p.5, WHO POSTED THIS?

Just started volume 2 of "Hitler 1936 -1945 Nemesis" by Ian Kershaw. Volume 1 has a very disturbing last chapter: "Working towards the Fuhrer" that is frightening in the parallels I detect in America's seeming enthusiasm for President Bush. I have found that period of history to be most interesting and Kershaw illuminates it brilliantly.

I have joined the filmmovement club. They release an independent film every month. So far I have all six released so far. They have all been worth watching and some have been in the "not-to-be-missed" category- e.g. "Manito". the June release. Has anyone here had any experience with this club? I need to learn from you why some of the films (e.g. "he died with a felafel in his hand") were harder for me to appreciate than they were for the professional reviewers.

The opening lyrics for Maxwell Anderson and Kurt Weil's musical "Lost in the Stars" is, I think I remember, an exact transcription of the opening paragraph of Alan Paton's novel "Cry, the Beloved Country": --"There is a little road that runs from Ixopo into the hills. . . .etc". If I am remebering that correctly, it is a great example prose being turned into song. Sorry I don't have a copy of the novel or my recording of the musical available to give you more "for sure" information.

I am a diocesan Catholic priest. I retired a year ago when I turned 70. But I'm still working. There is a small Catholic liberal arts college (Mount Marty) in ______, _ _ sponsored by a community of Benedictine nuns (Sacred Heart Monastery) and they were in need of a chaplain both for the college and the monastery. Perfect!

I'm keeping my user name (_ _ _ _ _ ) because I haven't figured out how to change it to my real name (Jack Garvey). As posted elswhere, _ _ _ _ _ translates thus: _ _ _ are the initial letters of _atholicke _niversiteit _euven (_ouvain) Belgium. I did a sabbatical there in 19_ _. Great school and I found Belgium to be one of the brightest spots in my limited travel experience.

I predict chaos will be the order of the day for a while.

We will begin teaching groups of Iraqis in how to impose order without hacking people to pieces. (Which they are currently doing...) Great efforts will be made to assist them in operating their infrastructure, and the cities will improve long before the outland areas.

I think the Kurds and Turkey are a huge problem, which may not be resolved before gunfire is exchanged. Serious efforts are probably underway to avoid this, but I don't know if even strongarm diplomacy can hold these bloodthirsty groups off of one another... This will hang heavily around Colin Powell's neck for the rest of his tenure.

To be truthful, Syria shows no signs of being anything but a hindrance, and the very thing they are railing against--a US strike on them, they are begging for and may get due to their duplicity with what's left of the Iraqi opposition. I can envision many groups coming through the Syrian/Iraqi border to take potshots at our forces, and to strike fear into the newly freed Iraqis. If Syria doesn't get a clue, and soon, they may go the way of Saddam. This would be an awful addition to this war--I hope they will pull back.

I think the Saddam loyalists who have escaped to Syria, and the desert may commit isolated bombings against the countries who looked the other way while we warred: Kuwait, Jordan, Saudi and Pakistan. I think remnants of al-Quaida will add in on this exercise.

Every day I wake up and don't hear that Musharraf has been assasinated, I am surprised. Hope he can continue...

The good news in my scenario, is I think Iran will finally have their heaving change. I think this is one domino the Bushies expected that will come to pass. It may be a couple of years, after democracy has started to look like something good in Iraq. And I do think Iraq will succeed. But, it will be with all manner of US/UK groups of trainers, and live-in cheerleaders. I also think this group will suffer serious danger.

I thank God for Iraq's national resources. A rich, self-sufficient country can emerge. Like Asherman, I think education is the big key. But, IMO, there is alot of brainwashing to undo. Citizenship or Democracy classes, explaining rights and tolerance could help.

I also believe that the freed Iraqis will have a very short memory, and protest against the US in the streets within a couple of months. They will want us out long before it is safe for them for us to leave. Hope I am wrong on this, as well.

For a fun bonus** France, Germany and Russia are meeting in St. Petersburg this weekend-- They will work out a request for the UN to send blue hats into Iraq. The UN will agree. Bush will refuse. France, Russia and Germany will push to have their debts paid by Iraq. They won't be paid. The UN goes belly up. NY has a really big building for rent...

What consenting people choose to do in the privacy of their own homes is their own business. If two people have the intent to want to commit themselves in matrimony, I can only see benefit to society on the whole. Committed couples (of any persuasion) tend to contribute more to the community and are more likely to benefit society.

Love is love, not matter what shape or form. Who am I to tell another person how they can (or cannot) form their marital union? In my mind, the issue enfringes on an individual's constitutional rights - similar to one's right to choose their religion. Government must be LESS intrusive, not more, if it is to serve all the people best.

While speaking as an agnostic, if pushed hard I would have to say at my core I believe in a Supreme Force. My high school Physics course taught me that in nature, matter cannot be created or destroyed.

So I extend that tenet a but further: I believe that when we die, our energy and/or our intelligence leaves the body and unifies with a massive energy field that has existed since the universe began. My belief is that this unified energy field has an intelligence of some sort.

How or what the effect this intelligence has on the physical world is beyond my grasp, but I feel that it exists.

I do not anthropomorphise this force. This Supreme Force is not human, nor possibly is it even spiritual as in the folk lore of organized religion. It just exists, possibly linking up to us with our energy fields (also known as auras) that surround us on our day-to-day existences.

SWM, 42, Blockbuster assistant manager, still lives with mother. Know that feeling you get that you're being watched? Yup, that's me! Next time the hair on the nape of your neck stands on end, turn around and introduce yourself. I'll be the one wearing brown sandals, black socks and plaid shorts and will be pretending not to notice you. Most people dismiss me, but don't you!! Your life could depend on it. Aha, just kidding.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _, that could just mean you're a freak like me.

_ _ _ _ _ _, can I have your dream. Action, hot chicks, helicopters. Cool. One question: Why are you trying to save your boss? Weird, man.

_ _ _, I've tried doing that, but had no success. I'm with _ _'s theory on when and how you wake up. I wake up rather quickly and am immediately aware of what's going on around me. Time, strange noises, whether my son's moving or awake, etc. I wonder if waking suddenly can squash the memory before I have time to even consider if I've had one.

This is quite interesting. Think they experience road rage? One mouse cuts off another, next thing you know there are tails and pools of blood all over the place. And what about construction? Do they wait until rush hour to bring the highways down to one lane like they do here in Boston?