Posts Made By: Les Chambers

[QUOTE]Dan Lamoreaux said:


A: Shut down Astromart and walk away
B: Throw Astromart open to all and let it become a mine field
C: Make it profitable enough that it is worth his time to mess with it or someone else to take it over


I voted to "throw it open" largely because I think we are all adults who should be responsible enough to look out for ourselves. No matter how many protective measures Herb puts in place, he'll never be able to protect A-marters from themselves. If a deal is "too good to be true, it probably is. If some "son of the late Shah of Zambia" wants you to cash a 3rd Party Check written on the Peoples Bank of Zimbabwe and send your equipment and the change back to him, you probably deserve to lose your money and your equipment. Having said that, I think the way to go is to throw it open but charge an annual fee. The fee, even nominal, will help Herb recover the costs and will keep most fraudsters out. Those few scammers willing to pay $10 or $20 a year for access to the site probably deserve whatever spoils they take from the gullible and lazy.

Les

Don Barar said:

Best to do it now with conventional weapons before Iran gets a nuclear weapon and destabilizes the entire region. If we wait and do have to use a nuclear weapon on Iran, too many good people in that country will die unnecessarily.

Don Barar

Actually the main source of instability in the middle east is Israel. It sits on stolen, occupied land and over the last 50 yrs it has killed far more innocent civilians than Iran or any Arab country. Its last incursions into Lebanon and Gaza killed how many 1000s? It makes no sense to let Israel sit on a nuclear arsenal while denying the option to the other nations it threatens in the region. Perhaps if Israel had some risk in pushing around its neighbors, it might restrain itself. Plus don't forget that the U.S. has been interfering with Iranian politics the last 60 yrs. No wonder it doesn't bow to every U.S. wish.

The U.S. is a nation of whiners. We pay far less taxes than any other part of the 1st or 2nd world. Part of the social contract we all make is to pay the taxes necessary to provide for common needs, such as security, transportation, law and order. Renewing the tax cuts is irresponsible because it will increase the deficit by $700B/yr. The money that will go to service that debt should be spent on all the things on which everyone depends.