"In The News" Discussion Thread

[moom]

Ok, will start on christian gangsta rap jazz odyssey, some ambient rebellious dubstep and face melting metal flamenco cowboy psychedelia.

Translation: Muse are working on an album in space. With aliens. And Mexicans.

[justabagofatoms]

The Saudi's beheaded a woman today for practicing witchcraft.

I forget what the year is...oh...right. Soon to be 2012. Except in Saudi Arabia. It will be 1342 there. One has to admit that cutting off someone's head is a surefire solution for getting rid of their pesky brains with their pesky independent thoughts. Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy, also known as an absolute monstrosity. Their treatment of their general population is medieval, to put it mildly. The country exists to serve the needs of King Abdul Aziz and his enormous brood.The Royal family is so vast-last estimates were around 35,000 various entitled and corrupt members of the court-that the population that isn't royal seems to exist merely to serve and prop up the part that is. The judicial system is arbitrary and capricious, and punishments are meted out at the whims of judges that are allowed to interpret Sharia law in any way that they choose. If the religious police or the Ministry of Justice chooses to persecute any individual citizen, they have quite a selection of "crimes" to choose from. Capital punishment (often conducted in public parking lots) is applied to such crimes as being irreligious, adulterous, or engaging in sorcery and withchcraft,or in any way attempting to have a thought or action that isn't approved and mandated by an evil regime that oppresses thier people. The double-standards that they flaunt are stunning. The stories of the flagrant debauchery that the Royals engage in when they are elsewhere in the world are legendary. Their hypocrisy is one of their most offensive attributes.To live in that country would be insufferable for any human that had ever experienced a free thought or action.

Iam filled with gratitude that I have the freedom to sit here and write this, without some group of goons wrestling me out the door to remove my brain-pan. I feel nothing but sorrow for the Saudi people that do not have the same freedom.

[snifferdog]

Got to agree with you there. I try not to read the awful stories that come out of that part of the world. To be born a woman out there really is one raw deal.

[Flying pig437]

The Saudi's beheaded a woman today for practicing witchcraft.

I forget what the year is...oh...right. Soon to be 2012. Except in Saudi Arabia. It will be 1342 there. One has to admit that cutting off someone's head is a surefire solution for getting rid of their pesky brains with their pesky independent thoughts. Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy, also known as an absolute monstrosity. Their treatment of their general population is medieval, to put it mildly. The country exists to serve the needs of King Abdul Aziz and his enormous brood.The Royal family is so vast-last estimates were around 35,000 various entitled and corrupt members of the court-that the population that isn't royal seems to exist merely to serve and prop up the part that is. The judicial system is arbitrary and capricious, and punishments are meted out at the whims of judges that are allowed to interpret Sharia law in any way that they choose. If the religious police or the Ministry of Justice chooses to persecute any individual citizen, they have quite a selection of "crimes" to choose from. Capital punishment (often conducted in public parking lots) is applied to such crimes as being irreligious, adulterous, or engaging in sorcery and withchcraft,or in any way attempting to have a thought or action that isn't approved and mandated by an evil regime that oppresses thier people. The double-standards that they flaunt are stunning. The stories of the flagrant debauchery that the Royals engage in when they are elsewhere in the world are legendary. Their hypocrisy is one of their most offensive attributes.To live in that country would be insufferable for any human that had ever experienced a free thought or action.

Iam filled with gratitude that I have the freedom to sit here and write this, without some group of goons wrestling me out the door to remove my brain-pan. I feel nothing but sorrow for the Saudi people that do not have the same freedom.

Best thing to do is spend as little as you can, as opposed to want, on their oil and it's products. Not many people wanna do that though. What!! Go without holidays just to try and curtail the wealth of people who chop women's heads off? No fuckin' chance...we're all too selfish and greedy to do that...and as for sacrificing the desire to see Roger Waters perform The Wall to help reduce the wealth of these evil people....again not a fuckin' chance!

[admiral panther]

well it deafinatly sucks that for sure, im not going to rant about a bunch of violence cause i dont believe keith wants me too and i am going to fucking respect keith,

albert einstien beadle

[justabagofatoms]

Congratulations on your decision.

You make a point, Flying piglet. Sacrificing on behalf of others is not a popular choice. As much as I rant about China, or Saudi Arabia, I haven't discovered a way to live without putting a nickel in their gargantuan pockets. Driving my car is the most pleasurable thing that I do in life. If not driving my car would keep the Saudis from being an evil and totalitarian regime (disguised as a benevolent monarchy), then I would go back to walking, which I did for years. I don't think it would help, in the slightest bit. I have minus-zero ability to affect any of the powers-that-be, except in my small way, through my opinion. Posting my opinion on here for the world to see is the most I can do. Maybe some bastard in Saudi Arabia will be on vacation in Cannes and see it and think..."maybe we shouldn't behead people for being gay, or liking herb tea...etc."
Today in China, Christian Bale (he's there promoting a film) got into a tussle with a Chinese guide/handler/goon, when he tried to visit a jailed dissident. I love him for that. He went to China, and got in their face, and he said that if he had been Chinese, he probably would have ended up suffering for his efforts. Any country that quashes freedom has to be discussed and pointed out and thought about. I wouldn't want people to forget about me, if I were unfortunate enough to live in one of those nightmare countries.

[Flying pig437]

Congratulations on your decision.

You make a point, Flying piglet. Sacrificing on behalf of others is not a popular choice. As much as I rant about China, or Saudi Arabia, I haven't discovered a way to live without putting a nickel in their gargantuan pockets. Driving my car is the most pleasurable thing that I do in life. If not driving my car would keep the Saudis from being an evil and totalitarian regime (disguised as a benevolent monarchy), then I would go back to walking, which I did for years. I don't think it would help, in the slightest bit. I have minus-zero ability to affect any of the powers-that-be, except in my small way, through my opinion. Posting my opinion on here for the world to see is the most I can do. Maybe some bastard in Saudi Arabia will be on vacation in Cannes and see it and think..."maybe we shouldn't behead people for being gay, or liking herb tea...etc."
Today in China, Christian Bale (he's there promoting a film) got into a tussle with a Chinese guide/handler/goon, when he tried to visit a jailed dissident. I love him for that. He went to China, and got in their face, and he said that if he had been Chinese, he probably would have ended up suffering for his efforts. Any country that quashes freedom has to be discussed and pointed out and thought about. I wouldn't want people to forget about me, if I were unfortunate enough to live in one of those nightmare countries.

Yeah. We can't make a differene individually. I was just saying we could cut back on using oil products to fuck them over. Same with the supermarkets. People only use supermarkets 'cause their cheaper than the local butchers or grocer store, if there's any left but then everyone hates the c.e.o's who run them. Most people can afford to pay local prices but it'd mean they wouldn't have as much spare cash to spend on wine and shit. I alwasy thing that TEsco phrase should be ‘Every little helps…rich middle class people buy more wine’.

[justabagofatoms]

Well, actually, F.P., I've thought about it, and if I have to give up driving in order to make someone else's life more valuable in the eyes of their evil masters, I'll have to pass. "Off with their heads!!"loll

Oil seems to be a component of everything I use. I'm fairly certain there is some in this coffee I'm drinking. Either that, or the water came from the Gulf of Mexico. I can't fathom going back to steam-engines and horses and carts, but if that happens we will probably all be staggering like glow-in-the-dark zombies anyway. Kind of like the workers at Fukushima.
I think one of the reasons that I worry about people in countries that are realistically untouchable, is because I feel so very fortunate (and somewhat guilty for having that fortune) to live in a country where I can go to a store and choose from a variety of goods, depending on what I can afford. I am then allowed to drive home and sit on my...couch and contemplate the lives of people that are forced to comply with whatever is deemed to be in their best interest, including slave-labor; forced abortions for population control; torture, and kidnapping and (most horrifically) capital punishment for any person that dares deviate from the norm and live in a proscribed way. Being able to sit in my home and still express my opinion without fear of being jailed and tortured-or even murdered-because of what I have written, is a right that I cherish and that I wish all of the people on this planet possessed. As I write this, Tibetin monks are being beaten for being Tibetin monks, and people in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are being lashed publically for the most absurd and tenuous reasons. This would seem incomprehensible to any of us if we really had to face living like that. If it were not for the internet and our ability to now discuss and observe these countries on a massive scale, it is probable nothing would change, as it hasn't for centuries in these countries. I llike to think that once people get a real taste of freedom-such as the Arab uprisings- they never forget it or give up on the idea of attaining it for themselves. If we can promote or facilitate any kind of change for the better in the world by shining a light on monstrousity and supporting these oppressed people, then I think we should try.

[nosaj]

Well, the two of you have truly brought up some very interesting issues. Strangely (or not), I believe they are excellent discussion points during the holiday season.

The sad thing is that we may not be citizens, but mere consumers. The further down the food chain you are as a consumer the less easy it is to make ethical consumer choices...funny, that. Many of the more "ethical" consumer choices cost more. The poorer you are, the less chance you have of changing the world with your choices...

[Flying pig437]

Well, the two of you have truly brought up some very interesting issues. Strangely (or not), I believe they are excellent discussion points during the holiday season.

The sad thing is that we may not be citizens, but mere consumers. The further down the food chain you are as a consumer the less easy it is to make ethical consumer choices...funny, that. Many of the more "ethical" consumer choices cost more. The poorer you are, the less chance you have of changing the world with your choices...

Unless you cut back on things. For all his faults Ted Kaczynski has got less blood on his hands than virtually every other person in the 'Western world' because he lived without using oil based products far more than the rest of us. The rest of us don't wanna try and live in a shack without electricity and computers etc....we want our oil and gas based lifestyles and if that means the politicians and oil co. have their little wars to get the stuff for us...well...who gives a shit?

[wiped]

....we want our oil and gas based lifestyles and if that means the politicians and oil co. have their little wars to get the stuff for us...well...who gives a shit?

Yip - thats pretty much it in a nutshell

[ddebil]

http://www.metro.co.uk/news/885388-virg ... less-words

Tyson 'Homosexual'......

[snifferdog]

Reminds me of when the email filter in work blocked some correspondence regarding the River Suck (yeah, there's a river called that here). They had to agree to refer to it as the River Duck in order to stop the emails being blocked

[Flying pig437]

Reminds me of when the email filter in work blocked some correspondence regarding the River Suck (yeah, there's a river called that here). They had to agree to refer to it as the River Duck in order to stop the emails being blocked

I live near Scunthorpe which knocks spots off anywhere else for that. Google The Scunthorpe problem.

[oldhippy]

Flying pig437 [/quote]I live near Scunthorpe which knocks spots off anywhere else for that. Google The Scunthorpe problem.[/quote]