yaanufs

Unlikely. Jealousy of American power and wealth will prevent that happening.Many countries want the US to fail, not because they are against democracy or freedom, but because unfortunately it is human nature to somehow believe that when a greater person falls short or fails that it somehow makes the lesser person feel better. That simple logic is easily scaled up to country wide feelings. Many countries think that if the USA fails in it's quest, that it somehow makes their smaller, less globaly significant country appear to be slightly better than it was before. The world is mad.

I live in Texas, but I don't think you were meaning that. My delicate, innocent, formative years were Australian, English and Scottish. Mostly Scottish. The Real IRA seem to be just a bunch of nutters hell bent on ignoring the will of the people they claim to represent. They still cling to the idea that a united Ireland will be achieved through the bomb and the bullet. They do more damage to their side of the politcal spectrum through their activities as they give the other (Unionist) side significant political ammunition to use in their cause. In the current climate the Unionists can paint themselves as victims of terror which carries a certain amount of emotional baggage in todays world. The RIRA are just handing it to them on a plate, but they are so stupid and self-centered they cannot even see it. If someone wants to starve themselves to death to make a politcal point and to try an blackmail a democraticaly elected government, then let them. I have no sympathy at all for people like Bobby Sands. Blackmail is never a sensible approach to politics. I'm not sure what you are referring to regarding the "blanket thing".

These would be splinter groups more interested in maintaining the status quo concerning violence, crime and power. They have no real interest in a united Ireland, no interest in a democratic and peaceful solution. As I've already said, the political motivation has long since left the IRA, the motivation now is organised crime.In a way the splinter groups highlight the true feelings of the IRA. The IRA enjoy the splinter groups because they ca pretend the worst of the criminality and violence has 'nothing' to do with the nice cuddly, mainstream IRA. They can pretend that the majority of the IRA want peace, it's just a few nutters who want violence. It's all smoke and mirrors.

That's capitalism for ya!Maybe what the US needs is a nice communist government. On the subject of Iraq. I look forward to the day when the US invades many countries in the world to effect a regime change due to human rights abuses by the leaders. Once you justify a war using that reason it obviously indicates the US will not tolerate nasty, self serving dictators in charge of countries where abuses are widespread.

From what exactly?

We have the ability now to duplicate the virtual limitless source of energy that powers the universe.Yet people don't want it. They want to burn oil.

Are you able to see 20 years into the future to predict the position of global politics?Maybe the US will need to invade Venezuela to liberate it from a very, very naughty dictator.

It is an interesting question. The wonders of modern commerce never cease to amaze.Of course, wierd as it is that the US exports any oil, the net result is still a massive balance in favour of importing oil. Which no matter which accounting school you chose to go to, even those frequented by Enron executives, is not a sustainable plan in the long term.

Give it a chance. Once the ungrateful locals and the cheap foreign mercenaries stop blowing up the pipelines and other oil and gas hardware then the democratic government can accelerate the process of oil production in the country.Think slightly longer term than a couple of years, maybe 5-10. And please don't down play Venezuela for the future. Venezuela has the largest hydrocarbon reserves in the Western Hemisphere.

What a fantastic piece of investigative journalism produced those lists. I don't want to do a Red Adaire and put out your fire but....... Just for the record BP (who import 0 barrels) are actually the same company as Amoco (who import 62 Million barrels). In additon ARCO are owned by BP so they also share in the import from Amoco as they are technically the same company. CITGO is owned by the Venezuelan government. You'll probably find that in a few decades when the Middle East is off the radar the US president will be picking fights down in South America so you might want to think long term before you feed their economy Sunoco and Sinclair are such small players in the oil and gas industry that they have barely moved out of their localised areas in the US, let alone ventured across the sea to exploit resources elsewhere. Perhaps there is a reason the big multi-nationals import so much oil into the US, possibly because the demand significantly outstrips the demand available that the US can produce internally. Do you think but refusing fuel from the middle east the problems will go away there and the energy demands of the country will dissapear? Why does the US government continually push the OPEC members to continually push up production, is it so the US can help the Middle East? Or is it self-serving?

http://archives.tcm.ie/irishexaminer/2005/...ry651726444.asp Just do a search on google with the terms IRA and organised crime and you should get a few hits. Enough from me.

from http://www.economist.com/world/worldthiswe...tory_id=3761838 More thoughts on the freedom fighters.

From http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-...1499253,00.html Some highlights from the article. Ask yourself the question again, if Ireland united tomorrow does the IRA disband? Are they freedom fighters or are they an organised crime gang.

You delude yourself if you think the IRA are fighting for anything other than power, drugs, women, glory, money.Most of the killings and beatings are over drug territories, protection rackets, prostitution, etc. The IRA have learned the skills well from the Italian Mafia. It is always possible to put a nice patriotic spin on the whole deal but the truth is not nearly as pleasant. The IRA are evil, they are scum, they are criminals, they are terrorists and they have been heavily supported by US dollars. If such an organisation was active in America you would have no hesitation in labeling it as terror. Just because it happens a few thousand miles away does not make it right. The fundamental question you have to ask yourself is this. If the two sides of Ireland were united tomorrow would the IRA disband in a real sense? The answer is no. The mafia type activities would continue and they would still carry out their underground financing activities to keep the leaders living a nice life. The truth is they are much more a criminal gang than freedom fighters and should unification occur, they will still be a criminal gang.

Could it be as simple as they didn't think the church was true anymore?Or is that a simple fact that is too simple to consider?

I have grown up mixing with many people who in their hearts felt that the IRA were good and the English were bad. I have listened to their views and their opinions. My conclusion is that the IRA are scum of the earth and Sinn Fein are the evil, hypocritical, revisionist, political spinning face of violence, intimidation, and murder. The other side of the political divide don't come out smelling of roses either. We seem to be stuck in a position not too dissimilar to the "men are from Mars and women are from Venus" situation. Neither side understands the others concerns and issues. I think I'll write a book and call in "Republicans are from Mars and Unionists are from Venus". It might help their marriage

The longer my marriage goes on, the lessor the sex. So, yes, I believe there is a lessor sex law, I just haven't quite figured out if it is a linear law or an exponential law. If it's exponential the future looks even more bleak

You have a serious problem buddy.you need to sort yourself out. I'm not just talking about religion but your lif in general. Life owes you nothing and you either take what you need or you complain about it on anonymous internet forums. It is not for your future, perect wife to help you overcome your issues, you need to do it for yourself before you get married. Can you be the second person I sugegst reads this book today. "10 stupid things men do to mess up their lives", read it, it covers things like relationships, identifying wives, mistakes men make in choosing innaproriate partners, etc. It won't answer all your questions here but it might help you see wallowing in victim status is not healthy for you or your potential future mate. It explains why.

It sounds like she has already done that and is reaping the rewards for it.Hint: he sounds like he has already gone down that route and has decided not to bother chasing anymore. I suspect you will find he will not chase again. DANGER, DANGER. This is a loaded question and will make a man think very carefully before answering. This type of question will not be answered in a meaningful way considering the current relationship problems you are facing. SUPER-DUPER DANGER ALERT. Do not ask this question. It is a sure fire way to get an anser that you don't want to hear and that your husband probably doesn't mean. I guarantee you that your husband will give a negative answer to this question. You are both so far down the route where you are playing controling games with each other that he will treat it as another one of your games. You need to begin communication, ther eis no doubt of this, but these questions will not help a male to open up. They are a long way down the road before you can expect any sensible answer to them. As a male you need to trust me on this. You will make the situation worse by going in with guns a blazin' asking these types of questions.

Unfortunately I find myself agreeing with a woman on this thread The need for nurses in this country is chronic. It one of only two careers that the US government will make exception for when it comes to immigration. The need is so high that will allow any nurse to move into the country. It should be very easy for you to get back into a career that is so desperate for staff. Good luck if you want to do it.

If you want to find out the truth PM his mobile phone number and his name and I'll call him and ask him. Man to man he'll tell me the truth about how he feels about you and why he feels rejected by you. I'm pretty sure after he has gotten over the shock and he realises I am on his side he'll open up. Then I'll let you know what he is thinking. It'll save you a few hundred dollars with a counsellor

What does your husband think? Is it as great as you make it out to be? Perhaps that is part of the problem, you think it is great for you but you are so busy thinking how great it is that you fail to notice what he is feeling. This story about only being able to love one person so he chose your daughter is just rubbish. A man can easily love his whole family if he is happy with his wife. If he is not happy he will withdraw and divert his attention. Exactly as you are witnessing. You are very quick to point out his mistakes, and even when you have been gracious enough to mention you might have made a mistake, you turn it around to really put the blame on him, so it's still really his fault you made the mistake. there is clearly a lot more going on behind the scenes of your relationship. The more little snippets you reveal the more I can see his side of things and the more I suspect you are not as innocent and hurt as you make out to be. It's easy to put one side of the story when you are the only one posting. I suspect if your husband were posting we would get a completely different picture of how your relationshp has developed over the years. I'm sure he would have a whole multitude of stories to tell us concerning your behaviour towards him that has turned him away from his wife. The issue is never one sided and it bothers me to see you try and paint it this way. I don't expect you to admit to your mistakes on an anonymous internet forum but at some point you may need to confront your mistakes by yourself. the books I've suggested are a good way to start to see yourself in a more enlightened way.

There you go. It's his fault. You want to go to see a counsellor to make him change.It will not happen. You then admit that you carry some of the blame but follow it up by really saying that it's his fault for you carrying some of the blame. I'm seeing some classic signs of couples that are talked about in some of the relationship books Ive read. Can I give you a tip, and this is serious. Read these 3 books by Dr. Laura. "10 stupid things than men do to mess up their lives" "10 stupid things that women do to mess up their lives" "The proper care and feeding of husbands" The books are very interesting and they have a lot of common sense points. It can be informative when reading them to spot your own flaws as well as those of your partner as you read through them. The opening chapter in each of the 10 stupid books were particularly intersting as they seemed pretty accurate on so many fronts. I suggest you read them and take a look at yourself. It will not make your marriage magically better but it will give you some information that I can tell you do not currently have. Only once you begin to understand each other better can you hope to resolve your issues.

I can't help you. I don't know enough about your situation. I certainly don't know the view of your husband so I can't really comment with any degree of authority.I suspect there is lot more going on in your relationship than you are comfortable posting on a web site, understandably. I suspect there has been many discussion between you and yur husband where he has felt dismissed by his wife. I suspect the issue of sex has been discussed in your relationship and you have felt he has too many needs that are unreasonable for you to fulfill. Again I wouldn't expect you to post all that information but without knowing you or your husband I cannot suggest ways to stimulate the uninterested party. I can tell you one thing though. A male would happily walk over hot coals for a woman he loved, he would give his own life for the woman he loved, he would do anything. If he truely felt he loved you and he truely felt you loved him then he would do anything for you. Is the problem he doesn't love you or is the problem you don't love him unconditionally and he knows it? You might not think that is fair but it doesn't take much for a fragile male ego to be bruised and to feel unloved by his wife. We are simple creatures and it doesn't take much to make us happy, but it also doesn't take much to make us feel unloved in a relationship.

Although your tale sounds bad we only have one side of the story.How do you know you are satisfying your husband sexually? You don't need to post details but I wonder if what you think to be the case is really the opinion of the other partner? I know my wifes idea of satisfying sex is often different to my idea of satisfying sex and it does bring tension in sometimes. Perhaps you have different views on that matter too but are not aware of the problem. after all, men are not renowned for talking about the problems but bury them inside and withdraw from the person who they perceive as causing the problem. Your husband sounds like he has withdrawn to either try to solve in his mind his problem with you, or he has withdrawn because he has given up trying to solve his problem with you. Perhaps he has tried to talk to you about it in the past but his male skills of directness in communication have not been met with much sympathy from his female partner. Only you can tel if he has tried to communicate and you have not managed to notice. Perhaps you need to try and talk about the subject with your husband. It's really dificult to talk about, particularly if one partner gets defensive very quickly when the other questions them about such feelings. Whatever you do it sounds clearly like your husband is NOT happy wth you and he has done the typical male thing of withdrawal. The onus is probably on you to be able to find out what the issue he has with you and to do it in a matter that does not dismiss his male point of view (like you have done to the males on this forum). I suspect he has tried to talk to you about it before but has been dismissed as a bad male for even thinking such a thing and put in his place by you telling him things will only get better if he bucks up his ideas and fits in with what you want from a husband. A surefire way to get a husband to withdraw from communication and to go into his hole.