cactoblasta

Reply to Issues Questionnaire in Politics JoeUser Forums

I'd have to say 8 - the right mix of colonies and allies can make sure you get everything you want.

Reply to Will Michael Moore Help Bush Win the Election? in Politics JoeUser Forums

Yes I admit the same thing happens in Australia, and we have the same kind of disinformation campaigns as Moore and others create, but I think it's important to seperate the "nastier" elements in politics from the people who, for the moment at least, are on the same side. If we don't think it's important enough to be fairhanded then we deserve people like Moore.

Reply to Will Michael Moore Help Bush Win the Election? in Politics JoeUser Forums

If I were speaking to a group of undecided voters from the Republican side, I would categorically address Moore's talking points and ask the voters if Moore's "shock jock" style is really what they want. That would be intellectually dishonest though - unless they were under the mistaken belief that Moor

Reply to Kangaroo Kulling in Kanberra in Politics JoeUser Forums

If you want to hear the government's reasoning behind the cull, check out the press release here: Link

Reply to There is STILL Racism in Our System in Current Events JoeUser Forums

Personally I have little sympathy for farmers who have to rely on state handouts in order to be profitable. In my country handouts are only for cases of severe drought and the sugar industry. It would be better if the white guys' requests for handouts were denied as well as the black guys. Efficiency is the key to development.

Reply to Save the Human Foundation in Wildlife JoeUser Forums

Don't forget the dropbears. They're the real threat, with their global conspiracies and despicable mind control techniques. Kill them all!!!

Reply to Masks on JU exposed in Blogging JoeUser Forums

I think you've figured it out BakerStreet!

Reply to Burn my flag all you want Baby. in International JoeUser Forums

Spain ended its military involvement. To the best of my knowledge its pledge to give $300 million in aid still stands. Does Iraq really need 1,500 troops who would spend most of their time confined to barracks to avoid attack, or is it better to get the financial and construction support?

Reply to Kangaroo Kulling in Kanberra in Politics JoeUser Forums

As a Canberran who relies on that water, I can understand the reasoning behind the cull. Killing them now and selling the corpses for food needs prevents the risk of contamination through the corpses of the starving animals. As there are millions of kangaroos, a loss of 800 within the borders of the dam will not significantly effect local populations but will prevent both the kangaroos' death by starvation,

Reply to When Pro-Life is Really Pro-Death in Current Events JoeUser Forums

It's a little more sophisticated than that lifehappens. Generally this refers to the distribution of condoms, birthing kits, the training of midwives and nurses and the delivery of lectures on sexual health. There may be some organisations that also provide abortions, but that is not the core of their program nor is it common. Most governments would not tolerate foreign-run abortion clinics, and in any event they are quite expensive to run, so would

Reply to Voting Trends and Economics in Politics JoeUser Forums

Personally I'm inclined to distrust the Rush Limbaugh site about as much as I distrust the Mike Moore site. Do you have another source for your figures? Also the 96% figure includes the top 50% of the population. This suggests a very serious rich/poor gap which must be worrying to the average citizen. Continuing to work off generalisations, if the poorest 50% don't earn enough to account for eve

Reply to Heinz Kerry Tells Reporter to "Shove It" in Politics JoeUser Forums

As if she has any importance as all. I don't understand the American obsession with the wives of their politicians. It's bizarre. If she is the real power and thinker behind the Kerry campaign then I think her opinions might be important, but if Kerry is not merely a hollow shell which she uses for political power then anything she says should be treated much like the words of Prince Philip - surprise, contempt if necessary and then by ignoring them

Reply to All Constitutions are Crap Especially Americas in Politics JoeUser Forums

My cousin was forced to say the pledge of allegiance when he was on exchange in the US - when he refused he was sent home to "think about what he stood for". But I'll give the benefit of the doubt and assume that this was a one-off incident. You really believe that five-year-olds give a dam about whether their classmate

Reply to Galactic Civilizations II concept thread in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

[quote]# Cultural Influence #Instead of looking at numbers, you'll look at the map. The 3D engine will have irregularly shaped boundary lines. If your planet is surrounded on all sides by a particular player's "space" then you can watch is zoom in on your planet turn after turn. When it touches your planet, it changes sides. So it'll be up to you to battle that sort of thing with your star bases and such.[/quote] This was my favourite feature of Rise of Nations and Civ3. I'm glad to se

Reply to Nosey neighbors to the north? in Politics JoeUser Forums

You already do. The US finances thousands of political parties worldwide. The only problem is the voters, who sometimes take a similar line to yours on foreign interference in elections.

Reply to "Purchasing The 911 Commission Report" in Politics JoeUser Forums

Is this true? I had always assumed the US government would own the primary servers and routers for their internet networks. I know Australia owns its primary hubs and so doesn't pay a cent for bandwidth. The only cost would be upkeep, which would have to be paid anyway in order to keep normal sites running.

Reply to The Leviathan and 9-11 in Politics JoeUser Forums

Thomas Hobbes missed the boat when he advocated the "daddy state." He should have listened to Mayor Daley of Chicago's immortal words in 1968: "The policeman is not here to create order. He's here to create disorder." Thomas Hobbes died centuries before Mayor Daley was even born - I doubt he considered

Reply to That Sultana Bran ad, and its relationship to the Brady's in Misc JoeUser Forums

Personally I'd like to see everyone involved with the ad taken outside and tried for witchcraft. I feel dumber every time I see it. It may be catchy, but so's diptheria.

Reply to French Arrogance in Current Events JoeUser Forums

It would be like the U.S. denying people entry to Canada, Mexico, or other American nations. Not quite - the NAFTA countries don't have quite the same close ties as the EU countries - they share no common currency, nor, more importantly, do they share their visas - a visa into Mexico will never allow p

Reply to The Fine Art of Dishonesty in Politics JoeUser Forums

There's always Sparta as an example of a place of open homosexuality, but due to the heavily militaristic kind of life lived that's hardly surprising (in a "never ever associate with women" kind of way rather than a army=gay kind of way). Christianity has come out of the cl

Reply to Fahrenheit 911 aims to indoctrinate in Politics JoeUser Forums

If Bush = Hitler like the left is saying, then why aren't they doing something about it besides, at most, demonstrating? Why aren't the Europeans marshalling troops to threaten the US with? Or how about at least economic sanctions? They're not doing anything at all. Anyone remember what Hitler did to hi

Reply to Religion of Peace Update in International JoeUser Forums

unless you are Muslim (their way only) AND Arab you get the old knife in the neck... If this was true then there would be no Druze, no non-European Jews, no Coptics, no Indonesian Buddhists/Animists/Christians/Muslims even. The fact that these people exist

Reply to Religion of Peace Update in International JoeUser Forums

Muslim armies are supposed to kill pagans wherever they despoil the land. Raping them is extremely demeaning to the Muslim men involved, quite apart from being a sin. I'll admit here I haven't read it in the Qur'an, but a Muslim cleric in Medan told me that raping pagans was especially bad because they were unclean, and that Muhammad told his faithful it was doubly bad to do so - it may just be an unsound hadith though. I should have explained fully

Reply to Religion of Peace Update in International JoeUser Forums

That sounds more like racism than a result of religious choice. It is self-evident that these Arab men and women were not proper Muslims, as rape, even/especially of infidels, is expressly forbidden in the Qur'an.

Reply to Drengin.net is about to die. Long live Drengin.net! in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

Would it be possible to add pause/resume buttons to SDCentral? With the new massive downloads it's not always possible to keep a steady connection for hour upon end or to keep the computer on for long enough.