I do not want to appear disrespectful or ungrateful, but should we meet on the street one day, do say "Hello," or "Fine day" or other such nicety, but please do not thank me for "my service" as a United States Marine. I make this request because my service, as you refer to it, was basically, either to train to become a killer or to actually kill people and blow shit up.

Now, that is not something for which a person should be proud nor thanked. In fact, it is regrettable, and for me a source of guilt and shame, something I will have to live with for the rest of my life, as the past cannot ever be undone. So, when you thank me for my service, it disturbs me ... a lot. First off, it brings to mind my wasted youth and lost innocence, and the horrible and unnecessary deaths of good friends and comrades. Second, it reminds me of my responsibility and culpability for the pain and suffering I caused innocent people, again something I would rather forget, but cannot. Third, it reinforces my belief that you have absolutely no idea about the nature and reality of the wars in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan, because if you did, you would understand that thanks are inappropriate. Fourth, it reminds me that many of those who feel the need to offer thanks were apathetic about - or even supportive of - the war, while they refuse to participate themselves or did little or nothing to end it. And lastly, I have to admit that I doubt the sincerity of these expressions of supposed gratitude, as "Thank you for your service" is just something to say not because you care about what I did or sacrificed, but only to demonstrate your supposed good character, or patriotism and/or "support" for members of the military and veterans.

In making this request not to be thanked for my service, I am, of course, expressing only my opinion, and, perhaps, my idiosyncrasy, and I make no claim to be speaking for other veterans. I would wager, however, that many, perhaps even most, who have experienced the horror of war and have the courage and presence of mind to think about and evaluate what the war they served in was truly about would understand and probably concur with this request. Those veterans, however, who may not agree, who cling to the mythology of heroism, glory, honor and nobility of war, do so in large measure from fear that acknowledging war's reality would somehow diminish their sacrifice and the sacrifices of those whose lives were lost. Perhaps understandably, they view such sacrifices and loss as difficult enough to live with when they had value and purpose, and as intolerable if they were misguided and unnecessary. To these brothers and sisters, I would offer the following questions and observations for them to ponder.

I've nearly lost count of how many ways robots are making life's carnal origins more synthetic. Whether it's robot prostitutes, kiss transmitters or life-like mechanical butts, baby making has become less human and more humanoid.

Since coitus seems to have been compromised by the bots, while we're at it, why not skip ahead to the bitter end and bookend this thing we call life with even more robots?

Laying lonely in a hospital bed wheezing your last breaths? Sad no one's there to comfort you as you slip into the great beyond? No problem.

Artist, designer and engineer, Dan Chen, has you covered. In fact, he'd like to introduce you to his robot. Here it comes now and it has something to say:

I am the Last Moment Robot. I am here to help you and guide you through your last moment on Earth. I am sorry that your family and friends can't be with you right now, but don't be afraid. I am here to comfort you. You are not alone, you are with me. Your family and friends love you very much, they will remember you after you are gone.

Not only that, as it coos those final words, Last Moment Robot will caress the soon-to-be dead with a soothing, not-at-all creepy animatronic arm.

Thankfully, Chen's robot is more of an artistic statement than a pinch-hitter for missing family members. In his interactive End of Life Hospital installation, at least Chen is conscious of the contemplative duality that his robot conjures.

Canada, Montreal - Organizers of this weekend's Grand Prix festivities in downtown Montreal saw their worst nightmare play out on Saturday night as protesters and police clashed for two hours along one of the city's busiest thoroughfares, trapping thousands of revelers in the middle of recurring episodes of chaos.

Police reported a total of 28 arrests.

The night began peacefully around 9 p.m. as a group of about 600 protesters set out from Émilie Gamelin Park near the Berri-UQÀM métro station and made their way west, walking at a brisk pace until they ran into a line of riot police that forced them to turn south. A game of cat and mouse ensued, with officers from both the Sûreté du Québec and the Montreal police force continually blocking access west and pushing the demonstrators further and further south.

At 9:45 p.m., however, the crowd finally managing to dart up toward Ste. Catherine St. W. and into the heart of the Grand Prix party, which at that point was in full swing.

Within minutes, all semblance of order along the already bustling street appeared to collapse.

Traffic ground to a halt and the crowds - party-goers and protesters alike - flooded into the roadway.

Ahmedabad - In a bizarre incident, Gandhinagar police recovered a human hand, suspected to be part of a female body, from InfoCity circle early on Saturday. The police have started search for the body.

According to police, watchman at a construction project near the InfoCity saw a dog chewing something that looked like human remains.

He went to the spot and shooed the dog away. To his horror, the watchman saw that the object was a hand from elbow to fingers in a decomposed state.

He immediately raised an alarm and informed police about it.

Middleborough, Massachusetts - Residents in a town outside Boston voted Monday night to make the foul-mouthed pay fines for swearing in public.

At a town meeting, residents voted 183-50 to approve a proposal from the police chief to impose a $20 fine on public profanity.

Officials insist the proposal was not intended to censor casual or private conversations, but instead to crack down on loud, profanity-laden language used by teens and other young people in the downtown area and public parks.

"I'm really happy about it," Mimi Duphily, a store owner and former town selectwoman, said after the vote. "I'm sure there's going to be some fallout, but I think what we did was necessary."

Duphily, who runs an auto parts store, is among the downtown merchants who wanted to take a stand against the kind of swearing that can make customers uncomfortable.

"They'll sit on the bench and yell back and forth to each other with the foulest language. It's just so inappropriate," she said.

The measure could raise questions about constitutional free speech rights, but state law does allow towns to enforce local laws that give police the power to arrest anyone who "addresses another person with profane or obscene language" in a public place.

Montgomery, Alabama - Authorities searching for a man charged with fatally shooting three people near Auburn University swarmed a house Monday where they believe he's hiding, firing tear gas and sending a tactical team on forays inside.

Authorities arrived in the late afternoon, and investigators were still on the scene after midnight without bringing someone out of the house. Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange said they were going to continue to scour the attic, air conditioning ducts and "every crevice" of the house until they were satisfied. Still, by early Tuesday morning an Associated Press photographer on the scene saw much of the activity diminish while investigators stood guard outside.

Investigators said thermal imaging and other technology indicated a person was in the attic area of the house and that they'd heard coughing and movement. But after midnight, they acknowledged that they hadn't heard those noises for several hours. Strange said the next briefing was likely to come after daylight Tuesday.

The tactical team had searched the lower portions of the house and made deliberate moves into the attic where suspect Desmonte Leonard was believed to be hiding, said Montgomery Public Safety Director Chris Murphy. He declined to give a timetable for them to bring someone out.

Social media was buzzing about a Boston-area high school teacher's blunt commencement speech that told students they "are not special."


Wellesley High English teacher David McCullough Jr. told graduates "You are not special. You are not exceptional," quoting empirical evidence:

Aurora Police Searched Series Of Cars Looking For Suspect


Denver - Aurora police stopped dozens of cars and pulled out their drivers at gunpoint looking for a bank robbery suspect Saturday afternoon.

Police said an armed man robbed a Wells Fargo bank on E. Hampden Avenue and S. Chambers Road and fled.

Police tracked the robber to the intersection of E. Iliff Avenue and S. Buckley Road.

Responding officers barricaded the area, trapping about 25 cars near the intersection. Then police went car by car and pulled out each occupant at gunpoint and handcuffed them.

Almost every day this year, a soldier on active duty took his or her own life -- meaning that suicides killed more troops than war, according to a just released study.

The Times as well many other media organizations have reported that there had been 154 suicides this year, compared to 124 military fatalities.

This means that 2012 might mark the highest number of recorded suicides since the beginning of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Events in Europe are following the pattern seen in the U.S. several years ago. In Europe, financial crises in small countries are now giving way to crises in large ones.

This parallels what happened here. In 2005, home-building stocks peaked, and the national housing market peaked around year-end. In 2006, mortgage lenders and brokers began going bust. In winter 2007, the stocks of large financial companies peaked. In the spring, Bear Stearns announced problems with two real estate funds it sponsored.

In July, the Russell 2000 peaked. In August, the Fed temporarily reversed its tightening bias by announcing a small emergency cut in its "discount window" interest rate.

Also that month, if memory serves me correctly, the economist Ben Stein announced that no one should worry, what was happening in sub-prime would stay in sub-prime.

In the fall, problems with bond insurers became apparent, and cracks started appearing in the auction rate securities ARS) market. The Dow and S&P 500 peaked.