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8,227 |
Thanks for typing that in, Steven. Sounds like a "fall back and
regroup" strategy session.
I wanted to add that my copy of the brochure arrived with a flattering
cover letter:
"Invitations are being extended to those who have demonstrated a
strong committment to space program development and have been
influential in its advancement. We sincerely hope you will be able to
attend."
Wow! I wonder which of my contributions to the conquest of space
convinced them to send me this letter?
I hope you decide to go, Pat. The Net can use some eyes and ears
there... | 10 | trimmed_train |
3,122 | I am looking for a working docking deck (deck that goes on back of
camera) for an old JVC GX-S700 Tube video camera. Any format is
acceptable. Please send me a message if you even know anything about decks
for the GX-S700. Also interested in any video equipment for sale,
professional or consumer. Thank you.
----
[email protected] -==- Pro-Freedom BBS - (206) 694-3276 | 5 | trimmed_train |
10,499 | Les Bartel's comments:
Let me add my .02 in. I had a A/C installed by the Ford garage and it did not
work as well as the A/C that was installed by the factory in pickups
identical to mine. I have talked to other people that have had the same
result. Don't know if this is just a problem with Ford or what?? | 4 | trimmed_train |
2,917 |
You make it sound like this behavior is new. It isn't. A lot of
pedestrian bridges have fencing that curls up over the sidewalk to
make this kind of think a lot harder to do.
I don't understand the mentality myself, but then again I couldn't
figure out MOVE! (I'm glad they bombed 'em) or the Waco Wackos either.
(Newsgroup list trimmed significantly) | 4 | trimmed_train |
10,365 | I need a complete list of all the polygons
that there are, in order.
I'll summarize to the net.
--------------------------------------------------------
"If only I had been compiled with the '-g' option." | 1 | trimmed_train |
2,204 |
While we're on the multipurpose subject, let's not forget Shea, which
was designed to accommodate both the Mets & Jets. It was the first
stadium (I think) to have the box seats on rollers so they could be
oriented at right angles for baseball & in parallel for football.
Of course, with the Jets gone to Jersey (and a truly good football
stadium), the Mets are saddled with a multipurpose stadium where,
because it's circular, the seats are almost always too far from the
action. The Mets announcers--Kiner & Murphy in particular--have
always hyped it as "beautiful Shea
Stadium," a tipoff to how unbeautiful it truly is. | 2 | trimmed_train |
1,620 |
Great! I'll visit the National Air and Space Museum at the end of the
month with my wife, who was also working at General Atomic at the time.
Once again netnews has enriched my life. | 10 | trimmed_train |
6,031 | Paintball Gun for Sale
TIPPMAN SL-68II (In Great Condition)
11" Micro-honed Barrel
Barrel Squeegie
16" Barrel
140 Round Sight Feeder with Elbow
7 oz. Constant Air Tank with Valve Protector and Buttplate
Shoulder Strap
3-7X Bushnell Sportview Scope
40 Round Ammo Box with Flip Top Lid
Barrel Plug
Instruction Manual
Allen Wrenches
Contact me at:
[email protected] | 5 | trimmed_train |
10,910 |
The above is probably not the most representative paragraph, but I
thought I'd hop on, anyway...
What strikes me as self-contradicting in the fable of Lucifer's
fall - which, by the way, I seem to recall to be more speculation
than based on biblical text, but my ex RCism may be showing - is
that, as Benedikt pointed out, Lucifer had perfect nature, yet he
had the free will to "choose" evil. But where did that choice come
from?
We know from Genesis that Eve was offered an opportunity to sin by a
tempter which many assume was Satan, but how did Lucifer discover,
invent, create, call the action what you will, something that God
had not given origin to?
Also, where in the Bible is there mention of Lucifer's free will?
We make a big fuss about mankind having free will, but it strikes me
as being an after-the-fact rationalisation, and in fact, like
salvation, not one that all Christians believe in identically.
At least in my mind, salvation and free will are very tightly
coupled, but then my theology was Roman Catholic...
Still, how do theologian explain Lucifer's fall? If Lucifer had
perfect nature (did man?) how could he fall? How could he execute an
act that (a) contradicted his nature and (b) in effect cause evil to
exist for the first time? | 8 | trimmed_train |
8,539 | My Honda Accord just hit the magic 100,000 mile mark and now
all sorts of things are beginning to go bad. The latest problem
I am experiencing is with my brakes. They still stop the
car fine, but once I am stopped completely, my brake pedal
will sink another 2 or 3 inches all by itself. If feels really
strange, and I am worried my brakes will quit working one of
these days.
I checked my brake fluid, and the reservoir was full, but the
fluid itself looked really dirty (like dirty oil). I called
my mechanic and he told me I need a new brake master cylinder,
which will cost me a whopping $250-300.
I was just wondering if anyone out there has experienced this
sort of thing. If so, is my mechanic being honest? Or do I
simply need to have my brakes bled and new fluid put in?
Any help you could provide would be appreciated. Please send
replies directly to me, as I rarely have a chance to read this
list. I will post the responses if there is any interest.
Thanks, | 4 | trimmed_train |
4,314 |
Sherzer Methodology!!!!!!
| 10 | trimmed_train |
714 |
Yup. I agree with ya. I think Devils can beat Red Wings easily. SO I think
all those who send in their votes should try all these diffrent teams
before voting. I think Islanders and Quebec are much better then I had
expected.
COBRA
| 17 | trimmed_train |
8,156 | When I use telix (or kermit) in WIN 3.1, or use telix after exiting windows
to dos, telix can not find the serial port. If you have some ideas on how
to solve this problem or where I can find further information, send me email
or send it to the news group. Thanks.
Dale Erickson
[email protected] | 18 | trimmed_train |
11,098 |
Let's see, if Alexander destroyed Tyre, and people move back, and
they construct houses, and after a while 14000 people live there
and still call it Tyre, it is not considered to be rebuilt. Instead
it's considered to be 'just-some-people-that-got-together-for-fishing-
and-they-needed-houses' place.
Sigh, I was never born in a city then (my home town has 10.000
people). I have to consult my city and inform them that it's from
now a fishing village. When this city (Kristinestad) was founded
in the 17:th century about 1000 people lived there, so the norms
were even more bizarre for dumb Swedish queens who founded cities
along the coast of Finland.
I would like to know why Paul thought is was worth mentioning the
small fishing place of Tyre in Acts. Again, maybe he was a keen
fisherman and wanted to visit the shores of Tyre? :-)
Cheers,
Kent | 15 | trimmed_train |
7,169 | Now, I am jumping into the middle of this thread so I may not know
what y'all been talking about, but I have a few comments:
There are a number of other factors that are very important, the three
biggest being air velocity, air momentum and shock waves.
Velocity stacks have been used for years and are now being used inside
of stock airboxes on a number of bikes. At a tuned engine rpm, the
stacks can greatly increase the speed, and thus momentum of the air
rushing in.
Air momentum is critical in getting good air intake: the momentum of
the air stack outside the combustion chamber will force its way inside
long after the piston has begun its compressive up-stroke.
Shock waves are used to induce air intake and to prevent fresh air from
escaping out the exzhaust ports. Shock waves are the product of expansion
chambers or any other means of presenting a 'wall' (opening or closing)
to the air in motion. Beyond this I am lost in the mystery of how they
design for shock waves. | 12 | trimmed_train |
9,680 | Can anybody tell me if they know where I can obtain the source code for
a polygon filling algorithm, or any other graphics orientated mailing lists
that may be able to help me.
Thanks, Paul.
--
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | 16 | trimmed_train |
4,696 |
does anyone have the e-mail address for the white house. if so please send it to
me thanks a lot.
| 13 | trimmed_train |
11,247 |
It seems radio reports were overly optimistic. All Clinton wants to
cut is $2.5 Billion for community block grants, keeping in summer jobs.
Hmmm, well, looks like we need to keep up the pressure on our
congresspersons. | 13 | trimmed_train |
7,729 |
I became aware of the claim years ago. So I decided to check it out, on my
own. But, then, that was in BN times (Before Net). So, here are some
references. See Robin Lane Fox's _The unauthorized version_, (p.284) where
Lane Fox writes, "... the one passage which appears to [comment on Jesus'
career] is agreed to be a Christian addition."
In my Re:Albert Sabin response ([email protected]) to Jim Lippard (21
April 93), I noted that consensus is typically indicated subtly as in Elaine
Pagel's _The gnostic gospels_ (p.85), to wit: "A comment *attributed* to
Josephus reports ... [emphasis mine]". Scholars sometimes do not even mention
the two Josephus entries, another subtlety reflecting consensus.
So far as I can deduce, today's consensus is built on at least three things:
1) the long passage is way out of context, 2) Origen did not know about the
long passage, and 3) the short and long passages are contradictory.
I don't know the references wherein the arguments which led to consensus are
orginally developed (does anyone?).
Biblical scholars as I defined them include theologians and historians. The
former, like the latter, incorporate historical, social, technological and
ideological contexts as well as theology. So the distinction is blurred. I
didn't elaborate on that. Sorry. (In turn, historians are compelled to
incorporate theology).
Can't say about the number of copies. These were, however, BG times (Before
Gutenburg). A hundred first editions seems exceedingly high; counting on one
hand seems more reasonable. Perhaps those mss. without the long insert (if any,
because anything is possible) have been destroyed. Such a practice is
certainly not foreign to religions. Anyway, all we have are mss. which have
the two entries. Lippart (in the message noted above) talks about an Arabic
ms. But here the ms. date is critical.
:-) | 15 | trimmed_train |
11,312 |
Wouldn't this require a hyper-sphere. In 3-space, 4 points over specifies
a sphere as far as I can see. Unless that is you can prove that a point
exists in 3-space that is equi-distant from the 4 points, and this may not
necessarily happen.
Correct me if I'm wrong (which I quite possibly am!)
steve
---
| 1 | trimmed_train |
1,263 |
Early to mid June.
If they think the public wants to see it they will carry it. Why not
write them and ask? You can reach them at:
F: NATIONAL NEWS MEDIA
ABC "World News Tonight" "Face the Nation"
7 West 66th Street CBS News
New York, NY 10023 2020 M Street, NW
212/887-4040 Washington, DC 20036
202/457-4321
Associated Press "Good Morning America"
50 Rockefeller Plaza ABC News
New York, NY 10020 1965 Broadway
National Desk (212/621-1600) New York, NY 10023
Foreign Desk (212/621-1663) 212/496-4800
Washington Bureau (202/828-6400)
Larry King Live TV
"CBS Evening News" CNN
524 W. 57th Street 111 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
New York, NY 10019 Washington, DC 20001
212/975-3693 202/898-7900
"CBS This Morning" Larry King Show--Radio
524 W. 57th Street Mutual Broadcasting
New York, NY 10019 1755 So. Jefferson Davis Highway
212/975-2824 Arlington, VA 22202
703/685-2175
"Christian Science Monitor"
CSM Publishing Society "Los Angeles Times"
One Norway Street Times-Mirror Square
Boston, MA 02115 Los Angeles, CA 90053
800/225-7090 800/528-4637
CNN "MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour"
One CNN Center P.O. Box 2626
Box 105366 Washington, DC 20013
Atlanta, GA 30348 703/998-2870
404/827-1500
"MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour"
CNN WNET-TV
Washington Bureau 356 W. 58th Street
111 Massachusetts Avenue, NW New York, NY 10019
Washington, DC 20001 212/560-3113
202/898-7900
"Crossfire" NBC News
CNN 4001 Nebraska Avenue, NW
111 Massachusetts Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20036
Washington, DC 20001 202/885-4200
202/898-7951 202/362-2009 (fax)
"Morning Edition/All Things Considered"
National Public Radio
2025 M Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
202/822-2000
United Press International
1400 Eye Street, NW
Washington, DC 20006
202/898-8000
"New York Times" "U.S. News & World Report"
229 W. 43rd Street 2400 N Street, NW
New York, NY 10036 Washington, DC 20037
212/556-1234 202/955-2000
212/556-7415
"New York Times" "USA Today"
Washington Bureau 1000 Wilson Boulevard
1627 Eye Street, NW, 7th Floor Arlington, VA 22229
Washington, DC 20006 703/276-3400
202/862-0300
"Newsweek" "Wall Street Journal"
444 Madison Avenue 200 Liberty Street
New York, NY 10022 New York, NY 10281
212/350-4000 212/416-2000
"Nightline" "Washington Post"
ABC News 1150 15th Street, NW
47 W. 66th Street Washington, DC 20071
New York, NY 10023 202/344-6000
212/887-4995
"Nightline" "Washington Week In Review"
Ted Koppel WETA-TV
ABC News P.O. Box 2626
1717 DeSales, NW Washington, DC 20013
Washington, DC 20036 703/998-2626
202/887-7364
"This Week With David Brinkley"
ABC News
1717 DeSales, NW
Washington, DC 20036
202/887-7777
"Time" magazine
Time Warner, Inc.
Time & Life Building
Rockefeller Center
New York, NY 10020
212/522-1212
| 10 | trimmed_train |
6,038 | Notwithstanding all the legitimate fuss about this proposal, how much
of a change is it? ATT's last product in this area (a) was priced over
$1000, as I suspect 'clipper' phones will be; (b) came to the customer
with the key automatically preregistered with government authorities. Thus,
aside from attempting to further legitimize and solidify the fed's posture,
Clipper seems to be "more of the same", rather than a new direction.
Yes, technology will eventually drive the cost down and thereby promote
more widespread use- but at present, the man on the street is not going
to purchase a $1000 crypto telephone, especially when the guy on the other
end probably doesn't have one anyway. Am I missing something?
The real question is what the gov will do in a year or two when air-
tight voice privacy on a phone line is as close as your nearest pc. That
has got to a problematic scenario for them, even if the extent of usage
never surpasses the 'underground' stature of PGP. | 7 | trimmed_train |
1,488 |
>
>: Thus, a deciBell (deci-, l., tenth of + Bell) is a fractional part of the
>: original Bell. For example, SouthWestern Bell is a deciBell.
>
>Out of what hat did you pull this one? dB is a ratio not an RBOC!
>
>: And the measure of current, Amp, is actually named after both the AMP company
>: and the Amphenol company. Both companies revolutionized electronics by
>: simulatenously realizing that the performance of connectors and sockets
>: were affected by the amount of current running through the wires.
>
>Sorry. The unit for current is the AMPERE which is the name of a french-man
>named AMPERE who studied electrical current. The term AMP is just an abbreviation
>of it. The company AMP came after the AMPERE unit was already in use.
>
>: The Ohmite company was the first to characterize resistances by numbers,
>: thus our use of the Ohms...
>
>I don't know about this one, but it doesn't sound right.
>
>:
>: Alexander Graham Bell, actually, is where Bell came from...
>Well you got one thing right!
>:
Actually, I think J. Chiu knows the score and is just being
silly. However, "decibel" is in fact 1/10th of a bel. He is
right on that one, but I don't know if it was accidental or not.
Strictly defined, a bel is the ratio of the log of two power levels,
and a decibel is 1/10th of a bel so you have 10X decibels for every bel,
hence bel=log(P2/P1) and decibel=10Xlog(P2/P1).
The bel, ohm, volt, farad, ampere, watt, hertz, henry, etc. are
all named for pioneers in the field. It's a traditional and fine
way to honor researchers who discover new knowledge in a new field.
Hertz was one of the most important of the early electronics explorers,
but had been left out in having a term or unit named after him
until recently, (1960's, prior to that what is now a hertz was a cps.)
All the other units were defined many decades earlier.
--
----------------------------------------------------------------------
| 11 | trimmed_train |
11,209 |
The investment was there in the form of huge tax breaks, and employer
benfits. You are overlooking the difference that these could have
made to any company. Part of the problem was that few industries
were interested in political settling, as much as profit.
True, which leads to the obvious question, should any investment have
been made there at the taxpayer's expense. Obviously, the answer was
and still is a resounding no.
| 6 | trimmed_train |
1,874 |
You're not going to like this, but if memory serves me, postings
I've read in this newsgroup and elsewhere indicate that there are
no, repeat no, internal modems for the Duo besides the Express
Modem... at _any_ speed. Something having to do with the modem
using the main CPU for some of its tasks, and Apple not releasing
details on the architecture, or something. I'm vague on the
details, but the gist was that there are going to be no
third-party internal Duo modems. If I'm wrong, somebody please
correct me on this. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.
Joel
| 14 | trimmed_train |
6,026 | 4 | trimmed_train |
|
6,562 |
> :Thousands? Tens of thousands? Do some arithmetic, please... Skipjack
> :has 2^80 possible keys.
>
> We don't yet know if all 80 bits count.
That doesn't worry me at all; they're not going to cheat at something
they can get caught at. And key size is one of the things that can be
verified externally. Feed lots of random key/input pairs into the
chip, then try flipping random key bits, and see what happens to the
output. We already know what *should* happen -- about half the output
bits should vary, on average, from a 1-bit key change or input change.
If they were out to build a weak cryptosystem, it might be the case that
some of the bits are much less powerful than others, in the sense that
they only enter into the encryption very late in the game. By contrast,
DES was designed to use each key bit as early as possible; the 50% output
change rate appears as early as round 5. Again, though, I don't think
NSA is going to cheat that crudely; they're likely to get caught.
Consider a cryptosytem that starts out by XORing bits 23 and 47, and
not using either of these bits except through this XOR. This system
makes early use of every bit. but an exhaustive key search would now
only have 2^79 keys to search. Your test by varying single key bits
wouldn't turn up anything interesting.
Remember that they've promised to let a committee of outside experts see
the cryptosystem design. If you assume something DES-like, a biased
subkey generation schedule will stick out like a sore thumb.
The algorithm I suggest above would stick out like a sore thumb, but
I'm sure I could design a system with a more subtle key redundancy
which was well-hidden, but would still make an exhaustive key search
take far less than 2^80 encryptions. I don't believe your claim that
the real keysize can be verified externally. | 7 | trimmed_train |
11,252 | High power assault gun? Why, you must be talking about the 155mm Howitzer.
Or did you want to try a 16 incher? Or one of the German railway guns? | 9 | trimmed_train |
2,732 |
This is, as far as I know, complete nonsense. The codification of the bible
as we have it now came very much later. | 8 | trimmed_train |
681 | Just finished reading Burton Mack's new book, _The Lost Gospel, Q and Christian
Origins_. I thought it was totally cool. Anyone else read it and want to
talk? | 0 | trimmed_train |
10,818 | I need some help. We are upgrading our animation/video editing stand. We
are looking into the different type of setups for A/B roll and a cuts only
station. We would like this to be controlled by a computer ( brand doesnt matter but maybe MAC, or AMIGA). Low end to high end system setups would be very
helpful. If you have a system or use a system that might be of use, could you
mail me your system requirements, what it is used for, and all the hardware and
software that will be necessary to set the system up. If you need more
info, you can mail me at [email protected]
thanks in advance. | 1 | trimmed_train |
7,263 | I have no experience with this particular hardware, but
just about every month in Macworld there is an add for
an combined SE accelerator/Video board. This item sells
for about $1000 and comes with a 25MHz 68030/68882 pair,
eight SIMM slots, and a grayscale 21" monitor.
This accelerator plugs into the SE's lone expansion port
and thus no soldering. You will however, need a long
TORX wrench to get the case open (but that's not really
a big deal).
Does that sound like what you were looking for? | 14 | trimmed_train |
2,626 |
Squeaky BMW riders.
| 12 | trimmed_train |
7,926 | Recently the following problem has arrisen. The first time I turn on my
computer when windows starts (from my autoexec) after the win31 title screen
the computer reboots on its own. Usually the second time (after reboot) or
from the DOS prompt everything works fine.
s far as I remember I have not changed my config.sys or autoxec.bat or
win.ini. I can't remember whether this problem occured before I
optimized/defragmented my disk and created a larger swap file (Thank you
MathCAD 4 :( )
System 386sx, 4MB, stacker 2.0, win31, DOS 5
---
--------------------------------------------------------------------- | 18 | trimmed_train |
3,603 |
...
Mac sound hardware is diverse; some macs play in stereo and
mix the output (the SE/30 for instance) while others play in
stereo but ONLY has the left channel for the speaker, while
some are "truly" mono (like the LC)
Developers know that stuff played in the left channel is
guaranteed to be heard, while the right channel isn't. Some
send data to both, some only send data to the left channel
(the first is preferrable, of course)
Cheers,
/ h+ | 14 | trimmed_train |
1,562 |
I will join the ranks here. If someone has the ability to actually put this
thing together and get enough support, I'll also contribute $1000 to the
effort. And jeeze, people, I'm a *student*, with *no job* yet, and I will
put up my own hard-earned savings if it means we have a shot at getting
the truth told on the airwaves. Count me in.
Mike Ruff | 9 | trimmed_train |
4,372 | Boy, this will be embarassing if it is trivial or an FAQ:
Given 4 points (non coplanar), how does one find the sphere, that is,
center and radius, exactly fitting those points? I know how to do it
for a circle (from 3 points), but do not immediately see a
straightforward way to do it in 3-D. I have checked some
geometry books, Graphics Gems, and Farin, but am still at a loss?
Please have mercy on me and provide the solution?
Thanks,
Ed
| 1 | trimmed_train |
1,606 |
It's not a cliche, and (unlike your comments below) it's not a tautology.
It needn't have been true. If every pitcher in baseball were essentially
the same in quality (i.e. if the variance of pitching ability were much
smaller than the variance of batting ability), then scoring runs would be
much more important than preventing them, simply because the *ability* to
actively prevent runs would be much weaker.
If that's your point, you should have said so. What you in fact said was
"Pitching and defense win championships", and later "Pitching is the essence
of baseball". Neither of which says what you are now claiming was "your
point", and neither of which is true.
And you accuse Sherri of mouthing cliches!?
It's not clear to me at all that this is true. In high-scoring games, the
team with the better offense wins a high percentage of the time. In low-
scoring games, the split is essentially 50/50 regardless of team ability.
I thought you said "pitching and defense win championships" and "pitching is
the essence of baseball".
| 2 | trimmed_train |
7,703 | >>>Does the greatly increased rates of incarceration amongst
>>>blacks show that they are dysfunctional or that the majority
>>>of them support criminal activity?
>>>
>Isn't this a matter of demographics? Doesn't this simply show
>that since criminal behaviour is common (or apt to be common)
>in the 18-34 (insert your favorite correct numbers here) year
>old range and since the percentage of blacks in this range is
>higher than in other groups, then it follows statistically
>that more blacks in prison is an expected result?
>
>Note that I haven't said anything about blacks being given
>stiffer or longer sentences than other groups. I'm sure this
>has to have an effect on the issue of over-representation of
>blacks in prison...
Blacks have the same (+- 2%) crime report rate, arrest rate, and incarceration
rate for violent crimes.
So I doubt that for violent crimes, that there is any inherent bias mechanism
present.
There is a wider discrepancy for all crimes for blacks wrt to 3 categories.
Interestingly enough, the discrepancy is the largest in the Southern
United States -- where blacks are incarcerated well BELOW the average in
the rest of the United States! Which points to an anti-bias-against wrt
blacks.
In any case, for violent crimes and burglary and drug selling, blacks are
reported 53%, arrested 44%, and are present in jails/prisons 47% (1988).
Considering that 12% of the population is black, 6% are black males, and
some percentage of that is out of the high/low age groups, we do have a
situation where (if I remember my old calculations right) 4% of the
population commits almost half of the really nasty crimes.
Blacks with similar histories (crime) to whites get the same sentences,
except in the South, where they receive around 20% less on paper!!
--
There are actually people that STILL believe Love Canal was some kind of
environmental disaster. Weird, eh? | 13 | trimmed_train |
6,123 | Hello All,
I'd like to learn how to keep score when I watch ball
games using official scoring methods. Where can I get
scoresheets and instructions on how to use them?
I appreciate it,
Mike | 2 | trimmed_train |
1,855 | Posted by Cathy Smith for L. Neil Smith
LETTER TO A LIBERAL COLLEAGUE
[AUTHOR'S NOTE: "Adrian" -- name changed to protect the guilty --
and the author are science fiction novelists who once worked with
the same editor at a famous New York publishing house.]
Dear Adrian:
I'm way behind schedule on my current book again, so this reply to
your note -- criticizing the recent magazine interview I gave and
generally attacking gun ownership -- will necessarily consist
mostly of assertions you're free to believe (or not) I can back
with evidence and logic I've neither time nor energy to present
now. I've written fully on this topic before and will again in the
future. When I do, I'll make sure you get copies.
There are many arguments I might make, from the futility and danger
of delegating self-defense to the police (see Don Kates in the Jan.
10, 1985 WALL STREET JOURNAL) to the real effect of prohibition,
shifting consumers from newly-outlawed handguns or semiautomatic
rifles to items like sawed-off shotguns or homemade bombs, but I'll
limit myself here to commenting on the newspaper clipping you sent
with your note.
First, the freedom to own and carry the weapon of your choice is a
natural, fundamental, and inalienable human, individual, civil, and
Constitutional right -- subject neither to the democratic process
nor to arguments grounded in social utility.
Second, publication of some latter-day "scientific study" doesn't
alter the fact that the gun prohibitionists I discussed in my
interview -- annoying you so much in the process -- were lying.
Third, the freedom to own and carry the weapon of your choice is a
natural, fundamental, and inalienable human, individual, civil, and
Constitutional right -- subject neither to the democratic process
nor to arguments grounded in social utility.
Fourth, as often happens with these things, the "study" doesn't
support the gun prohibitionists' original numerical contentions
anyway, but simply adds a new layer of spurious claims to an older
body of lies, omissions, and distortions.
Fifth, the freedom to own and carry the weapon of your choice is a
natural, fundamental, and inalienable human, individual, civil, and
Constitutional right -- subject neither to the democratic process
nor to arguments grounded in social utility.
Sixth, the fact that gun prohibitionists have been caught lying on
countless occasions (Carl Bakal, author of NO RIGHT TO KEEP AND
BEAR ARMS, even confessed to it publicly) makes the value of this
present "study" dubious, to say the least.
Seventh, the freedom to own and carry the weapon of your choice is
a natural, fundamental, and inalienable human, individual, civil,
and Constitutional right -- subject neither to the democratic
process nor to arguments grounded in social utility.
Eighth, given your own lifelong service as a federal bureaucrat
(not to mention the cynical sophistication of your fiction), you
should be better aware than most people how "progress" -- in
designing "studies" to prove whatever you want -- outstrips our
ability to collect meaningful data. A case in point we might agree
on is the fact that it took another kind of prohibitionist 20 or 30
years to create "studies" "proving" that pornography causes crime.
More naive (and probably more honest) efforts in the 50s and 60s
clearly indicate the contrary.
Ninth, the freedom to own and carry the weapon of your choice is a
natural, fundamental, and inalienable human, individual, civil, and
Constitutional right -- subject neither to the democratic process
nor to arguments grounded in social utility.
Tenth, another reason to doubt all such "studies" is that human
behavior (as the Austrian School of economics demonstrates) is far
too complex and unpredictable to be meaningfully quantified. The
attempt to do so -- and then create public policy based on the
resulting pseudo-information -- is wrecking our civilization.
Eleventh, the freedom to own and carry the weapon of your choice is
a natural, fundamental, and inalienable human, individual, civil,
and Constitutional right -- subject neither to the democratic
process nor to arguments grounded in social utility.
Twelfth, the "study" is also worthless because it incorporates
figures for suicide, which is not necessarily a tragedy but
basically another individual right, sometimes with ancillary social
benefits. If anything, perhaps suicide INTERVENTION should be a
criminal offense.
Thirteenth and finally, the National Rifle Association officials
quoted in the article, whatever their shortcomings (and they are
many), are correct in this instance: the "study" is meaningless
because the freedom to own and carry the weapon of your choice is a
natural, fundamental, and inalienable human, individual, civil, and
Constitutional right -- subject neither to the democratic process
nor to arguments grounded in social utility.
And because of that, Adrian, even if the "study" were valid, it
wouldn't deter me from a lifelong personal objective of seeing that
anyone can own any weapon he or she prefers and carry it however,
whenever, and wherever he or she desires without asking anybody's
permission. In this I'm ably assisted by gun prohibitionists
themselves, whose yawping invariably moves previously unarmed
people to go out and buy their first gun "while they still can".
Before the '68 Gun Control Act, most of the "shooting fraternity"
viewed handguns (incorrectly, as it turned out) as inaccurate,
ineffective toys. There probably weren't six million of them in
the whole country. Now, thanks to Kennedy, Metzenbaum, the Bradys,
and their ilk -- AMERICA'S GREATEST SPORTING GOODS SALES TEAM -- we
probably manufacture at least that many every year.
The fascinating datum is that Handgun Control, et al. are perfectly
aware of this -- so I guess you'll have to ask them yourself what
their real motives are.
Look: gun-making isn't an arcane or difficult art (and by the way,
it's easier to make a fully automatic weapon than a semiautomatic;
the fact that I can still obtain my own weapon of preference, the
self-loading pistol, is the only thing which keeps me from pursuing
this further). Even if it were difficult, there are already a
quarter billion firearms in America, with an estimated "half life"
of 1000 years -- possibly more for stainless steel. Guns are gonna
be around a long time, Adrian, whether you like it or not.
As for me, to paraphrase Elmer Keith, regardless of what the law
provides or any court decides, I'm always going to be armed. And I
will always work to see that others are, as well. The bad news is
that there are thousands more -- perhaps even hundreds of thousands
-- where I come from. We can't be stopped by passing laws, we can
only be forced to arm ourselves and others secretly and -- given
both the practical and alleged differences between full automatics
and semiautomatics -- perhaps more efficiently.
So what's the point?
L. Neil Smith
Author: THE PROBABILITY BROACH, THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE, HENRY MARTYN,
and (forthcoming) PALLAS
LEVER ACTION BBS (303) 493-6674, FIDOnet: 1:306/31.4
Libertarian Second Amendment Caucus
NRA Life Member | 9 | trimmed_train |
4,588 | Thanks to Tarl Neustaedter of MA for kindly letting me know that my
reference in prior post to Orwell and "1984" should probably have been to
Huxley and "Brave New World."
Sorry, Al. | 19 | trimmed_train |
6,379 | Hello again folks!
Been a while since I last sold thangs, but the last time went with no problems,
and I'm moving again, so I have a few keyboard stands that I don't need
anymore and don't want to drag back across the country.
---
Ultimate Support Stand:
**Probably SOLD, will see if it is gone by Saturday (pick-up date).
---
Rok-Steady 3-tier keyboard stand:
$95 or best offer (try me)
one x-shaped bottom unit, with two sets of "arms" that attach
to that to support keyboard (2) above the main "X".
---
Shipping not included in the above prices, but details can be worked out
if you're interested in these items.
dan keldsen - [email protected] | 5 | trimmed_train |
5,088 | I want to press a function key and have a text string appear in an
XmText widget. When I put
*XmText.Translations: #augment \n\
<Key>F1: insert-string(HELLO)
in my resource file, the translation doesn't happen. If I put
*XmText.Translations: <Key>F1: insert-string(HELLO)
in the file, I get the text string HELLO when F1 is pressed, but no other
keys work, which makes sense since the default translation mode is "replace".
Do I have a syntax problem here, or something deeper? | 16 | trimmed_train |
1,008 |
I have been able to successfully use both 16 and 24 bit color modes on my
Gateway system, although my setup is less complicated than yours. It sounds as
if you may have a hardware conflict or problem. Is your memory aperture above
16M? I have heard rumors of incompatibilities with that SCSI card with a
variety of systems. Call up Gateway and give them hell until they help you
fix it.
Dan
| 3 | trimmed_train |
3,643 | One of those "morning, just getting the coffee in me" thoughts:
Waving at other bikers makes more sense than just "Hey, how's it going,
nice to meet you on the road, have a good ride"
1) If you're watching for other bikes to wave to, it means your attention
is on the road, where it should be, and you're more likely to see cages. | 12 | trimmed_train |
6,128 |
Apparently, Microsoft came out with a new product: MS-Braille it is suppose
to be "WYTIWIG". :-)
No offense.
| 18 | trimmed_train |
913 | The recent rise of nostalgia in this group, combined with the
incredible level of utter bullshit, has prompted me to comb
through my archives and pull out some of "The Best of Alt.Atheism"
for your reading pleasure. I'll post a couple of these a day
unless group concensus demands that I stop, or I run out of good
material.
I haven't been particularly careful in the past about saving
attributions. I think the following comes from John A. Johnson,
but someone correct me if I'm wrong. This is probably the longest
of my entire collection.
________________________________________________________
So that the
Prophecy be
Fulfilled
* * *
In considering the Christian religion, and judging it
according to its claims, it is important to look at its claims at
fulfilling earlier Jewish prophecy. The scribe Matthew is perhaps
the most eager to draw out what he thinks are prophetic answers in
the career of Jesus of Nazareth. As you will see, Matthew's main
strategy is to take various Old Testament passages, often not even
about the promised Messiah, and apply them to the circumstances in
the New Testament. We must also bear in mind the question of the
authenticity of the accounts. Since the gospels were written at
least 35 years after Jesus was executed, we do not know how much
happened exactly as stated. But, for purposes of analysis, we
will take particular claims at face value.
Immanuel:
We begin, of course, at the beginning.
(Mt 1.21-22): "[Mary] will bear a son, and you,
Joseph, will name him 'Jesus' (which means G'd is
salvation), for he will save his people from their
sins." All this happened to fulfil what the lord had
spoken by a prophet:
[Isaiah 7.1-16]: In the days of Ahaz (c. 750 BCE),
king of Judah, Rezin of Syria and Pekah of Israel made
war on Jerusalem (capitol of Judah), but could not
quite conquer it. When the house of David (i.e. Ahaz
and his court in Judah) were told of this, ...its
heart and the heart of its people shook... And, the
lord G'd said to Isaiah, "go to meet with Ahaz..."
...And the lord spoke to Ahaz (through prophet Isaiah,
naturally) saying, "Ask a sign of G'd your lord. It
can be as deep as Sheol or as high as heaven." But,
Ahaz said, "I won't ask; I will not put the lord to a
test." Then (Isaiah) said, "Hear then, O house of
David. Is it not enough for you to weary men, that
you must weary my god too? Therefore, the lord
himself will give you a sign: Behold, a young woman
is with child and will bear a son, and name him
"Immanuel," which means, "G'd is with us." He will
eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse evil
and choose good. For, before the child knows how to
refuse evil and choose good, the land of the two kings
you dread will have been deserted...
Matthew homes in on just the sentence that is in italics.
Further, he the Hebrew word "almah," (young woman), as
specifically, "virgin." But, this is not a prophecy about the
Messiah. It is not a prophecy about an event to happen 750 years
later. It is not a prophecy about a virgin (bethulah) mother. In
short, it not about Jesus. Matthew has made use of a verse out of
context, and tries to make it fit the specific case of Mary. It
should be noted that if we want to read the prophecy in a general
manner, a very general one, it can be made to fit Mary. Mary,
virgin or not, was indeed a young woman with child. Of course,
the fit is shady and has problems. Jesus, while thought of by
later Christians to be G'd walking among men, was never called by
the name, Immanuel. If Christianity wished to claim this prophecy
for Jesus, it becomes at best a cut-and-paste prophecy... a second
class prophecy. Not too convincing.
Egypt:
After Jesus's birth in Bethlehem, Matthew tells about a
quick (and elsewhere unmentioned) excursion to Egypt, as if he
wishes to liken Jesus to Moses. This was done to escape an
alleged infanticidal rampage of the king, Herod.
[Mt 2.15] ...and remained there until the death of
Herod. This was to fulfil what the lord had spoken:
"Out of Egypt I have cal-led my son."
What the lord really said was this.
[Hosea 11.1] When Israel was a child, I loved him.
And, out of Egypt I called my son. The more I called
them (my people), the more they went from me; they
kept sacrificing to the Ba'als, and kept burning
incense to idols.
Matthew conveniently omits the rest of Hosea's oracle. But, it
was indeed Israel that, once called out of Egypt, wanted to
return. This is history. Jesus is certainly not being spoken of
here. And, if we are to draw some kind of parallel here, we wind
up with a Jesus that flees and resists G'd. Again, this prophecy
is just not as convincing as Matthew probably had hoped.
Rachel Weeps:
While Jesus is off vacationing in Egypt, Matthew says that
King Herod sought to kill him, and thus ordered the executions of
all young male children. Matthew then writes,
[Mt 2.17-18] By this, that which was spoken by the
prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:
"A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud
lamentation-- Rachel weeping for her children;
she refused to be consoled, because they were
no more."
The reference is to a passage in Jeremiah 31.15, referring to the
carrying off of Israel into exile by Sargon (of Assyria) in 722
BCE. Rachel, the ancestor of the major tribes of Israel, Ephraim,
and Manasseh, is said to weep for her descendants who are "no
more." It is metaphorical, of course, since Rachel lived and dies
before the Hebrews were even in the Egyptian exile.
It is interesting to note that it was Leah, not Rachel, who
was the ancestor of the Judeans (the land where Jesus and
Bethlehem were). If anyone should do weeping for her "children,"
it is Leah. The only connexion that Rachel has with Bethlehem is
that the legends have it that she was buried north of the city,
"on the way to Ephrath, (Bethlehem)."
As for Herod and his infanticide, it is rather unlikely
that such an event actually occurred. One never knows, but the
event is not mentioned or alluded to anywhere else in the Bible,
nor is it mentioned in any of the secular records of the time.
Herod was particularly unliked in his reign, and many far less
evil deeds of Herod were carefully recorded. This might be a
prime example of how events were added to Jesus's life to enhance
the message of the church's gospel.
Because of the whole story's similarity to the tale of the
infant Moses in Egypt, it is highly likely that it is a device set
up by Matthew to add prophetic, yet artificial, approval of Jesus.
It is not surprising that Matthew conveniently neglects to mention
the rest of the Jeremiah quote. The "children" the prophet
speaks of are not dead, but exiled in the Assyrian Empire. G'd
comforts the weeping Rachel, saying that the children will be
returned-- he will gather them back together. Of course, this
would not suit Matthew's purpose, as the children he speaks of are
dead for good. Again, the "prophecy" Matthew sets up is not even
that, and to anyone who bothers to check it out, is not too
convincing.
The Nazarene:
We do not even have to go to the next chapter to find
another Matthean prophecy. After leaving Egypt, Joseph & wife
take the infant Jesus to live in the city of Nazareth,
[Mt 2.23] ...that what was spoken of by the prophets
might be fulfilled, "He shall be called a Nazarene."
First thing we notice is that Matthew does not mention the name of
the prophet(s) this time. Second, we have to ask who "He" is.
There are no Messianic prophecies speaking of a Nazarene. Worse,
there are no prophecies, period, mentioning a Nazarene. Still
worse, there are no Nazarenes mentioned in the Old Testament at
all. In the book of Judges, an angel tells Samson's mother that
she will,
[Judges 13.5] "...conceive and bear a son. No razor
shall tough his head, for he will be a Nazirite to his
god from the day of his birth. He will deliver Israel
from the hands of the Philistines."
This is of course not a prophecy of Jesus, or the messiah of G'd.
But, it is the best that can be found. Obviously, Matthew has
begun to go overboard in cut-and-paste prophecies, in that he is
simple making them up now.
Bearing our
Diseases:
Jesus next goes around healing people of physical illnesses
and disabilities.
[Mt 8.17] This was to fulfil what was spoken by the
prophet Isaiah, "He took our infirmities and bore our
diseases."
As expected, the verse quoted in Isaiah is quoted out of context,
and a few words are skewed to fit the Christian scheme. We have,
[Is 53.4] Surely he, [the suffering servant], has
borne our sickness, and carried our pains.
From a reading of the surrounding passages in Isaiah, we know that
the prophet is speaking in present tense of the collective nation
of Israel, Jehovah's chosen servant and people. He speaks to the
Israelites suffering in exile, in the voice of the gentile nations
that look upon it. This image is deeply ingrained in Jewish
identity --an image of a chastised, yet cherished, Israel as the
instrument of the nations' salvation by G'd.
The verses speak of Israel taking on the sicknesses which
are the literal and metaphorical manifestations of guilt and
discipline. They do not speak of a "servant" going around and
healing people. Notice that the servant in Isaiah takes on the
sicknesses and pains of the nations (and individual Jews). Jesus,
as we all know, did not take the diseases onto himself. The
verses here in Isaiah are not a prophecy of something to come, but
rather something that had already happened. While it is believed
that Jesus took on the eternal punishment of hell, he did not bear
the illnesses he healed. So, while someone might want to say
that, figuratively, Jesus reenacted the deeds of Israel in his
spiritual atonement, he has to admit that Matthew's parallel
misses where he intended it to have its effect.
Silent Messiah:
Upon healing multitudes of commoners, it is said that Jesus
ordered them to keep quiet, presumable so that he wouldn't arouse
the attention of the local rulers.
[Mt 12.15-21] This was to fulfill what was spoken by
the prophet Isaiah.
"Behold my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved,
with whom my soul is pleased. I will put my spirit on
him, and he will announce justice to the Gentiles. He
will not wrangle or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear
his voice in the streets. He will not break a bruised
reed or quench a smoldering wick until he brings
justice to victory, and the gentiles will hope in his
name."
The Isaiah passage quoted reads,
[Is 42.1-4] Behold my servant whom I uphold, my
chosen, in whom my soul delights. I have put my
spirit on him, and he will bring forth justice to the
nations. We will not cry or lift up his voice, or
make it heard in the street. He will not break a
bruised reed, or quench a smoldering wick. He will
faithfully bring forth justice. He will not fail
(burn dimly) or be discouraged (bruised) until he has
established justice in the earth. And the coastlands
await his law.
You see, Matthew has conveniently left out part of the passage,
because it does not suit the dealings of Jesus. Christians could
never think of Jesus failing, never would the "light" of mankind
burn dimly. But, the servant nation of Israel will indeed come to
an end when its job is done. When the gentiles come to embrace
G'd there will no longer be a chosen people, but rather all will
be the children of G'd. Also, the ending phrase has been changed
from the Judaic "...the coastlands await his law." to the
Christologic, "the Gentiles will hope in his name." While the
original proclaims the Torah law of Jehovah, the other rewrites it
to fit its strange doctrine of "believing in the name." If one
has any doubt the servant referred to is not Jesus, one has only
to read the whole chapter, Isaiah 42, and hear about the beloved
but blind and imperfect servant, "a people robbed and
plundered..." So, we see that when Matthew's attempt at
"prophecy" is examined, it crumbles.
Three Days and
Three Nights:
Now we come upon a prophecy supposedly uttered by the very
mouth of the god Jesus himself. He speaks of his crucifixion and
resurrection.
[Mt 12.40] For as Jonah was in the belly of the
whale for three days and three nights, so will the Son
of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and
three nights.
Before any further discussion can occur, it is necessary to know
how the Jews understood days. As far as day names went, each was
24 hours long, lasting from sunset 6pm to the following sunset
6pm. What was referred to as a "day" was the period of light from
6am to the ending sunset at 6pm. Thus, according to our time
scale, a sabbath day began at 6pm Friday evening, and lasted until
6pm saturday evening. This is why the Jews celebrate their
sabbath on the daylight portion of Saturdays, instead of Sundays.
(It seems like a real miracle that Christians didn't forget that
Saturday was indeed the seventh and last day of the week!) Thus,
when days and nights are referred to together, 12 hour daylight
portions and 12 hour night periods are being spoken of. Thus,
Jesus says that he will be in the grave, or in hell, or otherwise
unresurrected for three days and three nights.
As the good book tells us, Jesus was crucified on the "ninth
hour," which is 3pm, Friday afternoon. He then was put into the
grave sometime after that. Then, Jesus left the grave, "rose,"
before dawn of what we call Sunday (The dawn after the sabbath was
over). What this means is that Jesus was, using our time for
clarity, in the grave from 6pm Friday night to some time before
6am Sunday morning. We could also add a little time before 6pm
Friday, since the bible is not specific here. What this means
using Jewish time is that he was in the grave for one day, two
nights, and possibly a couple of hours of one day. Certainly this
is a problem for Jesus prediction. There is absolutely no way we
are even able to have his death involve three days and three
nights --even using modern time measurements. We then are led to
suspect that this error is another one of Matthew's little
mistakes, and that the gospel writer put false words into his
god's mouth. And no matter who made the prediction, it is more
than unconvincing... it is counter-convincing.
Hearing &
Understanding:
Jesus tool on a habit of speaking to his vast audiences in
parables-- stories in which a deeper meaning could be found, if
you were already one of the elect, those chosen to understand the
message of Jesus. He reasons that those who can understand the
parables are the ones he wants. If the people cannot understand
them, there is no need to bother with them, since they will not
accept the "plain" message any better. Matthew says,
[Mt 13.14-16] With them [the audience] indeed in
fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah which says,
"You will indeed hear but never understand; and you
will indeed see, but never perceive. Because this
people's heart has grown dull, their ears are heavy of
hearing, and they have shut their eyes so the they
would not perceive with them, her with their ears, and
understand with their heart, and turn for me to heal
them."
The original Isaiah passages are part of his earlier works, his
call to the ministry. This is in 740 BCE, when Israel is
flourishing, right before it falls under the authority of Assyria.
Isaiah sees the good times ending, and also a vision from G'd,
calling him to bring reform to Israel and Judah.
[Is 6.9-13] And G'd said, "Go, and say to this
people, `Hear and hear, but do not understand; see and
see, but do not perceive.' Make the heart of this
people fat, make their ears heavy, and shut their
eyes, so they will not see with their eyes, or hear
with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and
turn and be healed." Then Isaiah said, "How long,
lord?" And he said, "Until the cities lie waste
without inhabitant, and houses without men, and the
land is utterly desolate, and the G'ds take men far
away, and forsaken places are many in the land. And
though a tenth will remain in it, it will be burned
again, like a terebinth or an oak whose stump still
stands when the tree is felled." The holy seed is its
stump.
Here we see that it is really G'd who causes the people of Israel
to stop listening to the prophet's warnings, but reaffirms the
promise made to Solomon's (and David's) seed/lineage. If you read
the rest of Isaiah, you find that this is done to fulfil the plan
of G'd to use Israel as a servant, a light to the nations. (Look
at Isaiah 42.18-25, 48.20, 49.3)
We see that Matthew has cut-and-pasted just a little portion
of Isaiah's verse, to suit his own gospel needs. More than that,
he has altered the words, to make it fit the people who didn't
understand Jesus's stories. And, as we see, Isaiah's verses are
not prophecies, but rather commands from G'd to him, in the
present. Once again, Matthew's prophecy falls flat on its face.
Matthew tries again to make Jesus's parables look like they
have the prophetic approval.
[Mt 13.35] ...he said nothing to them without a
parable. This was to fulfil what was spoken of by the
prophet, "I will open my mouth to them in parables. I
will utter that which has been hidden since the
foundation of the world."
Matthew really botches up here. He attempts to quote not from a
prophet, but from the Psalms.
[Ps 78.2-4] I will open my mouth in parable. I will
utter dark sayings of old, things that we all have
heard and known, things that our fathers have told us.
We will not hide them from their children, but tell to
the coming generation the glorious deeds of the
lord...
As was pointed out, the verses in the Psalms do not really come
from a prophet. You might also want to know that earlier copies
of Matthew's gospel even inserted Isaiah's name as this prophet.
Apparently, later scribes caught the error and tried to cover some
of it up.
Perhaps the most significant part of this is that, once
again, Matthew has altered the Old Testament Scriptures. As Jesus
has said earlier, he speaks in parables so that some will not
understand them. The parables in the Psalms are not to be hidden.
Further, they speak of things "known, that our fathers have told
us." Jesus deals with things "hidden since the foundation of the
world." Indeed Jesus dealt in a lot of secrecy and confusion.
This is in direct opposition to the parables in the Psalms. No
wonder Matthew had to rewrite them! And still once again,
Matthew's artificial prophecies fall flat on their face. But,
Christians rarely look at this. Matthew's prophecies aren't the
only things about Christianity that are beginning to look bad.
Excuses of
Little Faith:
In Mt. 17.14-21, we see that the disciples are able to go
around casting out demons, except in one case. Not knowing what
epilepsy was, the people thought those with the disease were
possesed with demons. It is no wonder that the disciples were
unable to "dispossess" the epileptic. But, Jesus, perhaps no more
enlightened than they, is reported to have rebuked them, saying
they didn't have enough faith. This seems strange. Why was this
demon special? It seems that either a true believer has faith or
he does not. Apparently, enough faith will allow someone to move
mountains. Of course, you will find no one, these days that can
move real mountains. No one parts seas. The only miracles the
Charismatics can speak of are those rumoured to happen on trips to
Mexico or some faraway place. Major miracles are making some old
woman's arthritis feel better on Sunday morning T.V.
And the gods, including Jesus, are always shrouded in
ancient lore and writings, protected from the skeptics in their
sacred pasts. They are either dead, sleeping, or hiding in
heaven, with people rumouring about their imminent return and
their great miracles of days long gone. Yet, life goes on.
Tales of mystics, stories of miracles-- all in a distant time
or a distant place. Gods used to reveal themselves to men in the
old days, Jehovah too. But, now they are silent. All the
theologians give are various excuses as to why we don't get to see
God anymore.
We're too lazy; we're not zealous enough; we're
sinful; it's just his "plan"; we put too many of our
own demands on G'd's appearance; if we had the right
faith, if we were willing to meet G'd on his terms...
Yet, even the most pious of men have not seen G'd. You, dear
reader, have not seen G'd. Not literally, you know that to be
true. (I know that's presumptuous and bold. But, searching your
heart, you know what I mean.) All that we've seen religions do is
make people feel good and content about not seeing G'd. They say
our little faith does not merit us to see G'd. Sometimes, they
say, "See the love in these people you worship with... see the
lives of people change... that is seeing G'd." Thus people get
lulled to sleep, satisfied with turning G'd into the everyday
sights. But, that is not seeing G'd as I am speaking of... it is
not seeing G'd the way people used to see.
What we see in the world that is good, is the compassion of
human hearts, the love given and taken by men and women, the
forgiveness practised by Christian & Atheist alike, beauty created
by the mind of man. These are the things that are done; these are
what we see. But, it is said this is so only because everybody
has little faith.
Jesus Rides on
an Ass:
Shortly after accepting the role of the Jewish messiah
king, Jesus requests a donkey be brought in for him to ride into
Jerusalem.
[Mt 21.5] This took place to fulfil what was spoken
by the prophet, saying,
Tell the daughter of Zion, "Behold, your king is
coming to you, humble, mounted on an ass, and on a
ass-colt."
Of course, the passage quoted from Zechariah 9.9 reads a little
differently.
Lo, your king comes to you; he is triumphant and
victorious, humble, and riding on an ass, on an ass-
colt... he will command peace to the nations.
There isn't all that much difference here, except that Zechariah
only involves one animal --an ass-colt-- while Matthew reads the
poetic wording slightly differently. Thus, he has Jesus call for
both a colt and an adult ass. From Matthew's version, we get a
comical picture of the divine Christ sweating it to straddle two
donkeys. This could inevitably lead to a theological,
proctological dilemma! We find that in the account written
earlier by St. Mark, only the colt was called for and brought to
Jesus. This indeed fits the verses of Zechariah properly, and
shows us that in Matthew attempt to use prophetic verses, he has
bungled. Now, excluding many respectable Christians I have met, I
have noticed that while Christ is thought to have ridden on asses,
the situation is often reversed nowadays...
Then, entering the Jerusalem temple, the priests were
angered at people and youngsters calling Jesus the messiah. But,
Jesus replied as we might expect Matthew to have done,
[Mt 21.16] Haven't you read? `Out of the mouth of
babes and sucklings thou has brought perfect praise.'
It is more likely that Matthew made this response up since Jesus
was never one to point out such little "prophetic" things AND
since, as we might expect, the quote is in error, which seems to
fit Matthew's track record quite well. We might ask Jesus or
Matthew, "Haven't you read?" for the source reads,
[Psalms 8.1-2] O YaHWeH our lord, how majestic is
your name in the whole world! You, whose glory is
chanted above the heavens by babes and infants, you
have founded a bulwark against your foes to still the
enemy and the avenger.
The passages hardly need comment. There is no "perfect praise"
spoken of in the psalm, and what praise is there is given to G'd,
not his messiah king, and not Jesus. As mentioned, it seems to be
just one more case of Matthew's pen making up convenient prophetic
scripture.
YHVH said to
my lord...:
Jesus is said to have asked from whom the promised Jewish
messiah-king is to be descended. The Jews agree-- it is king
David. But, then Jesus counters by quoting Psalms 110,
"The LORD said to my Lord, sit at my right hand, until
I put your enemies under your feet."
Taken at face value, Jesus is denying the necessity of Davidic
descent. One assumes he is in opposition to their answer. Of
course, the Christian answer is that he agrees, but is trying to
make some hidden point, to reveal some mystery about the divine
nature of the messiah-king. It's tempting to believe this, if one
is a Christian and not interested in matters of investigation.
But, there are problems.
In Jesus's time, the psalm was thought to be about the
messiah. And, it is easy to see why David might refer to the
messiah as his superior. We need only look at the scriptures
about the messiah to see that he is expected to be a great king,
bringing the Jews to times even better than those under David's
rule. Of course, the Jews listening had no good answer, and the
passage could indeed refer to a divine messiah, such as the
Christians worship. The problem lies in the meaning of this
psalm, an error that apparently several Jews of Jesus's time had
also made. One must remember that there were various factions
among the Jews, often as a result of different expectations of the
messiah-king. Jesus was apparently one of these adventists, like
his audience, who thought the messiah's advent was imminent, and
who interpreted Psalms 110, among others, as being messianic.
What is the problem, then? Psalm 110 literally reads,
YHVH's utterance to my lord:
"Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your
footstool."
YHVH sends forth your mighty scepter from Zion. Rule
in the midst of your foes! Your people will offer
themselves freely on the day you lead your host on the
holy mountains.
"You are a priest of the order of Melchizedek
forever."
The word "lord" is often mistakenly capitalised by Christian
bibles to denote divinity in this lord. But, in the Hebrew, the
word is "adoni," and no capitalisation exists. Adoni simply means
"lord," a generic term as we would use it. It is used often in
the scriptures to refer to kings and to G'd. It is merely an
address of respect.
There is nothing in the text itself to imply that the word
refers either to divinity or to the messiah-king. That this is
supposed to be written by David is not certain. The title of the
psalm translates to either "a psalm of David," or "a psalm about
David." It seems fitting to assume it to be written by a court
poet, about David's covenant and endorsement from G'd. If the
psalm had been written by David, it is unlikely that he would be
talking about the messiah. The idea of a perfect king, descended
from David, was not present in David's age. We have extensive
tales of David's doings and sayings-- none of which include any
praises of a messiah.
Many of the psalms show evidence of being written long after
David was dead, in times of the exile when G'd had put his show of
favour for David's kingdom on hold.
The description in the psalm fit David very well. David was
promised by G'd a rise to power, victory over his enemies,
successful judgement among the nations he conquered. He achieved
the priesthood common to Melchizedek in being a righteous king,
enabled to bless the people. It all fits.
We do not have to blame this problem on Matthew alone,
though. Here, there is not artificial prophecy alluded to, though
his use of the scripture is rather questionable. Still, this
event is common to the other gospels too. So, we let Matthew off
a little more easily this time. It is interesting to note,
though, how Matthew dresses up the event. The earlier gospel of
Mark tells the tale with Jesus simply speaking to a crowd.
Matthew has the Pharisees, who became the religious competition of
an infant Christianity, be the target of Jesus's question. As we
might expect, Matthew writes that the event ends up by
embarrassing the Pharisees. Such power is the pen.
Moses & Jesus,
Had it Together
All Along...:
We leave the gospel story of Matthew momentarily to see a
pseudo-prophecy in John's gospel. The gospel story of John
deserves special treatment, because it seems to be so far removed
from the real events of Jesus's career as told by even Matthew.
But, for the moment, we will just look at one verse. The early
church leaders founded a religion on the Jewish hopes of a messiah
king, and on an artificial extension of the original promises made
by G'd. When constructing the history of Abraham, Moses wrote of
a promise of land and nationhood to the Jewish people. While this
was accomplished eventually, under the rule of king David, the
Christians who came along later decided that they would claim the
fulfillment of the promise. But, to do so, they expanded on the
promise, preaching about a heavenly kingdom.
[John 8.56] (J.C. speaking) Your father, Abraham,
rejoiced to see My day. He say it and was glad.
It would be nice to tie in approval for Jesus from Abraham, but,
Abraham knew nothing of Jesus or a messiah, or anything Christian.
I have tried, and failed to find any event in the Old Testament
which corresponds to John's little prophecy. It is par for the
course to see St. John making up Old Testament backings, just like
his forerunner Matthew. Many Christians know that their faith has
many of its foundations in such fraud, and it is surprising they
still cling to it.
The Potter's
Field:
We are told that Jesus was betrayed while in Jerusalem by
one of his followers, Judas Iscariot. Matthew writes,
[Mt 27.5-10] And throwing down the pieces of silver
in the temple, [Judas] departed... But, the chief
priests, taking the silver, said, "It isn't lawful for
us to put it in the treasury, since it is blood
money." So they... bought a potter's field with it to
bury strangers in... Then was fulfilled what was
spoken by the prophet Jeremiah,
"And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price
of him on whom a price had been set by some of the
sons of Israel, and they gave them for the potter's
field, as the lord directed me."
This prophecy is an utterly gross bastardisation of Old Testament
Scripture. First, Matthew has made a mistake regarding the name
of the prophet. It is Zechariah who utters the verses which
Matthew makes use of.
[Zech. 11.12-13] ...And they weighed out my wages,
thirty shekels of silver. Then YHVH said to me, "Cast
them to the treasury," --the lordly price at which I
was paid off by them. So I took the thirty shekels of
silver and cast them into the treasury in the house of
YHVH.
First of all, the verses of Zechariah do not deal with a betrayer
of the messiah, or of G'd. The deal with a shepherd, most likely
a priest, chosen to serve a function of presiding over the people
shortly before G'd would send Judah and Israel into conflict with
one another. The word, "treasury," had been replaced by the King
James Scholars with "to the potter," precisely because this made
Matthew's quote fit better. But, this is a blatant error. The
correct translation of the Hebrew is indeed "treasury," which also
makes perfect sense in Zechariah's context, whereas "potter's
field" is totally unrelated. Whether the mistranslation was
intentional or not seems to be beyond speculation. However, given
Matthew's track record, one finds it hard to resist the notion of
intentional dishonesty.
Of course, Matthew would have ample reason for altering the
text. The thirty pieces of silver match Judas's situation, and if
as most Christians seem to be, the reader is willing to disregard
the contextual incongruity, Matthew might have another prophecy to
toss around. However, the correct translation of Zechariah
directly contradicts the situation with Judas and the high
priests. The high priests would not put the money in the
treasury. The worthless shepherd of Zechariah does exactly the
opposite! Of course, to the average Thursday-Night Bible student,
the "prophecy" as presented by Matthew would be taken at New
Testament face value. To those, Matthew's work is convincing
enough.
Wine, Vinegar,
& Casting Lots:
Then, Jesus is led away to be crucified.
[Mt 27.34-35] ...they gave him vinegar to drink,
mingled with gall; but when he tasted it, he would not
drink it. And, when they had crucified him, they
divided his garments among them by casting lots: that
it might be fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet,
"They parted my garments among them, and upon my
vesture did they cast lots."
First of all, the vinegar offered to Jesus is actually common sour
wine, of the type that Roman soldiers drank regularly. We find
that right before Jesus dies, the soldiers themselves give him
some to drink --not polluted with gall.
[Jn 19.28-30] Jesus... said, "I thirst." A bowl of
vinegar stood there, so they put a sponge full of the
vinegar on hyssop and held it to his mouth. When he
had received the vinegar, he said, "It is finished;"
But, Matthew seems to be drawing on, not a passage from the
prophets, but one from the Psalms.
[Ps 69.20-28] I looked for pity, but there was none;
and for comforters, but I found none. They gave me
poison for food (lit. they put gall in my meat), and
for my thirst, they gave me vinegar to drink... Add
to them punishment upon punishment, may they have no
acquittal from thee. Let them be blotted out of the
Book of the Living.
Of course, the sour wine offered to Jesus is done at his request
of drink. This does indeed seem to be a show of pity. The psalm
quoted is about David and his political and military enemies. It
is not about the messiah or Jesus. It is then not surprising that
we run into further problem when we see that the "Jesus" in the
psalm asks G'd for the damnation of the "crucifiers," whereas the
Jesus of the gospels says,
[Lk 23.34] Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, the
don't know what they do!"
Further, Matthew misses with his attempt to create prophecy by
having gall (a bitter substance) put into Jesus's drink, not his
meat, as the psalm stipulates.
With the "prophecy" of the vinegar faulty, we naturally
ask, "What of the casting of lots?" This brings up the 22nd
Psalm, which deserves discussion all by itself. Suffice it now to
say that the fact that Jesus's clothes were divided as told is no
great thing. It turns out that this happened often to any felon
in those days. As we will soon see, it is perhaps the least
erroneous passage of the psalm when applied to Jesus. It does
indeed bring up the interesting question as to the quality of
Jesus's clothes. For a man so removed from worldly possessions,
his ownership of clothes worthy of casting lots raises some
suspicions.
The 22nd Psalm:
This psalm is attributed to David, as a lament of his
condition under the attack of his enemies. It becomes a song of
praise to YHVH and of hope. Taken out of context, parts of it
seem to fit the plight of Jesus at the crucifixion quite well. We
will examine the primary passages.
Verse 1-2: My god, my god! why have you forsaken me?!
Why are you so far from helping me, far from the words
of my groaning? Oh, my god, I cry by day, but you
don't answer, and by night, but find no rest.
Jesus is said to have cried the first sentence while on the cross.
This suggests that the whole psalm is really about Jesus, rather
than king David. Of course, the rest of the first stanza does not
fit as nicely to Jesus or his execution. Jesus is not pictured as
complaining about the whole ordeal, he is supposed to be like "the
lamb led mute before its shearers." Indeed, Jesus doesn't do much
groaning, even when on the cross. He certainly does not cry by
both day and night on the cross.
6-8: But, I am a worm, and no man-- scorned by men...
All who see me mock at me. They make faces and wag
their heads; "He committed his cause to YHVH. So let
him deliver him... for he delights in him."
This seems to fit Jesus's execution pretty well, with the
exception of the Holy messiah being called a worm.
12-13: Many bulls encompass me... they open their
mouths widely at me like a ravening and roaring lion.
16-18: Yea, dogs are round about me, a company of
evildoers encir-cle me, they have pierced my hands and
feet. I can see all my bones... They divide my
garments among them, and cast lost for my raiment.
19-21: But you, YHVH, be not far away! ...Deliver my
soul from the sword, my life from the power of the
dog! Save me from the mouth of the lion, and my
afflicted soul from the horns of the wild bull!
It would seem quite convincing, and I'm sure the early Christian
fathers who wrote of this prophecy thought so too. Unfortunately,
this prophecy has a fatal flaw. The words "have pierced" really
do not exist in the psalm. The correct Hebrew translation is,
16: Yea, dogs are round about me, a company of
evildoers encircles me, like the lion, they are at my
hands and feet...
In Hebrew the phrase "like the lion" and a very rare verb form
which can mean "pierced" differ by one phonetic character. The
word in the Hebrew text is literally, "like the lion" (ka'ari),
which makes sense in the context, and even further fits the animal
imagery employed by the psalm writer. It is convenience that
would urge a Christian to change the word to "ka'aru." But, to
add the needed (yet artificial) weight to the "prophecy" this is
just what the Christian translators have chosen to do. While the
correct translation does not eliminate the psalm from referring to
Jesus, its absence does not say much for the honesty of the
translators.
Apart from the erroneous verse 16, the psalm does not lend
itself to Jesus so easily. Verse 20 speaks of the sufferer being
saved from a sword rather than a cross. This naturally fits the
psalm's true subject, king David. As a side note, we now know
that crucifixions did not pierce the hands, the palms, but rather
the forearms. This doesn't say much in favour of the traditional
thought of a resurrected Jesus showing his disciples the scars on
his palms. But then, facts aren't bound by our religious beliefs.
Matthew escapes culpability this time, as he does not
attempt to draw many direct links between this psalm and his lord
Jesus. But the psalm, like many others, was on the minds of all
the gospel writers when they compiled the stories and
interpretations of Jesus's life and death. How much these
scriptures may have contributed to what actually got written down
is a question that has serious repercussions for Christian
theology. It is easy to see, for those who are not faithful
fundamentalists, how some of the events in the New Testament might
have been "enhanced" by scribes such as the eager Matthew. But,
it does less to speculate than to simply investigate scriptural
matters and prophetic claims. So far, this has not said good
things for St. Matthew.
The reference to the piercing looks a lot like Jesus's
crucifixion. John's gospel recount, written about 70 years after
the fact, tells us at Jesus's execution,
[Jn 19.34,37] But one of the soldiers pierced his
side with a spear, and out came blood and water...
these things took place that Scripture be fulfilled...
"The will look on him whom they've pierced."
Of course, this is built on a passage taken blatantly out of
context. Prophet Zechariah tells us how much of the nation of
Israel will split off from Jerusalem and Judah and go to war with
them.
[Zc 12.7-10] And YHVH will give victory to Judah...
And on that day, I will seek to destroy the nations
that come against Jerusalem (in Judah). And I will
pour a spirit of compassion and supplication... on
Jerusalem so that when they look on him who they have
pierced, they will mourn, and weep bitterly over him
like you weep over a firstborn child.
John's attempt to make up prophecy is perhaps weaker that
Matthew's attempts. Matthew, at least, usually excontexts more
than just one passage. John's errors are grossly obvious and
blatant here. It does not speak well for any of the gospel
writers, as it helps to show how the prophetic aspects of their
religion were founded.
Reckoned with
Transgressors:
After his arrest, Jesus is quickly executed for claiming
the Jewish kingship, messiahship. According to one version of
the gospel tale, Jesus gets executed along with two thieves.
[Mk 15.27] And with him they crucified two robbers,
one on his right, one on his left. And so the
scripture was fulfilled which says,
"He was reckoned with the transgressors."
Here, Mark is trying to link Jesus to a passage in Isaiah 53,
about the servant nation of Israel. The passage is not about the
messiah, for if one reads the whole chapter of Isaiah 53, and its
surrounding chapters, one sees that the servant is a nation. The
verses are also about what this servant has gone through in the
past, not a prediction of what is to come, in any event. The
servant is thought of as a criminal. This also happens to fit the
description of Jesus. Had the passage really been about the
messiah, it still is not at all clear why executing Jesus between
two thieves would fulfill the "prophecy" in Isaiah. Jesus would
more fittingly fulfill it with his whole ministry. He was
considered a blasphemer and troublemaker all throughout his
career. Locking onto a single event is a rather poor way to
steal prophecy, at least in this case, as we see that Mark could
have had made a better analogy with general comparisons.
Mark goes on to tell us how "those who were crucified with
[Jesus] also reviled him." [15.32] This is to be expected from a
couple of robbers. Of course in his later recount, St. Luke
decides to change some things. Luke tells us,
[Lk 23.39-43] And one of the criminals who was hanged
with him railed, "Aren't you the messiah?! Save
yourself, and us!"
This certainly fits with Mark's recount, which tells how the
people who crucified Jesus said, "Save yourself!" and that the
robbers did the same. But then Luke goes on,
But the other [criminal] rebuked [the first] saying,
"Don't you fear G'd, since you are under the same
sentence of condemnation? And we, indeed justly so,
for we are receiving the due reward for our deeds.
But, this man has done nothing wrong. And he said,
"Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingdom."
And Jesus answered, "Verily I say to you, today you
will be with me in paradise."
Now, this little dialogue seems highly contrived. It stretches
the imagination a bit to see this picture of one ruffian rebuking
his fellow criminal with such eloquent speech. We have a rather
strange picture of a criminal lamenting over the goodness of his
punishment and the justness of his suffering. Such a man,
apparently noble and of principle, doesn't seem likely to have
been a robber. We wonder at the amount of theatrics created by
Luke. Of course, Luke's recount also disagrees with Mark's.
Luke has only one criminal revile Jesus, not both. It is easy
enough to discount the discrepancy because the account was made
up, but those who wish to believe it is all part of the error free
words of G'd do not have this avenue open. This is yet another
example of a writer trying to take an Old Testament passage and
expand it and reinterpret it to suit his theology. In this case,
the embroidery creates some embarrassing problems, as we have
seen.
The End of the
World--
Mt. 24:
Now comes perhaps one of the most extraordinary and
embarrassing passages in the New Testament. It is found in all
three of the synoptic gospel stories, and casts some of the most
unfavourable doubt on the whole theory of Christianity. Jesus
mentions the destruction of the Jewish temples and buildings, and
his disciples ask him about this, and about the end of the world
which he has been warning about.
The disciples: Tell us, when will this [the temple's
destruction] be, and what will be the sign of your
coming, and of the close of the age?
Jesus: Take care that no one leads you astray, for
many will come in my name, saying, "I am the christ."
...you will hear of wars and rumours of wars... for
this must take place, but the end is not yet. For,
nation will rise against nation... all this is but the
beginning of the birthpangs.
They will deliver you up... put you to death,
and false prophets will arise and lead many astray.
...But he who endures to the end will be saved. This
gospel will be preached throughout the whole world, a
testimony to the nations, and then the end will come.
So, when you see the desolation spoken of by the
prophet Daniel, ...let those who are in Judea flee to
the mountains.
Immediately after the tribulation of those days,
the sun will be darkened... the stars will fall from
heaven... then will appear the sign of the Son of Man
in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn,
and see the Son of Man coming... and he will send out
his angels... and gather his elect...
Learn the lesson of the fig tree: as soon as its
branch becomes tender and puts forth leaves, you know
that summer is near. So also, when you see all these
things, you will know that He is near, at the very
gate. Truly I say to you, this generation will not
pass away until all these things take place...
But, of the day and hour, no one knows; not the
angels, not the Son, but only the Father... Therefore,
you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming
at an hour you do not expect.
From this, it is clear that Jesus thought the world would in
within the lifetimes of at least some of his disciples. He tells
them that although he doesn't know the exact day or hour, that it
will come, and thus they must be ready. Theologians have wet
their pants in panic to find some way out of this Holy Error.
But, unfortunately, Jesus made himself to explicit. He told his
disciples that their generation would still be around at the End,
and that they in particular should prepare for it, prepare to be
swept away.
There have been some who resorted to removing the inerrant
nature of the Bible, and said that the phrase, "this generation
shall not pass away..." really means "this race of people will not
pass away..." Of course, the word for generation is used many
times to refer to exactly that, the generation of the disciples.
It is an interesting notion that when God decided to learn Greek,
he didn't learn it well enough to make himself clear. But. it is
quite obvious from the rest of the dialogue that the disciples (at
least some of them) are supposed to live to the End of the World.
The charge of mistranslation is completely blown away by looking
at the Apostles' responses. It becomes abundantly clear from
Rev. 22.7, 1 Peter 4.7, 1 John 2.18, and Rev. 22.20, that Jesus
meant exactly what he said. The End was very near.
For 2,000 years, Christians have rationalised this 24th
chapter of Matthew, or ignored its meaning altogether. For 2,000
years, they have waited for their executed leader to come back,
hearing of wars, and rumours of wars, sure that He is coming soon.
Surely He must be. All we must do is wait. Can you imagine how
tired He must be, sitting around up there, being holy, waiting for
just the right moment to spring?
So, shortly after his crucifixion, Jesus of Nazareth,
(Joshua-ben-Joseph), died. It is said that after three days, or
three days and three nights, or three periods of time, or three
eternal seconds --or three of whatever they can decide makes for
less trouble-- he was seen again, resurrected, glowing with divine
radiance. Then the Saviour decided it wasn't in the best
interests of his new religion to stick around, and therefore
disappeared from sight into heaven. So the story goes, anyway.
As has been seen, there were many things attributed to Jesus when
people got around to writing the gospel stories down. To them,
Jesus was the fulfiller of all prophecy and scripture. We have
seen, though, that this matter is quite shaky. But, throughout
Church history, Christians have held fast to faith, in simple
belief. What doctrinal objections could not be solved with
argumentation or brute force, faith and forgetfulness kept away
from question. To question and investigate has never been the
easiest way to treat matters. Thus for 2,000 years, the
prophecies cited in the New Testament have gone on largely
accepted. Things may well continue that way for some time.
Pausing a moment to consider the way the doctrines of Christianity
have been accepted and used (properly or improperly) to support
wars and persecution, I suppose there is one prophecy of which
Christianity can securely keep hold. | 8 | trimmed_train |
8,515 |
Let's start over. I'm not arguing about who is the better goaltender. I'd
take Soderstrom right now. What I am saying is that Roussel can be a #1
netminder. The GAA difference is less than half a goal per game (less than
that after last night), their save percentages are close, and their records
are similar. And with that, I just don't see how you can label Roussel as
the most disappointing player on the Flyers this season.
You say Soderstrom played against better competition. That may very well
be, but there is no way of knowing how Roussel would have performed in
those games. Besides, against the better scoring teams like Pittsburgh,
the defense is more keyed up than they are against San Jose.
But I'm not just judging Roussel on that game alone. I've seen him play
for the past two seasons in Philly and before that in Hershey. It's just
my opinion, but I think he's got what it takes. Of course, I thought that
about Mark LaForest, too. But I never did about Wendell Young. So I'm
batting .500 in judging Hershey talent since the Hextall-era.
As for the Rangers game, you can say he was saved by a mistake by the
offensive player if you like. But Rou had his leg in position to make the
save. If he didn't, it wouldn't have mattered if the Rangers player didn't
get the puck up or not. It would have been a goal. On a breakaway that's
what the goalie wants to do, take away as much as possible and force the
shooter to beat him.
I seem to remember Roussel doing an excellent job against Pittsurgh on
opening night to give the Flyers a tie against the two-time defending
champs. And not to take anything away from Soderstrom because he was
senational in that game agains the Habs. But you can't tell me that a
Montreal player had an open net to shoot at some point during that game
and just flat out missed it. Mistakes, both on offense and defense are
part of the game. Or there'd never be shutouts.
Anyway, I'm happy the Flyers have both Soderstrom and Roussel and
I'm not going to argue about it anymore. Besides, with the current
7-game winning streak and expectations soaring for next year, I
don't want to piss you off to the point that you don't sell me any
tickets next season:-). | 17 | trimmed_train |
3,414 |
He is probably referring to the DOS version.. the dos versions is up
to like version 6 i think. The window version just came out recently
so it is only up to like version 2 or something.
| 5 | trimmed_train |
6,782 |
It's Stankiewicz, not Stankowitz, and he's not Jewish - he's Polish
(by the way, the correct pronunciation - according to Stanky himself,
is "ston-KEV-itch". all the sportscasters get it wrong)
The only other Jewish ballplayer I can think of is Ron Blomberg, who is
best known as being the first DH to appear in a major league ballgame. | 2 | trimmed_train |
3,630 |
Hi,
See Roger Grywalski's response to :
Re: Help on network visualization
in comp.graphics.visualization.
Amongst other things, it does exactly this!
| 1 | trimmed_train |
3,614 |
Not necessarily true; a short in one, if near the maximum series
voltage drop, will overvoltage the other one and short it too, more | 11 | trimmed_train |
367 |
Let me add another of my concerns: Yes, I can buy a port of Motif for "cheap",
but I cannot get the source for "cheap", hence I am limited to using whatever X
libraries the Motif port was compiled against (at least with older versions of
Motif. I have been told that Motif 1.2 can be used with any X, but I have not
seen it myself).
Currently, I have X11R5 running on eight different unix platforms, of which
only three came with Motif. On those three, I am unable to use the X11R5
libraries to build Motif clients, because I get link errors between the
vendor-supplied port of Motif and my X11R5. I anticipate having this same
problem when X11R6 becomes available.
The result is that I cannot build Motif clients that rely on X11R5, since I do
not have Motif compiled under X11R5. True, I could buy another port of Motif,
but that sort of ruins the whole idea of "free", doesn't it?
Cheers,
Tom McConnell | 16 | trimmed_train |
5,578 |
I had the exact same failure with the 24X and Word for Windows.
A quick call to Microsoft indicated it was problem with the
24X drivers. You need to call Diamond and get the new drivers,
I think version 2.03 fixes the above problem, there may be later
versions that I'm unaware of...
| 18 | trimmed_train |
10,879 |
Let's see... April 15th... less than 30 at bats.... and you claim that he
hasn't done too much so far!
Cut this guy some slack. Danny will produce this year. It's scary to think
just how much he'll produce if he were to stay healthy all year.
The Yanks have a lot going for them this year: good starting rotation, good
bullpen, good defense and a good lineup. Also, I like Buck Showalter. Frank
Howard on 1st is also a good move. Everything sounds good so far.
If the Yanks stay healthy, they have a good chance at winning the pennant. This
is the most fun I've had watching the Yanks since "78! | 2 | trimmed_train |
1,239 | Everbody has been defining envelope.
Why was the world "envelope" chosen, rather than say "shell",
or "boundary". In analogy with the envelopes of airships perhaps?
Actually, "shell" might be good. Push the shell too hard and
it (the aircraft?) breaks. | 10 | trimmed_train |
4,406 | I know that this is not the correct place to post this, but I have
exhausted all other logical options. I used to be on the INFO-UNIX
newsgroup mailer. The mailers mysteriously quite coming around the end of
last year. All e-mails requesting that I be placed back on the list have
been ignored. I have been unable to locate the administrator of this list.
If anyone knows of the internet address that I can send a the request to
get back on this list, can you please send it to me. If you don't know
of this specific newsgroup mailer, I would appreciate the address of *any*
UNIX-related newsgroup. Thanks.
Cutoff,
Steve
[email protected] | 16 | trimmed_train |
2,136 |
Not so. Surveys have shown while the public thinks certain types
of gun control may be acceptable they do believe they have an
individual right to keep and bear arms, and that the police should
not have /discretion/ over who may and may not own firearms.
By the end of the Clinton administration a lot of things will be
screwed up. Hell, we'll probably be just like England.
"Tough titty" ? My how eloquent you are.
As for your claim, I think Clinton has a big fight ahead of him if
he thinks he's going to pass some comprehensive gun legislation.
He will sign the Brady Bill if it gets to his desk. We will do
whatever we can to either keep that from happening, or modify it
such that it is acceptable to us.
Sorry, that's not possible. And that's why we won't give them up
either. Legally or illegally, American's will keep their firearms.
The number of unregistered weapons in New York City is in the millions.
There aren't even close to that number of violent criminals there.
If the gov't was serious about stopping violent crime they would
keep violent criminals in jail for a long long time where they
belong instead of letting them out on early release.
Hey, we can go into politics too if we feel like it.
I don't believe this one bit.
Snore. Like I take advice on the RKBA from a Brit. No way.
You watch too much "Star Trek". Actually, this is an understandable
attitude from a Brit; you are a subject of the state.
Not necessarily. There are ways of resisting oppression without
getting caught by the gov't.
The "abstract criminal" like the ones who killed a relative of mine
while she was working in a carry-out.
While undesirable, they are sometimes unavoidable. If you don't want
to resist a criminal attack by all means do nothing. I will (a) take
my chances resisting violent attack, and (b) stand a better chance of
being unharmed than someone who does nothing.
What a joke. Criminals want a disarmed population. How can you keep
criminals from preying on us after our best means of self defense is
taken away ? | 9 | trimmed_train |
5,247 | ============================================================================
David Matthew Deane ([email protected]) | 13 | trimmed_train |
4,261 | I'm trying to set up a personal studio.
What I'm looking for are a cheap sampler(rack or with keyboard)
or a cheap sound card (AudioMedia I or II or something similar). | 5 | trimmed_train |
8,702 | What is the directory .X11-unix for in /tmp? When I start
x, it is created by the system. This directory wasn't created
by root, and it contains an empty file (X0) that is owned by me.
| 16 | trimmed_train |
5,307 | friends
That was what I got from your phrasing, too. Well, then, were they (the ones
you saw) black? You don't deny seem to deny it, either.
by
That is the recommended way to practice with a CCW, too. Aim alone is no good
for defense, if you can't get the gun rapidly.
What, outside of prejudice, would have made it obvious?
live
it
Yes, prejudice is more subtle in the north, isn't it?
said.
More than enough. I understand you completely.
Jim
--
[email protected] | 9 | trimmed_train |
11,191 | Let's say you have a scanned image of a line drawing; in this case a
boat, but it could be anything. On the drawing you have a set of
reference points whose true x,y positions are known.
Now you digitize the drawing manually (in this case, using Yaron
Danon's excellent Digitize program). That is, you use a program which
converts cursor positions to x,y and saves those values when you click
the mouse.
Upon digitizing you notice that the reference point values that come
out of the digitizing process differ in small but significant ways
from the known true values. This is understandable because the
scanned drawing is a reproduction of the original and there are
successive sources of distortion such as differential expansion and
contraction of paper, errors introduced in the printing process,
scanner errors and what have you.
The errors are not uniform over the entire drawing, so "global"
adjustments such as stretching/contracting uniformly over x or y, or
rotating the whole drawing, are not satisfactory.
So the question is: does any kind soul know of an algorithm for
removing such distortion? In particular, if I have three sets of
points
Reference(x,y) (the known true values)
DistortedReference(x,y) (the same points, with known errors)
DistortedData(x,y) (other points, with unknown errors)
what function of Reference and Distorted could I apply to
DistortedData to remove the errors.
I suspect the problem could be solved by treating the distorted
reference points as resulting from the projection of a "bumpy" 3d
surface, solving for the surface and then "flattening" it to remove
the errors in the other data points.
Any kind and informed soul out there have any ideas, or better yet,
pointers to treatments of the same or similar problems?
Thanks, | 1 | trimmed_train |
1,821 |
For Logitech rodents use the lmouse driver that comes with windows....
also you need to be using a video driver that supports use of the mouse,
both the VGA and SUPERVGA that come with Windows 3.1 will support it.
both of these are 16 color drivers, if you're lucky the manufacturer of
your video card might have a driver that is compatable and will support a
mouse.
Steve
| 18 | trimmed_train |
6,082 | I am seeking some alternate solutions on how to turn a Postscript Type 1 or
TrueType font outline into polygons that can be subsequently scan converted
by a 3D scanline renderer.
I have been studying the problem of font conversion for a few years but
have never had the need to implement such a system. Well, I now have the
opportunity to write some font rendering software so I would like to have
some of my questions answered before I jump into the deep end.
The main problem I face is how to use the even/odd or non-winding rules to
turn the outlines into a single outline polygon (my renderer can handle
complex polygons so there is no need to reduce the polygons to simple
polygons). For example, in the letter "O" there are two outlines:
1) The outside outline which is clockwise (TrueType font)
2) The inside outline which is counterclockwise.
One common solution used by a number of rendering packages is to simply
connect the inner outline to the outer outline at the point where the
two outlines are closest. This is equivalent to descibing a "polygon with
holes". The renderer will then make the appropriate hole since the interior
polygon edges are in the opposite direction to the outside edges.
I do not want to use this simplistic system since:
1) It will not handle all outline fonts properly (it is not a simple
matter to connect the outer outline to the inner outline for
some fancy fonts).
2) It does not properly handle the even/odd or non-winding rules.
From my research over the years the proper solution is to use a trapezoid
decomposition algorithm to scan convert the outlines into trapezoids (as
is done by the Postscript and TrueType font rasterizers). These trapezoidal
polygons can then be easily and properly rendered by the 3D scanline renderer.
My question is: are there any better solutions to turning the outlines into
polgyons other than the trapezoid decomposer? I am not fond of this solution
since it creates excess number of polygons.
Another question, for those in the know: what is the best algorithm to create
bevelled and/or offset curves for font outlines? I have a dozen papers on these
subjects but I can't tell which method is the best to implement.
Thanks for any pointers.
--> Rob Lansdale
| 1 | trimmed_train |
9,395 | I have this used equipment for sale, everything is negotiable!
1200 Baud Compuadd Internal Modem, all docs and software $ 25.00
SCO UNIX V3.2.2 All disks and Docs (Has UUCP/all Utils) $150.00
Old 1.2MB floppy drive, functional, out of an old 286. $ 20.00
Dead ST1196 80MB RLL drive, don't know whats wrong with it. $ 20.00
Old Joystick, don't remember the brand name $ 10.00
Old Boat Anchor CGA Monitor with full length CGA CArd $ 20.00
Serial Card 25 Pin $ 10.00
Test Drive III Accolade $ 20.00 | 5 | trimmed_train |
3,102 | Could some kind soul tell me the advance timing/revs for a 1981 xs1100 special
(bought in Canada). | 12 | trimmed_train |
3,729 |
You have only shown that a vast majority ( if not all ) would
agree to this. However, there is nothing against a subjective majority.
In any event, I must challenge your assertion. I know many
societies- heck, many US citizens- willing to trade freedom for "security".
---
" Whatever promises that have been made can than be broken. " | 8 | trimmed_train |
3,770 |
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
^^^ | 13 | trimmed_train |
3,853 |
I was at my parents' Seder and noticed the labelling on one of the
packages was English, Hebrew and French. In the phrase "kosher for
passover" the French word used was "Pa^ques." We've deliberately
mistranslated this at the Kulikauskas home and keep referring to foods
being kosher for Easter. :-)
Back to the original questions in this thread concerning Christians of
Jewish descent and the Law: I always wonder when I see posts on this
subject whether the writers are Christians of Jewish descent relating
the life-decisions God has led them to or people who take only an
academic interest in the topic. (Having known Seanna since she was nine
years old, I do know in this case.) I admit that the answer to this
question affects the amount of weight I give to the writer's statement. | 0 | trimmed_train |
7,320 |
how so? i think you're making assumptions here that might not
necessarily be true. -my- personal choice would be a semi-auto, but
revolvers are just as effective, if not more so.
relevancy, please? you sound shocked, but that hardly proves anything.
wait, doesn't Chicago have -serious- gun control? if so, why do the
police need all that firepower in the first place? (sarcasm alert)
all the patrol cars i've seen around here have shotguns clamped to
the dash board. IMHO, that's all the police need to outgun just about
anything.
jason
| 9 | trimmed_train |
951 |
Excellent point. I hope to God that Ted Simmons doesn't get the weird
idea of trading for the guy. And if he does, he had better not
include Jeff King in the deal. Oh God--what if he traded Zane Smith
and Jeff King for Vaughn and Greg Blosser? It would be worse than The
Nichols Curse!
Hmm, I guess that doesn't sound sincere enough. Oh well, at least I
tried... | 2 | trimmed_train |
1,657 |
No....Hal McRae is the worst manager in baseball. I've never seen a guy who
can waste talent like he can. One of the best raw-talent staffs in the league,
and he's still finding a way to lose. I'll be surprised if he makes it through
the next 2 weeks, unless drastic improvement is made. | 2 | trimmed_train |
6,390 |
Oh? How about the press? If the BATF & FBI were going to shoot people
leaving a burning building, don't you think they would get rid of the
press first? | 9 | trimmed_train |
8,859 |
I agree. Home runs off Clemens are always memorable. Kinda like
eclipses and hurricanes. They don't happen very often. | 2 | trimmed_train |
10,985 | If one reasons that the United States of America at one time represented
and protected freedom << individual liberty and personal responsibility >>
(and I do, in fact, think that this is true) and that totalitarianism <<
absolute government control and tyranny >> represents freedom's opposite
(which it does), did the USA really win the cold war?
Standard disclaimers ALWAYS apply!
----------------
Graham K. Glover
---------------- | 9 | trimmed_train |
7,136 | Hey Serdar,
What nationality are you anyway? You are the supreme geek of
geekdom of the usenet. You are laeding a totally useless and futile life on
your computer Mr. Wimpy. You are the epitamy of a coward.I can predict that
you will spend the rest of your useless, wastefull and pitifull life on the
Usenet. What a wasted life.
********************************************************************
System: fourd.com Phone: 617-494-0565
Cute quote: Being a computer means never having to say you're sorry
********************************************************************
| 6 | trimmed_train |
4,877 |
...
But what was wrong with it? It won't tempt anyone to any kind of sin, as
far as I can tell. It doesn't belittle anyone. It does not substitute
offensiveness for humor (it's genuinely funny).
We shouldn't assume that _all_ jokes that mention sexuality are "dirty"
merely because so many are.
And we should never mistake prudery for spirituality. It can be the direct
opposite -- a symptom of the _lack_ of a healthy perspective on God's
creation.
| 0 | trimmed_train |
8,811 |
It is true that Mormons believe that all spirits (including Jesus,
Lucifer, Robert Weiss) are in the same family. It does not mean
that Jesus was created, but rather that Lucifer and Robert Weiss
were not. I agree that this is a "heresy". So what?
The sweating of blood in Gethsemene is
not a basic Mormon doctrine. Jesus did not perform the atonement
in Getheseme alone, as some anti-Mormons are trying to teach.
As far as the "unpardonable sin" whatever that is, it is Biblical,
and not specifically Mormon. It is also called the sin against
the Holy Ghost. Most Bible scholars (other than conservative
ones) do not believe Jehovah and Elohim were always the same.
I'm sure you've heard of the J and the E texts? I don't
know what you mean by "That He needed to be saved". Jesus?
Jehovah? Elohim? In Mormon doctrine, Jesus was sinless,
and thus did not "need to be saved".
--
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gordon Banks N3JXP | "Skepticism is the chastity of the intellect, and
[email protected] | it is shameful to surrender it too soon." | 15 | trimmed_train |
7,669 | Hi, I have a trident TVGA-8900 video card and need the updated
drivers for Win3.1 where can I get them from an ftp site.
Thanks | 18 | trimmed_train |
2,281 | Thanks to whoever posted this wonderful parody of people who post without
reading the FAQ! I was laughing for a good 5 minutes. Were there any
parts of the FAQ that weren't mentioned? I think there might have been one
or two...
Please don't tell me this wasn't a joke. I'm not ready to hear that yet... | 8 | trimmed_train |
2,646 | Hi,
I've got a Multi I/O card (IDE controller + serial/parallel
interface) and two floppy drives (5 1/4, 3 1/2) and a
Quantum ProDrive 80AT connected to it.
I was able to format the hard disk, but I could not boot from
it. I can boot from drive A: (which disk drive does not matter)
but if I remove the disk from drive A and press the reset switch,
the LED of drive A: continues to glow, and the hard disk is
not accessed at all.
I guess this must be a problem of either the Multi I/o card
or floppy disk drive settings (jumper configuration?)
Does someone have any hint what could be the reason for it.
Please reply by email to [email protected]
Thanks,
Thomas
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
| 3 | trimmed_train |
4,765 | This is posted for a friend who doesn't have net access...you can send replies
to me, but I'll be out of my office all next week, so don't expect a response
until at least 4/27!
For sale: Contax camera system
Includes: Contax 139 quartz SLR body
50mm f1.7 Zeiss (!) Planna Lens
135mm f2.8 Yashica Lens
Medium-sized hard case
All items are in exceptional condition.
Asking price: $175 for all items listed above. The seller is attempting to
sell the lot as a set, but you can negotiate that with him.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dick Joltes [email protected]
Hardware & Networking Manager, Computer Services [email protected]
Harvard University Science Center | 5 | trimmed_train |
2,429 | Hello, | 1 | trimmed_train |
2,468 | Yes, there are serveral programs which can convert font files (eq the Borland
fonts) to objects consisting of spheres, cones etc.
I've used a program (forgot its name/place, but i can look for it) which
converted these Borland fonts to three different raytracers. Vivid, POV and
Polyray (which i like more (more flexibel/faster/use of expressions etc).
The program has a lot nice features.
So if interested give me a mail. | 1 | trimmed_train |
8,666 | AllTall Cool OneWhat's a good IC for RS23
TC>From: [email protected] (Tall Cool One )
TC>Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
TC>I'm looking for an IC that will convert RS232 voltage levels to TTL vo
TC>levels. Something relatively inexpensive would be nice, too. Anyone
TC>a suggestion?? Thanks.
Try a Maxim "MAX232CPE" 8 pin dil, converts 5V to 12V for 232commms.
What a clever little gizmo! | 11 | trimmed_train |
4,730 | Comics for sale. All are Marvel and the majority
of the comics are cover price. Buyer pays shipping.
Shipping costs will vary with the quantity you
buy. All reasonable offers will be considered.
Punisher W.J. 9,10,13,14,15,16,17,
20-28,31-40,43 $1.75 each
Punisher 34,42,43,49,51-54, $1.50 each
(regular series) 56-62
X-factor #1 $4.00
2-4 3.00
37,48,41,45,50, 1.75
63 4.00
65,66 3.00
69-75 1.50
Annual #7 2.25
Silver Surfer 4,22,23,29,30,41,
50(1st, 3rd print)
51-62 $1.50 each
X-force 1-6 $1.50
7-17 1.25
Ghost Rider #5 $8.00
7 4.00
8,11 3.00
13-34 $2.00 each
New Mutants 2,7,9,14,15-19,26,48,
50,58,63,87(2nd),100 $2.00 each
Marvel Comics 89,91,92,95,96,
Presents 99,100 $1.50 each
| 5 | trimmed_train |
6,986 |
And to add further fuel to the flame war, I read about 20 years ago that
the "natural" MSG - extracted from the sources you mention above - does not
cause the reported aftereffects; it's only that nasty "artificial" MSG -
extracted from coal tar or whatever - that causes Chinese Restaurant
Syndrome. I find this pretty hard to believe; has anyone else heard it? | 19 | trimmed_train |
8,454 | >Finally, because there is essentially no possibility of intercepting in
>realtime the scrutable content of communications between stolen instruments,
>there will exist strong motivation to record and archive _all_ communications
>in the network for ex-post-facto scrutiny (once some criminal act is
>discovered, and the instruments involved have been identified).
"All" is a *very* big number. The AT&T Long Distance network has
around 20,000 T3 trunks (45 Mbit/sec), which is on the order of 10**12 bits/sec.
That doesn't even count the amount of traffic in the LOCAL phone companies,
or our long-distance competitors. It's about 200 Exabytes tapes / second,
which is pretty large even for the NSA :-)
On the other hand, I can easily see them recording the traffic for
"interesting" people, such as dissidents, suspected criminals,
foreign telephone calls, and anybody noticed using encryption.
As Ken Shiriff speculates, recording encrypted traffic will probably
be judged not to be an invasion of privacy pretty soon .... | 7 | trimmed_train |
7,463 | For Sale:
Roland TR-606 Drum Machine
Near Mint Condition (no scratches, fully operational).
Sorry no Manuals.
Asking $200 US + shipping
Mirage Rack Mount Sampler
Minor Scratches around rack ear screws
with Advanced Sampling Option, 32 Disks
and both manuals
It's a long story, but I *may* have the Turtle Beach Vision, sample
editing software for the IBM PC.
Asking $400 US + shipping
Send all e-mail requests to: [email protected]
Regards, | 5 | trimmed_train |
7,917 | ]>>
]>>> >napalm, then let the wood stove inside ignite it.
]>>> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
]>>> As someone else has pointed out, why would the stove be in use on a warm day
]>>> in Texas.
]>>
]>>Do YOU eat all your food cold?
]>
]>Ever hear of electric ovens or microwaves? Very popular.
]>Electric stoves outside metro-areas especially.
]
]Ever hear about cutting off the electricity? That was done.
]How effective is an electric stove then?
Didn't the Branch Davidans have an emergency generator? Oh well, I don't think
Brent thought of that anyway.
| 9 | trimmed_train |
9,980 |
Not so. If you are thrown into a cage with a tiger and get mauled, do you
blame the tiger? | 8 | trimmed_train |
3,262 |
^^^^^^^^^
huh? it might be interesting. he is relating the story as I have heard
it, btw.
huh? care to back that up? | 15 | trimmed_train |
1,984 | Panasonic KX-T3000H, Combo black cordless & speaker phone all in one.
new- $160, now- $100 + shipping OBO.
Curtis Mathes VHS VCR Remote included and it works with universal remotes.
Works great but I replaced it with a Stereo VCR.
paid $300 years ago, will sell for $125 delivered OBO.
Radio Shack stereo amp. 2 inputs, tone, and left and right volume. Speakers
not included. $20 plus shipping.
If you are interested in either of the above mail me at
[email protected] or call me, Keith, at 919-968-7779.
PS- I made a type on my email address the first posting. It is now correct. | 5 | trimmed_train |
3,981 |
Didn't Alicea get a hit, though?
See y'all at the ballyard
Go Braves
Chop Chop
Michael Mule'
| 2 | trimmed_train |
10,606 | I am looking for a math coprocessor for a 286-16mhz.
Should be a 80287-10 or 12.
I also have a 80387SX-16 for sale or trade.
TNX-
Jim
* 1st 1.10b #1439 * 1stReader: On the cutting edge of software evolution.
| 5 | trimmed_train |
2,030 |
You are conveniently ommitting the fact that the Arab governments told the
Arab citizens of Israel to leave Israel, join with the Arab armies so that
after what they felt like an assured victory occured, these Arabs could
return to their former homes, reclaim them as well as anything else they
wanted that belonged to Jews. When the Arabs lost, Israel was left with
a bunch of people who has just tried to kill them who now wanted back
into the country as citizens. What would you have done? Let them in so
they could kill Jews? Israel sees those Arabs who stayed as citizens
because they were loyal to Israel during the war and didn't leave. Of
course some Arabs could have left to avoid the fighting but distinguishing
between the two is impossible. Therefore a decision was made based on
secuturity of the country.
No kibbutz that I have ever visited has any "employees" unless they had to
hire some people for the restaurants, hotels etc if there weren't enough
people ON the kibbutz to do them. In such cases, they are paid properly.
If a kibbutz turns away an Arab, 9I have never seen or heard of this) but it
reflects only on the membership comittee of that kibbutz, not the whole
kibbutz movement.
This just shows how ignorant you are of Israeli politics. Although the
major parties in Israel aren't religious (however not totally secular),
due to the format of the government (coalition) the religious parties have
always had a lot of pull since they were needed to form a majority coalition.
In fact, from what I heard the present government is the least influenced
by the religious parties in the existance of Israel. Israel CANNOT be
called a secular state. For instace, Haifa is the only city in the country
(except for maybe some Arab cities) where buses run on the Jewish Sabbath.
There are many other examples of religion in Israel. Marriages in Israel
are NOT contolled by the state, but by Rabbis and Priests. Obviously your
disbelief of this fact sheds some light of your ignorance of the country
you claim to know so much about.
Steve
-- | 6 | trimmed_train |
11,263 | Can someone send me ticket ordering information for the
following teams: Baltimore, Philadelphia and Boston.
Also, if you have a home schedule available - can you tell me the dates
for all home games between July26-Aug6 and between Aug30-Sept10 and if
any of these games are promotion nights or special discount nights?
Thanks !!! Ron
PS: and also who the opponents are for these games :-)
Do NOT reply to this account,
please reply to: [email protected] | 2 | trimmed_train |
3,714 | I'm planning on buying a joystick (first time since I sold
my Amiga five years ago :) for a PC. I have no idea what
kind of stick I should buy. Many people have recommended
variety of Gravis'es models. Are they any good/the best?
-- Willy | 3 | trimmed_train |
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