Solitair

Reply to Impulse Weekend Buys - August 20th in Press Room JoeUser Forums

Why do people always assume that someone who disagees with you is the polar opposite. Anyone who listened to some of the protestors being interviewed would immediately know that they abhorred terrorism. They want terrorism to stop. They disagree about the methods. Is something wrong with that? Respect their democratic right and stop demonising them. As for Ken Livingston, he is indeed a fairly right wing Labour. Some of his speaches are fairly radical. I personally laugh at some of his

Reply to JoeUser Gets a Facelift in Blogging JoeUser Forums

Looking good and much faster. Still waiting for some details on WHEN the last comment was posted (as well as how many posts). I still find myself loading articles to discover nothing new was posted since I last looked. Especially a problem with older articles. A sort by most recent comment date would also be lovely. Paul.

Reply to Do welfare mothers see the government as their mothers? in Politics JoeUser Forums

Some of the comments are a bit harsh, but I have to admit that I agree in principle to the concept. Before I comment though let me point out that I am a practicing catholic and as such my comments are guided by my upbringing and my personal sense of what's right. a) I believe all children and young adults should be on birth control until they reach the age where they can support a child in an environment above the poverty line. Whether this is when they get married, when their parents a

Reply to European vs. American views on capitalism, free speech in Current Events JoeUser Forums

Draginol, as a European I would have to disagree with your first point but agree with your second. Firstly, I have never seen a distaste for merchants in Europe. Starting your own business is much admired and encouraged in Europe. What is different though is that Europeans love the idea of small businessmen competing on a local level. Large companies (whether European, American or Japenese) using their superior size (and thus better buying power, improved efficiency, better dist

Reply to The importance of statistics in running a business in OS Customization JoeUser Forums

Very interesting Draginol. Nice approach to get quick results out of the data. As a scientist I analyse data on a daily basis and must highlight some of the important logical steps you made (not suggesting they are wrong, just they are important) 1) removing #1 and #2. This is a fairly dangerous game as it assumes that every month the 1st 2 download numbers are artificially high. If this is the case then some months maybe only 1 download or even 3 downloads could be artificial.

Reply to Rich people and their tax bitching in Politics JoeUser Forums

Anthony, as someone who is definitely in the top 5% tax band I think labeling me a communist is very funny! Do you ever make logical arguments or do you always resort to name calling for your arguments? I like my money. I like the fact I can earn my money. I don't like paying taxes, but heh I understand why I have to pay them. If my tax system was implemented I'd probably end up paying a bit more, but at least I'd know everyone was paying fairly. As I tried to explain, for me the fairness

Reply to Impulse Weekend Buys - August 20th in Press Room JoeUser Forums

Anthony, I wish you'd look at the facts more frequently. The police estimate there were 100,000 protesters in London. Many of the news stations interviewed protesters and their views ranged from extreme "Bush is the Devil" to more mainstream "I disagree with his trade tariffs". Stop labeling them Bolsheviks and hooligans. Yes they used the statue to get camera coverage, but so does Bush. American aircraft carrier anyone? You may as well label the entire planet with such a term. China, Japan, Br

Reply to Why Israel is a threat to world peace in Politics JoeUser Forums

Abraham of course lived in the city or UR in Iraq. Does that mean that true Jews can claim part of Iraq but must relinquish Israel? And before anyone bothers to reply. Of course not! But it does show the whole point of a modern claim on a location which many other races have also lived in. The bottom line is that both Jews and Arabs live in that land and need a peace solution. Any solution based on ancient claims and rights is unlikely to be accepted by the other side.

Reply to Europe: Israel biggest threat to world peace? in Current Events JoeUser Forums

DP, I'm glad to see you don't ascribe anti-semitism to the entire European population. Does it not occur to you in the slightest that maybe your own 'left wingers', and the Europeans could have a point? Maybe there is a problem with the official Israeli approach? Maybe this could be a threat to world peace? Maybe it could be generating terrorists? Maybe the Palestinians have nothing left to live for? As for your assumptions that the BBC is under the intellectual control of Marxi

Reply to Rich people and their tax bitching in Politics JoeUser Forums

I have no problems with paying 50% tax. Even 60% tax would be acceptable. So long as EVERYONE is paying the same and receiving the same benefits. If I earned $300k and had to pay $180k in taxes, then I'd expect someone who earned $15k to pay $9k in taxes. They may get $30k in benefits back, but so should I. If they get free healthcare, then so should I. If they get social security then so should I. If they get govenment pensions, then so should I. I may decide to opt for private medical

Reply to Death of a Superpower? in Politics JoeUser Forums

Some facts last year the EU imported 252 Billion US dollars worth of trade to the US. It imported 185 Billion dollars worth of trade. This makes it the largest trade partner of the US, with over 1.5 Billion dollars of trade per day occurring across the Atlantic. Loss of this trade or a serious fraction of this trade will have emmense consequences to both sides. On a basic level that a huge tax income for the government lost, on a more advanced level if those goods aren't sold the

Reply to Sure, give government control to the guy with the bomb. in Politics JoeUser Forums

By speeding up the constitution process the US also finally agrees with one of the UN's primary demands. A quick transfer of as much power as possible to an Iraqi elected government. This will hopefully encourage a new UN resolution and then a UN peace keeping force. This will greatly reduce the pressure on US troops and reduce the image of them being invaders. Smart move. Pity they didn't agree to it back in May. Paul.

Reply to Death of a Superpower? in Politics JoeUser Forums

Anthony, before you make comments such as 'the EU probably wasn’t much of a market for American products to begin with' please check the facts. Only takes a minute or two of a websearch. The EU is a major trading partner of the US. You are missing my point though, why should Europeans be happy with America subsidising it's goods? It will cost Europeans jobs. For example, of course Europeans will be unhappy if that Burbon costs twice as much, but compare that with loosing the ent

Reply to Israel biggest threat to world peace? Wrong !!!! in Current Events JoeUser Forums

To put your initial comments in perspective America was created over the dead bodies of Indian people. Germany (third Reich) was being created over the dead bodies of slavs and Jews Anywhere in history and in almost any race you can find examples of nations created over the dead of other nations. What's important is the now though. Giving all people equal rights in their nation or even their own nation. Nations with different cultures within them have particular diffi

Reply to Israel biggest threat to world peace? Wrong !!!! in Current Events JoeUser Forums

Riad, your end comments are a total disgust. Please refrain from such blatant racism. Paul.

Reply to Why Israel is a threat to world peace in Politics JoeUser Forums

Why shouldn't you get to choose your country? Israel did! Created a new country from scratch, despite being the minority population. America did! Rebelled against the English and then expanded into Indian, French and Mexican lands. Half the planet did! Paul.

Reply to Israel biggest threat? Wrong !!!! Part 2 in Current Events JoeUser Forums

Why do so many Israeli's seem to have an persecution complex? Which line anywhere above deserved the anti-semite label? It's far too easy for a Jew to throw that comment about. Lets have some respect here. People are debating their points and trying to do so in a logical manner, falling back on the tried and tested 'everyone hates the jews' arguement is very childish. Specifics ... I highlight a website to counter the initial unsupported claims - http://www.btsel

Reply to EU Trade Tarrifs in Politics JoeUser Forums

I totally agree that the EU needs to remove it trade tariffs as well. It is slowly doing so and a number of WTO rulings (such as the banana dispute) have forces it to speed up this process. It's farmer subsidies are a complete disgrace and I only vote for politicans who agree with me on this. As for EU fears, they do fear GM foods. There are plenty of reasons why they should. Without proper control the results could be a catastrophy (just look at some of the research which has been don

Reply to Israel biggest threat? Wrong !!!! Part 2 in Current Events JoeUser Forums

Andrew, if someone runs towards you with explosive then you may indeed have to kill them. Please look at the web site aginst though. It does NOT include Palestinian deaths who were suicide bombers! The numbers ARE important though. Every single number, whether Israeli or Palestinian is a life that should have been lived. Nothing is more important than that. Not pride, not territory, not religion. When people begin to realise and believe that then the killing may stop. As for 'wh

Reply to EU Trade Tarrifs in Politics JoeUser Forums

People need to ask why trade tariff are being imposed. Trade tariffs do indeed hurt everyone, but not as much as allowing subsidised goods into your country. Home maufacturers cannot compete against companies which are part funded by foreign governments and will end up going bust creating millions of extra unemployed people. If the US won't accept this then why should any other country? American companies exporting abroard get unfair (as ruled upon by the WTO) tax benefits which makes

Reply to JoeUser Layout Changes in Blogging JoeUser Forums

I like. Looks tidier. Paul.

Reply to Europe: Complacency biggest threat to world peace? in Politics JoeUser Forums

You need to seperate the UN from the UN general assembly and security council. For some reason most people have no understanding of what the UN actually does. Go have a look at the UN website at www.un.org. It has many bodies which do tremendous amount of good. There is however a problem with the ability of the UN to handle political disagreements. Lets look at 2 examples. Example 1: - 1st Gulf War - US wanted UN to syupport war. UN agreed and approved military action.

Reply to Israel biggest threat? Wrong !!!! Part 2 in Current Events JoeUser Forums

Deathmate, your comments are not the truth. Let me elaborate. Pleas elook at the following site. http://www.btselem.org/ As you'll see this site is supported by rational Israeli's from academia, media and your Knesset. It focusses on the truth. Please read it, many of your posts are very distorted by hate and a long way from the truth. Look at the details of fatalities since September 2000. Nearly 2500 Palestinians have been killed against almost 750 Israelis (including Arab I

Reply to Why Israel is a threat to world peace in Politics JoeUser Forums

Did you try living in Ireland in the 1970's? Then there was hatred. Walls were build between communities. Riots were a common occurance. People were being killed on an almost daily basis. Northern Ireland NOW is where Israel needs to be in 30 years time. It can be done! As for you examples, the UK invading Ireland would be very different from the UK invading Northern Ireland. In one case 95% of the population are Catholic in the other 50% are. Arab countries invading Israel (something w

Reply to Why Israel is a threat to world peace in Politics JoeUser Forums

To add some further comparisons to the debate, look at northern Ireland. At the end of the 16th century there was a large rebellion in Ireland against the English. It went on for many years before it was eventually defeated. In 1603 most of the chieftains in Northern Ireland fled overseas and the English government took the oppertunity to displace the catholics and replace them with Scottish landowners. A plantation occurred. 400 years later and the problems have still not healed. Half