C James

Regarding the proposed WTC abomination, I really can't call it "multicultural BS" as I feel that is far too charitable. I call it Treason and disrespect for the dead (plus a whole slew of four-letter words). I can't even think of it without becoming enraged. I can't accuse all Liberals for thinking that, way, though, as I know many who don't. Unfortunately, though, those that don't are usually complicit by their silence regarding those that do. But Myr, it really is the religion of peace: Death is peaceful, isn't it? Or, it's actually the religion of piece, as in "chop the infidels into pieces..." Seriously, I encourage everyone, whatever their opinion on the matter, to sit down and actually read the Koran and Hadiths, and see for yourselves what they actually contain. Pay special attention to the parts of the Hadiths that show the Prophet Mohamed behaving in a holy manner, such as raping a 9 year old girl (which he did) or marrying a six year old! There is the treatment of women as chattel, and a host of other abominations. I can't say this strongly enough: everyone, especially those who believe the whole "religion of peace" line, need to read the Koran and Haddiths! I've been hearing some Americans claim that Bin Laden and Al Queda only want "to be left alone". For anyone who thinks that, please, please read Bin Laden's Letter to America where he lists his demands. One of which is that America become an Islamic nation! I might not fully agree with Myr regarding Turkey, as I feel that Turkey has behaved far more honorably than many of our erstwhile allies (Take a look at the book "Treachery" by Bill Gertz for disgusting examples), but I do agree regarding the majority of the Islamic world. When I mentioned the nuclear war on 9-11 scenario, my only regret about it occurring would have been if it had caused a Russian attack on the US. I agree with the above, but I don't tend to trust college professors to teach an unbiased class (too many members of the loony left in that profession IMHO) so I strongly encourage everyone to read for themselves the Koran and Haddiths and see for themselves what we are facing. History, though, is something that IMHO both Republicans and Democrats could do with studying. The Republicans in Congress seem hell-bent on repeating the pork-barrel big spending and fiscal irresponsibility that the Democrats were long notorious for, and which caused the Democrats to lose control of the House and Senate. On foreign policy, I feel that Islam is less of a threat (slightly) than China. Yet, both parties seem hell-bent on building up China's economy via trade and economic relations. That has two results: one is to give China the high-tech economy to build a modern military and become even more of a threat, while at the same time causing resource shortages such as we see every day at the gas pumps (high prices). China, due to it's enormous population, also has the capacity to surpass the US economically: If that even comes close to happening, they will become the dominant military power on Earth. There also seems to be a dangerous (and perhaps fatal) misconception that economic trade fosters friendship and prevents war. Unfortunately, the opposite is usually the case. Take a look at economic data for August of 1939: Germany's largest trading partner was France, followed by the UK. On Dec 6th, 1941, Japan's largest trading partner was the USA.

Unfortunately, there are way too many people that think that. As for the movie, it was based completely on the flight recordings they could recover and the calls. Many of the flight controllers, and the FAA guys were the ones that were actually on duty. They weren't actors. It is something classically American. They knew they were going to die. They were determined not to let the terrorists kill anyone else in another building. They improvised a plan and went with it. It almost saved them. It is a hard movie to watch. It brought back all the rage I felt that warm September morning. Have you been following the debate over the flight 93 monument? Some utter lunatic (and I'm being charitable) who submitted a design, and equally insane government administrators who approved it, were going to build it in the form of a crescent (symbol of Islam)! That IMHO makes about as much sense, and shows as much respect for the heroes of 93, as building a holocaust memorial in the form of a swastika! ARGH! Thankfully, protests from the families and others caused some rethinking, but the mere fact that it almost happened disgusts me. Sorry for the rant (I'll understand if it's deleted due to being too political) but things like that really, really piss me off. I hope the movie is popular, as it's one heck of an important message, and those passengers who fought, and gave their lives to save strangers, should never be forgotten. Incidentally, they just might have saved far more than a thousand or so innocent people on the ground. If that plane was indeed targeted on Capitol hill, it probably would have hit it's target. Laura Bush was in the building at that time, meeting with several members of congress. What would the President's reaction have been, had his wife been among the dead? Could any man be expected to think rationally under such circumstances? But in this case, this man has nuclear launch authority. Sure, there is a two-man rule requiring verification of a launch order, BUT, that rule does not apply if the US is under attack (and 9-11, especially the attack on the Pentagon, would easily qualify). The problem is what the Russians would have done upon seeing a US launch. The flight paths for targets in Afghanistan or in the Middle East would have passed over Russia, had we decided to use ICBM's instead of Submarine Launched SLBM's (flight path for those would vary depending on launch point). With SLBM's, the initial trajectory might also have looked like it was heading for Russia, especially during boost phase. They also knew we were ramping up the DEFCON status, which did make them very nervous. Given the extremely degraded state of Russian early warning and launch detection/tracking capability, they could very easily have assumed that they were the target of our attack. They also still have a large supply of ICBM's on alert, and have come close to launching based upon far lesser threats. So, IMHO, the heroes of flight 93 might possibly have saved millions of lives, in addition to those on the ground whom they surely did save.

I usually don't go to movies, but for this one, I will. It's certainly something that should never be forgotten, especially that there are still people out there who think that crashing a jetliner full of innocent people into a civilian target is a religious act!

Regarding your deposit problem: I had a similar one, also overseas, a few years ago. I've also been a landlord (only in the US) for quite a few years, and have seen the problem from both sides. So, I have a few thoughts... Would she be less likely to try and rip you off if she didn't know you were leaving the country, and just moving elsewhere in town? How fast can she evict you for non-payment? If it would take a few weeks, you might be able to unilaterally apply the Sec deposit to the last month's rent. You might want to insist on making concrete plans, such as when and exactly how the sec, deposit will be returned, and setting up a formal inspection date and procedure well in advance. If all else fails, you could drop non-subtle hints, such as telling her about a "friend" of yours who had his security deposit unfairly stolen by a landlord, and then go into detail about how he did all sorts of damage as revenge..

Yeah, let's look at page views... Let's see, the last chapter of WT has been up a day and a half, and has 139... The last chapter of SOOTB has been up for a few days, and has over 100. Page views in the announcements section seem to drop off quickly once the announcement is no longer on top, so I'll bet there isn't too much more change. Considering that Dom has been writing for a lot longer, I think you are doing spectacularly well! I didn't get hooked on SOOTB until chapter three. I almost never like a story (including Dom's) until a few chapters are up. Frankly, due to you being a new writer, I was quite skeptical about SOOTB, so I was doubly surprised when I found I loved the story. It's one of the very few I read in progress (I'm usually not patient enough.)

Ahhem! After the previous chapter of SOOTB, I'm too afraid to ask what your image of "kinda dark" would be! Maybe something that would make Jarrod and .co look like little angels? EEEK!

My sincere condolences to Chaz, and to Green's family and friends. Stay strong, and keep friends and family around you.

I read "Seeking Nirvana", and just left a comment in the discussion in the Cafe. I loved it. Just a thought, but have you compared the responses you get on weekends with the amount you get on weekdays? I have no idea regarding GA traffic, but I do know that most blogs (not the ones here) have a big decrease in traffic on the weekends. Perhaps Monday will surprise you. Sorry to hear about all the hoops you need to jump through for your degree.

When I saw the above, I thought for a second you meant something entirely different as to what might be wrong with his hand...

I hope all goes well with your move, and in your new life in VA.

Hey LB! Sorry to hear about the possible move: I know all too well what a headache they can be! Just a suggestion: If you need to relocate and either don't want to stay with your folks, or want to look in a different area, you might try short duration "suite" type apartments, which rent by the week or month. That's what I've used when relocating to new areas, to give me time to get to know the area before house hunting. BTW, I'm really enjoying your story, it's great!

Oh, no! He's going to kill Davey!!! (again!) Or maybe a new bloodbath in Service (Vampire Jarrod 2).

I sure hope you don't listen to your friend! Was the sex in WT different from the usual style? IMHO, yes: In the same way a Rolls Royce is different from an old clunker! It was great! Frankly, I often find myself bored by the sex scenes in other stories, but this one was very hot IMHO. I hope you don't change.

Well said everyone! Thank you Myr and the GA team!!!!!!!

A belated happy birthday, Tim!!!!!! Glad to see from your post that you had a good one. I haven't read your blog yet, but I'm heading there now.

I think one sentence (by Dom) says it all: "Because I needed to finish the story, my way." It is, after all, his story. As for the cliffhanger: Was it evil? IMHO, yes! And that's part of what made it such an outstanding chapter! I think this is my favorite chapter, of all Dom's stories. One final thought: If Dom wanted to be truly evil, he could make chapter 36 short. Very short. Just two words: "THE END". So, we better be nice to him!

It's hard losing anyone in your family, under any circumstances. My sincere condolences and best wishes.

OK, color me confused here, but where the heck does he get off acting all jealous if you talk to anyone, and then going out on dates himself? If I understand you correctly and you are on the level, then that's pure hypocrisy on his part, period. To do this at any time stinks, but to do it on V-day? Sheesh!!! As for the tickets: It was his idea to go, and he stood you up. IMHO, he owes you at least the ticket prices, plus your lost wages for the day. He's darn lucky though, that you are a nicer guy then I am. If someone did that to me, and I had a key to their place, well, let's just say I'd do some serious "redecorating".