AQ would still find something else to protest in order to warrant their actions.

Many people keep their consoles in areas of a house where there is no internet connection and they are not interested in it. They will happily play garage band/guitar hero or other party games.

xbox1 will be completely unusable to military personnel that are deployed overseas. On military bases internet connection is usually available only in designated locations and at designated times(think internet cafe-type setup).

A game can be EVER run on only 2 consoles. If you like to trade/exchange/lend your games with your friends, forget about it.

You can lend the same game to the same person only once.

In order to lend or sell/give away/trade games with somebody they must be in your friends list for at least 30 prior days.

If you want to play games you must pay Microsoft $60/year for as long as you use the console. $60, $120, $180, $240, $300. After 5 years you paid MS almost as much as the console itself for nothing.

Some educated speculation from FlightGlobal:

"Crews taking off from military bases like Bagram in hostile territory normally plan to climb at the maximum climb angle, to put them at the greatest height above ground level achievable by the time they cross the airfield boundary. This entails a high nose attitude that is maintained for longer than normal, rather than trading climb angle for greater airspeed to make the aircraft easier to handle and safer in the event of an engine failure.

In this film there is no clear visual evidence of a missile travelling toward the aircraft, nor of the explosion or fire that a missile would cause if it were to detonate.

The risks of a maximum angle of climb departure are many. If an engine fails very soon after take-off there is a lower airspeed than normal. Slower speed reduces the rudder authority that keeps the aircraft straight and lowers the margin above stalling speed. In the event of an engine failure it is essential for the crew to push the nose down fast to maintain a safe speed with the lower power output.

Another major risk is that if any cargo is not adequately secured in the hold, the high climb angle will cause the payload to slide backward. This could unbalance the aircraft and cause the nose to pitch up, possibly overwhelming the elevator authority available to the pilots if they attempt to push the nose down."

http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/video-flightglobal-expert-analyses-bagram-747-crash-sequence-385338/?cmpid=SOC|FGFG|twitterfeed|Flightglobal

Here's mine:
01/21/2008 06:35 AM 1,126,396 Activision-Aliens C64's Drop Ship Soundtrack.mp3
02/13/2006 01:00 AM 2,836,608 Day of Defeat Source Theme.mp3
12/19/2000 04:31 AM 5,318,656 EMPEROR-BATTLE FOR DUNE -- HARKONNEN THEME.MP3
05/27/1999 06:01 AM 5,095,424 Lee Jackson - Duke Nukem Theme (Grabbag).mp3
11/01/2009 05:05 PM 3,183,221 NIGHTkilla - Tetris Remix.mp3
11/12/2005 06:34 PM 1,646,592 No One Lives Forever 2 theme.mp3
10/31/2009 02:16 PM 2,971,316 Parkerman1700 - Tetris Remix.mp3
10/21/2007 11:27 AM 4,893,946 THC Flatline - Rastan Saga (Song 2).mp3
09/24/2006 12:49 PM 2,105,472 The Maniacs of Noise - Golden Axe Level Music (C64).mp3
9 File(s) 29,177,631 bytes

10/27/2007 01:41 PM 5,012,365 Christopher Tin - Baba Yetu (Civilization 4 Opening Menu).mp3
08/16/2008 03:19 PM 12,081,866 Christopher Tin-Video Games Live - Bab Yetu-Civilization IV Medley.mp3
2 File(s) 17,094,231 bytes

Command & Conquer Series\Red Alert 1 (RA)
01/04/1998 06:55 AM 6,132,818 01 - RA Hell March.mp3
05/22/2000 05:14 PM 3,914,378 02 - RA Radio.mp3
01/04/1998 06:56 AM 3,662,510 03 - RA Crush.mp3
01/04/1998 06:55 AM 3,750,914 04 - RA Roll Out.mp3
01/04/1998 06:56 AM 4,611,184 05 - RA Mud.mp3
01/04/1998 06:56 AM 3,761,018 06 - RA Twin Cannon.mp3
01/04/1998 07:12 AM 5,368,542 07 - RA Face Enemy.mp3
01/04/1998 07:12 AM 4,996,076 08 - RA Run.mp3
05/22/2000 05:07 PM 5,031,520 09 - RA Terminate.mp3
11/04/2000 03:37 PM 6,295,552 10 - RA - FRANK KLEPACKI - BIGFOOT.MP3
05/22/2000 04:59 PM 4,537,792 11 - RA Workmen.mp3
05/22/2000 05:07 PM 1,757,236 12 - RA Militant Force.mp3
05/22/2000 05:07 PM 7,784,138 15 - RA Smash.mp3
13 File(s) 61,603,678 bytes

Command & Conquer Series\Tiberian Dawn (TD)
05/22/2000 04:55 PM 2,760,538 01 - TD Act on Instinct.mp3
05/22/2000 04:56 PM 3,214,652 02 - TD No Mercy.mp3
05/22/2000 04:56 PM 2,769,296 03 - TD Industrial 1.mp3
05/22/2000 04:56 PM 3,029,086 05 - TD We Will Stop Them.mp3
05/22/2000 05:14 PM 2,894,396 06 - TD Radio.mp3
05/22/2000 04:57 PM 2,908,990 07 - TD On the Prowl.mp3
05/22/2000 04:57 PM 4,195,436 08 - TD Re-con.mp3
04/05/2013 05:18 PM 3,714,765 10 - TD In The Line of Fire.mp3
05/22/2000 05:00 PM 2,899,334 11 - TD Prepare for Battle.mp3
05/22/2000 05:09 PM 4,070,336 12 - TD Depth Charge.mp3
05/22/2000 05:12 PM 2,465,302 13 - TD Rain In the Night.mp3
05/22/2000 05:13 PM 2,757,620 15 - TD Target.mp3
05/22/2000 05:11 PM 2,281,406 16 - TD Just Do It.mp3
05/22/2000 05:08 PM 3,079,126 17 - TD C&C Thang.mp3
05/22/2000 05:13 PM 2,646,698 18 - TD To Be Feared.mp3
05/22/2000 05:09 PM 4,265,074 19 - TD Drilled.mp3
05/22/2000 05:10 PM 2,511,458 21 - TD In Trouble.mp3
05/22/2000 05:08 PM 2,281,274 22 - TD Airstrike.mp3
18 File(s) 54,744,787 bytes

DOOM soundtracks\Bigfoot-Tunes
11/01/2009 04:32 PM 2,565,059 Bigfoot-Tunes - Doom 2 M9 - The Pit.mp3
11/01/2009 05:26 PM 1,534,372 Bigfoot-Tunes - DOOM E1M1 Remix.mp3
11/01/2009 05:26 PM 728,129 Bigfoot-Tunes - DOOM E3M1 Remix.mp3
3 File(s) 4,827,560 bytes

DOOM soundtracks\DOOM1
06/02/2000 12:14 PM 1,704,148 DOOM - At Doom's Gate.mp3
06/02/2000 12:33 PM 3,483,818 DOOM - Hiding The Secrets.mp3
06/02/2000 04:57 PM 4,609,382 DOOM - Into Sandy's City.mp3
06/02/2000 05:36 PM 3,722,055 DOOM - Kitchen Ace.mp3
06/02/2000 05:52 PM 1,534,874 DOOM - On The Hunt.mp3
06/02/2000 06:31 PM 3,992,056 DOOM - Running From Evil.mp3
06/02/2000 07:14 PM 4,850,544 DOOM - Sign Of Evil.mp3
06/02/2000 07:44 PM 2,952,174 DOOM - Sinister.mp3
06/02/2000 08:20 PM 3,352,161 DOOM - The Demon's Dead.mp3
06/02/2000 08:53 PM 2,861,477 DOOM - The End of DOOM.mp3
09/11/2002 10:43 AM 1,230,848 E1M2 - The Imp's Song.mp2
09/11/2002 10:42 AM 1,187,840 E1M7 - Demons on the Prey.mp2
09/11/2002 10:42 AM 1,198,080 E2M1 - I Sawed the Demons.mp2
09/11/2002 10:42 AM 1,202,176 E2M2 - The Demons from Adrian's Pen.mp2
09/11/2002 10:44 AM 831,616 E2M7 - Waltz of the Demons.mp2
09/11/2002 10:44 AM 764,032 E3M1 - Untitled.mp2
09/11/2002 10:45 AM 934,016 E3M2 - Donna to the Rescue.mp2
17 File(s) 40,411,297 bytes

DOOM1\Sonic Clang's Classic DOOM Soundtracks
12/18/2005 12:02 PM 3,850,240 Sonic Clang - Classic DOOM E1M2.mp3
12/18/2005 12:02 PM 3,928,064 Sonic Clang - Classic DOOM E1M5.mp3
12/18/2005 12:02 PM 2,197,504 Sonic Clang - Classic DOOM E1M6.mp3
12/18/2005 12:02 PM 3,715,072 Sonic Clang - Classic DOOM E1M7.mp3
12/18/2005 12:03 PM 5,836,800 Sonic Clang - Classic DOOM E1M8.mp3
5 File(s) 19,527,680 bytes

DOOM soundtracks\DOOM2
09/11/2002 10:48 AM 1,820,800 Map01 - Running from Evil.mp2
09/11/2002 10:52 AM 2,308,224 Map02 - The Healer Stalks.mp2
09/11/2002 10:52 AM 1,816,704 Map03 - Countdown to Death.mp2
09/11/2002 10:53 AM 2,054,272 Map05 - DOOM.mp2
09/11/2002 10:53 AM 2,039,936 Map07 - Shawn's Got the Shotgun.mp2
09/11/2002 10:54 AM 2,375,808 Map08 - The Dave D Taylor Blues.mp2
09/11/2002 10:55 AM 2,420,864 Map18 - Waiting for Romero to Play.mp2
7 File(s) 14,836,608 bytes

DOOM soundtracks\Remixes

09/09/2002 06:04 PM 1,524,884 Doom 02 - Victory Music.mp2
09/09/2002 06:08 PM 2,276,594 Doom 2 03 - Endgame.mp2
09/09/2002 04:45 PM 4,961,175 doom02.mp3
09/09/2002 04:50 PM 4,522,736 doom03.mp3
09/09/2002 05:01 PM 4,745,090 doom05.mp3
09/09/2002 05:18 PM 5,329,397 doom08.mp3
09/09/2002 05:23 PM 5,015,510 doom09.mp3
09/09/2002 05:28 PM 4,664,424 doom10.mp3
09/09/2002 05:34 PM 4,929,410 doom11-victory.mp3
09/09/2002 05:38 PM 3,540,950 doom2_06.mp3
09/09/2002 05:47 PM 4,001,123 doom2_09.mp3
09/09/2002 05:51 PM 3,520,470 doom2_10.mp3
09/09/2002 06:02 PM 2,594,272 doom2_18.mp3
13 File(s) 51,626,035 bytes

DOOM soundtracks\Steve Rot's DOOM Tribute\Hell On Earth - DOOM 2
08/14/2010 01:44 PM 6,738,831 2-05 Map02.mp3
08/14/2010 01:44 PM 5,600,937 2-06 Map03.mp3
08/14/2010 01:44 PM 6,491,713 2-12 Map09.mp3
08/14/2010 01:44 PM 6,168,840 2-13 Map10.mp3
08/14/2010 01:44 PM 7,026,701 2-14 Map18.mp3
5 File(s) 32,027,022 bytes

DOOM soundtracks\Steve Rot's DOOM Tribute\Phobos Anomaly - DOOM 1
08/14/2010 01:43 PM 2,912,778 3-02 E1M1 Hangar.mp3
08/14/2010 01:43 PM 4,202,189 3-03 E1M2 Nuclear Plant.mp3
08/14/2010 01:43 PM 2,672,463 3-07 E1M6 Central Processing.mp3
08/14/2010 01:43 PM 4,302,500 3-09 E1M8 Phobos Anomaly.mp3
08/14/2010 01:43 PM 3,731,463 3-10 E1M9 Military Base.mp3
5 File(s) 17,821,393 bytes

Duke Nukem 3D
12/27/2009 05:23 PM 1,599,197 Potorrero - Aliens, Say Your Prayers (Rock) [Duke Nukem 3D E2M7].mp3
12/22/2009 11:42 PM 2,668,975 Robert C. Prince III - Aliens, Say Your Prayers! from Duke Nukem 3D E2M7.ogg
2 File(s) 4,268,172 bytes

Duke Nukem 3D\Bobby Prince and Lee Jackson
12/27/2009 05:54 PM 1,020,895 Bobby Prince and Lee Jackson - Grabbag (Short Duke Nukem 3D Theme).wma
12/24/2009 01:56 PM 2,646,367 Bobby Prince and Lee Jackson - Stalker (Duke Nukem 3D E1M1).wma
12/24/2009 02:04 PM 5,777,791 Bobby Prince and Lee Jackson - The City Streets.wma
3 File(s) 9,445,053 bytes

Duke Nukem 3D\Mark McWane and others
12/24/2009 02:01 PM 3,039,203 Mark McWane and Lee Jackson - Stalker (Duke Nukem 3D E1M1).mp3
12/23/2009 11:09 PM 3,045,302 Mark McWane and Robert C. Prince III - Aliens, Say Your Prayers! - Episode 2, Level 7, Duke Nukem.mp3
12/24/2009 02:02 PM 5,729,412 Mark McWane and Robert C. Prince III - The City Streets - Duke Nukem 3D (E1M3).mp3
3 File(s) 11,813,917 bytes

Golden Axe Soundtracks
09/17/2011 08:04 PM 4,340,464 Aki Jrvinen - Golden Axe - Path of Fiend Metal Remix.mp3
09/17/2011 07:55 PM 4,359,400 Aki Jrvinen - Golden Axe First Level Metal Remake.mp3
09/17/2011 08:10 PM 8,840,613 daXX - Golden Axe Orchestra Remix.mp3
01/29/2001 06:20 PM 4,757,504 DJ Pretzel - Golden Axe Death Adder Trance - OC ReMix.mp3
01/29/2001 06:20 PM 3,768,320 Golden Axe - Battlefield.mp3
01/29/2001 06:21 PM 2,515,072 Golden Axe - Fiends Path.mp3
01/29/2001 06:21 PM 3,440,768 Golden Axe - Wilderness.mp3
10/14/2012 09:44 AM 3,891,182 Jeroen Tel - C64 - Golden Axe - Battle Field (Boss).mp3
10/14/2012 09:45 AM 7,150,427 Jeroen Tel - C64 - Golden Axe - Wilderness.mp3
02/20/2013 07:19 PM 7,241,856 MusicWizard - Golden Axe - Stage 1 v.2 FINAL [Remake].mp3
10/29/2006 02:38 PM 2,492,544 Sega - Golden Axe 05.mp3
10/29/2006 02:38 PM 2,328,576 Sega - Golden Axe 09.mp3
12 File(s) 55,126,726 bytes

Golden Axe Soundtracks\Playstation 2
06/08/2004 10:05 PM 4,653,056 Golden Axe (PS2) - Battle Field.mp3
06/08/2004 10:05 PM 3,792,896 Golden Axe (PS2) - Fiend's Path.mp3
06/08/2004 10:05 PM 5,234,688 Golden Axe (PS2) - Wilderness.mp3
3 File(s) 13,680,640 bytes

Jonathan Coulton - Still Alive (Portal)
01/29/2008 06:18 AM 3,990,907 Jonathan Coulton - Still Alive (J.C. Version) [Portal].mp3
01/29/2008 06:17 AM 4,131,754 Jonathan Coulton and GLaDOS - Still Alive (Portal).mp3
2 File(s) 8,122,661 bytes

Stuart Chatwood - Prince of Persia: Sand of Times
03/17/2004 11:17 PM 7,262,208 Stuart Chatwood - The Fight (Prince of Persia-SOT).mp3
03/17/2004 11:10 PM 6,262,784 StuartChatwood-TimeOnlyKnows (Prince of Persia-SOT).mp3
2 File(s) 13,524,992 bytes

Total Files Listed:
124 File(s) 459,680,083 bytes


Also, I have Turbo Graphx 16/PC Engine and Sega Genesis' soundtracks for Aero Blasters and R-Type 1 games.

Wait what?

Dude, you are quite wrong. There have been many killing sprees at police stations and military bases. Are you fucking kidding me? You don't remember THE FORT HOOD murders?

bloody hell

http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2012/12/22/columbine-had-a-police-officer-virginia-tech-has-a-police-department-fort-hood-is-a-military-base

I think people are missing the point. Guns are a deterrent. If someone wants to go on a shooting spree, they're not going to do it in a place where they know everyone is armed. That's why we have shooting sprees at schools and businesses instead of police departments or gun shows or firing ranges or military bases. The whole point of a shooting spree is to feel empowered. When you're the only one with a gun, you're in charge. When everybody has a gun, you're no longer in charge. A shooting spree becomes less appealing if you know you'll only get in a few hits before you're taken down. Shooters want to go out on their own terms (hence the suicide at the end of most shooting sprees). Even if the civilians carrying weapons don't have a lot of training, the simple fact that they are all carrying weapons is enough to deter would-be shooters.

If you want to end shooting sprees, enact a law requiring everyone to carry guns. Banning guns only ensures that criminals have them.

and cinema, and college, and congresswoman, and immigration centre, and ex-workplaces, and mosque, and abortion clinic, and Luby's cafeteria, and military base, and....

>> ^Kofi:

Was Pearl Harbour very selective and targeted?
Plus, 30,000 tonnes?!?!?!?! Think about it for a moment. Tonnes, pounds, whatever.


Pearl Harbor is an interesting case. It's on one hand a horrific war crime, and on the other well within the standards in which the US operates. Hawaii was a colony which we stole and placed military bases there to control the pacific. Bombers were being produced and put there with the expressed intention, literally this was put in the paper, to bomb the shit out of Japan.

It would be like China setting up on Cuba and sending planes there that they brag can bomb all US cities on the eastern sea board. We'd probably go insane and start nuking everything if that happened.

>> ^criticalthud:

2. mostly unrealistic. america is #1 energy hog and neither technology advancements nor more drilling here will solve that or feed that gluttonous thirst. we are dependent on foreign energy, which is partly why we have 450 military bases around the world. We need to reduce need, and to do that, we need to re-examine our role in the world as pure consumers.

Well said. There are number of things that would reduce the power consumption right away. Refine the stupid pollution control that favors higher consumption in vehicles (lower consumption = more pollution per gallon when it should be mileage vs pollution.. now you can make a car that goes 10MPG but "pollutes" less), invest in public transport, invest in renewal sources.. You got huge amounts of land empty that could be used for solar farming, long coastlines to harvest wave energy, enough thermal activity to take energy from there (allthou thinking that USA is drilling to the core frightens me, you people have never been could at moderation...).

It seems to be that the thinking goes: This (particular) renewable source is not enough so we don't do it at all. But step by step, it would start to play a major part in the big picture. And there's endless supplies of solar energy, 250 W/m2 in average taking cloud cover and sun angle in to account.