Comments by hawt4dawk

Comment #283573 by hawt4dawk on November 13, 2008 at 3:15 pm

WP still around? What's this about burning bridges and smoke between her and Al? Did I miss something exciting? (Like I will probably miss the RDnet gathering this next summer? **sulks**(

52. Richard Dawkins: An Exclusive Profile

Comment #283548 by hawt4dawk on November 13, 2008 at 3:03 pm

Bonzai -- you devil! Leave poor Vanpastel alone! Haven't I said elsewhere that I would like Richard Dawkins to come to my house and read me stories from "House at Pooh Corner"? He does have a most soothing voice! ;)

53. Catholic bishops warn Obama they'll fight on abortion: Statement to focus on 'opposing evil'

Comment #283284 by hawt4dawk on November 13, 2008 at 11:13 am

Interesting post, Eric Blair.

54. Richard Dawkins: An Exclusive Profile

Comment #283225 by hawt4dawk on November 13, 2008 at 9:32 am

Nice. I, too, could listen to RD all day. What he has to say is so decent and honest and reasonable.

edit

55. In a Novel Theory of Mental Disorders, Parents' Genes Are in Competition

Comment #283219 by hawt4dawk on November 13, 2008 at 9:24 am

I think Richard would approve of this bit of activism, actually.

56. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #283195 by hawt4dawk on November 13, 2008 at 8:59 am

SSO -

you do have a tenacity that I admire...

As I said, "Darwin's Barnacle". :-D

What I admire is not that he maintains what I think are mistaken ideas, despite all evidence and arguments, but rather that he stays in the discussion and doesn't seem to become discouraged.

57. Catholic bishops warn Obama they'll fight on abortion: Statement to focus on 'opposing evil'

Comment #283188 by hawt4dawk on November 13, 2008 at 8:52 am

206. Comment #283180 by Tyler Durden

Tyler -- I'm glad you picked out that quote. It is so disingenuous to call embryos, zygotes, blastocysts and fetuses "children."

What about real children who are already born, why isn't the Church pouring all their political and financial efforts on solving these problems?

This is from Unicef's website:

http://www.childinfo.org/mortality.html

In 2007, 9.2 million children born alive worldwide die before their fifth birthday. Most of these children live in developing countries and die from a disease or a combination of diseases that could be easily prevented or treated -- antibiotics for pneumonia, for example, or a simple mix of salts and sugars for diarrhoea. Malnutrition contributes to over a third of these deaths.

Child mortality is closely linked to poverty. Advances in infant and child survival have come more slowly in poor countries and to the poorest people in wealthier countries. Improvements in public health services are key, including safe water and better sanitation. Education, especially for girls and mothers, will also save children's lives. Raising incomes can help, but little will be achieved unless a greater effort is made to ensure that services reach those who need them most.

58. Catholic bishops warn Obama they'll fight on abortion: Statement to focus on 'opposing evil'

Comment #283187 by hawt4dawk on November 13, 2008 at 8:51 am

59. Catholic bishops warn Obama they'll fight on abortion: Statement to focus on 'opposing evil'

Comment #283172 by hawt4dawk on November 13, 2008 at 8:28 am

Title: A Brief Account of the Destruction of the Indies Or, a faithful NARRATIVE OF THE Horrid and Unexampled Massacres, Butcheries, and all manner of Cruelties, that Hell and Malice could invent, committed by the Popish_Spanish_ Party on the inhabitants of _West-India_, TOGETHER
With the Devastations of several Kingdoms in _America_ by Fire and Sword, for the space of Forty and Two Years, from the time of its first Discovery by them.

Author: Bartolome de las Casas

(Himself a priest, but a good guy.)

Keep in mind that in the early 1500s the Pope himself was all in favor of making war on the Indians and continuing the outstanding cruelty of the encomienda system.

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/20321/20321.txt

60. Catholic bishops warn Obama they'll fight on abortion: Statement to focus on 'opposing evil'

Comment #283167 by hawt4dawk on November 13, 2008 at 8:20 am

Since I was asked to back up the infants thing, here is a quote, which is the best I can do on short notice. Suffice it to say one need only read some of the history of the Spanish conquest to realize that priests and other Catholic christians were culpable for massive amounts murder and other terrible deeds against innocents.

"The [Catholic] Spaniards in Mexico and Peru used to baptize Indian infants and then immediately dash their brains out; by this means they secured that these infants went to heaven."
-- Bertrand Russell

61. Catholic bishops warn Obama they'll fight on abortion: Statement to focus on 'opposing evil'

Comment #283166 by hawt4dawk on November 13, 2008 at 8:14 am

Bonzai --

I know he also said he was a misanthrope in general and that seemed connected with his feeling shy or something. In that context, what you say makes sense.

edit -- in which case I withdraw my previous comment about the matter with apologies.

62. Catholic bishops warn Obama they'll fight on abortion: Statement to focus on 'opposing evil'

Comment #283156 by hawt4dawk on November 13, 2008 at 8:00 am

The Indian chief Hatuey fled with his people but was captured and burned alive. As

"they were tying him to the stake a Franciscan friar urged him to take Jesus to his heart so that his soul might go to heaven, rather than descend into hell. Hatuey replied that if heaven was where the Christians went, he would rather go to hell."

What happened to his people was described by an eyewitness:

"The Spaniards found pleasure in inventing all kinds of odd cruelties ... They built a long gibbet, long enough for the toes to touch the ground to prevent strangling, and hanged thirteen [natives] at a time in honor of Christ Our Saviour and the twelve Apostles... then, straw was wrapped around their torn bodies and they were burned alive." [SH72]

-- American Holocaust, by D.Stannard

edit -- Tez beat me to it

63. Catholic bishops warn Obama they'll fight on abortion: Statement to focus on 'opposing evil'

Comment #283150 by hawt4dawk on November 13, 2008 at 7:46 am

195. Comment #283142 by ev-love

Have you got 'chapter and verse'for this?

What do you mean?

64. Catholic bishops warn Obama they'll fight on abortion: Statement to focus on 'opposing evil'

Comment #283148 by hawt4dawk on November 13, 2008 at 7:44 am

I was beginning to feel that Cartomancer was the sun around which we are all destined to orbit!

I don't wish to insult Cartomancer as I usually love his posts and think he's very bright, but I read him say on one thread that he doesn't much like women even as friends. Can't orbit around that.

65. In a Novel Theory of Mental Disorders, Parents' Genes Are in Competition

Comment #283145 by hawt4dawk on November 13, 2008 at 7:41 am

I wonder how to make having a millions-of-years-old fossil trinket a must-have amongst kids. If through their peers, kids who are being raised by isolationist, young earth parents can get a hint that there is a difference between the literal Bible and reality, it might help them being more open minded when they grow up. I don't know.

66. In a Novel Theory of Mental Disorders, Parents' Genes Are in Competition

Comment #283136 by hawt4dawk on November 13, 2008 at 7:34 am

Excuse me for interjecting here, but I wanted to share that my four-year-old son went to a fossil show the other day and came home with a fossil shark tooth in a little cellophane bag along with a little informative card which stated:

"Shark teeth have survived in one form or another from about 400 million years ago to the present. They reached their maximum size about 20 million years ago in the Miocene Epoch, when the Carachodon Megalodon reached a length of almost 75 feet. This relative of the present-day Great White shark had 8 to 10-inch teeth!"

I thought it was a small, handy and attractive package of support for evolution, along with information indicating the Earth's true age, with very strong kid-appeal. My son made sure to keep his shark tooth in his pocket all day long.

67. Catholic bishops warn Obama they'll fight on abortion: Statement to focus on 'opposing evil'

Comment #283128 by hawt4dawk on November 13, 2008 at 7:23 am

The problem I have with the Catholic Church's arguments about abortion now is that back in the era of New World conquest, priests would bless Indian babies and then dash their little brains out on rocks. They always do what they think is "right." And how right have they ever been? Their current policies on birth control education and AIDS prevention are causing mass suffering in Africa and other places. They aided and abetted the Nazis. Historically, through their political involvements over the centuries, including the modern era, they repeatedly reveal that they are primarily interested in enlarging their own power by propagating a specific (yet arbitrary) anti-human set of supernatural rules in a quest for a dangerous patriarchal religious/cultural hegemony.

They simply haven't a moral leg to stand on.

68. Catholic bishops warn Obama they'll fight on abortion: Statement to focus on 'opposing evil'

Comment #283118 by hawt4dawk on November 13, 2008 at 7:11 am

Jabber --

manic depressive --

and all others who feel no one is paying attention to them...

I read and enjoy many comments here. I try to read them or at least speed-read them all when I have time. That's the hard part about this "conversation" format. So many interesting people here.

I also feel disappointed when I've put together a snappy post or made a joke I find particularly funny and I check back later and no one's responded.

But I also realize that I chuckle over zingers, take points, learn, disagree or whatever, and don't have time to let the posters know about it and I just imagine that many others are doing the same with me.

In fact, I was just feeling neglected by folks who have been handing out kudos left and right, when, lo, I find Mitch_486 has mentioned me. Thanks!

69. In a Novel Theory of Mental Disorders, Parents' Genes Are in Competition

Comment #283109 by hawt4dawk on November 13, 2008 at 6:49 am

Go Peace!

Waterstones needs to make a press release about the religious bullying they received from Stephen Green. It would probably increase sales and I'll bet many people would be very offended by this coercive stifling of free speech. "Who will be next?" They should ask.

70. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #283100 by hawt4dawk on November 13, 2008 at 6:29 am

DP --

Who do you love? Who do you care about most in your life?

You don't have to tell us here, but think of that person or those persons.

Why would any company want to do business in this country with all its regulations, taxes, laws and unions?

Regulations, unions, and other laws are there to protect the public from harm. They are good things. If your loved ones work at a company, do you want the company to be allowed to exploit them by paying them less than fair wages or exposing them to permanent physical harm by not following safety and health standards set by the government?

Human beings work at companies and people deserve to be treated fairly. Even the people who own the companies have loved ones and families. People deserve clean water to drink and clean air to breathe. They don't want to find out they've been sold a property that's had toxic waste dumped in it. They want to be able to go fishing and eat their catch and not have to worry about mercury from industrial pollution.

Many companies act as if profit is the only important thing, but companies only gain profit from their interaction with a society. If they seek to harm the society for the sake of their profits, they are immoral and traitorous. They have a responsibility to the society that enriches them and when they whine and cry and try to shirk that responsibility, they are in the wrong.

If I company doesn't want to do business in a country where they are expected to act in a manner that is responsible, honorable and just (like grown ups are supposed to) toward the people and environment in that country, they should not be allowed to sell their product or in any other way profit from their association with it.

71. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #283086 by hawt4dawk on November 13, 2008 at 6:12 am

Bonzai has given me some good links to heaps of books I can read

It's funny being human... I felt a big flare of jealousy when I read this. :) Bonzai, send to me, too, please? I'm always on the look out for book recommendations.

72. Catholic bishops warn Obama they'll fight on abortion: Statement to focus on 'opposing evil'

Comment #282693 by hawt4dawk on November 12, 2008 at 3:41 pm

55. Comment #282691 by Border Collie

Border Collie, are you talking to me?

edit -- No, I guess not. Just read his post and couldn't agree more. In fact, even thought of those children being accused of witchcraft and thought "If the CC really values life, why aren't they out there helping stop that craziness?!"

73. Catholic bishops warn Obama they'll fight on abortion: Statement to focus on 'opposing evil'

Comment #282692 by hawt4dawk on November 12, 2008 at 3:39 pm

Argh! **shakes fist at the sky**

My link! What happened?!

CLICK HERE

74. Catholic bishops warn Obama they'll fight on abortion: Statement to focus on 'opposing evil'

Comment #282690 by hawt4dawk on November 12, 2008 at 3:37 pm

edit-- sorry I spent some much time fooling with editing the link that other people posted after I finished, so am moving this forward.

Presently, if a female U.S. soldier is raped by our own soldiers, in Iraq or on military bases they cannot end their pregnancies in military hospitals. If even military hospitals refuse abortion to rape victims, the threat that the Catholic hospitals will have to close because of the issue seems to be dishonest. Most Chicago Roman Catholic hospitals already refuse to offer certain birth control services, abortions or even morning after pills even for rape victims. The Bishop would have the female soldier or any female rape victim raped twice, first by the rapist, then by his own self-righteous desire to force her to bear a child against her will.

I wonder how many choices he really thinks women have when the Catholic church is against the pill, the IUD and the morning after pill.

http://www.chicagoreporter.com/index.php/c/Cover_Stories/d/The_'Morning_After'_Pill:_Catholic_Hospitals_Deny_Rape_Victims_Choice">CLICK HERE

edited after much bother!

I'm also not much impressed with their stated willingness to give their own lives over the issue as the same could be said of the 9-11 terrorists. Frankly, such statements sound threatening in this day and age.

75. Catholic bishops warn Obama they'll fight on abortion: Statement to focus on 'opposing evil'

Comment #282685 by hawt4dawk on November 12, 2008 at 3:26 pm

deleted by poster & reposted later

76. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #282670 by hawt4dawk on November 12, 2008 at 2:42 pm

Comment #282429 by root2squared

2 --

I looked at your links and feel the same way you do. It's an outrage. I called my Rep and my senators the other day about the treasury department rewriting the tax code to give these failing banks a windfall. This article appeared in Washington Post.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/09/AR2008110902155_pf.html

It's a big money grab by the rich. It's the big banks and corporations stealing our tax money, the wealth of the commons.

DP -

Businesses cost the federal government a lot of money, so even if they pay taxes, in effect, they pay less. They pay less back into the infrastructure that enables them to amass wealth in the first place.

The U.S. federal government spent $92 billion in direct and indirect subsidies to businesses and private- sector corporate entities in fiscal year 2006.

In 2005, Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis put the costs of direct business subsidies at $57 billion, but that doesn't include costs from special programs which provide unique benefits to certain industries.

Why are you changing the subject to socialism when we're discussing the real world of our present representative democracy and our capitalist economic system? And within those systems, corporations are taking government money and finding ways not to pay in like they should. This is sort of treasonous, in my opinion, and certainly unjust.

Rich people get bigger tax breaks on things like expensive homes, which the person who buys a median priced home in a Mid-American city does not enjoy. They can also afford to live in luxury while writing off businesses that they have no intention of "doing well", such a rich man's wife's antique store and so on.

There's nothing wrong with being rich and being rewarded handsomely for your hard work or great inventions. But it's wrong and unjust for corporations to take welfare from the federal government and avoid paying back in their countries, especially the ones that ship jobs overseas so they can pay pennies a day to people who don't have labor laws to protect them. Those corporations wrongly and unjustly avoid paying fair wages, health care and for their externalities, such as environmental damage. Those behaviors are immoral and should be considered criminal.

edit

77. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #282430 by hawt4dawk on November 12, 2008 at 7:49 am

2 --

I'll respond to your post later today. Must go now.

78. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #282422 by hawt4dawk on November 12, 2008 at 7:44 am

EDITED

Morning, WP. You're up early.

We come back like lonely dogs to master's grave.

No, that's too grim. This is more like the chill room in a warehouse.

I have to go get an MRI now for my poor neck/shoulder/arm, which is still in pain after all these months. See yuzz. :)

edit--

Roger --

I enjoyed your and DP's exchange the other day. I have no hope of converting our own DP (or Darwin'sBarnacle as I was somewhat affectionately thinking of him today), but I had to say it, 'cause it's true. :)

79. Islamic radicals make mockery of hate laws

Comment #282411 by hawt4dawk on November 12, 2008 at 7:37 am

Chewedbarber --

me, for one! You bad boy!
______
Goldy --

Scary story about your maternal grandmother's family. Those times were horrendous. I knew a lot of stuff before I read about it again, but when you read those first-hand accounts, it really ... hits you.

As for citizens being deported, I didn't suggest that. I don't know about this pole dancer stuff.

Brian --

I have no judgments about how Chamberlain or anyone handled stuff back then, because after WWI and the depression it's a miracle anyone was thinking straight at all. They had pictures of the trenches in France in my text book and I had to read a lot of poems by soldiers that died, too.

The criticism of France as always "surrendering" always really irks me as well. My feeling is "walk a mile in a WWI soldier's shoes, then shut up"!

Well, off to get an MRI now.

80. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #282405 by hawt4dawk on November 12, 2008 at 7:29 am

Quetz - funny! What an embarrassing image -- like "The Office" but with Jesus.

81. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #282401 by hawt4dawk on November 12, 2008 at 7:26 am

Bonzai -

Uh.. one word: Mary :)

82. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #282399 by hawt4dawk on November 12, 2008 at 7:23 am

DP-

I would also probably guess robin hood because he steals from the rich to give to the poor.

On the contrary, DP in the US and in many other countries it is the rich stealing from the common wealth of all the people. Business use our interstate highway system, our internet, our scientific and medical establishment, our communications systems (satellites included), our schools, our airline system, and much more. I say "our" because, we, the taxpayers, own these assets. Our great-grandparents, our grandparents, our parents and we, ourselves, have invested our tax money into them.

Corporations, and other rich folk, who set up shop in Bermuda or in states where there is the lowest tax, or who find other ways to avoid paying taxes are ripping us off. They owe the country a great deal and should be paying us back by paying their taxes like real citizens do.

Even Bill Gates, Sr. argued to keep inheritance tax saying that he and Bill Jr. did not invent the Internet, they just used it to make billions of dollars. We, taxpayers, paid for that research, that technology that became the Internet with our common wealth.

There is no such thing as a self-made man.

83. Islamic radicals make mockery of hate laws

Comment #282114 by hawt4dawk on November 11, 2008 at 4:43 pm

Brian - That isn't clear from my book. In a speech Chamberlain gave to the House of Commons on October 5, 1938 he basically says we saved Czechoslovakia from annhilation and gave her a new chance as a new state (without Sudetenland or Slovakia). He says,

"Therefore, I think the Government deserve the approval of this House for their conduct of affairs in this recent crisis which has saved Czechoslovakia from destruction and Europe from Armageddon."

If he thought he was buying time, it isn't apparent from that speech. But this isn't a deep history. It's compressed Western Civ.

Gotta go now guys. Take care.

84. Islamic radicals make mockery of hate laws

Comment #282107 by hawt4dawk on November 11, 2008 at 4:36 pm

Goldy -

My analogy is to fast forward to today and replace the communists with the Islamists. If the Nazis were as bad as the communists (as Stalin showed they could be) then could we, in our fear of Islamism, usher in something as bad to "protect" us'

Absolutely. But it was the terrible unemployment and inflation and hunger that allowed someone like Hitler and his party to gain so much power so rapidly. (I just read a primary source document of an eyewitness account of 20s Germany where a man describes a horde of starving men attacking a potato field while the farmer and police looked helplessly on.) So, if the Radical Islamists did enough economic damage through terrorist acts, they could stimulate such an environment where awful people could get in power.

I don't have answers. If somebody is a foreign national who is inciting violence, I think they should be deported. However, modern technology can overcome that issue to some degree. Still there's nothing like real live local imams to be an influence for good or bad.

I only hope that intelligence and counter-terrorism officers are making the best use of the meetings described in the article. I do think Muslim and non-Muslim people need to speak out steadily about the unacceptability of this kind of hateful and destructive preaching. These types of radical-meanie Muslims hurt your average nice-person Muslims more than anything though.

85. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #282095 by hawt4dawk on November 11, 2008 at 4:24 pm

Titania -- I like International Rational Evolins. That's from "Isthatclear" right? We could have a poster with monkeys at computers or worm badges. Ha ha! I wish I could go..**sighs wistfully**. Well, one day! :)

86. Islamic radicals make mockery of hate laws

Comment #282088 by hawt4dawk on November 11, 2008 at 4:13 pm

Goldy --

As for the 30s analogies of appeasement - Chamberlain appeased the Nazis at the height of their power. But in the Weimar republic, if I read my history boks right, the Communists were a greater threat after the Great War. The Nazis were a fringe under the public radar.

Britain and France didn't react when Hitler took back the demilitarized zone, which France had wanted as a buffer zone after WWI, or when he annexed Austria. He then invaded Czechoslovakia. He was allowed to get away with it, because they reasoned he had some sort of right to Sudetenland where a lot of ethnic Germans lived. That last appeasement occurred at a meeting in Munich. Afterward Chamberlain said, "We've done the smart thing" and Churchill said "It's gonna get really bad now!" They were just hoping they wouldn't have to get into it with Germany, because everybody was exhausted from WWI. Britain and France declared war on Germany a couple of days after they invaded Poland.

I was just reading ahead in my textbook about this stuff. The assignment this week was to read about WWI and the Balfour letter, the Zionist letter, etc., the Sykes-Picot Agreement, etc., but I couldn't stand the suspense and read on through WWII. It's SOOO fascinating.

87. Islamic radicals make mockery of hate laws

Comment #282087 by hawt4dawk on November 11, 2008 at 4:13 pm

From Bonzai's link:

The focus should be on violence against women, not hijab. The article sets up a false dichotomy between Muslim women who wear the hijab as oppressed and Muslim women who do not wear the hijab as liberated. Furthermore, it reinforces the idea that all young girls want the same things, completely ignoring the diversity and richness of Muslim women's
voices and lived experiences.

Yet they're setting up a false dichotomy that it isn't honor killing, it's just domestic abuse. Since traditional feminists are sensitive about language, this seems really lame. Honor killing is a culturally-specific type of domestic violence. How does it help anybody in the situation to ignore that? Feminists typically look at the construction of attitudes in a culture to see what is giving rise to the oppression. I agree that they should be ashamed to call themselves feminist when they throw the welfare of women under the bus for the sake of sensitivity to an oppressive patriarchal culture.

88. 'Child-witches' of Nigeria seek refuge

Comment #282076 by hawt4dawk on November 11, 2008 at 3:26 pm

Hi WP --

Sorry I'm a little late replying to your post. I'm jumping on when I get a minute and that's hardly ever lately...

Oprah is so high-profile and she has her African connections already, what with schools she's established there, and she has her Angel Network (not sure what that is exactly, but it's major charity stuff). She does loads of child endangerment-type shows. Her show would be perfect vehicle.

I wouldn't want to go on TV though. Hopefully, she'll get that Stepping Stone guy mentioned in this article.

This child witch thing is so over-the-top psycho to me -- I just can't get over it. :(

89. 'Child-witches' of Nigeria seek refuge

Comment #282001 by hawt4dawk on November 11, 2008 at 10:21 am

I don't know if this will help, but I sent the article to the producers of the Oprah show and asked them to seriously consider doing a program on it to raise awareness, funds and put political pressure on the Nigerian government and perhaps international agencies as well.

90. What is the role of free will to an atheist?

Comment #281671 by hawt4dawk on November 10, 2008 at 6:27 pm

Since the role of free will is a religious concept, it doesn't apply to non-theists. A better free will question is:

"How does a theist really have free will when they are threatened with eternal torment or permanent spiritual death if they choose not to love/praise/accept or are simply unable to believe in God?"

Outside of a religious context -- or a philosophical one -- "free will" could perhaps be applied to issues of consciousness and its relationship to self-regulation, such as are studied by cognitive scientists and behavioral psychologists.

However, atheists, agnostics, or non-theists, whatever you want to call them are under no obligation to employ religious language to non-religious issues.

edit

91. 'Child-witches' of Nigeria seek refuge

Comment #281652 by hawt4dawk on November 10, 2008 at 6:12 pm

SkepticalThinker31 --

Thanks for the links.

92. Islamic radicals make mockery of hate laws

Comment #281564 by hawt4dawk on November 10, 2008 at 3:54 pm

Goldy -

Thanks for the reply. I can't stay on now. Darned family time! Just kidding. :D BTW, I couldn't get your link to work even by copying and pasting.

I'm not saying the jihadis could win. But they can do a lot of damage, cause physical harm, deaths, property damage and economic harm. They can destroy these young people's lives both in Islamic countries and our own. But, these youths, as Amalthea pointed out on one of her posts, spit at Western women in the streets of her neighborhood right where the event in this article took place.

Well, hope your wife is staying comfortable and getting some sleep. I remember it's pretty hard to get comfortable as you get along. Talk to you soon. :)

93. Islamic radicals make mockery of hate laws

Comment #281557 by hawt4dawk on November 10, 2008 at 3:30 pm

Goldy --

What are 200-odd pimply youths going to do that a bunch of, say, football supporters aren't'

Goldy -- I love your balanced way of looking at things. I think it's vitally important to do that. However, I am concerned because I just read a good deal about WWI and WWII in the past few days and the appeasement of Hitler after he started his expansions and his attack on Czechoslovakia and I shouldn't like anyone underestimate leaders or group with an expansionist agenda who have already taken violent steps toward that agenda.

In answer to your question:

The difference between radical Islamic youth and other angry young men is the focus and organization of the people who would exploit them. What they can do is believe and if they believe they can serve conduits between terrorist organizations through their blogs, or loan their identities, passports, money, or vehicles. They can provide local information, clothes or other Western goods, or or let people crash at their apartments or donate money to terrorist organizations. Just quite apart from blowing themselves up. There is a lot that a pimply stirred-up crowd can do to support bad men. See Hitler Youth for instance.

http://www.memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=SD210908

On November 9, 2008, the London daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi reported, citing "a source close to the Al-Qaeda leadership in Yemen," that Osama bin Laden has ordered a new attack against the U.S. which will be "far greater than the 9/11 attacks." The paper called the source "a former Al-Qaeda commander who is still in touch with... the organization leadership, and who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons." According to the source, the attack is meant "to change the world [both] politically and economically," and is planned for the near future.

94. The 'Great Debate' in Texas

Comment #281549 by hawt4dawk on November 10, 2008 at 3:15 pm

Roger - The Lord helps those who help themselves (to deep pockets).

95. 'Child-witches' of Nigeria seek refuge

Comment #281545 by hawt4dawk on November 10, 2008 at 3:11 pm

Dispatches Special: Saving Africa's Witch Children will be shown on Channel 4 on Wednesday, 12 November, at 9pm

I hope they will post this program on YouTube along with some advice on how to help. This is so truly horrifying. I hope they run something like this in the U.S., too. I think the all money spent in this U.S. election supporting bans on stem cell research, abortion and gay marriage could have been truly helpful in saving these children and stamping out this perversion of Christianity that causes so much suffering.

96. The 'Great Debate' in Texas

Comment #281538 by hawt4dawk on November 10, 2008 at 2:56 pm

2 -- That's depressing. It seems everyday there is some new outrage being presented by religious wackos.

Hi Sev -- (or should I call you Skylark? :) -- It's been a mix of good and bad while I've been away, but we did have a very nice visit with some relatives involving a quick trip to Vermont to enjoy the waning, but still beautiful New England autumn. How've you been, how's our little darling royal cat?

You're right about that marriage stuff. I was quite surprised by Prop 8 results. I went on a bunch of Christian websites to read their arguments against gay marriage and then I read these articles on anthropological studies on marriage and family in different cultures.

http://www.aaanet.org/press/an/0405if-comm4.htm

http://www.aaanet.org/press/an/0405if-comm2.htm

Mordy -- Interesting that it's so near you! I wasn't sure where it was from. My husband stumbled upon it and forwarded it to me.

97. Obama will move to veto Bush laws

Comment #281520 by hawt4dawk on November 10, 2008 at 2:12 pm

2 --

I was really relieved, too. I have finally been won over by Obama after listening to his speeches and doing a little more research. I think if he turns out to be sincere, and can be effective, he could be an excellent president.

I spent a half-day when I was sick zoned out watching clips from the Daily Show and I learned a lot. :)

98. Obama will move to veto Bush laws

Comment #281507 by hawt4dawk on November 10, 2008 at 1:41 pm

Glad the thread has turned to religion so I can interject this:

http://www.marryourdaughter.com/index.php

Can anyone tell me if this is a joke website or for real? In any case, I reported it to the FBI today. I apologized if it was a joke, but said that if it wasn't it presented some serious concerns.

99. Obama will move to veto Bush laws

Comment #281497 by hawt4dawk on November 10, 2008 at 1:11 pm

Hi 2,

It has been awhile. :) How're things?

I like the Daily Show, but I only watch it occasionally online. You think they won't have enough material?

100. The 'Great Debate' in Texas

Comment #281493 by hawt4dawk on November 10, 2008 at 12:47 pm

Kit Finn --

de nada

Fred Phelps is a cultist monster. I think he thinks most Orthodox Christians and Catholics will all burn in hell anyway.