XPost: calgary.general, can.politics, edm.general 
 XPost: hfx.general, tor.general, van.general 
 XPost: wpg.general, can.talk.guns 
 From: eric€@hardknocks.edu 
  
 penny wrote . . . 
 > On Thu, 12 Jan 2006 22:52:43 GMT, Eric€  wrote: 
  
 > >So at the upcoming Winter Olympics what will the biathlon competitors be 
 > >killing or maiming? 
  
 > 
 > Guns have no uses.  Target practice with guns whether it is for the 
 > Winter Olympics or for a  get together in Farmer Joe's field is just 
 > an exercise in becoming perfect in target shooting with I assume real 
 > bullets. 
  
 So you are advocating banning biathlon.  What about archery, or any 
 other projection of a projectile? 
  
 > It's a useless exercise unless you apply it to the uses of guns which 
 > are: shoot or maim. 
  
 Errrmmm . . . last time it was "kill or maim".  Big change there - no? 
  
 > In our society it could be keeping down pests 
 > or animal popularions in over -populated areas, or defending yourself 
 > if you live in an area which is a food chain for predatory animals. 
  
 Areas aren't food chains. 
  
 > Target practice is just learning to be proficient in the use of a gun. 
 > But doing it if the gun is not going to be used for its intrinsic 
 > purpose is a bit of a useless exercise because it produces NOTHING. 
  
 Same as playing Tiddlywinks I guess.  Or sending hundreds of posts a day 
 to usenet.  Yet people do it nonetheless.  Right, Penny? 
  
 > Why not learn to play a musical instrument instead and produce 
 > beautiful music that will have a calming and peaceful influence on 
 > those around. 
  
 I can shoot well & play guitar. 
  
 These activities aren't mutually exclusive.  People who hang out on 
 usenet for hours & hours every day of the week are the ones who need 
 help. 
  
 Eric 
  
 --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05 
  * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)