Skeptical

Thank you for fighting for the English language. The internet needs more people like you.

I'm just pointing out that there is a strong distinction between morality and law. Whether or not piracy is morally or legally correct, it is not theft. I am not stating that it is correct, or should be condoned, but it is not theft. Something that comes to mind is a girl who (quite a while ago) copied down one of the Harry Potter books by hand, since she couldn't afford to purchase a copy, and had just borrowed it from a friend. Piracy; she should have been arrested! Yup, found it (not my original source though): http://xo.typepad.com/blog/2005/09/girl_copies_har.html

But it's not death if it's politics, is it? /end sarcasm. There will always be war as long as there is injustice, hatred, and religion. It's entirely unfair to blame it on the States: they fought several wars that are considered morally justified - it wasn't until post WWII that their warmongering became an issue.

She kept on hinting about going out with me, even though I tried to make it as clear as possible that I had no interest (without being rude). She spent a half hour swearing and pretending that she was a huge druggie. I have no idea why a girl would consider either an exceedingly attractive quality.

There is nothing innately wonderful about "the law".

She was talking about purchasing it, and then eating it in class. And that was just one example.

People who don't use recreational drugs, but pretend they do. "Yea, I was eating so much weed". Seriously, it is not cool, it is you being a poseur: I will tell you that, even if it upsets you.

This post shows your extremely poor grasp of the situation and societal norms in third world countries. Distributing condoms has limited effect for two reasons. Firstly, because rape is rampant. Condoms won't help here. Secondly, because for many, the driving force for having sex so much is to have kids. These people often feel that their only hope for survival and old age is to have many children, in the hope that one of them will become rich and provide for them. Of course, this doesn't really work, but it limits the effectiveness of condoms. Even if the number of rapes was several times those reported, it would still be insignificant in terms of population. (http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_rap_percap-crime-rapes-per-capita). And there is an issue with your logic: a rapist does not want AIDS any more than a consensual participant in intercourse. And yet, people can't seek education if they feel the only course of action is to have more children. Distribution of condoms will also require family planning, and the installment of an educational system.

A disproportional influence on the rest of the world would be earned if said country displayed a respect for human rights, peace, culture, and sustainability. So far, the US (and Canada) are 0 for 4.

I never suggested that those crimes against humanity were committed by a single political party. Education is a long process: as much as we might like the idea, a bunch of money won't instantly provide us with a southern hemisphere as well educated as their northern brethren. Condoms, meanwhile, are cheap, effective, and can be distributed amazingly easily. Education for women will follow their ability to restrict the number of children they have.

Finally, someone else who hasn't just read a couple of Oprah articles and decided that they know everything there is about nutrition. Yes, I'm not exactly omniscient, but I've read quite a bit, and have offered many links on this forum, yet have never had anyone actually provide any real evidence against the hyperlipid hypothesis.

Never had bandwidth cap, so i imagine i'd be pissed off if i move abroad (only heard about it abroad). Canada has some of the highest prices and tightest caps. Although I suppose we can afford it. (See my above comment concerning whether or not I actually have a reason to whine.)

Opposing the distribution of condoms makes you an accessory to genocide? Well then so does supporting abortion. An entire race of people is being systematically eliminated. Whether it is by economic terms, racism, or a disease perpetuated by man, it is genocide. Canada violated patents on anthrax drugs, and then supported a measure to prevent Africa from violating the patents on AIDS treatments. There has never been a single anthrax attack in Canada; millions are dying of AIDS in Africa. The Catholic church, along with many of the Armageddon Brigade oppose the distribution of condoms, a lifesaving measure denied not as the result of a logical, moral concern, but general idiocy on the part of the Western world.

The Bartimaeus Trilogy was quite enjoyable. He wrote another book, and it wasn't bad either, although not nearly as good as old Barty.

Well, that's a good part my fault: if he says anything about astronomy, I will mention Bruno and/or Galileo, at which point our discussion becomes a debate about organized religion and biblical errors and contradictions. But that isn't really the issue: the problem is that he vehemently opposes the idea that homosexuals have the same rights that we "people" do. I also do know that he opposes distribution of condoms in Africa: combine that with the enforcement of patents on AIDS drugs, and you have genocide. Simply put, I would not tolerate someone saying "Jews are not people, they should not be able to serve, marry, congregate, pronounce their faith, etc." Why should I make an exception for people's sexual orientation?

I've been placed into an interesting quandary by this: I have a friend who it turns out is a fundamentalist Christian, and aside from the idiocy of believing that the Earth is only 6,000 years old, he also militantly opposes the rights of homosexuals. Now, I wouldn't maintain a friendship with a member of the KKK or a Neo-nazi, but I genuinely enjoy this persons company. I've actually found myself wishing that he wasn't, since at this point it's looking like our friendship is heading the way of Bruno.

Happy B-day. It turns out I've been achieving a minor high: the medication I take makes you drowsy, which I did not know, since I've been regularly consuming caffeine due to my required work hours. Well, when the caffeine helps me push through the drowsiness, I can apparently see things in different colours while I hear weird music playing.

The new Bring Me the Horizon album. **cough, cough** (crap) **cough I tuned into the BBC, and they were playing one of the songs off of it. Turned out to be part of a story about how useless it was to keep track of album sales these days (the tone was of disbelief at the idea that any band like that could actually sell enough albums for anyone to care). Still, it was surprisingly trippy to hear it.

Low bandwidth caps. :thumbdown: Seems idiotic to complain, though, when most of the world is still without an internet connection at all.

I believe that the book by Glen Beck was a bestseller: people will buy any crap. If you want to make serious money though, you're probably better with vampire romance novels.

Found out my friend is a fundamentalist Christian. It's a shame really: he's quite smart, although both of his parents are reverends, so I suppose that he really didn't have a fair chance. Saw a guy shake his head, dandruff and all, into the fryer at Burger King. :thumbdown:

No, you're right. He's just the president cause he's black. But I suppose that's better than a woman for president. After all, your daddy wouldn't have voted for no women-folk. And white guilt is the only qualifying feature that Obama possesses.

The Supreme Court appointed Bush. Bush almost certainly rigged votes through his brother, taking advantage of electronic voting machines, which are doing as much to dismantle democracy as the Republicans. Obama has stated that DADT will be removed on his watch. He has not started a war, especially an illegal one as Bush did. He has departed from pure neo-liberal economics through both the bailout and healthcare. He is not president because his daddy got tired of letting him run businesses into the ground and the GOP needed a monkey to dance. As far as is known, he has not engaged in any form of substance abuse.

Warhead, by Otep.

Bullet for my Valentine is no longer metal, if they ever were. I heard an Otep song for the first time on the radio: Warhead. :thumbup: