wow you must be real smart...i am so impressed.

i have a book of thought provoking and inspirational quotes too!!

I'm pretty difficult to offend, so no offense taken. I'm also pretty difficult to impress, so am a bit surprised that you are so easily impressed by someone you know nothing about. And before you hasten to explain that you were utilizing sarcasm, I got that. Am not surprised that you would be so quick to critize the "reading comprehension skills" of someone you know nothing about.

As for your thought-provoking book: ever read it?

we ccould go tit for tat all night.... but i'll just let it go. as to the book, no, it looks good on my bookshelf though. g'nite.

Targets? Targets of what exactly? Bad advertising? Boring guys at the bar? Sorry I don't get the target thing. If you are saying that you live in fear, I can only state again that if you believe this it is very sad because as a 'westerner' you are safer than you have ever been. You are likely to live a longer and healthier life than ever in history and compared to the majority of people in the world you live a very priveleged life.

AH HA!! "safer than you have ever been"? I guess we all know WHO we can thank for that!!!???!!! Thankyou, collyk, WE know the answer!

"Government's first duty is to protect the people, not run their lives". (Ronald Reagan)

law, i think you're smart.

i travel, as many of you do. what i see is that americans are not well viewed in some other countries (me & bf try hard to be like ambassadors, humble visitors. people often tell us they are surprised that we are so open, honest, and nice).

i'm taking another chance...but since the fact that we westerners are targets has been established here, anyone want to question WHY westerners as a whole are targets? like maybe our attitudes? maybe because we tend to think our ways of doing things are better than everyone else? maybe because we put material wealth before our own relatives, our old, and our poor? maybe because we go into countries we shouldn't? maybe because our corporations are all over the world exploiting other nations' citizens? not facts, just guesses.

though i know i am grateful and fortunate to have been raised here, i believe their reasons are the same reasons i am becomming disillusioned with "western" culture. please dont bash me, JMHO.

rykat,

Sorry I wasn't clear enough about what we are safer from. We have a longer life expectancy and are healthier. Death and illness are the biggest threat to humans, followed by things like cars, cigarette smoking and alcohol abuse, not scary nasty bearded men hiding in caves in the sand. But all I can do on this subject now is shrug and say - if you choose to live in fear and instill that fear in your children, that is up to you. If you want to let that fear restrict your freedom and liberty, that is up to you as well. I am not scared and not willing to give up my freedoms. I like to relax and enjoy my life. I've been lucky enough to be blessed with good health and I am going to enjoy it for as long as I can. It does make me think though - I've been around a lot of bombs - primarily IRA but there were others. How many people currently living in such fear of terrorists because they've heard about on the news have actually experienced a terrorist action first hand? Nothing greater to fear than fear itself and wow is it a powerful tool in control and manipulation.

And Sweet Jane - I don't think Westerners are targets any more than other people. People from the USA have long been loathed in Europe - its not a new thing. When I arrived in London in 82 'yanks' were absolutely hated and vilified.

W pushes envelope on U.S. spying

New postal law lets Bush peek through your mail
http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/485561p-408789c.html
BY JAMES GORDON MEEK
DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU

WASHINGTON - President Bush has quietly claimed sweeping new powers to open Americans' mail without a judge's warrant, the Daily News has learned.
The President asserted his new authority when he signed a postal reform bill into law on Dec. 20. Bush then issued a "signing statement" that declared his right to open people's mail under emergency conditions.

That claim is contrary to existing law and contradicted the bill he had just signed, say experts who have reviewed it.

Bush's move came during the winter congressional recess and a year after his secret domestic electronic eavesdropping program was first revealed. It caught Capitol Hill by surprise.

Experts said the new powers could be easily abused and used to vacuum up large amounts of mail.

"The [Bush] signing statement claims authority to open domestic mail without a warrant, and that would be new and quite alarming," said Kate Martin, director of the Center for National Security Studies in Washington.

"The danger is they're reading Americans' mail," she said.

"You have to be concerned," agreed a career senior U.S. official who reviewed the legal underpinnings of Bush's claim. "It takes Executive Branch authority beyond anything we've ever known."