niceandfriendly

50% correct.

itchen_dan, you are my hero. especially if ramirez signs.

"in this way"... as in... as things stand. trying to put pressure on saints which doesn't seem to be working.

ExpatShield was working great for me until recently. Just won't connect now. I tried uninstalling and reinstalling it but no success. Anyone else had this problem?

Just like you wouldn't call your child "a democrat baby", a "republican baby", a "vegetarian baby", a "conservative baby", you shouldn't call your child a "christian baby", a "muslim baby" etc. But of course as usual, religion gets away with murder (haha, metaphorically and literally!) and parents are allowed to bring their child up to believe whatever nonsense they themselves believe. Ah here we go, here is a short video of Dawkins speaking on this subject, basically saying what I just said but saying it much better.

Oh, and to those who insist on calling Richard Dawkins "fanatical" please stop. Read any of his books or watch a show or two of his. He has never claimed to be able to say 100% that god doesn't exist. In fact he regularly states the opposite. He simply says, as an agnostic, that there has never been one piece of evidence to support this idea. If one was presented he would take it on merit and reevaluate. Just like all Scientists do with a theory/scientific fact. It is only a "fact" until it is proven wrong.

Woah, this thread has moved too fast for me. I wanted to post this yesterday but my account is now restricted to 3 posts per day, so some of the points that I have raised appear to have already been covered by others. So sorry if I'm a tad behind. Absolutely correct. However, it is also impossible to prove 100% that the tooth fairy doesn't exist. Does that mean that not believing in the tooth fairy is a religion? Bill Maher put it nicely once when he said "Atheism is a religion like abstinence is a sex position". Here is the google definition of atheism: "The belief or theory that god does not exist. " Here is the google definition of religion: "The belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, esp. a personal God or gods." So being an atheist really isn't similar in any way shape or form to being religious. Oh and I like your idea of a "we-haven't-got-a-clue-ism" or whatever you called it. I will join that. Thankfully though, the scientific community are working on this so we don't have to! Yeah sorry I wasn't clear at all there. I meant to type atheists, but I rather see myself as more of an agnostic so typed that accidentally. I don't believe however that the two are completely mutually exclusive. I am an atheist in the sense that all the logic, reason and evidence suggests that a supernatural power such as "god" (whichever "god" we are actually talking about here) is highly unlikely, too unlikely for me to feel otherwise. However, I am also agnostic in that I cannot be 100% sure that god does not exist. How can I be? As I already said, how can we be sure that any myth or fairy tale is not actually real? We can't. However, just like religious stories; the fairy godmother, the incredible hulk, Zeus, goblins and the easter bunny are man made, so I have no choice but believe them to be untruths. It's absolutely true that the Bible and the Koran are things to be respected and learned from. They are wonderful, wonderful stories and magnificent pieces of work. They were our first attempt at philosophy and medical care. So I agree with what you're saying that there are great things to learn from these scriptures, but - as you well know as you're not a religious man yourself - just because there are good teachings to be found within them, it doesn't make them true. I would also argue that the central message of these religions is love and forgiveness. Really? Have a look at the penalty in Islam for apostasy. F*** it, I'll just tell you. It's death. Think about the whole idea of an eternity in hell and how this is preached to young, impressionable children. There's nothing constructive or forgiving about hell. You don't come out a better person. You don't come out at all. This fear of punishment is used to indoctrinate children and is the very reason why religious faith is so prevalent today. It's, in my opinion, the opposite of loving. It's disgusting and immoral. Very good question, and I think the answer is no, it's not. Scientists are desperately trying to find the answers to the BIG questions which all humans ask themselves - some on a more regular basis than others. One thing is for sure though, if we were all religious then that is certainly all we could ever be. Because, of course, with religion there are no more questions to be answered. God made us. The End. Fact-a-mundo. What d'ya mean "space"? Multiverse? Our universe just one of billions? What? The Earth is how old? Micro Bacteria, eh? Ah, Bacteria-schmeeria! I'm sorry, but can you explain how believing in virgin births, resurrections etc does not deserve ridicule? I have every right to ridicule them for their beliefs just as they have every right to ridicule me for mine, if they choose to. I don't buy this "you need to respect religious views" mantra. Religion gets way, way too much respect in our society as it is. On the other hand, ff someone feels offended by someone ridiculing their beliefs, doesn't that mean they're a little insecure with exactly what they believe in? If you know in your mind that everything you believe is true, who cares what a couple of atheists have to say on the matter? When creationists attempt to claim evolution as a fraud and mock my lack of religious belief, I don't get offended, I just sigh. Absolutely. As I've alluded to earlier, any religion which preaches about hell, upholds the death penalty for apostasy etc have no right to teach anyone about morality. A good point. And in the many cases where it does good it should be applauded. In the cases where it helps a grieving mother over a lost child, I've no problem. Just keep it out of schools and politics. And of course you're right but that entirely depends on exactly what said person has faith in. For example, if I told you about a flying chair that was talking to me and giving me advice and such like, and that I had a deep, deep faith in said flying chair as it has been a part of my family for generations and that it has helped my loved ones through trauma and the ups and downs of life, you'd call me a f*cking nutjob, and rightly so. Yet, when you say it's "religion" you're expected to say "Oh yes very nice" and respect their beliefs. That doesn't sit well with me at all. As a humanist I will respect religious people for what they are; homo-sapiens. I will respect their human rights and their right to believe whatever they wish to believe. But do I have to respect the beliefs themselves? Do I buggery. A minority of Scientists do. But yes, a surprising number of scientists do indeed claim a faith. Baffling. And what's more concerning is how many Science teachers in schools are religious and teach their students that the world is less than 10,000 years old. So true. Religious people do not have a monopoly on being good! To conclude, yes, religion has done much good for the World and for its people. Religious people in general are good, caring, peaceful people. However, this doesn't take away from the fact that they support a backward belief system which by its own scriptures proves itself to be immoral and in many parts, frankly, disgusting. We can sit here and argue the pros and cons of religion until the cows come home, but to honest none of that is important. The only important question is, "is it true?". All evidence suggests that it's not. And in the meantime, religious belief is leading to our children to be denied a complete education. I'm talking about how evolution is not taught in a huge number of schools. Evolution is a fact and there really is no getting around that, I'm sure nobody on here (even the believers among us) is daft enough to claim it to be false, but it's kept out of the classroom for the fear of offending certain religions. This is absolutely outrageous, and is a prime example of how religion is not "harmless" as people often say.

What a horrendously incorrect post in so many ways. Atheism a belief system? Atheism simply means a lack of belief in any deity or supernatural god. So how is it a belief system? Would you also say that not believing in the Easter bunny is a belief system? Would you say that people who do not believe in the Easter bunny are "fanatical"? How about people who don't believe in leprechauns? Fanatical loonies? "Those darned leprechaun deniers! They're all fanatical extremists I tell you! Down with their beliefs!" Anyone who says that atheism is a belief system, or that it's no different to religion, or anyone who says that certain atheists are "extremists" or act according to the "atheistic beliefs" are well and truly misguided. It's not a religion. It's exactly the opposite of a religion. Do not tar all us agnostics with your holy nonsensical brush.

MLT, get down there now to verify this as fact or not.

"I've come on here to see if there's any news on Ramirez and all I've got is you trying to get the last word about where Lallana plays. " what exactly is aggressive about that?

Absolutely amazing performance, very proud and excited about the season now. I couldn't have been more wrong with my prediction before the game. And Rickie Lambert... what can I　say? F*ck it I'm gunna say it, Rickie I love you.

Could be 5,6 or 7 nil. Just do your best boys.

Thanks for the advice, I followed these instructions. However, I'm now watching the Wigan Chelsea game and you're right the picture is very good, but it's being playedi n almost slow motion, both picture and sound, like the link is dodgy or something. Am I doing something wrong? Or is it just my internet connection?

dope smoking? woah, what scum. lock them up. on a serious note though they do sound like ***ts. but what's this i hear? they're smoking weed? LOCK THEM UP!

Harsh and overpriced but the same everywhere these days. Not just a Nasty Nick tactic.

I still haven't forgiven him for ****ing over Ari when he was leaving Terrence's. And hiring Lloyd just to further **** of Ari? Harsh.

Your* obviously.

You're friend sounds great.

Gillett went on to do a good job in the Championship. He'd be a great signing for the Skates, once again at prices they can't afford.

3/10 for trolling. Must try harder.

agree actually. can't see us being able to hold onto him once the big boys come calling.

Not much else to say apart from that this is good news. Anyone who thinks otherwise is welcome to their opinion, but they're wrong.

At what stage does it become right and fair that we inform the authorities about alpine?

This is very true. There are some shocking players doing a job in the Premier League, as you've just pointed out. If they can do it Hammond certainly can as he's not a bad player. Decent back up, not saying he should start, but he won't be sold either. Plus if we are to go down we'll need him in the Championship the season after next. Won't be going anywhere.