Sheaf Saint

I can't give you a reference off-hand but give me some time and I will find one. I know I read it somewhere though. The point being, in this instance, that you were trying to use the example of Nazi Germany as an example of how evil can be carried out by secular societies, not in the name of god, which is a false assertion because Hitler was in some way influenced by his belief in god.

Actually, Hitler believed that he was carrying out god's work in exterminating the Jews, so we can discount that one immediately.

This. The barmy pricing systems in this country are just ridiculous and the only winners are the PLCs that operate them. Train travel in mainland Europe where they are mostly still run by the state are cheaper, more efficient, and just generally a more pleasant experience. Even Slovenia has a much better and cheaper railway network than we do. Admittedly they don't have anything like the population we do but even so, given the economies of scale it should surely cost less for everyone if more people use the service, not more.

Yes of course, because the current extent of scientific knowledge can describe and explain every possible phenomena known to man can't it. Or... not. The OP is not talking about the wild claims of psychics and mediums to predict the future and commune with dead souls. You're right that has never been proven in a scientific environment (although if the ability did exist I don't know how our current knowledge of science actually could 'prove' it - otherwise we would already know the science of it, which we don't). I may have already mentioned this on the 'computer simulation' thread, but I read not long ago that a British team of neuroscientists have identified areas of the brain that activate a fraction of a second before we make conscious decisions, which brings into question the very idea that we actually have free will. Studies of this are ongoing and far from conclusive, so if the world's best brain scientists can't even prove definitively that we have free will, then you can't say with 100% certainty that we can't possibly experience the feeling of knowing the outcome of things before they happen.

Well, I keep hearing that Jesus saves, so perhaps he could be the answer to our GK problem? Although, something tells me that he wouldn't be that good at dealing with crosses

And of course religious groups have always been a shining beacon of purity and truth I suppose? Oh, hang on... The Catholic Church is undoubtedly the most evil and corrupt organisation the civilised world has ever known. Its leaders have used murder, oppression and destruction of countless cultures in order to further their influence around the globe. Even to this day we have a pope - a man who claims the highest moral authority on Earth as god's chosen representative - that knowingly covered up the habitual rape of children by members of his organisation. And still we are expected to listen to his 'wisdom'?

Or you could also look at the negative effects it has on people with less... A guy I know runs a charity in Nigeria that was on Channel 4's Dispatches program a few years ago. He and his colleagues run a shelter for children that have been abandoned by their families because of 'Exorcists' who go into villages and identify children as witches so they can charge a huge sum to 'cure' them - a process which often involves some form of mutilation that will leave the child scarred for life (physically and emotionally). These people are poor and have no real education, and all they know is what has been rammed down their throats by Christian preachers all their lives, so in their fear of god they believe these evil men and cast their own children out of their village because they believe they are witches and cannot afford the fee for the 'exorcism'. Either that or they simply murder them and burn the bodies. For centuries the idea that a judgemental father figure is watching our every move has been perpetuated as a form of population control... Be a good citizen and you will get everlasting peace in the garden of Eden, but misbehave and you will burn in the eternal fires of hell. Really convenient that isn't it? That authorities can get people to conform out of fear that they will spend an eternity in unspeakable pain if they don't. If people can't see through that which is so obvious and want to carry on talking to their invisible friend for comfort then that's fine. But when religious organisations start wanting public acceptance of their deranged ideas and even including them in government policy then that is when atheists must speak out and fight back against it. If religious people are allowed to publicly state they believe that god does exist, then why should atheists not be given an equal platform to argue that he doesn't?

I have often wondered what the outcome would be if the Jesus story happened in England this day and age... Some bloke from Basingstoke instead of Bethlehem claims to be the son of god who will die for all our sins and be resurrected to save humanity. Would he spawn an international following that would last thousands of years and be the cause of countless wars? Or would people rightly just consider him a bit of a nutter and ignore him?

It's not really odd is it. Sane minded people need to speak out in defiance of the irrational, hypocritical bigotry that spouts forth from many vocal religious types. The delusion of god has hindered the progress mankind for many centuries, so it's important that people can put forward an alternative, balanced view to combat religious extremism and consign these cults (let's face it - that's all they are) to the history books so we can move forward.

I don't think it's available on Steam. I bought it on DVD and it installed this uplay thing, which is basically Ubisoft's rip-off of Steam, to manage your game profiles etc...

No, that's the point. There's loads of different missions and trials etc...

I was going to keep it on hold until I can upgrade my graphics card to one that will do it justice, but I couldn't help myself. What an awesome game. Ubisoft have combined all the best elements from the first two games and come up with something really special. There is much more of an ongoing story to it than the second one, but it still has the vast open landscape that you can go and explore and pick up little money-making missions here and there to distract you from the main storyline. Much smarter than your average FPS and the attention to detail is phenomenal. Highly recommended.

So because their parents may or may not hold left-wing political views, the kids deserved to die? On the official EDL account as well - just doing their bit to convince everyone that they are just a peace-loving, patriotic organisation as always I see.

I've not seen anything more about this, but it has been confirmed by Egosoft that the latest chapter in their X universe series will be released in 2013 (no actual date yet)....

What if we are not the first level though? Think about it... If we are living in a simulation, and we are close to discovering how to generate our own simulations, how many layers back does this go? We could be living in a simulation of a simulation of a simulation... ad infinitum. Neuroscientists have identified areas of the brain that fire a tiny fraction of a second before we make conscious decisions, which brings into question the whole idea of free will. Do you think I could successfully argue against a speeding ticket if I can demonstrate that my car doesn't actually exist as matter and is in fact just pixels in a computer program over which I have no control?

http://www.washington.edu/news/2012/12/10/do-we-live-in-a-computer-simulation-uw-researchers-say-idea-can-be-tested/ The matrix has you

I was listening on Solent (before the days of live commentary and they would interrupt the music with that jingle that made you sh1t yourself in anticipation of which way the goal had gone!) and I honestly thought Grant Coleman had made a mistake when he announced the goalscorer.

Oh dear. Album sales dropping again are they Morrissey? I've never made any secret of my distaste for the concept of monarchy, but he is catastrophically off the mark with this one. Still, gotta hand it to him... he knows how to get people talking about him despite not being musically relevant any more.

This cartoon sums up this thread perfectly...

I was actually reading this somewhere very recently and can't find the exact source I was looking at. But climatologists (in many cases volunteers) have gone to great lengths to ensure an even distribution of recording stations all over the globe - from the deserts of Africa, to the rainforests of South America and even the frozen wastelands of the Arctic / Antarctic.

By taking monthly readings from thousands of recording stations all over the world, in all different kinds of environments, and taking into account external factors such as the urban heat island effect... http://www.cru.uea.ac.uk/cru/data/temperature/

I'm still not convinced it is. Other members of the cast have publicly said it they can't say who it is but it definitely isn't Khan, and it seems to me like the Mail have just picked up some rumours from somewhere and printed it as fact (Not like them at all - I know)

Or perhaps we could just ditch all of the religious aspects altogether and go with LGTL's suggestion of using the solstice as a reason to spend some quality time with family and friends.