rush242

"I've always been kind of a pacifist. When I was a kid, my father told me, 'Never hit anyone in anger, unless you're absolutely sure you can get away with it.' I don't know what kind of soldier I'm gonna make, but I want you guys to know that if we ever get into really heavy combat, I'll be right behind you guys. Every step of the way." --Russell Ziskey

Well, I finally got a chance to look through the stuff you posted. Thank you, Michael. But I'm not as concerned with the RIAA (I know why they protect their own interests, even if I think they are making glaring strategic errors) as I am with the seachange that has occurred in the transfer of information. Take, for example, Michael Newberry's work. Admittedly, I cannot profit from electronic versions of his work--there is a paper trail, and I don't have a license to it. However, I can, with very little effort, take a high-quality picture of his work, and have it printed it Kinko's. It may not be a zheeclay, but so what? If it fades after a few years, I have have them print it again. Does the transfer of electronic information constitute theft when the creator is aware, in advance, that the second they release their work outside of their garage, or studio, or wherever that is has been effectively been released into the public domain? I think this is where the explosions began last time. Heh. Tirades about theft and the eeeevil theives, et cetera.

Sadly, nearly anything posted on Rense is a complete waste of time. Not necessarily because there aren't any nuggets of gold, but because the site is riddled with such an overwhelming amount of credulous Barbra Streisand that any reality is quickly lost among the crystal skulls. It's credibility has long since disappeared--well, unless you WANT to hear what Dick Hoaxland has been up to recently.

Don't be naive, America!

Heh heh. Thanks for the clarification. 8^]

No, he made the point that the two are diametrically opposed. Where the hell did you get the rest of that?

I get the impression that her toe is IN that guys nose!! Pull out Virginia, pull out!!

Yeah Bob, that one qualifies, mostly because they have to hold those girls down and force it on them. But let's be clear: noting an actual rights violation doesn't make your case that any of the rest of them are rights violations either. Certainly not grown woman choosing to live in polygamy, or aggregate statistics.

I wouldn't bet on that last one, not by any sense of the word.

That's certainly not true because you happened to state your self-serving conclusion again. That you aren't happy with the choices those women made, or that you find them distasteful does not mean their rights were violated, anymore than a glance at aggregate statistics means that the individuals involved had their rights violated either.

Ohfercryinoutloud. No, it's not a problem around here. People are simply disagreeing with you about the amount of value that controlled sparring has in preparation for conflict with experienced street fighters. That people happen to disagree doesn't mean it's personal. Nor does it mean that they consider your claims are strengths, even when you state that they are. Is it just me, or is it endemic on o'ist lists that the second the philosophical rocket scientists are called to task on something, or the second there is a simple disagreement, someone always has to run like hell and unsubscribe in a huff?? Is this just human nature?

Well, my point (when I finally made it, heh) was that it was disrespect to YOU maybe, but that doesn't mean he saw it that way. He probably thought otherwise. One, that won't be all that you train with, we're just talking about that one guy. Two, given my experiences in the Army, I'm not convinced that karate, et cetera are necessarily all that effective in dealing with experienced street fighters--especially if one's experience is always in a ring.

Which is always my point to my friend--she seems mightily convinced that the type of person who would attack her is completely unprepared for her to fight back and is utterly incapable of withstanding blows as he drags her to the ground and overpowers her. She's dead wrong. And you're right Judith, while it may have been "inappropriate" in a tourney, he may not have cared at the point. His thought might have been, "crap, I have to fight the little female to win this--skrew it." My point, and your comment reminded me that I entirely forgot to make it (heh), was that each of us that commented on the baseball game is seeing that game in a light that is most supportive of the position we're taking. IF it happened, of course. One of the first things I learned as an interrogator was NOT EVER to fall into the trap of ascribing my motivations, thoughts, and ideas to others--because I could never hope to learn much by, in essence, interrogating myself. Similarly, I can't color that team as I see fit to make my point. Some of those kids would probably take Newberry's side. Some of them would probably take Michael's side. Some of them would probably want to kick the ass of the hyper-competitive kid who whined about the cripple, or vice versa.

Isn't is possible that he just didn't want to hurt you? I have female friend who is about an inch taller than you, who is a black belt in something or other. At parties or with friends or wherever, she always wants to show how the other women how "safe" she is because she has a black belt. Almost invariably after a few seconds she's on the ground and it's just a squirm fest. That's not to say she hasn't landed any blows, she has, but neither those nor her cute moves are enough to stop me from grabbing her. The point being, he might also have babied you through the fight because he didn't want to hurt you. I don't baby my friend, but I don't certainly don't unload on her--she would get hurt, even though she knows how to fight. Well, in a ring anyway. I don't see her as inferior, but I know how badly I could hurt her, so I don't do anything but pin her down.

Well, except that he alienates the people he needs to convince, the most. All the logic in the world won't help you in a public policy argument when you come across like an irrational nutjob.