News Stories

[Jinto]

Originally Posted by Sinestra

I guarantee if these people were starving their little pointless argument would go right out the window while they licking their chops. If you can kill it then you can eat it. Just because humanity has labeled these animals pets does not change the fact that they are still animals.

And humans labeled humans as humans, they are animals too.. mammals of the species homo sapiens sapiens to be precise. Your logic is broken beyond repair. If you talked about culture (socialization) and emotional bonds it would have made more sense.

[AnimeFan188]

It looks like the Roppongi district has fallen into disrepute.

See:

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-a...,5351097.story

[cors8]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35083861...-more_politics

Carrying around a hidden camera is one thing but who told these guys trying to tap a Senator's phone would be a good idea?

[Haruka_Kitten]

Originally Posted by cors8

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35083861...-more_politics

Carrying around a hidden camera is one thing but who told these guys trying to tap a Senator's phone would be a good idea?

1 person did, the idiot himself.

[bbqsauced]

Originally Posted by monir

It simply means the average Americans will be forced to make decision out of their own interest rather than what the people in the magical box with gazillion of color pixel are stating. In the same breath I believe I need to mention that president Bush was elected... TWICE. The future is indeed looking bleak.

While some people know how to avoid it, the media still has a massive sway on people's opinion. I'd say the majority of Americans don't actually form an opinion in their own interest that isn't somehow influenced by some form of media which is then in turn controlled by a large corporation. The whole Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision is just another step that makes this situation much, much worse.

At least the internet is the one place where you can attempt to do some research on your own, but you still have to be careful. If net neutrality fails somehow, we are all royally screwed.

[Nosauz]

well if you look at the gullibility of americans, they still believe apples are superior computers than pc's, yet they use the same or inferior parts... methinks the public is not ready for this, but I'll just say this if our corporate overlords are listening, please spare me I'll be the perfect corproate shill yes man you want, because I know how to play the game.

[mg1942]

Originally Posted by cors8

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35083861...-more_politics

Carrying around a hidden camera is one thing but who told these guys trying to tap a Senator's phone would be a good idea?

this is going to suck for fox news... these people are treated as heroes.

[synaesthetic]

Originally Posted by mikita

Pretty sure it's more the mindset: "if I have alot of kids, they'll be able to support me (by working) later on"
or "if I have a lot of kids it'll increase the chance of some surviving and supporting me later on"
or yeah maybe just they didn't plan on it.. -_-

Actually it's worse. The more kids they pop out, the more the government holds their hands. They get more back from taxes, they get more food stamps, they get more welfare (up to a certain point).

As an unemployed and homeless single person I have not received anywhere near the financial and employment assistance that people with dependent children have.

[Kamui4356]

Originally Posted by mg1942

this is going to suck for fox news... these people are treated as heroes.

They can still spin it. Let's see here... Those guys weren't trying to break any laws by illegally wiretapping the senator. They're historical reenactors. Reenacting Watergate. But couldn't find anyone in the Watergate itself, so they tried the senate. The evil liberal media is persecuting these patriotic Americans for their hobbies. Next thing you know they'll be going after Civil War reenactors too. When will this madness stop?

[justinstrife]

Originally Posted by Nosauz

well if you look at the gullibility of americans, they still believe apples are superior computers than pc's, yet they use the same or inferior parts... methinks the public is not ready for this, but I'll just say this if our corporate overlords are listening, please spare me I'll be the perfect corproate shill yes man you want, because I know how to play the game.

Ohhhh now you've gone and done it. All the Apple and PC fanbois are going to come out in force and shut down this forum now.

[justinstrife]

Originally Posted by Sinestra

I guarantee if these people were starving their little pointless argument would go right out the window while they licking their chops. If you can kill it then you can eat it. Just because humanity has labeled these animals pets does not change the fact that they are still animals.

Most people I know wouldn't eat their pets. I know I wouldn't. Even as a means to surviving. My cats are part of my family. Of course, the fact that a good portion of my family isn't worth the air they breath, might make me a bit bias. I'll kill a dog or cat that threatens my home or my family. But I won't kill one just to eat.

[ChainLegacy]

Originally Posted by Armored Knight

Eating birds of prey, cats, dogs and those dirty pigs is disgusting and unhealthy.

Cow, sheep, deer, gazelle, camels and goat meat is something good to eat. Sheep meet is my favourite and gazelle is the best but it is too expensive.

I'm pretty sure you're just talking out of your ass here... Meat can be divided for its different nutritional benefits but what you'll find is simple fat and protein level differences as well as different nutrient levels. Nothing unhealthy about eating other predatory animals, we're the top of the food chain after all.

As for eating dogs; I might if I were starving but the main difference I see between eating a cow vs a dog is that cows were bred to be food producers whereas dogs are hardwired into the 'partner' kind of role. Still not a particularly strong argument but as a dog lover I needed to throw something out there,

[Xellos-_^]

Originally Posted by ChainLegacy

I'm pretty sure you're just talking out of your ass here... Meat can be divided for its different nutritional benefits but what you'll find is simple fat and protein level differences as well as different nutrient levels. Nothing unhealthy about eating other predatory animals, we're the top of the food chain after all.

As for eating dogs; I might if I were starving but the main difference I see between eating a cow vs a dog is that cows were bred to be food producers whereas dogs are hardwired into the 'partner' kind of role. Still not a particularly strong argument but as a dog lover I needed to throw something out there,

but in china they are bred for food for thousands of years.

[ChainLegacy]

That I was not aware of, so there really isn't any reason for the ban.

[LynnieS]

Originally Posted by LynnieS

Back to the U.S. style of politics... Obama to seek freeze on part of the budget

It now looks like the spin is coming out for this. Unfortunately, this Huffington Post editorial by Biden's chief economist is fairly long on rhetoric but short of working details. The upcoming State of the Union address today by Barack Obama may have more information; the recent NBC/WSJ poll should be having his speech writers and analysts working on some concrete proposals to be given then. That should hopefully give some direction on how things will likely go this year. I'm definitely looking forward to it.

[TinyRedLeaf]

A few regional political stories that may otherwise slip under the radar.

Myanmar hints at Suu Kyi release in November

Yangon, Myanmar (Jan 25): Myanmar's military government may be planning to release pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi later this year, say reports from the country.

Myanmar's home minister reportedly said Ms Suu Kyi would be freed when her current period of house arrest expires, which is scheduled for November. Critics say, however, that the junta intends to detain her until after planned elections, which are due this year even though no date has yet been set.

Myanmarese officials have hinted many times that Ms Suu Kyi may be released, but this is the first time in recent months that a putative date has been attached to the idea.

Ms Suu Kyi's detention was extended by 18 months last August, over an incident in which an American man swam, uninvited, to her lakeside home. If she is released in November, key questions remain about the terms of her possible freedom.

- BBC NEWS

HK lawmakers quit in push for democracy

Hong Kong (Jan 26): Five pro-democracy legislators in Hong Kong have resigned their seats in a bid to pressure Beijing for full democracy.

The group says the resulting by-election will serve as a referendum on universal suffrage in the territory. Democrats want full direct elections by 2012 — several years ahead of the timetable set by China's government.

But some pro-Beijing lawmakers have already said they will boycott the by-elections, making it harder for the polls to be seen as a legitimate vote on the importance of democracy.

Analysts say the resignation plan highlights the deep divide in Hong Kong politics. Currently, only half of Hong Kong's legislators are directly elected; the rest are chosen by special interest groups, most of whom are pro-Beijing.

Under British rule for more than 150 years, the territory was returned to China in 1997 under a special agreement that promised to retain Western-style practices. The Basic Law, Hong Kong's mini-constitution, stipulates that the legislative council should eventually be elected by universal suffrage — but this will only happen by 2020 at the earliest.

Recent opinion polls show tepid public support for actions by pro-democracy groups.

- BBC NEWS

Up against the Great Firewall of China

BY SIM CHI YIN

EACH time Web portal executive Li (not his real name) receives an e-mail from his political masters telling him to remove certain posts and articles, he curses under his breath — and then immediately carries out the orders.

Heavy-handed — and tightening — censorship was a key reason cited by international cyber giant Google for possibly quitting China, the world's largest Internet market. But it is a daily reality for the thousands of fresh-faced Chinese who work in China's "Silicon Valley", Zhongguancun, in west Beijing.

Mostly graduates of top local universities, many struggle with the sort of "schizophrenia" Li professes to have: yearning for free flow of information but having to block an ever-growing list of "sensitive" words and content.

Even as United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made a loud call for global Internet freedom last Thursday, foreign Internet companies in China, including Google, play by the same rules as local firms — for sheer survival.

Beijing-based technology analyst Kaiser Kuo noted: "There's widespread acceptance of it. It's just how business is done here."

While some two thirds of Chinese surveyed in January 2008 in a University of Maryland poll said they "should have the right to read whatever is on the Internet", another poll by the Pew Research Centre in the United States and the official Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, published in the same year, showed that more than 80 per cent of respondents thought the Internet should be managed or controlled.

Said Mr Kuo: "Many in China who appear cosmopolitan and are perhaps even Western-educated still accept the argument that throwing open the floodgates and allowing a fully free Internet could destabilise society."

Mr Lin Jun, author of a new book on the history of the Internet in China, disagreed. "Information flow really cannot be blocked," he said. "People who have higher aspirations for more information can always fan qiang." This is a Chinese netizens' term for "scaling the wall", by using software and Web-based proxies.

Indeed, Li and other reluctant cogs in the machine plod on with a resigned optimism. "Ordinary Chinese are getting smarter. We use homonyms to mock officials' words until they are embarrassed to use those same terms," he said.

"Anyway, good things live on for a longer time. Bad things die off."

- THE STRAITS TIMES

Sri Lanka on edge after polls

Colombo (Jan 27): President Mahinda Rajapakse has taken the lead in Sri Lanka's tense election, officials said today, but the opposition said it was on course for power despite a row over its candidate's eligibility.

Election officials said Mr Rajapakse, who is being challenged by his former army chief, Mr Sarath Fonseka, had won over 60 per cent of the vote with about one tenth of the ballots counted.

The winner is set to be announced around 12pm local time (0630 GMT) today.

The island nation's presidential vote, held yesterday, was the first since Mr Rajapakse and Mr Fonseka engineered the final defeat of Tamil Tiger separatists last year after three decades of civil war.

The campaign's vitriolic nature, coupled with warnings by the opposition of protests, fraud and state-backed coups, had raised fears that the loser might reject the result and foment new unrest instead of a peace dividend.

- AFP

[monir]

Originally Posted by justinstrife

And Obama was elected in 2008. What's your point?

Are we seriously comparing Obama to Bush now? I didn't take you for a baka.... Unlike the previous two election, this one was decisive. And you entirely missed or ignored (probably the latter) the point of that post. I didn't think I missed my point. Thank the deuce I read Vexx, bqsauced and couple of other follow up comments cause otherwise I would've been a bit down by this sort of remarks. And besides the mess we have put ourselves into is going to take a lot of doing even if the messiah himself was the president.

The one criticism that I fully agree with is that this president isn't very assertive. His inexperience in the political field is probably one of the reason that explains the lacking.

[justinstrife]

Originally Posted by monir

Are we seriously comparing Obama to Bush now? I didn't take you for a baka.... Unlike the previous two election, this one was decisive. And you entirely missed or ignored (probably the latter) the point of that post. I didn't think I missed my point. Thank the deuce I read Vexx, bqsauced and couple of other follow up comments cause otherwise I would've been a bit down by this sort of remarks. And besides the mess we have put ourselves into is going to take a lot of doing even if the messiah himself was the president.

The one criticism that I fully agree with is that this president isn't very assertive. His inexperience in the political field is probably one of the reason that explains the lacking.

I'm the Baka? Don't even get me started on what he's done and what he's been doing just in his first year. He makes Bush look George Washington-est. And that's SAYING SOMETHING.

[monir]

Originally Posted by justinstrife

I'm the Baka? Don't even get me started on what he's done and what he's been doing just in his first year. He makes Bush look George Washington-est. And that's SAYING SOMETHING.

A valid comparison between the two would be after he concludes his first term. Until then, stay tuned. It's easy to get into shits. Getting out is where it takes patience and perseverance which we generally lack.

[justinstrife]

Originally Posted by monir

A valid comparison between the two would be after he concludes his first term. Until then, stay tuned. It's easy to get into shits. Getting out is where it takes patience and perseverance which we generally lack.

The fact that he spent months blowing off his Generals on the war in Afghanistan and Iraq should tell you all you need to know. He's the Commander in Chief for cryingoutloud.

Just ask our armed forces how they view his first year.