Profile for PorkLoin

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We know where you're going! in General
Apprentice
Member # 3916
Profile #12
Mona Lisa always looks so damn smug....

Doug
Posts: 18 | Registered: Thursday, January 22 2004 08:00
Anti-Americanism in General
Apprentice
Member # 3916
Profile #25
Milu: >>I certainly don't wish the US to be destroyed. I wish a peaceful end to its world leadership.

Well, the US will have declining influence going through the decades ahead, on the basis of economics alone. We (the US) are the biggest debtor nation in the world, our currency is loosing value, as well it should considering the amount of it in existence, and we're no longer the world's refuge for capital. The US is going down, and others are coming up, notably China.

>>For a start, I wish it was a nation more equal to the others, not above or leading other nations. I wish there was real equality inside it. I wish its leadership to be more diverse in its opinions. For example, there are just two parties leading the whole US and I don't see much ideological difference between them.

I don't want the US to be the world's "policeman" -- that's a no-win deal in the long run as things stand. Agreed on the lack of diversity of opinion among our leaders -- there really is not a big difference between the Democrats and Republicans on most things.

As far as the "enemies" of the US, the best way to calm them down would be to blow Israel away, or at least quit supporting it. Of course, e don't want to give up on having a foothold in the Middle East, military bases, etc., and the Jews in the US do comprise a voting bloc.

Doug
Posts: 18 | Registered: Thursday, January 22 2004 08:00
Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day! in General
Apprentice
Member # 3916
Profile #89
Sarachim: >>What I'm trying to say is that it's easy to say that black culture discourages working hard in school, or encourages amoral lawbreaking, or produces a lot of irresponsible parents. It may be true, and it may not; I'm pretty sheltered and wouldn't know the ghetto from parrono gouda, but that doesn't matter here.<<

I think it does matter, since regardless of the exact reasons why, if an applicant for a position is passed along on the basis of something other than merit, then the system as a whole is "dumbed down," and we end up with less productivity, advancement, and progress as a whole. Less, for everybody, even though it may favor one "needy" individual, is hardly a good thing.

>>We can't make anyone change their behavior, but we have a duty, as Americans and as memebers of the human family, to do what we can to right the wrongs of the past, regardless of the morality or responsibility of the people we owe.<<

There is no "righting the wrongs of the past." Hundreds of years ago some of the strong tribes in Africa rounded up some members of weak tribes and sold them into slavery. I note that almost all blacks in the US have things much better than almost all black Africans, though there obviously has been racism and a less-than-equal footing for blacks, versus whites, in the US.

Person by person, black individuals have free will, and what happened hundreds of years ago does not change that. We should be rewarding good behavior, not bad.

Doug
Posts: 18 | Registered: Thursday, January 22 2004 08:00
Undead Topics Need Loving Too (aka "Give Me Your First-Born") in General
Apprentice
Member # 3916
Profile #91
Yet, who really remembers the Ayutullah Khomeini?
Posts: 18 | Registered: Thursday, January 22 2004 08:00
Religion in General
Apprentice
Member # 3916
Profile #11
I always liked the notion of the "Church of the Second Chance" heh heh heh.

Seriously, though -- agnostic, since there is no proof either way of the existence or nonexistence of the supernatural stuff.

Doug
Posts: 18 | Registered: Thursday, January 22 2004 08:00
Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day! in General
Apprentice
Member # 3916
Profile #84
The Lord of Evil: Everything you said PL I wanted to say but was afraid of being called a racist. Thank you for saying it for me.

Well, it would be racist to say, "Blacks are bad and non-blacks are good." Yet to simply note the way things really are is just speaking the truth.

This is my theory on why black people tend to have more kids and do not parent them. In Africa the black African males father many children. Notice I said father child not to become a father to a child. It is not uncommon in Africa to see a black child who doesn't know who is mother or father is. The problem with Blacks in Africa is the same with blacks in The US. It is my theory that it is in the black peoples genes to have sex more often and father many children.

I would say it is cultural and environmental, rather than genetic. Sadly, poverty is often a motivator (- beyond race and in many two-parent families, having a lot of kids is seen as a way to have a measure of security for one's old age. "I've got fifteen kids -- maybe they'll support me when I'm old.")

Yes, there is and has been racism, but in no way is it correct to say that affirmative action "makes up" for it, in general nor on a case-by-case basis.

One thing that is quite prevalent in the US is the attitude among young blacks, especially males, that's it's not acceptable nor prestigious to do well in school. That is "playing Whitey's game," or being a "punk," or just not chillin'-with-tha-bruthas and adopting the I-don't-need-this attitude.

Later, when it's college admission time, crying "racism" is often fatuous. "Hey, it's your behavior that got you where you are, not racism."

Doug
Posts: 18 | Registered: Thursday, January 22 2004 08:00
Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day! in General
Apprentice
Member # 3916
Profile #78
The Lord of Evil: Let me try to explain my belief. Let's say the Black community gets offended if the White piece in chess moves first. -- and with how things are going I would not be surprised if that happened. so lets say the Black community wants it changed to the black piece moving first instead of the White piece.

That would be wacky, same as worrying about "Angel Food" cake and "Devil's Food" cake. Good grief, The "black community" seems ever-ready to blame such "white" things while maintaining an enormous rate of illegitimate children, or simply children born out of wedlock.

For decades the rate has been around 75%, so only about a quarter of black kids have two married parents present. The proclivity of black males to father children and then not be around for them is hardly a secret within the black community, and there has been lots of adaptation, such as grandmothers raising the kids, or pooling mothers for support while some other mothers work.

That's all fine and good, and certainly better than no remedy at all, but the situation still has demonstrable effects (often poverty is included) -- kids from single-parent homes do worse, in general, in school than kids from two-parent homes. To blame "white society" for this is silly. Better to look to the real causes instead. Pregnancy prevention or behavior modification for black males is a good start.

No, not every kid in the US has equal opportunity. But moaning and crying about one's ancestors being slaves hundreds of years ago or "The Man's keepin' me down," misses most of the real deal, and serves to perpetuate it.

Doug
Posts: 18 | Registered: Thursday, January 22 2004 08:00
Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day! in General
Apprentice
Member # 3916
Profile #69
The Lord of Evil: >>I had no Idea that somebody who was 45 years old was on this website. Well so PorkLoin you're a Baby Boomer, I thought this site was mostly GenX. Well as much as I'd love to tease you about your Age I should stay on topic.<<

Hi Lord. Feel free to tease away -- it's all good. Yes, some of us "old" people play videogames -- I play quite a bit, like 40 to 80 hours a week. Being able to play at work helps a lot. A few hairs turn grey, a few levels gained.... I remember when there were no automatic teller machines, and if short of money, one might have to wait until Monday morning when the banks opened.

>>I honestly do not believe Malcom X should have his own street named after him. But that's just my opinion. I personally believe Malcom X was racist towards the White Americans. We must also remember Malcom X was originally a drug dealer. And yes due to the fact he was African American or black alot of oportunities was not availible to him. But also there was decisions that he made in life that lead him to become a drugdealer as well. And Mr.X blamed the White People entirely for hime to become a DrugDealer. And I think that's totally wrong of him.<<

Agreed - he was a whiner and a hypocrite. Nevertheless, oftentimes people want a symbol, want a name to follow, worship, etc., and there's no necessary saintlike qualities involved.

Also while I'm on this topic there are Black Hatred Groups that are just as bad as White Hatred Groups. But Somehow what the Black Hatred Groups do is somehow justified by Librals. And I think that's BS. I personally believe that a Black Hatred Group is just as guilty to Racisim and hate crimes as a White Hatred Group. But many Librals for some reason beg to differ. Now I only want to say one thing to White Hatred Groups and Black Hatred Groups and some people who think the White Hatred groups actions are justified and some people who think the Black Hatred Groups actions are justified -- which are probably on this site -- Can't we all just get along.

Yeah -- racism is racism. I would say that no, we really can't all just get along. There are cycles of inclusionism and exclusionism, and in the US we're coming off some relatively "good times" when things have been more inclusionistic.

I see coming years of relatively economic "bad times," and a darkening of the social and cultural mood, and more trouble between races, more regionalism, etc.

Doug
Posts: 18 | Registered: Thursday, January 22 2004 08:00
Back??? in General
Apprentice
Member # 3916
Profile #24
Perhaps our purpose in life is to figure out what our purpose in life is.

Doug
Posts: 18 | Registered: Thursday, January 22 2004 08:00
'Ello! in General
Apprentice
Member # 3916
Profile #9
Yesterday, my computer made a noise I'd never heard before.

Of course, I'd never thrown it out a window before.
Posts: 18 | Registered: Thursday, January 22 2004 08:00
What else do you play? in General
Apprentice
Member # 3916
Profile #68
PorkLoin <~~ another Petanque/Bocce player, and alcohol is great with both. Great amounts of alcohol is fantastic with both. Fantastic amounts of alcohol is sublime with both.

Playstation? Xbox - best graphics of the 3 consoles - ? Gamecube? Bah -- give me the all-conquering PC! Playstation 3 is supposed to come out in 2005, but computer videocards and processors will continue to laugh at those comparitively sorry things hooked up to televisions.

The Best Games, period, are Grand Theft Auto III and GTA III Vice City.

Beyond those, Call of Duty, and, going back in time, Diablo II Lord of Destruction, Unreal Tournament, Half-Life.

Doug
Posts: 18 | Registered: Thursday, January 22 2004 08:00
A little thought experiment in General
Apprentice
Member # 3916
Profile #20
Doesn't it come down to your faith in the alien's ability? If you doubt him not, take B (he knew you were going to do that, and thus you get the million Pounds). If there is doubt, take A.

Doug
Posts: 18 | Registered: Thursday, January 22 2004 08:00
What does THAT make me?! in General
Apprentice
Member # 3916
Profile #12
Hi Marooner,

>>What's your opinion on Government agencies such as these?<<

Gov't agencies such as the RCMP are pretty good and pretty rare, in my opinion. I'm American, but worked in Canada from 1985 to 1994, and lived there - Nova Scotia - for the last 4 years. I knew some RCMP officers, and dealt with the agency pursuant to becoming a Landed Immigrant, rather the same as getting one's "green card," in the US. In my opinion, the RCMP has a low rate of corruption, and lots of good people involved.

>>Does that make me a bad person?<<

Heck no. More power to you. And, should you make it, Congratulations -- those are some tough odds to survive.

>>What do you think of undercover-funding based on recuperation and reutilisation of seized property and material?<<

There have been good comments about returning property to the rightful owners, should it be possible. Failing that, I say seize, seize, seize, and use, use, use.

>>What of police corruption?<<

Well, nobody is perfect, and neither is any agency. That said, the RCMP is pretty cool. Very cool. Go for it.

Doug
Posts: 18 | Registered: Thursday, January 22 2004 08:00
Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day! in General
Apprentice
Member # 3916
Profile #34
I was born in 1959, and was a smart little bugger, and had parents who were intensely interested in this stuff. To me, MLK was a pretty good dude, despite him cheating on his wife -- no small thing in my estimation. He had a substantial part in making things better for lots of people, regardless of what harm he did to his wife.

In the long run, and in general, helping a country's minorities is good for the country, not bad, and he was pretty much on that side. This "African American" talk is "politically-correct" baloney. US blacks come from Jamaica, South America, England, etc., as well as from Africa.

I agree quite a bit that the real deal is how one is viewed in posterity, and I heartily doubt that there is going to be a "Malcolm X Day."

Doug

[ Thursday, January 22, 2004 22:46: Message edited by: PorkLoin ]
Posts: 18 | Registered: Thursday, January 22 2004 08:00
WTF are we still in Iraq. in General
Apprentice
Member # 3916
Profile #54
If there really was a Conservative running for President, I would vote for him. Though "conservative" has become fairly synonymous with "Republican" in the US, there ain't any prominent true conservatives that I see.

Bush is dumb, no question about it, but on that basis alone I see no reason to object to him. Often, a President or gov't who does "nothing" is the best recipe for a country. "Don't mess with us." However, GWB is determined to make his mark on the world.

After the sky-high popularity ratings of 9/11 and Afghanistan/Al Queda, Bush needed an issue as those ratings, though still high, were on the downslope -- and as the economy threatened to capture the public consciousness. Who knows all the psychological motivations he has? Finish what Dad began? Prove that, unlike Dad, he can finish it? Certainly his administration includes some influential people who had been preaching, "Let's get Saddam," for a long time.

I doubt there will be any truly "good" resolution in Iraq, per the opinion in the US, in general. I don't see democracy being "installed" in a manner there which is satisfactory to us Yanks. An awful lot of cultural and historical hurdles to clear, there.

This "send people to Mars" stuff is baloney -- GWB wanting some JFK aura to surround him in the fullness of time .....oh please. I see economic necessity putting the kibosh on this get-out-into-space desire.

Why are we still in Iraq? We will be there until the powers-that-be perceive it in their best interest to withdraw.

Doug
Posts: 18 | Registered: Thursday, January 22 2004 08:00
Troglodytes, the other dark meat in General
Apprentice
Member # 3916
Profile #4
Troglodytes are pretty fair at saying, "Sock it to me," right? This may not be the most battle-worthy skill, but I maintain that it has merit, nevertheless.

Doug
Posts: 18 | Registered: Thursday, January 22 2004 08:00
What music (if any) are you listening to... in General
Apprentice
Member # 3916
Profile #876
Oh Yeah -- "Show Me How To Live" -- kick-butt song.

Mötorhead, too, of course, always, naturally.

Doug
Posts: 18 | Registered: Thursday, January 22 2004 08:00
New Record! in General
Apprentice
Member # 3916
Profile #51
o/~ It's in the clothes that you wear. o/~
Posts: 18 | Registered: Thursday, January 22 2004 08:00