cactoblasta

Reply to World Government: A Generally Stupid, Pathetic, Bad Idea in Current Events JoeUser Forums

Come on, Doc. You live in the South, you know those wounds STILL are not completely healed. The ONLY thing that keeps us from reigniting a civil war is that states' rights still exist in some respect, enough to make us understand we can still keep an identity apart from each other. Erase states' rights entirely and watch the US explode. Why would states have to disappear for a world government? For the sake of organisation it'd make sense for

Reply to World Government: A Generally Stupid, Pathetic, Bad Idea in Current Events JoeUser Forums

World government can only work with genocide, cacto. There are people whose ideological culture wants to destroy the other culture, and the only way to deal with them is to destroy them. Huh? So in the US there has never been a culture anywhere which wanted to destroy another part of the citizenry? I think you're oversimplifying things here. Destructive cultures can survive existence in the same space as their target culture. They just need

Reply to World Government: A Generally Stupid, Pathetic, Bad Idea in Current Events JoeUser Forums

I think world government could work - but only if we found a common enemy that's not of this world. It's human nature to define identity in terms of what we're not, so I don't see global identity as particularly likely before we've got something to be earthlings against. Without a global identity world government (in the way we understand government) is impossible. Of course there's an argument to be said we already have world government of a kind though anyway - the world mar

Reply to HOW TO KEEP A HEALTHY LEVEL OF INSANITY in Humor JoeUser Forums

Hilarious! I'm going to try some of these out.

Reply to Why Bio-fuels spell DISASTER in Current Events JoeUser Forums

The worst thing about biofuels is that they're a total waste of time. They're only competitive on cost (and even then only with subsidies). They pollute more, are less efficient and as Bahu points out use up valuable arable land. Their popularity is an absolute enigma to me.

Reply to Bring back FAILURE. in Current Events JoeUser Forums

Forget a comprehensive exam required to graduate, instead make the finals for every class comprehensive and challenging. If a student fails the final, they repeat the class. If they don't pass everything senior year, they repeat the year. If a student can't show a 12th grade level of reading comprehension, they shouldn't be graduating. I don't care about their self-esteem. School isn't about making you feel good, it's about making sure you have the basic skil

Reply to A Reality Show I'd Like to See in Current Events JoeUser Forums

Yes, I'd say it's highly unlikely that most CEOs or generic rich people would be able to. Why? Because it's a different skill set. Some might be able to make money again as salesmen, but the skills of a CEO/lawyer/accountant are not well suited to low-paying jobs. The only things that might help are a solid work addiction and charisma, which some CEOs have in abundance.

Reply to Bring back FAILURE. in Current Events JoeUser Forums

Standardised tests are a waste of class time. To perform effectively in them it takes drilling and careful preparation. That time would be better spent teaching. While I think they can and should be used as a technique for gaining a rough idea of how schools are going they should never become the basis of pass/failure or funding, because they should be indicators, not the basis of a curriculum. Moderation is more effectively achieved anyway by comparing samples of student wor

Reply to More on SECULAR PROGRESSIVES in Politics JoeUser Forums

Besides, we all need something to aspire to, lol. True 'nuff, Gran. Cacto, no matter how much we butt heads {maybe that's because we are BOTH buttheads} for some odd reason I do like you, you stand up for what you think, always! you never vaccillate, or flip flop {GOD I hate that expression} all in all I wish you the best. The world needs men {and women} that stand firm in their convictions. Sam

Reply to Changing Careers in Blogging JoeUser Forums

One of the many benefits of working many and various jobs with values like yours is that you get to experience a multitude of different settings, giving you broader insight into labor conditions and the real state of the working class. It can be a real populist education if you let it. Hmm, not really sure what you're saying here but I don't think there'll be a value change between working for the government and writing pleasant lies for private industry

Reply to All About Poland in Blogging JoeUser Forums

Well good luck with it. I've always been against missionaries myself but perhaps you'll do some good. At least look into microcredit schemes before you go, then at least you'll be prepared to do something more useful than saving souls.

Reply to All About Poland in Blogging JoeUser Forums

What would you do over there? The Poles are already Christian! Surely you'd be better off in subSaharan Africa.

Reply to New addon for CIV IV - copying GalCIV 2? in Strategy JoeUser Forums

Considering how differently the two games play I don't think it could be considered copying, particularly when Stardock has already said they discussed features with the CIV4 team for Gal Civ 2.

Reply to More on SECULAR PROGRESSIVES in Politics JoeUser Forums

You forgot to mention you're gay, btw. Nah I didn't - hot manlove can be safely filed under hedonism I reckon. This must be why I like ya so much, my wee aussie turdlet. Turdlet? I'm insulted! I should at least be a shithead!

Reply to Changing Careers in Blogging JoeUser Forums

Everyone: Cheers for the support! I agree with you about the money bit, too, though it's hard to make the adjustment to go lower, financially. I'm only working part-time (part time as in 25 hours a week) at the moment so the pay would be roughly the same, I'd just be working 15 hours more. Not as good as shifting to full-time where I am but much better in the long-term, I think. I think I know the type.

Reply to Team Conners Announces Another Bold Expansion in Parenting JoeUser Forums

Congrats!

Reply to Something that NEEDS to be seen by everyone. in Politics JoeUser Forums

"I need you to support me. I need you to be behind me." Gay. Very gay. And strange too - for a video that seems to support soldiers there's not a lot of soldiers in it who aren't Anglos. Odd that (and yes, I know whites are a majority, but making the only shot of anyone different the occasional hand at edge of frame is a bit of a puzzler, no?)

Reply to Understanding ideologies of destruction in War on Terror JoeUser Forums

This is an outright lie, Abe. I think he was using it as an illustrative example of how high GDP and national wealth don't necessarily translate into a lack of poverty. It seems highly unlikely to me that he would suggest all the money in the US belonged to a single person.

Reply to More on SECULAR PROGRESSIVES in Politics JoeUser Forums

Good stuff, but I am afraid cacto is about the if it feels good do it clan.. one of the sub-clans of secular progressives {gag} Awesome, a new label to add to my growing portrait by JU righties. What is it now? Oh yes - I'm an anti-American, godless, hedonistic secular progressive abortionist who loves terrorists and might be a secret Muslim. Every day I get a little more one-sided...

Reply to More on SECULAR PROGRESSIVES in Politics JoeUser Forums

Presuming is never advisable, cacto, because the opposite presumption would then be equally valid, that the decline in teen sex is due to the recently increased focus on abstinence. I have no problem with that. Your side hasn't proven its case at all so I don't see any reason to spend hours researching mine. We're all working on assumptions here. Would you advise a 14 year old how to inject heroin 'safely?' Afte

Reply to Changing Careers in Blogging JoeUser Forums

I feel like we work in the same place. Probably! I'm pretty junior though. I spend most of my time ferrying paper around and doing research nobody reads. I think the people I work with though are the worst. Everyone senior is a pretentious knobjockey, and the few equal to me seemed to have no greater goal than to follow in the boss' footsteps. If I never hear someone make jokes about obscure Malaysian ministers, or start a sentence with

Changing Careers in Blogging JoeUser Forums

As I think I may have mentioned before, for the last six months or so I've been working for the Man. It's been pretty much a full time job, but with a few classes of uni thrown in just to spice up the mix, and frankly I'm totally over it. Rather than enjoying working in the field for which I'm trained (ASEAN and general international politics analysis) I've instead found it boring, intellectually stifling and a black hole that sucks at my soul. So recently I've started looking for o

Reply to More on SECULAR PROGRESSIVES in Politics JoeUser Forums

Show me these figures. In what was a real surprise for me around a third of American teens are virgins at 18. (http://www.soundvision.com/Info/teens/stat.asp) Still, I don't see why the activities of 2/3 of teenagers should be ignored in order to push an abstinence package. And even then, I would question the fact that "an overwelming" majority of 13-19 year olds are bed hopping. I didn't say they were

Reply to More on SECULAR PROGRESSIVES in Politics JoeUser Forums

When, and if, you have children, I hope you grow up and realize that allowing them to do anything they want anytime they want is not going to do them any good in coping with life's real situations. Or interacting with other people. I already realise that. When I have kids I'll explain sex to them in the same way my parents did to me - give them the classics (Where did i come from etc) and then, when they're older, tell them the specifics ba

Reply to More on SECULAR PROGRESSIVES in Politics JoeUser Forums

SO they can be taught that actions have consequences (and some not even man made - but dictated by nature - as in a body flying into a tree at 100mph will not be protected by a thin sheet of tin). Why does accepting that people do stupid things necessitate against giving them good advice? Good advice includes covering the negatives as well as the positives; if you only tell kids not to have sex then those who are having sex get no useful advice at all.