Here is your misunderstanding: You are NOT paying to be taught by a teacher. You are paying for the opportunity to learn and demonstrate mastery of a subject. That is all on you. To facilitate this process, you are armed with an instructor, tutors, a library, your peers in and outside of the classrom.
I can't really comment on why an atheist (outside of the legal benefits) would want to be married anyway.. if they do, they must have some kind of spirtiual concept behind it and can use that to guide them.
Being a married atheist, I can speak to that. I got married to symbolize my commitment and dedication to my wife. Spirituality had nothing to do with it.
First of all, "the story goes" doesn't really constitute proof that Khalid invented coffee. Secondly, the first primate to think of dipping leaves/berries into warm water and drinking it should be credited as the actual inventor. Alas, that creature was probably not a Muslim. Some of the entries on the list are really stretching it.
Yes, and if Ebola mutates into a form that doesn't kill the host quite so rapidly, and is transmitted by sneezing, coughing, exhaling, then we'll all die from that. Am I the only one here who is sick and tired of the fear-mongering surrounding this stupid bird flu??? Christ, I'm ready for it to come already so people will STFU about it.
A few questions I have about these type of statements. Who decides what a child's developmental needs are? Are their educational needs being met by our public school system?
If I quit stamp collecting, there is no physical withdrawls, now is there?
So, don't quit using the drugs.
I don't physically NEED to collect stamps, nor is it altering my brain chemistry.
Altering brain chemistry isn't necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it happens all the time. The reason psyhotropic drugs have an effect on the brain is that our brain naturally operates on psychotropic drugs (albeit different ones). Going without sleep or taking OTC pills or even eating certain foods alter brain chemistry.
But heroin remains the most addictive drug around (besides perhaps methamphetimines), and it can still (no matter how pure) lead to a social burden.
I believe that barbiturates are actually the most addictive drug, and the most difficult to kick --- you actually need medical assistance doing it, or you'll die. Anyway, many people have fed an opiate (morphine) addiction and led relatively normal lives. Besides, the social burden of heroin addicts pales in comparison with the legions of unemployed and underemployed citizens.
Your average junky is just a tool who is to weak to live life as it is.
Your average dancer, sports fan, extreme athlete, poker player, movie afficionado, stamp collector is to weak to live life as it is. Who are you to condemn someone's choice of escapism?
Unless what you put into your own body causes you to lose self-control, and results in a powerful and crippling addiction that makes you a burden on your community instead of a contributor to your community, and drives you to antisocial acts such as burglary, theft, and assault, in order to put more of whatever it is into your body. [emphasis mine]
This is the same kind of lame argument used by people who support stricter penalties for hate crimes (as opposed to love crimes), siffer penalties for crimes committed electronically, and so on. How about we simply punish the person for the crime they actually committed rather than examining incidentals like whether it was drug-fueled, conducted electronically, or whatever. If someone wants to be strung out on dope, and they don't make a nuisance of themselves, let 'em. If they commit a crime, arrest them, prosecute them, and punish them accordingly. Our current drug laws are an undisguised attempt to impose morality on the masses.
You do know what you're suggesting, right? That we should have let Hitler have Europe, let Hussein continue murdering thousands and have Kuwait, let 3rd world countries suffer under tyranny, and let the terrorists keep killing innocents and building up armies.
Do you honestly believe for one second that our government (or any other) is acting out of altruism? That's a little naive, don't you think? There are corporate dollars at stake, and that is the chief consideration of the predators in charge. We could act in a hundred different ways to minimize loss of life, but we don't do it --- not if it conflicts with profit.
Okay. Give a mathematical description of thirst. Please limit yourself to standard mathematical notation and definitions.
Hell, even mathematical objects are imprecise and open to multiple interpretations. Try to give a definition of a set. Every language has undefined (hence, imprecise) terms.
Just what the hell is that supposed to mean? A language is a protocol for communicating ideas. Protocols are designed by experts. If everyone contributes to the changing language, then people no longer speak the same language, and hence misunderstand the ideas that are to be conveyed.
Have you ever considered the possibility that for our current economic system to work, there MUST be a class of the unemployed? This keeps wages down, and keeps wage-slaves from making demands on their employers. Things are not as simple as "Get a job, bum!"
And maybe if the wealthy would pay a goddamned wage that someone could earn a living on, the poor wouldn't have to steal. But, as the saying goes, steal $10, you are a thief; steal $1,000,000, you are a businessman.
Here's a better one. When you listen to music, you are making a temporary copy in your brain, a clear violation of the DMCA. Therefore, music can only be played when everyone within listening range is equipped with ear plugs.
So you are whining about semantics because your parents don't approve of the way you waste your time?
I'm reminded of a time when I was about 10 years old, riding from a gas station/bait & tackle shop with my grandfather. I had just purchased a comic book. He asked, "Why are you wasting your money? Don't you have enough of those comic books?" To which I replied, "You just bought a fishing lure, and you already have a box full of them. Don't you have enough of them?" He didn't say another word to me for several hours.
Ah yes, our ever-evolving language. The meanings of nouns are being permuted at the speed of light, so that the only way to understand what anyone is talking about is to go backwards in time.;)
Also, say good-bye to the days of lending your friend a game, or selling/giving one away second hand.
I'm nearly at the point of saying good-bye to the days of playing a game on the computer. When the day comes that I can't obtain a physical copy of a game, music, film or software is the day I'll cease buying them altogether.
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Here is your misunderstanding: You are NOT paying to be taught by a teacher. You are paying for the opportunity to learn and demonstrate mastery of a subject. That is all on you. To facilitate this process, you are armed with an instructor, tutors, a library, your peers in and outside of the classrom.
When I go to a football game, I'll be damned if I don't get to decide which team wins at an event I am paying for.
Grow up.
I can't really comment on why an atheist (outside of the legal benefits) would want to be married anyway.. if they do, they must have some kind of spirtiual concept behind it and can use that to guide them.
Being a married atheist, I can speak to that. I got married to symbolize my commitment and dedication to my wife. Spirituality had nothing to do with it.
So, atheists shouldn't be allowed to marry? Or are you suggesting that they engage in some voodoo ceremony they don't really believe in?
First of all, "the story goes" doesn't really constitute proof that Khalid invented coffee. Secondly, the first primate to think of dipping leaves/berries into warm water and drinking it should be credited as the actual inventor. Alas, that creature was probably not a Muslim. Some of the entries on the list are really stretching it.
Yes, and if Ebola mutates into a form that doesn't kill the host quite so rapidly, and is transmitted by sneezing, coughing, exhaling, then we'll all die from that. Am I the only one here who is sick and tired of the fear-mongering surrounding this stupid bird flu??? Christ, I'm ready for it to come already so people will STFU about it.
A few questions I have about these type of statements. Who decides what a child's developmental needs are? Are their educational needs being met by our public school system?
If I quit stamp collecting, there is no physical withdrawls, now is there?
So, don't quit using the drugs.
I don't physically NEED to collect stamps, nor is it altering my brain chemistry.
Altering brain chemistry isn't necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it happens all the time. The reason psyhotropic drugs have an effect on the brain is that our brain naturally operates on psychotropic drugs (albeit different ones). Going without sleep or taking OTC pills or even eating certain foods alter brain chemistry.
But heroin remains the most addictive drug around (besides perhaps methamphetimines), and it can still (no matter how pure) lead to a social burden.
I believe that barbiturates are actually the most addictive drug, and the most difficult to kick --- you actually need medical assistance doing it, or you'll die. Anyway, many people have fed an opiate (morphine) addiction and led relatively normal lives. Besides, the social burden of heroin addicts pales in comparison with the legions of unemployed and underemployed citizens.
Your average junky is just a tool who is to weak to live life as it is.
Your average dancer, sports fan, extreme athlete, poker player, movie afficionado, stamp collector is to weak to live life as it is. Who are you to condemn someone's choice of escapism?
Not a bad idea.
The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws.
-- Cornelius Tacitus
Charles Fort strikes again.
Unless what you put into your own body causes you to lose self-control, and results in a powerful and crippling addiction that makes you a burden on your community instead of a contributor to your community, and drives you to antisocial acts such as burglary, theft, and assault, in order to put more of whatever it is into your body. [emphasis mine]
This is the same kind of lame argument used by people who support stricter penalties for hate crimes (as opposed to love crimes), siffer penalties for crimes committed electronically, and so on. How about we simply punish the person for the crime they actually committed rather than examining incidentals like whether it was drug-fueled, conducted electronically, or whatever. If someone wants to be strung out on dope, and they don't make a nuisance of themselves, let 'em. If they commit a crime, arrest them, prosecute them, and punish them accordingly. Our current drug laws are an undisguised attempt to impose morality on the masses.
cheaper labor means a cheaper product
Ha. Ha ha ha. Haaaa ha haaaaa ha hee hee heeee. Good one!!
You do know what you're suggesting, right? That we should have let Hitler have Europe, let Hussein continue murdering thousands and have Kuwait, let 3rd world countries suffer under tyranny, and let the terrorists keep killing innocents and building up armies.
Do you honestly believe for one second that our government (or any other) is acting out of altruism? That's a little naive, don't you think? There are corporate dollars at stake, and that is the chief consideration of the predators in charge. We could act in a hundred different ways to minimize loss of life, but we don't do it --- not if it conflicts with profit.
Just call 9/11 a gasoline tax. If you want to stop terrorist acts at home, it's real simple. Stop playing the global bully.
Okay. Give a mathematical description of thirst. Please limit yourself to standard mathematical notation and definitions.
Hell, even mathematical objects are imprecise and open to multiple interpretations. Try to give a definition of a set. Every language has undefined (hence, imprecise) terms.
What they don't realise is language changes.
Just what the hell is that supposed to mean? A language is a protocol for communicating ideas. Protocols are designed by experts. If everyone contributes to the changing language, then people no longer speak the same language, and hence misunderstand the ideas that are to be conveyed.
Have you ever considered the possibility that for our current economic system to work, there MUST be a class of the unemployed? This keeps wages down, and keeps wage-slaves from making demands on their employers. Things are not as simple as "Get a job, bum!"
And maybe if the wealthy would pay a goddamned wage that someone could earn a living on, the poor wouldn't have to steal. But, as the saying goes, steal $10, you are a thief; steal $1,000,000, you are a businessman.
Here's a better one. When you listen to music, you are making a temporary copy in your brain, a clear violation of the DMCA. Therefore, music can only be played when everyone within listening range is equipped with ear plugs.
I'd like to see The Illuminatus Trilogy by Shea & Wilson.
So you are whining about semantics because your parents don't approve of the way you waste your time?
I'm reminded of a time when I was about 10 years old, riding from a gas station/bait & tackle shop with my grandfather. I had just purchased a comic book. He asked, "Why are you wasting your money? Don't you have enough of those comic books?" To which I replied, "You just bought a fishing lure, and you already have a box full of them. Don't you have enough of them?" He didn't say another word to me for several hours.
Ah yes, our ever-evolving language. The meanings of nouns are being permuted at the speed of light, so that the only way to understand what anyone is talking about is to go backwards in time. ;)
What stigma?
Bridge, poker, chess, pool are all games played by adults.
And if the adults aren't playing the games of football, basketball, hockey, baseball, etc. then they are watching other people play those games.
Games don't carry a stigma. They are at least as old as mankind.
Also, say good-bye to the days of lending your friend a game, or selling/giving one away second hand.
I'm nearly at the point of saying good-bye to the days of playing a game on the computer. When the day comes that I can't obtain a physical copy of a game, music, film or software is the day I'll cease buying them altogether.