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SomeHollis
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Name: The Duke of Hollis Country: United States State: Tennessee Birthday: 11/18/1980 Gender: Male
Interests: My interests are many. I play music. I fix things. I read (fiction, science, law, theology, etc.). I like racquetball, but I can't find people to play with on anything approaching regularity. Most of my time these days is consumed by audiology, so I guess you could infer that as a large interest too. Expertise: I am the master of all things electronic. Someday I shall be the master of my guitar, but that day has not yet dawned. I know far more about the auditory portion of the brainstem than you'd care to hear about... Occupation: Student Industry: Medical
Message: message me
Member Since:
11/3/2003
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| "There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power government has
is the power to crack down on criminals. When there aren't enough
criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime
that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws." -- Ayn Rand
Somehow, I bet that very few of you respond to this...
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| I have to say that I'm quite excited about this movie... Probably because I liked 1984 so much...  Synopsis:
Set against the futuristic landscape of totalitarian Britain, V For
Vendetta tells the story of a mild-mannered young woman named Evey (NATALIE
PORTMAN) who is rescued from a life-and-death situation by a masked man
(HUGO WEAVING) known only as āV.ā Incomparably charismatic
and ferociously skilled in the art of combat and deception, V ignites
a revolution when he urges his fellow citizens to rise up against tyranny
and oppression. As Evey uncovers the truth about Vās mysterious
background, she also discovers the truth about herself ā and emerges
as his unlikely ally in the culmination of his plan to bring freedom and
justice back to a society fraught with cruelty and corruption. Who's going with me? | | |
| Pay too much and you could raise the alarm
By BOB KERR The Providence Journal 28-FEB-06
PROVIDENCE,
R.I. -- Walter Soehnge is a retired Texas schoolteacher who traveled
north with his wife, Deana, saw summer change to fall in Rhode Island
and decided this was a place to stay for a while.
So the
Soehnges live in Scituate now and Walter sometimes has breakfast at the
Gentleman Farmer in Scituate Village, where he has passed the test and
become a regular despite an accent that is definitely not local.
And it was there, at his usual table last week, that he told me that he was "madder than a panther with kerosene on his tail."
He says things like that. Texas does leave its mark on a man.
What
got him so upset might seem trivial to some people who have learned to
accept small infringements on their freedom as just part of the way
things are in this age of terror-fed paranoia. It's that "everything
changed after 9/11" thing.
But not Walter.
"We're a product of the '60s," he said. "We believe government should be way away from us in that regard."
He
was referring to the recent decision by him and his wife to be
responsible, to do the kind of thing that just about anyone would say
makes good, solid financial sense.
They paid down some debt. The
balance on their JCPenney Platinum MasterCard had gotten to an
unhealthy level. So they sent in a large payment, a check for $6,522.
And an alarm went off. A red flag went up. The Soehnges' behavior was found questionable.
And
all they did was pay down their debt. They didn't call a suspected
terrorist on their cell phone. They didn't try to sneak a machine gun
through customs.
They just paid a hefty chunk of their credit
card balance. And they learned how frighteningly wide the net of
suspicion has been cast.
After sending in the check, they
checked online to see if their account had been duly credited. They
learned that the check had arrived, but the amount available for credit
on their account hadn't changed.
So Deana Soehnge called the credit-card company. Then Walter called.
"When you mess with my money, I want to know why," he said.
They
both learned the same astounding piece of information about the little
things that can set the threat sensors to beeping and blinking.
They
were told, as they moved up the managerial ladder at the call center,
that the amount they had sent in was much larger than their normal
monthly payment. And if the increase hits a certain percentage higher
than that normal payment, Homeland Security has to be notified. And the
money doesn't move until the threat alert is lifted.
Walter
called television stations, the American Civil Liberties Union and me.
And he went on the Internet to see what he could learn. He learned
about changes in something called the Bank Privacy Act.
"The more I'm on, the scarier it gets," he said. "It's scary how easily someone in Homeland Security can get permission to spy."
Eventually,
his and his wife's money was freed up. The Soehnges were apparently
found not to be promoting global terrorism under the guise of paying a
credit-card bill. They never did learn how a large credit card payment
can pose a security threat.
But the experience has been a
reminder that a small piece of privacy has been surrendered. Walter
Soehnge, who says he holds solid, middle-of-the-road American beliefs,
worries about rights being lost.
"If it can happen to me, it can happen to others," he said. | | |
| Well, at least Tom and I can be best friends now...
So from the looks of this, I'm just too scientifically minded for Christianity... I guess I understand this given the mindset of some of the evangelical community. Does it seem to anyone else that people are actually biased against anything involving the scientific process?
Of course, the admittedly little that I know about scientology's beliefs doesn't have anything to do with science...
You fit in with: Scientology
Your ideals mostly resemble those of the Scientology faith. You strive to find the truth in all matters, but you also have a lot of faith in people and things. You are very logical, smart and charismatic and you value the truth above all else.
40% scientific. 20% faith-oriented.
| | | | Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com |
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| "and another one's gone... and another one's gone... and another one bites the dust..."
-shakes fist at Ryan-
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