J. D. Stembal

Not to stray too far from the topic, but there have been several criticisms leveled as Joss Whedon for his use of Mandarin in his show. If we suspend belief long enough to accept that all the main characters are fluent in Chinese (all the actors cast have a horrible phonetic capacity for Mandarin), why are there no Chinese actors in the show? http://www.racebending.com/v4/featured/frustrations-asian-american-whedonite/ To improve the realism, none of the characters would have such a casual knowledge of Mandarin Chinese without close contact with Chinese speaking individuals. From memory, I recall one or two Asian actors appearing on the show and they had bit parts. I enjoyed watching the show, but they lacked a decent Chinese speaking script co-writer and dialogue coach to integrate Whedon's ideas of a future cross-cultural Chinese-English universe, and the usage of Mandarin dialogue in the show falls flat for me.

You, sir, are a paragon of bravery and virtue. Keep up the great work! I will strive to have the courage to speak up if I see this kind of behavior in public. Thank you for setting a good example for the parent and the child.

It would be more effective and fruitful to use self-knowledge to find the source of anger. Venting anger with violence doesn't necessarily process anything if you don't know the source of the anger. In fact, in concealed carry courses, it is recommended that people with anger management issues consider not pursuing the CCW license until addressing the anger. I do agree that we need to stress the concept of defense with regard to self defense. You don't carry a gun because you want to shoot people, fight crime as a vigilante, or over-throw the government (common pro-control sophists illustrate gun owners in this light). The foremost reasoning is defense of one's self and property. This philosophy should also be applied to learning martial arts. It is unarmed self-defense.

Thank you for all this wonderful data, Primate - and Shirgall! I do want to pose a question, though. Do you think mainland China would have developed as the primary region for the manufacturing of electronic goods in a purely free market society? If you think it will continue to attract much of the manufacturing contracts, please explain why you think that is. How do you explain the migration of production of many Japanese and Chinese branded goods to Thailand and Malaysia? I do understand that the Chinese have a long history of involvement in international trade mainly due to British and Dutch colonialism. I wrote my undergraduate thesis on this topic, so it is not totally alien to me. However, I will not assume that the region will continue to be the main manufacturing hub for electronics in the world. Textiles and footwear have since moved elsewhere - Pakistan, India, Thailand, South America. Will China and Taiwan continue to dominate the manufacturing contracts for mass production of goods, specifically electronics?

My father had a heart attack at 47, and although it was a minor cardiac event, the after effects have plagued him to this day. I remember when I was 20, he had me take a hypercholesterolemia blood screening to see if I was at risk. I was not, but in the following twelve years I put on about fifty extra pounds, likely from heavy drinking and carbohydrate consumption. I would regularly eat about a pound of pasta per day, or about 250g of carbohydrate in one meal. My dad turned me on to low carbohydrate nutrition in 2012, after he used it to bring his blood lipid levels back to acceptable levels when his cardiologist was about to label him pre-diabetic. In the years following my father's heart attack, he was eating eggs without yolks as if every one was another nail in his coffin. He now eats scrambled eggs on a daily basis at 64. He still refuses to give up the beer, but I believe he demonstrated a significant improvement in his quality of life by ditching a lot of carbohydrates he was addicted to eating. After ditching beer, soda, and starchy foods, I quickly lost forty of the fifty pounds I had gained since college. I haven't bothered to get a hydrostatic body fat test, but I estimate my body fat is less than eight percent. Stefan put out a new video about Robin Williams with data on the big pharma industry just in case anyone missed it:

Ah, brilliant, the cesspool of Facebook discussions. I found it more productive to leave Facebook entirely than to put up with the collective retardation that bubbles to the surface of the Facebook news feed. You can't convince people that spanking is child abuse until they have internalized that their own parents were abusing them by hitting them. No one can convincingly argue that spanking has any efficacy. As Ritchey points out, logically, the premise cannot be proven that hitting children teaches them respect. The reason why you have people supporting spanking is because they are afraid to attack their parents, who obviously spanked them. I would have responded to the meme by saying the world of the last century has progressively deteriorated into a state of constant war, so suggesting that hitting children more will somehow improve our situation is laughable.

My father shares this nebulous attitude toward Mandarin Chinese. His specific reasoning for it is a feeling that the Chinese are the greatest threat economically and militarily so it would behoove the average U.S. citizen to learn it when they are young, This line of thinking is flawed unless you are imaging your kids being locked up in a Chinese-run interment camp at some point in the future. It was previously mentioned that Mandarin may become dominant in international business, but it is doubtful. Many of the more successful entrepreneurs in China are moving over to the United States and Canada and raising their children as bilingual. Depending on where you live, many Chinese immigrants that you meet actually speak Cantonese, not Mandarin. The greatest demand for Mandarin linguists comes from the U.S. military where it is even higher than Arabic-speaking linguists.

I admire your passion so do not worry about coming across as aggressive. Men's rights is a topic we cannot afford to dismiss casually. I also admire what Elam is doing. I am not trying to argue that Elam & Co. are not to be taken seriously because they don't specifically address spanking, and other forms of emotional and sexual abuse. Clearly, I do not assume that Elam supports abuse in any way. I am openly questioning why many in the internet community are not as anti-spanking as Molyneux. I am concerned that some MRAs are missing the whole picture. I agree that we should be fighting for the rights of fathers, but we should also be critical of the roles of both parents are playing in the home with regard to raising children.

Thanks for pointing that out. While you are correct, I don't think I've heard anyone but Karen Straughan and Stefan Molyneux talking about circumcision. Paul Elam talks a lot about social programming and learned gender roles, but he doesn't underscore the systematic abuse of children of both sexes. Circumcision directly affects the enjoyment of sexual intercourse. It would be a stretch to draw a connection between a surgical procedure done shortly after birth and militarism. I suppose you could sort through a DoD database to see if a high proportion of soldiers are circumcised, but no one has demonstrated a parallel yet. (Ok, I found a link where Elam discusses circumcision as genital mutilation. ) Elam does point out that often the victims of domestic abuse are the ones who get arrested - men, but he doesn't oppose corporal punishment (spanking) of children and expose it for the loosely veiled sexual abuse that it is. Thanks for the information, Bortasz. I did not wish to imply that fatherless children are not at risk. I have suffered from depression, thoughts of suicide, and drug abuse and I've had a father my whole life. I did not see much of him or my mother when I was very young, and I was punished with spanking up to about the age of nine. I like how Molyneux frames discussions using the family as a lens because it make everyone look at the issues using their own experiences. I still don't understand why discussions of spanking are basically non-existent in the men's rights groups.

Indeed. This is a disturbing possibility, but without the existence of men, who would take out the garbage and unclog the toilet?

I took a defensive carry class once. The class was taught by two former cops that had moved into the consultation business. I was concerned by their casual attitude toward the 5th Amendment during the classroom segment, and their concern that constitutional enthusiasts are giving pro-firearm promoters a bad name. They openly praised our motives for taking the class and pursuing the legwork toward obtaining a concealed carry permit - yet, we are expected to fully cooperate with the local police to be cataloged as a weapon wielding citizen, while simultaneously expecting that this information will never be used against us. I have decided not to pursue obtaining a concealed carry permit.

Wait for the feminist campaign to guilt men into voluntarily severing their own penes in order to assuage a woman's fear of rape. You're not necessarily a rapist since you have the opportunity to cut off the offending organ to allow us to feel less nervous.

I'm going to call bull-spit on this suggestion of yours. You are totally negating the possibility of free will and moral choice for women. Also, how can an alpha male only be expected to hook up? The PUA movement has demonstrated that "game" is all about state of mind. It is entirely possible that someone perceived to be an alpha male might actually be acting genuine, and not putting on an act to get laid. The act is the sociopathic behavior to which you may be referring, not the male. Are you a woman? Your profile does not specify. I find that women are very quick to blame their hormones and womanhood on their problems than to look for personal choice resulting in the situation. It's the ultimate get out of jail free card. After my ex-girlfriend raped me when I refused to consent to sex, and I tried to explain to her how badly I felt about it, she pulled both the "denying me sex makes me feel undesirable" defense, and the "I'm 33 and can't help that I want to have sex all the time" explanation. Eventually, she apologized, but I think it was just lip service to assuage my bruised emotions.

Sure, sure. Not All MRAs Are Like That. I was leveling my criticism at Elam and the folks he likes to have on his shows. It's not that I don't support Elam and his cohort. I love their enthusiasm and confidence regarding men's rights issues, but I've listened to a little of Elam's material, and he's more focused on getting in feminist's faces and making waves. He acts like a lightning rod for the venomous cries of misogyny coming from radical feminism. While this illustrates that there is a vocal group of advocates of both genders for men's rights, it does nothing to actually solve the issues in the long run. Misandry starts in the home - and is perpetuated in the school system - when boys are held to a different standard than girls. My half brother is in elementary school currently and he understands that girls are universally treated better than boys, mainly because most of the teachers are career feminist bigots. He doesn't understand the reasons because they do not make sense, of course. When he hears arguments leveled at feminists as an adult, he will attack the advocates for men's rights because he will have normalized this socially approved sexism. I wager that we all have normalized this double standard of the sexes in our childhoods. I know I have. Not even a year ago, I was hanging out with a group of male friends with no women present. The topic shifted to spanking and nearly every single one of us echoed the sentiment that one of the things wrong with parenting today is that they aren't hitting their kids enough. Clearly, we all had normalized the abuse because we were actively supporting it through our own faulty philosophy. At least one of the five men in this discussion was a veteran of the military. My fear is that many of the more vocal supporters of men's rights will not be opposed to child abuse because it will been seen as a badge of honor for young men. MRAs are quick to point out that women weren't ever subjected to conscription into the military, but that doesn't mean that they will recognize physical and emotional abuse as the necessary hallmark of grooming a child into volunteering for military service. Stefan Molyneux points this out in his criticisms of the single mother and feminism. I can't recall if MRAs like Karen Straughan have also acknowledged this systematic abuse of boys and its relevance to the military and state of perpetual war in which we are involved around the globe currently. If other MRAs, like Paul Elam, vocally reject child abuse and militarism, then consider my criticism unfounded.

I'd like to go to the next local pride event with a picket sign which states "I am not proud of my genitals."

There's an easy counter for the "philosophy is not like hard science" gambit. Tell them that philosophy is roughly 2500 years older than the scientific method, so to discount it so easily without presenting any evidence does philosophy a disservice. There will be no real arguments presented along with this gambit, just a conclusion that there can be nothing more legitimate than the physical sciences. Economics, sociology, and philosophy - the soft sciences - often get smeared in intellectual discussions for supposedly not being subjected to the same rigors as the hard sciences - mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology.

You are very brave, and you have my utmost respect. I recently stood up to my father's parenting of me - or lack thereof thirty years ago - and my two siblings from a second clandestine family with children aged six and nine. It was tough but it felt so good to make my feelings known. So far his reactions have been typical and defensive), but I think he really has my ear now that it is probably too late to fix anything. At least the blood is in the water, so to speak. My brother and sister's mother was using a belt to discipline my brother in a similar scenario to the one you described in your original post, not turning off the Nintendo DS and going to bed when asked. I witnessed this personally, and it really flipped a switch inside my head. I recalled an incident when I was six, deeply buried, when my dad smacked my mother in the face, causing her to bleed. Since I did not see it, he then lied to me and told me she had fell. I didn't believe him but had no choice but to accept this narrative of what happened. I've let loose all my emotions and feelings that I've bottled up for the past thirty years about that day. No matter how much traction you gain with your parents about peaceful parenting, please make sure to talk to your brother to ask him how he feels about it. If, at the very least, you can demonstrate that your parents' strategy is flawed, perhaps it will help you two years into the future.

You're defending Keys with the tall Chinese argument? Brilliantly achieved. I'm no longer going to watch more videos from Plant you are posting. He pretends to refute Price's comprehensive two decade study of aboriginal diets by using a couple contrary example of Eskimos? Yes, they probably did get heart disease, parasites, and osteoporosis, but at what rates compared to Western culture currently? It is really challenging to follow any of the What exactly should we be eating if we shouldn't eat any meat? I haven't seen many sensible suggestions here. How can you get the calories and nutrients your body needs without animal product? It pretty obvious that following government sponsored recommendations over the last generation has painted us into a corner with a very serious health care crisis. That's reason enough for me to look for another approach. That's why I avoid grains, legumes, dairy, processed junk, and sugars. That leaves fruits, nuts, vegetables (the non-starchy ones like potatoes), meat (no grain fed), eggs, and fish (wild, not farmed). Tell me what you are eating and why it is making you healthier.

Thanks for the follow up. I've been buying when it dives into the 570 range. However, I also bought some at around 635. I wish there was a means for me to put in a limit order at a specific price automatically. I've been using Coinbase to purchase all of my BTC.

There are so many contradictions here. I would argue that you weren't asking for what you, and your son, needed. You can't expect love from your ex-wife when you are settling for less. Did she consult you before she made the move to Denver from California? What were your thoughts and feelings about it? "I'm so much happier without you," is such a manipulative act that it's ridiculous. Happiness comes from within a person. Moving to Denver didn't make her feel happier from within, I can assure you that, having lived there myself for a while. It's a leftist cesspool filled with battalions of tattooed vegan feminists all ready to wage war on men.

Thanks for responding to one line of my ~400 word post with the furious burning of straw men. I grow tired of responding to moral relativists on this forum. It's great if you want to exercise your fingers, but not your brain.

I'm speaking from my own experience, just as you are. I've favored a direct approach to dating because that's what the common dating advice of day was in my early 20s. I would call a girl up (now everyone texts) and say, "I'm would enjoy your company this Saturday night. How would you like to race go karts with me?" (I made the go karts up, it could be anything, it doesn't matter.) and she would then have the option to accept, decline (Sorry, I've got plans already.) or think about it a little longer. Now, if she isn't too excited about the idea of going out with you, the woman will tentatively accept up until the day of your date, only then deciding that her sister having an emotional crisis is more urgent to take care of in the moment than sticking to the date plans. No wonder we are becoming indifferent. Most women don't care enough to give us a straight answer! Who is advising you to date women twenty years younger? I would have to teach high school to follow that advice.

The article is written by a woman so a female bias is expected. She is also a hopeless romantic and psychology major - who works for PLENTY OF FISH, a dating website notorious for a hookup culture - if that better illustrates my points below. The indecisiveness of men that she is complaining about is a common female projection. Women are the indecisive daters who have engendered this culture of indifference. They don't know what they want, and they have no idea which male characteristics to select for the long term. Hell, I asked a girl on two dates a couple years back after she showed interest, and she cancelled on me both times at the last minute using family excuses. Lame. That says to me that she had better offers on the table the whole time, and I was the backup plan that she never wanted to use. That's not very honest, and I called her out on it. Women don't have to do any convincing if they don't want to take the effort. If they want a long term commitment, they just go off of birth control and have an "oopsie, my contraceptive device failed" baby. It's funny, though, because after they're done having their quota of kids and want to focus on their career, they will claim that the pill is bad for them due to increased risk of breast cancer, and they are sick of using condoms because they aren't conducive for intimacy. Men only use condoms with sluts and hookers, not their lovers, right? Now it's on the man to get his vasectomy because it's less invasive than tubal ligation, and it supposedly can be reversed. Man up! Go and get sterilized! Then, if you want babies again at some point in the future, get un-sterilized! The amount of misandry in the world is truly staggering to the mind.

I am amused by this line of reasoning. Did you get lost every time you went out before using a smart phone? Or did you ask for directions? Did you also know that there are these printed pieces of paper called maps, which are substantially cheaper and more recyclable than phones? We are phone buddies, Alan!

My upstairs neighbors are Russian speakers, but I live in Dillon, not Denver.