Balta1701

QUOTE(Controlled Chaos @ May 12, 2006 -> 07:50 AM) I don't really give a s*** about this. It's not like the NSA is listening or even hand looking through who I call. There is a massive computer....just scanning numbers and if they hit some pattern worth looking into then they will look. You think its checking to see if I call my mom?? They most likely have a database of bad guys....and then scan numbers to that list. That's it....Big deal... Of course...when you avoid speaking out against the President or his war, avoid donating to alternative candidates, and never worry that you're somehow going to go to an airport and discover you've been put on a no-fly list, you have nothing to worry about. Oh, unless your name winds up resembling a terrorist, like that guy in Oregon a year ago or so.

QUOTE(FlaSoxxJim @ May 11, 2006 -> 10:24 PM) He always claimed he was a "uniter not a divider." Seems he was on the money after all, as the entire country continues to unite in opposition to the bumbling incompetence and disregard for Constitution and law shown by this administration. And the fact that the government really does want to know when and why you're calling grandma won't help that much either.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ May 11, 2006 -> 09:13 PM) Actually the rumors started at about 10 o'clock central time. Griffey, Dunn, Kearns, T. Hunter, S. Stewart all were mentioned, expect more tomorrow. Buster Olney also fired out Bobby Abreu.

So, according, repeatedly, to ESPN tonight, Crash actually requested that the Phillies install some padding on that section of the fence. The padding was delivered this week, and was due for install next week.

Here it comes, Via the Harris poll... 29

QUOTE(NUKE_CLEVELAND @ May 11, 2006 -> 08:37 PM) Yeah, things worked out REAL good with N. Korea. We got to talking and, oh, they have the bomb now. Guess that really worked huh? How many times have we actually sat ourselves down for 1 on 1 negotiations with North Korea in the past 6 years? How high of a priority was it for us when North Korea announced they were going to build the bomb in late 2002, and then we detected signatures of them reprocessing fuel rods along the DMZ in early 2003? Why exactly were we unwilling to offer up a non-aggression pact with that nation? Neither side has negotiated in good faith in those discussions. And it wound up with NK getting the bomb. Where would the harm have been in actually trying? So here's the one argument I will make on Iran. And saying "It won't work" doesn't even do it damage, because it's so strong. According to the current CIA estimates, Iran is 10 years from a bomb. We won't be invading Iran this year, or most likely next year. Our allies are in no shape to do so, and neither is our army. Even if those CIA estimates are off by a factor of 2, we still have 5 years. So what exactly is the harm in trying? If it fails, so what, it fails, and suddenly we find ourselves replete with allies because we actually tried. If it succeeds, we avoid a war, the price of oil plummets, and thousands to millions of lives are saved. There is absolutely no reason not to at least try to sit down with Iran right now, at a summit, face to face, and try to negotiate a settlement that prevents Iran from getting the bomb. If a year from now it totally fails, then all it's done is take a year that we'd spend trying to rebuild our army anyway, and made us look a lot better in the eyes of the countries who might help out. Right now, the price of peace with that country is as low as its ever going to get. From here on out, the price of oil will only go up, which will make Iran stronger and less willing to negotiate, and make China and Russia even more obstinate. Iran will only get closer to the bomb, which will make them less likely to negotiate. And they know the U.S. can't invade right now, which gives them motivation to settle this now before the U.S. army returns to full force. Things will only get harder the longer we wait. And it is absolutely impossible for there to be any harm done to the U.S. by sitting down and negotiating.

QUOTE(EvilMonkey @ May 11, 2006 -> 08:17 PM) I saw the words 'might', ' possibly linking ', 'impossible to match the tissue DNA with the alleged attacker with 100 percent certainty', 'did not match the other 45 students'and 'no identifiable DNA was found because the hair lacked a root'. It also doesn't say if the supposed match was from one of the players she named, or someone else. And because a pubic hair from a 'white male' was found doesn not mean if was from ANy of the people there. If I recall, she was a working girl, and quite possibly could have been at a party before theirs. There is an awful lot of ifs and maybes, and precious little dna, especially since she insists that she 'clawed at three attackers as they raped and sodomized her'. A little early to start trying to serve crow. Yes, you're right it is, and they may very well still be able to wind up getting off, as they're gonna be able to afford some nice attorneys. But that doesn't mean it wasn't way too early for people to say that the DNA evidence exonerated the Duke players, and that the DA was only bringing the charges to win an election. Which a great number of folks already decided without having a clue what other evidence might have been out there. The only thing I've been saying in this case is that people shouldn't jump to conclusions about the D.A.'s motives until they know all the evidence, and people did so anyway. Now, the case is actually one that is winnable for a D.A. He has some physical evidence, and presumably he has to have at least 1 witness in addition to the attacker before he would have considered bringing a case. Now, the question will be whether or not he'll be able to get one or more of the students to plea bargain their way to a lower sentence by turning evidence on the rest, because he has the makings of a winnable case. So all I was saying, and the point I feel validated on, was that it was too damn early to jump to conclusions. I don't know if they're guilty or not, and a jury will decide that. But a bunch of people here already judged the D.A. to be the one at fault, and it turned out that he had more evidence than we knew about.

So, to all the folks who said that the D.A. had no case, that he was just doing it to get elected, that she was making the whole thing up, or whatever else people said to try to bash the people bringing the charges? Forensic evidence matching a Duke Lacross player. Including DNA. Yeah. Remember how some of us (me) were saying that we should reserve judgement until all of the evidence was back and released? Yeah.

QUOTE(Rex Kickass @ May 11, 2006 -> 05:31 PM) Satire does not equal slander. If someone wanted to sue them...they better get a book out damn quick. Make as much $$ off of it as possible before it's thrown out of court by the first judge who sees it.

So, it appears that The Trib thinks this is a big enough deal to publish tomorrow's editorial by like 6:00 CST today.

QUOTE(NUKE_CLEVELAND @ May 11, 2006 -> 04:22 PM) This is further proof ( as if any was needed ) that the Mexican government is totally corrupt and is only interested in exporting poverty to the United States. Or alternatively, it could be an attempt to pander to the many hundreds of thousands of Mexicans who are currently living in this country but still able to vote in Mexico.

So what you're saying is...I can't wait to join in the class action suit.

QUOTE(NUKE_CLEVELAND @ May 11, 2006 -> 04:30 PM) Rex, those overtures were rejected because they were BS to begin with. Iran is playing the same game North Korea played with us for the last 10 years. They figured if the N. Koreans could get a bomb that way then why not try it themselves. BTW. If we let Iran get a nuke then China will be the least of our worries. So what exactly is the other option? Ignore them, ostracize them, give their regime us as a major scapegoat, and let them have all the time they want to develop the bomb since the U.S. doesn't have the forces or the trust of the world to mount an actual invasion? Or launch some piecemeal strike that won't stop their nuclear program while strengthening their government, unifying the Shi'a population of the middle east against us, and so forth? A great man once said “Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate.” We're not going to be invading Iran tomorrow, or this year, etc. The only thing that ignoring their overtures does is make us look like we're the stubborn ones in the eyes of the countries whose support we would need in any future action.

Can a baseball player get by with a Rip Hamilton style mask and still stay in the game?

QUOTE(Gene Honda Civic @ May 11, 2006 -> 02:46 PM) You've gotta love that the defense of the move is that Montero didn't suck in his last 25 innings (his first taste of success above AA at age 28), turning a blind eye to the fact that he spent 10 years of mediocre-at-best pitching prior to the last 5 weeks. So you're saying that Isiah Thomas wants this kid?

QUOTE(kyyle23 @ May 11, 2006 -> 02:34 PM) I have been to games where I didnt recieve a Miller Lite promotion t-shirt because I wasnt over 21 years old. I have also been to games where kids 12 and under got replica wooden bats. This guy is way off base, just because you go to a game doesnt mean you are entitled to what it being given away. Some people will sue for anything. I really liked those bats.

Ken Griffey Jr. is finally coming off the DL.

QUOTE(greasywheels121 @ May 11, 2006 -> 02:55 PM) The Sox aren't skipping Garland's start, from what I understand. Garland Versus Santana has been pretty damn good before as well.

So let's see...last year, he gets caught using steroids, and suddenly the next season is his best ever? Yea... I really hate that I'm going to have to boo and taunt this guy if he ever shows up in a ballgame.

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ May 11, 2006 -> 02:04 PM) I give up, he is a real sweet guy who is just mistranslated. He's not a sweet guy at all. The U.S. shouldn't trust him, and it damn well better find a way to keep his country from getting the bomb 10 years from now. None of that mean he's going to launch a preemptive attack on Israel tomorrow, or the next day, or any day within his term in office.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ May 11, 2006 -> 01:25 PM) Montero has the honor of being one of the first players suspended by MLB for steriod use last season. Oh you're kidding me. Great, we brought up a juicer?

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ May 11, 2006 -> 01:16 PM) Cole's translation is biased and his motives are horses***. He is an apologist for all things crazy. I am sure that he would translate Ossama Bin Laden video as a guy who said he is sorry for the towers falling. Here is the original arabic. srail ghiyam-e mossalahaane bar zed-e mamaalek-e eslami nemoodeh ast va bar doval va mamaalek-eeslami ghal-o-gham aan lazem ast. Here is the translation from the Institute for Imam Khomeini. Israel has declared armed struggle against Islamic countries and its destruction is a must for all governments and nations of Islam. Maybe the history professor knows more farsi than I, but I dont think he knows more than the rest of the world. He is just putting his bulls*** slant on it, just like he does with all of his crazy terrorist do no wrong crap. Here are 2 more attempts at translating the whole paragraph of Ahmadinejad's speech. In both of them, if you read the full thing and don't focus on that 1 clause alone, it becomes clear that the clause you're questioning is taken as happening the same way as the overthrow of the Shah.

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ May 11, 2006 -> 11:57 AM) \ Massively misinterpreted? Are you serious? Ahmadinejad has repeatedly spoken out against Israel and provoked a world outcry in October when he said Israel should be “wiped off the map.” Do you really think this means that he is pushing for elections to remove the jews from israel. Or to the fact that he wants them wiped ou. Come on now. You cant sugar coat the Iranian president. "wiped off the map" is the most specific mistranslation. In fact, that particular phrase doesn't even exist in Farsi. Here's a different translation, with context, from Professor Cole (U Michigan) The one quick question you should ask yourself with a quote like that is...how American does it sound? To me, the phrase "Wiped off the map" makes perfect sense and I know its exact meaning, but that is a slang American phrase. Without the context, its direct translation would basically be me literally taking a map and cleaning it. In other words, the exact same slang phrase would have to exist in Farsi for that to be what Ahmadinejad said, and given how unique slang is in this country, the odds of that boggle my mind. This guy is not a good guy, but we're going to get ourselves into trouble if we let the wrong people doing translations make policy for us.

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ May 11, 2006 -> 11:13 AM) This is nothing new. This guy was on one show last week talking one way, while his president talks another. One is a direct letter to the president, and this is something from a lower level guy. This is smoke and mirrors to keep things moving so they can keep the status quo going on. The President of Iran doesnt think Israel should exist. He questioned its existance in the previous letter, in all of his ramblings. He belongs to a religious sect that believes that when a war between the arabs and jews happen that Mohammed will come to save the world. He is insane. I see Iran getting a nuke, then lobbing it over to Israel and waiting for Mohammed to save them. First of all, Ahmadinejad is not in command of Iran's military, so even if he wanted to do that, he'd have a bit of a problem...Ayatollah Khameni is actually at the top. Secondly, I believe that his statement that he doesn't want to see Israel exist has been massively misinterpreted. Most people have bought into him saying that Iran would attack Israel with that remark. I think that other translations have strongly suggested he was actually quoting something Khomeni said about the Soviet Union...saying basically that he hoped it would vanish from time or something to that effect. Basically it was a statement calling for something akin to regime change...his words were almost a direct quote from Khomeni, and Khomeni had no intention of attacking the Soviets when he said them. He's not a nice guy, and yes he is a holocaust denier, etc., but thus far, the evidence doesn't show him willing to launch an aggressive war against Israel.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ May 11, 2006 -> 11:32 AM) this guy is a bullpen guy, which makes me believe that BMAC will be starting on monday, and maybe after that. He'll be starting on Tuesday now.