Alex Salmond to let 16-year-olds vote in bid to secure independence

Started by jimmy olsen, October 10, 2011, 01:23:35 PM

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garbon

Quote from: Ideologue on October 11, 2011, 10:50:07 PM
I'm sure there are some purely monogamous gay folk around, but I've never met one; the ones that have serious committed relationships are still pretty open about getting strange.  I assume they operate on some sort of honor system.  I think one of the great advantages is that there need be no tit-for-tat bedpost notching, or feeling of exploitation, since the whole family can enjoy, unlike heteros with open relationships who will need a finer tuned arrangement.

Oh, also, you don't have to deal with women.  That's the other great advantage.

I think Dan Savage is all about instructing people that it is okay to be monogamish, these days.
"I've never been quite sure what the point of a eunuch is, if truth be told. It seems to me they're only men with the useful bits cut off."
I drank because I wanted to drown my sorrows, but now the damned things have learned to swim.

viper37

Quote from: garbon on October 11, 2011, 08:05:08 PM
There weren't any natives when the french came over, silly.
There weren't any conflict over lands with indians in what is today's Quebec, no.
Outside of the actual boundaries, yes.  Also, trade wars with the Iroquois (Beaver Wars).  Well, technically, between Iroquois and Hurons, allied to French.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Peace_of_Montreal
I don't do meditation.  I drink alcohol to relax, like normal people.

If Microsoft Excel decided to stop working overnight, the world would practically end.

viper37

Quote from: Ideologue on October 11, 2011, 08:26:15 PM
Actually, even in a world state that let anyone in, English speakers would still form a plurality.  Over 400 million native speakers, some 2 billion total.  The language of world administration would not be Belgianese.
Mandarin and Spanish come first in a world state, speaking of the natives.  Arabic must be close too.
I don't do meditation.  I drink alcohol to relax, like normal people.

If Microsoft Excel decided to stop working overnight, the world would practically end.

Ideologue

Quote from: viper37 on October 11, 2011, 11:44:58 PM
Quote from: Ideologue on October 11, 2011, 08:26:15 PM
Actually, even in a world state that let anyone in, English speakers would still form a plurality.  Over 400 million native speakers, some 2 billion total.  The language of world administration would not be Belgianese.
Mandarin and Spanish come first in a world state, speaking of the natives.  Arabic must be close too.

Which is why I added second-language speakers.
Kinemalogue
Current reviews: The 'Burbs (9/10); Gremlins 2: The New Batch (9/10); John Wick: Chapter 2 (9/10); A Cure For Wellness (4/10)

jimmy olsen

Quote from: viper37 on October 11, 2011, 11:44:58 PM
Quote from: Ideologue on October 11, 2011, 08:26:15 PM
Actually, even in a world state that let anyone in, English speakers would still form a plurality.  Over 400 million native speakers, some 2 billion total.  The language of world administration would not be Belgianese.
Mandarin and Spanish come first in a world state, speaking of the natives.  Arabic must be close too.

Arabic "dialects" are as distinct from each other as the Romance languages are.
It is far better for the truth to tear my flesh to pieces, then for my soul to wander through darkness in eternal damnation.

Jet: So what kind of woman is she? What's Julia like?
Faye: Ordinary. The kind of beautiful, dangerous ordinary that you just can't leave alone.
Jet: I see.
Faye: Like an angel from the underworld. Or a devil from Paradise.
--------------------------------------------
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Razgovory

Quote from: viper37 on October 11, 2011, 11:11:17 PM
Quote from: garbon on October 11, 2011, 08:05:08 PM
There weren't any natives when the french came over, silly.
There weren't any conflict over lands with indians in what is today's Quebec, no.
Outside of the actual boundaries, yes.  Also, trade wars with the Iroquois (Beaver Wars).  Well, technically, between Iroquois and Hurons, allied to French.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Peace_of_Montreal

So say the winner :lol:  I imagine the Mohawk and Iroquois had a different opinion.
I've given it serious thought. I must scorn the ways of my family, and seek a Japanese woman to yield me my progeny. He shall live in the lands of the east, and be well tutored in his sacred trust to weave the best traditions of Japan and the Sacred South together, until such time as he (or, indeed his house, which will periodically require infusion of both Southern and Japanese bloodlines of note) can deliver to the South it's independence, either in this world or in space.  -Lettow April of 2011

Raz is right. -MadImmortalMan March of 2017

Razgovory

Quote from: jimmy olsen on October 12, 2011, 12:54:15 AM
Quote from: viper37 on October 11, 2011, 11:44:58 PM
Quote from: Ideologue on October 11, 2011, 08:26:15 PM
Actually, even in a world state that let anyone in, English speakers would still form a plurality.  Over 400 million native speakers, some 2 billion total.  The language of world administration would not be Belgianese.
Mandarin and Spanish come first in a world state, speaking of the natives.  Arabic must be close too.

Arabic "dialects" are as distinct from each other as the Romance languages are.

I'm not sure how unified the Chinese dialects are.
I've given it serious thought. I must scorn the ways of my family, and seek a Japanese woman to yield me my progeny. He shall live in the lands of the east, and be well tutored in his sacred trust to weave the best traditions of Japan and the Sacred South together, until such time as he (or, indeed his house, which will periodically require infusion of both Southern and Japanese bloodlines of note) can deliver to the South it's independence, either in this world or in space.  -Lettow April of 2011

Raz is right. -MadImmortalMan March of 2017

Neil

Quote from: viper37 on October 11, 2011, 11:44:58 PM
Quote from: Ideologue on October 11, 2011, 08:26:15 PM
Actually, even in a world state that let anyone in, English speakers would still form a plurality.  Over 400 million native speakers, some 2 billion total.  The language of world administration would not be Belgianese.
Mandarin and Spanish come first in a world state, speaking of the natives.  Arabic must be close too.
None of those are the language of civilization, culture and commerce.
I do not hate you, nor do I love you, but you are made out of atoms which I can use for something else.

Warspite

Quote from: viper37 on October 11, 2011, 11:44:58 PM
Quote from: Ideologue on October 11, 2011, 08:26:15 PM
Actually, even in a world state that let anyone in, English speakers would still form a plurality.  Over 400 million native speakers, some 2 billion total.  The language of world administration would not be Belgianese.
Mandarin and Spanish come first in a world state, speaking of the natives.  Arabic must be close too.

But Mandarin and to a lesser extent Spanish are far more geographically concentrated than the spread of effective English speakers. Go to most places in the world and you'll find someone with at least basic English.
" SIR – I must commend you on some of your recent obituaries. I was delighted to read of the deaths of Foday Sankoh (August 9th), and Uday and Qusay Hussein (July 26th). Do you take requests? "

OVO JE SRBIJA
BUDALO, OVO JE POSTA

Valmy

Quote from: viper37 on October 11, 2011, 11:44:58 PM
Mandarin and Spanish come first in a world state, speaking of the natives.  Arabic must be close too.

The Chinese all learn English and do not want us to learn Mandarin.

But Spanish is fine by me.  Easy to learn for any Indo-European language speaker.

But English is more widely spoken than either just not as a first language...but in a word state most people would be speaking a second language anyway so number of native speakers seems odd to preference over number of speakers.

Anyway without some sort of big founding myth complete with heroes and basic political principles and values no world state is possible.  That would be a pretty profound political shift.  It would take an enormous crisis to bring that about.
Quote"This is a Russian warship. I propose you lay down arms and surrender to avoid bloodshed & unnecessary victims. Otherwise, you'll be bombed."

Zmiinyi defenders: "Russian warship, go fuck yourself."

viper37

Quote from: Ideologue on October 12, 2011, 12:50:07 AM
So say the winner :lol:  I imagine the Mohawk and Iroquois had a different opinion.
It ain't a question of winner.
Regarding the Mohawks and Iroquois, again, those who converted to catholicism relocated near Montreal (present day Oka) and this is where there was some problems a few years ago.  Not that they were entirely wrong, but the method used to protest was not the good one.

Regarding the Iroquois, well, look at the Beaver Wars.  It's not a question of sacred grounds, really.
I don't do meditation.  I drink alcohol to relax, like normal people.

If Microsoft Excel decided to stop working overnight, the world would practically end.

viper37

Quote from: Warspite on October 12, 2011, 07:54:03 AM
But Mandarin and to a lesser extent Spanish are far more geographically concentrated than the spread of effective English speakers. Go to most places in the world and you'll find someone with at least basic English.
true, there are far more non native english speakers than native.
But given a choice, most people would prefer to use their first language.
I don't do meditation.  I drink alcohol to relax, like normal people.

If Microsoft Excel decided to stop working overnight, the world would practically end.

Valmy

Quote from: viper37 on October 12, 2011, 08:05:16 AM
true, there are far more non native english speakers than native.
But given a choice, most people would prefer to use their first language.

I think given a choice most people would prefer to use a language they know versus one they do not know :P
Quote"This is a Russian warship. I propose you lay down arms and surrender to avoid bloodshed & unnecessary victims. Otherwise, you'll be bombed."

Zmiinyi defenders: "Russian warship, go fuck yourself."

viper37

Quote from: jimmy olsen on October 12, 2011, 12:54:15 AM
Arabic "dialects" are as distinct from each other as the Romance languages are.
it ain't what I was told.  There are differences, like Quebec-French and France-French, but not to the extent where it would be like Italian and French.
I don't do meditation.  I drink alcohol to relax, like normal people.

If Microsoft Excel decided to stop working overnight, the world would practically end.

Barrister

Quote from: viper37 on October 12, 2011, 08:06:34 AM
Quote from: jimmy olsen on October 12, 2011, 12:54:15 AM
Arabic "dialects" are as distinct from each other as the Romance languages are.
it ain't what I was told.  There are differences, like Quebec-French and France-French, but not to the extent where it would be like Italian and French.

Ank told me that a Saudi Arabic speaker is pretty much unintelligible to a, say, Moroccan Arabic speaker.  That makes it more akin to Italian and French.
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