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| 2008/3/31-4/6 [Politics/Domestic/Election, Politics/Domestic/President/Bush] UID:49615 Activity:moderate |
3/31 Mark Steyn analyzes 'Dreams From My Father'
http://csua.org/u/l5p
This transcript covers on feature of Obama's first book that I found
so odd. I surprised more people who plan on voting haven't read it.
\_ Gee townhall. Surprise surprise.
\_ Ahhh, the Hugh Hewitt show! Let me guess, you're a Romney voter.
\_ Actually, I'd never heard of Hugh Hewitt until today. I got this
off a blog. I take it neither of you have read "Dreams From
My Father?" It's not that it's an amazing book or anything,
but it was the first thing I read when I first heard of
Obama and was thinking about voting for him. It's also the
reason I decided I didn't want to vote for him. I continue
to be surprised that more people haven't read it, especially
among those who love and those who hate him. -op
\_ Which aspect(s) of the book made you not want to vote for
him, and does that mean you chose Clinton instead?
\_ Well, I actually voted for Obama in the primaries because
I still like him a lot more than Clinton. Looks like I'll
end up voting for McCain in the general election unless
something big changes.
The book bugged me in a couple of ways. He seems to
realize early on that he can choose who he wants to become.
This is an unusual and admirable quality. So he decides
to join the black radical culture. This I find less
admirable. He then spends a lot of his youth trying to
prove how 'black' he is. Even going so far as to pressue
other african-american students if he doesn't think they're
acting black enough. He even calls one guy an Uncle Tom
for studing too hard, although he apologizes for that.
There seems to be a sort of 'hate whitey' undercurrent
throughout the text, although he never actually says
something so quoteable. There is one line where he
writes (as I recall) 'I came to the conclusion that
perhaps not all whites are worthy of our scorn.' Umm,
thanks? And perhaps not all blacks are criminals?
I would be okay with this if he ever seemed to get past it,
but near then end of the book he suggests that some
random white family in a restraunt in Kenya is there
because they "want black people to serve them."
This is all difficult to draw strong conclusions about
because, as the article mentions, he never overtly
states his positions, or if his ideas have changed.
He also comes across as ignorant of economics. -op
\_ Did you try the second book?
\_ No, I read the first book partially because I figured
the second book was likely to be written purely for
political reasons, and would therefore not show his
true beliefs. He stated in an interview that Dreams
From My Father contained things that were
'politically inconvinent' but that he stood by them.
I was impressed by that bravery. However, since he
never really makes any solid statements in the
first book, I guess I may as well read the 2nd. -op
\_ Okay, you piqued my curiosity enough that I am going
to read this book. I wonder what kind of book Dubya
would have written at that age. Probably nothing
as impressive.
\_ This constant bringing up of Dubya sounds kind of
pathetic, along the lines of 'Ok, but the Republicans
are still worse... right? right? Just checking'.
-- ilyas
\_ Why is it pathetic? Wasn't Dubya the best possible
candidate the Republican Party could nominate?
We have heard for years what a great President
he was, from many Conservative pundits. Would
McCain be any better?
\_ What's pathetic is your fixation on Dubya.
This thread isn't even about Dubya but you keep
somehow trying to bring him in. -- ilyas
\_ Dubya == McCain. I am not the one who
brought up McCain.
\_ No, Dubya is not McCain. McCain is
McCain. I think you should let Dubya go.
\_ I think it is pathetic that the Bush
voters want us to forget history so
quickly. You should have the loyalty
to stand by your man or at least be
willing to learn from your mistakes.
In what significant way do McCain's
In what significant way does McCain's
policy positions differ from Dubya's?
\_ I am not a Bush voter, and I grow
tired of this conversation.
WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!
\_ Facts are such tiresome things.
You are going to vote for McCain
even though you have no idea
what his policies are, just
because you don't like a book
the other guy wrote 20 years
ago? That is a reason to vote
for someone I guess. Kind of a
lame reason, imho, but it is
your right.
\_ This has got to be a troll.
We have no idea what McCain's
policies are? No one here
could make such a stupid
statement seriously, could
they? -!pp
\_ So tell me then where
McCain would be different
than Bush. Their important
policies are the same.
\_ And Obama = Clinton = LBJ!
\_ Also LBJ == JFK == FDR
\_ No Obama's policies are quite
different than LBJ's. Depending on
which Clinton you mean, you are
actually pretty close to the mark
there.
\_ The quotes I've seen clearly seem written
from the perspective of exploring the mindset of
various individuals and groups, not really statements
of personal philosophy. Obama clearly has "racial
baggage" and identity confusion as part of his life
experience. The book seems more of an explanation of
why/how he would be involved in black radicalism rather
than an espousal of it. Can you honestly say you have
never had racist thoughts? Obama's book is open about
it, but I can't see any evidence he "hates whitey" at
this point in time, or understands less about econ.
than his rivals.
\_ Well, I find that theory even more disturbing. Does
he have no principles at all? What does it mean
when someone goes to so much trouble to avoid making
any sort of personal statement of principles?
\_ Most of us have a personal and moral philosophy
that evolves as we mature. I think that this is
a good thing and a sign of a smart and agile mind,
but I know that some (mostly extremists, on all
ends of the political spectrum) find that to be
a sign of moral weakness.
\_ That's not the focus of that book. The second
book is. Honestly though, I'm not sure what you
expect. How do you write a book on the subject
he did? Did he need a "for dummies" chapter
to reassure white people that he doesn't hate
them? What is "the solution" to the problems he
deals with? Should blacks ignore racism, pretend
it doesn't exist? On balance it seems better for
him to have written the book than not. It shows
that he has allowed himself to process and
consider ideas that we don't find appealing.
But I think in the end he rejects them, if only
because he decides the ideas not effective. Have
you ever seriously considered the merits of
communism, segregation, etc.? The reality is that
most smart people don't pretend to have a simple
rulebook for every situation in life. The best
he can do is point to his past actions and show
that he considers all angles of a problem and its
solution. There doesn't seem to be any way for
him to prove himself to you -- after all, if he
simply says something you can suspect him of
hidden resentment and hatred.
\_ The most common objection I've seen to the book is that
Obama's description of himself as a young man doesn't match
up with the experience that others had of him - that he was
much more outgoing and cheerful than he seems to have thought
himself. I'd say this is really common - I'm willing to bet
most of you would have a description of your younger self that
contradicted what others saw. Self-awareness takes a LONG
time to really develop, and some people never develop it.
\_ I love how Barack just confuses the hell out of conservatives.
\_ I love how Barack demonstrates so clearly how shallow the
majority of Dems are.
\_ What defines a non-shallow Dem for you?
\_ The silence just speaks volumes, doesn't it? |
| 2008/3/31-4/6 [Uncategorized] UID:49616 Activity:nil |
3/31 Building stonehenge with no modern tools, just one guy
http://www.boingboing.net/2008/03/31/building-stonehenge.html
link:tinyurl.com/329au9
\_ Asperger's Syndrome. |
| 2008/3/31-4/6 [Computer/Companies/Ebay] UID:49617 Activity:low |
3/31 I just saw the world's largest diamond auction on TV, featuring a
relatively symmetrical well proportioned but otherwise really flat
& plain looking Asian woman holding the diamond up for photographers.
You know, if I were to auction the world's largest diamond,
I'd feature nice busty Irish+German woman instead. Why? Because
\_ Dude, no one would notice the freakin' diamond, with
a woman like that. You WANT a plain background so
as not to distract people from the main event.
their big round blue eyes & long eye lashes complement the sparkle
of the world's biggest diamond 1000% better than Asian girls who look
like little boys and in fact do have little boy figures. It's way
beyond me why the seller featured an Asian women.
-Irish+German women #1 fan
\_ JACKIE JOHNSON!!! Big robust white women rule!
\_ Consider who the market for this diamond might be.
\_ White software engineers?
\_ Arab princesses?
\_ Arab princes.
\_ They like blonde chicks, not Asians. |
| 2008/3/31-4/6 [Finance/Banking] UID:49618 Activity:nil |
3/31 Looking for a high-rate CD, recommendation please?
\_ In the US? You won't find one, you can thank the Fed for that.
\_ Ok fine. What's the highest CD in the US right now?
\_ Check http://countrywide.com. You can also go to http://bankrate.com for
CD comparisons. WSJ also lists highest CD yields at times. |
| 2008/3/31-4/6 [Politics/Foreign/Asia/China, Computer/HW/Memory] UID:49619 Activity:nil |
3/31 Dear Chinese people who are into feng-shui and szhuan4-ming4.
There are a few main ways to szhuan4-ming4. If memory serves
right, one of them is called zji3-wai1 and the other one is
called zji3-ping2. Is that right? Where can I get more informatino
on this? Thanks for any pointer.
\_ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortune-telling#Asian_fortune_telling
It lists four major methods and some other methods.
\_ http://chinese-astrology.blogspot.com/2005/08/zi-wei-dou-shu-what-is-it.html
The first one is called Zi3 Wei1 but I don't know other methods. |
| 2008/3/31-4/6 [Uncategorized] UID:49620 Activity:nil |
3/31 japanese girls have boobs too
http://www.myboobsite.com/blog/big-tits-japanese-av-idols-harada-orei-hanai-miri-at-busty-asians
\_ ^s^ jobs
\_ Of course. See http://www.tokyotopless.com
\_ Not safe for work.
\_ Amazing what surgeons can do these days.
\_ Ourei Harada DOB:2/25/86 T158 B97(J) W60 H88
Miri Hanai DOB:10/15/84 T147 B93(H) W58 H85
\_ Yukimi Tohno would be in the same genre, but she has natural ones. |
| 2008/3/31 [Health/Dental, Health] UID:49621 Activity:nil 97%like:49623 |
3/31 Yay! School takes crutches away from injured girl
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/mar/29/me-mother-school-took-girls-crutches
\_ We have a zero tolerance policy on reason in schools.
\_ And yet home schooling should be illegal! |
| 2008/3/31-4/6 [Computer/SW/Unix] UID:49622 Activity:nil |
3/31 There's this website that I'd like to perform an asshole
wget operation on it (wget -r --level=3 -k http://site.com
However, it's got rate throttling and denies me if I fetch
too quickly. Is there like a "--wait 10" command or something
I can use with wget? ok thx.
\_ man wget, look for "--random-wait".
\_ man wget, look for "--wait".
\_ Oh man, I can't believe I missed it. Thanks motd! -op
\_ Different versions have different features. Don't do this
from soda.
\_ I just did a bunch of wgets on soda. Now what? -op
\_ This could be considered a DOS attack. It's not nice to
do that from a shared machine, because you could be
prosecuted.
\_ Look up DOS attack. |
| 2008/3/31-4/6 [Health/Dental, Health/Men] UID:49623 Activity:nil 97%like:49621 |
3/31 Yay! School takes crutches away from injured girl
http://preview.tinyurl.com/3cwttm [tbo.com]
\_ We have a zero tolerance policy on reason in schools.
\_ And yet home schooling should be illegal!
\_ Yup. It should be illegal for parents to lock up their
precious innocent daughters at home. -- NAMGLA member
precious innocent daughters at home. The girls need to get
out and meet men out there to learn the wonders of life.
-- NAMGLA member
\_ We have uniform instances of idiocy throughout all public
schools. We are Legion. |
| 2008/3/31-4/6 [Politics/Domestic] UID:49624 Activity:nil |
3/31 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23883833 Fed overhaul. So much for FREE MARKET!!! "Republicans have generally favored a hands off approach and support the idea that, no matter how painful the consequences, people who took on more risk than they could handle whether home buyers or investors should have to accept the resulting losses." hello? What is going on today? \_ This *is* generally true, and you can see it in the respective plans being offered by Paulson vs. the House Democrats. They both favor regulation, but the Democrats favor 1) more regulation and 2) a home owner bailout. Republicans only want to bail out the banks. |
| 2008/3/31-4/6 [Recreation/Activities] UID:49625 Activity:kinda low |
3/31 From slashdot: "Neal Stephenson, author of greats like Snow Crash and
Cryptonomicon..." So, I hated Cryptonomicon. I thought it was boring
and generally kinda stupid. I only read it all the way through because
I got it as a gift. The same guy who gave me Cryptonomicon also
highly recommends Snow Crash. Is Snow Crash also crap? Everything
people say is 'cool' about it sounds like it was made up by a 9th
grader. 'Hiro Protagonist', 'Guy who rides a motorcycle with a nuke'
Sounds like crap.
\_ Stephenson used to be juvenile and boring, now he's just boring.
-- ilyas
\_ When I was 18 it was awesome. I bet it isn't so awesome anymore.
It does, however, have a pretty amusing opening chapter.
\_ I bought snowcrash again last week with the intent of reading
it as cheap geek pr0n on the plane but ended up reading
"Light" by M. John Harrison instead.
-sky
\_ Is it any good?
\- like much Science Fiction, Snow Crash is more of an
"ideas" book than a prose book ... not that it is Plato
or anything. I thought Cryptonomicon was ok ... what are
you comparing it to. With lightweight stuff I think the
question is more "was it amusing" [which might be more a
statement about you than the book], as opposed to "is it
good/deep/profound/a classic" [which is a statement
about the object, not subject].
\_ Yeah, and the ideas didn't age very well. I'm not sure if
that is because I got older and realized how trite they were
or if it just because they were ideas that got dated quickly.
I suspect it is a bit of both.
\_ I actually think it is because Snow Crash so influenced
what people thought was possible with technology, that
many of his ideas became realized. So now it seems obvious.
But in truth, it was seminal.
\_ What? If anything age has made it look laughably bad.
What ideas are realized?
\_ MMORPGs along with Half Life are both pretty much
entirely based riff on his idea of what cyberspace
entirely based on his idea of what cyberspace
would look like.
\_ No. No they aren't. Not to mention that
avatars existed long before Snow Crash.
\_ Where, other than in Hindu mythology?
\_ Video games, in the 70's.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maze_War
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habitat_%28video_game%29
Even pac-man is basically an avatar.
\_ Or, say, faces.
\_ Not even close to what was envisioned
in Snow Crash and then realized finally
in Half Life. Have you even used Half
Life?
\_ Uh, do you mean Second Life? Half-Life
is a first person shooter. Anyway,
you asked about avatars, I answered.
That habitat game has some aspects of
Second Life also. The tech was too
primitive to have 3D first person back
then, but MazeWar sort of had it.
Second Life may be based on Snow
Crash but the basic idea is still
just controlling a character in a
virtual world, which has been around
for a long time in video games. Maybe
the virtual economy idea was new, I
have no idea, but it's a basic
extension of a multiplayer RPG
system. Remember, TRON was developed
in 1982.
\_ Did anyone make it through the Baroque Cycle? I keep
trying to finish Quicksilver every year or so.
-sky
\_ I read the entire thing and loved it, but I happen to
enjoy his gonzo journalism style of economic/science
historical fiction. Quicksilver is hard to get through
unless the history of 17th century mercantile banks
turns you on. Yes, I'm weird, I get it. --erikred
\_ Snow Crash seems to have entered the cultural landscape enough
that I felt obligated to read it. I haven't gotten any must-read
vibes about any of his other stuff. Overall I did enjoy Snow
Crash but I was younger. It's a great book for a young male.
I didn't think it was the best sci-fi ever. But honestly there
just aren't many great books of that particular genre. It's
a tough audience and at this point the whole hacker culture
thing is kind of ruined by the Matrix etc. At least SC did not
take itself seriously.
\_ I have been told that Snow Crash is great by people who loved
Cryptonomicon. I did not particularly like Cryptonomicon and
could not finish it b/c I found it dry, boring and poorly
edited. I have tried to read Snow Crash more than once, and
I have never been able to finish it b/c I found it boring and
poorly edited as well. Note: By poor editing, I mean that no
one seems to have told the author to streamline the narrative
and exclude unnecessary exposition. Or if the author was told,
he wasn't smart enough to follow the editor's advice.
\- i think NS became a better writer between SC and C ... SC
kind of unreaveled in terms of technical execution,and while
i wouldnt say C was "polished", i think you could tell
NS had learned to managed a large book better.
\_ According to coworkers of mine who knew him, the original
C ran to 1600 pages... and that's when his editor told him
to stop and publish. Those of you who didn't like C might
instead enjoy The Big U or Zodiac, his much, much earlier
works. |
| 5/19 |