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For the purposes of this argument I'm referring to a psychopath as someone who displays a "lack of empathy, callousness and complete disregard for anything or anyone else other than one's selfish needs" (as defined in your second source). Nothing in that definition implies whether it's learned...

Actually, this is a good point. One of the major problems with political and business power structures is that they reward psychopaths. I'm positive that if you could give an objective test that could prove so, the grand majority of high-ranking politicians and CEOs would qualify as psychopaths...

Because they believe they are acting in their best interests. They have been taught that in order to ensure the best possible lifestyle for themselves and their families, they are obligated to take advantage of whatever advantages they are given, and that includes killing others to ensure their...

Dude, we've cheated evolution several times over. The weakest of us are no longer guaranteed to be weeded out of the gene pool, especially since the ways we conventionally achieve success have little to nothing to do with our physical composition. We accommodate for the handicapped and the...

What's the knockout game?

This is exactly what I'm saying. Of course you'll kill for food if you're starving. A society that ensures you'll never starve is a society you'll never have to kill for food in. Of course if you're physically threatened you'll defend yourself. But being physically threatened is not something...

What's human nature? A couple of people I used to work with tried to tell me that war is part of human nature. I call bullshit. I don't want to fight in a war. You don't want to fight in a war. Even the people fighting in wars don't want to fight in wars. Some higher-ups tell us we don't have...

Oh? What purpose do our instincts serve after we're done breast-feeding?

Yeah, biologically we are nothing but animals, and we undoubtedly have instinctual traces of behavior that got us through the hunter-gatherer days, but we've pretty much reached the point where our instincts are rendered obsolete. We are raised from birth to be rational beings who make logical...

We certainly wouldn't have to change our DNA. People don't get violent just for the sake of being violent. Fixing the imbalances in society and assuring that everyone's basic human needs are being met would go a long way to reducing violence, no threats of force or DNA manipulations needed.

Did Giuliani put himself in harm's way? Did he take any risks? I don't think effectively running a city after a disaster is particularly heroic.

So... an example of a woman who made false rape allegations and was caught somehow proves rape culture doesn't exist? Don't misogyny-bait, bro.

People supported the patriot act?

What's your definition?

You don't get to be a hero based on what group you're a part of, you're a hero based on your individual actions. A firefighter isn't a hero by default, but after he climbs out of a burning building coughing up smoke with an old lady slung over his shoulder, yeah, he's a hero. The military is...

Well he had years and years of experience in other aircraft, and apparently pilots are asked to fly new aircraft pretty regularly. He did have a co-pilot, but they're suggesting there may have been hesitation to critique his flying because of embarrassment or awkwardness or something. I don't...

I'm actually with you on this one, Chuk.

I never claimed to "love" other cultures (except perhaps Japanese culture, which I love). I actually do appreciate you explaining normalized rape in Muslim culture. But see, this ties in pretty well with why we need to help people integrate. Make it really, really clear that in Western countries...

"Anything but the point." No, see, that actually counts asproofas well as legal "evidence". It's not hard, man.

I still don't know how you can rape someone without intent. And no, I don't think it's reasonable to put Muslim/African job applications in the shredder. This is an example of a zero-tolerance policy, and by now we should all know why those don't work (because they remove human judgement from...

Well, I thought I made my position that Zimmerman will not and should not be found guilty of anything pretty clear, but I get your point. As for the article, it would be easier to take it seriously if it wasn't taking completely unnecessary pot shots at Obama's election. Besides that, it...

Wait, before all of your jimmies collectively implode, allow me to point out that I was being facetious. Jeez, some people can't take a joke. Lighten up, guys. Here's a serious question, though: When they say Martin was high on pot, are they basing that on the ridiculous "legal limit" that...

It all makes sense now. Martin, fixated on this guy that's been eyeing him and following him around, decides he wants to figure out what the story is. He retraces his steps and finds Zimmerman, asking him if he has a problem. Zimmerman, already frustrated that another punk had seemingly gotten...

So Martin was high on pot? This could change a lot. Since weed has a well-known mellowing effect, it makes it that much harder to believe Martin either initiated the fight or was as aggressive as Zimmerman described. Prosecution should be all over this.

And even if the person being asked understands the question, who's to say whether everyone in the jury can make heads or tails of questions like this? Seems pretty counter-intuitive.

I wish they would stop with this "recognizing the voice" bullshit. Power of suggestion plays a much, much larger role than actually being able to discern whose screaming voice you can hear in the background of a muffled phone recording. Are lawyers just trained to make big deals about things...

"Anything but the point."

Sounds like the tenth is gonna get raped.

No legal difference, although it would certainly be perceived differently by the public.

SYG is only valid if you are the person being attacked, not if you initiate the attack. Plus, it's been suggested that Zimmerman isn't using SYG as his defense. You're right, though, in the end it doesn't matter who started the fight, simply because it can't be proven either way. It would...

Again, "anything but the point". I've acknowledged that Zimmerman's testimony qualifies as legal "evidence" in the case. When did I say I didn't find Zimmerman's story credible? Like I said repeatedly, there is zero proof that Zimmerman attacked first. There is also zero proof that Martin...

From what I understand, ignorance of the law never, ever means exemption from the law (even for immigrants), so I don't understand your whole first paragraph. How do you rape someone without intent? In any case, without knowing more about those cases it sounds like the legal system made some...

Ummm.... yeah. That's why I chose the legal definition, or the definition as it pertains to law. (See where it says "definition 3"? That's because I skipped definitions 1 and 2, which were not about the law.) But you know what? I'll give you that Zimmerman's testimony counts as "evidence" in...

From dictionary.com: Evidence(definition 3): Law. data presented to a court or jury in proof of the facts in issue and which may include the testimony of witnesses, records, documents, or objects. Data presentedin proof of the facts. Zimmerman is not a "witness" in this case, he's the...

None of that is evidence that Martin initiated the fight. None. Of. It.

Evidence is tangible, measurable proof that backs up some version of the story.

Again, that's not evidence. Zimmerman claiming that Martin attacked him does not count as "evidence" by any definition of the word. However, there is just as little evidence to suggest Zimmerman attacked first (which is to say, no evidence at all). Because we have no evidence either way, we...

Swagdaddy changed the conversation when he made the out-of-the-blue ridiculous claim that racism was somehow a taboo topic here, punctuating that claim with intentionally offensive language used for "shock value". If we're to stay on topic, maybe he should stop race-baiting. Otherwise, we...

Jesus, guys, are you kidding me? Numbers is clearly,clearlyhaving a laugh by pushing your buttons. Wading through pages of troll-feeding is exhausting. Stop giving him the satisfaction of engaging him on something he clearly has no knowledge about or interest in.

Fuckin' A!