Profile for too kraut, don't read
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Displayed name | too kraut, don't read |
| Member number | 3980 |
| Title | Shock Trooper |
| Postcount | 311 |
| Homepage | http://- |
| Registered | Friday, February 13 2004 08:00 |
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| How do we perceive fringe groups? in General | |
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Shock Trooper
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written Sunday, October 17 2004 02:20
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Praising the US for the same thing is just wrong but Drakey, I am disappointed. What do you think about someone who defends a killer by referring to other killings? I would call him an advocate of killing. And blaiming the reporter for imbalanced reporting wherever imbalances are reported does not convince me. Give me facts and sources. At the moment I have no better than eyewitnesses reports like Only the Israeli soldier who killed Suleyman knows what he saw. and Doctors said Iman al-Hams was riddled with about 20 bullets  The defense by Israeli forces as well as the US troops in Iraq appears to me like that of firefighter arsonist spraying kerosene into the fire. Posts: 311 | Registered: Friday, February 13 2004 08:00 |
| translation help required G/EN in General | |
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Shock Trooper
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written Saturday, October 16 2004 03:36
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You are welcome. The translation programs are an endless source of fun unless you want a job done. Posts: 311 | Registered: Friday, February 13 2004 08:00 |
| How do we perceive fringe groups? in General | |
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Shock Trooper
Member # 3980
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written Saturday, October 16 2004 01:01
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I trust that being gay is nothing to be ashamed of, even among Republicans or in the Bible-belt. VP Dick Cheney even mentioned his daughter'S sexual orientation in an obvious effort to reach out to the Logcabin Republicans. I would have thought it to be more appropriate to leave that to herself - but never mind. Now, however, I am getting my doubts about such a showcase liberal VP from the reaction of the Cheneys to John Kerry's kind remark in an answer to a question that did not belong in a decent political debate and that played openly to antigay supremacists. Has there been some flip-flop over gays there? If a lesbian daughter is something to be ashamed of, why do the Cheneys make it an issue in their campaign?  [ Saturday, October 16, 2004 01:14: Message edited by: No 2 Methylphenidate ] Posts: 311 | Registered: Friday, February 13 2004 08:00 |
| translation help required G/EN in General | |
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Shock Trooper
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written Saturday, October 16 2004 00:40
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Maybe you use the wrong dictionary. I found the following Logo entry in my favorite dictionary www.leo.org quote:Every word is a link, you do not have to select english-> german or vice versa, there is a french-german dictionary too and there used to be a link into Miriam webster on the english side and even a audio link pronounciation. The last is a link to a discussion thread. Please pm me if you found anything better than that. I do have the two volume Langenscheidt Encyclopedic dictionary but it has become a rare second resort. This is my first in my daily job. [ Saturday, October 16, 2004 01:18: Message edited by: No 2 Methylphenidate ] Posts: 311 | Registered: Friday, February 13 2004 08:00 |
| How do we perceive fringe groups? in General | |
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Shock Trooper
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written Friday, October 15 2004 13:39
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Eldiran quote:This is one of my dearest prejudices and I am afraid of the time science may find a counter example. Posts: 311 | Registered: Friday, February 13 2004 08:00 |
| How do we perceive fringe groups? in General | |
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Shock Trooper
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written Friday, October 15 2004 09:46
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Djur, thank you - in particular for reading my whole post before answering. Not everybody does that, obviously. I agree with you that the death penalty is wrong. However, I am not sure about the examples you give for the US mainstream embracing prejudices, and I even hesitate to agree that prejudices are bad in general. Maybe the word prejudice means different things to you. My prejudice is that we would find out we agree to a comfortable degree if we bothered to find out ... and I cannot see anything wrong with that. Finally, as to your comment quote:Not exactly, I have them and I take an inner position for which I then feel responsible. And one connotation is the virus nature in the spread of religious narrow-mindedness (you know where Hitler's ideas originated?), the feeling of being victimized, and the reaction of self-righteousness as precursors of fascism. I am German, you know. [ Friday, October 15, 2004 13:57: Message edited by: No 2 Methylphenidate ] Posts: 311 | Registered: Friday, February 13 2004 08:00 |
| How do we perceive fringe groups? in General | |
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Shock Trooper
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written Friday, October 15 2004 08:13
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In a recent political debate, I came across the question whether being a Jew is a matter of creed or ethnicity. Now, imho, the label of "Antisemitism" is used in a inflationary manner, often to fend off reasonable criticism of the politics of the state of Israel, but this question in a political debate seems to me intrinsically Antisemitic, albeit thinly veiled. The question seems to leave a choice but it is like a choice between cholera and typhoid. The answer "a creed" easily gives rise to an apologetic attitude about Antisemitism with the undertone "it is the Jews' fault if they get problems. They should just get in line with other creeds." The answer "an ethnic identity" easily gives rise to all kinds of racist remarks that I do not want to get into. It is not everybody who tends to such connotions but only a minority but i times of social stress and Angst some things spread like viruses. My answer is that the question simply does not belong in a political debate because it plays to despicable connotations. Shame on those selfrighteous unteachables who take it as a matter of politics. The same applies, imho, to the similar question asked in the last presidential debate. If Mr. Kerry had chosen for the "genetical origin" answer, this would have denigrated the respective group as handicapped in a way. If he had answered "matter of choice" a frequent connotation had been that of guilt. As a consequence, he did well to try and unask the question as far as he could. The example of the good Samaritan teaches us that we should not seek an answer for the group as such but embrace the individual. Mr. Bush on the other hand let the question stand - cholera or typhoid, as long as it was one of the two it did not matter to him. [ Friday, October 15, 2004 08:37: Message edited by: No 2 Methylphenidate ] Posts: 311 | Registered: Friday, February 13 2004 08:00 |
| What pet(s) do you own? in General | |
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Shock Trooper
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written Monday, August 9 2004 20:43
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quote:I have not found any customers yet. Also I live in the same cage with them, i.e. a room with iron bars in front of the window - not what you may think. Both the spiders and I are free to leave - they, when I open the window and me when I go home. The spiders protect my PCs against intruders. Posts: 311 | Registered: Friday, February 13 2004 08:00 |
| Welcoming you all to... in General | |
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Shock Trooper
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written Sunday, August 8 2004 07:02
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There have been a number of METOO boards advertised here without any unique selling arguments specified. Maybe we could classify the differences as measurement errors. So the boards are just realisations of one and the same experiment? How about a lab report specifying mean survival times, standard deviations and such. That would be interesting. In my view, the eternal repetition of that Sisyphos work is caused by the misunderstanding that the communication medium IS the group rather than living some symbiotic metaexistence within the group. It used to be global artificial languages a good century ago - designed in form of dictionaries and grammars but no content. Now it is posting boards. Read up on the history of Esperanto to understand why it thrived! [ Sunday, August 08, 2004 07:06: Message edited by: Market Research ] Posts: 311 | Registered: Friday, February 13 2004 08:00 |
| I need a new word or phrase after GIFTSare2, and I need it now. in General | |
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Shock Trooper
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written Sunday, August 8 2004 06:35
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quote:I agree. If you yourself are that much concerned with your appearance rather that the intellectual or spiritual content of your posts, why should I care? Is this not what hysteria is about? You do not enjoy listening to someone who does not want to tell you anything. I mean you rather do something yourself rather than wrack your brain to improve somebody else's dismal idea of how he could possibly do something himself. The internet may abound with such business, but is it not banned here? [ Sunday, August 08, 2004 06:36: Message edited by: Market Research ] Posts: 311 | Registered: Friday, February 13 2004 08:00 |
| What pet(s) do you own? in General | |
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Shock Trooper
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written Sunday, August 8 2004 06:12
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Lots of  I do not like them that much, however. [ Sunday, August 08, 2004 06:14: Message edited by: Market Research ] Posts: 311 | Registered: Friday, February 13 2004 08:00 |
| What pet(s) do you own? in General | |
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Shock Trooper
Member # 3980
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written Saturday, July 31 2004 04:57
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Licorice Speaks By COLIN McENROE Published: July 31, 2004 My name is Licorice, and I am a hamster. I have never shared my story before because, frankly, sometimes all a hamster has is his privacy. Thursday night, however, Alexandra Kerry described the circumstances of my rescue by her father after I had fallen off a pier in Massachusetts. I have come forward now to set the record straight. I was the hamster of Alexandra's sister, Vanessa, and she, on balance, was a good person, although a bit of a tickler. On this occasion, as the family gathered on the pier to depart for a vacation, somebody - I'm not saying it was Alexandra; I'm not saying it was on purpose - "bumped" my cage, and the next thing I knew, I was in the water and sinking fast. I saw my whole life pass before my eyes. My life has not been all that interesting, so it wasn't exactly like watching "The Godfather I and II." I mean, I'm a hamster. I could see a bright light, but I seemed to be on a wheel that rotated as I ran, so I never got any closer. But I was aware of a shining, all-loving divine rodent presence telling me: "It's not time yet. You have more to do on earth." "Like what?" I asked, but I could already feel myself back in my body, could feel strong hands yanking open my cage and pulling me upward to safety. Yes, it was John Kerry. Help was on the way. Yes, he did perform CPR. Yes, he did perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. There is no doubt that I owe him my life. On the other hand, the water went up to his chest, O.K.? I mean, this wasn't exactly PT-109. It's also true that I wound up suing the family. I have continuing health problems, including a partial paralysis on my right side that makes it difficult for me to drink out of a regular water bottle. And let's just say there aren't going to be any Licorice Jr.'s. One of the small pleasures of hamster life denied. There was a settlement. I can't talk about it. I got enough to pay for a daily home health aide. How do I feel about John Kerry? Mainly, I'm grateful he wasn't married to that Heinz woman when this happened. You think she would have allowed him to jump in the water in his J. Press poplin slacks? Food pellets wouldn't melt in her mouth. I'd have drowned and been eaten by lobsters. And I'm glad I wasn't a Bush family pet. Their hamsters probably have to rescue them, from the looks of things. I might wind up speaking at the Republican convention, though. I'm opposed to stem cell research. With any kind of research, hamsters always wind up taking it right on the chin. And we barely even have chins. Colin McEnroe is a radio talk show host and writer. Quoted from the NYTimes (I hope noby minds) Posts: 311 | Registered: Friday, February 13 2004 08:00 |
| My apologies in General | |
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Shock Trooper
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written Thursday, April 15 2004 03:25
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I am for freedom of speech - including little sisters on spiderweb - as long as they do not post their names and addresses or exchange personal information. If you really feel compromised by her, why have you blown her cover? Stupid elder bully brother! Yeah for little sisters! [ Thursday, April 15, 2004 03:29: Message edited by: yet another procrastinator ] Posts: 311 | Registered: Friday, February 13 2004 08:00 |
| Ranks in General | |
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Shock Trooper
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written Saturday, April 10 2004 14:29
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quote:Agreed. However, when do you know that you know anybody, "really"? In addition, people change - and especially on this board there have been several fortunate examples. The problem is that the ratings cannot be updated. It would help if one could rate single posts - and openly. Posts: 311 | Registered: Friday, February 13 2004 08:00 |
| Favourite Smells in General | |
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Shock Trooper
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written Friday, April 2 2004 09:38
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New bank notes! Actually, this is only topped by the multimedia experience of the zeros printed on new banknotes - many of them! It is a pity that I cannot smell the zeros.... Posts: 311 | Registered: Friday, February 13 2004 08:00 |
| Need information on the Strategic Defense Initiative in General | |
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Shock Trooper
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written Thursday, April 1 2004 23:17
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Wasn't there a laser to be developped that needed a nuclear explosion to fire it? Think about decoy warheads - each requiring a nuclear explosion to be destroyed. I rememberthat things were discussed in "The New Scientist"(UK) and also on "Physics Today" the journal of the American Physical Society (APS). For school purposes I would turn to the AAAS-pulications. Scientific American Articles can be length and boring sometimes but might be worth a try. Posts: 311 | Registered: Friday, February 13 2004 08:00 |
| Join my forum...please in General | |
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Shock Trooper
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written Tuesday, March 30 2004 13:17
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quote:If you want something really new: What about a new structure for topics that have originated on spiderweb but have >100 posts? The linear structure is then no longer suitable and topics should be allowed to branch just like suicide did. What about a "suicide" etc board where posts like the 8th in Suicide, Mental Hospitals etc by Maaya Babelicious Member # 3149 would be avoided. Linear threads are frustrating to read as soon as the first prson posts who has not read the entire foreplay before. If you consider a wikipedia-like structure that adapts to the discussion (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page). You might find more memebrs - because you have something to offer rather than asking them to join your community. quote:That was meant as a challenge to find common traits. Not that I knew of any. Do not kill me! EDIT: corrected the URL [ Tuesday, March 30, 2004 22:30: Message edited by: yet another procrastinator ] Posts: 311 | Registered: Friday, February 13 2004 08:00 |
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Shock Trooper
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written Tuesday, March 30 2004 06:42
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Alorael, please do not feel rebuked. I am just trying to understand and Your Postliness have given an elightening answer. Hope, I will not end up like Sokrates with my questions. I am still thinking about your interesting post. quote:Are Desperance and Polaris stabilizing each other - maybe need each other as a raison d'être? This would imply some symmetry of both satellite communities that I did not notice in the serious discussions on at Spiderweb during the past 3 months, like boys/girls, homosexuality, suicide, religion. Posts: 311 | Registered: Friday, February 13 2004 08:00 |
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Shock Trooper
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written Sunday, March 28 2004 12:33
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quote:This statement strikes me in its outstanding claim of generality compared to other statements from the same source that have impressed me as rather well-considered in the past. If it did not come from Alorael, I would probably not wonder what personal perspective has lead to it and why I miss the explanation of the context that I have come to appreciate and - yes - expect from Alorael's posts. I just wish I had more time to read and post at the moment: As for spiderweb, I feel I cannot keep pace and Topics will disappear or change too fast for me. From the first impression of Polaris, it appears to me that the pace is slower, the tone somewhat more cooperative and less flamy. In addition, I feel I have the luxury to think a little deeper before I post. Is this not a sufficient difference? [ Sunday, March 28, 2004 13:26: Message edited by: yet another procrastinator ] Posts: 311 | Registered: Friday, February 13 2004 08:00 |
| Suicide in General | |
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Shock Trooper
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written Tuesday, March 23 2004 09:27
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quote:And appealing to young would-be therapists who endeavor to domesticate such tight rope walkers. (BTW, this would be an extremely fascinating theme for an RP.) ef: I agree, I have that trait myself - I procrastinate certain dull jobs until the last minute - just to make them more interesting to me. However, the partners in my life are less amused by it and such behavior keeps them at a distance. When I notice this (*) in others, I get the feeling that they are bad risks for investing time, energy and empathy, because they are not committed - as if they were alcoholics. Some stabilize themselves into some depressing self-depreciating loss of self-respect. To me this appears like a form of killing oneself softly in a protracted way - like smoking. Alcoholism is a disease. What about this form of "suicidality"? EDIT: added clarification *: "this" refers to the personality trait described in the preceding paragraph. [ Tuesday, March 23, 2004 14:06: Message edited by: yet another procrastinator ] Posts: 311 | Registered: Friday, February 13 2004 08:00 |
| Suicide in General | |
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Shock Trooper
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written Tuesday, March 23 2004 03:07
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I agree: quote:I do understand the appeal that people have after they have survived some sort of crisis or catharsis. They tend to have a view for the essentials in life and to be more forgiving. In addition, experience with one's personal limits is an important part of maturity. But risking one's life just for this end - like bungee jumping without checking for a brain aneurysm or the risk of a retinal detachment - seems imho extremely selfish and irreverent to my family and my society who have invested heavily in me. I admit to find it extremely difficult to stay non-judgmental in this respect. What do you think? [ Tuesday, March 23, 2004 03:09: Message edited by: yet another procrastinator ] Posts: 311 | Registered: Friday, February 13 2004 08:00 |
| Suicide in General | |
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Shock Trooper
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written Monday, March 22 2004 22:14
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quote:In the long run, nobody can stop a person who is determined to kill him/herself. So help can only be effective for those suicidal persons who are not in their right mind, i.e. who feel that they have to do it and who do not really really want to die. They are like blind people crossing a busy road without noticing. I cannot believe that there is anything to be learned from letting them go. What about those who want to risk their life in order to explore? Bull-fighting and extreme sports are at least entertaining. But what about the astronauts who explore the limits. Do they bring back anymore feelings or knowledge just because others have died? I feel, we should respect our own life and risk it only for endeavors that are worth it. Roman gladiators - fighting for their life in order to entertain - have no appeal for me. Posts: 311 | Registered: Friday, February 13 2004 08:00 |
| Suicide in General | |
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Shock Trooper
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written Thursday, March 18 2004 11:40
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As an outsider here among so many Christian believers, I wanted to know: Is the suicide rate among Christian believers any lower than among the total population? Looking for an answer I found more than I had been looking for: an intersting website: American Association of Suicidology (AAS)(goal: to understand and prevent suicide and the following facts about suicide that pertain to the membership on this board: 1. Within a typical high school classroom (did not say how many students), it is likely that three students (one boy and two girls) have made a suicide attempt in the past year. (Four times more men than women kill themselves; but three times more women than men attempt suicide.) In self-report surveys, one in five high school students have stated that they have seriously considered attempting suicide during the preceding 12 months. Suicide ranks third as a cause of death among young (15-24) Americans behind accidents and homicide. 2. Socially isolated white male adolescents are generally found to be at high risk of completing suicide. 3. The vast majority of individuals who are suicidal often display clues and warning signs. So we as a community with many adolescent, socially isolated computer game players are highly likely to receive signals of suicidal persons! What should we look for and what can we do? A suicidal person might be suicidal if he or she: * Talks about committing suicide * Has trouble eating or sleeping * Experiences drastic changes in behavior * Withdraws from friends and/or social activities * Loses interest in hobbies, work, school, etc. * Prepares for death by making out a will and final arrangements * Gives away prized possessions * Has attempted suicide before * Takes unnecessary risks * Has had recent severe losses * Is preoccupied with death and dying * Loses interest in their personal appearance * Increases their use of alcohol or drugs What To Do Here are some ways to be helpful to someone who is threatening suicide: * Be direct. Talk openly and matter-of-factly about suicide. * Be willing to listen. Allow expressions of feelings. Accept the feelings. * Be non-judgmental. Don?t debate whether suicide is right or wrong, or feelings are good or bad. Don?t lecture on the value of life. (The recent homosexuality topic has illustrated how judgemental attitude influences communication. Let me summarize: it is not easy.) * Get involved. Become available. Show interest and support. * Don?t dare him or her to do it. * Don?t act shocked. This will put distance between you. * Don?t be sworn to secrecy. Seek support. * Offer hope that alternatives are available but do not offer glib reassurance. * Take action. Remove means, such as guns or stockpiled pills. * Get help from persons or agencies specializing in crisis intervention and suicide prevention. What to do if you feel suicidal If you find yourself feeling suicidal you need to get the appropriate help from a professional as soon as possible The following resources are available to help you: In the US: Internet: www.suicidehotlines.com Telephone: 1-800-784-2433 In the UK: Internet: www.samaritans.org Telephone: 08457 90 90 90 e-mail: jo@samaritans.org In Australia: Internet: www.samaritans.org.au Telephone (0 9381 5555 or 1800 198 313 email: jo@befrienders.org P.S. I am a member of the local parish for purely practical reasons: Imho, the parish provides a structure in which the families can embed themselves at the local level, I support this. If only they would not keep shooting themselves in the foot by talking so much about faith. [ Friday, March 19, 2004 10:05: Message edited by: yet another procrastinator ] Posts: 311 | Registered: Friday, February 13 2004 08:00 |
| Suicide in General | |
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Shock Trooper
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written Wednesday, March 17 2004 17:06
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Chuck! Imban! Thank you for defending the topic against the bulies. If nothing else helps, we can move our discussion elsewhere. quote:Whenever I had thoughts like veering off the highway at 100m/h against a bridge pier or ? when I lost any concern about a cover up as an accident ? closing the garage with the moror running, I did not care about any of your questions but the last one. I just wanted to get rid of all the ****. Now that I can think in a more relaxed way, I will try to answer your questions as honestly as I can. 1. What is the role of Providence in the affairs of men? I find the idea of Providence hard to reconcile with my illusion of a free will. I do not "know" whether my will is free, though. How could I possibly find out? The relevant aspect of this question for me is whether I feel responsible for my decisions or delegate the responsibility to some unfathomable instance. Need I to say more? 2. what does life mean? As a definition, I would say living structures adapt to change. Take some form of clouds for example: convection rolls that form similarly in a pot with fluid heated from below or in the presence of some ongoing chemical reaction. I would not call this life because it does not store information on a molecular level, where far more complex structures are possible. As soon as there is "life", any change in the medium elicits defensive changes in the living organism as if it had known what reaction would be helpful for survival under such conditions. Apart from the definition, what do you mean by the "meaning" of something? Does the "meaning" have to be universal by belonging to the phenomenon itself or may it be purely attached in some arbitrary way by us humans? Take the stellar constellations as an example. The stars in any one of them may be further apart from each other than from the earth and have little more in common than that they appear under similar angles to observers on he earth. In particular, they do not form any common stucture in the universe. However, in blissful ignorance of that, our ancestors identified the constellations as structures in their sky, gave them names and invented all kinds of folklore about them that made sense as a mnemonic tool. The constellations certainly meant something to them in spite of their arbitrariness. More general, finding any meaning in our world makes our world easier to remember and to predict. Our inborn urge to find meanings makes us find mnemonic connections between things and gives us an advantage for survival. Imho, the meaning of many things is in the eye of the beholder and its usefulness can be measured by the extent to which it makes our world simpler. Only natural scientists work on the project to establish a universal meaning for the phenomena in our world. It is so much simpler to remember and transmit to you the meaningful name "pi" than the number itself 3.141592 (See, I forgot the rest!) (to be continued.) with 3. What makes a life worthwhile? 4. How should we love our lives? 5. How does each of us fit into the grander design? [ Wednesday, March 17, 2004 17:09: Message edited by: yet another procrastinator ] Posts: 311 | Registered: Friday, February 13 2004 08:00 |
| Suicide in General | |
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Shock Trooper
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written Sunday, March 14 2004 10:42
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Dear ef, I understand that you are convinced that what you wrote is right and your words sound convincing to me. However, whenever I try to explain it with an example or any practical consequence I fail. The words mean something to you, they mean something to me but they have to be put into a context to be explainable. This is what I call a theory. If it is useful, should it not provide insights in a prospective way rather than explaining the past. I understand the past better as I grow older. Speeding up my insight so that it becomes relevant for my present is what I meant by "taking a short-cut". I would welcome an exchange of views among board members and I am using my signature to ask for reactions. This is not uncommon and may be more effective for ideas that take time to trickle through than a new topic. Also, I am afraid that the suicide topic which had a rocketing number of posts in the beginning is going to die because some of us are talking above the heads of many others. If you would like to recommend any specific changes to my signature, please contact me whether by private message or on this board. I value your ideas and will apologize if you should find this appropriate. [ Sunday, March 14, 2004 10:57: Message edited by: yet another procrastinator ] Posts: 311 | Registered: Friday, February 13 2004 08:00 |