Lowdark

Terribly sorry to hear about your mistfortune. Glad to hear everybody is good though and that's the most important thing, especially at this time of year. It means that next Christmas you have to make two toasts instead of one. Merry Christmas Piper and all of CERB!

Happy Birthday (and Merry Christmas)! Don't get into too much trouble!

You are absolutely correct. And eveyone with a shred of common sense knows that the guy was wasted material. Forgive me if I used the thread to vent my own personal frustrations but I also wanted Isabella to know how highly she is regarded in case her self esteem was still wounded by this encounter. I am extemely happy she is safe and my heart goes out to her. Obviously she does not want to put herself in harm's way, and I hope she blacklisted him to protect herself and other ladies in the future (knowing how smart she is, I consider that a foregone conclusion). It's a shame that while he found enough dignity to apologize (through a PM), he didn't offer to compensate her.

I must confess to not reading all the comments in tis thread, but i'm sure comparisons have been made to professions like dentistry-if you no show or cancel your appointment too close to the set date, you pay a fee. It SHOULD be the same with the ladies (a much more enjoyable experience than sitting in the dentists chair being tortured for an hour or so). But I tend to agree with PK Jason, I don't know how it could be applied practically (that doesn't mean it couldn't be done, I'm just not smart enough to see it). The donation is for the lady's time-time she can never get back. I read an interview with Bruce Lee once where he said he only spent time with preferred people becuase he didn't want to risk spending time with people who might waste his. The universe, he said, only gives us so much before we're gone, so why waste any of it? But there's nothing unreasonable about a cancellation fee for someone who waste's a lady's time. But perhaps Jason is right when he suggests educating the guilty parties with immediate blacklisting.

I like to consider myself a fairly tolerant, progressive guy, but I'm about to go a litte dak ages here. There is no excuse for in the world for what this pitiful little creature did. Anyone presuming to lay their hands on you, or any lady, other than in loving tenderness, needs their fingers broken one by one. Like I said, I'm a pretty forgiving guy but I have a line that should never be crossed with no forgiveness on the other side and this useless little animal crossed it. Not only did he taint you with his filthy hands, he stole your precious time. As RG said, you could have seen someone far better than this "person" and you'll never be able to get that time back. He was in the wrong in every possible way. As someone who has had the enormous privilege of meeting you, Isabella, and the greater privilege of getting to know you, please allow me to inform this particular loser of what he walked away from. Isabella is not only a beautiful woman, but she has a genuine heart that's bigger than the sky. If you are very, very lucky, not only will she welcome you into her arms and her warm embrace, but she will welcome you to become a friend, something this "person" will never deserve. You did nothing wrong here Isabella. This cretin is a coward and a thief, and he deserves no forgiveness nor excuse. I apologize if I seem a little out of line, but I can forgive and empathize a lot; something like this isn't it. Any man who lays his hands on a woman, here on CERB or anywhere else, without the intent to care for or heal her (short of defending his own life) is an irrelevant waste. Having grown up on farms I can say with complete confidence that he is less than an animal. And one last description of Isabella's very fine character-she is the kind of person that the Spirit of Christmas is all about-warm, generous and kind. his "person" typifies a decaying spirit that can only cause pain to those around it.

Wow. Tragic. Even if you didn't always agree with his politics, you had to respect and admire his passion. He was a free thinker who let his principles dictate his battles as oppossed to partisan politics and didn't shy away from a fight.

While I have a few chosen charities I support all year round, at Christmas I support Toy Mountian and the Food Bank. Every kid should get something under the tree on Christmas morning and everyone deserves a full belly. There are few better feelings than sliding a bunch of toys into the collection depot knowing it's going to bring a smile to some liitle one's face.

All the best to you in the future. Hope you find what you're looking for and the sun always shines your way.

I know I for one would enjoy hearing your thoughts on a number of matters. I have enjoyed our handful of conversations on politics and other social matters. I say go for it!

LOL. You are more than welcome to it.

Learn more, laugh as much as I can and share the company of good people while trying to do some good along the way.

Sorry to hear about your misfortunes, Spud. Hearts out to the families of the soldiers, especially at this time of year. The world can definitely do with more understanding and compassion.

The true compassion and courage that lives in the human heart and the pure, innocent joy that can be found in a child's smile.

Happy Birthday! Hope you have a blast!

Condolences on your friend as well, Isabella. And thanks for the links becuase in the end, something does happen to each and every one of us along the way, we jusr never see it coming and are rarely prepared.

An increase in homosexuality? Uh, pardon?

I don't think I've ever had so many mixed emotions as the result of an ad before. But, if it get more guys checking and to the doctor, don't see much harm.

Are some of the Own Wall Street protesters spoiled and naieve? Absolutely. Do some of them need a harsh reality check? Without a doubt. But the sweeping generalization that they are all lazy spoiled rich lids is naieve as well. At the heart of the movement is corporate greed and corruption, behaviour which lead to the great economic meltdown that the world is still wrestling with. And it also needs mentioning that every generation views the following with a thinly veiled sense of contempt and every generation feels the next one, their children no less, is lazy and stupid and will be the end of the world. Our parents thought it about of us (even if they won't admit it), and they're parents thought the same thing about them and so on. Remember when the powers that be wanted to ba rock and roll because they feared it would lead the impressionable youth astray? Remember when they said the same thing about sexual liberty? And what did the middle agers say about the kids protesting the Vietnam War, a conflict seen as senseless and stupid today but was embraced by some many people during the day? It goes on and on. I'd even wager that even Bill's parents thought he was a lazy slacker when he was in college, for no other reason then because he didn't have to face the same struggles they did when he was growing up.

I haven't seen the threads that PistolPete is referring to, but have seen some discussions flare up into full blown fights before, which saddens me because in my opinion CERB should be a place where adults can share their opinions freely and responsibly, with respect and dignity. I don't think PP was trying to equate those virtues with the Christmas season per se, but maybe was just a little curious if some of the people who got carried away in some of the mentioned threads weren't quite in the holiday spirit as yet. Courtesy and tolerance should be a 365 thing, but at Christmas it can be a little disappointing when people lose their tempers over a difference of opinion. Even wars are halted during the holidays, so we should be able to get along here for a few days at least. If there's one thing Christmas means, it's that we should always play nice. And not just during December, but all year round.

The ladies I have had the privilege of meeting have often treated me far better than women I have met in conventional dating situations. I have had the pleasure of debating my favorite topics with women who know more about such issues than I do and have made a very valued, honoured friendship. If I was in a relationship, I would be monogamous, but I joined CERB becuase relationships were proving to be exceptionally difficult and the warmth and companionship I have often found as a result of CERB is anything but a curse.

Wow. Thank you for all the kind words and recognition. And a special thank you to a special, beautiful Isabella.

All the very best in your future. Love laugh and live to the fullest. You were and always be a valued member here. Wishing you the absolute best days ahead.

I think we can break down the situation into a number of bullet points. In the U.S., the elite 1% do not pay they're fair share of taxes. In fact, it recently came to light that the U.S. spends upwards of 30 billion a year on subsidies and rebates to existing millionnaires. Any and all attempts to reform the tax code have been thwarted by forces owned by the those benefitting from it's inadequacies. No Accountability. The financial meltdown had a lot to do with unethical and illegal behaviour by a number of powerful individuals who knew what they were doing but didn't care. And many got away with it (some with million dollar bonuses courtesy of government bailouts) while tens of thousands of hard working people with mortgages and families to feed lost their jobs and livelihoods. This doesn't just apply to the financial sector-who will ever be held accountable for the invasion of Iraq on a lie? Who will tell the parents of the soldiers who lost their lives that they died honourably chasing the economic interests of a handful, disguised as someting else? Who here in Canada was ever truly held responsible for the sponsorhip scandal? It doesn't matter whose in power, the list goes on and on. We have long embraced the idea of seperating Church and State (although anyone paying attention to the Republican nomination process knows that's a myth); what the protests are looking for (I think) is the seperation of money and state. Wall Steet essentially owns the White House, and whenever the bankers and money lenders control the most powerful civilization on the planet like an obedient puppet, that can't be good. Will it change? Can it? Not as long as politicans are corporate America's hired help and citizens wield no true power.

Congratulations!

Happy Birthday and all the Best!