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2008/5/28-31 [Politics/Foreign/MiddleEast/Iraq] UID:50064 Activity:nil |
5/28 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/2041908/John-Bolton-to-be-target-of-citizen%27s-arrest-at-Hay-Festival.html John Bolton to be target of citizen's arrest at Hay Festival. |
2008/5/28-6/1 [Politics/Domestic/Election, Politics/Domestic/President/Bush] UID:50065 Activity:nil |
5/28 http://www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?source=hptextfeature&story_id=11412562 The amusing bit is at the end, where McCain voted against this, and Obama voted for. Extra amusing is how someone deleted this without comment. (Bush vetoed this bill also). -- ilyas \_ Change! |
2008/5/28-31 [Politics/Foreign/Asia/China] UID:50066 Activity:nil |
5/28 How come China doesn't ask the US to provide some CH-47 Chinooks to do the heavy lifting of personels, aids and machinery up to those disaster areas where roads are blocked? It'd be much better than PLA troops carrying tools and supplies to the areas by hiking tens of kilometers. \_ Haven't the Chinese stolen plans for the Chinooks by now and built their own? \_ 1 million Chinese soldiers carrying supplies over the mountains >> a few US Chinooks. remember the Korean war? \_ It's hard for 1 million Chinese soldiers to move earth-moving machinary that can weight a dozen tons each through mountains. (Unless they disassemble and re-assemble it, in which case it's inefficient.) \_ China actually has helicopters of their own now. |
2008/5/28-30 [Reference/Military] UID:50067 Activity:moderate |
5/27 How is Heckler & Koch P2000 compared to say, Beretta PX4 Storm? How about the ultra configurable Sig Sauer P250? \_ The only time I really wished I had a gun was when we were hiking in the middle of nowhere and there were a bunch of gangster looking people who kept looking at us and pointing as if they wanted to rape the girls and kill the guys or something. They could have easily done so if they wanted to. Other than that, there's never been a time where I wished I had a gun. \_ The P250 is a sub compact frame, the PX4 storm is compact. I've found I just don't like the grips of the subcompacts, and am going to stick with the PX4. -emarkp \_ Also P250 is double action (DA) only. I hate DA-only mode. Imagine needing accuracy for the second shot. Always get DA->SA with de-cocker option. http://world.guns.ru/handguns/hg119-e.htm Good site \_ Agreed, DA/SA is better at least for me. It's one reason I've rejected a revolver for concealed carry. -emarkp \_ Huh? Many modern revolvers are DA/SA. -- ilyas \_ Also a revolver is hard to reload and the chamber is so friggin bulky. We're not in the wild wild west anymore \_ I'm a gun newbie and I'm wondering if DA/SA is better for me? I'd like to be able to "cock" the first shot with a single trigger pull, then pull lighter with subsequent pulls. Is that what you call a "DA/SA" gun? What are some autoloading guns that are DA/SA? \_ Yes. DA = Double Action = hammer not cocked SA = Single Action = hammer is cocked On an automatic handgun, the slide kicks back and ejects a round, then cocks the hammer and loads the new round. Most automatics are DA/SA. Some are SA only which require manually cocking the hammer before the first round can be fired. \_ HK P2000 has many modes, are they switcheable between the modes? Like DA only, LEM, DA/SA... \_ I honestly don't know. \_ Are your guns switcheable? \_ no, but my penis is \_ ?? \_ I've always wanted to hide spare guns and clips in houseplants, \_ I've always wanted to hide spare guns and magazines in houseplants, like Chow Yun Fat. \_ Magazines. Not clips. |
2008/5/28-31 [Recreation/Computer/Games] UID:50068 Activity:nil |
5/28 I got an Xbox 360 a while back, and I didn't have a system last generation, so I've been buying old Xbox games from the bargain bin. Does anyone have any recommendations? At $4 a pop, it doesn't have to be amazing. \_ At $4 per 1/2 box, you can shoot a bunch of 9mm's from a nice Beretta and have more fun than being a geek. |
2008/5/28-31 [Computer/SW/Languages/Perl, Computer/SW/Languages/Misc] UID:50069 Activity:nil |
5/28 dreamhost tells customers to quit complaining about email and just use gmail http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2008/05/huge_web_hostin.html \_ search for dreamhost on motd. sucky suck. \_ http://csua.com/?entry=45409 http://csua.com/?entry=45383 |
2008/5/28-31 [Politics/Domestic/Election, Politics/Domestic/President/Bush] UID:50070 Activity:high |
5/28 Former White House press sect comes out with book bashing his old boss. I feel like we're trapped in an alternate universe where I read the newspaper and think immediately 'well OF COURSE I THOUGHT EVERYONE KNEW THIS STUFF' when I read the newspaper and that The Onion should give up, since their writers will never be able to keep up with the tragic humor masters of the Bush administration. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/05/28/national/w051712D44.DTL http://preview.tinyurl.com/6h9yup \_ Uhm... "fired staffer pens bash book" is not exactly news for \_ Uhm... "fired Bush staffer pens bash book" is not exactly news for any administration. Is this your first election cycle in this country? \_ Yeah, let's talk about something more important, like WHY DOESN'T THAT MARXIST OBAMA WEAR A FLAG PIN? \_ Nice strawman. Bush bashing is such old hat now isn't it? I mean, how \_ doesn't get old. consequences of trying to pave Iraq with no viable plan will be with us for decades. old money bluebloods in CT still whine about the New Deal, and that was a long time ago. Iraq isn't even last week. Iraq is The Now(tm). \_ Well, Al Qaeda has a part to play in this doesn't it? If it didn't do 9/11 and fight us in Afghanistan and Iraq then a lot fewer innocents would have died. If Saddam wasn't a brutal strongman then we'd have no excuse to go in there. Who is responsible for the terrorism in Iraq? It's not the USA that is blowing up street markets. Iraq is pretty effed up but it was already effed up. \_ AQ wasn't in Iraq pre-US Invasion. AQ and SH were not BFF. We should have stopped with Afghanistan. We should have brought other pressures against SH. There were no WMD. There was no link to AQ. Stop perpetuating lies told by chickenhawks to sell a war to demonstrate that the Powell Doctrine was bunk. \_ I know there was no link to AQ, but there is now right? So what about that? Should we ignore AQ? AQ is there now and causing deaths. \_ AQI is nowhere near as powerful or popular as the AQ was when the Taliban ruled Afg. We should leave the internal affair of cleaning up AQI to the Iraqis. much more dead can that horse get? Me, I consider myself an independent voter because the reality is that both major parties are full of posturing blowhards. If you really care about change then you should push for instant runoff voting and support real change from status quo American politics. Not Obama populist speechmaking change, actual structural change. Americans are too complacent. We often complain about the choices but then go ahead and vote for one of them anyway instead of making a concerted effort to bring someone else in. I actually think a random selection of people would be better Congresspersons than district-based elected reps from political parties. Proportional representation would be pretty good but political parties in general are somewhat broken. You could have a bunch of people randomly selected from an opt-in pool and then have voters approve some number of those. The usual road to political campaign promotes corruption and actor-style figurehead polticians. change. Americans are too complacent. \_ You really think a Democratic President is going to be exactly like a Republican one? You expect more unprovoked wars and massive transfers of wealth from future taxpayers to well-connected defence contractors? I don't. If you support real change, you should join Common Cause and push for campaign finance reform. I did. \_ You really think a new Republican President is going to be exactly like Bush? Bush couldn't do what he has done without the support of Democrats in Congress. Do you really think Democrats \_ I believe Bush and his advisors were able to brilliantly out maneuver and bully Congress into funding their Iraq plan. Also in another thread we can all rant about Bush not following laws, interpreting laws only in the way his lawyers say they should be interpretted, just simply not following laws he didnt like because hey its war time, and then we can get into torture and how Bush has thrown away decades of world good will by showing how the US just doesn't care about the Geneva conventions. \_ Laugh. How did they bully Congress? If Bush is not following laws, why don't they impeach him? \_ I DO NOT KNOW! \_ They didn't have the votes. What laws? What world good will exactly? The \_ look up 'signing statements' \_ what material effect has this had? good will was already pretty suspect in most Arab countries; we have been strongly supporting Israel for a long ass time and fucking around protecting or deposing various third world regimes. The Guantanamo dudes were mainly from the Afghanistan thing which everybody seems to think was a fine and jolly war. \_ American popularity has plummeted worldwide, not just in the Middle East. \_ Well, it doesn't seem to matter anywhere but in the middle east. I don't think this is a long term thing. Muslims aren't very happy about Europe either, and China already had tension for obvious reasons. I don't see any real long term difference. \_ The majority of the Guantanamites were sold to us by our allies in Pakistan. The Bush Admin encouraged a sloppy attitude toward accepting these guys without research or due process. This same Admin then took a laissez-faire approach to torturing those same people, most of whom have now been released as not having been terrorists to begin with. are corruption-free? Do you think liberals are good and conservatives are evil? Democratic presidents took the USA into WW1, WW2, Korea Vietnam, and Kosovo. \_ WW1 = won WW2 = won Korea = stalemate Vietnam = lost Kosovo = won I think the batting average of a Dem >>> Rep \_ That's nice, pinhead. \_ somalia = lost grenada = won nicaragua = won \_ Somalia: poor planning, no war. Grenada: The entire USMC vs. a minor band of guerillas; if we'd "lost," there would have been hell to pay. \_ Panama '89 = won Democrats are just as cosy with corporate America as Republicans. Campaign finance reform is mostly meaningless. \_ Bush definitely could not have done what he did without the support of the GOP. If the Dems are collaborators, then GOP are Nazis. I'll take the former over the latter any day. \_ Really. Why? Bush couldn't do what he did without the complacence of the American people. Anyway Iraq isn't fundamentally very different from those \_ So, since we didn't storm the White House or impeach them, we're to blame for his bad behavior? This is like someone killing people then blaming the police for not catching him. \_ Well, yes, because we elected him twice. I blame the American people and Congress. What do you want from me? We have only two stinking parties and they are both bad in various ways. Last time I voted for Kerry, but I didn't even like Kerry. This time I will vote for McCain. What exactly do you want to impeach Bush on? \_ Lying. Suppressing intel that didn't favor his plans. Destroying e-mail. Outing a CIA operative. What do I want from you? A realization that no matter who gets elected, they are not going to be as fundamentally bad as the President and Veep; a statement to the effect that no matter what anyone else didn't do stop them, they were responsible for the evil that they did. I want you to hold the Bush Admin responsible for its actions, and I want you to do so without qualifying it with excuses or references to the Dems' behavior. \_ No, I can't hold ONLY Bush and Veep responsible because they did not have the power to do their thing alone. Congress was complicit, CIA members were complicit, Britain went to war and we did not force it to do that. There was evidence that SH wanted WMD even if he did not have them, and there was an insufficient trail for the WMD that he was supposed to have had. It's not useful to fixate only on Bush and ignore the big picture. How much was evil and how much was incompetence I do not know. SH did sponsor Palestinian terrorism to some extent. \_ I want a drug pony, indict me. The POTUS was in a position to know that the intel he was receiving was shaky at best. He still passed it on like it was a "slam dunk." I buy that Congress didn't stop POTUS, and that some in the CIA wanted to please the prez. The least you can do is admit that the Prez. set the tone and ignored anything that contradicted. This inability to accept *any* blame w/o blaming someone else at the same time is the key character flaw of this Admin and its apologists. \_ Yes, obviously POTUS wanted war, and dismissed indications that were contrary to his aim, and pumped the dubious stuff and misportrayed the state of intel. This was wrong etc. But then it's not like there was hard evidence against the WMD thing. We do know SH had a WMD program of sorts and it's possible we'd have ended up in Iraq by now anyway for one reason or another. But yes, I do blame the prez for the war. But I don't transfer this blame to the entire Republican Party; or at least not really more than the D Party. Americans elected W after the WMD fiasco was known. At that point I am less concerned about Mr. Bush personally. other wars in principle. Saddam was a bad guy and we're fighting for freedom. What's the \_ the reasons we invaded Iraq change every day. i don't think this is like past wars, at all. \_ It's exactly like past wars. The US was not threatened in any war except WW2, and that case was after the US already made offensive moves against Japan. The difference is that Bush was more clumsy and hamhanded about it with the lame justifications. He wasn't able to make adequate speeches to inspire the rabble (but it was still enough). \_ We got involved in the Korean and Vietnam war to show our muscle and annoy the local power in that part of the world, China. So we invaded Iraq to annoy Iran? Piss off Syria? Huh I guess you're right the Iraq war is like every other war! \_ So your argument is that just because others talked us into illegal actions we should let this bungler off the hook just because he was so bad at it? What the hell kind of behavior are we rewarding here? \_ No that's not my argument. (?) difference? We killed lots and lots of civilians in those other wars too. What's your big problem? Did defense contractors not profit in the past? Let's say we didn't go into Iraq. We'd still be in Afghanistan, right? We'd still maintain the overwhelming power of the US military. We'd still have dot com bubbles and housing bubbles. The D's aren't putting forth anything really different. Guys like Nader and Ron Paul do put forth stuff that is different. In 2000 Gore and Bush sounded very alike and spent the debates mostly agreeing with each other. \_ Clinton significanly cut the military budget and used that money to balance the fed budget. This is not a small thing. A more liberal Democrat might actually get something significant done, like national health care. WWII was different in that we actually attacked the people who bombed us. I will grant you Vietnam. \_ Of course the Republican strategy to Vietnam would have been so much less aggressive. \_ Re: national health care Be careful what you wish for. \_ No, Democrats aren't just as cozy with corporate America as the Republicans, or they wouldn't support things like Unions. Corporate America hates unions. But they are cozy with certain sorts of corporations, ones that do things like educate, build mass transit, entertain and litigate (okay, not so great perhaps). I prefer all of these to bombing civilians for profit. I am kind of nutty that way. \_ You are pretty nutty to believe that Republicans literally bomb civilians for profit, and that they don't educate or do anything other than rape babies. Seriously, take a breath and think about it. Corporations give huge amounts of money to Dem campaigns. Dems have huge investment stakes and other ties large corporations. HRC served on the board of Wal-Mart. But no, Republicans bomb civilians for profit. Yay. \_ Yes, I am very familliar with which special \_ Yes, I am very familiar with which special interest groups give to which candidates. Obviously, you are not. Who does Boeing, Halliburton, Bechtel and the other war profiteers donate to? Do you even know? Most big corporations hedge their bets a little, but Big Oil and the Military Industrial Complex overwhelmingly lean GOP. Can you guess why? Wal-Mart arguably does some things that are in the public interest (I know, so does Big Oil...) \_ Show me the data. And show me where the money is going in the current election. Democrats seem to be getting a lot of funds from defense industry employees now: http://opensecrets.org/pres08/sectors.php?sector=D Democrats have had power in this country before and have power in Congress now. Where's the beef? Where's the utopian legislation that will lead us to the promised land? Democrats authorized Bush to invade Iraq. Democrats do Bad Things sometimes. National defense is not a Republican invention and none of the frontrunning candidates are going to cut our military meaningfully after 2008. The only one with that platform was Paul (a Republican). \_ and Kucinich, Gravel, Frank Moore. \_ what about Nader? Point being that these guys are essentially not in the Democratic Party. What's Obama gonna do? \_ Look at the last eight years. But yes, everyone can see which way the wind blows now. A majority of Democrats in Congress voted against the bill to give Bush the authority to invade Iraq, no amount of spin can change that. I think you are wrong about Obama and defense spending. Clinton cut it by 1/3 from Reagan. Obama will do the same. There is no promised land, but leadership matters and some of it is clearly better. \_ Obama would inherit Iraq. He's not going to be able to cut the military by 1/3 in a first term, you are nuts. Clinton did not inherit any wars. The president doesn't even have that power, he needs Congress to do it. As you said, companies try to go where the wind is blowing and the wind was blowing for GOP in the last 8 yrs. \_ Repeatedly questioning my sanity does not make your arguments any more pursuasive. I have been shown to be 100% right about Bush, even when my position was the extreme minority. You have not apparently learned anything at all. Simply ending the war in Iraq will cut the military budget by 1/3. I expect Obama to do thatin the first expect Obama to do that in the first two years of his term. \_ Your position was never in the extreme minority; that proves you have a fantasyland inside your head. What am I supposed to learn? I didn't vote for Bush, nor do I like him. I am just being pragmatic. The Democrats are not better and are worse in other ways. The war in Iraq will play out similarly with any of the candidates. Obama will "end" the war but we will still have troops there. We already ended it a long time ago; mission accomplished etc. \_ Bush popularity rating was 91% at one point. Either you have a strange definition of extreme minority or a very selective memory. \_ His rating was never 91%. Maybe among Republicans. \_ Oct '01 according to some polls. Check: http://www.pollingreport.com/BushJob1.htm Riding high after 9/11 '01? Bush hadn't done shit by then. _/ But ok I stand corrected. What were you saying about him in Oct 01 that you were so right about? In Oct 01 we were inundated with patriotism. \_ Apologies: stat was posted by motd fact-checker, not pp. Pls continue. \_ Somebody sure made money from all those bombs dropped on Iraq. They don't build those things for free, you know. \_ You think no Democrats profited from that? Hell, maybe you have a mutual fund with defense industry stock and you profited yourself. I probably profited. Democrats profited from napalming Vietnamese villages. This is not a fruitful line of discussion. \_ "...You are pretty nutty to believe that Republicans literally bomb civilians for profit..." Yes, I would imagine you find it unfruitful. \_ Yes? \_ Hardly a strawman: Obama was called a Marxist on the motd and the flag pin question was in the PA debate. \_ Wow, that's real serious important discussion there. \_ Exactly my point. The media has spent more time on Obama's non-existent flag pin then on health care. \_ What? No, this is false. \_ http://preview.tinyurl.com/69jcj3 Okay, they have pretty much the same amount of entries here. Do you have any evidence to back up your claim that the media has spent more time on health care? \_ If only McClellan had said something about books like this...oh. http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/05/as-scottie-sowe.html \_ You know what? I think if Gore the Democrat had been elected, the new Gore Administration would not have been full of hubris filled neocon toadies. I do not think they would have invaded Iraq under false pretenses. We can debate this all day, but I firmly believe this. I do not think the world would appear to be headed towards a gigantic United States led clusterfuck if a Democractic, Gore led administration were in power right now. I believe there are significant differences between the current Republican Bush administration, and my fantasy Gore Democractic administration. I believe an Obama or Hillary (ahem) administration would not blindly invade Iran right now. I haven't heard Obama or Hillary (ahem) casually mention that we should prepare to be in Iraq for the next 1000 years. \_ While this is most certainly true, I think this has more to do with BUSHCO than it has to do with the GOP. I doubt Pres. McCain would have blindly invaded Iraq, &c. \_ It was hardly blindly. It was very deliberate. \_ yes, in fact it had been suggested by the whole host of GOP chicken hawks as far back as 1997. See the PNAC. -tom \_ Which is exactly why a McCain administration will invade Iran, if they can figure out how to talk Congress into it. \_ It depends on which McCain we get after the election. |
2008/5/28 [Uncategorized] UID:50071 Activity:nil |
5/28 NSFM: http://preview.tinyurl.com/3f7aab Anyone have nipples that do this? |
2008/5/28 [Uncategorized] UID:50072 Activity:nil |
5/28 Why am I downloading "Evil Dead: The Musical" ? |
2008/5/28-30 [Uncategorized] UID:50073 Activity:nil |
5/28 Anyone use latest Bittorrent.exe? I don't think it properly picks up peer connections. I'm going back to uTorrent. |
2008/5/28 [Science/GlobalWarming] UID:50074 Activity:nil 88%like:50077 |
5/28 Welcome to the world of Green Fascism http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1022110/MAIL-COMMENT-Carbon-rationing-inconvenient-truth.html |
2008/5/28-6/1 [Recreation/Dating, Politics/Domestic/Gay] UID:50075 Activity:high |
5/28 I just learned that interracial marriage was illegal in 16 states until 1967. Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. GO REPUBLICAN STATES!!! McCain #1!!! http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24542138 \_ Two generations from now people will think the whole fear of gay marriage is just as bizzare. \_ Certainly the labeling people as in "fear" will be. \_ Ok, if you want me to call you a bigotted idiot instead I can do that for you. \_ Not really. There are religious reasons for the latter and not the former. Personally, I think the government should stay out of marriage entirely. \_ There were religious reasons cited 50 years ago as well. And the government can't stay out of marriage entirely. There are legal rammifications to marriage that you can't magically solve by contract law. \_ 1. There are no religious arguments that any major religion can cite. People can always make sure their own can cite. People can always make up their own religions, but certainly interracial marriage is not prohibited by the major ones. \_ The "Curse of Ham" was used as justification against interracial marriage. And see below. But why the hell does it matter what one religion cares about marriage? We aren't talking about religious marriage we are talking about the state's concept of marriage. You know, the state that isn't supposed to be involved in that whole religion thing. \_ Since there's really not any scriptural evidence for Black people having anything to do with Ham, let alone that you shouldn't marry decendents of Ham, all that proves is that people can make up BS to justify their stupid ideas. That's not even remotely compareable to the actual explicit scriptural prohibition of homosexual intercourse. \_ You filthy shrimp eater! \_ Despite what you've heard, the New Testement also forbids homosexual Testament also forbids homosexual intercourse. \_ I haven't heard diddly. I was lucky enough to be born to a family that didn't think some crazy ass book from 2000 years ago should be used as an excuse to deny other people their rights \_ "A woman should learn in quietness and\ full submission. I do not permit a woman \_ Ok, thanks for admitting you're completely ignorant. Next time you have no idea what you're talking about why not just keep out of the discussion? \_ No, I think your "but my religion says to keep The Gays second class citizens" argument is stupid. Your religion says a lot of shit, why should it affect me? \_ You made an invalid comparison I pointed it out. Your bluster does not conceal this. \_ The fact that The Bible tells you that gay marriage is EVIL should affect me no more than that shrimp are not kosher. Why the hell are we basing our laws on what The Bible says? There's a word for that. Theocracy. Last I checked our constitution specifically prohibits theocratic rule. \_ "A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man;\ she must be silent..." That's New Testament, too. Do you support that one? to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent..." That's New Testament, too. Do you support that one? \_ All of my elementary school teachers were women. \_ What if he does? This is a tangent. 2. We can avoid #1 entirely if government stays out of it. There is no legal ramification to marriage that cannot be resolved by contract law. Name just one. \_ Immigration. Visitation rights for prisoners. Health care for people who get it via being the spouse of someone with health care (important if you have a medical condition). Not to mention all that messy divorce law, especially for people who have children. Need I go on? \_ Yes. Why can't these be solved by contract law again? I see no unsolvable problems. \_ Marriage provides rights that are granted by non signers of the contract. I can't create a non marriage contract that lets me file my taxes as a married couple. I can't create a non marriage contract that forces immigration to treat the other signer the same way they would if we were married. etc. That's not contract law. That's rights the state has decided are inheriant to married couples. \_ You are bogged down in semantics. Just because it is that way doesn't mean it has to be that way. Other law could resolve those issues. There's no reason it couldn't. \_ Other law. Non contract law. I'm not sure why you have this hardon for changing the name of marriage to something else, but I'd say the person with a semantic problem is you. My main point is that marriage has significant, non religious, non contract rights assiciated with it, which is something I think people often forget. \_ http://preview.tinyurl.com/cud2h for a better list \_ This guy's point is that you could have a "cohabitation contract" which gives all the enumerated rights/responsibilities. It doesn't have to be a "marriage". Seriously, suppose I'm a fat lame non-gay geek, and my similarly fat, lame, non-gay geeky roommate and I decide to give up on women and try to forge an economic and social alliance such that we can better take care of each other? No sex, just, this guy can handle my finances, make medical decisions, visit me in prison, etc.? Why should that be forbidden simply 'cause we're not romantic partners? This "marriage" thing under the law needs to be generalized to not just hetero romantic/breeding partners, and not just gay romantic partners, but to anyone who can benefit from having even a non-romantic domestic partner of either sex. The only reason to deny this is religious. \_ If you want to make something that has the exact same legal benefits of marriage in the eyes of the state, and you want to call it something other that marriage and get rid anything called marriage at the state or national level, well, ok. But it is basically marriage, whatever you want to call it. I'm not sure what benefit you get by changing the name. changing the name. And the guy above said there were no rights to marriage that couldn't be solved by contract law. That's wrong. To solve them you have to change a hell of a lot of other laws to say "this right is granted to a couple that has signed into a binding whatever-you-want-to-call-it relationship". The fact that someone can ignore such giant benefits as marriage immigration and tax laws means they obviously have never thought just how big of an advantage married couples have in the eyes of the state. have in the legal system. \_ You're not thinking about it the right way. Reread what you responded to. It's also *very* important what you call it because marriage has religious significance that "cohabitation contract" does not. You're not thinking ahead of me. You're actually still behind me. \_ No, I know exactly what you are saying I just think you are wrong. There is nothing inheriantly religous about marriage. Changing the terms will not change any signifcant group's minds about the issue. Domestic partnerships, cohabitation contracts, whatever you call it, people still know it is "marriage". \_ Well, no. It's not. Even today many people "get married" twice (once at the courthouse and once in church) so the difference must matter to them. I don't think anyone has a problem with gay people willing each other property, for example. The term 'marriage' means something in particular to many religions quite apart from whatever the law says. This is a case where the legal definition reflected the societal norms of a Christian nation, but it is no longer appropriate for the law to be involved in, or recognize, marriage. I think you would find a lot less opposition if there wasn't an insistence of legalizing wasn't an instistence of legalizing 'gay marriage' which conjures up images of a gay priest, gay wedding, gay honeymoon, and adopted gay kids. If gay people want to 'get married' the law has no grounds to be involved in their religion and should not be able to stop them , but if it wants to deny them their rights as human beings that's a problem. A happy resolution is if the gov't stays out of the marriage business (e.g. marriage license) entirely. It's NOTB. \_ Saying that over and over won't make it true. -tom \_ sex is bad. - motd not getting laid guy \_ Why am I not surprised that you want the government involved in yet another aspect of our lives - our love life no less? \_ Red herring. You're not suggesting less government involvement, you're just suggesting that the government change what it's called. -tom \_ Not entirely. I think "marriage" as defined by the government should be dissolved. There is no need for divorce court, for marriage certificates, joint income tax filings and some other constructs. Others should be handled with power-of-attorney and contract law. I am not merely advocating we keep marriage as-is and rename it. It should be (as a government construct) abolished. \_ You can go live your libritarian fantasy. The rest of us actually live in the real world where some of these things matter. And I hope you never fall in love with someone who isn't a citizen. (Or have children.) \_ Why? Because "being in love" grants rights? Any rights assigned by marriage are arbitrary and be assigned without marriage. \_ saying that over and over again makes it true - !tom \_ And ever since this was fixed, racial relations have been perfect! \- when i read LOVING v VIRGNIA, it was jaw dropping to read stuff like "god put the races on different continents because he wanted them apart" ... the fact that that was a because he wanted them apart" ... esp the fact that that was a virginia judge writing in the 60s and not a 1920s klansman in BF, Alabama. The woman n the Lovings case died in the last couple of months. \_ Don't you think it's an improvement that a black man can walk down the street with a white woman and not be killed for it? -tom \_ only if you're pro Negro \_ Which has precisely nothing to do with the laws changed. \_ An interesting assertion. Any evidence? -tom \_ In which state did Obama's parents get married? \_ Pakistan outer territories i believe. \_ "There is no legal ramification to marriage that cannot be solved by contract law". Um, what? Can someone explain how "contract law" can give a gay couple the right to inherit unlimited amounts of property taxfree from their partner or transfer unlimited amounts of property with their partner tax free? Or get the social security benefits or federal pensions of the surviving partner? \_ You just assign those benefits with a contract other than a "marriage contract". Just because some other things (like SS) are broken doesn't mean they can't be fixed. "Gay marriage" isn't the problem. The problem is that so much of our law involves "marriage" to begin with. It's an outdated construct not relevant to modern society except for those who choose to practice it for religious purposes. Instead of "spouse" you can substitute "assignee". You don't have to get married at all in theory. \_ Please provide some support for the assertion that marriage is "an outdated construct not relevant to modern society." Extra credit if you can manage to do it without circular argument. -tom \_ How about the fact that gay people want to do it and that many people are vehemently opposed to allowing them. Clearly marriage means something to many people and means something else to gays. Since it excludes gays, the construct is outdated since gays are people with rights, too. Instead of creating a new construct which includes gays and calling *that* marriage why not eliminate marriage entirely? Marriage is not a modern concept and the increasing number of cohabitating couples who never get married attests to that. I am surprised to find you on the pro-marriage side of the fence. Why are you so adamant about co-opting the term marriage which already has a clear meaning in a well-meaning attempt to extend the rights of marriage to gay couples when there is no real reason to use the term at all anymore except in a religious context? I mean, why should "married couples" have the option to file taxes together or separately, but "unmarried couples" cannot? At least the government is starting to see how stupid *that* is by eliminating the marriage penalty. I can't really think of any non-religious reasons that marriage is still relevant in the modern world. \_ Effort expenditure: A Argument advancement: F Extra credit: F (circular argument used). The reasons for marriage are mostly non-religious. You've been presented in this very MOTD with numerous examples of non-religious reasons why marriage is still relevant and you've ignored them, as you're sure to ignore any other fact which fails to fit with your absurd notions. I'm done here. -tom \_ I think you are ignoring the facts. Cohabitation is 10x more common now than in 1960. The circular reasoning here is yours. The only reason "the reasons for marriage are mostly non-religious" is because the (outdated) law makes it that way. If you subtract religion from the equation then what reason is there to "get married"? If it's not about religion then why do the majority of couples get married both in a church and in a civil ceremony? If the laws were changed to reflect modern society then there would be no non-religious reasons to "get married" but as it stands currently people are *forced* to "get married" which is why gay couples wish to do so. If they DO NOT then they are denied their rights and *THAT* is an issue as we are becoming an increasingly agnostic society instead of the Christian society these laws were based upon decades ago. You should not have to "get married" to enjoy *ALL* of the rights assigned to marriage. Why would you force people to do so? \_ "You're talking a lot, but you're not saying anything." --David Byrne \_ You're just not listening because it's not what you want to hear. Answer me this one question I have asked twice now: "Why do most people get married both in a church and in a civil ceremony if marriage does not involved religion?" marriage does not involve religion?" \_ First of all, I don't think it's clear that "most" people get married in church and in a civil ceremony. Do you have any evidence of that? Second, marriage is important *culturally*; marriage is the transition from one social status to another, and in some cultures, it's done in the church because that's where it's expected to be done, and often there is a social cost to pay if you go get married by Elvis and leave the family out of it. That being said, there are plenty of cultures where getting married in the church is *not* expected, and people get married in a redwood grove, or on a ship, or in their backyards. You really have no argument at all here. -tom \_ I'm not concerned about what they do in other cultures. I'm concerned about the US where most people are married by a priest even if it's not in a church. Sure, not everyone is. Most people are. Even in non-Christian cultures marriage is often a religious ceremony. To play marriage in the US off as a "social ceremony" and ignore the religious significance is disingenuous. Why does CA allow priests (who are not representatives of the State) to conduct marriages? Shouldn't it just be performed by judges and magistrates if it's a civil affair? \_ In many cultures *within the US* it is common to not do a church wedding. The Bay Area, for example. The US also allows ship captains to perform weddings; does that mean marriage is a maritime institution that has no relevance in landlocked states? You have no clue. -tom \_ The ship's captain thing is not true and, truthfully, there is no reason for it either. http://tinyurl.com/l7nqn BTW, even in the Bay Area, weddings performed by priests are the norm. But you are missing the point, which is "Why give priests any power over this at all?" They have no other legal powers that I am aware of. \_ So wait, do Jews not count when they married? |
2008/5/28-29 [Uncategorized] UID:50076 Activity:moderate |
5/28 Rachael Ray wears a scarf, Michelle Malkin says it looks Islamic, Rachael Ray takes off the scarf. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24860437 \_ Michelle Malkin is not white. In fact she looks PHILLIPINO and non-patriotic. Therefore she should go back to her country. \_ Filipino, white man. \_ Not quite accurate, but good enough for Olbermann's network. The kiffiyeh-as-fashion is abhorrent, like the Che t-shirts, and this looks a lot like one, though it isn't one. \_ Let me guess, if you wear a suit without a tie you are a anti-semitic homophobe? \_ are you a fucking moron? IT'S A SCARF. GO OUTSIDE. GET ON TRAIN. FIND WOMAN IN THIS SEASON'S FASHIONABLE SCARF? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH. SCARF SCARF SCARF SCARF fuckhead. its not a che shirt. its not a symbol of communist oppresssion. you are too stupid to live. \_ I love how this sputtering monkey thinks HE's the smart one. -!pp \_ Che shirts are kitschy, not abhorrent. They imply a lack of understanding. \_ As does the Kaffiyeh. \_ Dude, the Kaffiyeh is not a symbol of terror. It's a fucking hat. People wear them all the time without being evil dark skinned terrorists. And she was wear a fucking SCARF. If it's around your neck it isn't a Kaffiyeh. \_ This one's around the clueless Ricky Martin's neck http://michellemalkin.com/archives/images/kaffiyehchic002.jpg \_ as a scarf... and why is it "abhorrent" again? \_ The phrase "Jerusalem is ours" inscribed in Arabic on it. \_ You have good eyes \_ I wish I could sue Michelle Malkin for bringing up stupid shit and polluting websites this week. fuck. \_ How does Michelle Malkin monetize my wanting to stick a car bumper up her ass? |
2008/5/28-6/1 [Science/GlobalWarming] UID:50077 Activity:nil 88%like:50074 |
5/28 Welcome to the world of Green Fascism http://preview.tinyurl.com/6s976w [dailymail] \_ http://www.cheatneutral.com -tom |
2008/5/28-6/1 [Reference/RealEstate] UID:50078 Activity:moderate |
5/28 I've ruled out the possibility of getting a gun when I collect rent in shady neighborhoods. Instead, I may get a Taser. What's a good Taser to get that I can conceal well? Taser C2 seems a bit whimpy, but Taser M18-L is a bit bulky. \_ I tell the landlady I got a job, I'm gonna pay the rent. She said 'Yeah'? I said 'Oh yeah'. And then she was so nice. Lord she was lovey-dovey. So I go in my room, pack up my things and go. I slip on out the back door and down the streets I go. She a-howlin' about the front rent, she'll be luck to get any She a-howlin' about the front rent, she'll be lucky to get any back rent. OW OW OW THEN SHE TAZED ME OW OW OW OW OW OW OW \_ that is illegal. taser should only be used for SELF DEFENSE. ditto with guns. baseball bat, golf clubs, fists are ok in any situation. at any rate, your land lady can't kick you out. it takes like a whole year before they can really evict you, physically. \_ Not even. The unlawful detainer action can be completed in 30 days and it's not more than another 30 before the sheriff comes to kick you out, depending on the schedule of the court. \_ Non-payment of rent is a 3 Day or Quit kind of eviction. It can go pretty fast, even in a place like San Francisco. \_ Also depends on whether tenant files an Answer; if so, welcome to extended court action. \_ No one got my joke. sad. \_ Why not pepper spray? \_ Ever heard of a property manager? My godfather is a slumlord and he ended up selling certain properties when the tenants didn't pay rent because he was afraid to go collect it. He should've used a property manager also. It's worth a 10% fee to not get a bullet. \_ a 10% decrease in revenue for me is 20% loss a year. -op \_ Sounds like a crappy property to own. Why did you buy it? \_ loooooong story. I lived in it till I moved out -op \_ explain why you haul around your wife draped in expensive jewelry while you collect rent? or is that another guy? \_ expensive jewelry = relative. iPod and Nike shoes are considered fancy in ghettovilles \_ We sure have a lot of ambidextrous landlords with concealed carry permits on the motd. \_ I'm pretty certain this is the same troll. \_ I am a LA Sodan (Toluca Lake). My wife shot a Home Invader two years ago (before we were married!) and it was a huge legal hassle. In fact it might have bankrupted her if she wasn't friends with the cops (she was an Assistant DA then). According to her lawyer, "it was a good thing you killed him, because if he was just injured and around for the trial you probably would have lost the suit." By the way, I learned about this the day before we were married. Bay Area Sodans: Do NOT judge people from LA. LA is Different! There are dangerous people here. -mossberg590@gmail.com \_ Whoaaa!!! MOST ENTERTAINING RESPOND EVER. Thanks! \- ^EVER^EVAR |
2008/5/28-31 [Recreation/Food] UID:50079 Activity:nil |
5/28 Looking for exotic restaurants that serve stuff like BUGS. http://www.typhoon.biz/dinnermenu.html Recommendations? Thanks. \_ http://preview.tinyurl.com/4gcdcb Grasshopper tacos. \_ http://preview.tinyurl.com/4gcdcb . Grasshopper tacos. \_ Any new shady Indian restaurant in Berkeley. \_ Man, that looks good! Thanks! |
2008/5/28-30 [Health] UID:50080 Activity:kinda low |
5/28 How it's made: CHICKS! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkuohLV2u0k \_ but will they blend? \_ I'm a carnivore who has no problem killing chickens, but this factory-farming shit is just wrong. \- I'm not with you. What is 'wrong' about it? What is not 'wrong' about killing animals for consumption? If you kill an animal slowly, is that less 'wrong' than if you kill it quickly? I am not getting your point. \_ Did you watch the video? That's not the way to raise animals, whether you are going to eat them or not. If you think the best-quality chicken results from factory-farming then more power to you. BTW, yes, killing an animal slowly (e.g. starvation) is much worse. \_ This is sad. I can't help but imagein if the chicks are human and some super species are farming us. Does "organic" chicken/eggs gets better treatment? \_ Depends on how organic. Go real free range. The eggs taste better and the farming is sustainable. You can get them at any bay area farmer's market these days. |
2008/5/28-31 [Uncategorized] UID:50081 Activity:nil |
5/28 http://www.thehistoryoflosangelesgraffitiart.com http://www.50mmlosangeles.com Only in Los An-Heles. Oh, how I love Los An-HELES. ME GUSTA. \_ El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula. \_ Uh, dude. Graffiti has been the darling of the art scene all over the country since at least the 80s. \_ Yes but LOS ANHELES is the graffiti MECCA of the world. \_ Never been to New York, have you? |
11/22 |