Fiannan

Hello, E. Scrooge here. What makes you think they will all be positive experiences? And if they aren't, are you going to include them as well? Elphaba Scrooge Elphaba, all things we do in life have costs and benefits -- education, marriage, children, and yes, spiritual choices. Overall spirituality seems to have a very positive effect on people psychologically and physiologically (lower depression, stronger families, longer longevity, etc.). So since you chose the Scrooge metaphor I can only hope that, like Scrooge, you will find happiness in a spiritual re-awakening as well -- and while I really love debating you I hope you know that debate is on a different plane than actual emotion and I hope you don't ever take any jabs personally because you really seem to be the kind of person I'd want to hang out with if possible.

Yes, party on weekends, date others like crazy (never know what you'll discover about yourself), maybe travel to Europe, evaluate even if you want to marry...you know, the worldly ways have their benefits. Then again...be patient -- when she turns 18 she can do whatever she wants to do and even the most authoritarian parents can't do a thing about it.

I also suppose a lot of gratitude should go out to the man who donated sperm and the woman who donated an egg so a pregnancy could come about. Maybe people need to think about donating more than just blood to help people out more often.

What happens when the dumbest Norwegian moves to Sweden and the smartest Swede moves to Norway? The IQ of both countries goes up.

Science is certainly wonderful nowadays. I wish you all the luck in the world and hope for a successful pregnancy. :)

Not sure if this is politically correct or not but it is cool. The songs are in English after the first one minute of a Swedish song:

I know that Hitlery was influenced by liberation theology while young -- kind of a Jesus as socialist thing. However, if one reads the Parable of the Talents one is left with the feeling that God is further to the right than any Republican.

I don't know, if anyone has seen the movie Idiocracy the president in that film and Harry Reid have a lot in common.

A really cool Obama picture! http://husaria.files.wordpress.com/2007/05...pton_obama2.jpg

Oh come on now a-train...the only thing that was crazy is that the main guy from the 21st. Century did not figure out that HE should have been the one with a bunch of wives so his genes could replenish the de-evolved state of the human race.

The same interests that push the Bush foreign policy were the ones who pushed the Bill Clinton foreign policy. Could one expect an iota of change under a Hitlery administration?

Like I have said before, everybody should see the movie "Idiocracy". The funny article you printed here may reflect the future as time goes on. I won't link the trailer to the movie here but I can tell people it is over at youtube. Really funny.

I will note that one of the reasons the Taliban became popular with the masses was due to warlords snatching young women for their concubines and raping little boys. The Taliban promised to end this as well as end corruption. The most recent issue of National Geographic has an excellent article on Pakistan and a good portion of the article deals with the corruption exercised by warlords and politicians in that country and what that could lead to when people have had enough. Scary stuff.

We can't go around demanding that countries adopt democracy and then (when the results aren't what we like) insult the people of that country by calling their leader a dictator.

Seems that the media is fully capable of throwing out propaganda to get the American public ready to bomb Iran. At the turn of the century the Spanish were made out to be demonic to prepare us to go after them in war...then came the "Huns" for WW1...then the Serbians in the 1990s and now the Iranians. And we think the Gadiantan Robbers died out anciently.

In the name of Allah ,who has created us and who has send his prophets to guide us and show us the right way.To believe in God ,to do His teachings, to respect others,to fill the world with peace and respect,to... Dr.Ahmadinejad spoke at that university and I think no one would accept this invitation but he accepted it to say to the people of Usa that Iranians are also human,they also believe in God,they also want peace in the world,they also like the people of Usa,They are also sad when they see the people are killed in Iraq and Afghanistan and Africa and... because these are what Islam teaches them,Because these are what Muhammad(Peace be upon Him) has told,because the other prophets has told,because... But they didn't respect Him,they told him many impolite words,he is a president!Maybe they had forgotten this,Maybe they thought that he is a simple Iranian!Anyway they showed that they don't believe in God and his teachings because God don't like impolite words and he has told his prophets to speak with people with polite words and respect people to show us that we should also respect each oher,not to ... I think the people of Usa are good people as Dr.Ahmadinejad thinks but they know nothing about what happens in the world,they only know what c.n.n ,B.B.c,Fox news,sky news,and many other news services tell them but the truth is another thing. I suggest you friendly to be aware of what happens in the world and think about them ,then you will find the truth yourselves not what news services tell! I read a writing about homopsextuality in Iran in this froum with a picture, by Elphaba.I had thought that Elphaba knows many things and she is a thinker woman but I found out that she isn't at all! first I want to talk with Elphaba about those two person and what they had done and why they are killed: Those two person ,first, robbed many kids in Iran and then they forced them to have homosextuality relations with them,And at last they killed them.Do you know how many kids they killed?I know that you can't guess! About 28 kids! So Imagine if this event happened in Usa for example,then what would you do?Won't your governments order to kill them?Surely they should be killed! And it is good to say that Also In Quran ,homosextuality has prohobited. Exuse me if my writing is long. Allah bless all of you. Thanks. If the people in the audience got off by being rude to the leader of Iran then they have another think coming. The absolute idiotic booing and idiocy displayed by both the audience and many so-called journalists in the USA doesn't just get seen in the USA -- it gets played around the world. And when all things are considered most people on this planet will find the words of this man more in line with what they believe. Also, Mahdi, correct me if I am wrong but if President Bush asked to speak at a university in Iran would he get booed and mocked by people or would the Iranians display hospitality if he requested a forum to discuss himself and his views?

Were they really executed for being gay? http://www.nyblade.com/2005/7-29/news/worldnews/exec.cfm

Believe everything you hear? From what I understand of the guys getting stretched they were convicted of child molestation. If that is truly the case then they got what they deserved. Absolutely! Check this out: http://www.petertatchell.net/religion/islamic.htm

True. I've been keeping an eye on the Yahoo! news headlines today, and it seems Ahmadinejad is trying to ease tensions. He says Iran will not attack Israel or any other country and that he thinks the U.S. is not planning for war with Iran. IMO, he hit it on the head when he said that the Bush administration's rather aggressive statements regarding Iran has more to do with U.S. electoral politics (pleasing the constituency) than with actual foreign policy. Dror Yeah, that's what the Serbians believed until a dress with Bill's DNA was found and "Wag the Dog" became a reality rather than a Hollywood satire.

Not sure about that. In my undergrad studies I did not have children and did okay in grades but certainly was not on the honor´s list. In my graduate studies I had three kids, worked and pulled off a 4.08 average in a difficult program.

Since when did one's racial makeup entitle one to a political state? Creating the State of Israel was wrong, but we can't very well kick them out now. The best plan is to create a new state with a new name, and give equal control of it's parliament to both Palestinians and Jews. Indeed. But the Jewish Holocaust isn't the worst case of genocide in history (or even the 20th century). Just ask a Ukrainian. Nobody was fighting to free Ukraine after the war.... Correct me if I am wrong but didn't the Israelis choose to exclude any mention of Armenian genocide by the Turks at their Holocaust museum because they did not want to tick off one of their few allies in the Mid East -- Turkey? As for Iran I thought that the Doctrine and Covenants made it clear that a nation must NEVER attack another country unless it is provoked several times. Iran took our embassy in what, 1978? Then we funded Saddam's development of chemical weapons so he could gas Iranian soldiers. Maybe we should call it even and try to have diplomatic relations with Iran rather than mindlessly hating them. Maybe Iran should do the China thing, set up sweatshops and invite giant American firms to produce merchandize there -- then the media will sing praises to the new "open" society of Iran (and they would not have to change a thing). Or maybe do the Indonesian thing and step up persecution of people they don't like but make sure they donate to Hillary's campaign and get a pass onit (worked for Bill).

I'll have to check that out for verification. I had heard that he had stated those things. But really, do you believe that someone that runs a Shia state like this guy really doesn't want to get rid of Jews? I find that hard to believe, but I could be wrong... Unlike some of the Arab states Iran never expelled its Jewish community after the formation of Israel. There are around 20 thousand Jews living in Iran and at least one elected member of their parliament is a Jew. Also, how many Iranians were involved in 9-11? Absolutely none. Bin Laden hates Shia Muslims as much as he hates infidels. Ironically, Iranians have to jump through all kinds of hurdles to visit or work in the USA while the US government puts out the red carpet for Saudi citizens (the government that funds most radical mosques around the world and encourages the Wahhabi philosophy for all Muslims). Iran probably went full scale for gaining nuclear weapons after seeing Bill Clinton violate international law and bomb Serbia in the 1990s. Clinton would never have targeted a little country if the Serbs had had nukes -- or if they had contributed to his re-election campain I suppose. Iran realizes that the US might again violate international law and go after them so it is not only reasonable but, from an Iranian perspective it would be criminal if their leaders did not put their citizen's protection first and do their best to develop nuclear weapons to offset the US threat.

First, the "stranger-danger" thing may or may not be a good lesson to teach children. Perhaps we may go a bit far in being paranoid of our safety. Also, I do believe it is a good thing to make public those men and women who molest kids. Although, I would question including cases where some 19 year old may have had relations with his 16 year old girlfriend and gets nailed for statuatory rape -- therefore gaining the title of "sex offender" for life.

Yeah, Amnesty Intrernational -- there's a winning organization.

Since it is Walmart shouldn't the store not feature any American food chains at all? Why not import some authentic Chinese workers to serve up real Chinese food -- I might just go to Walmart if I could have some stir fry and a side order of fried dog meat.