ABU GHRAIB

[chcr]

something wrong Chic? Usually you would say what you meant.

Just tired, Eric. Look at it this way: Unless your a sychophant creationist, dinosaurs were the dominant species for around a hundred and fifty million years. If they hadn't been killed off by a freak accident, they still would be. There have been humans for on the order of two hundred thousand years and yet we beat our chests constantly about being the be-all and end-all of creation. It seems very unlikely to me that we will last another hundred thousand, let alone a hundred and forty-nine million. Thus, I generally find it amusing when someone starts talking about how great we are as a species. I was really just trying to avoid the self-righteous bleating that will inevitably follow this post. It's boring, and I've heard it dozens of times over the last thirty plus years.

Here are some facts for you all to argue about.

 

[The Other One]

May 08, 2004
Rumsfeld Halts Recruitment of Humans for Military
(2004-05-08) -- U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld today officially halted the recruitment of humans to serve in the U.S. military. The action comes in the wake of the Defense Secretary's Congressional testimony about abuses at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison.

"It's clear to me now that the risks of using humans as military personnel outweigh the potential benefits," said Mr. Rumsfeld. "Just like any other obsolete weapons system, this one is cancelled."

Previously, the Pentagon had followed a policy of criminal prosecution for those who committed illegal acts, but attacks by critics, and other Democrats, have convinced the Bush administration that this system is "antiquated."

"Courts martial and other disciplinary measures are dependent upon previous wrongdoing, and by then it's too late," Mr. Rumsfeld said. "Since humans are predisposed to making bad--and even evil--decisions, we need to eliminate them from the process."

 

[MrBishop]

That was what the last 10,000 years was for. We came out of the jungle. We left the plains & the valleys, we moved from caves & thatch huts. We made man go faster than a horse. We created day during night. We changed our personal and general environment to suit our wants. We made man fly thrice as high as an eagle could fly fly and more importantly allowed him to reach the ground in safety. We allowed man to leave the planet altogether. Also returning safely after picking rocks from the moon.

No matter what your personal beliefs may be, it is undeniable; man is the king of this rock.

For the moment at least...but it's only been a few thousand years...and we've got plenty of time to kill ourselves off. Once that happens...another organism or several, will rise out of mediocrity and become the kings of the rock.

I seriously think that our consciousness isn't a side-effect of the tools that we've made, but an inverse relationship exists. We could just as easily have developed consciousness and NOT been the kings of the rock because of a larger predator wchich actually actively hunted humans. Our coronation as kings is a combination of pure luck and the lack of predators.

 

[Gato_Solo]

Anyhow...The court martial verdict has been published.

 

[Leslie]

you know...the guy in question actually seems genuinely contrite. I feel it was quite the harsh penalty, and agree with his lawyer that it ought to be reduced.

 

[Gato_Solo]

you know...the guy in question actually seems genuinely contrite. I feel it was quite the harsh penalty, and agree with his lawyer that it ought to be reduced.

He can appeal, but his appellate court is the US Supreme court...and we know how liberal they are.

 

[Leslie]

maybe you do