Hurlshort

Is D referring to Germany? They didn't try to take over the world twice. World War 1 was a war between France and Germany that blossomed into something bigger. The German goals were the same as they were in 1879, when Germany beat France. It was a border dispute. Also, Napoleon was closer to taking over the world than Hitler, and he was French.

Actually, I think that was a suggestion for the ringtone. I prefer the peasant "Wot is it?"

They aren't making it "illegal", they are just allowing it to be considered in a civil case. It's now comparable to loud music and untended garbage. You can feel free to let your garbage pile up in your own yard all you want, but your neighbor can pursue compensation for having to put up with all your junk. Also, owning property doesn't give you the right to do whatever you want on said property. There are also different types of property. The argument that a business owner should be able to do whatever they want on their commercial property is a tough one. You have to follow stricter guidelines in a commercial zone than you do in a residential zone. There are also benefits to owning commercial land, but you are expected to serve the community in some function.

This was a cool link I found when reading the story. http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/s...000/2956618.stm

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060826/ap_on_...civil_smoking_2 This is pretty interesting. Other nuisances include loud music and untended garbage, and I agree that smoke belongs on that list. Personally, I'm fairly allergic to smoke, so the small bothers me terribly. We have a neighbor who smokes, but he practically heads out to the street to do so. I've thanked him a few times for this, because it really is very courteous. Is legislation like this stepping over the line?

Our first trial didn't work, but we have a pretty bad connection where we live. I'll try it later today with better cell phone coverage.

Well, that's all well and good for some folks, but immigrants that come from 3rd world countries don't have the same opportunity to learn a language that you do. Have you ever been to a shanty town? It's not very conducive to education. Most of these immigrant are more concerned with getting their families to a place where they can actually have a decent standard of living. And that's a fantastic thing about our country, because this happens every day. My wife's grandmother brought her sons to the US. She couldn't speak English, but her sons learned and now they are all doing very well for themselves. One went back to Mexico with the mother and became a professor at a college, and the others are raising families in America. Surprisingly, my wife never even learned Spanish, despite her father's fluency. He didn't think it was important.

I just found out an amazing trick for if you lock your keys in your car. This only works on cars with the remotes that unlock doors, but if someone else has the remote, they can unlock the door through your cell phone. Let me go step by step here: 1. Call whoever has your remote. 2. Have them hold the remote up to the phone, and hold your phone close to the door. 3. When they hit unlock, it should unlock the door, even if they are a 1000 miles away! My wife and I plan on trying it tomorrow. It's something I never would have thought of, and I tend to lock my keys in my car at least once a year.

I think eventually the mentality of the Middle East will change. It may be another century or two, but Islam is a young religion and it's going through the same cycles that Christianity went through. Currently, leaders of many Middle Eastern countries are using their religion to promote violence against non-believers. The Catholic Church did the exact same thing with the Crusades. Christian Warriors went the the Middle East to purge the holy land of heathens. Now Muslim warriors seek to do the same. Eventually, I hope that true religious leaders will step up and realize that this battle is killing Islam. The big problem is that war is much more destructive today than it was during the crusades. Islam is a beautiful religion, and I hope it will find peace soon. The greater jihad is the battle within oneself. The lesser jihad is against the enemies of Islam. If powerful muslims start worrying more about the greater jihad, I believe a shift in methodology is inevitable.

We should be pushing to have more languages learned, not less. I remember hearing that most students in Europe know 2-3 languages by the time they reach High School (or whatever it's called in Europe.) Most of my students handle multiple languages easily. Also, everybody needs to understand that schools still teach English. As much as everyone loves to bash public education in America, I've never seen a child come up through the system without learning basic English, no matter what they hear at home. This whole "Spanish threat" is just another attempt at raising fears over immigration. Do people think this is a new issue? The US has been a beacon of immigration for centuries. There is this fear that American Culture will be wiped out by Mexicans, but we've had huge influxes of people before. Should we wipe out Little Italy? America's culture is many cultures COMBINED. It's also not stagnant, it's ever-changing. People seriously need to look at our past before judging what's best for the future.

I've been a teacher in California for a good number of years, and this is terribly inaccurate. First off, what was this granddaughter looking to teach? Where was she looking to do so? If she is teaching early grades in a predominantly latino district, she will need to know Spanish in order to teach the students English. That's not a requirement, it's just a fact of life. Secondly, all new teachers are required to take ESL courses, which stands for English as a Second Language. If older teachers do not take part in the necessary coursework to clear their credential, then they can lose it. It's not a great system, but the course is a 7-day one that can be done over the summer, and most school districts cover the cost. ESL courses do not require knowledge of Spanish, it actually covers any language. Many of my students speak Chinese and Korean. The classes teach you how to deal with ELL, or English Language Learners. Some of the teachers I work with refuse to do this, but they are very close to retirement as is. They recieved a waiver for this year and plan on retiring at the end of the year. Qualified teachers don't need to speak Spanish to get a job in California. 60% of the workforce will be leaving teaching in the next 5 years, through either retirement or choice, so jobs are plentiful. This whole email smells very much like an anti-immigration push. The fact is the US is built on immigrants. English is not our "official" language because we are defined as Americans by so much more. California has always been a melting pot of many languages and cultures, and it belongs to Mexican Americans as much as anyone else.

I had my first Regular season game in Superstar mode of Madden. I'm the rookie starting QB for the Chargers. I'm playing it pure, which means I sit and watch the defense and only throw the ball. I was impressive, with 395 yards in the air and 3 TD throws, but we lost by a field goal to the Raiders (34-31). My defense stinks, I think they made one stop the entire game. I also pulled ahead with 54 seconds left, and my defense still couldn't hold them. With 12 seconds left I went for a hail mary and actually completed it. We went for a 50 yard field goal to tie it, but fell short.

Excellent game, particularly the homage to Monty Python. It's really what I consider the conclusion of the series, as 5 took itself too seriously and was confusing as well.

It works on the original. I don't own Gold either, and it worked fine.

We had a pretty decent conversation going about the 1.13 mod in another thread. I started a new game and was blown away by the improvements. I was having a total blast, but I eventually ran across a few game crashing bugs. I wasn't frustrated though, the fact is it's a blast to play. I've never been bored playing JA2. Even though my game ended abruptly, I still got another 30 hours of entertainment from this gem.

Pistols are great at close range for head shots. They take few enough AP's, so you can dispatch with the enemy quickly.

You know, I was playing Civ4 and the UN passed that non nuke measure. I kept looking for a way to do it secretly. Dang game...it's nothing like reality.

Going to court over GTA and Janet's boobie are a long way from religious fundamentalism. While the US is conservative, it's still much more open-minded and tolerant than many other places in the world. There is also always an ebb and flow when it comes to social progress (although opponents would call is regression.)

The camera angle for QB is super hard. You really can't see downfield well at all. But again, I think it's just a matter of getting used to it.

The US isn't going to just give up its position as a superpower, and having a buttload of nukes is the literal definition of superpower. You see, people hate the US. Sure, the major reason that people hate the US is because they are a superpower. The problem is, if the US decides to stop acting like a superpower and start being superfriendly, they still might leave themselves open for an attack. It's just unrealistic. Oh, and Iran is a religious state. History has shown how violent it can be to have powerful religious states. Most modern countries got that way because they separated church and state. Iran is dangerous, and much more prone to zealotry than the US or even China.

I've seen a lot of footage on Gears of War. It looks pretty, but I'm not sure how effective it will really be. It reminds me of a dressed up Winback (which was a good game!)

I got it for my 360, and it is pretty sweet. I've been trying the Superstar mode, and I love the whole concept, but I'm struggling a bit. When playing Superstar, you only control the one player. So if you are a RB, you only take part in the offense, which means you watch a chunk of the game. I don't mind that, as they speed it up well, but the camera angle is a bit tough. You play it in a 3rd person perspective, instead of the traditional camera pulled back. It is difficult, but I think I just need to keep practicing so I can get a handle on it.

The mission maps are pretty big, with quite a few buildings to climb around and explode. The random ones are small.

I don't see faith as a cop out at all. I'm not quite sure what you mean by that. My faith derives from what I see around me and the emotions I feel. I am appreciative of this beautiful planet. I'm thankful for my loving family and friends. This is what gives me faith in a higher power. I show my respect for that higher power by trying to live a positive life and by helping others. It isn't always easy, being selfish and irresponsible is easier, but at the end of the day I'm glad when I make the positive choices, and I imagine at the end of my life, I will still feel that way.

Well, being that God is omniscient and omnipresent, time is irrelevant. The Bible was written by many men. There is not even a claim that it is the direct word of God, as the Qu'ran claims. It is a book of faith, it is a book on living well. Reading the Bible and following the rules explicitely will not get you into heaven. The only thing that remains consistent in all forms of Christianity, and many other religions, is the need for faith. If you have it, you don't have to answer to anyone else.