green

Here is an address where those who are interested can connect to local newspapers throughout the globe. I sent it to a friend of mine who lives in San Francisco some years ago. He had been complaining about the news sources that were available to him being too caught up in the American world view. http://mypage.bluewin.ch/a-z/cusipage/allpaprs.html I hope I got this address right. I am blonde, ya know. Yup, I tried it out and it works so go ahead and enjoy. On a related note, you might be interested to hear that my friend who lives in Germany receives CNN there. She receives the Euro version and she claims that this is very different from the American version. It is, she says, less strident.

Laurend's comments are important, I think, and this is why I have reproduced her quote in full above. I, too, believe that to force a woman to have children that she does not want is to reduce her to second class status. She is only one step above wearing the niqab for the message is the same: you must abstain (unlike a man) from enjoying the sexual side of your nature. As for the Bible, I went to my favourite site and found the following information. As I have commented before, this collection of documents that we call the Bible is a complicated and often contradictory land in which to roam. Hosea 9:11-16 Hosea prays that the people of Ephraim will be barren. God hears his prayer and causes these women to miscarry. Numbers 5:11-21 contains a brutal description of an induced abortion technique to be performed on a wife suspected of adultery. Numbers 31:17 "Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known a man by lying with him." (One might assume that some of these women were pregnant, eh.) Hosea 13:16 God promises to dash to death the infants of Samaria and "their women with child shall be ripped up." 2 Kings 15:16 God allows the pregnant women of Tappuah to be "ripped open." As for Jesus, He criticizes the Jews for not killing their disobedient children according to Old Testament Law: see Mark 7:9 and Matthew 15: 4-7.

I like baggy clothes and believe that they look the best on me. This is because, thin or fat, I have never had anything near an hourglass figure. I've always been more of a tube. I have always had a thick waist, broad shoulders and comparatively small breasts and hips. When I gain weight I gain this evenly over my torso. I look like a love seat with slim arms and legs. This is also why I still take big sizes even though I now weigh 179. I've still got that thick waist and broad shoulders. What a drag! Now, one of my best friends is also fat but she is built entirely differently from me. She has big breasts, an actual waist, and rounded hips. She looks like a fertility figure and she looks fabulous in fitted clothes whereas I look like a cowboy in drag. And my jeans are always baggy in the butt, hips, and thighs.... But big boxy tops look good on me. I've really enjoyed reading this thread although I have felt a little envious of all you folk who can wear normo sizes and yet who are roughly in the same ball park weight wise as I am.

Wow, he really is a prick, isn't he? Maybe it is time to push him back.... From my understanding of your last post it seems that he has put the utilities in his name and is therefore on the hook for paying these bills. Afterall, it is now a matter of his credit rating, not yours, that is the issue: he will pay these bills. You don't have to contribute. Do remove your accounts to another bank and do arrange for direct deposit, etc. You might also wish to remove funds that remain in joint accounts at this time. With respect to the phone, etc, get this account under your name and arrange for payment to be made through your new account or - if you want to play dirty - cancel these services and get yourself a cell phone that you keep near to your person at all times. Another approach might be to have a strong door with a good lock installed in order to protect your room and have new cable, phone and internet service supplied to this room only. In this way your daughter won't be entirely cut off from these services. If you choose to do this you can get a geek in and have him unlock your home access to this site. (You did say earlier that your husband had made it impossible for you to get here from your home computer.) I do feel for you and for all that you are going through. Having children certainly complicates things when it comes to fighting this sort of marital war. He is, afterall, their father and yet he is behaving in a very brutal fashion towards yourself. You are in a difficult position: do you descend to his level and take your gloves off? or do you continue to take the high road for the children's sake? My own instinct would be to take the gloves off at this point. You have put up with a lot. Why don't you talk to your kids about the situation? Ask them how they would feel if things got a bit bloodier around the house for awhile? Tell them it won't be forever.

Did someone say my colour?? Green wants to know. Oh Lila, I am so, so envious of you. My husband and I were planning to go to Mexico over the Xmas period but his sister and her two children are coming here from France and so we have chosen to delay our trip. It will be fun spending Xmas in the company of children but I do love Mexico, particularly the Pacific coast. I am hoping that we will get down there in the new year. Walking, eating salsa and guacamole, swimming in the ocean, and just generally hanging out sounds like heaven to me. Have you done any riding yet? There was a ranch on the main street of the little town where we once stayed. It's a drag about your band being so tight. Hopefully it will loosen up a bit. Have a very merry and enjoy yourself to the maximum. :biggrin1:

I had read somewhere that she was much more hawkish on this war than Clinton might have been. She has spoken out in favour of it since holding her present elected position. Upon learning this I became somewhat less enchanted by her - I am one of those who have always been against this war in Iraq - but I am a foreigner and wouldn't be able to vote anyway.

In England people eat a lot of lamb. My Mum came from England and so we grew up eating lamb. I never liked it when I was young. My mother tended to overcook meat. I like meat to be rare.

"There, but for the grace of God, go I." But none of us who are able to participate in this debate have to worry about that caveat, do we? None of us are or are looking after individuals who are so dreadfully handicapped that our household pets display more, well, what can you call it but mammalian charm. I guess the issue of foetal or pre-born rights is a little clearer for those of us who are atheists. We are not only used to examining nature but we think of ourselves as being part of the continuum. This whole biz of how gets to survive and who doesn't is tricky biz indeed. My brother is a doctor and in his first year in med school he learned that - historically speaking - more women died through childbirth and its complications than men did in war. Yep, up until the 20th century childbirth was a perilous experience for oh so many of us. (Try typing in puerpal fever.) I am an atheist and I had an abortion the moment I found out that I was pregnant. This was between week 6 and 7. Had I personally been so unorganised and so negligent as to let this state of affairs run to the point where I could have had a live birth I would have done so and I would have given the child up for adoption. This is how I am built. I really didn't want to be a mum. But I had always been meticulous about birth control and I knew pretty early on when everything went bad. I am an atheist. There is no question that the mother's rights trump that of her unborn baby. When you walk into a wood you will see a lot of saplings. Most of them won't survive. The rights of the full grown parental trees will trump that of the seedlings.

I have been a pretty mouthy outsider on some of your more intellectually challenging threads. I am a Canadian as some of you may know and some years ago I would have felt guilty wading into issues that you all might rightfully consider as being as domestic issues. I would have kept my gob shut but now I feel comfortable engaging in these debates and I feel that you must understand why. The truth is that American policies affect not only American citizens but do take in a raft of other people: Canada is certainly affected, as is Mexico, and then we have a mess of tiny Carib countries - the ones that girdle Cuba - and then of course there are the central and south American countries. Not all Canadians are aware that in the 1930s the Canadian economy was neck in neck with that of Brazil. It is certain that Canada has profited in a major way by the economic rise of the United States. She has been floating to the top on America's coat tails. On the other hand Great Britain had been occupying for centuries the place to which the US had come - both with respect to moral power and to physical might - after the conclusion of second world war. It is kind of interesting that it is the Anglophone nations who seem to be the ones who are the most engaged in this notion of democracy and freedom of speech, etc. So after the second world war we are looking at a chunk of property that has been depleted - let's call this most of Europe - and then we gets to view the healthy turf of North America. Oh lucky day! This property happens to be sheltered by a significant chunk of water on either side. This is a good thing for the obvious and stupid reason: Americans don't want to be invaded and trapped and stuck worshipping a)Lenin or b)Allah or c)whatever. It is important that you Americans understand that you now have other nations who rely upon you. You have become the single most important nation in this world at this time. You no longer have the right to privacy. You no longer belong to yourselves. This is why you will be subjected to complaints.

Thanks for giving the above snopes address, lisah. It is most informative on Clinton's record on terrorism. As for Clinton's sexuality, I, like most foreigners, have always failed to see what this had to do with his ability to govern. I have noted that a number of prominent Republicans have been recently outed for their own sexual pecadillos and are thus a long, long way from being as pure as the driven snow. The difference, as I see it, is that Clinton never ran his presidential campaign on this issue of family morals, whatever that might mean, unlike these new socially conservative Republicans. If there are any more scandals in this party I suspect that social conservatism will be just another way of saying hypocrisy.

It's true that cats are no good when it comes to cleaning up one's home of dropped nosh. They are actually messy eaters. Mine leave a litter of half eaten cat cookies around their feeding station and one of 'em likes to hook the wet stuff out of his food bowl and hurl it on the floor with his paw before he will consider eating it. The other licks the gravy off the gooey food and later may or may not eat the rest. And of course you gotta feed 'em before you get around to making the morning coffee....which you yourself need so bad! Still, that is The Way of The Cat.

All the very best to you, Bitter, and I hope you have a wonderful and peaceful Christmas.

Thanx, Yoda. In the right hands my neighbourhood barber shop would make for a good TV series, being as it's multicultural and all - which is the Canadian thing.:clap2:

Yippee!!!!!!!!!:clap2:

I am one of those who thinks that appearance plays a powerful role in the initial attraction between two people. We all have physical types which we prefer; some people like blondes, others brunettes, some like people to be thin and others not. As a species we all prefer people who are healthy and handsome. After we get past focussing on the looks we then get to learn about the personality and this is what really counts in a healthy mature relationship. This is what my husband and I were discussing just the other night. When we met we were both thin and good looking. He still is but then he is 9 years younger than I am. I got fat and turned 57 and then I got the lapband. I have lost quite a bit of unsightly weight and my husband tells me that I am looking good and then he says but I kinda liked you fat, too. You were cuddly that way. The thing is that he means it. What we figured out is that although looks play an important role in attracting two people to each other it is personality and heart that keeps them together as they age and begin to tarnish.

Good luck, Bandiva! I envy you going to Mexico. It is one of my favourite places to visit and go shopping in. And I have heard nothing but good things about the surgeons down there. As for the west coast weather, it seems that you are getting a lot of it! I was watching some film of your latest storm on the news last night. Very impressive. And it seems it did a lot of damage, too. Now you are leaving for warmth and sun and the lapband. Good for you!:clap2:

Wow! That is absolutely amazing! It must have been terrifying while it was going on.

Sex is part of life. For sure a woman who does not want children should get her ducks in a row and take care of contraceptive business. This is what I did. Sometimes this doesn't work, however. Why should a woman be punished or left holding the bag because her anatomy is different from that of a man? What I do find interesting is that those regions which have the least generous reaction towards a woman's right to choose are also those which have the least generous social welfare safety net. Yes, there are those who are the professional poor and who choose to have children carelessly. The children of these people, however, should be given access to a quality education in order that they might break the cycle. My hunch is that it would be a good thing to invest in these kids in the hope that they might leave home and their loser parents. In my opinion abortion is not the issue that people should be worrying about. People should be spending their time, money and attention on the kiddies that are being produced and who are not doing very well. As for abortion, leave these women alone. They already have a lot on their plates without hearing from any self-righteous back seat drivers. Ya want to help kids. Well, there are plenty of them out of there.

Omigawd! Some of my worst hair catastrophes have been from the most expensive hair places. I think that this is because these people think of themselves as artistes and therefore feel quite comfortable ignoring your wishes. My last disaster happened a couple of months before I was due to visit friends in Paris. She gave me a perm. She cut my hair first, then over-permed it, and then I ended up looking - because I have reddish blonde hair - like Bozo the Clown! Yes, I went to Paris looking like Bozo the Clown and I paid about 150 bucks for the priviledge. Ugh! It was one of the low points of my life. Now I go around the corner to my neighbourhood barbershop. This is run by a woman named Ashanti who comes from Trinidad. She is a tiny and very beautiful woman with hair that hangs past her waist. Her barbershop is in the way of a neighbourhood institution and serves a variety of folk: little old Portuguese ladies, teenagers, punk rockers, and people who come in a variety of colours and have a variety of hair needs as a result. I have thick, kinda frizzy hair. I always ask her to give me a blunt cut. A couple of years back I was bored and gave myself bangs. I used my nail scissors to do the job. Ashanti was appalled by my self-mutilation but she rolled with it. And I like the bangs. When I go in she washes my hair and then cuts it. This takes about 20 minutes because I don't want to wait for a blow dry. She charges me 15 bucks and I give her a 20 dollar bill. I never make an appointment and I always leave in a good mood. This is because her barbershop is fun place to hang out in. There is usually 3 or 4 people loitering in the shop and these are always a mixed group of individuals. But they all know Ashanti and they are having fun chatting to each other and joking. I have no idea why I launched into this whole long post but I suspect it is because it is because our hair is part of our identity. Good luck on your hair cut. Let us know how this turns out, eh.

:cry Ever since I got sick with this depression over 3 years ago my way of dealing with stress and anxiety has been by spending hours and hours on the computer. I get nothing done around the house and it drives my husband nuts. :help: At least it stops me from eating, eh.:clap2:

Green sez thanx for the happy relaxed thoughts, Bandiva.:grouphug:

Ah, there used to be a sex shop, Love Craft, in that area but I think that it is long gone.... Alas. The only places I can think of right now are on Church Street in the Gay Ghetto and those cards are kinda specially bent, if ya get what I mean.:grouphug: Nope, Lovecraft is still at 27 Yorkville Avenue. I just looked it up in my Yellow Pages. I would try there. I would think that they are bound to have naughty Christmas cards.:heh:

Christmas Eve at the in-laws and Christmas Day with a friend. Nothing else as far as I know.

Mmmm....Ativan.... So relaxing.

Not old - sophisticated! And don't you ferget it!!:heh: