Comments for Books, Toys, and Games

Comment on An Odd News Day by pentamom

pentamom — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 01:29:35 +0000

Ya think? Hey, I have an idea for a Christmas present….

Comment on An Odd News Day by Ray D.

Ray D. — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:08:57 +0000

Ooh, sounds like you read the freerangekids website.

Comment on An Odd News Day by pentamom

pentamom — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:34:39 +0000

Those comments are interesting. So, the eleven year old who can’t be trusted to be safe at home, be in charge of his sisters, or use a gun, used a gun to protect his sisters while at home with them.

(Whispered voice) Maybe it was okay after all to leave him in charge with a gun in the house.

Why do people insist that things are by definition “dangerous” in the presence of counterexamples of good outcomes? Yeah, yeah, “just because this kid was okay doesn’t mean every kid would be.” Right. And it was THIS kid, not “every kid” who was left in charge that day with the knowledge of how to use the gun. So what does it matter that not “every kid” would be okay? Parents are responsible for deciding what’s safe for THEIR kids, not every kid.

Comment on A Few Questions about Climate Change by Nikita

Nikita — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 16:37:39 +0000

I agree with John’s last 5 lines. I prefer to take action locally instead of donating it to whoever and whoever does nothing in particular. If everyone does their “bit”, then we can stop it, but people reason “why would I do anthing as so and so isn’t really doing anything too”…We like to look at others always first and then decide what you would do..why that is? Good question. I wish I could do something to stop people always looking at others first..actually not “people”, but children – as they are the adults of “tomorrow”. I do get that constantly in school. And the “blaming culture” too. Let’s all do something about it instead.

Comment on What’s Happening in Honduras by Ellen

Ellen — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 02:14:08 +0000

What you’re portraying about President Manuel “Mel” Zelaya isn’t accurate at all. President Zelaya was attempting to carry out a referendum to see IF the people of Honduras would like to have a fourth “urn” during November elections with a vote -by the people – for or against a general constitutional reform. Indeed, that reform could potentially include the issue of term limits — but there is no possible way it could have extended Zelaya’s term of office which ends on January 27, 2009. The referendum in and of itself was non-binding. Had the Honduran people been given the chance to vote on the matter in November (IF they’d said they would like to have a vote on this at that time), and IF they’d said “Yes” to a constitutional reform, it would take years for it to come to fruition. The only way Zelaya could benefit from a possible extension of term limits in the Honduran constitution would be in the future if the people were to elect him to office again some years down the road.

It saddens and angers me that the US media hasn’t been telling the whole truth (likely because much of what it’s being fed is from censored news media from Honduras!).

We have to take into account the context; Honduras and many other countries in Latin America are familiar with military coups, and the extraordinary power the military has in Honduras and other countries, where there is at the same time a fairly weak state of law and institutionality.

Congress in Honduras did NOT go through a process of voting to “impeach” Zelaya.

I can’t think of a situation in which the American people would think that kidnapping a president at gunpoint (by masked military officers), and putting the president on a plane to Costa Rica, does NOT constitute a coup d’ etat. No matter how little we may like a president, we need to have some kind of due process. Kidnapping does not cut it.

There was no due process. He wasn’t given a chance to defend himself in a court of law. He wasn’t allowed back into the country later (which is unconstitutional).

Zelaya should be tried in an international court of law for any alleged crimes against the state, as should Michelleti and others in the de facto government.

Comment on A Few Questions about Climate Change by pentamom

pentamom — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 18:58:47 +0000

I have always found it interesting that, until a couple of months ago, I never heard ANY reporting about efforts to actually relocate people or otherwise remediate the predicted effects of climate change. (BTW, a couple of months ago, I heard one story about it on NPR.) I have been left scratching my head over why, if this is a genuine threat to real people, the only big-publicity efforts to counter it are admittedly desperate efforts to try to reverse the effect, rather than any significant efforts to help the affected humans. More recently, I’ve heard reports that a destructive degree of warming is now irreversible, and yet still, hardly a peep from anywhere, about helping threatened people escape.

I’m not saying these efforts to relocate or otherwise help people cope aren’t there, but if they are, why isn’t it big news?

Comment on A Few Questions about Climate Change by Ray

Ray — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 21:09:01 +0000

John, If I understand you right, you are saying that “global warming” is partially man-made, it is real, and it is a good thing. That is an interesting combination of views, but it could well be right.

Nancy, before deciding what to do, you have to decide whether we need to do anything. They used to say “global warming”, but now after the last few years they say “climte change.” The earth seems to be on a short term colling trend now, mostly because the sun is having a period of low sunspot activity.

To maintain the Eath’s temperature at a constant level, we would have to have both a warmin and a cooling mechanism, and we would have to apply those means to offset the natural cycles of the Sun and other causes of climate change. This would make the actions of the Fed look easy.

Comment on A Few Questions about Climate Change by nancy @ princetoncryo LLC

nancy @ princetoncryo LLC — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 08:52:31 +0000

Climate change is effecting every country. Is there
anything we can do at our level to control it? While at high school, I signed a campaign to “Go Green, Promote Green” but nothing big ever happened. This is one cause we all would certainly like to get involved into if only we know how?

Comment on A Few Questions about Climate Change by John A. Jauregui

John A. Jauregui — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 06:45:53 +0000

When you review the scientific papers out there you find that nothing has done more to “GREEN” the planet over the past few decades than elevated levels of atmospheric CO2 together with moderate sun-driven warming of the planet. If you should doubt this assertion, simply Google “Biological Effects of Carbon Dioxide Enrichment” and “Solar Inertial Motion (SIM) model of global warming”. Then review the basic documents and a sampling of the scientific bibliographic references. One has to ask the question, “Why have environmental groups and our government turned this obvious gift of nature on its head and buried us in propaganda designed to convince us of just the opposite reality?” As a consequence, I have stopped all donations to environmental organizations and to their favored political party. I highly encourage you to do the same. All my financial donations now stay within 25 miles of my home, where I can oversee and influence their proper use.

Comment on Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (a Quick Review) by Nikita

Nikita — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 14:20:31 +0000

I have visited Jane’s house…about a year ago, you can still find the entry in my “top posts”. It was really nice visiting it.

RFOL @ “When you read the original story, you must remember that the British have always been masters of understatement. For example, a Victorian critique of Queen Cleopatra was that “her home life was so unlike that of our dear Queen.” Therefore, the fact that the British Isles were infested with “unmentionables” was, in fact, unmentionable.”
——-that is so typical British…I do agree!