jclalor

How scary is it that 11% of the people that visit this site think 13 year old rape victims need to carry the baby to term? what a country we live in. I am sure they alll are fine Chistian folk too. Wait til it happens to one of their daughters.

An interesting show on PBS last week about the book, Guns Germs and steel followed up a bit on this and why people in sub Saharan Africa and other areas of the world would be dominated by Europe and parts of Asia. About the show from Wikipedia, According to the author, an alternative title would be A short history about everyone for the last 13,000 years.[1] But the book is not merely an account of the past; it attempts to explain why Eurasian civilizations, as a whole, have survived and conquered others, while attempting to refute the belief that Eurasian hegemony is due to any form of Eurasian intellectual, moral, or inherent genetic superiority. Diamond argues that: the gaps in power and technology between human societies originate in environmental differences amplified by various positive feedback loops; and that, if cultural or genetic differences have favored Eurasians (for example Chinese centralized government, or improved disease resistance among Eurasians), it is only so because of the influence of geography. Diamond points out that nearly all of humanity's achievements (scientific, artistic, architectural, political, etc.) have all occurred on the Eurasian continent, while the peoples of other continents (Sub-Saharan Africans, Native Americans, and Aboriginal Australians/New Guineans) have been largely conquered, displaced, and in some extreme cases--referring to Native Americans, Aboriginal Australians, and South Africa's indigenous Khoisan peoples--were exterminated by Eurasian military and political advantages stemming from the early rise of agriculture after the last Ice Age. He proposes explanations to account for such disproportionate and lopsided distributions of power and achievements in history. The book's title is a reference to the means by which European nations conquered populations of other areas and maintained their dominance, often despite being vastly out-numbered - superior weapons provided immediate military superiority (guns), European diseases weakened the local populations and thus made it easier to maintain control over them (germs), and centralized governmental systems promoted nationalism and powerful military organizations (steel). Hence the book attempts to explain, mainly by geographical factors, why Europeans had such superior military technology and why diseases to which Europeans were immune devastated conquered populations. Diamond highlights two major environmental advantages of Eurasia over other areas in which farming apparently developed independently. The various Eurasian inventors of farming, and especially those in "South West Asia" (roughly Mesopotamia and Turkey) had by far the best natural endowment of crops and of domesticable animals in the size range from goats or dogs upwards - the superiority in domesticable animals was the more extreme, as other areas had at most two and often none. Eurasia's other big advantage is that its mainly East-West axis provides a huge area with similar latitudes and therefore climates. As a result it was far easier for migrating Eurasian populations to use in their new homes the plants and animals to which they had become accustomed; by contrast the Americas' North-South axis forced migrating Native Americans to adopt new crops and, where available, animals because they found a wide variation in climates as they migrated from North to South. Native Americans, for instance, had access to corn. But corn provides little nutrients and must be planted one by one--an extremely cumbersome task. On the other hand, Eurasians had wheat and barley, high in fiber and nutrients, and which can be spread en masse with just a toss of the hand, capable therefore of generating massive food surplus, and thus exponential population growth--which led to larger workforces, inventors, artisans, etc. (as well as the origins of inequality and social injustice itself). Grains are not only easily planted, but can also be stored for longer periods of time, unlike bananas (a tropical fruit) for instance. Furthermore, Sub-Saharan Africans had access to mostly wild mammals, whereas Eurasians had access to the most docile animals on the planet: horses and camels that are easily tamed for human transportation; goats and sheep for hides, clothing, and cheese; cows for milk; bullocks for tilling fields and transportation; and benign animals such as pigs and chickens. Africans, on the other hand, through geographic mischance, had to deal with lions, leopards, etc. So Eurasia was merely the beneficiary of geographic, climatic, and environmental happenstance that favored them after the last Ice Age about 13,000-15,000 years ago. Diamond points out that the only animals useful for human survival and purposes in New Guinea actually came from the East Asian mainland, when it was transplanted there during the Austronesian invasion some 4,000-5,000 years ago. Diamond also touches very briefly on why the dominant powers of the last 500 years have been West European rather than East Asian (especially China). The Asian areas in which major civilizations arose had geographical features conducive to the formation of large, stable, isolated empires which faced no external pressure to correct policies that led to stagnation. On the other hand Europe's many natural barriers divided it into competing nation-states and this competition forced the European nations to encourage innovation and avoid technological stagnation.[1] The book has met with several criticisms, even from reviewers who are sympathetic to its aims and approach. Diamond attempted to anticipate some of these in the book and has answered some of them more recently. [

Bad spot for a student, 5 jumps in one day, landing in vineyards? Must be Lodi. With a spot like that you should have never left the AC, those vineyards will tear you up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9HPnFpT_DY

If Jesus did come back a second time, don't you think the last thing the poor guy would want to see is all the crucifix's all over?

Any idea how much alcohol cost society in lives and treasure? Sounds like you should check those numbers out. From your other post on your personal drinking habits, sounds like your drug of choice is booze instead of food. How many people are killed from fatties compared to people trying to drive to work after drinking 2 hours earlier? You are a greater threat to people than any obese person is. This in one fucking hypocriticle post. You should also look at lost productivity from people that come in drunk or hungover to work. Drunks are a far greater threat to my family and I compared to the obeses. What a fucking joke.

I once went 11 years without a drink........... Then I turned 12.

The fact that he is a Baptist minister is ironic in that he was probably a bush supporter. The bush administration had the therory that if one had nothing to hide then one should not mind a little search with out cause. Now how does it feel?

Larry King is an idiot, When he has Sylvia Brown on I can't believe he takes her seriously. He never once ask anyone a tough question he just kisses their ass. Mercury was taken out of all childrens vaccines for the last ten years and what happened ? Autism rates shot thru the roof for this same group of children. Polio and other diseases that could be prevented with vaccines are now on the rise, why? The jennys and Oprahs of the world thought they were smarter than doctors. From the LA times: In a major setback for the fight to link autism to vaccines, a special federal court ruled Thursday that the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine and vaccines that contained a mercury-based preservative were not connected to the autism that developed in three children. The decisions in the cases of the ftp://autism.uscfc.uscourts.gov/autism/vaccine/Hastings-Cedillo.pdf , ftp://autism.uscfc.uscourts.gov/autism/vaccine/Campbell-Smith%20Hazlehurst%20Decision.pdf and ftp://autism.uscfc.uscourts.gov/autism/vaccine/Vowell.Snyder.pdf families could potentially sink the claims of several hundred other families in an omnibus proceeding that believe the MMR vaccine alone or in combination with vaccines containing the preservative thimerosal caused their children's autism, said Curtis Webb, a lawyer for the Hazlehurst family. The outlook appeared particularly grim for them because these three cases were considered among the strongest, Webb said. "We're extremely disappointed," Webb said. "It wasn't even a close case." The families' attorneys are considering appealing, the lawyer said, but first need to study the decisions carefully. Vaccine supporters and public health experts applauded the decision by the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, hoping it would reassure parents that the shots recommended by federal scientists are safe. "It's a great day for science and I'd like to think it's also a great day for children with autism," said Dr. Paul Offit, chief of infectious diseases at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and co-inventor of the rotavirus vaccine (a standard childhood immunization that does not contain thimerosal). Offit said he understood that many parents had been scared by the controversy, but believed that those who refused to vaccinate their children contributed to a 12-year high in measles cases last year and a recent outbreak of bacterial meningitis. Both of these outbreaks could have been prevented by standard childhood vaccinations, he said. "It's time to put the vaccine hypothesis aside and focus on the real causes of autism and not be diverted by a dead end," said Offit, who was not involved in the case. Congress set up the special vaccine court in 1986 when pharmaceutical companies faced a liability crisis. Vaccines were being blamed for catastrophic injuries to children, and some vaccine manufacturers threatened to quit the business. The court shields vaccine makers from damage claims, drawing money from a pool funded by a surcharge levied on every vaccine. Parents who believe their children have been harmed by vaccines can file petitions at this court and receive compensation from the pool. About 5,000 families have filed claims involving autism, a spectrum of developmental disorders whose hallmarks are impaired social interaction and communication. The judicial officers appointed in this case, known as special masters, decided to hear test cases on different causation theories to develop general principles that they could apply to the flood of claims. Three special masters heard the cases of the Cedillo, Hazlehurst and Snyder families in 2007. In general, lawyers for the families argued that vaccines containing thimerosal weakened the children's immune systems, allowing the viruses in the MMR vaccine to take hold and cause autism. In the Hazlehurst case, lawyers for the family came to argue that the MMR vaccine was the primary culprit. Thimerosal was used to keep bacteria from growing in multidose containers. The MMR vaccine has never contained thimerosal, but some other routinely recommended vaccines such as the hepatitis B vaccine did. Thimerosal was phased out of most shots by 2000. Trace or small amounts of thimerosal remain in a few vaccines recommended for children, including the flu shot. The special masters rejected practically all of the families' arguments. "I concluded the evidence was overwhelmingly contrary to the petitioners' contentions," George Hastings Jr. wrote in the Cedillo opinion, similar to the others. "The expert witnesses presented by the respondent were far better qualified, far more experienced and far more persuasive than the petitioners' experts." He expressed "deep sympathy and admiration" for the family, but said: "I must decide this case not on sentiment, but by analyzing the evidence." He added: "While Michelle Cedillo has tragically suffered from autism and other severe conditions, the petitioners have also failed to demonstrate that her vaccinations played any role at all in causing those problems." Several parent-advocates were frustrated by the rulings. "I'm sure the decision was based on some of the current science that is out there and the scientific community hasn't invested in the types of independent research necessary to get to the bottom of the issue," said Rick Rollens of Sacramento, who has an autistic son and co-founded the UC Davis MIND Institute. Rollens and others said these verdicts wouldn't make parents stop questioning the safety of vaccines, especially when the parents see changes in their children right after vaccination. "There's no denying what happens to your child when you see it firsthand," said Rollens. "Maybe we haven't asked all the right questions yet." The parent-advocates held out hope that the government might still acknowledge connections between vaccines and autism through other mechanisms. Last year, they pointed out, the Department of Health and Human Services concluded that vaccines aggravated an underlying metabolic disorder in Hannah Poling, a young girl from Georgia who developed a brain disorder with features of autism. The special masters are still working on another group of test cases alleging that thimerosal itself causes autism. Final briefs are still being filed, with decisions expected sometime after this summer. Thursday's decisions "won't resolve the thimerosal cases," said Webb, the lawyer. "There are more people that focus on thimerosal than focus on MMR. . . . Those cases are still viable."

Maybe you should read a book before you denounce it. I read the bible, the people who follow that crap are just plain stupid. You think Dianetics is just plain stupid, yet people far more scholarly than you can prove you wrong. Were you actually there to witness the events entailed? Are there things we cannot do today that have been done in the past, or have occurred? Absolutely

The article states they are following leads from psychics, a pol;icy that the vast majority of law enforcment do not do. Law enforcement realize psychics are a complete waste of resourses. Police do have a choice in ignoring leads from people deemed unreliable, they do it every day.

A few months back we had 3 students from Stanford come out to our DZ as part of thier research on extreme sports and why people do them. After spending all morning explaining to them that skydiving does have it's risk, it is still a fairly safe and not suicidal a sport. They were so convinced it was safe and not crazy they were going to do tanderms that day. Then they had the horrific experience of watching a jumper die 100 yards from them. No tandems for them.

When you oppress people based on race everyone gets all worked up ( South Africa) but when you do it in the name of religion everyone seems to look the other way. People in the US would be appalled if they knew the laws pertaining to women of our middle eastern allies.

Police searching for a missing 8 year old Tracy CA girl are now investigating leads provided by psychics. What a complete waste of time that could be spent on other stronger leads. There is nothing more pathedic than when a child goes missing and these parasites come out of thier holes and give false hope to families and interfere with the police. It's hard to beleive that in 2009 parts of this country tolerate middle age thinking. http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_12055833?source=most_viewed

I would defend the liberty of consenting adult creationists to practice whatever intellectual perversions they like in the privacy of their own homes; but it is also necessary to protect the young and innocent. Arthur C. Clarke

Semi auto hand gun against the first 2 at the traffic stop. an AK 47 against the SWAT team. I think once they had the guy cornered they should have tried every thing they could have before storming the apartment, The guy was hiding in a closet and the two dead SWAT guys never had a chance. Thay have been interviewing law enforcment in the bay area who are saying this will be taught for years to SWAT on how not to handle it like this in a similar situation.

one less stupiid criminal

Welcome to the sport, I jump at Hollister ( 30 miles south of San Jose) and its a great DZ. They have an otter for the winter that gets up to 15,000 in about 15 minutes. It's a great DZ, great people , great vibes, give them a try. Chris

I was just wondering if after the first 2 officers were shot and they then had the shooter isolated in an apartment. Why the SWAT team did not try every means to try to capture the shooter with out risking the lives of the SWAT team members.. They entered the apartment after only a 2 hour standoff and 2 more cops were killed. I know being a cop is dangerous but should they have not tried all means possable? tear gas, cutting the power, communicate, have family members try and talk to him, wait him out etc etc etc. I may be wrong but I feel in thier haste to get revenge, they ended up costing two more cops thier lives.

A child who hits or curses his parents must be executed. Exodus 21:17-21:19 This just seems a bit harsh to me as does getting your father drunk to have sex with him so you will bare his children. Genesis 19:30 - 19:36 I dont remmember any of these stories from sunday school and I doubt many are read as bed time stories. It seems the God of the OT and the God of the NT are two seperate Gods

If you want to use verses from the OT, could you please explain Exodus 21:17 to me? Also since the bible is said to be a bastion of morales and family values could you please tell me if you think Genesis 19:30 - 19:36 would be good for an animated bible story for children?

I am buying a 50% discount coupon for a wings container and was wondering if I need to go through the manufacturer or if I can go through a retailer? Are these coupons on the level? Thanks for any info.

What about the " He who is with out sin cast the first stone"? Nothing but contradictions.

So the new Federal minimum wage should be $3.75 an hour, per Adam Smith. I guess they have no need for heat , water, health care, medications, soap, bus fare, cleaning supplies, haircuts, sick days, etc etc etc. Let them eat cake.

It appears the US is slowly pulling away from the beleifs of the middle ages. I dont think it will happen in my life time, but maybe with in a 100 years the Judeo Christian god will follow the same path as the thousands of other gods that came before. This link now works. http://www.salisburypost.com/Area/030909-w-christians