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brian0918

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Posts posted by brian0918

  1. Why does LP think that it won't be politically palatable to allow immigrants to work without citizenship, but then his alternative suggestion is to ban all Hispanic immigrants, erect a wall, etc? Which one seems more likely to win bipartisan support?

     

    This was practically unlistenable, due to constant interruption and lack of structure. It was not a debate, but an argument, where the "moderator" occasionally got a word in, but by and large LP ran the discussion, asked the questions, etc.

     

    I also agree with CrowEpistemologist that this was not really about philosophical principles and their application, but about political tactics. Philosophical principles are barely mentioned.

  2. More information on McCandless's death has been uncovered. The latest theory is that he died of a toxic amino acid that was not known to be present in wild potato seeds, and is particularly debilitating to people in his particular state of health (young man, highly active, low caloric intake, no other sources of food). McCandless himself believed that the wild potato seeds were to blame (probably due to a noticeable downturn in health after consumption). If that is the case, it would have made it difficult or impossible for him to walk. So even if there was a tram nearby, he might not have been able to reach it. And a map would not have done much good if he wasn't able to move around.

     

    Krakauer also acknowledges in the article that his prior false conclusions were rushed (i.e., that McCandless confused two different species, and then later that the wild potato seeds contained alkaloids).

     

    http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2013/09/how-chris-mccandless-died.html

  3. I just tested mine and it still weighs the same.

     

    If you're using gold as an investment tool, or paying attention to its fluctuating price in dollars, then you see dollars as money, not gold. Plenty of goldbugs do that. They want a "return" on gold - in dollars. They want gold to go up in price, because they intend to convert that gold to dollars and spend the money. If you want a return to a free market in money, then you would not intend to part with any gold until such time as that free market returns. At that time, the "gold price" will make as much sense as the "dollar price" does now.

  4. I saw this a couple months ago and agree, you definitely get the Roark vibe from this man's determination. His key idea is to always try to find room for improvement in every aspect of the business - make every day better than the last, even if only slightly.

    I would probably be terrified, though, to sit there eating sushi while he watches my every move. :wacko:

  5. I saw this on a local firearms forum, and thought some folks here would like a chance at it too:

    OPSGear is giving away $10,000 in firearms and a ridiculous amount of gear.

    You can enter daily until the contest ends on August 31st.

    Some highlights:

    Grizzly AR-15 and upgrades

    Glock 17

    Nightvision monocular and system

    Military watch

    Flashlights

    Uniform and gear from head to toe

    post-4514-0-27412300-1345640847_thumb.jp

  6. I don't know about you folks but I'm excited about Romney/Ryan. I just sent them another 50 bucks.

    Financial support? It's one thing to vote for them as the lesser of two evils, but to financially help their cause? I don't see any way to justify that. Maybe $50 is pocket change for you, I guess.

    Paul Ryan on Ayn Rand in April 2012:

    “I reject her philosophy. It's an atheist philosophy. It reduces human interactions down to mere contracts and it is antithetical to my worldview. If somebody is going to try to paste a person’s view on epistemology to me, then give me Thomas Aquinas. Don’t give me Ayn Rand."

    Paul Ryan also supported TARP, the auto bailouts, Medicare expansion, housing subsidies, unemployment extension, a national ID, making the PATRIOT Act permanent, warantless surveillance, No Child Left Behind, keeping troops in Iraq indefinitely, the 2008 AND 2009 stimulus bills, Personhood, and criminalizing medical marijuana & stem-cell research.

    In addition, his famed budget proposal did not even cut spending. At best, it increased spending slightly less quickly than the status quo.

    So what is there to get "excited about"?

  7. Don't you think you should find out about her specific scenario, before calling for her to be barred from competing?

    What possible fact could exist about her specific scenario to override what the Chinese government has done to her and countless others over their entire childhoods?

    If you want to discuss whether someone is being forced into something, the first order of business should be deciding what is and what isn't force. For instance, nothing described in either of the two articles you posted so far is force.

    Then answer my second question: what is preventing these families who want to be together from being together?

  8. I don't know about her specific scenario, but I wouldn't see why it would be different from other Chinese Olympians. For one of the Chinese gymnasts, they mentioned he'd only seen his parents for 17 days in the last decade.

    A quote from the parents of a Chinese diver:

    “We never tell her what’s happening at home. We even kept the news that her grandparents died from her. When grandma died, (Wu) seemed almost like she had a premonition, and she called us asking if she was OK. We had to lie; we told her, ‘everything’s OK.’”

    “It’s been like this for so many years. We long ago realized that our daughter doesn’t belong to us completely. Enjoying the company of family? I don’t think about it. I don’t dare think about it.

    http://www.calgaryhe...6175/story.html

    As for what is/isn't force - clearly these little children want to be with their parents and vice versa, so what is preventing them from doing so?

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