The serious stuff. Debates and discussions on politics, religion, etc.
It's Valentine's Day, the one day of the year you are supposed to make a romantic gesture to the one you love and admire. It's named after Saint Valentine, who went supposedly went round marrying Christian romans when it was illegal to do so....
There is an article in today's International Herald Trib (probably in the NYT as well, since NYT publishes IHT) describing the growing trend among employers to refuse to hire smokers. They can find nicotine in the system through testing, of course,...
Inspired by the should prisoners have the right to vote thread. Let's say we're talking about criminals in federal penitentiary, who have a record of good behavior. What rights should they have? Decent food and basic medical care I think are...
Sunday was the 100th anniversary of the birth of Ronald Reagan. As it was Superbowl Sunday; HBO showed their new documentary movie last night instead. It was well done and I thought pretty well balanced, no simple view of the man, no right-wing...
Given that there is a wide discrepency in what people find funny, is there still a line beyond which jokes stop being funny and start being offensive. As an example, the latest Frankie Boyle show that has received numerous complaints for being...
In this thread about the UK, Myglaren expresses a distaste for patriotism, and says that borders should be eradicated. I've of course heard this sentiment before, but seeing it here got me to thinking about the concept. What would the world be...
Do and do you think everyone should? Why or why not?
Following the riots and governmental changeover in Tunisia, the unrest has spreas to Egpyt with riots in the street, communications and internet cut and the government cracking down on protesters. If the same course is taken, then it is likely that...
I met a guy from El Salvador in the Evacuation Centre, and he told me some grotesque things about America doing things in his country. I'm not able to find any reliable info on what actually happened there. I also remember U2 having a song called...
I find that I rarely eat the moment I get hungry. For breakfast, I force down a bowl of cereal. For lunch, I am watching the clock for a good half hour before, my stomach pinging me. And then there's the occasional random case where I am starving...
Wtf is going on over there? How long have enemies been planting bombs now, and they are still falling into these effectively simple traps? It's not like the roads the army patrols are traversing would be hard to monitor by satellite, so how are...
Copyright - there to protect the individual rights of someone to something they have created. An suthor for their written work, a musician for their songs and has been extended to films, computer games and so on. It varies from country to country...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rBCst4hph0 Saw this on telly last night. I can't fathom Irving. What a cunt.
Inspired by this bit of insult added to tragedy, where a baby who lived one hour is charged a $50 death tax. Originally sold as a tax on cremations, to minimize the number of remains that would be cremated - because that would destroy evidence...
A transvestite drug dealer who was due to start hornmone treatment for a sex change has been spared jail, on account of the fact it would prevent him being able to go through with a sex change. He was due to serve 11 months in a men's jail for drug...
Rapper 50 Cent owns a company called G-Unit which in turn owns 12.9% of a marketing company called H&H Imports. Despite the fact that it was at the time making a loss, it was plugged by 50 Cent on his twitter feed. The shares were originally...
Are you familiar with the Failed States Index? It's a rather interesting breakdown of different countries, with 12 factors taken into account to see how "failed" or "sustainable" they are: Mounting Demographic Pressures Massive Movement of...
Bill Richardson, the current Governor of New Mexico, has said he will decide whether to pardon Billy the Kid before he leaves office. On the one hand, he was a thief and a murderer. On the other, he was promised a pardon if he testified in a...
I was thinking about what I wrote here, and how message boards have become a major source of entertainment and companionship for people. And then I read a statistic that in 1 out of 8 marriages, the couple met online. It got me to thinking...
In recent years there has been a shift in western society to, for the most part, recognize that there are people who are healthy, normal members of society and also engage in homosexual relationships. These people are generally described as being...
Could we possibly be seeing a slight change of tack by the Catholic Church. Speaking over the weekend, the Pope allowed for the use of condoms in a case by case basis, especially when it comes to protection from AIDS. The grounds being that...
London has always had a begging problem and they can be seen all over the place. In harsh weather, you can find many charities and groups going out to help them as best they can. Now one of those groups has said that people should not give to...
Is it a victimless crime? Is it an individual's right to use her own body in any way she feels fit? Is it a gilded road to damnation? Does legalizing prostitution lead to human trafficking and children being kidnapped to feed the insatiable hunger...
Now, I'm a BIT more modest than the average person (an understatement if you've ever heard one ;)), but I literally cannot believe that we are seriously discussing using sensors detailed enough to see what kind of privates you have to screen people...
So you are on the crew of a spaceship that's traveling the universe, meeting new people and occasionally boffing them. Your ship finds a long forgotten Earth colony and an away team beams down to investigate. At some point in the colony's history it...
I was chatting with someone the other day and in the conversation, she mentioned that her husband is a Marxist. I didn't want to get into it with her, as we don't know each other well, but I wanted to say, really? A really, truly Marxist? I mean,...
The recent unravelling of my meatspace life has lead me to wonder, is friendship a true phenomenon, or is it a bunch of Hallmark-esque mutterings and hollow pleasantries? Is friendship purely a pretense for finding people to...
Having taken part in several religious debates, many of the debates come down to how each side defines the words. One of the words that often gets defined differently by each side is the word religion. Here's Merriam Webster's definition of...
This year the Nobel Peace Prize was given to Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo. An empty chair was there in the ceremony held in Oslo. I'm not saying he is not a brave individual as speaking out in China carries great risk, he has been in prison for...
In the news today was the story that North Korea had shelled a South Korean island in retaliation for what it saw as provocative training exercises being carried out. The rhetoric has stepped up to the point where North Korea is saynig the nuclear...
The UK Government toady released their accounts. Details of all the spending they have carried out over the last 5 months since coming to power. It shows, warts and all, all the expediture from team building days to renovations to consultancies....
Possibly not quite what you think, but Pete and Alisha Arnold have set up a website www.birthornot.com to help them decide whether or not to become parents. The catch, one might say, is that Alisha is already pregnant and the end date for the...
Chip and Pin has become the norm in Europe when making any card transactions, but I see it is not that popular in America. Is there any reason that American's don't use it and do you still sign for transactions? Any other countries outside...
Two political candidates are vying in an election, its a close election and small things could tip it either way to allow one or the other candidate to win. As part of their campaign, one of the candidates deliberately spreads rumours and lies about...
The Federal Bank of America is going ahead with another round of Quantitive easing to the tune of $600bn. The gernal idea being to try and help kick start growth in America. Is it really the right thing to do, or is it the easy thing to do. It...
The US midterm elections are finally here and despite everything, look like being a vote on the current economic situation that the country finds itself in and the actions of the current POTUS: Barack Obama. Both houses are currently controlled...
The combination of watching Doctor Who DVDs and working on a sci-fi story has got me thinking about a hypothetical moral dilemma. On other boards, there've been debates about engineering sentient beings that would be happy to serve and whether or...
W. It's a beautiful letter, don't you think? It is the star attraction in any attempt to gain information (who, what when, where, how). We need it for everything from Free Will to Free Willy. Whatever. It's a good letter. A good letter...
Because that's the impression I get from over here.
Multitasking is one of those wonderful abilities to be able to do several things at once. There are some people who can multitask and there are those who can only concentrate on one thing at a time. Most people can subconciously multitask, you can...
At what point is it considered that a celebrity sells out when it comes to endorsements and advertising. Do we expect more of a celebrity that they shouldn't advertise things or do we expect them to use thier fame to do so anyway and try and sell...
I've had this on my mind for a while now, and it's become more relevant to me given my current status as a stay-at-home mom (something I'd never really envisioned for myself). There have been major shifts over the years in regards to what...
I haven't ventured far into the serious parts of this board, so I hope this is the right forum for this thread. Anyhoo, my friend (a Buddhist) is recommending I 'convert'. I've always had great respect for Buddhism, as it seems to be non-violent...
I will nominate Theodore Roosevelt as our most amazing President. No President was more accomplished as a person and few come close to his positive accomplishments. Of course George Washington gets huge points for being first but more...
Multiculturalism means an acceptance and promotion of multiple ethnic cultures at several levels of society in order to allow people to follow their own religions, customs and practices. As more people have emigrated around the globe, this has...
Linda Norgrove was an aid worker in Afghanistan who was killed when a rescue attempt was made by US Sepcial Forces. It looks as though she was killed by a friendly fire grenade instead of, as initially reported, a suicide vest worn by one of the...
Currently, nearly every piece of printed matter whether it is a newspaper or a book is catalogued and stored. Everything that can be read, usually winds up in a depository so that down the line someone is able to go back and read it again. My...
The UK is a more secular country and religion plays only a small part in the role of the Prime Minister. The Queen, of course, is already head of her own church though. But strong belief in religion is sometimes seen, not as a beneficial thing, but...
Having read a thirty page monstrosity on this topic elsewhere, I'm curious to see a slightly more reasoned discussion of it. In the United States lawyers are recommended by the American Bar Association ethical rules to contribute at least fifty...
A random A-List celebrity with lots of money has taken a shine to you and wants to spend some quality time in bed having sex with you. All you have to do is sign a Non-Disclosure agreement and then spend the night with them and in return they...
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