Posts made by brianboru72

@mhorndisk:

I stopped reading after you said garbage about freedom of expression and that anyone who disagrees with you is just opinion. Sorry, but that aint flyin.

Oh, seriously. I said no such thing. Learn how to read mhorndisk.  :laugh:

Here is what I said: The question here is not about opinion- everyone can have an opinion about anything.
If you aren't going to read the whole statement, then don't comment because you'll wind up looking like a fool to everyone else who takes the time to read and comment properly.  ::) ::)

@Higgs:

I'm also dubious about the idea that men are not entitled to an opinion on abortion because they can't bear children. This seems like a really arbitrary limitation: should infertile women or women past the age of menopause be entitled to an opinion on abortion? Should those who are not of military age have an opinion on foreign policy? Should only the dying (or only doctors) have an opinion on euthanasia?  Should only African American men be able to express an opinion on the Black Lives Matter movement? The reality of course is that abortion is an issue that affects all of us to varying degrees, and nobody's opinion is intrinsically better than anyone else's because of the group to which they happen to belong. Rather than trying to shut down the voices of half the population, I'd suggest that it would be better to foster debate which is respectful and compassionate. One can, after all, try to understand the perspective of a prospective mother without thinking that her decisions are necessarily the best or right ones. Unfortunately, the battle-lines are so firmly-drawn at present that it is very difficult to see much space for respect or compassion on either side towards people with whom we disagree.

Stop conflating an issue with other issues that are not connected with it in order to confuse things.
The question here is not about opinion- everyone can have an opinion about anything. It's part of the freedom of expression. But that's neither here not there.

The point of discussion is who should have the right to decide on aborting an unborn embryo- and the answer, plain and simple, has to be the person DIRECTLY, PHYSICALLY involved- the one who is forced to spend nine months (if ever) to carry it to term- and that is the mother. Men do NOT get that right because their body is not directly involved. Their health will NOT be affected- neither will their ability to work, earn a living, or function normally.
ONLY the woman is physically impacted and that's why it's her right to decide.

As to your other comment- obviously the fetus can only be aborted up to a certain stage- after which it will NOT be viable for abortion legally. What is the exact stage? 21 weeks if I'm not mistaken. Here, this is what science says -I did some research: http://blogs.plos.org/dnascience/2013/10/03/when-does-a-human-life-begins-17-timepoints/

It's a pathetic last ditch defense- they can't defend the actions of Trump at this point so they try to deflect the issue by saying how bad Obama and Clinton were/would have been.  ::)

This of course doesn't change the fact that you have a President who is clueless, has the temperament of a child, and who is only interested in enriching himself and his family> in fact he's so arrogant he isn't doing anything to hide it anymore. It has always been about making himself great at the expense of everything else, including America.  :crazy2:

:true:

I support the right of women to choose what happens to their bodies. My sentiment is similar to what royalcrown89 has already stated.
What really galls me is the hypocrisy of the anti-abortion side when they fight so hard for the babies to be born, but seem to lose interest after that. No follow through on the living conditions the child and the mother face once the baby is born. In a sense, this is even more cruel- because a lot of times you're forcing a child onto someone who isn't ready or asking them to give the child to an overtaxed foster system which can't give them proper care.
Either way, the child is given a terrible start at life- but never mind, at least you stopped the mother from giving it up, right?

@SemenDemon:

I can't get into any of the "new" Doctor Who series at all. I can't get into much of any action/sci-fi/fantasy stuff from the 90's on. Everyone's dialog is written like that of comic book characters (fitting for comics and kids animated television, but generally insufferable in live action film and TV), and all the affected, snappy one-liners are interspersed with so much exaggerated soap opera melodrama. It's become an epidemic in modern fantasy/sci-fi (see: The CW, new Doctor Who, every single thing Joss Whedon touches, every single superhero movie made since the 90's, etc.)… I can't take it!

But I didn't come here just to bitch... I do like older Doctor Who series.

Interesting- but then again maybe it's just that Doctor Who has always been considered to be a children's series in the UK. So maybe they're just gearing it to a younger skewing audience from the get go, and that's something you've left behind.

Have you tried more serious kinds of genre shows? Off the top, I'd recommend Sense8, Stranger Things and The Expanse. Maybe those more serious shows will interest you. Definitely not CW material. 

@kukashiffr:

I want to watch the series but I dont know how to start watching it there are just so many seasons over the years older ones newer ones missing episodes its all too much can someone guide me how to start watching the series so that I dont miss anything please

I recommend you start by watching the newer rebooted Series 1 from 2005. Here's a link to a great episode guide which will carry you all the way from Series 1 to 10. Then, if you feel like it, you can go further back to the original series. But for now, I recommend you start here.

Have fun!  :cheers:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0436992/episodes?season=1

@Higgs:

It may be true that the West no longer has a monopoly on gay rights (though the whole idea of 'gay rights' and even  'homosexuality' is - in my view - unquestionably a Western one).
None of this, of course, is in any way to condone what is going on in Chechnya. But it may be that noisy condemnation from Western nations and from gay rights lobby-groups is doing more harm than good. Which raises a question: what do we want to achieve here? Do we want to end this police harassment and improve conditions for men who have sex with men in Chechnya? Or do we want to try to impose our own ideas about sexual morality and identity on another culture?

As an Asian man who studied a bit of historical instances of gay life in Asian cultures, like Japan for instance- I dispute your point that the whole idea of 'homosexuality' is unquestionably a Western one. So, again, pushing the notion that this is about the spread of a purely Western idea is mistaken.

Here's an excerpt of just the kind of thinking by anti-gay groups in Chechnya right now:

Alvi Karimov, spokesman for (Moscow-backed leader) Kadyrov, has denounced the reports of anti-gay operations in Chechnya as “absolute lies and disinformation”, insisting that there are no gay people in Chechnya to round up. “You cannot detain and persecute people who simply do not exist in the republic,” he told Interfax news agency.

He added: “If there were such people in Chechnya, the law-enforcement organs wouldn’t need to have anything to do with them because their relatives would send them somewhere from which there is no returning.”

This is the kind of chilling hatred that gays in Chechnya are facing. What do we want to achieve? We want the killing, torture and rounding up to stop. What we want is basic human rights and decency and the ability to live without being murdered on the street. It  is less about "trying to impose our own ideas about sexual morality and identity on another culture", and more about fighting for basic human dignity and rights. And I think that isn't a monopoly of the West- it's something all human beings deserve and need to fight for.

@Higgs:

Although I suspect this won't be very popular, I want to suggest another possibility.
It is also, more importantly, an attempt to resist the incursion of Western sexual norms and ways of talking about sexuality.

And Chechnya is not the only place where this has happened. In Africa and the Middle East too, violent and repressive responses have emerged not simply to gay people, but to the attempt to 'import' Western notions of homosexuality and gay rights. Which makes me deeply suspicious of the complacent Twitter-warriors who think that more visible queerness is the way to help men who have sex with men in non-Western and non-liberal cultures. The fact is that banging the drum of gay rights and attacking indigenous attitudes to sexuality may simply be making their situation much worse.

I can see what you're getting at- but I think the whole line of thinking misses a very important key point- the West doesn't have a monopoly on gays or gay rights. Many countries in other parts of the world are also fighting for gay visibility and acceptance.

AND- another very important point is that–just because these are the norms of Chechnya doesn't mean they have to stay that way. That's like saying slavery was accepted and dominant in the US once upon a time- and the slaves shouldn't be "banging on the drum of slave rights" or attacking the attitudes of the time. If the slaves remain silent, then they inadvertently help to preserve a status quo that keeps the oppressed under the iron fist of the oppressors.
Societies evolve and progress because people fight for their rights- for equality- for the chance to live in peace.

If we all just hide behind the don't-rock-the-boat mentality, then we'd still all be closeted gays, cowering in fear because society refuses to change and no one is fighting to change it.

And setting all of those things aside--the concentration camps, being held without trial, torture and such= these are things no decent human being should sit aside and just let happen without a word of protest or a whisper of condemnation.

I think Moffat is getting too much undeserved negativity - mainly because he has overstayed and lost direction in the more recent seasons.
But I'll always consider him one of the best Showrunners- if only for adding some really awesome new villains and characters to the series: including the Weeping Angels, The Silence, the more threatening versions of the Daleks, as well as Riversong.  :love:

I really loved the series when David Tennant was the Doctor. I also enjoyed the whole run of Matt Smith.
Though I still follow Capaldi's Doctor- I find myself enjoying it less. Maybe because he plays it too serious. I realize that Tennant and Smith injected the role with a certain manic energy and humor which made the Doctor a more interesting character.

I'm looking forward to the end of Series 10 to see what the new showrunner will do, and who the next Doctor will be. 

This is plain and simple murder on a massive scale. I'd like to think that every decent human being would be sickened by this atrocity.
If not for the good fortune of being born in a place with more tolerant societies, this could happen to any of us. I know this is a g place where we just come to download some porn and get our rocks off, but every little bit helps- so if you want to make a difference they have some suggestions:

http://www.out.com/news-opinion/2017/4/12/heres-how-you-can-help-stop-chechnyas-gay-concentration-camps

With all the progress that gay rights have had in many countries, it's horrifying and sickening to see how bad it can get for members of the LGBT community in other parts of the world.  :cry2:

Religion used as an excuse to hunt people down like animals, and to turn family and friends against each other. If you are in any position at all to help, please do. Whether to spread awareness or donate to causes or talk to your own government. This kind of hatred can't go unchallenged.  We need to fight for those who have no power to fight for themselves.

http://www.out.com/news-opinion/2017/4/14/invitation-execution-gay-men-anti-gay-purge-chechnya

I was lucky enough that every singe one of my real close friends was able to accept me when I came out to them.  :love:
I did have a few who were less supportive and decided to distance themselves, but we were never that close to begin with.

Great pics! I've got some friends inviting me to go on a roadtrip but-
I've decided to stay home and enjoy some cold drinks and maybe the pool. The oppressive heat and withering sunshine are just too much to deal with right now.  :cool2:

Sounds like a really good purchase. At least I know what to get once I've saved up enough.
Right now though, it's so hard to get new vids while deleting older ones. I think I've become somewhat of a porn hoarder!  :afr:

Wow! Congratulations on your awesome purchase!
I'm killingly jealous! It's perfect for keeping all the video collections you've got safe.  ;D

I haven't been able to afford an update in a while- too many other pressing expenses.  :blownose:

Ah mhorndisk back to the same old name calling tactics and pissing on Hillary I see. 

If, as you said, you support other gay men's right to marry, then just shut it and end there. No one is forcing you to get married. You're free to do as you see fit- and that is what everyone else has been fighting for- the chance to live the life they CHOOSE- which is to get married or not.

Speaking as a gay man coming from a country where we're denied the right to get married, it saddens me that you can't seem to appreciate how good you've got it over there. In my country people don't recognize the relationships that I get into. I may not be in a serious relationship now, but it would be nice to have the OPTION to marry the man I finally wind up wanting to spend the rest of my life with.

There's power in symbolism and ritual- and marriage is one such ritual and symbol that society places value on- and straight couples here have the right to demand respect and privileges for their relationships that I could never do. So, don't wait until someone takes away your rights before you begin to appreciate them.

:fight: Daamn- gone for just a day or so and look what I missed!  :afraid2:

Just to go back to the original topic- I guess having gotten a glimpse behind the scenes at the process of getting advertising approved- one of my friends writes for an ad agency- I think the Pepsi ad was a stunning example of nothing more than tone-deaf advertising which offered the ridiculous message that sharing a Pepsi with riot police will result in cheering crowds and everyone coming home as one big happy family.

The intent was well meaning- but the execution was absolutely terrible. And it has nothing to do with SJW or BLM or whatever cucking you want to call it- people rejected it because it was naive at best, and absolutely clueless at worst.

I've had moments like that in the past, but I'm in a good place right now. 
The person below me has decided to try something new this year that he has never tried before.

I'm lucky enough to have some good memories of childhood- and some good friends back then that I don't see so much now. That's what I miss the most- having more freedom to just hang out with good friends and goof off without having to worry about work.