BruceVC

the only way to fight religious extremism is with religion. there are strict rules about going to heaven in islam so if we want to stop these attacks by people who do them because they were promised a spot to heaven for them, is to deny them that spot and the rest will think twice before trying to do the same And how do you do that? The muslim form of excommunication? Which, incidentially means to stone them to death. capture them alive and deny them their religious rights. put them in a prison and feed them pork every day with no permission to go get their sin of eating it absolved by a priest. if they were to die without confessing that sin and getting pardoned for it, it would mean they would go to hell in places where the death penalty exists, execute them by beheading which means instant condemnation to hell. take them to a church and forcefully baptize them christians. leaving islam is the ultimate sin anyway the incompatibility is not about the distinction between state and religion. it's about the laws of western society that promote cultural and religious freedom but at the same time protect the rights of children, women, gays and so on - all groups that have no rights at all in islamic culture. so the question is: where do we draw the line between what law is acceptable to bend in the name of religious freedom and what religious freedom we cull in the name of the law? our law says "one man can marry one woman only" and their culture says "one man can marry as many women as he wants". do we bend the law or do we forbid the cultural practice? our law says "no sex with children" and their culture says "if she is 9 years old you can have sex with her". again what is more important, the law of their cultural freedom? our law says "whoever commits rape goes to jail" and their culture says "if a woman is raped, its her fault for walking around without a man to protect her and should be stoned to death - no punishment for the rapist". same question as above. so, where do we draw the line? are they willing to abide by that line? will they keep asking for the line to be moved more to the side of their culture? how will the lawmakers respond to such requests? are local people ok with them being allowed to do things that are illegal because of cultural freedom? what if local pedos start asking "in the name of culture" to completely remove the laws about sex with children? what if groups or anti gay fanatics of other religions use that bend on some laws as an excuse to push for outlawing gays? social progress is like climbing a very slippery slope and the moment we choose to make even the tiniest step back for anyone's sake, we risk sliding down several hundred years. " feed them pork every day " .... What a truly terrible punishment..can you imagine you had to accept one of these tortues, which one praytell would you choose? Parts of your body covered with boiling oil To be stretched on a Rack To have hot coals poured on your back To eat a bacon and egg sandwich Such choices.....such choices

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-18/bannon-says-he-s-going-to-war-for-trump-after-white-house-exit So Bannon is going to war for Trump.....he mean he hasnt already been?

Firstly I want to recognize the effort you have put into this post, this is exactly the types of posts I wish you always wrote. I am sure I have asked you similar questions before but you never responded in such detail, no matter its more relevant you made this post now Did I tell you I can truly say you taught me at least 3 new ways to look at life and SJ developments in a better more honest way. These new perspectives I gained are nuanced yet relevant to how I look at the greater objectives I strive for in RL I can mention what they are if you interested ?

Where's your proof? volo is one of those members who has this irrational and unfathomable dislike of Obama, he cant really give you a valid reason but tends to generalize so dont take what he says personally or think he actually wants to debate the point in a normal way

volo you were very quiet yesterday.....were you at the protest? Do tell...no judgement here. Which right wing did you associate with, if I had to guess I would say alt-right?

Bennie is this your idea of a joke when you say " German people are afraid of Neo Nazis" ? I know German people typically don't have great sense of humours especially when it comes to joking about themselves so maybe you joking about this comment

Im also watching CNN as one medium of news and I didnt see anything of the helicopter?

.....this sounds like a term created in some misplaced SJ discussion

Im unclear who was injured...people on both sides I imagine I am following this story and its interesting how different groups are descending on Charlottesville for different reasons to keep the statue up....lets see so far we have white surpremicists, white nationalists, neo-nazis, neo-Confederates, militiamen, KKK, alt-rightWho knew there were so many different groups representing the interests of white people....lucky us

And you're surprised? Whats your opinion on taking down of this type of statue? In South Africa there are these irritating movements called " Rhodes must fall " that want to remove all statues and or references to Colonialism or the history of the country. It makes no difference to me in the context of SA but Lee represents part of the history of the South, I can see how some people will see this as an attempt to erase history of white people and get upset And Im not in anyway supporting any kind of white supremacist ideology. I am just saying Lee is not seen by everyone as a symbol of racism or white superiority

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/08/12/542982015/home-to-university-of-virginia-prepares-for-violence-at-white-nationalist-rally Oh my hat...white nationalists, white supremacists ....neo-nazis !!! Its all happening in Virginia and over a statue of Robert E Lee ?

Is that a rhetoric question? Because the "we have to stand together or all is lost" symbolism was a bit on the nose and all. *shrug* I wonder what would have happened if the humans in those cave painting knew that the CotF created the White Wankers in the first place. Guys she doesnt look lethal because she is a 20 young women with a babyface....she is cute and its hard to change her to the point where now she becomes intimidating ? But in the books her appearance would be different and more lethal Also if we going debate the point around physics I would say we have no idea what she is capable of based on the narrative in the books. I will defer to the books on what she can or cant do

Eh, I have war fatigue. Unless they actually fire something at someone, just let them make noise. Dont get me wrong, I absolutely dont want a military intervention around NK, its the last thing most reasonable people want hence the last 30 years of failed attempts to negotiate with NK But Gfted1 I wish there was another option but if you look at the history of NK and how they have constantly ignored attempts to become part of the global community what is the USA suppose to do when there territories are directly threatened ? Yes China should be dealing with NK or at least allowing the Koreas to reunite. Thats what worries them the most IMO, they fear NK and SK uniting once Kim is removed. A united Korea they feel could threaten there hegemony in the region but China must stop being so insecure about there economic dominance

Guys it shouldnt be difficult to imagine Arya defeating someone like Brienne or most people in one on one combat. She was trained at the House of the Faceless Man, she has skills that are not normal and this makes her deadly to most people

*ahem* Cuba? China is still politically a communist country, though economically they've changed a bit. Vietnam and Laos (link goes to Vietnam) are also still politically communist. Though NK is more like a monarchy with communist gears. Come on China isnt Communist .....not in the historical sense at least. Its a one party state, doesnt really care about human rights, controls the media but it has embraced and benefited from a global world and how countries trade with each other. You could argue it has been able to gain all the benefits of Capitalism but has none of the responsibilities that other Western countries have in regards to the principles of a Democracy...like free press and a government beholden to a Constitution But I dont believe the Chinese economic and political model is sustainable so structural changes to how they run there economy are necessary

The whole NK issue is complex and to be fair to Trump he has inherited a problem that no US president in the last 30 years has been able to resolve The Kim dynasty and there rulership of NK is truly an anomaly, they should have ended their interpretation of Communism like every other country at the end of the Cold War. China allowed NK to survive in its truly anachronistic and cruel system of government And now we have this relic from the Cold War that has developed Nuclear technology and thinks its acceptable to constantly threaten the world Whatever happens I want to be unequivocal about who is to blame, its the Kim regime and there intransigence ....this is on them

I miss the left in 2001. Remember when they were all about that class warfare? Oh I remember class warfare. It was as divisive, antagonistic and misplaced back then as it is now You never want to be part of a narrative that can lead either intentionally or unintentionally to "us vs them " mentality. Its unhelpful to a more constructive and conducive positive social environment in any country or culture

Classic

Any evidence of Romance?

Guys can anyone provide confirmation on this question ? I think it was announced at one of last years gaming conventions that it must be mandatory for every RPG going forward to have an element of Romance in the interests of realism. It makes sense as Romance\Emotions is a normal aspect of our physiology so how can you claim its a RPG but not have feelings in your character IMO they should just make it obligatory as part of the character build phase, this way people will accept it and get use to it I love Romance

http://ribsandburgers.com/za/ Im going to this restaurant tomorrow, check the Ribs

Don't have an overly rosy view of military folk.Why is that? I'm curious. Well the idea that just because Kelly is a former Marine isn't going to mean he'll get Trump into shape. Soldiers can be as venal or kiss ass as everyone else, especially at high ranks I would imagine. Then there's the sheep dog and sheep style nonsense but that stuff comes from useless meshback types so not much to be done there No, Kelly won't whip Trump into shape. Only Trump can do that and he does not strike me as the kind of man who oozes self control. And without a doubt all kinds can be found in military uniform. Even the bad kinds. In my own experience they seem to top out at Major and Staff Sergent in the Officer and NCO ranks respectively. One thing the military does better than any other organization I've ever been part of is reward competence and weed out incompetence. If you can rise to the General ranks then you can find your ass with either hand and are probably free of serious character flaws. But I took your comment as more of a general one rather than specifically applying to the current administration. That is why I was curious. I dont expect Kelly to change Trumps behavior, thats not going to happen and Trump studiously continues to do things that are considered controversial But there seem to be many things that are inconsistent at the White House under the Trump presidency. Things like contradictory public comments from different people, the various factions and who has direct access to Trump could be improved I think Kelly will bring discipline and hopefully curtail the chaos and bedlam we sometimes see around certain messages that come from WH And my personal wish is for the Trump presidency to stop blaming and attacking the media ....its unnecessary and just creates hostility and this " us against them " mentality

So Scaramucci is gone ostensibly because of what Kelly requested Lets see how the White House is run under Kelly, he has 45 years service as a Marine and that can surely only improve things around general decorum ?

This is a very good post and again demonstrates your empathy around subjects that most people don't care to understand or would rather just insult You are very consistent and to be honest you don't understand transgender and you never will but that's normal for most people All my gay friends are men or lesbian women, none of them particularly like or associate with transgender, they don't understand some of the transgender views. I have spoken at various gay clubs on principle to transgender people but apart from a courteous hello we didnt chat long Anyway thanks for the military explanation, why would a gay man be threatened in the army in your era, what I mean is he would be physically the same as you and others ?

No transgender people in the military, not sure they were so much of a distraction to affect the combat performance. I think t was more of a cost savings move since gender reassignment surgery was becoming a covered benefit. As much as I abhor discrimination of any stripe the military is a different animal than the rest of society and the rules that apply are different. But I suspect the pols will make much more of this than the story deserves. I believe I read there were less than 10 "transgendered" service members in all four branches. This study from 2014 estimated over 15k, but can't say how accurate it is. "Our estimates suggest that approximately 15,500 transgender individuals are serving on active duty or in the Guard or Reserve forces. We also estimate that there are an estimated 134,300 transgender individuals who are veterans or are retired from Guard or Reserve service." https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/Transgender-Military-Service-May-2014.pdf Another utterly unnecessary and deplorable decision by Trump so he is seen as " the greatest president the USA " has ever seen He cant pass tax reformation, build the wall or repeal Healthcare so lets attack the LGBT community ...the favorite target of bigots and people who are insecure and critical of people different to them And its not enough that someone can fight and die in hellholes like Syria and Iraq as they are patriot ...no now there sexual orientation is suddenly an issue. Its pathetic but at least his supporters now at 38% will continue to say how great he is