In other news furniture sales were at an all-time high as local residents demanded comfy seats to sit and watch the action. Local council officials wouldn't go so far as to provide popcorn though.

Unemployed and seven kids? I would assume she already has healthcare. Must be that free ride some people are outraged over.

Living in a 743sqft house in a slummy neighborhood, earning $14k a year on part time, minimum wage work and pulling in that fatty $6-8k tax return (kids can do that for ya!) is totally the easy street I want to live on!

Makes it worthwhile when I have to pawn off that flat screen and over priced used Escalade I bought with my return (not mentioning when I sell it off, I continue to add to my "upside down" debt on downgrading to a shittier vehicle just to get to work) because I make only enough money to feed the kids and buy $5 DVD's from Walmart for my $30 DVD player I beat the hell out of some schmoe for on Black Friday.

The above example is from a family I know. Free rides, eh? I rather keep paying taxes than to take that free ride. If someone is making a comfy living milking the system, I'd say thats well outside the norm.

Maybe it has something to do with how aggressive, self-assertive people tend to be a lot more likely to walk out on you than meek, adaptive ones? If you're looking for a long-term relationship, chances are you're looking for something safe and comfy. That's rarely very exciting.

Tedium's not so bad when you're working with good people, and you get some reasonable variety to your work. If a company puts you on a riveter all day, they're condemning you to some kind of repetitive stress disorder years down the line. A smart factory or jobsite would rotate your tasks during the day to prevent that from happening. At my old job, we'd frequently change our "position" between onloads and offloads of aircraft, and each task even had a lot of variety.

Most people don't do the things they know they should be doing. I guess there are some supermen and women out there that have no trouble fitting in their needed exercise, social contact, and intellectual challenge in every day of their lives (assuming they have the free time). But the majority of society does what their environment leads them to do, as bad as it may be. Using myself as an example, I know exactly how to eat right and how to exercise from the couple years I spent seeing a personal trainer twice a week, but now I'm always doing a poor job of staying in shape. I'm in-between remodeling projects right now and have tons of free time, but precious little of that time is spent being productive or doing something really beneficial.

This is similar to some of the discussions I've had about religion here on VS, because both religion and physical labor jobs offer you what your body is built for in complete packages. Surely a secularist can be part of a supportive social group, spend time quietly reflecting on his life, and be at peace with his environment; and someone with lots of free time could engage in communal activities, get regular physical exercise, and challenge themselves intellectually. It's just that doing all that stuff piecemeal is much more difficult for the average person, and it's more likely they'll play WoW and eat pizza instead. It's easier to get a job swinging a hammer and go to a church once a week to achieve all those same things. I think Eastern philosophies have been aware of this for a long time, because their religious scholars focus on things like maintaining gardens rather than sitting in comfy chairs and reading books.

I was out of work for about a year before I started my remodel project, and I remember telling an unemployed friend of mine how much more I could appreciate my free time when I spent 8 hours that day working. Work and accomplishment is a necessary part of life, and separating out the physical from the mental work is not the same as when the two are united. That's why I'm working on a house remodeling project instead of putting my degree to any use. I decided that if I have to choose between success and money or a fulfilled life, I'll choose the latter.

In reply to this comment by Psychologic:
I can't speak for chilaxe, but for me it's the tedium rather than the physicality I'd like to avoid. I can't see much of a health benefit from filling envelopes or scrubbing septic tanks. One could argue that it "builds character", but so does learning advanced physics or training for a marathon.

There are many jobs that people would rather not do if their livelihoods weren't dependent upon them, and many of those jobs could (or soon will) be performed by robots rather than people. I don't think that situation, in itself, is a bad thing. I'd rather spend my time improving myself both physically and intellectually, but I also have to eat so that means I need my jobs (I have three currently).

I do agree with you on the value of physical work, but if we end up in a world where people can choose their own methods rather than choosing those that pay well then I believe we will benefit from such a world both individually and societally.

O.K., Global Warming IS real!!! I would like to offer a very effective hand operated fan to offset the warm. Only $25 for you, special price. I also offer you, at a special price, a small battery driven fan with a compartment for ice, that will keep you cool. If the warming should NOT happen, I offer you, at a special price, a comfy snuggle blankie for only $24.99. In addition, I offer an invisible condom that not only is invisible, but cannot be felt by anyone at a special price of $25, just for you!

^You downvote because I make a solid case. If you understood what it takes to make a film, DFT... the risk, the stress, the effort. But you never will, and that's because you'd rather sit back in your comfy armchair and criticize those of us who do, and then tell us we're wrong. I feel embarrassed for you.

Looks comfy.

The most effective way to ward off feeling tired and sleepy when working a desk job is to deliberately make yourself uncomfortable.

Whenever I have to stay up late in order to work I switch from my comfy computer chair to a wooden bench, open the nearby window and take all my clothes off, put on an S&M outfit and open a webcam link to teh internets. Works like a charm every time, that!

Interesting, accurate insights into how uncomfortable public transit can be.
I'm a 'Method B' type dude. It's comfy! No cigars though.

I am somewhere in between. The guy who was filming this deserves to go to jail for a while for approaching this situation the way he did. I am really opposed to these kinds of videos that a meant simply to humiliate and expose people who make mistakes. Its sites like the sift that make me happy that people can come together and have a thoughtful conversation about these kinds of things. Its really too bad that some people watch these things, and sit at home in their comfy chairs, and just sneer at this guy for doing what he did. FUCK that cameraman (i'm still pumped from watching the carlin video earlier).

That said, it is on the issue of whether prostitution is a largely victimless crime where I am finding myself on the fence. I don't know what to say about it right now, but this is a good post. I'll save it for later.

I think this guy has a bit more credibility and first-hand knowlege of the topic. Even more-so that Cheney

Proves my point exactly. You've 'chosen' to accept him as a credible source because he's saying things you like. There are senior interrogators who disagree with this guy's opinion, but you give them no credibility because you don't want to.

I'm more interested in the semantics of this debate, personally. I find them to be highly misleading. This doofus is deliberately attempting to make it sound like 'torture' is the ONLY reason that terrorists go to Iraq. So we're supposed to believe somehow that every insurgent in Iraq is there ONLY because of US torture pics and junk.

But news stories of prisoner treatment did not become widespread until late in 2004 when internal documents and photos were leaked. At that point the Iraq insurgency was already stuff, and foreign fighters were flocking into the country. "Torture" could not possibly have motivated this, because it wasn't publicized. The real motivations are myriad and include Isreal, money, and many other things. Be realistic. If all the US had done was put terrorists in a comfy bungalow, then there would still be terrorists in Iraq by the thousands.

Therefore the joker in this vid is totally up in the night. Terrorist activity was stiff and rampant far earlier than 'torture' became an issue. Now, that is irrefutable fact. But you people here will have none of it, because it contradicts an argument that you desperately want to be correct. Pathetic.

>> ^nadabu:
>> ^Jaace:
And this is why I haven't dropped 10 bucks to go see this movie.

I don't ever drop 10 bucks on a movie. Academy theater down the street blows the big chains out of the water. Reasonable concessions (including pizza from Flying Pie next door, salads, good beer, etc), very comfy chairs, lax policies about bringing your own food, and even reasonably priced babysitting available upstairs (with RSVP). All for a whopping 3.50 per person. Yeah, it's a second run theater, but i can wait a few months for any movie to be able to see it there.


that sounds awesome. i hate the no outside food/drink policy at regular theaters.

>> ^Jaace:
And this is why I haven't dropped 10 bucks to go see this movie.


I don't ever drop 10 bucks on a movie. Academy theater down the street blows the big chains out of the water. Reasonable concessions (including pizza from Flying Pie next door, salads, good beer, etc), very comfy chairs, lax policies about bringing your own food, and even reasonably priced babysitting available upstairs (with RSVP). All for a whopping 3.50 per person. Yeah, it's a second run theater, but i can wait a few months for any movie to be able to see it there.

The only valid question is "What level of torture is acceptable?" A purist says, "NO level!" I think such a broad statement is a dodge to avoid specificity. Anything can be torture when it is deliberately applied to an unwilling subject - even simple confinement.

The reasons why someone is tortured are important when determining what is justified - degree also. 'Unacceptable' torture is done for kicks, spite, cruelty, or revenge and/or causes permenant injury. 'Acceptable' saves lives, protects national interests, and only goes as far as to make the subject uncomfortable, scared, or tired.

That gives me a fair framework to judge different examples. Waterboarding to get intel that saves lives = OK. Beating the crap out of guys who clearly know squat = bad.

What I don't think is logical is to expect all sides of a conflict to plunk prisoners in comfy rooms to wait until the fight is over. Captured personnel have intel that is valuable, and it is not illogical to expect that those prisoners will be questioned. And it is also not unrealistic to expect that UNWILLING subjects will have pressure applied to them to surrender the intel.

Comment hidden because you are ignoring dag. (show it anyway)

My guess is Tom Riddle.

In reply to this comment by Edeot:
Indeed. After you all banned Choggie, CP420, and BillOreilly, I'm sure some started to sit comfy and tried to enjoy their new Sifttopia.

I really need to keep a running tally of who everyone guessed I am. So far -
1.)Captainplanet420
2.)Blankfist
3.)Gwiz665

In reply to this comment by NicoleBee:
Pah! I knew you were a sock puppet trying a new angle.

We need a new super-villain anyways.