The Original

Hmm. Mine was so-so. My dad's friends and their kids came over aroung seven. I drew a giant demon on a piece of cardboard, then shot arrows at it along with a few of the kids ( I got three shots between the eyes, thank you). Then I blew up crickets with fire crackers for about an hour...poor buggies.

Who really captured Saddam Hussein? News has been circulating over the web for the last few days with stories that the Kurds really captured Saddam, and left him at a dropoff point for U.S. forces. Here's a quote from [u]www.theaustralian.news.com.au[/u]. You can find the whole page here. [URL=http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,8233746%255E401,00.html]http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,8233746%255E401,00.html[/URL] [quote] SADDAM Hussein was found by US troops only after he had been taken prisoner by Kurdish forces, drugged and abandoned ready for American soldiers to recover him, a British newspaper reported yesterday. Saddam came into the hands of the Kurdish Patriotic Front after being betrayed to the group by a member of the al-Jabour tribe, whose daughter had been raped by Saddam's son Uday, leading to a blood feud, reported the Sunday Express, which quoted an unnamed senior British military intelligence officer. The newspaper said the full story of events leading up to the ousted Iraqi president's capture on December 13 near his hometown of Tikrit in northern Iraq, "exposes the version peddled by American spin doctors as incomplete". A former Iraqi intelligence officer, whom the Express did not name, told the paper that Saddam was held prisoner by a leader of the Kurdish Patriotic Front, which fought alongside US forces during the Iraq war, until the leader negotiated a deal. The deal apparently involved the group gaining political advantage in the region. [/quote] What do you think of this? Do you care, are you outraged? Personally, I'm a little ticked, and I wouldn't put it past The Chimp to try something as underhanded as this. We captured him?Another lie for his fake war. Well, I want to know what [u]you[/u] think about this. *P.S.* I am aware there was a previous Saddam Hussein thread a few days back, but I'm pretty sure that thread and this one have different content. If I'm wrong, well, you know what to do Mods.

SECTION A In the following section, please answer each statement with one of five answers: A) Strongly Agree B) Agree C) Somewhat Agree D) Disagree E) Strongly Disagree 1) I find OtakuBoards rules easy to understand and follow. - A 2) I feel that the staff at OtakuBoards understand their job and are capable of performing it appropriately. - A+ 3) OtakuBoards is easy to navigate. - B 4) OtakuBoards has a friendly atmosphere. - B SECTION B Please try to keep your answers relatively short in this section. 5) How often do you visit OtakuBoards? - Whenever possible, usually twice or so a week. 6) Do you feel that the rules are too strict/not strict enough/fine as they are? - Not at all. 7) Should we continue to uncensor the creative writing areas on OtakuBoards? - Sure, as long as people don't take advantage of it to be juvenile. 8) Would you rather a decentralized forum system on OB (more forums, less activity per forum) or a centralized forum system (less forums, more activity per forum)? - Centralized forum system. 9) Would you like to see a closer integration of myOtaku and OtakuBoards? - Yes. 10) Are you signed up to myOtaku.com? - Yes. It's wonderful. 11) If you are not signed up to myOtaku.com, do you plan to sign up in the near future? 12) Do you read Announcements at OtakuBoards? - Yes. 13) Which single Category (Category, as opposed to individual Forum) do you spend most of your time visiting? - Otaku Lounge. 14) Do you think that OtakuBoards should offer an in-built chat system as part of our service? If we included a chat, would you use it? - Yes, depending on who's online. 15) If we offered an "OtakuBoards Wireless" service that would be accessible via Internet-capable cellphones, would you use it? - Nope. 16) When we offer a next generation version of OtakuBoards, should we continue to provide semi-regular community events in our Event Arena or a similar forum? - Definately. 17) If you could add one new Category (Category, not Forum) to OtakuBoards, what would it be? - A dancing Colonel Sanders as an avatar. 18) If you could remove one Category from OtakuBoards, what would it be? - None. They're all here for a reason. 19) If you could add anything to OtakuBoards (in terms of a new forum, a technical tool/feature, etc), what would it be? - Can't think of one right now. 20) On a scale of 1-10 (1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest), how would you rate your experience at OtakuBoards since you registered? - 10. An admirable job, my friends. *applause*

Hmmmmm. Well, assuming I get something other than coal... - The Unfinished Works of Tolkien & The Simillarion (or however you spell it) - Various Anime Movies (Spirited Away, Grave of the Fireflies, Ghost in the Shell, ect.) - The entire freakin' Chobits colletion - The recent Hillary Clinton Book, and something by Anne Coulter. I like to see things from [u]both[/u] sides of the tracks. Makes things interesting. ;) - A certain someone - Not being so busy so I can get on OB regularly instead of random moments like this.

I'm personally not an advocate of capitol punishment. I do realize that mass murderers are horrible people, but I don't think an "eye-for-an-eye" execution is the answer. I think another type of punishment would be better; for example, if a man raped someone, he should be castrated. If someone kills, they should be given life in prison. If someone kills at the age of 25 and is given the death penalty, heor she doesn't have a chance to repent for his or her crimes. I think it's pointless to take away 25 years of life when there's at least 50 more to repent. Theologically, that's also my views on hell ( Someone makes a wrong religious choice for 80 years, and suffers for the rest of eternity? Eternity is a [u]long[/u] time.) But I suppose that's off-topic. The bottom line is, I don't believe it's right for a human to take another human being's life, no matter the circumstance. But I may just be naive.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Harry [/i] [B] Now quit being a wimp and go for her. [/B][/QUOTE] I agree with Harry (but in a friendlier way). Let me tell you a story kidees. Settle around. Last year, there was a girl I liked. Immensly. I wanted to ask her out, but was afraid of some of the possible outcomes, like you apparantly feel. Well, I finally got up the courage to ask her out. She turned me down. I was a lil' depressed for a day or two, 'till I thought "Well, at least its over and done with. I coud have been waiting in anticipation for months, only to still be shot down. I could'a wasted a [u]lot[/u] of time." The thing is, I'm still happy I asked her at the beggining, cause its over. If you are shot down, there's plenty more girls out there. If you are accepted, then congrats. *throws confetti* I think you should just get your feelings out in the open, rather than let them fester for months.

My bro' bought the game, and he's obsessed with it. I, however, am not that pleased with it. It's gameplay was average at best, at least in my opinion. The animations and movements were way too slow, and I agree with EGM on the graphics. They are atrocious. While I commend the creators for trying to break the mold, 3D graphics and movement just don't work with this game. The bosses are horrible (Soldier Stonekong? Please. Don't get me [u]started[/u] on the freakin' onion.) Don't get me wrong; I love the lil' blue guy. Well, the 2D one at least. After X4, I thought the series got very repetetive, very quickly. Best of the series? I'd say the [u]worst[/u].

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by lea2385 [/i] [B][COLOR=blue] i read an artical that when dealing with people and situations, your gut feeling is usually correct. the best i can explain it is for example, say your trying to buy a house. if your gut feeling says not to trust the salesperson, even the best liar for a split second or less will show smuggness (ha! i am fooling those lossers), or anxiousness / fear (what if i get caught in a lie /what if they see thats really whitewash hiding the water marks?) on their face or body language. for you to have that gut feeling, your body unconcously picked up on it.... so what i am talking about has more of a scientific base then, say, mind reading or whatever. [/COLOR] [/B][/QUOTE] Actually, I've been learning about this kind of stuff in my speech class lately. When a person is lying, their brain involuntarily sends them commands to do some of the stuff you mentioned above. Hands fidgeting with the ears or eyes, loss of eye contact, and increase in blinking are a few signs. When a person lies, they become uncomfortable, and their brain subconciously commands them to act out the signs. The same happens when a person is afraid (except the screaming part). If you have a feeling someone is lying, odds are your brain is picking up those signs without your knowing, and recognizing them as clues. What someone might percieve as "intuition" or a gut feeling may simply be a biological recognition of body language.

Hmm. This is interesting. 1. Graduate from college to pursue a career of some sort that deals with animals (zoo keeper, trainer, breeder, ect.). 2. Find "The Second One" (since "The One" has been called multiple times here already).;) 3. Get over fear of marriage and spend the rest of my life with "The Second One". 4. Ally with Baron Samedi's Amsterdamian forces to take over Turkey. 5. Re-name Turkey "Chicken". 6. Watch every Bugs Bunny cartoon ever made. I'm serious about that one. 7. Keep in contact with all of my close friends. 8. See the following countries/cities/states : Japan/Tokyo, England/London, Greece, Australia, New Zealand, and Hawaii. 8. Find something better to do with my time than get the "No Life" rank on OB. :p

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by DeathBug [/i] [B]I believe I stated in my post in several places that I was reffering to stem-cells gained from aborted fetuses. I repeated the phrase "from aborted fetuses" many times. Of course I have no problem with stem cells coming from other sources. The information I'd read said that the *most reliable* way to get stem cells was from human fetuses. If this information is innaccurate, then Im' sorry I wasted everyone's time. I was scanning the middle of the thread and only read the beginning and end post thoroughly. I missed your joke the first time. Sorry; my unoriginal knock-off is gone now. [/B][/QUOTE] God. Once again, I didn't read the whole post. Sorry 'bout that one. I really need to pay better attention...

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by DeathBug [/i] [B]The things that can be done theoretically with stem cells are amazing, and would greatly benefit society. **However**, using stem cells from humn fetuses in this reasearch is wrong. Completely, totally, absolutly wrong. There is no grey area. "But DeathBug, the babies were aborted anyway." Doesn't matter. Providing *any* rationalization for abortion is wrong. Besides, what will happen if the amount of stem cells required exceeds the amount of aborted children? You can't tell me that no one would start getting pregnant and having abortions just to get the cells. "But DeathBug, stem cells can save lives, and improve the quality of life for millions of people." As long as the only reliable way to get S-cells is from the murder of unborn children, they'll just have to wait. No one has the right to deny another life on the basis of extending the life of another. That *is* playing God, by the very definition of the term. "But DeathBug, what if it were one of your loved ones who could benefit from s-cells? What would you think then?" I would hope that no one I'm deeply attached to would be so selfish as to condone or request murder to extend their own life. If they would, perhaps I didn't know them as well as I thought I did. "But DeathBug, what if *you're* the one dying, and s-cells from an aborted fetus could save your life?" Then my sisters can have my TV, Myssy can have my GBA and my manga, Ernesto can have my comics and Carolyn can have my encyclopedia. Do'nt get me wrong, stem cells themselves can save lives and improve them. However, until there's a reliable way to get stem cells than from slaughtered babies, I will not support it for any reason.[/B][/QUOTE] You seem to think that stem-cells can [b]only[/b] come from aborted fetuses. This is not so. They can come from blood and the umbilical cords, among other things. I'd forgive you if you hadn't looked it up, but Drix said so right at the start of the thread. [QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Drix D'Zanth [/i] [B]As for stem cells... people don't realize stem cells can be harvested from blood, placenta, and the unbilical chords.[/B][/QUOTE] Look it up. You can get stem-cells without snuffin' out random babies. PhoenixFlame, why are you hatin' on Baron? Sorry Mods, I know it's off topic, and I'm not exactly helping, but I'm curious. I'll ask you to insult others in PMs, and to at least back it up with some evidence. I'm sure Baron would be delighted if you couldat least dig up a few incriminating quotes for him. [QUOTE][i] Originally posted by Deathbug[/i] [b]On a brighter note....what a funky lil' rodent! Scientest 1: Hey, have you guys cured the common cold yet? Scientest 2: Uh...no....but look! We put a big honki'n ear on a mouses back!! Scientest 1: Cool!![/B][/QUOTE] Ahem. I believe that's [u]my[/u] joke. Hehe.

Humans are not monsters. Humans are not good. Humans are [b]human[/b]. To say the core of humanity is wrong is just silly. It boils down to the individual. Hitler, Bin Laden, and other "monsters" chose to be that way. Ghandi, Mother Teresa, and others like them chose to be compassionate and good. Each being is responsible for his or her own actions. In the past we blatantly killed off animal species and polluted the ecosystem. Granted, that still goes on today to an extent, but now some are protesting against it. Thanks to certain humane groups, the American Bison, Peregrine Falcon, and other animals that were once on the verge of extinction are now making comebacks. Deforestation is being halted. Not to a standstill by any means, but it is still being slowed down. If we were "monsters", we would not have taken action against our mistakes of the past. As I said before, it boils down to the individual. We are responsible for our own actions, whether it be good or bad. The core of humanity is not good or evil, but choice. We're only human... *P.S. PhoenixFlame* Loosen up buddy. Remember that talk we had about grammar?:D

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Drix D'Zanth [/i] [B]The ear thing isn't a hoax.. I've actually been able to see the mold that is used to create an ear, or a replica. [URL=http://tlc.discovery.com/convergence/superhuman/photo/zoom_03.html]Cute mouse :p[/URL] As for stem cells... people don't realize stem cells can be harvested from blood, placenta, and the unbilical chords. I am all for stem cell research, and think that any advances concerning science in this feild are more than welcome. However, I don't think the research should consist of aborted babies, or entire human cloning at ALL. I'm absolutely pro-life on the topic, and I know that being able to say "Well, at least I gave it's stem cells to save someone else," takes off part of a guilt trip that I belive [b]should[/b] be there (of course this changes in the case of rape, however I'm still pro-life in that situation). Continue research by all means, just don't kill babies in the process ^_^. [/B][/QUOTE] ...well now I feel like an idiot. Sorry for not lookin' up the mouse thing, Molleta. I assumed someone wouldn't do something that crazy...guess not. Lol. Anyway, Drix's reply pretty much conveys my feelings on the whole deal. I suppose I'll leave this thread alone a while, since I've got my point across. That is, unless an interesting argument comes up.:D

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Molleta [/i] [B][color=green][size=1]Have you never seen that picture? It is a human ear that scientists got to grow on the back of a mouse. I don't actually remember if it was grafted on or what, but it continued to grow once attached. It is a really strange picture though. I always wondered if the mouse could hear out of it...I think it was a couple of years ago. It was after the sheep cloning though. If you search the Newsweek archives, I'm sure you could find it, it was on the cover of one. Poor cheesy... As for cloning saving lives... are you talking about partial cloning, like growing a liver from a person's cells, or full-on cloning? How are you saving my life by making a copy of me? I could use the clones organs, I guess, if I needed some, but then she might die. Is that Ok since she's a clone? Is her life less precious? And life being precious... stem cells come from fetuses, those of aborted or still born babies most often... what about the lives they aren't going to have? I don't want to get into an abortion debate, this isn't quite that thread. But let me leave you with this... at the beginning of the whole stem cell debate, there was talk of paying women for their aborted fetuses for research... How precious is the life of terminally ill patients? It may cost the life of a potentially healthy person. [/color][/size] [/B][/QUOTE] For some reason, I think the mouse-ear thing is a hoax.;) As for cloning, I'm for cloning various parts of the body, and not another whole person. That seems a bit much to me. Cloning another whole body would serve no purpose, whereas growing a liver is very helpful. We seem to agree on that much, at least. As for the whole abortion issue, I agree that it should not be discussed here. If you PM me, I will be glad to talk about the subject with you.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Molleta [/i] [B][color=green][size=1]Scientists have been playing God for years. I myself am very torn on the subject all together. It is beneficial, really, it is, but I am a rarity, and that is a liberal democrat pro-lifer. Strange, I know, it's the small amout of Catholic my parents were able to instill in me... Scientists cloned a sheep, and a cow, and an elephant I think, or they were working on it. They grew a human ear on the back of a mouse. Playing God is not an issue for scientists anymore. It's an issue for the rest of us. They'll do it, unless their funding gets cut or there are laws against it. Even then, they will just go to a country where there aren't laws against it and do it there. I think Bush may have actually made a not awful decision when he said go ahead and use the ones we already have, but don't harvest anymore... We'll see how that holds up though. BTW--that episode of South Park was gross, yes. But I also found it hilarious.[/color][/size] [/B][/QUOTE] I don't consider cloning or stem cell research as "playing God". I see it as trying to find a way to save lives. Humans are constantly breaking boundries, and it may one day catch up to us. Until then, I believe if there is a possibility to cure deadly diseases, any and all measures should be taken to save lives. All lives are precious. *btw* Ear on a mouse's back? I laughed at that.:laugh: Where did you hear that? Scientist 1: Have you guys cured cancer or AIDS yet? Scientist 2: Umm...no. But look, we grew an ear on Cheesy's back! Scientist 1: ...Uh huh. He looks like a freak. Cheesy: I heard that.