The issue is not whether everything can be known or whether things even need to be known.
What is at issue is people pretending to have the answers, usually in an attempt to make money. People who believe in this malarky are gullible and willing to waste money on it as books, audio recordings or "workshops" and other bunk.
If you didn't read it or don't recall, after Ray Wallace died, his family admitted that the "bigfoot film" was a fraud, that Wallace knew it was a man in a gorilla suit. And yet nearly a decade later, people still believe in that idiocy and are paying money for "souvenirs" and "investigations".
Mostly I travel for visa runs before signing a new contract (and at the end of one).
I also do it for an annual "mental battery recharge". Taiwan's okay to live in as a foreigner, and the weather is nice all year round, but sometimes you just get tired of people who insist that you "do things our way" even when what they're doing makes no sense.
I preferred Thailand of all the countries I've been to, though I wouldn't go there now, and not because of events of the last two months, or even the threat of islamic fundamentalism.
The Thai people are the most wonderful I've met anywhere and the country is beautiful, but the government seems obsessed with generating revenue through made up fines. Someone should tell them that tourists are not walking ATMs to take money out of.
Really? Then does that mean you actually spend time telling the religious not to speak from ignorance about atheists? To actually talk to atheists rather than repeating third hand claims?
It's all a load of codswallop. People who are "near death" and are unconscious; anything they "see" is likely nothing more than what one would "see" nightly as dreams.
As for the "bright light" nonsense, it's the same thing as with UFO "sightings" or witch trials hundreds of years ago: people hear stories about it, so they come to expect to see the same things. The mind is more than willing to make up and change things to make perception match expectation.
Even money says the morons trying to rewrite textbooks in Texas would be "offended" by Japanese textbooks (which were rejected and not used) claiming that the US was the violent aggressor and that Japan did not provoke it. It was because of such outrage, both in Japan and by other nations, that the books weren't used.
I'd similarly bet that if all the Native American nations (e.g. Cherkokee, Apache, etc.) wrote textbooks for their schools and referred to white settlers in the US as occupiers, the deaths of millions of Native Americans as holocaust and labelled "reservations" as concentration camps, there would be outrage. (Yet if Native American nations did do that, it would be factually accurate. Only the choice of words would make it controversial, not the content....)
"Revisionism" is a word usually reserved for holocaust deniers, but it's very accurate and very appropriate in this case, since the morons in Texas are doing it for the same reasons, to rewrite history and ignore facts.
As per usual, the countries which actually need "regime change" are the ones the US never invades.
"They" think they are "god". That's how the "great leader" is referred to - either and both the father and son.
As for North Korea starting a war, you've got to be kidding. It would be suicide, literally and figuratively - the entire regime would collapse if they did.
North Korea has only one ally: China. If North Korea attacked South Korea with any sort of chemical or biological weapon on Seoul, the Chinese would back away. Do you honestly believe the Chinese would want a continent-wide war involving numerous countries that are pro-US or would back them? Even the communists in Laos and Vietnam would take the US's side.
It's not just South Korea that North Korea have to deal with if they attack. If any US military bases were hit in South Korea, the US would get involved, and the Japanese would too if they were attacked. Then there's the fact that the citizens of the north (and probably many of its military) would surrender or defect to the south at the first opportunity. The entire regime is a house of cards built on fear and dogma. The only true believers would be those who benefit by keeping the regime, mostly the top military people, but not the rank and file.
And as for what weapons the north has, it's not much more than WWII technology. Their "missiles" are no better than German V2 rockets, and the alleged "nuclear weapon" was a dud according to some sources. Even if they had one, the South Korean military and US military would have the green light to shoot down any missile coming in from the north, and it would be destroyed before it crossed the DMZ, never mind getting close.
A declaration of war by North Korean would justify an invasion, and the South would, with UN, US and Japanese backing, take over the whole peninsula. Even the Chinese wouldn't use their UN veto to stop it, nor would anyone else. The north starting a war would likely be a good thing and likely result in fewer deaths than would continuing the current regime.
Until about 100 years ago, there was no anti-jewish sentiment amongst muslims. That is a 20th century phenomenon, related directly to Israel's methods of taking over Palestine (e.g. the massacre at Nakba) and its actions toward its neighbors sice 1948. Prior to the 20th century, muslim nations protected jews and all anti-jewish sentiment was from christians.
Many who want to rationalize war against islamic countries deliberately ignore history or try to rewrite it. It's easier to justify war by lying that "muslims were always violent". If someone ask why they've become violent, it means addressing colonialism and imperialism of the last 150 years.
There's an old joke about kids fighting. An adult asks one why they were fighting and one says, "It started when he hit me back!"
The stupid and dishonest want to pretend that things like suicide bombers, 9/11 or Somali pirates "came out of nowhere", that they "attacked for no reason".
There's always a reason, but those who want easy answers and/or those trying to avoid culpability will act like there isn't one.
When England had prohibition, the banned drink was gin - the source of the phrase "bathtub gin", since that's where it was made. Gin was illegal, but wine was legal at the same time. Wine was made at vinyards by wealthy landowners and drunk by wealthy people, while gin was made by anyone and drunk by the poor. Yes, a lot of "bathtub gin" was toxic, but that's not the reason it was illegal - it was about who profited from it.
Now look at drug use today, especially the drugs that are the greatest the focus of the "drug war": marijuana, meth amphetamine, ecstasy, cocaine and heroin. Then look again at the drugs that are legal: alcohol, tobacco, and licensed pharmaceuticals that doctors prescribe like candy.
Who profits from the first group of drugs? Dealers and growers.
Who profits from the second group of drugs? Corporations and shareholders.
Marijuana is the least profitable (street price versus production) and the least harmful of the four, yet it is the biggest reason for arrests and expense of the "drug war". Yet who are the largest numbers of users of marijuana (hint: not the wealthy)? Meth and ecstasy extremely cheap drugs to produce (as well as being extremely addictive) so it became an issue. And when heroin was expensive, it wasn't an issue; it only became an issue when heroin became cheap and poorer people could afford it.
Meanwhile, tobacco remains legal despite the fact that it is addictive and causes cancer (first, second and third hand) and the pollution it causes (butts, smoke, plastic and cardboard packaging). And alcohol remains legal despite being both addictive and causing violent and deaths in huge numbers, both physical violence and drinking and driving. Alcohol is actually the worst drug because it is both a stimulant(it makes people want to act irresponsibly)and a depressant(it reduces people's ability to make good judgements).
Specific drugs are illegal now for the same reason alcohol was once illegal: the wealthy and corporations didn't profit from it. I will not be the least bit surprised if tobacco companies are working to package marijuana in cigarette form and their sale of it is legalized, but not anyone else's.
If the level of harm (addiction, etc.) were the issue, marijuana would have always been legal and would be legalized now. It's not addictive, does not lead to other drug use, and it is a depressant (the myth of "smoking and driving" is just that, a myth). Governments could and should encourage drug users to switch to marijuana as a way to get them off more harmful drugs.
The real issue of the "drug war" is class warfare, not drug warfare. The criminalization of drugs is based on who the users are and who profits from the drugs, not the harm of the drug in question.
And for the record, marijuana smells like $#!+ and I have no patience for it or its users.
There are belief systems out there that "teach" and "believe" that non-adherents are "flawed" and "need to be converted". For example, there are religions that claim certain/all other religions are "satanists".
Such people don't see you as human, they see you as a target in the (exact) same way a religious cult member might date in order to recruit and brainwash people. Why get involved with someone who views you as inferior and will treat you and your views with absolutely no respect?
I only date women willing to accept and respect me as I am and whose beliefs are compatible with reality (i.e. their belief system must accept the fact of the Big Bang, abiogenesis and evolution). And in case someone is tempted to make false claims and cast aspersions, I show the same respect in reverse.
Rush are still around and going on tour this summer before recording their new album later this year. Thirty seven years in, they're still going and sound as good as ever.
You couldn't name another band that has gone 36 years without any changes in members (Neil Peart joined after the first album), never broke up nor had to reunite, and never suffered a dip in quality. Rush stands alone for longevity and consistency, and are fourth on the all-time list of consecutive gold and platinum albums in the US, behind only the Beatles, Rolling Stones and Aerosmith.
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Someone else (whose account has been deleted) mentioned the Steve Miller Band. While SMB is one of my favourites (as is his old cohort Boz Scaggs), I wouldn't call him/them the greatest, but he's/they're still pretty damn good.
Miller has also recorded his first studio album in eighteen years, and is going on tour this summer. You can hear the first single, "Hey Yeah" on his website:
What makes me laugh are the idiots who "think" the volcano "isn't fair", that it's somehow "wrong" and "interfering with our lives". They're as dumb as CNN's idiot Mark Sanchez who was "surprised" that volcano would happen in a "cold country".
What's next, these idiots are going to call the volcano a terra-rist act?
Gold is $1220 today, a record price. And the gold crunch hasn't hit yet. Most "gold" that is bought and sold on the market is paper, not backed by real metal.
It's another ponzi scheme, dependant upon more gold being found and brought into the market, which isn't happening. The only gold that actually exists is metal in your hand.
And oil is over $76 today, which is more than it was two years ago. So much for the myth that prices would go down. And just wait until you see the price when BP goes bankrupt due to clean up costs in the Gulf of Mexico, along with their subsidiaries like ARCO and AM/PM gas stations.
"God" is granting of senility To deniers of facts that cannot be changed. The cowardice to ignore the things they can, Without the wisdom to know the evidence.
Don't pretend the two cults are any different. Five hundred years ago, the catholics were burning down muslim citadels in Spain and telling jews and muslims, "Convert, leave, or die".
Not being catholic anywhere in catholic-controlled Europe could get you killed, and you're whining about one country. The only difference between the vatican and mecca is time. Both committed the same violence, except that muslims are doing it now, and christians did it then.
And try walking around certain parts of Jerusalem without a hat. I dare you.
Not to flag wave, but Canada was the only major economy in the world (G20 countries) not to have a bank failure or major debt crisis.
It was also the only major economy in the world that stuck by the old banking rules from pre-2001, not playing fast and loose with cash and debt like everybody else.
No doubt there are people who will try to say those two facts are unrelated.
Unless it's a contest where the first answer wins a prize, does it matter?
The only reason to worry about it is if you're searching for something you said and it ends up being listed as the wrong day, not the day you thought you posted it.
The only real bugbear for me is that most people I communicate with here or on other sides is they live in three large disparate time zones (east Asia, North America, Europe). It can sometimes be a problem if you're in the mood for chatting.
Actually, it was about 2,000 civilians the US military murdered at Noh Gun Rhee.
You also forgot the crimes (by extension) committed by graduates of the US's "School of the Americas" where such tactics and methods were taught to various third world dictators.
K_rational Forum Posts (257)
RE: NDE, OBE, Spiritual Phenomena, Miraculous Healings
The issue is not whether everything can be known or whether things even need to be known.What is at issue is people pretending to have the answers, usually in an attempt to make money. People who believe in this malarky are gullible and willing to waste money on it as books, audio recordings or "workshops" and other bunk.
If you didn't read it or don't recall, after Ray Wallace died, his family admitted that the "bigfoot film" was a fraud, that Wallace knew it was a man in a gorilla suit. And yet nearly a decade later, people still believe in that idiocy and are paying money for "souvenirs" and "investigations".