Yeah, the democrats who rolled over like a bunch of abused dogs for the last eight years and let Bush get away with every fucking thing he wanted to do, they are just like the republicans who stand united in cold-hearted defiance to anything that Obama might want to fix. It would be admirable if it weren't in defense of all their big-money sponsors.

I've noticed that projecting seems to be a favorite pastime of conservatives.

>> ^BicycleRepairMan:
i've got a video of how religion brought people together in defiance of oppression and raised a nation's spirits enough to regain independence without a bloody war.
anyone believe it exists?
Well, this is a video posting site.. And not that I dont trust you, but I've made a habit of being skeptical of the existance of things before I see any evidence.. I think thats the only reasonable position..
Does this mystery video also provide evidence that the doctrine of the religion in question is true?


I figured Mink is talking about Poland.

I dunno about you, but I have a good job that I'd like to keep. I could not afford to spend time in jail. California has an "At Will" policy and can legally terminate your employment due to incarceration. I know this from experience and it holds up in a court of law. Look up California employment laws. I'm not a lawyer, but one of my bosses used to be one and my mother works in a law office. Inefficacy might not be something that would stop determined minds who have dedicated their lives towards such pursuits, but when the majority of people are mostly spending their days being employed and enjoying (or just frantically keeping up) the fruits of their labor, despite their opinions (and especially if they have a family to support), are faced with moral dilemmas above the evil of government.

If you've ever read anything by Milan Kundera, you might be familiar with The Unbearable Lightness of Being in which the protagonist, a Czech surgeon named Tomas, is forced by the Soviets to either renounce a loosely anti-Communist article he wrote or step down as surgeon. He steps down and becomes a window washer. He is approached by his estranged son and a man who was impressed by the article, requesting his signature on a petition to free political prisoners. Tomas, remembering his wife's smiling face, declines to sign for fear of what the secret police might do.

As the days go by, he can't remember why he didn't sign, but when justifying to himself why he didn't, he recalls Czech history: 1618, in defiance of their emperor, the Czechs threw several high officials out the window of a castle in Prague, leading in part to the Thirty Years War. A war of which resulted in the death of 1/3 of the population of Czechoslovakia. More than 300 years later, at the 1938 Munich Conference, it was decided that Czechoslovakia would be given up to appease the Nazis. Here, the Czech leaders showed caution in not opposing, leading in part to World War II.

"Einmal ist Keinmal," says the author. Or, "What happens once might well have not happened at all." Meaning, we cannot ever know if caution or courage are the correct choices in situations. And, because I'd rather not spend time interpreting what I know of this philosophy into words, will quote Wikipedia: (Which is pretty accurate in this case.)

"By this logic life is ultimately insignificant; in an ultimate sense, no single decision matters. Since decisions do not matter, they are light — that is, they don't cause us suffering. Yet simultaneously, the insignificance of our decisions — our lives, our being — causes us great suffering. Hence the phenomenon Kundera terms the unbearable lightness of being: because life occurs only once and never returns, no one's actions have any universal significance. This idea is deemed unbearable because as humans we want our lives to mean something, for their importance to extend beyond just our immediate surroundings."

Some of us know this, or rather, believe this through experience, informing our actions or lack thereof. Yes, life can be unbearably light; and, through a combination of survival, providing for our families, understanding that courageous action can lead to catastrophe and that we have no way of knowing the whole truth in any given situation, do not go out disobeying the government to demonstrate.

Most of us wanna do the right thing, but sometimes the right thing isn't easily determined. I'll tell you what, though: if it came down to it, like Han Solo, I'd most assuredly fly back and shoot Darth Vader. (I'm going off on a tangent unrelated to my lack of conviction towards CD.) But in California, it is currently a time of peace and, despite having friends and relatives who are currently, faithfully blowing shit up (Semper fidelis), I am focused on being monetarily sound (and philosophically open) -- I really need more vespene gas.

Geez, maybe Thomas Paine should have told the good citizens of the Colonies to honk their horns three times at noon on April 15th to show their defiance of their British overlords. That would have sent them packing, guaranteed.

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

I want my optimistic views of humanity to stop coming up short. I want the sheeple to wake up. I want the robots to take over. I want the bats to stop gnawing at my brain. I want googlebot to index the site a little slower so it doesn't bring it to its knees. (in order of ascending importance)

In reply to this comment by jonny:
History books may be wrong, but reality is hard to question. What is it that you want? Do you want to be the leader that gathers the mob behind him? Or do you want to be the leader that acts in defiance of the mob? Both positions are perilous. But you must pick one. Or find the ever changing balance between the two. The most dangerous and precarious position of all.

In reply to this comment by dag:
How dare you question Siftler's understanding of history. You will need to readjust your definition of Tyrant - all history books are obviously wrong.

In reply to this comment by jonny:
Your new avatar suggests a poor understanding of history. Adolf wasn't a tyrant. He was a mobilizer of nationalistic hatred. If you intend to be a tyrant, you should pick a true tyrant, maybe one of Achaemenids.

[edit] Here ya go: http://z.about.com/d/arthistory/1/0/c/M/achaemenid_01.jpg
It's got all the "down on your knees" feel you're I think looking for.

History books may be wrong, but reality is hard to question. What is it that you want? Do you want to be the leader that gathers the mob behind him? Or do you want to be the leader that acts in defiance of the mob? Both positions are perilous. But you must pick one. Or find the ever changing balance between the two. The most dangerous and precarious position of all.

In reply to this comment by dag:
How dare you question Siftler's understanding of history. You will need to readjust your definition of Tyrant - all history books are obviously wrong.

In reply to this comment by jonny:
Your new avatar suggests a poor understanding of history. Adolf wasn't a tyrant. He was a mobilizer of nationalistic hatred. If you intend to be a tyrant, you should pick a true tyrant, maybe one of Achaemenids.

[edit] Here ya go: http://z.about.com/d/arthistory/1/0/c/M/achaemenid_01.jpg
It's got all the "down on your knees" feel you're I think looking for.

In Bruges was rather enjoyable, even though i'm not a big fan of Colin Farrell's. But i have to admit, if he's cast to play an Irish bloke, it's quite entertaining.

My recommendation would be Defiance, even though many critics will tear it apart. It's somewhat of a light version of Idi i smotri aka Come and See.

(from youtube)

List of Movies (in order of appearance):

-The Dark Knight
-Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
-Wall-E
-Quantum of Solace
-Iron Man
-Defiance
-Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
-Australia
-Forgetting Sarah Marshall
-Wall-E
-The Curious Case of Benjamin
-The Dark Knight
-Frost/Nixon
-Wall-E
-The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
-Slumdog Millionaire
-Milk
-Seven Pounds
-Revolutionary Road
-Pineapple Express
-Speed Racer
-Burn After Reading
-Ghost Town
-Revolutionary Road
-Quantum of Solace
-Rachel Getting Married
-Australia
-Role Models
-Choke
-The Tale of Despereaux
-Cloverfield
-Zack and Miri Make a Porno
-The Visitor
-Milk
-Be Kind Rewind
-Synecdoche, New York
-The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
-Doubt
-Wall-E
-W.
-Get Smart
-Iron Man
-Tropic Thunder
-Iron Man
-Tropic Thunder
-Doubt
-The Reader
-Happy-Go-Lucky
-The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
-Valkyrie
-Frost/Nixon
-Yes Man
-The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
-The Wrestler
-Revolutionary Road
-Snow Angels
-In Bruges
-Waltz with Bashir
-Wendy and Lucy
-Rachel Getting Married
-Get Smart
-Hamlet 2
-Hancock
-The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
-Cloverfield
-Wall-E
-The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
-The Day the Earth Stood Still
-The Dark Knight
-FADE OUT

-FADE IN
-The Dark Knight
-The Incredible Hulk
-Wall-E
-Seven Pounds
-Wendy and Lucy
-The Wrestler
-Australia
-The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
-The Dark Knight
-Wall-E
-Cloverfield
-Australia
-Miracle at St. Anna
-Waltz with Bashir
-Valkyrie
-Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay
-Rachel Getting Married
-Pineapple Express
-The Dark Knight
-Defiance
-Che
-Valkyrie
-Australia
-Defiance
-Quantum of Solace
-Slumdog Millionaire
-The Wrestler
-Revolutionary Road
-The Dark Knight
-Defiance
-Australia
-Iron Man
-Cloverfield
-The Strangers
-Defiance
-Wall-E
-Slumdog Millionaire
-Revolutionary Road
-Synecdoche, New York
-Defiance
-Iron Man
-The Day the Earth Stood Still
-Waltz with Bashir
-The Dark Knight
-Australia
-The Wrestler
-Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
-Cloverfield
-The Dark Knight
-Pineapple Express
-Defiance
-Rachel Getting Married
-Milk
-Quantum of Solace
-Defiance
-Kung Fu Panda
-Pineapple Express
-Seven Pounds
-The Wrestler
-Iron Man
-Eagle Eye
-Frost/Nixon
-Revolutionary Road
-The Reader
-Milk
-Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay
-Gran Torino
-Che
-The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

>> ^GeeSussFreeK:
>> ^joedirt:
Big straw man.. "given the alternative"
I could point to 100 internet videos right now showing taser use and in every case it was never the situation where you might draw down on a suspect. It is a convenience tool now used for compliance. Yes, they can be safe and useful and save lives in certain situations, but the majority of the use ends up being lazy or "bad" cops using it for sadism or efficiency of results or just for compliance.

Failing to comply to an officer is a sure fire way to be detained and/or shot with a high voltage electric probe...or a gun. As most any lawyer will tell you, you can avoid the crime but you can't avoid the ride. There is a difference between police brutality and police powers of aresting.
Your argument is actually the straw men in this case as it is the lawful responsibility for a person to abide by the lawful requests of an officer. Any diviation from this results in a use of force by the officer to be determinded by his discresion...and when you are putting yourself at someones discression expect to experince pain and/or humiliation.
I don't know what your would rather when people are being hostile or standoffish with the police. Would you rather them have to call 4 other officers with feather dusters and tickle a person into submision? If so, none of us would get any protection because the police officers hands would be so tied because of their inability to reasonably enforce the laws.
I understand the problems you have though, I too also worry about police abusing their powers. That is the subject of a different conversation though. In short, if you act in unlawful defiance of an officer expect a hard body check to the floor at minimum and a cold electric probe in your flesh at a maximum.


this

I'm perfectly happy to go as far afield of the topic of gay marriage and talk about the key issue which is central to the debate, but I'd still like an answer to the last question "who is it really hurting". I do sympathize with the frightful CP420, but please also accept a more concise version of that statement: "Don't hate a hater".

It's a strange exercise to bring 'evolution in action' into the a flame war about homosexuality, because it's like trying to kill an opponent with their own gun, not really knowing how to use it. Evolution really shouldn't have anything to do with it. If we accept the work of Darwin, we have to accept that in large part the definition of "civilization" is a defiance of nature in every way possible.

I'm sure that it's been said that homosexuality is equivalent to; left-handedness, color blindness, extraordinary artistic talent, mad math skills, double-jointedness, brown eyes, blond hair, in short we are all "aberrations" or variations on God's great theme.

[e:] blahblahblah listen to me I'm bloviating. Sorry.

IF you want to know the difference between liberal and conservative watch the most recent TED talks to be sifted.

A conservative is a close minded do not want change traditional type of person, who happens to agree with authority and wishes to be inside a group.

A liberal is an openmided, want change even at the cost of chaos type of person, who happens to disagree with authority to the point of Defiance, and cares not whether they are in a group or not.

Conservatives and Liberals are not these political constructs that the Media and general consensus makes them out to be. The notion that because you are liberal you want communist ideals, and because you are conservative you want socialist Ideals is complete fallacy. Republican and Democrat are the proper terms for what political holds you agree with, liberal and conservative is how you interact with the world and its habitats.

An automatic looks like this:

P
R
N
D
1
2


The old guy wanted to gun it away from the cop in defiance. He was too excited and slammed his foot down while the shifter column was passing from reverse into neutral, on its way down to drive. He was probably not in a comfortable forward-facing position when this motion started. I would guess he was partially twisted backwards to sneer or flip off the police officer. Even just looking backwards in the rearview mirror when unexpectedly reversing could cause enough disorientation that he'd collide with the cop car.

If your car suddenly goes backwards and ass-up, your weight is pushed forwards. The sudden reverse movement, followed by the downwards position, probably resulted in the guy actually standing on the gas pedal to support his weight. In the moments after the collision he was probably so bewildered and panicked that he just didn't think to take his foot off the gas.

I was once in a car that was hit by someone who accidentally reversed in an automatic. They had parked it waiting for a red light. When it turned green they got flustered and put it into reverse by mistake.

>> ^joedirt:
Big straw man.. "given the alternative"
I could point to 100 internet videos right now showing taser use and in every case it was never the situation where you might draw down on a suspect. It is a convenience tool now used for compliance. Yes, they can be safe and useful and save lives in certain situations, but the majority of the use ends up being lazy or "bad" cops using it for sadism or efficiency of results or just for compliance.


Failing to comply to an officer is a sure fire way to be detained and/or shot with a high voltage electric probe...or a gun. As most any lawyer will tell you, you can avoid the crime but you can't avoid the ride. There is a difference between police brutality and police powers of aresting.

Your argument is actually the straw men in this case as it is the lawful responsibility for a person to abide by the lawful requests of an officer. Any diviation from this results in a use of force by the officer to be determinded by his discresion...and when you are putting yourself at someones discression expect to experince pain and/or humiliation.

I don't know what your would rather when people are being hostile or standoffish with the police. Would you rather them have to call 4 other officers with feather dusters and tickle a person into submision? If so, none of us would get any protection because the police officers hands would be so tied because of their inability to reasonably enforce the laws.

I understand the problems you have though, I too also worry about police abusing their powers. That is the subject of a different conversation though. In short, if you act in unlawful defiance of an officer expect a hard body check to the floor at minimum and a cold electric probe in your flesh at a maximum.

They forgot the change that offends me most, even worse than having Greedo shoot first. The special edition of Empire added a scream when Luke falls down the shaft after having his hand cut off by Darth Vader. It made no sense because Jedi don't scream in terror, especially considering Luke dropped himself off the footbridge in defiance of Vader. I think this was removed for the reworked 2004 DVD set.

In the 60s all these supposed radicals stood in defiance of crewcut anti-communists.

Now Berkeley is a bastion of communism and near-communism. I wouldn't call that a win.

I done been there many times; streets around the campus swamped with filthy arrogant bums demanding money.