Adopt a soldier

[Maverick]

All,
Quite a few of us say we support our troops in this and all conflicts. many don't have any idea how they can tangibly do so. There is an organization that exists to let you reach out and help support a soldier in a real and meaningful way. This isn't empty flag waving or posting mere messages on a bbs most soldiers never see. This is a way to lend your support for real.

A web site known as adoptasoldier.com lets you have a way to write to a particular soldier on active duty. This means you can help let them know they are supported and that someone cares about them. You sign up and this organization will pair you up with a soldier that might not otherwise get ANY mail from home. remember these men and women are usually far from home and the familiar world they knew. They may be in harms way or prepping for it. They need to have some contact from the homeland that lets them know they are appreciated and that someone gives a damn about them.

Please sign up and help them through this tough time. If you are a vet, use your experiance to mentor a junior soldier. They often need someone to talk to and express themselves whare they can't in the unit. Give them te advantage of YOUR experiance and help them to succeed.

Here is the web address again. Sorry I don't know how to post a link. Perhaps another more puter literate person could do that on this thread.
 www.adoptasoldier.com

PS I signed up today after seeing the service was back up. It was discontinued briefly over the anthrax scare.  

 

[Defiance]

Hiya,
I signed up, But being in the UK i'm not sure if i'll be eligable (if that's the right word)

Ohh crikey i can't remember the exact date but i dunno 3yrs or just over i found FA (fighter ace) and i ran into a few problems with pc etc etc
Well this kind guy emailed me and talked me through different settings etc etc
Well he was in saudi and we emailed occasionally after that with watermelon chat about pc's and sims etc
He like a few that know me found me to be cheerful and happy-go-lucky and it was nice to kinda cheer him up with odd english humour  lol

Nice idea i say and a novel concept  

Have Fun

(soldier was called Johnson Philips, so if ya reading this m8 email me as i lost yours ages ago   ) he he

Ciao

[stomper3]

You U.S Guys ever quit??

I aint Antiamerican, and i suffer as much as anyone in the world from the events of the morning 9-11.

But dont this just go a bit too far, even for US taste?

Schoolgirls writing poems to soldiers in a war, currently about 20k+ bombing of country that is among the 10 poorest in the world? Carpet bombing alleged "terrorist" positions, and projecting a war power, designed to strike on a enemy of similar strenght, onto a country that has no way of defending itself?

Even you US guys has to had been tought in school, that you do not strike a blow on people that is lying? Or is that considered fair in your country?

Or do you fail to see that the strikes (unproportionally) inflicted onto you is a direct result of the mentality you show? Its not a strike upon the free world, nor is it  a strike on US democracy, but a strike from below from people that see the US (righteously) as a power that in their world mainly represents war, political instability, geoeconomical unfairness and, as a fact, state-sanctioned terrorism.

Seriously, that page could have been deviced by Mr Goebbels, its not a single step behind what left the guys in the WWII german war propaganda offices...

pwwwwwwwweeeeew

This world...  

/stomp out

[Raubvogel]

Stomper...let me see how I can phrase this....PISS OFF.

[Kratzer]

Stow it stomper.

You think that writing letters to US servicemen is the same thing as Nazi propoganda?  These are our friends, brothers, husbands (not me, smartasses), fathers... even if you don't support the war, you can't argue with supporting these men and women who put their lives on the line.

You can pretend that we can't retaliate up to the day that this toejam touches you directly, then you can support going after these bastards, and I won't even say 'I told you so'.

[Kratzer]

great minds think alike  

[stomper3]

In a friendly and more civil fashion, let me elaborate;

As formerly said; I aint anti-US, nor do i think you deserved what happened 9-11, that was way out, to far and whatever you want. I agree totally. I also think that a reprisal is in place, or rather; not possible to avoid. Sadly.

However.

Its not hard for me as a non-US citizen to see why this happens to your state of all. (bear in mind the above stated about "not deserving"...) The politics used by US administrations through time has been, to underestimate, very brutish indeed. Goverment have been overthrown, people have been killed, raped, murdered and so on by or as a direct sequel of your administrations actions and policies. This is common knownledge once you get outside US. Ask any southern american, arab, non-US muslim and a great deal of the europeans what they think of US foreign policies. Ask the Serb widowers, ask the Palestinian mothers, the Somalian orphans and the people admitted to the hospitals that were buffed in afghanistan. The world is not very pleased with the current state of a moral-majority, world-policing one-state superpower dictating life and death decisions in a land US citizens never heard of. And to that add that the admin in that very state is of disputable democratic origin, mind you.

Thats my 2 pennies, and i have taken no mischeif from the very degrading remarks that (so often) seem to emanate from members of your community when somebody wont agree with the general points of views presented.

Democracy, liberty of speech, freedom...


For all i thought that phrase meant.

Happy to hear your input on this, as i am rally interested in your view.

/stomp

[Kratzer]

Sometimes the things people say deserve nothing more than a hearty 'piss off'.

Swedish neutrality both gives you an easy pedastal from which to point out the shortcomings of others, but protects you from the acts that would make you understand why your view is fundamentally flawed.

People are people, the US gov't isn't perfect, but we take a stand, we help where we can, and we take care of our own.

As I said, if someday, gone unchecked or not, this violence catches up with you, I think you will sing a different tune... at least if your morals are determined by experience and study, and not by empty idealism.

[mietla]

Originally posted by stomper3:
Democracy, liberty of speech, freedom...


For all i thought that phrase meant.

No one is preventing you from posting your views. You did just that. Just do not expect accolades when you are talking nonsense.

[Thrawn]

Kratzer, mietla, if you don't have a counter point...just say so.

[Kratzer]

Feel free to dismiss any arguments you don't like without explanation, and we'll feel free to ignore your dismissals.

[Raubvogel]

Thrawn, I believe the point is, he's full of toejam. His post doesn't belong in this thread. If he wants to spout about the "Big Bad Evil United States" he can do it elsewhere. What exactly is your counterpoint?

He writes "Carpet bombing alleged "terrorist" positions, and projecting a war power, designed to strike on a enemy of similar strenght, onto a country that has no way of defending itself?"

Nothing alleged about it, they support terrorism. They should be more careful of the bedfellows they keep. We will use that power we need to use to minimize our own losses while maximizing the damage to them...that's just sound defense policy.

He writes "Even you US guys has to had been tought in school, that you do not strike a blow on people that is lying? Or is that considered fair in your country?"

I'm not sure WTF that is supposed to mean.

He goes on "Or do you fail to see that the strikes (unproportionally) inflicted onto you is a direct result of the mentality you show? Its not a strike upon the free world, nor is it a strike on US democracy, but a strike from below from people that see the US (righteously) as a power that in their world mainly represents war, political instability, geoeconomical unfairness and, as a fact, state-sanctioned terrorism."

Mentality we show? You mean because we value personal freedom and have an honest desire to see the world's people enjoy personal freedom that we deserved to be attacked? We represent State-sanctioned terrorism? That's just talk straight from the ass.

In short, I saw no points in his blabbering that deserved a counter point. It's very easy to sit back in a neutral country and criticize us for being proactive in world affairs. Someone has to do it, we can't all be neutral and live in isolation. Someday those countries might need our help and then they will conveniently forget what a bad and evil country the United States is. I don't recall Sweden making any concerted effort to stop world terrorism. Until they do they have nothing to critique our efforts on.

So bascially, after wasting all that typing, it brought me back to my original post. No one asked for your opinion, if you don't like it, move on...basically...piss off.

[mietla]

Originally posted by mietla:
...do not expect accolades when you are talking nonsense.

Thrawn,
Which part of my point have you missed?

[Thrawn]

Kratzer, mietla...roadkill.  Feel free to ignore my dismissal

Raubvogel,

His post doesn't belong in this thread. If he wants to spout about the "Big Bad Evil United States" he can do it elsewhere.

Touche

You mean because we value personal freedom and have an honest desire to see the world's people enjoy personal freedom that we deserved to be attacked?

He said countless times that he felt the attack wasn't justified.

As formerly said; I aint anti-US, nor do i think you deserved what happened 9-11, that was way out, to far and whatever you want. I agree totally. I also think that a reprisal is in place, or rather; not possible to avoid. Sadly.

Alot of other countries value personal freedom and don't get attacked.  American foreign policy in the middle-east isn't about trying to spread personal freedom and democracy.  Look at all the dicator's and warlords the US has supported there...and still does.  People and regimes with horrible human rights records.  This is one of the reasons the people in the middle-east have such issues with the US.

We represent State-sanctioned terrorism?

I suppose you would call the mujahadeem "freedom fighters"?  What about Castro or the Contras?  Fine line between revelutionary and terrorist.  All depends on if they're serving your interests I guess.

So bascially, after wasting all that typing, it brought me back to my original post. No one asked for your opinion, if you don't like it, move on...basically...piss off.

Of course if someone didn't like Stomper's opinion, they could have pissed off themselves.

[Fatty]

I think stomper would prefer we clubbed them with dull sticks.