I'm more of a Scrabble fan myself. Or Trivial Pursuit.

That's basically the cliff's note version of what I've been trying to say for a few pages here.

The lawyer in me would kill me if I didn't say it: You don't have a legal right to say anything you want on a privately owned internet forum. The right against the infringement of free speech concerns only laws passed by Congress relevant to public places. And even that right is tempered by many exceptions.

Cheers to the restricted, but glorious, ability to say stupid things on someone else's website.

So that's changing a big part of a person's life, then. And who decides what is "too reckless"? So not only is it a change, but you would be completely dictating that change.

Whisper, we're just commenting our opinions...it doesn't mean anything about whether or not we hate you, or even dislike you. It's just our opinion and even if it disagrees with yours it doesn't mean anything about our impression of you.

Cheers.

What about the example of a significant other who drives recklessly. That involves potential injury. Would that be worth suggesting a change?

Indeed I cannot!

No one here is refuting your right to say anything about it. Just commenting on the fact that you did say something about it.

Lol, sounds like there are some instances where you support change in a relationship then.

Any military action against Russia would be a grave mistake on the part of the United States. They are quickly becoming one of the three most powerful nations in the world, and are ruthless when it comes to militaristic ventures.

A superficial look at the situation seems like just an overreaction to a small problem, but a closer look seems to support the theory that Russia has been planning to re-annex the territory for a while. Reports indicate that Russian tanks had been amassing at the border for up to a month, despite the fact that the peacekeeper deaths only occurred less than a week ago. Russia explains this as "normal military routines." Suspicious coincidence, I think.

It's being compared to Russian action in the insurgent region of Chechnya over the last decade, but there is a big difference. Chechnya was a breakaway region who declared their own independence, knowing full well that they would need to defend themselves and that it would be a full blown war. South Ossetia, on the other hand, is within the boundary of Georgia, and as a result there is much more "international" context there. In essence, Russia is no longer fighting a breakaway republic of theirs, but essentially declaring war on a third party country.

I second the compliment. Focus on the positives that you're getting from losing the addiction, that can be a good motivator.
Good luck!

^ Excerpted.

I agree it seems crazy that anyone would truly not care that much. But what if he really didn't care? And it drove you up a wall? Wouldn't you be open to the thought of him deciding that it was disgusting? Sure, he would be "changing", but wouldn't it be an improvement, without having to alter his personality or lifestyle in any significant way? That's my point...that not all change is bad.

I completely agree that they're dumb and pointless. I think the same thing about smoking, which is why I avoid it. I just don't see the point in getting upset by it.

There has actually been a great deal of media coverage given to the huge pollution problem in Beijing, and China as a whole (albeit mostly in print media).

There has been widespread skepticism of their plan to reduce pollution for the Olympics, which basically consisted of telling half the vehicles in Beijing that they couldn't drive for three weeks, stopping all construction projects, cutting industry, and mostly just hoping the wind blows in the right direction.

Just kidding.

As you all know (hopefully) Russia has invaded a breakaway region, South Ossetia, which is now part of the Republic of Georgia. Although the attack was predicated on the death of two Russian peacekeepers in the region, there are rumors swirling of a long-planned Russian war which simply used the deaths as a pretext. The response certainly seems disproportionate, as the region's capital has been left in ruins.

What are your thoughts? Is this indicative of a larger turn of events in Russia, or just another small spat like Chechnya? What implications might this have for the US and international community?

Sometimes random conversations are the best. They can wind up being funny, informative, passionate, etc. Or a combination of all of them.

If you're unhappy with a particular topic started, simply don't participate in it. If you'd like to have a conversation of importance, start a provocative topic.

But he's still "changed" from not caring about roaches to suddenly caring about them because of you, hasn't he?

I understand that separate identities are important to a relationship. But take your comment about keeping the kitchen clean enough to avoid roaches. Consider the following situation:

You are with a wonderful man. You and he have a great relationship and seem to connect on many deep levels. There are very few things that you dislike about him, and of all of these things, you don't want or expect him to change any. Except one. In the kitchen, he makes a mess by often spilling crumbs and sauce on the countertop and floor. He never cleans it up, and has specifically stated that he doesn't think it's important. Although you don't need the kitchen to be immaculately clean, you definitely dislike roaches. Over the past few weeks, his messes have begun to attract roaches.

In this scenario, do you think that it would be inappropriate for you to ask him to "change" by starting to clean up after himself? Would you think it is unreasonable to expect him to change? Do you think that it's reasonable to simply dump the relationship over this issue, because you wouldn't ever want to ask him to change anything about himself?

Pleeeeeeeaaaaaaassssseeeee?