2012-03-20, 00:04 | Link #20282 |
Gamilas Falls
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Republic of California
Age: 47
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The old "Godless Commies" business, I think.
It seems more that we just managed to outspend them (or more accurately, force them to try to outspend us to the point where their economic and socio-political system could no longer afford to be in a Cold War with the USA). Gorbichev tried to make the system hold on even at the cost of bowing out of the Cold War, but it the strain had been too much by then, and some of the satelite states and client states wanted out.
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2012-03-20, 00:27 | Link #20283 | |
Shadow of Effilisi
Join Date: Oct 2011
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I also cannot agree with your idea that no abortion necessarily lead to unsustainable number of orphans. For one, there is a chance that the parents who might have aborted the child may still choose to raise him if abortion is not an option. Education and contraception practices already significantly reduce the need of abortion. The ever-lower birth rate in developed countries should increase adoption. Indeed the number of children in public foster care in US has steadily decreased over the years, from over 130k in 2002 to 114k in 2009. A number that is far from a serious burden for the US. Personally I don't have a strong opinion on this. I am leaning towards legalizing abortion of most forms, excepting late term when the fetus has developed past a certain point and the operation is also riskier. |
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2012-03-20, 00:46 | Link #20284 | ||
Love Yourself
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Northeast USA
Age: 38
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We don't even need to get into a rights discussion, though. The mother is alive and cognizant, capable of feeling and thinking. The unborn child, whether you believe them to be alive or not, is unfeeling, unthinking, and unaware of its existence (up until late stages of development). It would not care if it were aborted. Should something like that really be given priority, or even equal footing, with the mother? Quote:
"There is still a chance that the parents who might have aborted the child will choose to raise him" - true, there's always that chance. But having a child is a major burden. If the people having the child are not prepared, this will greatly limit their opportunities in life. If they're in high school, for example, how much harder will it be for them to go to college? If they're in college, will it impair their ability to finish, or go even farther? I don't have any statistics, but I would not be surprised if the majority of young parents who accidentally have a child end up stuck in the lower socioeconomic status bracket of society... because of their child. "Education and contraception practices decreased the need for abortion" - in theory it would, yes. And this is where I also don't understand the Republican/religious right mindset. These people preach abstinence (which statistically has been proven ineffective) and seem anti-contraception. Throw in the desire to ban abortion and it's like they're setting people up to have children when they're not ready. "Lower birth rate should increase adoption" - FALSE. Do you know why birth rates are declining? Because it's frickin' expensive to raise a child! The latest estimate that I heard is that it costs $250,000 to raise a child from ages 1-18. In other words, that number doesn't even account for college. If a parent wants to skimp on their kid then I'm sure the cost could be decreased, but that parent isn't exactly setting their child up for success in doing so. And isn't society better off when children are raised for success?
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2012-03-20, 00:53 | Link #20285 |
Obey the Darkly Cute ...
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Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: On the whole, I'd rather be in Kyoto ...
Age: 67
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I stopped the quote right there because using the term "unborn child" indicates a bias in the commentary, just as "Pro-life" is an inaccurate description of those that oppose abortion. You also have not established that a mass of fetal cells has a "right". Its just an assertion with no validation. It could just as easily be defined as an initial stage of male and female DNA combining, it certainly has no independent viability.
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2012-03-20, 01:03 | Link #20286 |
Komrades of Kitamura Kou
Join Date: Jul 2004
Age: 39
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Some people hold that once the central nervous starts to work, that's when consciousness begins.
If we were speaking of nerve and brain cell activity, that nervous system activity validates any degree of brain activity of conscious thought and appreciation, then the fetus' brain activity realistically starts by the 5th week age of gestation, making that cutoff time scientifically speaking. But again how would you define the existence of consciousness? The capacity for self-awareness is not something automatically observed; the organism in question needs to be able to communicate in some form to the rest of humanity that it has developed self-awareness. We can't exactly assume that the moment the CNS is formed the consciousness of the fetus has already started.
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2012-03-20, 01:05 | Link #20287 | |
blinded by blood
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2012-03-20, 01:11 | Link #20288 | |
Obey the Darkly Cute ...
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Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: On the whole, I'd rather be in Kyoto ...
Age: 67
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2012-03-20, 01:21 | Link #20289 | |
Shadow of Effilisi
Join Date: Oct 2011
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2012-03-20, 01:49 | Link #20291 | |
NYAAAAHAAANNNNN~
Join Date: Nov 2007
Age: 35
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Meanwhile, the American arm makers are laughing their way to the bank when the rest of SEA started buying arms in bulk just in case Vietnam starting fighting southward. If it wasn't China that went South on them first, we would have been in serious trouble.
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2012-03-20, 05:35 | Link #20292 |
books-eater youkai
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Betweem wisdom and insanity
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Of diapers and drugs, Iran's trouble paying bills
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/...82J05N20120320 "Cruel" gunman filmed French school carnage http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/...82I07N20120320 Edit: Outrage prompts U.S. investigation of Florida teen killing http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/...82I17520120320 http://www.cyberpresse.ca/internatio...0_accueil_POS4 So, because of this ''Stand your ground'' law, this guy chase and pursued a young unarmed black than walked under the rain and shoot him in the back in ''self-defence'' and getting away with it. Even without taking the racial factor into acount, that's so wrong I don't know by what to start.
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Last edited by ganbaru; 2012-03-20 at 07:54. |
2012-03-20, 07:52 | Link #20293 |
Obey the Darkly Cute ...
Author
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: On the whole, I'd rather be in Kyoto ...
Age: 67
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After a week of the airwaves in the US being buried in the Afghan soldier's life story who allegedly murdered 16 civilians in their homes, mostly women and children -- *one* US news organization decides to find out about the victims. :P Naturally, it isn't Fox or any of the corporate commercial news pieces.
http://www.npr.org/2012/03/20/148974...ooting-rampage Spoiler for Uh, yeah, the 16 victims were people were in their homes spending the last few minutes of their lives being terrorized by the perpetrator.:
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2012-03-20, 11:12 | Link #20294 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2009
Location: classified
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Police Handcuff NBC Chicago Photojournalist http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local...143105086.html This was just "brilliant" on the part of the cop: "Your First Amendment rights can be terminated if you're creating a scene or whatever," the officer said. Father's outrage as TSA subjects his wheelchair-bound three-year-old son to humiliating search... on his way to Disney http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...s-Chicago.html
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2012-03-20, 11:40 | Link #20295 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2006
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Dude arrested and prosecuted for malicious tweets.
Heh heh, twitterpolice in action...only in America. Wait... it's in the UK?? Spoiler for the tweets in question:
To be fair, the dude is a douche and got what he deserved, but I don't think this kinda thing is a matter for the police.
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Last edited by Jaden; 2012-03-20 at 14:48. |
2012-03-20, 12:30 | Link #20296 | |
Not Enough Sleep
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: R'lyeh
Age: 48
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2012-03-20, 13:30 | Link #20298 | ||
Obey the Darkly Cute ...
Author
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: On the whole, I'd rather be in Kyoto ...
Age: 67
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TSA: bringing you pretend security theater since 2001, a production of the Homeland Insecurity Administration
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current affairs, discussion, international |
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