If I had to choose between a Theocracy or State atheism I would pick the latter every time.

Depends on if you see yourself staying at that company for the next 10 years.If yes, absolutely - you want to have the reputation of the guy that gets things done.

If Israel is to be held to such war crimes then why isn't the UN, you, others going after Hamas leadership for their actions where the intended outcome is the death or maiming of civilians? Seems Hamas is simply not to blame for their mortar firing and use of human shields. That's pretty damn laughable.

Responding to live-round fire is not what I would call a war crime simply because innocents were injured.
Israel has gone WAY out of their way to drop leaflets and everything else as a means to lower civilian injury. Hamas intent is to ensure there is plenty of "innocent" people killed as a means to "win" by taking away their capabilities due to the international community being up in arms over the pictures coming across.

Israel should be punished for destroying all the nice tunnel work that cost hundreds of kids lives during their construction. Who cares if it was Hamas leadership that had the kids do the dangerous work in the first place.

Now there is nothing left to show the effort put forth by those poor dead kids

interesting

Is this going to be another case of "guilt due to outcome" against Israel regardless of why? There have been at least 2 other school related incidents over the last few years where Hamas fired mortars from inside or near a school which resulted in return fire and kids/etc hurt. This seems to be quite a common occurrence from a leadership who hides beneath a hospital.

Has war officially been claimed here? If not then I don't know how it could be deemed a war crime. Even of war was called it would be difficult.

If you could have split two loans on a build project, work out what a $75,000 mortgage over 5 year would have been, and do another $75,000 mortgage over the next 5 years after, - its the cheapest way to borrow $150,000 by far, and then no real compulsion to pay off early.

I am highly skeptical of reports from the conflict zone, and will remain so until further investigation can be done; but, if true that Israel targeted and struck UN schools (and it seems likely that it is), then it could very well constitute a war crime.

Alright, another serious question: what is the methodology of counting the numbers of the dead, and how do they assign them civilian or militant status?

Though at the same time, while Hamas' attacks are seen as unwanted, the idea of them resisting Israeli domination over them vocally can be supported. The longer the conflict goes on the more I fear that support will increase for Hamas. In fact, if these numbers are true then things haven't shifted as much towards violence as I had feared in terms of public opinion (Then again this isn't taking into account West Bank attitudes). Overall though, Hamas has pretty much had a generally negative approval rating in the Strip for years. The civil war was very divisive.

on one hand, making it hard for borrowers to avoid paying back the loan is a good move to curb the student loan bubble. but at the same time the government didn't put any similar constraint on the lenders.
it is understandable that once you've obtained an education, unlike a house or a car, they can't foreclose or repossess it. so you need to pay them that money back. but what about the lenders? they ultimately approve and directly benefit from any investments, yet there's virtually no risk for them in case the student loan investment turns out to be bad.

Corporations are specifically designed be liability shields. That's the primary reason they exist as a legal institution.


But like I said, you're missing the point. The point being made here was that people can normally file for bankruptcy (just like a corporation), but student loan debt is immune from bankruptcy (which is why I compared it to child support).

Ventura is a scumbag...hope he doesn't get a cent from the widow and he should pay all court costs.  Then go hide in the Northern Minnesota wilderness never to be heard from again.

I propose then a suitable compromise of praying / studying / working ...

Daily prayers should start with a cold dip at 5am, then another cold dip and prayer at 6am before starting work at 7am.

Prayer breaks and baptisms to be conducted every 2 hours during work, then after work at 5pm - another 8 hours working as a Rabbi till 1am.

Wearing the tefillin at all times, on your head, throat, heart, arms and legs and nodding and bowing to god at all times, all day long.

Also listening to the bible on your iPod as much as possible.

What if you beat the Haredim and went one step further, what could they do to beat this ...


1. You grow cotton regularly blessed by 10 of the highest bishops, irrigated by holy water.

2. You spin the cotton in the most sacred holy temple at midnight starting on Xmas eve.

3. Then you write the bible in microprint on to a continuous cotton thread from Xmas to Easter.

4. With the most holy thread you knit a pair of super holy under pants and vest in a holy temple.

5. The undergarments are then baptised by 20 of the highest bishops plus the pope.

6. You then get the world's best designer to design the ultimate bishop or pope outfit.

7. Starting again for each garment you go through 1 to 6 to make the clothes super holy.

8. After many years you finally you get dressed up in the full holy ensemble.

9. You then read the bible from cover to cover over and over and learn it off by heart.

10. Once memorised, you set a new world record for reciting the whole bible word for word.

11. Then with the world record you recite it over and over 22 hours a day.

12. You then go up to a cave in a mountain and dig a hole in the cave.

13. You spend the next few decades sat in the hole in the cave reciting the whole bible as many times as possible.

hascidic women are excluded from all that sort of stuff, and as long as they sit in the backs of cars, buses and planes and do the daily cooking, they don't have to get too involved, also cover their head and boobs during acts of procreation.

Daily prayers should start with a cold baptism at 3am, then another cold dip and prayer at 5am and 7am before starting work at 9am. Prayer breaks and baptisms also to be conducted every 2 hours during work without productivity being affected, then after work another 8 hours of full Rabbi work, wearing the tefillin at all times, and nodding and bowing to god at all times.

Sleep should be the highest insult to god and limited to 2 hours, even then avoided if possible. Anyone nodding off for four hours or more should thrust themselves into an icy cold baptism pool and lash themselves with a whip until they poop a little, also wearing the tefillin at all times, and nodding and bowing to god at all times.

That would be the proper way to fully submit to god, or live in a hole in a cave in a mountain naked for a few decades.


(Not withstanding it should be understood Kabbalah metaphysical theology and exegesis, offers an esoteric, imaginative, spiritual alternative to mainstream Rabbinic Judaism and Jewish philosophy. Its greatest expression is in Scriptural commentary, the Zohar. Medieval Kabbalah taught new doctrines of the ten sefirot (emanations that reveal and mediate the unknowable Divine essence), the identification of the last sefirah with the earlier Rabbinic notion of the shechina (Divine presence) as a feminine aspect of God, and the harmonious shefa (substaining flow of Divine creation through the Heavenly realms until this world) that is dependent on each person's righteousness.

So, study of the "revealed" or "inner" dimensions of Judaism can inspire greater faith and emotional fervour, as well as knowledge of Rabbinic thought. In Chabad, Schneur Zalman emphasised the mind as the route to internalizing the emotions of the heart more fully. The systematic analysis of Hasidic philosophy in Chabad can integrate and synthesize "revealed" Jewish thought with the mystical.)

That sort of stuff as well.

So instead everyone has to be brought up ultra Hascidic and become a Hascidic Rabbi full time and still put the usual 8 hours a day in proper productive work down the auto factory or carpentry shop and the like, whilst nodding and bowing to god at all times.

New levels of ultra hascidic rabbinical upbringing for ultimate levels of godly devotion might involve wearing of the Tefillin at all times, not just part time like for Mitzvahs, but those leather boxes should be strapped to the forehead, but also to both forearms, and the heart, the throat and both ankles at all times, and nodding and bowing to god at all times.

Is there the chance of a group of people becoming too religious ?

Say you have to get up in the morning and do a day's work and get some rest after, what if getting too religious radically diminishes any chance of putting a good few hours of work in each day, or putting the feet up ?

Say you were brought up Hascidic and yer father said it is not enough to be Hascidic to properly worship god, therefore it could be an insult to god to just go about doing the general hascidic stuff.