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Politics : Dutch Central Bank Sale Announcement Imminent? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: GUSTAVE JAEGER who wrote (21944)	11/22/2004 9:27:47 AM
From: sea_urchin	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 80915

Gus > Isn't it pathetic to see that, at the dawn of the XXIst century, all the US has to offer the world is one, big, messy, bloody, global chase after terrorist windmills? If anything, that alone marks the bankruptcy of the US leadership. I agree with you and, without intending to sound sarcastic, I feel it's a tragedy. Yet, this may be how it is -- the rise and fall of nations. The US rose as result of religious persecution and bigotry in Europe and, it seems, will fall in the same way -- by succumbing to religious bigotry and persecution, itself. Certainly, with its new-found religious fundamentalism and quasi-fascism, no free-thinking person will want to stay in the US, let alone emigrate there. And, as we know, it was the liberty that the US offered to free-thinking, brilliant people that accounted for its rise amongst nations. Well, all that has been destroyed in one fell swoop -- by Herr Dubya & Co. > The more the US messes around the world over, the more it foolishly and self-delusively attempts to change foreign regimes in the Middle East, Africa, South America, Asia, wherever... the faster it will sink into troubles AT HOME, the faster it will change its OWN regime, the sooner the US's gonna wind up as a monstruous, self-destructive, replica of Israel.... Well said. I agree with that. And very sad, too. The US did not protect its liberty -- and now is too late. In fact, the enemy was "within" all the time, planning and plotting to take over the country and now they have. Indeed, it's just like what happens to the wasp and the spider ---- museums.org.za >>A manipulative parasitic wasp William Eberhard (2000) describes an interesting relationship between a female wasp parasite, Hymenoepimecis sp., (Ichneumonidae) and its spider host, Plesiometa argyra (Araneidae). Although these species do not occur in southern Africa, they illustrate an interesting instance where an insect parasitoid is able to alter the behaviour of its spider host to the finest degree. The orb spider is stung while on its web and is temporarily paralysed while the wasp lays her egg on it. The spider then recovers and goes about its life with the newly hatched wasp larva feeding on it by sucking its haemolymph (spider "blood"). For about 7 to 14 days, the spider continues building its usual orb webs for prey capture. However, in the evening of the night* when it is to be killed by its wasp parasite, the spider weaves a different web, designed specifically to suit the purposes of the wasp. The wasp larva then moults, kills and consumes the spider and pupates, suspending itself safely from its custom-built cocoon web.<< * the night of 11 September 2001.