Yitzhak Finnegan

Go to this link Sasha Cohen: In My Library, for Olympic silver medalists comments on Atlas Shrugged, call it 'intimidating' but also 'revolutionary' in how to look at the world. And I thought I had exhausted the list of what I could admire about this beautiful artistic athletic and notably flexible lady.

Most of you know of Gary Sinise as Lt. Dan from the movie Forrest Gump, or Detective Mac Taylor from the series CSI:NY, or his many other roles. Not as many know about his stint as bass-player and frontman for The Lt. Dan Band, an ad-hoc cover band that several times a year perform for American troops in and outside the U. S. (Go to http:/www.ltdanband.com for an overview) . He also was co-founder of Operation Iraqi Children, a charity to help send school supplies to Iraqi childern. Gary is a breath of fresh air in Hollywood.

I think Jesse should make like testicles and gonad!

All I can say is, the world of Progressive Rock Music lost one of it's major influences.

I just watched the Andrzeja Wajdy movie "Katyn", about the 1940 Soviet massacre of 12,000 Polish Soldiers (quick rundown, Stalin ordered the cold-blooded killing of the soldiers in April when he was still allies with Hitler. When the Nazis double-crossed the Soviets, the had in 1943 announced the discovery of a mass grave of 4,000 soldiers near the Katyn Forest. After decades of denial, Mikhail Gorbechav finally acknowleged Soviet responsibility and also uncovered two other mass graves ). It was well done (with English subtitles) and one that fills in a void in cinematography. Even when Soviet atrocities are undeniable, Hollywood is still skittish about making films about them. There is this website http://www.katyn.netino.pl about the film, and it can be pre-ordered from www.amazon.co.uk . I'd suggest North Americans order it, and loan it to a local Polish Cultural Association (as I will do in Calgary) for a private hall-meeting screening of it to bring attention to this attrocity.

I do not approve of her. I do not approve of her chosen tactic to infuriate instead of educate. And, just like John McEnroe's tennis-tantrums, whatever points she scores gets lost because of the act. And for anyone who excuses this because her targets are liberals, whenever the same tactics are applied against rightists, what moral opposition would you offer to tactics you had elsewhere approved of?

A banker, an electrician and a politician were asked the same question: "Name the problem that occures when expenditure exceeds input." The banker replied "Overdraft". The electrician replied "Overload". The politician replied "What problem?"

I saw the band 4 times! Sure beats popular cookie-cutters like The Backstreet Boys or InSync. I tried to hotlink to a site where you can read Rush lyrics (95% by Neil Peart), but it ended up saying the page wasn't found. So try typing the URL out at www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Venue/9123/lyrics.html .

Sadly enough, the British Conservatives are no longer the party of Thatcherism. If you want a party dedicated to her ideals, try the United Kingdom Independance Party.

I think that Nader will be a negative for students of objectivism. Sure, he might pull votes away from the Democrats (though how many is up in the air. He ran as a Green Party candidate in 2000, and then didn't stump for the Greens in-between that and the next election. Many Greens are tired of his shoo-in-and-then-disapeer act). But unless there is some prominent voice to counter his 'watermelon environmentalism' (Green on the outside, Red on the inside) and only John Stossel of 20/20 seems to have the brains and TV saavy for this, his anti-capitalist/anti-growth nonsense will either go unchallenged, or have a mealymouthed "At least he means well" response.

When philosopher (and atheist) Sidney Hook was asked this question, his reponse was "I would ask him, Why didn't you leave more evidense?" (about His existence). I thought that response gave religion too much creedence, but couldn't think of a better response until recently: "Do you mean that, when a person dies and goes to heaven, their physical senses (sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste) remain intact? I thought heaven was a spiritual realm. What are a person's tools of cognition in a spiritual realm?" It's the stolen-concept fallacy once more.

It would be hard to imagine the Iranian regime getting any more brutal, but they still have dozens of minors on death row. One woman at the center of fighting it is Nazanin Afshin Jam. Her own story is one of overcoming opression and forging ahead successfully. Her father had managed a hotel in Iran when the Shah was still in power. When the Islamic Revolutionairies took over, he was imprisoned and tortured for allowing the sale of alcohol plus the presense of music & dancing. He was able to get bail, through which he took the opportunity to escape with his family to the West. Nazanin was 1 years old at the time. She grew up in Canada, got her pilot licence, got degrees in political science, and started entering beauty paegents as Beauty with a purpose. Representing Canada, she was 1st runner up in the 2003 Miss Universe Beauty Paegent. Then someone told her about another Nazanin. At the age of 17, Nazanin Fatehi was on death row in Iran for having successfully defended herself and her 15 year old neice from being raped by three men, fatally stabbing one of them with his own knife. And, since under Sharia law, a woman's life isn't worth $H!T, that meant the death penalty. Afshin Jam went into high gear, started a petition drive that eventually collected 350,000 signatures, went on a media spree, and the result of this was that the young lady was granted a new trial, the result of which was that she was exhonerated! Afshin Jam has since released a CD, with the title track and video Someday being a song of hope. She also started an organization StopChildExecutions.com to end this barbarism. Hear these two interviews with her: To get an idea of a fraction of what the Islamic regime has done, watch this video, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQ-UxEbuPag, released back in 1985 by Canadian rocker Doug Cameron, about the 1983 execution along with 9 other women of 16 year old Mona Mahmudnizhad, for having taught the Baha'i religion to children.

Guess the idea came about years ago when I gave Olympic silver medalist figure skater Elizabeth Manley a t-shirt that was a take-off on the Olympic motto Citius,Altius,Fortius (Fastest, Highest, Strongest). It had the Olympic 5-color rings below the words Brevius,Suavius,Lepidius. When I told her what that was Latin for, Shortest, Sweetest, Cutest, she goes "Awe....how nice!" and six months later sends me a postcard saying "I've been wearing the t-shirt all year on tour. It's great, thanks!" Okay, so that has nothing to do with Objectivism, but the following ideas might. You know the slogan of the People For The Ethical Treatment Of Animals, "I'd rather be naked than wear fur"? Well I had a custom t-shirt made (and feel free to copy it) that says "I'd rather eat fur than join PETA" Next idea, no one ever refers to L V Mises or E V Boem-Bawerk. But the author of The Road To Serfdom is a different story. And his initials can have a dual meaning. So I intend to make a t-shirt saying "Michael Moore doesn't know F A Hayek". Got any ideas of your own?

Not every conversation must always start off at the "first tier", since this is a forum for readers of Ayn Rand, I assumed they were already familiar with those underpinnings you stated. My musings on this particular point were to help viewers of this forum chip away at the evangelical's idiocy; confront anyone who makes this whole "wrath of God" nonsense in a way that might get some others interested in your line of logic, and they might start seeing your other points as well.

After the death of Jerry Falwell, news accounts reported his assertion that Hurricane Katrina and the Sept. 11th terrorist attacks were "God's wrath" against America for allowing abortion, gay-marriage, the usual crap. I started to put these ravings under my own intellectual discection. And it's an interesting route of twists and turns when you apply someone's 'cherry-picking' universally (Well, if this incident, why not that one as well?). Just Hurricane Katrina? Can you prove it's not all natural disasters? So all hurricanes, earthquakes, tornados, etc., are God's wrath for abortion, among other things. But....don't pregnant women also die in these things? And, speaking of abortion, aren't Gloria Steinam and Bille Jean King still alive and active? So, according to this thesis, God expresses his opposition to abortion by killing pregnant women in natural dissasters, while allowing those who had abortions to live long lives, have successful careers and even (regardless of whether you agree with Ms. Steinam's views or not) iconic status in today's society. Is that what your're saying? As for September 11th, okay Reverend, you say it was God's wrath. What is the difference between God's wrath and God's will? So, if the terrorist were agents of God's wrath, they were merely carrying out God's will? Ergo, anyone who was against those terrorist attacks is going against God's will, is that about it? And Reverend, was it just Sept 11th? Can you prove that all other terrorist acts weren't also God's wrath? And, just terrorist killings? Can you prove that all other murders, from the headline-making cases like John Wayne Gacy to the lesser armed-robbery-turned-fatal shootouts, all of this is God's wrath, and therefor God's will? Wait, it get's even better (if that's the proper word). Aren't these evangelicals forever telling us that abortion is murder? And if all acts of murder are God's wrath, and therefor God's will, doesn't that make abortion another case of God's wrath? So, by your own assertion taken to it's logical conclusion, abortion is merely the patient and pratcitioner carrying out God's will. Which means that to be against abortion is to be against God's will! One is tempted to not even bother to answer people like Falwell, Pat Robertson, anyone with such an aversion to reason is beyond any kind of intellectual debate. But their nonsense must be vigorously fought, discected and pulverised at every corner to help stop their influence in society.

How about Vaclav Klaus of the Czech Republic? An important politican, economist and critic of the 'global warming' hysteria, he would be a great choice.