Today's Articles


Question:

>> He’s already > started his run for the nomination in 2008 by hooking up with groups > such as TheAmericanCause and trying to launch a new isolationist magazine. > Heh, heh, heh, . . . .   You don’t know what you’re writing about.

That’s a matter of opinion, and that’s what politics is all about. > Buchanan > and his sister, Bay, CREATED theamericancause!! They also have large > inputs to TheAmericanConservative publication. > And, I don’t need to see your list. I’ve read almost everything he has

In other words, please don’t confuse me with the facts. > If you had a better appreciate of global politics you would NEVER use the > word "Isolationist" in referring to Pat Buchanan.

More opinion, and a prime example of how one can confuse the man and the message. Buchanan won 0.4% of the popular vote in 2000, behind Nader’s 2.7%. Face it, Buchanan and his philosophy are losers, and always will be. > There are an infinite > number of levels between "Isolationism" and the naive dancing to the "Global > Village" bongo-drums tune. Buchanan’s philosophy lies at a moderate and > sensible level between the extremes; exactly the level we will need to > attain to retain our sovereignty and our status as a leader of nations (but > NOT some sort of global empire ruled by someone with a grand "messiah" > complex!).

Buchanan’s philosophy lies at the extreme and totally whacko level; you’re confusing the man and the message again. > Buchanan may be a bit "aged" to make the run in 2008.  But, I cannot but > believe there are many other intelligent, insightful, patriotic, > potentially-great Statesmen out there in our land that could serve as his > descendant.

One would fervently hope that *anyone* other than Buchanan would carry the Reform Party’s message to the voters. > I could well be that the U.S. Citizenry (legal citizens & voters one and > all) are finally waking up to what the major parties have done to our > beloved nation. But (IMHO) TIME is not on our side. Let us hope that

 > something good can happen with the 2008 election. Amen, as long as the standard-bearer is NOT Patrick Buchanan. > And, thanks for your wishes for our good fortune. You will be with us when > you fully appreciate what is at stake.

I fully appreciate NOW what is at stake. You yet again confuse the man and the message.

Response:

> Nothing in there about "isolationism". You are strictly paranoic! Take > your meds and sleep it off.

Yawn. Oh, yawn! Think I’ll take a nap. The Great Betrayal : How American Sovereignty and Social Justice Are Being Sacrificed to the Gods of the Global Economy, by Patrick J. Buchanan  From Amazon.com: The Great Betrayal is an economic manifesto that promotes what Buchanan calls "economic nationalism." Buchanan offers a protectionist political agenda — one that many modern conservatives may not like, but one that Buchanan says puts him in the fine tradition of Washington, Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt. A forceful polemic challenging elite economic opinion.  From The Atlantic Monthly: Despite its one-sided arguments and hyperbolic claims, The Great Betrayal ought to stir discussion of alternatives to the free-market internationalist status quo. Contrary to the best hopes of its advocates, the status quo has not extinguished the flames of nationalism but may actually be feeding them.  From Booklist: The once (and future?) maverick presidential candidate puts his best foot forward in a clear and cogent argument for protective tariffs and against doctrinaire free trade. His recipe is to reinstitute the system of tariffs that, as he shows in a long and entertaining as well as instructive historical aside, helped crucially in building U.S. wealth and power. Such a conservatism puts him in step with the likes of Ralph Nader, Jesse Jackson, and AFL-CIO president John Sweeney — as Sweeney himself has noted.  From Kirkus Reviews: Whatever ones politics, it is impossible not to marvel at Buchanan’s energy, individuality, and certainty about the world. The unique thing about Buchanan is not that he defies labeling, but rather that so many borderline oxymoronic labels apply: populist Republican partisan; strident nostalgic nationalist; social conservative intent on stirring things up. Buchanan begins with a harangue about free traders killing America, follows with a protectionist’s history of America, and concludes with recent events that indicate the forces of good may yet triumph over the evil of free trade. This seems to be the culture war Buchanan wants to fight and where he toys with moving beyond strong arguments to demagogic rhetoric. Inspiring and infuriating.  From Commentary: That Buchanan’s ideas are problematic is putting things mildly. There is, for one thing, the unmistakable whiff of conspiracy-mongering in his analyses. His account of the global economic order is stocked with pointed references to such nemeses of the hard Right as "one-worlders," the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Trilateral Commission. Buchanan seems blind to the fact that countries (including most notably Japan) that have followed the course he advocates for the U.S., (resisting participation in the liberalized global marketplace), have recently been suffering stagflation, high unemployment, and slow economic growth, while the U.S., blandly indifferent to his advice, has prospered. All in all, Buchanan’s promise that tariffs are the key to a golden economic age is tantamount to consumer fraud.  From The Nation: … a hard-edged volume loaded with populist invective to back up policies that cannot be dismissed as the usual pap … His work-in-progress populism is riddled with inconsistencies …. Still, of all the loudmouths on the political scene, Buchanan poses the most trenchant questions.  From The Manchester Union Leader: Pat Buchanan has written a nationalist manifesto, a ringing call to arms, a declaration of war on the globalists even in his own party…. The Great Betrayal: How American Sovereignty and Social Justice Are Being Sacrificed to the Gods of the Global Economy is vintage Buchanan, full of the cut-and-thrust we’ve come to expect from "Pitchfork Pat," the populist Prophet of Protectionism. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0316115185/ref=d…

Response:

 > Wake up and try to become a little more familiar with the man who you so > admire. Follows a few excerpts from the Reform Party platform:

I don’t need to go there.    I know what is there. > It doesn’t take ultra-sophisticated interpretation of the words to > recognize their ambition for economic isolationism.

Nothing in there about "isolationism".  You are strictly paranoic!   Take your meds and sleep it off. platform do you not favor?   Let us discuss one or two or more of them. Compare it to either the GOP or the DEM platform (if you can find them). McDave

Response:

> Show me ONE example in his writings or in his interviews wherein he urges > "isolation" (economic/trade/scientific, etc.) from the other > nations/societies of this world.

OK, try this one: The Great Betrayal : How American Sovereignty and Social Justice Are Being Sacrificed to the Gods of the Global Economy, by Patrick J. Buchanan  From Amazon.com: The Great Betrayal is an economic manifesto that promotes what Buchanan calls "economic nationalism." Buchanan offers a protectionist political agenda — one that many modern conservatives may not like, but one that Buchanan says puts him in the fine tradition of Washington, Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt. A forceful polemic challenging elite economic opinion.  From The Atlantic Monthly: Despite its one-sided arguments and hyperbolic claims, The Great Betrayal ought to stir discussion of alternatives to the free-market internationalist status quo. Contrary to the best hopes of its advocates, the status quo has not extinguished the flames of nationalism but may actually be feeding them.  From Booklist: The once (and future?) maverick presidential candidate puts his best foot forward in a clear and cogent argument for protective tariffs and against doctrinaire free trade. His recipe is to reinstitute the system of tariffs that, as he shows in a long and entertaining as well as instructive historical aside, helped crucially in building U.S. wealth and power. Such a conservatism puts him in step with the likes of Ralph Nader, Jesse Jackson, and AFL-CIO president John Sweeney — as Sweeney himself has noted.  From Kirkus Reviews: Whatever ones politics, it is impossible not to marvel at Buchanan’s energy, individuality, and certainty about the world. The unique thing about Buchanan is not that he defies labeling, but rather that so many borderline oxymoronic labels apply: populist Republican partisan; strident nostalgic nationalist; social conservative intent on stirring things up. Buchanan begins with a harangue about free traders killing America, follows with a protectionist’s history of America, and concludes with recent events that indicate the forces of good may yet triumph over the evil of free trade. This seems to be the culture war Buchanan wants to fight and where he toys with moving beyond strong arguments to demagogic rhetoric. Inspiring and infuriating.  From Commentary: That Buchanan’s ideas are problematic is putting things mildly. There is, for one thing, the unmistakable whiff of conspiracy-mongering in his analyses. His account of the global economic order is stocked with pointed references to such nemeses of the hard Right as "one-worlders," the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Trilateral Commission. Buchanan seems blind to the fact that countries (including most notably Japan) that have followed the course he advocates for the U.S., (resisting participation in the liberalized global marketplace), have recently been suffering stagflation, high unemployment, and slow economic growth, while the U.S., blandly indifferent to his advice, has prospered. All in all, Buchanan’s promise that tariffs are the key to a golden economic age is tantamount to consumer fraud.  From The Nation: … a hard-edged volume loaded with populist invective to back up policies that cannot be dismissed as the usual pap … His work-in-progress populism is riddled with inconsistencies …. Still, of all the loudmouths on the political scene, Buchanan poses the most trenchant questions.  From The Manchester Union Leader: Pat Buchanan has written a nationalist manifesto, a ringing call to arms, a declaration of war on the globalists even in his own party…. The Great Betrayal: How American Sovereignty and Social Justice Are Being Sacrificed to the Gods of the Global Economy is vintage Buchanan, full of the cut-and-thrust we’ve come to expect from "Pitchfork Pat," the populist Prophet of Protectionism. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0316115185/ref=d…

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Dear Dave, > What do you expect from the Federal Gov’t? How would you suggest the > Feds go about fufilling your expectations? > Sincerely > Cochon Capitaliste > Dear Cappy; > "Fulfilling my expectations"  is certainly an odd way to frame your > question. > But, it is easily answered. > Until we as a people (legal citizens/voters all) can send some wise, > intelligent, strong, and insightful, LEADERS down to the Washington, D.C., > I do NOT expect the Fed. to do much of anything to correct the major ills > of > our nation.   The carelessness, laziness, of the Fed. and their sellout to > global corporations and foreign interests are the reasons we are into this > mess. > Foreign lobbies have spent around $1 Billion in Washington over the past > few > years.     That money was VERY WELL SPENT from their standpoint.

Your reply it seems puts the entire problem in perspective.  You are expressing your opinion on what has to be done, and of course there are others who would strongly disagree with your opinion, and some may believe that your solution is the absolutely wrong solution.  So, we are left with the question what is really the "right" path to take, or is there really a "right"path.

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->> Dear Dave, >> What do you expect from the Federal Gov’t? How would you suggest the >> Feds go about fufilling your expectations? >> Sincerely >> Cochon Capitaliste > Dear Cappy; > "Fulfilling my expectations"  is certainly an odd way to frame your > question. > But, it is easily answered. > Until we as a people (legal citizens/voters all) can send some wise, > intelligent, strong, and insightful, LEADERS down to the Washington, D.C., > I do NOT expect the Fed. to do much of anything to correct the major ills > of > our nation.   The carelessness, laziness, of the Fed. and their sellout to > global corporations and foreign interests are the reasons we are into this > mess. > Foreign lobbies have spent around $1 Billion in Washington over the past > few > years.     That money was VERY WELL SPENT from their standpoint. > Your reply it seems puts the entire problem in perspective.  You are > expressing your opinion on what has to be done, and of course there are > others who would strongly disagree with your opinion, and some may believe > that your solution is the absolutely wrong solution.  So, we are left with > the question what is really the "right" path to take, or is there really a > "right"path.

Jerry; Well, when this "Wrong" path we trod becomes so tortuous, tedious, disastrous, and financially calamitous, as to cause MAJOR unrest among our legal citizens, then as some point along the way a decision will be made to give some serious thought to any other path that holds a reasonable promise of success in maintaining the prestige and sovereignty of our beloved nation.   ANY path that can insure these things will be the "Right" path. Check out ol’ Pat and Bay and their "theamericancause".    You’ll be glad you did. http://www.theamericancause.org/ God Bless America, McDave

Response:

<snipped> I notice that you in no way addressed your gross error that I pointed out. Buchanan is NOT the extreme isolationist you conjure him up to Show me ONE example in his writings or in his interviews wherein he urges "isolation" (economic/trade/scientific, etc.) from the other nations/societies of this world.   What he does strongly recommend is equal rights for the U.S. of A. in ALL our foreign agreements and treaties. You write of "confusion".    Yes, you probably have a personal grudge against him.   As a result you are confusing your petty grudge with the well being of your homeland !!!   Wake up and fly right  !! McDave in Maryland "A Faire Lande of Pleasant Living"

Response:

> . . . you are confusing your petty grudge with the well > being of your homeland !!!   Wake up and fly right  !!

Wake up and try to become a little more familiar with the man who you so admire. Follows a few excerpts from the Reform Party platform: http://www.reformparty.org/platform.htm It doesn’t take ultra-sophisticated interpretation of the words to recognize their ambition for economic isolationism. Isolationism never has worked and never will work, anywhere in the world. Buchanan and the Reform Party are merely quaint kooks. Even though their message may on some subjects resonate favorably with some, their total program is nothing but a recipe for disaster. Reform Party of the USA Issues Committee Final Report as approved by the 2003 RPUSA Convention (October 10, 2003) from Valli Sharpe-Geisler, Issues Committee Chair A)   Trade/Jobs We believe workers should be encouraged to organize and practice collective bargaining. We oppose the efforts to relocate American jobs offshore. We stand for the promotion of higher wage jobs. C)   Corporate Oversight – General          1)   Congress shall fulfill their Constitutional oversight obligation to insure that citizens are not subject to predatory practices by Interstate and international corporations.          2)   Disallow corporate exploitation of offshore tax havens used to evade US taxes.          3)   Expand whistle blower protection and expand the scope of the False Claims Act to provide "bounty provisions" for whistle blowers and watchdogs who report financial crimes.          4)   The United States government should be more proactive in opposing mergers of large corporations and in restructuring those that have achieved an excessively controlling position. E)  Immigration Although we cherish and honor America’s proud immigrant history and traditions, we must recognize the reality that today our nation is no longer an unsettled frontier.  Immigration levels have risen to well over a million a year and the US Census Bureau projects, at this level, the population to exceed 400 million in less than fifty years. The Reform Party supports:          (1) Banning the mass importation of temporary foreign workers via the abuse of the H1-B and the L-1 programs whose impact is to hold down the wages, working conditions and incomes of American workers, both immigrant and native-born alike.          (2) A temporary Freeze on all immigration, except for spouses and minor children of US citizens until the these are assimilated.          (3) Authorizations and appropriations necessary to secure our borders by unitizing technologies that enhance our border patrol and enforcement of US immigration laws.          (4)Use of the National Guard or any branch of armed forces to help secure and patrol our borders.          (5)  Employers shall be legally liable for insuring that foreign workers produce appropriate documentation allowing foreign workers to live and work in the United States   Employers shall be legally liable for the public and private direct and indirect costs associated with non-legal immigrants.          (6) A national campaign to assimilate new immigrants and allow them to fully participate in American life by teaching and requiring new immigrants to learn English, American history, government, American tradition and values.          (7)  A Constitutional Amendment that will not give automatic citizenship to children born on US soil to parents OTHER THAN legal citizens of the US.          (8)  No national, state or local government assistance of any kind for education, Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid shall be provided for anyone that is not a legal alien or US citizen.          (9)  The United States Government automatically expel any immigrant found to be illegal. Industry Standards: American companies or their subsidiaries that operate internationally should comply with United States Standards for Safety, Environmental, and child labor laws at all facilities.          2a)  Foreign entities operating within the United States must comply with all national, state, and local laws as they apply.          2b)   Stiff penalties should be levied against corporations convicted of routinely violating clean air or water standards.          2c)  All present and future trade agreements should be tied to preserving favorable environmental standards. G)   Foreign Policy Objectives The Reform Party of the United States insists on a foreign policy consistent with the purpose of our federal government as indicated in the preamble of our Constitution.  To that end, we believe that the following are necessary components of a sound foreign policy for the United States. 2)   Nonintervention In the words of John Quincy Adams, "Wherever the standard of freedom and independence has been or shall be unfurled, there will her [America's] heart, her benedictions, and her prayers be. But she goes not abroad in search of monsters to destroy."          2a)  We respect the sovereignty of all nations, and reject the belief that the United States should use its military power to engage in nation-building.          2b)  The United States should not be the policeman of the world.          2c)   The United States should no longer support foreign despots who utilize torture, murder and genocide to control their people.  Rather than supporting these regimes we should utilize pressure through international cooperation, including volunteer boycotts. 5)  Trade and Foreign Policy Technology is a key component of national power.  It is the bedrock of our economy, and helps us maintain a military second to none.          5a)  To prevent advanced technologies from being obtained by foreign powers, considerations of national security shall be paramount in the formulation of our trade policies and in the conduct of our trade affairs.          5b)  Substantial penalties, civil and/or criminal, must be imposed upon any corporation or government entity, to include those personally responsible, found to jeopardize national security as a result of technology transfer or other actions.

Response:

> My question was why focus only on foreign lobbies?  Is your position > that anything a domestic lobby lobbies for is a good thing simply by > virtue of being domestic?  Are bribery and extortion in the interests > of domestic groups/corporations OK?

I wouldn’t say they are all OK.   But I’d always prefer them to foreign lobbies. > I’d also be interested in knowing how you’d separate them.  Isn’t it > possible that the Four Leaf Clover Growers Association could be in > cahoots with the French four leaf clover growers?  Or that the largest > four leaf clover producer and purveyor in this country could be > primarily owned by a Japanese company?    Emily

All legal lobbies of our Fed.Gov. must register as such and must state who/what they represent.     It is certainly not a perfect process but the law was passed expressly for the purpose of separating domestic influence from the influence of foreign powers who would like nothing better than the disintigration of the U.S. of A…… But, you are right.   It is a confused process.   That is why it is ESSENTIAL that we vote in some people for whom political power is NOT a way to create a financial dynasty for themselves and their offspring for the next century but, rather, to keep our country intact, powerful, and respected around the world. Public office should NOT be something that one does for 50 years!   Term limits would be a fine approach to improving our leadership qualities but I doubt we will ever see it because Congress, itself, must approve it. . . . McDave

Response:

> What makes you think that our "leaders" are not selected by an intelligent > and insightful ruling circle? That is not you and me, that is people like > Sam Wyly, Rupert Murdoch, H. Ross Perot, Sam Richardson, and so on. Their > interests are not your interests. So far as I can tell, our "leaders" serve > them, not us, and serve them well.   Do you imagine that you and I select

our  > leaders by casting our votes between watching one stupid sit-com and the  > next? We take the time out > between sit-coms to vote, and that does it?

I don’t watch sit-coms.  I don’t know how you decide upon a leader to vote for but I decide after reading their books, their statements, and watching interviews on TV.   Their interests may not be my interests (or your interests) but at least I can try to make that determination if they can get their name on a ballot.  > > Foreign lobbies have spent around $1 Billion in Washington over the past > few years.     That money was VERY WELL SPENT from their standpoint. > Indeed. And you spent how much to get the leaders you want?  Hap

I spend as much as I can with my limited resources.   I try to influence those around me in a modest way as often as I can and in every way I can (I think I could convince you).. Our nation has not always, until recently, been a plutocracy; in the past we have had a large number of powerful leaders which had only modest wealth. And—– if enough citizens (legal citizens) could combine their modest resources, they can have a substantial influence.   Public Citizen and other such groups have had a bit of success and gained some influence by that means.   Successful or not, we should NEVER give up.   Have you ever heard the saying, "Government of, by, and for, the PEOPLE "  ? ANY politician caught associating, even in a casual/informal way,  with foreign lobbies, should be recalled, publicly shunned, and forced to work for 15 years in the field of sewer maintenance.   Out government is NOT like the government of Mexico!    (YET.) McDave

Response:

Dear Cappy Porker; "Mess".    Not referring to myself.    I am in excellent shape for the shape I’m in (old/decrepit/semi-senile).   I’m well armed, skinny, and have a full tank of gasoline.  Now that is true happiness! My oh my,  it does sound as it you have found a real paradise on Earth there in the outskirts of gay Paree!   Does the sun really hold up until you are ready for it to set?   Now that is really something. But — I’d advise against too much traveling about.   Once you’ve been to all the tourist traps around the globe and realize that the people and the "things" are just the same here as there, you might become disillusioned. Also, you can catch any number of infectious plagues travelling about like that.  Also, airline travel nowadays is an awkward and tedious scenario. (You don’t have your own jet aircraft, do you?).    So, with a nice back yard and warm sunshine like you must have there in France, I’m surprised you’d want to go ANYWHERE. McDave in Maryland "A Faire Lande of Pleasant Living"

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Dear McDave, > I don’t know what kind of "mess" you find yourself. I may be fat and > dumb, but I’m happy. France is not Maryland but it is very, very nice > and there are much worse places to live; for example, imagine living > next door to some of the jerks who post messages in soc.retirement! I > used to live in Silver Springs, MD a long time ago right next to Rock > Creek Park. Here, just east of Paris, the sun doesn’t set in the > summertime until after 10PM, we get some snow in the winter, but not > much, and right now there are flowers all over the place. I see lots of > young married couples with lots of kids. My wife’s two sons each have > three. We just spent all of August on the French and Italian Riviera, > we got nice and tan and ate very well. Copenhagen, Berlin, Vienna, > London and Poznan are not very far from Paris so we will probably just > lock the door to the apartment and take the train to one of those > places for a long weekend this fall. We will probably visit New York > City around Christmas. The US seems very far away, probably because it > is. > Cochon Capitaliste

Response:

> He’s already > started his run for the nomination in 2008 by hooking up with groups > such as TheAmericanCause and trying to launch a new isolationist magazine.

Heh, heh, heh, . . . .   You don’t know what you’re writing about.  Buchanan and his sister, Bay, CREATED theamericancause!!   They also have large inputs to TheAmericanConservative publication. And, I don’t need to see your list.   I’ve read almost everything he has If you had a better appreciate of global politics you would NEVER use the word "Isolationist" in referring to Pat Buchanan.    There are an infinite number of levels between "Isolationism" and the naive dancing to the "Global Village" bongo-drums tune.    Buchanan’s philosophy lies at a moderate and sensible level between the extremes; exactly the level we will need to attain to retain our sovereignty and our status as a leader of nations (but NOT some sort of global empire ruled by someone with a grand "messiah" complex!). Buchanan may be a bit "aged" to make the run in 2008.  But, I cannot but believe there are many other intelligent, insightful, patriotic, potentially-great Statesmen out there in our land that could serve as his descendant. I could well be that the U.S. Citizenry (legal citizens & voters one and all) are finally waking up to what the major parties have done to our beloved nation. But (IMHO) TIME is not on our side.    Let us hope that something good can happen with the 2008 election. And, thanks for your wishes for our good fortune.   You will be with us when you fully appreciate what is at stake. McDave

Response:

Dear Dave, What do you expect from the Federal Gov’t? How would you suggest the Feds go about fufilling your expectations? Sincerely Cochon Capitaliste

Response:

> Dear Dave, > What do you expect from the Federal Gov’t? How would you suggest the > Feds go about fufilling your expectations? > Sincerely > Cochon Capitaliste

Dear Cappy; "Fulfilling my expectations"  is certainly an odd way to frame your question. But, it is easily answered. Until we as a people (legal citizens/voters all) can send some wise, intelligent, strong, and insightful, LEADERS down to the Washington, D.C., I do NOT expect the Fed. to do much of anything to correct the major ills of our nation.   The carelessness, laziness, of the Fed. and their sellout to global corporations and foreign interests are the reasons we are into this mess. Foreign lobbies have spent around $1 Billion in Washington over the past few years.     That money was VERY WELL SPENT from their standpoint. McDave

Response:

Dear McDave, I don’t know what kind of "mess" you find yourself. I may be fat and dumb, but I’m happy. France is not Maryland but it is very, very nice and there are much worse places to live; for example, imagine living next door to some of the jerks who post messages in soc.retirement! I used to live in Silver Springs, MD a long time ago right next to Rock Creek Park. Here, just east of Paris, the sun doesn’t set in the summertime until after 10PM, we get some snow in the winter, but not much, and right now there are flowers all over the place. I see lots of young married couples with lots of kids. My wife’s two sons each have three. We just spent all of August on the French and Italian Riviera, we got nice and tan and ate very well. Copenhagen, Berlin, Vienna, London and Poznan are not very far from Paris so we will probably just lock the door to the apartment and take the train to one of those places for a long weekend this fall. We will probably visit New York City around Christmas. The US seems very far away, probably because it is. Cochon Capitaliste

Response:

 > The thing that bothers me most is Buchanan’s isolationism. I am not   > convinced that in this day and time the U.S.A. can build a fence    > around the country and prevent any goods or people from coming in or  > going out, as he says he would do to solve all our problems. > If you were to read extensively, you’d know that the philosophy of > TheAmericanCause offers more to solve these many problems than any other of > the prominent movements. The Dem and GOP outfits have chosen to ignore > them. They will address them in no serious way. That is sad indeed. > Read more of Buchanan’s books and articles and you will be convinced.

I judge Buchanan by his own words, not the mud his ‘enemies’ sling. Although he’s been remarkably quiet the past few years, he was almost ubiqitous when he was running as the Reform Party candidate during the 2000 election. My opinion of him (and his ilk) was formed watching his performance on discussion panels and when giving speeches. He’s already started his run for the nomination in 2008 by hooking up with groups such as TheAmericanCause and trying to launch a new isolationist magazine. If you would like to read Buchanan’s own words, I would suggest that you check out http://www.buchanan.org/000-p-articles.html. Of course, as with all politicians, some sophisticated analysis of his words is required to understand fully what he is saying. Buchanan was an isolationist AmericaFirster in 2000, and he hasn’t changed his attitude. Good luck in 2008.

Response:

 > The two major parties no longer represent the best interests of the > Middle-class, Working, Legal, citizens of our beloved land.   They are owned > by global corporations and foreign interests.   It is time for MAJOR, repeat > MAJOR, changes.

The thing that bothers me most is Buchanan’s isolationism. I am not convinced that in this day and time the U.S.A. can build a fence around the country and prevent any goods or people from coming in or going out, as he says he would do to solve all our problems. The global system exists and is expanding and improving every day. I have great trouble visualizing how we would "drop out" of that system and go it completely alone.

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – >  > The two major parties no longer represent the best interests of the > Middle-class, Working, Legal, citizens of our beloved land.   They are owned > by global corporations and foreign interests.   It is time for MAJOR, repeat > MAJOR, changes. > The thing that bothers me most is Buchanan’s isolationism. I am not > convinced that in this day and time the U.S.A. can build a fence around > the country and prevent any goods or people from coming in or going out, > as he says he would do to solve all our problems. > The global system exists and is expanding and improving every day. I > have great trouble visualizing how we would "drop out" of that system > and go it completely alone.

John, I think you entirely miss Buchanan’s intent when he calls for "America FIRST".    In no place in his writings or talk will you hear "isolation". That is a word that his enemies use to denigrate him. He is for trade policies that are balanced; NOT TILTED to favor the Chinese and other countries that use child labor and slavery to compete. No way his intent is to "drop out".    Far from it!! But, we cannot cannot go on having the annual deficits and trade imbalances that we have had for a decade or more; actually the neo-Cons and Reagan started it, and the Dems. were too dumb to realize what was happening and here we are. Eight $Trillion in debt; debt increasingly owned by foreign interests. That must stop or we will end up with inflation that will make the one in Germany in the 1920’s seem as child’s play. We are fast losing many of the features that  hold our culture together in this nation.   Our language is one of them.   Our religion (Judeo/Christian) is another. Our public school system teaching common societal/cultural features is another. We have no offcial/controlled geographical borders. Our people will save nothing.   They want instant gratification.   They want the government to give them anything they want from womb to tomb.   They do not want to be self reliant.   They want "gimme’, gimme’, gimme’, and then gimme’ some mo’.  The word goes out around the world; why do you think 70 percent of the world’s population wants to come here and take advantage of our naive welfare policies  ???   But, it’s all done with borrowed money and that means eventually the borrowed chickens will "Come Home To Roost" ! If you were to read extensively, you’d know that the philosophy of TheAmericanCause offers more to solve these many problems than any other of the prominent movements.   The Dem and GOP outfits have chosen to ignore them.   They will address them in no serious way.   That is sad indeed. Read more of Buchanan’s books and articles and you will be convinced. McDave

Response:

> It’s increasingly difficult to get wise, intelligent, strong, and > insightful leaders when only the super squeaky clean who’ve never > committed the slightest blunder can hope to survive the nomination and > election process. > Emily

Boy, I’ll second that. The Honorables are so busy trying to sink their enemy’s battleship that I’m frankly amazed that so many ‘good’ people voluntarily subject themselves to the process. Can’t help but wonder how soon it becomes not just difficult, but impossible to get wise, intelligent, strong and insightful leaders to willingly subject themselves to the mudslinging. For every political hack like the ex-FEMA guy, there are dozens, if not hundreds, of real leaders who’ve survived the process and are doing their jobs well.

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->> Dear Dave, >> What do you expect from the Federal Gov’t? How would you suggest the >> Feds go about fufilling your expectations? >> Sincerely >> Cochon Capitaliste >Dear Cappy; >"Fulfilling my expectations"  is certainly an odd way to frame your >question. >But, it is easily answered. >Until we as a people (legal citizens/voters all) can send some wise, >intelligent, strong, and insightful, LEADERS down to the Washington, D.C., >I do NOT expect the Fed. to do much of anything to correct the major ills of >our nation.   The carelessness, laziness, of the Fed. and their sellout to >global corporations and foreign interests are the reasons we are into this >mess. > It’s increasingly difficult to get wise, intelligent, strong, and > insightful leaders when only the super squeaky clean who’ve never > committed the slightest blunder can hope to survive the nomination and > election process. >Foreign lobbies have spent around $1 Billion in Washington over the past few >years.     That money was VERY WELL SPENT from their standpoint. > Why focus only on foreign lobbies?  The ones representing domestic > interests appear to be getting plenty for their money, too. > Emily

You MUST BE JESTING!!    Squeaky clean?????   Take a good look at what the two major parties nominated last time around !!   Slightest blunder?—-John Kerry was one continuous blunder from birth onward!  <chuckle> Well, there is a WORLD of difference between domestic lobbies and foreign lobbies.  Special interests, wealth, production, business, looking out for our legal citizens WITHIN our beloved nation is one thing; that is the reason lobbying is allowed at all.   But, lobbying/bribing/extortion in the interest of foreign powers/entities is an ALTOGETHER different thing.   I McDave

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Dear Dave, > What do you expect from the Federal Gov’t? How would you suggest the > Feds go about fufilling your expectations? > Sincerely > Cochon Capitaliste > Dear Cappy; > "Fulfilling my expectations"  is certainly an odd way to frame your > question. > But, it is easily answered. > Until we as a people (legal citizens/voters all) can send some wise, > intelligent, strong, and insightful, LEADERS down to the Washington, D.C., > I do NOT expect the Fed. to do much of anything to correct the major ills > of > our nation.   The carelessness, laziness, of the Fed. and their sellout to > global corporations and foreign interests are the reasons we are into this > mess.

What makes you think that our "leaders" are not selected by an intelligent and insightful ruling circle? That is not you and me, that is people like Sam Wyly, Rupert Murdoch, H. Ross Perot, Sam Richardson, and so on. Their interests are not your interests. So far as I can tell, our "leaders" serve them, not us, and serve them well. Do you imagine that you and I select our leaders by casting our votes between watching one stupid sit-com and the next? We take the time out between sit-coms to vote, and that does it? > Foreign lobbies have spent around $1 Billion in Washington over the past > few > years.     That money was VERY WELL SPENT from their standpoint.

Indeed. And you spent how much to get the leaders you want? Hap

Response:

Amen, Bro.   !!!

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Interested in the 2008 election?   Go to the site below.  Down a short > ways from the top you will find an underlined heading "Lou Dobbs > Interviews Pat Buchanan" .     Click on it and you can download a > short video with their comments on what will be needed in 2008. > They are both so correct.   The two major parties no longer represent > the best interests of the Middle-class, Working, Legal, citizens of > our beloved land.   They are owned by global corporations and foreign > interests.   It is time for MAJOR, repeat MAJOR, changes.       Time > to wake up ! > http://www.theamericancause.org/ > God Bless the U.S. of A. > McDave in Maryland "A Faire Lande of Pleasant Living" > And the transition started over 50 years ago. > If some good people would really want a change instead of talking about all > the problems they would read up on this matter. > Pats’ site is a good place for that as he is not a radical, only a good > American. > — > "A free people ought not only to be armed and disciplined, but they should > have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence > from any who might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own > government." – George Washington

Response:

No, Jerry.    Actually, it may be TOO LATE   !!! Take a peek at that web site. It is ALL AMERICAN  and issues pure and valid and trustworthy information !! McDave

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Not really….way too early. > Interested in the 2008 election?   Go to the site below.  Down a short > ways > from the top you will find an underlined heading "Lou Dobbs Interviews Pat > Buchanan" .     Click on it and you can download a short video with their > comments on what will be needed in 2008.     They are both so correct. > The > two major parties no longer represent the best interests of the > Middle-class, Working, Legal, citizens of our beloved land.   They are > owned > by global corporations and foreign interests.   It is time for MAJOR, > repeat > MAJOR, changes.       Time to wake up ! > http://www.theamericancause.org/ > God Bless the U.S. of A. > McDave in Maryland "A Faire Lande of Pleasant Living"

Response:

Not really….way too early.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Interested in the 2008 election?   Go to the site below.  Down a short > ways > from the top you will find an underlined heading "Lou Dobbs Interviews Pat > Buchanan" .     Click on it and you can download a short video with their > comments on what will be needed in 2008.     They are both so correct. > The > two major parties no longer represent the best interests of the > Middle-class, Working, Legal, citizens of our beloved land.   They are > owned > by global corporations and foreign interests.   It is time for MAJOR, > repeat > MAJOR, changes.       Time to wake up ! > http://www.theamericancause.org/ > God Bless the U.S. of A. > McDave in Maryland "A Faire Lande of Pleasant Living"

Response:

Interested in the 2008 election?   Go to the site below.  Down a short ways from the top you will find an underlined heading "Lou Dobbs Interviews Pat Buchanan" .     Click on it and you can download a short video with their comments on what will be needed in 2008.     They are both so correct.   The two major parties no longer represent the best interests of the Middle-class, Working, Legal, citizens of our beloved land.   They are owned by global corporations and foreign interests.   It is time for MAJOR, repeat MAJOR, changes.       Time to wake up ! http://www.theamericancause.org/ God Bless the U.S. of A. McDave in Maryland "A Faire Lande of Pleasant Living"

Response:

Question:

Hi Everyone, I received this press release from Celebrity Cruises and thought it would be of interest.  If you have missed any of my news’ postings, they are available on my web site.   Best regards, Ray LIGHTHOUSE TRAVEL 800-719-9917 or 805-566-3905 http://www.lighthousetravel.com Celebrity Cruises Deploys Fourth Ship to Europe Century to Join Constellation, Galaxy and Millennium in Response to Guest                                     Demand MIAMI, Dec. 21 Steadily increasing demand for Celebrity Cruises’ vacation experiences in Europe has led the top-rated premium line to deploy a fourth ship to the region in 2005. The 1,750-guest Century, previously scheduled to sail 9- and 10-night Caribbean cruises next spring and summer, will join Celebrity’s Constellation, Galaxy and Millennium in Europe, offering vacationers the greatest capacity and broadest array of options Celebrity has offered to-date in Northern Europe and the Mediterranean. Following a 14-night transatlantic cruise departing from Fort Lauderdale on May 7, Century will sail a series of 12-night Baltic cruises roundtrip from Amsterdam, a unique Norwegian Fjords cruise, and 10- and 11-night Mediterranean cruises, before returning to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., departing roundtrip on alternating 9- and 10-night Caribbean cruises. The new European sailings open for booking January 4, 2005. "We’ve enjoyed offering a year-round option in the Caribbean with Century, but our guests’ demand for more Celebrity vacation options in Europe can’t be ignored," said Celebrity Cruises President & COO Jack Williams. The sheer value of a Celebrity vacation also can’t be ignored. As the U.S. dollar continues to decline against the euro, a growing number of savvy travelers are honing in on cruising as the definitive way to experience Europe. "Celebrity Cruises has always represented incredible value, and next year, particularly compared with traditional land-based vacations in Europe, it’s absolutely incomparable," said Williams. "There’s the convenience factor as well. You unpack once, and your premium hotel moves with you, from one magnificent port to the next." Williams tagged Century "the obvious choice" for the fourth ship to sail in Europe next year. The ship was the first in the Celebrity fleet to sail in the region when the line launched regular service there in 1999. The sophistication of Europe is echoed in Century’s onboard experience, featuring the fresh, gourmet cuisine of renowned Master Chef Michel Roux; the stylish Cova Cafe Milano, Celebrity’s seagoing version of the chic coffeehouse in the fashion district of Milan; the exotic AquaSpa(R) by Elemis, and a host of sumptuous services and amenities, including Les Clefs d’Or-certified Concierges, expertly trained Sommeliers, and 24-hour butler service in every suite. Century’s 2005 Europe Itineraries Century sets sail for Europe on a 14-night transatlantic cruise departing Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on May 7, with an overnight visit to King’s Wharf, Bermuda, and calls on Lisbon, Portugal; Vigo, Spain; and LeHavre (for Paris), France, concluding in Amsterdam. From Amsterdam, Century presents roundtrip 12-night Baltic cruises on May 21; June 2, 14 and 26; July 8 and 20, with calls on Copenhagen, Denmark (overnight); Oslo, Norway; Stockholm, Sweden; Helsinki, Finland; St. Petersburg, Russia (overnight), and Tallinn, Estonia. On August 13, guests have the unique opportunity to experience the stunning Norwegian Fjords in Celebrity style, when Century departs roundtrip from Amsterdam on a 7-night cruise calling on Bergen, Olden, Alesund, and Flam, Norway. Century sets sail August 20 on a repositioning cruise, featuring visits to an extraordinary series of classic ports, including Zeebrugge (for Brussels), Belgium; LeHavre (for Paris), France; Vigo, Cadiz and Malaga, Spain; Lisbon, Portugal; Civitavecchia (for Rome) and Livorno (for Florence/Pisa), Italy; and Villefranche (for Nice/Monte Carlo), France, concluding in Barcelona, Spain. The beauty of the Balearic Islands — and Celebrity’s first calls on both Ibiza and Valencia, Spain — await guests on Century’s September 2 and 23 sailings, also calling on Marseilles/Provence and Villefranche (for Nice/Monte Carlo), France; Livorno (for Florence/Pisa) and Civitavecchia (for Rome), Italy; and Palma de Mallorca, Spain. Century caps her European season in 2005 with two cruises in the Tyrrhenian Sea, departing Barcelona September 12 and October 3, and marking Celebrity’s first calls on Palermo, Sicily and Cartagena, Spain. The cruises also feature calls on Ajaccio, Corsica, France; Civitavecchia (for Rome), Naples, Italy; Valletta, Malta, and Messina, Sicily. Century heads westward on October 14, departing Barcelona on a 15-night transatlantic voyage, with calls on Marseille/Provence and Villefranche (for Nice/Monte Carlo), France; Civitavecchia (for Rome), Italy; Malaga, Spain; Ponta Delgada, Azores; and Nassau, Bahamas, ending in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. There, Century resumes her Caribbean season, offering roundtrip exotic 9- and 10-night vacations. Fares for oceanview accommodations on Century’s 12-night Northern Europe cruises begin at $2,140 per person, based on double occupancy. Fares for oceanview accommodations on Century’s Mediterranean sailings start at $1,690 per person, based on double occupancy. Celebrity has established special toll-free numbers to reaccommodate guests booked on Century’s Caribbean cruises affected by the new European sailings. Guests with individual bookings are asked to call 1-888-837-5676. Groups are asked to call 1-888-305-4549. Celebrity Cruises is the industry’s highest-rated premium cruise brand with a taste of luxury. The cruise line has 10 ships in its fleet, which sails in Alaska, Bermuda, California, the Caribbean, Europe, Hawaii, the Mexican Riviera, the Panama Canal and South America. In addition, Celebrity Xpeditions offer exotic travel experiences in the Galapagos Islands, the Arctic, and Antarctica. For more information, call your travel agent.

Response:

Hi Ray, I understand that Celebrity will have no ships in the CAribbean during the summer, that seems strange? Donna TuesdayChat Host http://www.cruisemates.com

Response:

>I understand that Celebrity will have no ships in the CAribbean during the >summer, that seems strange?

Hi Donna, It is not strange nor unusual for a premium brand not to have a ship in the Caribbean in the summer.  Holland America and Princess have not had ships in the Caribbean every year.  The ships go where the demand is the highest and they can charge the highest per diems. Best regards, Ray LIGHTHOUSE TRAVEL 800-719-9917 or 805-566-3905 http://www.lighthousetravel.com

Response:

This is a late announcement and that usually triggers some low rates to try to fill the ship.  A lot of people have already booked for 2005 since it takes a little more planning that the Caribbean.   May be worth keeping an eye on….

Response:

Hi Everyone, I received this press release from Celebrity Cruises and thought it would be of interest.  If you have missed any of my news’ postings, they are available on my web site.   Best regards, Ray LIGHTHOUSE TRAVEL 800-719-9917 or 805-566-3905 http://www.lighthousetravel.com Celebrity Cruises Deploys Fourth Ship to Europe Century to Join Constellation, Galaxy and Millennium in Response to Guest                                     Demand MIAMI, Dec. 21 Steadily increasing demand for Celebrity Cruises’ vacation experiences in Europe has led the top-rated premium line to deploy a fourth ship to the region in 2005. The 1,750-guest Century, previously scheduled to sail 9- and 10-night Caribbean cruises next spring and summer, will join Celebrity’s Constellation, Galaxy and Millennium in Europe, offering vacationers the greatest capacity and broadest array of options Celebrity has offered to-date in Northern Europe and the Mediterranean. Following a 14-night transatlantic cruise departing from Fort Lauderdale on May 7, Century will sail a series of 12-night Baltic cruises roundtrip from Amsterdam, a unique Norwegian Fjords cruise, and 10- and 11-night Mediterranean cruises, before returning to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., departing roundtrip on alternating 9- and 10-night Caribbean cruises. The new European sailings open for booking January 4, 2005. "We’ve enjoyed offering a year-round option in the Caribbean with Century, but our guests’ demand for more Celebrity vacation options in Europe can’t be ignored," said Celebrity Cruises President & COO Jack Williams. The sheer value of a Celebrity vacation also can’t be ignored. As the U.S. dollar continues to decline against the euro, a growing number of savvy travelers are honing in on cruising as the definitive way to experience Europe. "Celebrity Cruises has always represented incredible value, and next year, particularly compared with traditional land-based vacations in Europe, it’s absolutely incomparable," said Williams. "There’s the convenience factor as well. You unpack once, and your premium hotel moves with you, from one magnificent port to the next." Williams tagged Century "the obvious choice" for the fourth ship to sail in Europe next year. The ship was the first in the Celebrity fleet to sail in the region when the line launched regular service there in 1999. The sophistication of Europe is echoed in Century’s onboard experience, featuring the fresh, gourmet cuisine of renowned Master Chef Michel Roux; the stylish Cova Cafe Milano, Celebrity’s seagoing version of the chic coffeehouse in the fashion district of Milan; the exotic AquaSpa(R) by Elemis, and a host of sumptuous services and amenities, including Les Clefs d’Or-certified Concierges, expertly trained Sommeliers, and 24-hour butler service in every suite. Century’s 2005 Europe Itineraries Century sets sail for Europe on a 14-night transatlantic cruise departing Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on May 7, with an overnight visit to King’s Wharf, Bermuda, and calls on Lisbon, Portugal; Vigo, Spain; and LeHavre (for Paris), France, concluding in Amsterdam. From Amsterdam, Century presents roundtrip 12-night Baltic cruises on May 21; June 2, 14 and 26; July 8 and 20, with calls on Copenhagen, Denmark (overnight); Oslo, Norway; Stockholm, Sweden; Helsinki, Finland; St. Petersburg, Russia (overnight), and Tallinn, Estonia. On August 13, guests have the unique opportunity to experience the stunning Norwegian Fjords in Celebrity style, when Century departs roundtrip from Amsterdam on a 7-night cruise calling on Bergen, Olden, Alesund, and Flam, Norway. Century sets sail August 20 on a repositioning cruise, featuring visits to an extraordinary series of classic ports, including Zeebrugge (for Brussels), Belgium; LeHavre (for Paris), France; Vigo, Cadiz and Malaga, Spain; Lisbon, Portugal; Civitavecchia (for Rome) and Livorno (for Florence/Pisa), Italy; and Villefranche (for Nice/Monte Carlo), France, concluding in Barcelona, Spain. The beauty of the Balearic Islands — and Celebrity’s first calls on both Ibiza and Valencia, Spain — await guests on Century’s September 2 and 23 sailings, also calling on Marseilles/Provence and Villefranche (for Nice/Monte Carlo), France; Livorno (for Florence/Pisa) and Civitavecchia (for Rome), Italy; and Palma de Mallorca, Spain. Century caps her European season in 2005 with two cruises in the Tyrrhenian Sea, departing Barcelona September 12 and October 3, and marking Celebrity’s first calls on Palermo, Sicily and Cartagena, Spain. The cruises also feature calls on Ajaccio, Corsica, France; Civitavecchia (for Rome), Naples, Italy; Valletta, Malta, and Messina, Sicily. Century heads westward on October 14, departing Barcelona on a 15-night transatlantic voyage, with calls on Marseille/Provence and Villefranche (for Nice/Monte Carlo), France; Civitavecchia (for Rome), Italy; Malaga, Spain; Ponta Delgada, Azores; and Nassau, Bahamas, ending in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. There, Century resumes her Caribbean season, offering roundtrip exotic 9- and 10-night vacations. Fares for oceanview accommodations on Century’s 12-night Northern Europe cruises begin at $2,140 per person, based on double occupancy. Fares for oceanview accommodations on Century’s Mediterranean sailings start at $1,690 per person, based on double occupancy. Celebrity has established special toll-free numbers to reaccommodate guests booked on Century’s Caribbean cruises affected by the new European sailings. Guests with individual bookings are asked to call 1-888-837-5676. Groups are asked to call 1-888-305-4549. Celebrity Cruises is the industry’s highest-rated premium cruise brand with a taste of luxury. The cruise line has 10 ships in its fleet, which sails in Alaska, Bermuda, California, the Caribbean, Europe, Hawaii, the Mexican Riviera, the Panama Canal and South America. In addition, Celebrity Xpeditions offer exotic travel experiences in the Galapagos Islands, the Arctic, and Antarctica. For more information, call your travel agent.

Response:

Hi Ray, I understand that Celebrity will have no ships in the CAribbean during the summer, that seems strange? Donna TuesdayChat Host http://www.cruisemates.com

Response:

>I understand that Celebrity will have no ships in the CAribbean during the >summer, that seems strange?

Hi Donna, It is not strange nor unusual for a premium brand not to have a ship in the Caribbean in the summer.  Holland America and Princess have not had ships in the Caribbean every year.  The ships go where the demand is the highest and they can charge the highest per diems. Best regards, Ray LIGHTHOUSE TRAVEL 800-719-9917 or 805-566-3905 http://www.lighthousetravel.com

Response:

This is a late announcement and that usually triggers some low rates to try to fill the ship.  A lot of people have already booked for 2005 since it takes a little more planning that the Caribbean.   May be worth keeping an eye on….

Response:

Question:

washingtonpost.com 200,000 in N.Y. Protest Bush President and GOP Convention Unwelcome, Demonstrators Say By Michael Powell and Dale Russakoff Washington Post Staff Writers Monday, August 30, 2004; Page A01 NEW YORK, Aug. 29 — By the tens of thousands, demonstrators marched, chanted — "No More Years!" — and danced through the streets of Manhattan on Sunday, voicing their anger with President Bush, the war in Iraq and the Republicans’ decision to hold a national convention in this most Democratic of urban bastions. Hundreds of police officers in riot gear lined the sidewalks, SWAT vans idled, and police helicopters whirred overhead. But the protest was as peaceful as it was vast. More than 200,000 demonstrators, according to a police estimate, packed dozens of blocks along Seventh Avenue and snaked down side streets. The march drew protesters from many corners. Printers and emergency medical technicians rode early-morning buses from Lancaster, Pa.; suburban peace groups took the 9:29 a.m. commuter train from Bedford Hills; and a group of students traveled overland from northern Texas, hitchhiking the last 800 miles after their bus broke down in Ohio. Then there was Billionaires for Bush, a satirical group outfitted in cocktail dresses and silk gloves, tuxes and top hats and cigarette holders. They waved placards emblazoned: "It’s a Class War — and We’re winning" and "No Justice? No problem!" "I’m here to protest Bush’s horrendous economic principles," said Kathy Merletti, decked out in a champagne-colored gown, lace gloves and a parasol, and calling herself Emma Goldmine. "After this, I’m going to be playing croquet in Central Park." While passions ran high, the mood was often celebratory. As the marchers inched along Seventh Avenue, New Yorkers waved from windows and rooftops, and three gay couples enjoying Sunday brunch at the Eros Cafe in the Chelsea neighborhood raised glasses of orange juice to salute. There were scattered arrests at the edges of the protest, but police reported no violence. The march route formed a giant U, running two miles north past Madison Square Garden before hooking south again another two miles to Union Square, where radicals and labor organizers have declaimed for more than a century. Many New Yorkers spoke of deeply felt indignation that the Republicans would come to their city, as though the convention starting Monday were a slap in their faces. As marchers passed Madison Square Garden, they often erupted in chants of "Liar! Liar!" Kate Abell, a public school teacher and mother who lives in Chelsea, stood in the sharp, hot sun of midday holding this sign: "My son watched the towers fall from his school. I don’t feel safer." "The Republicans have come here, to a place where they don’t have a base, for one reason: To play with the image of 9/11," Abell said. "They are using fear and death to make Bush’s policies seem more palatable." Organizers with United for Peace and Justice had wanted to end their march with a rally in Central Park. But Republican Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg demurred, saying that so many protesters might damage the park’s newly refurbished lawn. City officials instead offered the demonstrators a rally spot along a treeless stretch of the West Side Highway. In the end, the organizers decided to forgo a rally and simply march through Midtown. "We couldn’t be happier," said Leslie Cagan, the march’s lead organizer. "People came to say no to the Bush agenda with all the diversity of our neighborhoods. We won the streets of New York." After the march ended, several thousand demonstrators rode the subways north to Central Park’s Great Lawn, where they had picnics, watched political theater by the "Mission Accomplicated" troupe and registered a peaceful protest against the city’s refusal of a permit to congregate there. Republican officials have suggested in recent days that Democratic Party activists were fueling the protest. It is hard to overstate how many people vote Democratic in this city; in the 2000 election, 1.6 million New Yorkers voted for Democrat Al Gore, while 398,000 voted for Bush. There were thousands of "John Kerry for President" pins in evidence Sunday, but there was no real sign of a Democratic Party hand at play. Democratic strategists, in fact, have talked of holding their breath, lest the protests dissolve into violence or the Republicans turn them into caricatures of the left. March organizers were critical of Kerry for voting to give Bush the authority to invade Iraq. And Kerry might prefer to eschew the four-member "Communists for Kerry" contingent, whose placards advocated a "France First!" foreign policy. The marchers were by turns humorous, angry and somber. They were momentarily silent as men in white shirts and ties and women in dresses passed bearing 1,000 flag-draped cardboard boxes resembling coffins, representative of the Americans and Iraqis who have died since the U.S. invasion in March 2003. Elsewhere, a half-dozen Iraq war veterans in combat boots and desert fatigues marched and swapped stories about buddies still in Iraq. Kelly Doughtery, who walked between the broad shoulders of her male comrades, had returned from Iraq in February, after serving a year with the military police. She came here from Colorado. "I saw that people were hoping their lives would improve, and we didn’t allow that," she said. "When you invade and occupy a country, it stifles people’s ability to help themselves." Many families marched together, from mothers pushing baby carriages to high school students walking alongside their fathers. Janet Braun-Reinitz, a New York muralist, marched with her son Dave, a comedian who lives in Los Angeles, and her daughter Laura, who came in from California’s Silicon Valley. Sisters Vicki and Danielle Leifer passed out voter registration cards while their mother, Jacqueline, held a poster saying, "If you think voting doesn’t matter, then why did Republicans try so hard to prevent black Americans from voting?" The crowd was more than 90 percent white, which did not go unnoticed by the Leifers. "This is a very white, middle-class protest," Vicki said. "There’s such a sense of disenfranchisement in the black community, and it didn’t start with Florida in 2000." At 19th Street and Seventh Avenue, Judith Malina, who played Grandmama Addams in the "Addams Family" movie, waited to lead her Living Theater collective into the streets. A diminutive woman, she has hair dyed jet black and harbors the hope that, one day, she might lead a "pacifist-anarchist-vegetarian revolution." "We can dream, can’t we?" she said over her shoulder as she led her troupe into the streets. _____ Special correspondent Michelle Garcia contributed to this report. (c) 2004 The Washington Post Company        Posted via TITANnews – Uncensored Newsgroups Access              >>>> at http://www.TitanNews.com <<<< -=Every Newsgroup – Anonymous, UNCENSORED, BROADBAND Downloads=-

Response:

>washingtonpost.com >200,000 in N.Y. Protest Bush >President and GOP Convention Unwelcome, >Demonstrators Say

As if Dubya cared what a mere 200,000 think… The Repair Guy http://repairguy1993.netfirms.com/

Response:

> >washingtonpost.com >200,000 in N.Y. Protest Bush >President and GOP Convention Unwelcome, >Demonstrators Say

Remember in 1968 there were full scale riots protesting the Republicans. The backlash from the general public swept Nixon into office. If those protestors go over the top, they will insure a Bush victory. See ya, John

Response:

>> >washingtonpost.com > >200,000 in N.Y. Protest Bush > >President and GOP Convention Unwelcome, > >Demonstrators Say >Remember in 1968 there were full scale riots protesting the Republicans. The >backlash from the general public swept Nixon into office. If those >protestors go over the top, they will insure a Bush victory. >See ya, >John

Good point … I bet the Official Dem Party is holding their breathe at this point. Lostpup198 "People everywhere confuse what they read in newspapers with news." — A. J. Liebling [Abbott Joseph Liebling] (1904-1963) Journalist, author Source: The New Yorker, 7 April 1956

Response:

It’s interesting to note that they did this on Sunday, when all decent Americans were attending the church of their choice. Typical liberals. — Kevin -=#=-

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> washingtonpost.com > 200,000 in N.Y. Protest Bush > President and GOP Convention Unwelcome, Demonstrators Say > By Michael Powell and Dale Russakoff > Washington Post Staff Writers > Monday, August 30, 2004; Page A01 > NEW YORK, Aug. 29 — By the tens of thousands, demonstrators marched, > chanted — "No More Years!" > — and danced through the streets of Manhattan on Sunday, voicing their > anger with President Bush,

Response:

So, decency correlates with church-going, Kevin?  Is WalMart indecent for opening on Sunday?  Please be clear!   Thanks in advance. >It’s interesting to note that they did this on Sunday, when all decent >Americans were attending the church of their choice. >Typical liberals.

       Posted via TITANnews – Uncensored Newsgroups Access              >>>> at http://www.TitanNews.com <<<< -=Every Newsgroup – Anonymous, UNCENSORED, BROADBAND Downloads=-

Response:

> washingtonpost.com > 200,000 in N.Y. Protest Bush > President and GOP Convention Unwelcome, Demonstrators Say

Typical NYC colorful retro-hippythink effette happening; fun to watch, but reminds me why I moved out of Chelsea…

Response:

Yes! — Kevin -=#=-

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> So, decency correlates with > church-going, Kevin?  Is > WalMart indecent for opening > on Sunday?  Please be clear! > Thanks in advance. >It’s interesting to note that they did this on Sunday, when all decent >Americans were attending the church of their choice. >Typical liberals. >       Posted via TITANnews – Uncensored Newsgroups Access >             >>>> at http://www.TitanNews.com <<<< > -=Every Newsgroup – Anonymous, UNCENSORED, BROADBAND Downloads=-

Response:

Of course! — Kevin -=#=-

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->It’s interesting to note that they did this on Sunday, when all decent >Americans were attending the church of their choice. > So now you have to be in church on Sunday to be a "decent"(?) > American?  Fool.

Response:

Confession noted — ain’t America great?  I mean, in what other country could both rampant commercialism and your religio-simpleton’s view of what comprises decency coexist in relative peace?     :-) Have a great life, if you can find time to have one between all your judgments of your brothers in Christ. >Yes!

       Posted via TITANnews – Uncensored Newsgroups Access              >>>> at http://www.TitanNews.com <<<< -=Every Newsgroup – Anonymous, UNCENSORED, BROADBAND Downloads=-

Response:

Thanks, "Bruce".  I think I will. Dove season starts Wednesday!  I think I’ll go load some shotgun shells! — Kevin -=#=-

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Confession noted — ain’t > America great?  I mean, > in what other country > could both rampant > commercialism and your > religio-simpleton’s view > of what comprises > decency coexist in > relative peace?     :-) > Have a great life, if > you can find time to > have one between all > your judgments of your > brothers in Christ.

Response:

> It’s interesting to note that they did this on Sunday, when all decent > Americans were attending the church of their choice. > Typical liberals. > — > Kevin > -=#=-

So, you purport to be a Christian? And yet you support the most insidiously secretive, deceptive, GREEDY, war profiteering, conflict of interest laden, warmongering, corrupt, demagoguery, plutocracy, oligarchy type adminstration we’ve ever had. You are being deceived by their lies, spins and propaganda. Open your eyes. Christians need to be impartial when examining reality. I’m sorry you’ve been effectively duped by them as many brothers have been. I will pray for you. I’m not saying the liberals are any better though, ok? Ed – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> washingtonpost.com > 200,000 in N.Y. Protest Bush > President and GOP Convention Unwelcome, Demonstrators Say > By Michael Powell and Dale Russakoff > Washington Post Staff Writers > Monday, August 30, 2004; Page A01 > NEW YORK, Aug. 29 — By the tens of thousands, demonstrators marched, > chanted — "No More Years!" > — and danced through the streets of Manhattan on Sunday, voicing their > anger with President Bush,

Response:

Do I?  I don’t think I did.  Hell, I didn’t even claim to be decent! Which administration are you describing, Lincoln, or FDR? — Kevin -=#=-

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> So, you purport to be a Christian? And yet you support the most > insidiously > secretive, > deceptive, GREEDY, war profiteering, conflict of interest laden, > warmongering, > corrupt, demagoguery, plutocracy, oligarchy type adminstration we’ve ever > had. > You are being deceived by their lies, spins and propaganda. Open your > eyes. > Christians need to be impartial when examining reality. I’m sorry you’ve > been > effectively duped by them as many brothers have been. I will pray for you. > I’m not saying the liberals are any better though, ok? > Ed

Response:

> It’s interesting to note that they did this on Sunday, when all decent > Americans were attending the church of their choice. > Typical liberals. > — > Kevin

Note that they are not ALL protesting the same cause, and most would be there protesting regardless of who is the incumbent. Many are professional protesters, either casually employed or unemployed, students, etc. who are there as much for the ‘party’ as for the protest. It’s cheaper than going to the Olympics, and they just might get their smiling face on TV holding a "Hi, Mom ! " sign. It’s "Manhattan-stock" .

Response:

>Thanks, "Bruce".  I think I will. >Dove season starts Wednesday!  I think I’ll go load some shotgun shells!

Hunting will qualify as a sport when the game can shoot back — enjoy destroying defenseless life, I guess that’s a "decent" thing to do in your world!     :-)        Posted via TITANnews – Uncensored Newsgroups Access              >>>> at http://www.TitanNews.com <<<< -=Every Newsgroup – Anonymous, UNCENSORED, BROADBAND Downloads=-

Response:

I’m pretty sure we’re not waiting on you to qualify what is a sport. You get your meat in a plastic wrapper, I’ll get mine directly off the hoof. Which is more humane, after all? — Kevin -=#=-

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Hunting will qualify as > a sport when the game > can shoot back — enjoy > destroying defenseless > life, I guess that’s a > "decent" thing to do in > your world! :-)

Response:

>I’m pretty sure we’re not waiting on you to qualify what is a sport. >You get your meat in a plastic wrapper, I’ll get mine directly off the hoof. >Which is more humane, after all? >– >Kevin >-=#=-

Ignore Brucie. He’s just practicing his power-whining for November. Claude

Response:

>I’m pretty sure we’re not waiting on you to qualify what is a sport.

I didn’t figure anyone was — then again, I’m sure nobody was waiting for you to tell us that we’re not decent if we don’t attend a church. >You get your meat in a plastic wrapper,

I don’t eat meat, but I don’t judge those who do.   >I’ll get mine directly off the hoof.

You eat the doves you shoot?  There’s probably more buckshot in those pathetic carcasses than meat!   Btw, what kind of dove has hooves? >Which is more humane, after all?

If you actually eat what you shoot, that’s respectable — but even if I ate meat I wouldn’t eat dove.  A dove is just a country pigeon, and a pigeon is nothing more than a flying rat.  Happy rat eating, and watch out for that shot!        Posted via TITANnews – Uncensored Newsgroups Access              >>>> at http://www.TitanNews.com <<<< -=Every Newsgroup – Anonymous, UNCENSORED, BROADBAND Downloads=-

Response:

– Kevin -=#=-

> I didn’t figure anyone > was — then again, I’m > sure nobody was waiting > for you to tell us that > we’re not decent if we > don’t attend a church.

I’m pretty sure that’s not what I said. > I don’t eat meat, but > I don’t judge those who > do.

I see.  That explains quite a lot. > You eat the doves you > shoot?  There’s > probably more buckshot > in those pathetic > carcasses than meat! > Btw, what kind of dove > has hooves?

Of course I eat them.  It would be wrong to let them go to waste.  Have you ever had dove?  They’re very plump and tender, this time of year. Delicious.  "Off the hoof" is a figure of speech. > If you actually eat > what you shoot, that’s > respectable — but > even if I ate meat I > wouldn’t eat dove.  A > dove is just a country > pigeon, and a pigeon > is nothing more than a > flying rat.  Happy rat > eating, and watch out > for that shot!

I don’t eat everything I shoot.  Crows, for example.  Or, the rough fish that I shoot with the bow.  I’ll eat tilapia, but not carp or gar.  Doves aren’t the same as pigeons, although there are those that eat pigeon.  You never know, under the right circumstances, rat could be the best thing on the menu! Kevin

Response:

Sorry.  Couldn’t resist poking the troll. — Kevin -=#=-

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Ignore Brucie. > He’s just practicing his power-whining for November.

Response:

>Sorry.  Couldn’t resist poking the troll.

I know. It’s one of life’s guilty little pleasures. Claude

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> It’s interesting to note that they did this on Sunday, when all decent > Americans were attending the church of their choice. > Typical liberals. > — > Kevin > -=#=- > So, you purport to be a Christian? And yet you support the most insidiously > secretive, > deceptive, GREEDY, war profiteering, conflict of interest laden, > warmongering, > corrupt, demagoguery, plutocracy, oligarchy type adminstration we’ve ever > had. > You are being deceived by their lies, spins and propaganda. Open your eyes. > Christians need to be impartial when examining reality. I’m sorry you’ve > been > effectively duped by them as many brothers have been. I will pray for you. > I’m not saying the liberals are any better though, ok? > Ed

Oh lordy. He is talkin bout that kind of Christian. Man I just read this series of book written by this fruit cake Peggy Joyce Ruth of Peggy Joyce Ruth Ministries. She’s selling the kind of Christianity where you make a covenant with God and he give you everything you want or had a vision of includinge a white Mercedes Benz and a sectional sofa. The problem with Christians is that there’s all kinds. Have you ever noticed that paranoid people tend to go to churches with paranoid outlooks and those liberal tend to carry around plactic cards that claim to be Universal Life Ministers so they can marry their friends and avoid the draft in the old days. But decent people who aren’t Christians go to church or whatever on other days of the week. Some Christians even go to church on Wednesday night or Saturday night. Seventh Day adventists think they are Christians but they keep the Sabbath. Go figure. Decent people are decent people no matter what religion they believe or where or when they go to church.

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > Yes! > — > Kevin > -=#=- > So, decency correlates with > church-going, Kevin?  Is > WalMart indecent for opening > on Sunday?  Please be clear! > Thanks in advance. >>It’s interesting to note that they did this on Sunday, when all decent >>Americans were attending the church of their choice. >>Typical liberals. >       Posted via TITANnews – Uncensored Newsgroups Access >             >>>> at http://www.TitanNews.com <<<< > -=Every Newsgroup – Anonymous, UNCENSORED, BROADBAND Downloads=-

Ya gotta respect that Chicken Outfit Chik-Fil-A for staying closed on Sunday. They walk their talk….and don’t serve beef ;)

Response:

wut? Krischans weel put a gun KEEL awn ALL librawlz ENNY day uf the week. GITTERDUN!!! glawk nan mm saterdaa nat speshul no matter. Kum rapchure tam the jeez kras baby chale, Marry, Joe, an awl the guud scripchar folwk gon rase up an KEEEL U LIBRAWLZ. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > Oh lordy. He is talkin bout that kind of Christian. Man I just read > this series of book written by this fruit cake Peggy Joyce Ruth of > Peggy Joyce Ruth Ministries. She’s selling the kind of Christianity > where you make a covenant with God and he give you everything you want > or had a vision of includinge a white Mercedes Benz and a sectional > sofa. > The problem with Christians is that there’s all kinds. Have you ever > noticed that paranoid people tend to go to churches with paranoid > outlooks and those liberal tend to carry around plactic cards that > claim to be Universal Life Ministers so they can marry their friends > and avoid the draft in the old days. > But decent people who aren’t Christians go to church or whatever on > other days of the week. Some Christians even go to church on Wednesday > night or Saturday night. Seventh Day adventists think they are > Christians but they keep the Sabbath. Go figure. Decent people are > decent people no matter what religion they believe or where or when > they go to church.

Response:

Is the food any good? — Kevin -=#=-

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Ya gotta respect that Chicken Outfit Chik-Fil-A for staying closed on > Sunday. They walk their talk….and don’t serve beef ;)

Response:

Question:

Yes, the majority of the world’s population has a fear of those people who practice Homosexuality. Rightly so. Homosexuals are a very real danger to the human species. After more than 50 years of personal research via interviews with practicing Homosexuals, I have not found a single case that was not caused by a negative influence in the pre-choice life of any homosexual. These influences have sometimes been discovered through interviews with older persons who interacted with the individual who chose to continue their life as a Homosexual. Sexual abuse is by far the most prominent of the causes of Individual Choice of Homosexuality, (ICH), second to juvenile experimentation. An almost unlimited list of causes can be attributed to ICH, none of which include a predetermined physical disposition. In each case of ICH, a method of therapy should be discovered that would allow the person to return to a sexual orientation that is that of the evolved Heterosexual. The likelihood of this happening within the next decade or two is slim. Much like the Roman Empire, today’s societies are within a trial period of allowance of ICH, and as it did in Roman times, ICH will eventually cause the decay of successful interaction between the sexes and cause a undesirable trend towards a non-reproductive society. Combined with the increased possibility of disease that is inherent with ICH, a very real danger to the evolvement and continuance of the human species exists. The above statements are a very brief outline of my own findings. I sincerely hope that each person who has selected ICH seek and find treatment for this problem and become a Heterosexual human as our evolution as a species has determined us to be.

Response:

But the alt.guitar newsgroup is not the place to talk about it.

Response:

Bush is the Butcher of Baghdad and you whine about fags? – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Yes, the majority of the world’s population has a fear of those > people who practice Homosexuality. Rightly so. > Homosexuals are a very real danger to the human species. After more > than 50 years of personal research via interviews with practicing > Homosexuals, I have not found a single case that was not caused by a > negative influence in the pre-choice life of any homosexual. These > influences have sometimes been discovered through interviews with > older persons who interacted with the individual who chose to continue > their life as a Homosexual. > Sexual abuse is by far the most prominent of the causes of Individual > Choice of Homosexuality, (ICH), second to juvenile experimentation. > An almost unlimited list of causes can be attributed to ICH, none of > which include a predetermined physical disposition. > In each case of ICH, a method of therapy should be discovered that > would allow the person to return to a sexual orientation that is that > of the evolved Heterosexual. > The likelihood of this happening within the next decade or two is > slim. Much like the Roman Empire, today’s societies are within a > trial period of allowance of ICH, and as it did in Roman times, ICH > will eventually cause the decay of successful interaction between the > sexes and cause a undesirable trend towards a non-reproductive > society. > Combined with the increased possibility of disease that is inherent > with ICH, a very real danger to the evolvement and continuance of the > human species exists. > The above statements are a very brief outline of my own findings. I > sincerely hope that each person who has selected ICH seek and find > treatment for this problem and become a Heterosexual human as our > evolution as a species has determined us to be.

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Yes, the majority of the world’s population has a fear of those > people who practice Homosexuality. Rightly so. > Homosexuals are a very real danger to the human species. After more > than 50 years of personal research via interviews with practicing > Homosexuals, I have not found a single case that was not caused by a > negative influence in the pre-choice life of any homosexual. These > influences have sometimes been discovered through interviews with > older persons who interacted with the individual who chose to continue > their life as a Homosexual. > Sexual abuse is by far the most prominent of the causes of Individual > Choice of Homosexuality, (ICH), second to juvenile experimentation. > An almost unlimited list of causes can be attributed to ICH, none of > which include a predetermined physical disposition. > In each case of ICH, a method of therapy should be discovered that > would allow the person to return to a sexual orientation that is that > of the evolved Heterosexual. > The likelihood of this happening within the next decade or two is > slim. Much like the Roman Empire, today’s societies are within a > trial period of allowance of ICH, and as it did in Roman times, ICH > will eventually cause the decay of successful interaction between the > sexes and cause a undesirable trend towards a non-reproductive > society. > Combined with the increased possibility of disease that is inherent > with ICH, a very real danger to the evolvement and continuance of the > human species exists. > The above statements are a very brief outline of my own findings. I > sincerely hope that each person who has selected ICH seek and find > treatment for this problem and become a Heterosexual human as our > evolution as a species has determined us to be.

shhh

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > Bush is the Butcher of Baghdad > and you whine about fags? > Yes, the majority of the world’s population has a fear of those > people who practice Homosexuality. Rightly so. > Homosexuals are a very real danger to the human species. After more > than 50 years of personal research via interviews with practicing > Homosexuals, I have not found a single case that was not caused by a > negative influence in the pre-choice life of any homosexual. These > influences have sometimes been discovered through interviews with > older persons who interacted with the individual who chose to > continue their life as a Homosexual. > Sexual abuse is by far the most prominent of the causes of Individual > Choice of Homosexuality, (ICH), second to juvenile experimentation. > An almost unlimited list of causes can be attributed to ICH, none of > which include a predetermined physical disposition. > In each case of ICH, a method of therapy should be discovered that > would allow the person to return to a sexual orientation that is that > of the evolved Heterosexual. > The likelihood of this happening within the next decade or two is > slim. Much like the Roman Empire, today’s societies are within a > trial period of allowance of ICH, and as it did in Roman times, ICH > will eventually cause the decay of successful interaction between the > sexes and cause a undesirable trend towards a non-reproductive > society. > Combined with the increased possibility of disease that is inherent > with ICH, a very real danger to the evolvement and continuance of the > human species exists. > The above statements are a very brief outline of my own findings. I > sincerely hope that each person who has selected ICH seek and find > treatment for this problem and become a Heterosexual human as our > evolution as a species has determined us to be.

Whirrr. Click. Click. Click. Nothing personal. You’ve been ignored by the Ignore-Repliers-to-Trolls-and-Other-Miscreants Robot. Sorry. — Robignorator

Response:

>Homosexuals are a very real danger to the human species.

More right wing bullshit. If your "God" didn’t think male homosexuality was acceptable don’t you think he’d have engineered things a little differently? Maybe put a "U" bend somewhere in the plumbing?

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Yes, the majority of the world’s population has a fear of those > people who practice Homosexuality. Rightly so. > Homosexuals are a very real danger to the human species. After more > than 50 years of personal research via interviews with practicing > Homosexuals, I have not found a single case that was not caused by a > negative influence in the pre-choice life of any homosexual. These > influences have sometimes been discovered through interviews with > older persons who interacted with the individual who chose to continue > their life as a Homosexual. > Sexual abuse is by far the most prominent of the causes of Individual > Choice of Homosexuality, (ICH), second to juvenile experimentation. > An almost unlimited list of causes can be attributed to ICH, none of > which include a predetermined physical disposition. > In each case of ICH, a method of therapy should be discovered that > would allow the person to return to a sexual orientation that is that > of the evolved Heterosexual. > The likelihood of this happening within the next decade or two is > slim. Much like the Roman Empire, today’s societies are within a > trial period of allowance of ICH, and as it did in Roman times, ICH > will eventually cause the decay of successful interaction between the > sexes and cause a undesirable trend towards a non-reproductive > society. > Combined with the increased possibility of disease that is inherent > with ICH, a very real danger to the evolvement and continuance of the > human species exists. > The above statements are a very brief outline of my own findings. I > sincerely hope that each person who has selected ICH seek and find > treatment for this problem and become a Heterosexual human as our > evolution as a species has determined us to be.

Did you get any good photos from all that "personal research"?

Response:

: > Yes, the majority of the world’s population has a fear….. <PLONK>

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Yes, the majority of the world’s population has a fear of those > people who practice Homosexuality. Rightly so. > Homosexuals are a very real danger to the human species. After more > than 50 years of personal research via interviews with practicing > Homosexuals, I have not found a single case that was not caused by a > negative influence in the pre-choice life of any homosexual. These > influences have sometimes been discovered through interviews with > older persons who interacted with the individual who chose to continue > their life as a Homosexual. > Sexual abuse is by far the most prominent of the causes of Individual > Choice of Homosexuality, (ICH), second to juvenile experimentation. > An almost unlimited list of causes can be attributed to ICH, none of > which include a predetermined physical disposition. > In each case of ICH, a method of therapy should be discovered that > would allow the person to return to a sexual orientation that is that > of the evolved Heterosexual. > The likelihood of this happening within the next decade or two is > slim. Much like the Roman Empire, today’s societies are within a > trial period of allowance of ICH, and as it did in Roman times, ICH > will eventually cause the decay of successful interaction between the > sexes and cause a undesirable trend towards a non-reproductive > society. > Combined with the increased possibility of disease that is inherent > with ICH, a very real danger to the evolvement and continuance of the > human species exists. > The above statements are a very brief outline of my own findings. I > sincerely hope that each person who has selected ICH seek and find > treatment for this problem and become a Heterosexual human as our > evolution as a species has determined us to be. > Did you get any good photos from all that "personal research"?

laughing…. but what IF….due to over crowding and/or envirnmental contamination the only way for the human species to survive would be if it cut it’s relication by, oh say half, then perhaps it might be not only natural but beneficial to the human race as a whole for homosexuals to exist. Perhaps our evolution, since it is never complete, is determining for us to be something else than a hunky hetero, perhaps it is determinig that the rest of life would be better off if there were fewer of we humans??? Re: STDS – unless I’m mistaken, they are transmitted by heterosexuals just as frequently if not more frequently (since as you point out most of the population is heterosexual) than homosexual. Your historical memory has forgotten the number of deaths due to old fashioned STDS pre anti-biotics. Not only that, you forget that diseases evolve as well. Of course NASCAR DAD, you probably have not stuck your nose in the AMA Journal recently. Bet you are the kind to refuse to immuize your kids cause it’s a commie plot. Treatment of syphilis has altered the way it effects us both socially and physically. By 1557, leper colonies were being set up throughout Europe specifically for people with venereal disease. In 1690, as they epidemic slowed down a bit, hospitals were the place for most syphilitic patients. The treatment of choice at this time was mercury. Mercury the earliest chemical treatments for syphilis. Ore cinnabar, a form of mercury, had been used in the 1300’s for the treatment of various skin diseases including leprosy. The application of the ointment to syphilitic lesions was an obvious choice. Giorgio Sommariva of Verona was the first person on record to use mercury to treat syphilis in 1496. Jacopo Berengario da Carpi became famous in Italy soon after this first treatment for successfully administering mercury to syphilitic patients. Mercury was used in the form of ointments, oral administration, and vapor baths. Such treatments remained popular for three centuries. In the 1800’s, mercury was used so liberally to nearly any ulcer found, that many patients were more injured from the treatment then from their ailment. The next chemical treatment to be developed specifically for syphilis was Potassium Iodide in the 1840’s. The treatment was amazingly effective, even on patients with later stages of the illness. Mercury had been only moderately effective on late stages of syphilis and was not effective on very deep lesions. The introduction of Potassium Iodide gave people new hope that there could be a better cure in the future. It set the stage of the introduction of Salvarson, and later penicillin. In 1905, an important discovery was made. Microbiologists Schmudinn and Hoffman discovered and isolated the bacteria that causes syphilis. With the enemy now in sight, Paul Ehrlich began his research to find a better drug to fight the disease in 1908. He knew arsenic was one of the treatments of choice since syphilis was first documented, so he tried hundreds of different arsenic compounds out on laboratory rats. He worked in a laboratory filled with syphilitic rats trying compound after compound. Finally, the 606th compound he tired was successful. Number 606, as he temporarily called it, effectively destroyed the syphilis without destroying the rat. He was so enthusiastic about his results that he called the compound Salvarsan, which means I save. In 1910 he introduced this arsenic compound that could be used against syphilis. Ehrlich used the phrase ’silver bullet’ to describe the way he wished to use chemicals to destroy pathogens. The use of Salvarson to treat syphilis was one landmark in the beginning of modern medicine. While his ’silver bullet’ wasn’t as miraculous as many had hoped, it inspired other researchers to continue the search. Even today the attitude of searching for a ’silver’ or ‘magic’ bullet to treat illnesses pushes research forward. With the advent of the first modern ’silver bullet’ cure, Salvarson, came a strange cultural backlash. One might imagine that any disease that was effecting a large portion of the population and devastating the lives of many should be cured if at all possible. One might expect that if a supposed ‘cure’, like Salvarson, were discovered, the community would breath a collective sigh of relief and support the new findings. To the contrary, many small, but vocal, segments of western society were outraged at the new treatment. They believed that supporting a cure for the disease would also support sexual promiscuity. Due to their beliefs on sexuality in general, anything that may promote it must be wrong too. The backlash that occurred when Salvarson was discovered was not unlike the new emphasis on chastity that occurred in the Renaissance early in the epidemic A new importance was placed on sexual virtues and people saw the disease as a punishment from God for their sinful ways. Even today there are some extremists that do not believe should try to find a cure for syphilis or any other venereal disease because it may promote promiscuity. Despite the cultural backlash, research continued efforts to find a more effective cure for syphilis. Soon after Salvarson, a new drug was introduced that was as close to being a magic bullet as any other. This new treatment for syphilis ushered in the dawn of the antibiotic era. In 1929, Alexander Fleming discovered the anti-bacterial qualities of the mold Penicillium. Unfortunately, penicillin is not a magic bullet, as no drug really can be. Like all life forms, T. Pallidum was evolving and continues to evolve. Resistant strains continually crop up. Our ‘cures’ do not generally destroy the entire population of pathogens. They merely give them a new, albeit extreme, environment in which they will have to contend. Some pathogens are more successful than others in this challenge. Finding a cure, therefore, is rarely a magic bullet. While treatments like penicillin decreases prevalence by effectively curing the infected individual, they cannot prevent new cases of the disease from occurring in a population. In order to prevent a disease, we also need to know who is most vulnerable to it. Otherwise, epidemics are likely to catch us off guard. The first unquestionable epidemic of syphilis occurred in Europe at the end of the 15th century. With this first epidemic, came the first chorus of blames. Travelers were blamed, prostitutes were blamed, soldiers were blamed, and of course Columbus was blamed. The Muscuvitles called syphilis the Polish sickness. The Poles called it the German sickneess. By most historical accounts, it does seem that France was the likely starting point of the European epidemic. During Charles the VIII’s Italian campaign in 1495, his mercenaries returned home with this new sickness. It spread quickly and viciously. The city of Lyons became so ‘contaminated’ with diseased people that in March of 1496 the infected people were expelled outside of the city walls. By 1497, the disease had spread throughout France. Less then a decade later, nearly all corners of Europe were already infected as well. Shortly after the outbreak, it was noted that babies were born with a disease that seemed similar to syphilis. It seemed as if the entire continent, adults and newborns alike, were affected by this epidemic. Perhaps as early as the first part of the 1600’s, congenital syphilis was recognized as being distinct from adult onset syphilis. They believed it came from the fathers or the wet nurses. It wasn’t until the early 1900’s that they realized syphilis was transmitted through the placenta. A second epidemic occurred after the second world war. The rate of syphilis peaked in the US in 1947 at 106,000 cases. The prevalence of the disease dropped as penicillin became more widely … read more »

Response:

>The above statements are a very brief outline of my own findings.

I notice none of your bullshit "findings" come with any references. Al

Response:

>> The above statements are a very brief outline of my own findings. > I notice none of your bullshit "findings" come with any references. > Al

shhh

Response:

Oh thanks for the tips on what guitar amp NOT to buy…

Response:

> Oh thanks for the tips on what guitar amp NOT to buy…

shhh

Response:

> Bush is the Butcher of Baghdad > and you whine about fags?

Anybody remember that movie "The Fighting Kentuckians" ? With John Wayne. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Yes, the majority of the world’s population has a fear of those > people who practice Homosexuality. Rightly so. > Homosexuals are a very real danger to the human species. After more > than 50 years of personal research via interviews with practicing > Homosexuals, I have not found a single case that was not caused by a > negative influence in the pre-choice life of any homosexual. These > influences have sometimes been discovered through interviews with > older persons who interacted with the individual who chose to continue > their life as a Homosexual. > Sexual abuse is by far the most prominent of the causes of Individual > Choice of Homosexuality, (ICH), second to juvenile experimentation. > An almost unlimited list of causes can be attributed to ICH, none of > which include a predetermined physical disposition. > In each case of ICH, a method of therapy should be discovered that > would allow the person to return to a sexual orientation that is that > of the evolved Heterosexual. > The likelihood of this happening within the next decade or two is > slim. Much like the Roman Empire, today’s societies are within a > trial period of allowance of ICH, and as it did in Roman times, ICH > will eventually cause the decay of successful interaction between the > sexes and cause a undesirable trend towards a non-reproductive > society. > Combined with the increased possibility of disease that is inherent > with ICH, a very real danger to the evolvement and continuance of the > human species exists. > The above statements are a very brief outline of my own findings. I > sincerely hope that each person who has selected ICH seek and find > treatment for this problem and become a Heterosexual human as our > evolution as a species has determined us to be.

Response:

> Bush is the Butcher of Baghdad > and you whine about fags? > Anybody remember that movie "The Fighting Kentuckians" ? > With John Wayne.

No, actually John Wayne films are not all that memorable. Pray tell.

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Bush is the Butcher of Baghdad > and you whine about fags? > Anybody remember that movie "The Fighting Kentuckians" ? > With John Wayne. >> Yes, the majority of the world’s population has a fear of those >> people who practice Homosexuality. Rightly so. >> Homosexuals are a very real danger to the human species. After more >> than 50 years of personal research via interviews with practicing >> Homosexuals, I have not found a single case that was not caused by a >> negative influence in the pre-choice life of any homosexual. These >> influences have sometimes been discovered through interviews with >> older persons who interacted with the individual who chose to >> continue their life as a Homosexual. >> Sexual abuse is by far the most prominent of the causes of >> Individual Choice of Homosexuality, (ICH), second to juvenile >> experimentation. >> An almost unlimited list of causes can be attributed to ICH, none of >> which include a predetermined physical disposition. >> In each case of ICH, a method of therapy should be discovered that >> would allow the person to return to a sexual orientation that is >> that of the evolved Heterosexual. >> The likelihood of this happening within the next decade or two is >> slim. Much like the Roman Empire, today’s societies are within a >> trial period of allowance of ICH, and as it did in Roman times, ICH >> will eventually cause the decay of successful interaction between >> the sexes and cause a undesirable trend towards a non-reproductive >> society. >> Combined with the increased possibility of disease that is inherent >> with ICH, a very real danger to the evolvement and continuance of >> the human species exists. >> The above statements are a very brief outline of my own findings. I >> sincerely hope that each person who has selected ICH seek and find >> treatment for this problem and become a Heterosexual human as our >> evolution as a species has determined us to be.

shhh

Response:

> Bush is the Butcher of Baghdad > and you whine about fags?

Let

Question:

> But not all carriers are planning to pack their plane with the maximum > 555 passengers. > SIA, for example, is looking into using the extra space in the > aircraft to provide passengers with more facilities, like a children’s > play room that its frequent fliers suggested in a poll last year.

Which I bet will last about as long as the first class lounges did on 747s. — "You know, unexamined, unintelligent patriotism, you know, my country, right or wrong, love it or leave it, gets us nowhere and results in bad country and western songs." –Janeane Garofalo

Response:

BAA announced this morning that it has an $800 million 10 year Heathrow improvement plan which includes upgrades to handle the A380 wich will be featured at LHR quite a bit. It will be interesting to see which terminals they will be upgrading for the 380. Virgin will have the beast, as will Qantas. I suspect that in the next 12 months, you’ll hear a lot of similar projects that mention the 380. But they are regular airport maintenance/upgrade projects that will happen to include the modifications to handle the 380.

Response:

> >Virgin will have the beast, as will Qantas. > And SQ and EK and MH

But will SQ, EK and MH use the 380 on flights to LHR ? Changi will handle SG’s 380s sicne they will be based there. SIN will also handle Qantas’ 380s on the kangaroo route to London. But have any other airlines announced firm plans to fly their 380s to Singapore ? What about London LHR ? Virgin is based there, so its 380s will be seen there, and Qantas has its Kangaroo route to London. But who else will fly 380s to London ?

Response:

> I reckon the best places to go 380 spotting initially will be LHR, > SIN, SYD.

And the home of Emirates where most of the beasts – at least as the order book stands now – are going to  have their home. Nik

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->> I reckon the best places to go 380 spotting initially will be LHR, >> SIN, SYD. >And the home of Emirates where most of the beasts – at least as the order >book stands now – are going to  have their home. >Nik > I was thinking more for variety of liveries. DXB will be exclusively > EK 380s but the airports I mentioned will have 3 or more carriers > flying them in. > –==++AJC++==–

Then you are no doubt correct! Nik

Response:

>But before the A380 can land at Changi, the airport needs to be >modified to cater to the aircraft – 2m longer than the 70.7m-long 747, >with the tail about 5m higher – and the larger number of travellers it >will carry. [SNIP] >Because of the increased number of passengers the new plane can carry, >more check-in and immigration counters may need to be manned, so >passengers can check in quickly.

Any word from airport officials as to whether they will improve the facilities by installing "secured gate" facilities so that searching need not be done during the boarding process? Regards, Arnold. (E-mail address altered, to prevent spamming. :-|  Remove all asterisks and the *hates*spam* to get true address.)

Response:

THE Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) is spending $45 million to prepare Changi Airport to welcome a new guest: the Airbus 380 superjumbo jet. Singapore Airlines (SIA) will be the first carrier in the world to fly the 555-seater double-decker aircraft in 2006. The biggest airplane today is the 420-seater Boeing 747. Advertisement So far, Airbus, based in Toulouse, France, has received more than 120 orders for the new aircraft. SIA will buy 10 and is considering 15 more. But before the A380 can land at Changi, the airport needs to be modified to cater to the aircraft – 2m longer than the 70.7m-long 747, with the tail about 5m higher – and the larger number of travellers it will carry. For example, intersections between runways and taxiways need to be wider so the plane can turn safely on ground. Also, 11 of the areas where passengers wait to board will be made 5 to 10 per cent bigger. Six baggage belts will also be extended, and the airport will have 11 aerobridges to connect the A380s to the terminal. Work has already started on the modifications, due to be completed by the end of 2005. CAAS engineering director Fong Kok Wai, said the A380’s arrival presents a challenge to the airport authorities. ‘It’s a test of their nimbleness in responding to an airline’s needs within a given time frame, as well as to the constraints of existing infrastructure and an operational airport environment.’ Because of the increased number of passengers the new plane can carry, more check-in and immigration counters may need to be manned, so passengers can check in quickly. For quick clearance and to prevent bottlenecks, travellers are also encouraged to check-in by fax, phone or the Internet, and to use automated immigration clearance channels. By the time other airlines also start flying the superjumbo in 2006, more than 20 airports should be equipped to handle the bigger jet. But not all carriers are planning to pack their plane with the maximum 555 passengers. SIA, for example, is looking into using the extra space in the aircraft to provide passengers with more facilities, like a children’s play room that its frequent fliers suggested in a poll last year. SIA expects to have a preliminary design plan for its A380s next year.

Response:

Question:

>   We returned to Brussels the last day of our trip > and had a nice afternoon there. > So, you went to Brussels twice, with the first time just taking the > train there and returning to Paris right away?  Why didn’t you use the > train tickets to visit Brussels instead of buying more tickets to go back?

Right.  The desired destination was always Paris.  LAX>Brussels was 1/2 the price of LAX>CDG alone.  Goofy, as I said. The trip was: LAX>CDG CDG>Brussels Midi (End AF Ticket, part 1) New R/T Ticket Brussels Midi>Paris Nord End of Day One One week Later: Paris Nord>Brussels Midi (spent the night and had a good afternoon there) (Begin AF Ticket, Part 2) Brussels Midi>CDG CDG>LAX I had to return from Brussels to CDG on the AF return ticket, as they had boarding passes and tickets printed.  I would have missed the first leg of the return if I had just arrived at CDG and not taken the Brussels Midi>CDG leg. Not a big deal, as the train was the high speed train and about 1 hour 10 mins each way.  Not as nice as not having to do it, but I had more time than money and had to be creative.

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->  We returned to Brussels the last day of our trip >>and had a nice afternoon there. >So, you went to Brussels twice, with the first time just taking the >train there and returning to Paris right away?  Why didn’t you use the >train tickets to visit Brussels instead of buying more tickets to go back? > Right.  The desired destination was always Paris.  LAX>Brussels was 1/2 the > price of LAX>CDG alone.  Goofy, as I said.

That was my confusion. I thought you had changed your AF train ticket to permit you to go Brussels to Paris the same day. Did you ask about that?

Response:

  We returned to Brussels the last day of our trip > and had a nice afternoon there.

So, you went to Brussels twice, with the first time just taking the train there and returning to Paris right away?  Why didn’t you use the train tickets to visit Brussels instead of buying more tickets to go back?

Response:

Thanks to all who provided info on my request for guidance.  I will attach a bit of the original thread below for reference. I bought two Air France tickets at $278 RT from LAX to Brussels.  Leg one was Nonstop LAX to CDG and a connecting train to Brussels.  I wanted to ditch the train segment altogether but was concerned about having my return ticket cancelled. In the end, we took the train to Brussels (1st class, thanks AF!) and turned around right away and came back to Paris that afternoon.  I was glad that I did, as AF had a small booth at the CDG train platform (not Paris Nord, as I originally thought) with our boarding passes pre-printed and seats assigned.  There was no question that they would have known if we skipped the leg.  The RT tickets on the high speed train were 135 Euro for both of us, so we were money ahead (LAX to CDG direct was over $500). We returned to Brussels the last day of our trip and had a nice afternoon there. It worked out fine, and was only a bit of a hassle.  The most sage advise provided by this group was: "Is it worth risking it?".  Turns out it wasn’t. Great trip and thanks for the help! I’ve been following this thread with interest, and have been reluctant – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> to weigh in until now.  I caught the TGV from Paris to Brussels a > couple of weeks ago on a ticket that had originally been booked as a > return ticket from Brussels to Paris and back with two companions who > had bought my ticket with theirs. Circumstances dictated that I had to > meet my friends in Paris, so they travelled out from Brussels with > their tickets as well as mine, and I returned on the return portion of > the ticket with no problem, despite not having used the outbound > portion. > There is really no way I can see that the airline could say for > certain that one particular person was or was not on that train (as > seats are rarely booked by name), unless there is a requirement for > the stamp to be in the airline ticket itself or the airline requests > that you present the train ticket when checking in for your return > flight. If you need that and you don’t have it, you could have a > problem, but this is highly unlikely. The question is, do you want to > take the chance?

This is a similar situation to UA tickets originating or ending in SJC.   The SJC-SFO portion of the trip is by bus and there’s no way UA knows whether you took the bus or not.

Response:

Question:

The basically upheld in the 1978 Bakke decision – hoo’ahh!!! Too bad for fascists. Mike

Response:

> The basically upheld in the 1978 Bakke decision – hoo’ahh!!! > Too bad for fascists. > Mike

What has that got to do with fascism? You already proved beyond doubt that you don’t know the true definition of the word.

Response:

NEA upholds kreative speling, too…that’s afirmative, good buddy… LV – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> The basically upheld in the 1978 Bakke decision – hoo’ahh!!! > Too bad for fascists. > Mike > What has that got to do with fascism? You already proved beyond doubt > that you don’t know the true definition of the word.

Response:

>The basically upheld in the 1978 Bakke decision – hoo’ahh!!! >Too bad for fascists.

Fascists? Why do you think opposing Affirmative action is a fascists position? Ever heard of reverse discrimination? Its a reality.

Response:

> > The basically upheld in the 1978 Bakke decision – hoo’ahh!!! > Too bad for fascists. > Mike > What has that got to do with fascism? You already proved beyond doubt > that you don’t know the true definition of the word.

Well, everybody knows that if the government doesn’t force people to behave a certain way by legislating it, then that’s fascist! Trusting people to make good decisions on their own – FASCIST! —                      http://www.nyx.net/~agreenbu/

Response:

> Fascists? Why do you think opposing Affirmative action is a fascists > position?

The "fascists" are the ultra right-wing people on this news group.  I refer to them colletively as the "fascists" (because they are).  They don’t like affirmative action – witness LV’s post. >Ever heard of reverse discrimination? Its a reality.

Why don’t you talk to the Supreme Court about that one.  As LV says, get over it – you lost yesterday. Mike

Response:

> The basically upheld in the 1978 Bakke decision – hoo’ahh!!! > Too bad for fascists. > Mike > What has that got to do with fascism? You already proved beyond doubt > that you don’t know the true definition of the word.

He doesn’t know the fascist-sanitized redefinition of fascism anymore than any of the rest of us anti-fascists.

Response:

> What has that got to do with fascism? You already proved beyond doubt > that you don’t know the true definition of the word.

You’ve proven that you don’t read very well.  I posted definitions of fascism & you’ve posted bullshit.

Response:

> > What has that got to do with fascism? You already proved beyond doubt > that you don’t know the true definition of the word. > You’ve proven that you don’t read very well.  I posted definitions of > fascism & you’ve posted bullshit.

Actually, *you* posted your bullshit "definitions" of fascism, and got your ignorant ass handed to you on a plate by Mr. Estep. You’re a consistent idiot, at least. Mike F.

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> > The basically upheld in the 1978 Bakke decision – hoo’ahh!!! > > Too bad for fascists. > > Mike > What has that got to do with fascism? You already proved beyond doubt > that you don’t know the true definition of the word. > Well, everybody knows that if the government doesn’t force people to > behave a certain way by legislating it, then that’s fascist! > Trusting people to make good decisions on their own – FASCIST!

You looked that up… right..??? You can’t be SO young that you don’t know what a dictionary is….??? It’s spelled right so take a look….  schools out so you’ve got plenty of time.. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> — >                      http://www.nyx.net/~agreenbu/

Response:

>> What has that got to do with fascism? You already proved beyond doubt > that you don’t know the true definition of the word. >You’ve proven that you don’t read very well.  I posted definitions of >fascism & you’ve posted bullshit.

Yet another political off-topic post from music..  It’s all bullshit to me.  sha’dup. — [species: human; planet: earth,milkyway(western spiral arm),alpha sector]

Response:

> >> What has that got to do with fascism? You already proved beyond doubt >> that you don’t know the true definition of the word. >You’ve proven that you don’t read very well.  I posted definitions of >fascism & you’ve posted bullshit. > Yet another political off-topic post from music..  It’s all bullshit to > me.  sha’dup. > — > [species: Usenet List Nazi; planet: unknown]

Yet another whinepost from a dumb-ass noob List Nazi. Fuh’koff. Lord Valve JAFAWAM

Response:

Quit whimpering.    Peace Chris – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->> What has that got to do with fascism? You already proved beyond doubt >> that you don’t know the true definition of the word. >You’ve proven that you don’t read very well.  I posted definitions of >fascism & you’ve posted bullshit. > Yet another political off-topic post from music..  It’s all bullshit to > me.  sha’dup. > — > [species: human; planet: earth,milkyway(western spiral arm),alpha sector]

Response:

Mr. Estep posted information that I doubt I could ever verify because he made it up.  I asked him for his references & he never provided them. It was interesting & comical to read his revisionist history, i.e., that somehow fascism was a left-wing political ideology.  It was interesting because you’ll never find any other discussion of it. Fascism is a right-wing ideology.  Man, just look it up, please. Mike

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> > > The basically upheld in the 1978 Bakke decision – hoo’ahh!!! > > > Too bad for fascists. > > > Mike > > What has that got to do with fascism? You already proved beyond doubt > > that you don’t know the true definition of the word. > Well, everybody knows that if the government doesn’t force people to > behave a certain way by legislating it, then that’s fascist! > Trusting people to make good decisions on their own – FASCIST! > You looked that up… right..??? > You can’t be SO young that you don’t know what a dictionary is….??? > It’s spelled right so take a look….  schools out so you’ve got plenty of > time..

oh man… why dont you look up sarcasm.

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> > The basically upheld in the 1978 Bakke decision – hoo’ahh!!! > > Too bad for fascists. > > Mike > What has that got to do with fascism? You already proved beyond doubt > that you don’t know the true definition of the word. >He doesn’t know the fascist-sanitized redefinition of fascism anymore than >any of >the rest of us anti-fascists.

Fascism: Anything of which the person speaking or writing does not approve. Esp. if that person considers himself a liberal. At least that reflects recent usage. Orwell was right, again. Ron

Response:

>> Fascists? Why do you think opposing Affirmative action is a fascists > position? >The "fascists" are the ultra right-wing people on this news group.  I >refer to them colletively as the "fascists" (because they are).  They >don’t like affirmative action – witness LV’s post.

Historically, fascists (the real ones with the uniforms and the thugs) have always favored specific allocations by race and ethnicity. >Ever heard of reverse discrimination? Its a reality. >Why don’t you talk to the Supreme Court about that one.  As LV says, >get over it – you lost yesterday.

You really do not understand anything about those decisions beyond the Pix- approved headlines. Ron

Response:

> Fascists? Why do you think opposing Affirmative action is a fascists > position? > The "fascists" are the ultra right-wing people on this news group.  I > refer to them colletively as the "fascists" (because they are).  They > don’t like affirmative action – witness LV’s post.

Call folks what you want… But try and be more accurate… Being against affirmative action doesn’t make one a fascist… Affirmative action has certainly "helped" some people… but I personally have witnessed (and still do) the promotion of persons much less qualified than other persons, based on race/gender. So for every person ‘helped’ there is a person who is ‘hurt’.  This is a "cash at the end of the week" issue as much as any other issue… Lots of folk yammer about the betterment of society etc, etc,  etc… Thats another discussion… suffice it to say, we now have huge numbers of workers who can’t speak the language, can’t add/subtract, do sub-standard work, and on and on…. The *real cost* to society never seems to be compared to any benefit, and the benefit never seems to be quantifiable… >Ever heard of reverse discrimination? Its a reality. > Why don’t you talk to the Supreme Court about that one.  As LV says, > get over it – you lost yesterday.

But it ain’t over… The US is often VERY slow to ‘learn’….  history shows as much… the "true cost" of  ’liberal agendas’ is never calculated… and the conservatives are usually just as bad… When you make it ‘easy’ for kids to get good grades… you end up with a lot of un-educated adults… if you promote un-educated and un-qualified persons to positions they aren’t the best candidate for… you end up with performance that isn’t the ‘best you can get for the money’… this means productivity isn’t optimized, and most of all it means additional cost to train the people over and over to try and get them up to an acceptable level. Often as not, they never get above "acceptable", and the person that IS qualified, is passed over because of affirmative action… There are zillions of college grads applying for jobs who can’t speak the language, write the language, do simple arithmetic, get to work on time, put in 12 weeks of 40 hrs/week, etc.,etc….  These people must be "educated" by "big business"…!!   Businesses are finding if they want educated employees, they must educate them themselves. I’m not talking about ‘higher’ education… I’m talking about ‘basic skills’…. So the cost of education isn’t just the public school systems, the horrendous college tuitions, but the additional cost built into the price of  products….  and add to that the ‘cost’ of second rate products as well…  it gets quite expensive… While we here in the US see ourselves as very ‘efficient’ producers… I’m not so sure…  what we are, is ‘productive’ workers… the regular work-week of many, many Americans is well over 40 hrs…  as opposed to the Europeans that we complain about… they are down to 35 hrs or less… Imagine that…!!!  The French govt. voted the work-week DOWN from 40hrs/week  to 35..!!!!  And they get WAY more vacation than we do on a per capita basis… Not bad…. eh..???   And how about the Germans…??  Aren’t they about to adopt an even shorter week…???  The French figured that by ending the work-week early it would promote travel and spending by the French, in France… this would help the economy in their view… This can only happen if a country has educated, efficient workers that LEARNED something in school and don’t need to be re-taught basic education skills from their employer…  While Americans revel in their incomes and the stuff it buys… the Europeans and others are more concerned with ‘quality of life’… Sadly,  I doubt that any of this will ‘change’…  I foresee a time when even *middle class* families will consider moving to Europe for a better quality of life.  Much the same way people moved to the suburbs from the city. Actually, I suspect this has already begun.  I’ve convinced my kids that their children should be tri-lingual… not so much for ‘work related’ stuff as for their own enjoyment once they end up living ‘overseas’… As the "global economy" begins to ’settle in’ (it’s been around for a long time) the free movement of capital will be followed by the free movement of the work force…  who knows how it’ll ‘end up’… gtski – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Mike

Response:

>Quit whimpering.    Peace Chris

Well, if we don’t voice discontent, we lose to this crap.  I’m pissed more people don’t voice off. Why aren’t you? If I want to hear political gab, I know where to look.  If I want to hear about guitar amps/music, this would be place except for all this shit from the misguided. > >> What has that got to do with fascism? You already proved beyond doubt > >> that you don’t know the true definition of the word. > >You’ve proven that you don’t read very well.  I posted definitions of > >fascism & you’ve posted bullshit. > Yet another political off-topic post from music..  It’s all bullshit to > me.  sha’dup. > — > [species: human; planet: earth,milkyway(western spiral arm),alpha sector]

– [species: human; planet: earth,milkyway(western spiral arm),alpha sector]

Response:

>Fascism: Anything of which the person speaking or writing does not approve.

Or, more correctly, right-wing nationalism, fed and bred by wealthy industrialists, to divert the attention of the average voter from the real problems. Sounds like? The Bush Administration!

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->> > The basically upheld in the 1978 Bakke decision – hoo’ahh!!! >> > Too bad for fascists. >> > Mike >> What has that got to do with fascism? You already proved beyond doubt >> that you don’t know the true definition of the word. >He doesn’t know the fascist-sanitized redefinition of fascism anymore than >any of >the rest of us anti-fascists. > Fascism: Anything of which the person speaking or writing does not approve. Esp. > if that person considers himself a liberal. > At least that reflects recent usage. Orwell was right, again.

Orwell was right, all right, but you are wrong yet again, Ron. Main Entry: fas

Question:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->it sounded like the "fraud" and non delivery of services was related >to > the airline practice of cancelling bookings not used > I am sorry if it sounded like that but this is getting unnecessarily > complicated: Although perhaps I did not express myself clearly enough, I do > not see how you extrapolate any set of facts from my admittedly simplified > description other than what actually happened.  Which was that we bought > tickets for a flight, turned up for that flight, the flight was supposedly > overbooked;  the ground staff had been told to look for ’soft targets’ in > order to accomodate passengers who had been hanging around since the night > before on THEIR overbooked flights; and we were denied boarding. > British Airways then showed us where it said on the tickets that these > tickets were only valid for the flight and date shown and demanded that we > buy new tickets, first class, through some foreign country and not to the > original destination if we wanted to get home.  That is how they do > business.  They dont just put you on a later flight (or even date) like any > other airline, they try to extract money from you because they see you and > your whole family in some foreign airfield trying desperately to get home. > They see that you have no option but to pay. > BA insisted on fighting in court after being told by 3 separate mediators on > three occasions that they were VERY unlikely indeed to win (and why).  They > tried to produce what I argued was obviously falsified documentation and the > judge was a bit unwilling to believe it.    They made up facts and then > tried to argue fraud but failed.  They had also trotted out a standard-form > answer in cases like this (which one normally can’t deny) which was that the > problem arose  because we were late for the flight. But the judge accepted > that that defence was merely a standard-form pretended-defence which wasnt > actually true in this case.  (the Judge caught British Airways changing the > facts when they didnt seem to accord with what actually happened, which I > suppose is one reason why the magazine wants to syndicate the story)

Sir, may I tell you how grateful I am to travelers like yourself who are willing to go the limit to see that airlines do not get away with such practices.  If, BA did try to pull a "fast one" on you and it sounds like they did, from your facts and what the judge did in your favor, then such practices can only be stopped if those like yourself have the courage to stand up to them.  I am sure they will not be happy with the bad publicity your article will render for them but if it gets them to quit such practices, it will be worth whatever effort you are putting forth and I thank and admire you for your courage. I must say I have been spoiled by my US airlines I use because although their tickets may state they are good for such and such a date and itinerary, when even non-refundable,  they have always cooperated with me and allowed me to use the amount of the original ticket towards another ticket for a "change" fee.  In your case, if they illegally bumped you, IMO, you should not even have had to pay a change fee.  Evidently BA has different rules and regulations than our airlines and was enforcing them to the limit with you. I do not use British Airways and certainly will not give them my business if they use such tactics on their customers.   You might want to check other travel sites to find out if others have had such problems with BA before you write your magazine article since it can be very helpful to travelers trying to decide whether or not to use BA.  Would you please post a note on RTA where we can read your article after it is published? Once again, my thanks and appreciation. Trice

Response:

Thanks James, that is how I understood ‘Tariff’ and it is obviously a perfectly fair approach to the law of contract.  And anyone can fairly limit their liability so long as they are not fraudulent in doing it. However the judge in my case was referring to something different.  He was saying that all adjudicators and judges had attended a course recently on The Tariff which mandated that even in cases of  obvious breach of contract or fraud, the liability of any airline is absolutely limited to some amount set out in a Tariff. It sounded a bit like the old scam they all used to pull in the seventies or eighties whereby they rarely issued refunds for any unused portion of any ticket.  They did this by the procedure of deducting some full maximum price published in price lists (and set out for precisely this purpose, – few people ever actually paid that maximum price) from the actual amount paid for the ticket and claiming that the value of the unused portion was only a few dollars so here’s your cheque.  Thus if their supposed maximum price was a thousand dollars for a single London – New York ticket and you had actually paid $350 round trip and wanted to claim for an unused portion, they would deduct a grand from 350 and refund you whatever remained (i.e. in this, – and most cases, – nothing) The judge said what whatever damage they had caused you, their maximum liability to pay damages was a figure which results from what sounded to me like a similar calculation, possibly in reverse?  This if I paid the $350 and then had to buy the $1000 ticket to make the flight, their liability was limited to a half of the 350  for one coupon’s worth of a two coupon ticket?

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> I am an attorney and had never heard of The Tariff. > It is essentially the contract of carriage. > Airlines used to have to file tariffs with the government in the days > before deregulation. These included all the fares they charged, and the > rules for how passengers would be carried.  There used to be a huge list > of fares for every city pair and every fare class. The airlines had to > charge that fare, and if they wanted to change it, they had to file a > request for approval with the airline’s regulator. > In the US, the regulator was the Interstate Commerce Commission.  The > rates domestic carriers could charge were deregulated in the 1970s, and > the ICC was abolished. International fares continued to be regulated, > but they also were deregulated in the late 1990s.  Now, the airlines are > mostly free to charge what they want, and to set the rules about how > they operate. (Contract of Carriage) > I believe they no longer have to file the fares with the regulators, but > they still have to file their Contract of Carriage, but as information > only, and not for specific approval.  There are still some government > regulations that apply, but there are far fewer than there were in the > past.  Obviously, there would be some different rules for each country > in international service, but by treaty, many countries have mutually > agreed to drop many of their regulations. > Here is a news release I found on the US DOT site discussing some of > this: > http://www.dot.gov/affairs/1999/dot10599.htm

Response:

> I am an attorney and had never heard of The Tariff.

It is essentially the contract of carriage. Airlines used to have to file tariffs with the government in the days before deregulation. These included all the fares they charged, and the rules for how passengers would be carried.  There used to be a huge list of fares for every city pair and every fare class. The airlines had to charge that fare, and if they wanted to change it, they had to file a request for approval with the airline’s regulator. In the US, the regulator was the Interstate Commerce Commission.  The rates domestic carriers could charge were deregulated in the 1970s, and the ICC was abolished. International fares continued to be regulated, but they also were deregulated in the late 1990s.  Now, the airlines are mostly free to charge what they want, and to set the rules about how they operate. (Contract of Carriage)   I believe they no longer have to file the fares with the regulators, but they still have to file their Contract of Carriage, but as information only, and not for specific approval.  There are still some government regulations that apply, but there are far fewer than there were in the past.  Obviously, there would be some different rules for each country in international service, but by treaty, many countries have mutually agreed to drop many of their regulations. Here is a news release I found on the US DOT site discussing some of this: http://www.dot.gov/affairs/1999/dot10599.htm

Response:

"I don’t understand why they didn’t compensate you for being involuntarily denied boarding as well as re-scheduling you on a later flight" Steve Yes, I would be interested to know all that as well but suspect that this was simple a scam put in place by an airline in financial difficulties which genuinely couldn’t care less about passengers with ground staff keen on carrying out their instructions in the hope of bettering themselves (and their bottom line) in the eyes of their home-base management.  It happened in Lisbon and there was no question of any bribe being necessary to get on the plane or at least no question of my paying one as I am a bit unaccustomed to paying bribes; Also in this case there wasn’t time to do any of this by the time they came to check us in or I came to complain about the service. (Obviously I can’t say whether the passengers who I saw being given our seats paid him any bribes for those seats) And you are right, the terms of this or any similar ticket obviously don’t allow them to invalidate a ticket and then deny any liability to fly any of the passengers on any later flight. Which is why the judge found it all a bit mystifying.   She also wasn’t impressed by their giving ’standard form’ replies such as the pretence that we arrived late and didn’t believe the obviously made-up pretence that I started actually screaming at the airport manager when I couldn’t get my way.   She seemed to recognise that all airlines give out these standard form responses principally because they are so easy to allege, happen so often and are so difficult to disprove Most of all, BA had tried invalidating all three tickets on the ground that one had accidentally been issued in the wrong class of service. They tried to pretend that there had been some type of fraud in the issue of the tickets which obviously there hadn’t AND even if there had, BA had accepted the conditions and there had been part performance of the contract so it was hardly up to BA to try this one on.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> oh, sorry, that’s an easy one: I am an attorney and had never heard of The > Tariff. I have asked around and no one I know has ever heard of it either. > I > have checked research and nowhere is it mentioned. > While this is somewhat general, from the back of an Intl (paper) airline > ticket I just got in the mail from Northwest/KLM: > (did your ticket have these notices included?) > Notice of Incorporated Terms:  (I am only quoting parts that seem relevant) > "Foreign air transportation is governed by applicable tariffs on file with > the U.S. and other governments." > (I would check with the DOT & applicable government agency about the > "tariffs" on file with the U.S…..) > It continues: > "Incorporated terms may include, but are not restricted to:" > "1. Limits on liability for personal injury or death" > "2. Limits on liability for baggage…." > "3. Claim restrictions, including time periods in which passengers must file > a claim or bring an action against the air carrier." > "4. Rights of the air carrier to change the terms of contract" > "5. Rules on reconfirmation of reservations, check-in times, and refusal to > carry" > "6. Rights of the air carrier and limits on liability for delay or failure > to perform service, including scheduled changes, substitution of alternative > air carriers or aircraft and rerouting" > "7. The fare paid for this ticket applies to the to flights and dates shown > on this ticket" > etc… > Under the "Conditions of Contract" is also reference to the "Warsaw > Convention" for overseas travel, but I believe the Warsaw Convention is in > regards to personal injury & baggage liability.  There may be terms in the > Warsaw Convention allowing for limited or no liability in other areas. You > may want to look into this as well. > From what you’ve said, it sounds like the BA flight was oversold and they > didn’t allow you on for whatever reason.   If you don’t mind me asking, what > country were you in when they denied you boarding? > I do know strange things can happen in some countries (i.e. it’s not unheard > of to be asked for a bribe in some places in the 3rd World – if you don’t > pay bribe, you get screwed), so I’m wondering where the denied boarding > happened at. > BA normally provides compensation for "involuntary bumps" and re-schedules > passengers onto the next available flight.  I have a general idea of what > happened to you, but I don’t understand why BA refused you boarding?  I > don’t understand why they didn’t compensate you for being involuntarily > denied boarding as well as re-scheduling you on a later flight.   Did you > forget to reconfirm your reservation, now show up at the airport with > sufficient time, or do something that might have pissed an agent off? > (even if you did piss an agent off somehow, that doesn’t give them the right > to screw you around) > I presume your ticket was in order and status was "OK" (confirmed) opposed > to "WL" for waitlisted or such?  I’ve heard of tickets being issued in error > that were space is not properly confirmed (designated as status "OK" on > ticket). > Thanks for your posts here – I’m just trying to get a better understanding > of what the heck happened & why it happened. (perhaps the why will never be > answered). > Any chance you could email me a copy of the complaint to read?  Just remove > the nospam from my email addy.  I’d be interested in reading it if you don’t > mind sending a copy.  (Word format or any type of text format is ok). > Best, > Steve

Response:

> oh, sorry, that’s an easy one: I am an attorney and had never heard of The > Tariff. I have asked around and no one I know has ever heard of it either. I > have checked research and nowhere is it mentioned.

While this is somewhat general, from the back of an Intl (paper) airline ticket I just got in the mail from Northwest/KLM: (did your ticket have these notices included?) Notice of Incorporated Terms:  (I am only quoting parts that seem relevant) "Foreign air transportation is governed by applicable tariffs on file with the U.S. and other governments." (I would check with the DOT & applicable government agency about the "tariffs" on file with the U.S…..) It continues: "Incorporated terms may include, but are not restricted to:" "1. Limits on liability for personal injury or death" "2. Limits on liability for baggage…." "3. Claim restrictions, including time periods in which passengers must file a claim or bring an action against the air carrier." "4. Rights of the air carrier to change the terms of contract" "5. Rules on reconfirmation of reservations, check-in times, and refusal to carry" "6. Rights of the air carrier and limits on liability for delay or failure to perform service, including scheduled changes, substitution of alternative air carriers or aircraft and rerouting" "7. The fare paid for this ticket applies to the to flights and dates shown on this ticket" etc… Under the "Conditions of Contract" is also reference to the "Warsaw Convention" for overseas travel, but I believe the Warsaw Convention is in regards to personal injury & baggage liability.  There may be terms in the Warsaw Convention allowing for limited or no liability in other areas.  You may want to look into this as well. From what you’ve said, it sounds like the BA flight was oversold and they didn’t allow you on for whatever reason.   If you don’t mind me asking, what country were you in when they denied you boarding? I do know strange things can happen in some countries (i.e. it’s not unheard of to be asked for a bribe in some places in the 3rd World – if you don’t pay bribe, you get screwed), so I’m wondering where the denied boarding happened at. BA normally provides compensation for "involuntary bumps" and re-schedules passengers onto the next available flight.  I have a general idea of what happened to you, but I don’t understand why BA refused you boarding?  I don’t understand why they didn’t compensate you for being involuntarily denied boarding as well as re-scheduling you on a later flight.   Did you forget to reconfirm your reservation, now show up at the airport with sufficient time, or do something that might have pissed an agent off? (even if you did piss an agent off somehow, that doesn’t give them the right to screw you around) I presume your ticket was in order and status was "OK" (confirmed) opposed to "WL" for waitlisted or such?  I’ve heard of tickets being issued in error that were space is not properly confirmed (designated as status "OK" on ticket). Thanks for your posts here – I’m just trying to get a better understanding of what the heck happened & why it happened. (perhaps the why will never be answered). Any chance you could email me a copy of the complaint to read?  Just remove the nospam from my email addy.  I’d be interested in reading it if you don’t mind sending a copy.  (Word format or any type of text format is ok). Best, Steve

Response:

oh, sorry, that’s an easy one: I am an attorney and had never heard of The Tariff. I have asked around and no one I know has ever heard of it either. I have checked research and nowhere is it mentioned. You will learn in litigation that you have to do research if you intend to be any type of pro se litigant – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Excuse me, duh, I have absolutely no intention whatsoever of going and > trying to bother lawyers who are working on their own cases in some law > library to ask them if they have ever come across such Tariff. > Is this how YOU do things? > no, i do my own research, and i’m not a lawyer.  i’m just a > sometime pro se litigator (though our state legislator just made > it far more difficult for people like me to sue our governments > in order to make the obey their own laws). > from your original post, it sounded like you ARE an attorney, > which is why i couldn’t understand why you didn’t do your own > legal research instead of seeking the half baked opinions found > in newsgroups.

Response:

It could be a failure of logic on my part or it could be, with respect, that you and everyone else just isn’t reading the thread which I admit is lengthy;   but I NEVER said that I was trying to fly on a different date. Everyone is trying to imply it. It seems that everyone on these boards who has this type of problem IS ‘trying it on’ with a completely non-changeable consolidator’s  ticket and has difficulties comprehending what is going on when the airline wont co-operate.   Then they claim they have perfectly valid tickets to fly from a to b and why wouldn’t the airline fly them. In my case I turned up, – in time, – and  (can I say this enough times before you believe what happened?) FOR THE FLIGHT.  This doesn’t admit to any variety of interpretations, unless the reader is insistent on trying to exculpate the airline.  The reason why a magazine article is being written is not because the passenger is some "troll" without rights  simply "trying it on" but because this is a case of an airline "trying it on". It is a simple scam found to be such by the courts with an airline which likes to pretend in it’s world wide advertising that it is ‘the world’s favourite airline’. The airline needed our seats for passengers from previous day’s overbooked flights and ground staff had been told by their Duty Manager to try to find problems with tickets;   so they were going through all tickets with a fine-tooth comb.  This was why it LOOKED as if we had arrived late for the flight.  Everyone LOOKED as if they had arrived late for this particular flight solely because they were going through the paperwork with every passenger so carefully that EVERYONE was being held up in a monumentally long queue. They thought they had found some problem with our tickets and got it wrong. Even worse, their instructions from senior management to find ’soft targets’ who wouldn’t ’scream’ too much mandated that they try to screw as much money out of anyone found to be, possibly,  travelling on any kind of improper ticket.  I was re-parking my car and left my wife to check in. She had just got through a round of a half dozen cancer operations, it was eight in the morning and she had got up in the middle of the night to get to the airfield on time AND had a screaming child and very much looked like a ’soft target’ who would do anything to get on a plane. Any plane. At any price.  An untrustworthy airline thus found amongst all these passengers an ideal ’soft target’. Why do you think the judge gave judgment in my favour if I had arrived for the wrong flight on the wrong date and with a restricted ticket? "Brothers and Sisters have I none     But that man’s father is my father’s son"

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> "British Airways then showed us where it said on the tickets that these > tickets were only valid for the flight and date shown and demanded that we > buy new tickets, first class, through some foreign country and not to the > original destination if we wanted to get home.  That is how they do > business.  They don’t just put you on a later flight (or even date) like any > other airline, they try to extract money from you because they see you and > your whole family in some foreign airfield trying desperately to get home. > They see that you have no option but to pay" > You haven’t said why you were trying/needing to travel on different dates, > unless I just can’t remember the OP, but this can affect the response from > the airline…  (i.e. it’s different if a family member has died from "I > broke up with my boyfriend and want to go home early"). > So basically BA told you "you have a non-changeable ticket and the > only option that date is to purchase a new ticket at X"?  That is > completely within their rights. > If you bought a restricted ticket, valid out on one day only and valid > back on another day only, then yes, you would need to buy a new ticket to > travel on a different date.  If the new date you picked is busy, then yes, > you may have to pay a lot more for the new ticket.  And sometimes the same > route isn’t available – (e.g. wanting to fly IAD-LHR and discovering that > it’s packed, but being offered BWI-LGW instead). > Hilary

Response:

>>"British Airways then showed us where it said on the tickets that these >tickets were only valid for the flight and date shown and demanded that we >buy new tickets, first class, through some foreign country and not to the >original destination if we wanted to get home.  That is how they do >business.  They don’t just put you on a later flight (or even date) like any >other airline, they try to extract money from you because they see you and >your whole family in some foreign airfield trying desperately to get home. >They see that you have no option but to pay"

I think the OP has a dispute with whether he showed up on time or not for the flight and lost his seat. He didn’t say what he claimed his damages was, but apparently the judge says he is restricted to claiming the value of his ticket. Other than, there must be something unsaid about this case. Airline overbook all of the time, and occasionally people don’t get boarded. I doubt BA makes a practice of denying boarding without compensation when all rules have been met regarding check in. If this was widespread, it would be all over this newsgroup. In the OP’s case, someone made a mistake. Since I don’t have the full story, I won’t rush to judgement on whether it was the passenger or the airline.

Response:

> Excuse me, duh, I have absolutely no intention whatsoever of going and > trying to bother lawyers who are working on their own cases in some law > library to ask them if they have ever come across such Tariff. > Is this how YOU do things?

no, i do my own research, and i’m not a lawyer.  i’m just a sometime pro se litigator (though our state legislator just made it far more difficult for people like me to sue our governments in order to make the obey their own laws). from your original post, it sounded like you ARE an attorney, which is why i couldn’t understand why you didn’t do your own legal research instead of seeking the half baked opinions found in newsgroups.

Response:

> > 3. What you mean by TARIFF in the context of possible litigation. > I havent the vaguest idea what this means,  and as far as I know it doesnt > have any effect on normal breach of contract rules.  BUT a judge suggested

The Warsaw Convention perhaps?  Governs liability with international air travel. Your original post wasn’t all that clear — what exactly did the airline do that caused you to pay money out of pocket (that caused you to sue them?). Just curious… could you please provide some specific details (what you purchased, what the airline specifically did, etc.). Best, Steve

Response:

"British Airways then showed us where it said on the tickets that these tickets were only valid for the flight and date shown and demanded that we buy new tickets, first class, through some foreign country and not to the original destination if we wanted to get home.  That is how they do business.  They don’t just put you on a later flight (or even date) like any other airline, they try to extract money from you because they see you and your whole family in some foreign airfield trying desperately to get home. They see that you have no option but to pay"

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> > 3. What you mean by TARIFF in the context of possible litigation. > I havent the vaguest idea what this means,  and as far as I know it doesnt > have any effect on normal breach of contract rules.  BUT a judge suggested > The Warsaw Convention perhaps?  Governs liability with international air > travel. > Your original post wasn’t all that clear — what exactly did the airline do > that caused you to pay money out of pocket (that caused you to sue them?). > Just curious… could you please provide some specific details (what you > purchased, what the airline specifically did, etc.). > Best, > Steve

Response:

>>it sounded like the "fraud" and non delivery of services was related >>to > the airline practice of cancelling bookings not used > I am sorry if it sounded like that but this is getting unnecessarily > complicated:

Actually your explanation was very helpful to move you from the troll to the most likely wronged passenger category. Although your language is still highly charged with assumptions, it seems that your case is one of an involuntary bump based upon an airline claim of late arrival versus your claim of compliance with required procedures. Casting it in this light does not diminish your claim, or even validate the airline cliam, but it does make the argument make sense. I am sure that in this case the reference to Tariff was actually to the terms and conditions that one is required to give lip service to when purchasing a ticket. consumer oriented courts (such as small claims) are sometimes prone to read these rules as onerous (they are after all, it isn’t like you had a lot of choice) and exclude the harsher penalties in favor of somm sense of fair play. Such liberalities do not have any precdence value however if the case is heard by a higher court as a trial de novo.

Response:

> In a British criminal court – the tariff is the sentencing limits – as in > the USA they say something like 14 years to life, etc.

It sounds like the judge indicated the ticket contract provided the limit of liability was the fare paid.

Response:

Yes, but what happened in my British Airways  case was that the airline thought I was a soft target and bumped me off a flight (on which they had had people waiting from the night before) and THEN refused  to honour my tickets for any next flight AND forced me to BUY exorbitantly expensive tickets, –  first class, – on some other flight in order to get near my destination.  AND they refused even to admit that they had any liability to credit me for the value of the tickets which they had themselves (wrongly) ‘invalidated’. Although British Airways tried to argue fraud on my part, on consideration of all the facts and the law, the judge rejected their arguments for various reasons and thought this a crooked practice (and I am writing a magazine article about this particular event so I have to get my facts straight on points of which I might not be aware). You can easily limit liability, though not easily for your own fraud. But I can’t imagine that any government agreed tariff (which the judge in the OTHER case referred to)  can apply to limit damages for a crooked practice.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> In a British criminal court – the tariff is the sentencing limits – as in > the USA they say something like 14 years to life, etc. > It sounds like the judge indicated the ticket contract provided the > limit of liability was the fare paid.

Response:

>it sounded like the "fraud" and non delivery of services was related >to

the airline practice of cancelling bookings not used I am sorry if it sounded like that but this is getting unnecessarily complicated: Although perhaps I did not express myself clearly enough, I do not see how you extrapolate any set of facts from my admittedly simplified description other than what actually happened.  Which was that we bought tickets for a flight, turned up for that flight, the flight was supposedly overbooked;  the ground staff had been told to look for ’soft targets’ in order to accomodate passengers who had been hanging around since the night before on THEIR overbooked flights; and we were denied boarding. British Airways then showed us where it said on the tickets that these tickets were only valid for the flight and date shown and demanded that we buy new tickets, first class, through some foreign country and not to the original destination if we wanted to get home.  That is how they do business.  They dont just put you on a later flight (or even date) like any other airline, they try to extract money from you because they see you and your whole family in some foreign airfield trying desperately to get home. They see that you have no option but to pay. BA insisted on fighting in court after being told by 3 separate mediators on three occasions that they were VERY unlikely indeed to win (and why).  They tried to produce what I argued was obviously falsified documentation and the judge was a bit unwilling to believe it.    They made up facts and then tried to argue fraud but failed.  They had also trotted out a standard-form answer in cases like this (which one normally can’t deny) which was that the problem arose  because we were late for the flight. But the judge accepted that that defence was merely a standard-form pretended-defence which wasnt actually true in this case.  (the Judge caught British Airways changing the facts when they didnt seem to accord with what actually happened, which I suppose is one reason why the magazine wants to syndicate the story)

Response:

In a British criminal court – the tariff is the sentencing limits – as in the USA they say something like 14 years to life, etc. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Had a few curious cases in court recently. Won them all but was disturbed by > some results. > They all seemed to concern airlines refusing to honour tickets they had just > sold. Result was the new tickets had to be bought at last minute at huge > expense.  (FOR EXAMPLE:  British Airways had fraudulently refused to honor > their own tickets and had tried to screw money out of passengers at some > foreign airfield principally because they knew that a passenger and his > family are somewhat vulnerable if an airline wants to do this and will have > absolutely no option whatsoever but to pay: They denied boarding and > pretended that the tickets were no longer valid because they were only valid > for flights and dates booked: So passenger had to pay for First Class > tickets on some other  flights through a foreign country and into a > subsidiary airfield.  AND they obviously refused to credit anything on the > invalidated tickets. The judge thought this somewhat fraudulent) > After last case judge took me aside and told me that he could see what had > happened and that damage as set out had been suffered and that he was going > to award it in full but that all judges and adjudicators had been recently > put on a course on something called "The Tariff". > This said that (in my case, had the airline argued it, which they didn’t) he > would not have been able to give me anything like the damage I had suffered; > but rather that there was some swindle perpetrated between the airlines and > the government whereby normal contract rules don’t apply to airline tickets > and that whatever damage you have suffered, no airline can be made to > reimburse any more than the Tariff amount, – usually what the passenger has > paid for the ticket. > Any lawyers out there know anything about this? > My Father’s Son

Response:

> 1. Which Legal Jurisdiction you refer to (eg France, Nigeria).

The USA, New York in particular. > 2. Very briefly, why you think that buying a non-refundable airline ticket > for (say) 1 February at noon entitles you to travel on that ticket at (say) > 1 March at any time.

I never even suggested this.  Neither as regard transferability, reroutability or voluntary re-scheduling.   Someone else on this thread who was having some difficulty concentrating on the gist of the thread did, although I am not sure why. I suspect he works for an airline and has heard lots of people complaining aobut being rescheduled on overbooking grounds (which clearly has to happen all the time).    He feels he has to put out a standard form response when it looks like some laymen  is re-re-re-starting such a thread about their first-ever trip to an airport.  It has no relevance here.  All I am talking about is  a crooked practice by an airline to screw money out of passengers who have no option but to pay, found by the court to be pretty much precisely that. > 3. What you mean by TARIFF in the context of possible litigation.

I havent the vaguest idea what this means,  and as far as I know it doesnt have any effect on normal breach of contract rules.  BUT a judge suggested otherwise so I am asking if anyone supposedly aviation-knoledgeable knows what he was going on about.  I suspect he was correct although I would like to know the terms, e.g. can anyone (or a government) ever under any circumstances limit liability for (their own) fraud, –  which is in effect what the court found in these cases).                It seems a bit unlikely to me and nothing on this thread suggests that anyone here has ever heard of it.

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> 1. Which Legal Jurisdiction you refer to (eg France, Nigeria). > The USA, New York in particular. > 2. Very briefly, why you think that buying a non-refundable airline > ticket for (say) 1 February at noon entitles you to travel on that > ticket at > (say) > 1 March at any time. > I never even suggested this.  Neither as regard transferability, > reroutability or voluntary re-scheduling.   Someone else on this > thread who was having some difficulty concentrating on the gist of the > thread did, although I am not sure why.

I don’t work for an airline, but I was trying to understand to what exact practice you were referring. through your vague use of language it sounded like the "fraud" and noon delivery of services was related to the airline practice of cancelling bookings not used. If you would like to be specific, perhaps someone here with legal training could have a clue as to your particular problem. >  It has no relevance here.  All I am talking about is  a crooked >  practice by > an airline to screw money out of passengers who have no option but to > pay, found by the court to be pretty much precisely that. > 3. What you mean by TARIFF in the context of possible litigation. > I havent the vaguest idea what this means,  and as far as I know it > doesnt have any effect on normal breach of contract rules.  BUT a > judge suggested otherwise

If the judge said so I would ammend my thinking to believe that there was at least a chance that something unknown to me would apply rather than make the bold assertion that there is nothing applicable the exact nature of which is unkown to you. so I am asking if anyone supposedly > aviation-knoledgeable knows what he was going on about.  I suspect he > was correct although I would like to know the terms, e.g. can anyone > (or a government) ever under any circumstances limit liability for > (their own) fraud, –  

Not if it is really fraud, again some specifics would be of immense asistance. But one can contract for various penalties or lack thereof in case of breach.

Response:

Excuse me, duh, I have absolutely no intention whatsoever of going and trying to bother lawyers who are working on their own cases in some law library to ask them if they have ever come across such Tariff. Is this how YOU do things? – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Any lawyers out there know anything about this? > uhh… you DO know where the law library is, right?

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Not sure what your point is.  It is blindingly obvious that if I have a > ballet ticket for 26th September sold to me by a theatre putting on a > ballet, arrive at the theatre for that date and the staff prevents me from > entering, there is a breach of contract.   There is no  question of their > having overbooked the performance and offered me a different performance or > date here or of offering to refund my money.  Such question of whether they > COULD do that is purely academic here > Furthermore, you cant put a term in the contract which says that whereas I > have bought a ballet ticket, there is no element of compulsion on the person > who sold me the ticket to let me in for that or any performance or date. It > is simply an invalid term of the contract.  The reason for this was found by > most legal systems centuries ago: If you allow crooks to sell people wheat > and then put no element of compulsion on them to deliver for the price paid, > commerce would grind to a halt with crooks trying it on.  Which is why I was > mystified by the statement of the court that this is exactly what the Tariff > sets out to do.  Put no element of compulsion on an airline ever to carry > passengers on a ticket for a paid purchase price . > NOW has any one ever heard of any TARIFF which sets out that such terms > which are invalid in any normal contract are somehow valid in contracts of > carriage in the aviation field? Or for that matter any limitation of > liability which limits liability of the person selling the ticket and > abrogates normal damages rules. There is, obviously, nothing in the contract > itself which covers these circumstances

It would, perhaps, help if you were to specify: 1. Which Legal Jurisdiction you refer to (eg France, Nigeria). 2. Very briefly, why you think that buying a non-refundable airline ticket for (say) 1 February at noon entitles you to travel on that ticket at (say) 1 March at any time. 3. What you mean by TARIFF in the context of possible litigation. JohnT

Response:

> Had a few curious cases in court recently. Won them all but was > disturbed by some results. > They all seemed to concern airlines refusing to honour tickets they > had just sold. Result was the new tickets had to be bought at last > minute at huge expense.  (FOR EXAMPLE:  British Airways had > fraudulently

Strong word, was fraud really proven?  refused to honor their own tickets and had tried to screw > money out of passengers at some foreign airfield principally because > they knew that a passenger and his family are somewhat vulnerable if > an airline wants to do this and will have absolutely no option > whatsoever but to pay: They denied boarding and pretended that the > tickets were no longer valid because they were only valid for flights > and dates booked:

Contract writings control contracts, read the contract (which references no doubt what you refer to as the Tariff.  The judge thought this somewhat fraudulent Now it is only somewhat fraudulent. ) > After last case judge took me aside

xactly what is your roll in Court that you are so close to the court and yet use the language of the courts in such cavalier fashion. and told me that he could see what (in my case, had the airline argued it, which they > didn’t) he would not have been able to give me anything like the > damage I had suffered; but rather that there was some swindle > perpetrated between the airlines and the government whereby normal > contract rules don’t apply to airline tickets and that whatever damage > you have suffered, no airline can be made to reimburse any more than > the Tariff amount,

You have a ticket to the ballet for 24 September, does that give you any rights to the performance on 30 November? Do you call that fraud? Where is the problem? – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text –

Response:

> You have a ticket to the ballet for 24 September, does that give you any > rights to the performance on 30 November? Do you call that fraud? Where > is the problem?

If I’d spent my money on a ballet ticket for ANY day I’d feel ripped off… ;-)

Response:

> Any lawyers out there know anything about this?

uhh… you DO know where the law library is, right?

Response:

Not sure what your point is.  It is blindingly obvious that if I have a ballet ticket for 26th September sold to me by a theatre putting on a ballet, arrive at the theatre for that date and the staff prevents me from entering, there is a breach of contract.   There is no  question of their having overbooked the performance and offered me a different performance or date here or of offering to refund my money.  Such question of whether they COULD do that is purely academic here Furthermore, you cant put a term in the contract which says that whereas I have bought a ballet ticket, there is no element of compulsion on the person who sold me the ticket to let me in for that or any performance or date.  It is simply an invalid term of the contract.  The reason for this was found by most legal systems centuries ago: If you allow crooks to sell people wheat and then put no element of compulsion on them to deliver for the price paid, commerce would grind to a halt with crooks trying it on.  Which is why I was mystified by the statement of the court that this is exactly what the Tariff sets out to do.  Put no element of compulsion on an airline ever to carry passengers on a ticket for a paid purchase price . NOW has any one ever heard of any TARIFF which sets out that such terms which are invalid in any normal contract are somehow valid in contracts of carriage in the aviation field? Or for that matter any limitation of liability which limits liability of the person selling the ticket and abrogates normal damages rules. There is, obviously, nothing in the contract itself which covers these circumstances

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Had a few curious cases in court recently. Won them all but was > disturbed by some results. > They all seemed to concern airlines refusing to honour tickets they > had just sold. Result was the new tickets had to be bought at last > minute at huge expense.  (FOR EXAMPLE:  British Airways had > fraudulently > Strong word, was fraud really proven? >  refused to honor their own tickets and had tried to screw > money out of passengers at some foreign airfield principally because > they knew that a passenger and his family are somewhat vulnerable if > an airline wants to do this and will have absolutely no option > whatsoever but to pay: They denied boarding and pretended that the > tickets were no longer valid because they were only valid for flights > and dates booked: > Contract writings control contracts, read the contract (which references > no doubt what you refer to as the Tariff. >  The judge thought this somewhat fraudulent > Now it is only somewhat fraudulent. > ) > After last case judge took me aside > xactly what is your roll in Court that you are so close to the court and > yet use the language of the courts in such cavalier fashion. > and told me that he could see what > (in my case, had the airline argued it, which they > didn’t) he would not have been able to give me anything like the > damage I had suffered; but rather that there was some swindle > perpetrated between the airlines and the government whereby normal > contract rules don’t apply to airline tickets and that whatever damage > you have suffered, no airline can be made to reimburse any more than > the Tariff amount, > You have a ticket to the ballet for 24 September, does that give you any > rights to the performance on 30 November? Do you call that fraud? Where > is the problem?

Response:

Had a few curious cases in court recently. Won them all but was disturbed by some results. They all seemed to concern airlines refusing to honour tickets they had just sold. Result was the new tickets had to be bought at last minute at huge expense.  (FOR EXAMPLE:  British Airways had fraudulently refused to honor their own tickets and had tried to screw money out of passengers at some foreign airfield principally because they knew that a passenger and his family are somewhat vulnerable if an airline wants to do this and will have absolutely no option whatsoever but to pay: They denied boarding and pretended that the tickets were no longer valid because they were only valid for flights and dates booked: So passenger had to pay for First Class tickets on some other  flights through a foreign country and into a subsidiary airfield.  AND they obviously refused to credit anything on the invalidated tickets. The judge thought this somewhat fraudulent) After last case judge took me aside and told me that he could see what had happened and that damage as set out had been suffered and that he was going to award it in full but that all judges and adjudicators had been recently put on a course on something called "The Tariff". This said that (in my case, had the airline argued it, which they didn’t) he would not have been able to give me anything like the damage I had suffered; but rather that there was some swindle perpetrated between the airlines and the government whereby normal contract rules don’t apply to airline tickets and that whatever damage you have suffered, no airline can be made to reimburse any more than the Tariff amount, – usually what the passenger has paid for the ticket. Any lawyers out there know anything about this? My Father’s Son

Response:

Question:

Bernard Many thanks Rob – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Bernard > We are planning to travel to France by Ferry (and Peage) on 6th/7th June. Is > there a web site or any other source that we can check for news of strikes? > I would have liked to post such a link, but you would have to go > 1) French newspapers > http://www.lemonde.fr/ > http://www.lefigaro.fr/ > http://www.liberation.fr/ > 2) your airline or other travel web site etc. > I have looked at the Paris Travel Office site > http://www.paris-touristoffice.com > but couldn’t find anything. > Offhand 6,7 June is OK. > Good luck! > Bernard Higonnet

Response:

> Bernard > We are planning to travel to France by Ferry (and Peage) on 6th/7th June. Is > there a web site or any other source that we can check for news of strikes?

I would have liked to post such a link, but you would have to go 1) French newspapers http://www.lemonde.fr/ http://www.lefigaro.fr/ http://www.liberation.fr/ 2) your airline or other travel web site etc. I have looked at the Paris Travel Office site http://www.paris-touristoffice.com but couldn’t find anything. Offhand 6,7 June is OK. Good luck! Bernard Higonnet

Response:

Bernard We are planning to travel to France by Ferry (and Peage) on 6th/7th June. Is there a web site or any other source that we can check for news of strikes? Cheers Rob – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Travellers should be aware that several strikes are planned for France > in the coming weeks. > There will be various strikes and demonstrations on 25 May and strike > notices have been given for a train strike on 2 June with Paris public > transport on strike 3 June. > Obviously, this can all change… > Bernard Higonnet

Response:

Bernard We are planning to travel to France by Ferry (and Peage) on 6th/7th June. Is there a web site or any other source that we can check for news of strikes? Cheers Rob – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Travellers should be aware that several strikes are planned for France > in the coming weeks. > There will be various strikes and demonstrations on 25 May and strike > notices have been given for a train strike on 2 June with Paris public > transport on strike 3 June. > Obviously, this can all change… > Bernard Higonnet

Response:

> Bernard > We are planning to travel to France by Ferry (and Peage) on 6th/7th June. Is > there a web site or any other source that we can check for news of strikes?

I would have liked to post such a link, but you would have to go 1) French newspapers http://www.lemonde.fr/ http://www.lefigaro.fr/ http://www.liberation.fr/ 2) your airline or other travel web site etc. I have looked at the Paris Travel Office site http://www.paris-touristoffice.com but couldn’t find anything. Offhand 6,7 June is OK. Good luck! Bernard Higonnet

Response:

Bernard Many thanks Rob – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Bernard > We are planning to travel to France by Ferry (and Peage) on 6th/7th June. Is > there a web site or any other source that we can check for news of strikes? > I would have liked to post such a link, but you would have to go > 1) French newspapers > http://www.lemonde.fr/ > http://www.lefigaro.fr/ > http://www.liberation.fr/ > 2) your airline or other travel web site etc. > I have looked at the Paris Travel Office site > http://www.paris-touristoffice.com > but couldn’t find anything. > Offhand 6,7 June is OK. > Good luck! > Bernard Higonnet

Response:

Question:

Gary Webster: > We’re going to take trains London-Paris, Paris-Amsterdam, Amsterdam > back to London next month.

Have fun. > Should we buy a railpass or individual tickets?

You can’t get a railpass that will cover the Channel Tunnel.  The best you can do is get a "passholder fare", which is comparable in price to the most restricted advance-purchase fares but does not require advance purchase.  So you would only be using the pass itself to go Paris-Amsterdam and Amsterdam-Brussels, and that doesn’t seem like enough for it to pay for itself. > Buy here or wait till we get to London?

I don’t know.  I do note that since you may want to buy tickets in advance to get reduced fares, the answer may depend on how long you’re in London; but probably you won’t be there long enough for that. > Coach or first class?

Second class is sometimes called "standard class", but never "coach". In British English a "coach" means a highway-type bus, when it isn’t a horse-drawn vehicle. It’s your decision, but most people feel that first class does not offer good value for money.  Eurostar (the Channel Tunnel train) in particular is expensive enough even in second class.  If you buy individual tickets you might consider paying for first class just for one segment, say Amsterdam-Brussels, so you’ll have an idea for future trips. — Mark Brader, Toronto   |  "Common sense isn’t any more common on Usenet My text in this article is in the public domain.

Response:

Below are links to three train/travels website which can help greatly with planning train timetables and costs. The SNCF, the French railways site is in english, and the raileurope if you are outside the US have other sites to check cost etc. http://www.seat61.com http://www.sncf.com/indexe.htm http://www.raileurope.com/us/ and pack your shorts, you never know you might need them!! Regards, Wilf James http://www.wilfjames.com/ Powerful Creative Images The Ultimate Photographic Experience http://www.photoadventurefrance.com – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Hi, > We’re going to take trains London-Paris, Paris-Amsterdam, Amsterdam back to > London next month. > Should we buy a railpass or individual tickets? > Buy here or wait till we get to London? > Coach or first class? > Should I even pack any shorts or will it be too cool (June 4)? > Thanks for your input. > G., Atlanta, Ga.

Response:

> Sure you don’t want to fly the Amsterdam-London part? It’s a whole lot > faster and cheaper.

Not faster, certainly, but unfortunately, Paris-London is cheaper to fly if you don’t stay a Saturday. Even if you do, it’s about the same. David — David Horne- www.davidhorne.co.uk davidhorne (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk

Response:

Hi, We’re going to take trains London-Paris, Paris-Amsterdam, Amsterdam back to London next month. Should we buy a railpass or individual tickets? Buy here or wait till we get to London? Coach or first class? Should I even pack any shorts or will it be too cool (June 4)? Thanks for your input. G., Atlanta, Ga.

Response:

> Hi, > We’re going to take trains London-Paris, Paris-Amsterdam, Amsterdam > back to > London next month. > Should we buy a railpass or individual tickets? > Buy here or wait till we get to London? > Coach or first class? > Should I even pack any shorts or will it be too cool (June 4)?

Pack shorts and long trousers too. It can go either way.

Response:

> We’re going to take trains London-Paris, Paris-Amsterdam, Amsterdam back to > London next month. > Should we buy a railpass or individual tickets?

Sure you don’t want to fly the Amsterdam-London part? It’s a whole lot faster and cheaper. Try www.easyjet.com. > Should I even pack any shorts or will it be too cool (June 4)?

It’s pretty unlikely you’ll really feel the need for shorts, but they’re small and light, so why not? miguel — Hit The Road! Photos and tales from around the world: http://travel.u.nu Latest photos: Maldives, Dubai and Vietnam

Response:

Hi, We’re going to take trains London-Paris, Paris-Amsterdam, Amsterdam back to London next month. Should we buy a railpass or individual tickets? Buy here or wait till we get to London? Coach or first class? Should I even pack any shorts or will it be too cool (June 4)? Thanks for your input. G., Atlanta, Ga.

Response:

> Hi, > We’re going to take trains London-Paris, Paris-Amsterdam, Amsterdam > back to > London next month. > Should we buy a railpass or individual tickets? > Buy here or wait till we get to London? > Coach or first class? > Should I even pack any shorts or will it be too cool (June 4)?

Pack shorts and long trousers too. It can go either way.

Response:

> We’re going to take trains London-Paris, Paris-Amsterdam, Amsterdam back to > London next month. > Should we buy a railpass or individual tickets?

Sure you don’t want to fly the Amsterdam-London part? It’s a whole lot faster and cheaper. Try www.easyjet.com. > Should I even pack any shorts or will it be too cool (June 4)?

It’s pretty unlikely you’ll really feel the need for shorts, but they’re small and light, so why not? miguel — Hit The Road! Photos and tales from around the world: http://travel.u.nu Latest photos: Maldives, Dubai and Vietnam

Response:

> Sure you don’t want to fly the Amsterdam-London part? It’s a whole lot > faster and cheaper.

Not faster, certainly, but unfortunately, Paris-London is cheaper to fly if you don’t stay a Saturday. Even if you do, it’s about the same. David — David Horne- www.davidhorne.co.uk davidhorne (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk

Response:

Below are links to three train/travels website which can help greatly with planning train timetables and costs. The SNCF, the French railways site is in english, and the raileurope if you are outside the US have other sites to check cost etc. http://www.seat61.com http://www.sncf.com/indexe.htm http://www.raileurope.com/us/ and pack your shorts, you never know you might need them!! Regards, Wilf James http://www.wilfjames.com/ Powerful Creative Images The Ultimate Photographic Experience http://www.photoadventurefrance.com – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Hi, > We’re going to take trains London-Paris, Paris-Amsterdam, Amsterdam back to > London next month. > Should we buy a railpass or individual tickets? > Buy here or wait till we get to London? > Coach or first class? > Should I even pack any shorts or will it be too cool (June 4)? > Thanks for your input. > G., Atlanta, Ga.

Response:

Gary Webster: > We’re going to take trains London-Paris, Paris-Amsterdam, Amsterdam > back to London next month.

Have fun. > Should we buy a railpass or individual tickets?

You can’t get a railpass that will cover the Channel Tunnel.  The best you can do is get a "passholder fare", which is comparable in price to the most restricted advance-purchase fares but does not require advance purchase.  So you would only be using the pass itself to go Paris-Amsterdam and Amsterdam-Brussels, and that doesn’t seem like enough for it to pay for itself. > Buy here or wait till we get to London?

I don’t know.  I do note that since you may want to buy tickets in advance to get reduced fares, the answer may depend on how long you’re in London; but probably you won’t be there long enough for that. > Coach or first class?

Second class is sometimes called "standard class", but never "coach". In British English a "coach" means a highway-type bus, when it isn’t a horse-drawn vehicle. It’s your decision, but most people feel that first class does not offer good value for money.  Eurostar (the Channel Tunnel train) in particular is expensive enough even in second class.  If you buy individual tickets you might consider paying for first class just for one segment, say Amsterdam-Brussels, so you’ll have an idea for future trips. — Mark Brader, Toronto   |  "Common sense isn’t any more common on Usenet My text in this article is in the public domain.

Response: