Messages

Settle down, Yufster. I know you're getting all excited about the Christian bashing, but don't get careless. Omitting context is a very elementary mistake.

The quote from Jeremiah is directed in a specific instance (Israelites under Babylonian rule, etc.), and your Torah quotes deal with the 40 years the Israelites spent in the desert and their start in the land He promised them. These lists were so specific because they address the culturally-accepted practices of the Canaanites. There's even instructions about dealing with moldy stones, bathing, and cleansing (thousands of years before Fracastoro).

God used the Israelites as a tool of judgment against the people of Canaan. He ordered them to even kill the wives and male offspring because He wanted to keep the Israelites apart rather than assimilating into another culture (its likely the plague mentioned refers to STDs). Barbaric? Look at it from another perspective: If I paint a picture and it displeases me, I can burn it. These people repeatedly flaunted their Creator and committed every abomination possible, so God arranged their destruction while giving territory to His chosen people to ensure their propagation.

It's easy to call this somewhat inconsistent with the teachings of the New Testament, but you have to remember that it was written before the Jesus' sacrifice and our atonement from sin. This new covenant negated many Old Testament practices (animal sacrifices, etc.).

FYI.

Amazingly, one can grow the foreskin back after circumcision. Penn and Teller did a bit about that in that in their circumcision is bullshit episode.

Of course, magicians need to know how to make things reappear, so no big surprise.

[guns]

Evenwolf, BB, I'm giving you 2 simple choices:

A. No one is carrying a gun, not you, nor the burglar!
B. Both of you carry guns.

which is preferable?

Here's my line of thinking --
I have doubts as to the goodwill of this intruder, as he has already disregarded the law by breaking and entering. I have no assurance he doesn't plan to harm me/family. If he is armed, I want a gun to even the odds and better my chance of stopping him.

If he is unarmed, I still want a gun. I have no guarantee he's smaller than me and is not on PCP (he'd be impervious to pain, pepper spray, tasers, etc.). If he's dusted, he's only going to stop when his heart does.

Within the bounds of your hypothetical, B seems the most logical.

Just because someone is a criminal doesn't mean they're inherently irrational. Generally, they pick the battles they think they can win. A criminal will avoid getting into an equally matched fight. Even Cho, who was batshit crazy, chose a situation where he could cause damage. His post-mortem press package would be unintentionally anticlimactic if a vigilant student had shot him dead after he entered the classroom with his guns drawn.

A bully won't square off against someone his size and a rapist isn't going to attack a woman if he thinks she's packing a handgun. Your "A" scenario has implications beyond tackling a burglar.

Don't tell me that A is impossible, cause I know all these things etc...

You sound confident, but I'll call this bluff. Even in societies like Japan (which has had extremely strict weapon control for centuries), gangsters still have found ways to obtain firearms.

If the supply can't match the demand (in this case, criminals), a black market will form.

Say, how would you feel moving over here in the UK, or in Greece, or some other (non violent) place?

I've been to Europe many times (not Greece though) and while there are fun places, I would never want to live there. If I had to pick one, maybe Switzerland. They're so non-violent, they haven't had a war in centuries.

Would you take the guns you have (no idea if you do have or not, hypothetical questions all), with you?

Ooh, trick question! Guns are illegal in the UK, so by taking them with me on my move, I'd become a criminal, right? On a side note, did you know that non-lethal "stun guns" are illegal in the UK, too? With over half of all British robberies occuring while the owner is at home, I'd sure as hell like a gun if I were to live there.

As for other places, I would if I could. Crime and crazy people aren't limited to the US.

I don't give a shit about this discussion about guns anymore.

You sure ask a lot of questions for someone who doesn't care.

I don't really care to tell you what to do with your constitution, I don't feel I have the right! (btw, the greek constitution has changed several times over the past 40 years in greece )

That's a safe move. If your constitution has changed as much as you say it has, you probably DON'T have that right any more.

What I do give a shit about is seeing if you like the way you (appear) to be living. Cause if you defend the guns the way you do, then you need them, and you may even have them. And if you have them then something is wrong!

I love living here. Why do you assume owning a means to self-defense is "wrong"?

If I want a gun, I should have to go to a Gun Store. Then fill in a form. Then get my photo signed by an officer of the law. Then wait six to eight weeks. Then get my gun.

It seems like most of these campus massacres are premeditated. Cho bought one gun per month (regulated by law), which means he was thinking about it for over a month minimum. Columbine had a similar planning phase, too.

The types of gun sold to the public could even be limited. Manual load revolvers or the like. I don't know guns, maybe there are others more suited to public consumption.

We have these. Limits on caliber, magazine size, and firing rate. We even have laws against civilian ownership of duckbills, flash suppressors, and other accesories.

We need unity, and a willingness on both sides to compromise.

That pesky little Constitution keeps getting in the way. Those bastards even thought to use the word "infringe" in the amendment. Changing that document sure is a slippery slope.

We? You don't even live here...

I am no expert, but don't you have sensationalist entertainers-cum-political commentators like Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter on prime-time TV and Radio with a large percentage of listeners?

Rush has a radio show and Coulter writes a opinion column. Probably too fringe for "prime-time TV", considering how ongodly expensive media space has become. Coulter has appeared on TV for stuff relating to her bestselling books, but she isn't a commentator and doesn't have a show.

Sensationalism sells, so you'll find it everywhere.

Newspaper circulation is down (I'd guess this trend extends beyond  just the US), probably due to the prevalence of the internet (since the internet circulation of many papers like the WSJ is on the rise).

If it did come down to numbers and strict interpretations of numbers I think however that a simple look at the number of accidental gun injuries and fatalities on a yearly scale in the US is a good argument in itself to start thinking about gradual pull-back on gun availability.

Annual accidental gun deaths in the US for all age groups total about 1,500. More kids drown in bathtubs and swimming pools every year. In a country like Switzerland, where firearm training is mandatory, there is an extremely low accidental firearm death rate. Responsible parenting/gun ownership is the key to minimize these statistics.

Can you say that you prefer the wild west scenario where anyonce can carry out justice at will; everyone's a judge and an excecutor?

Allowing citizens to be armed doesn't absolve them of the consequences of their actions. If more citizens carry, we won't magically be transported to the 1840s.

You pro-gun people need to realise that you can't tell who's the bad guy and who's the good guy in advance.

When did anyone argue that? All this discussion has been about a reactive situation. If someone attacks me, I will defend myself, and I would like to be able to respond on an appropriate scale. Perhaps this doesn't further the concept of civilization and mild-mannered temperance, but I would argue that most people consider their lives to supercede those noble ideals.

Since we've touched on the gun control topic, here's a link to the Penn and Teller episode.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWeTEXSV7ts

It's interesting/entertaining.

I want less violence. I am not living in some fantasy world where there's no violence. I am living in europe where there's no suicidal rampages at schools with 30 people dead... yet, at least.

So you're saying Europe is more civilized and less Mad Max? Before VTech, the second largest school shooting was in Germany.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1952869.stm

And since you keep mentioning a "culture of violence", what about the widespread riots in Paris? I remember picking up a textbook once and seeing something about a few thousand years worth of war in Europe, too. Hmmm... Oh, but it's up to the US to make a good example, I forgot.

Armed deranged student enters school, shoots five with automatic weapon before armed nonderanged student pulls a handgun and takes down deranged student. Hero student! Go, law of the west!... is this civilization, democracy and mild tempered tolerance?

In an emergency situation, the basic urge to survive (human nature) will override idealistic, civilized sentiments.

Law of the west or not, surely that hypothetical situation is a more desirable outcome than the "mild-tempered tolerance" of being slaughtered like sheep, with Nanny Gummint cowering outside until the gunfire subsides so she can zip up the bodybags?

You call it reality, but reality in Europe is completely different.

Yes, a 35% British rise in gun crime in the last year couldn't possibly be reality.

"You are now six times more likely to be mugged in London than New York."

"A study found American burglars fear armed home-owners more than the police. As a result burglaries are much rarer and only 13% occur when people are at home, in contrast to 53% in England."
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/2656875.stm)

Wow! Burglaries while the owners are home? Those British should really learn to lock their doors, right?

Logically though, if guns are outlawed then the police can arrest someone for carrying a gun.

If a criminal is planning to shoot 32 people, I think "possession of an illegal weapon" concerns him about as much as "jaywalking".

Keep in mind that the disarmament of the population happened in about every dictatorship.

Ideally, a seriously mentally disturbed person shouldn't be allowed to have anything sharper than a rubber ball, but I don't think that should come at the price of everyone else's freedoms.

On a basic evolutionary level, females seek a male that can protect them and their offspring. Self defense is a basic human duty and firearms are a means to better your chances of survival. Ultimately, no one else (police or otherwise) will care about the safety of you and your family more than you will.

In a situation where there are rolling blackouts (happened in the last few years in CA and NY), looting is rampant and the police have finite resources (plus driving at night without street lamps or traffic lights would be a nightmare). A burglar alarm and a good lock are good first line defenses, but trusting solely in them can lead to a disaster you could've stopped personally.

Also, an alarm won't stop you from getting carjacked.

"All the school shootings that have ended abruptly in the last 10 years were stopped because a law-abiding citizen -- a potential victim -- had a gun."
A good quote from this editorial:
http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Guns+on+campus%3a+One+is+one+too+few&articleId=79fa4ff5-d3d0-4042-9617-6dbfce808d68

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osaka_school_massacre
For the record, Japan has a history of outlawing weapons.

Let's not overlook that the VT killer was clearly insane (imaginary girlfriend named "Jelly" who called him "Spanky", his refusal to talk to anyone or make eye contact, deranged writing, past therapy, etc). A bunch of students stopped going to class because of him. The co-director of the creative writing department, who tutored him one-on-one had a code word with her assistant to call the police. From his behavior alone, there were warning signs.

It's sad the school didn't close after the first shooting, and that the police waited until he killed himself. Zipping up bodybags isn't exactly "serving and protecting" the unarmed (by policy) students.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave_of_the_Patriarchs_massacre
This event was interesting in that the victims managed to beat the killer to death with a fire extinguisher (despite the fact he was using a fully-automatic assault rifle).

Too bad none of the class could return fire.

the reason you can't get cheap fuel is because it is all being used, so demand is high meaning that the cost must increase to be able to make some sort of profit.

Economics is not your friend, more like a misunderstood casual acquaintance.

I didn't realize they had eliminated pizza from the TMNT manifesto.  Was there an underlying reason for this (to toughen the characters up) or was it just arbitrary? 

I would suspect it has something to do with the child obesity. There's a lot of "rules" emerging about children's entertainment and junk food. Like how Cookie Monster kicked the habit.

Ignorance in the sense of a difference between an older generation and contemporary music culture. I wouldn't say that  the violence angle is explored much in the show. Most of the jokes revolve around the stereotype that rappers are stupid.

Plenty of fish in the sea, Dave. No reason to get tied down so quickly now that you're famous.

Fat? That's harsh.
I don't think women were meant to be shaped like little boys. I would take a Ki Toy Johnson or Salma Hayek over a Paris Hilton or Lindsay Lohan any day. No comparison in my mind.

America Ferrera

Each of Cohen's characters serve a slightly different purpose, exploiting a different aspect of American ignorance. The humor is bringing people out of their comfort zone, and getting them to react.

Ali G. - gangsta-phobia
Borat - xenophobia
Bruno - homophobia

On topic, Predator is an AWESOME, but bad movie. I cannot stress the first adjective enough.

Track and field athletes run. I run. Therefore, I am a track and field athlete. Sounds funny, right?

Bodybuilding is more than just lifting weights, just like track and field is about more than just running.

Does that help clarify it for you?