dangerdan

no problem!!

Yeah I don't buy this at all to be honest, also slightly in bad taste given his very recent passing. Bruno (Sascha Baron Cohen) had to cut a scene interviewing Latoya as a result.

I am disgusted this is still being debated. I find that statement absolutely fundamentally both wrong and homophobic. Surely violence, greed and critically INTOLERANCE are what are ripping apart the fabrics of society, not the gays.....you might as well blame Blacks,Islam, Judaism, the disabled at the same time!....etc..... (Please Note: I have nothing against any of these groups, my message is one of social tolerance, and this includes religious tolerance and I do not even think race requires tolerance.) Our humanity should allow us to tolerate, instead of spreading intolerance and hatred. We should celebrate our similarities and differences - not fight over them. IMO homophobia is as morally unjustifiable as racism, sexism etc

Shouldn't that be OLLay? Roay avehay Iay issedmay hetay ointpay?

Exactly! It is not inherently playing video games that caused him to stop eating, drinking or sleeping though. It was his own decision to do so. If you ask me, someone has to be pretty stupid to die because they're gaming too much to even eat or drink... I mean I get pretty engrossed in video games (I am Villarreal manager!!!) but I would never do so to the point where I didn't eat or drink.....

Yeah, fair enough I do see the issue, I just couldn't actually see which rule I had broken.How long does a warning last?

Globalisation is creating a global culture. This global culture will speak one global language. Most sources state this language will be a form of dialectic English which is currently rising in use in the Far East. There is a Daily Telegraph article regarding this subject which I think you will all find quite interesting. They dub the language "Panglish" - derived from Pan-English. http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/

I'm currently playing this game on my laptop!I started the so called "Legacy Challenge". Basically you create a sim and buy an empty lot worth $14, 700, leaving you with just $1, 300 to build your house. To aim is to reach 10th generation.I currently have a bed, fridge, toilet and a wall (not a room!). I'm currently showering at the gym. I'll post an update and maybe some screenies when I actually make some progress!As for my thoughts on the game....I feel that graphically the game is about on a par with the sims 2. Where the game progresses in leaps and bounds is in terms of gameplay and customisation.The gameplay is now more akin to something like Animal Crossing, in that you explore the town, meet the neighbours etc however there is a lot more to it than Animal Crossing. The whole neighbourhood experience is truly phenomenal. By all accounts the game is still a bit glitchy but then what else do you expect from EA?In terms of customisation, the Create a Style tool allows you to apply an almost endless number of patterns, textures and colours to individual items of clothing. Example: there is a plain white womens t-shirt with a pink floral pattern on it, in create a style you can change the white into a decorative pattern and maintain the "logo". The level of customisation is truly immense.I'll update more thoughts later...

France is a country with a history of secularism and President Sarkozy recently said that the burka was not welcome in France. His reasons for this was on the grounds of women's rights. He claims it is oppressive. People in France are not supposed to demonstrate any form of religious expression in public places (remember the case of the girl wearing the crucifix)I feel if we start targeting individual pieces of religious expression without a wider defining principle then we very quickly enter a problematic area. The problem is that people wear the burka for so many different reasons that it is impossible to say it is completely wrong, or right. I think if you want to ban something like the burka you have to do so on moral grounds, not based purely on opinionated religious intolerance.

I think it's ridiculous to even discuss gaming as inherently "harmful" ultimately it's what you make of it. If you sit and spend 72 consecutive hours gaming then yes, you probably will suffer health problems....If you pick up and play a game for a couple of hours every few days then gaming should act as nothing short of stress relief and fun and certainly will not prove "harmful"

Also, I've just re-read the forum rules and I'm not exactly sure which one I've broken and why it merits a warning. I do appreciate your point about citing references and acknowledging the author and critically ensuring he receives any acclaim but by the letter of your rules I do not see which rule I have even broken.

ahhhh! sorry about that I completely forgot. It won't happen again!I feel this article has new resonance given the current affairs in Iran. The Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has specifically blamed the UK government and in particular the BBC for causing the tension and riots. This only goes to show how a free press is absolutely juxtaposed to any kind of oppressive state. Freedom of speech (and inherently the press) is one of the fundamentals of democracy and Iran's response only goes to further prove the need for the very reform the people are protesting for.If Ahmadinejad remains as President, which now seems likely, relations between the West and Iran will definitely not improve, if they don't deteriorate.

I personally found this article a refreshingly real incite into the evolving face of multiculturalism today.

Pakistan were worthy winners in my opinion, they gathered momentum throughout the tournament and arguably got better game on game. They restricted Sri Lanka well and cruised to a fairly easy victory with the bat.

Ah, division of labour in action!

Freud famously said that all dreams were wish fulfilment, thus you dream what you want.

Too many religions claim to be "the one true religion" or "God's chosen people" for there not to be clashes and arguments between them. The on going Arab-Israeli conflict is a blaring example of this.

I am undoubtedly sceptical about global warming. Trends undeniably show the general temperatures around the earth rising in what, technically, could be called global warming. Of course, it is so frequently the extent to which humans actions are causing this that are taken as synonymous with rising temperatures and I think this is the critical issue. Pumping certain gases into the environment does damage the environment. Cutting down trees does raise the level of Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere. Anything saying they don't is propaganda. I think there is insufficient evidence of an absolutely causal relationship between our actions and rising temperatures because there are so many other variables and cycles to account for. THE GENERAL TREND OF RISING AND FALLING GLOBAL TEMPERATURE, for example.

Yeah, I've also played both and I think COD4 is an absolutely definitive First Person Shooter. I dunno if its the ultra-modern/terrorist hunter environment, the engaging storyline or the immense game play and mission scope. Ultimately it's probably a mixture of all three, but all my friends agree that it edges Halo 3.The missions range from the infamous "Death From Above" where you have a choose of 3 very destructive bombs to fire from 10, 000 ft, to the sniping mission where you use a 50 calibre rifle - backfires like hell, to a mission that ends in a mission cloud explosion and your untimely demise.

Infamous street artist Banksy has set up a 'secret' exhibit in a museum in his native Bristol - with only one person knowing about it. It is due to open tomorrow and council officials only found out most of the museums artefacts had been removed - replaced by Banksy's distinctive mash-up of PoMo and urban street art. He had this to say Full story: http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/ It is interesting that was once considered vandalism is now considered art.

I'm not missing that point of course I understand that infinity is only a concept. It is this conceptual analysis of infinity that allows you to arrive at the paradoxes I pointed out.

There is definitely no psychical addiction to video gaming. There may be a psychological addiction to the audio-visual stimulus gaming provides, or even just a strong desire to play. (I'm having one right now for Football Manager 2009)

No. But since Darwin posited his theory of evolution by natural selection, and like I mentioned before the Englightenment, people started to shift away from religion and faith towards science and reason. I think the idea is definitely against creationism, but not the wider concept of religion at all. Darwin himself was religious and I do not think his idea and religion are incompatible.

"In the Iranian election both current president Ahmadinejad and opponent Mousavi have both claimed to have won the Iranian election just hours after polls close. Voter turnout was said to be unprecendented, at around 85%. People say its too close to call. I think this result could be a critical moment in world politics. If Ahmadinejad wins I think he'll continue to aggressively pursue a nuclear proliferation program. If Mousavi wins we could see a real change in Iran's relations with the West, Iran could set a precedent for relations between the West and an Islamic Republic." I posted this on another forum on Friday. Ahmadinejad was declared the winner but there are now many people claiming the election was rigged, because the results show Ahmadinejad doing well even in the heartland of Mousavi and gaining approximately the same share of the vote everywhere. This weekend there were two days of clashes between supporters of Mousavi and supporters of Ahmadinejad. The paramilitary have been given permission to use live ammunition to stop violence. There are still demonstrations being held and the result has officially been appealed against. The Guardian Council says it will give its verdict within ten days, but I wouldn't hold your breathe. Ahmadinejad accuses the media of calling the result a fix because it is not the one they want. He guaranteed Mousavi's safety to a journalist. However, since the election there has been a massive crackdown by the reelected Ahmadinejad. According to the BBC, More than 100 opposition figures arrested, including the brother of ex-reformist President Khatami. Local and international phone and text message services interrupted Social networking and newspaper websites blocked BBC says "heavy electronic jamming" from inside Iran disrupts its Persian TV service International journalists arrested and asked to leave Iranian newspapers do not carry reports of the violence Source: Various reports If there was nothing dodgy about this election why go to these lengths? It seems to me to be an admission of wrong doing. The next few days will be very important. Iran could well be on the road to revolution.

the UK had its first death from swine flu yesterday. i think the number of cases is around 400? but i am not entirely sure. and i saw scenes on the news of people in Hong Kong in biosuits and face masks! seems ridiculous to me people should not panic!