Or we could go with anarchy and let the guy with the biggest stick take over.

It's not anarchy if anybody 'takes over'. Well, okay, it is for the guy who took over, but for everyone else it's the same old shit. And by the way, the guy with the biggest stick is in charge, in case you haven't noticed. Either way, no bureaucracy should be given a license to kill...

Judging by the kill ratio, I would have to say you're right :-)

I can't say how 'local' it is, but yes it does, and it protects us from other mafias that would try to muscle in on our territories. It is entirely plausible that governments arise from powerful criminal organizations. They are the ones with all the tools already in place. It's a perfectly natural evolution. For instance, look who regulates the liquor industry.. The liquor industry. Former bootleggers and run runners, who then become your major generals and presidents and prime ministers and kings... These are the people who built up the business, churches, and schools, pirates, all of them. Politics and crime are as distinguishable as Kang and Kodos. The relationship is well documented, and well cemented, heh, so to speak...

You mean there is a difference? Could you spell them out for me? All these religions look so much alike.. so poor they only have one god.. click

So what are we paying them for, anyway?

To be allowed to live... To avoid 'detainment'. These are the things you pay for. I don't know why people are so repulsed when the mafia does these kinds of things.

Throughout this entire thread you have failed to provide any evidence that Assad gassed anybody.

And Israel is also being propped up from the outside. Let's see how well they do if they were cut off like the attempts on Iran.

I find your style of 'argument'... intriguing, because we all know that *because inside every gook there is an American trying to get out.*

Reverse that, The 'Ruling Class' created Woodrow Wilson and the Federal Reserve. It is inevitable in all great powers. The 'Ruling Class' is called that for a reason. They have always ruled, more recently with the full consent of their subjects, even under the illusion of republicanism. Ultimately, this is always the result of their game... I can assure you they do not even notice.

Seriously?

Yes, Even I can see it. You are still hung up on the personality, and completely ignore that somebody else is pulling the strings. As to your other comment, foreign policy throughout history has been remarkably consistent. It has always been Monroe Doctrine with a good dose of the Roosevelt Corollary. All the great powers experience the same desires, to grow as big as they possibly can, inevitable as the sunrise. There's nothing abnormal about it. It only confirms how natural we are.

Regardless, I understand the need to keep unused resources out of the hands of our adversaries. We can't just turn the region over to them. So, we will do like we did to Atlanta...

We put things in our mouths that are not food all the time, even as adults.

Nice people don't swallow...

So what stops the feds from seizing your 'cloud' and locking it up in the impound?

Snowden's leaks are a disaster for US, British, and who knows what other intelligence agencies.

Absolutely not true. It's a great opportunity to clean house, so to speak. 'Nonproductive' personnel will be thrown under the bus, and the agencies will be getting much bigger budgets, to... uh.. 'rebuild'.. yeah, that's it. To me, this whole affair is brilliant. You know, shake the trees occasionally.

They are a display of their secrecy.

Remember that Buckyballs were being marketed as "toys" quite specifically.

But they were never marketed as "food", specifically or otherwise. It is notable that a "reasonable person" needs to be reminded of the distinction.

I respect these people.

Yeah, we respect you people, too.