Australia for arguments sake, but your assumption that my post was about one upping the US is incorrect.

I find the situation sad when so many people are so poorly treated by a system and yet still perpetuate that system. You mention not being able to play a game due to a lack of freedom, but how is that an issue compared to not getting medical or dental care for a child? Access to life saving drugs without mortgaging not only your own future, but the future of your kids. Oh woo-fucking-hoo, you can buy the handful of games our censors knocked on the head, but you can't feed your homeless or pay your retired police/firefighters pensions. You can't guarantee a living wage for huge swathes of the population so a few people can have even larger money vaults. Your security apparatus crawls through your vaunted rights at will, and convinces the populace that the guy shining a light on just how undermined US freedom really is, is a traitor...

If all I was concerned about is feeling superior, I could stop right there, mission accomplished.

But it's not. It's fucking sick that so many people eek out shitty existences for the protection and perpetuation of a tiny portion of the population. Feudalism at least was honest, you were born in the dirt and you died in the dirt.

American's are, from my experience, just people like everyone else. For the most part, wonderful people. I've met so many great people on my travels to the US. They deserve better, they fought and bled and worked for better. So how is it most never even get close?

It's not about who's better, or more fortunate, or who's national dick is collectively longer. It's about giving good people a fair chance rather than the so called 'representatives' conspiring to stack the game against them.

My favorite answer to "What's it like when you die?" came from Kyle from Southpark who said "I think it's probably a lot like before you were born."

Who are you? Anyways my problem is good people all over the place get killed, often in horrible ways. You wanna improve you or your families lives in the wrong area of the world, you get two to the back of the head in an alley. Live in the wrong neighborhood, driveby, you die in the street waiting 20 minutes for the ambulance. Black and resisting arrest, you get shot in the back and cuffed while the cop that flees to another state gets dragged back and doesn't serve time.

So all this horrible shit happens to good people in the world. Why can't something horrible happen to this guy? My comment was a bit tongue and cheek and sometimes I just like to shout. Honestly though I would LOVE to see one day someone with a fucked up opinion in America get killed in the most brutal way imaginable. Someone who isn't black and doesn't think it's right for the state to treat them like second class citizens. Someone who has had every advantage in life and is pissed off for no appreciable reason at all.

Everyone get's to complain, some get killed. I'd like to see just one, JUST FUCKING ONE guy who's shitty opinion everyone doesn't like get it fucking good.

Wingsuit terrain flying is kinda an either - or sort of thing. If something goes wrong you either have spectacular footage of a close call and you walk away scot free, or you die. There isn't much middle ground where paramedics would be useful.

This guy was incredibly close to dying pulling a turn like that.

Some people are never satisfied. Personally, I'm so tired of the extremists views on both sides (and believe me, Pat Robertson is often the source of pretty nasty extreme views) that this was actually refreshing. Some people are just so cynical, they can't appreciate anything less than Pat Robertson and Jesus himself coming forward as atheists.

Here's my view on it for those who may care:

Religion is pretty worthless. Sure it's been the cause of lots of horrible (and good) things through history, but it's also an attempt to combine what some deem as fact with something that's so beyond fact that we can't even comprehend it. It's man made. Full of errors and contradictions, blah, blah, blah. We all know that. Basically it all just falls apart whenever you try to throw science in there. It's like judging an apple by the standards of screwdriver.

So let's look at just the spiritual side of things. This is where I hang out. I see it as something beyond science (though uses science as it's tool) and factual understanding. It goes beyond nitpicking this fact and that falsehood. It's just a thing in the air that you can either be in touch with or not. If you are (and I am) then it fills a gap. Gives you hope. Comfort. Peace. Lots of things that are indescribable. But you feel better when you have it and you can't choose to believe in it or not. You just do. If you don't buy into it, then there is no gap to begin with. Doesn't make you smarter or better. You just have different needs.

Now maybe that means that in some dark recess of your psyche that if you're in touch with this spiritual side of things, then you die believing you'll be in an amazing place for eternity. And so you are. Or you don't believe, and so you aren't. Neither is better or worse compared to the other because they have no business being compared to the other. They don't coexist. They just both exist.

I think whatever it is that you believe in sets a standard for your life. Following those things, being true to those things, is what it's all about. This completes you. You can't force them on others or yourself for that matter. You can't punish others for not playing by your rules. You just have to play by your own (as long as you don't harm others).

And I'm tired of spiritualism HAVING to mean pure magic. Science is magic. Science is the most amazing magic. Does things you'd never believe. It's not an insult. It's just makes the whole damn system that much more incredible. If you choose to call that magic, go right ahead. It's just a word. Before long we'll realize that science can do things magic only dreamed of and that's pretty damn magical.

By the way, I'm not typing this trying to change anyone's mind or act like it's some kind of original thought. I'm just typing some thoughts. I like this kind of shit. Debates are great and healthy. I'm just sick of people hating on or insulting folks for believing in their heart something that's different.

See, this is a good example why I wouldn't consider myself an atheist. Just like the religious folk out there insist they know that god exists atheist insist that there can't be one.
The only thing we know as a fact is that many, if not all, the things people think they know about gods and the bigger questions of philosophy are wrong.
Atheism is, like it or not, a belief. Sure, it's guided by scientific fact and therefore much more acurate than most religions (yup, went there, called atheism a religion) but certain concepts (like the idea of divine creators) haven't been proven wrong so far. Maybe some day we will but the important part is this: we haven't yet. I don't even think we ever will. Somehow many people considering themselves atheist seem to think that since we have proven most religious texts to be false and/or unreliable is a proof of the nonexistence of any god. It is certainly not. We proved the bible to be wrong, that's all.
Personally I don't belief in any gods either. Heck, I even reject the concept of "souls". IMO were just happen to be self-aware machines of biological technology (for a lack of a better word) that are here because of whogivesafuckIdontknow. I am probably best characterised as an apatheist. Asking yourself and arguing about the question of any gods existence or possible life after death or even if we have a soul is pointless. At this point there is no answer that can be scientifically proven in sight. Why even bother asking? If the answer to such pressing questions (cause you have at best only 120 years until you die) is out there, it'll find us on it's own. We'll stumble over it if it's necessary.
I certainly support the fight against religious ignorance that has plagued mankind so far (and won't stop any time soon) but I just can't get past the irony of people who know to trust science (science is nothing you can believe in, just like math you accept it's as true or live as the fool who thinks 2+2=4 is a dirty lie) but still think they know answers to questions science can't answer yet.
I don't believe in a white, old, bearded dude living in the clouds watching me masturbate but I'm also not foolish enough to think I know more than the scientists of the world do. Somehow many atheist seem to be that kind of fool.
Let us just appreciate the fact that Pat Robertson of all people embraces the truth of evolution. Who cares if he thinks God is responsible? I doesn't matter. We can't prove him wrong. What matters is that he is siding with the smart people in this debate.

I suspect she could be referencing a statement commonly heard after many accidental shootings, that statement being "I didn't think it was loaded". I might be wrong, she could be such an imbecile that she actually believes someone could be shot by an unloaded gun. If that makes me a moron then I'm okay with that, because it's pretty much a human constant, we're all morons at some point or another, kind of like death I guess. Of course, if you die while being a moron then that's an extra special distinction.

There's a conversion to electric for all you die-hard Miata enthusiasts-For about 10K you can convert a Miata to full-electric and the range and power is pretty impressive-The conversion should get cheaper as the battery technology advances.

The things' a decent car when it's running (response sucks and it rides like a buckboard) but you have to be Asian or a tiny girl to avoid the sensation of being jettisoned to drive an escape pod.

I am guessing the pleasurable experiences in these cars come form folks who have not owned one over 75K miles and have had to deal with any abrupt power loss in hot climates which NO Miata tech can give any conclusive advice as to how to correct.

The cars' pretty much a turd for performance, all it's appeal is in it's boutique position in the auto world and how fucking adorable is is when the tops' down and a cute chicks' driving it.

I'm 5'3",145lbs and I feel like a football player in uniform in the damn thing.

This viddy is funny, fun!

As I recall in GTA 3, VC & SA, one and two stars was police cars chasing you, three stars was car roadblocks, four stars was SWAT van roadblocks, five stars was FBI, and six stars was military truck roadblocks and tanks. So yeah, looks like things might be different this time round.

Personally I'm just glad it's not like GTA4 where you couldn't have epic chases because all the cars handled like boats and you died almost instantly on foot.

Not sure if joking...

Lets try this one... hey Sniper007, are vaccinations covered with simple prayer?

Trying to stay topical ... yes I also laughed at this article then looked at the ground in disgust.

Some people are truly lucky to not need doctors ever, but there are a minority - of which I am included - where you have chronic life-affecting issues which, without treatment, would render your life basically over, and the treatment for such issues costs a FORTUNE.

Its funny (in a sad way) to me that people claim to love their fellow human, yet at the same time, socialized medicine to help those who have real, chronic, life-affecting medical conditions is basically voted against by those same, ignorant, stupid, mostly overly religious people who think that arthritis, cancer, diabetes, etc can be healed by water, prayer, or more prayer, or just basically "god's will, you die now" mentality, but "dont take a dime of my money for your socialized medicine".

Kinda goes back to the problem being either religion or education; I tend to think based upon this quote it's education.

For a while it was thought that Strassman's claim that DMT production in the brain comes from the pineal gland was false. Even Strassman tried to redact this as it was not scientifically proven.

3 or 4 months ago scientists discovered that rats pineal gland's DO produce DMT.

DMT containing plants are all around the globe and have been throughout time. Do you really think it was just tribesmen in the Amazon using it all of this time? I think not.

Like McKenna said, "DMT is not a secret it is THE secret."

I think it is very important that people know, partake and let the boundary dissolve. It is so important that I want to tell my parents, "before you die, you NEEEEEEED to do this!!" But, I can't because of the benign restrictions of this society. Life is about experiences, and this is an experience quite extraordinary, why not take 5-10 minutes and see what is there?

My donor card is signed in the wallet, sister knows my wishes.

Your dead people, you won't need that body part!!! Give it to someone else if you die early.

(jehova witnesses are excluded as one day they will all rise again so they will need their parts and bits.....I think it's the JW's ...tee hee)

Property ownership makes more sense in some situations than others.

In countries where long term rental is common, there tend to be safeguards in place to protect renters. In countries where ownership is more common, not so much.

For me, buying a house made sense. Right now, I am paying as much as possible of my income on the mortgage. In a few years, the house will be paid for, and I'll have saved roughly $100k in interest payments.

My mortgage currently costs me ~ 1.5 times what renting the equivalent house would. But the mortgage payments stay the same, so they actually grow less over time (as a combination of inflation and salary increases). Rent, OTOH, goes up to match inflation, and you have to pay it until you die.

All that said, I think buying your own house for a capital gain is a stupid investment. You will always spend more than is necessary on it, because it's your home.

How would you answer that question? I could be reading too much into this, but I assume when she asks "What if you're wrong?" she means if you died tomorrow and found yourself brought before a god that believes homosexuality, premarital sex, abortion, etc.. are all sins how would you justify yourself. What would be a sincere answer in your estimation? If it were me I'd have probably just told god I thought he was a dick.