Days Old: 5

WebLists > Politics > Policy > Where do You Stand on Critical Political Issues? > Reconciling Faith and Politics

I'm generally wary of mixing organized religion
with politics.  Religion deals with affairs of the holy, and politics
tends to deal with the affairs of the worldly.   These two concepts
basically mix like oil and water, only just a bit more combustible!  History
is strewn with examples of "holy warriors" who use "God's
mandate" as a means to conquer, pillage, and otherwise suppress captive
populations, all in the name to save souls.  I don't know about you, but
the church, when it was a political force in the West, did a lot of things that
went against the teaching of Christ!  A brief study of Western history,
especially the Roman Catholic Church, can confirm this.



I believe in governing by Christian principles, but not in terms of establishing
a centralized religious state, nor of using Faith as a means to justify wars
and oppression.

- Rated by: abichara (57)

Days Old: 10

WebLists > People > Miscellaneous (People) > Unsympathetic Characters, Real And Fictitious, For Whom Some Have Sympathy And/ Or Agree With > President Bush

I wouldn't want to put Bush in the same category as "villainous". That's reserved for only the most skilled of tyrants. In my view, Bush is a leader who is way in over his head. He's an empty suit with some political skills, but little in the way of administrative abilities. And this is coming from someone who voted for him back in 2000 (although not in '04). At the beginning of his term, I was hopeful that some of the people he was bringing in like Colin Powell, and yes, even Dick Cheney would guide Bush. But leadership by committee doesn't necessarily work, especially when the guy on top can't even hold the room in policy meetings. Former Treasury Secretary Paul ONeill and Richard Clark both discussed such situations in their respective books. A leader needs to provide clear direction for his organization. Bush organized the White House in a way that allows him to delegate to his subordinates. But when you do that, the leader has to be the mediator, the one who determines the direction to be taken. The buck stops with him. When the leader is disinterested, like Bush, the whole organization loses its focus. That is what has happened here. The infighting between the "realist" camp and the "neo-conservative" symbolizes this conflict. You need a tough, active and informed leader to mediate through these bureaucratic turf wars. Bush doesn't have the mettle or the knowledge to take it on. In these situations, it is easy to become a pawn of any one given groups interests, as what's happened with Bush and the neo-cons. Bush isnt so much of a bad guy as he is a light-weight.


- Rated by: abichara (57)

Days Old: 13

WebLists > Features > Miscellaneous (Features) > Do you believe in....? > Peace

Yes, i believe in peace. Peace gives us real happiness. Think for yourself - when are you able to sleep the best ?  it is only when your mind is peaceful, with less anxiety and few thoughts. similarly world will be happy if we all make a single goal in life to work for peace in this world.

- Rated by: karmyogi (2)

Days Old: 13

WebLists > People > Thinkers > Purpose of human life ? > idea

So what is the idea behind our life. why human life is created - why?
is it beyon our comprehension ?

- Rated by: karmyogi (2)

Days Old: 13

WebLists > People > Thinkers > Purpose of human life ? > conclusion

Yes - Let us discuss this and come to a valid conclusion.

- Rated by: karmyogi (2)

Days Old: 14

WebLists > Sports & Recreation > Football > Who Will Win the 2008 Super Bowl > New York Giants

On the positive they did sign Steve Smith, which should give Eli Manning a new target at WR. But I think this team really needed to upgrade their LT and RB situations. With Luke Petitgout and Tiki Barber out, they need to produce suitable replacements. Is Reuben Droughs an upgrade over Barber? I don't think so personally. Barber was key to their offense, and it became worse with his departure. The game will come down to Manning's arm, which will likely not be enough.

- Rated by: abichara (57)

Days Old: 14

WebLists > Sports & Recreation > Football > Who Will Win the 2008 Super Bowl > Philadelphia Eagles

Hopefully McNabb comes back from his knee injury. Given that he relies a lot on his scrambling abilities to make plays, he may be a bit limited this year. But he may have an incentive to play hard this year: it's clear that the powers at be in Philadelphia are already looking towards the future by drafting a brand new QB in Kevin Kolb. But otherwise, I like this teams prospects, given if McNabb stays healthy. Their WR's are explosive and LB Takeo Spikes should help them out on defense, if he manages to stay healthy too. So there are a lot of quesion-marks here, but if the stars align and they can keep injuries low, they can be a power to contend with in the NFC.

- Rated by: abichara (57)

Days Old: 17

WebLists > Sports & Recreation > Football > Who Will Win the 2008 Super Bowl > New York Jets

The Jets ended off last year with a 10-6 record and a playoff berth. Their weak schedule helped, but this year will tell us if Mangini is cutting it. They don't have any spectacular talent on their team, but they've drafted very well over the past 2 seasons, assembling a solid O-line and shoring up their defense, which should be good this year either way. Thomas Jones should also help their running game. If Chad Pennington manages to stay healthy again all year, I can see them competing. The key though is Pennington: if he goes down, there isn't much depth at QB and that will affect their production like it did in 2004 when he suffered a season ending injury early on.

- Rated by: abichara (57)

Days Old: 17

WebLists > Features > Religion & Military > Salvation > The Philippus method: Patient explanation of the Scripture

I was won by the Philippus-method. It will be a good approach to win people who have intellectual problems with the Scripture. It will not work on everyone, though.

- Rated by: Broodinghen (12)

Days Old: 18

WebLists > Sports & Recreation > Football > Who Will Win the 2008 Super Bowl > Detroit Lions

The Lions may end up surprising some people this season. They have an experienced QB in Jon Kitna, who put some decent numbers last year despite the team over 3-13 record last year, an improved backfield, a group of receivers that can be lethal, and an improving defense. Given that Green Bay and Minnesota only regressed this past year, and that Chicago isn't as strong as it was last year, Detroit might make some noise this year. This might in fact be their most successful season in some time.

- Rated by: abichara (57)

Days Old: 18

WebLists > Sports & Recreation > Football > Who Will Win the 2008 Super Bowl > Seattle Seahawks

The Seahawks sort of regressed last year, going only 9-7 after coming off of an appearance at the Super Bowl. But I wouldn't say so much that this team is in trouble. With QB Matt Hasselbeck and RB Shaun Alexander fully recovered from last year's injuries, they should be in the thick of it. However it won't be as easy as it was in 2005, when the steamrolled over their NFC West opponents for the division title. St. Louis and San Francisco won't be easy to beat, and even Arizona may surprise. On the whole though, Seattle is a fairly well balanced team.

- Rated by: abichara (57)

Days Old: 19

WebLists > Sports & Recreation > Football > Who Will Win the 2008 Super Bowl > Atlanta Falcons

They'll struggle this year a bit. Never mind the whole Vick issue, they will already be starting the season without a few key players like Warrick Dunn, Alge Crumpler, and Rod Coleman. The going will be more difficult without such veterans on board. The situation with Vick is a distraction, although I consider him very overrated. Without his elusiveness, he's just another guy, a very average passer. Now they will likely have Joey Harrington at QB, who's also a very average passer without Vick's mobility, who plays well only in the most optimal of conditions. He's easily jarred in the pocket. Harrington can play average defenses well, but he cracks under the threat of the pass rush. He also make dumb decisions at times, sometimes throwing into double coverage in panic. In short, he's limited and tends to lose games for his teams rather than win them. The good news for Bobby Petrino is that he might get a chance to draft his former QB from Louisville next year, Brian Brohm. They will likely be picking near the top of the draft next year given how things are going so far.

- Rated by: abichara (57)

Days Old: 19

WebLists > Features > Miscellaneous (Features) > "Improvements" being made to Hell > Cheap, fire-retardant, fake wood paneling

Why would it be fire retardant? This is hell we're talking about here.

- Rated by: abichara (57)