I'd eat you and your baby in a heart beat if it meant survival for me. But the fact is almost nobody on this planet is currently in that situation, probably never will, and the more people that become vegan, the less likely that is to happen as well.

So yes, people that have made a conscious decision to not do cruel things while they are unnecessary are superior. Just like in the way you don't go around murdering people for shoes right now, even though in the apocalypse you would, makes you a superior person compared with some thug that does that now. You would probably steal food from people that need it, but you aren't doing that now, so you're definitely superior to people that do steal unnecessarily now too. But you don't see anyone telling people who don't steal to get off their high horses.....

There is no humor because the situation is so serious, not because it's puncturing a balloon of superiority. Or do you think that people who opposed concentration camps where simply doing so to feel superior too?
The other thing that makes it totally not funny is because I've heard this ignorant and false stereotype stuff so many times it makes my eyes roll. Vegans are as a diverse group of people as can possibly be, with the only thing in common is their compassion for animals, and care of the environment.

I'm also not a lion or a chimp, I don't copy their other behaviors like throwing poo or licking my own ass, so I don't see why I'd copy their carnivorous behavior either. It's a good thing I have a frontal lobe and can use reason to make decisions based on my understanding of the consequences.

Also while I would eat meat for survival, I would not be eating it for the taste. It sounds to me like you're under the impression that vegans are like ex-heroin addicts, always being tempted by that next hit. It's not like that all, taste buds adjust dramatically over time, in fact they adjust second to second - eat an apple after a swig of soft drink. It'll taste sour. Yet do it before, and the apple is sweet. I honestly find the thought of meat revolting now, just like you would if you had to eat something like a dog or rat. I feel the same way about milk the way you do about drinking human breast milk. I'm not just saying this to be dramatic or superior, I'm saying it to give you an example how easily your taste buds are influenced.

These people are most likely suffering from poorly developed / shrunken frontal lobes, leading to diminished impulse control. Possibly the result of a bad social environment during their formative years. Fortunately, the damage is in most cases reversible, with therapy, medication and gradual exposure to offending stimuli.

*This diagnosis has been brought to you by your friendly, neighbourhood sea urchin.

I was having Star Trek Deep Space Nine flashbacks, she sounded like the Grand Nagus. If I were on a date with her I don't think I'd be able to resist asking her to cackle maniacally while asking someone to stroke her lobes.

Something tells me a few of these "facts" might be of dubious origin. I'll watch it with both lobes on.

This isn't entirely true... intense religious views can been linked to trauma or malfunction of the Temporal Lobe. There might be some anti-seizure meds that can help. I'm not even joking.

He would probably just disappear.
>> ^Mauru:

Sometimes, I catch myself thinking it would be a good thing if Assange faced a US court. The entire shabam would go up in smoke, a healthy prime-time debate about medial responsibilities, transparency and the judicial process of/with political prisoners in/around the united states would spawn...
...which far outweighs the personal freedom of one person...
-that's ususally the part where I wake up and shake the confetti out of frontal lobe.
BTW: Hey let's go invade an embassy so we can get some dude convicted of not using a condom in another country.

That was one of the charges, the consent one was a bit more serious. But yeah why not? It would be a very visble soapbox for him to shout his beliefs. The only problem of course is that it doesnt outweigh the freedom of Assange in his mind.

And of course theyre not going to invade an embassy. Thats what happens when you leave someone trying to grandstand in charge of the country when you go on holiday.

>> ^Mauru:

Sometimes, I catch myself thinking it would be a good thing if Assange faced a US court. The entire shabam would go up in smoke, a healthy prime-time debate about medial responsibilities, transparency and the judicial process of/with political prisoners in/around the united states would spawn...
...which far outweighs the personal freedom of one person...
-that's ususally the part where I wake up and shake the confetti out of frontal lobe.
BTW: Hey let's go invade an embassy so we can get some dude convicted of not using a condom in another country.

Sometimes, I catch myself thinking it would be a good thing if Assange faced a US court. The entire shabam would go up in smoke, a healthy prime-time debate about medial responsibilities, transparency and the judicial process of/with political prisoners in/around the united states would spawn...
...which far outweighs the personal freedom of one person...
-that's ususally the part where I wake up and shake the confetti out of frontal lobe.

BTW: Hey let's go invade an embassy so we can get some dude convicted of not using a condom in another country.

Cat my parents had when I was growing up chewed on ear lobes when it was a kitten. It was hard not to laugh from the tickling feeling, and she'd stop if you laughed.

I'm glad I'm not alone. Whatever this is... it wasn't caused by a pulled tooth. My suspicion is he's practicing for a part, and wants doctors to coach him. My friend mentioned it could be psychogenic as well. It would be extremely strange however, and she agreed, most likely fake.

>> ^snoozedoctor:

Nope. Little, to no, chance of that either. Hypoxia from over sedation would more likely affect the frontal lobes. If he had hypoxia severe enough to produce brain stem injury, he would have associated severe cognitive dysfunction as well. If this guy's symptoms are real, he would appear to have a cerebellar/brainstem lesion, such as a tumor or stroke. Only problem with that is, Ambien would have no effect on it. A serious "reaction" to sedatives would be of the allergic type and would not result in such a focal deficit. Can't prove it, but I think this guy is either faking his symptoms (most likely), or has some type of psychogenic dysarthria.
>> ^ReverendTed:
>> ^snoozedoctor:
I say probably fake. TMJ dysfunction does not result in the dysarthria this guys appears to exhibit. Because it's symmetrical, it would almost have to be a central brain lesion of some sort. Nerve injury from dental extraction would be unilateral and involve sensory, not motor nerves. Whatever this guy exhibits, it has nothing to do with a dental extraction.
Unless they're using TMD to mean something other than Temporo-Mandibular Disorder, I agree that it is extremely unlikely that it's post-extraction trauma. Possible neurological defect as a result of over-sedation or reaction to the sedative?

Nope. Little, to no, chance of that either. Hypoxia from over sedation would more likely affect the frontal lobes. If he had hypoxia severe enough to produce brain stem injury, he would have associated severe cognitive dysfunction as well. If this guy's symptoms are real, he would appear to have a cerebellar/brainstem lesion, such as a tumor or stroke. Only problem with that is, Ambien would have no effect on it. A serious "reaction" to sedatives would be of the allergic type and would not result in such a focal deficit. Can't prove it, but I think this guy is either faking his symptoms (most likely), or has some type of psychogenic dysarthria.
>> ^ReverendTed:

>> ^snoozedoctor:
I say probably fake. TMJ dysfunction does not result in the dysarthria this guys appears to exhibit. Because it's symmetrical, it would almost have to be a central brain lesion of some sort. Nerve injury from dental extraction would be unilateral and involve sensory, not motor nerves. Whatever this guy exhibits, it has nothing to do with a dental extraction.
Unless they're using TMD to mean something other than Temporo-Mandibular Disorder, I agree that it is extremely unlikely that it's post-extraction trauma. Possible neurological defect as a result of over-sedation or reaction to the sedative?

You had my upvote at ‎"Argument juice is added from the argument lobe of the female brain allowing the finished bike to change direction in an instant..."

I'm sorry you lost your papa so early. That is fucked up, too.

I think it is great that it never occurred to you that someone would set out to make their child cry. That speaks well of your parents and your happy childhood.

My feelings weren't hurt by this video -- sorry if I gave that impression. My father was ignorant and unthinking. He would never consciously hurt me -- nor is the guy with stretched lobes consciously hurting his child.

All I am trying to do is make conscious to unreflecting minds that you don't do this to a baby or a small child. It needs to be said. Not everyone needs to be told this. My dad needed to hear it. This guy needs to be told. Neither of them thought/think they are doing anything untoward -- this guy posted the vid on Youtube! Someone up above makes a comment about what a great face the baby makes. It needs to be said, clearly. So I am saying it.

My delivery may be overwrought. The message is simple.

I'm staring at a half empty bottle of wine left over from last night's weekly So You Think You Can Dance tv party. It is looking more tempting all the time...

There's a great vid of women failing rather spectacularly at motocross that is pretty amusing. Have you seen it yet? http://videosift.com/video/X-Games-17-Women-can-t-dunk-but-have-good-fundamentals

>> ^mintbbb:

Is OK.. Like I said, I didn't mean to post this to hurt anybodys feelings. Maybe I am naive to think that nobody would make a baby cry on purpose. One thing that ticks me off here is people saying that the dad must be a mean because he has stretched earlobes. I do not like extreme body modifications like that myself, but having them doesn't make you a bad or mean person.
I know my parents didn't scare me as a kid, and my dad was the most wonderful person ever, and he died when I was 18. I had a happy childhood, my parents were great, and still I ended up being pretty much totally fucked up: I am insecure, I keep my distance, I am grumpy, scared of way too many things, and I get easily obsessed with things like VS, or WOW. And that's just the top of the iceberg! I am lucky to have found my DH NetRunner who puts up with my weirdness and loves me no matter what.
I do not know why I ended up this way. Maybe if I had been scared with a 'muhahaha' as a baby I would have grown up to be less afraid of silly things. Who knows. I think I was being kept too safe as a kid and the real life scared the crap out of me.
Every kid grows up different. I still think this dad didn't mean to make his kid cry. Unfortunaterly he did, but I am sure the kid will be OK. This dad is not going to torture his kid even if he has stretched lobes!
OK, probably time for another drink now.. I was not going to comment on this.. I just want to sift silly, mindless videos that make people happy. Most of the time.

1259068'>^bareboards2:

Is OK.. Like I said, I didn't mean to post this to hurt anybodys feelings. Maybe I am naive to think that nobody would make a baby cry on purpose. One thing that ticks me off here is people saying that the dad must be a mean because he has stretched earlobes. I do not like extreme body modifications like that myself, but having them doesn't make you a bad or mean person.

I know my parents didn't scare me as a kid, and my dad was the most wonderful person ever, and he died when I was 18. I had a happy childhood, my parents were great, and still I ended up being pretty much totally fucked up: I am insecure, I keep my distance, I am grumpy, scared of way too many things, and I get easily obsessed with things like VS, or WOW. And that's just the top of the iceberg! I am lucky to have found my DH NetRunner who puts up with my weirdness and loves me no matter what.

I do not know why I ended up this way. Maybe if I had been scared with a 'muhahaha' as a baby I would have grown up to be less afraid of silly things. Who knows. I think I was being kept too safe as a kid and the real life scared the crap out of me.

Every kid grows up different. I still think this dad didn't mean to make his kid cry. Unfortunaterly he did, but I am sure the kid will be OK. This dad is not going to torture his kid even if he has stretched lobes!

OK, probably time for another drink now.. I was not going to comment on this.. I just want to sift silly, mindless videos that make people happy. Most of the time.



1259068'>^bareboards2:

Look guys, my father did this to me.
And yeah, now years later I have emotional outbursts.
But go ahead and jump on me, downvote my comments, upvote the comments that take me to task. Just like I said you would. That doesn't make me a victim. It shows how smart I am. I'm predictable? So are you, my friends, so are you.
Just... when you get to be fathers and mothers, please remember this unpleasant comment stream and how annoying I am. And then -- Please. Do. Not. Tease. Your. Babies. For. Your. Own. Amusement.
Or they might grow up just like me. You don't want that now, do you? That is devotedly to be wished, right?
Show kindness. Understand that babies and small children are not complicated thinkers. Their worlds are different and more simple.
Show kindness, that is all I am saying.
Sorry, again, mint. I know this isn't much fun. I'm not enjoying it either. I did have two glasses of wine, like you suggested. They clearly didn't help.

@chilaxe

Like I said to Lawdeedaw, I don't agree with the analogy of cutting ears off. It's a red herring argument in my opinion. At best, I think you could say it is equivalent to shaving some skin off the ear lobes--it would leave no permanent damage to the function of the ear, though it would change the appearance slightly. If some culture in the world did that as a means of showing "belonging" and if, additionally, it was shown to be a medically useful procedure in preventing ear illnesses in some people, then I guess I'd have to say I'd have no problem with it being performed on babies.

I notice you left out a very important sentence from your quote (the very next one in fact).

Non-surgical restoration is inexpensive, relatively easy, and gives good results. It is not surgery, and it is not classified as a medical treatment.

They explicitly state that when done correctly the procedure should be painless, though it does take time. There is no conclusive medical evidence that having a foreskin makes sex more pleasurable (see the link to the Bioethics of Circumcision) although there are anecdotal reports from adults who have the procedure done that supports all three views (i.e. some say sex got better, some say sex got worse, some say there is no difference).

EDIT: Just to be clear, I'm not saying everyone should be circumcised. I'm saying it should be the parents' choice. It should certainly be an informed choice based on all the latest information--they should know for instance that the vast majority of people who go uncircumcised don't have any problems. But they should also do what they think is best for their child. Maybe they're wrong--it turns out eventually that the procedure isn't best for their child. But it's certainly not all that harmful either, judging by the evidence we have.

As parents, we do this on a daily basis--we make decisions that seriously affect our children's future long before they have the aptitude to make the decisions for themselves. And sometimes we make the wrong decisions. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't have the right to make the decisions in the first place. Those against circumcision have to unequivocally prove that it is harmful to the child before they can take away parents' rights to choose to have the procedure done. And quite frankly they haven't done that yet, which is why this law will fail. You, personally, can find the practice distasteful (as I do). And you, personally, can choose not to have your male children circumcised (as I have). But our distaste alone doesn't entitle us to stop other parents from having the procedure done on their own children.

In time, I predict this practice will die out. Religious attendance is on the decline and in many countries like the U.K. male circumcision has virtually disappeared. Coincidentally, what led to the dramatic decline in the U.K. and other countries was insurance deciding it was an elective procedure and not paying for it anymore. I think the protesters in San Francisco would be better served by trying to lobby insurance companies not to cover it anymore than to try to pass a law against it.

Wow, that was the longest edit I've ever written. Sorry.