I've been a guest of Mr. Castro and his government several times in Cuba. Those who haven't been there and know the country only from nonsense U.S. propaganda would be wise to hold their tongues when wishing to comment on that which they know nothing.
Alexandre states the truth here -- Mr. Castro is one of the most intelligent leaders the world has and surpasses anyone elected in the rest of the Americas in that regard for a very long time.
Mice are more pleasant than humans, so I say let the mice run free and start testing nasty chemicals and amusing surgeries on celebrities and politicians.
I'll take that as a 'no', then, f8xmulder.
Those poor, downtrodden high school bigots, it's so very sad that no-one allows them to express their hatred and intolerance as loudly as they're used to in their vile little churches.
Christmas Evil is without doubt the best seasonal film ever made. It makes all the shit we had to put up with as kids almost worthwhile.
Chimney rappelling, while interesting, will never compare.
Yeah, that freedom of speech sure got busted down. Of course, had the t-shirts read "your imaginary jesus is a baby-raper" and been tossed out of the school, you'd have posted the same comment, wouldn't you?
The first article was interesting, but more of the same sort of school dress code/religious freedom to be bigots/anti-queer sloganeering by morons debate we've become accustomed to seeing. I'll be happier when prejudiced people have much less interest in their biases and begin that little journey toward decency.
The second article I'm still going over, and cultural differences in gender and sexuality struggles always fascinate me.
StoreyBored: buy a map, but not at Walmart.
rocket88: I'm not asking for your estimation of others to be raised or lowered. Shopping at Walmart has consequences. If you think the consequences are beneficial to society and the planet, or if you just don't care, you're either stupid or insane. Don't agree? That's fine by me. The 'personal sacrifice' you address amuse me. Those poor dribblers, asking them to be responsible is such a chore....
And, only stupid, insane buffoons wear tube socks.
"You obviously don't live out in the country. Yes, there are indeed areas of the US where for many items, if you want it, Wal-Mart is literally your only choice, because they have run off all the competition. And I'm not talking about leopard print beanbag chairs or N-Sync CDs, I'm talking about things like prescription drugs and office supplies and groceries. If you consider a 45-minute-long drive to go get essentials somewhere else a mere "inconvenience," then good on you."
Correct, I live in a city -- one in Canada, in fact. We have a Walmart or three here, too, much to my dismay, but they're flammable.
I always marvel at the argument presented, the odd claim that "...Wal-Mart is literally your only choice...": do communities spring up around these behemoths, utterly dependent of them, or have the Walmarts put all the other stores out of business? Of course, we know that Walmart tends to move in and obliterate the competition, but that, to me, indicates that the locals are people I'd rather not be neighbours with. Get the hell out of Nowheresville if it's inevitable that you have to shop at Walmart, which is still an argument I don't buy.
As for that 45 minute drive, I ride my bicycle every day for at least two hours. There are few amenities I can't carry on it, and for those that do require a car, renting or borrowing one has never been a terrible obstacle. Shockers, I might have to live without that leopard print beanbag, but picking up prescriptions and groceries are all well within the grasp of people who refuse to donate money to right wing, religious fundie nutcases.
"...this week's Businessweek has an article about how perhaps as many as a fifth of Chinese are currently taking English language courses."
Whether or not Businessweek is correct in their data, Chinese people could be learning languages of all sorts for a variety of reasons. Extrapolating so narrowly from one debatable data point is indicative of little.
As for destroying their own economy, I have my doubts. I think we'd witness a fairly fluid transistion into other Asian markets, as well as those in South America and Europe, in virtually no time.
For those defending Walmart and their little symbionts, I understand the depressing lack of choices in some towns. I do trust, however, that there is precious little that one needs in a Walmart to begin with, and that if one really planned at least half sensibly, one would not need to shop there. As Koko noted, there are (amazingly) people who still shop there when confronted with a dizzying array of choices. Even if we are to assume that the people unfortunate enough to live where only Walmarts exist (which I doubt is really true, but I admit that other stores may be inconveniently located), the people Koko described are clearly stupid and/or insane.
Those not stupid or insane, BlueHorse, who happen to find themselves inconvenienced by the monolith, still ought to do their part and refuse to give Walmart their money.
I've been a guest of Mr. Castro and his government several times in Cuba. Those who haven't been there and know the country only from nonsense U.S. propaganda would be wise to hold their tongues when wishing to comment on that which they know nothing. Alexandre states the truth here -- Mr. Castro is one of the most intelligent leaders the world has and surpasses anyone elected in the rest of the Americas in that regard for a very long time.
posted by kelenkye 18 years ago
In "Animal researchers start petition to allow 'silent majority' to support them."
Mice are more pleasant than humans, so I say let the mice run free and start testing nasty chemicals and amusing surgeries on celebrities and politicians.
posted by kelenkye 18 years ago
In "Homosexuality is shameful in Asia"
I'll take that as a 'no', then, f8xmulder. Those poor, downtrodden high school bigots, it's so very sad that no-one allows them to express their hatred and intolerance as loudly as they're used to in their vile little churches.
posted by kelenkye 18 years ago
In "Free Starbucks Coffee for Canadians today. "
I like good coffee and would never be seen near a Starbucks, so they can keep their crappy burned brown water.
posted by kelenkye 18 years ago
In "DarwinFilter"
Christmas Evil is without doubt the best seasonal film ever made. It makes all the shit we had to put up with as kids almost worthwhile. Chimney rappelling, while interesting, will never compare.
posted by kelenkye 18 years ago
In "Some handy tips on how not to argue online."
The colour scheme here is rather hideous, but I was referring to the colour scheme of the aol site, BlewWhores.
posted by kelenkye 18 years ago
In "Animal researchers start petition to allow 'silent majority' to support them."
Those that think animals deserve to be tortured are vile, insensitive monsters who should be humanely slaughtered and fed to the insects.
posted by kelenkye 18 years ago
In "Homosexuality is shameful in Asia"
Yeah, that freedom of speech sure got busted down. Of course, had the t-shirts read "your imaginary jesus is a baby-raper" and been tossed out of the school, you'd have posted the same comment, wouldn't you? The first article was interesting, but more of the same sort of school dress code/religious freedom to be bigots/anti-queer sloganeering by morons debate we've become accustomed to seeing. I'll be happier when prejudiced people have much less interest in their biases and begin that little journey toward decency. The second article I'm still going over, and cultural differences in gender and sexuality struggles always fascinate me.
posted by kelenkye 18 years ago
In "Humans Are Cat Food?"
Go cats!
posted by kelenkye 18 years ago
In "Animal researchers start petition to allow 'silent majority' to support them."
Don't we have enough humans to test on? Oh wait, that's 'unethical'. Yeah, right.
posted by kelenkye 18 years ago
In "The Hole in the Wal"
StoreyBored: buy a map, but not at Walmart. rocket88: I'm not asking for your estimation of others to be raised or lowered. Shopping at Walmart has consequences. If you think the consequences are beneficial to society and the planet, or if you just don't care, you're either stupid or insane. Don't agree? That's fine by me. The 'personal sacrifice' you address amuse me. Those poor dribblers, asking them to be responsible is such a chore.... And, only stupid, insane buffoons wear tube socks.
posted by kelenkye 18 years ago
In "About Fucking Time"
Exactly, Mord.
posted by kelenkye 18 years ago
In "Some handy tips on how not to argue online."
No worries, tracicle. It was just a comment on the ugly colour scheme of the site and the fact that it's on aol, which means it is utterly irrelevant.
posted by kelenkye 18 years ago
In "The Hole in the Wal"
"You obviously don't live out in the country. Yes, there are indeed areas of the US where for many items, if you want it, Wal-Mart is literally your only choice, because they have run off all the competition. And I'm not talking about leopard print beanbag chairs or N-Sync CDs, I'm talking about things like prescription drugs and office supplies and groceries. If you consider a 45-minute-long drive to go get essentials somewhere else a mere "inconvenience," then good on you." Correct, I live in a city -- one in Canada, in fact. We have a Walmart or three here, too, much to my dismay, but they're flammable. I always marvel at the argument presented, the odd claim that "...Wal-Mart is literally your only choice...": do communities spring up around these behemoths, utterly dependent of them, or have the Walmarts put all the other stores out of business? Of course, we know that Walmart tends to move in and obliterate the competition, but that, to me, indicates that the locals are people I'd rather not be neighbours with. Get the hell out of Nowheresville if it's inevitable that you have to shop at Walmart, which is still an argument I don't buy. As for that 45 minute drive, I ride my bicycle every day for at least two hours. There are few amenities I can't carry on it, and for those that do require a car, renting or borrowing one has never been a terrible obstacle. Shockers, I might have to live without that leopard print beanbag, but picking up prescriptions and groceries are all well within the grasp of people who refuse to donate money to right wing, religious fundie nutcases.
posted by kelenkye 18 years ago
In "Some handy tips on how not to argue online."
So what happened to the post I made in this thread? Was it deleted for being an unfunny joke or is there a bug in the works?
posted by kelenkye 18 years ago
In "About Fucking Time"
'Demoted'? Exactly how is this an approximation of justice? Let me know when these criminals are indicted and executed.
posted by kelenkye 18 years ago
In "The Hole in the Wal"
"...this week's Businessweek has an article about how perhaps as many as a fifth of Chinese are currently taking English language courses." Whether or not Businessweek is correct in their data, Chinese people could be learning languages of all sorts for a variety of reasons. Extrapolating so narrowly from one debatable data point is indicative of little. As for destroying their own economy, I have my doubts. I think we'd witness a fairly fluid transistion into other Asian markets, as well as those in South America and Europe, in virtually no time. For those defending Walmart and their little symbionts, I understand the depressing lack of choices in some towns. I do trust, however, that there is precious little that one needs in a Walmart to begin with, and that if one really planned at least half sensibly, one would not need to shop there. As Koko noted, there are (amazingly) people who still shop there when confronted with a dizzying array of choices. Even if we are to assume that the people unfortunate enough to live where only Walmarts exist (which I doubt is really true, but I admit that other stores may be inconveniently located), the people Koko described are clearly stupid and/or insane. Those not stupid or insane, BlueHorse, who happen to find themselves inconvenienced by the monolith, still ought to do their part and refuse to give Walmart their money.
posted by kelenkye 18 years ago
In "Castration: North Carolina Style"
Zero Population Growth, but you knew that, you naughty gorgon.
posted by kelenkye 18 years ago
In "In Search of the Real Dracula"
Vlad was dead sexy and I'd vote for him in a heartbeat.
posted by kelenkye 18 years ago
In "Ice Falls"
The sky-yetis need better aim. They keep hurling down brain-crushing chunks of ice, and not one celebrity has been obliterated yet. Damn it.
posted by kelenkye 18 years ago
(limited to the most recent 20 comments)