Disqus - Latest Comments for Lairor

Re: Ten-Foot Pole

Lairor — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 18:29:44 -0000

Yeah, I only really learnt about it because I broke up with my girlfriend and I needed a really complicated issue to focus on to occupy my mind. True story.

Re: Ten-Foot Pole

Lairor — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 17:44:12 -0000

When there's talks of the West Bank, inevitably the word "occupation" comes up which always amuses me. What exactly does that mean? Does it mean that people in the occupied territories aren't allowed to vote? Well then the People's Republic of China has been in occupation of mainland China since 1949 which should rightfully belong to the now democratic Republic of China.

Nobody accuses Turkey of occupying the Greek city of Constantinople and the neighbouring region of Anatolia. That's because the Ottoman Empire deported the Greek population and slaughtered the Armenians. If Israel were to deport/slaughter the Palestinians would we stop calling them occupiers?

What about the Six Celtic nations? People from northern Germany came and "occupied" their land and displaced much of the native population. Now only Ireland is an independent state. Is the U.K. currently occupying Cornwall?

Re: Ten-Foot Pole

Lairor — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 17:33:32 -0000

I agree the lack of proselytizing in Judaism is definitely a contributing factor but just look at the figures. I don't have sources for the exact numbers but I'm pretty sure there were about 15-16 million Jews in the world in 1939. 6 million were wiped out in the Final Solution. World Jewish population still hasn't reached pre-WWII levels even today.

Re: Ten-Foot Pole

Lairor — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 07:45:32 -0000

I'm conflicted on this issue. Giving up Gaza, yeah no problem, that little strip of land was never an integral part of Eretz Israel. But Judea and Samaria? That's straight up part of Israel. Maybe not the modern State of Israel, but certainly the historical Land of Israel. But of course building settlements will put the Palestinians into a huff about things. So what's better, getting what you deserve, or appeasing the other side to avoid bloodshed.

The Arab world is already massive and the Jews only have a comparatively tiny sliver of land. And before anyone makes themselves sound stupid by pointing out there are far less Jews... well we all know why that is.

Re: Boycott the Olympics?

Lairor — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 21:26:44 -0000

The Olympics aren't supposed to by political. Hell, in Ancient Greece, wars were put on hold so that the Olympics could be held. But realistically, anything that involves multiple nations is inevitably going to be political.

We should have boycotted the Olympic games. Now it's far too late. The IOC made the decision in 2001. We should have said, look China, either you hold free and fair elections before 2008 or we're boycotting. That way you announce your intentions far in advance and you give the country lots of time to not do something about it.

South Africa was not allowed because of apartheid. The ICC describes apartheid as "inhumane acts ... committed in the context of an institutionalised regime of systematic oppression and domination by one racial group over any other racial group or groups and committed with the intention of maintaining that regime." That describes Han chauvinism to a T.

http://www.iccnow.org/docum...

Re: Right to Choose

Lairor — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 21:07:21 -0000

I don't know how I missed this one.

I can't believe life threatening pregnancies, incest, rape, etc. are being still being used as legitimate arguments for legal abortions. Shockingly enough, many countries that do prohibit abortions make exception for these, especially when maternal health is concerned. There are only four (4), that's right just 4 countries out of nearly 200 that disallow abortions under all circumstances: Chile, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Malta. I guess the Vatican would make 5 but the majority of its citizens are male and there are no hospitals there.

As for unwanted pregnancies... don't have sex! I'm not calling for abstinence only but I don't understand how people have got it in their minds that sexual intercourse without fear of pregnancy is somehow a right. The primary purpose of sex is procreation! The whole pleasure part is just an added bonus. I'm not saying you shouldn't have sex for pleasure but you should understand the potential consequences of your actions and be willing to accept them.

I reject your statement claiming the pro-life movement is entirely based on the authority of God. Granted, most countries outside of Africa that ban abortion are Muslim- or Roman Catholic-majority countries but just because these people are inarticulate about their views we shouldn't condemn them. I'm sure a lot of pro-choice people just want bone and not worry about a potential bundle of joy. However, they don't use this argument because it would make them sound shallow and immature. Just like I could say A) I believe we shouldn't abort because a foetus is God's creation or B) I believe humans have a fundamental right to life and because we can't be absolutely sure when life begins we should err on the side of caution and not abort foetuses. See, I just made the exact same argument twice, except the second one sounded smarter.

"The decision to have a baby is probably the most important decision a woman will ever have to make about her body" is a very said statement. I hope you don't honestly believe that the life making process is merely a decision a woman makes about her body. Besides, last time I checked, it still takes two to tango.

Other than that I suppose the pro-choice movement in the U.S. is more conservative than in Canada. Up here they believe abortion should be completely legal up to and including while a woman is in labour and then said abortion should be 100% funded by tax dollars. Which is what the situation is now.

Re: Right to Choose

Lairor — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 21:04:46 -0000

"I don't think life is a special thing that we need to protect"

... what are hospitals for?

And if life isn't special, how about liberty and the pursuit of happiness?

Re: Right to Choose

Lairor — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 20:56:41 -0000

"Why are Right to Lifers for the death penalty?"

I understand is a U.S.-based show and you speak of capital punishment and abortion just in the U.S. which is why that question makes any sense: the United States has a much different opinion on capital punishment than virtually the rest of the developed world. Outside the U.S., Africa and the Muslim world, I think most pro-life people would be opposed to the death penalty.

Re: Who’s Got the Guns?

Lairor — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 08:39:34 -0000

Déjà vu... (http://www.moblogic.tv/vide...

I can't think of anything better to say so I'll just repost what I said 5 months ago:

"I'm Canadian, and being from a country with a sorely underfunded military I can certainly appreciate the need for an ample war chest. I also thinks it's because of many dovish countries like mine around the globe that drives the U.S. to spend so much.

"In the end I think it all comes down to results. Yugoslavia seems to be the only mission in recent history where the majority opinion seems to positive. There are lots of smaller missions around the world that have undoubtedly gone unnoticed but when it comes to recent big ticket items, whether it be the ones where action wasn't taken (Rwanda, Darfur) or the ones where it was and success has been elusive (Afghanistan, Iraq) people see the cold, hard results and can get real pessimistic."

Re: Why Tuesday?

Lairor — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 22:27:50 -0000

Two thumbs up for Rhapsody in Blue.

You could always do things Australian style and make voting mandatory. But that's kind of stupid and is a pain in the neck to enforce. So I guess people just can't make it. Too bad, right?

You know what, I don't buy any of this crap. A presidential election happens once every four years... I think you can budget a little time and get your ass down to a polling station. I don't know, maybe some places are run really poorly but how long will that take, 30 minutes to an hour, tops. Even if it's on the weekend... you won't miss that one hour because you'll have more than 35,000 hours to spend doing whatever the hell you want until the next presidential election.

Re: Why Vote?

Lairor — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 23:49:32 -0000

I've got a solution! Move to Iceland! The population is only 316k and only half of them show up to vote for the president so your vote is bound to matter. What's more, the majority of presidential elections have been uncontested, so you yourself could be the next president!

It's true, the electoral college does at times seem needlessly complicated. I think the French have the best system in theory but if you can't get most people to come out to vote once, how will ever convince them to do it twice?

Re: Alive in Baghdad

Lairor — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 01:56:04 -0000

I'm not quite what you're talking about "not electing the president." I'm not a big fan of Mr. Bush, but nonetheless over 60 million people put their X down for him, and that was a free and fair election unlike the shams Saddam orchestrated.

And France only really redrew their republican system once, in 1958. The other times were coups or foreign invasions that brought down the government.

Okay, so maybe the aversion to democracy doesn't have to do with them being Arabs, but what then is it? As I said before it's not Islam. They certainly aren't impoverished nations. It's true the area was colonized by the Ottoman Empire but unlike the European colonization of Africa, Turkish and Arab culture have more in common making the situation more similar to the English in Ireland. And Ireland certainly has its problems but at least they have freedom.

I have no problem with scraping their knees, but where does an insurgency fit in?

Re: Alive in Baghdad

Lairor — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 23:51:39 -0000

"Many forms of Government have been tried and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time." - Winston Churchill

But I completely agree with you on Afghanistan. That mission has always seemed more "legitimate" and there definitely needs to be more focus on it.

Re: Alive in Baghdad

Lairor — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 18:22:10 -0000

It's Yugoslavia all over again. Tito was brutal and repressive but he was the one thing that kept everybody from each other's throats. Slowly but surely, the Balkans are becoming developed liberal democracies. I don't see this happening in Iraq.

People will accuse me of being racist (they have before) but as far as I can see, many Arab people are just incompatible with democracy. I defend this by pointing out that there are no democratic Arab nations. Just to be clear, this has nothing to do with Islam because there are several Muslim nations that are (relatively) successful democracies (Turkey, Indonesia, Bosnia). You had your elections, now stop fighting. Sure, maybe you didn't get to be in charge but that's how a democracy works.

That they think everything will suddenly become peaceful as soon as the foreign troops move out is laughable. I think at best, Iraq will become another Lebanon: a highly dysfunctional democracy in which private militias command a ridiculous amount of power. Everybody wants a piece of the pie.

Re: Marie Jarry fights for her right to appear on “ugliest dude hottest wife”

Lairor — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 18:56:39 -0000

I know many school boards differentiate between "sick days" and "personal days." In this instance, she clearly wasn't sick.

Re: Independence Day

Lairor — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 08:23:40 -0000

Nice! I'm back to -2.

Re: Independence Day

Lairor — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 17:00:57 -0000

Zing!

Re: Independence Day

Lairor — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 17:00:26 -0000

I want to declare independence from the Commonwealth of Nations so I can get this jobless old hag off my money.

Re: Black National Anthem lyrics make The Star-Spangled Banner sparkle

Lairor — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 16:55:29 -0000

Well the War of 1812 (which is the scene the anthem depicts, the Battle of Baltimore to be exact) was a fairly dumb war but in all the confusion thousands of slaves escaped to "freedom" in Canada. And then most of them returned after the civil war so she should probably be happy.

Re: Horse People

Lairor — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 12:43:48 -0000

Jerry Seinfeld on Horses: http://www.youtube.com/watc...

Re: Bob Barr Votes Against Hillary

Lairor — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 18:33:47 -0000

I'm confused. I swear this wasn't here before and there was another blog post that's now missing. Am I going crazy?

Re: Born in the US(un)A

Lairor — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 04:54:18 -0000

I think any American citizen convicted of sedition and/or treason can be sufficiently described as being "un-American." But outside of that, it's shaky ground.

Re: Your Questions Answered: The Death Penalty

Lairor — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 01:51:11 -0000

Although I am against capital punishment there is one thing that really does annoy me. Whenever someone uses religion to justify it a lot of people are up in arms about "separation of church and state" and whatnot. But whenever someone quotes scripture against the death penalty those same people are oddly silent. An annoying little hypocrisy.

Re: Chris Fabricant And The Drug War

Lairor — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 18:58:20 -0000

I think a distinction should be made between marijuana and "everything else." I don't smoke it myself but I honestly don't care if someone else does and it probably gives a boost to the potato chip industry. That being said, I also don't feel any remorse for people arrested for possession. I read somewhere that in ancient Sparta when a youth was caught stealing he was punished not for stealing but for getting caught. I kind of like that idea. The law is the law, it's generally good not to break but if do, perhaps you should at least try and be discreet about it. But seriously, legalize it, dilute it, filter it and tax it and you've just turned a sap on law enforcement budgets into a money maker.

But crap like cocaine and heroin? They're just too addictive with too powerful short term side effects. Sure cigarettes are addictive but you don't hear about a lot of people OD'ing on tobacco.

Re: Hillary for VP?

Lairor — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 16:39:06 -0000

The question you asked your people was technically different than the one in the online poll. In this video you just ask if she will be vice president which not only requires her to accept a nomination, it also requires the Dems to win in November. It's nitpicking, but it's an important distinction.

I like these "behind the scenes" episodes. They're very earthy and I feel like I can get down with the MobLogic crew and get on your wavelength. I'm not exactly what that meant.