cactoblasta

Reply to Did Obama miss out on an opportunity to donate 200 million to the poor? in Politics JoeUser Forums

Is anyone else getting those ads throughout the article? I hope that angelfire site pays off for you Jesse - maybe you can the money to start your own successful call-in radio show!

Reply to Why I disagree with socialized medicine in Democrat JoeUser Forums

[quote]If I had to pay much more for a slightly more effective therapy I wouldn't be interested in it either.[/quote] So you think it's better to make everyone pay for everything as they use it rather than just some people who are unhappy with what's good enough for the vast majority paying for what they use? I guess it's a fair criticism of socialised medicine, but coming from your viewpoint that medical treatments should be many and affordable it sounds a little odd. Anyway,

Reply to Why I disagree with socialized medicine in Democrat JoeUser Forums

[quote]Basically, what this all adds up to, is that interference in the market creates a monopoly for ABA type therapists[/quote] Rubbish. Australia has tonnes of different clinics for autistic kids, and we have socialised healthcare. Not all are taxpayer funded though, and you have to live in a city to have access to them, but that's hardly unexpected. [quote]The important but is what happened (which can be clearly seen in that article and other like it) not why it happened.

The advantages of snobbery in Blogging JoeUser Forums

As those few regular readers of my rarely updated blog would know, I am something of a snob. I like nothing better of a lazy Sunday afternoon than a few productive hours of sneering at my inferiors. Like any good snob, however, I have my particular areas of expertise. In my case it's the written word. I can't abide people who can't, or even worse won't spell words correctly. leet-speak is fingernails down the melodramatic chalkboard of my soul. People who use unnecessary contr

Reply to Radar Detector Shootout: K40 Calibre vs. Valentine V1 in Automotive JoeUser Forums

I never figured you for a insatiable criminal Brad, but I guess we all have our peccadilloes. In Australia radar detectors are banned, with possession alone enough to give you a ticket. They're an interesting idea though. I've always wondered how hard it would be to get radar-proof paint and cover a car in it. That would be pretty cool, if no matter what they used the fuzz couldn't get a reading. Of course if it worked that would be banned too, so I guess I'll just have to avoid breakin

Reply to Help, I'm a Competitive Music Listener in Music JoeUser Forums

Can't say the idea behind the site appeals to me, but if video game music rocks your world, go for it. I'd probably spend a good five or six hours a day listening to music of one sort or another, whether at work, in the car, at home or out doing stuff/drinks. It's amazing how large a part of your life music can be.

Reply to Why I disagree with socialized medicine in Democrat JoeUser Forums

I don't think you understand how most models of socialised medicine work. Sure, there's a taxpayer funded general system, but in most countries there are also privately-funded - as in user-pays - alternatives for most non-hospital treatments. In some countries there are even private hospitals working in addition to the public system. Assuming you pay for your non-ABA treatment at the moment, there's nothing to suggest you'd end up paying more for that treatment under a socialised system

Reply to Why people make what they make in Business JoeUser Forums

I definitely agree with you on this point, and I think business in general is starting to think the same - that would explain the massive increase in personal and executive assistant salaries over the last few decades.

Reply to Trik untuk meningkatkan kecepatan internet in Windows XP JoeUser Forums

[quote]... and there is no NOTICABLE difference ...[/quote] That's a shame. It stands to reason though - chances are you'd want to download the updates anyway, so you'd only get a speed boost when you have the chance to download but don't because you haven't given it any bandwidth to do so. Kind of a false economy I guess. [quote]Phoon wonders what hat that statistic was pulled from. Hell, in my neck of the woods I would be hard pressed to find 30 people that knew where it was

Reply to Trik untuk meningkatkan kecepatan internet in Windows XP JoeUser Forums

1 in every 30 people speaks Indonesian so it's hardly obscure. The basics: You can apparently improve the speed of your internet connection by reducing the amount of bandwidth Windows Update uses - the default, according to Bryan, is 20%. Cut that back to 0% and you'll fairly rocket along. His directions are fairly self-explanatory I think. Anyone know if this actually works/is a good idea?

Reply to What's Your Problem, White-Liberal-Jewish-Galician-American Boy? in Current Events JoeUser Forums

[quote]i guess i'm saying that identities take shape when you're at "home," but they become more crisp when they contrast with those in a certain social circle - such as the JU forum.[/quote] Sure. We define ourselves in opposition to others. When we're at home that definition is very fuzzy around the edges because the Other is fuzzy around the edges. When we're amongst the Other it becomes a very clear definition as the relative importance of that definition becomes more stark from our

Reply to What's Your Problem, White-Liberal-Jewish-Galician-American Boy? in Current Events JoeUser Forums

[quote]granted, i don't know anything about aust. economics or politics; however, it sounds like your "self" identifies closely with your economic class . . .[/quote] Not exactly - most with a similar background would be a fair way to left of me - but it is a major factor. Money allows for greater opportunity and specialisation, which leads to a greater number of narrow, fairly discrete identities. To take it to an extreme, compare the variety of identities I can be at any one time to t

Reply to My Generation: We Can't Fix Sh*t! in Life Journals JoeUser Forums

I'm okay at fixing my own stuff, but I'm not so good with things I'm unfamiliar with. There's just too much going around these days to be a jack of all trades. Take water heating for example. You could have electric, natural gas, oil or solar. You'd have to be a plumber to know how to fix all of them. I'm happy enough to be able to keep my stuff in working condition without having the old folks' gift for everything mechanical.

Reply to What's Your Problem, White-Liberal-Jewish-Galician-American Boy? in Current Events JoeUser Forums

[quote]True - everybody is part of several narratives. but those narratives conflict with each other all the time. you say, "usually only one label is dominant on any single issue," but i think "one label" is dominant in the most cut-n-dry situations. i mean, think about it. for example, think about when you're voting. you have to really distill all of those narrative down to an essence, when you're sorting out issues (or you could simply half-punch a chad and move on, i guess).[/quote]<br/

Reply to What's Your Problem, White-Liberal-Jewish-Galician-American Boy? in Current Events JoeUser Forums

Interesting, but I reckon people overthink identity politics. It's clear that everyone is many different things at once, but usually only one label is dominant on any single issue.

Reply to Suharto Without Tears in Politics JoeUser Forums

[quote]Well actually the thing circling my mind is that the government is worried that the people will see that as an act of aggression against the people.[/quote] It's true. But I don't think that's a worse outcome than letting people think a democratic government is weak and powerless. [quote]BTW, I never knew that people know about Indonesia. [/quote] It's hard not to know something about it in Australia, even if all you know is Bali. I assume you're in the US?

Reply to Suharto Without Tears in Politics JoeUser Forums

[quote]Try living here and watch the news, you'd probably be ticked off at the things people do.[/quote] Been there, done that. I'm well aware of how big a problem preman and their ilk play in politics. The problem Indonesia has it that it has too much of a tradition of rolling over in the face of aggression. Such as with your election example. If people are rioting, you don't give them what they want - you send in the police, the SWAT teams and finally the army. There

Reply to Suharto Without Tears in Politics JoeUser Forums

[quote]Pulling nails and murdering people wasn’t in the Indonesian tradition, at least not in Suharto’s time.[/quote] That's true. Apart from his involvement in one of the 20th century's biggest genocides, he restricted his responses to opposition tactics to kidnapping, assassination and private beatings.

Reply to When Gays get Married, Who does it Really Bother? in Blogging JoeUser Forums

[quote]I believe God's spiritual truths are as real as any physical truths we know. Only the consequences of ignoring them are more dire.[/quote] Really? What about the price of sacrifice? If a still-beating heart isn't cut with a sickle from the chest of the king at midnight in midwinter, there will be no spring. All life on earth will die, consumed by the frost, leaving a barren wasteland ruled only by the frost giants. As with your 'God shall smite thee' example, we can't ta

Reply to How long will America be a super power? in International JoeUser Forums

[quote]We were born a mere 250 years ago as a new nation "conceived in liberty". These cultures are mired in the past, and I for one am not hopeful they will overcome it easily or quickly.[/quote] India is much younger than the US. It's only existed as a single country since the Brits moved out. Prior to British influence it was filled with principalities. That India has only lost a handful of its provinces over the decades is testament to its amazing unity, not a sign of its inferiorit

Reply to How long will America be a super power? in International JoeUser Forums

China stands a good chance of overtaking the US as an economic power within the next hundred years. Militarily less so, but arms aren't everything - if China can continue to boost its middle class as it has been doing with its education programs, there's no reason it shouldn't have more middle class people than the US has citizens. When that starts to happen the sheer economic power of the country will eclipse the US and attract even more foreign investment. India is a less obvious pick

Reply to The past is a different country in History JoeUser Forums

[quote]I've always wondered the point of the National Archive. Seems like a big waste of space.[/quote] Exactly. And in my new (return to the olden days) job as a PS pleb, their bloody recordkeeping standards are getting in the way of my bludging on the government dime.

Reply to When Gays get Married, Who does it Really Bother? in Blogging JoeUser Forums

[quote]This is what I've taught my children...but guess what? The public schools are teaching "value-free" education....that is, under the guise of teaching health, classroom sex instruction indoctrinates pre-kindergarten age on up that homosexuality is OK, even good.[/quote] So do your children not understand your views as a result of that corrupting public education, or do they simply disagree with them based on the evidence of the two main authority figures in their lives (you and th

Reply to Money In Politics in Politics JoeUser Forums

Corporate lobbying is effective, sure, but it can be countermanded. It's easier in smaller democracies than larger ones, but it's surprising how effective a letter campaign can be in moderating potential change. While politicians don't read them, they do maintain a tally of what they're sent and whether or not it's a form letter. If you barrage a local member with, say, 1000 different letters all saying much the same thing from 1000 different local voters, you will have an effect on their views.

Reply to When Gays get Married, Who does it Really Bother? in Blogging JoeUser Forums

[quote]If that definition changes, I can't tell my daughter that "marriage" is a sacred union between MAN and WOMAN. At that point, it's not. It's changed. "Marriage" becomes a union between two people- any two people.[/quote] Well you could. You could tell her that if she marries a woman she will be committing an abomination, that she will be an unnatural plague upon the world and an agent of a wholly secular moral apocalypse, and that if she marries a woman you will disown her and