Messages

I think the most hilarious one someone said to me was "So what's the drugs scene like at this university?"

Just because they may have committed a crime isn't an excuse to treat people harshly and beat them.  Just because they are labelled criminals doesn't mean they suddenly aren't people any more.  I think we should stay away from the mentality that someone beating another person is assault, but if it's a law enforcement officer doing the beating, somehow its okay and everything is acceptable.

Obviously, there are different levels of criminal activity, and different requirements are needed to take people who pose a danger to members of the public down.  I'm not saying that no force should be used at all.  Just appropriate force.

Darth Mandarb: I think the point that Eldkatt is tring to put forward is that the amount of force used against the 13/14 year olds was excessive, not that being a 13 year old should allow you to break the law.

I am currently a student living in a village near my university.  Two weeks ago there was an attempted rape on a student in the village. I don't walk alone anywhere after dark, and I encourage my friends not to do so as well.  If you're calling a taxi and feeling unsure, ask for the name and licence plate number of the taxi that they're sending so that you can double check that the correct taxi is coming to pick you up.  If you're feeling vulnerable and think someone is trying to get in, double check that your doors are locked and bolted, and CALL THE POLICE.  Sitting and waiting is never the right thing to do if you feel for your personal safety.

Most of Europe collaborated with the Nazis.  Fascism and authoritarianism certainly wasn't and hasn't ever been the sole province of Germany and Italy. 

Yes, I have pointed out that the fact that both men and women are human beings should be the standard for political and civil equality.

Ah.  Raggit I apologise for reading too much into your words.  But as Dowland said, the way you were so adamant to point out that there are physical differences made it seem like equal rights was a load of bollocks   Sorry that I misinterpreted that!

Sorry, when I see words like:

"men/women/battle-of-the-sexes/equality crap"

"They are entirely different from each other with no standard in between to be judged equal by." 

This implies that women and men are two separate species and that we'll never be comparable to one another, which is complete bull as men and women differ amongst each other as much as they differ against one another.  I don't see anywhere in Raggit's post where that says "oh, and by the way this observation has no bearing on civil equality".  Particularly when calling equality "crap". 

Of course men and women are different, and one man is different from another man, a woman is different from another woman.  We're all individuals.  That doesn't mean that we shouldn't be considered equal to one another.  So a strong, healthy, well exercised man might be stronger than a strong, healthy, well exercised woman.  So...so what?  We're all human beings.

So yeah why do women have the ability to vote anyway?  How dare they pretend that they have any political rights! 

And before I end my little rant here, I have just one thing to say about the whole men/women/battle-of-the-sexes/equality crap:  Men and women are NOT equal and never will be.  They are entirely different from each other with no standard in between to be judged equal by.

Men and women are both human beings, shouldn't that be the standard of equality?

Again, just because a woman is a "strong woman" doesn't mean she orders about men.  I consider myself a strong woman, I would not let myself be subordinated, but I do not subordinate my boyfriend.  You can have equal relationships...

(and, no, please, nobody tell me that a strong woman is a turn on, because a lot of men say that in private, but are in truth not prepared to be governed by a woman)

You don't need to govern men to be a strong woman.

Edited to remove stupidity.

It's sad if that really was the reason of the ban, because most of the turists aren't such amateurs and realize 'the point' of the shrooms and other psychedelics.

What is "the point" of shrooms and other psychadelics?  If people are using them to get their buzzes, whether they are "amateurs" or not (you can be a professional drug user? ) then isn't that "the point" of taking them?

Banks have charges.  Read the smallprint.

"Here" is the UK, or more specifically, England, as there are as I mentioned variations about the country.

It's got its pros and cons, but at the moment our health care system suffers from lack of respect and support. in fact, after 25 years of progression their salary is the only that has not developed anywhere. My mother is a nurse, I hear everything from her.

I think that applies very much to the health service here as well.  Underpaid, underappreciated, and overworked. 

The NHS is totally free except for the £6.50 prescription fee for every item of medication you get prescribed.  The problem with the NHS is the variation of quality of services depending on where you are in the country.  Individual GP practices are sometimes swamped and make it difficult to get appointments, yet others you can pretty easily get a same day one if you're not fussy about time.  It can take a while to get referred to specialists, though I've managed to get an appointment at an allergy clinic in under 6 weeks, which was suprising considering allergy clinics and dertmatologists are usually high in demand.  I've never had a problem with the quality of hygiene or anything at any hospitals, but then I don't tend to need to go to them.

In anycase, I'd rather have the NHS and be guaranteed treatment for free (with some potential delays) than have to remortgage a house I don't have for a long term serious illness if we had a private healthcare system.

I find it a FAR stronger statement to obtain the music anyway without buying the CDs.

Obtaining something you don't agree about the price of for free anyway implies you are greedy, rather than having a potent ideological standpoint

Also, I'm not being a hypocrite, what I meant by not being on the side of the pirates was I don't buy into "music must be free" or "I'm taking a stand on music prices!" ideology of stealing. I'm a cheap lazy thief...

Agreed.  Even though I do eventually buy the things I have downloaded, I'm still a cheap lazy theif and I know it and don't try to hide it.

I will give you the same promise I gave Nik ... produce something that I want to listen to and I'll gladly pay you for it as long as the money goes to you and I think it's a reasonable price

So what about the people who produce things that you want to listen to but the money doesn't go directly to them and you don't think it's a reasonable price?  You just...take it?  Why not just not take it at all, if your standpoint is all about fair prices and paying the artist.  As Nikolas said...you don't really make a point by saying "I only want to support artists that choose fair prices that I want to pay and the money goes to them but I'll just take all the others anyway."