It would seem that mALX has trouble following instructions! Somehow that doesn't surprise me.

Cropping would be so much easier and simpler for you to do than the ol' cloning and stamping. It comes with quite the learning curve to make it look good (believe me, I know!).

Here's how I would crop it.

There, he's much more classy!

This post has been edited by haute ecole rider: May 1 2011, 09:30 PM

I was actually going to do a crop demonstration the same way, but I wasn't sure how much of the photo she wanted to keep. You are right, that crop job works well.

Osama Bin Laden bites the dust? His cave collapsed under American MOAB? Stay tuned for confirmation of the news, I guess !!

This post has been edited by mALX: May 2 2011, 02:50 PM

Yup, the President is just now confirming that Osama Bin Laden is dead.

And now the U.S. can flex its muscles and scream "We win! Hahahaha!" in a burly, gravelly voice akin to Sylvester Stallone or Mickey Roark. Now, if only we could pull out of Iraq, but that is a mess we have to clean up ourselves now. Hopefully this will at least mean a cut in the national defense deficit; I mean, come on, we are spending more on our military in the U.S. than the entire rest of the world combined spends on theirs! Shameful!

I don't know if it's exactly a good thing that he's dead, but to deny that would be shamefully un-American, so... I'm stuck. Well he was the leader of the terror group that killed thousands of other people, so he's not exactly innocent, so I have to say yes, after further thought. It is good that he is dead, for he has now received his comeuppance for all the lives he has taken from this world.

Still, that's one less excuse for future political figures to have about why the world is in such a terrible state right now.

Anyways, that tornado outbreak we saw over the last few days was apparently the second deadliest in U.S. history, with about 339 confirmed deaths as a result of the outbreak. They don't call that part of the world "Tornado Alley" for nothing. It just goes to show that everything is bigger in America. Bigger cars, bigger people... and of course, bigger storms.

This post has been edited by Thomas Kaira: May 2 2011, 04:59 AM

Shot in the head and we have his body! FINALLY!!

Whoah. After, what, several years? WHoah.

Happy first day of school, haute ecole rider! I’m sure my vision of new glue sticks and freshly sharpened pencils is not at all relevant, but you have my wishes for a great beginning!

Kiln, I’m glad you made it through the storms OK. I just rode up I95 again, and a lot of folks are still bulldozing debris into piles from the tornadoes that hit here a couple of weeks ago. I predict that a lot of the piles will become vine-covered reminders of 2011 in years to come.

mALX, I love the photo of your son, in all of its iterations! Mom-to-mom, my first thought was oh look at your beautiful boy!! But of course, don’t tell him that, lol! Instead may I offer how handsome and mature he looks. I am a person who will squint at the background of someone’s new baby picture and think, hey, I have that book. So I enjoyed the beautiful setting, too!

Given the exact same software, I would still never have come up with haute’s elegantly cropped version. It goes to show it’s not so much the brush as the hand that holds it.

It seems that my anticipation of a few peaceful days always launches another adventure. This time it was a couple of days at the beach, with one hour’s notice. Much fodder for stories was gathered, and my feet received a brutal sunburn. Apologies to whoever is at the beach today. It seems we brought most of the sand home with us.

Not any more, the sea does. I wonder if they entwined him in pork before the tossing?

Yes, and while our children suffer poor education and people go without decent healthcare... Proud to be an American? Not lately, to be honest. We think too highly of ourselves, sometimes.... I love this country, but at the same time I am ashamed of us....

And though I am glad Bin Laden will no longer be terrorizing this world, I cannot bring myself to rejoice. Death is never a reason to rejoice (and yes, this coming from the mouth of Dementia's duchess... )

This post has been edited by Lady Syl: May 2 2011, 02:25 PM

I feel the same way on both counts.

I couldn't rejoice till my older son is home safe from Afghanistan anyway - but agree it is not a matter of rejoicing, but being thankful that the one behind the attacks of 911 has finally faced justice for his actions. (if he is actually dead, I do remember seeing news reports of "We Got Him!" over Sadaam too, and we all know how false they were till the final day of the trial. They say right now they are awaiting DNA still.

The point is, the Taliban and Al-Qaeda are still active and out there; acting of their own orders and misnaming their actions as Jihad, when in truth it is nothing but extremist terrorism.

For the lives lost in 911, or the others like Daniel Pearl who were murdered for these groups to make their propaganda vids - I am glad the man is gone (if it is true), but you are right - I don't feel like rejoicing, but honoring those who died by his hand.

This post has been edited by mALX: May 4 2011, 02:46 PM

Glad to hear everyone here got out of the storm okay. I've never seen a tornado in real life and from what I've seen on tv I don't want to either.

I don't know how I should react to Bin Ladens death since it will probably cause anger amongst his followers whom will want revenge, but hopefully that at least elevates the chance that things will calm down.

As for me, I'm fine. Had two tests last week which I think went quite well and has another two this week. I also ran about 7 km in the forest this weekend(competition), and I managed to find all of the controls within one and a half hour, which is good for me considering the distance.

I agree, and that is basically what I mean... I've seen some really vicious facebook responses to the news, and though I understand the desire for revenge on that man, I think this news needs to be received with humility, reverence for those lost, and also some scepticism--until it is proven he is really dead, I am not 100% convinced...

The DNA has (purportedly) been confirmed as Bin Laden's. In a miraculous feat of speed (compared to other high profile cases where we waited for DNA results for 4-7 days) they matched the sample Overnight to Bin Laden's UN-Named sister who died in an American hospital in Boston, Mass. a year ago from brain cancer.

I find the immediate dumping of the body at sea to be an odd move, as well as no fingerprints being taken (only a face matching, when it is known he used numerous doubles).

I'm not from Missouri, but do like some proof before I believe something fully, lol.

This post has been edited by mALX: May 2 2011, 05:04 PM

yes, it does seem sort of...mysterious. The way they handled it and released it...I still have my doubts....

I'd like to know who handled the DNA testing?

I'm no conspiracy theorist, but I understand enough about the chain of evidence to have serious doubts about this one. Let's hope that it's really bin Laden that's dead, and that the major driving force behind al Qaeda has been removed.

I'm not glad he's dead (I would prefer he be brought back for trial in front of US Muslims), and I don't think his death means the end of our terrorism problems. No, our terrorism problems go back waaay too far to be so easily resolved by the death of one guy.

*BEGIN SOAPBOX* And while I want our soldiers home, I also recognize that we have a commitment to the people of Afghanistan and Iraq to help them preserve the independence they so richly deserve. Afghanistan is now a hotbed of warlords and is now no better off than it was under the Taliban (and may yet fall back under those miserable SOB's). Iraq is so unstable that it's hard to keep its balance on its own. We need to invest in those places so that true democracy and not repressive theocracy can take root and grow. If we can reduce our dependence on Israel as our sole ally in the Middle East, it would improve our national security here at home. Otherwise, if we abandon these people, it would make the sacrifices our soldiers and their families have made, both there and here at home, yet another exercise in futility and impotence. *END SOAPBOX*

Not trying to stir up controversy, only trying to express my feelings on this sore subject. I hope everyone takes it in the spirit it was intended. I respect your opinion and ask only that you respect mine.

I respect your opinion and I also agree! I'm not in the least bit one-sided as far as these things go.

(also, hope you don't mind I stole your soapbox.... )

*BEGIN SOAPBOX* I want our soldiers home and safe, and I think we need to take care of our country as well as help others. But I also know that part of doing that is looking out after the good of other countries, and in order to protect ourselves we need to protect them, help them, and do what we can to work together for the good of all people. I am against the war itself, but I am totally in support of our troops and the good that they have done in those countries. I have friends who are Muslim and living in the war-torn middle east, and I feel for them. They need our help, too. I just want this whole thing resolved.... I know it's a lot to ask for in this world, but I want to see this world more at peace. I wish people would have more respect for each other, no matter whether they believe the same things or not...

Sorry, this isn't directed at any of you here... I just know some people who are very close to me who are...shall we say, very opinionated about these things, and they seem to get...somewhat hateful and unpleasant when I happen to disagree with them. If I'm not all for them, then they perceive me as against them, and that's just not me. I try to remain more neutral, most of the time.... I want this world to be a better place for all people and all future generations... It makes me sad to see this world in the condition it's in currently... so much chaos, hate, fear.... People forget how to love....*END SOAPBOX*

Anywho, just ignore me if you want to. I certainly have no intention to bicker with anyone... I just have a lot of opinions, and sometimes I need to express them....

*Begin Patriotic Music* Neither Afghanistan nor Iraq ever asked us for help, and we had no right to force it down their throats (at least, with Iraq). Afghanistan I can understand, with 9-11, the Taliban (who were the top dogs in Afghanistan at the time) had essentially declared war on the U.S., and we retaliated. This, of course, means we have to clean up the mess we left behind and ensure that the warlords that allowed for the genocide to happen are removed from power and (at least) tried for war crimes (an oxymoron if I've ever heard one).

But we had no business going to Iraq. It is not the job of this country to police the world and ensure "American Democracy" can be had by all. Because not everyone WANTS "American Democracy...."

*sound of record scratching*

Erm... I think we'd better call this one off before it gets out of hand.

This post has been edited by Thomas Kaira: May 2 2011, 07:42 PM

I am more confident that bin Laden is dead after hearing John Brennan (homeland security) speak about the mission in total.


@ TK - hate to disagree with you on that, TK; but the Iraqi people absolutely begged for our help years before 911 and George Bush Sr. could not get the backing needed at the time to help them. Right after that, those that had been begging for help were tortured and gassed - including children and women. Literally thousands were slaughtered as traitors when they did ask for help.

Also, one of the Al Qaeda training camps found by American troops in Irag had a 35 foot mosaic of the planes going into the twin towers.

This post has been edited by mALX: May 4 2011, 02:51 PM

Oh my...I have to weigh in on this now...

First the disclaimer...the opinions expressed in this post are soley my own and do not represent the opinions of anyone smarter then me...

Iraq war...I don't believe we should have done it. We were duped into believing Saddam had WMD when the intelligence on this was sketchy at best. Having said that, if we HAD found WMD, I would eat the previously typed words. My personal opinion is that W wanted to finish what his daddy started and used 9/11 as an excuse.

Afgan war...When we went there, I was all for it. To me it was the Bin Laden hunt and not a war. But it has dargged out into a no win situation with a questionable exit strategy and timeline. Having said that, if we weren't over there, Bin Laden would still be alive right now. So it's a double-edged sword for me today, in light of last nights events.

Proud to be an American...(This one is toward Lady Syl...with no offense meant) The only way good education and decent healthcare will become available to the masses, instead of just to those who can afford it, is to get the Republicans out of office. I'm not a diehard liberal, but these people that aren't willing to chip in out of their pockets to live here (pay taxes) just piss me off. But even with all of our government's faults, there is no greater country in the world to live in. The fact that we can have this discussion is proof of that. I could not be prouder to be an American. The only part of America that I am not proud of are the 5% of the population at the top of the economic food chain that control more than 50% of this nations wealth.

At the risk of going further out on a limb...Personally, I think this country needs to go to a flat tax. Everyone pays the same percentage. 30%. If you make $100.00, you take home $70.00. What can you do with 100 million dollars that you can't do with 70 million dollars, besides by vacation homes, extra automobiles, and the occasional Lear jet. If everyone paid a flat tax, there would be no need for the IRS, because you don't file taxes anymore. That saves a load of cash right there. A 30% flat tax would run the country at a surplus and start paying down the debt.

ok....I'm off my soapbox now....