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Posted

u have to base your actions on something. values are cool.!

 

like climbing with humility vs arrogance , you may summit using both ,however your joy/ accomplishement level will be different.

 

 

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Posted

 

As individuals, we can act based on our values without personal gain (ex: altruism) or in our interests for gain. So can and do nations.

 

The personal version is far more commonly seen than the national version. Neither is prevalent, however.

 

Maybe in your life. Too bad for you.

 

 

T-I wasn't disagreeing with your point. But I stand by my statement- you would be hard pressed to find a person whose actions are dominantly altruistic, although there are surely a few. Everyone has done selfless acts at some point, but I don't think we have yet evolved as a species that this can be accurately described as a prevalent characteristic. And indeed, I make no claim to have transcended my own self. We all have our moments; with increased self knowledge, perhaps we will have many more. It's day to day...

Posted

 

As individuals, we can act based on our values without personal gain (ex: altruism) or in our interests for gain. So can and do nations.

 

The personal version is far more commonly seen than the national version. Neither is prevalent, however.

 

Maybe in your life. Too bad for you.

 

 

T-I wasn't disagreeing with your point. But I stand by my statement- you would be hard pressed to find a person whose actions are dominantly altruistic, although there are surely a few. Everyone has done selfless acts at some point, but I don't think we have yet evolved as a species that this can be accurately described as a prevalent characteristic. And indeed, I make no claim to have transcended my own self. We all have our moments; with increased self knowledge, perhaps we will have many more. It's day to day...

 

Excuse me, I'll have to get back to you. There's a homeless person at my door I'm going to give away my house to.

Posted

Excuse me, I'll have to get back to you. There's a homeless person at my door I'm going to give away my house to.

 

Oh no you don't- I'm giving him MY house...AND my car. I want this on my conscience.

 

My altruism sure makes me proud.

Posted
I'm not speaking of that shitbag and you know it. We do provide aid, as do other nations, to countries where we have no interests. Case closed.

 

shitbag?[old confused emoticon cuz the new one sucks]

 

case closed? dang yer a good dick!

 

yes, there are thousands of people working, with principle, conviction, and a sense of altruism, towards bringing into this world the qualities that sometimes seem so dismally lacking.

and i'll even say gw has this thread in him, no matter how terribly expressed.

 

but when "values" are spoken of in a context with obvious self-interest involvement, the distinction between expressed "values" and (often not expressed) "interests" becomes difficult to ascertain.

politicians will use the "value" aspect as propaganda for furthering their "interest" aims, as i believe has happened in the current iraq crisis, and has certainly happened so many times with such ample documentation that it hardly needs mention (do you think our current administration is blind to the deep history of effective propaganda and its uses on the domestic (and non-) populations? if you do, then i think your "value" bias is perhaps affecting your analytical assessments?)

 

so anyways, when the contradictions between "values" and "interests" become as great as we have witnessed at times, then yes indeed i believe the distinction (in practice) becomes moot.

Posted

cattoast.jpg

 

If there was a slight imbalance in the cat or toast, wouldn't it begin to spin?

 

Energy source of the future?

Yes, the bottom picture is the cat actually spinning.

This should help illustrate the physics of the phenomena:

catspin.jpg

Posted (edited)

Shit, Arch, ya got me so worked up I missed the Archilles heel in your diagram. To create a torsional component, one of the downward F s cannot be equal to Fc. The cat's going to have to be a six claw. Or have a leg removed.

Edited by tvashtarkatena
Posted
catspin.jpg

 

The only remaining questions, then, are:

 

1) Where do we insert the turbine shaft?

 

2) Wheat or white?

 

and 3) Should we stop spaying?

1. Inserting the shaft requires a great deal of precision. The prelude the actual insertion, however, is equally important. This instruction will require a class in and of itself. Until then, wing it.

 

2. If you chose white, you will expose yourself as a racist. Wheat, on the other hand, supports local farmers. Sprouted wheat, of course, will show that you are far superior to those lowly, uniformed regular wheaters.

 

3. Spaying will soon become unnecessary. The population will soon find its own balance.

 

The next phase, washing the apparatus, is even more challenging.

catwash.jpg

Posted

"However, sticking to this "reality" as official policy basically says that we will always sell out other people, even our "allies", whenever we perceive that our "interests" are at stake. Every relationship is a matter of convenience and opportunity and usefulness, and when these cease to be upheld, the other person becomes expendable. I don't treat my wife, friends, or neighbors with this sort of regard, so on the large scale, why would I want my country to relate to other countries in this manner? What comes around goes around."

 

I don't think that moral or practical aspects of the the "interests over alliances" model are entirely negative, since it also permits two countries or peoples who may have once been implacable enemies to reconcile their differences and work together in a way that wouldn't be possible if they viewed either alliances or hostilities as permanent fixtures that they were bound to honor indefinitely, regardless of behavior or circumstance. Think of this country's relationship with England over the centuries, or with China, or with all of the Eastern Block countries and how they've evolved over the past 30 years.

 

 

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