Pain_Man
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Posts posted by Pain_Man
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As I noted above, to become a US citizen, you must demonstrate English proficiency (the same isn't true of getting a Green Card, esp if you win it in the lottery).
And, it's not just Michigan.
In Cali, you can take your written driver's license test in 14 different languages: Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, Laotian, Cambodian, Chinese and others I can't remember.
Tho, interestingly, you canNOT take it in, Polish, French, German, Italian...
You may very well have something, cath, when you say "civil rights" have been violated.
Someone from Poland or the Netherlands should sue Cali for the "right" to take the test in their language. In fact, every immigrant whose language isn't taught in schools or who can't take their driver's license in their native tongue, should sue. The tens of thousands of lawsuits would overwhelm the courts and might just wake up Sacramento as well as Washington.
Yeah, I am holding my breath. And, yeah, I am turning purple...
I like that. Wish we had that in the states. I think it's disgusting that they think we should learn their language. In Michigan the schools teach in their native tounge!!!!!!I think everyone should speak Polish also, my civil rights have been violated not being exposed to my cultural roots.
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"Quite fit" interesting way to put it, Jack.
She's is pretty. I'm sure she's doing this for the obvious reason: to raise her "profile" amongst English audiences.
Bollywood has yet to make a significant, really any, impact in the US. Sly Stallone is a big Bollywood fan. He's said to be working on bringing it to the US in a big way; to the extent of personally funding some movies being made over there but crafted toward American audiences. Tho' I'm not sure it's going to work. Musicals have been a hard sell since the 50s and guys stopping battles to start singing at each other is, er, well, odd (from the American POV).
The one exception to the inability of Bollywood to make any dent is Gurinder Chadra's Bride and Prejudice starring the absolutely stunningly drop-dead gorgeous Aishwaryah Rai (probably spelling the first name wrong).
She is drive-into-telephone poles beautiful.
The TV successes of Naveen Andrews (Lost) and Parminder Nagra (on ER--& quite, ah, "fit" herself
) shows that individual Anglo-Indians can make it in Hollywood.Actually, Shilpa is quite fit though!
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It's much the same in the US. You have to learn English. And you have to learn American history.
In fact, you have to pass a test to prove your knowledge of American history and basics of Constitutional law.
Sadly, many Americans--I don't mean kids, I mean "adults" walking around on the streets--could't pass the test.
Years ago, Andy Rooney* did a man on the street thing where he asked randomly picked adults to see how many of the questions on the Immigrant Test they could pass.
The results were ridiculously embarassing. Few people got more than a handful right. And these were natural born citizens (the ones who can become President, which immigrants cannot).
Most of the people who did get the questions right were, you guessed it, new citizens.
The one saving grace is that Rooney's informal "test" was done on the streets of NYC.
*(curmudgeon on the "news magazine" show 60 Minutes, the first of its kind in the US, tho' I'm sure it was copied from some English show, as so many American shows are, e.g.: the most popular show in the country right now American Idol is version of Pop Idol; Lord Foul--known to most as Simon Cowell--did say that "American talent is superior [to British]." If you've watched the first week, you'd be hard pressed to prove that claim by Seattle)
Isn't that what reality shows are designed to do ?"A reality TV show has shamed our country in the eyes of the world," concluded the Daily Express.How many people really would hold up to the rest of the world a reality show as a proud example of their country and people ?
Seems like a bit of an over-reaction on both sides. But what would I know - I come from a country where you can't become a citizen unless you can speak English. So I guess that makes all Australians racist
3. English Language RequirementYou should be able to speak and understand basic English
You may be exempt from this requirement if:
* you are a person aged 50 years or over
* a person whose ability is affected by a physical or intellectual impairment
* if you provide evidence of having completed the English language tuition with the Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) and you can respond in simple English on aspects of the application.
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Well, you've come to the right source.
I consider myself the world's unofficial expert on Frankenstein. 
Better'n being the world's expert on salmon parasites.
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Sadly, true.
Politicians don't get popular by taking away the government teat, they get popular by adding more teats.
Then when it comes time to pay for the milk, people start screaming....that someone else should pay for their teat. Otherwise, it's "unfair."
Budget cuts are kind of like cops: everybody loves 'em as long as they're fucking with the neighbor and not us.
And, as the Durants put it, "No government is ever at a loss for ways to spend its people's money."
It was true under Augustus two thousand years ago. It's true today. It'll be true 10,000 years from now.
Here's a shocker: the US government's margin of error in both revenue and expenditure is $200 billion. That's the entire GDP of Mexico!
I thought Igor was Dr Frankensteins assistant as well ! Oh well it doesn't really matter all Govt's are bloodsucking parasites no matter which end of the political spectrum they come from..... -
You would know that. Useless knowledge. What other kind is worth knowing?
I think people are confusing the Bram Stoker novel with a certain cinematic version...
Ah, but, Igor (Originally Ygor.) had nothing to do with Dracula. Ygor first appeared in Son Of Frankenstein. The closest thing Dracula would have had to Ygor is Renfield. -
It is. Wish I could take credit for it. But credit must go to Rush. (This year I celebrate 17 years of listening to him; he celebrates 17 years as the most succesful radio personality in the history of the medium.)
Can't wait to 08 myself so I already started campaigning
algore
I had never heard that joke but good one PM -
True in the US, but not in the UK. The Party leadership can remove a refractory MP who refuses to vote the party line. In the US, the Senate or House seat belongs to the person who won the election. Of course, your party can always strip from you your seniority (in the case of the Democrats) or strip/change your committee/sub-committee assignments (in the case of both parties). Neither move is taken lightly by any member. It could mean going from relevance, power and campaign donations to taking long naps (or playing grabass with pages).
No Senator or Rep wants to go from Ways and Means (the House Committee which writes tax bills) or Defense Committees to the Fisheries Committee.
In the UK most of the power lies in the Cabinet. In the US, most of the power lies in the hands of Committee chair(persons).
Senator Rodham Rodham may not. If she runs, she's going to have to FINALLY answer a lot of questions she'd been dodging for more than a decade.
Pain Man you should love this one.http://www.scancat.com/cowboys
Cowboy George
Lets put him on a camel and see how long he lasts
Just remember, its not the party its the "person" that you vote forunfortunately, I doubt Hillary will run
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Otherwise, they might not have time for such Earth-shattering horrors as this!
I do not see what is racist about this comment.
It's no different than what I heard growing up in San Diego* a thousand times a day: "These people need to learn English!!" *(the world's busiest border crossing; for those of you in Rio Linda, it's right on the Mexican border across from Tijuana--no there are not three a's in it)
If the English girl had said, "This bloody black Indian beeyatch should fuck off home" (I'm still having trouble envisioning the mechanics of the suggestion) I could understand it being thusly labeled. As it stands, it's really more "linguisticist" (a new word, yee-haw!).
The second comment seems to me more of personal attack than a racial one.
If you flip this situation around and these things were said about a Northern European by a "person of color" neither of would have been noticed by anyone.
There is a some small comfort in knowing the US isn't the only country that gets caught up in such utterly trivial nonsense.
Also--->> Notice the completely impartial, non-judgemental headline/leader.
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Bollywood star speaks of racist attacks on TV
By Paul Majendie and Deborah Haynes Thu Jan 18, 9:10 AM ET
LONDON (Reuters) - Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty has said for the first time she is being racially abused in a British reality TV show which has sparked protests in London and New Delhi and damaged Britain's image of tolerance.
Shetty and her fellow contestants on "Celebrity Big Brother" are oblivious to the international row that has erupted over her treatment as they are cut off from the outside world while on the show, where their antics can be watched 24 hours a day.
So while India has asked Britain to check whether race laws have been broken and Shetty's admirers burned effigies of her alleged abusers -- fellow celebrities incarcerated in a house and garden together -- Shetty herself had not mentioned race.
The issue surfaced on Wednesday night after a row over stock cubes used in their communal cooking in which Shetty's housemate Danielle Lloyd said: "Shilpa should fuck off home. She can't even speak English."
British actress and fellow housemate Cleo Rocos, seeking to comfort Shetty, said of the clashes: "I don't think there's anything racist in it."
But Shetty replied: "It is, I'm telling you." Clearly shocked, the 31-year-old actress said: "I am representing my country. Is that what today's UK is? It's scary."
The program's broadcaster Channel 4 had earlier issued a statement insisting Shetty was not suffering racial abuse but saying there had been a "cultural and class clash."
The show has been a huge ratings success story, but has also provoked 27,000 complaints to Britain's media watchdog.
LEADERS DEFEND BRITAIN
British Prime Minister
Tony Blair was dragged into the row in parliament and his successor-in-waiting Gordon Brown was forced to defend Britain's image on a trade visit to India.
The show was front-page news in Britain and India as both cultures contemplated their shortcomings.
"A reality TV show has shamed our country in the eyes of the world," concluded the Daily Express.
The Independent said Britain's ethnic minorities "are more likely to be expelled from school, jailed, unemployed, poorly paid, living in sub-standard houses and victims of crime."
Several Indian newspapers condemned the "racist jibes" thrown at the Bollywood star but said the country should examine its own prejudices before expressing national outrage.
"Discrimination on the basis of color is ingrained in the psyche of most Indians," The Hindustan Times said.
Many of India's one billion people still live within a hierarchy imposed by the Hindu caste system and Muslims face widespread prejudice, being seen as the enemy within since Islamic Pakistan was carved out of British-ruled India.
Indian TV channels have shown continuous footage of the show, in which one housemate has said she was scared to eat food prepared by Shetty because, "you don't know where those hands have been," and another referred to her as "The Indian."
So great is the uproar that British Finance Minister Brown has spent much of his tour trying to quell Indian anger.
"It is important for me to say that thousands of British people have phoned in ... to condemn what has happened on the Big Brother program," Brown told a crowded news conference.
"They, like me, are determined that we send a message worldwide that we want nothing to interfere with Britain's reputation as a country of fairness and a country of tolerance."
(Additional reporting by Surojit Gupta in New Delhi)
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Uh, cannibalism?
They're too busy dealing with outbreaks of cannibalism. -
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for the record:
In no way was I speaking for anyone. Neither the managment nor the stockholders of the McCrea Holding Company Ltd are responsible for any comments I made; nor am I responsible for any comments I made.
In fact no one's responsible for anything, ever, at anytime.
In fact, I do not recall, recollect or remember, at this present time, making any such remarks and, if I did so, it was under duress.
In fact, before this post, I remember absolutely nothing I ever did at any time for reason.
But seriously: anyone who thought I was speaking for lfcrule, I was in no way doing so. And if I somehow gave that impression, it was never my intention of doing so.
Mmmm I think thats over the top Pain_Man and you certainly don't speak for me in those assertions
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Thanks Kirk!
For a moment, with the Enterprise towing the Hillary banner, ya had me worried...
Ronald Reagan has been one of my heros since I was nine years old.
Remember the off the cuff remark he made (it drove the liberals nuts):
"I've just signed legislation outlawing the Soviet Union. We begin bombing in five minutes."
=)) =)) Naturally, we were treated to sanctimonious self-righteous moaning from Dan Blather and the rest of the Driveby Media who must have had their sense of humor surgically removed.
Pain Man you should love this one.http://www.scancat.com/cowboys
Cowboy George
Lets put him on a camel and see how long he lasts
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Believe it or not, MJ, we are absolutely on the same page on this one.
My wife and I were going to see the Eagles (I think it was) and we were in the casino elevator heading to the arena.
A dude lights up. My wife, as I've said, has severe asthma and is especially sensitive to cig smoke. I can see her hold her breath as soon as she sees him.
I asked the guy, politely, if he would put it out because of my wife's health. He gracious nodded and stubbed it out.
But I love your story.
Now that we have a smoking ban here in Nevada (not in the casinos, but the logic for that is obvious; they are the driver of the state's economy; as I said, 65% of casino profits come from 15% of gamblers and they're almost all smokers [and juicers for that matter]), I'm waiting for it to start being enforced. Some of the county sheriff's departments have ostentatiously announced that they won't be enforcing the new law.
So, there'll have to a lawsuit and a court order forcing them to do it (which doesn't mean anything to the Sheriffs since they get to use tax payer money to defend the suits; elected judges and sheriffs, the older I get, the more dubious the wisdom of that appears to me).
But refusing the lawful order of a cop is only going to lead to one thing: a trip to the station wearing the silver bracelets.
Wish I could have seen it.
About 2 1/2 years ago I was in a restaurant having dinner. We were in the non-smoking section. A man sitting at the table next to mine decided he was going to smoke and everyone else be damned. He even had the gall to use one of the plates for his ashtray. The smoke was really annoying so I asked him to stop and pointed out to him where he was sitting. He decides to take an attitude and proceeds to yell at me (although everyone in the restaurant could hear) saying things about how he has the right to smoke along with things like we should leave if it bothers us and no one is going to make him stop. The police were called and he decided to take the same route with them. WRONG MOVE IDIOT! They cuffed and arrested him right there. I must say I loved seeing it happen. While they were cuffing him I told him to make sure he didn't forget his cigarettes. One of the police officers who were there looked at me and gave a small laugh.
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There's really nothing in here that anyone with common sense can argue with.
Not a goddamn thing.
You didn't mention the real reasons" I don't smoke- so you can't
" I don't believe in god - so you caN'T PUT ANYTHING GODLY IN FRONT OF ME
"I'm a politicion or a really rich celebraty with armed body guards- but you don't need a gun
" if you work you have to pay taxes- so a recipient can live for free next to you( they have a right to everything you have)- but not in my upper class area
"I belong to PETA- you shouldn't eat meat or have pets or zoo's-" look at my new Gucci alligator hand bag
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We'll make you into a conservative yet, crule.
I am with ken on this, personally, if people wish to smoke and maybe knock a few years off their lives - let em ! That way I will have to pay less in taxes to support old age pensions for these people !! -
Please do.
I'd buy my daughter a gun, but the state and my wife frowns on seven year old's packing heat.
I bought my daughter her own guns, now I stay in the warm house, she shoots em, guts em, cooks em, and does the dishes too.I've been reading all your writing for 11 months and I've only posted once? Will try to talk more often.
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Excise taxes are huge in the US too.
Nevada's one of four states that doesn't have an income tax (the others are TX, NH, FL, sorry, that's Tejas, New Hampshire and Florida--the latter is where all the golfers live). So it depends even more heavily than the others on the tobacco and alcohol taxes.
The main one, of course, is the casino taxes. 6 cents on every dollar one by a casino goes to Carson City (Nevada's capital).
Before 1913, there was no Federal income tax so excise taxes were a huge part of the Federal revenue. (We only have one because it was sold to people with the usual lie: "It's only for the rich. It'll never be more than 1%. And it'll only affect the dirty, evil, stinking, greedy rich." You know, the people who employee everyone.)
Well, to me, it's all lip service.If people in Australia stoped smoking, drinking (alcohol), and driving a car, the Government would be bankrupt tomorrow.
It is mind boggling what they collect from these 3 things every year.
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Look, blu, WTF is your problem?
Wait--strike that. It's irrelevant.
Here's something that's a surprise to no one but you: your opinions manifestly lack all importance, relevance, interest. You are a miserable twerp with a justifiable reputation for behaving thusly.
People detest your ass on this forum (and other ones from what I've been told). But that was your goal wasn't it? Misery loves company, so you want to spread as much of it around as possible.
Despite the fact I've never said or done anything to merit your constant, pathetic attempts to ride my ass, I know for a fact YOU were the one talking shit about me in the Beta Testers Forum. As it comes from multiple sources, I have you dead to rights.
I'm through with you. On the block list you go
. And in ten years of posting on chatboards I have NEVER before blocked anyone. But you're just too little a wanker to deal with anymore.You only do this shit because you are 7,000 miles away. You wouldn't have the stones to say this crap to someone's face. You are a typical internet coward, hiding behind a screen to say things to people you'd never DARE to say to them in real life.
Why don't you try doing something positive? Contributing something other than your incessant stream of negative horseshit?
Find someone else upon whom to exercise your puerile attempts at self-righteous indignation.
Finally, who appointed you Royal Expert on All Things Down Under? Was there an election? Did Her Maj put a pretty little bow on your pointy little head?
I'm done with your grade-school bullshit.
And, my dear, who gives a flying fuck at a rolling doughnut what you do or don't "give a damn" about? (funny you have to quote an American movie). No one on this Forum.
Well, Pain Man, you believe what any dolt puts in Wikipedia if you wish - that doesn't make it true. Maybe it exists, but I can tell you being an Aussie and living here most of my life it is not in the popular vernacular.Now, I am sure you living 10,000km away and having possibly never even visited would like to argue with me that you right, but to quote someone else (Margaret Mitchell, in fact): Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.
Regards
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My mother's from Tejas and both her father and her uncle were in the Army (my great-uncle won the Silver Star in Italy). And they never mentioned no shit like that. Of cousre, they were army.
But, growing up in San Diego, familiar to every Marine, I knew a lot of jarheads. I never heard any of 'em mention anything like that.
Not that this makes it untrue. The South is a big place and there are certainly regimental traditions that vary. So I'm not calling your veracity into question. I've just never heard that. And I have relatives from Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, as well as Tejas.
When I was in the US marines, a couple guys in the barracks kept asking me to go out and get some cock with them. After I turned them down a couple times they accused me of being gay. "Who ME!?- I'm not going out for cock" Apparently it was a southern word for what a girl does- she cocks her legs open. I still didn't go with them, hard to trust someone who enjoys spitshineing combat boots. -
Certainly ain't an inducement.
I know three people personally that state they witnessed this 'phenomena'One from the 2nd Paras. One from the Grenadier Guards and one from the RAF.
Ive heard this from too many sources these and other to know its simply a myth, squaddies do strange things as dares or initiations.
Call it what ever...
Put me off joining up...
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@jack:
1.) Royal Navy sailors would appear to be luckier than their American counterparts in regards to this.
2.) I wasn't asserting the truth of it, only that I came across it in a Dictionary of Aussie Slang and also in Wikipedia and another source I can't remember.
The odds that they are all untrue seems far-fetched to me.
Also, there are a couple of dozens "public" schools* aren't there? So it's perfectly possible that something that went on in one or two--or a dozen--schools might not have gone on it the one you went to. And given the tradition, perhaps defunct now?, of "fagging", it doesn't seem impossible that in some schools things might be taken to ridiculous and preverted extremes.
Every year, here, there are a dozen or more deaths of Frat pledges from doing dumb shit, usually alcohol-poisoning from "initiation" rituatls.
And even if we accept, for argument's sake, that it's all bullshit, the fact that someone would make it up, is pretty foul in and of itself!
At least in my humble opinion. (Ok, ok, nothing humble about it.
)* (why is it y'all call what's private public? Like bars, you call 'em "public houses" when, in fact, they are privately owned; public in American, with the exception of "joint-stock" companies--which are called public companies--always means government-owned.
Bernard Shaw had it right when he said, "Britain and American: two nations separated by a common language."
(tho' I don't know if women have to endure it.Not in the Royal Navy, I am reliably informed.
And I never endured anything like "soggy biscuit" at the public school I attended, they are actually quite civilised places these days.
Another urban legend I think.......a
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@dd...
Sorry, if I caused confusion. It was intended for my fellow Americans.
I've ordered a DVD from Amazon UK* and a CD from Amazon Deutschland. The UK shipping really wasn't that bad, six or seven bucks (3 or 4 pounds sterling?).
The shipping from Germany was ridiculous! For a $3 CD, they charged me FIFTEEN DOLLARS for shipping!
*Unfortunately, due to the TV format difference, it took my computer 19 hours to convert just the first disc from PAL to NTSC.
That rig had a P4HT.
I haven't done the second disc yet. Now I have Core Duo 2, 4GB of DDR2 RAM, 1067MHz FSB, and (I don't if this makes a difference) an ATI Radeon Crossfire X1900XTX (with a combined total of 1GB VRAM).
So when I do convert disc 2, I'm guessing it'll take less than half the time to convert the formats.
Though why the hell everyone didn't just agree on one friggin' format is beyond me. Probably to make foreign competition more expensive. So local firms could dominated the domestic TV market.
Yet everybody adopted Marconi's system for radio!
And everyone but Russia used the same, narrow-gauge rails for the railroads (the Russians were afraid of the Germans; but the Frogs had the same problem and it didn't deter them from using the same gauge rails). And everyone uses gasoline & diesel to power their cars.
If anyone knows the story of why the US adopted NTSC and the UK/Europe adopted PAL, I'd love to hear it.
Since there weren't any DVDs in the 20s or 30s, "content protection" (or, more precisely, "consumer screwing" couldn't have been the goal). My bet's still on protectionism.
A couple of problems with Pain Man's suggestion, though...Meritline only accept Wire Transfer for non-Canadian, international orders, although more payment methods will be available "soon". And all Wire Transfers will incur a handling fee ranging from $20.00 to $30.00.
Supermediastore.com does not ship internationally. At this time they only ship within the United States and Puerto Rico.
Seems like lfc's ebay contact, or svp in the UK, are the best way for verb DLs at the moment, sadly...
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Looks like Mitsubishi's cut prices, hopefully for the long haul. The downward trend sorta halted there for a while. Hopefully, it's back.
Good thing these two nations aren't under constant threat
in Chat
Posted
Since when has being an asshole become a crime?
If it is, then my ex-wife and ex-in-laws would be doing life.
It's just, it's just...
...I don't even know what the hell it is any more.
It's too absurd even for a Kafka novel.