metalslug

I think this may be more of a dress code issue than a gay rights issue. If a male student wanted his yearbook photo taken while wearing a ladies evening gown and stilettos, would that be OK too? There are many schools in other parts of the world that have a uniform dress code, specific styles and specific colors representative of the school. If a gay male at my old school decided to wear a girls uniform, complete with skirt, because he felt a constitutional right to express his effeminate nature, I'm pretty sure it would have been a serious problem. So how does it work in the US? How much authority does a school have to enforce a specific dress code? "When in Rome, do as the Romans do."

Many Africans were proud of Caster Semenya's victory in the IAAF 800m, but was she really the deserved winner? Some notable politicians openly labeled those who questioned her victory as "unpatriotic". Patriotism should be tempered with objective reasoning. Some American ideas on patriotism seem preferable to some African ideas on patriotism.

I did a 7 day cruise in April earlier this year on Royal Caribbean, to the Western Caribbean, round trip from Miami. I strongly advise you to take the insurance. It's usually not expensive and it can save you a bundle if you should need it. As an example; a ship's doctor consultation is not cheap and your regular medical insurance might not cover it. Many passengers were at the medical offices for sunburn, stomach bugs and a whole range of things that you might not consider would happen to you on a cruise. A single consultation can easily cost you $200. That was more than what I paid for the insurance and I later claimed back the entire amount. Speaking of sunburn; if you're going to the tropics then wear a hat and use tan lotion. Lots of tourists from less sunny parts of the world forget what the sun can do to them, and realize too late. Taking booze onboard is risky; if security finds it, they will confiscate it, guaranteed. You are also not allowed to keep bottles of booze in your stateroom. The exceptions are room service wines and single drinks which are delivered. You are, however, welcome to buy bottles of booze onboard the ship on the last day of your cruise and take it with you when you disembark. Some cruise lines offer a "drinks package" which you pay on the first day of the cruise or during your booking. The packages range from wine to sodas. Get one. They are worth it. The wine and sodas are expensive onboard and paying for them one at a time works out to much more than a package deal.

I like Obama, but to award this to a president less than nine months into his first term, who has yet to score a major foreign policy success, seems very odd. Of course, I can only criticize if I have someone in mind who deserves it more. My vote for this year would be Morgan Tsvangirai

I realise that your post was referring to the USA, but it was also referring to racial profiling as a concept. Would it surprise you to know that South African law enforcement still performs certain types of racial profiling, even under a black administration ? The President, the Minister of Safety & Security, the Commissioner of Police, most policemen, and most of the nation's citizens are black. However, due to the remaining economic divides, the majority of drivers on public roads are white. The largest contingent of black drivers on the road here are the taxi industry and company logistics vehicles (truckers, delivery drivers, couriers). The taxi industry in particular is almost entirely black owned and has been linked to countless crimes, from serious traffic offences to murder. At every roadblock that I have passed through within the last 5 years, there has been a consistently disproportionate number of black drivers being stopped and detained, and by black cops no less. Would this suggest to you that South African law enforcement is racist towards "it's own people" ? ...or could it suggest that racial profiling has some merit, that law enforcement should focus it's efforts according to actual crime intelligence, as they appear to be doing here. Despite clear evidence, in some cases, of crime statistics linked to racial demographics, it seems all too easy for racial minorities in any country to claim discrimination, in lieu of a valid argument, on the simple principle that law enforcement authorities will (quite obviously) consist of a majority racial demographic.

Most IQ testing authorities are encouraged to keep individual test scores confidential, even from the examinee. MENSA, for one, has a such a policy, and here's why: Logically, as an average, approximately half of all tested individuals will score below 100 and the other half will score above 100. Most examinees will want to know their results. The options for disclosing results are therefore: (1) Deny the results to all examinees. (2) Tell all examinees that they scored above average so as to allow them to feel good. (3) Candidly reveal the exact results to all examinees, thereby also informing below average examinees of their disadvantage. Anyone familiar with psychology or guidance counselling will know that option (3) has little constructive merit, and is therefore almost never done. Have you ever met a person who knows that they scored below 100? Neither have I. Why is that? ...and where might these people be ? In probability, they either: - Don't know their score (most likely). - Pretend to have an inflated score. - Falsely believe that they have an inflated score due to the testing policy of the testing authority. Perhaps something to consider if you should find that most people that you encounter in life are claiming an above average score.

Only if it can make donations to the church. They have a business to run, y'know.

I played for a few years. I've recently bought the 4th edition 3 book set (2 Guides & MM). I have not played in a group for years, I read the books for fictional interest and for a little bit of nostalgia. D&D can be good fun but often things just run a bit slow. Rolling dice, adding modifiers, checking area of effect vs character positions, etc. A battle that should last about 10 minutes can drag out into 30 minutes. I've fallen victim to the computer game revolution myself, for exactly this reason.

Perhaps they should be thankful, but certainly no more and no less than you. Are they bitching about paying taxes? ...or bitching about paying significantly higher taxes than others of lesser income? I completely understand the need for the current tax scales (relative to income) and I certainly cannot think of a better way to handle it, but that does not mean that I have to like it, especially if I believe that I am not using more public resources than others of lesser income. We're talking personal taxation here, not company taxation. Can it really be said that wealthy people have personally used exponentially more public resources than others? ... and to the extent that they owe an exponentially higher levy for that usage? Is it not also true that many public services, infrastructure and resources are not entirely 'free', and that extra levies already exist, either directly or indirectly, on those that make more use of them than others? If I own a trucking company; I need to get my vehicles registered and licenced each year. That costs money, more money than my employee who licences his one beemer for personal use. The DMV gets that money. I pay for toll roads where applicable. The revenue from toll roads goes into road infrastructure. I pay for fuel. Fuel is taxed in many countries and the fuel tax revenue is used for road infrastructure and/or other public expenses. My vehicle maintenance facility uses lots of water and electricity. I'm not getting it free, I collect the bill each month. Yes, both may be partly subsidised by the state (my taxes again), but above that I still pay more for using more. All of these costs reduce the company bottom line, which in turn reduces my personal bottom line. So, my company is paying infrastructure levies per usage, and then it's also paying company tax. Beyond both of those I'm also paying personal tax. I got rich off the activities of my company, and so I should personally contribute considerably more to public infrastructure for expenses that my company has already paid for. I cant help feeling at least a little sour about that. One of the people on my staff is an engineer. His brilliance has contributed hugely to the success of my company, which is largely to be expected relative to his qualifications and experience. He gets a good salary, slightly above market average. I've been told that he thinks I'm getting rich off his hard work, but he has not resigned in protest or started his own company. Maybe he prefers the job security, labor protection, steady income and little personal financial risk. Who can say? I do not drop to my knees in gratitude each time that I buy a Mac and fries. I paid for it and the franchise is grateful for my business. Disclaimer: I do not own a trucking company (or an engineer) and I am not living in the U.S. I therefore concede that my analogy above could be flawed relative to a U.S. scenario.

Almost all followers of a scripture-based religion will dispute any idea or claim that contradicts those scriptures, including aliens and evolution. The most open-ended religions are therefore those that do not have a scripture. I have often suggested deism as a much overlooked alternative for people that struggle to find a religious identity for themselves, because deism is more a philosophy than a religion. However, even deists do not claim to "know that God exists", they merely believe in the likelihood that a god exists and not necessarily as an exclusive entity with a fixed identity. This belief therefore makes allowances for aliens, evolution and much more.

While I get the intention of your point as an example, many South Africans would disagree with that statement. 'White' South Africans are from a very diverse spectrum of cultures, the least of which is traditional African. Although they may be born on the African continent and may be familiar with African culture from what they have learned and witnessed, they are very unlikely to have been raised in it. Indeed, much of modern 'white' South African culture comes from movies and television from the U.S. We also have a strong and proud Afrikaner community who are still close to their traditional Dutch-based culture and whose intentions are often confused with racism. There is also the Portuguese, Chinese and Indian demographic, of which the Indians appear to maintain the closest ties to their culture. This is perhaps why there is still a considerable rift to overcome between black and white South Africans. Despite being born in the same country, the cultural gap is closing very slowly, if at all.

I've sometimes wondered if a day would come (or has already come) that a man with "Lami" as a last name would be knighted. Who could address a knight as "Sir Lami" and keep a straight face ?

You could serve cocktails. Ah, no wait, those are for circumcision parties.

Roger that. It has to be E. I'm quite certain that this is the point that warped is trying to make here.

Roger that. At 36, I didn't do one either. There was not much that I had not already done that a stag party would have improved on. I have long believed that stag parties are for younger people that are trying to cram 10+ years of bachelor life into one night before having to commit. Would I have done one if I married younger? Probably not either. The only reason I would have married younger was if I found the perfect partner, in which case I would have made sure there was no risk of messing up the relationship.

Credibility and context. Responding to the ramblings of a completely anonymous forum member is a bit like having a conversation with a propaganda poster pinned to a streetpost.

oh.. Is this not a thread about Shane Warne's bowling style ?

I would think one's home security is relative to the crime rate of the area one lives in. I'll skip on the details for now, but I don't recall seeing even a single home in my area that has unrestricted access all the way to the front door. However, sometimes tight home security only leads to a more determined intruder. Instead of just quietly robbing your home while you are away, they realise that the easiest way into your home is through you. Imagine being ambushed in your own driveway by an armed group of six and bundled into your own house. That's how it sometimes goes down here. The thugs are fast and organised. Even if you had a gun within easy reach, you would need to be Annie Oakley to get them all. Private security companies in my area are generally quite good, way better than the local police. Panic buttons are quite effective, very loud and triggering an armed response within a few minutes. "A few minutes" will give intruders enough time to shoot you, if they really wanted to, but most intruders are looking for a little quiet time to rob or rape, and will almost always flee when the home alarm is triggered.

Grammar mistakes do not bother me in a place like Bonfire. It's a casual place; lazy fingers, limited education and drunk posts can slide here, it's all good. The place where this gets funny is Speakers Corner, where opinions are expressed on serious topics. Good grammar is usually an indication of good education and/or an indication of someone who is well-read. Members in that forum would generally like us to believe that their posts have credibility. Good grammar, in my opinion, lends weight to this perception. Poor grammar has the opposite effect.

Link not working? Here's the image then. As with quade's post, I have edited this image to remove identities.

Oh, it can get pretty weird for sober people too. Check out this gem: Clicky

Link

And as long as people think that racial divides and racial statistics are exclusively about skin color there will always be misconceptions.

DZ.com thread Link http://www.milehighclub.com/beyond.html Also note that stories of sex on the dropzone are often less reliable than stories of sex in freefall. Dont believe all the DZ gossip.

I empathise with people that need to eat 'clean', because so many things that are supposedly 'dirty' are really tasty! I'm in the I.T. business. For the last 15 years I've eaten at least 5 'fast food' meals each week, every week. (McDonald, KFC, pizza, etc). I almost never eat breakfast, I frequently snack after 8pm, and I do no significant exercise other than about 10 miles of walking per week. I break nearly all the diet rules. I'm now 37 years old. I weight exactly the same as I did when I was 18 (10% below my BMI), and my doctor stated that I have "the cholesterol levels of a baby" when recently tested. I feel like a million bucks. This either means that I have the metabolism of a fission reactor or there are some misconceptions about diets. Of course I am no dietician, there are likely to be many other factors that I'm not considering, but I remain somewhat mystified that most health and diet fanatics seem to be no more healthy than me.