[version]

Originally Posted by spacefreak

Does your leader do any intense or regular physical activity?

Yeah, shafting the world, that takes a lot of energy . That, and playing tennis.

[von Wrangell]

Originally Posted by badidea

look at your own post again and read carefully the quoted text that you wrote again (without quoting) at the end of your post!

This reminds me of the great "place" or "palace" episode in the pol lounge a while back!

[DarwinX]

Originally Posted by mitchell_pgh

It's unfortunate that some people use this tragedy as a soap box for their political views.

I'm not saying you have to wrap yourself in a flag or go buy ribbons, but people died today in a senseless attack on innocent bystanders.

My heart goes out to people, friends and family of those injured in this attack.

Originally Posted by wdlove

Such a heinous and cowardly act. My prayers are with the victims and their families. Just hope that all our British members are alright.

Agreed in the calmness and respect for the grave situation at hand on this day. Our thoughts and prayers are with London and all of it's people, especially those posting on here.

[Lord.Schwarzung]

So who did the attacks? Oh wait, I know the answer to that...

[xi_hyperon]

Why don't you guys who want to engage in bickering go to the Pol Lounge before you get this thread locked.

[spacefreak]

Originally Posted by suvsr4terrorists

G'luck all you londoners. You have a lot to look forward to, like people wrapping themselves in the flag, patriot acts, etc.

That's a ridiculous comparison. There was a significant difference in the scale of the attacks. Today's attack in London was nowhere near the scale or grandiosity of 9/11,. Attempting to compare or contrast the two nations' responses would be a big waste of time.

Today's attack would better be compared to the 1993 WTC attacks where at 12 pm, a truck loaded with explosives blew up in the underground garage of one of the towers.

To the people of London (and all those affected by the attacks on London today) - in addition to my most sincere condolences - I offer my hope that this was and is the totality of the attacks.

How the British government decides to react is up to them and their people. If today's attack is confirmed to be an act of war (ala al Qaeda) committed by cell members who have been embedded in England for years while planning and preparing for this, then some new Patriot Act-esque updating of British investigative policies and criminal law may be in order.

[lil'babykitten]

33 confirmed dead now.

[Phil Sherry]

Originally Posted by lil'babykitten

London Apple Store has closed. Ahhhhh!

Blimey, it must be serious if the Apple store is closed... and I'm in the Lounge! :o

[lil'babykitten]

Originally Posted by Phil Sherry

Blimey, it must be serious if the Apple store is closed... and I'm in the Lounge! :o

Whoa!

[suvsr4terrorists]

Originally Posted by spacefreak

That's a ridiculous comparison. There was a significant difference in the scale of the attacks. Today's attack in London was nowhere near the scale or grandiosity of 9/11,. Attempting to compare or contrast the two nations' responses would be a big waste of time.

Today's attack would better be compared to the 1993 WTC attacks where at 12 pm, a truck loaded with explosives blew up in the underground garage of one of the towers.

The one where nobody was killed? I don't see the comparison.

How the British government decides to react is up to them and their people. If today's attack is confirmed to be an act of war (ala al Qaeda) committed by cell members who have been embedded in England for years while planning and preparing for this, then some new Patriot Act-esque updating of British investigative policies and criminal law may be in order.

Well, I guess I'm being cynical. I'd like them to not change anythign, but I doubt they will. If they start banning fingernail clippers and stuff from trains london is truly dead to me.

[wdlove]

Originally Posted by Lord.Schwarzung

So who did the attacks? Oh wait, I know the answer to that...

It is likely that this was done by Islamic terrorists. The most important thing though is that we don't rush to judgment. We need to allow British investigators to determine the actual perpetrators. Then determine the proper response.

[spacefreak]

Originally Posted by version

Yeah, shafting the world, that takes a lot of energy . That, and playing tennis.

Well, if he plays to win - either in his job (as elected to do) or in tennis - he suffers some scrapes and bruises as well.

[Lord.Schwarzung]

Originally Posted by wdlove

The most important thing though is that we don't rush to judgment.

Don't rush to judgement? We already know who it is and what they stand for! Oh wait, we have to try to understand why they did it, right?

[budster101]

Originally Posted by von Wrangell

Drink less coffee please. You seem to have problems handling it.

So, spousal abuse is outrageous in 1) ME and 2) Islam? Now I await your links for both of those claims.

Who are they? And what do you have that proves that "they" all want us to die?

Go do some research:

Sociocultural Influences on Male Dominance in Societies

Most women today live in patriarchal societies. Quite simply this means most women today live in societies where men have both higher status and power over them. If women are aware of this, the question is why do we allow it to continue? To answer that question it is necessary to realize that societies do not become patriarchal over night. By looking at sociocultural explanations we can see how our culture, influences and reinforces male dominance in societies. Three major Sociocultural explanations are historic creation of male dominance, the teaching of male dominance and female submission by our culture, and gender roles and stereotypes that reinforce male dominance.

First we will look at the historical creation of male dominance. In the text book, "Women Across Cultures", Burns states, "Patriarchy is a historic creation that took over 2,500 years to develop. As she puts it, male dominance is a historic phenomenon in that it arose out of a biologically determined situation and became a culturally created, and enforced structure over time" (Burn, 2000, p.41). According to (Burn, 2000), "Sociocultural explanations emphasize how gendered power relations are embedded in culture and passed on socially" (Burn, 2000, p. 38). She goes on to state, "Almost every culture has legends, stories, and songs attesting to the different expectations for male and female behavior" (Burn, 2000, p.39).

In the text book, "Human Adjustment" (Halonen, Santrock, 1997), they give the definition of culture as, "Culture refers to the behavior patterns, beliefs, and other products of a particular group of people- including their values, work patterns, music, dress, diet, and ceremonies- that are passed on from generation to generation" (Halonen, Santrock, 1997, p.7). Since we know we live in a patriarchal society, it becomes apparent that our past history was patriarchal and that our culture has continued to influence male dominance over females. Thus we see why in many cultures spousal abuse is not only accepted, it is embedded in their culture. The statement, "Children learn what they live", seems especially appropriate here.

The next sociocultural explanation to why spousal abuse is a global problem is that cultures teach male dominance and female submission. I stated earlier that gender power relations are embedded in culture and passed on socially (Burn, 2000). Social approval or disapproval is expressed if we do not conform to cultural norms. Because being socially excepted plays a large role in most peoples lives, it is important to note that social approval or disapproval can be a powerful motivator. Burns states, "In most cultures, there is teasing, ridicule, shunning, and even physical punishment for those who deviate from their gender roles" (Burn, 2000, p. 38). This backs up the idea that spousal abuse is "A crime of secrecy", and offers a good explanation as to why it is.

She goes on to state that historically, in most cultures, females and males have different jobs. She sees this as an important communicator as to what a culture expects based on gender (Burn, 2000, p. 39). "According to the UN, women worldwide are almost always in less prestigious and lower paid jobs than men (Burn, 2000, p. 13). This often translates into, women are also economically dependent on men. The United Nations issued a report in 1995 that shows, "Poverty has a woman's face. Of the 1.3 billion people in poverty, 70 percent are women" (Burn, 2000, p. 12). In a report issued by Feminist Studies, Inc., we get an idea of why that may be so. They state that, "The significance of gender in social policy under twenty years ago, have come to an increasingly nuanced understanding of how gender-based power helps create state policies and determine their effects" (Feminist Studies, 1996, p. 193+). In other words, men have the power; they create the state policies and determine their effects. The result, they are not going to create laws that take power and control away from them, and spousal abuse is all about power and control.

The last area of sociocultural influence we will look at is gender roles and stereotypes. The definition of gender according to the text, "Human Adjustment" is, "The Sociocultural dimension of being female or male, emphasizing how we learn to think and behave as females and males" (Halonen, Santrock, p. 7).

In a cross-culture study done by psychologists John Williams and Deborah Best, "Their findings suggest that men are perceived to be autocratic, independent, aggressive, dominant, active, adventurous, courageous, unemotional, rude, progressive, and wise. In contrast, women are perceived to be dependent, submissive, fearful, weak, emotional, sensitive, affectionate, dreamy, and superstitious" (Burn, 2000, p.39).

There is no doubt where the power lies in a patriarchal society. As women continue to fight for equal status and laws to protect them, it is important to note that we need to take a hard look at our culture behavior patterns, beliefs, values, music, dress, rituals, and other cultural products that reinforce male dominance. Perhaps, if we continue to change gender roles, stereotypes will begin to change and in the future, male dominance will not be so embedded in our culture. In this way, if we teach our children, and they teach their children, then one day when their children study women in society, perhaps, males will not have dominance over females any more.

What societies and cultures have MALE DOMINATION over women? Hmm?

[von Wrangell]

Originally Posted by wdlove

It is likely that this was done by Islamic terrorists. The most important thing though is that we don't rush to judgment. We need to allow British investigators to determine the actual perpetrators. Then determine the proper response.

[lil'babykitten]

BBC is reporting that Terminal 3 at Heathrow airport has just been evacuated.

[ThinkInsane]

I wake up to find out a bunch of people just got killed for no reason, and all I see in this thread is the same old ********. Sickening.

My condolences to all those suffering right now.