Darkling

quote:Originally posted by HorseloverFat: quote:If it wasn't for the Crusades pushing back Muslim Expansion, we would probably ALL be muslim right now.In which case we wouldn't know the difference. Sure we wouldn't know the difference, but you would either be Dead, Living in Abject Poverty or maybe one of the lucky few who control the wealth. Muslim countries are not exactly known for having a Middle Class, and woman are mostly treated like cattle. The only notable exceptions are countries like Egypt who have a strong "Western" Influence, but if the "West" didn't exist, then of course that influence wouldn't be there either.

quote:Originally posted by JUDGExKTF: ... how can it ever be a defensive war ? We invaded their homeland, what were Germany and French doing in Palestina ? It certainly wasn't their home country. My Response is here, since this discussion is no longer about Scientology.

A continuation of Scientology Thread that branched into the Crusades. quote:Originally posted by JUDGExKTF: quote:Originally posted by Darkling: You know, if you're going to be quoting something from history, I would really rather that you research what you're talking about, instead of just using some misguided talking points put out there by the general Media. You might want to start Here, if you want to find out the truth. That article speaks of a defensive war, how can it ever be a defensive war ? We invaded their homeland, what were Germany and French doing in Palestina ? It certainly wasn't their home country. You're joking right? It was the Muslims HOME COUNTRY? You're Kidding right. I mean, when the Muslims Invaded Christian Lands (YES Back then, Palestine, Syria, Egypt, Jerusalem, they were ALL Christian Lands), do you think all the Christians just MAGICLY converted to the Muslim Faith? No they were BEGGING for help. The Christians in these lands were being slaughtered by the Muslims, why? Because the Muslims believed back then, JUST AS THEY DO today, that if you're not a Muslim, you're an Infidel and deserve Death. Where do you think they got the word Jihad from? You think it's a Modern invention? No, it was thier "Holy War" that they brought to the Christian lands to convert EVERYONE to the Muslim faith. As a matter of fact, if it wasn't for a freak rainstorm that lasted several days, Italy itself, the seat of the Roman Catholic Church, would have been taken over by Muslim invaders. Keep this in mind, once Muslims have gained control of an area, they've NEVER stopped fighting to retain control of it. Muslims started off in a relatively small area in Persia, and has expanded and expanded, MOSTLY by Violence and Jihad, and if you think you're safe, or that you can live peacefully with these people, YOUR KIDDING YOURSELF. They will NEVER stop the violence until EVERYONE is converted, or the world is destroyed, since they believe that once Armageddon comes, the 12 Iman will come and rule over the earth. So to them, they WANT a nuclear Holocaust, it's their shortcut to heaven. If it wasn't for the Crusades pushing back Muslim Expansion, we would probably ALL be muslim right now.

quote:Originally posted by Grizzle: quote:Originally posted by Darkling: Please, first of all those who TRULY believed they were doing the work of God were not out pillaging and raping, hell many were Warrier Monks.Erm... wasn't it the Knights Templar that were doing the dirty work for the Church? You know those guys who were paid by the Church and took riches from those they conquered to build even more wealth for themselves and the Church too? They were as much the Church's army as our own armed forces are our governments army. War is War, no way around that and back in those days part of the way you FUNDED a war, was to pillage from those that you conquered, However, you miss the whole point of my post. The Muslims act as if they were peaceniks going about their daily business when the "All Conquoring Chirstians came in Robbing & Pillaging". Right around 1000 AD, Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Pretty much almost ALL the remnants of the Roman & Byzentine Empire were ALL predominiately Christian. These Christian Empires were CONQUERED by Muslims, who robbed, Pillaged and BRUTALIZED the Christian Populace into submission. Do you think these Muslim Kings came in and said, "Oh, we just want the land and your people, here, take your wealth and go, ye former Kings". I think not. So when you say that the Knights Templars came in a Pillaging, they were basically stealing back, what was stolen from Christian Kings to begin with. Truth is, these guys thought they were doing the will of God, by retaking the Holy Lands that were taken by the Muslims. Don't you ever wonder to yourself, how is it that "The Temple of The Rock" or whatever it's called that's over in Jerusalem got to be built? Jerusalem was a Jewish State, that was conquered by the Roman Empire, who was later converted to Christianity by formerly Jewish Citizens. How did the Muslims end up in control of that area?

quote:Originally posted by JUDGExKTF: If you want everybody to be able to practice their believes in freedom, then you have to seperate religion from state. How can all religions be practiced in freedom if there is a state religion ?There already IS a very strong seperation of Church & State in this country. What other country can you go to that provides as much religious tolerance as this country does? Not a single one. (I DARE you to say Europe or Australia). But at the same time, what is a country? Is it not a collection of it's peoples and those people's past? Are you now going to erase History, because it doesn't fit in with your mold of Zero Religion anywhere? The founding fathers themselves, used to pray before public meetings, before congress. Same with Judges, Police officers and Teachers. Why? Because our constitution PROVIDED THEM THAT FREEDOM. In Europe, if they were Catholic, but the state Protestant, they could be in serious trouble. Not here, THAT is why many of them came here. To be FREE. The founding fathers NEVER said public displays of Religion should be banned or suppressed because it may offend someone, if you didn't like it, too bad. YOU had the SAME freedome to express your views. quote:Originally posted by JUDGExKTF: History has thought us all too well what can happen if one religion gets to much influence in the state. Does the word CRUSADE ring a bell ? Genocide, Raping and pillaging in the name of the Lord. Thank you catholic church.... Please, first of all those who TRULY believed they were doing the work of God were not out pillaging and raping, hell many were Warrier Monks. Of course, there's always bad apples in the bunch, and I'm not saying that it Didn't happen, but that leads me to my next point. Second, The main reason for the Crusades was to PROTECT Christians TRADERS who were getting Robbed, Beaten, Tortured and KILLED on the established trade routes through Jerusalem and the Middle East. Don't you find it a bit ODD that Palestine, Syria, and Egypt, Primarily CHRISTIAN Countries at the turn of the first Millenium, were all of a sudden crushed by Muslim armies? Oh I'm sorry, Don't want to offend, The Peacefull, Peace Loving Muslim Settlers Moved in By the 11th Century, As the Byzantine Empire, was reduced down to what is Greece today, they begged the west for help against the conquering Muslim Empires attempting to engulf them. You know, if you're going to be quoting something from history, I would really rather that you research what you're talking about, instead of just using some misguided talking points put out there by the general Media. You might want to start Here, if you want to find out the truth.

quote:Originally posted by Jaguar: I wish everyone would just keep their religious or antireligious beliefs to themselves. I don't want for force every religion into the closet, but if you tell me what you believe, and I decide it's not for me, as I said before, Move on.. quote:Originally posted by Jaguar: This country had a major historical religious foundation, and if the atheists don't like it, they can move out, if a religious fanatic doesn't like it, they can move too.This is the part that REALLY bothers me about Atheist, if it were up to them, I'm sure they would want to rewrite the history books to make it seem like Atheist founded this country.

quote:Originally posted by Jaguar: Typical liberalism, doesn't matter if it works or not, it made them feel good, therefore it was effective. I'm sure this story about Global Warming, would have Gotten MUCH more traction if Ernesto turned out to be a REAL threat. But of course with Ernesto and most of the season being a DUD, they're keeping quiet for now, waiting for conditions to be favorable for them again, so they can complain loudly. One of their theories, is that since we're warming the planet, we can expect to see more and more powerfull hurricanes as time goes on. The weather service was "Baffled" as to why the hurricane didn't strenthen. Again, it's something they don't fully understand.

quote:Originally posted by Voli0: I dunno much about scientology, but IMO it'd be pure and utter crap like any other religion. When belief becomes a doctrine, something goes wrong. ...I'm no Scientology fan, but when Atheist, try to dismantle a peice of history, just because it's enshrined in religious symbolism, you don't find something wrong with that? The problem as I see it, is some groups like Scientologist trying to shove their "Beliefs" down my throat, and at the other end of the spectrum you have the Atheist trying to shove thier "Beliefs" down my throat. I mean, come on, you've got Christans saying that the Universe was created by an all powerfull being, and Atheist saying that it all "Sprang out" of a little spot in a massive explosion. Which sounds Zanier to you? Which requires more "Belief", neither makes logical sense. You want to believe that I'm a sucker for giving the church money to support their activities, fine, I don't care. I'll keep believing that you have no chance at an afterlife, either way, my beliefs don't hurt you and yours don't hurt me. If only the Atheists, the Radical Muslims and the radical Christians would listen to the words of a wise man who lived among us 2006 years ago. Something to the effect of, "If they don't want to listen, shake the dust off your sandles and keep moving". That would just save us all a lot of heartache and trouble.

quote:Originally posted by Supreme Cmdr: Reading this, I wonder if anyone will ever be able to pull off another large scale scam on Eve. Then again, this the Homo Sapiens we're talking about. Their penchant for wanton acts of utter stupidity never ceases to amaze me. Oh, give it 6 months or so, someone will pull off another scam.

Actually, in Eve, I'm Jenjuan or Archimedes Plato

Actually I took a break from the game, been a bit too busy to really play, so i put it to train something for a month, and suspended my account. I'll probably pick it back up again next month or so.

This is what happens when you mess with things you don't understand. quote:... they had little idea that using other gases that contain chlorine or fluorine instead also would contribute greatly to global warming... Because they raised the alarms and didn't REALLY know what they were doing, or even if they were right, what the correct fix was. quote:In theory, the ban should have helped both problems.And this is the primary problem, is that it's ALL theories, very unproven theories. quote:This unintended consequence now haunts the nations that signed both U.N. treaties. quote:Switzerland first tried in 1990 to sound an alarm that the solution for plugging the ozone hole might contribute to another environmental problem. The reaction? "Nothing, or almost," said Blaise Horisberger, the Swiss representative to U.N.-backed Montreal treaty. "We have been permanently raising this issue. It has been really difficult."Poor Switzerland, don't they understand, this isn't Science, it's politics. quote: Some of the replacement chemicals whose use has grown because of the Montreal treaty ÔÇö hydrochloroflourocarbons, or HCFCs, and their byproducts, hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs ÔÇö decompose faster than CFCs because they contain hydrogen. But, like CFCs, they are considered potent greenhouse gases that harm the climate ÔÇö up to 10,000 times worse than carbon dioxide emissions. So in other words they've made things worse, up to 10,000 Times worse than the Evil Carbon Dioxide emissions that Al Gore and his book is going NUTS over. But of course, even with all of this, what do the enviro-wacko's think of all this? quote:The Montreal Protocol, which now has 189 member nations, is considered one of the most effective environmental treaties. Almost $2.1 billion has been spent through an affiliated fund to prod countries to stop making and using CFCs and other ozone-damaging chemicals in refrigerators, air conditioners, foams and other products.Let me repeat one part, just in case you guys didn't get this.... quote:.... is considered one of the most effective environmental treaties....It's a MASSIVE Failure, but they think it's the most effective environmental treaties!!!!

quote:Originally posted by LostInSpace: Everything in this is verifiable. Not to mention the lastes antics by them. Scary stuff. What's good for Mel Gibson is good for Tom Cruise. Verifiable by what? They didn't give any links of any official newspapers or official city records, just other "home made" sites.

quote:Originally posted by LostInSpace: quote:Originally posted by Darkling: I wish someone would pay me 100 Million dollars and then tell me to take I hike! Come on People, get some perspective. Most of it is going to the scientology organization. Let's see, in Hollywood, you can: [*]Have sex with as many different people, same sex or not, as you want and they welcome you with open arms. [*]Give coddling interviews with our enemies and they'll welcome you with open arms. [*]Booze up all you want, again, open arms. [*]Drugs, smash & grab, all sorts of ILLEGAL behavior, still .... OPEN ARMS [*]Write songs about Cop Killing, and they'll put you in a hit hollywood show None of this is considered "Unacceptable", but get excited about being in love, OMFG, that will DEFINITELY put you on the psycho list, add to that giving your opinions on your religious beliefs!!! That's it YOU ARE SOOOOOOOOO OUT BUDDY!!!! But I digress, let's be honest, MI III brought in 400 Million Worldwide, with that kind of cash on the table, NO WAY is another studio NOT going to want him, they're probably scheming right now! How can we get Tom, HOW CAN WE GET TOM!!!!!

quote:Originally posted by LostInSpace: NEW YORK (Reuters) - Viacom Inc.'s Paramount Pictures unit is ending its 14-year relationship with Tom Cruise's film production company because of the actor's offscreen behavior, the company's chairman said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. Frankly, I'm glad. I never did like him anyway. I wish someone would pay me 100 Million dollars and then tell me to take I hike! Come on People, get some perspective.

I just recently started watching last year, but with diligent recording of all the syndicated shows, I think I've seen every episode already:) Who knows though, they might end up moving some of the current Stars of the show to Stargate Atlantis, kind of like how "Worf" got moved in Star Trek.

quote:Originally posted by Wolferz: Public schools: The Maytag of brainwashing. Now, if we could just teach Darkling how to spell L O U I S I A N N A You got me, that's what I get for not using my Spell Checker. quote:Originally posted by Kalshion: The moment that stupid "No Child Shall Be Left Behind" bull crap was passed our school system was FINISHED!PLEASE!!! Are you saying the system was FINE before that bill was passed!?!?! quote:Originally posted by Kalshion: School's can't expel a student, because then they won't get an education.But they WILL expel a student for violating the dress code, they already have TOO many ways to expel students, they don't need anymore. quote:Originally posted by Kalshion: Teachers are baddly underpaid, I still think they should all strke at once and show the government just how they feel. When my son was in Private School, his teacher was telling me how her daughter went to college completely free because she was going to be a teacher for the public school system. Once she got the job, it was a fairly low paying job, but keep in mind she got her education for free. By the time her daughter had 5 years of seniority, she was making more than she was, plus she used all the down time in the job to get her Masters Degree, (for free). She told me that in another couple of months when she got her Masters Degree, she would end up making 50% more than she was making. While it's true that the average teacher in Florida makes less than the average teacher in the NE, the cost of living is lower here, so it balances out, but how do you explain the fact that the Catholic School system, is giving kids a superior education, while paying their teachers a bit less on average, AND with less benefits, than their Public School counterparts? As for trying to make this an issue of Illegals, let's face it, the public school system STILL gets paid for EVERY Single kid in the system, and if these "Illegals" can be defined as "Special Needs" they usually get DOUBLE the funding for that child, so believe me when I tell you THAT is not the issue, MONEY is not the issue. Korea is turning out top notch students spedning paltry amounts compared to us. I see schools filled with Portables, and yet at the same time, those portables are filled with Computers. When I went to school they taught me Basic & Pascal Programming, but no one uses those languages any more so it's a waste, what schools need to do is first and formost be PRIVATIZED, anyone that says it's a mistake, take a look at our college system, it's the BEST in the world, why because there are private institutions competing with the public sector, and that makes BOTH better. Second, schools need to teach the basics, English, Reading, Math, Science, get rid of all these extra classes like "Critical Thinking" and "Consumer Math". These are BS classes, why are we wasting Tax Dollars on them? You act as if before NCLB the schools were perfect, yet they were far from it, there's a basic problem with the schools, and until that basic problem is fixed Nothing will change. [ 08-23-2006, 09:11 AM: Message edited by: Darkling ]

quote:Originally posted by Cruis.In: oh, that stinks for cruisers, a carrier WITH CLOAK, and its as fast as a cruiser... cruisers are worthless. Not necessarily, you DO Still have quite a bit of an advantage in a Cruiser VS a Carrier. For example, some cruisers have more Armor than some Carriers (Garid 5000 VS Violin 3500) In addition, Max range on the guns is further in the Cruisers than Carriers, plus since the cruiser is faster, you can keep it maneuvered out of range of the Carrier. Also some cruisers, like the Questnar, have 10 PTA's to keep any support craft the cruiser launches in check. Also the Firing Rate on the Cruisers is about Double on Average over the Carriers. Also, keep in mind that the Cruisers are going to be more "Fuel Efficient" than the Carriers, nothing's worse than running out of Gas in the middle of space. I've found that almost every ship in the fleet has certain advantages and disadvantages, and you just need to figure out what is the best ship for the scenario and move forward from there.

quote:Originally posted by Supreme Cmdr: Well, someone seems to have a copy of the original tape. Well, at least that's ONE box of tapes, out of 700! quote:Originally posted by Carmel Egan August 20, 2006 in the Sidney Morning Herald: Mr Clifton said: "On a visit to Washington I went to [the] Smithsonian and asked if they had any shots of rocket ships travelling. They said, 'Well, we can give you highlights of the moon shot.' "A week later a delivery came to my film studio in Los Angeles with the can of film. When I opened it up I was gobsmacked because instead of getting a couple of minutes I got nearly half an hour of a complete film. So apparently, we've learned the method to the Smithsonian's Madness, here. They probably thought, "Gee, 700 Boxes of tapes, they must all be copies" so when someone like Mr. Clifton ordered some tape, they just sent him a box of ORIGINALS!!! It's no wonder the idiots lost all the tapes.

quote:Originally posted by Grayfox: IMHO i think he copped to it just to get out of the punishment he would of recieved in thailand... our justice system is kids play compared to what they do over there. think about it... where would you rather do time if you had a choice??? here or over there? id take our cakewalk system in a heartbeat... if it turns out that he lied, he can still do time here for obstruction, impeding an investigation etc... I think you're right Grey, but still, this doesn't excuse the prosecuters from not investigating all possible suspects. Every prosecuter before the current one, wouldn't even LOOK outside the Ramsey Family. Especially now, that it's coming to light that there was unidentified DNA, how can they excuse that?

quote:Originally posted by JUDGExKTF: I recently saw a documentary on those two racist twins ( http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id=1231684&page=1 ). Because they've never gone to a public school they only know about the world what their parents tell them (which is, well, rather biased). To them their racist thoughts are perfectly normal,... In Holland home teaching is forbidden and childeren must attend a public school from 5 till 18. So education in Holland is not a right, but an obligation. So in my opinion public schools are a good thing.... Tell that to Bridget Green, New Orleans High School Valedictorian in 2003. She couldn't even pass the Luisianna Graduation Exam, (Well she did by 1 point after 3 attempts.) But hey, she was Valedictrian right! I think you will find that for every one negative story on Home Schooling, there are 100 Negative stories on our public school system. Until the system is privatized, so the money follows the student, you won't see any REAL improvements in the system. I've been hearing my ENTIRE LIFE, how they (the school system) is concerned and how privatizing the system would only sap resources from them, but yet here we are in the new millenium, and they've not only done nothing about the problems, instead they've gotten MORE political, MORE entrenched and students grades in almost every area has done nothing but gotten worse. The only thing our public school system is good for is advancing liberal democrats careers.

quote:Originally posted by Cruis.In: cruisers need cloak... i want a petition. There's already one in the game, it's the Carrier called "Violin", Max speed of 485, it's only a bit slower than a Cruiser and the HJ Transit time is only 75.

What really gets me is that they just revealed that there was "Unidentified DNA" that they're going to try to match up to this guy!? If they're so positive that there was unidentified DNA, then why all this focus on the parents? I'm sure they had them tested?

quote:Originally posted by Supreme Cmdr: The terms of contracts are confidential. However, nothing on a pay-for-play service is promotional. Now how stupid would that be? What sort of promotion benefit do you gleam from a service selling a product and making money from it without any sort of benefit being passed along?I figured that it was probably a formula based on the number of times that someone played the game, but I wasn't sure. The only reason I thought that MAYBE it could be promotional, is because I remember playing a game on GameTap, and I liked it so much that I ended up bying the sequel to the game, since it was an older game that was no longer in circulation. I remember thinking to myself that I might never have heard of that game if it wasn't for Game Tap.

BTW, I'm curious, does GT give you a set amount, a small amount per game played, or is it just a promotional thing?