Interesting point, but I doubt that the 'virtuality' of anything can take over without a person initiating the events on purpose or by default; then again we have the problem of 'existence' versus 'living' don't we...is it better to exist or to live...sort of 'ask not what the world can do for you, but what can you do for the world!' %D Here we are on another precipice of mental anarchy, better consult our copies of the Hitchiker's Guide To the Galaxy...for inspirational purposes only...%D More and more, however are opting out of 'reality' as many find it unbearable, unreliable, incoherent and unstable, but then again, Life is fluid and changes; stagnation is in the end willful. People bring it on themselves for varied reasons. Not all can cope with the circumstances they find themselves in. The virtual worlds that exist and are created by those are only isolating and exacerbating their problems until they reach their breaking points ... To Live or to merely exist...ummm a virtual Shakespeareian monologue..%D
I find it both hilarious and pathetic....love the reality headline: 'Woman charged with virtual murder!' only begs the question Will the real murder soon follow? Possible news film at 11pm... The social aspects of this can only become more pathetic as it is analyzed deeper that people take refuge in and seek social affirmation by living virtual lives, but then again, in many cases reality is far worse...I hope the follow-up stories will debate this complex issue. To each, their own...c'est la vie
Puerto Plata is great; hell, the whole of the Dominican Republic is a bit of heaven. The resort at Puerto Plata is very close to the Haitian border however and it can be amusing to watch the security people chasing the ones that get through the fence...%D Still, I could live there all year quite happily %)
The one soundtrack that keeps eluding me is King Creole that Elvis did in the mid 50's. One day I'll find it. In the meantime I have just gotten a few dozen CDs from Putumayo World Music; Arabic, North African, East, West and south African contemporary Jazz, Blues and Rock as well as traditional classic music and songs from these cultures. Everyday the kasbah rocks. Arabic Jazz-Rock is just phenomenal. Putumayo have a never ending international catalogue of music from all over the world; every country, every category. Just fantastic.
While most of the listed colours are in my house be they in total or partial room colours as each are done in different motifs, bedding, linen, furniture etc. Even purple in a re done hippie style 'pad' room, to black oriental carpets, orange is restricted to some bath assembles and any greens appear only in Chinese folding screens as trees. I don't find green very appealing. My favourite colour is actually Technicolour! My least favourite is white...it always seems like an unfinished canvas.
See the film The Handmaid's Tale, for the full visual impact of American Fascism; the film stars Faye Dunaway, Robert Duvall as 'The Commander'. Film was made in 1990 and virtually passed un-noticed . Typical.
Barack Obama and John McCain have clashed over their economic plans and other issues in a fractious final TV debate before the US presidential poll.
In a series of testy exchanges, Mr McCain accused Mr Obama of lying and of having ties to a domestic "terrorist".
Mr McCain also accused his Democratic rival of wanting to raise taxes.
Mr Obama sought to link Mr McCain with President Bush and said he was running a negative campaign. Immediate voter polls found Mr Obama came out on top.
A CNN poll of people watching Wednesday's debate said Mr Obama won by 58% to 31%, while a CBS survey found the Democrat the winner by 53% to 22%.
A poll of undecided independent voters by US network Fox also suggested Mr Obama was the victor.
Who is 'Joe the plumber'?
Mr McCain's reference to Mr Obama's association with Bill Ayers, once a member of a US group that waged a violent campaign against the Vietnam War, continued the main Republican line of attack from the past 10 days.
Mr Obama rejected Mr McCain's criticism over Mr Ayers - now a university professor with whom he has served on a charity board - pointing out that he had been a child at the time of Mr Ayers' radical activities.
"Mr Ayers is not involved in my campaign," he said.
Mr McCain, senator for Arizona, also accused Mr Obama of big spending on attack ads.
The Illinois senator responded that 100% of Mr McCain's political adverts had been negative and that voters were more interested at this point in how the candidates planned to fix the economy.
'Spread the wealth'
The 90-minute debate, held at Hofstra University in Long Island, New York, with moderator Bob Schieffer of CBS News, elicited more direct confrontations between the candidates than their two previous encounters.
Again, McCain seems harsher, but is this not what debating is all about?
BBC North America editor Justin Webb
Read Justin's thoughts in full Blow by blow: McCain v Obama Send us your comments
Both candidates sought to explain how they would make their promised economic packages and spending plans fit with a rising US budget deficit.
Mr McCain said he would be able to balance the federal budget by cutting wasteful spending and urged voters to compare the records of the two candidates.
He used the example of "Joe the plumber" from Ohio who expressed concern about what Mr Obama's tax plans might mean for his business after meeting the Democrat at the weekend.
Mr Obama rejected Mr McCain's charge that he planned to raise taxes on higher earners to "spread the wealth around", saying that "nobody likes taxes" but that investment in the economy was necessary.
The debate produced some memorable moments
Enlarge Image
Mr McCain sought to fight back against Mr Obama's attempt to link him to the policies of the Bush administration.
"Senator Obama, I am not President Bush. If you wanted to run against President Bush, you should have run four years ago," he said.
Mr Obama countered: "If I have occasionally mistaken your policies for George Bush's policies, it's because on the core economic issues that matter to the American people, on tax policy, on energy policy, on spending priorities you have been a vigorous supporter of President Bush."
The two candidates also traded blows over their policies on energy.
While Mr Obama spoke about his support for alternative energy sources and the need for the US to build highly fuel efficient cars, Mr McCain voiced his backing for offshore drilling and nuclear power.
Sounds like the simple reverse of the 'Russian Missile crisis' in Cuba only now it's US missiles...Europe needs no more US missiles, they've never yet taken their atom bombs out from Germany. Perhaps a better solution would be to have Germany build and deploy missiles along with the French against any so called 'rogue state', and expand European Defence to including Russia, after all we are all European; the Yanks are NOT Europeans. The entire concept of Europe includes Russia not the US.
This is but one reason that short selling was stopped as more US companies and financial firms were(are) worth more dead. The NY Stock Exchange correctly said that it would not last long as the Security and Exchange Commission have no jurisdiction outside the US and short term selling is back with a vengeance and that will bury more financial firms and further devalue the already inflated dollar. The Treasury et al can print all the money they want; there is absolutely nothing backing the dollar, it's alleged worth is debt based, meaning its really worthless.
One learns by various ways to keep one's mouth shut especially when it comes to Love; if you do learn to keep your shut, then it always ends up as too late for everyone. Not only is there not enough Love in this world, there isn't enough people saying they do love someone, despite the pain of being usually rejected...
...and there is always 'the Charles Whitman solution'....with payback as there seemingly are so many variations of this in the US, moreso than in any other country in the world...
The other excellent book from William Blum is Rogue State; A Guide to the World's Only Superpower. Here's another good one for anyone who does like to read: Invasion Of The Party Snatchers: How the Holy Rollers and the Neo-Cons Destroyed the GOP by Victor Gold 2007, published by Sourcebooks Inc. P.O box 4410 Naperville, Illinois 60567-4410
'Soulmate'?? As an old saying goes, 'There ain't no such animal.' I've abandoned my search for 'the Truth' and a 'soulmate' and decided to look for a good Fantasy; trouble with Fantasies is that they or ourselves, really, are just never as good as what we fantasize about. Tried 'window shopping' in Amsterdam and a few other places...yuk! %) No, this Life does not come with any guarantees of ever finding someone or even anyone at all; could you imagine what kind of world this could be like if there were a someone for everyone...%D
Many seem to have latched onto the Cathars and their beliefs, or non-beliefs as far as Christ is concerned and the Virgin Mary, if this is really the source of asking, tons of good books by all 'sides' on the Cathars and the whole question of the Divinity and all the repercussions it has had over the centuries right from the before the Crucifixion. Have fun...%)
The papers here have been full coverage over England's refusal to bail out Lehman Brothers and how others turned them down. Many more knowledgeable people from Wall St. and experts from around Europe have been interviewed than from what I've seen in the US press. In some cases, not even 2 full paragraphs or interviews with hard questions about the falling housing crisis. The US papers are basically empty of either information or even the topic other than some side-bar 'news briefs'...how typical it's what was labeled as 'benign censorship'...
Agnosticism is a philosophical theory that holds it is impossible to arrive at a knowledge of reality either because by its nature it is unknowable or because of limits of the human mind. In effect it denies that man by reason can come to knowledge of God and the truths of religion. Agnosticism in all its forms results in reducing man's knowledge to his own sense experience or to his subjective or emotional responses, the most general modern expression was set down by the English biologist Thomas Huxley in 1868, which can be said to hold that the human intellect is not able to come to a knowledge of anything immaterial, especially a knowledge of God and His Nature, as well as the human soul. The correct doctrinal teaching was presented by Vatican Council 1, reasserting the traditional claim of the Church as being in accord with reason. Vatican Council 2 placed a more modern emphasis, directed toward our technological society: "No doubt today's progress in Science and technology can foster a certain exclusive emphasis on observable data, and an agnosticism about everything else. For the methods of investigation which these sciences use can be wrongly considered as the supreme rule for discovering the whole truth." There was no shorter way to explain this, try as I may....entire books have been written on this, by the dozens.
FLASH!! SPECIAL NEWS BULLETIN!! We interrupt the dire and drastic economic news with a message of HOPE: OF FINANCIAL SALVATION!! The chairmen of the Bulgarian Foundation on Cosmic Research has just unveiled a new unit of currency to be used between extraterretials and Earthlings! This is no joke! The 'Galactos'---a 3 gram coin made from chrome and nickel was unveiled just last week at a conference on UFO's in Sofia, Bulgaria. "We are offering the galactos as a means of payment between planets. It will represent the Earth in all financial relations in the cosmos," Kiril Kanev told the conference. He is now awaiting an official response to his proposal from the Bulgarian Prime Minister and the UN. When asked what good will the new unit do for the sinking economies of the West, he is said to have responded," It has to be better than a system without anything to give it real value."
My apologies Healthy, but this just seemed to have been tailored made to fit in with a monetary system that no longer has any serious value and is now solely one based upon debt. Who knows, the galactos can't be any worse can it...%)
Been through this too many times; still have one that just won't quit on viewing; must be something pathological with her. Very disturbed. My sympathies Morgan, there is an insinuated and implied threat there...report him to your work place security people, they will understand. These things in RL are bad enough...%)
Hard to believe that the ultimate US fascist horror The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood wasn't on that list either...probably her second best favourite (Bet she watches it over and over like Nixon watched Patton...%D People with warped minds like that need to be removed from any society.
Very true our reactions often come back and hit us when least expected. Sadly, I don't think most people ever develop a true or deeper understanding of the concept Love but only think of it as the immediate satisfaction of some desparate urge regardless of the emotions of the other person or that love means the purchase of some trinket for someone else to wear almost as a sign of bonded servitude...empathy is the least understood or accepted it seems...
It's not the word or concept of Love nor the bond to it in all its wonderful meanings that is weak; it is , sadly, the people and many have lost their faith in it or have let it die out of neglect...it takes too much time and effort...
Perhaps John Fogerty will let the use Long Dark Night or maybe Somebody Help Me....then of course he could ask, as in ASK FIRST for a song from Tom Waits...%D If all else fails, hey, there is Alvin and the Chipmunks; they even did a Heavy Metal Album a while back! And it can be played both forwards and backwards !
NEVER in anyway shape or form did I say he was, they were and are being ridiculed for lack of experience...and what people may think about who or what he may have been or not been is only AFTER the fact which has nothing to do with my comparison. Kennedy was certainly no Nixon and Nixon was nothing but a clown with shaky jowls and a bad reputation of changing sides...like all other politicians Kennedy was only the opening act to Clinton and Lewinsky as that seems to have been their main preoccupation while in the white house...%D real politicians.
I have found the general tone of questions and remarks and mimicked catch-all phrases such as the above to draw a vital comparison to the Kennedy-Nixon election. Substitute the name Obama for Kennedy, McCain for Nixon and presto! the exact same things were hurled time and again by Nixon's people at Kennedy...especially about the lack of experience and commander-in-Chief remarks; and we all know who won that election. 'Lack of experience' brought down well experienced Nixon...sounds all so scripted out...
Good heart! One of the greatest ironies that I saw ...realized back when I was getting my Poli- Sci degree was that the whole concept of the term 'National Security" was that We, everyone ; every citizen of every and any country, especially in the US was that 'National Security ultimately means us....for without us, there is no nation. To use the term as an excuse to hide and cover up untruths, crimes, corruption, all manner of secrets detrimental to any current regime in power or to the devolution into a police state or even an overthrow of a current regime or entire system etc. is against that nations people in general. It comes down to in order to allegedlly keep a nation secure, you must first secure its peoples by any means available and by force as the last resort. It is also rather ironic that after all the generations of peoples have been told repeatedly all their lives that they are an open and free country that laws are passed and arrangements made that those same people become the enemy of the state. 'National Security' becomes simply the enemy of the people...... Some teachers said I should have gone to Berkley when I included that in my dissertation....my Poly Sci professor was very pleased with it. %D It's become even more true now than ever.
Ladies, reading the entries I have to wonder at where in the world you get the bizarre notions of parents or family members giving you ultimatums ...it is NOT a 'do or die' or 'you marry who I tell you you to marry or we disown you and you get out of our lives' scenarios....this sounds more like the old contrived 'Hollywood' images of history. The social and family situations of 'arranged' marriages (read: advised)as written in Tolstoy's novel War And Peace are much more closer to the actual and realistic way these matters are conducted. The parents advise and council; they do not tell you what to think, or when to think just as no one tells you when to go to the bathroom or not.... There is no possible way anyone can force anyone to an altar except perhaps in some rural primitive town in the Ozark Mountains, or some primitive fishing village somewhere along the Atlantic or Mediterranean coasts, but even there the Church would not comply or sanction any such forced arrangement, parents or anyone be damned; perhaps not in some remote village in the Caucasus Mountains of eastern Europe.... One is introduced to any number of prospects that in the opinions of the parents that may and would be 'a good match'. There are no hard and fast rules that you or anyone MUST obey. That is just ludicrous. You are given the benefits of all the experiences of your parents as you grow up and so also in regards to boy/ girl friends and then in finding someone to make a good marriage with; that other has also been given their families council and advise...from within those social circles and even commercial circles you have your pick; the family can act as 'facilitators' helping make things easier for thing to work out, providing Cupid with enough room as it were to hit his targets...%) In the end, it is all up to each party to decide on all the pros's and con's of the match; advantages and disadvantages ultimately the deciding factor will be on having kept an open mind and heart. In the idyllic situation; is don't forget that Love grows over time, while passions subside so if you 'click' from among the prospects, then everyone 'clicks'. The 'Romantic' side can still be brought out. No love does not equal a marriage in the end, no matter what. This is something that I have counseled my daughter on and so far after trying and failing on her own impetuous nature, she is maturing in seeing that yes, I do have her best interests at heart and that my and her mothers experiences can make her life a lot less frustrating and painful in these matters. I sort of act as her pathfinder, not her over-seer as it were. I'm relatively pleased so far. She knows the basics of what type of man I would like for her to marry and her current boyfriend, while he may not be enrolled in St. Cyr Military Academy, he's a lot better than some 'business' zombie in some sombre grey flannel suit; hell, even an Anarchist would be more interesting than that! At least the anarchist would have substance ! %D Hollywood images are not real life.
solitare Forum Posts (4,041)
RE: KILL OFF YOUR HUSBAND ONLINE!!!!!!!!!!!!
Interesting point, but I doubt that the 'virtuality' of anything can take over without a person initiating the events on purpose or by default; then again we have the problem of 'existence' versus 'living' don't we...is it better to exist or to live...sort of 'ask not what the world can do for you, but what can you do for the world!' %DHere we are on another precipice of mental anarchy, better consult our copies of the Hitchiker's Guide To the Galaxy...for inspirational purposes only...%D
More and more, however are opting out of 'reality' as many find it unbearable, unreliable, incoherent and unstable, but then again, Life is fluid and changes; stagnation is in the end willful. People bring it on themselves for varied reasons. Not all can cope with the circumstances they find themselves in. The virtual worlds that exist and are created by those are only isolating and exacerbating their problems until they reach their breaking points ...
To Live or to merely exist...ummm a virtual Shakespeareian monologue..%D