Pure speculation here, but I think it's easier to go to England than to Northern Ireland. Flights are cheap, several airlines and you have plenty of flights to choose from. And it's less volatile than in Northern Ireland.
Ireland is a Catholic country. They are to some degree, still very strict. It's the only European country that has a law against abortion (on religious ground), I believe. The nurses and doctors are not allowed to give information about abortion, even, and England has an influx of Irish girls going over to get an abortion, despite the risk of going to jail.
I think there is something to this. My cat has dry food ALWAYS in her bowl, and she couldn't care less about it. She will eat it when she's hungry, but otherwise it's like "you call this food?" She doesn't care much for cans any more, I have to feed her pouch food. And just not ANY pouch food, no, she wants the kind that is 90 cents or higher a meal. I have also found that she will eat her food if I stand there and watch her! If I don't, she will eat what she needs and then leave.
I have changed my behaviour to her eating habits. She now gets the pouch in the morning only, and she darn better eat the dry food at night, or she will have to starve until the morning after (as said, the dry food is always there). But, she is so darn cute, and she makes this cutest little yelp while stretching up towards me, it is SO hard to say no to her. *sigh* She's trained me really well...
First, I don't think you're an inhuman troll
As for porn, I am ambivalent. As you said, some do it because they don't have any other options, while others love it. I am of the strong opinion that whatever two consenting adults do, is THEIR option, and we should not meddle. I am European, as I mentioned, where nakedness is very normal, where sex isn't legislated as it is here. Most of Europe let 16 year old (and some younger, I think Iceland it's 14) have sex legally. We don't have laws that ban oral sex (like my state, VA, does). I think a lot of what is wrong with the US is the "moral" people. I probably should say Christian (right), because that's really who we're talking about. As a Christian it pains me that we have forgotten the lessons of Jesus to turn the other cheek, but that's a discussion for another time.
Oh, well, no to go look for a new battery
You haven't been at your wits end, have you? I've been in a mentally abusing relationship as a young woman. No-one held a gun at my head, but I could not leave. The point is this: sometimes you do things you don't want to, because you think you have no options.
I have NO problem with people who like to do these things, BUT there is a GREAT possibility that the people who are IN the films don't want it to happen. To them it's a job, and it's probably pretty degrading to THEM. But they may feel they have no options but to do them, whether they like it or not. Note that I am not talking about normal porn here. I am talking about things that really has nothing to do with sex, but humiliation. This is what they say about themselves: "Extreme Associates bills itself as having the hardest hardcore pornography on the Internet. The studio's content has been described as "extremely violent", "shocking", "slasher porn" and "patently offensive". In an interview with Salon.com Borden said of Extreme's content, "It's disgusting but I like to watch it because it's shocking"."
As I said, when I read the article, I thought exactly like you. "This is ridiculous." Then I did my research, and I realised this wasn't normal porn. If you need more citations, read the article, and follow the link to Wikipedia about Extreme Associates. Here, let me give you the link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extreme_Associates
And let me quote: "Kristi Myst broke down during the filming of In The Days of Whore. After having had anal sex for several hours with three men she was told that she had to do anal with another seven men, although she had not agreed to this before the shoot. At this point Myst began crying and wanted to walk off the set and quit the business rather than complete her scene. She eventually relented after being consoled by Tom Byron. Brandon Iron who was present has said the incident was "the foulest thing I have ever witnessed" on a porn shoot." Iron is the guy who tried to sell his slap happy series to 34 companies before this brand of people came along; the guy I talked about with the vomiting during oral sex.
Other quotes: "The filming of Lizzy Borden's movie Forced Entry, which included several simulated rapes, was covered in the PBS Frontline documentary American Porn which aired on February 7, 2002; the makers of the documentary were repulsed and walked off the set."
I will also say this: I have NO problem with people doing whatever they want to behind closed door, as long as they are consenting adults. Heck, I don't mind them filming it and selling it. But where do you draw the line? THAT is what the court has done.
And btw, how do you know that what _I_ do in my bedroom doesn't shock you?
The problem with this company isn't just porn. They actually took it to extreme. In one of their films, one of the actresses were forced to have anal sex with 10 men. She had agreed to three, but after hours of it, she was told she had to do 7 more. She broke down on set. Other films have had women performing felatio while being hit in the face and humiliated, and many even threw up. Other films again had women drink vomit and other bodily fluids. This is some sick stuff!
I don't think it's the sex part they were taken in for, but the repugnant degradation of a human being. I don't care if these were women, had they been men, I would have reacted the same way. Initially, like most people reading this story, I reacted with "Wow, free speech and all," but after some research (I read the article and followed a link to Wikipedia), I realised that the verdict was probably correct.
I have ALWAYS wondered why the American society has been so accepting to violence, but not to sex. I'm European, and always thought it was a bit funny that you easily could depict murder on TV, but a nipple is enough to get everybody's panties in a twist. But I must say, these two people were into some sick stuff, and from what I read about them, there weren't always _consenting_ adults around... Sick, sick, sick.
I am a huge ST fan. My fave is TNG, and Picard is my captain, because TNG was the first series I had the opportunity to watch (Norway isn't very huge on ST). Well, I LIKED the film. I've seen it 3 times by now, and I believe I will have the opportunity to watch it again this week. I've seen it in both IMAX and regular movie theatre, and it's all good.
Although there are things in the movie I have problems with (letting a rookie become captain of the flag ship, time travel, the freakin' horrible shaking camera), I still believe it's one of the best movies in the franchise. It totally breaks the odds/evens bad/good film thing. To me this is the second best film of them all (I still prefer First Contact but I am biased). I thought the last scene in the film, when Kirk steps on to the bridge was SO good! It is as if you see Shatner in the early years. The same manerisms, tone of voice... I loved it!
I agree with a lot of what you are saying about him, but he is not Scottish. He is from Yorkshire, very far north in England. In the UK things like that are very important.
The plumbing reminded me of real ships engines. Yes, the big ones on water. I thought this ADDED to the realism of the film.
I must admit, I got a Wesley Crusher-flashback... BUT, I think the casting deserves an Oscar. I loved the fact that we get to know some of the back stories, although the time travel causes a paradox in my mind.
I found the film funny, I totally recognised the characters, it had scary moments (the monsters), loving moments, as well as sad. I liked it so much I have already seen it twice. And I am seeing it again this week... And I am a TNG fan! (There is no captain but Picard). In the final scene when Kirk walks on to the bridge, you can actually "see" Shatner in the early years. The mannerisms, the movements, the air of cheeky confidence... For that alone, it's worth it.
Where do you get Scottish from? Picard was French, Stewart is English (northern England, granted, but still south of the border).
Yeah, Norway doesn't join EU because we don't want to be told what to do. The ironic thing is, we're members of EEC, which gives us a lot of the freedoms they enjoy in EU, but there is a price to pay. We do end up paying an enormous amount of money to EU and we get their rules and regulations. We can of course veto them, but in the end, there are too many to consider vetoing.
Btw, Norway is a border-country to EU, due to being members of Schengen. Another irony is that the EU-country UK is not member of Schengen, so that is not a border country for EU... Go figure!
Not true. Norway, who's a socialist country by some standards (hey, Swedes called Norway the last socialist state, it must be true), is very close to sustainable levels. Both on resident growth and economic growth.
We worry about future social security all the same, but we have higher expectations than Americans.
I am biased here, as I have worked with SELinux for years now, but Red Hat actually have a 4-day training course on SELinux: https://www.redhat.com/courses/rhs429_red_hat_enterprise_selinux_policy_administration/
I am doubly biased as I wrote the first incarnation of the course. (Yes, I am a Red Hat employee. Over 9 years now.)
Pound for pound, the amoeba is the most vicious animal on earth.
