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I spent 29 years in solitary confinement (2010)

theguardian.com

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Re: I spent 29 years in solitary confinement (2010)

#251

Post by sho »

jolux wrote: post #215
sho wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fully aware of that and I fully agree. I am not putting him up as some sort of cult figure - he definitely has an agenda, and pushes it masterfully. That said it is probably the best argued agenda I have ever heard. As a full-blown atheist I had never heard such a good defence - explanation, really - of religion, and it's no exaggeration to say the fellow has radically changed my thinking on the matter. I think it is…

He's also a transphobic asshole who thinks the existence of "transgender ideology" is a crime against humanity comparable to Stalinism.

I don't know about the "crime against humanity" but it's pretty hard to disagree with him on that topic. Most opponents fall back to crude insults, as you have. I suspect that a majority of reasonable people would agree that new genders do not spring into existence simply because you imagine them, and that it is completely obvious that all humans are either male or female. Labelling this simple acknowledgement of reality "transphobia" is very dishonest.

Re: I spent 29 years in solitary confinement (2010)

#252

Post by jolux »

sho wrote: post #251
jolux wrote: post #215

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He's also a transphobic asshole who thinks the existence of "transgender ideology" is a crime against humanity comparable to Stalinism.

I don't know about the "crime against humanity" but it's pretty hard to disagree with him on that topic. Most opponents fall back to crude insults, as you have. I suspect that a majority of reasonable people would agree that new genders do not spring into existence simply because you imagine them, and that it is completely obvious that all humans are either male or female. Labelling this simple acknowledgement of rea…

>and that it is completely obvious that all humans are either male or female

Hello? Intersex people? This is patently false under even the simplest analysis.

Re: I spent 29 years in solitary confinement (2010)

#253

Post by sethrin »

linkregister wrote: post #246
sethrin wrote: post #241

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wouldn't that be the definition of a proxy war? However, even that claim is suspect. The Continental Navy was a joke and had zero effect on the war. The French fought a global naval campaign with the world's largest navy. They also supplied the vast majority of gunpowder, cannons, and muskets used in the initial years of the war, and landed several sizable armies. At any point in the conflict the loss of French aid w…

At no point did you contradict any of my points. What is your goal?

Your comprehension and civility are both wanting, it seems.

Re: I spent 29 years in solitary confinement (2010)

#254

Post by orf »

copperkettle wrote: post #225
orf wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your point about great Britian isn't completely correct, no power could have stood against the empire at its peak. France could have given it a go perhaps, and did around 1800 and where beaten (Waterloo! Waterloo! Waterloo!). The differences you talk about now are, in my opinion, down to advanced weaponry. Where before it was about manpower (and England's vast empire made procurement of such very easy) and sailing (a…

http://www.kiplingsociety.co.uk/poems_arith.htm "ten rupee jezail" :) It's a very fine poem.

Thank you very much, this is awesome of you to sign up just to help me out.

I'm very grateful!

Re: I spent 29 years in solitary confinement (2010)

#255

Post by dvtv75 »

ars wrote: post #245
coldtea wrote: post #230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> They should make cells that are tiny and fit one person - but have lots of opening and permission to talk to anyone around them. Actually there's no need for the cells to be tiny -- even if they are meant for just one person.

That's not entirely true. If the cell was large people would attempt to get into them on purpose to get a private room. The cell has to be small enough that no one would prefer it over general. Additionally if the cell was larger then the number of neighbors each prisoner could interact with is reduced. But the goal is to give them the opportunity to interact with as many people as possible.

> If the cell was large people would attempt to get into them on purpose to get a private room.

I think that's a societal problem, not a prison design problem.

> The cell has to be small enough that no one would prefer it over general.

Why? Wouldn't it be sufficient discouragement just with the removal of your basic rights to go where you like and do what you want?

Re: I spent 29 years in solitary confinement (2010)

#256

Post by [deleted] »

MrZongle2 wrote: post #138
erikpukinskis wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You really don't see the difference between the phrases "worst country ever" and "not particularly nice"? You're going to have a hard time both learning and teaching if you can't reign in your language a little. No one around you is actually understanding you because your language doesn't represent your true thoughts. You are the only person hearing the arguments you think you're having.

"You're going to have a hard time both learning and teaching if you can't reign in your language a little." Did you happen to see the original post I responded to....with the "and then they blatantly violate every kind of basic human right" nonsense? My response was due to the hyperbolic nature of that statement. It was sarcasm, you know, thus the /s at the end. It is this breathless, over-the-top outrage that I obje…

[deleted]

Re: I spent 29 years in solitary confinement (2010)

#257

Post by mythrwy »

coldtea wrote: post #119
DennisP wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Constitution isn't just a historical document, it's the law. It's certainly open to change by the will of the people, and it defines a process for doing so, which has been used seventeen times. It's not the only law we interpret this way, considering the intent of the people who created it; courts do the same with laws passed by Congress.

Yes, and there amendments etc. But in public discourse, it's not treated as a mere law, something humans created, and they could toss if they like, but as some kind of holy scripture given by some wise old men.

Yes, you can write your own web framework. But it will be even clunkier than the one you chose not to learn and take a long time to address all the edge cases and bugs.

Re: I spent 29 years in solitary confinement (2010)

#258

Post by mythrwy »

jMyles wrote: post #4

The prison system in general, and solitary confinement (and other forms of emotional torture) in particular is a good enough reason in my opinion to dismantle the state and start over. And it's only one of about 4-5 good reasons right now. Let's do it.

There's a bug, throw the old code base all away and start over.

Wait, now we have tons of bugs and it doesn't work at all! How long is it going to take to get working again?

Re: I spent 29 years in solitary confinement (2010)

#259

Post by Nomentatus »

keithnz wrote: post #192
humanrebar wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's also bad understanding of Christian theology. > Christianity is quite focused on the idea of good and evil. No, it's mostly focused on the contrast between being a follower of Christ or not. To that end, the character of God and Jesus are elaborated on at length. So subjects like "good" and "evil" come up as a part of that. Yes, Christ is described as being intrinsically good, but the end goal isn't to: * do goo…

It really doesn't matter what the "theology" is, or what academically people may understand it to be, it's how it manifests.

True enough, while St. Augustine abandoned Manichaeism for Christianity, we've been busy reinventing it ever since.

Re: I spent 29 years in solitary confinement (2010)

#260

Post by mcv »

humanrebar wrote: post #154
vivekd wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Christianity is quite focused on the idea of good and evil. Norse mythology was never like that. Norse mythology was never like that. There was no evil devil. The world was divided into order and chaos not good and evil. What? Why do people say stuff like this? The Norse myths were from a millennium ago, no one has believed in them for almost a thousand years. Maybe Norway is largely atheistic now but for the majori…

It's also bad understanding of Christian theology. > Christianity is quite focused on the idea of good and evil. No, it's mostly focused on the contrast between being a follower of Christ or not. To that end, the character of God and Jesus are elaborated on at length. So subjects like "good" and "evil" come up as a part of that. Yes, Christ is described as being intrinsically good, but the end goal isn't to: * do goo…

Being a good person and doing god things is absolutely important in Christianity. Jesus talked a lot about the need to do good: to give to the poor, feed the hungry, welcome the outcast and the stranger, etc.

During the course of history, numerous people have changed this into punishing bad people (for to varying degrees and widely varying definitions of "bad"), and that is I think one of the big ways where some branches of Christianity have gone astray. We are supposed to forgive, not to punish as harshly as possible and then some.

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