dangerdan

Haha sorry guys I think I missed the focus of this thread I've never really seen Oprah I thought it was more about feminism

Depends what you mean by feminism really. If the basis of the argument is that women should have equal rights then its an absolutely sound argument to make, if on the other hand you're arguing women should have more rights then I think the argument becomes slightly flawed. Positive discrimination is still discrimination remember!

Firstly, I said that I was addicted to my computer but that I could give it up if I had to - but the reason would need to be pretty compelling! My laptop provides two primary function functions to me: work and recreation. I find my laptop an invaluable tool in conducting and furthering my degree studies (I am now fully expectant of the "we didnt have computers in my day" retort and I have considered it and all I can say is fair play!) the point is I don't think I could go without my laptop for work. I also use it extensively for leisure (I easily spend 10 hours a day on my laptop) from the moment I wake up in bed (now) to watching/listening to something in bed (later) I'll pretty much be on my laptop all day. As to the question as to whether I could give it up I genuinely believe I could (despite chronic boredom) if I had a good enough reason to. As it stands I think my laptop greatly enriches my life and the fact I spend a bit too much time on it isn't a major concern to me.

I completely agree Quatrux, I don't think that nuclear is or can be the answer until we master nuclear fusion (which has the potential to be significantly more effective than fission, which is currently by far the most effective form of energy - but the down sides are also obvious) and solar energy has to be a fundamental source of energy for us. After all, it is the suns energy that has created the majority of energy that has created life on earth thus far, solar radiation is a key determinant of the global climate which just goes to show just how powerful solar can be.

You can download @ 224.56 KB/secI know for a fact that I can download up to 4x faster than this (i.e 1 MB/sec) and that nobody else is using my internet at the moment (they're all asleep still!) though 250KB/sec ish is still more than fast enough, though we're going to see huge improvements in internet speeds over the coming decades, rising as high as 250MB/sec up to 1GB/sec and beyond..

Yeah, a friend recommended uTorrent to me about two years ago and I've literally never looked back! I seriously can't recommend it enough myself I think it is by far the best torrent client.

Alternative energy use is growing year on year and eventually (sooner rather than later in my opinion) we are going to need to drop this "alternative" tag and admit that they are our energy source and not simply an "alternative" which can have bad connotations (alternative medicine). Solar power, wind power and tidal power are the most obvious examples. But there is also Geothermal energy, created by piping water underground into a spring and piping it back up as steam, which powers a turbine. Also reverse electro dialysis (REDD) energy is being pioneered by the Netherlands - it harnesses the energy from places where freshwater meets saltwater and osmosis takes places. The future of energy is localised and environmentally friendly energy sources. For how much longer will Europe be held to ransom over its gas supply by Russia, and by the Middle East for its oil, it simply won't go on for much longer.

Definitely sounds like something that would improve the quality of these forums, though whether it would simply be an un-used novelty would remain to be seen. Sure, if it was introduced I'd try it out and whether I continued to use it would probably depend on how good it was!

8ennett I think you've hit the nail on the head there. It's all about a personal religious philosophy that should be tailored to each individuals beliefs and cultural expectations. And semontana you are very right about the overlap of the three major Abrahamic religions (Christianity, Judaism and Islam) and it is the common ground between them - the good messages of peace and harmony - that I really connect with. What I can not connect with is the seeming rhetoric employed about how we should live our lives, it comes back to my previous point about individualism.On the other hand semontana there was once a time when everyone in the world thought the world was the centre of the universe, that it was flat, that there was nothing smaller than an atom....etc my point being popular opinion is just that - opinion. Even science only ever claims to be our best understanding thus far, and so saying that 5billion believe something doesn't add any weight of truth, only social acceptability.

Apparently cheese is the best way to induce dreams (though some say it induces nightmares) but other than that I'm not really sure how to force yourself to dream. You dream every night, its whether you remember in the morning or not that you are presumably trying to change. Well I know from experience that smoking marijuana before you go to sleep makes you less likely to remember your dreams, and cheese is the only thing I've heard that makes it more likely.

I genuinely don't think that any kind of crime should warrant the death penalty how matter how heinous (though mandla's idea about castration is appealing). I think that rehabilitation is the only answer, we have to rehabilitate people back into a regular way of society. I hate to say it, but rap is probably not even the worst crime in our society, other crimes such as paedophilia and murder tend to draw much angrier responses from people. Also there seems to be an assumption that all rapists (like paedophiles, 'dangerous gays') are men which simply is not true. This subject is one which create huge emotional anguish, I understand that, but people need to put their emotions to one side -rape victim or not - and understand that we live in a society that adheres to the rule of law. For example, what if an innocent man is sentenced to death? Is not then the judge or jury who sentenced him equally guilty of murder, or at least manslaughter. The death penalty is always the wrong option because it is irreversible, especially when jurys are able to convict on the basis of reasonable evidence. Some of you may take this as a support of rape but it is far from it. People, criminals and victims alike, need to realise that we live in a society that has laws and in which the death penalty has no place. We shouldn't even be looking to prison as the answer because it is doesn't work. First time offenders enter as petty thieves and leave hardened criminals - the kind of criminals who commit the more serious offences we are discussing here. Obviously, for repeat offenders and under certain circumstances, prison is the right answer but locking up millions of people simply isn't the answer and nor is killing them.

http://www.video2mp3.net/ is by far and away the easiest way of doing it. Copy and paste a URL and it gives you a direct download link in seconds. Amazing site can't recommend it enough for doing this kind of thing.

An exploit of a quantum mechanics trick known as quantum tunnelling has allowed smart phone developers to develop pressure sensitive touch screens and keys. Potential uses could include pressing down harder to scroll faster and the enabling of 3D interfaces. Theres a BBC article about it here http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8504373.stm if anyone could explain this concept of quantum tunnelling outside of this application it would be appreciated.

Technology is clearly a double edged sword. On the one hand it can clearly empowers people to learn, communicate and work in completely new ways but this social revolution caused by technology clearly has its problems. A recent study I saw showed that there was a link between excessive internet use and depression (though I seem to buck this trend) and this is simply one element of the effect that technology can have as a means of alienation. Despite the positive social aspects of the internet, it can also lead to people living out their entire social life over the internet, avoiding face to face contact altogether, which is worrying. Technology (and I have focused particularly on the internet here) can lead to a ghettoisation effect whereby like minded people only ever come into contact with one another, a prime example being terrorists, who operate on certain networks and only operate on those networks. In this sense technology can be very alienating, but of course the positives probably outweigh the alienation as technology has enriched all our lives in recent decades.

There is a dilemma at play here. On the one hand, Iran keeps taunting the West with its pursuit of weapons-grade uranium, on the other hand, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have left many in the West not wanting to send troops abroad again, and this will put political pressure on the leaders not to go to war. I don't think it is fair to lay the blame for any impending war entirely with Iran, both Israel and America have been major antagonists in the escalating tension. If there is going to be, I would imagine (hope?) there will be a great number of protests in the West against going to war with Iran.Then there is the need for 'legality', a question that is particularly poignant in the UK at the moment given the Chilcot Enquiry and the question of the legality of the military intervention in Iraq. If the West is to somehow attempt to engineer a regime change in Iran it will need a cause, an incident, otherwise a UN resolution. And at that point I very much get the feeling that history is starting to repeat itself...

Hey guys I recently started a website for my dads company its at https://www.hugedomains.com/domain_profile.cfm?d=simplystainedglass&e=com I made it in Frontpage because that's the only program I'm sufficiently capable of using but would appreciate any hints or tips including superior programs to use, (and some where I can learn to use the program?? some kind of tutorials etc would be amazing) As well as more general feedback on the layout, design, site map etc. Like I say any help would be greatly appreciated and I look forward to your response.Thanks, Dan

I've also got about 5 Google Wave invites, if any wants one just PM me

I would consider myself an atheist but I am increasingly questioning that view. However, irrespective of any religious beliefs of my own I would have to say that there should be both inter- and intra- religious tolerance for the benefit of all in society. Intolerance of atheism is religious intolerance none the less.

In the past few months the IPCC has suffered a number of embarrassing set backs to confidence in their message.This includes;The claim that the Himalayan glaciers could melt by 2035, whereas the figure is closer to 2300.The emphasis of the 'hockey stick' graph and the lack of emphasis on the error margins (which place 100, 000's of years of cooling and warming within the same margin)The ClimateGate email hack of the University of East Anglia CRU (Climatic Research Unit) Their use of sources and methodology more generally.Their refusal to succumb to Freedom of Information requestAll this leaves a big shadow hanging over the global warming debate and we need to take it back to a scientific discussion, as opposed to politically motivated propaganda and under hand pacts. We need all the information, all the data, facts, figures, need to be made public so that we can all examine them and all come to our own conclusions, ultimately policy decisions are just that, decisions, and provided they have been reached with all the available information considered then there isn't a problem. It's when decisions are made on the basis of refutable claims that people start to lose confidence in climate science.

I have been a very left leaning liberal atheist for my entire life. But recently my atheistic views have become very frustrating and unfulfilling as the atheist view seems to simply be "we don't know" which is extremely frustrating to me, as I have a great desire to know the truth, the problem here being that we can never know the answer. Given that we can never know the answer, and that an acceptance of this frustrates me, I have found myself increasingly drawn to organised religion in search of an answer I fear it doesn't hold. Islam is the religion I have thought about in most detail, and am seriously considering converting. However, there are particular but significant aspects of every major world religion that I disagree with and feel it would be somewhat hypocritical to convert to a religion and then start to pick and choose the parts I like. Given this dilemma, between atheism and religion, many of you may be thinking agnostic, however I feel being agnostic is worse than being atheist, for it combines the worst aspects of atheism - unfulfillment and unknowing - with the worst aspects of religion - blind faith and cultural irrelevant rhetoric.Based on my thoughts over the past few weeks have led me to some kind of middle ground. It involves an acceptance that the answers will never be known and also the view that ones religion is simply ones personal philosophy on the universe.

I couldn't agree more with your analysis or your sentiment to help out! I am not sure why there isn't much going on here but I wish there was more.

Apparently the UK is out of recession based on a growth figure for last quarter of 0.1%, which will probably be revised, which could mean that we never entered recession at all, or that we 'bounced' back by as much 1.0% (adjustments of up to 0.8% are not uncommon) so if the UK has already left the recession, there is a danger that it will 'fall' back into recession the very next quarter, especially as the Bank of England's policy of 'quantitative easing' (printing money) has stopped. If the economy left recession last quarter then its likely we will have a double dip recession, if it turns out we never left recession, then we'll just have a standard 'U' or 'V' shaped recession as opposed to the 'W' shaped recession many are predicting.

3. To what extent is that change in CO2 concentration caused by man? http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/ A comparison of the Vostok ice-core data shown above, with a natural cycle of 140, 000 years and fluctuation between 200 and 280 PPM and the CO2 concentration data taken from Mauna Loa, Hawaii (the location was chosen to avoid the problem of "urban heat" - the idea that cities generate heat, and thus as they expand closer to observation points there is a temperature increase) that shows a steady CO2 concentration increase to current levels of over 380 PPM. So the increase in CO2 concentration being a result of human activity is a fairly easy conclusion to draw. 4. Climate Change or Global Warming? Or Global Cooling...? I feel that we need to separate this debate into climate change and global warming. All too often the two are seen as synonymous. My understanding is that given the dynamic nature of our climate that temperatures will always be increasing or decreasing - therefore there will always be global warming or global cooling and this is climate change. To deny global warming is simply to dispute the methodology and the data. To deny climate change is to deny nature itself. 5. The Precautionary Principle A consideration that I firmly believe should be applied in this situation is the precautionary principle which states that, in line with the scaremongering from climate campaigners, the stakes of climate change could be potentially catastrophic and therefore the risk is too high. However, given the huge uncertainty with regards to climate science I think that adaptation is one of the only viable answers, which I'll come to next. 6. Adaptation As I said, I believe that adaptation is the only viable answer to climate change. For example, at the moment scientists are predicting global warming, with rising sea levels being a major cause for concern, given the great numbers of people living fairly low above sea level. Adaptation also means, to me, that localized energy sources should be utilized as much as possible. In this I include REDD (reverse electro-dialysis), geothermal energy and other renewable energy sources where appropriate. However, on a bigger scale we need confidence in the data before we can start moving people out of flood plain regions or off low lying islands. I feel adaptation therefore is the only answer. 7. An Under-Development Mechanism? There is however a danger of the over use of the precautionary principle to the extent that it simply slows down or stops the development and growth of the poorest countries in the world, by limiting, essentially, their energy consumption. This is the worry of doing too much to avert climate change were it is not necessary.

I just watched a BBC news report on global warming and climate change in which they asked the question "Do you think climate change and global warming are taking place?" I think asking this kind of question, and insinuating that climate change and global warming are one and the same is very dangerous. My understanding is that the climate is dynamic, and thus if there isn't global warming then there is global cooling because global temperatures are unlikely to maintain stable, due to the number of variables and cycles in operation.

It is almost certain that our past actions have caused the ozone depletion that now means we have holes in the ozone layer, the extent to which ozone layer depreciation causes temperature change is unknown. And that is essentially the problem - there are too many variables and too many unknowns which generally make for bad forecasting! http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/