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Originally posted by Izzy sorry to brag, i guess i should turn this into a topic for you all. Has there been an influencel people that you've seen talk in person that have had an impact on your views or opinions?

Not really.

Since I go to school near Washington, we get quite a few "big name" speakers, and I've even had the chance to be introduced to a few of them personally, including Bill Clinton.

The problem is, they almost always disappoint me. Rather, my experiences with them have only served to bolster my opinion that a representative democracy is not a system under which the most qualified individuals tend to rise to prominence.

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Originally posted by biznology hehe|

ann arbor rocks

one of my best friends goes to u mich. went up to visit him last year and htis summer. had such an awsome time


mmm zingermans...

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Originally posted by Izzy Don't you just love being in a university with a presidential library. i just got tickets to see: Qian Qichen (former vice president of china), Henry Kissinger, and Colin Powell all lecture tomorrow at our auditorium (free tickets to students). The lecture topic will be about US-China relations, should be interesting with that kind of high-caliber panel.

What a fucking great line-up that is


And how can Bill Clinton disappoint some1? I'd vote him number one on the PoliticiansMag top 100.

Wow, you guys are lucky. Aussie politicians never seem to give speeches like this (except when they're campaigning). :-/

If you get a Q&A session with Powell, be sure to ask him what he thinks of Mr. Rumsfeld, yeah?

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Originally posted by TranceGiant And how can Bill Clinton disappoint some1? I'd vote him number one on the PoliticiansMag top 100.

Shitty looking logo (there are better looking ones) but this is my school:

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Originally posted by Renegade If you get a Q&A session with Powell, be sure to ask him what he thinks of Mr. Rumsfeld, yeah?

I wish i could have, Powell made his spiel about US-China relations and policies and then had to hurry back to DC (he came on-route from south america). The speechs were cool, except the ex-vice-premier of china was dull. They were all introduced by Bush Sr.

A cool point kissenger made about NK that i never realized before was that if NK were indeed to acquire nukes, and even if they didnt have immediate intentions of using them, SK and Japan would instantly develop nuclear programs (easily done by the japs) in order to counter the new NK threat and to insure their safety. This in turn would probably cause other countries in the area to want to seek nukes in order to counter SK and Japan, thus creating a prolifiration on the whole pacific asian shelf. Definetly not a chain effect you would want to start. i thought it was a good point. the other thing they talked about was the issue with Taiwan, both stressed peaceful resolution that would not create a 'two china' solution. And lastly of course was the economic stuff. Powell wants to remove the trade deficit the US has with China, while the Chinese deligate wanted america to allow US technological exports into china.

very interesting, wish you all could have sat next to me.

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If God is the answer, it must have been a very stupid question.