theloniusfleabag

Bah, Hamas, the PLO, etc, and the IDF (and Israeli gov't) are all 'religious fanatic terrorists', really. They both believe that deceit and treachery will be judged by a 'higher court' than our earthly ones, and both think that they will find favour for 'doing God's will'. I will freely stand up and condemn Hamas, Hizbollah, and any other religious fanatics that targets civilians (or believes that killing in general is even acceptable), for to me, they inspire revulsion. So too, though, must I be critical of Israel.

Dear kimmy, Yes, and don't stub your toe with those bare feet of yours, you know how they swell when you're pregnant! I personally am against 'Pride Parades', I really don't see the point. If we can have parades based on sexual orientation, why can't I organize the "All-Canadian Tit-F*cker's Parade"? (Or, the "I wish my Wife Would Swallow" Parade?)

Dear Argus, I agree, it is so hypocritical that it doesn't make sense. It is the 'right' that worries business could be lost, human rights be damned. I for one am happy that Harper had the guts to stand up and call China out on their human rights record. That is what opposition parties do, muckrake, and why I think politics in general is such a cesspool, on all fronts.

There are certainly many things that differ from culture to culture, and probably no greater divide than 'East and West'. However juxtaposed, the average person is somewhere in the middle, and we often wish laws would do the same. For example, http://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/europe/0...wing/index.html and then the gov't passes a law... http://www.ontla.on.ca/documents/Bills/37_...ion4/b097_e.htm But in other nations, gov'ts aren't so heavy-handed... http://www.linkings.com/mainurl.php?name=W...it&lid=1873 Perhaps the middle ground is the safest place to be...

Dear Posit, No, your example is 'hearsay', not 'fact, though I don't doubt that it is true. However, to say that "there is no proof that cancer-causing agents have caused any cancer" is a bit on the silly side. There is no 'proof' because there are a billion variables. Questions that can lead a study to be thrown out could be anything from 'Has he ever eaten a tomato? (Oh, look, exposure to pesticide, that must be it)" to, "Has he ever been in sunlight?" (Oh, look, solar radiation, that must have caused that nasty cancer of the esophagus).If the inhalation of carcinogens causes cancer in smokers, what would be the magical blocking effect to keep it from causing cancer in non-smokers?

I don't believe that there are any medical studies that show 'being thrown into a volcano as a human sacrifice' is bad for your health either, but that doesn't make it untrue.

Dear Mr. Hardner, Though I haven't really participated in this thread, I can say the the only answer seems to be to have an 'independent region' with a set of laws that are both acceptable and secular. Niether side can (or would attempt to) accomplish this alone. The soup of 'laws de jour' [sic] for this region would have to be a model for the rest of the world, mind you. Likely enforced by them, also.

Dear Who's Doing What?, Touche. On the other hand, protest is not the diametric opposite of inactivity.

Dear Black Dog, Yes, there may be some 'visual benefits', as well as detriments... http://www.neurologyindia.com/article.asp?...=2;aulast=Singh Rather than calling it a 'photosensitive siezure', we could call it the latest dance craze....the 'funky chicken'! Or, the Vitus Dance!

Dear betsy, I am glad that you have some rules regarding gaming times. When I was young, my parents bought the family 'Pong' (from Coleco, I believe) and it was neat. Then, when the Atari 2600 came out, (one of my friend's family paid $300 to have the first one on the block, I got one a year or two later for $199) the parents decided that us kids should only use it as a 'rainy day' type of activity, so we all still rode our bikes, played pick-up baseball, foootball or street hockey, even though we had this 'fabulous new device' at home. Then Intellivision came out, really starting the 'who has the better game console' race. Only the 'rich kids' had 'Intellivision', (I still remember it being hawked on TV by George Plimpton) but we all started losing interest as we went into high school, and discovered other delights.

Dear jdobbin, I was wondering how this might fit in to the spirit of this being a political forum, so, I'll say this: give it a pass. As a former 'video game junkie', I can say that my life is better without them. I still play some 'video games' on occasion, but they are really the ultimate time waster. If you have kids, the money would be better spent on some sort of club membership, outdoor sporting goods, or something that might lead them to interact with other kids...mindlessly staring at the 'idiot box' isn't social interaction.

I suppose that this 'campaign for real beauty' ad could have also been used for other products...like beer. "Turn your date into a hot bombshell!" Then have the 'transmogrification' occur as empty Budweiser cans pile up on the bottom of the screen.

Dear Melanie, This strikes me as a double-edged sword, and saddens me as well. I seems that 'misrepresentations', (or 'lies', as some may call them) are acceptable and commonplace. I bought a can of soup yesterday with a label that just made me shake my head. Campbell's 'Sirloin Burger' soup. There was a 'flag' or 'banner style' notice on it, (usually saying 'new and improved') and it read "Now with Sirloin!" I expect that means that they were previously lying, or that some legal ruling meant that they could no longer call it 'sirloin burger' if it didn't contain any percentage of sirloin. It seemed as though they were saying, "Ok, you caught us lying, but NOW it contains sirloin!" Just one of my personal 'beefs'.

After reading the list from Black Dog's link, I can only think to say...)))blaaarrrrrrrgh((( Which is a bit odd, because I have not heard of most of them, and have seen only bits of one of the CSI shows (my wife likes one of them and watches it a couple of times a month, it is the one with the guy who pretended to be a 'profiler' in the movie "Manhunter", based on the book Red Dragon by Thomas Harris.) No wonder America is the moral toilet it has become. The 'Nielson Ratings' aren't much more than a dipstick, to see how far the sh*t has risen up the plunger. Just my opinion, of course.

They all are to me. That is why I don't frequent forums about 'popular culture'. This is a political forum, please try to keep it that way.

Dear Liam, Thank you for the clarification. I am personally not against the 'Gay Games', but I don't see why the provincial gov't would have guaranteed any loans, etc (except, as you say, for tourism dollars). Someone I know well had a friend attend these games (as an athlete) and told me it is really just a big piss-up. They might as well just have a big parade or festival, rather than the facade of sports if they are trying to attract tourism dollars based on sexual orientation.

What I don't understand is why there even is a 'gay games' (Or is it Gay Olympics?). A gay person can compete at the olympic/professional level in any sport anyway, Mark Tewkesbury or Billie Jean King, for example...(was Martina 'Cunning' Hingus gay?) I mean, it's not like the 'Special' Olympics...(Heard this one years ago...Q: What's better than winning a gold medal at the Special Olympics? A: Not being retarded.) Is there going to be a special designation or asterisk in the Guinness Book of Records to show the 'World's fastest Gay Man in the 100m? (I'll bet he's from Texas...)

I sure was surprised to tune into the 'drag races' and didn't see any cars...what was even more confusing was when the announcer said "Rock Hudson Jr. just blew a tranny"...

Dear Argus, I agree, and (since I believe there should have been an onus on the US to 'declare war', and further, it would have simplified things a great deal) had the US declared war, they could have realistically instituted 'Martial Law', curfews etc that would have greatly reduced the post-conflict violence. They could have also delivered an 'unconditional surrender clause', where hostilities would resume nationwide should the clause(es) be breached. However, I wouldn't lay the entire blame for the lack of troops at Rumsfeld's feet, because they were trying to low-ball the cost figure to get congressional approval in the first place. 4-500,000 troops (with today's modern army, that also means a huge amount of support staff) would mean over a million Americans going into Iraq, and though it likely would have been best, it was also unlikely to be approved.

Dear ClearWest, I agree. As an employer, I could not pay $15/hr in my small business and still be viable. I would have to lay off/ let go of some staff and make the remainder worker harder, plus work more hours myself. Right now, My wife and I pay $8/hr plus a profit sharing bonus, which is often double what the hourly wage works out to. Both ourselves and our employees like this system, but it would be jeopardized by a static (and high) minimum wage. I do believe that there should be some level of 'minimum', but I think $5-$8 is high enough. Right now, in Calgary, the point is moot anyway. There are some fast food restaurants offering $14/hr to start. Burger King in Country Hills had a sign on their drive-thru window..."Work 1000 hrs and get a bonus $1000 cash!" Others have offered trips to Mexico, or cash bonuses, if you stay 6mo-1 year.

Dear August1991, Evidently Hugh Laurie pretends to be a mean-spirited doctor on this show. I recall Hugh Laurie from the brilliant comedy series "Black Adder", where he pretended to be an outrageously moronic fop, as opposed to Rowan Atkinson and his vitriolic sardonicism.

Dear jbg, I'll bet, because the answer has to be zero for your statement to be truthful. This is simply a projection of bias. No one here, to the best of my recollection, has ever defended 'kiddie diddlers', 'thrill-killers' or 'sheep-shaggers', yet you imply that such things are widely condoned. Hogwash.

Dear ft.niagara, Rather than kooky, this is perfectly logical. Not as a real comparison between hetero vs homosexual sex, but rather as choosing a 'non-procreational habit'.

Dear KrustyKid, I agree with Liam's sentiment... Iraq is a 24 carat clusterf*ck. IMHO, the first (and biggest) mistake the US made was not declaring war on Iraq. In keeping with the point of this thread, Bush Jr. is way down on the list for how he handled this one. His 'State of the Union address' won big points for him (I was very impressed, until he said "You are either with us or against us"), but he squandered his and the US' international support by a very foolish action, the full ramifications of which have yet to be seen.(Oh, by the way, I remember a very similar thread on your website, a very interesting topic. I'd go with Roosevelt.)

Dear betsy, I assume this means you advocate genocide against all Muslims (or would you qualify with 'just the bad muslims'?). All out war may come to pass, those without the stomach for it may lose because of it.