Also this just in. Black and white TV to replace color TV!  

Currently about 75% of the sorties are returning without dropping their bombs. Despite how easy it looks in the movies it is very hard to hit these things in an urban environment. Vehicles are easy to hide or disguise from the air. And our policies on civilian casualties require someone on the ground and observing that the target is free of non-combatants.
The enemy has been fighting against airplanes for a generation now and they know how to mitigate some of the risk. They bivouac in civilian homes, they hide military vehicles in the garage and patrol using civilian vehicles or on foot, they shuffle things around when a sandstorm comes; they know what they are doing. These are not the guys in street clothing spraying and praying from the middle of the street. Those guys are dead now and these are the ones who survived and learned.

I'm also an Atheist, but I spend a lot of time in Islamic lands and have come to like the culture. The kindness and hospitality I have experienced from Muslims has shown me the peaceful side of Islam that most Americans never see or even hear about.

So, I don't hate religion, I just don't believe in a God. I think people are people and some find love in their faith while others use it to further their hate. That's why in Islam we see beautiful acts of mercy as well as DAESH's absurd violence. 

   

More good stuff!
@melody82, I have also largely divested my stock positions because I also think the market is overvalued, distorted by QE, and gamed with things like high frequency trading. But even when I was making money in it I rarely got 20% on anything. I should have you pick my stocks, lol. I usually only ended up with 12-15% / year, if that.

And I don't want to disparage gambling. It is a fun activity. Sure it costs some money, but so do many things that never offer the chance of going home with more cash. I only cringe when I see someone asking for a gambling loan so they can "invest" it to win back their losses.

@SebastianJu Thanks for your response also! Perhaps I have an answer to your search for a profitable gambling system? Just measure your success in how much fun you had at the casino. 

I hate to ruin all the fun but none of us really knows who has what. The balances at various addresses are facts, who owns them is nothing more than a guess.

I have been reading a book about the Islamic conquests of the 7th. century. It really was a shocking thing at the time. A few Arab tribesmen from the desert followed Muhammad against much larger and better trained armies and won. Battle after battle Islam spread out at an alarming rate. Sometimes fighting, sometimes welcomed, the Islamic army grew in number and sophistication as they captured weapons and collected taxes. By the time Mohamed died they were established enough to keep expanding.
The people in DAESH know this story well and I'm sure they think it's all happening again. They surely believe that their success is a sign of God's favor. But I wonder what others in the region think. Generally it's cool to be Christian or a Jew in the Mid-East. What is not understood is Atheism. That is because almost everyone there is superstitious and interpret everything as directed by one God or another.  My concern is about a tipping point. A point when non-supporters of DAESH join in simply because it's God's will. If that happens then we really need to start thinking of them as a nation state rather than a terror group. It is possible that a Caliphate is being established that could survive. I hope not, but I don't know anymore.

Man, I think you got me.
It seemed possible, considering his son dying and all. Nice one. 

Is there another source for this? I can only find it at the link above. I want to know more, but that website is not inspiring much confidence. I also find it hard to believe that the SS rounded up everyone's cell phone.  
And why did they add Photoshopped pics?

The best online payment method IS bitcoin. So why not just spend it on something you were going to buy anyway? You lose a little money buying BTC, don't lose a little more selling it back. 

Here is one of my Mechanisms to prevent crime. 

I don't see this as evidence. One could apply that logic to anything.

As much as I like the idea of a bigfoot, it is basically impossible for such a creature to exist on our overpopulated planet. As pointed out in this thread there is no unexplored area of the Earth. Well, the ocean floor, but I don't think bigfoot spends the day hiding in the ocean.
For me the most interesting thing about this phenomena is that there is still a place for this kind of folklore. Even when our science is good enough to show the absurdity of bigfoot some people will do anything to keep up the fantasy.
There was a movie on Netflix about bigfoot hunters. The guys in the film were so invested in this idea that they couldn't not find bigfoot, as it would destroy their whole identity. So each night they patrolled the woods around their house and saw bigfoot. Every photo they took or sound they recorded would be studied later and any shadow, noise, movement, or smell; was determined to be a bigfoot. They saw him most every night. lol  
 

The thing that pisses off my friends in the military is that the rich old white guys who talk big would never themselves go and fight. When they say "we" are going to get the terrorists, they mean they are going to send the poor. Nothing brave about sending someone else to die, yet they talk like they are some kind of fearless general with a plan. In reality they don't know a damn thing about war, terrorism, or the troops.
Take for example super hawk blowhards like Dick Cheney or Rush Limbaugh. Dick received 5 draft deferments. That is what you get when you're rich and drafted. Rush couldn't fight because of an ingrown hair on his ass. WTF? Even GW Bush literally went AWOL and would have been court-marshaled if not for Daddy's money.
Now these guys want to lead from the rear? Screw that. It's time to bring back the draft. A fair draft with no loopholes. I don't care if your elbow is sore or your knee hurts. Get your ass in the helicopter! I bet if these guys had a chance of being sent themselves we would not hear a peep about going to war. For them this is a chess game over brandy and cigars. For the troops it's a lifetime of hard work, fear, PTS, and family instability.

I bet they wont force us Linux users to do anything. 

I bet all those FUD accounts are his! 

Two things to consider.

If you sell your coins now you are locking in a guaranteed loss. Bitcoin is an awful investment and speculating on it is not something I would advise. But since you want to do it, play it out. The recent loss of value is nothing compared to how bitcoin acts. I have seen it drop hundreds of dollars in weeks and go back up that quick. You may want to put it away for three to five years then re-evaluate your position.

Secondly, why sell them when you can spend them? Bitcoin was never envisioned as an investment. It is the fastest, cheapest, and most secure way to pay anyone anywhere. You don't need money, you already have money with bitcoin and can spend at tens of thousands of places. I ONLY use them online and I want for nothing. If you buy coins you pay a fee. But then you pay a fee to convert them back and a fee to spend the dollars with a credit card or PayPal. Why? your wasting money that way and risking your identity.

The reason you are confused is because it is confusing. There are a lot of details, some you need to know others you really don't. The basic things I like to recommend to new users are:

1. Learn about the system before obtaining BTC. You can even download a "test net" wallet and get some free coins to practice. They are valueless, but work the same. A good read to start is the white paper by Satoshi. You can see the link below in my signature.

2. When you do want coins, don't screw around with faucets or free websites. Even if they aren't scams you will work hours to get pennies. Better to create an account at an exchange in your country. Fund the account then buy and withdraw the coins to your control. Good exchanges are automated in a way that protects sellers and buyers. Systems that use PayPal or the like are not safe to use with bitcoin. 

3. Forget about "investing". Buying and holding is an investment, but it is a risky one. You will appreciate BTC more if you spend some and see the advantages for yourself. Certainly DO NOT INVEST BITCOIN IN SOMETHING ADVERTIZED HERE. Most are straight up scams. Bitcoin is money and attracts criminals. There are no sweet deals or legitimate ways to double your coins. If you simply MUST invest your coin then ONLY deal with a licensed business or your money will likely be stolen. 

4. As a new user do not beg, borrow or lend. It will get you negative trust here and these are very risky deals. If you buy something from a person here definitely use escrow.

Anyway, welcome. And thanks for considering accepting payment in bitcoin for your business. You can do well right now by capturing demand for purchases in btc. I only use it for online shopping and am always on the lookout for new stores or services.
You might want to look into a payment processor like BitPay or CoinBase. These solid businesses handle the transaction and directly deposit into your bank account. The conversion is instantaneous and you avoid any exposure to price volitility. It is also cheep or free for your business, unlike the 3% fee for a credit card.

Cheers

traditional

I have not been there, so this is based on what little I know from others. I have in-laws somewhere in Andhra Pradesh. I would love to go there and freak them out. Imagine when some white guy from America shows up calling everyone "Auntie". lol

Yes. That would be one smart ape, no wonder we can't find him.

It is sad. I think early on the best fighters joined the insurgency and vowed to never fight with the Americans. Combine that with the "de-Bathafication" rule that snubbed the entire Iraqi army and we were left with dropouts, criminals, the homeless. Now put those guys under the leadership of corrupt officers who regularly steal from their troops and you have the kind of army that flees a fight with 10 to 1 odds in their favor.

As much as I'd like to dump this all on G.W. Bush, it was the American people who let it happen. The support for going to war was overwhelming in 2003, something like 80+%. The time to talk about all this was then, not now. Now we are going to be at war for decades.