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    marye
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    Nuclear power! Carcinogenic cell phones! The Stanley Cup! and the usual parade of kids dancing and shaking their bones, politicians throwing stones, etc. Discuss.

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  • deadhead102
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    Deadheads For Bernie!

    Get on the boat! Health care with no deductibles, co-pays, etc. To any union members who think their negotiated health plan is better, if your employer doesn't have to pay for your health care, THEY CAN PAY YOU MORE!

  • marye
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    this topic
    is getting seriously unwieldy; please post in the new thread here: http://www.dead.net/forum/long-strange-and-trippy-still-more-current-events
  • Mike Edwards
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    With Six You Get Egg Roll
    > The cost of the war to America was roughly one trillion dollars. Where this gets really interesting is that the US borrowed that trillion dollars from the People's Republic of China. Add to this the fact that most of the oil coming out of Iraq these days is headed, not for the US, but to Asia, and you've got yourself a real head-scratcher of a conclusion: the US borrowed a trillion dollars from the Chinese to secure their supply of oil?
  • Anna rRxia
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    10 Year Anniversary of the start of the Iraq War
    There are few people out there who believe this wasn't a war of personal animosity between Dubya and Hussein. All the evidence was forged or made up as far as weapons of mass destruction are concerned. In a place where there was no AQ one came to be established in the chaos of war. The US was ill-prepared, thinking it would be a shorter term conflict and not committing enough resources to it. Not only that, the generals didn't conceive of the IEDs that would be used to blow up convoys. Thus, American soldiers didn't have the body armor they needed or the armored vehicles they needed. Soldiers didn't have the psychological preparation needed to fight an enemy without uniforms, melting into an innocent population, thus causing unbelievable psychological damage to the troops - suicides and PTSD were rampant in the front line troops. Some of them come home to become ticking time-bombs. The whole argument of "So what if there weren't weapons of mass destruction there, Hussein was a bad man who needed to be removed." doesn't hold water. There are a lot of bad dictators out there whom we don't regard as bad enough to go to war over. This war is the result of the neo-cons who were thoroughly disgraced -- people like Cheney, Wolfowitz, Rumsfeld & Bush. These former leaders of the US don't even dare to travel to Britain as they may be arrested, to this day, as war criminals. Due to this war being the first one where contractors took a large percentage of low-level jobs there were relatively few casualties among US soldiers, about 4000. This should be compared to the most precise count of Iraqis killed, based partly on Wikki Leaks information, that shows that roughly 120,000 Iraqis were killed from all sources of violence, not just American or American hired, during the years of war 2003-2011. The cost of the war to America was roughly one trillion dollars. It was this indiscriminate killing by Americans and their civilian contractors that turned the Iraqi population against the US as the war progressed. The neo-cons are now widely regarded as short-sighted fools and part of an administration that allowed carnage and widespread economic suffering around the world to this day because of lax oversight of investment banks.
  • Anna rRxia
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    Their Walls are made of Cannonballs
    The recent spate of gun violence in upstate NY, about 200 miles to the West of me, is quite frightening. The Governor of that State passed the most strict gun controls in the nation and it seems to be of no avail. And that is because the genie is out of the bottle with no way to put the genie back. 250,000,000 guns on our streets will never be turned in again to any significant degree. This latest episode had an otherwise normal 64 year-old man shoot 4 people in a barbershop in Herkimer and then head across the river and shoot two more at a quick lube in Mohawk before returning to Herkimer and barricading himself in an abandoned building in the middle of downtown. He was fatally shot when he killed a police dog that was sent in by SWAT teams after a 24 hour stand-off. These things happening in small towns are very frightening to those of us who live in semi-rural America. I attribute a lot of these shootings not to people who are mentally unbalanced but to otherwise middle-class people who are slipping into poverty and feel that their lives are embarrassing and useless, on top of which they are continuously bombarded by news stories about Congress about to pull the social safety net out from under them. No subsidized housing, no food stamps, no medical care, no medicine, no social security check. This angst is felt by Millennial also who generally feel cheated that the good things 80% of the population experienced during their lives will not be there for them in a brave new world filled with crushing debt, global warming and helplessness in old age. On TV this morning I saw a commercial for Sig-Sauer Academy. It was cutting- edge gun-nut stuff. It showed people responding to being touched on the arm by quickly whipping out a pistol and emptying a clip into them. Being touched on the arm does not constitute a mortal threat and in more than 75% of the states in this country the person who kills such a person with a legally concealed handgun will go to jail for involuntary manslaughter at the very least.
  • Anna rRxia
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    Some corrections
    The Catholic Church's apology last year was for it's role during WWII, not for Cardinal Bergolio's conduct in Argentina. The Catholic church maintains still to this day that it's responsibility was to save Catholics during this time period. Upon reflection, Bergolio has been very outspoken about the responsibility of the rich to the poor. Indeed this is the central to the problems experienced during the time of the disappeared in South America. Bergolio had to know what was going on but he couldn't call a spade a spade or he could have ended up like the Archbishop of El Salvador: Assassinated. It was pointed out yesterday on MSNBC that this retirement of a pope and the election of the first pope outside of Europe in a strongly Catholic emerging continent is not an accident. The bottom line is more envelopes in the collection plate while a European oversees the "colored" pope so he doesn't run amok. At least the last pope gave up the trappings of power such as his red Prada shoes. Jon Stewart pointed out that he could always use those shoes to click his heels three times together and incant: "There is no place like Rome There is no place like Rome"
  • Anna rRxia
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    Furthur Bus
    I guess the Pranksters pulled a fast one on the Smithsonian or maybe a replica was part of the deal, but they drove a bus across the country to be placed in the Smithsonian in or around 1997. I welcome this project by the Kesey family to restore the original bus and certainly hope funds can be raised. Please keep us informed as I will certainly make a small donation to this part of history that could be preserved to at least 2065, the one hundred year anniversary of the Grateful Dead. It could be an attraction at a major festival of jam bands still belting it out and commemorating the scene and one of America's favorite bands. The venue should be UC Santa Cruz, where the archives are enshrined.
  • Mike Edwards
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    But Remember: Nothing Lasts
    At least one member of the Republican Party seems to have suffered a moment of clarity recently. Speaking at CPAC, Newt Gingrich observed that the Republican establishment is "mired in stupidity."
  • wilfredtjones
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    along with the impending return of twinkies...
    ...here's something else to flag down to this summer (well, this summer for the twinkies, next summer for the bus) the furthur bus!
  • Anna rRxia
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    War on the poor
    The Republicans have their guns squarely set on entitlement programs and they are going to get their way. The Koch brothers have set the agenda with their billions and the media has served up this steaming pile of offal like lap dogs. The social contract is about to be broken and for the baby boomers it looks as if those 55 older will be able to keep their Medicare and SS benefits while those under that age will have their benefits cut and delivered two years later. This is not ridiculous, it is a crime. Something needs to be pointed out here before this happens. The stinking mess created by lax regulation of investment banks by a Republican president resulted in massive bailouts that boosted the Federal deficit 1.45 trillion dollars in 2009. As of 2012, the Obama Administration has reduced that debt to 845 billion. The sky is not about to fall. We don't need to declare war on the poor by slashing entitlements and stabbing the middle class baby boomers in the back. This whole dance by Obama seems very well orchestrated. First the big deal of increasing taxes on the rich and then the Republicans refusing to budge an inch on the tax code, closing massive loopholes for special interests you could sail a ship through. Then Obama goes on a "charm offensive" which is nothing but a euphemism for caving on entitlements. Centrist Democrats suck. This rant is far from over. To be continued.
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Nuclear power! Carcinogenic cell phones! The Stanley Cup! and the usual parade of kids dancing and shaking their bones, politicians throwing stones, etc. Discuss.

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nah! not at all!********************************** I am not young enough to know everything. Oscar Wilde
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knotty?....HA!!....Yek ek ek ek ek ek ek...(Popeye laugh)
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Some kind of time warp here, but what the heck. John Man informs me that one of Genghis Khan's greatest military victories was ...wait for it.. The Battle of Badger's Mouth!! Mrs Badger would also consider this a great victory if the outcome would be that Badger's Mouth was shut once in a while. and Gr8ful Ted..that ABB benefit show was fantastic wasn't it? I just got an aud of it. OK back to the depressing news
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I never said anything of the sort....you keep posting, you badger, you...where would you get that idea??
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are you reading Gengis Khan: Life, death, and resurrection?....published in 2005?
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Even through our collective karma everything is going to hell in a bucket,You can choose to ignore it all and free your mind instead.
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Fabulous, just fabulous. What started in the 12th century as a papal guard for Christian pilgrims has been adopted by this nut job to repel Islamic invaders to Europe who may make it to 7% of Europe's population by 2020. The Knights Templar were disbanded in the 13th century, but the remnants purportedly became bankers. More fabulous? There may be other nut jobs who wield the shield with the red cross in Europe. ~ I hold the carrion crow. Bow and bend to me. ~ (Mountains of the Moon
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Did you mean the Red Cross? that profit making, lamentable, greedy, distorted sinner of a "charity"? We'll sell arms; good for a couple nickels, but wait, cloaking ourselves in another guise is way more profitable. There's some wonderful, compassionate, selfless, hardworking ladies and gentleman working for them, but avoid like the plague, people. Do not give any money to these crooks. Chuck it into the nearest black hole instead; same result but at least your conscience will be cleaner. Haiti? Japan? to name but deux? yeah, thanks guys. thanks a lot.
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That's right folks, we'll be watching pro football before you know it! The lock-out is over and teams are scrambling to sign free agents. Word has it Johnman may be a walk-on for the Seahawks, as QB Matt Hasselbeck has flown off elsewhere. Or did he retire? Meanwhile in Washington, D.C. (Dysfunctional Congress), compromising minds have developed a proposal to cut spending, keep the wealthy from paying more taxes, and allowing President Obama to skate through the next election without micro-managing another debt ceiling situation. Before we cut the cake and eat it, i believe it still has to be voted upon in both the Senate and the House: Tea-party folks may through a left-handed monkey wrench into the gears of progress?
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If Ochosinko (I can't spell) stays on the straight and narrow I see another Pats superbowl next February. No team ever thought the strike wouldn't be settled.
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New England picked up Albert Haynesworth? What kinds shape is Brady in? I see the Colts threw 90 million bucks at Peyton....
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Ohhh boy, they settled. Purportedly the compromise is:Raise the debt ceiling 2.7 trillion No new taxes (Eat the rich!!!!) A bi-partisan committee to cut 2.7 trillion, with a straight up or down vote required. This seems to bypass a provision that IF they can't agree on cuts then 2.7 trillion comes 50% from Medicare, 50% from the military. IT WAS, as I warned long ago, the Tea Party freshman in Congress who totally blew this discussion up. They went to Washington and didn't care if they were one termers and couldn't be bought by pork. I think Jim Boehner (Speaker) got told "Fuck You" in private meetings quite a bit by these folks in the last two weeks. ~ Burning down the house! ~ (I love it)
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Chad Johnson. Yeah, I can't spell his name either. If the Patriot mindset clicks with Haynesworth and him, the Pats do look good for the season. The organization has a way locking in that team-first thing, we'll see if works with these two guys. And they both can see what happened when Randy Moss started to revert to his old me-first ways...
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Pro sports to go on a serious downward slide. Spread the wealth (literally) a bit.. "It's got no signs or dividing line and very few rules to guide"
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Is this Jerry"s birthday today? August 1st? And yeah, the Powers That Be weren't going to let the football season die. Too much money lost and too much angst created in places with nothing to do but watch football all winter.
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Are we going to go through all this again next year? In an election year? YAY...
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YEAH it's Jerry's birthday!!!! no idea 'bout the football shit; although i was gripped and hook, lined and sinkered as a whippersnapper when that sport was shown on prime time for the first time here in ol' Britain; toss up between Redskins and Dolphins, with a dash of tabasco-type 49er fruitiness; Montana and Marino my idols; caps and shirts brought back from US excursions from my dear ol' Dad. jumpin on the bed in a huddle and touchdown frenzy til' the youthful energy gave out in the late hours. happy days. damn i wanted to BE them!
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And there is no imminent strike, AND his team are the German Champions! LOL out of maybe 12 teams in the whole country!********************************** I am not young enough to know everything. Oscar Wilde
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Happy birthday Jerry! Hope your learning to jam with that guitar in the new incarnation!Lookin' forward to that day when... ~ The candyman's back in town ~
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Lookin' forward to that day when........ maybe you can answer my private message lamagonzo!!!!! not sure if you got it i guess; sent on the 22nd July. Guess you're still alive considering the post yesterday and all. Maybe haven't checked, maybe inundated with thousands, maybe choosing to ignore! Of course, if it was the last one, then i'm not going to know as you'll ignore this too, ha ha!!!
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Will do in a few hours. Will post in "Spirituality" thread as you suggest.
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Done. I sent you 3 PMs but every time got thrown off the site so don't know if you got them.
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The Tea Party screwed themselves, their kids and their kids kids. Unless you're making 250,000 or more or are working in the underground economy (good luck with health care and the nursing home) you just got screwed with less services by this deal. AND more taxes down the road. Washington DC needs to see reality. People are hurting, I'm seeing people being arrested for shoplifting food. What a country!
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The main problem is that we in the West don't do anything about it when we are aggrieved, except the French who blockade everything.We tend to tut, tut then get back to whatever we where doing. The greatest problem is the public's inertia. No one can be bothered anymore, I was on strike for 14 months trying to fight of the closures of all our coal mines, then when I got back to work was sacked for being arretsd on the picket line and being fined £25, now that's democracy. We didn't stop the pits closing because we didn't get the backing we needed so thousands lost their jobs and mining villages where decimated and whole communities left with generations of unemployment. The powers that be no that today they can do what they want and still get back in albeit they may have to take turns in power but it's only a 5 year break! To saddle our children and grandchildren with the burden of debt which our generation created in a sin beyond belief. They will have to work longer pay more for everything and still be expected to pay for their own retirement on salaries which have probably bee taxed to the hilt! Politicians and senior bankers should be hanging their heads in shame. Oh and by the way sales of Porches UP 69%........go figure.
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In the good ole' USA 1% of the population owns 80% of the wealth. And more than a few of them pay NO taxes with loopholes and good CPAs. And you are right about people caring. Few can be carried away from their electrical devices at this point. In Britain you can register as a drug addict and get free needles and heroin even, if I'm not mistaken. Addiction to numb-ers and downers is encouraged. Nothing matters unless it hits you in the face or pocketbook. It's to the point where I carry a hammer in my car and if I see a jag or a beemer with a conservative bumper sticker in a parking lot.... I want the class war to start. I'm already preparing. I'm not saying all rich people are bad -- just that they can prove their worth by supporting good causes like yours, Riggs. The others need to be sent to "re-education" camps to recant anti-human, pro-corporate views. Yes, corporations provide jobs, but surely we can find a better way to charitably organize them. Corporations are not human beings, though more than a few human beings hide behind corporations. The SLA kidnapping Patty Hearst in '75 and demanding free food giveaways was not a good thing, but not far off the point. We just need a non-violent tweak. Give it a whirl and if people still want to ignore the problem? Then I guess that is why the framers of the Constitution of the US gave us the right to bear arms (2nd Amendment, I be.believe). ~ A true revolutionary is motivated by thoughts of love ~ (Che Guevara)
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Hey, where's my 911?... Yeah, riggsjr, that's the business to be in! When a recession hits, it's the rich market you wanna be involved with; ain't no slump in the high-end field. Either that or train as a hairdresser! Always gonna need 'em (unless you're blind or bald or both of course; if you can't drive and ya can't trim it's Big Issue time). The pit closures were a shameful part of British history; the workers and families knew exactly what government and the rich thought of them. Absolutely nothing. Disposable carcasses. And some of those villages and towns never recovered; not just regarding employment, but also their psychic geography. Bitterness and resentment passed down through the generations. And we definitely need a revolution (alright Citizen Smith, easy!!). It needs to be of the psychedelic and spiritual kind. Wholesome enlightenment. It's the only way we're ever going to change things on a radical scale. We've tried literature, we've tried philosophy; we've tried protests and demonstrations, we've exhausted the rational approach. Well-meaning logic and marches like pissing in the wind. The spiritual progress will come with entheogens and hallucinogens. Religion alone will not suffice; it requires dedication and appliance that many have neither the inclination nor mental ability to reach. It helps certainly, but we're still in the poop and it's getting deeper folks. Many are struggling to hold their head above it, other have drowned. If you don't perceive the poop as actually existing a large part of the problem is solved. We will never organise corporations more charitably (ever the optimist, jonapi!); it's just not in the beasts nature. Now transcending them works a treat! A bigger treat than a marron cream cake at 1.00 in the morning while the humid night of Yokohama never sleeps! Actually, i am pretty optimistic; but "traditional" methods have failed and are failing still. Open that third eye. Strangest of places of you look at it right? You betcha!
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...in Fullerton, Ca.. They were caught on video cameras. The people of Fullerton are calling for the cops to be prosecuted for murder. The mayor of Fullerton says it has become a lynch mob mentality. The cops have been placed on "Administrative Leave", still being paid. A lawyer hired by the cops says that the drifter was "resisting" and that the cops were not using excessive force even though the video shows the man begging for his father and for his life. How can death at the hands of 6 men not be considered excessive force? What possesses otherwise decent human beings to turn into animals and beat a man to death. It's not like LA is in a heat wave or the Santa Anna winds are blowing. I'm saying a prayer that justice be served in this case. If being poor is a crime than there is going to be mass slaughter in this country. I'm saying a prayer that justice be done in this case. ~ Taught me so well I left his dead ass there by the side of the road ~
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Sounds like another delightful example of humankind lamagonzo. At least this one was caught on camera. Unlike the many others i presume....Whoever he was, i too pray for another soul on the margins of society. They'll get justice one day when there turn comes. Speaking of justice, saw a wonderful piece on the news regarding sharia law in London, preached by silly little boys with beards, small penises and a truckload of low self-esteem. Amusing to watch these insecure fools indulging in free speech in a country that encourages it; where it is free to do so. Calling for Sharia Law (sounds a good name for a porn star; Burka Bangs 2 anyone?), manipulating confused teenagers into groups ready to implement this nonsense should it appear on "their" manor. Indulging in free speech unlike the type of countries that they cherish so highly. Spoilt little brats who wouldn't last five minutes in certain Middle Parts. Amazing to be so bold and full of vigour when the bombs aren't dropping in sunny London. Please do yourself a favour and fuck yourselves off elsewhere. Anywhere. Preferably where you can rejoice openly at the stoning of women, the repression of women, the killing of women, the persecution of people who do not espouse your horseshit, heretics and the unbelieving scum of the rest of the human race. We want many races and creeds in London; we want many people from countries all over the world; we want Japanese, Chinese, Afro-Carribean, Polish, Jewish, Islamist, Buddhist, Turkish, Indian, Tamil and extraterrestrial. We don't want you.
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6 American gold eagles have been killed in wind turbines in LA County. Since they are an endangered species, the County is afraid of being sued. Since I'm on record here as supporting wind turbines as a clean source of alternative energy production I am disheartened by this report, but still support wind turbines. Why?? Fish caught in the Connecticut River (dividing line between NH & VT) upstream 8 miles from Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant test positive for Strontium 90. Vermont Yankee denies this substance is coming from their plant. Yeah, right. They produce this poison as a by-product, but it must be the environmental tree-huggers catching the fish and injecting them with Strontium 90 to frame the nuclear power plant. Bottom line? wind turbines are better than nuclear residues. I've been through Coure D'elane, Idaho and have seen the eagles over the lake. It is their greatest breeding ground. They are majestic. I am sorry a few are being sliced & diced in the turbines but in the end a smaller price to pay than Strontium 90 in fish being caught and eaten by kids and other people.
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You should get in the face of those piss-ants and give them your opinion, Jonapi. Or ship their asses to Texas and let some out-of-work Afghan campaign warrior with PTSD not getting the proper medication from VA go psycho on their pathetic selves. Booyah Marine Recon! Here is a mission for you. Compassionately speaking, these are probably children who grew up in Madrassa schools in Pakistan, Afghanistan and have only heard the hateful preaching of Imams from the Wahabist sect (financed by Saudi Arabians, thank you very much). Like sex offenders, they can't help themselves. Why does Britain put up with that kind of hate speech?
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Well, we put up with it because we have the beauty of free speech here. I'm all for it! They're allowed their say too. Gotta have some rough with the smooth i guess.Unfortunately, they are not children who have grown up in those countries, they are indeed children of Britain. Which, compassionately speaking, ever the calm sound of reason lamagonzo, bless ya, we can understand their anger if we're being charitable. You are right to take a step back. They are based in London and wish to introduce Sharia Law to the community around them (some great interviews with English people on the street saying what THEY think!!!). But that is exactly what we're dealing with here; these people are no different to the BNP or neo-nazis. Low self-esteemed young anger which needs to be vented. They are identical. If they really cared about the community or society around them they would use their emotions productively; counselling youngsters, helping drug addicts, informing them that prostitution doesn't benefit anyone etc. etc. Part of what they want to enforce is No Music!!!!!!! ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!!!!!!! But like i said, easy to be brave when you're privileged; sitting in the confines of a reasonably safe London, these chickenshits would beg for their Mummies if they ever had to endure the regimes of some of those Muslim countries which enforce Shiteria Law. How about an attack with water pistols containing pork spray in retaliation to their silly nonsense?
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Heh heh! if it were those pesky Deadheads it would be LSD-25 surely?!!!!!Cosmic enlightenment AND a tasty meal? Yes please!!!!!!!!!! and no feeding them beer and cookies either, johnman!! oh, alright then, go on; maybe just a lil'......
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wif their long hair an' beads an' such......
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No great wonder then that the fish cain't find their way home....
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jonapiYou are so right about it being easy to be brave when there is no threat or retaliation to your opinions or actions. I remember my first visit to New York when my wife and I along with a couple of friends left our hotel on the first morning and got half way down the street to come across these 5 guys on a soap box expounding their beliefs at the top of their voices, one reading from the Koran and another 'translating the meaning of the words' and the other three acting as 'heavies'. After a period of time a guy at the back of the crowd shouted"go down to Alabama they love to hear that kind of stuff" to great laughter from the watching crowd. Funnily enough on my next two visits to NY these guys were nowhere to be seen. A more worrying impact of all that has happened in the U.K in the last few years is that I and many friends like me find ourselves being more and more racist. I don't mean in any violent sense but just a feeling of injustice and the feeling that the 'other side' are getting heard more and getting their own way all the time as people are frightened to speak up (or suffering from inertia).I don't like admitting these feelings but I think it is a way that society in general is going when people like myself who have never in over 50 years felt an inclining towards racism now have these felling, or is it just a sense of resentment and injustice? Anywho rant over once again.
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No, you're absolutely right riggsjr.I have those exact same feelings rising to the surface. Luckily i was brought up not to judge anybody, be it of race or sexuality or whatever. Just never entered my mind. But i think it just goes to show how the mind can be subtly influenced and manipulated when one is in a particular mood. It's not really the piece of news talking, it's just the general frustration. Unfortunately, we live in a society, especially one dominated by tabloid headlines and incoherent hypocritical ranting spewed by newspapers; shit-stirring news stations and self-obsessed do-gooders who act like butter wouldn't melt, that when someone quite rationally and logically says "if you don't like the laws here, then fuck off to somewhere where you do", you are immediately pounced on as being a racist or nationalist or another type of -ist. WRONG! Common sense is plain ol' common sense. If i moved to France and spent my entire time rubbishing the people, their customs and their laws then why the fuck move there? Even if i was born there and felt out of place, i know where the airports are. Buy a ticket. It seems like white people aren't allowed to make comments about other races even if it's true. Look at the various Black Pride and Black Power slogans and speeches. Now i want to make one thing perfectly clear here; i'm all fucking for it. When you've been oppressed for so long, damn right you can be proud of who you are; shove it RIGHT in the faces of whitey. I remember hearing Public Enemy's "IT Takes A Nation Of Millions..." album when it first came out and was overjoyed to hear them tearing a new arsehole out of white racists. I really identified with that anger and frustration that injustice brings. However, can you imagine someone starting a record company called White Power? White Pride? Jesus..... But it is easy to be led astray by such nonsense i suppose. Look at the MOBO awards (Music Of Black Origin); if everyone is equal, why go on about it? Why highlight the difference? But it is important to remember the thousands of others who go about their own business and are wonderful, tolerant people. But it's getting harder, you're right. What was great was reading the reply of Chris Robbins, the leader of Waltham Forest Council who said: "People should not get the wrong idea about our borough because a handful of small-minded idiots have decided to deface our streets with ridiculous posters". (Posters read 'You are entering a Sharia-controlled zone-Islamic rules enforced"). That insecure, low self-esteemed "preacher" Anjem Choudary has claimed responsibility. What a tremendous fucking cunt. If anyone should blow themselves up, it's him. Just what would happen if you smeared them with bacon? Does their life become even more meaningless than it already is? Surely, thats game over, isn't it? No 72 virgins if you smell of sausages bro.
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Both of your recent comments remind me of the message of the Norwegian bomber, who said he was trying to repel Muslims from the Euro-zone. If this message is coming through on a Deadhead thread from Europeans, then I think the sentiment must be very widespread. I don't see Tiger Lilly or Badger reporting from France or Germany on this topic. I would be interested in hearing their opinions too, should they wish to express them. The problem is: How do you preserve freedoms when religious zealots, not afraid of dying for their cause (a tiny minority of a minority)? The US has taken on mass inconvenience and the loss of some freedom plus the responsibility of extreme vigilance against terrorists. A few rogues have penetrated and done some terrorist activity and one moron organized by AQ tried to bring down an airliner but we have shielded ourselves from major catastrophes of terrorism, despite Tom Clancey's novels (this militarist actually wrote a book with the elements of the 9/11 plane hijackings before it happened, wouldn't be surprised if an extremist read it and sent it to OBL. Read his other books and you'll see lots of other ways terrorists might harm us, like cooperating with Mexican drug cartels). I'm actually in favor of free speech and freedom of religion. But I draw the line where it interferes with my freedoms. Shariah law is such an odious thing for me I had a knee-jerk reaction yesterday in my post, of which I'm not proud. We have the freedom to go wherever we want in our own countries. Personally, I stay the hell away from the deep South, which includes Texas, Oklahoma and Arizona. I choose not to be around zealots of all types. But fleeing doesn't answer your questions of privileges for minorities and how it takes away from the greater good. All I can tell you is that this is a question that a sizeable minority of Americans (at least 20%) still very vocally grapple with. But please don't ampify the voice of the Norwegian bomber, lest ye be commissioned Knights of the New Templar order.
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Remember, though, that we are talking about that tiny minority of extremists, no one else.I'm not saying they should go elsewhere, i'm asking the question "why don't they?". Why stay where you're unhappy? But lest my comments are deemed too aggressive by some, i would like to say that it's said with a sense of humour not hatred. These idiots are completely insignificant; totally irrelevant. The best way to treat them is as a joke. One thing an extremist in any walk of life cannot stand is being made fun of. And they supply us with copious amounts of material. Nothing will ever come from these posters or their silly wittering. I'm all for them having their freedom of speech. Totally stand behind them on that one. They can say what they like. By the way, i wonder if those guys in New York moved to the streets of Glasgow, riggsjr? The Answer: 12 seconds. The Question: How often are the police in Glasgow called out to deal with a pregnant women attacking a rottweiler with a sledgehammer? Be the last speech they ever made!
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Oh, and i totally agree with a great TEDx lecture given by John Barlow recently - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYpB1NzCO6g Freedom of speech is absolutely essential. The best to combat extreme or distressing views is not to censor and ban them but to counteract with positivity. It's our duty. And why not have a chuckle along the way?!
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been thinking about commenting with my 2 cents occasionally, but too intimidated by the tone going on lately, use of the c word etc etc. Keep on conversing, and I will keep reading, for now.********************************** I am not young enough to know everything. Oscar Wilde
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What the F... how dare you compare my comments to those of a Norwegian nutter who murdered 76 people.My point about racism was that if you feel constantly that the pendulum is swinging against you you may indeed start to feel a little xenophobic I did not say I was going to murder people or blow people up. Some facts My mother is in a Nursing Home with Alzheimersshe she and my late father both paid into the state system for 50 years she has to pay £2800 ($4300) every 4 weeks to live there because she had some savings. When her savings are all gone they will take her pension then pay the balance. If someone from Iraq, Iran or Saudi arrives in Britain they get housed Financial help (£250 per week for the father and additional sums for each dependant (my niece works with these people). They do not take the time to learn our language they don't want to live by our rules, they want to set up their own laws and whine about living here. Well my answer is let them FUCK OFF home, if that is racist then too bad. If your objective was to silence people like jonapi and I then you have succeeded as I will not be posting here again.
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there's a bit of a balance here. Sure, I could of course delete the account of anyone who annoys anyone else, and it would be pretty empty around here pretty fast. Alternatively, we could trot down the well-worn path to toxic cesspit that's happened on many another site by giving free rein to abusive jerks, but what with one thing and another, we've been fortunate in that regard. Generally speaking, Deadhead self-policing works admirably and sticking to it is highly preferable. (This is one reason the spammers are so annoying, they're not self-policing OR Deadheads.) With this in mind, and echoing TL's observation, I note in passing that it has been a long time since any female members of this community participated in any of the substantive conversations, and an emerging culture in which the c-word is acceptable might have something to do with it, although that's just one data point. Another is that while most of us are Americans, suddenly we've got a window on something we haven't seen too much of. So if the uncivil tone of the discourse is causing people not to participate, in a Dead forum, arguably it is what it is, but arguably it's a loss to the discourse, too, and that's too bad.
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...to the Riggs family. When my grandmother went into the nursing home at 82 years of age she had about $35,000 in savings. They took it all within a year. She lived in the nursing home (I found a better one for her while she was still paying cash) to 91. It was a very bad time in my life. I loved my grandmother more than anybody on Earth, she was a real Bodhisattva. I can't pretend to know what you are going through with your own family. I can only express my deepest sympathies and wish you the best.... Please know I wasn't accusing you of allying with the nutter. I apologize if I hurt your feelings. It was a comment on what is trending right now in the Euro-zone. Everybody is going through hard times and as someone said on the BBC this morning, we need to count our blessings and be glad we don't live in Ethiopia, Kenya or Somalia, where vultures and soldiers are stalking women and children till they drop. There was no need for the personal attack or walking away from this thread, .but do whatever you want to do....
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I think I need to paraphrase here...."can't we all just get along?"...I don't think anybody is intentionally insulting anybody in this site...least of all Gonzo. I gotta say that if that WAS the case, (comin' from Gonz, I mean) he would have called ME out LONG ago, and labeled me as a nut, considering my support (sometimes rabid) of the 2nd Amendment. But that ain't the case. We are all very accepting here, as it should be, and all have varying but similar opinions. C'mon back, jonapi...I've really enjoyed reading your posts.....cookies for all!!!
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riggsjr....I don't think Gonz meant anything near what ya thought he did....c'mon back maaan
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lamagonzo,Having taken a deep breath and read your post I feel I need to review my comments. It was not my intention to hurt anyone's feelings or indeed in the case of Tigerlily to stop people entering their own forum for fear of the tone of the debate. My original comments re racism were perhaps not put in print in the manner intended. I was trying to explain the FEELING of APPEARING racist when confronted with some of the "injustices' we see in our society were people who have never contributed to the 'common fund' come and take from it then decide they do not like our society and want to change it to something more like what they left behind. It just appears to me that if you voice these thoughts in any discussion these days you are looked at by certain people as being racist. I actually feel the same about this as those people who decide they are are not going to give to society but simply take any benefits from the community purse that they can. The whole idea of the Socialist state was to have funds for the common good in order that we did not see the very scenes we witness year after year in those unfortunate states like Ethiopia happening in this country. However certain people now see these benefits as a 'RIGHT' rather than a privilege including immigrants. This country would not have been so successful had it not been for the immigrant influx of the 60's bringing many talented people to ensure that our health service and many other industries were the envy of the world. However I feel,as do many others that we are seen as a 'soft touch' when it comes to providing free care for all comers. Finally I am appalled that I have been part of a thread that has caused that moderator to have to step in with comments showing how this particular post has gone down a very dangerous route. Can I just offer an apology to anyone I may have offended with the tone/language used in previous posts as it was certainly not my intention to cause anyone any discomfort or stress. This site and community is too important to me to jeopardize any relationships I have built up over my time on here, I wish everyone peace and hope that the conversations we have in the future may take place after the deep breath and not before.
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Yes, after the deep breath. To all, I am taking two weeks off from posting in this thread. The Dog Days of August have hit hard on this site for many reasons (The Days Between) etc.. I'll be back, just need to clear my head and create space for new voices on this thread.