Chakgogka

Reply to MM tries Haiku in Writing JoeUser Forums

I am a points whore Please comment on MY haiku You can find it here

Yet another bloody haiku in Writing JoeUser Forums

I am a points whore Please comment on my haiku You can find it here ;-)

Reply to Dancing on Jerry Falwell's Grave? in Current Events JoeUser Forums

In theory I really like KFC's attitude of looking at the real human being behind the public persona, instead of getting het up about ideological differences... ... and the day she writes a blog about being charmed by the 'inner person' of a gay, atheist, communist abortionist that she met in the supermarket, I will actually take it seriously...

Reply to Gays in the Military? I honestly don't see the problem... in Current Events JoeUser Forums

Cacto, while it is true that Para is (a) against gays in the military and (b) also happens to strongly disapprove of this perverted lifestyle for religious reasons, any connection between these two facts is completely coincidental and, yes, it really is all about the showers... Back on planet Earth, there are gays in the military, there always have been - probably always will be. You know this, I know this, he knows this. End of story.

Reply to Capitalism Offers the Best Answers for Poverty in Current Events JoeUser Forums

As a self-confessed 'bourgeoise [sic] eurodweeb' I tend to see the socio-economic/political systems more as a continuum with a theoretical (but never actually existing) 'pure' capitalism at one end, and a theoretical (but never actually achieved) communism at the other. They essentially represent the possible extremes on the individualism/collectivism axis. I am more interested in what lies towards the middle. By and large I agree with you t

Reply to Gays or Retardation Nation in Current Events JoeUser Forums

If gays did this, I think they'd be surprised at how quickly it would become a non-issue. I think that this is over optimistic. 'Sodomy laws' are a reality within our lifetime; the death penalty for homosexuality is now only imposed (as far as I know) in muslim countries, but we in the West are less than 200 years from that ourselves. What you see as confrontational displays that unnecessarily upset 'normal' people (and you may well be right to do

Reply to Gays or Retardation Nation in Current Events JoeUser Forums

(How about a book called "Mommy's New Master?" or "Sometimes Bruises Can Be Fun?" Just came back from the pub and saw this - and it made me laugh out loud ... Yes, you make a good point (although I have to say that I am so irredeemably liberal/perverted that I have little problem with "Mommy's New Master"). Your main point though is what makes gays so 'special', among the 57 varieties of perversion on offer? My answer: theoretically nothing

Reply to Gays or Retardation Nation in Current Events JoeUser Forums

I also do not understand people having to cram their sexual life down our throats. I really do not care who bops who. Are you really telling us that random gays are forcing you to perform fellatio on them or is this some kind of 'metaphor'? And don't tell us you do "not care who bops who" - of course you do. As a fully paid up Jesus delusionist you believe it is a sin that needs to be stamped out, so it's pointless trying to pretend that you have a 'live and

Reply to "Obey Me," Says God and Fundies. in Religion JoeUser Forums

What I hope is a fair summary of the various possible positions based on the above: 1. There is a God, who has inerrantly revealed himself in Scripture and is every bit as nasty as you say, but the nastiness ultimately has a beauty and necessity in the 'Grand Plan' that your finite mind cannot be expected to grasp... [a view exemplified by KFCs postings] 2. There is a God who is indeed a vengeful, sadistic, cruel, 'artistic' monster, so suck it up you miserable little worm! [a

Reply to Watching (and enjoying) 'Bones' in Movies & TV & Books JoeUser Forums

... even so, a series well worth watching...

Watching (and enjoying) 'Bones' in Movies & TV & Books JoeUser Forums

I recently received as a gift a box set of DVDs of the US TV series Bones , described as a kind of " sexed-up CSI " They make for fascinating and enjoyable viewing. Like so many of these highly successful American TV shows, Bones also seems to say a lot about what kind of society the US is, and what kind of people make up its TV audiences. Two threads seem to run through each episode. One is the implied sexual tension between the tough, no-nonsense, averagely smart, but handso

Reply to US Embassy in Greece fired upon; called terrorism in Current Events JoeUser Forums

I think you are a frightened, sad human being. I feel sorry for you. I'd like to second that. And happily, I won't make the mistake the same kind of mistake as RW and assume that all christians are sad, frightened, hate-obsessed bigots. This is just one man's particular hang up... <TABLE cellpadding=8 width="95%" align=center bgC

Reply to Hypocrisy from hypocrites in Religion JoeUser Forums

I can understand why christians might get upset by any accusation that they are all a bunch of hypocrites, but sometimes it helps to see things through the accuser's eyes. Christianity, like most religions makes huge claims of a supernatural nature that, whether or not they are true, clearly go against most people's common sense experience and understanding of life. It also makes huge claims about what the christian life will 'deliver', in terms of spiritual benefit, to those who follow it. Obvi

Reply to Since when was Davey Jones famous for carols?! in Current Events JoeUser Forums

Interesting, but I'm afraid that this article is a good example of what happens when you've been away form your native country for a long time (as have I). she said that you'd be hard pressed to find a Christmas card that had a religious scene on the front of it. I'm flying back to the UK for a holida

Reply to Why I do not believe Lord Stevens in Politics JoeUser Forums

I am not a conspiracy theorist You could have fooled me.

Reply to Europe on the Brink of Takeover? in Politics JoeUser Forums

Ah yes the 'Eurabia' fantasy again. In order to understand where this is coming from a few observations are necessary: 1. Americans are the least-well travelled of any peoples in the developed world (something like only 14% of them have passports), so most of this comes from Fox News and right-wing blogs, rather than any personal knowledge of Europe. Think about it: if your only source of information is the most sensationalist end of that p

Reply to 'We' spied on Princess Di? That's a surprise why? in Politics JoeUser Forums

It was a democrat administration so that means no accountability is required. Well, I suppose it is your country and your country's politics, so no surprise that you do the old partisan "it was the other lot wot done it" routine. But do you really think a republican administration would not have done this? This is very timely story becau

Reply to Liberals & Conservatives, who are they? in Republican JoeUser Forums

Whether it lasts 4 or 8 or 12 (as Clinton's would have if Gore had been half the politician as Clinton) years thereafter, expect another hard correction when people can finally stomach someone who promises more than "Camelot". Probably so, but my point is that the 'to and fro' of tweedledum and tweedledee in 2 party systems like the US (and '2 and a h

Reply to Liberals & Conservatives, who are they? in Republican JoeUser Forums

Yet the middle rules, as was just demonstrated. I'm assuming by 'just demonstrated' you mean that an uncharacteristically harsh turn to the hard right under George W. Bush, has now been 'auto-corrected' towards a more moderate stance? (i.e. Americans have voted in the Democrats, to correct a political 'imbalance' without necessarily agreeing with the

Reply to Liberals & Conservatives, who are they? in Republican JoeUser Forums

Before answering I thought that I'd better take the test (even though it turned out to be designed for Americans only). The result: Your true political self: You are a Social Liberal (75% permissive) and an Economic Moderate (55% permissive). You are best described as a: Democrat [ In American terms, this is about right ] You exh

Reply to Shame on the Christian Coalition! in Religion JoeUser Forums

Interesting thread. What comes out of it is that people look at the same christian teachings and - quite rightly - are able to draw diametrically opposite political conclusions from them. For this reason I largely agree with Bakerstreet on this one. When he asks the question: Am I a bad Christian for opposing welfare? Socialized health care? <br/

Reply to Vatican Idol in Religion JoeUser Forums

The problem with using scriptures from the apocrypha is that the Catholic church is the only organization that recognizes them as scripture - no other christian denomination does. Not so. Those books of the Apocrypha known as the Deuterocanonical books are accepted as scripture by the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Churches and the Orienta

Reply to Why America is hated in War on Terror JoeUser Forums

In every country I lived in they all believed their county was the best in the world Then you have not lived in the same European countries as me. What basically divides Europeans and Americans is that very few Europeans today actually believe that their country is "the best in the world" (with the possible exception of the French). Many European nat

Reply to Gay advertisements Offend Bus Driver in Current Events JoeUser Forums

Why do homosexuals try to ram their lifestyles down my throat? As ever, I am amused - and mildly irritated - by this daft, but common expression. In fact those perhaps rather unfortunate words 'ramming it down our throats' seem to be the standard mantra for making this complaint, which suggests to me that it is what Richard Dawkins calls a meme</i

Reply to As YOU age, which is MORE likely? in Politics JoeUser Forums

The usual pattern does seem to be for people to move a little rightward as they get older. Of course, the explanation you accept for this depends on where you are on the political spectrum. Rightwingers think this happens because people finally 'wise up' and become more realistic, jettisoning unrealistic utopian ideas; left-wingers think that people just lose their idealism and reforming energy with age. As a militant moderate I think that there is truth in both sides of the equ