Devasted

[belinda63 2,981]

OK, OK maybe the US is not the best country in the world, but it certainly is not the worst. No country is perfect. You talk about ppl blowing themselves up in other countries and forget about the drive by shootings here. You talk about wars that involve politics and politicians who don't care about the individuals.

But let me rant a little about the "oh so great" US justice system having been in the wheels of it off and on for years.,

First of all there is no justice. My public defender told me she had more important cases to work on than my misdeamenor and I needed to just do my year in jail and not complain. She did absolutely nothing on my case and whenever it would get close to trial she would come to me with a plea bargain. When I refused it she would just delay the trial. I ended up doing a year in jail (the maximum possible sentence for my crime, prior to my trial so what would be the point in having a trial after I had served the time?).

With my felony child support case (looking at 10 years in jail) it was still "let's make a deal. For two years I was in court monthly, sometimes twice a month, just to get another court date. A year after I was first arrested, thank God my mother bailed me out, I was scheduled for trial. Two weeks prior to trial, realizing my Public Defender had done nothing, (this was a different one, the head of the office for three counties in Kentucky), I requested she delay the trial.

six months later I requested a speedy trial and had it scheduled for September (two years after I was arrested). A month prior to that trial date my attorney still had done nothing.

during all this time she played "let's make a deal" well if you agree to this they will give you probation, if you do this they will reduce the charges, etc. Not once did she work my case. I took her all the receipts I had so her clerk could compare them to the Child support records. After a year they still had not done this.

Final outcome, I held to my guns and refused to plead guilty. Two years after I was charged and arrested they finally dismissed the charges because they could not prove them and they realized I would not plead guilty. Case Dismissed.

But, what if I had not gotten my bail paid and I had been sitting in jail all that time. Think about it, if you were in jail for six months or a year, lost everything you had or were about to lose everything you had, living on nothing but the food they give you (and jail is not like what you see on TV) wouldn't you plead guilty to almost anything to get out.

After a year if they came to you and said plead guilty to this and you can go home tonight or else you can sit in jail for another year or two waiting for a trial, what would you do?

I know I would have plead guilty to murder if I could have been home that night.

Think about this when you talk about all the "guilty" people in jail. A lot of them just took the fastest way out of jail, guilty or not.

There is no justice in America it is all about keeping you in jail until you break.

[Ban Hammer 12,842]

Caught on camera: The 10-year-old Al Qaeda fanatics ready to launch terror attacks in Iraq

Weighed down with ammunition belts and guns as big as themselves, these masked boys as young as ten are being trained by Al Qaeda to be its new generation of killers, the U.S. military claimed last night.

The terror group is said to be recruiting Iraqi boys who should be in primary school to carry out assassinations, suicide bombings and kidnappings.

Officials in Baghdad released a video seized during a raid on a suspected Al Qaeda safe-house which showed the children apparently undergoing training.

The images are said to be a propaganda tool designed to recruit more children to the cause.

Even by the standards of the terror network, the pictures are chilling, with black-masked boys - some of whom appeared to be aged about 10 - storming a house and holding guns to the heads of mock captives.

Another tape showed a young boy wearing a suicide vest and posing with automatic weapons while a third contained pictures of masked youngsters forcing a man from a bicycle at gunpoint in an apparent kidnapping.

About 20 boys wearing ski masks are shown carrying rocket propelled grenade launchers - some of which dwarf the youngsters - assault rifles and pistols.

The release of the footage, which was seized last December from a house at Khan Bani Saad, north-east of Baghdad, was further indication that Al Qaeda is increasingly using children and women for its terror operations, the U.S military said.

Iraqi officials say that more and more young boys are being snatched by militias and Al Qaeda as "recruits" suitable for training.

Iraqi Defence Ministry spokesman Mohammed al-Askari gave no details of numbers but said the abductions were taking place "not only to recruit them, but also to demand ransom to fund the operations of Al Qaeda."

Both children and women are able to move more freely through the increasingly effective local and US security checks in major Iraqi cities.

Only last Friday two women with Down's Syndrome wearing remote-controlled explosives carried out a bombing in a busy pet market in Baghdad, killing dozens.

The US said prior to 2007, five women had been responsible for suicide bombings and other attacks across Iraq.

Ten women have carried out attacks since then, and there have been four female suicide bombers already in 2008.

It violates Muslim religious beliefs to use women in fighting.

US military spokesman Rear Admiral Gregory Smith said there was evidence that Osama Bin Laden's representatives had taken the decision to target children.

"Al Qaeda in Iraq wants to poison the next generation of Iraqis," he said, "It is offering children as the new generation of mujahedeen (holy warriors)," he said.

"We believe this video is used as propaganda to send out to recruit other boys ... and to send a broader message across Iraq to indoctrinate youth into Al Qaeda."

He continued: "That is a disturbing trend that obviously shows the desperation that Al Qaeda is currently going through to use whatever means necessary to achieve its ends."

Other scenes from the Khan Bani Saad video showed masked boys forcing a man off his bicycle at gunpoint and stopping a car and kidnapping its driver along a dusty country road.

At one point, the boys - wearing soccer jerseys with ammunition slung across their chests - sit in a circle on the floor, chanting slogans in support of Al Qaeda.

link

Ever heard of the TULIA, TEXAS? Nice look at American tax dollars working too weed out the trash.

got a link to that?

[Beauty for Ashes 257]

Caught on camera: The 10-year-old Al Qaeda fanatics ready to launch terror attacks in Iraq

Weighed down with ammunition belts and guns as big as themselves, these masked boys as young as ten are being trained by Al Qaeda to be its new generation of killers, the U.S. military claimed last night.

The terror group is said to be recruiting Iraqi boys who should be in primary school to carry out assassinations, suicide bombings and kidnappings.

Officials in Baghdad released a video seized during a raid on a suspected Al Qaeda safe-house which showed the children apparently undergoing training.

The images are said to be a propaganda tool designed to recruit more children to the cause.

Even by the standards of the terror network, the pictures are chilling, with black-masked boys - some of whom appeared to be aged about 10 - storming a house and holding guns to the heads of mock captives.

Another tape showed a young boy wearing a suicide vest and posing with automatic weapons while a third contained pictures of masked youngsters forcing a man from a bicycle at gunpoint in an apparent kidnapping.

About 20 boys wearing ski masks are shown carrying rocket propelled grenade launchers - some of which dwarf the youngsters - assault rifles and pistols.

The release of the footage, which was seized last December from a house at Khan Bani Saad, north-east of Baghdad, was further indication that Al Qaeda is increasingly using children and women for its terror operations, the U.S military said.

Iraqi officials say that more and more young boys are being snatched by militias and Al Qaeda as "recruits" suitable for training.

Iraqi Defence Ministry spokesman Mohammed al-Askari gave no details of numbers but said the abductions were taking place "not only to recruit them, but also to demand ransom to fund the operations of Al Qaeda."

Both children and women are able to move more freely through the increasingly effective local and US security checks in major Iraqi cities.

Only last Friday two women with Down's Syndrome wearing remote-controlled explosives carried out a bombing in a busy pet market in Baghdad, killing dozens.

The US said prior to 2007, five women had been responsible for suicide bombings and other attacks across Iraq.

Ten women have carried out attacks since then, and there have been four female suicide bombers already in 2008.

It violates Muslim religious beliefs to use women in fighting.

US military spokesman Rear Admiral Gregory Smith said there was evidence that Osama Bin Laden's representatives had taken the decision to target children.

"Al Qaeda in Iraq wants to poison the next generation of Iraqis," he said, "It is offering children as the new generation of mujahedeen (holy warriors)," he said.

"We believe this video is used as propaganda to send out to recruit other boys ... and to send a broader message across Iraq to indoctrinate youth into Al Qaeda."

He continued: "That is a disturbing trend that obviously shows the desperation that Al Qaeda is currently going through to use whatever means necessary to achieve its ends."

Other scenes from the Khan Bani Saad video showed masked boys forcing a man off his bicycle at gunpoint and stopping a car and kidnapping its driver along a dusty country road.

At one point, the boys - wearing soccer jerseys with ammunition slung across their chests - sit in a circle on the floor, chanting slogans in support of Al Qaeda.

link

Ever heard of the TULIA, TEXAS? Nice look at American tax dollars working too weed out the trash.

got a link to that?

, I think some would rather our soldiers take a bullet to the face than hurt a hair on the heads of these cutesy wootsy 10 year olds. What is the world coming to? We have no choice. We pull out the sunnis slaughter the shias and the insurgency continues. We stay, we keep coming home in body bags all along facing criticism. Its a no win situation for all involved. I say beat the ####### out of the adults indoctrinating these children to do this #######

[Beauty for Ashes 257]

Caught on camera: The 10-year-old Al Qaeda fanatics ready to launch terror attacks in Iraq

Weighed down with ammunition belts and guns as big as themselves, these masked boys as young as ten are being trained by Al Qaeda to be its new generation of killers, the U.S. military claimed last night.

The terror group is said to be recruiting Iraqi boys who should be in primary school to carry out assassinations, suicide bombings and kidnappings.

Officials in Baghdad released a video seized during a raid on a suspected Al Qaeda safe-house which showed the children apparently undergoing training.

The images are said to be a propaganda tool designed to recruit more children to the cause.

Even by the standards of the terror network, the pictures are chilling, with black-masked boys - some of whom appeared to be aged about 10 - storming a house and holding guns to the heads of mock captives.

Another tape showed a young boy wearing a suicide vest and posing with automatic weapons while a third contained pictures of masked youngsters forcing a man from a bicycle at gunpoint in an apparent kidnapping.

About 20 boys wearing ski masks are shown carrying rocket propelled grenade launchers - some of which dwarf the youngsters - assault rifles and pistols.

The release of the footage, which was seized last December from a house at Khan Bani Saad, north-east of Baghdad, was further indication that Al Qaeda is increasingly using children and women for its terror operations, the U.S military said.

Iraqi officials say that more and more young boys are being snatched by militias and Al Qaeda as "recruits" suitable for training.

Iraqi Defence Ministry spokesman Mohammed al-Askari gave no details of numbers but said the abductions were taking place "not only to recruit them, but also to demand ransom to fund the operations of Al Qaeda."

Both children and women are able to move more freely through the increasingly effective local and US security checks in major Iraqi cities.

Only last Friday two women with Down's Syndrome wearing remote-controlled explosives carried out a bombing in a busy pet market in Baghdad, killing dozens.

The US said prior to 2007, five women had been responsible for suicide bombings and other attacks across Iraq.

Ten women have carried out attacks since then, and there have been four female suicide bombers already in 2008.

It violates Muslim religious beliefs to use women in fighting.

US military spokesman Rear Admiral Gregory Smith said there was evidence that Osama Bin Laden's representatives had taken the decision to target children.

"Al Qaeda in Iraq wants to poison the next generation of Iraqis," he said, "It is offering children as the new generation of mujahedeen (holy warriors)," he said.

"We believe this video is used as propaganda to send out to recruit other boys ... and to send a broader message across Iraq to indoctrinate youth into Al Qaeda."

He continued: "That is a disturbing trend that obviously shows the desperation that Al Qaeda is currently going through to use whatever means necessary to achieve its ends."

Other scenes from the Khan Bani Saad video showed masked boys forcing a man off his bicycle at gunpoint and stopping a car and kidnapping its driver along a dusty country road.

At one point, the boys - wearing soccer jerseys with ammunition slung across their chests - sit in a circle on the floor, chanting slogans in support of Al Qaeda.

link

Ever heard of the TULIA, TEXAS? Nice look at American tax dollars working too weed out the trash.

got a link to that?

Very interesting movie about BESLAN and the MADRID BOMBINGS

Caught on camera: The 10-year-old Al Qaeda fanatics ready to launch terror attacks in Iraq

Weighed down with ammunition belts and guns as big as themselves, these masked boys as young as ten are being trained by Al Qaeda to be its new generation of killers, the U.S. military claimed last night.

The terror group is said to be recruiting Iraqi boys who should be in primary school to carry out assassinations, suicide bombings and kidnappings.

Officials in Baghdad released a video seized during a raid on a suspected Al Qaeda safe-house which showed the children apparently undergoing training.

The images are said to be a propaganda tool designed to recruit more children to the cause.

Even by the standards of the terror network, the pictures are chilling, with black-masked boys - some of whom appeared to be aged about 10 - storming a house and holding guns to the heads of mock captives.

Another tape showed a young boy wearing a suicide vest and posing with automatic weapons while a third contained pictures of masked youngsters forcing a man from a bicycle at gunpoint in an apparent kidnapping.

About 20 boys wearing ski masks are shown carrying rocket propelled grenade launchers - some of which dwarf the youngsters - assault rifles and pistols.

The release of the footage, which was seized last December from a house at Khan Bani Saad, north-east of Baghdad, was further indication that Al Qaeda is increasingly using children and women for its terror operations, the U.S military said.

Iraqi officials say that more and more young boys are being snatched by militias and Al Qaeda as "recruits" suitable for training.

Iraqi Defence Ministry spokesman Mohammed al-Askari gave no details of numbers but said the abductions were taking place "not only to recruit them, but also to demand ransom to fund the operations of Al Qaeda."

Both children and women are able to move more freely through the increasingly effective local and US security checks in major Iraqi cities.

Only last Friday two women with Down's Syndrome wearing remote-controlled explosives carried out a bombing in a busy pet market in Baghdad, killing dozens.

The US said prior to 2007, five women had been responsible for suicide bombings and other attacks across Iraq.

Ten women have carried out attacks since then, and there have been four female suicide bombers already in 2008.

It violates Muslim religious beliefs to use women in fighting.

US military spokesman Rear Admiral Gregory Smith said there was evidence that Osama Bin Laden's representatives had taken the decision to target children.

"Al Qaeda in Iraq wants to poison the next generation of Iraqis," he said, "It is offering children as the new generation of mujahedeen (holy warriors)," he said.

"We believe this video is used as propaganda to send out to recruit other boys ... and to send a broader message across Iraq to indoctrinate youth into Al Qaeda."

He continued: "That is a disturbing trend that obviously shows the desperation that Al Qaeda is currently going through to use whatever means necessary to achieve its ends."

Other scenes from the Khan Bani Saad video showed masked boys forcing a man off his bicycle at gunpoint and stopping a car and kidnapping its driver along a dusty country road.

At one point, the boys - wearing soccer jerseys with ammunition slung across their chests - sit in a circle on the floor, chanting slogans in support of Al Qaeda.

link

Ever heard of the TULIA, TEXAS? Nice look at American tax dollars working too weed out the trash.

got a link to that?

[Beauty for Ashes 257]

Caught on camera: The 10-year-old Al Qaeda fanatics ready to launch terror attacks in Iraq

Weighed down with ammunition belts and guns as big as themselves, these masked boys as young as ten are being trained by Al Qaeda to be its new generation of killers, the U.S. military claimed last night.

The terror group is said to be recruiting Iraqi boys who should be in primary school to carry out assassinations, suicide bombings and kidnappings.

Officials in Baghdad released a video seized during a raid on a suspected Al Qaeda safe-house which showed the children apparently undergoing training.

The images are said to be a propaganda tool designed to recruit more children to the cause.

Even by the standards of the terror network, the pictures are chilling, with black-masked boys - some of whom appeared to be aged about 10 - storming a house and holding guns to the heads of mock captives.

Another tape showed a young boy wearing a suicide vest and posing with automatic weapons while a third contained pictures of masked youngsters forcing a man from a bicycle at gunpoint in an apparent kidnapping.

About 20 boys wearing ski masks are shown carrying rocket propelled grenade launchers - some of which dwarf the youngsters - assault rifles and pistols.

The release of the footage, which was seized last December from a house at Khan Bani Saad, north-east of Baghdad, was further indication that Al Qaeda is increasingly using children and women for its terror operations, the U.S military said.

Iraqi officials say that more and more young boys are being snatched by militias and Al Qaeda as "recruits" suitable for training.

Iraqi Defence Ministry spokesman Mohammed al-Askari gave no details of numbers but said the abductions were taking place "not only to recruit them, but also to demand ransom to fund the operations of Al Qaeda."

Both children and women are able to move more freely through the increasingly effective local and US security checks in major Iraqi cities.

Only last Friday two women with Down's Syndrome wearing remote-controlled explosives carried out a bombing in a busy pet market in Baghdad, killing dozens.

The US said prior to 2007, five women had been responsible for suicide bombings and other attacks across Iraq.

Ten women have carried out attacks since then, and there have been four female suicide bombers already in 2008.

It violates Muslim religious beliefs to use women in fighting.

US military spokesman Rear Admiral Gregory Smith said there was evidence that Osama Bin Laden's representatives had taken the decision to target children.

"Al Qaeda in Iraq wants to poison the next generation of Iraqis," he said, "It is offering children as the new generation of mujahedeen (holy warriors)," he said.

"We believe this video is used as propaganda to send out to recruit other boys ... and to send a broader message across Iraq to indoctrinate youth into Al Qaeda."

He continued: "That is a disturbing trend that obviously shows the desperation that Al Qaeda is currently going through to use whatever means necessary to achieve its ends."

Other scenes from the Khan Bani Saad video showed masked boys forcing a man off his bicycle at gunpoint and stopping a car and kidnapping its driver along a dusty country road.

At one point, the boys - wearing soccer jerseys with ammunition slung across their chests - sit in a circle on the floor, chanting slogans in support of Al Qaeda.

link

Ever heard of the TULIA, TEXAS? Nice look at American tax dollars working too weed out the trash.

got a link to that?

BESLAN

[morocco4ever 63]

So what you are saying that shooting a 3 year old is considered a casualty of war and perfectly acceptable? So is allowing a father to take his 6 month old son to get medical care. And this is acceptable because Al Qaeda has brainwashed 10 year olds to become killers. Am I correct?

What is what I am saying have to do with 10 year olds that are being brainwashed and used by Al Qaeda?

Maybe the solution would be to pull out of a country we have no business being in? Do I support this war? NO! Is this because I don't value our soldiers? NO! This is because our soldiers are being used and are being killed for reasons that are not what they were originally announced as the reason. Where are these weapons of mass distruction? Wasn't that the initial reason? They never found them, surprise. So why are they still there for these 10 year old boys and women to blow up?

If their country is out of control, and taking out our troops then I believe they want to deal with it themselves. Do you really believe that our government is being honest with us about what is going on there?

I read an article similar to the one I am going to post, but the one I read embellished more on his "bumps in the road". Basically the Iraqis told their children to lay in the road in front of the convoys to stop them.....stupid stupid stupid!! The marines were ordered to run over them. I am sickened at both the marines and the Iraqis that ordered to do this.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/heart/lucey/

Is this war, or any war justification for this? Especially when the reasons for the invasions were bogus lies.

[Beauty for Ashes 257]

So what you are saying that shooting a 3 year old is considered a casualty of war and perfectly acceptable? So is allowing a father to take his 6 month old son to get medical care. And this is acceptable because Al Qaeda has brainwashed 10 year olds to become killers. Am I correct?

What is what I am saying have to do with 10 year olds that are being brainwashed and used by Al Qaeda?

Maybe the solution would be to pull out of a country we have no business being in? Do I support this war? NO! Is this because I don't value our soldiers? NO! This is because our soldiers are being used and are being killed for reasons that are not what they were originally announced as the reason. Where are these weapons of mass distruction? Wasn't that the initial reason? They never found them, surprise. So why are they still there for these 10 year old boys and women to blow up?

If their country is out of control, and taking out our troops then I believe they want to deal with it themselves. Do you really believe that our government is being honest with us about what is going on there?

I read an article similar to the one I am going to post, but the one I read embellished more on his "bumps in the road". Basically the Iraqis told their children to lay in the road in front of the convoys to stop them.....stupid stupid stupid!! The marines were ordered to run over them. I am sickened at both the marines and the Iraqis that ordered to do this.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/heart/lucey/

BOTH SIDES........

Palestinian

Israel's

[Imua 0]

I think the whole reason for the war is that TPTB know that oil is running out and they want to secure the lion's share before the Indians and Chinese can get their hands on it. The US is building the largest embassy building ever in Baghdad(with near-slave South Asian labor). I don't think it's ending anytime soon. Building democracy, fighting Al-Qaeda, etc. are not the central issue. Of course, I hope I am wrong.

[sweet_peach 0]

Well, what happened????

As for leaving the USA....I've long come to the knowledge the USA isn't all its cracked up to be.

you took the words right out of my mouth!!!!!!!!!

[PetraPerson101 0]

Well, what happened????

As for leaving the USA....I've long come to the knowledge the USA isn't all its cracked up to be.

you took the words right out of my mouth!!!!!!!!!

Ahem.

Although I am a Jordanian citizen by birth - I'm more afraid of the Jordanian government than of the US Government.

You don't know what civil rights are until you've experienced the black side of the rest of the world.

The United States may not be perfect, but it's damn close.

If I feel the need to say "Hillary Sucks" - or "GWB sucks" - sure, I can say that here. If I want to start up a website badmouthing & harshly critiquing the powers that be:

www.wonkette.com

www.anncoulter.com

www.dailykos.com

www.moveon.org

www.foxnews.com

I can. You can. We all can.

Even if you're a lunatic: www.rense.com - you're free to be one too.

Try doing that in the Middle East - and see how far you get.

Try doing that in Kenya, Chad, Sudan, Iran - see *if you even get buried* when the other side is done with you.

People take freedom & rights for granted. The United States, in my opinion, is generally apathetic & closed minded. People need to wake up - take a good, hard look at the rest of the world - then come back and *try* to say it's really that bad here.

Things may not be so great here - but - you can do things about it, whereas other places - you're stuck with what you're given (and that's it.)

Really - this is a great country. People who say otherwise don't know how bad it can get elsewhere.

[♥JP♥ 5]

Well, what happened????

As for leaving the USA....I've long come to the knowledge the USA isn't all its cracked up to be.

you took the words right out of my mouth!!!!!!!!!

Ahem.

Although I am a Jordanian citizen by birth - I'm more afraid of the Jordanian government than of the US Government.

You don't know what civil rights are until you've experienced the black side of the rest of the world.

The United States may not be perfect, but it's damn close.

If I feel the need to say "Hillary Sucks" - or "GWB sucks" - sure, I can say that here. If I want to start up a website badmouthing & harshly critiquing the powers that be:

www.wonkette.com

www.anncoulter.com

www.dailykos.com

www.moveon.org

www.foxnews.com

I can. You can. We all can.

Even if you're a lunatic: www.rense.com - you're free to be one too.

Try doing that in the Middle East - and see how far you get.

Try doing that in Kenya, Chad, Sudan, Iran - see *if you even get buried* when the other side is done with you.

People take freedom & rights for granted. The United States, in my opinion, is generally apathetic & closed minded. People need to wake up - take a good, hard look at the rest of the world - then come back and *try* to say it's really that bad here.

Things may not be so great here - but - you can do things about it, whereas other places - you're stuck with what you're given (and that's it.)

Really - this is a great country. People who say otherwise don't know how bad it can get elsewhere.

excellent post you took the words out of my mouth.

My cousin who is also Jordanian was in the airport in Jordan about 2 months ago. They gave him a really hard time about his luggage and after trying to reason with them for some time he slipped up and cursed in arabic. He basically said, "Screw this country and everyone in it", within minutes the police was there and they interrogated him for 3 hours. He never once mentioned he was a US Citizen. At the end of 3 hours they asked to see his passport, when they saw he was american, they released him immediatly.

[morocco4ever 63]

I certainly see where you are all coming from. It is true that here we are free to speak our minds without retaliation. Do I think our government is close to perfect? Ha, not even close! But I believe all governments have their secrets and indescretions, ours is no exception, but I certainly don't want to live any where else!

[doodlebugg 10]

I just wish we'd stop killing so many people per day, ya know? Maybe Canada is a better option. Don't hear much about being tortured in Canada for saying the gov't sucks. A little too cold though. brrrr

[SaadBell 0]

America is a great country, the people here are some of the best people around. I served in the Army, cause I do believe in this country. But there are some glaring problems, HEALTH CARE. This should be a given, not a fringe benefit, sure there are a lot worst countries, I have lived in some of them, but, we can do a lot better.

[allousa 1]

How quickly those of us that make remarks, comments or opinions blaming our government for the turmoil that is becoming a cyclone in the Middle East as "America Bashers" or people that take this country for granted.

My God, the freedoms we have here in America are nearly limitless compared with other countries. Alot of us aren't arguing that fact.

What we are talking about is how our government has been so deceptive about Middle East interests and how that is beginning to be reflected on the American people themselves.

Remember how horrified and shocked we were over the 9/11 tragedies? Remember seeing stories about children who lost a parent on 9/11? Try for just a moment, to put yourself in the shoes of an Iraqi who has lost their parent or child because of a misguided bomb that hit their house.