the music and commentary take away from the fact that this is a seriously fucked sitation - and no laughing matter at all

*down under

It recently occured to me that economics, and by implication - our current socio-economic paradigm, is a pyramid scheme. We all think that if we keep sending our $10 to the other people (by constant consumption), that we will all eventually become rich and successful. The system is broken. As Gilding says, you cannot have infinite growth in a finite system. The now-illegal pyramid schemes showed us that....

using a total of 3 different punch sound effects...

I really want to like Bill Maher, but he so often resorts to the race gags. This is apparently to be ironic, but as someone from another western country where we have a different history of racial oppression, it nearly always feels like he is actually reinforcing the stereotypes. It feels like he is trying to show that he is left wing and cool, so he can get away with it. But to me, it just feels racist! I and many others don't care about Obama's colour, so why don't we start to make THOSE assumptions rather than the assumption that "oh, it must be because he is black".

that's an orangutan painted black...

that last bit with Peter Gabriel singing and the boombox over the head in front of the car STILL kicks ass! What a great little scene!

I really enjoyed this article. What interests me about some of the comments in here is this apparent need for some of us to brandish this guy as evil or whatever. I get the feeling that we often cling to these concepts when we see people doing things that we find so abhorent; and by considering them in these terms, we are able to see them as "other", as different from us; and therefore we are able to feel righteous in our judgement of them. For me who takes this article at face value, I see a guy who was obviously caught doing some ridiculously amoral or even immoral acts, but in his mind, he was doing some right things. It doesn't justify his acts, just as nothing can justify the acts of the Oakland or NYPDs in recent weeks. But it does make me reflect on the idea that perhaps too simply we create "others" out of people who hold differing views than us, and this seems to be just one step away from considering them as enemies. Certainly the consequences of his actions are ongoing and causing the pain of many, and for that, his 3 year sentence seems somewhat trivial...

What I take away from thinking about this, is that this man's story absolutely stresses the need for all of us to actively participate in our democracies,and to have in place, the systems to hold our elected representatives responsible for their decisions on our behalf. We clearly have a long way to go in all democracies across the world. I wish us well.

Thanks for the clarification. i love that people on here know about this stuff....
>> ^oritteropo:

Spider respiration isn't like ours, it's based on diffusion rather than forcing the air through like we do.... or, in other words, no.
I felt quite sorry for the poor little fellow.
>> ^dapper:
Is it possible that the movement is a consequence of it breathing rather than the heart beat?

Is it possible that the movement is a consequence of it breathing rather than the heart beat?

>> ^soulmonarch:

That outfit simply cannot be comfortable.


her pants look so uncomfortable that they made mine uncomfortable too

absolutely love this guy - always have. So, he messed up once - get over it! If he learns the lesson and treats his family better, then cool. IF not, then he can just come back and fix the hole that the good ol US of A is in.

age certainly does not weary some dickheads

i want to live in that world

i have a bone but not for the puppy