kimmy

I think it would have been an inline 6. I don't think GM had any V6s until the 1980s. -k

Eariler you proposed that god needed to embody himself as a human so that he could understand temptation and sin and suffering and so on. And my response was, isn't he supposed to be omniscient? Isn't he supposed to know us better than we know ourselves? Why did he need to embody himself in human form to understand humans, when he ought to know everything about us? If god is undergoing "constant personal improvement"... isn't that a theological problem? It implies that god is not perfect; if he were, improvement would be impossible. -k

Well, Peeves didn't specify Christianity in particular, he was speaking of religion in general. And also, why? The god of the Old Testament and the New Testament (and the Quran) are the same guy. Your own scripture insists that the stuff in the Old Testament is the historical truth. You're asking me to ignore all the stuff god did Before Christ as if he were a juvenile offender whose record gets expunged once he turns 18. Why? Did he get some medication and psychiatric help prior sometime between the OT and the NT? Did he smoke some herb and mellow out? Is he the same god, or a different god? And if he's the same god, then why did he change? Or did he change? -k

The '70 Torino GT fastback is my favorite of the Ford muscle cars. -k

If God were show up and explain it to us in person, we'd know what he wants. But until that time, we can only guess based on his books. And most of those books seem to suggest he's actually pretty ok with killing. For example, my viking ancestors worshiped gods who were definitely in favor of smiting enemies. Ditto the ancient Greeks and Romans. The god worshiped by Jews, Christians, and Muslims is likewise clearly in favor of slaying enemies and infidels, as anybody familiar with the Old Testament is well aware. -k

This can't hold a candle to Rick Perry's "uhhhh" moment or his "Strong" ad, or Herman Cain trying to answer how he'd have handled Libya. Those are the top 3 American politics facepalms I can think of right now. If I have to choose 1, probably "Strong". -k

Time for some context. First off, this clip is from 2007, and has been circulating recently because people with an agenda wish to stir up anti-Israel sentiment. Second... what's up with the Toblerone? Do Israelis have some kind of issue with Toblerone? Last, but not least... while I agree that this would be pretty disturbing if it were from a children's program (ie, Pioneers Of The Future, aka Jihad Mouse)... it isn't. It's taken from a satire program whose creator says he was inspired by South Park. The show's particular aim is to lampoon 1960s and 1970s propaganda from Israel's Educational TV channel. The show is a satire of racist, sexist, pro-war attitudes in Israel, created by a left-wing Israeli. So when you're watching this, take a moment to think about what it would be like if someone took a blasphemous clip from South Park, subtitled it, took it to someplace where the people wouldn't understand the context, and told them "Look! This is what the Americans teach their children!" ...well, that would be pretty much what's happening here. Further reading: http://my.firedoglake.com/edwardteller/2011/04/23/feeling-the-hate-on-easter-eve-israeli-kids-program-crucifies-a-mock-jesus/ -k

Winning is the most successful marketing strategy for a pro sports franchise. If the Canadiens are winning, Montrealers will fill the arena to capacity whether the coach speaks French, English, or Swahili. (Montrealers will fill the arena to capacity if the Canadiens are losing as well, but that's another story...) A coach's job isn't to communicate with the media, it's to communicate with the players. There's only 3 Quebec-born players on the Canadiens. There's more Europeans. There's more Anglo-Canadians. There's more Americans. More Canadiens players were born in Czechoslovakia than in Quebec. French is hardly a requirement for the job. The Canadiens have had more than a few players over the years who spoke extremely poor French, or none at all. Not the least of whom was Saku Koivu, an undersized Finn who caused a similar "uproar" when he was named Captain of the team. The uproar came not from Canadiens fans, who loved Koivu and nicknamed him "Captain Courage" when he battled cancer. The uproar over a non-French speaker being named Captain of the Canadiens didn't come from fans. It came from political figures who didn't care about hockey but seized on the issue because they perceived it as an insult to Francophones. I propose that the "uproar" over this issue is likewise a fiction created by Quebec nationalists laboring under the misapprehension that the Montreal Canadiens are a national symbol of Quebec rather than a professional sports franchise. -k

As Scotty said, Fatah isn't criticizing them for moderating their views, he's saying they haven't moderated their views at all, just learned to express them in less inflammatory ways. In Muslim terms, "Scholar" translates to "a Saudi-educated theocrat who's going to talk about the stone-age brand of Islam they practice in Saudi Arabia." The thread title is misleading-- I don't think there's anything to suggest this is a "pro-terrorism conference". Nonetheless, bringing in "Islamic scholars" to "educate" modern westernized Muslims is a stupid and destructive idea. We should be sending modern westernized Muslims to Saudi Arabia to educate their "scholars". Bringing Saudi-trained "scholars" to North America to teach kids how to do Islam right would be like using a time-machine to bring some witch-hunters from 16th century Europe to teach today's soft-hearted Christians how to deal with pagans and Buddhists. -k

I also make a conscious choice to buy Canadian or North American made products over Chinese products whenever I have the option and as long as it's not an undue expense. I also do not buy from companies who have gone out of their way to offend me with their advertising. Not always easy... I haven't bought a Mott's product for years, but Mott's is just a part of some big conglomerate who probably have so many subsidiaries that you wouldn't be able to keep track of them all. -k

The NORAD Santa Claus watch is ...a hoax? Wow, you really blew the lid off that one, Wolf Blitzer! As I understand it, NORAD is there to detect objects approaching North American airspace, not track domestic flights that go off course. They couldn't have stopped 9/11. Some other agency might have, had they acted in time, but that's not NORAD's role. -k

Merry Christmas to all! Except for Shady who I wish "Happy Holidays" instead. -k

My latest bottle is Sazerac Rye. It's "Straight Kentucky Rye"; I believe the term "straight" requires it be unblended and aged at least 5 years in charred oak barrels. I had been on the lookout for Sazerac for a while and finally found it while I was Christmas shopping. It reminds me quite a bit of Buffalo Trace bourbon, which is good, because Buffalo Trace is my favorite sipping drink right now. The Sazerac rye has the same sort of pepper-like spicyness that Buffalo Trace has, but Sazerac is more intense and is definitely a drink that wakes your mouth up and warms up your chest when you're drinking it. -k

They were on TV here... I got to see the last few minutes. 13 of 30 for 185 yards, 1 td, 4 int, 35.6 passer rating for Tebow. 35.6 is the lowest I can personally recall ever seeing. 185 yards sounds pretty good, except over 100 of that was late game when they were already 4 scores behind and the Bills were playing prevent. And of that 100, half of it was on a single completion. And this is a great example of why it's dumb to try and associate some kind of greater message with a sports outcome. If Tebow's "miracle" wins were proof of the power of Jesus, then what were his last two games? -k

It isn't difficult to find similar claims with just a little googling. In some cases they're made by anti-Muslim people, or white supremacists, or right-wing nationalists. The Muslim rape epidemic in Sweden has been talked about for years. A similar claim was made in regard to Oslo, Norway after the Anders Breivik massacre: somebody talking about why Breivik hated Muslims claimed that of something like 42 rape incidents in Oslo, almost all of them were perpetrated by Muslims. Things of this nature are extremely difficult to verify, because for reasons we've all discussed a number of times, publishing information regarding the race and ethnicity of criminals is a touchy subject. That all of these claims are published by sources with an agenda makes them untrustworthy. It doesn't, however, prove that they're false. It might mean that other news sources are uncomfortable with publishing the information for whatever reason. An example of this was some time ago when our late unlamented member Lictor asked why the dragging death of a black man, James Byrd, at the hands of white rednecks caused a media sensation while the dragging death of white woman Patricia Stansfield at the hands of a black thug went virtually unreported by media just a year later. Challenged to find any evidence to support the claim that the Patricia Stansfield incident even happened, Lictor could only produce links to white supremacist websites, and it was assumed by many here that the incident was fiction invented by racists to stir up anger against black people. Except, it wasn't. It really happened. So, when you're considering that there might be a reason that only agenda-based sources are talking about something, also spend a moment to consider that there might also be a reason that other people are keeping quiet about it. -k

Between the murders and massacres and genocides committed at Yahweh's command or with his assistance... the plagues and death he visits upon people for often no fault of their own... the part where he becomes disappointed with humans and decides to wipe out every living thing on the planet except for 1 family and a boatload of animals... guess I'm not feeling the love. I suppose that since the Jews were the beneficiaries of much of this smiting and slaughter, you might have a different outlook. But I think that if a modern adult reads the Old Testament without any predisposition to like Yahweh or Moses or Jacob or any of the other heroes of the Old Testament, I think they'd come to the conclusion that it's a story about psychopaths. -k

Thanks. Funny. -k

If they were men, what they would do would be go out and compete in the marketplace of ideas: "we don't think you should watch this show and here's why." But since they're not men but douchebags, they're targeting advertisers instead. They want to take the decision out of the hands of the person holding the remote control and put it in the hands of a few people in advertising departments. This is really no different from the U of Ottawa student society guy trying to have the venue pulled from Ann Coulter. Florida Family Association is trying to remove the venue from a program they disagree with. Instead of letting the show live or die based on whether people wish to watch it or not, they're trying to make it die by scaring away sponsors. They wish to to take away choice from the viewer using scare tactics and that's something I completely oppose. You can defend it if you want, but everybody here knows you wouldn't be defending it if some group was trying to get sponsors to drop the Megyn Kelly Patriot Hour. -k

Probably because it was off-topic. The video presented questions regarding the historical origins of the Old Testament. You seem to interpret the author's intent to be attacking Christianity. And it is, indirectly, because casting doubt on the infallibility of the Old Testament has to bring into question the whole story, doesn't it? But the main focus is on the evolution of the mythology of the ancient Jews from polytheistic to monotheistic. What the implications of that would be for modern Christianity are interesting to contemplate. I would think they would have some esplainin' to do. Personally, I think Christianity would be better off without the Old Testament. The stories are just so ridiculous, and so at odds with the claim that God is loving. If Yahweh is omniscient and omnipresent, doesn't he already know? If God is really everything that the book says he is, why would he need to conduct a 33 year science experiment to find out stuff he already knows? Supposing he really did need to become a human to find out about the "human condition", howcome he didn't try spending a lifetime as a chick as well? Seems to me that would have been a much gutsier thing considering what society was like 2000 years ago... -k

If we're talking about a street or a public space, then of course everybody has the right to express themselves. And if your message doesn't get heard because somebody else was shouting at the same time, it seems to me that's your own tough luck. You have the right to free speech, but there's no guarantee that people will hear you. Now, if we're talking about a presenter in a private venue being shouted down, that's a different story. The people doing the shouting might have the right to express themselves, but they don't have an unrestricted right to be in that venue, and if they're shouting down a speaker who has been granted the use of the venue, then the people doing the shouting can certainly be removed for trespassing. There's all kinds of other restrictions that are not strictly a matter of "rights". You have the right to express yourself, but you don't have an absolute right to work for me, and if you insult the customers on company time I'm entirely within my rights to fire you. Francois Houle was well within his rights to send Ann Coulter the letter he sent her, but most informed people feel that what he said was inappropriate for the academic head of a university. A teacher has the right to express their religious views, but not in a classroom. And so on. In regard to the Florida Family Association, there's no question that they have the legal right to do what they're doing. My claim is not that it's against the law, simply that it's a douchebag thing to do. It's a group of 35,000 people (according to them, at least) who have decided that *nobody* should be able to watch a program that they don't approve of, and they are attempting to make sure that nobody can watch this program by targeting the sponsors. Lowe's Home Improvement pulled ads from the show after FFA announced their boycott. Lowe's is now facing a backlash. Personally, I think that's good. I think that if advertisers are considering the effects of a boycott from scumbags like FFA, they should likewise consider that other potential customers might be offended by a decision to obey the scumbags. -k

Yay! I'm back! I have lots of catching up to do. Talk to you soon. -k

No reason to doubt it, either. There are athletes who aren't the people they appear to be, but I don't see any reason to doubt Tebow. We've become so jaded from hearing about athletes who are all about money and drugs and adultery that we forget that there are still a lot of good people in pro sports too. Personally, I don't doubt that Tebow is saving himself for marriage. Well, there's one thing he has in common with Tim Tebow. -k

The difference is that in Libya there was a widely popular rebellion. There's no analog to it in North Korea. There's no reason to go to war to "liberate" people who don't want to be liberated. I can't think of Kim Jong Il without thinking of Team America... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrJdhIqeJGM -k

Under the stats heading, Drew Brees' day (32 of 40, 412 yards, 5 td, 0 int, no sacks, QB rating: 149.2) has to be one of the most obscene lines of all time. -k

thanks! -k