cactoblasta

Reply to Australia's new citizenship test in Politics JoeUser Forums

The citizenship test is a joke. Most people so far has passed it anyway - I think only one person has failed so far, so the questions can't be that hard. there'll be another 100 in canberra this weekend so we'll see how that goes to get a more reliable percentage. As for the Sudanese, I can understand why the government would be leery. Sure, they came from a bad place where they could have been killed at any moment, but if they can't become part of our society - and it seems the Sudanes

Reply to Talk me out of an iPod touch! in Personal Computing JoeUser Forums

And that would be bullsh!t - impossible to unlock it - the independent phone retailers will tell you that any provider can unlock any phone in a minute at any one of their storefronts....bin there done that and Nokia's right. Except for the 6280, which requires the cooperation of the current network provider to have the protection removed. And 3 won't cooperate. As you might be able to guess it pisses me off.

Reply to Talk me out of an iPod touch! in Personal Computing JoeUser Forums

The only time we are tied to a network is when we purchase a pre-paid mobile phone, but then we are purchasing those from the service provider, NOT the manufacturer, at a price reduced from the manufacturers retail price. Or if you use 3. All their phones are permanently network locked because they refuse to unlock them - they claim it's impossible but Nokia says otherwise. Solution: Don't sign up with 3.

Reply to Talk me out of an iPod touch! in Personal Computing JoeUser Forums

I recently heard somebody complaining that their brand spanking new u-beaut iPod will ONLY install downloaded iTunes....NOTHING else, no MP3's from his PC, not like his previous iPod did. Where did you hear them complaining? I've never heard of that and it hasn't happened to me - I just bought a new Nano and it works fine. Did he forget to drag all his tracks into iTunes or did he stuff up the options on the auto-fill?

Reply to How many Americans have died in Iraq?? in War on Terror JoeUser Forums

Maybe I've got this all wrong, but isn't the reason there's estimates in the first place because the US army refused to count the dead? [link]http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/189877_civilians08.html[/link] Surely they haven't given up and returned to Vietnam style pointless counting?

Reply to Our Enemies .... What are They? in Current Events JoeUser Forums

Really, cacto? You find the fact that homosexuals are executed in Iran giggle inducing? I must say that I am shocked! Not the facts so much as what and how he would say or cover it up. So much of good comedy is in the delivery, and the funniest jokes all reference the most heinous crimes. You can't have funny without tragedy.

Reply to Our Enemies .... What are They? in Current Events JoeUser Forums

Most of them are little more than ultra-liberal indoctrination camps these days, where issues of deviant sex take on more significance than say...Ahmadinijad's promise to annihilate Israel. Well everyone knows Ahmadinijad doesn't have the authority to make any real decisions, but what he has to say about homosexuality would be interesting if only for the sake of shits and giggles. And of course anti-Israel attitudes (whether well-reasoned or no) are hard

Reply to Rightwingers eat babies after Iran Prez visits in Politics JoeUser Forums

Monsters!

Reply to Job Offer part 2 in Life Journals JoeUser Forums

I have to say your claim that you couldn't support your family with a minimum wage struck me as odd. Doesn't Marcie work full-time? Do you really have to DINK it to live in the US? My mum worked full-time as a teacher while my dad was doing his PhD (and a little from the family trust, but not a lot really - not even as much as Maccas would have paid him). And they had three kids under 6. It can be done. If you really want to get your Masters or PhD and get into academia, go fo

Reply to Political Battles at the Fringe: Impotence vs. Action in Politics JoeUser Forums

Hardly. While most teachers are left of center, few of them would agree with the views of the typical Chimpster. Ah okay, so you're only talking about nutjobs - my reading comprehension seems to have disappeared recently. Personally I pay them no mind. There's no end to the depth of craziness on the intarwebs. You can find a few thousand people with almost any kind of delusion, insanity or bizarre viewpoint - SomethingAwful's forum tours really opened m

Reply to Political Battles at the Fringe: Impotence vs. Action in Politics JoeUser Forums

Nothing of course - except bitchin and moanin. Exactly, the most perfect case of misdirection I have ever seen. If it wasn't all so natural the only logical conclusion would be conspiracy.

Reply to Political Battles at the Fringe: Impotence vs. Action in Politics JoeUser Forums

The question asked in this article is that if the extreme left thinks that our country has gone to hell, why aren't they doing anything more about it than sitting on their asses posting on blogs? They aren't? From your own observations they've taken over the educational system. Control of education is the only way to effect lasting change in society. Revolution's got nothing on moulding the impressionable minds of the next generation. It's worke

Reply to Blogging and the death of decent politics. in Politics JoeUser Forums

Nice, but don't forget social networking sites as well. Nothing says 'security risk' like a profile where every tagged pic shows another alcoholic fun time.

Rightwingers eat babies after Iran Prez visits in Politics JoeUser Forums

The recent visit of the President of Iran brought all the rightwingers out of the woodwork. From between the rocks, from behind fetid toadstools, from the nightmare corners of the suburban landscapes, they came. And they came with one simple message "We come, and we want your babies." It's hard to know whether they're following the example of Mr Swift, or simply enjoy sauteed infant with their dollar bill milkshakes. More salubrious sources suggest people who tr

Reply to Draginol's new car in Your Car JoeUser Forums

I've always had a soft spot for porsches, but that pretty much ended after I seriously considered buying an older one (a 928) a few months back. I'm quite tall and there was practically no room in there, and getting in was a hassle. Steering wheel height was a bitch as well. But I'm jealous none the less. They are awesome cars. I just wish they were built for people like me.

Reply to If Hillary wins, should I expect to hear b**tch alot? in Current Events JoeUser Forums

Bitch has had a lot of its insulting meaning stripped away from it. It's had a bit of a clean up over recent years. It's actually possible to take pride in being a bitch if the t-shirts and bumper stickers are to be believed. So maybe Hillary's actually getting an easy ride by just being called a bitch - after all, it basically just means she's unfeminine and aggressive and therefore a worthy counterpart to her competitors. Certainly it's better than being called a dick-nosed k

Reply to What would YOUR heaven be like? in Religion JoeUser Forums

I've always found the idea of heaven and hell to be horrifically boring. I don't know if I could handle the crushing end to intellect, represented through their uniformity, that they are both supposed to be. What's the point of life after death if there's no thought? Life without being able to live - without challenges to overcome, curiosity to satisfy, basically anything worthy of a whim - is as bad as nothingness, because you get to feel yourself slip into madness and despair. To know that yo

Reply to I claim victory for the President in Politics JoeUser Forums

Sometimes you have to look inside yourself and try to find something human. Really? You have to look inside yourself to know you're human? Someone should take those knives away from you and give you a mirror. Today, the Taliban does not control Afganistan and provide Al Qaeda with safe haven to operate and kill at will. Except, of course, in those areas the Taliban continues to control, and those areas w

Reply to Are Christian Children Bullies? in Blogging JoeUser Forums

Not that I'm defending these other children's actions by any means, but some kids have a very cut and dried sense of their faith. Either you do or you don't, and if you do, you go to heaven, and if you don't you go to hell. I don't think that kids can understand the larger, intricate concepts of the Christian faith. For lots of Christians there aren't any, and frankly I'd say that those who do believe in these convenient swathes of grey probably aren't

Reply to We are much too easy on people in our prisons in Current Events JoeUser Forums

I'm not going to get into a discussion about pink prison uniforms, but I do wonder - what exactly IS the point of prison? Is it strictly punishment, or is it supposed to be something more? It seems to me that "rehab" as a prison goal isn't working too well. Why not? When I studied psychology in high school my class went to Sydney to study abnormal behaviours (basically an excuse to walk down the undeservedly notorious sex strips at

Reply to Are Terrorists Coming For Our Children? in Current Events JoeUser Forums

I question that in this case seeing how children are acceptable colateral in Israel. Are they?

Reply to Observations about successful people in Business JoeUser Forums

Exceptions do not make the generalization false. But they do make it useless for anything except abstract philosophical musing. The way I see it if you consider success to be a matter of money then really the only requirement for success is a deep understanding of money. With that understanding you'll always be able to turn your knowledge towards earning the dinars. If you consider success to be something more (and something personal) t

Reply to Do you know a foreign language? in Misc JoeUser Forums

I can speak Indonesian reasonably well and read/write it better - good enough to write a thesis in it a few years back. I can also understand a little Javanese, although I can't speak it too well. Thanks to many years of primary and high school French and Italian I can get the gist of something written in either language even if I don't understand it fully. But I'm only really fluent in English. I think you have to raised bilingually or speak a second language exclusively for years to g

Reply to Drinking During Pregnancy is "Alright"? in Blogging JoeUser Forums

Funny, Cato here proves my point. BlueDev doesn't think I'm retarded even though he thinks my actions are yet Cacto is actually calling me retarded for the same actions BlueDev claims not to be calling retarded for. Thank you for proving my point Cacto. Your point being? That I'm not BlueDev or that I'm naturally cantankerous? Talk about ignorant replies. Back in the days were good days and were bad

Reply to Chavez Nationalizes Sunlight in Current Events JoeUser Forums

In some ways it makes sense. The US has daylight savings time, doesn't it? Is that a socialist plot worthy of fruit loops? If Venezuala can benefit from a half-hour shift I really don't see why it shouldn't use it. It's just a timezone. Australia has three - EST (GMT+10), CST (GMT+9.5) and WST (GMT+8). One of those uses a half-hour difference because it makes better use of sunlight. State government could change those times if they felt like it or it made a lick of sense. You can't nati