jhsmurray

Is it fair to say that a summary of the argument in the first post could be as follows? "There is no such thing as altruism, and morality is a way by which our inherently human selfish natures are disguised." If that's the case, then I'll respond on that basis. I use the word altruism to boil it down a bit. I think that true altruism is a very rare thing indeed. I'm not religous, but I think Jesus existed (as a man), and I suspect he was altruistic, as well as a few others. I dont think Gandhi was, exceptional as he was, he was mainly acting in the interest of his people (not that theres anything wrong with that). But I also see nothing wrong in acting selfishly, if you put it in those terms. I didnt wake up in the morning to serve others, however I try to treat others with the respect they deserve. And that's selfish because if I wrong people throughout the day, sooner or later I know I'll get whats coming to me. [edit] I forgot to mention that there have been some things I have done, but have regretted. This feeling of regret was not based on consequences against myself. I'm not sure how to explain these feelings. I dont think they are imposed upon me per se. I guess those who dont have any feelings of regret under any circumstances may be considered sociopathic. And then there is the issue of sympathy. If I see someone in trouble I feel bad for them. What are the underlying reasons? I cant say for sure, but if I see that person in that bad situation even though that person should have known better, I dont feel quite so bad about it, although I'd still help him if he truly needed it. (These are just side notes that do not directly relate to altruism or this moral discussion, but I felt they were important to say anyways) Anyways, you might enjoy reading Richard Dawkin's The Selfish Gene, it's a similar argument from a biological perspective. Very controversial

Hey man, You've done a great job of explaining how special this girl is. I'm sorry to hear of your heartache. I would recommend doing none of these things, until you figure out and reconcile the why she dumped you part. Until you accept that, doing any of the above will likely cause more pain. Who knows, maybe this girl dumped you for all the wrong reasons? Or maybe she misinterpreted something you said? Or maybe she has a legitimate reason? You need a clear answer from her, especially since it hurts so bad - just try not to yell or anything if and when you get into it with her. Talking it through will show her how much you care. Until you figure out the why, you're pretty much stuck in this conundrum, or worse possibly going to make a mistake. How you handle that helps determine the next best move. If you do know why and dont feel like sharing it here, that's cool - just remember that is important for you know. Maybe I'm stating the obvious here, but there is a danger that a dumped person might undervalue themself in a sitation like this. Remember to keep a clear head, and really try to understand not only her, but yourself. If you decide not to go through with it, remember that over time the pain (and temptation) will eventually go away. Hope it helps a little.

It's been about a half a year since this thread was started - and I'm just curious, Jasper has your position changed any? Sorry if this thread is dead, but the title was to interesting to leave alone... Most of what I have observed involves social interaction between heterosexual members of the opposite sex (and I'm not talking about sexual intercourse here), so I wont presume that homosexuality is a factor. I do agree that there is misunderstanding between the sexes. Whether by nature, nurture or both, it seems that there are lines drawn in the sand. And although the gender gap is somewhat narrower than it was 100 years ago, gender specific behavior is still enforced even in early childhood, boys are encouraged to play with toy guns, girls with dolls. My point? On the basis that we are encouraged to act in a specific way that is not like the other sex; it is only a small step to say that one sex is better than the other in some respect. That in mind, we may find it easy to pitch blame to the other side. Oh yeah and girls are nuts [edit] dont forget to talk to them, otherwise they may not wash their hands - this nomothetic study proves it http://www.webclearinghouse.net/ j/k

I agree with you entirely. Although religion may play a significant role in helping polarize already conflicting groups, armed conflict in the name of religion would be in the name of something else if religion didnt exist. Although violence may be condoned (under certain conditions) in such works as the Hindu Bhagavad Gita, or in Christiany with the Just War, neither of these ideas condone the passion of violence, or violence for violence's sake. The two world wars were not based on religion at all (although nazi purification to the Jewish "Question" is related to WWII, it wasnt the cause of it, nor was Hitler executing his plan on religous premises). In-and-of-itself, religion is not the cause - therefore removing it is not the solution. Therefore, I say that removing religion will not make the world a better place. Thats my two cents.

IMO that it is valid argument against communism. Why should people strive to do well in a rewardless economy? Promotion means more responsibility without pay to squeeze out a gov't established quota of widgets every month - that means by the end of the month the factory churns out crap just to meet the deadline. And guess what - there is no competive market because its entirely controlled - you are stuck with bad quality items if you dont time your purchase right. Your stuck with junk like everyone else in that economy. Capitalism has its problems for sure, but IMO nowhere near as bad... [edit] Cuba seems to be doing OK because it balances its depleting sugar economy with tourism. China's economy has been somewhat modified from the Russian style to Market Based reforms, with impressive results: China GDP Chart

They say that hindsight is 20/20. Granted, it was Halloween - but I dont think it was the old fashioned bomb with a black ball and fuse. And the thing is, the person responsible for dealing with the threat of real bombs can't afford the luxury of assuming that a potential bomb is a fake - they have to take each case with as much care as the last. There is little room for error, because the stakes are so high. Somehow I dont think that it makes it ok. But if where you live is completely desensitized to potential dangers like that, then you have bigger problems. I would consider emigrating to somewhere safer...

I've been using ZoneAlarm, its a free download with low memory overhead. It seems to work fine - but I'm not sure how it stacks up against agnitum.

Firstly, thanks beeseven for pointing out that this is not the worst the world has seen. You've saved me some typing. Well, if you believe it's God, then you might want to look a little more into eschatology (the end of the world and human life, particularly with respects to biblical scripture). But the pattern remains the same - with this kind of proselytizing the world will always be on the brink of destruction, and new pending dates will continually arise. Apart from matters of faith: We may play a role in the end of humanity, but I dont think the planet will be obliterated by human means so that no life will survive. My prediction is that we will (mostly) overcome obstacles to our survival. The world will end one day, far in the future, through natural causes. By that time we will have overcome many of the challenges that face society today so that we will have migrated to other places in space. (cue Star Trek theme )

If you want to see all news items (regardless of whether or not they match to the comments table), then have a look at the LEFT JOIN option in this page: http://www.wellho.net/mouth/158_MySQL-LEFTOUTER-JOIN.html

http://www.forbes.com/forbes/welcome/?toURL=http://www.forbes.com/business/commerce/fe/ap3142766.html&refURL=&referrer= That's about as bright as walking into a bank with a fake gun. I guess they figure public humiliation is punishment enough.

Here's a historical response to the question: One of the main reasons why westerners hate communism (particularly in the United States) is because of how things transgressed immediately following WWII. Side note: when people think of communism, they think of Russia (or USSR) most likely. But Russia wasnt the truest form of communism in the Marxist sense. During the Cold War era, communism represented the other half of the Mutually Assured Destruction equation. There was also something called the "Domino Theory", which was a perception that the USSR was aggressively enforcing the communist agenda to its neighbors, one country at a time. The polemic idealism was perpetuated by propaganda on both sides. But what the west called the "Domino Theory" was actually a medieval strategy employed by Russia and her predecessors as a defense matrix in the event of a land war. One of the more widely studied communist leaders is the Russian Party Leader Kruschev who was responsible for the raising of the Berlin Wall. This was not to stop a potential invasion from the west, but to prevent people defecting from Russia. The main reason that Russia staggered is, well IMO, because of their political system - communism. Is it a reason to hate communism? No, but I hope it helps explain where some of the hatred comes from. By the way, westerners were not the only ones to promulgate the communist system. Naziism is diametrically opposed to communism - even though Russia and Germany had a non-aggression contract at the start of WWII, it was basically only a matter of time before the Germans invaded Russia. I think I know where you're coming from, but I'd have to argue against communism. Sometimes I visit the UK, and in one suburb of London I see that they have CCTV everywhere (are they even on?). But the 5 or 6 times I visited there, not one time have I seen the police - but there are some bad apples around there looking for trouble, I've run into a few of them. Even so, it would be sad to see it devolve into marshall law, or a police state. That would be overkill. More to the point, communism does not necessarily preclude violence. I guess my main argument against communism is I am a rugged individualist. I think each of us should have a voice that is equally heard, and I think we should all have a hand in deciding the policies of our government (eg Democracy). But I do not hate communism - I dont really have any reason to. I have the luxury of living in a country where communism is not supported. Thinking in terms of economy, its a tough call. Before I would have plainly said that communist countries could never have a booming economy. Now, I am not so sure - it's worth going over if anyone has recent statistics - I think that would be a valid point to make.

You are talking about mob mentality and the dynamic of ostracism. It's human nature that these situations exist, and this type of thing has been documented ad nauseum in social theory. My point is, you don't need to feel alone on this issue. The fact that you aware of this dynamic is a good first step. To get out of the bad habit of saying things in a group of peers that you wouldnt normally say is hard at first, but with conscious effort you will be more comfortable with resisting these urges. It's tough at first because you are going against the grain of your social atunement. It gets easier with practice.I'm sorry, but I dont have any advise about what you should do about that poor kid (except for what I said above). If it really bothers you, then you shouldnt worry about conflicting with your group over it. Other than that, I dont have much to say; but if something comes to mind, I'll be sure to add it later.Now, with regards to faith. On this I am no expert, but from what I understand of Christianity, the idea is brotherly love, regardless of others' attitudes - someone can step in and correct me if I'm off base there. Others may claim there is no God, but if you have faith, then it shouldnt really matter. You don't need to argue with agnostics/athiests that God exists - my observation is that faith is an internal experience, and is between you and the Divine. I hope it helps a little.

I've only recently started studying religion, including Islam. I had a vague idea of these points you have shared before I took the classes, but I think it's so easy for some to have misconceptions because all we hear in the news about the Near East is violence by extremist minority groups. Apart from the minority groups, its a contrived polemic that hasnt really been remedied yet, unfortunately. I wont even touch on the significant Muslim population in the States. I'll let coolduck comment on that.Of course, if we relied on the media to compare newsworthy aspects of religion to society, then the west is a bunch of philandering pedophiles lol (cf newsworthy stories on the Catholic church). But what would you expect to see in the pages of Al Jazeera? Probably nothing about that guy in Milwakee saved by his three legged dog, Buddy (all right, I made that one up). No, more likely the stories about the west are mostly about our presence in the Near East (for better or worse). Don't you think they shun the suicide bombers in the West Bank or Iraq?

I agree with Dagoth Nereviar in that it really does depend on who the person is. If these are collegiate level classes shes probably old enough to not accept social etiquette advice from strangers without being offended. If she doesnt get mad, she'll probably just be embarrased. Remember you sit in the same class with her until the course is over. I recommend playing it cool. If it's your classmate that you arent really friends with, you could try to imply it indirectly by kindly offering her a mint or strong minty gum, or perhaps choosing another seat if the option is available to you (thats where coming into class early can really pay off).

I don't know very many Australians, and I've never been to Australia - therefore I am about to make broad sweeping over generalizations about people from an entirely different continent. Forgive me for being way off-base From what little I have experienced, there tends to be a more careful or thought-out approach with people from aussie-land. I've never heard one cuss or be generally nasty. I've never heard one say something just to say it. I've never met one I didnt like. The old generalization was that they are more laid-back and relaxed than americans. I dont think this is the case, because I've read some very interesting stuff by them that an over-relaxed person would not have went through the trouble of writing. But I dont think they are like americans. Then again, what is an american like? I know of many, and some are less alike than others. Others in this thread have said that other cultures are being americanized in general - I guess I can see that with McDonalds and Malls popping up all over the place. But I also think that a majority of mega corporations are no longer bound by national lines. My cousins live near a Toyota plant, and no they dont live in Japan - nor would I say they are being "japanised".

I believe that the best term is Native American. It's part of the acronym NAGPRA (Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act ), which directly involves the heads of Native American nations. If they had a problem with "NA" I suspect they would have requested it to be changed. On a side note, lately there's been a debate between ARPA (Archaeological Resources Protection Act) and the local Native American community in Washington State about ownership of recently discovered bones that are over 8,000 years old. The Native Americans believe that it is the remains of their forefathers (and therefore subject to repatriation and burial in the Native American way), while the scientific community believes that Native Americans had not traversed to the American continent by that time, and instead of giving the bones up to the Native Americans, these bones should be studied further. http://archive.archaeology.org/9701/etc/specialreport.html

I dont know about other life forms out there. Statistics point to the probability that they do exist. It is very difficult to say that something couldn't exist (except perhaps in mathematics), although the proof lies with the claimant if that person says an additional universe does exist. But what qualifies an alternate universe? What item of evidence would point to it? What piece or sets of pieces combined would show that its not just an extension of the current universe? I'm not up to speed on physics, but to my knowledge no-one has a clue. I think the best we can do for now is say that it's possible. But then again, few things arent. I can see why people enjoy the relative finality of mathematics

I agree that US presence in Afghanistan is justified. Not all endeavors of US foreign policy are bad. My mind is on Iraq because I know someone there. I also know of some alterior motives behind the US involvelment there, and frankly the blood price is just not worth it to me.I target one person because it takes that person in that position to get the ball rolling. If bush didnt support it, the US wouldnt be in Iraq right now, wouldnt you agree? I think we went there for the right misconceptions, and stayed for the wrong reasons. And now we fight against an insurgency that is practically invisible, among the public of the streets of Iraqi cities. Forgive me for saying so, but this mess is like Vietnam all over again. How long will it take to get a structurally viable state in Iraq, and what will it take to get there? It's so easy to target Bush. He was re-elected, so its not all his fault. People elected him again, which is pretty crazy in my view.

No, you dont understand what I am saying. I guess I mis-typed there. Please dont demonize me lol. The commonly believed standard by which people feel better is through ice cream. Thats not funny, its just a commonality. THe movie was funny for different reasons, and wasnt making fun of people who eat ice cream. It just reminided me of a funny movie that may actually make her feel better. In other words you could take her to that movie, because its funny. And a funny movie might make her fell better. Of course it is, thats why I said that it all depends on the situation.

The best answer I can give is.. it depends on what is making her sad. But if there was one thing that applies most often - try ice cream. I saw that in the movie "Just Friends" - which was pretty funny.

I dont beieve that the current presidency has done much in the way of giving the American people a reason to be proud, but in general Americans deserve to be proud, with all of its troubles it is still the "land of opportunity". I am proud of how American troops heroically put themselves in harms way, with the idea that it is the only option in order to promote and preserve democracy in the world. But I am angry at the "powers that be" that put them there in the first place - there is little honor with high command if the true motivator is capital interest. When Bush is through with his term I will be more proud than I am now. Can't be long now... oh crap there's another Bush in Florida, look out!

Had one this morning as a matter of fact. Something to do with my Nvidia driver I suspect - this is strange because I havent installed any new drivers... I've only been trying to install this really nasty piece of software called NIS2006 => what a POC. Considering baselining this thing if installing a new driver wont fix it. [edit] Seems to be fixed. Turned off hardware acceleration. Apparantly this is a fairly common issue for Dell machines. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us

I think his biggest point is that he felt he was lied to. IMO he has every right in the world to feel mad about that.But Las Vegas is definitely a place that adults will most enjoy. Not that all parents who go to LV wield guns and watch porn mind you XD - I just think that as a young teen you would get pretty bored there. Oo Belagio with the fountains and Celine Dion concerts - pretty ho-hum if you ask me. If you're still at your grandparents, see if you can get some interesting stories from them - say your writing a report for school if he's shy about it. Before my grandfather died I used to love hearing about his war stories (he was in WWII).Anyways, try not to be too mad at your parents. If they did lie, they probably did so because it was the easiest way for them to achieve what they thought was best. No family is perfect. Try to forgive them for that.

I love simple games that are so entertaining!The hardest part was to try to resist clicking while trying to memorize the order before you start.

Sound advice, NigaiAmaiYume.I usually tell them to hold on, then I walk away, watch tv. THey have to end the call because it casts them money (or so I understand). It wont stop them from calling back later, but often times I just dont care enough to do anything about it.