The Off Topic Topic

[Malthus]

OK. You're an idiot. You know nothing.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinian_territories
4 and half million in the territories.

There are plenty of Palestinians in the territories, and plenty of Palestinians outside of the territories who are classified as "refugees", even though most of them are, rather, descendants of refugees.

Which cannot be disproved as it obviously wasn't a literal statement of what people say.

Sure it can be disproved. The notion is that Western nations (to paraphrase) don't criticize Israel, or rather, they at most make some meaningless token noises about peace at some point. This notion can be (and is) disproved by demonstrating actual, and recent, criticism of Israel that goes beyond such platitudes, and is directed at specific Israeli wrong-doing.

Your position is simply wrong on the facts.

[Razgovory]

Malthus your link to Palestinian refugees from Wikipedia (the same source as Tyr) puts Palestinian refugees at five million two hundred thousand.  With about two million living in the Palestinian territories.  The total population of the Palestinian territories in four and half million people.

[Malthus]

On another, creepier OT note: the cops emailed everyone whose kids go to my kid's school: some guy in a White van tried to entice a grade 6 student into his van, police are investigating. 

[DGuller]

Its not 1967 anymore.
Israel as the underdog is a very outdated POV.

Underdog or overdog doesn't matter.  They have to fuck up just once, have just one moment of apparent weakness, and it can be game over all the people living there.  Israel can win 100 wars, but it won't matter if it catastrophically loses 101st, and there would not be 102nd.

[Barrister]

So there's been a long-standing news story about Lucy, the Edmonton Zoo's only elephant.  She's old and not in great health, and the cold weather does her no favours.

The experts generally agree that while her facilities here aren't great, it would put Lucy under even more stress to try and move her at her age.  The animal rights activists however aren't happy with that response.

Anyways I was talking with one of our Crowns who specializes in animal cruelty prosecutions.  Apparently one day he was called up by, of all people, William Shatner, who tried to convince my colleague to lay animal cruelty charges against the Edmonton Zoo.  He also mentioned he played a lawyer on tv.

Quick googling would seem to support Shatner's interest in Lucy:

http://www.peta.org/blog/william-shatner-urges-release-ailing-elephant/

[lustindarkness]

Can't they just knit Lucy a big sweater? Maybe some warm socks and a cap?

[Capetan Mihali]

I did a few animal cruelty cases, not fun.  One I felt that the slaughterhouse workers were taking the fall for management's poor decisions and bad set-up.  There was also a weird PETA-instigated bust on an older lady who was probably mentally ill with like 60 cats in her house, some of them not in very good condition.  That was just sad, but I think it was deferred on the condition that she not continue to accumulate cats beyond one or two.  There were a couple of instances of dogs chained-up outside all day being neglected/beaten, reported by the neighbors.  Pit bulls, naturally.

[MadBurgerMaker]

60 cats in her house

I bet that smelled great.

[Capetan Mihali]

60 cats in her house

I bet that smelled great.

À chacun son goût. 

[Ed Anger]

I like my sodastream and its blood bubbles.

[MadImmortalMan]

On another, creepier OT note: the cops emailed everyone whose kids go to my kid's school: some guy in a White van tried to entice a grade 6 student into his van, police are investigating. 

It's always a white van. I remember my parents getting letters about white vans when I was a kid also. I guess pedos don't like Woodstock purple vans with wizards on the side.

[alfred russel]

I agree, Israel should get rid of democracy.

They are working on it. Netanyahu is making good progress.

[PDH]

On another, creepier OT note: the cops emailed everyone whose kids go to my kid's school: some guy in a White van tried to entice a grade 6 student into his van, police are investigating. 

It's always a white van. I remember my parents getting letters about white vans when I was a kid also. I guess pedos don't like Woodstock purple vans with wizards on the side.

There was someone (I suspect a 40-something guy with a combover) who had a green Chrysler Town & Country van here a few years back with "Ice Cream!" spray painted on the side....

[Capetan Mihali]

It's always white panel vans.  I remember one pulled up while I was waiting for the bus and the driver slid over to the passenger side to try to ask me directions to I-95 (and it's not like we were right by the nearest exit).  I was 6 or 7.   Luckily, I was always shitty with directions as a youngster, otherwise my innate urge to be helpful could have had very bad consequences.

[jimmy olsen]

Its not 1967 anymore.
Israel as the underdog is a very outdated POV.

Underdog or overdog doesn't matter.  They have to fuck up just once, have just one moment of apparent weakness, and it can be game over all the people living there.  Israel can win 100 wars, but it won't matter if it catastrophically loses 101st, and there would not be 102nd.

Completely right. Conversely, the Arabs can afford to lose countless numbers of wars. They will always have another chance.

We're on page 10 of this discussion. Can we have a thread please?