Saw on the news tonight how freaked out people in the states get when somebody utters the word 'draft.'
One momish type swore she'd vote for Howdy Doody if it would keep her boys from having to serve.
Two years of mandatory national service for everyone between the ages of eighteen to twentysix sounds to me like just what the US needs.
The service needn't be only military- there's lots of work to do that only illegal aliens line up for nowadays in the states.
Poor folk can still be used as cannon fodder, while those with connections can get the kushy jobs- but if ALL who pass muster must serve- then twentysomethings would at least have something in common besides birthyears.
The country sure needs all the help it can get...cc

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> Saw on the news tonight how freaked out people in the states get when somebody
> utters the word 'draft.'
> One momish type swore she'd vote for Howdy Doody if it would keep her boys
> from having to serve.
> Two years of mandatory national service for everyone between the ages of
> eighteen to twentysix sounds to me like just what the US needs.

Ironic isnt it? I know a lot of guys from foreign countries that had to serve a mandatory 2 years in their countries military. You never hear people over here complain about that.

> Ironic isnt it? I know a lot of guys from foreign countries that had to serve
> a mandatory 2 years in their countries military. You never hear people over
> here complain about that.

Perhaps you should learn another language or two to read about the discussions as there are many countries that desire to do away with compulsory service and many are less than 2 years of service.

If memory serves correctly, Germany is now 12 months military service and 18 months civil service and there is great discussion over abandoning compulsory service in favour of a 100% professional army à la the U.K., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, etc..

MKLVFKWR_explicit[/url]">

<p>There's a bit of a difference between the U.S. and the rest of the world. For one thing, the rest of the world doesn't fight pointless wars on an annual basis: Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo, Bosnia Herzegovina, Somalia, Iraq... Hell - We're still fighting Cuba!</p><p>So I think that what you of the sane, civilized, intelligent, and rational5,700,000,000 people on this planet have to realize is that Uncle Sam is run by a stupid Texan with his head in the sand looking for petrol and blaming the French for everything.</p><p>Second, everyone non-American that I know of that has been drafted has enjoyed their tour of duty. They have pride in their country, and they know that if everyone - Be it German, Israeli, British, Martian... - puts in their 6/12/18 months, then the country will be well defended. Americans don't dig that: "It's someone else's problem" we say (Read your Hitchhiker's for further truths on SEPs).</p><p>Finally, conscriptophobia has been fueled by the Commander in Chief himself. Look: Soldiers who were supposed to have returned two months ago had their duties extended until February; The National Guard and Guard Reserves, a domestic military force, have been shipped out en-masse; 85% of the tractor-trailer convoys have carried at least 3 shipments of sailboat fuel, and all the drivers are non-military; and there are at least three known, documented, and publicized cases of non-U.S. nationals who were killed as U.S. enlisted-men (Isn't that a violation of Geneva Conventions?).</p><p>How the hell do you(s) expect me (And the few informed Americans who actually care about the planet's affairs) to be for the draft with this $h¡+ going on?! If Kofi Annan came to me and said "Go protect the Sudanese without carrying a weapon", I'd do it. If H.M. King Abdulla wants peacekeepers on the West Bank, amred only with a few pebbles and a slingshot, I'll jump at the opportunity. But when there's a call for soldiers, count me out regardless of the caller. Maybe it's the naïveté in me, but the only reason why armies, navies, and marines are needed is if you want to start wars. The rest of the world is so much more involved and understanding, that they know that military offensive actions are met by military (And usually more destructive) retalliations. What's more, because the World is far more intelligent it will never be able to stoop down to the President's level of stupidity and start wars based on the price of gasoline!</p><p>True story: (2004-03-15 at Nassau Community College): A young navy recruiter stopped me on my way to class. This was the third time that day, and I was quite sick of it, so I yelled out "Allah, Hu Akbar!" Everyone within earshot dove for cover, except for this (obviously stupid) recruiter who asked me "What will you do when al-Qaeda gets into the Homeland?" I told him, "Fire you for not doing your job." Then he asked "Why won't you denfend America?" I said that America was no longer worth defending. "But don't you want to stop the terrorists?" asked the flustered recruiter.</p><p>"Sure," I said, "The leader is hiding out under a rock, and the seccond in command is called George. They were last seen at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue - Go get them!" After pushing the imbecil aside, I continued off to class.</p>

<p>So I guess what I'm trying to say that the Americans believe in Life, Liberty, Happiness, Lysol, Asphalt, and Duct Tape, so long as it benefits themselves, while I believe in Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, Property, Respect, Democracy, Justice, Dissent, and French Fries for all. Why on Earth would I enlist in the military if I can set a better example as a civilian? And if I won't enlist, just imagine what I'll do to dodge the draft!</p>

while I believe in Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, Property, Respect, Democracy,
Justice, Dissent, and French Fries for all.

--------------

I share your views.
Pretty close to the french "devise"

"I share your views. Pretty close to the french "devise""<p>I know -- Did you think that Jefferson came up with it all by himself?</p>

<p>Second, everyone non-American that I know of that has
> been drafted has enjoyed their tour of duty. They have pride in their
> country, and they know that if everyone — Be it German, Israeli, British,
> Martian... — puts in their 6/12/18 months, then the country will be well
> defended.

You know no Polish G.Is. for sure. Here compulsory service is something to evade at all costs (even bribes are common). It is so, because compulsory service in Polish Army is at least unpleasant and completly uneffective. (AFAIK there's a limit of 200 rifle bullets per soldier on his 12 months service)
Proffesional service is different thing. Me myself have signed a 'precontract' for post university training.
BOINC@Poland: Polish crossproject team.

http://mchl.republika.pl/boincatpoland/

- Join -

<p>"You know no Polish G.Is. for sure. Here compulsory service is something to evade at all costs (even bribes are common). It is so, because compulsory service in Polish Army is at least unpleasant and completly uneffective. (AFAIK there's a limit of 200 rifle bullets per soldier on his 12 months service) Proffesional service is different thing. Me myself have signed a 'precontract' for post university training.</p><p>I have met Polish soldiers, but I doubt that you're referring to World War II veterans. I did not know that, I have learnt something new, and you have my sympathy, but I would much rather be drafted by the competent than the Moral Crusader.</p><p>The point I'm trying to make (And a bit less successfully than I had hoped) is that I'm in a country where the freedom of mind is not only guaranteed - It is the sole basis of the Union. The situation now is that I cannot get up on a soap-box and say "The war is wrong, the draft is wrong, the President is worng, the World knows it, and I don't care what you think but you're entitled to say it" without being lynched, tortured, dehumanized, ostracized, or imprisoned by the zealous Republicans, the right-winged fanaticist, the Christian fundamentalist, or John Ashcroft.</p><p>THESE ARE OUR TERRORISTS. I WILL NOT DEFEND THEM, AND NEITHER SHOULD ANYONE ELSE</p><p>I'll defend my town and my city. OK, maybe my state as well, but absolutely not by conscription. But I'll re-state myself on this one: "Why on Earth would I enlist in the military if I can set a better example as a civilian?"</p>

> Saw on the news tonight how freaked out people in the states get when somebody
> utters the word 'draft.'
> One momish type swore she'd vote for Howdy Doody if it would keep her boys
> from having to serve.
> Two years of mandatory national service for everyone between the ages of
> eighteen to twentysix sounds to me like just what the US needs.
> The service needn't be only military- there's lots of work to do that only
> illegal aliens line up for nowadays in the states.
> Poor folk can still be used as cannon fodder, while those with connections can
> get the kushy jobs- but if ALL who pass muster must serve- then
> twentysomethings would at least have something in common besides birthyears.
> The country sure needs all the help it can get...cc

I agree wholeheartedly.




------------------------------------


The game High/Low is played by tossing two nuclear warheads into the air. The one whose bomb explodes higher wins. This game is usually played by people of low intelligence, hence the name High/Low.

I read in a newspaper recently that even in the UK we are talking about re-introducing national service. Though this may take some of the scumbags and losers off the streets, stop them stealing from us and stabbing us, but it will only dilute the armed forces with useless tw*ts.

Is it also true that the US army is thinking about changing its logo and is considering a 'blue on blue' motif? :)

Today's "New York Times" Week in Review pretty much sums everything up (front and back pages).

> RE: Today's "New York Times" Week in Review pretty much sums everything up

The word 'draft' gets folks rather hot it seems. Conscription is another that comes to mind, lacking any positive connotation.
Having endured the draft experience in the US myself, I can say with some authority that it is certainly not pleasant to feel yourself sucked into a vast plodding green machine that is designed it seems to crunch inductees like moviegoers inhale popcorn at the cinema- without regard for what lands on the sticky floor.
I have been accused of looking at the US with distain but I dont feel that way at all. There's a nationfull of good people living there, albeit without a culture to speak of aside from pop-consumerism and unfortunately saddled with corrupt and moronic leadership.
My suggestion that compulsory national service be instituted was not a sarcastic reaction to the present horrors but one serious alternative as a means to assist the country to rise from the sorry state of distrust and ambiguity in which it currently languishes.
National Service is one way that assures a large number of people would be directly involved with the affairs of the nation- and those people would not be aiming at career goals IN the service but instead THROUGH their service.
National service need not be based on a military model where everyone must endure some arcane boot camp. All nations need the energy of the upcoming generation involved to keep the train on the track and help assure that opportunistic and corrupt leaders never rise to power or are satisfactorally vanquished when they do. I think this can better be assured by a population that has paid their dues by putting in a couple of years in whatever capacity they can best serve- as detailed by the needs of the nation, not just the joint chiefs....cc

> > Ironic isnt it? I know a lot of guys from foreign countries that had to
> serve
> > a mandatory 2 years in their countries military. You never hear people
> over
> > here complain about that.
>
> Perhaps you should learn another language or two to read about the discussions
> as there are many countries that desire to do away with compulsory service and
> many are less than 2 years of service.
>
Nice sarcastic response. Perhaps you should stop crying like a little boy when others talk about their own personal experiences.

EDIT: Allow me to explain further.
1) "I know" = my own unique personal experiences as an individual; thereby undebatable by anyone.
2) "people over here" = people HERE in the US, other US citizens.
3) "complain about that" = "that" being the topic at hand, non-US citizens in non-US countries serving mandatory military service.
So whether or not I know as many languages, say as NeoAmsterdam, or a thousand more it would not have changed my FACE-TO-FACE contact experiences. But like I said, nice sarcastic response.

> Second, everyone
> non-American that I know of that has been drafted has enjoyed their
> tour of duty. They have pride in their country, and they know that if
> everyone - Be it German, Israeli, British, Martian... - puts in their 6/12/18
> months, then the country will be well defended. Americans don't dig that:
> "It's someone else's problem" we say (Read your Hitchhiker's for
> further truths on SEPs

Uh oh better watch out or Richard will (once again) tell you youre wrong and you "should learn another language or two".

EDIT: Long ago at SDSU my Software Engineering professor was from (then) Yugoslavia and told us that they had mandatory military service and had a choice of either going into the Navy or Army. He said he went into the army because he didnt know how to swim. :) He also said that overall it was an enjoyable experience and from his service decided he wanted to get into the field of Computer Science (and his PHD). He also felt that the USA should have the same mandatory service as it would give the kids a sense of direction and purpose in their lives (his words).

Speaking of a possible draft in regards to new recruits:
Virus once halted by pills kills recruits

Uh oh better watch out or Richard will (once again) tell you youre wrong and you "should learn another language or two".

<fluency lang="en, es">
<proficiency lang="he">
<indirectly lang="ia, la, fr, it, pt, de">
<learning lang="ja, tlh, ar">

That doesn't include all of the dialects I know. OT: Part of my computing language list is on my profile

> That doesn't include all of the computing languages I know...
>
Back in college I was fluent in Basic, Pascal, C, Fortran, ADA, Cobol, Assembly, and Lisp. But that doesnt help me here either :)