theloniusfleabag

Dear Argus, Oddly enough, logic and business experience. Market economy. If there is a market, there will be a supplier.The pedophile is an incurable predator within our society. The argument that "it is better to supply them with kiddie-porn and keep them whacking off in their basement than roaming the streets" is a rose-coloured glasses look on the issue. Ok, rather than prosecute pedophiles for their "non-harmful' and uncontrollable behaviour, lets hand them over to the parents of molested children and let them dispense what justice they see fit. Some of them might actually be forgiven.

Dear August1991, I have suggested to you to read "Imperial Hubris:Why America is Losing the War on Terror", and you thought it must be some sort of 'junior-level apologist'. Now the 'anonymous' author has been revealed to be the CIA's Chief of Counter-Terrorism, whose desk was the desk for Osama Bin-Laden. It seems you don't (or won't) believe the foremost analyst for the CIA, and you won't believe Osama himself. I'm not sure who else you could turn to for clarification, but they are both telling you that these events and attacks are not random.

Dear kimmy, Dead on with this one. It is the same reason no politician will touch legalized prostitution.Dear caesar, I hate pronograpy. Pornography, on the other hand, is here to stay. Even television ads use it to a degree. Tittilation, even mild, is porn in a sense.Kiddie-porn, however, is a sign of mental disturbance, as far as I see it. I disagree with the notion that this kind of porn's availability reduces actual incidents by providing an 'outlet'. It is only stoking the fire until such time as the 'offender' works up the courage to 'try out the fantasy for real'.

Dear shackwacky, As I understand it, it is the employee's next scheduled shift, not the employer's that is important. Therefore, if the holiday falls on a Friday, the employee must show up both the Thurs. and the Monday (if they were scheduled thusly).But, you are correct, it is the next scheduled shift obligation that must be met, not the next day of the week.

Dear kimmy, Excellent post, a jolly good wheeze. Normally I shun popular culture, but I saw this movie to see the special effects. I certainly wasn't hoping for enlightenment, and the allegory I noticed couldn't have been intentional.Seriously, SDI was developed to use laser weaponry to destroy ICBMs, and was on track to be completed in the late80's/early 90's. Does this kind of 'laser weapon' exist? There is evidence that it does, and that the US has tested such weaponry in combat. (See the movie The Panama Deception, a documentary about the 'illegal' invason of Panama by the US) The US also has tanks that carry such weapons. My point was, do we carry our ...pardon this expression...."our fucked up notions of right and wrong, our greed and our 'human superiority complex", to areas unknown in the universe or do we get our shit together first before we try to exploit 'space'?

Dear Argus, Indeed, the Saudis are the #1 threat regarding radical terrorism and fundamentalism. Yet they remain best friends with the US, even after perpetrating 9/11. It is a fine line for the US to walk, crushing 'terrorism with one hand, nuturing it with the other to gain cheap energy at home.

Dear Argus, If you change the 'we' to 'I', I think you have hit on the 'mindless right' view of the world.The system as it stands now, with the West supporting and funding dictators in the Ivory Coast, et al, for the right to exclusively exploit their resources isn't much better than giving them a vote in the UN. Both systems need radical change.

Dear Hugo, Your response, good as it is, seems more related to the 'Lets throw out religion" thread. However, I believe that the 'truly faithful' have no need to go to church. The church building itself, was simply, at first, to gather the faithful in one place and to keep the rain off their heads. It was subsequently perverted into a 'tithe receptacle' and a place to gather riches for the church.

Dear caesar, I am a small business owner in Calgary. I have to keep on top of these guidelines and rules because they are set by the gov't. For instance, in Alberta, for the Remembrance Day holiday, an employer can ask a worker to work this day, and can refuse to pay it as a 'stat' if the worker refuses to work it. I disagree with the Remembrance Day policy as it stands, and gave my employee the day off with pay. The worker must also work both the day before, and the day after, a stat holiday to get paid for it. This is to ensure some workers don't turn stat holidays which fall on Mondays, Thursdays or Fridays into extra-long weekends(with partial pay), because some of them will. I totally agree, and we have instituted a 'profit-sharing' pay system, which combines a low hourly wage with a 'bonus-system' which increases incrementally according to how busy we are.

Dear August1991, I must agree that the UN needs an overhaul. However, just as it can't be 'legitimate' with Libya or China as acting head of 'Human Rights Watchdog", neither can it be legitimate if it were run by the 'hawks on The Hill' such as Bush, Rice or Rumsfeld.

Dear August1991, This thread is based on utter BS. I contend that this is another case of 'avsfan' attempting to yank everyone's chain. "I am a grade 6 student.... who searched for days yet couldn't find anything about American Isolationism".. is ridiculous.

Dear August1991, The militarization, or weaponization, of space, is a precedent I do not wish to see set. It reminds me of the movie "Independence Day", where a greedy, self important race of beings sets forth 'like locusts' to conquer by force, and exploit every natural resource for their own benefit. I can't imagine how this metaphor could possibly apply to the USA , but I found it interesting that, in the movie, this type of self-serving greed was used as justification for exterminating the invaders, even at their 'home base', if possible.

Dear all, This is indeed a sticky issue, as there are countless internet sites which offer 'proof' of all sorts of things, pro and con on every issue. Even Creationists have sites 'proving' the theory of evolution to be wrong. I do a lot of reading when I can, and for some reason retain a lot of otherwise useless information. Often, I don't provide sources for statements because I would have to spend too much time looking back through my books to find the specific page or passage for the info when I usually remember it just fine. I do try to be accurate on quotes, however. I do notice that a lot of posters are good enough to start certain passages with "IMHO" or "IMV" which is to say, 'the following is opinion or interpretation'.

To quote GHW Bush, regarding the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq, "What we are talking about is right and wrong, ...good and evil". Evil is a term used by many people, including G.H.W Bush, Saddam Hussein, and almost every media outlet in the world. Evil exists as a conceptual notion, and therefore exists as a real entity, albeit only in your mind, just like the notion of God. The name I have given this 'liquid god' is "H2SOteric". Evil aside,what does one call aggression for selfish means?surely there are variances in the severity of the 'crime', but what of the 'moral motivation'?

Dear Cartman, I think our social and gov't programs suck. However, the 'The Canadian Identity' is based on our valuing these institutions, flawed though they may be, and that we put the compassionate care of others high on the list, as opposed to other places where the right to individual greed is the 'summum bonum' of life.

Dear Chloe, The Bush administration and ergo the media will tell you Iran is an 'imminent threat' when they want/need you to think so. For now, Iraqi elections need to happen for the US to have any sort of legitimacy behind their actions.

TV dinners are the cause of the downfall of the family unit.

Dear August1991, I believe there is a difference, and it is one of 'choice'. A woman who willingly engages in sex runs the risk of pregnancy, and she should know it. A rape victim is offered no choice. She could fervently believe that she never wants a child, even to the point of lifelong chastity, and yet a rapist could change that. Her only choice to avoid becoming a mother would be to never leave the house, and even then it is no gurantee. I think the 'rape exception' is founded in the belief for some that 'abortion is wrong except for...'I understand that the singer for Fleetwood Mac, Stevie Nicks, had something like 4 or 5 abortions because pregnancy (and motherhood) would have interfered with her touring schedule. I disagree with abortion being used as birth control, but, since she was a coke addict I suspect that the 'quality of life' of those children would have been severely affected. That being said, it is far easier to judge others from the comfort of this forum than from being in their shoes.

Dear maplesyrup, Babies don't cling to and suckle 'dad' for their formative years. From our days as 'hunter-gatherers', 'dad went off to hunt, often for days. Only when boys were old enough to be 'independent' could they join 'the world of men'. All the 'dependent years' were spent with 'mom'. Thus, there is no stronger sense of safety, or comfort, that a human can have than what was provided by a loving mother. Times have changed, to be sure, but our existence is founded upon 'mom' being our entire world for the first decade or two.

Dear maplesyrup, While I have no problem with 'exotic dancing', I agree we don't need to import any via gov't assistance. If the industry is suffering from shortages, then the industry needs to offer higher wages, benefits, etc. to take care of it's own problems. Besides, how can we be importing strippers when we need doctors? I blame the free enterprise system.

Dear caesar, You are right, dogfighting is still an 'underground sport' in many places (including Calgary, I have heard). Cartman asks What kind of a person would waste their time breeding a pit-fighter that wasn't?I think it is true, to a large degree, that those who seek to own Pit Bulls, et al, desire to be 'intimidating'. Recently, there were photos circulating the Internet of some 'locals' in Nigeria (I think) who had leashed some hyenas and used then as 'intimidation' on city streets. To a large degree, this works, because I would not want to be within a mile of those fools.

Dear Tawasakm, Indeed, this does happen. Some people try to own 'exotics' and sometimes, thought rarely, they are successful. However, look at Mr. Roy, the 'lion tamer', who was mauled by an animal he had 'tamed' and was very familiar with.I recently read a story on the National Geographic site of a man who had an alligator as his family pet. Evidently, alligators and crocs can be 'socialized', and he allowed this (10 footer, I think) to play with his dog and children. The only thought that came to my mind was "tick-tick-tick-tick......"

Dear Cartman, The statistics show that the breed most likely to bite is also the breed with the highest # of AKC registrations. At one time, it was the American Cocker Spaniel, at another it was the German Shepherd.As an addition to my previous post, I have met several 'Pit Bulls', which were fantastic dogs. They would do nothing but lick your face, wag their whole body, and play play play. However, given the right circumstance and stimulus, (not even meaning abuse) they can easily kill you, your child, or, more readily, another dog.

Dear all, I normally spout off about all sorts of things, but don't really make any claim of being an expert. Except in this case. I am a dog expert. Dogs exhibit instinctual behaviour, moreso if the circumstances are right. It is for this reason 'pit fighters' are not allowed into the Dog Daycare which my wife and I own. Dogs were mostly bred throughout history with certain 'jobs to do'. Herders, ratters, retrievers, game-flushers and 'bloodsport' dogs being the most common jobs. They all exhibit behaviour along their lineage. For example, English (or British) Bulldogs were used for 'bull-baiting, and to this day when they do the 'play-bow' to other dogs, they rest their chins on the ground. This behaviour was so that the 'tied up bull' could not get a horn underneath the dog and flip it up or eviscerate it. Another quick example is the Border Collie. The 'Eternal Military Police' of the dog world. they, like a few other breeds, were not subjected to breed standards for looks, colour, or height, as most of the other breeds. They were bred for the longest time on ability alone. Many 'Kennel Clubs' do not recognize some of these breeds, or have been very slow to, because almost all breed standards are based on esthetics. The Pit Fighters also were bred this way. They have the widest range of acceptable standards (most breeds must be within about 2 in. at the shoulders, while some of the pit fighters are allowed a variance of 4 in. or more) because they were also bred for 'ability' and not looks alone. I believe all 'pit-fighting' breeds should be allowed to become extinct, just as the fighting has been discouraged. That being said, muzzling in public and leash laws can do little to make a difference, as most attacks do not occur while the dog was 'out for a walk'. Most attacks occur when dogs escaped from a yard or were on the owner's own property. Any dog can be made aggressive or mean, but very few breeds have to be trained away from that, as it is their natural instinct. Couple that with their ability to kill, and you have a pit-fighter. I am in favour of banning the breeding of The American Pitbull, the American Staffordshire Terrier, The Perro de Presa Canario, those breeds that were rewarded with breeding rights based on their ability and willingness to kill even it's own littermates.

Dear Stoker, Indeed. The purpose of a draft is to swell the ranks of the cannon fodder. Then, while the enemy is engaged in slaughtering the front ranks, the professional soldiers can employ their superior tactics and weaponry to win the battle.The draft would only be used if the US expects a 'set piece' battle ala WWII, or, more likely, if they plan to be at war for a long time.