[Andorion]

Abyss, on 05 September 2015 - 04:08 AM, said:

Andorion, on 05 September 2015 - 01:10 AM, said:

I stopped doing the knee-clenches in the last year. In hindsight that was an idiotic thing to do. I have also gained some weight ...

I'm not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV, but I have some experience with the general field and personal experience with a knee injury, and I would bet a fair glob of dollars this is the reason and answer to your problem.

Sigh... That's what I was afraid of

[Tsundoku]

I still can't get the image of that little Syrian boy out of my head. I don't even know if I want to, if that makes sense.

I don't know why it affected me so much when I've seen video of worse, but it did. Maybe because my boy is about the same age.

You can be as logical (or callous) about the reasons his family was in that boat as you want, but if you aren't affected by what happened to him then there is something fundamentally wrong with you.

If I had shit-tins of resources I'd be funding proper safe zones in neighbouring countries for these people. So they could be safe, housed, fed and processed quickly in order to get them to a country accepting refugess so they could wait out this horrible business in a place they could have as normal a family life as possible. Even if it's a culture quite different from their own. Because when you get down to it, most people would be grateful to just raise their families and work etc in peace, I don't think the surrounding culture matters too much.

Could I take such people into my home? I'd like to think I could/would. Maybe a couple of kids. A family would be a squeeze but maybe doable for a while, with some sort of Govt assistance. And my Arabic is ... nonexistent.

This post has been edited by Tsundoku: 05 September 2015 - 05:14 AM

[Tiste Simeon]

Yeah the problem is that the government's are all arguing about whether they should or shouldn't do something about it. It's way past that now. They should all be collaborating with each other to properly process & administrate them - refugee centres all over the place where they can register, get some direction/guidance & food vouchers etc. And not just Europe but those super rich countries in the Middle East too.

[Tsundoku]

I do agree that the other Middle east countries need to do more, even if it's just stop funding the various arsehole factions (I'm looking at YOU, Saudi Arabia ... for one) and take a more unified role in smashing IS flat. Actually, we could all do more to smash those fuckers flat. But then that just helps other buttholes like the Assad regime etc.

Sometimes I think that whole part of the world is just one big ghastly Gordian knot, but we don't have an Alexander handy to cut it. Maybe we westerners should just pull out and use 2nd echelon aid to get the locals to sort it out among themselves, but again that opens up another can of worms because from what I can tell, everyone over there hates everyone else's guts and are pretty much incapable of cooperation. Plus there's our responsibility (at least in part) for how this part of the world got so bad. From what I can tell though, the only time you have stability in that part of the world, it's at the expense of freedom.

Or is that a western conceit?

Is freedom (as we define it) simply incompatible with the dominant ideology of the region?

Perusing some comments sections earlier in news websites, I saw a common refrain that maybe all the fighting age men from these areas should take up arms against IS etc? To which I thought "Yes, but who do they fight FOR?" Assad? The hopelessly corrupt and incompetent Iraq govt? Al-Quaeda's surrogates? Are there any moderate groups left? The Shiite militias in Iraq are already a problem, and are only going to get worse the more they are relied on.

What's to be done? I sure as shit don't have the answers.

Apologies that this is in this thread and not in the DB, but it's more "messing" for me than DB-oriented.

[JPK]

It's nothing on the level that you guys have been chatting about, but I got transferred to a different location for work a couple months ago. Now I'm much happier here then at the last couple stores, but it has a couple drawbacks that have really been eating at me. Firstly, I now have about an hour commute every day. The big issue though, is that apparently my ex-wife lives close to this store. It is not uncommon for me to turn around from a task and see her a couple feet away from me. To top it off, we don't exactly get on well (it ended very poorly). I just hate having to be paranoid that she's going to show up at my work all the time.

[Morgoth]

Podcasts. Podcasts are great for long commutes.

Ex wives are awful. No advice there. Plant military secrets on her and call the CIA maybe.

[JPK]

I've been doing audiobooks so far, but I've burned out on then a little. Are there any podcasts in general you'd recommend? I know is like jumping into the deep end with those.

[worry]

The obvious ones: WTF, This American Life, and Radiolab. Check em out, see if they stick.

[JPK]

Will do, thanks. Now to find incriminating evidence...

[Gredfallan Ale]

Briar King, on 06 September 2015 - 11:03 PM, said:

Are you shitting me... Dismembered child body parts found in Chicago park. Motherfucker they better find and kill the responsible party.

Isn't that a bit too easy for them?

[Lost Marine]

Gredfallan Ale, on 07 September 2015 - 09:20 AM, said:

Briar King, on 06 September 2015 - 11:03 PM, said:

Are you shitting me... Dismembered child body parts found in Chicago park. Motherfucker they better find and kill the responsible party.

Isn't that a bit too easy for them?

It's not about them. You can't ever inflict the suffering someone like that deserves without destroying your own humanity. You can only remove them from society as quickly as possible and ensure there are no repeat offenses. Same as a mad dog, put them down as fast as you can.

[Illuyankas]

Alternatively, put them in prison forever - a place which by all accounts is no picnic - and not become murderers yourselves while accomplishing the same thing and also not killing any innocent people who slip through the cracks.

[Lost Marine]

Illuyankas, on 07 September 2015 - 05:10 PM, said:

Alternatively, put them in prison forever - a place which by all accounts is no picnic - and not become murderers yourselves while accomplishing the same thing and also not killing any innocent people who slip through the cracks.

I was not advocating street justice. Just moving them through the system in the correct manner. That does assume the justice system works correctly which as you correctly state is not always the case.

Honestly I think locking someone up for the rest of their lives is less humane than an execution. If they're such a threat they can't be released back into society eventually than why hold them for 30 to 50 years.

Also to keep with the theme of the thread it's Tuesday but feels like a Monday and I have the motivation for neither.

[Andorion]

I just saw on Reddit that an elderly couple had forgotten their infant grandson in their car for two hours. The baby did not amke it. I was wondering whether this is a punishable offence in the States? Does it fall under criminal neglect or is it manslaughter?

[Abyss]

Andorion, on 08 September 2015 - 02:25 PM, said:

I just saw on Reddit that an elderly couple had forgotten their infant grandson in their car for two hours. The baby did not amke it. I was wondering whether this is a punishable offence in the States? Does it fall under criminal neglect or is it manslaughter?

Dunno about any given state but i'm pretty sure there have been criminal negligence cases on this exact 'child left in hot car' type thing in the past.

[worry]

It does get prosecuted, but it's generally on a case by case basis.

[Andorion]

I am guessing you don't like the buzzcut look?

Anyway, this is for you lot who were complaining about not having 18C in September. Its September and we had 36.8 C. Thats 98.2 F. And I have to be out walking in that this afternoon.

[Gothos]

I'm rapidly approaching a breaking point where I'll be ditching half my polish "friends". It's been 70 years since the war, but it seems the nazis survived.

I don't want to live here anymore.

[Maark Abbott]

Briar King, on 09 September 2015 - 05:06 AM, said:

No I actually like my buzz look and so do most other people but I haven't had hair down to my shoulders since 10th grade in 97. I rather liked it but I was fed up feeling like a dog scratching myself.

And here was me thinking that the Buzz look was a domed glass helmet, wings, and deadly lasers.

[QuickTidal]

Maark, on 09 September 2015 - 10:59 AM, said:

Briar King, on 09 September 2015 - 05:06 AM, said:

No I actually like my buzz look and so do most other people but I haven't had hair down to my shoulders since 10th grade in 97. I rather liked it but I was fed up feeling like a dog scratching myself.

And here was me thinking that the Buzz look was a domed glass helmet, wings, and deadly lasers.

Judges?

2 points.