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Well noted Tuco. The refugees are fleeing war zones where muslims are killing muslims. However, it is true that there are many who are seeking a beer outcome and safer refuge for their children. Sound familiar? Happens all around the World. The US and Australia are built on migration and peoples from all over the world contribute and assimilate. The problem at the moment is the sheer numbers moving. If the CIA and others hadn't interfered in the past and tried to put puppet dictators in power etc etc then most of this mess wouldn't have occurred in the first place.

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Phil, there is an old saying here. The chickens are coming home to roost.

I don't really get that saying :-) I guess it means actions have consequences. hehe

And then you have to ask yourself, why did we support Saddam Hussein against the Iranians? Why then did we turn on him? Why is Saudi Arabia such a close ally if we are so firmly against Sharia Law and most of the 9/11 hijackers were Saudi? We need to keep that region in turmoil or in the hands of the military or dictatorial strongmen like we did in South and Central America for one reason. Resources.

I sometimes wonder what my fellow Americans would think if Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, or Saudi Arabia started taking over our domestic oil and gas fields.....

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tuco, it's a sad indictment that the US only intervenes in a conflict if they believe they can gain something, strategically or economically. They are not interested in how it affects the individual. Now they complain that they are not liked - in the words of a famous american - doh.

I wonder if it is too late to effect repair in international relations. Obama has done a better job and Clinton may as a woman be more sensitive to the individual and reach out to improve their lives through genuine support of programmes that will reduce poverty and give the people of poorer parts of the world pride in their nations and want to stay there.

You don't do things like give the opposition weapons and they all end up killing each other, causing poverty and hatred for the US and then then when they have nothing left to live for, become martyrs and kill themselves and their perceived enemies.

After decades of trying that, isn't is time to try something different? Might just work.

Finally done the Aug 4 expert

That's what I like about this site, I can solve world peace and expert puzzles at the same time!!! Especially when the rest of the world is asleep and can't offer a better alternative.

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my favorite kind of sudoku. clickety-clack, with never more than 30 seconds between clicks.

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Mostly all fast. But I missed an easy crosshatch near the end when everything was 4's and 7's. And it wasn't all one move follows another. So I'm going to give it a 16.

Phil part of solving problems is admitting they exist. Unfortunately in the U.S. most citizens believe we are the world's policeman but don't believe we are the leaders of a world economic empire that now includes China. We along with the British also control the flow of oil out of the Middle East, the Pacific, and South America except for Venezuela.

We run this empire through military force and political intrigue. We destabilize governments that want to nationalize their natural resources and support through arms sales or even military intervention the leaders we want. We cozy up to the Chinese so we can use their vast labor force to increase profits at the expense of labor here in the U.S. When a leader tries to do something about it. Jimmy Carter, Barack Obama, the knives come out. The media, the political opposition, the business community fights back with their propaganda. Meanwhile people die all in the name of "Freedom" That is why the terrorists hate us. They hate our "Freedom"

This is the real reason why our military budget is so high. Not because we have any real imminent military threat. It is because we have to keep our boot on the neck of the rest of the world in order to maintain the profits.

I love my country. I hate what we do in the world. We must change.