pirana

Can't grow anything with more resin on it than that? " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

I bet you wouldnt say that to my face without worrying about your teeth getting smashed. Ooh..Dot Com Rambo strikes again... Dont hide behind the safety of your computer to talk shit. Be a man, not a pussy. give me your phone # and address. I'll be sure to call the police next time you decide to get stoned. Be sure you smoke quickly, if there's enough left over, they can charge you with possession with intent to distribute. ill give you my number and address. i have stated openly that i smoke pot and i think it shuold be legal. you give me your name. and where do you jump? everone else here seems to share that info, you dont. somehting to hide? worried someone here will one day run into you and slap some sense into you? what your name? What a strange person. Might not even a skydiver. Some kid getting his jollies trying to rile people. One of the downsides of the internet. People like that used to just sit in a corner and go unnoticed their whole lives. Now they get to live vicariously thru their web persona. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

And that is what makes it so tough to draw the line between when to step in and when to mind our own business. Would we be willing to acquiesce to some international standard if one were developed? I think the death penalty available to be used on minors is a great example, and I believe we are in the minority for allowing it. So to get our undies in a bundle for 200 lashes seems hypocritical. On a larger scale, I remember after Rwanda when several heads of state agreed they would never let that happen again. Never turned out to be couple years. I don't know if they didn't mean what they said but just said it because it sounded good, or if they meant it but then realized how difficult it would be. My guess is that people do not want to give authority to intervene to an international agency for fear of it becoming a slippery slope. So on both ends of the scale, from denying basic human rights of a single individual to killing millions, you either have to let go of what really amounts to cultural biases on what constitutes some minimal standard for humane treatment, or hand over authority to an international agency and hope they don't come knocking. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Pretty straightforward. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

or he can come up and just come into the metro area and find them inside the beltway rummaging in dumpsters and backyards. Stupid (tasty) big rats are what they are. Didn't they have a hunt inside the metro area a couple years ago. I thought I remember hearing on the radio that they were giving special permits because the numbers were really making them a nuisance. Shot gun only, unlimited does and 1 buck, or something like that. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Agreed. In my rant on the Lions for Lambs thread, I blame most everybody without regard to party affiliation. I pick on the YR's more though because they come right out and say they think the war is a good idea. Bottom line though is that we are all responsible. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Thanks for the review; the “movies that make you think” comment definitely gets my attention. Your review immediately made me think of this month’s issue of Foreign Policy, with the cover story “Iraq is Not His (Pres. Bush) Fault: It’s Yours”: “It’s easy to blame the violence in Iraq and the pitfalls of the war on terror on a small cabal of neocons, a bumbling president, and an overstretched military. But real fault lies with the American people as well. Americans now ask more of their government but sacrifice less than ever before. It’s an unrealistic, even deadly, way to fight a global war. And, unfortunately, that’s just how the American people want it.” … and to a provocative Op-Ed on yesterday's Washington Post by a former soldier who served in Iraq, From Abu Ghraib to Georgetown: I'm Back Home, But Still in Iraq's Grasp, which is also linked through National Review Online (i.e., the Op-Ed is getting attention from both ‘sides’). He writes: “I find it frustrating that Facebook is a bigger part of most students' lives than the war. “This culture of duty is at odds with the culture of individualism and self-promotion that seems paramount here in college. And yet, the divide between my soldier friends and my fellow students isn't the result of any fundamental differences between the people themselves. Many of my peers at school know much more about the world around them than my fellow soldiers do -- international relations is a popular subject at Georgetown. My Army friends used to laugh when they saw me reading the Economist; my friends here think everyone should read it. Students talk about refugees from Iraq, North Korea, Burma and Darfur with sincere compassion. One of my friends told me: 'I want to dedicate my life to educating people about the sufferings of others.' “That's a wonderful goal, but I often feel that the words ring hollow. Students' true priorities are demonstrated by their daily activities: They have friends to meet, parties to attend, internships to work at, extracurricular activities to participate in, papers to write and classes to attend. They're under a lot of pressure to build a strong resume for whatever company or graduate school they apply to after college. They're under no pressure to be concerned about those who are less fortunate -- or those who fight wars on their behalf.” VR/Marg I think the American public senses that this movie questions their role, and doesn't like that. Reminds me of O'Rourke's Parliament of Whores. Turns out the whores are not just our leaders, but the public as a whole. We pretend to be righteous and indignant of many of the behaviors of our leaders, but if it becomes a choice of behaving ethically on the world stage versus having access to lots of cheap goodies to buy; we appear to side with cheap goodies. Reminds me of an old cartoon, I think from the This Modern World strip. A June Cleaver type housewife proudly showing off her kitchen chock full of fancy gadgets and exclaiming something like "How can I think of and worry about the downtrodden of the world when I have ALL THIS STUFF!" " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

What can you say about YR's? They have the lack of maturity you'd expect, combined with being brainwashed into finding twisted rationale to justify all of our nation's past bad behaviors. Even worse, the thoroughly indoctrinated ones have no problem continuing with the same old shit. It is such a shortsighted vision, with it's foolishness easily revealed in the context of history. Less than a century of being King of the Hill, and these doey-eyed youngsters think it is a given that it can be sustained forever if you just keep bringing enough force to bear. I suppose these kids think we should just knock over all the "bad" governments of the world that don't like the game we dictate, install Shah-of Iran type puppets everywehere - and the world will be all fixed. Fucking idiots can't see that those behaviors are what got us here to begin with. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

It depends on how obvious the offender is. If a state launched a volley at another state, it would be pretty obvious where they came from. In that case retaliation does no good unless it is swift and severe. Mulling it over for even an hour could easily be too long. Might be tough to effectively strike back, or just a meaningless gesture after the country has been turned into the world's largest bonfire. I mean, a retalitory strike by our submarine fleet (assuming we are talking USA) might satisfy the need for revenge and justice, but if the rest of our military capability and most off the countryside, infrastructure, manufacturing capability, etc has been turned to a crisp - as a state we would be unstable, vulnerable, and not likely to survive into the future. At least not as we know ourselves today. A single weapon, or even a number of them, delivered in a clandestine manner poses a much more difficult situation. I still think retaliation will occur, just maybe not as swiftly and severely if the offending party is not directly tied to a state. I think the manner of action is hard to predict, but it will get ugly. I foresee extreme action being taken without a whole lot of diplomacy. I think it will be very hard to practice much diplomacy once nukes start flying. I see chaos, panic, and resultant over-the-top behavior if people feel their life, or the very existence of their state is threatened. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

They are open, just not so wide that our sense of ethics, or our brains in general, fall out. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

That was easy; especially without the perfectly-good-airplane question. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

That's too bad. You should take a hunting vacation in this direction where the deer are thicker than squirrels. They are a major road hazard. I average about 3 or 4 close calls per week, and have 3 strikes in our 11 years out here in the boonies. I don't hunt, but have a sweet deal with a group that I allow on our land. Every fall they bring me a grocery bag of meat. I told them a few days ago they could keep all the rest and just fill the bag with the venison jalapeno cheddar sausage. It is yummier than words can describe. Or was that a description? " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Yes, about the only thing they are guaranteed to lead to is the next war. But that is what happens when leadership is so damn certain they know what is best for everyone else - which is always rooted in their personal desires. As long as the goal of leaders is to control as wide a sphere of influence as possible, with the agenda being to accumulate material wealth beyond any reasonable necessity, we will have wars of one kind or another. Greed is an outdated survival remnant which does not play well in modern civilization. It is a flaw in the species we may never overcome. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

The government (Treasury) prints the money. They basically sell it to the Fed. The Fed has features of both a private corporation and of a government agency. It truly is a hybrid, and works best that way. It is a common cry of conspiracy theorists that the Fed is a private company running America's bottom line. Not true. It is true that private citizens from many industries (including banking) wield the real power. Always been that way, probably always will be. The people with the most money in play get to pretty much call the shots. Nothing conspiratorial about that. No Illuminati membership, no DaVinci code, no Planet X required - just lots of dough. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Sounds interesting, I'll have to check it out. It is well established that Christianity, actually all three of the Abrahamic religions, have their common root in the polytheistic cults that appear to have emerged as the early civilizations began to mature; around 8000 to 6000 BC. Been a while since I've been up on it, but I believe the monotheistic cult that is believed to have evolved into what we think of as religion today was the Cult of Yahweh, practiced by Semitic Arabs possibly as early as 2000, certainly by 800. Judaism and Christianity added nothing substantial, just applying their own naming conventions and taking great license with some of the stories. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Had one of those this past weekend in the area. Fell 20' (according to the news report0 and dies. The strap holding his stand broke. Maintain your gear. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

The consigliori for the Corleone Family. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

That's good. Or maybe invite all their friends to hunt the property, with very large loud guns. But seriously, I wonder what the owner would have had to do to prevent this from happening? Cut the grass along the property line once per year? Ask them just once, and put it on reecord, to stay off? It does seem very wrong. But that is what happens sometimes when codified law rules the day. Legal code does not establish what is right or wrong, and often has nothing to do with what normal people consider ethical or moral. It establishes what is law; what is available to those that know how to use it. Unfortunately, law sometimes trumps common sense, or what the vast majority see as right and wrong, moral and ethical. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

I believe Bronowski addressed this in the more introspective segments of The Ascent Of Man (I'm a big fan of the series, only skimmed the book). He deals quite a bit with the struggle for common good versus personal desires as a foundation for understanding the social evolution of mankind. In search of a civilized society, we came together for the benefit of the whole, requiring the sacrifice of primal urges and the need to compomise on personal desires. 10,000 years later, the struggle (or the attempt to sort it out if struggle seems too strong) continues. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

I'll miss the rapier wit of TV writers like I'd miss a knee in the groin. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Ah yes doctor, the patient suffers from Curvilinear Avenitis, compounded by Cul-de-Sacarosis. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Figures. I ask a very specific question about a motorcycle engine, and I get nothing. Cute girl mentions squealing noise and everybody jumps right in. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

I think treating depression with skydiving is just treating a nuerosis with an addiction; but I'm sure it works short-term. I can hear the counselor's questions now: Do you feel you need to skydive to have fun? Do you skydive alone if there is noone else to skydive with? Do you find yourself spending all of your spare time with other skydivers? Does skydiving effect all of your non-skydiving activities at work, home, school, etc.? If you knew you could never have another skydive, how would that make you feel? " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Reminds me of this. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Anybody up on the topic of hot little mini-bikes, pit bikes, etc? I'm trying to find information on the quality of the various engines available. Here's the skinny: I got a couple go-karts imported from a Chinese company. Great little machines, piece of junk engine. The engine is a reverse engineered knock off of a Honda 110 (the kind with the horizontal jug). The engines are now shot. They are not even worth repairing - I need to replace them. I've come across several companies selling them on the net, and I've been told some are good, others are just the same knock-off junk (lousy materials, poor workmanship). The names I've come across on the web are Lifam and NICE. Lifam appears to be made in Thailand. NICE appears to be a juiced up high performance version that for some strange reason is mostly coming up on UK websites. Anybody up on this stuff, or by any chance have experience with these engines in particular? Any info on it is much appreciated. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley