I love President Bush!

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=s ... 4&ncid=716



lol, I love it. Bring them prices DOWN!

Always nice to see and hear all these promises when elections are on their way, get this for free, get that for a lower price, blablabla. The fact that they need money for such a thing doesn't seem important.

Don't mean just bush of course, it happens everywhere with everyone.

Read my taxes! No new lips!

Yea but this is Bush not Clinton, meaning, he lives up to his word.

Jeez, the US is only ranked 10th in the world on broadband? That's pretty crappy for a country with such a technologically advanced status. I guess that's another example of the top-to-bottom way of working there. Good idea on the administration to be wanting to improve that, but of course, a promise is still just a promise. I hope for you guys that this comes through though. Now if they only would sell PC parts as cheap here as in the US...

Btw, is it true that burning the flag is a federal offense in the US? I also read some stories online of students getting suspended for refusing to pledge allegiance to the flag. That's fucked up lol.

Oh come on, every (and i mean EVERY) politician makes promises in election time he/she can't keep.
WE WILL CREATE A ZILLION JOBS FOR YOU. BLA AND BLA WILL BE FREE AND AVAILABLE FOR EVERYONE. BLA BLA BLA. BLA.

Sure maybe this thing will happen, cheaper broadband. But like in the article: "Bush's policies don't do anything to provide the new resources needed to deploy broadband in rural and urban areas". So there are 2 ways to increase the number of broadband-users: offering more people the opportunity of connecting to it OR lowering the price. Which one sounds the most popular to you? Right, lowering prices always does the trick to make people happy. So this is just an election-stunt (again, all politicians do this), it would have been more usefull to expand at the base and then in the future maybe take other measures.

My opinion: "free" and "cheaper" and "more" are words that are overused in election campaigns, and often you notice afterwards that it wasn't that good at all if you look at the whole picture.

Like the mars-project: Sure it is possibly of great interest, but putting all your money in that can and leaving other important projects to literally die (example the Hubble-telescope if i'm not mistaken) is not the way to go. Main reason for blowing up the mars-project to such proportions is (again) publicity: "we're going to mars" sounds much much more spectacular then "we've discovered some remote stars", although this doesn't say a thing about the scientific importance.

Another nice "publicity-example": our flemish minister-president Bart Somers wants to organize the Olympics in 2016 here in Flanders (not Belgium, waaay to big, just flanders ).

Why were users taxed anyway?

I suddenly had a thought: Say i have to appear in court in america for whatever reason, and i lie under oath. Since i don't believe in god so
"i swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth so help me god" doesn't apply to me, does it still counts as "meineed" (forgot the word, refer to bill clinton)? Because i don't really break an oath, i just said some stupid words that don't mean jack to me.

That pledging allegiance sure is fucked up. But that flag-burning is something i've been wondering for some time: often you some people (try to guess who ) on the news burning the israelian or american flag. I'd think that would be totally forbidden, but is it officialy? What if i hit the streets now and start burning the dutch flag for example (just an example, no offence meant), could i get into trouble. And i mean officialy, not getting beaten to pulp by some dutch feynoord-hooligans that happen to pass by.

Burning the flag is not illegal in America. It is protected as freedom of speech/freedom of expression. There are many people that believe it shoould be illegalized, and though I don't agree with it I don't think it should be made illegal. People burning the flag, IMO, are morons. It's not the flag you're pissed at, it's some politician or policy or something. Burn that instead. Leave the fucking flag alone. But, anyway, not illegal.

Far as not saying the pledge of allegiance, you can do that, too (legally). You can just stand there, or you don't even have to stand. However, some kids may very well have been suspended... that's because we live in a country where people are stupid. Like the judge that put a multi-ton Christian sculpture in a courthouse or something. Nevermind separation of church and state. I think he should be hanged. Or stoned. That'd be more ironic.

I refused to say 'so help me god'. In the pledge of allegiance, and in the pledge when I joined the military. I've never been to court. It's your legal right to not say anything you don't want to say. I declared my atheism when I was in the military (which is about as conservative as it gets) and had never a single problem. Some people had questions about my faith, but they were very careful not to offend me.

Finally, the 'meineed' I'm guessing is 'lying under oath' or 'contempt of court' or 'perjury' or whatever. Perjury, I'm guessing. Anyway, yes, it's still perjury. Though you're supposed to say all this BS and swear on a bible, you don't have to use the bible or say 'so help me god' if you don't want to, but it's still legally binding.

Yay, huge post. I want a candy bar.

cool, tnx for the clarification. If i had a candybar, you'd get it. I feel like a child molester now.

Reason why I asked was cos in class (american sixties class) there was talk about burning the flag etc., and how it's deemed highly offensive by many ppl and some ppl think it should be ruled out etc. Then the tutor said "it's hard to imagine for us, if i started burning the Belgian flag here, there wouldn't be anyone who really cared", and at that he, his assistant plus 40 ppl in the class all burst out in laughter at the thought of burning the Belgian flag lol. Shows how much we care for that. hehe

And J, logically speaking burning the stars and stripes isn't illegal in Palestina and such, as they obviously don't fall under US legislation.

What about if i wanted to join the British Army. I think in this case i'd haveto swear allegiance to the Queen!!! Have i got a choice in that? cos if i ever sign up, i'd do the same as Satis.

The Queen, being a worldly power, is a different matter than a religious conviction. I don't know how exactly it works in Britain, but in Belgium the king, while holding no real power, is the supreme commander of the army. So it would be kinda strange to join the army if you do not recognize it's supreme leader lol. But like i said, no clue. Maybe something to ask on the forums of www.britisharmy.co.uk . hehe

It happens in brussels as well, don't have to go all the way to palestina, just go to any peace-demonstration and some morons will be burning stars and stripes. Anyway i thought it was just illegal to burn any flag, dunno really why, seemed pretty logical to me that by burning some nations flag you offend them. And since we're supposed to be tolerant and such.

So technically speaking it would be okay to go to borgerhout and start burning a maroccan flag there .. cool. Although i'm not sure if you don't get arrested for provocation or such.

*flash of brain again* Hitler-greet (you know where you have a stiff arm) is that illegal too? I know it's illegal in germany, but here it isn't illegal is it? I think you're allowed to wear schwaztikas (sp?) as well.
Man suddenly i'm questioning lots of things. Like do you remember some time ago there was a football-match we're 'supporters' were singing "marc degryse uw moeder is een hoer" or something similar. You can't forbid that can you? Or is there a line you aren't allowed to cross.

got to put my head under some cold water, i can hear it buzzing

I dont know about the Nazi stuff. But Ox, i dont know how powerful the King is there, but the Power the Queen has in the UK is purely simbolic. Ultimately she has NO real power not even militarily so she is not a commander in any sense.

Hehe..calm down J. You can burn any flag you like here...again, logically speaking, if you can burn our flag without consequences, you can obviously burn any other (like that of the US) too. You could try and go burn the Morrocon flag in Borgerhout, but i ain't gonna be around lol. i spend enough time there as it is, no need to be declared enemy of the state too.

It's illegal to perform nazi greets in Belgium, as far as i know. It's part of the law against racism methinks. I'm not sure of swaztika's, cos they aren't an exclusively nazi symbol, they stole it from Indian traditions. So beats me.

The supporter chants can't really be legally punished as it's an entire stadium singing them, you know? There have been occasions where a referee stopped a game because of offensive supporter chants ("you mum is a ho" or jungle sounds when a black guy is playing the ball, etc.), and where the clubs were fined afterwards. If it was one supporter coming up to Degryse and saying that his mum is a hooker, he'd be able to sue him (tho it's doubtful that he would). You cna' sue an entire stadium hehe.