winsor

Similar to how blacks in inner cities like Detroit are more likely to commit crimes and get arrested by local authorities - but that of course has less to do with their skin color/religious beliefs, and more to do with the higher number of cops working in large densely populated areas, among other socioeconomic factors. A third rail issue is that there are different standards from one community to another regarding criminality. Living in other countries where I was initially unfamiliar with quite who was how, I was struck by how vastly different were the standards of behavior between one group and another, who would otherwise appear to be interchangeable to the uninitiated. For example, when the population around was entirely from Group A, you could leave your bicycle against a tree overnight, and your only concern was it being out in the rain. OTOH, when Group B was present, there was a strong chance that your locked bike would be stolen anyway. This is not to say that there was no crime among Group A or that Group B consisted entirely of criminals, but if someone from Group A stole something they would keep it to themselves, but someone from Group B would brag about it and the rest of Group B seemed resigned to this behavior as a reality. In Serbia, automobiles were taxed 100% at the border, and the police made something like $200/week (maybe a month?), but nobody batted an eye at a police sergeant driving a brand new Audi A6. Perhaps the police were Very Skilled Investors, but I doubt it. In Switzerland, some guys from Sicily with whom I worked complained that, when the Swiss cops pulled you over, they actually intended to give you a citation. They were particularly incensed that, if you tried to make an on the spot donation to the policeman, you would be instantly locked up for doing so. Americans make the mistake of assuming that everyone has the same fundamental values. From my experience, nothing could be further from the truth. Quite what constitutes 'good' or 'bad' depends very much on who you ask. Some variations in culture are geographic, some are occupational, and some are demographic. There are striking differences between Yuma and Brooklyn, between Landscapers and Attorneys, and between immigrants and 3rd generation citizens. Thus, oversimplifying any observation regarding population dilutes its veracity. Then again, as The Onion put it, stereotypes are a real time saver. BSBD, Winsor

Again, Islam is an uniquely pathological form of communicable mental illness. The KKK has more to recommend it than does the ism spawned by the Profit Muhammad (MHRIH). Islam should be granted precisely the same level of protection and support as National Socialism, since the two groups are traditionally in lock step (it ain't Godwin when you're dealing with card carrying Nazis).

Beware the Holy Typo!

You're just jealous that the voices don't talk to you.

You can read Aramaic? I can make the noises, but don't know what they mean in most cases. I'm better with Russian, which isn't saying much.

I'm on your side in this argument but I have a feeling that "you" (the Puritans) moved to that island for less religious freedom and not more! Which begs the question of: What do all you Limeys do on the 4th of July. There is no 4th of July in Britain. It goes straight from the 3rd to the 5th. The 28th of Sivan is a Monday. I don't like Mondays.

Given equal time - Allah will win that battle. Allah is simply the Arabic word for God. It doesn't matter whether the person saying it is Muslim or Christian. If they're Arabic and praying in their own language (and why wouldn't they?) they'll use the word Allah to refer to God, irrespective of their religion. Not exactly. 'al Lah' means 'the god' - masculine, and 'al Lat' means 'the god' - feminine. There is a huge significance at the origins of Islam between the two, with the temples devoted to alLah and to alLat vying for their respective faithful. Adherents to alLah sought an authoritarian, unforgiving and downright vicious sonofabitch to run things, while followers of alLat sought warmth and acceptances. Apparently the priestesses of alLat were viewed as prostitutes by followers of alLah, since their rituals tended to include some sort of happy ending. At any rate, Muhammad co-opted the monotheism he encountered in Hebrew communities he visited along the trade routes and gave primacy to followers of alLah. Btw, the name ('haShem') in Hebrew of the Judeo Christian deity was/is NEVER spoken by anyone but Kohainem in The Temple (which is defunct) once a year when it existed - when verbalized, it does not resemble "Jehovah." The tetragrammaton (yod heh vav heh) is a placeholder, and "Adonai" is used instead. In any event, the invisible friend of the Muslims is not the same invisible friend of the Hebrews, who is different from the invisible friend of the Christians. Different names, different magick. BSBD, Winsor

Have you noticed that there are certain phrases that should set off alarm bells in your head. Phrases like: "What could possibly go wrong?" You'll find out when it's too late. "What's the worst that could happen?" See above> "It's just a 5 minute job" 2 hours later you're half way done. There are more, I just can't think of them right now. 'No need to unplug it, this will just take a moment.' 'Oh yeah? You and what army?' 'If you were as smart as you think you are, you wouldn't be a cop.' 'No, these windows are ok to lean on.' 'Don't worry it has airbags.' 'Hey what's that buzzing noise?' 'Don't worry its not that deep.' 'No, he doesn't bite.' 'Hey look a light at the end of the tunnel.' 'I can pass this guy.' 'My brakes are fine.' 'Na, I don't think we need to go to the hospital.' "It's a dud.' "What's this red button?' 'Gee, that's a cute tattoo.' 'No problem, it's not loaded.' 'It's fireproof.' 'Pull the pin and count to what?' 'Which wire was I supposed to cut?' 'I wonder where the mother bear is.' 'These are the good kind of mushrooms. .' 'This doesn't taste right.' 'Don't worry, I'm sure it's dead by now.' 'Let's split up, we'll cover more ground.' 'Don't worry, it's not contagious.' 'Trust me, I know what I'm doing.' 'Of course it's safe!' 'No, this tribe is peaceful.' 'Well, it can't get any worse!' 'Don't worry, they'll never find us in here!' 'They can't hit us at this range!' 'These pills are awfully small.. I'll take a few more to be sure they work.' 'I know this great shortcut we can take.' 'We're home free' 'What's that red dot on your forehead?

Careful now.....depending on the gun free workplace and the religion of the shooter, workplace violence quickly becomes terrorism. I suppose the shootings in San Bernardino were just workplace violence. The guy was an employee and all.

Leviticus 20:10 says that Christians should stone to death adulterers. If one guy went and did that? FUCK CHRISTIANITY! A more accurate statement would've been: "Leviticus 20:10 says that Jews should stone to death adulterers. If one guy went and did that? FUCK THE JEWS!" Christianity seeks to call sinners to repentance, not to kill them. Matthew 5;17 debunks that argument. Christ simply said let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone. Once everyone left realizing their hypocrisy, He called her to repentance. No, that isn't all he said. You missed an important bit. Let's see, my copy says: "If there be one amonst you who is without sin, let them cast the first stone." And lo, from the middle of the multitude came a stone that smote the woman mightily, rendering her prostrate. Spake Jesus, "aw, mom..."

This kind of fits. Anytime someone gets all worked up about homosexuality, I begin to suspect that their concern is personal. If it does not cost me anything, my basic reaction is 'so what?' Getting into the gory details of one's sex life is Too Much Information, regardless of the particulars. "I'm not getting any." (Nothing I can/will do about it) "I find men attractive." (I'm not on the menu) "I want to find a woman." (Can't help you there, sport) "I'm a lesbian." (Me too, but I'm trapped in a man's body) Etc. Things gay are on a par with Lithuanian Folk Dancing from where I sit. It may be great for the participants, but is not of the slightest concern to me in an operational sense. "I've decided to get into Lithuanian Folk Dancing." "That's nice. Don't stub your toe." Anyhow, in the same sense that I raise an eyebrow when a televangelist gets worked up in a lather about one form of 'sin' or another, the fixation of Islam with homosexuality suggests that it is a real issue with those concerned. The Islamic angle in this case is most likely a red herring. He apparently claimed association with al Qaeda (Sunni) as well as Hezbollah (Shiite), so he was clueless on that count. He came from a seriously dysfunctional background that happened to be Islamic, but it appears that his demons were very personal. We have a tendency to overreact to horrific events, and the tendency to impose limitations across the board in the hope of putting a leash on fuckheads like this is a routine, and routinely ineffective, response. BSBD, Winsor

Why only Islam? Start with the most virulent strains. Think AIDS vs. genital warts.

No. Anything that passes for a 'discussion' is reminiscent of the suggestion that crazy people should be paired up so that it is not so obvious that they are talking to themselves. One of the problems is quite who has firearms. It's like Harleys were in the bad old days - the only people with them were cops and outlaws. Ironically enough, one of the sticking points in granting citizenship to freed slaves was the prospect of them being armed. It was argued in Congress that, if negroes had guns, they would be blasting away at anything that moved. Of course that was pure racism at work, and it's not like you can tell what neighborhood you're in by the smell of burnt cordite... In any event, the antis are convinced that without guns society would be free from gun violence like, say, Rwanda, that only has a bit of machete violence, which is much, much better. The pros are convinced that the antis are so full of shit that any attempt at cooperation is doomed. The issue could be addressed, but the disease of denial that blinds the Powers that Be regarding who is doing all the shooting makes the pursuit of progress an exercise in futility.

An earlier post comparing this guy to Mike Tyson brings up the definition of rape. Mike Tyson was in his hotel room with a willing participant and, by all accounts, when she said "stop" he did so immediately. It was only later that she was talked into charging him with rape. The guy at Stanford, OTOH, engaged in 'true love - fratboy style' if reports are correct. Discovering an unconscious female, he decided to use her body as a plaything. Consuming much of anything that might contain Rohypnol, or any kind of alcohol for that matter, when frat boys are around is generally a bad idea for anyone who might serve as an object of affection. This does not absolve whoever treats the unconscious subject of the frat's attempt at better living through chemistry as a sex toy from the ramifications of their actions. Being drunk as well is no excuse. I was embarrassed to study where frats were tolerated in any form. Thus, I submit that Mike Tyson got the shaft and the kid from Stanford got off light.

Given that religion is a communicable form of mental illness, I agree that there is little to recommend any of them. Having said that, there is a significant difference in how virulent one strain is compared to another. There are those who host Islam without apparent detrimental effect, along the lines of Typhoid Mary. When you have a flare-up of Islam, however, the outpouring of psychotic violence outstrips the competition. When it comes to pathology, Muslims make Catholics look like rank amateurs.

RTFB.

Islam is a hate crime.

"Any penetration, however slight..." UCMJ, IIRC

That's vs. 'forcible,' which there is.

"In its majestic equality, the law forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, beg in the streets and steal loaves of bread." Anatole France A different issue, but Bernie Madoff burned the well heeled as well as pensioners.

I must commend you for giving them a hell of a lot more consideration and charity than I would give them. What would I do? It's not printable here. Look, the most PC role in society at the moment is Trans. Why not give our erstwhile Daesh wannabes a chance at becoming poster children for LGBTO tolerance with a top-notch sex change (top and bottom). According to various sources, sex changes are a GOOD thing, so you would be doing these guys a favor.

Nice try. Since you have some passing familiarity with logic, I am sure that you know that there are quite a variety of types of definition - lexical, medical, technical, legal, precising, political, stipulative, and so forth. One example is that you can use a single gate type, say NAND, to achieve any logical combination by defining high or low true in accordance with DeMorgan's theorem. Thus, NAND-NAND logic uses the same output, interpreted as exactly the opposite, to achieve its ends. Thus, you can have faith in someone in the sense that you give them credit for being able to do something, which differs from faith in the sense of a system of belief. Agreeing to the definition in use helps to avoid talking past each other. If talking past each other is the goal, all bets are off. BSBD, Winsor

Let's start with the fact that religion is, by definition, a transmissible form of mental illness, and some strains are more virulent than others - many are quite lethal. The susceptibility to said pathology does not go away once one is cleared of one variety of infection or another. Fundamental resistance is moderately rare. The "underground roots" of Christianity were a movement specific to a particular tribe, and not at all for universal consumption. Once co-opted by Europeans (who engaged in the irony of using the means by which they executed the person they supposedly 'followed' as the symbol of their newly crafted 'faith'), they institutionalized the religion in a form that was/is unrecognizable by comparison to the original movement. As to the question of whether or not 'God' exists, it may be demonstrated that there are many thousands of gods, each of which has an identical claim to existence. There are various religions that have much more to offer than does Christianity. This, this, this and this are prime examples. As Brother Mick Jagger so aptly put it, "fuck 'em if they can't take a joke."

Randolph is part of the family, and he self-identifies as human. For him to be kept out of track competition because of antiquated and bigoted notions of what constitutes a "person" is heartless and ignorant. I say let Randolph try out for the Olympics, so that we can be sure of the Gold in anything up to a kilometer.

Sheesh Ken... in the USA, Mr. Harper would be considered somewhat to the left of Mohandas Gandhi. (Besides, we're not allowed to express our foreign opinions!) John Foreign? Canada's a different country?