Seattle high school seeks military recruiter ban

davidmc

I stepped out of the military right into a recession. Not too fun. Had I known the future, I would have "extended" my enlistment for one year. I was in Japan & the incessant rain & humidity was a bummer.

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I'm completely in favor of the separation of Church and State. My idea is that these two institutions screw us up enough on their own, so both of them together is certain death.
George Carlin
US comedian and actor (1937 - )

Darjevon

MC, what "kind of cyclist" r u? My conclusion is that you are mainly a mountain biker, who moonlights with urban assault (as is implied by your Mongoose bike)

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My "hitlist" is as follows.

1. My mailman
2. George Bush
3. Mike Tyson
4. Condoleeza Rice
5. Zapper

davidmc

You hit the nail right on the head. My STP & Mongoose are for Urban Assault/Skate Park & my Y is for XCountry. I have the summer off so I plan on riding the Ritual as much as possible. I want to be able to make progress in doing the "manual's"/ "bar-spins"/ 'grinds" & "jumps' by the end of the summer . After that I go back to school & I will spend most of my time working/ going to class/studying

http://www.mongoose.com/bikes/detai...o_US&brandID=40

__________________
I'm completely in favor of the separation of Church and State. My idea is that these two institutions screw us up enough on their own, so both of them together is certain death.
George Carlin
US comedian and actor (1937 - )

darkboong

I prefer the image of Col. Hackworth waiting for the bastards in the Afterlife with some Claymores.

Darjevon

lol

__________________
My "hitlist" is as follows.

1. My mailman
2. George Bush
3. Mike Tyson
4. Condoleeza Rice
5. Zapper

Darjevon

New thread idea!

__________________
My "hitlist" is as follows.

1. My mailman
2. George Bush
3. Mike Tyson
4. Condoleeza Rice
5. Zapper

davidmc

What's the new thread gonna' be

__________________
I'm completely in favor of the separation of Church and State. My idea is that these two institutions screw us up enough on their own, so both of them together is certain death.
George Carlin
US comedian and actor (1937 - )

davidmc

We, Progressives\Lefties can only hope

__________________
I'm completely in favor of the separation of Church and State. My idea is that these two institutions screw us up enough on their own, so both of them together is certain death.
George Carlin
US comedian and actor (1937 - )

jhuskey

Most exciting sexual encounter with an extraterrestrial.

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Sobriety is over rated!

EoinC

Better check up on the facts here...
1) Indonesia is a sovereign nation. When you enter Indonesia, you are subject to the laws of that nation. Every nation's laws are different. Walking around with a handgun may be legal in some places in the USA, but would have the TRG evacuating the area if you did it in Australia.
2) Possession of cannabis is illegal in (most) of Australia, and in Indonesia. Within this debate, it is irrelevant whether this is right or wrong. Within Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia (and, of course, many other Countries), the penalties are very serious ones. Every time you fly into Singapore, there is an announcement that importation of narcotics carries the Death Penalty.
3) The comments I have seen from the Australian legal fraternity, in observing the trial, indicate that it was conducted fairly and in accordance with Indonesia's legal framework. The sentencing appears to be no harsher than that imposed upon Indonesian Nationals for similar crimes.
4) Schapelle Corby has the right of appeal. I have not yet seen whether she intends to excercise this right.
5) The quantity of cannabis involved is at a commercial level - somewhere around 4.1kg. As in many Countries, in Indonesia, possession of commercial quantities of a prohibited substance is treated more severely than possession for own use.

There are a number of different things to consider here and a lot of it has to do with reaction to publicity.
IIRC, there are currently around 43 Australian Citizens in Jails in Southeast Asia on charges of possession or trafficking prohibited substances. At least 2 of these people have received the Death Penalty. The plight of these others has not attracted the same publicity (and ensuing symapathy) as that of Schapelle Corby. I may be wrong, but the public image of Ms Corby that has been portrayed by the media may make the public more willing to believe in her stated innocence.
Possession of the bag that contained the cannabis established a prima facie case under Indonesian Law, the same as it would in nearly every Country in the World.
If Ms Corby is innocent (something that I am not able to determine just by seeing photo's of her), I would hope that supporting evidence will come to light and be available for an appeal. The Australian Government has offered the services of 2 of the leading Australian QC's.
If Ms Corby is guilty, then she has carried out an act that is contrary to the Laws of Indonesia and is subject to the ensuing penalties.
To link the donation of money, goods and assistance to the people of Indonesia affected by the tsunami, to the sentencing of an Australian charged with a crime is, in my opinion, spurious and lacking in any logical relevance. I gave money to help people in Indonesia who were victims of a natural disaster. I did not give money in order to be able to request that a foreigner receive special treatment over and above that on offer to Indonesian Nationals in a Court of Law.
I live in Australia, but work in Malaysia. Whilst I am in Malaysia, I am subject to the Laws of this Country. It doesn't matter whether I agree or disagree with Malaysia's Laws and associated penalties, it is what it is.
Should an appeal fail, the Australian Government is likely to request that some of her sentence be served in an Australian Jail.

EoinC

Sorry for going back off-topic there - couldn't help myself. Hmmm, what was the topic? That's right, Miltary Recruiters banned from school...
I guess if kids are nearly old enough to join the forces, they're probably old enough to hear the sales pitch.
I was not in favour of Gulf War 1 and remain not in favour of Gulf War 2. I don't, however, have any problem with people joining the armed forces.
I work in the Oil & Gas sector (the one that's going to disappear in X years) and look forward to when Armies take on ExxonMobil's motto - "Nobody Gets Hurt".
I personally feel that all International conflicts should be solved by a series of Sprint Matches at the UN Velodrome (could be a portable affair like the ones used in 6-Days). To make it better for televised broadcasts, the representatives should have to wear their national dress during competition - Watch out for those wily Scotsmen...

Carrera

"The sentencing appears to be no harsher than that imposed upon Indonesian Nationals for similar crimes."

Glad you reminded me of that. The problem is the media is forgetting that it's not only tourists who are falling foul of these despots, but the indigenous peoples as well. Not only is it unacceptable that Miss Corby should face 20 years in jail over a plant, but neither should the Indonesian population have to put up with such a situation. Campaigners should make it clear they are objecting to this situation on the grounds the whole legal stance reflects a contempt for human rights under the current Indonesian regime.
If this had been a case of Corby possessing coke or heroine I'd have been less sympathetic. Cannabis, however, is a very mild substance so the idea of someone winding up with a stiffer sentence than the Bali bomber is ridiculous.
I do think the idea of a tourist boycott is the way to go as, to my mind, Indonesia is not a safe place to holiday. Assuming these drugs were planted in Corby's luggage, while her cases were still in Australia, and given the fact some key witnesses disappeared this simply shows just how an assumed holiday can turn into a nightmare.
Much has been said about countries such as Israel in the past but I seriously doubt either visiting tourists or Israelis would have their rights infringed by these kinds of despots in the way we see here. We shouldn't be endorsing regimes that either amputate limbs, stone people in the streets or lock others up over a trivial offence. Yes, I think Australia should get tough and I'm glad public opinion has woken up to an evil that has been going on for some time, as you correctly pointed out. It took the images of a distraught woman to shock people into reality.
My apologies too for going off the thread. I'll open this up under a new heading.

darkboong

There are plants and plants... How about if she was carrying 50gms of Opium Poppy seeds ? FWIW I think the Cannabis legislation as it stands *globally* is ridiculous. A quick google provided this :

"Secondly, the Netherlands, like all other members of the United Nations is a signatory of the UN conventions of 1961, 1971 and 1988 which oblige signatories to criminalise cannabis use together with the use of various hard drugs."

As you can see, it's really down to the folks at the UN to ammend the legislation. I can't see it getting very far, legislation has a habit of growing rather than shrinking, I suspect the only way that legislation will be broken is by global civil revolt.



Ironically they are actually in full compliance with the UN's conventions on this one. It's worth taking a look at which nations have traditionally pushed for that legislation and then follow the money.



You would be entirely wrong in that regard.

EoinC

From what I have seen of the "Campaigners", they are not objecting to Indonesians and others receiving long sentences for importation of a prohibited substance, they are objecting to a young Australian woman receiving a similarly long sentence for importing 4.1kg of a prohibited substance.
Indonesia does not have Sharia Laws, with amputations and stonings and, if we are not to endorse the regimes of nations where people are locked up for "trivial" reasons, it looks like many of the Western nations are also to be excluded.
What exactly is Australia meant to "get tough" about? A democratically elected Indonesian Government acting within the bounds of its own legislation?
I've spent a fair bit of time in many parts of Indonesia and don't recall any of the Indonesian Citizens that I have spoken with as ever mentioning that their number one concern was getting reduced sentencing levels for people importing prohibited substances.
What would boycotting tourism achieve? Do you really think the majority of tourists care that Indonesia has serious penalties for importation of commercial quantities of prohibited substances? Are you planning on shutting down tourism to Singapore at the same time? How about closing Disneyland because of USA's fairly hefty Federal drug enforcement legislation?
If you don't want to go to Indonesia because of it's laws, don't go. As for me, I'm happy to go back there.