pirana

Let it out Thomas, you're amoung friends, he can't hurt you anymore... This is your safe place. Glad to see I'm not the only one with the occasional eight-pages-later comment. Oh, one more thing; my final answer to the original post - NO. " . . . 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

Just so I know from what perspective you are debating these points, how old do you think the Earth is? As someone said, time as interpreted in the bible can mean anything. Scientifically, I'd say about 4 to 5 billion years. I was hoping for chuteless to specify, because it looked like he was using years the way we usually measure them - - in trips around the Sun. I know many Christians rely on what you mention as a way to reconcile the words of the Bible with established scientific findings; but we both also know that some minority of them belive the Earth to truly be only about 4,000 trips around the Sun in age. I was wondering where chuteless fell on 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

Staying on topic with the OP. Liberals are much more likely to go Rambo, hence, no undies for which to bunch. " . . . 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

Just so I know from what perspective you are debating these points, how old do you think the Earth is? " . . . 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

Talk about somebody who thinks they have all the right answers. Your biggest emphasis seems to be "I know, and you'll see eventually" with the only supporting material being some people's interpretation of the Bible. I realize this gets to the fundamental distinction of the 2 camps (one being faith-based and the other relying on deductive reasoning); but isn't your being so sure about what you feel you know without much to support your assertions, while dismissing what others think they know via deductive logic a bit like saying I know you are but what am I. " . . . 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

A common mantra from people who are not willing to state the real reason they do not like a certain politician: "He (or she) is not addressing the issues." Almost always the person citing this simply hasn't looked any further than the sound bites provided by the media. Barack, like any politician worth their salt, has addressed every major policy issue in papers that can be accessed easily online. For a primer, try this: http://www.barackobama.com/issues/ If people do not like him because he is black, they should just say so and admit they are racist. If they do not like him because he is extremely liberal, then just say so and admit they are conservative. But for them to say he has not expressed himself shows they are lying, lazy, or can not read. " . . . 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

an agnostic admits he doesn't "know" either way an apathetic doesn't 'care' either way don't know, don't care Thank you. Didn't see that before I posted. " . . . 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

Strictly speaking, an agnostic believes it is impossible to know for certain, and may or may not care. A skeptic questions all the assumptions and doubts God exists. An atheist believes God does not exist. Don't know what they call someone who does not care. Anybody got a term for 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

Relevance to my post? John McCain is definitely not my hero, I am firm in my opinion we do not belong in Iraq, and the list is about civilian genocide - - so I can't figure out why you mention deaths of soldiers. The point made is that a prediction of the mass murder of civilians is hardly proof of anything other than that governments and leaders seem to occasionally kill off significant chunks of their citizenry. Logic; it's not for everybody. " . . . 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

QuoteWe've seen a lot more genocides than just the Jews in the past century.Quote Here's a list for just the previous century. A prediction that a particular group will one day be subject to a mass slaughtering rampage seems pretty safe. Given enough time, I'd say it is downright likely. 20th Century Genocide I really wonder about our species sometimes. The following mass murder listing is just for the 20th Century: • 1.5 million Armenians at the hands of the Turks between 1915 and 1918. • Rwanda, the one we said would be the last- 800,000 dead in the mid 1990’s • Pol Pot’s Cambodian killing fields – 2 million dead in the late 1970’s. • Hitler’s 6 million Jews, quarter-million Gypsies, and various other groups. • From the 2-can-play-that-game category, Bosnia – Herzegovina, 200,000 dead in the early 1990’s. • Known as the Rape of Nanking, 1937-38, 300,000 dead, • Stalin’s forced famine, 1932-33 – 7 million dead. • Other lesser known miscellaneous efforts • 3 million Ukrainians • 6 million Slavs • 25 million Chinese • 1 million Ibos • 1.5 million Bengalis • 200,000 Guatemalans • 500,000 Indonesians • 200,000 East Timorese • 250,000 Burundians • 2 million North Koreans • Transcending centuries is the latest and greatest ethnic cleansing still going on in Sudan – 2 million dead and counting. None of the above are military casualties either. They are civilians, by and large slaughtered by their own government, or by the puppet government installed by some other more powerful country. And they are not just shot and killed, or bomber from on high. Many of the actions against these civilian populations are far more brutal than what is experienced by troops in combat. There seems to be no end to the creativity of this evil ferocity. The latest stories from Sudan include soldiers building large bonfires and throwing children onto them. Any child able to crawl out alive is thrown back in. They seem to take particular joy in doing this in front of the children’s mothers. (The men and teenage boys are all immediately slaughtered as the first step in the village raids). “Never again” has turned into “Again and again.” Again and again, the response to genocide has been too little and too late. During the Armenian genocide and the Holocaust, the world’s response was denial. In 1994, while 800,000 Tutsis died in Rwanda, State Department lawyers debated whether it was “genocide”, and the U.N. Security Council withdrew U.N. peacekeeping troops who could have saved hundreds of thousands of lives. . Genocide is the world’s worst intentional human rights problem. But it is different from other problems and requires different solutions. Because genocide is almost always carried out by a country’s own military and police forces, the usual national forces of law and order cannot stop it. International intervention is usually required. But because the world lacks an international rapid response force, and because the United Nations has so far been either paralyzed or unwilling to act, genocide has gone unchecked. I really wonder about our species sometimes. " . . . 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 is a wonderful collection Jumpin Jan. There has never been any doubt that he was a Naturalist; completely rejecting anything that wreaked of mystical, supernatural, oogie-boogie BS. Leave it to the mainstream media to attempt to whip up hype on a topic long ago settled. They published this in the same manner and for the same reasons they will publish their next Bigfoot story. " . . . 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 absolutely and unconditionally disagree with the US having declared war on a target of convenience such as Iraq. We contribute to a support of the men involved though by always giving goodies and cash to the very regular "drives" held at our daughter's schools. To me they are two different issues. Yes, war is born of politics; but the troops have no input - - and to not hope for their safety and make some small contribution to their comfort would constitute a lack of patriotism. " . . . 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 came across a list a while back regarding the debunking of end-of-the-world predictions. Since 1900 the score is about 70 to 0 against the doomsayers. Not one of the 70 or so well known end of the world scares has come true. It occurs to me that end of the world fans might have a lot in common with Cubs fans. We'll get 'em next year. " . . . 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

Win as in resolve the situation - - Forget it, ain't gonna happen. Only the most arrogant of idiots could think we would go over there and in a few short years resolve a conflict that is over a hundred generations old. Win as in bail out as soon as it appears likely we can do so without losing too much face - - Yes, and it will be easier to do that after Bush is gone. Good thing we have term limits or we could be stuck there a lot longer. It is most unfortunate for the rest of us that the first order of politics is the superficial art of looking good. " . . . 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 see the opening skit on SNL? Very funny poking of fun at Hillary. " . . . 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 once had a gay escort service running out of my DC townhome. Oh, wait a minute; it was a flat in an Uptown brownstone, . . . and it was dog walking instead of gay escorts. Pretty close though, heh? " . . . 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 thing about using the word "due" in that way It's much like being due to flip tails when you've flipped heads a couple times in a row only completely different but yet just like that - but differently the same You must be practicing for that new reality TV series: Last Yogi Berra Standing " . . . 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

He is telling us something. He wishes we would all brush more often, and wash before meals, and keep your elbows off the table - - you look like a bunch of ill-mannered Cretins. And how many times have I told you to put away your things when you're done with them - - BEFORE you drag out any MORE toys? Do I look like a housemaid? I give, and I give, and I give. That's what he is trying to tell us. " . . . 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 don't need no stinking farting chip. I can work them up at will without artificial insistence. " . . . 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 thing about using the word "due" in that way is that for many people the interpretation is that it should happen any day. The big impacts do seem to be fairly regular (on the grandest of Earth's scales), but with a plus or minus of about 100% of the average time between strikes. So yeah, could happen next year, could happen 10's of millions of years from now. Good sources always point this out. A lot of the sensationalist crap that passes for documentary these days usually do not. How to tell the difference? If the alternative theory expert comes from an "Institute" or "Center" you've never heard of - - good bet it is crap. If the expert is wearing a cape, operates from the shadows of a dark room with eerie lighting, has a collection of pewter wizards on their desk - - good bet it is crap. Use of the phrases "harmonic concordance" and "planetary alignment" in the same sentence - - it is crap. Use of any film clip more than twice - - it is probably crap. Ever notice that the fake documentary, psuedo-scientific, pretending-to-be-educational stuff uses the same few clips over and over and over; and recap the entire show after every commercial? It's because everything they've got, BS that it is, can be said in about 5 minutes at most. " . . . 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

Yeah, 2012 is the hot ticket right now for the sheisters looking to fleece the ignorant masses of a few dollars. But as it closes in, they will change that, or have some off-the-wall psuedo-scientific babble on why it didn't happen . . . . again. I was watching a few minutes of one of the woo-woo shows that are coming to dominate the History Channel and one of the "experts" on the Mayan calendar scare was already hedging in saying that there is a plus or minus factor of several decades to that whole sham. The running score since 1900: End of the world predictions - 0 Times the world has survived - 70 (approx.) " . . . 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

No, I did not say that. There's loads and loads of new stuff under the sun. Just not the stuff that people point to and say "OMG it's like the apocalypse!!1!". What's for dinner? The apocalypse. Not the apocalypse again! " . . . 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

Did any? Remember, last year was a cooling year. May or may not be significant in the longer running trend, but definitely was colder. Seems more likely that god would send the hurricane/typhoons after us. If I were Him, I'd send Richard Simmons. Is there any more annoying person on Earth? " . . . 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

Exactly, at the time. Not so chatty now, is he? He's just resting. Beautiful plummage though. " . . . 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

God of all Gods. The one that says "I am that I am".Quote No no. That's Neil Diamond. " . . . 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