News of Day

[AndreaDraco]

I have no words...

And the idea of a secret Donald/Ivana Trump son... think of how much rich would he be!

[DeadPoolX]

I have no words...

And the idea of a secret Donald/Ivana Trump son... think of how much rich would he be!

That assumes the assets go to him when they're both dead. As it is, I know Trump has a daughter (apparently she helps her father out in The Apprentice), but since she's an adult now, Trump expects her to make her own way through the world. That doesn't mean no financial help at all, but she can't live off his money.

Besides... how much money will "The Donald" have after spending it all on lousy toupees?

[therogue]

I think there could be a thread just dedicated to; what rather horrifying thing has Mr Berlusconi said today. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7715016.stm

In other news, one of the five remaining WWI veterans has passed away at 108. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/engl ... 712943.stm

Finally, something I find quite incredible is that it looks like Croatia will be joining the EU soon. Which would be nice if the EU could actually ratify the reform treaty, rework the budget, or you know agree on anything. I'll be impressed if at this rate Turkey even will want to join the EU, the applied as the very first country and the standards keep changing in the Turkish case while they are lowered for others. But thats rather academical as it will be a cold day in hell before France will let Turkey join . http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7709165.stm

[AndreaDraco]

I think there could be a thread just dedicated to; what rather horrifying thing has Mr Berlusconi said today. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7715016.stm

I hoped that no one would have brought up this...

... I'm so ashamed.

[DeadPoolX]

In other news, one of the five remaining WWI veterans has passed away at 108. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/engl ... 712943.stm

That's sad.

What's even worse is that so many people today have no clue what WWI was, when it took place or how it differs from WWII. Honestly, I remember a girl in high school asking, "Isn't WWI the one with the Nazis?"

Quite a few people also thought "The Great War" occurred in the 1800s or sometime in the 1970s. What scares me is that this is our future, a generation too interesting in MySpace and texting their friends in class to actually learn something (whether or not it's from history).

The attitude, as I've seen it, is something along the lines of: "That happened a long time ago, so who cares?" Of course... what constitutes "a long time ago" now means as little as five years ago. It seems that only the "here and now" is relevant.

[AndreaDraco]

What's even worse is that so many people today have no clue what WWI was, when it took place or how it differs from WWII. Honestly, I remember a girl in high school asking, "Isn't WWI the one with the Nazis?"

I can't believe it!

[Rath Darkblade]

What's even worse is that so many people today have no clue what WWI was, when it took place or how it differs from WWII. Honestly, I remember a girl in high school asking, "Isn't WWI the one with the Nazis?"

That's sad, but for a different reason.

Quite a few people also thought "The Great War" occurred in the 1800s or sometime in the 1970s. What scares me is that this is our future, a generation too interesting in MySpace and texting their friends in class to actually learn something (whether or not it's from history).

The attitude, as I've seen it, is something along the lines of: "That happened a long time ago, so who cares?" Of course... what constitutes "a long time ago" now means as little as five years ago. It seems that only the "here and now" is relevant.

This mindset of "That happened a long time ago, so who cares?" is so obviously short-sighted and - much more serious - unwise that it makes me furious. There's no such thing as "It's irrelevant because it happened a long time ago." The Crucifixion happened a long time ago; could anyone argue that Christianity is irrelevant? Muhammad's Hijra (the immigration from Mecca to Medina) happened a long time ago; could anyone nowadays argue that Islam is irrelevant? Not to mention Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, and so on. History is the same. We ignore it at our peril.

[therogue]

Well it seems Thailand is destined to go down in political conflict. Hopefully things won't escalate further at the airport. But for now it looks like my brother who was supposed to fly into Bangkok tomorrow will either have his flight cancelled or will have his flight rerouted somewhere else.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7749399.stm

[Maiandra]

Yikes, well that's better than getting trapped already there. That would be very stressful, if not scary.

[therogue]

and now it looks like the second airport of Bangkok is closed. damn.

Yes indeed, but since my brother lives in Thailand its still difficult.

[AndreaDraco]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/commen ... 268745.ece

I'm angry. And pretty much speechless.

[DeadPoolX]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/commen ... 268745.ece

I'm angry. And pretty much speechless.

That's hardly surprising. It seems that devout Christians are against same sex marriage so why would the Vatican decriminalize it?

I find it interesting that it's about decriminalization. That just means it would no longer be counted as a major offense, but could still be worked up as a minor one. Legalizing same sex marriage would render it entirely legal. But decriminalizing something does not do that.

[AndreaDraco]

Decriminalizing also means that there can't be no death penalty for sexual orientation anymore. Did the Vatican Observer think of that?

[therogue]

*sigh* I wish I was surprised by the article. I suppose one can take a little solace from the fact that the EU is finally taking a stance even if its only in words and not deeds. If the EU was serious about it, it would be made into the aquis communitaire but then the uhm more conservative countries would have a fit.

[DeadPoolX]

Decriminalizing also means that there can't be no death penalty for sexual orientation anymore. Did the Vatican Observer think of that?

Since when has homosexuality been an offense punishable by death?

Maybe it is elsewhere in the world, but in the U.S., homosexuals are merely prohibited from marrying (in most states). Some states within the U.S. do allow civil unions and others even permit marriage. It's not common, however.