theloniusfleabag

Dear jbg, I don't consider you dense, but there are several factors that make the two somewhat different. I disagree with the 'West' for not taking issue with China over Tibet, but sadly it is all about the money. "#1 trading partner", and other mantras, keeps China relatively free from criticism. Huge multinationals, many based in North America, depend on China (and it's cheap labour) for huge profits. Were it the same for Israel (or for Palestine, for that matter), I would expect the same result. The support for Tibet has pretty much died, except for the occasional 'Free Tibet' bumper sticker on some 'hippie-mobiles'. (Note: I have never seen a 'Free Palestine' sticker on anything)As to the middle east, at least for me, it is a dispute between two religions that I do not agree with, nor do either agree with me.

My first response would be..."From the sky, where they keep most of the air"...However, 'global warming's effects' are abberant weather with a greater range of the extremes. Weird stuff, like snow in California and Kuwait, or 10 force 4 hurricanes in a season, stuff that could just never happen...

The finite amount of all that does be, surrounded by the infinite amount of that which does not be, and me.

Dear kimmy, I do too...I think, despite some evident contradictions. Had I not known Leafless , I would almost get the impression that he is pro-Kyoto. I wish he would learn to use the quote function.

Dear jdobbin, The bulk of the people I know are currently in the energy sector, and none of them would say anything, let alone cite the sources, like those from B. Max. I highly doubt he would even be employable in the sector. I wouldn't beat your head against the wall too much more.The greenhouse effect has been noted as an effect on the environment since the 70's, now it is taught in elementary schools. Perhaps when B. Max finished attending one of these schools, he'll have a little better grasp of how it works.

Dear kimmy, Don't forget the use of condoms. Sounds like Leafless wishes to make sex for pleasure, and not for pro-creation, legally evil. Aren't most of your examples equal to homosexual sex?

Dear FTA Lawyer, Your case is very interesting, I do hope we get to hear the result. I suspect that your client will receive probation for: possession of a concealed weapon (if the knife was not worn on the outside of his clothing), assault with a weapon. The other guy will likely also get probation or minimal time, and be expected to take a few classes in Anger Management and substance abuse. I overheard a fellow in my neighbourhood (near work, that is) talking to someone else about a recent conviction....(note: the guy looked like Charles Manson on steroids) he said "Man, it's great, I can do almost anything I want now, and all they give me is counselling!".

Wheee!Mind you, that is dependent on whether or not 'hell' exists.

Dear sharkman, Yes, I'll agree that these elements make up a portion of those sowing discord. I disagree that they are the majority, though.

I find this thread interesting because I went to Jr. and High school in Lethbridge, and it seemed to be one of the windiest places on earth. 100kph winds, gusting to 120kph, were not uncommon. Not everyday, of course, but often enough for me to foster an uncanny hatred of the place. A couple of buddies rode their bikes from Pincher Creek to the 'Bridge, and they told me that for one stretch they travelled 35 km without pedalling. As to 'health effects', almost every source of power generation has it's problems and it's stigmas. No one wants to live near a sour gas well, let alone a nuclear power plant. Alberta's famous nut, 'Reverend' Wiebo Ludwig, had numerous run-ins with the law over his perceived 'ill-health effects' while residing beside a gas well. (I am sure that being a 'loner-loon' breeding with his kinfolk had nothing to do with it) Some years ago I had seen a documentary about a self-sustaining property someone had built, powered by wind and solar energy. At the time, they had stored excess energy in DC batteries, for those times of dark and calm. Seemed to work fine, though the DC batteries were expensive. They also recycled their own waste into fertilizer, etc, with the notion that they would not create nor destroy anything that would alter the environment (other than their own presence). Seems to me a noble gesture, and on a small scale, it worked. What would be the harm if society went in this direction on a bigger scale?

Dear August1991, I gave a lot of thought to probability. Like what are the odds of flipping a coin and seeing heads? 50%, I hear. Twice in a row? 25%?...Three time in a row? One over two to the power of 3? What are the odds of flipping heads a million times in a row? I say 100%. And I can prove it, if you give me an infinite amount of attempts.

Yeah, that one always cracks me up... Aha! I always wondered how people quoted entire posts, for I have always hit the 'add reply' button and only quoted the pertinent bits...DarkAngel, everyone has been asked to refrain from quoting entire posts, please don't clutter the forum with repetitive bits.

I agree with FTA Lawyer, Why would the aggressor define the limit? I would think that the victim would have more say....then again, that is why we have 'law' to define those limits.

Dear Charles Anthony, That is what scrip (or currency) is, really, nothing more than an IOU. (But 'IOU' what?) 'Payable to the bearer' is the notion, but the point is that rather than a personal cheque (which promises the same thing), the gov't is actually good for it. Spoils, my friend, war produces spoils. Then they can be taxed. An interesting side-note on currency...one of my customers yesterday told me that he made a purchase in a sporting goods store on the weekend, (a large chain one) and he received a foreign coin amongst his change. He said "Hey, this isn't a penny", and the clerk basically refused to exchange it, replying "Well, it looks like a penny". My customer didn't pursue the matter, since the worst that could happen was that he would be out a penny, but I found it odd that the store clerk would not exchange it, perhaps thinking that he could easily fob off the coin onto someone else. Did it make the coin legitimate if both accepted it as currency? Not really, for my customer tried to stop that cycle. Not sure what the coin was, but would it inflate (or deflate) the value of the Mongo or the Zloty if they look like pennies?

Dear Stignasty, Your example is wonderful, but the only way I could make it work was by using one of the three above words coupled with 'fucking' to have the paragraph make any sense.

Dear August1991, Sittin' there on the Group W bench...with the mother-rapers...and father-stabbers...and father-rapers...and Arlo Guthrie!? (I hope you are quoting 'Alice's Retaurant' from Arlo Guthrie, or people might think I am...odd) I was adopted as seventh of seven. One other child in the family was adopted too, one of my sisters, and the 'fourth child'. Our personalities are actually more similar to each other than to the rest of the family, and were were both, in our turn, kind of the 'black sheep'. Kooky. I totally agree, and to some degree I'll bet kimmy will too. For kimmy, though, the notion doth rankle her soul, (and mine too, though probably to a lesser degree) that actions are being taken by people to attempt to skew the outcome, however fatally flawed their attempts may be. It means that in lots of places, women (or girls)are still 'unwanted'. Being 'neccesary' is scant consolation, even if, as you claim, they have the upper hand in the procreation game.

Dear Charles Anthony, No worries, I certainly don't consider you heartless or demeaning, and sometimes truth itself can simply be callous. That is why I started my church. (Hint: it goes with my signature)What if my birth mother said any of the following; -your father was one of exactly 950 sailors... -I don't know who your father was, I was really drunk at the time -your father was my father too...we call our family line 'our incestry'... -your father was a nice stranger who traded a ride to bingo... (the last one is close to a true story, I once dated a girl whose mother had sex with an aquaintance of hers in exchange for a ride to bingo) Still, though, I would like to think that even these answers would not change who I was, so if my curiosity were satisfied, it would be a gain. As August1991 states, with most reasons for it to protect power and inheritance money. Most of the Royal Families in Europe from the UK to Russia are related. Names used to mean not just something, but everything. Having a 'Von' or a 'Van' as a prefix to your surname often meant money, power and/or opportunity... I suppose this was my entire point. A botanist could not be tracing the genetic line of a family of ferns, and put a banana tree in the same planter, saying "That nice momma fern took in that banana seed and raised it as it's own. I'll include it in the lineage, though it cannot procreate another fern."I suppose family trees should include adopted children, whether of gay parents or not, but a caveat (or asterisk) should accompany it.

If this is Micheal Moore and the 'Sodom-mobile' from his show "The Awful Truth", it certainly isn't new.

Dear kimmy, My condolences on your situation, but on the bright side, at least you're you now. Indeed, there is an old saying, "If you have a boy, you only have to worry about 1 prick. If you have a girl, you have to worry about all the rest". One of the worries of the male gender being grossly over-represented is usually taken care of cyclically, through something called warfare. Fate usually culls the herd until a balance appears once again.

reported

Dear August1991, I thank you, but I don't know if I should be shattered or flattered. Do you mean a 'special' place away from the sane folk?

I have not heard of it. I have confined my TV watching to shows about naughty midgets. That spectre has raised it's ugly head before. Insurance companies being able to price/deny life or health insurance based on your genetic makeup. "Grandma had the diabetes, eh? That'll be an extra $10,000/yr for insurance, friend."

Dear kimmy, I think the opposite; that your consideration is honest, and 'political correctness' would dictate that this abberation be accepted. We are not far from Huxley's "Brave New World", it seems. What if a large company decided to pay parents to select 'suitable Delta Upsilons' to work for them in the future? "We need a batallion of mildly-retarded teenagers that would find happiness in life by shaking french fries at 2:00 am when the bars let out".... I suspect that this may be the biggest factor, but another one is that males (in certain cultures, especially China, where they olny want you to have 1 child) are more likely to grow up to be a 'breadwinner', and can subsidized the parents when they get older. They also can 'carry a bigger load' should the parents be subsistence farmers, etc.

Dear Charles Anthony, This is a question virtually every adopted child faces. "Do I search out my real parents?" One of the main reasons, apart from curiosity, is genetics. What runs in the family? Brain cancer? Dwarfism? Mental retardation? Am I going to father the next 'elephant man'? Did every male in the line die at 40, or live to 100? None of these things really mattered to me, and I had no desire to seek out my birth parents, but many do. It is set up now to be respectful of the birth parent's rights, so they must agree to have their names made available should someone come looking. I would say that this is a fair system. My own adoptive mother asked me If I had looked for, or would I consider looking for, my birth parents. I told her 'No', I had no desire to do so. In my mind, I would almost see it as some sort of betrayal, for my adoptive parents raised me with the same love and care that I could ever have hoped for from any parents. At the same time, I would admit some curiosity, and trepidation, on my part. Would it be worth it? I am happy with my life as it is, (and I belong to "The Church of Shit Happens", with my diocese being "Our Lady of Perpetual Cynicism") so it would be difficult for me to imagine a benefit from the endeavour.

Dear Charles Anthony, When? I'll even grant you some extra time, (in reverse, to a time before the 'pen') back to the chiseled cuniform of the Sumerians. In this time... the pen has denounced the sword, and the pen has glorified the sword. The pen has declared the sword illegal, and other times the pen has announced the sword's intentions. Never, though, has the sword become considered 'passe' because of the pen. Kind of reminds me of a cartoon I once saw, "Red Meat" by Max Cannon. Crazy Earl was reminiscing about childhood. He said something like "I remember when I was a kid, we used to pretend to be knights, with a garbage can lid for a shield, and a plunger for a sword." Then he said, "Man, you gotta work pretty hard to kill a kid with a plunger."