Disqus - Latest Comments for Arthur

Re: 3615 VIS MA VIE

Arthur — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 22:13:48 -0000

Ouais putain tu te plainds beaucoup. Frauenfeld c'était énorme et si tu suporte pas la vie en camping avec 140'000 personnes tant pis pour ta gueule. Par contre on est d'accord, kanye west c'était de la grosse merde! et 50 cent est une véritable raclure de chiotte note c'est pratique pour les nettoyer. D'ailleur pour l'état des toilettes je vois pas de quoi tu te plainds, c'est normal qu'elles soient dans un état déplorables sachant qu'il y en avait environ une pour 1000 personnes...mais c'est vrai que c'était pas forcément la joie de poser une pêche dans un bac ou 999 merdes se couraient déjà après..Enfin. Malgré tout, tu es une chochotte. Tu habite où? attend laisse moi deviner : Paris, 16ème??

Re: Minister convicted of public indecency - ExChristian.Net - News and Opinion

Arthur — Tue, 25 Jul 2006 19:14:00 -0000

Excommunication warning, I don't know. Maybe his employers don't share the opinion of the judge, and then there's no reason for that. I also think he's probably innocent, even though his reply to the question concerning the high risk activity alone is perhaps slightly suspicious. He did not misunderstand THAT question, but answered he was aware he had been engaging in a high risk activity. What high risk activity? If because his friend was murdered at a public restroom he henceforth regarded going there a high risk activity, he doesn't have great abilities of abstraction and logical thinking. But anyway, one can't say if he's guilty or not, a court should be better equipped to pass reliable judgements than laymen and -women having read this post. Should, at least.

Re: Letting It All Go - Testimonies of Ex-Christians

Arthur — Thu, 02 Mar 2006 17:03:00 -0000

In the end you have to ask the question, "what is truth?" "Is there truth?" If there is no truth, then everything you wrote is absolutely right on the money. However, if truth is found in God then you've departed from the only source of truth there is.

Re: Not Your Typical Ex-Timony - Testimonies of Ex-Christians

Arthur — Tue, 09 May 2006 16:58:00 -0000

Hi Brigid, no, I'm not that fundie. My posts were the long one and the following peace/piece spelling correction. I'm going to call myself Arthur to avoid the confusion. I once was a fundie, until I decided to honestly question things and experienced a "paradigm shift", a radical change in my outlook. My "belief system" is indeed very simple now. It revolves around two central aspects. 1.) Consciousness is. 2.) There is no individual entity or "doer". Number one cannot possibly be denied; as for number 2, it can be understood intellectually by seeing that we are indeed ruled by our genes and environment -- only those two and nothing else. Or, what I hope to achieve (which is in a way nonsense because there is no-one to achieve anything) is to experience and KNOW "myself" that there is no doer but only Consciousness, only Experiencing, which I am. We cannot be sure of anything, everything is subject to error, anything can be doubted. With one exception: Experiencing is happening. Thoughts come from nowhere and disappear to nowhere without anyone doing it. Descartes was wrong to say "I think, therefore I am." It would have been correct to say "experiencing is, therefore experiencing is." Here's a tip on how to see on a more experiential level that there is no thinker (and thus also no doer): Adopt a witness attitude and watch your own mind; ask yourself what your very next thought is going to be. Can you ever know your next thought before it is already there?

The Schopenhauer quote you can find here:

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/a/arthurscho155429.html

I don't know where he originally said it, maybe it was in his "Prize Essay on the Freedom of the Will".

Greetings -- Arthur

Re: Not Your Typical Ex-Timony - Testimonies of Ex-Christians

Arthur — Wed, 10 May 2006 18:09:00 -0000

Elroy and Brigid, you both misunderstand me, but that's fine.

Anyway, I'll just comment your comments: Elroy, you don't have the ultimate medicine, and you don't know what I give a shit about and what not, and you have completely failed at summing it up. Believe me.

Brigid, I guess that to some extent it resembles Sartre's existentialism, which I don't know too much about, but he's really not my inspiration. BTW, he said we can't escape free will -- nonsense! "Negate the outside world" -- I don't know. I'd suggest negating any differenciation between inside/outside world. Maybe that's what Sartre meant. But if you want names: Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Spinoza espoused somewhat similar "philosophies", but if you really want to get into it try Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj or Ramesh Balsekar among others.

muttmutt: Well said.

Re: Recovering from Christianity - Testimonies of Ex-Christians

Arthur — Wed, 17 May 2006 18:29:00 -0000

Paganism -- I just looked it up in the dictionary. English is not my mother tongue, you know, but maybe this is new to you as well. Paganism is simply ANY of various religions other than christianity.

Jess, if you embrace what you naturally are, you couldn't do any better if you ask me. No resistance to what you are, no resistance to what is -- then you have "arrived". That's the REAL kingdom of god, that's what Jesus was ACTUALLY talking about, or whoever invented Jesus if he didn't exist. First seek the kingdom of god, and everything else will follow. The kingdom of god is reality as it already is. That's my understanding of spirituality at any rate. If you can't trust christians, fine. You can't really "trust" anyone, because you can't predict the future, if you know what I mean. Stay with embracing reality including yourself and christians who believe you're going to hell. It already is as it is. :-)

Re: Recovering from Christianity - Testimonies of Ex-Christians

Arthur — Thu, 18 May 2006 11:07:00 -0000

Thanks, Tigg.

Re: Think for yourself - Testimonies of Ex-Christians

Arthur — Mon, 22 May 2006 20:53:00 -0000

Mr. Buddhist, fair enough, but that's not my brand of Buddhism. At any rate I would discourage Barb from hastily adopting other unprovable beliefs. That's not thinking for oneself.

Past life, my goodness. Sure Consciousness has had "past lives", but no individual. Barb's gonna have to figure that out for herself over time. :-)

Re: Think for yourself - Testimonies of Ex-Christians

Arthur — Wed, 24 May 2006 20:26:00 -0000

Sorry. Sorry for the late answer and sorry for calling you Mr. Buddhist, Ms. Buddhist!

Ms. Buddhist, you wrote:

"What did you do yesterday Arthur? You wrote this comment. How do you know? Because you remember doing it. But was this just Consciousness? How do you know you really did and not just consciousness? Obviously you have a memory of it so you know it was you right?"

I don't agree. How do I know I really did it? I don't know that. Memories are quite unreliable, but even if I believed them to be reliable, what would I know? I would know my immediate experience of the memory and my immediate experience of the thought that the memory is trustworthy. I would still know nothing about the past. I don't believe I wrote anything. For practical purposes, in a way I would say I wrote it, but I don't consider this to be ultimately true. For sure I don't know I wrote it.

Re: Think for yourself - Testimonies of Ex-Christians

Arthur — Thu, 25 May 2006 11:56:00 -0000

@Vispassana & Ms. Buddhist

Hope you don't mind if I reply to both of you together. You had similar objections, I think.

It was not a joke. I just differenciate between what I view as the ultimate truth or what I can really know and day to day life including the illusion of a personality. On the latter level you are right, on that level I know lots of things and base my decisions on that knowledge. Ultimately, however, there is no "me", meaning an independent entity that does things or is ultimately responsible. This is not "true" Buddhism, it's Zen Buddhism or mysticism in general. Talking about it can get confusing because of the two levels which lead to seeming contradictions such as pathless path or gateless gate. On the one level you do things, on the other level impersonal experiences just arise to nobody. On the one level you remember the past, on the other level an experience of a memory arises in the Now (for nobody). Only the second level is ultimately true. I live my life on the first level of course, it cannot be lived anywhere else, but try to remember the existence and ultimate truth of the second level at the same time. It's not hard to see why you will often hear teachers of nonduality say this cannot be spoken about. All I'm really saying is that what I truly know is that Experiencing is and that I see no reason to believe in responsible "agents" that created themselves. In other words, all I'm saying is I don't believe in free will like Brigid, and apart from that I think Descartes was wrong saying "I think therefore I am". He posited that as self-evident but it's not. Only Experiencing is self-evident.

Re: Think for yourself - Testimonies of Ex-Christians

Arthur — Thu, 25 May 2006 16:58:00 -0000

I used to consider myself some kind of newbie to this and now I'm giving you a Satsang *g*. I won't promise to give infallible answers, but maybe "my" understanding is mature enough. Maybe a good test...

Do you suggest that "true" reality, is a formless matter, yet, everyone lives in the form to experience formlessness?

Well. I would put it this way. The formless and the "formful" are one. No individual lives in the form to experience formlessness, but the One, the Unmanifest, manifests as forms in order to experience Itself.

Do you believe in independent thought? Or, do you attribute independent thought as nothing but the byproduct of the true formless reality? There is a difference.

If you mean by independent thought that someone owns thoughts, no. Thought itself, as everything else, IS the One, not a byproduct.

There is all that there is, but then, there is the combination of the pieces within all that there is. Do you believe reality is a "synergy", where the sum of the pieces of our categorized reality, become "more" than the whole - consciousness? Or do you believe, the pieces make the whole, no more and no less, i.e., a conscious entity does not exist, etc.

No synergy. There aren't even any pieces. Consciousness can't be divided into pieces.

I see, you explain that free will doesn't exist, because Nature, Is, Consciousness, etc., is dominant over our lives, thus, we are truly not in control of our destinies. In the bigger picture, perhaps, I can see your logic. However, you pick a flavor of ice cream from the store, there are many options to choose from. Although, it could be said, that there were a finite number of selections, and thus, there wasn't truly "free will" in an infinite sense, a person still had "free will" within his finite understanding and awareness of his "immediate" reality, no?

It may seem like free will to the individual, the reason being that the individual doesn't know the future.

Can a person in a "finite" world, with only "finite" information, create a conceptualization for an "infinite" entity, such as "true reality"?

No, one can call it all kinds of names such as the Unmanifest or God, but it can't be conceptualized. That's what the 2nd commandement (no graven images) may actually be about.

One could speculate, that you are only choosing between the few "finite" options are are available in our limited understanding of the "true" reality. The cosmological ice cream store, may have only given you a few flavors of ice cream to choose from, just because you are in the store looking into the glass case at the ice cream doesn't mean you have an "awareness" of the size of the store, or the other flavors that you can't see at the other end of the counter, because of limitions of visibility.

To say, Is, exists, i.e., the ice cream store exists, etc., makes total sense, to say, one knows all about the details of "Is", in every detail, makes the claim that someone is omniscient.

You make the mistake of first taking the vantage of the Absolute and correctly saying it's omniscient but then going down to the level of an individual form, wondering how the form could be described as omniscient.

I agree with your dislike for Descartes' statement "I think, therefore I am". I see it as, "I am, therefore I think". Even more, I see, "I am, therefore, I store information about thinking, by placing my information onto objects, to include my own brain, hence, the ability to think about ones' thinking.". Without some form of projection, we would never have survived as a species. Albeit, projecting ones' own internal information onto another verbally does get annoying, in an emotional sense.

All of those sentences you started with "I am" were from the POV of the individual though. God simply is and nothing else. There's this atheistic argument that if God is perfect why did He create the world. He didn't. He is the world and at the same time He is beyond the world. God is like a television screen. He is the underlying substance that makes the pictures possible. He IS the pictures while at the same time being beyond them and totally unaffected by what happens on the screen. And He is all actors and actresses on the screen. Another analogy is to equate the manifest world with a divine play with God playing all the characters Himself. You don't have to use the word God or make it male to be sure.

That's what I would call Nirvana in Buddhist lingo. To know your true nature as the Beyond, the Witness, Awareness of your own play that cannot harm you. That also creates detachment. When you watch a movie and believe what you see is really happening you will be unnecessarily attached to what you see. When you know it's only a movie you will watch it with a certain detachment but can still enjoy it. And what's also important: Anything can still happen in the movie. Because you know it's a movie doen't mean it's all peaches and cream from then on.

The outlook changes and takes the sting off life. Otherwise, as they say: Before Enlightenment, chop wood and carry water. After Enlightenment, chop wood and carry water...

And BTW, as for "reincarnation", that's when you identify with form again. That's why they say those who have attained Liberation won't be reincarnated again. You don't need to wish for reincarnation to be forever. When a movie ends, the screen doesn't dissolve.

Re: Think for yourself - Testimonies of Ex-Christians

Arthur — Thu, 25 May 2006 19:14:00 -0000

@Boomslang

Grasshopper? Sorry, don't get this.
I did say you don't have to call it God or make it male. It was a long post, but if you comment you should read everything. ;-)
Call Yourself whatever you want!

Re: Think for yourself - Testimonies of Ex-Christians

Arthur — Fri, 26 May 2006 11:15:00 -0000

Wow, Vispassana, that's a hell of a lot. Maybe I should save your last comment to my harddrive for consideration, but we're going to have to leave it here. I can't afford to take the time to consider and comment each of your points.

Just a few things: First of all, I don't want to sell anything, but maybe I have slipped into making some unwarranted assumptions. It's one hundred percent certain that experiencing is happening, and it's pretty sure that there is no "doer". Maybe it would be most honest to leave it at that.You don't need the concept of the One to do away with free will, sure. Darwin is enough, or trying to predict your next thought. The fact that we have no free will is really nice, IMO, a pretty nice "religion" by itself. No fame, no claim, no blame, as the nonduality teacher Leo Hartong puts it. A dose of pantheism does appeal to me, though. Maybe I should make it into my personal religion and not be to bold about it, IOW, sell it as the Truth.

BTW, yes, I once believed in a literal hell too. Not THAT long along, actually. It is then very important to find out how to be "saved", everything else pales besides that. Problem: The bible and other sources don't provide a unamimous answer. Even when you think YOU are saved, in everyday life it happens that you picture the friendly person in front of you in hell because you believe that person is not saved. That's horror.

Re: Think for yourself - Testimonies of Ex-Christians

Arthur — Sat, 27 May 2006 10:37:00 -0000

Brigid, you're definitely not rude. I can testify to that.

It was me who expressed himself poorly. When I said I don't believe in free will "like Brigid" I meant "like Brigid doesn't either". It's exactly like you say. Not only do we have no more free will than an amoeba but no more free will than the river it swims in. I'm also a (die) hard determinist, the other positions just don't make sense. Two years ago I did't even know the word "determinism". It's really stunning. Both totally obvious and hard to believe at the same time.

Re: To Shiver in the Howling of the Night - Testimonies of Ex-Christians

Arthur — Mon, 05 Jun 2006 11:15:00 -0000

I wish you the best, Richard. And let me tell you, I also left Christianity about my mid-twens, and I fell into deep depression. Maybe I should have seen a doctor, but I got out of it by myself through the study of some psychology, philosophy and even spirituality (which is not the same as religion). If you need to be angry, be angry, but I daresay it won't give you anything back -- on the contrary, you will lose even more, and then you can later be angry that you were angry now... ;-)

Re: Mice more Compassionate than Christians - ExChristian.Net - Articles

Arthur — Fri, 30 Jun 2006 18:33:00 -0000

Hey Lorena,

emotional hurts are the REAL hurts, if you ask me. There are various ways of alleviating such hurts. Consulting christian fundamentalists is probabaly not the best one... Well, at least these people practice what they preach. Who died? I'm sorry.

Re: Not ready to be nice - ExChristian.Net - Articles

Arthur — Mon, 10 Jul 2006 10:58:00 -0000

Yes, I guess the native Anericans were probably no more "moral" than anyone else. I like compassion and "fairness", but ultimately, who has a "right" to anything? The idea of "belonging" is ultimately mistaken. A people possesses land as as long as it possesses it.

As for christianity and anger: What does anger me about it is the hypocrisy. As a relatively recent ex-christian (two years), I sometimes struggle with issues such as what if I'm wrong and the like, while my mother and sister are adamant about their being good christians when it's blatantly obvious they don't give a shit. But they will tell me they believe in some sort of sunday school christianity any time without a hint of blushing. That's the kind of stuff that annoys me too. I justdon't see the point of such hypocrisy.

Belinda, you can only be joking, haha! Or is it Bob Schlitz? What a kidder...

Re: Calvinism Explains Everything...and Nothing - ExChristian.Net - Articles

Arthur — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 20:11:00 -0000

Calvinism... interesting since they are right about the freewill issue (albeit in their case it's theistic determinism) and faithful to the bible I guess. That's what makes it so disgusting! Really, I believe Calvinism is not that far off the mark when you want to be a bible-believer. Here's Romans 9:

17For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.

18Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.

19Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?

20Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?

21Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?

22What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:

23And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,

That's indeed a beautiful painting of sorts...
Normally, the nonexistence of free will is my refutation of christians' freewill-refutation of atheists' argument from suffering for the nonexistence of god (hope I got that sentence right). This passage and Calvinism render that unnecessary, if a christian is willing to interpret it literally. And why not? Being from the KJV, it's easy to understand and unambiguous...

Re: The fool hath said in his heart... - ExChristian.Net - Articles

Arthur — Sat, 19 Aug 2006 15:32:00 -0000

Not bad at all, but let' face it: There are many good arguments against christianity, but the one implied by this clip is not the best. Unfortunately, it's even a logical fallacy, namely the "appeal to authority". It's the very same fallacy committed by many christians. Like, I have evolved from lower mammals, this I know, for Mr. Dawkins tells me so. If you put the clip's message simply, it's "atheism must be true because these men, who have high reputations, are atheists. With my objection, I don't want to make the bible or christianity look any better than it should, but you won't find this argument in any sound philosophical literature arguing for atheism -- and there's a reason for that. Simply because it's a fallacy. It may impress many who don't see the problem with it, but it plays directly into the hands of even moderately sly christian apologetics writers because it is easily and convincingly refutable.

By the way, I don't think tigg's a hypocrite. In my opinion, honest epistemological contemplation leads A)away from mainstream christianity and B)to precisely the radical skepticism expressed in that daoist saying. Now, if like Socrates you know that you don't know, it hardly follows that you should sit in any temple, daoist, christian or other, and pray. I too know that I don't know, but admittedly I'm not proud of it. Being overly confident about ones opinions or having to have unshakable opinions (because they're "MY" opinions, and I'm the cleverest person in the world) on just about everything -- that's foolishness.

Re: The fool hath said in his heart... - ExChristian.Net - Articles

Arthur — Sun, 20 Aug 2006 10:51:00 -0000

Boomslang and Jeff, true, the video is about how those saying in their heart "there is no god" are NOT fools. I wholeheartedly agree that they aren't. On the contrary. I've read Dawkins and know and appreciate what he's doing. I'm not taking issue with atheism, Dawkins or evolution, just with what I perceive to be the unsound reasoning implied in that clip. Just because I'm an atheist doesn't make me say yes to any argument presented in its favour. Because why does this "fool"-issue matter -- IMO it matters because of the implications it carries about the truth of atheism. If they're not fools -- but rather the oppossite -- that means accepting atheism isn't foolish either, or in fact very intelligent. Or so you might think. However, the fact that intelligent people promote atheism is in itself not an argument for atheism. Lest I be misunderstood again, I fully endorse atheism, but the clip's underlying reasoning doesn't seem to be sound. Atheism has no need whatsoever for unsound arguments. That's my whole point.

Maybe I've been indulging in a little nitpicking session or just plain misunderstood or overinterpreted the clip, that's possible.

Re: The fool hath said in his heart... - ExChristian.Net - Articles

Arthur — Sun, 20 Aug 2006 22:00:00 -0000

I think we understand each other. We have an example here of how cultural differences can influence media consumption and interpretation. Did I mention I live in the same country Arthur Schopenhauer was born in? (I prefer to visit boards where English is spoken, to practice the language.) Well, nobody will bug you with anything remotely resembling "Stalin was an atheist" here, at least not in the north of the country where I live.

Re: Ho, Ho, Ho — Merry Christmas! - ExChristian.Net - Articles

Arthur — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 17:28:00 -0000

It's great you have stopped that fundie-nonsense, Dave. But I do applaude your sincerity at the time. I mean not celebrating Christmas as a fundie. That's less hypocritical. Before I turned my back on fundamentalism I was becoming increasingly uncomfortable celebrating Christmas for the same reasons that you outlined.

Merry Christmas.

Re: Russia: The Kremlin has Their Sights on Mikheil Saakashvili! | Windows to Russia!

Arthur — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 15:03:00 -0000

25/11
Erossi Kitsmarichvili
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMQKBTyyNco

28/11
M.Saakachvili
http://www.russiatoday.com/news/news/33939

Re: Jack Bell Is A Wanker, Part II

Arthur — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 14:30:29 -0000

if discrimination should not be tolerated kartik, then why should your discrimination of anything european be tolerated?
why is kartik ignoring every agrument that he cant address?

so what kartik and jack bell really are suggesting is to stop watching the premier league or any football from europe. that would then mean that this site has no purpose in extisting.

but i really hope that this site does stick around and that people like kartik and jack bell dont influence people to reject anything that is better than what america has to offer. espn should not be influenced by bell's ignorance and should hire derek rae and andy gray for the world cup. i just dont understand why when everything else is being globalized and when kartik has no problem with the spread of american media across the world, why he is so against the admiration that many americans have for the english premier league and other european leagues. brits and europeans watch american movies and television and are fine with it, why shouldnt americans watch european sport coverage? why should brits know who jennifer aniston or jay leno are, but americans shouldnt know who steven gerrard or andy gray are?

as john lennon said,
Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace...

Re: Gary takes on two Sherry’s in his Sherry Episode!

Arthur — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 14:05:14 -0000

I am perplexed by the burnt rubber/railroad tie element in the Pedro Romero Dry Oloroso Sherry. In your opinion is this a flaw in Sherry? If so, what causes it in Sherry?

Re: Gary takes on two Sherry’s in his Sherry Episode!

Arthur — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 14:18:24 -0000

Hmmmm. Interesting. Thanks for the feedback on that. I was under the impression that "burnt rubber" or "rubber tire" is a reductive falw. Will have to try the penny test if I find it in a Sherry.

Re: Catavino moves to a more precise 1000 point scale

Arthur — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 11:41:07 -0000

This is PRECISELY what I have been searchng for in a wine rating scale!!!!!!!!!!

Re: Gabriella Joins the Circle of Wine Writers

Arthur — Mon, 19 May 2008 21:23:57 -0000

Congratulations, Gabriela!

Re: Science of Smell - Can wine critique really be “objective”

Arthur — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 13:24:09 -0000

Nice summary. But I would caution against the "it's all so subjective" mentality. While the difference between an 87 and 88 point wine is a matter of how the rating scale is structured (and how rigorously the taster follows its criteria), the fact is - as you point out - sensory assessment is alike a language. it can be learned and used reproducibly, consistently and reliably. Don't buy into the "we're all so different and wine is h-so subjective" line.

Re: Science of Smell - Can wine critique really be “objective”

Arthur — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 17:03:19 -0000

Fashions are fleeting. Maybe the salt water made the wines better and today's enthusiasts (or connoiseeures) would find those Roman wines better with a splash of salt water than without. We won't know until we try a wine made that way - with and without the salt water. I am wary of embracing ambiguous, relativist philosophies. They tend to appease and validate the masses and lull them into a false sense of comfort. The only people who come to be enrichmed by this are those who affirm the masses sense of quality or value about a product. I appreciate that prefences change, but the crowd is not always wise. What appeals to the masses is not necessarily the pinnacle of viticultural achievement.

Re: Science of Smell - Can wine critique really be “objective”

Arthur — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 17:06:44 -0000

Another critical difference is the location of the oflactory epithelium. Theirs is located closer to the nostrils and lines the path inhaled air takes. Ours is up between our eyes and not in the direct path of incoming air.

Re: The Supreme Court Upholds the Second Amendment

Arthur — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 13:43:00 -0000

The Court didn't "uphold" the 2nd Amendment, it merely interpreted it!

It's interpretation by a very narrow majority, diverged from the accepted interpretation of over seven decades and will spur a wave of litigation as the courts and political leaders try to figure out the parameters.

The "right" to keep and bear arms may seem like a no brainer to some, but it is one which most developed nations must find a way to keep in check. It obviously is a double edged sword. Before cheering this decision one should put in a lot of thought on just how we can keep our kids and selves safe in an affluent society where gun availability is barely checked. There is something about testosterone filled little boys with Tec 9's in their waistbands that does not fill me with joy.

Re: Joost invitations available

Arthur — Wed, 09 May 2007 15:27:58 -0000

Hi there,

I am writing an article about TV on internet, I already tested Zattoo, TVU, SopCast and many others for PC and MobileTV or PocketPC.

I think that my article will not be complete if I don't say anything about Joost.

Thanks for your help.

Regards

Arthur

My e-mail is "agelcer {at} hotmail [dot] COM" >> Post this way to void spam from spammers.

Re: OhGizmo! » Archive » Eye Candy: Nudi Pics

Arthur — Sat, 17 May 2008 00:31:20 -0000

DO WANT.

Re: Israel is going to lose

Arthur — Mon, 08 Apr 2002 16:41:24 -0000

"but unless there's a major shift in attitudes"

That shift is to be expected. After all, whenever somebody invents a new attack, somebody else finds a new defence. It is called adaptation. I expect that devising an effective defence against suicide bombers will entail a major shift in attitudes...but when the issue is survival, people are willing to do things they wouldn't otherwise consider.

Re: Welcome to the New Mexico Independent

Arthur — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 08:57:15 -0000

Congratulations on your birth and first gurgles. How much we need you!
Arthur Alpert

Re: Welcome to the New Mexico Independent

Arthur — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 08:57:15 -0000

Congratulations on your birth and first gurgles. How much we need you!
Arthur Alpert

Re: Mexico notebook: Obama on bilingualism

Arthur — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 08:09:00 -0000

Very well said.
Individuals who cling to one language narrow themselves. That;s true for a nation, too.
Beneath that self-narrowing lies fear, of course.
Thank you.
Arthur

Re: Mexico notebook: Obama on bilingualism

Arthur — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 08:09:00 -0000

Very well said.
Individuals who cling to one language narrow themselves. That;s true for a nation, too.
Beneath that self-narrowing lies fear, of course.
Thank you.
Arthur

Re: Trouble on the radio dial

Arthur — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 13:00:31 -0000

Thanks for the fascinating, sad story. FYI on Marty Ronish:
She did more than "train" at KHFM. For a long time she hosted a super-intelligent interview show at 12 Noon. And she contributed stories on the classical music world to the Albuquerque Tribune and Prime Time, the senior monthly.
A.Alpert

Re: Trouble on the radio dial

Arthur — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 13:00:31 -0000

Re: Scribe, examine your biases

Arthur — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 06:57:30 -0000

Pari: Thank you - that Media Matters piece doubles my doubts about Fournier as a credible newsman. Also, it reminds me he is not just one writer - he supervises AP's political coverage!
Arthur Alpert

Re: Scribe, examine your biases

Arthur — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 06:57:30 -0000

Pari: Thank you - that Media Matters piece doubles my doubts about Fournier as a credible newsman. Also, it reminds me he is not just one writer - he supervises AP's political coverage!
Arthur Alpert

Re: The Associated Press’ sad, new beat

Arthur — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 16:54:46 -0000

Pari: Thank you, first, for putting me on the road to the AP story last week with the link to mediamatters.com. Re your comment above: yes, it's tricky figuring out what's really going on. I prefer those who put their biases up front. And like you, I find it helps to get information from more than one place. Also, to keep myself honest, I consult sources who start from different premises. (Not too often, though, for fear they'll pull me over to the Dark Side!)

markp: You are quite right. I was slow to catch on to the new AP. Mea culpa. But polls showing what most Americans think of "the media" don't impress me. First, because the polls and the Americans both accept the existence of one thing called "the media." I don't.
Look: Fox works for the GOP. ABC, NBC and CBS seem confused and fearful except in their relentless pursuit of mediocrity. MSNBC is liberal but employs Pat Buchanan. CNN will do almost anything for better ratings. PBS science and documentary programs are dynamite, but its news is "on one hand this, on the other, that, time will tell." The New York Times often is liberal - whatever that means - but it allowed Judith Miller to recycle White House disinformation on Iraq. Also, the Times hired Bill Kristol, the brilliant neo-con who urged that we ignore the silly idea Shiites and Sunnis might dislike each other. Oh, and talk radio is right-wing politics or religion of the "Jesus hates" variety. And I haven't mentioned national magazines or local papers or blogs or the New Mexico Independent. My point - it's complicated.

Gene Grant: Thanks for the vote of confidence. I will keep noodling the issues. I do remember that CJR issue and we certainly should continue to rethink objectivity. But with or without the word, I figure journalism must always demand accuracy and fairness.

Arthur Alpert

Re: The Associated Press’ sad, new beat

Arthur — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 16:54:46 -0000

Re: The Associated Press’ sad, new beat

Arthur — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 12:39:13 -0000

Thanks, KateStone, for dating AP's transformation to Lou Boccardi's resignation as president Since he quit in 2003, we now know exactly how slow I was to pick up on the story. Further, since Lou and I sat together as reporters in the World-Telegram & Sun newsroom in ...well, er...a few years back, we also are reminded that I'm ancient. Thanks, I needed that.
Arthur Alpert

Re: The Associated Press’ sad, new beat

Arthur — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 12:39:13 -0000

Re: Weekend of Eye Candy

Arthur — Tue, 06 Jun 2006 11:41:24 -0000

actually u can listen to our demo's at www.myspace.com/friguscella (hehe free advertising) , though, mind u, their not the complete versions, and they may take awhile to buffer =)

Re: 8 People You Meet In Gym

Arthur — Sun, 11 Jun 2006 09:56:37 -0000

Is that wat u REALLY look like after a session in the gym??? hahah, if i have assumed correct, then i also would like to assume that ur not working hard enough?? hahaha, mayb u shud try making em noises that weightlifters make, hehehe, from what i collect it gives u a certain boost. hahaha, how true that is, i am depending on u to find out and then u can get back to me =)

Re: Malacca

Arthur — Tue, 04 Jul 2006 12:13:23 -0000

Why is it u always go into such detail when ur talking about food??? makes me salivate....hehe....nice pictures....pity we didn't haf time to catch up at Cheer 2006.....so do u even drive at all now???

Re: Europa levert Amerika extra olie

Arthur — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 12:57:00 -0000

Het helpen van de Amerikanen is in de hudige situatie noodzakelijk voor ons allen, al is het slechts uitstel van executie. Voor het overige heeft Amerika niets gedaan toen Rotterdam werd platgebombardeerd. We hoeven niet voor eeuwig dankbaar te blijven, omdat ze na Pearl Harbor aan de oorlog deelnamen.

Re: Beep Beep

Arthur — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 13:35:08 -0000

happy Wensday. beep beep

Re: Christmas Traditions.

Arthur — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 09:47:26 -0000

Merry Christmas to you as well. you're going to hate me but we actually do the whole family get together thing-dinner, song,,,,everything. All of our sig others come as well as x's and half brothers sisters step moms and dads even some neighbors. yeah we're strange.

Re: Cristiano Ronaldo : All PS3 Themes

Arthur — Sat, 03 May 2008 12:32:12 -0000

This is a theme about Cristiano Ronaldo that I made, it's my first one so I hope you like it.

Re: Harry Potter : All PS3 Themes

Arthur — Sun, 04 May 2008 06:45:30 -0000

My second theme. I hope you like it.

Re: Media Alert: Political Intersection Chief Sophia Nelson Guest on Fox’s Hannity & Colmes Tonight–9:20PM EST segment

Arthur — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 21:39:00 -0000

You followed the talking points nicely. The same way Sarah Palin tried to do. Actually I think you did a better job than she did. But they are all just talking points.

Re: New version of joost

Arthur — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 12:59:00 -0000

Hi Henrik, I'm from Brazil and I appreciate if could tell me how can i get a invitation for Joost? Unfortunally I still don't know anyone here that could do it.

thanks, Arthur

Re: Generating Sitemap for your site

Arthur — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 09:08:00 -0000

Need to create XML, HTML sitemap files for your sites or to notify search engines about updated sitemap files? Try Sitemap Writer Pro. It is a powerfull tool that helps you to create and keep up-to-date sitemaps for your websites.
Sitemap Writer Pro has new tools - FTP manager for uploading sitemaps, search engine notification tool (now supports for Google, Yahoo, Ask.com and MSN.com), site crawler for adding an URLs into the sitemap, sitemap index editor and Yahoo Index viewer.

Download Sitemap Writer Pro.

Re: Being Good At B2B Cold Calling Is Like Being A Functional Drunk

Arthur — Thu, 21 May 2009 18:53:14 -0000

Lead this horse to the water. I have a new janitorial service with a limited budget. So what do I do. Yellow pages suck so do not even say to go there. I hate cold calling but what else do you do. Mail is expensive and just as crappy of results as cold calling except a lot cheaper. What should I do walk into the local doctors office and say… You know this place could use a good cleaning because it aint so clean. Even my own Dentist that charged me $1800 to fix one tooth said no and his office is dirty. That is dirty to me. It is fine for the average person and they would not notice the things I do.

So riddle me this Batman; what do you suggest.

Thank you so kindly.

Re: Happy Birthday Pencilneck!

Arthur — Sun, 07 Mar 2004 19:31:42 -0000

Congratulations, Steve. Many hppy returns of the day!

Re: Bertuzzi

Arthur — Wed, 10 Mar 2004 23:37:37 -0000

One of these days, one of these thugs is going to kill someone.

Re: Vote!

Arthur — Thu, 27 May 2004 15:49:34 -0000

"IÂ’d imagine that virtually everyone who reads this site is considered a Â‘youthÂ’ politically."

Wrongo, Steve.

Re: Easy homemade yogourt

Arthur — Sun, 18 Dec 2005 02:05:34 -0000

maybe why we've lost the knowledge is because "The hardest part is finding five hours to kill at home"

if you have great satisfaction making things for yourself, wouldn't you have much more joy making things for others?

if so, try it. and they say practice makes perfect, so the more you make your soaps and yogourts, you'll start to experiment and learn little tips and secrets. soon enough, everyone you know craves your little widgets. well, you can't let this go to waste! so you'll start a company, package your goods, and sell for money.

of course, not everyones motivated by money but this is a captilalistic world. everyone works and worries over jobs bc we need money to buy things and live comfortably. unfortunately, this leaves little time to make things, let alone learn how to.

even if everyone knew how to make X. odds are that if your X is more sustainable, healthier, more effecient, etc. ppl will buy it. sure, you could share your secrets with everyone, but this isn't north korea. the free market rules here so ppl find their niches, keep their secrets, and capitalize on them.

Re: Football Versus Global Warming

Arthur — Tue, 20 Dec 2005 14:36:11 -0000

the 2006 world cup will be carbon neutral as well.

Re: Angry Bear Annihilator is Trying to Take over the World with T-shirt

Arthur — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 15:56:00 -0000

wow, thanks for featuring us!
use the promo code: "cottonable42" to get 15% off anything in our store.

Always remember - Wear the Bear.

Re: Christianity is stupid - Letters to the Webmaster

Arthur — Sun, 17 Dec 2006 22:41:00 -0000

Yes, Christianity as perceived by most people is stupid. Don't worry about how your father has screwed up. Don't worry about anything. That's life in abundance, nothing else.

Re: Why would anyone want to be an atheist? - Letters to the Webmaster

Arthur — Fri, 12 May 2006 18:01:00 -0000

Posting at x-christian is starting to be fun. Reminds me of the old days (a year or two ago) when I was a regular poster at christiansareus. I have changed a bit since then, I'm now interested in Oneness and Consciousness, but the core of my spirituality was there already, my strong conviction of the truth of causal determinism...

CC, I was a believer like you at one time, but I became more and more aware that it would be hypocritical to claim to be a believer and not shout it from the rooftops as they say. In other words, bug people with it a lot. I didn't want to do that without being one hundred percent sure. Also, there were several issues I couldn't resolve. What I did was I went to an atheistic discussion board and had people help me. I had for a long time only been studying christian materials so it was time for a change. I wanted to know what atheists had to say, and this time I REALLY wanted to know. They were a bit nasty because I asked if bible prophecy didn't show that the bible is god's word and they must have mistaken it for preaching. Anyway, they helped me and I persisted inquiring and now here I am, having been faithless for more than two years now. The arguments are CLEARLY on my side, and therefore one can't say I'm taking any risk. Somewhere the old conditioning is still inside me, but you can have fun with that too. What I did before I left the fold was to ask myself whether I could gather a store of good arguments with which to convince an intelligent nonbeliever and of course have myself a more stable faith. I couldn't and I don't regret it. Not any more. I think I've been where you are now. I can tell you deconversion is not necessarily a bad thing at all. You don't have to do it but it just might enrich your life.

Re: http://www.entreveronaweb.com/2008/01/aerografia-em-capacetes.html

Arthur — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 15:24:00 -0000

como faço p compra um capacete como essi
meu contato e dud2@hotmail.com

Re: Tristano roundup

Arthur — Thu, 30 Mar 2006 15:07:23 -0000

Let's not forget that Tristano was also campaign manager for Joe Birkett's primary against Bob Coleman.

Re: poczytalność Sylwii Chutnik

Arthur — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 18:11:00 -0000

No naprawdę... Czytam tu sobie od czasu do czasu i już się zaczynam zastanawiać, czy za Panem Miguelem nie stoi jakaś nowa albo i znana redakcja koncernu medialnego, albo przynajmniej jej kanał tematyczny.
Aktualność, powiem więcej – misyjność wszystkich poruszanych tu tematów, już dawno zakasowała telewizję publiczną (tak jak nasza kiełbasa zachodnią itp...), tylko patrzeć jak ogólnopolskie serwisy informacyjne zaczną się nerwowo rozglądać...

Przegląd tematów tu jest nowoczesny, klarowny, skrojony wprost dla „yuppies” , o ile to określenie jeszcze jest modne. No przyjrzyjmy się: są felietony kulturalno-publicystyczne (Jorg), cięte i błyskotliwe komentarze polityczne (pewnie stara dobra szkoła Olejnik), najświeższe fakty z pierwszych stron gazet, czyli nieszczęsna sprawa terrorystów z Pakistanu, nie mogło zabraknąć też obowiązkowej domieszki nowinek z jakże modnego światka IT (co to niby wszyscy się znają) o komunikatorze Miranda, słowem – koktajl, taki jaki ma być.

Ale jak doszło do kształtowania elitarnych gustów konsumentów kultury wyższej i feministów (Boże, czego to ludzie nie wymyślą) to wymiękłem. Gdyby nie najnowszy felieton, to pewnie bym nie nadążył.

Panie Miguel, albo się Pan przyzna, że za Panem stoi prężna redakcja, albo chociaż czas premiery nowego portalu proszę wyjawić. A tymczasem czytujmy regularnie.

Re: Looking At a Potential Carry Piece…

Arthur — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 16:48:00 -0000

I like mine, but again it's a 3rd gen PT-145 pro. Makes a BIG difference.< />< />The 3rd gen "pretty much always SA" trigger is fine.< />< />The finish on the chamber/rifling is a little rough but fine for a sub $300 gun, and it shoots just fine. < />< />I load mine up with just a little over +p 185 grain handloads and it never fails to hit what I'm aiming at.

Re: Looking At a Potential Carry Piece…

Arthur — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 16:48:00 -0000

Re: Muahahahahahahahaha!

Arthur — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 01:00:56 -0000

#1 for "Cycles and More" and "fat, flaming douchebag"

Impressive. :P