At first I thought Chronicle was the name of NY news rag that might have an internal slogan of "on a slow news day, make your own news". Then I realized it's a movie about flying high school kids. Lame. Neat videography in this viral advert, however.

>> ^chilaxe:

@Porksandwich
I'm talking about north-east Asians (Chinese/Hongkongese/Chinese-Singaporeans, Koreans, Japanese, Taiwanese). Other Asians don't have the same significantly consistent high performance.
Increases in school spending don't significantly correlate with increases in student performance. You can't change someone's nature to make them like to read, and bad teachers & old textbooks can't turn a driven person with a good attitude into someone who doesn't like to read.


Praising athletics while scorning academics is a common trend in the US. It is most definitely disheartening to see the programs that only a small fraction of the student body participate in getting the lion's share of the budget. And increases in school spending also tend to get funneled away from the absolute educational needs and maintenance of the buildings to large projects such as a new school being built or new sports complex. It happens time and time again that the money ends up being spent on things that fall under the umbrella of "school budget" but are not directly related to education.

And I would agree that you can't change someone's nature, but you could spend time trying to identify their interests and fostering those. Math and Science are great, we need more but as you said you can't change their natural inclinations. Bad teachers are notorious for forcing material by the standard means rather than try to find out what would best suite them. Perhaps you need to see things written to retain knowledge, but you write slowly....and the teacher continues to throw a lot of information at you faster than you can write. That is not serving the purpose of education, and it is no big inconvenience or time sink to the class for the teacher to hand out a basic packet to follow along and add additional information to allow people to keep up. Hell I had college professors do this, so you could make your own notes on the subject but still have an organized list of topics pertinent to the lesson.

So short version: School spending does not mean spending toward education. Bad teachers can stunt progress of students through a number of means. Hell a person with a heavy foreign accent can make it hell on earth trying to follow along or do the required homework if they never write it down. A person who can learn in spite of all of this, probably has parents who've given them the time and means to do so or may even know much on the subjects themselves. An immigrant with uneducated parents who may only speak but not read or write English is going to find this much more difficult.

If my parents had taken me out of the US and into Mexico where very little was taught in English, and my parents spoke rough Spanish and couldn't read or write in Spanish....I'd find myself struggling as well. Especially if there was no time to tutor after school because I had to be home for chores or an after school job to make ends meet. Only an extremely exceptional person could prevail through that, and I refuse to believe that all Asians of the categories you mention have no additional help outside of school. And that may be where the focus should lie immigrants not of those categories, helping establish this foundation for their cultural groups and filling it with people who are familiar with their common backgrounds and beliefs to help them adapt. If they are naturalized, you are stuck with them now.....and just throwing them under the bus because they aren't the Asians types you hoped for as immigrants is not going to solve it. If they are willing to work and not undermining society through malice...they can be worked with to find a place for them. This goes for both natural born citizens and former immigrants.....ignoring huge swathes of your population is not a good idea.

Anyway, I don't view immigration as a national problem. Sure it has some influence on the overall problems the country faces, especially illegals. But the core of our problems are related to greed as has been stated, but policies that ignore the people and favor the profit machines whether they be individuals or corporations in spite of the people. And that's where the favor towards Socialism is springing up in the young, Capitalism may have worked but it is no longer allowing the young to establish a life that would even come close to that of their parents. They are reducing the opportunity chance as time goes on for each new generation by these choices. So I don't blame anyone for wanting to throw out what these decision makers cling to as sacred in favor of trying something else that may restore a little sanity into the system. After all, your citizenry needs a way to support itself without being a member of the armed forces, born wealthy, or just plain lucky.

The implement the guy is using is called a 'superball' and is literally the kind of superball you find in market vending machines attached to the end of some kind of pliant stick. It looks like he has a variety of sizes, each activating different overtones, each overtone having it's own unique size and speed of vibration (like ripples in a lake when you toss a pebble). You can make your own superball very easily by just superglueing a super ball on the end of a stick. You can rub them on nearly anything and it will produce a unique sound based on material, density and speed of friction.

The table also seems like an amazing piece of engineering. The surface must have minimal contact with the supports to create that kind of reverberence. I want one!

You think that's involved... check out the 'make your own sushi' deal: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=fvwp&NR=1&v=Gr-qewC-4gY

This is BS. Utter BS. Underlying social contract? - I think the government broke that contract a long damn time ago!!!
I hire workers that paid way to damn much for their college education.
I, and their parents, paid taxes for them to get a crappy public education before that.
I ship product on poorly maintained roads, where the person standing with the stop/go sign gets more per hour than my warehouse workers.
My employees pay taxes on the money I pay them, which I have paid taxes as well.
I pay taxes on every cent I earn and my employer pays taxes on every product we sell.
I pay for every damn thing I use and pay taxes on every damn thing I buy.
If I should happen to work my a$$ off and get rich, guess what I did it by my own damn self DESPITE the government - not because of. And it's not luck - it's hard damn work. You make your own luck.
As far as incentive's for investing by giving a lower tax rate - yep that's what we do and there is nothing wrong with that. I make money and pay taxes on it. I buy something and I pay taxes on it. I save money and I pay taxes on the interest. I put some of what I have left in the Stock market - I TAKE RISKS on investing in companies which promotes their growth and the strengthening of our economy and IF I should happen to make money off of it then that is the reward for taking the risk. I shouldn't have to pay the same tax rate as if I had gotten it from my employer. My job doesn't incur risk, investing does. If you don't give an incentive to someone for taking risk, then you have no investment. I'd just buy government bonds at some crappy interest rate- just not in California or Illinois.
Yet we all focus on the part where she mentions capital gains tax and not the other part where she mentions Medicare, Medicaid, and 2 wars? How about we focus on changing those first couple of things and get our government to run EFFICIENTLY and then come back asking for more money.

@blankfist you're obviously still in one of these really hostile moods.

First, I said "The way I understand it..." which is to say, I myself was indicating I didn't know for sure.

Second, you've not actually invalidated what I said at all. A guy who wants to start his own currency, but then gets indicted and convicted for running an unauthorized coin mint, and fraudulently presenting those coins as legal tender, doesn't prove that making your own currency is illegal, it means running an unauthorized mint and using the coins as counterfeit dollars is illegal.

On your other link, all it says is that you need a license to transmit currency across state lines, and describes the regulations that apply. Nothing from that link says you have to conduct your transactions in dollars.

You also haven't addressed the examples I provided. Are you saying credit cards and checks are illegal? Are you saying WoW gold and gift cards are illegal? That they're not currency? What about Ithaca Hours? What about all of these?

I honestly don't care whether it's illegal to use alternative currencies or not. I'm mostly just trying to cheer you up by trying to convince you that you're not actually as oppressed as you think you are.

>> ^blankfist:

Seems the real objection people have with other people's right to open carry is that they're afraid of that person even without provocation. Fear vs reason.


What's unreasonable about fearing a person who publicly carries a weapon without having any obvious reason to do so (i.e. law enforcement)? Carrying a gun around in a peaceful society is provocation enough to fear them. They're visually announcing to everyone within sight, "Hey look at me! I'm willing to kill someone!" I guess I'm just a bit strange in that I find the need wherever you go to proclaim your willingness to kill people a bit alarming. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that this isn't Somalia or some other 3rd-world country in which power is the only thing respected or you need to make your own justice.

I have no problem with other people's right to open-carry if they have a valid need to do so. I have a problem with the idea that everyone should open-carry... just because we can. I think that introduces problems (already mentioned in my post above) that are most easily solved by using common sense and leaving your weapon at home unless you're headed out into a situation where you're likely to encounter trouble.

Finally, the "because you can" argument cuts both ways: if I see someone wearing a gun walk down the street I'm going to call the cops and have them check the person out to make sure they're legit--because it's legal for me to do so and because I can.

Is it still illegal in the US to make your own alcohol?

Wow, The US truly is owned and controled by the Rockefellers!
Standard Oil has you guys by the balls!

http://www.campaignforliberty.com/blog.php?view=2599

The drug war DEFINITELY costs money and DEFINITELY harms society by harassing and locking people up who would otherwise be working and paying taxes. All to keep substances that range from beneficial to highly addictive from MAYBE causing problems and MAYBE costing money. All while encroaching on our freedoms and rights. I think it would be hard for any reasonable person to argue that substances cause more harm than the "war" on the substances does.

Plus keeping addicts hidden is a great way for a youngster to grow up without realizing how shitty some drugs really are. The more crackheads my kids are exposed to the less likely that they will ever want to try crack, guaranteed. Maybe we could have a drug license (like driver license). You have to take a course and pass a test and be of age and then you can partake of whatever substances float your boat. Plants and plant derivatives could be sold like alcoholic beverages are and pharmacies could sell the rest. Growing your own should be fine just like you can make your own beer or wine. MDMA, LSD-25, opium, and cannabis would be popular while pretty much no-one would buy crack or meth or huff paint or huff gasoline. If you can get safer and better substances easily why would you turn to the shittiest stuff?

-Karl

Keep pressing 3 on the YouTube window. Make your own remix.

>> ^alien_concept:

>> ^westy:
Those are some pretty women , probably wont bother getting/watching this as i hate programs that are sold on being a cock teeze.
Evan if its good probably best to avoid yet another american show with 100 + episodes all 45 min long , end up spending your whole life watching other peoples crap instead of making your own.

Westy, it's not really sold on porn at all, the story and action and mystery are the biggest part of it, the sexiness is required to stay in keeping with everything else. And you'll be glad to know there's only 10 episodes


Indeed. 'Naked people' ceased to be the primary reason for most of us to watch TV and movies a long time ago. (Or at least it should have.) The sexual aspects of the story play a very important role in the setting. Without it, many of the important plot points would be completely lost.

If we were only watching for the boobies, I think we could all find a better source.

>> ^westy:

Those are some pretty women , probably wont bother getting/watching this as i hate programs that are sold on being a cock teeze.
Evan if its good probably best to avoid yet another american show with 100 + episodes all 45 min long , end up spending your whole life watching other peoples crap instead of making your own.


I await the announcement of your sweeping, epic, yet poorly-spelled series of a piece of history I'd like to know more about: "Hanible: Konkerer of Italy"

Let us know when that series begins, dood.

>> ^westy:

Those are some pretty women , probably wont bother getting/watching this as i hate programs that are sold on being a cock teeze.
Evan if its good probably best to avoid yet another american show with 100 + episodes all 45 min long , end up spending your whole life watching other peoples crap instead of making your own.


Westy, it's not really sold on porn at all, the story and action and mystery are the biggest part of it, the sexiness is required to stay in keeping with everything else. And you'll be glad to know there's only 10 episodes

Those are some pretty women , probably wont bother getting/watching this as i hate programs that are sold on being a cock teeze.

Evan if its good probably best to avoid yet another american show with 100 + episodes all 45 min long , end up spending your whole life watching other peoples crap instead of making your own.

And here we are back to the immature need to find meaning and simple causation for everything in life. There are an uncountable number of moving parts that make up the world we live in. When you are living your normal day-to-day routine and something extraordinary happens, you can see God or you can see an amazing and complex world. You see a butterfly land next to you on the park bench and see God, or you can see that butterflies share our planet and land places nearby occasionally. You can walk out your front door into a beautiful spring morning and see God, or you can see the amazing complexity of seasons and weather.

It is very, very easy to look at things around you that are beautiful or rare or confusing and see God. Because then you simply don't have to think about it any further, and can go about your day. But others have the curiosity to look at it more closely, or think about it more deeply, or reason out what may have caused something to happen. The more you do that, the less you see God in everything, because you simply don't need a conscious presence and invisible hand to explain anything. That doesn't make things any less beautiful or amazing. That doesn't make me appreciate life any less. I love life, I love this world. It's awesome, and there are endless things to explore and learn about it. Or I could turn off my brain, call it God, and mentally live in a church instead of expanding my mind and allowing all new knowledge to freely enter my consciousness.

I am open. I am loving. I am ethical. I live by the golden rule of Do Unto Others As You Would Have Them Do Unto You. If God wants to make his presence known to me, then He knows what forms of evidence I will accept. If I make changes to who I am, then I am denying the person God supposedly made me to be. The God you claim exists made me who I am, made me think the way I do. And now you say I can't feel his presence in my life because I am not changing to suit Him? Do you see the nonsense here?

Scroll up a bit and you will see yourself saying "Ask Him to show Himself to you, ask Him to reveal to you that He is Almighty God and He will do it!" But that's not true. I asked Him for a long time. Every time I realized how something I was taught didn't make sense. I said God, if I'm on the wrong track here please let me know. Silence. I only want to understand the world as it truly is, because there are many people making may different claims about the nature of God and creation. So I thought, and prayed, and read. And more and more it revealed itself to be an illusion. A pretty story that was actually very, very ugly when you really look at it. I mean, have you read Genesis? The things that God does, commands, and permits are breathtakingly horrible. This is not the story of a loving God. This is the story of a vengeful god of war and blood. And the more you read about how the Bible was cobbled together by many authors, with many perspectives over a long period of time, the more you realize that it is all just revenge fantasy for a persecuted people, and justification for their own atrocities. The story is still playing out in Israel and across the world as we speak.

But you say I need to abandon my search for truth and rational thought and just accept that God is always right in everything He did as described by the Bible. Don't bother questioning it because God's thoughts are higher than mine, right? Don't ask why. Just believe that he loves you and would prefer that you worshiped Him. Of course if you don't worship Him he will abandon you to silence and coldness and of course, HELL after you die. Because that is the very definition of love right? When your children make poor life choices you condemn them to eternal torture, right? That's God's higher thought. "I gave you a chance. You could have chosen to believe in the Bible (while of course rejecting the Qur'an, Tripitaka, Bhagavad-Gita, and all the other books claiming to have the answers). But no, you chose to have an open mind and think for yourself and make your own decisions."

It is painfully clear to me that what I just described is not love. It is selfish, covetous, rapacious. We are to worship and obey God for our entire lives, prostrating ourselves before Him, or suffer eternally. You can't explain that away. You just can't.

So let me be clear. Even if this God of the Bible that you love so much were to truly exist, I would not worship. I will not love anything under the threat of torture. Even if "hell" was merely defined as the absence of God's presence, it's the same thing. Either I love and obey or I will not be allowed to enter the club in the clouds. Sorry, not going there either. Even if for some reason I was allowed in and there were others who were not, I would not go in. I love people more than God? WHAT?

Either God's love is unconditional, like any decent parent, or I want nothing to do with Him. And that is simply not what the Bible describes. It is clear that "Heaven and Hell" is a fantasy for people who want to believe in epic justice in the afterworld. The world we live in is horrible unfair, and some people need to think that bad people will get what's coming to them somehow, even if it's not in this lifetime. Sigh. But that is a topic for another epic post, and I think I've rambled on far too long as it is.