DrP

It might take 10 years of practice to enhance your techniques and get the 'feelings' stronger... but I'll challenge your claim that by practicing that you now 'understand all science has to offer' about the feelings. No-one disputes what you are feeling... I would assume most scientists would sneer at the claims of these feelings being attributed to Chi or some mystical energy flowing through you though. It's is more likely to be you being aware of your senses more finely by focusing... although I'm, speculating there.

Totally agree. I had a problem with the first book... when Mat and Rand travel from tavern to tavern you get a FULL description of every bar down to the shading on the curtains... fine for one or 2... but after the 5th tavern they stay in, after flirting with the bar maids, getting chased off by darkfriends, playing the flute and juggling for their supper, eating some bread and cheese... you think, come on, get on with it! lol. Although!!! saying that - it all makes sense in book 2 when pretty much everyone they met from all of those inns on their travels turn up at Tar Valon to train to be Aeis Sedi or end up fighting in one of his armies or something as they are both taverian (or however it is spelt). Loved the girls introduction to the white tower in book 2 and the introduction of the Senscean. Great story. He finished it beautifully imo. ...and 'the last battle' which went on for weeks was very well done. The duels with Demandred were brilliant and that bit when Elayne Trackand charges that trollock with her sword was great - it even bought a tear to my eye, soppy git that I can be. Welled up at several places actually.

To play advocate - although I agree partly with what you say - 'Stupid Black' is not a common term in the English language and is KNOWN to be offensive... it isn't part of modern everyday use of language. 'Stupid Woman' / Stupid Man' / 'stupid Boy' / 'Stupid Girl' are. I'm not condoning it but they are. There is a huge difference... mainly because of language norms that get used. Maybe this needs to change - but it hasn't yet, so to spend 3 days of new coverage on it is a blatant attempt to cover up the crap they don't want to publish and another chance for them to attack his character... which they have been doing for years, which you seem to be overlooking or ignoring. seem different to me... it just is. Calling someone stupid in the first place could be considered offensive... if you call it to their faces, a whisper under your breath sounds like a thought crime to me. Meanwhile the opposition gets away with pretty much anything. My point is - they aren't using the same measuring stick when assassinating his character as they are when they smooth over their own gaffes. If you want to remove gender from the English and American language then I do not have a problem with it.... but we haven't, so don't berate those who use gender in discussion as it is just ingrained in the language. So - it's different because that is just the way our language and culture has worked for a very long time. Sure it can be changed... but this recent outburst is a transparent attempt at character assassination rather than any attempt to clean up sexism in the UK. Can you not see that iNow, Phi, Ten, zap, dim? Do you get my point and not agree with it or aren't you getting my point?

It was Sanderson - thanks for correcting me- sorry. Have you read any of it? Full of incredibly strong female characters (Aies Sedi in particular) - it's awesome. Argg... I started a thread to see if anyone had read it and was willing to talk about it... Can you change the title for me please? I guess I should have spelled checked his name from google rather than putting it up from memory. Thanks. It's a lot of pages per book and words per page too! lol. Worth it though.

no - that's MY point!... it's not good for truth and honesty... shame on everyone. Are you suggesting we should discriminate then based upon the appearance of someone... say - what clothes they wear, the colour of their skin or their sex for instance? Sounds like it to me.

I agree - so where is the outrage at the far worse language that comes from people from across the aisle every single day? When have they ever been spread across the front pages for days on end when they actually publicly say something dumb and offensive?... it is usually ' oh dear, blundering Borris has put his foot in it again, tee hee, what a naughty boy - lets not get carried away with PC gone mad - everyone carry on!' Or when the brexiteers start their hate speech about foreigners, or when the Prince calls an Indian a golly wog or a says the japs have slanty eyes... then its ' oh well he's old, he's the queens husband, he's done a lot of good'... and it gets washed under the carpet... or when the president of the USA calls a nation state a shithole country? Being honest I don't mind some of it getting brushed under the carpet but can you not see the double standard? Maybe not as you live in a different country., although I know you saw it with Trump and Clinton. Both accused of many things - everyone believes the hype and lies about one and ignores the actual facts about offenses caused by the other. not at all - I don't believe so anyway - see above rant, lol.

Just finished 'The Wheel of Time' series by Robert Jordon / Brendon Sarasson. Loved it.

I have just finished reading the final book in this series. I read the rest several years back and just got the final book although it came out a year ago. Anyone else read this or even heard of it? It is The Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones and Harry Potter rolled into one total epic. It is full of fantasy troupes and clichés... but done so very, very well. The character developments are superb, the top main 4 or 5 characters getting more words on the page throughout the series regarding the character development than the whole of the Harry Potter, TLOTRs and A song of Ice and Fire entire novels put together. IMO - the first book did go on a little bit... but it is worth ploughing through as from book 2, when the girls get to Tar Valon... well - it's very good from then on for sure. If you have read it - what do you think? If you haven't - I can't recommend it enough if you like fantasy fiction... if you can get through the first book. I'd love to talk about it but don't want to give away spoilers... I would love to discuss it with someone who read it and liked it. x

not when the press disallow it by painting him as a scruffy idiotic loon, a bigoted Nazi, a terrorist sympathizer and a ban the bomb pansy whilst ignoring sins a thousand times greater by his opponents and cover then up. Who cares if he has a beard or not? In this day and age your appearance should not be important - I think he does it deliberately to make a point. Good for him. Why does trying to find diplomatic peaceful solutions over war make him a bad choice? Other than by not deepening the pockets of the already rich. Last general election... I'd never read such an exciting manifesto as his. The oppositions one was frightening... right wing, social cuts further, bringing back fox hunting etc... as opposed to fairer taxing, better services, better everything all round. People still said he was unelectable... when questioned as to why he was unelectable they say... 'well just LOOK at him!' as if his appearance sums up whether he is capable or not. They never even read his manifesto... the reason? Because the press focus on shit like this recent 'stupid woman' comment and ignore 1000 comments by the opposition to discredit him so they can continue to dodge their taxes and make further billions for their fat cats. The working class hate him because Rupert Murdock has told them to.

If I thought the remark he made was sexist I'd agree. but I still don't think it was. It was factual (in his mind... I can't believe the woman is stupid in reality... surely she wouldn't have risen to be the Prime Minister otherwise). They do it to him all the time... he disagrees with a right wing policy that comes out of Israel (as everyone else does anyway) and they all jump to call him an anti-Semite. He calls a female a woman and he's sexist. He doesn't wear a sharp looking suit and he's a bum and a lazy tramp. He tries to negotiates peace and reconciliation with a terrorist organisation and he is a sympathizer and a traitor. The problem is that he wants the huge multi billion dollar companies to pay fair taxes.... so Rupert Murdock slams him in the public eye every single chance he gets to discredit him. The working class all lap up what Murdock says in his papers and so they see Corbyn as a total joke - a scruffy, lazy unelectable buffoon who makes silly sexist and racist remarks when he is supposed to be sticking up for minorities. If he was in power then Murdock would have to pay his fair share of taxes and he doesn't like it. Thus - the paper is full of Corbyn being sexist, racist, scruffy, thick, a whip who wouldn't push the button, a danger to the country, a traitor who talks to enemies!.... instead of reporting 3000 dead over Christmas due to Tory social cuts, May willing to walk away with no deal and isn't sweating it even though they have no plans for it, big arms deals going down with governments that are commiting war crimes, DT being a dick again.. that sort of thing. And everyone falls for it. I would have thought that this recent line of accusing the most left wing people of bigotry and bringing them down in the press whilst ignoring 1000 worse comments and policies and hideousness from the opposition would be a transparent tactic.... apparently not.

If 'god' appeared in the sky or on the telly and demonstrated his power by giving us a demonstration that it was god... wouldn't that be 'evidence' of that god? (Not saying it would be 'proof' as it could easily be staged or faked.. but it would e considered evidence no?) Similarly - I expect people take what appear to be answers to prayers to be evidence.... although when it is broken down and assessed then prayer answers come into the realms of standard probability... but some would consider it evidence (albeit poor). Clearly. and surely there would be a better way to reveal your presence than making some harmony in some random background noise.... lol. It reminds me of the crickets singing in slow motion hoax that was about a few years back.... all the spiritulists and god lot on social media went crazy about it. Cute though it was... it was total bunk.

How do you jump from the word soup in the previous paragraph to this ridiculous conclusion?

Vixen, fox, sex kitten? I don't think those are classed as offensive are they? There are so many other offensive variants - I hate it. I have all my life cringed at people that call women sluts - it is a disgusting attitude imo. Usually one shown by the most hypocritical - either those that sleep around (or would if they could but can't) or those that choose not to for religious beliefs... passing judgement on those that don't fall for the same delusion they have. Totally hypocritical usually.

What do you want it for? Glass windows? Car screen? Something sensitive? Most just use some IPA and a little surfactant I think. Depends. Of course - if the shop bought IPA ones are causing a problem in your application then we would need to know what your problems are before we can solve them. ;-) What is wrong with the shop one? Tell us the problem and we might be able to help with a formulation tweak.

I won't.... but about a third of the population, the ones you need to reach, will. Get in touch and you might get through to them one day. I am afraid the horse has bolted though what with Trump and Brexit. They will ignore you because they see this thin end of the wedge where they see PC gone mad. In the army, if a squad of 10 go across an assault course and 7 of them beat the world record and 3 struggle to finish the ones that finished first get the bollocking. They are supposed to drop back and help the others over the obstacles they are struggling with.

....and that effort is undermined if you take it too far such that people stick their heads in the sand and won't listen to ANY of your messages. If he'd said 'typical woman' or anything at all that would suggest women are stupid in general then that would be sexist and I agree with what you have said entirely.... as it is he was using the language in the normal flowing correct way imo. That is not me undercutting the push for political correctness, it is me saying that the phrase is in no way sexist to anyone who is isn't polerised to the extreme left of politics. Not slightly left - totally extremist. The argument we have (you, the others and I) is not whether it is OK to be sexist or not.... it is whether what he said in particular is sexist or not. He (obviously to me) meant nothing about comparing genders nor did he make any general sweeping statements in general. Do you realise how alienating the stance you take against his comment is to people to the right of ME politically? If I took your argument to actual right wingers they would use flowery language and say you were totally out of touch with normal people. Laugh and think you an idiot. If you targeted your PCness towards comments made that actually ARE sexist or racist then they would hold more weight. There will be acceptance by a lot more if the PC brigade didn't go over the top and start branding normal speech as sexist. "Typical of a Woman" -- very sexist. 'Stupid man' or 'stupid woman' - normal language. I did NOT say it was pleasant or acceptable to call someone stupid... before anyone jumps on that again. I am saying that the phrase is NOT sexist imo. Hold what opinion you like but as I have said over and over - people will ignore you and think you a crack pot... thus they wont hear the important words you have to say.... then they go on to vote for Trump and brexit etxc.. I don't know anyone who voted to leave the EU who has now changed their thinking (apart from a small number of middle class types)... they still fervently argue that we are doing the right thing and want to leave without any deals. Again - I have to disagree that he said anything wrong anyway. As I said already there is a big difference in saying that it is typical for a woman or a man to be stupid..... pointing one out as stupid is just rude... not sexist. Sorry for long post. It's a figure of speech. It isn't a literal shooting with a bullet.... it is a verbal one. One that lasted several days that kept the front page of the newspaper busy for 3 days and had many calling for him to resign.

I agree - although the man in question probably does too - it is his life's work. You could probably find (and regularly do) many more and far worse blunders from the opposition which just get left unchallenged or get laughed at if they are challenged as PCness gone mad. Only if you think that wanting to leave the EU with WTO regs in place rather than a new deal is a stupid idea to rest back upon..... oh and to take make no actual plans for such an outcome in the process of waiting.

Calling anyone 'stupid' is thought to be wrong in some cases... he was frustrated at the lack of caring from the opposition about them seemingly being quite blasé about leaving the EU without any deal.

...and a third party would say - 'They suck at maths' or 'He sucks at Maths' or 'That man sucks at Maths'.... then 'She sucks at maths' or 'That woman sucks at maths' for the second pic. I get the comic - but it isn't the same as the situation we are discussing. Actually - I'd like to stop discussing it really - lol. I only chimed back in as I have come back from the xmas break. - Happy New Year to you.

Except that the comment was under his breath and turned away and never meant for any one to hear - they picked it up on camera and used lip readers and strung it out in the press for days. Meanwhile - what the press did not cover, a man had died of starvation on the steps of parliament again as a result of government cuts and austerity. They did a fine job of covering that up by screaming blue murder about a total non incident to distract. Whatever. Roll on brexit and the Trump wars then... no one cares about them as long as they are all PC about it. Why do you think anyone would call you a stupid man? I, personally, have never heard the term 'stupid woman'... not directed at me anyway. I still don't see the crime in using the language to indicate whether you are talking about a man or a woman. I agree it shouldn't or doesn't matter - but in our language we make the distinction - it is just language. We can change it - but don't shoot people that use it until it has been officially changed and accepted and learnt by all.

I suppose it depends which news channel or paper you listen to watch or read. :-). I don't trust them either, but there is/has been corruption in every country and I have to believe it will improve. A step to improving their abuses would be to include them and work and grow with them. They have been allies with the UK in many wars throughout history against other countries in Europe. Anyway - I'm off - Merry Christmas.x

For insults - maybe. But stating to your friend that the pm is stupid is not a direct insult directed to or at the pm and was a comment about her stubborness in the argument (maybe he does think she is stupid - IDK, but he did not direct it at her as an insult).. Heck - they had to use lip readers to catch the phrase.... even then they are torn between those that say he said woman and those that say he said people. He claims people - but who cares!? It is a blatant attempt by his opposition to try to swing some of his supporters against him as they know all of his supporters are left wingers. Every day I bet you could find a real quote from a member of the tory party that is far worse. It makes me very cynical. From Jeremy Corbin who has campaigned for minority rights for many decades? About 60 years ago. Do you really think Jeremy Corbin views women as inferior? Right - I'm off - I might be able to log on over Christmas... if not then Merry Christmas to all.x

So do I (if I understood you correctly). Using a persons gender in conversation about them though is normal English language and it seem ridiculous (to me any way and others I am sure) to paint this as sexism. Even if he has lied and DID use the term 'stupid woman' to refer to the PM then I still think he is using the language correctly and without any spite - unless it meant it that because she is a woman she is even more stupid than she appears.... but why would any think he would mean that? You could emphasise the word 'woman' for example and pull a face whilst saying it... yea - I see that's sexist. But a side comment like 'that woman is stupid' or what a stupid woman she is' or just plain 'stupid woman' or 'stupid man' in a passing comment between 2 friends? .... and if you know anything about this man at all, lol... he is a campaigner for human rights, equality, peace.... he has marched for decades against racism, unfair separation of rich and poor, war, sexism etc.. to even suggest he is sexist is kinda laughable.... it is the opposition clutching at straws to distract from their brexit disaster. Sorry - When/where do you draw the line though? Dim above has just admitted he thinks having any gender distinction at all is sexist virtually. They do it to Corbin all the time. Whatever he says they will try to pick on something they can blow out of proportion so they can discredit him in the eyes of the public. It is so transparent (unless you read The Sun or The Daily Mail apparently). I liked Stephen Fry's comment in the video above. 'Is it better to be right than effective'.... meaning it would be better to debate and educate rather than dismiss and shut down a comment because of possible intent of sexism or racism. Discuss and educate rather than ridicule, scold and poo poo. Winning the moral argument but loosing at the polling station is being right but ineffective maybe? Not being so offended about normal language and engaging people on their level and talking to them and turning them from their bigotry.... that's more effective imo.

He 'claims' he was talking about the whole front bench and never even said it. He said 'stupid people' according to his claims, meaning the whole front bench of the Conservative party. You are the only one claiming it then. The dictionary makes a distinction between men and women and gives us different words to refer to them in our language. It's drivel like this that alienates you from the people that vote brexit mate. They here this and laugh at you and will never take you seriously again afterwards whatever the topic. They would think it's just PC gone mad and they will not listen to you when you have something important to say.... like 'the EU is beneficial to the UK'... they would say, 'right, yea, this is the same bloke that thinks we should say fire person rather than fire man or woman, pah - ignore him he's talking bollocks again'. Is it better to be right rather than effective?:-

Norway, Iceland, The Ukraine? No way - I don't think so - The formation of the EU has stabilised the area. 'It just happens to be peaceful now'? Really? Come on - it is a direct result of us all being under the same banner. There has never been such a prolonged era of peace and stability in the area for centuries.