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Old Geezer

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Everything posted by Old Geezer

  1. why do you not want the bibles??? They can play an essential role in your life. CONSIDER; you are with your wife during childbirth. You have begun to doubt her scientific explanation that it has something to do with "the fact that I am trying to squeeze something the size of a watermelon out of somethingthe size of a peach!" All you have to do is consult the Bible. Then calmly place your hand on her shoulder and say "Honey, I know you are upset right now, but this is all your fault, you see, You are a sinner, and so you must be punished for your sins. Naturally because your great great great great great great grandmother ate too much, you need to suffer, I hope you understand if not, its all written in Genesis" At this point she will be grateful, she will probably be glad to know that her families over eating habits are the reason she is at fault and must be punished. There will be no more enmity between you and her
  2. How does this lead to the conclusion that "nearly everyone wants and expects a gang to be in power?" " Deep in the marshlands of the Euphrates, the town of 15,000 people was the firstto rise against Saddam Hussein in the abortive intifada of 1991. Now it was holding the first genuine election in its history. The poll was the latest in a series which this overwhelmingly Shia province has held in the past six weeks, and the results have been surprising. Seventeen towns have voted, and in almost every case secular independents and representatives of non-religious parties did better than the Islamists. " http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1185792,00.html a quick google search pulled that up, and I know I have read of secular parties registering officially. , they were against his party idealogy (Baathists are pan-arab socialists)
  3. It is rather a sad set of choices isn't it?? But that doesnt mean we drop the objective. As far as "accepting Americanization" what exactly do you mean by that? Do you mean specific values, or policies???? Or are you reffering to Britnney Spears? Brunei http://www.hrw.org/reports/1997/bahrain/ Kuwait http://www.hrw.org/wr2k1/mideast/kuwait.html etc etc etc.
  4. Are you aware that the constitution of Saudi Arabia is the Koran?(In the most literal of senses I am talking about the actual book) I dont agree that there are only two possibilities. You site possibities at the opposite ends of a spectrum. I think the ultimate form of government which emerges if we are lucky will be a more heavy handed version of Turkey. (Not Lucky in that thats an ideal form of government, but lucky in that I will feel somewhat relieved that people didnt fuck things up even more)
  5. would you please tell me what led you to believe this?
  6. First off, I think that this statement confuses the terms Support and Sanction. As I understand it, The words Support, Sanction, and Resistance lie at opposite ends of a spectrum of action. (For Instance Bush maay equivocate RE: hamas/hezbollah and thats upsetting, but I am more upset at people that send financial support to those organizations) But replace those terms, and I think you may be right with this caveat; I think that a negative correlation exists between the loss of sanction over time(which occurs naturally as Dictator's are driven to tighter extremes to control their population) and the increased tendency to rely on outside resources by such a dictator.(which tends to increase as people under his control lose both their will and ability to support and eventually to tolerate )
  7. IMO, A)the most important things thatt will happen with Iran will be those events that happen outside Iran. Iraq; An Oil Rich Country with a Shia majority near Iraq is something which we can not let fall under the influence of the Iranian Influence. (Especially given the Historical tendency of Shia to support the integration of Church and State Thankfully, the polls seem to suggest the Iraqi's dont want this either. Israel; The Terrorism that Iran supports is not mostly Al-Queda. It is mostly Hamas et al. The firmer our support for Israel's fight against terror, the more Israel will be in a position Afghanistan; the Taliban was an enemy of Iran, and now that enemy is gone. They are gonna want to exert some influence there. B ) the population boom of young people in Iran is an important factor to consider, especially an increasingly westernized and secularized cosmopolitan population which has been sexually oppressed. Think about it. When you were 17, did you want people controlling your life? I have plenty other thoughts, but not much time
  8. This may be off subject, but has anyone ever read any Douglas Adams? (Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy etc) a key quote about the sudden appearance of a sperm whale in the sky; "Its not impossible, its just HIGHLY HIGHLY improbable" lol
  9. sniff sniff.. Is that the Powell Doctrine I smell????
  10. I have been reading in my paper today about how large amounts of cash has reportedly been tried to help dissuade some Najaf "insurgents" from fighting. This tactic was heavily used during the war in Afghanistan, and was wondering how y'all have responded to this???
  11. Words/Phrases I found on bp's website home page Sustainability 1 Environment 2 "Helping Low Income Families" 1 Society 2 Oil 1 Gasoline 0
  12. This question is part technical and part philisophical; I was recently engaged in debate with someone who claimed that "companies compete for market share" and that the primary end of the marketing department is to "crush the competition" It seems to me that when competition is present, companies which focus solely on "crushing the competition" fail to promote the virtue of their own products/services. 1. I know that many of you run your own business or are involved in the management thereof. Would you consider "crushing the competition" and obtaining "market share" primary or secondary roles of your marketing team? 2. Isn't a fixed market a fallacy? does someone have a good link on this?
  13. I was challenged by someone to name a "serious economist" who defined capitalism as the separation of Physical and Economic force.... Does anyone know of any good links I can post for him?
  14. GC, with the exception of the FBI run Uniform Crime Report, many of the other major crime statistics reflect self-report questions, (Have you been raped in the last year?) etc. Do you see a reason why Crime Victimization surveys would reflect a difference?
  15. Desmond Morris' value for me lies in his ability to make evolutionary theory as it applies to the emergence of humans accessible to non professionals. His books are usually well researched IMO, and were a helpful background when I took anthropology coursework. But he is not a "physical anthropologist" by trade. His background is in Zoology (essentially the study of Animal behavior, which he applies to human evolution) and has some interesting musings about everything from the development of the female orgasm to the synthesis of competition and cooperation, to the development of reasoning ability. Like many others, he certainly has some drawbacks, but if nothing else his works are thought provoking, and I found them definitely worth reading.
  16. You may want to check out "The Naked Ape" by Desmond Morris. It details how climate change was the stimulus for the development of language and reasoning ability. (The short answer; inability to remain in receding jungles made living in the plains necessarry. But since we could no longer pick nuts+berries or Chew on Termites, we had to evolve in order to survive. Since competing with specialized predators (who had an ability to run or stalk etc) was not very easy for our awkard forms of locomotion, and since digestive systems capable of handling the tuberous high fiber plants of the plains take a long time to evolve, two characteristics became more prevalant; A) The Smart; (Shit, I cant catch up to this Zebra, what will I do?) The Sociable (Sociable in the sense of being able to communicate with other members) In any case, unlike a Intro Anthro Text book, you dont see most of the Socialist riff-raff that seems to leak in, and the small paperback is easy to carry around and a "good read"
  17. I agree, in fact, I have a minorah in my room which I value for the artwork on the base of the stand.. Underneath there is a sculpture of Jewish figures enjoying arguing over the Torah. It is beautiful. (not because it is the Torah, but because you can see the life in their faces and body expressions as they are obviously in a heated debate. and enjoying the use of their reasoning ability)
  18. Why are crime rates for many violent crimes higher in the US than in Europe? Wouldnt the opposite follow from a country with fewer Socialist Policies and Higher Incarceration rates for violent criminals? what explains this?
  19. http://www.consumerfreedom.com/game_lawsuitmachine.cfm ENJOY!
  20. A) I would think that moderators should be the only ones to "Approve" such links some sort of "ratings" system that would be apparent might be nice C) I would be willing to submit links, but not review them
  21. Actually, one of BL's biggest enemies is the House of Saud. The problem in SA is a triangle of corrupted influences, none being particularly Favorable Faith Based (BL and Crew) Family Based (There are approximately 12 major tribes in SA some of which are very influential) Fortune (Business) Based (Welcome to the Corrupt Socialist Utopia Sultan, Bandar, Abdallah) As far as I can ascertain, the short term option with the least consequences would be strengthening the more secular tribal leaders in the places nearest the oil fields and the political power bases. Another option will be to begin to diplomatically leverage SA to reform with a serious effort. Course another option would be to develop engines that run off of mid-east propoganda.
  22. I mostly mean external article links accessable from this web site (for instance readily accessible from the beginners questions or current events pages) But I have also found articles written on this site that I would easily use I would find this useful because A) when discussing political issues, it is often helpful to reference well articulated articles. (For instance, I once used an article I believe I saw on this site to convince my Saudi Friend that Democracy was not what his country needed, but rather individual rights) For those issues I am new to, I would not bother other posters. C) For those new to the site it would add a helpful supplement
  23. I dont understand why it matters. The legality of drugs is not a reflection of anything scientific (For instance Marijuana is classed as a class one drug (as more dangerous and less beneficial than cocaine) ) is there some other reason why it should matter?
  24. Yes, I have seen these reports (Up to $50,000) and seen them in multiple sources. The rest of the Global Terrorism Claims (about Saddam) are not credible enough for me to believe, but this one I believe. As for the Saudi Funding, The way I understand it is this; the government has failed to make a substantial effort to see where the money (which is largely raised in Saudi Mosques in the name of aiding the poor) goes. This has been the bulk of their sin. The house of Saud have of course contributed monies to these shady funds, but they do not exist solely within Saudi Arabia
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