cactoblasta

Reply to Why is it the most compassionate are the most stingy? in Politics JoeUser Forums

[quote]According to you a reference is a link to a database and saying "do your own research here".[/quote] I don't see it as unreasonable. There comes a point in every debate where you run out of adequate existing research and have to do your own. You couldn't find a counter-argument for the arguments Mumblefratz found, so you demanded that he provide a source for you to use. There's no source stronger than the original source. If you're not willing to use original sources, w

Reply to Why is it the most compassionate are the most stingy? in Politics JoeUser Forums

[quote]I wouldn't give to able-bodied people with a work-permit for a western country. They are poor by choice. But Sudanese refugees escaping a Holocaust in Darfur are a different matter. For them making things worse in the long run is what they are looking for. It sure beats the current situation.[/quote] I'm torn about the idea of refugees. A few years back I would have said they should be taught to defend themselves and fight and sent back in (and that cowards didn't deserve freed

Reply to Why is it the most compassionate are the most stingy? in Politics JoeUser Forums

By the standards of this site I'm a liberal, and I don't give much to charity. Partly because those same people begging for change in the bus interchanges are provided a living wage by fiat of the state, but also because I studied development and political science long enough to know that aid is almost completely ineffective in improving a situation. It's a bandaid that only makes things worse in the long run. Instead I'm a huge fan of microcredit schemes, which reward the motivated w

Reply to Bushfires 'Devil's Work' in Current Events JoeUser Forums

[quote]You know, this is probably the most erudite reasoning I've read for the publishing of such wackos.[/quote] You don't have to say that, it was a pretty clumsy explanation. But I'm glad it was of some use.

Reply to Bushfires 'Devil's Work' in Current Events JoeUser Forums

[quote] Do you really believe that? My wife (who is a journalist for AAP) thinks along much the same lines as this too.[/quote] Sure. Social normative forces are extremely strong. When someone like this is lambasted in the press and in public, two things happen. Firstly, those who encounter the broad opposition to whatever is being decried see that the act is perceived as wrong by society. This reduces the likelihood of them being involved in that behaviour if they wish

Reply to Bushfires 'Devil's Work' in Current Events JoeUser Forums

[quote]Exactly! I suppose the real question is why the newspapers even bothered taking any notice of him. I believe if media ignored these idiots, they'd soon learn to shut their mouths. But then, here I am writing about it too, so I suppose I'm only spreading his poison further. GAH! Serenity, It is sad, particularly for the affectd families who might read of his callous insensitivity.[/quote] The more he's heard the fewer followers he'll make.

Reply to JU's Incredible Reach! Former Bin Laden Associate Posted A Reply to My Blog! in War on Terror JoeUser Forums

[quote]How many died in that Bali bombing again? Hundreds, if my memory serves me correctly. Wow, they gave him nine whole years. Because like, Oz respects human life and all. Uh huh.[/quote] He had nothing to do with the Bali bombing. He offered to inform in 2000, three years before the bombing took place. That's why he wasn't convicted of several hundred counts of murder or conspiracy to commit murd

Reply to Israeli Elections - Preliminary Results in War on Terror JoeUser Forums

Are the Druze Arab? I always thought they were separate again, or is that just in religious beliefs?

Reply to What exactly would be "Success" in Afghanistan? in War on Terror JoeUser Forums

[quote]Their oft-mentioned tribal system didn't prevent the Afghan-Arabs from promoting the Taliban to Afghanistan's quasi-government.[/quote] True. But it's questionable that any central Afghani government has ever had much more than titular control over the outer, including the Taliban. The stories I've read from the region (only a few by Robert Fisk - google him for something you'll probably find amusing) seem to indicate the outer areas are Northern Alliance or Taliban when it wor

Reply to What exactly would be "Success" in Afghanistan? in War on Terror JoeUser Forums

[quote]But I do want to know what Obama actually wants to achieve in Afghanistan.[/quote] There's a strong push from some countries - the UK and Australia among them - to try and solve it diplomatically by getting tribal heads together and sorting out grievances. This is more likely to work than the current method of scattered military strikes in a place of constantly shifting alliances. [quote]And what will happen when the terrorists find that Iraq is a lost cause and start s

Reply to Define Business Appropriate Attire in Business JoeUser Forums

[quote] I can't believe that they did not address the male employees too, how ancient of them![/quote] It's probably because male business appropriate attire is already a uniform. Black shoes, suit (preferably navy or charcoal), tie, button up shirt. From the women I've worked with, most just wear whatever they feel like. As a working man I feel oppressed every day that I have to wear a suit and tie a

Reply to Want entrepreneurs to leave the US? Barney Frank apparently does in Politics JoeUser Forums

If that's the case, vote 1 Barney Frank!

Reply to Is he right or wrong? Obama's $500k salary cap in Politics JoeUser Forums

[quote]On the other hand, you're not going to find the best and brightest executives if you're paying them the same rate as low-end football players / baseball players or what many TV stars earn in a single episode...[/quote] I guess that depends on their motivation. You're a successful CEO - wouldn't you enjoy the challenge of turning around a once-failing company? The prestige alone would guarantee a healthy salary for your next role.

Reply to Why Most Liberals are Doomed to go to Hell in Religion JoeUser Forums

The god of the Bible is a jealous psychopath who seems to get off on smiting everything/everyone that moves and on just being a bit of a dick. I wouldn't consider obedience to such a creature to necessarily be morally right. But yes, Hell beckons. At least I'll have friends there.

Reply to [Survey] Dance Genre Preference in Everything Else JoeUser Forums

Electro and skip-hop.

Reply to What I learned about living in an occupied territory in War on Terror JoeUser Forums

[quote]But it required me to learn the three things listed.[/quote] You were also one people prior to separation, rather than multiple groups who'd been experiencing considerable tension since the turn of the century, which was only exacerbated by the belligerence of Arab neighbours and the laziness of the British Empire.

Reply to Morality-Where Do We Find It? in Current Events JoeUser Forums

[quote]Right thinking precedes right living all right. But right thinking isn't right until we realize why we're here in the first place. [/quote] So no one is capable of making a right action? It is impossible to know exactly why we're here, even for Christians with access to a bible. All you need to do is remind yourself that other people aren't things, and most evil acts will be extremely difficult if not impossible to commit. I say most because I can't think of any t

Reply to Morality-Where Do We Find It? in Current Events JoeUser Forums

Evil begins with thinking of other people as things. All crimes stem from that first step.

Reply to What I learned about living in an occupied territory in War on Terror JoeUser Forums

[quote]Wow. Is there any anti-American propaganda you don't believe?[/quote] One tries. More seriously, Leauki, what was the worst thing about living in an occupied territory?

Reply to What I learned about living in an occupied territory in War on Terror JoeUser Forums

[quote] What is a sex camp?[/quote] This: [quote] Having traveled quite a bit with the military (all over Asia especially) I can say rape cases are few and far between. In fact, what is most shocking to me, is the extent the locals go to provide sex to American GI's, at a "rock bottom" price of course. Are there any American military i

Reply to Hey, if you don’t like something, find another country in Politics JoeUser Forums

[quote]At one time, the majority of Americans thought slavery was just fine. Should those who had a problem with slavey just shut the hell up and moved to say Canada?[/quote] You'd probably be calling yourselves the United States of Canada if they had, so I guess you'd have more land/oil/Inuits. A net positive to voting with your feet?

Reply to What I learned about living in an occupied territory in War on Terror JoeUser Forums

[quote]I have never heard much about it. Lots of German girls got married to American soldiers though.[/quote] Fair enough. It's something I've heard about, but never really been able to verify. [quote] I think that you have a distorted idea of what the US presense in Japan is, 99.9999% of the time it is a great mutualy bennificial arrangement and there is a tremendious amount of respect and generousity betwee

Reply to What I learned about living in an occupied territory in War on Terror JoeUser Forums

What about the rape? I understand that rape is often a massive problem in occupied territories due to the preponderance of single, hated soldiers. The US has come close to being kicked out of Japan a couple of times due to rape problems. Was that ever an issue in Germany and how did the civilian populace deal with it?

Reply to Who Decides Where Our Money Should Go? in Politics JoeUser Forums

[quote]What works for a population of 21M quite likely won't work for a population of 304M either.[/quote] Totally. But I honestly had thought the way the American public service worked was similar to the Australian model, bar that most of your upper level staff were political appointees. What Tova's been explaining is a real eye-opener. In terms of what I was saying which drew your comment about nation size, I don't think ideological unity and party voting are impractical in

Reply to This is How gays behave in Religion JoeUser Forums

Yes, it must have been really tough to be a bigot in the olden days. Fancy sacking an organist because they're gay - of course they are! I've never heard of a male church organist who isn't! Anyway, while they probably didn't deserve the abuse heaped on them, this all happened more than 10 years ago. Why is it still relevant now?