Recent posts by unproductive on Kongregate

Topic: Serious Discussion / Vancouver riots over losing to Boston in the Stanley Cup.

Originally posted by itsover9000troll:

Yeah, I don’t really see how this is a ‘Canadian vs. USA’ thing, (especially when you look at the Boston Bruins team roster.

In which case, Vancouver has even less reason to riot. Even with that roster, however, like it or not, it’s a USA team.

No, the makeup of the team would mean they’d have less reason to riot if it was a ‘Canada vs. USA’ issue, but it isn’t. It’s an ‘oh shit the local sports team lost the championship, let’s break things’ issue. Canadians and Americans are fairly equally distributed in both teams (vast majority of Canadians with a minor sprinkling of Americans), and there have been no riots that I know of anywhere except Vancouver. This all points to it being a local issue about a local team, not a national one.

Topic: Serious Discussion / Vancouver riots over losing to Boston in the Stanley Cup.

Yeah, I don’t really see how this is a ‘Canadian vs. USA’ thing, (especially when you look at the Boston Bruins team roster. They actually have more Canadians than the Canucks) It’s just that fans of a team got angry when their team lost and combined that with excessive beer into a desire to wreck shit up. If some Manchester United fans had rioted in Manchester after they lost the Champions League final to Barcelona then I’d be thinking more ‘stupid United supporters’ rather than ‘stupid Brits getting angry about losing to Spain’.

Topic: Off-topic / Americans were rated the funniest nationality. Germans were ranked the least funniest

Originally posted by antiworld:

Originally posted by Cammy_Justice:

^ No, it is definitely that I am too good for it, most people I know who use it are arseholes and the rest are incapable of justifying why they use it.

Wait, you’re not too good for it, your just better than everyone on it? Most people use social networking nowadays. You’re saying they have no sense of humor? How is it that American comedy movies sell better than british? That and, The Simpsons, Southpark, 2 and a half men, Frasier, Seinfeld and any number of comic greats from the Marx Brothers to Woody Allen, Steve Martin, Larry David, Ben Stiller or now Tina Fey all top TV show and comic viewers across the world, but British TV and comics do not? If you’re british, you probably watch or hear of some new funny show or movie from the US. In the US, the most you’ve seen of the british is likely one Monty Python movie.

The problem I have with british humor is that it’s just too subtle I can’t laugh to tears from their jokes. Sure, there’s humor, but it’s usually toned down compared to what I’m used to.

Really don’t see how America’s cultural hegemony means that American comedy is objectively ‘better’ than any other. Most people see American films because America is the biggest film maker in the world (or at least with most serious widespread appeal, unlike Bollywood) and has all of the richest film studios. Same as if you go on holiday abroad and you’re boring, you’re more likely to eat at McDonalds or Burger King rather than some nice local restaurant; not because it’s ‘better’, but because it’s familiar and ubiquitous.

I suspect this poll was based more on how many from each country replied and the national stereotypes associated with the countries, rather than how familiar with each country’s comedy output the respondents were. After all, Spain placed ahead of the UK and if you can name any Spanish comedians off the top of your head then you’re a better man than I.

I personally would rather watch programmes like The Thick Of It, Black Books, Green Wing or Alan Partridge rather than tepid crap like Two and a Half Men or Friends; or comedians like Bill Bailey, Ross Noble, Jack Dee or Stewart Lee rather than Dane Cook. It’s just that the ‘British sense of humour’ is rather more idiosyncratic than the American one, and hence doesn’t travel as well. It’s more absurdist or political as opposed to “What is the deal with airline food???”. (And yes, I think Jon Stewart, Steven Colbert, The Simpsons seasons 1-9 and Nurse Jackie are good too. And the American Office has its moments. Struggling to think of anything past that though).

Topic: Serious Discussion / why dont we ban credit cards? it'd fix the economy

You, uh, already made this thread. Bump it if you’ve got something new to add.

Topic: Off-topic / Cereal

And yes, I add the cereal first too. I’ve got no idea how putting milk in the bowl first would work. Surely you’d just get a bunch of cereal floating on the top and it’d overflow?

Topic: Off-topic / Cereal

Originally posted by Immortal7777:

I think this belongs in OT.

I agree.

Topic: Serious Discussion / Why do the liberal Democrats want to take guns away from Americans?

Originally posted by jhco50:

I’m always hearing about cameras in England on all of the street corners. It has been in our news. Add to that the extra taxes charged for driving in the city, etc. and I really feel sorry for you guys. Alas, we seem to be following in your footsteps. We fight a war of independence against your country and turn around and try to emulate it. :O

The vast majority of CCTV cameras in England are in large cities, not ‘all the street corners’, and the vast majority of those are run by private security companies for businesses to keep their stores and property secure, not by the government. CCTV cameras in London stations were instrumental in identifying the perpetrators of the 2005 bombings as well.

The congestion charge is only in force in 2 English cities that I know of, and there are several other cities around the world that also use it. Since it’s very difficult to drive in London anyway, it seems like a great way to keep congestion down and raise some extra revenue. And it’s not a ‘tax’, it’s a charge for services rendered, like paying to drive on a toll road.

Why do you feel sorry for us because our businesses like their security and a couple of our large cities cost a bit more to drive in?

Topic: Serious Discussion / Help Naming a Compound

It already exists. It comes up if you google ‘ethenol’.

Topic: Off-topic / Browser Mouse Gestures

Wow.

That’s pretty neat.

Topic: Serious Discussion / Osama Bin Laden finally killed

It’s not so much ‘hitting the internet’ as it is ‘releasing them to news networks’. Seeing as the US government is the only organisation that’s had access to the body so far, I think they have more important things to do than take pictures and leak them to gore websites at the moment.

Topic: Serious Discussion / Osama Bin Laden finally killed

Yeah, they’ve got a ‘highly confident DNA match’, and are still debating whether or not to release pictures of his body. Evidently the pictures are pretty gruesome, so they’d want the body to be cleaned up a bit before photographing it in any case.

I do think though that anyone expecting this to herald the end of the War On Terror™ is being wildly optimistic. Bin Laden hasn’t had a central role in al Qaeda’s leadership for years because of his illness and notoriety, and al Qaeda is far too fragmented an organisation to be defeated by the death of a single figure, however famous. It’s a useful propaganda coup to present to the Taliban, and will probably provide Obama with a ratings boost (however short lived), but this probably has more symbolic importance than strategic.

Topic: Off-topic / Okay, this one I seriously think was unjust

Use the report abuse function on the mod’s profile if you feel you were banned unjustly. Making a thread about it won’t help your case at all.

Topic: Off-topic / >70% Of Earth's Atmosphere Is Nitrogen

Wave of the future man, keep up or get out of the way.

Topic: Off-topic / >70% Of Earth's Atmosphere Is Nitrogen

Hibernating in the UV room ftw.

Topic: Off-topic / >70% Of Earth's Atmosphere Is Nitrogen

Man, respiration’s for chumps anyway. All the cool kids moved on to photosynthesis ages ago.

Topic: Serious Discussion / was the star of Africa really the Africans treasure?

Originally posted by Spaghedeity:

So now asking for background info isn’t allowed? Pretty sure it’s needed when creating a topic.

Pretty sure you could have asked more politely than you did.

Although the thread title’s been changed to something else now so um.

Topic: Serious Discussion / was the star of Africa really the Africans treasure?

Originally posted by tacloc:

Originally posted by unproductive:

Uh, no? It was legally dug up by a mining company, purchased by the local government at the time and presented to the royal family as a gift. Why should it be returned?

Now, the Elgin marbles on the other hand…

tehy found it in a mine where they were exploiting them first of all

You can disagree with how it was found, but you can’t say it’s ‘wrongly owned’ by the Queen. If you’re going to give back everything that was found over 100 years ago under conditions we find dodgy today then you’d open a massive can of worms. Practically every country in the world has property that was obtained through conquest or imperial values that we’d find unacceptable today. Hell, even today, you could start by sending your trainers back to Malaysia and work up from there.

Is there actually any popular movement to have the diamond returned or is this something you’ve just thought of?

Topic: Serious Discussion / was the star of Africa really the Africans treasure?

Uh, no? It was legally dug up by a mining company, purchased by the local government at the time and presented to the royal family as a gift. Why should it be returned?

Now, the Elgin marbles on the other hand…

Topic: Serious Discussion / Donald Trump thinks it is strange Obama does not produce his birth certificate

Originally posted by jhco50:

Originally posted by Flypurplehamster:

Originally posted by jhco50:

I have listened to the reports today and seen the original long form. I am happy and wonder why he didn’t just produce it 2 1/2 years ago instead of dragging this out. He is such a dud.

So now it’s Obama’s fault for giving conspiracy theorists an opportunity?

Actually, yes. He could have produced the document when he was first asked to by the people he is supposed to be serving, not ruling.

I must have missed the national referendum showing that a majority of the American public wanted Obama to release his other birth certificate in addition to the first one.

And he did release it anyway. The fact that he didn’t release it with sufficient alacrity to please you is really rather inconsequential.

Topic: Serious Discussion / Donald Trump thinks it is strange Obama does not produce his birth certificate

Originally posted by antiworld:

Originally posted by jhco50:

I have listened to the reports today and seen the original long form. I am happy and wonder why he didn’t just produce it 2 1/2 years ago instead of dragging this out. He is such a dud.

I’ve been posting why he legally could have, if not him, his family. I asked the same questions and have been met with, “Hawii says hes not allowed to.”

He wasn’t. In most circumstances he wouldn’t have been. He had to get a special waiver granted. Redem already quoted a passage saying that giving out a person’s full certificate is not standard practice:

The Hawai‘i State Department of Health began computer-generating vital statistics records in 2001. Since then, policy and practice has been to issue and provide only the computer-generated Certifications of Live Birth, and to not produce photocopies of actual records to fulfill requests for certified copies of certificates.
Director Fuddy made an exception for President Obama by issuing copies of the original birth certificate. The departmental policy to issue only computer-generated Certifications of Live Birth remains in effect for all birth records that have been computerized.

And reasons as to why he didn’t release the certificate as soon as the birthers wanted him to have already been gone over on the previous page.

Topic: Serious Discussion / Donald Trump thinks it is strange Obama does not produce his birth certificate

That article gives no evidence for the $2 million dollar figure, it simply states it and carries on. Politifact did a whole article on this issue where they actually contacted Obama’s legal team and looked through their tax returns. The money covered all sorts of legal expenses, not just expenses related to birth certificate issues.

The McCain campaign spent $1.3 million on legal bills as well. I wonder what he’s paying his lawyers to keep secret?

Topic: Serious Discussion / Donald Trump thinks it is strange Obama does not produce his birth certificate

It would change something, that is, the birther argument.

Well yes, apparently it’s changed the argument from ‘We want to see his birth certificate!’ to ‘Who cares about the birth certificate, it’s a fake!’ Which is exactly what most people predicted would happen and is another reason why the Obama team thought releasing it would be pointless.

Topic: Serious Discussion / Donald Trump thinks it is strange Obama does not produce his birth certificate

It took a long time because Obama evidently didn’t feel the need to release it at first, but he’s now getting worried/annoyed/amused by the media attention given to Donald Trump and so decided to release it in order to puncture his balloon. It also says in various news reports that they had to get a special waiver to release this form, which would also add some time.

He didn’t spend millions of taxpayers’ money covering it up, that figure was arrived at by attributing all of the money spent by his legal team during his presidential campaign to ‘cover ups’, when some of it was used fighting court battles against people challenging his citizenship, and the rest was used for other stuff.

I don’t know about any lies and excuses, you’d have to give examples.

Topic: Serious Discussion / Donald Trump thinks it is strange Obama does not produce his birth certificate

No unproductive: when one is debunked I do further investigating.

You didn’t do any investigating though. It looks like you just googled for more evidence that the certificate was fake and copied the first ones you found. If you’d done investigation you’d have looked through each of the points and retained the ones that you didn’t find satisfactory answers to. Then I wouldn’t have had to waste my time explaining why an 81 year old man dying 8 years ago is not necessarily evidence of a conspiracy.

I did not need that egotistic looking down on me writing style, the least you could do is show me respect.

Sorry, I’ve just been rehashing these same points for a while now and it’s getting rather tiresome.

Parents do not fill them out. If you were born in a hospital, you will be provided with one displaying all information.

When it comes to the parents race, they are asked what they consider themselves to be. On almost all forms there is an option for ‘Other, please specify’, or similar. If Obama’s father wanted to refer to himself as ‘African’ instead of ‘Negro’, then he would be perfectly able to do so.

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/dvs/birth11-03final-ACC.pdf

Oh, and here’s another Hawaiian birth certificate. Note that it also features the ‘mysterious’ Xs above the Twin and Triplet boxes, and also has various letters and numbers written in pencil in some of the boxes, just like Obama’s. I still don’t know what they mean, but you certainly can’t use them to prove any nefarious goings-on.

Topic: Serious Discussion / Donald Trump thinks it is strange Obama does not produce his birth certificate

So when one argument gets debunked you just delete your post, fire up Google, and find some more arguments to copy and paste? Sigh.

Supposedly the original document was in a bound volume (as reflected by the curvature of the left hand side of the certificate), why is the green patterned background of the document’s safety paper seem to be so seamless?

Because it was lying flat between pages and not creased? Just because one edge is curved doesn’t mean the rest of the document has to be creased as well.

Why, if Obama was born on August 4, 1961, was the “Date Accepted by Local Reg.” four days later on August 8, 1961?

Because it was posted to the registry office and that’s how long it took to arrive? There was a backlog of paperwork and it took 4 days to get around to processing it? Who knows.

The certificate says “African” for Obama’s father’s race when the term used in the 1960’s was “Negro”.

As far as I know, if the parents filled out the race themselves, they could choose whichever racial descriptor they wanted on the birth certificate.

Why are there smudges in the box containing the name of the reported attendant?

Because sometimes ink smudges.

David A. Sinclair, the M.D. who signed the document, died nearly eight years ago at age 81 making him unavailable to comment. How convenient.

It’s ‘convenient’ that he died at 81 years old? 2 years before Obama even became a senator? Clutching at straws much?

When the White House PDF file is opened in Adobe Illustrator you can find layers that point to tampering.

Saddened but not surprised that you didn’t read my post above debunking that.

In the “This Birth” box there are two mysterious Xs above “Twin” and “Triplet.” Are there other siblings we don’t know about?

Yeah, either that or it was to indicate where the Xs should go to line up the printer. Or maybe there were three evil siblings released from satan’s test tube and Obama was the one chosen to conquer America. Anyone’s guess really.

What is the significance of the strange numbers, seen vertically, on the document’s right side?

No idea. Ask the Hawaiian government.

The “Signature of Local Registrar” in box 21 looks to be a frantic attempt at establishing the document’s Hawaiian authenticity.

…What? The fact that the local registrar signed the birth certificate is evidence that the birth certificate is a fake? That’s just nonsensical.

Well, that was cathartic.