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Topics - More Than Mortal
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1171
« on: January 11, 2015, 02:16:32 PM »
No doubt the final two words in the title are compromising. I feel like putting this out there because chatting to a lot of friends in retail and after experiencing stuff myself it's coming to light that certain behaviours are starting to get way past annoying. It's also becoming apparent that we're passing behaviours down to the coming generations
People who work in customer service jobs are not your darling, sweetie, love, little angel, babe, baby, honey or your lovely. You especially so not touch these people without really really bloody good reason (and the list of reasons isn't very long)
I've got to admit that the main culprits are males 60+ but I'm really starting notice a trend appearing in younger men. The most common occurrence is having a hand placed in the small of your back as you walk past on the pretence of helping my balance or your own or just hey, maybe you feel you have to steer me in the direction you want in my own bloody shop. A few girls have told me about hands a little lower, though I hadn't experienced this personally until this weekend, it happened and it's disgusting. It's really not on
So, yeah, rant over now but seriously if you see a family member doing this or a friend tell them to stop because it isn't an acceptable way to treat people and makes us never want to come from behind the counter to help those than actually need help
1172
« on: January 10, 2015, 03:57:12 PM »
He manages to fool people into believing this shit by either willfully ignoring important pieces of information, or being ignorant himself about important pieces of information. Also, since Kinder (also Door) know a fair bit about guns--can you tell me if this comment is accurate? Pretty weak SCG, pretty weak. You talk about the rifle, but fail to mention the more active object, the bullet. A 7.62 FMJ is very different than a 7.62 EHP, one will penetrate with little to no expansion causing very little hydrostatic shock and a smaller wound channel, an FMJ round at max velocity that close could very well have passed through the head fairly cleanly and sometimes without a blood plume. A 7.62 EHP is a very different creature and is designed to cause maximum trauma via massive hydrostatic shock and an equally massive wound channel, an EHP would have done what you are talking about, an FMJ not so much, the video really wasn't long enough to let us see if there was any blood pooling from the head wound, which could be very easily concealed by his body from the angle we are looking at.
1173
« on: January 10, 2015, 03:00:15 PM »
I've got to give him credit for that.
1174
« on: January 10, 2015, 02:20:35 PM »
They might be in a job which requires they pull a trigger--like a cop or a soldier--or perhaps they had to fend off a home invasion.
I won't say much, for obvious reasons, but I very vaguely know a guy who almost got tried for attempted murder and who potentially got away with killing somebody on a different occasion.
1175
« on: January 10, 2015, 09:58:12 AM »
It'd have fifty users.
1176
« on: January 10, 2015, 06:51:49 AM »
Goddamn, you gotta love it.
1177
« on: January 09, 2015, 07:04:53 PM »
I like how social media is making people like the Imams and the Aytollahs less relevant to the views of Muslims. I may disagree with their creed and disagree with the extent of fundamentalism that exists, but it's always nice to see some grassroots upsurge. I've noticed a few of those tweets are also from Ahmadi Muslims, who I should note are unfortunately suppressed in Pakistan by Sunni/Salafist fundamentalists. As a side-note, these past few weeks have produced the only two worthwhile hashtags I've ever seen #notinmyname #jesuischarlie
1178
« on: January 09, 2015, 06:55:06 PM »
1179
« on: January 09, 2015, 06:42:26 PM »
Now that we've thoroughly ripped the shit out of, and complimented, each other in equal measure. Let's do it to ourselves.
So, for me:
Good: - Intelligent. - Capable of being motivated. - Rational. - Fairly objective. - Willing to defend my views. - I understand morality.
Bad: - Arrogant. - Intolerant. - Often lazy. - Impulsive. - Callous. - Manipulative. - Occasionally insecure. - I don't act morally.
This is essentially a form of Meta-sponsored narcissistic masochism.
1180
« on: January 09, 2015, 06:27:30 PM »
I know I have a tendency to be a haughty cunt sometimes, so I just want to apologise to anybody whom I've pissed off. I mean, yeah it's a fuckin' forum but I don't want to be a prick all the time.
Particularly Icy and Kiyo, though.
EDIT: No this isn't like a me fucking bawling my eyes out at the thought some people might consider me a cunt, it's just me saying I don't mean to be such a prick, I don't actively try to be a prick.
1181
« on: January 09, 2015, 06:02:48 PM »
I think he's a cunt.
1182
« on: January 09, 2015, 06:00:22 PM »
Because of him, their children have fifteen toes and an extra nostril.
1183
« on: January 09, 2015, 05:57:19 PM »
Anybody else ever get like this?
Am I turning into Deci?
1184
« on: January 09, 2015, 05:52:08 PM »
Because they have a 50/50 chance of being shot by their Muslim neighbour.
1185
« on: January 09, 2015, 05:49:26 PM »
I'm fairly certain Icy and I still care about seeing this picture.
Pay up.
1186
« on: January 09, 2015, 05:46:52 PM »
It's because he hates God.
Let's all show him God's love.
1187
« on: January 09, 2015, 05:35:19 PM »
Because Serious is slow and I'm fairly interesting from a psychological perspective.
So fuck it, AMA while I read.
1188
« on: January 09, 2015, 04:09:42 PM »
1189
« on: January 09, 2015, 03:00:24 PM »
I think it's pretty good.
1190
« on: January 09, 2015, 02:38:17 PM »
1191
« on: January 09, 2015, 02:31:31 PM »
>and it becomes the first post on a new page
1192
« on: January 09, 2015, 12:14:43 PM »
I actually want this to be at least semi-constructive, so if you're going to get butthurt about what people say then just don't come into the fucking thread.
For every fault you name for a specific user, you must name also a good quality in them. Also, to prove I'm not just trying to start a shitstorm, you have my express consent to begin with me. I, for the meantime, will hold off against other users until some initial replies have come in.
Again, if you're going to get butthurt: fuck off.
1193
« on: January 09, 2015, 12:09:14 PM »
It will be the only Danish newspaper not to do so.Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, which angered Muslims by publishing cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad 10 years ago, will not republish Charlie Hebdo's cartoons due to security concerns, the only major Danish newspaper not to do so.
"It shows that violence works," the newspaper stated in its editorial on Friday.
Denmark's other major newspapers have all republished cartoons from the French satirical weekly as part of the coverage of the attack which killed 12 people in Paris on Wednesday.
Many other European newspapers also republished Charlie Hebdo cartoons to protest against the killings. When Jyllands-Posten published 12 cartoons by various artists in September 2005, most of which depict the Prophet Mohammad, it sparked a wave of protests across the Muslim world in which at least 50 people died.
"We have lived with the fear of a terrorist attack for nine years, and yes, that is the explanation why we do not reprint the cartoons, whether it be our own or Charlie Hebdo's," Jyllands-Posten said. "We are also aware that we therefore bow to violence and intimidation." How so very unfortunate.
1194
« on: January 09, 2015, 12:03:36 PM »
Well shit.As new details are revealed in the investigation of the Islamic State (ISIS) terror cell in Hevron, security officials estimate that hundreds of Hamas terrorists are leaving the "moderate" terrorist group in favor of ISIS to wage war on Israel - and the Palestinian Authority (PA).
The leader of the Hevron ISIS cell, Ahmed Wadah Salah Shehada (22), admitted under Israel Security Agency (ISA, or Shin Bet) investigation that he switched from Hamas to ISIS in recent years because it was too "moderate" for him, in that Hamas didn't compel Sharia Islamic law, reports Channel 2.
Reportedly the security system assesses that hundreds of other terrorists have made the move to ISIS like Shehada, and are in contact with the terrorist organization through online social media.
"This cell was just the tip of the iceberg," a security source was quoted as saying. "There are terrorists who are tired of Hamas because it is portrayed as moderate and not aggressive and extremist enough against Israel."
He continued "there they see ISIS as an organization that implements the Islamic laws - Sharia. Hamas is under great pressure from this phenomenon which is slowly eating into its power. ISIS is entering into this vacuum."
Indeed, ISIS already reportedly has a foothold in Gaza where it took an active part in last summer's terror war against Israel, and where it claimed a bombing attack on the French Cultural Center last October.
Already as of last October 30 Arab citizens of Israel had reportedly joined ISIS.
ISA has cyber units working around the clock to locate the new ISIS cells online and take them out before they take lethal action against Israeli targets. However, some would argue Israel isn't taking stringent enough counter-measures; an Arab citizen of Israel was given a temporary permit to return to Israel on Wednesday after leaving to join ISIS in Syria.
Recruiting for ISIS in Israel - on Facebook
New details of how ISIS's hold in Israel is being expanded were revealed in the ISA investigation of the terror cell in Hevron that was nabbed last November, details which were recently published.
In investigation, the cell leader Shehada admitted "it started around a year ago. I contacted Al-Nusra Front and ISIS activists through their Facebook pages."
"My intention was to join them in the fighting in Syria, against the (Bashar) Assad regime. After several talks that I had with my friends in Hevron, I decided not to fly there, and (instead) establish an ISIS cell in Hevron," said Shehada.
"Our goal was to establish a cell that would conduct attacks against the IDF and the Palestinian Authority," said Shehada, noting that Israel wasn't the only target. "We understood that Hamas isn't doing the job. We downloaded from the ISIS site posters and pictures and distributed them to residents."
That recruitment also included indoctrination and propaganda through Facebook, he admitted, while noting his cell's goal was to abduct and murder an IDF soldier during the Muslim month of Ramadan.
"The plan was to take (a soldier's) rifle, to hide his body in a water hole and to take his uniform to conduct a shooting attack against soldiers," said Shehada.
He revealed that one night as the three-man cell conducted surveillance runs around Hevron armed with a rope to tie up a soldier, "we saw a soldier who said 'good night' to us, but we went home without abducting him."
Speaking about the switch to Hamas, another cell member said "we believe that ISIS is better than Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, who don't do anything for the residents."
"We held a few meetings in Hevron, with the goal being to acquire rifles and pipe bombs that we could use against soldiers and Palestinian police stations in Bab el-Alzawiya," he said. "We looked at all kinds of websites and learned how to produce pipe bombs." I really hope this doesn't grow. Moving away from a quasi-nationalistic and towards a hardline Salafist motivation will make it even harder to establish a two-state solution.
1195
« on: January 09, 2015, 11:39:14 AM »
sighNew York - A UN commission of inquiry says it has found evidence of ethnic cleansing of Muslims in Central African Republic.
But it found no proof that genocide has occurred amid months of unprecedented sectarian violence that has killed thousands of people.
The report released on Thursday also says that while death toll reports ranged from 3 000 to 6 000, any such number is a "radical under-estimate" of the people killed in the vicious fighting among Christians and Muslims in the impoverished, landlocked nation.
The three-member commission of inquiry accuses both sides of war crimes and crimes against humanity but accuses the anti-Balaka Christian militia of ethnic cleansing of Muslims.
Thousands of Muslims have fled the country, where a fragile transitional government is trying to hold elections by an August 2015 deadline.
Well, 2015 could've started off better. Such a shame.
1196
« on: January 09, 2015, 11:31:27 AM »
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - A suicide bomber blew herself up inside a police station in Istanbul's historic Sultanahmet district on Tuesday, killing one officer and wounding another, the city's governor and Turkish media said.
The woman spoke English as she entered the building but her nationality and identity were unknown, Governor Vasip Sahin told reporters at the scene.
Turkish media said one of the officers died from his wounds. Fuck me.
1197
« on: January 09, 2015, 11:04:06 AM »
1198
« on: January 09, 2015, 10:45:05 AM »
Could help with space travel.One of the persistent challenges of manned space exploration is that pesky lack of oxygen throughout much of the universe. Here on Earth, trees and other plant life do us a real solid by taking in our bad breath and changing it back to clean, sweet O2.
So what if we could take those biological oxygen factories into space with us, but without all the land, sun, water, soil, and gravity that forests tend to require? This is the point where NASA and Elon Musk should probably start paying attention.
Royal College of Art graduate Julian Melchiorri has created the first man-made, biologically functional leaf that takes in carbon dioxide, water, and light and releases oxygen. The leaf consists of chloroplasts -- the part of a plant cell where photosynthesis happens -- suspended in body made of silk protein.
"This material has an amazing property of stabilizing (the chloroplast) organelles," Melchiorri says in the video below. "As an outcome I have the first photosynthetic material that is living and breathing as a leaf does."
In addition to its potential value to space travel, Melchiorri also imagines the technology literally providing a breath of fresh air to indoor and outdoor spaces here on Earth. The facades of buildings and lampshades could be made to exhale fresh air with just a thin coating of the leaf material.
But perhaps best of all, a man-made breathing leaf could be the key to not just space travel but space colonization. No need to figure out how to till that dry, red Martian dirt to get some nice leafy trees to grow; we could just slap them on the inside of the colony's dome and puff away.
1199
« on: January 09, 2015, 10:35:11 AM »
We all owe the French police a debt of gratitude here.PARIS—Explosions and gunshots rang out and smoke rose outside a building, where two brothers suspected in a newspaper massacre were reportedly killed after holing up with up with a hostage on Friday. Their hostage was safely freed, according to initial news reports.
The move by French commandos came after security forces had surrounded the building for most of the day, cornering the suspects in the killings at the Charlie Hebdo newspaper.
Police tactical forces could be seen on the roof of the building.
Trapped and surrounded, the desperados have only one possible end-game left to them: Going outs in a blaze of martyrdom glory.
The terrorism suspects — brothers Cherif and Said Kouachi — were holed up Friday in a printing factory in Dammartin-en-Goele about 65 kilometres northeast of the Paris, having taken at least one hostage, believed to be a female.
Le Figaro reports that Amedy Coulibaly, 32, the suspected hostage taker in the Hyper Cacher kosher deli in Paris on Friday, is also believed to be the prime suspect in the murder of a French police officer in Paris on Wednesday.
The French publication also reports that Coulibaly knows the Kouachi brothers. It writes that police are investigating whether Coulibaly went on the attack in hopes of creating a diversion that would let the brothers escape.
The Kouachi brothers have been on the run for 48 hours, since unleashing a massacre in the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.
They are clearly prepared to keep killing, having already slain 10 journalists, a police officer and a body guard.
That means the elite SWAT team, with a commander who’s been given the authority to launch an assault, is proceeding gingerly, with the primary objective of “preservation” of the hostage’s life.
The men were pursued to the industrial complex in Dammartin-en-Goele, situated near Charles de Gaulle airport – two runways were closed to avoid interfering with the standoff but have since been reopened – after commandeering yet another car nearby around 10 a.m. At least three helicopters hovered above the town.
They impersonated police officers to get inside the printing plant. Another employee, a salesman, described for a French radio station how he shook hands with one of the men, who then told him to leave the premises. The salesman became alarmed when the men said: “Get out of here, we don’t want to kill civilians.”
Christelle Alleume, who works across the street, said a round of gunfire interrupted her coffee break Friday morning. “We heard shots and we returned very fast because everyone was afraid,” she told i-Tele. “We had orders to turn off the lights and not approach the windows.”
Various reports – unconfirmed – indicated there had been a shootout earlier in the morning at a checkpoint on the main road leading towards the town. All roads have since been barricaded by police – upwards of 80,000 gendarmeries and soldiers mobilized for the massive manhunt which had concentrated, Thursday night into Friday morning, on densely wooded countryside around two nearby villages.
The printing factory is CTF Creation Tendance Decouverte, with town hall spokesperson Audrey Taupenas telling French media there appeared to be one hostage inside the building. The town has been sealed off, as a heavy police presence rings the plant in concentric tactical positioning, journalists pushed far back from the site. Three helicopters circled overhead.
Residents of Dammartin-en-Goele have been warned to stay indoors, one of them describing their town as “like a war zone.” It has been on lockdown for hours. The mayor has said all schools in the area were being guarded and the children kept indoors. At least one police sniper has been spotted on the roof of a building opposite from the print works.
While the terrorists may have carried out a carefully formulated plot in their broad daylight assault on Charlie Hebdo Wednesday, they now seem to be improvising on the fly, perhaps never expecting to get this far without a confrontation.
Events today have an eerie similarity to the pursuit of the Boston Marathon bombers in 2013, where one of the suspects was discovered hiding in a dry-docked boat in a homeowner’s backyard after his brother had been killed.
But French authorities are more mindful of what transpired in Toulouse in 2012.
In what had been until this week France’s bloodiest terrorist experience in the past half-century, a petty criminal by the name of Mohammed Merah carried out a series of attacks targeting French soldiers and Jewish civilians in Toulouse and Montauban, in the midi-Pyrenees region, killing seven and injuring five.
Merah, of Algerian descent, shot dead a French paratrooper on March 11 but remained on the loose and roaming for victims. Four days later, he shot two uniformed soldiers at a shopping centre in Montauban. On March 19, he turned his attention to the Ozar Hatorah Jewish day school, slaying three children.
An elite police unit ultimately surrounded Merah’s apartment building in Toulouse, where a 30-hour standoff ensued as the suspect sporadically communicated with officers on a walkie-talkie.
An official in Dammartin-en-Goele tells The Associated Press that phone contact has been established with the men. A lawmaker inside the command post tells French television the men “want to die as martyrs.”
Overnight, police blew out the window shutters on the apartment unit with a grenade and entered the next morning. Merah emerged from a bathroom, shooting, and jumped out of the window, still firing. He was shot in the head by a sniper.
Two officers were wounded in the confrontation. That’s the scenario authorities are trying to avoid here now.
It’s still unclear whether there’s any connection between the atrocity at Charlie Hebdo and a Thursday morning shooting that killed a unarmed female traffic cop, only a few hundred metres from a Jewish school. But that episode has suddenly veered into hostage territory as well, with reports emerging early Friday afternoon that the man responsible for that murder is holed up, with a hostage, at a Paris kosher shop just east of the Charlie Hebdo offices.
This lends credence to the suspicion that the two shootings – the magazine offices, the traffic officers – were always linked, perhaps the coordinated work of an Al Qaeda sleeper cell in Paris that has been activated.
1200
« on: January 09, 2015, 10:16:40 AM »
Something Chronic and I were discussing--about free will--sort of sparked this in my head. But I'd like to make a few proclamations which will probably surprise a lot of you.
First and foremost, is a profession of tolerance. It's probably difficult for a lot of you to reconcile the idea that I'm actually a tolerant person, but--without tooting my own horn--most of the people I know would agree with me. I'm just certain of the idea that intolerance of intolerance is no vice, and you can thank the work of Karl Popper for that one.
But, essentially, this relates to free will in the sense that we don't have it. People really aren't the conscious author of their thoughts and--in all honesty--aren't morally responsible, either. When a bear gores a person, we often think of them as amoral or otherwise not responsible for their actions in some way because. . . Y'know, it's a fucking bear. And yet, we don't hold the same view when a psychopath murders somebody, despite the fact that bad genes and neurological anomalies combine to make people like this--which are totally out of their control. This (the idea of moral responsibility) only works if you really, seriously believe that people are capable of choosing to do otherwise in certain situations.
Now, this isn't to be confused with fatalism or to say choices don't matter--of course they do. But what it seriously does is undermine any attitudes of hatred you may have towards other human beings. Retribution, in effect, makes absolutely no ethical sense whatsoever. I don't hate Jihadis, I don't hate Hitler, I don't hate Saddam Hussein and I don't hate my bipolar uncle who makes my grandpa cry and calls me a "wanker".
It doesn't make any sense to hate--at all. Of course, the recognition and willingness to deal with threats is important, but that's just part and parcel of life. So, essentially, I just wanted to extol the one message I have that really is worth giving--we need to intellectually, if not emotionally, tolerate even the scum of the Earth. Hatred and punishment breeds more hatred and punishment; the only thing that truly makes sense is operating on a mechanism which ensures future prosperity for all parties.
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