Alla, About putting a :( next to my age, I was just testing if Kostya's parser for tha field accepted strings as well as numbers. I have been programming for too long :( Lena

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OK Elena, this is a mess :)) Maybe I contradicted myself somewhere, I don't remember already, there have been so many posts all over the place. Maybe. It really doesn't matter. I think everyone is equal and has same rights, but as far as dating is concerned, it's just not good when a guy jumps the girl on the first date and pushes for sex. That's all I meant. If there is a spark between people and they want to have sex, fine. It's their right, and there is nothing bad about it, as long as both agree. There are no rules in this crazy world.

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Alex, you are right, I am sorry.

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Lena, I am not right, and you are not right. Nobody is right :)) Everyone is crazy. So nothing to be sorry about, just stand your ground Its all about who is more persistent and patient :)

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Nope, deffinately, I believe there are absolute rights and wrongs that apply to everybody. I think the world makes sense and it's not just crazy.

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Len, I like such definitive statements.. takes guts..

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Lena, and what absolute truths would those be? Of course there are certain common social beliefs about good and evil, right and wrong. These are more or less specified in the Constitution (legal) and the Bible (moral). But have you ever done something "wrong" in your life and felt "right" about it and otherwise? Haven't you ever been confused? Often the border between good and evil melts, it becomes impossible to determine because of many factors in a situation. That's where you have to be yourself and make your own decisions, which may be viewed as both "right" and "wrong". I am not a rebel or anti-social type, but often doubt these so-called "absolute" truths.

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Thanks Alla :) Yes, just like what you are saying, Alex, I dont think that there are any rules that you can apply to any situation and always come out doing the right thing, but you can listen to what feels right and wrong to you and think about things yourself logically and then you can always find a solution, the confusing part is figuring out what it is that you think or feel and that what you decide can be different from the established opinion. Like they say, confusion is just a step in the process of learning, not the stopping point :)

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Well, it is a well known fact that the "established" opinion is not necessarily always right. Long time ago it was an established opinion that Earth was flat. So, whatever is established is not always true. This subject is even more shaky when we talk about moral truths. You said that you should feel the right and wrong and then compare it to the established opinion. Well, even the wording itself "established opinion" is already biased - it is an opinion of a large group of people - well who cares about what mob thinks. Large groups of people thought Hitler was right, so what. Now, there is a problem with feeling of the right and wrong. How do you know what is right and wrong - you are taught about that from the childhood, observe the people around you while you grow up. Thus, your understanding of right and wrong is the product of the society. The society where you grew up determines your beliefs about right and wrong. Now consider this - somewhere in Palestine children grow up being taught that blowing up themselves is good, and they do that because they "feel" it is right! They sincerely believe it is the only right thing and that they become martyrs. If you grew up there, you'd believe the very same thing! It is all relative, don't you see! Hence all the religious wars, jihad and stuff like that. Where are the absolute truths you talked about??? What is right? What is wrong? Isn't the world crazy?

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To add to the subject :)) Therefore, because there are no absolute truths in the world, a person has to form a personal system of values, or philosophy, and stick to it. That's why I am saying you must stand your ground no matter what, be yourself, don't let anyone change your own internal equilibrium unless you consider the change good for you. Think about that - no absolute truths exist, only your personal truths. Follow them.

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And yet again me, the restless soul! And that is why Fight Club is one of my favorite movies ever - an absolute masterpiece in the subject of right and wrong and world craziness thing. Lena have you seen it? There is Brad Pitt in that movie, hehe, the secret dream of you girls :)))

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I have to gladly admit and acknowledge that many Russian people today possess a very good command of English. Compared to just a few years ago, this is a pleasant thing to notice. As for the belief system, it strongly depends on a person's... "belief system". Although we all appreciate the open-minded theory about non-existence of morals and rules common for all, for a Christian, for example, or pretty much for any person of faith, there ARE absolute values and rules. For Christians, those are Ten Commandments. So if they say "shalt not kill", regardless of his/her open-mindness, the person will not commit the aforementioned. Even if you are not a believer, I would rather everyone had some basic guidelines. Cheers,

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Actually, I dont believe in the ten commandments. There are exceptions to every rule, where killing is right, where stealing is right, where you can disobey your parents (they are not saints), and what is this with not using God's name in vein? Who cares if you say "damn" or "hell"? If this pisses "God" off so much he had to put it in the ten commandments, he is just too damn sensitive. It doesnt say "Dont molest children", "Dont use people", "Dont be cruel to animals", "Don't stand by idly while wrong is being committed when you can do something about it" in there, even though those things are in my opinion, most of the time, a lot worse than cheating on your husband. The truth is, you cannot possibly innumerate all the rights and wrongs and christianity was one attempt to explain the world that was unsuccessful, just like many religions before and after it were. By the way, yetromantic, I am offended by you saying you are glad russians can finally speak english, that is patronizing - I think you can figure out how. The problem with children who grow up in Palestine is that they are taught to believe that they should follow rules just like they are written in the Koran, which says "when you meet someone who does not believe in Allah, kill him in a barbaric manner". I cannot recall exactly how. And that people who are not Muslim are evil and will go to Hell. They are taught NOT to think because that way they might slip under the control of the devil and to just follow orders of their "muslim brothers". There are no absolute rules, but there are absolute truths, I dont believe that what I am saying here is just my opinion, I believe that it's right for everybody, no matter what religion they are or if they live here or in Palestine. For examples, things that you would feel really guilty doing are wrong, things that you would feel really good about doing (not just now but later also) are right, people all have their own logic for doing things that other people can understand, stuff like that. I am not saying that it is 100% guaranteed anywhere that I am right - many things we have gotten used to believing are only theories, not only evolution, but even gravity, it's just that I do feel pretty sure about it and I havent ever seen anything that contradicted these things. If I will ever see it, I will reconsider. If I go to Hell after I die, I will admit I was wrong about Christianity/Islam or whatever other religion's Hell it is. Just like if one day apples will begin to float up instead of falling down when they are dropped, we will all reconsider the theory of gravity. BTW, I dont think Alla is right about what she said about me having guts, it's just that I am more sure about what I am saying.

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Lena :)) Secular humanism is a yammie :)) I am happy for you that you are so sure about everything in your life. You are a lucky person, I am still figuring things out for myself.

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Lena - Bravo !!! And don't worry, there is no Hell, or Haven. So nobody is going to change your mind

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- Независимость - это когда в 20-й раз наступаешь на одни и те же грабли, а русские уже ни при чем....