Raymond

In the past the US was said to be in a 'Cold War' with Russia (the USSR) because of 'Ideological Differences.' With the Citizen's United ruling which allows US Corporations 100% control of US politicians the US is now run by the Corporations for the Corporations, some of which are not even US Corporations anymore (i.e. 7-11, which was bought by Japan).

Sweden is run For the People by the People, which is now ideologically opposite of the United States. Take for example the ruling of Swedish courts against Wikileaks and The Pirate Bay, both of which the majority of Swedish Citizens were FOR.

The rulings were largely the result of Corporate Espionage, Bribery, and Blackmail conducted by US Corporate Interests, much like what happened between the USSR and the US during the Cold War. So the analogy could be made that the US is rapidly approach a Cold War status with Sweden and any other country that opposes their corporate interests.

What are your thoughts?

The book and movie by John Marsden, "Tomorrow, When the war began" is about China and a Coalition of Asia countries acting together to take over Australia. They certainly have the population and economic resources to begin a European-Style Colonization of literally EVERY country in the world and my question is would the US/EU respond?

Please make your submissions as long and as detailed as you would like.

If China and Japan were involved in any action together they could literally hamstring the United States by threatening to Liquidated their combined US Debt Assets of close to $1,000 Trillion.

The EU could pose a measured response if they are not to busy arguing amongst themselves (most likely).

As China rises and brings the surrounding countries with it, it is like a mountain rising. Whether the countries surrounding it like it or not, they sit on the slope of rising China and this could mean that eventually they possibly could have USSR era influence over them.

For those of you who do not know, the USSR was able to simply order it's allies to attack and take over another country, for example Poland. Once the country was defeated, the USSR added it as a Soviet Bloc.

I have a Masters degree and work for a company that makes me travel a lot. It lowers my living expenses a bit but they don't pay very well.

I am considering going into the military but every recruiter I email wants to talk on the phone or meet in person.

I am in sales and I don't feel like engaging in a high-pressure phone conversation or going into a high-pressure sales meeting. The last recruiter I spoke with wouldnt let me leave his office without watching a 30 minute video, taking the ASVAB, and having a heart-to-heart. I AM interested in the military, but when I join it will be on MY terms, not because someone pushed me into it.

Why won't they just respond to an email? I even emailed the Army-Recruiter website twice and that says they will respond in 72 hours, it's been a week and no response.

I am considering signing up for the US Military Operations in Afghanistan and I need some information about Kevlar to protect my Arms and Legs. The Kevlar chest armor was (finally) upgraded by the US military but with road side bombs continuing to be a problem I want to purchase kevlar armor for my arms and legs.

I would even consider Kevlar gloves and boots with Kevlar lining.

If I step on or drive over a mine I want to be sure that while I might break all the bones in my body, at least they'll generally still be in the correct order and properly attached. Catastrophic damage can still be survivable and horrific limb loss can be stopped with proper protection.

Why the US military has not put more money into developing an entire body-protection suite I don't know, but I am not going to wait for them, I'll purchase my own and use it even if I get stuck on permanent KP or TP. I'll gladly scrub the toilets with my own tooth brush or spend my weekends in the brig if it keeps me from dying.

I just signed a work contract here in China. I discussed with the hiring director the details and we agreed upon a lot of things, then the academic director who is in charge of the foreigners got involved.

She refused to accept any of the conditions that we had previously agreed upon even though the Hiring Director is two levels above her. Instead she said, all the other foreigners signed this contract so you should too and was really nasty with me. She told me I can either sign the contract or leave and then she walked out of the room.

I was invited to China by this company, and now that I am here, after 3 interviews and a 2 hour free class this is how they are treating me. I have never been treated so badly by an employer, and I have been promoted at every place I have worked. When I mentioned that I am a model employee she scoffed, like 'You're a foreigner, you can't be a model employee.'

This is my first experience with reverse discrimination and I don't know what to do. The contract they made me sign was entirely one sided. I get paid on a certain date and with their contract they can fire me at anytime without cause.

I don't even really want to work for them now. It's obvious this academic director is jealous of hates foreigners for some reason and I think I might just leave after I get enough for a plane ticket...

The Hiring Director told me I can just work here for 6 months and he'll write me a good reference letter for my next position, what do you all think?

I'm planning a a Jet Skiing trip to the Philippines. I love jet skiing and I would like to pack a backpack full of food and go island hopping on a jet ski.

Where should I go? How much is a daily (or weekly) jet ski rental?

I've heard that some parts of the Philippines are very unfriendly towards jet skiing. What scams should I look out for? I planning on taking pictures of the jet ski before I leave so if they try to keep my deposit I'll have picture evidence (if that even helps).

I'm contemplating my future and trying to decide how I should limit my female marriage candidate parameters. I'm well educated, will probably finish a Ph.D within 5 years (God willing) and I'd like to get married before or during my Doctoral studies.

Regardless of my demographics, should I marry a virgin or a non-virgin? Some of my friends have been REALLY burned by marrying non-virgins. They took EVERYTHING: House, Car, Kids, Money, got him fired.

I get the feeling that a virgin would be less of a risk in terms of cheating and marriage is a tradition so seeking out a traditional girl makes sense.

Everyone has learned that the War in Afghanistan has become (or always was) a war for minerals. The question is since the US Troops have bleed and fought for this, are US companies sending the Minerals Into the US (for manufacturing!!!) going to get 50% access with Afghan companies or is it going to turn into an International Free for all, with International Countries pillaging what they didn't lift a finger to pay for, but which our troops paid for in blood.

I live in China and all the leaders expect China to take over the world. They speak in detail about how once China is the leader economically, they will make Chinese the main language of the world.

It's not that I am afraid of them taking over the world, it's that all of my analysis shows me that they will be successful...