Any society that has a superfluity of young, unemployed men who have no way of obtaining wealth, power, prestige or --ultimately--access to women is either going to have to kill off a lot of them or they will have a problem. In Saudi Arabia, these things are hoarded by old men. I don't see any 25-year-olds with 4 wives. Now do the math: if one man has 4 wives, 3 others have to go without. Having a job and a family makes men stable and responsible citizens. Not having them means they have nothing to lose. Look at China, they're importing women now. Okay, but maybe this theory doesn't explain Chechnya. Bin Laden is a poor little rich boy--lots of money he can't take pride in because he didn't earn it, and no purpose in life. And guess what his father built? Skyscrapers! He is the perfect counterpart to G.W. Bush, who didn't earn his money or position either, and is busy "finishing" the war his father avoided.

>>>I watched Chris Matthews interviewing her several nights - I thought the show should have been labeled SOFTBALL, not Hardball. Yeah, Matthew's has definitely gone downhill. I used to think he was fairly evenhanded but his political biases are plainly showing through these days. He swoons and throws softballs at all the lefties. But when I saw him interview Rumsfeld, he could hardly contain his disgust and distain. It was all over his face, literally. I gave up watching regularly a long time ago, and I guess so have a lot of others, which is why he was bumped by a show as mediocre as Kudlow and Kramer.

>>> but anyone who thinks that terrorism and poverty aren't related is missing at least a part of the point Jesus, is there no issue that won't be mangled into some cry for tax increases and welfare programs? That's your cue to say something about it being "for the children" blah blah blah. Poverty does not cause terrorism. India spent decades as one of the poorest nations on Earth. But it didn't produce terrorists, it produced Ghandi, the father of non-violent protest.

"India spent decades as one of the poorest nations on Earth. But it didn't produce terrorists, it produced Ghandi, the father of non-violent protest" It also produced Chandra Bose, who counts as a terrorist through his backing of the Japanese during WWII. Gandhi broke with Bose pretty early on, and nominally supported the British during the war--Gandhi was smart and knew the Japanese would be much worse than the British, and he also knew that he had Churchill over a barrel on the independence question. But make no mistake: I respect the man, but Gandhi was not lily-white. He made plenty of statements that would not be out of place on an al-Qaeda tape.

Mabey Arab economies could be bolstered if they got some mining done, being that they're compelled underground anyway...........

"2. I have a captive uneducated, half-starved, lazy, irrational audience (read Moslems of all hues, Arabs, Pakistanis, Malaysians, Indonesians, Africans)" Take your comments back to whatever Klan you came from.

I got into a frustrating discussion about Queen Noor the other day. A friend was trying to get me to read her autobiography. I told her "no, I have no need to read her propaganda." She was outraged. How dare I call it propaganda? I told her I felt that all such books written by political figures are propaganda, whether it's Noor or Barbara Bush or Bill Clinton. Moreover I doubt that Noor would offer a perspective I didn't get already through other media. I doubt she had anything to do with the "behind the scenes" politics and wouldn't shed any light on that. My friend didn't like this at all. She thought it aweful that I would suspect that the woman had an agenda. I told her I thought that of course she did; moreover, Hussein was no saint and it's her job to cultivate his memory to make him look as good as can be. Her loyalty is to him and her country, not to the truth. It's just the way the world works. She was still outraged. I told her about Jordan's war with Palestinians and Hussein's need to use brutal police tactics to stay in power. Of course, all things are relative. I'd live in Jordan sooner than almost any other Arab country, and Hussein really was a saint compared to many of his colleagues. Certainly a gentleman. Noor's not a bad person, either. A classy lady, but a partisan lady. My friend thinks I'm wrong.

I'll agree on the autobiography: How many politicians have written sincere, honest autobiographies? Its a way of presenting a point of view without interruption. And of presenting a person in their own light.

Bombard: You can go back to your hell-hole.

I believe poverty is a necessary precursor ingredient for those that resort to terrorism. The tactics of violence is used to raise awareness and lash out at those who would oppress. Not all protestations are violent. Given the circumstances, it is remarkable that Gandhi and his countrymen were so docile in the face of british occupation. I just don't buy the tired and worthless "they hate us because we are free" malarkey. i don't even think that the people spouting such mindless blabber believe it. it's really all just nature at work. it's why cold water mixes with hot water to produce warm. it's why an apple falls from a tree and rests at the base. the incredible imbalance on the this planet produces such effects.