I'm sorry, but I'm not a fan of the new design. Is there a way to set the "old" lobby to default?

I'm a very opinionated person (you may have noticed that), but I'm stumped. For the first time in my life, I have no idea what to think. Israel... is perplexing. Let me tell you why.

When I was young, I was taught that killing was unquestionably wrong. But odd things began to creep in, and I started to wonder at the violence seemingly inherent in my religion. A good example is the story told during the holiday of Purim. Part of the story involves a man who wants to kill the Jews- Haman. When his plot is uncovered, the king makes the day planned for the Jews' demise into the day of their revenge. The Jews go around and slaughter Haman, his family, and his followers. Then... we celebrate. The holiday is a merry one, disturbingly enough, where people revel in the story of the turned around persecution.

And why not? In every generation the Jewish people have been hated. It seems only natural that we would be happy about a story where we kill our oppressors. But the problem with the story of Purim is that they are not actively oppressing the Jews. The Jews, in fact, aren't downtrodden in the story at all, aside from Haman's evil plan. They are equals killing equals, when nonviolent means could've been used.

And today? Today we are not equals killing equals. Israel- the supposedly secular state that it is- is waging a war fueled by the idea of revenge that the Jews have entertained from the beginning of time. We say, "the Nazis did the most horrid of things to us in the Holocaust, so we created a Jewish homeland..." As though past prosecutions will allow us to atone for our modern sins. The genocidal war against the Palestinians- wronged so long ago, and now the violence in Lebanon.

This is wrong- and so, I would think that I would say that enough is enough- that Israel should cease all fighting along it's borders.

But it isn't that simple- because every coin has two sides. And you have to wonder...

Groups like Hamas and Hezbollah only want the destruction of Israel- and they want it because of what Israel represents. It represents Judaism. Religious intolerance at it's most basic level. Iran and Syria, too- they hate the Jewish people and the Jewish state. They will not rest until, as Iran's president puts it, Israel is "wiped off the map."

Doesn't the state of Israel have a right to defend itself from those who would destroy it? Were we not doing just that when we invaded Afghanistan? (though not Iraq)

Neither side is clear. That is why this is a divisive issue. And I can't decide which side you'll support- and I don't know which side I support. But please, don't confuse the actions of the state of Israel with the mentality of the Jewish people. I have always thought that our religion is one of peace- so many stories are told that make it seem so. And don't confuse the actions of Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran or Syria with the mentality of the Muslim people. Theirs is also a religion of peace. But when religious fundamentalism gets out of hand, this is what happens. Is support for Israel anti-semitism toward Muslims? It shouldn't be. Is wanting peace anti-semitism toward Jews? No, it usually isn't.

When debating the Middle East, it is important not to jump to the "anti-semitism" label. I'm certainly not an Anti-Semite... I myself am a 'semite'. Consider both sides of every story. And don't confuse religion with extremism.

-Fawkes

Donald Rumsfeld is giving the president his daily briefing. He concludes by saying: "Yesterday, 3 Brazilian soldiers were killed."

"OH NO!" the President exclaims. "That's terrible!"

His staff sits stunned at this display of emotion, nervously watching as the President sits, head in hands.

Finally, the President looks up and asks, "How many is a brazillion?"

I believe that the one thing wrong about today's society, more then anything else, is the lack of civility in public discourse. It is evident everywhere you go; shock jocks sit on the radio and call out profanities to each other all day. Even our senators and representatives have long abandoned the gentlemanly act of dueling (all but one, at least... right Zell?) and instead opt to slander each other publicly when they disagree. For this reason, I am proposing a few rules to follow, in order to enhance the general civility of the public discourse:

1. A crude phrase can easily be made into a civilized one with minimal thought, like so:
Before: "Ann Coulter is a stupid bitch."
After: "It is my opinion, and certainly the opinion of any thinking person, that Ann Coulter is a stupid bitch."

2. Slandering your opponent with lies and half truths is out. Instead, tell the truth about them:
Before: "George Bush is dumber then a sack of shit."
After: "George Bush is dumber then a sack and a half of shit- he totally has the one sack beat."

3. Party boundaries shouldn't confine opinion in debate:
Before: "All republicans suck."
After: "All republicans and Zell Miller suck. But John McCain is okay most of the time."

I want to scream. "Hellgate: London" was going to be release Feb. 1st, but got pushed back. No time is set, though I've seen sites that claim to be shipping the game 5/1/06. On top of that, "Diablo III" is going to be release *some time* this year or early next. No date is truly known.

And what about Duke Nukem' Forever? "when it's done."

What game(s) have you waited a long time for? What game(s) did you wait a long time for?